








| 


UMASS/AMHERST  ® 
| 
| 


INIA NM 


31206b6009037251 







LTA Ei, 
y fi 


ware 
i eo es 











ed 
curs 





Poe Fe aa oe 
(week eee 








Pre tee Mie plp 
Or aire 


ae ee as 








reer? 
riot 
FW ede 
Pies Li 





ne 





re sud eS 


jee) 
=) 
a) 
ul 
= 
<x 
Qa 





UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS 














| ple ery ¥ 


NORFOLK COUNTY 
, cy 
MASS VCH US H TFS: 
MAQGRAPHICAL SKEBITCHES 
PIONEERS AND PROMINENT MEN. 


COMPILED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF 


Doe ART TO N.. BUR. YD. 


(Ik DSU Seabee Le Be 


PHULADEE PHILA: 
J. W. LEWIS & CO. 


1884. 





PRESS OF 
LIPPINCOTT & CO., 
PHILADELPHIA. 


— — — — — — — — —_——————EEEeOOOOO 


a. B. 


~ 
} 


\ 


Copyright, 1884, by J. W. Lewis & Co. 














PUES ne de ia a, 





NEARLY two years ago the attention of the publishers, who have long made a speciality 
of this class of work, was called to the fact that a history of Norfolk County was needed. 
After mature deliberation the work was planned and its compilation. commenced. ‘The best 
literary talent in this section of the commonwealth for this especial work was engaged, 
whose names appear at the head of their respective articles, besides many other local writers 
on special topics. These gentlemen approached the work in a spirit of impartiality and 
thoroughness, and we believe it has been their honest endeavor to trace the history of the 
development of the territory embodied herein from that period when it was in the undis- 
puted possession of the red man to the present, and to place before the reader an authentic 
narrative of its rise and progress. The work has been compiled from authenticated and 
original sources, and no effort spared to produce a history which should prove in every 


respect worthy of the county represented. 
THE PUBLISHERS. 


PHILADELPHIA, May, 1884. 


ili 








INTRODUCTION. : i : : : 5 5 
CHAPTER I. 


THe Bencu AND Bar 


CHAPTER TI 


Tue Norrotk District Mepican Socrery A é 6 


CoHPAGP AIH bela. 
DEDHAM. 


The Settlement — The Town Covenant— Names of the 
Signers—Organization of Town Government—Character 
of Settlers—Formation of the Church—The Rey. John 
Allin—Division of “Lands—Burial-Ground—Training- 
Ground— Description of the Village in 1664 . 


Ce HPAS ERE DiVic 
DepHam—( Continued). 


Mother Brook, or East Brook—Dedham Island—Long 
Ditch—Indian Village at Natick—Pacomtuck, or Deer- 
field — Boggastow, or Medfield — Wollonomopoag, or 
Wrentham—Decease of leading Men among the First 
Settlers 


CHAPTER V. 
Depuam—( Continued). 


Indian Deeds—Philip’s War—Rey. William Adams—New 
Meeting-House—Timothy Dwight—William Avery— 
Daniel Fisher, the second—His Part in Resisting Sir 
Edmund Andros. 


CHAPTER VI. 
Drepuam—( Continued). 


Province Charter—Changes and Contentions—Incorpora- 
tion of Needham—Rev. Joseph Belcher—The Second 
Parish and Churech—Rey. Thomas Baleh—The Third 
Parish and Church—Rey. Josiah Dwight—Reyv. Andrew 
Tyler—Incorporation of Walpole—Services of Church 
of England begun—Rey. William Clark—Samuel Col- 
burn—Devise of Estate to Episcopal Church—Rey. Sam- 
uel Dexter—The Fourth Parish and Church—Rev. Ben- 
jamin Caryl—Services of Dedham Menin French Wars 
—New Meeting-House—Dr. Nathaniel Ames—The Pil- 
lar of Liberty—Events Prior to the American Revolu- 
tion ; : : : : 2 : 0 : 


CHAPTER Vili: 


Drpuam—( Continued). 


Dedham Village in 1775—Leading Men—Lexington Alarm 
—Minute-Men and Militia Companies March—Siege of 
Boston—Town Votes upon Question of Independence— 
Bounties for Soldiers—Parishes Raise Money by Taxa- 
tion—Articles of Confederation Approved—Delegates to 
State Convention for forming Constitution—Expenses of 


29 


41 





44 | 


4 | 





PAGE 





Revolutionary War—Pecuniary Distress—Amendments 
to State Constitution Proposed—Col. Daniel Whiting 


CUHVAC PAY Hives Vie lcalenle 


DrepHam—( Continued). 


Second Parish—Rey. Jabez Chickering—Third Parish— 


Rev. Thomas Thacher—Fourth Parish Incorporated as a 
District under the name of Dover—Shay’s Rebellion— 
Incorporation of Norfolk County—Episcopal Chureh— 
Rev. William Montague—Old Church Removed and Re- 
built—Fisher Ames; Sketch of His Life—Edward Dowse 
—Rey. Jason Haven--Churech Covenant of 1793—Di- 
vision in the Third Parish-—-New Meeting-House—A bout 
Sixty Members Withdraw to the Baptist Society in Med- 
field—Second Parish and Church—Reyv. William Coggs- 
well 


CHAPTER IX. 


DrepHAam—( Continued). 


| Dedham in the Beginning of the Present Century—Manu- 


facturing Corporations——Mill Privileges on Mother 
Brook—War of 1812—Legacy for Schools in Will of 
Samuel Dexter—The First Church—Resignation of Rev. 
Joshua Bates—Parish elect Rev. Alvan Lamson-——Ma- 
jority of Church Refuse to Concur—Kcclesiastical Coun- 
cil—Protest by a Majority of the Church—Ordination of 
Mr. Lamson—Suit at Law to Recover Church Property 
—Decision of Supreme Court—New Meeting-House So- 
ciety Formed—Rey. Ebenezer Burgess—Improvements 
in Old Meeting-House—Third Parish—Rey. John White 
—Second Parish, Rev. Harrison G. Park, Rev. Calvin 
Durfee and his Successors—Description of Dedham Vil- 
lage in 1818—Dedham Bank—New Jail and Court- 
House—Town-House—Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance 
Company— Dedham Mutual Fire Insurance Company— 
Dedham Institution for Savings—Gen. Lafayette’s Visit 
—Gen. Jackson’s Visit 


CHAPTER X. 


Depuam—( Continued), 


Universalist Society, South Dedham—Episcopal Church— 


Rev. Isaac Boyle—Rev. Samuel B. Babeock—New 
Church — Dedham Branch Railroad — Manufactures— 
Population in 1835—Newspapers—Centennial Celebra- 
tion, 1836—Dr. Lamson’s Historical Discourses, 1838— 
Dr. Burgess’ Discourse in “Dedham Pulpit’’—Rey. 
John White’s Historical Discourse, 1886—Rev. Mr. Dur- 
fee’s Historical Discourse, 1836—Destructive Fires— 
Improvements in Schools and School-Houses—Norfolk 
County Railroad—First Baptist Church, West Dedham 
—Baptist Church, East Dedham—Baptist Church, South 
Dedham—Methodist Episcopal Church, East Dedham— 
First Parish—Resignation of Dr. Lamson, and of Dr. 
Burgess—Third Parish—Successors of Rev. John White 


53 


57 


63 


vi CONTENTS. 








PAGE | 


—Successors of Dr. Lamson in First Parish—Improve- 
ments in Meeting-House—Successors to Rev. Dr. Bur- 
gess—Burning of St. Paul’s Church—New Stone Church 
—Chapel—Roman Catholic Chureh—St. Mary’s School 
and Asylum—Annexations to West Roxbury and Wal- 
pole—Dedham Gas-Light Company—Dedham Histori- 


PAGE 


CHAPTER XIX. 


CoHASSET. 


_ Pioneer History—Reference to Hingham—Heirs of the 


71 | 


Sachem Chickatabut—Deed from the Indians, July 4, 
1665—The Pioneers: Beal, Cushing, James, Lincoln, 
Tower, Sutton, Bates, Kent, Nichols, Orcutt, Pratt, Stod- 


.-- = 





calle socicky, : . i 7 : ; ; : dard—The First Settlement—Its Location—Derivation 
CHAPTER XI. _ of name of Town—Incorporation of Parish—Little 
Diwan = ( Conciued) | Hingham—The Church—Petition for Incorporation of 
<F of ‘a ; i Town—Opposed by Hingham—Town Incorporated April 
The Civil War, 1861-65—Companies of Dedham Men— 26, 1770—Early Votes concerning Schools—Votes con- 
Their Services in the War—Commodore G. J. Van Brunt cerning the Revolution—Cohasset’s Representative at 
—Expenses of the War for Bounties and Aid to Soldiers’ the Boston Tea-Party—Maj. James Stoddard—War of 
Families—Memorial Hall—Names of those who Fell 1812—Shipwrecks, ete. . f . : f 4 216 
Inscribed on the Tablets woul 
CHVACP HR eat | eran oie eos 
Depuam—( Continued). ConasseT—( Continued). 
Readville annexed to Hyde Park—Dedham Public Library Bankes Civil History, Miltary . : j ; ee 
—Incorporation of Norwood—Death of Rey. Dr. Bab- CVA Pin hE Raexexole 
cock—Steam Fire-Engine—Dedham Water Company— Couasser—( Continued) 
Temporary Asylum for Discharged Female Prisoners— 1 : . : ‘ 
Gricduic=Church of the’ Goad Shepherd Islington Ecclesiastical and Educational—Pioneer History—First 
; - 7 5 sg Reference to Cohasset in Hingham Records—Various 
Congregational Church—New Colburn School-House— 
Pen neaala Cemotopy = Vawn Soal-Conelusion 88 Votes concerning the Town—Divisions of the Meadow 
: ; ; ; ‘ “| Lands with the Proprietors at Conihasset—The First 
I 
CHAPTER XIII. Meeting-House—Subsequent History—Methodist Soci- 
BRAINTREE " ; ; : t : ; ; 111 | ety in North Cohasset—Second Congregational Churech— 
; - | The Beechwood Church—St. Anthony’s Church—Eduea- 
CHAPTER XIV. — | tional Interests é . : 6 c c : - 231 
BrRAINTREE—( Continued) . : 2 : : é - 122 
CHAPTER XXII. 
ae XV. 
CE ON Dover : 5 : é 3 : 5 é . - 238 
BELLINGHAM. : ; : ° , : < - 1438 
alae ‘ CHAP T HR xXx EET. 
TER XVI. 
QUINCY. 
| 
scsi ae | The Massachusetts Fields . : : : : 5 . 20% 
Early History as a Precinect—First Cession of Dedham— 
Purchase of Wrentham—The New Precinet—Church CAEIEASP SH Ri Noe Neal vies 
Organized— First Minister— Meeting-House— Church Quincy—( Continued). 
Music— Discords— Precinct Ministers— Revs. Haven, 
Gee ian Merrymont 4 : : . : : . . - 260 
Barnum, Emmons—Civil History—-Move for a 'Town— 
Town History—Incorporation—Why named Franklin-— CHAPTER XXV. 
Town Library—Topography—Maps—Indian Traditions | Quincy—( Continued). 
—Revolutionary War—Sentiments in Town-Meeting— 
M Wollaste . é a : c : c . 268 
Soldiers’ Second Meeting-House—Its Site, Cost, Bell— gun anonaewD 





Moved and Modernized—Interior Glimpse of Home Life | CHA PDR, XOXVGr 
—Military Affairs—Trainings and Musters—The Poor Quincy—( Continued) 
—Burial Grounds— Post-Offices— Temperance— Early ? 

: ., | Old Braintree . 5 : ¢ 5 3 : : . 276 
MTIQUISERTCS | scesaresa cectacisesascsecrsiotevsce cece tsetstcacaseceseiedeee. 160 | 
CHAPTER XVIL CHAPTER, XX Ver 

Quincy—( Continued). 


FRANKLIN—( Continued). 


| r oe 1 . 
Later Town History—Weclesiastical—Ministers of the First | eS Eo rrne roe ne. Cub ch ‘ : i i , =e 


Churech—Other Churches and Meeting-Houses—South | CHAPTER. XOXVelLiE 
Franklin Congregational—Grace UniversaJist—Baptist | 
—Catholic—Methodist—Town Library—Publie Schools 
—High School—Franklin Academy—Dean Academy— 
College Graduates—Statistics of Material Growth—Town 
Industries—Straw Goods—Feltings, ete.—Newspapers— 
Railroads—Banks—Fire Protection—The Rebellion— 
List of Soldiers—Precinect and Town Officers—Centen- | The North Precinct Annals : : : : : - 323 
nial Celebration . 5 4 : ¢ : ° pe dlide! 


Qutncy—( Continued). 
| Life in the Colonial Town . ‘ : : Re - 295 
| CHAPTER Xoxorxs 


Quincy—( Continued). 


CHAPTER XVIII. 
RANDOLPH . ~ : : ; : : § ; . 188 


| CHAPTER XXX. 
| Quincy—( Continued). 
| 


Modern Quincey . : 4 : : c 5 G . 355 


in ii aL 











ation—First Settlements— Petition for Preaching in 1709 
— Petition for Act of Incorporation—Op posed by Dedham 
—Lands for Support of Ministry—Incorporation of Town 
—Named after Needham in England—The First Town- 
Meeting — Selectmen Elected — Burying-Ground—The 
First Minister—First Meeting-House—Westerly Pre- 
cinct Set Off—The First Church Bell—Early Educa- 
tional Interests—Social Library . 2 . 


CHAPTER XLI. 


Nerepu amM—( Continued). 


War of the Revolution—The Battle of Lexington—Need- 
ham’s Prompt Response—Her Citizens perform Efficient 


uo 


“wT 














CyHPA-P DERRE XO VL 


WereymourH—( Continued). 


Recovering from the Effects of the War—Work-House— 


Local Matters—Smallpox—Norfolk County—Attempt to 
divide the Town—Business Enterprises—Post-Ofice— 
War with England—Alarm at Cohasset—Town Lines— 
Manufacturing Companies Discouraged—Surplus Rev- 
enue—Anti-Slavery Resolutions—Town Records—Town 
Hall—War of the Rebellion—Opening Scenes—Twelfth 
Regiment—Raising Troops—Military Records—Boun- 
ties—Thirty-fifth Regiment—Town Bonds and Seal— 





CONTENTS. vii 
| 
: PAGE | . . PAGE 
CHAPTER XXXI. Service—They harass the British Retreat from Lexing- 
STOUGHTON. | ton and Concord—Ephraim Bullard alarms the Minute- 
Stoughton—Named in Honor of Governor William Stough- | Men—List of Names composing Needham Companies— 
ton—Territory allotted to Dorchester in 1637—Known | See Aaron Smith’s Company of Militia—Capt. Caleb 
aa the “New (Grant”==Dorchester South Precinect—A |  Kingsbury’s Company of Minute-Men—Capt. Robert 
Part set off to Wrentham in 1724—Incorporation of | Smith’s Company—Sketches of the Killed—Incidents— 
Stoughton—Original Territory—Second Precinct set off Votes of the Town during the Revolutionary Period 518 
in Oa ET of Tou in 1743—The CHAPTER XLII. 
First Town-Meeting—Incorporation of Stoughtonham— E ; ; 
The Revolution—Votes of the Town in 1723, 1724, 1725, _—| NeEpHau—(Continued). 
1726 — Committee of Correspondence — Revolutionary Ecclesiastical History.—Congregational Church— Unitarian 
Bounties, ete. . . 389 Church—Baptist Church—Methodist Episcopal Church, 
Highlandville—Second Adventists . 526 
C03) 5 OD.) 22d Wi pd ke. GQ ll 
SrouauTron—( Continued). CHAPTER XLIII. 
Ecclesiastical History.—Universalist Church—Congrega- NrEpHAM—( Continued). 
tional Church—Methodist Episcopal Church—Roman The Press—Civil History—Military Record.—The Need- 
Catholic Church—Methodist Episcopal Church, North ham Chronicle—Changes in Boundary-Line—Valuation 
Stoughton—Baptist Church, East Stoughton . . 394 | —Population— Documentary—Representatives—Select- 
| men—Town Clerks—Treasurers—Military Record 532 
CHAPTER XXXIIT. 
SroueHton—( Continued). | CHAPTER XUV. 
The Press—The Stoughton Sentinel—Masonie— Rising Star | Mepway . : : : : : 5404 
Lodge, F. and A. M.—Mount Zion Royal Arch Chapter : 
CHE XLV. 
—Stoughton Lodge, No. 72, I. 0. 0. F.—The Boot and APTER 
Shoe Interest—Civil History—Representatives and Town WeyMovrH. 
Clerks from 1731 to 1884—Military Record—Number of | Geography—Geology—General History—Weston’s Colony 
Men Furnished—Amount of Money Expended for War | —Gorges’ Settlement—Hull’s Company—Ecclesiastical 
Purposes . 403 | Troubles—Pequod War—Emigration—Town Govern- 
ment - 560 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
Houeroox . 427 ClHATP TB Ree kein Vor 
WeymoutH—( Continued). 
HAP y XKXXV. Ss 
© EES paca | King Philip’s War—Company of Horse—Town Affairs — 
MEDFIELD . . 439 Sir Edmund Andros—Military Company—Canadian 
CHAPTER XXXVI | Expedition—Local Matters—Town Boundaries—New 
q aga } i Precinet—Dr. White—Town Regulations—Parsonage 
one. Oe Property—Pigwacket Indians—Town Commons—Throat 
CHAPTER XXXVIL. | Distemper—French and Indian Wars—French Neutrals 
Wirorerae j wir | —Dr. Tufts—Highways—South Precinct . 067 
CHAPTER XXXVIIL | CHAPTER XLVII. 
WeELLESLEY—( Continued). WerymoutHo—( Continued). 
Wellesley College 482 | Revolutionary War—Arbitrary Measures of the Crown— 
sley g 2 
Agents Chosen to Meet in Boston—Committees of Cor- 
CHAPTER XXXIX. respondence—No more Tea—Energetic Action—Record 
Norwoop 495 of Votes on the Resolutions of Congress—Refusal to Pay 
| Taxes to the Royal Treasurer—Town Committee of Cor- 
CHAPTER XL. respondence—Minute-Men—Preparations for War— 
NEEDHAM. | Raising Troops—Declaration of Independence—Bounties 
Indian Occupation—Original Purchase in 1680—Consider- | —State Convention—State Constitution —Procuring Men 
| and Provisions—Soldiers to Hull 572 


vill 


CONTENTS. 





Forty-second Regiment—Contributions— Difficulties— 
Fourth Heavy Artillery-—-Final Attempt to divide the 
Town—Soldiers’ Monument—Two Hundred and Fiftieth 
Anniversary — Water Question—Fire 


Growth of the Town 


Department — 


CHAPTER XLIX: 
Weymoutn—( Continued). 


Ecclesiastical History.-Congregational Churches——The 


First Church . 


CHAPTER L. 

Weymoura—( Continued). 

Congregational Churches (Continued): Second Church, 
Union Church of Weymouth and Braintree, Union 
Church of South Weymouth, Church at East Weymouth, 
Pilgrim Church—Methodist Episcopal: Church at East 
Weymouth, Chureh at Lovell’s Corner—Universalist : 
First Church, Second Church, Third Chureh—Baptist: 
First Church—Roman Catholic: Parish of St. Francis 
Xavier, Parish of the Immaculate Conception, Parish of 
the Sacred Heart, Parish of St. Jerome—Protestant 
Episcopal: Trinity Parish 


CHAPTER LI. 
Weymoutu——( Continued). 


Educational Institutions—Publie Schools-—-Wey mouth and 
Braintree Academy—Newspapers—-Wey mouth Histori- 
cal Society—Social Libraries—Mutual Library Associa- 
tions—Tufts’ Library 


CHAPTER LILI. 

Werymoura—( Continued). 

Military Organizations: Early Companies, Company for 
the Castle, Weymouth Light-Horse, Weymouth Artil- 
lery, Weymouth Light Infantry, Franklin Guards— 
Grand Army of the Republic: Lincoln Post, No. 40, 
Reynolds Post, No. 58—Societies and Associations: 
Masonic Orphans’ Hope Lodge, Delta Lodge, South 
Shore Commandery, Pentalpa Royal Arch Chapter— 
Odd-Fellows: Crescent Lodge, Wildey Lodge, Wompa- 
tuck Encampment—Knights of Pythias: Delphi Lodge 
—Knights of Honor: Pilgrim Lodge—Weymouth Agri- 
cultural and Industrial Society—Other Organizations 


COHCAS PERTH Reel Tekes 
WerymoutH—( Continued). 
Business Enterprises—Mills: The Waltham- Richards- 
Bates’ Mills, Tide Mill, Tirrell’s Mill, Reed’s Mill, Loud’s 
Mill, Vinson’s Mill, Dyer’s Mill—Turnpikes: Weymouth 
New and Quincy 
Bridge—Railroads: Old Colony, South Shore—Expresses 





and Braintree, 3edford, Hingham 
—Telegraph — Telephone — Financial Corporations — 
Banks: Weymouth National, National of South Wey- 
mouth Weymouth, South Weymouth, 
East Weymouth—Weymouth and Braintree Fire Insur- 
ance Company—-Manufactures : 
mouth 





Savings Banks: 


Boots and Shoes—Wey- 
Iron Company—Fish Company—Weymouth 
Commercial Company—Ice Companies—Bradley Fer- 
tilizer Company—Ship Building—Bay State Hammock 
Company—Howe & French—Fire-Works—Mitten-Fac- 
tory—-Miscellaneous 


CHAPTER 


Weymovutru——( Continued) 


LIV. 


PAGE 


on 
—vT 
wo 


. 584 


. 589 


. 594 


. 598 | 


600 | 


605 | 


CHAPTER LV. 


WRENTHAM. 5 5 a 5 R i 5 


CHA PSE R Vee 
FoxBorouGH. 


Incorporation of Town—EHarly History—The First Settler 
—Jacob Shepard—List of Early Settlers—Early Votes— 
The Pioneer Schools—The First Town Clerk—Church 
History—Early Votes—Manufactures, etc. . 


CVA PTE Re baveigie 
FoxsorouGcH—( Continued). 
Military Record.—The Heroes of Three Wars—War of 
the Revolution—1812—War of the Rebellion—List of 
Soldiers, 1861—65—Patriots of 1776—Soldiers of 1812— 
Roll of Honor, 1861—65—Veterans of the War—Militia, 
1796 < ‘ : é A . z - 


CeHCA PD eR a Vel aie 

Foxsorougu—( Continued). 

Ecclesiastical History.—Congregational Church—Baptist 
Chureh— Universalist Church—Roman Catholic Chapels 
—Civil History—Delegates to Constitutional Convention 
—State Senators—Commission of Insolvency—Represen- 
tatives—Justices of the Peace—Selectmen—Town Clerks 
—Town House—Memorial Hall—The Howe Monument— 
Change in Boundaries—Masonic— Historical Items—The 
Press—The Centennial Celebration—Population—Sta- 
tistical . 3 c : : - A 


CEVPAVR AT ER) lee 
WALPOLE. 


Pioneer History—The Dedham Covenant—Indian Pro- 
prietors—Primitive Condition of the Country—Early 
Settlements—The Cedar Swamp— Petition for Precinct— 
Incorporation of Town—The French and Indian War— 
Capt. Bacon’s Company from Walpole—Slavery in Wal- 
pole—Deacon Robbins’ Slave “ Jack””—War of the Rey- 
olution—Resolutions of the Town—List of Revolutionary 
Soldiers—War of 1812—Capt. Samuel Fales’ Company 
of Light Infantry 


CHAPTER LX. 

W ALPOLE—( Continued). 

| Ecclesiastical History.—First Congregational Society—Or- 
thodox Congregational Church—Congregational Church, 
East Walpole—Methodist Episcopal Chureh—Methodist 
Episcopal Church, South Walpole . = F A 


CHAPTER LXI. 

WaLpoLe—( Continued). 
| The Press—The Walpole Standard—The Walpole Enter- 
| prise—The Norfolk County Tribune—The Walpole Star 
—Manufacturing Interests—Civil History—The Town 
Hall—Military History—Number of Men Furnished 
—Amount of Money Expended—Roll of Honor—Memo- 
rial Tablets 





CHA PMR exe ie 
MILTon. 


Pioneer History —The First Settlements — Stoughton, 
Hutchinson—Grant of the Territory to 
| Dorchester—Release of Indian Title—Cutshamoquin— 


Location of First Settlements—-King Philip’s War— 


Glover, and 


. 673 


. 683 


. 697 


. 718 





é 
» 
“ 
: 














CONTENTS. Pix 
PAGE PAGE 
Prominent Early Settlers—Biographical Sketches of CHAPTER LXXI. 
Prominent Citizens—Robert Vose, Robert Tucker, Ben- CANTON. 
jamin Wadsworth, Joseph Belcher, Oxenbridge Thatcher, Indian Name of the Town, Punkapaog—John Eliot—Or- 
John Swift, Peter Thatcher, Dr. Miller, Samuel Miller, ganization of Precinct, 1715—List of Precinct Officers— 
Governor Belcher, William Foye, Col. Gooch, Governor Incorporation of Stoughton, 1726—Roger Sherman— War 
Hutchinson, James Smith, Oxenbridge Thatcher, Jr., | of the Revolution—Various Votes—The Suffolk Resolves 
Samuel Swift, Nathaniel Tucker, Seth Adams, William —The First Troops from Stoughton—Capt. James Endi- 
Foye, Jr., Joseph Gooch, Benjamin Pratt, Col. Joseph | cott’s Company—Other Companies—Committee of Cor- 
Vose, Job Sumner, John Miller, Benjamin Wadsworth, respondence and Inspection—Documentary History— 
“W. S. Hutchinson, Josiah Badcock, Samuel Henshaw, | Incorporation of Town—Names of Petitioners—First 
Edward H. Robbins, Rufus Badcock, Thomas Thatcher, Town Officers—War of 1812—Extracts from Town Ree- 
Jesse Tucker, J. 8. Boies, Nathaniel J. Robbins, John ords—The First School-House . 919 
M. Forbes, Solomon Vose, Roger Vose, Charles P. Sum- 
iY Gilly 6 = ake a a ek eo 730 CHAPTER LXXII. 
CHAPTER LXIII. Canton—( Continued). 
Mitton. Ecclesiastical History.—First Congregational Churech—Or- 
War of the Revolution 745 ganization—The Covenant of 1717—The First Pastor, 
CHAPTER LXIV. Rev. Joseph Se 13 First Celebration of the Lord’s 
Supper—The First Deacons—Extracts from the Early 
Minron—( Continued). Records—List of those who joined the Church during Mr. 
Ecclesiastical History.—The First Congregational Society— Morse’s Ministry—Death of Mr. Morse—Inventory of his 
The First Evangelical Society—The Second Evangelical Estate—Rev. Samuel Dunbar—Reyv. Z. Howard—Rev. 
Society—Lower Mills Baptist Church . 749 William Richey—Rey. Benjamin Huntoon—Succeeding 
Le Pastors—Church Buildings—Evangelical Congregational 
ee Church—Baptist Chureh— Universalist Chureh—Roman 
Mitton—( Continued). Catholic Church 931 
The Crehore Estate—The Sumners—The Wadsworths—The 
Vose Place—The Robert Tucker Place—The Oldest House CHEATER, exe re 
in Milton—The Tucker House—The Billings House— Canton—( Continued). 
The Blue Hills—The Foye House—The Hutchinson The Press, Manufgcetures, Banks, ete.--The Canton Journal 
House—The Robbins House—The Governor Belcher —Early Manufactures—The First Cotton-Factory— 
Place—Milton Cemetery—Detailed History—Different | Present Manufactures—Memorial Hall—Military Record 
Purchasers—Ancient Inscriptions—Tombs 157 —Number of Men Furnished—Amount of Money Raised 
CHAPTER LXVI. —Various Votes in Relation to Bounties, ete.—Roll of 
; Honor—Revere Encampment, Grand Army of the Re- 
BSED ALORA) public—The Neponset National Bank—Canton Institu- 
Civil and Military—Representatives—Town Clerks—Town tion for Savings—Representatives from 1876 to Present 
Treasurers—War of the Rebellion—List of Soldiers, ete. 770 me . 944 
1 
C HVACR Tn RL Xo We. CHAPTER LXXIV. 
Miiton—( Continued) s 0 772 NorFouk. 
CHAPTER. TxXxOv hit. North Parish of Wrentham—Early Settlements—Residents 
Mittron—( Continued). in 1795—North Society—First Meeting-House—Incor- 
Town Hall—The Blue Hill National Bank—The Milton Degen ape oy purer non: eet ho wm 
a3 Meeting—Officers Elected—List of Selectmen—Town 
ecg ee OHICor ie Clerks—Representatives—Town House—Present Valua- 
CHAPTER LXIX. tion—Industrial Pursuits—Churches—Schools 973 
BRooKLINE 783 
APPENDIX 3 978 
CHAPTER LXX. 
Hyper Park : - : 895 | ERRATA 1001 


(eR O Reeve we doll We ib. 





PAGE 
PRLS SBE AN es ceececolancaascacseelsadestcces. \alneesemesnacesesterascs Bio 
AUB Ieniy, LET CHIGI Cre Sa nBaR so OIOBSs BaEeL Ocea becceéoon Gee coucniadaqn nonan6 208 
GMTGS,, TONE, Gost peAagreosod ceedoscsadoscs noneas sad0en cansancnapscaceaas 972 
PARTE NSM MMII QM pe tena cuiesacosacidesescecsinrocoecsslasesasiosceenensieeieat 111 
Aspinwall, Thomas..........scsccecscoscosces soscneces seesaer: socees 889 
Aspinwall, WilliamM........ccccsscessesscosereesseccsscouscsecssesss GOA 
Aspinwall, William................. SQOBOEO BODIE SSDS TORII SA COSCO 891 
POLLO MMU AN Chiesecesnslscenaasnciacesseicacecriscs-srtsecenacesstescsos 415 
PMUMOULONS AIO les ssc arecccicccascesNosssesiseseccecciiacscesacisescscess 417 
PMEWOOO SE SUA CKACH ss scercd<ssscacoclcods=sceclatecssens vecenes-sledeeeenss 186 
Topo aer el ie) FS Te cneetaaes socaan nobene pondadous cceoceods yobuosede sonsosonc 3 
Bacon, Joseph T........0....sccnsecccnccoee cesses cecnes covsccece sooees 670 
SIRO MBCA CIS MV Varese cine scincn|-caan=sa/tescrencclacecadscjecsndNocesss 729 
AMO WAL OMIASsessmd ace ce scivciecceccess|sncescensincssears Daseesosee 93 
Tynan, TORII Lice aognigondooes bocune <Uol00.25n600 deobon candonnsancDas0 388 
TEGO, DATS) Bedsenss osaccosdaco sacécx0c0 as0500 anid CoNGRDICE aaSanUuanAdE 618 
Ey AGN LCOLEG eDisasceslecesonlscansevesissacstassnncWecherassstecnaselseccels 883 
TSI RG) Nah excooods coceco sco cocosen6n Conor CoS BSCCAG Sdcca0 aacacancO 916 
POs OM. cess voce casestcansaiie Sacous Seondo00n paDdosGosedoobERcC 92 
ISULE ORS, WUENOZEL. c....cs.cicovscocecienanatlsoseasinesceseas(eabsos)ssoees 95 
@andage; BR. Ge B......\-...cccssesacscecrssisssnscese eens socoeneacss 887 
Capen, Nahum. ........ -...ccsoecorccnses asvcescoe cesses cossccoes coenee 957 
Carpenter, E.........ccsssessccssscecresccsccees vovsceees sosecnsceceeres 703 | 
Chapman, 0. S..........ssce-eccersences sosccnece cocccesce ees soesseoes 962 
hire Hull WAIMNOS4...c-cou-eseecseeeceeosiecrencees Pe asericesaescericaseee 380 
(Charman, (C5 (Ch atassnee checeesco cocooocas Got soc OCH OSS NO Io0 GOROIC 109 
Clapp, Luciuss......... ...-scceececonscererennes secccenee secscoees oncene 424 | 
Clark Joseph) Wo. ..-..s0-c.sssecesesscccsessnsace's Masencecseimacecanes 102 
lowe lant wlinaicecscuccees¢<sa/tor onseseiorcscciacnscoceslescossesisenciassees 101 
Cia awesls iMG GIs casnedaode senende ca060 cep ocaLbosoccdeanaa00s RnoceooG 12 
WDONPELOUACG Lincercadcscsrcsessuneees ones ssnives coe Ono pcnoos Hacncon) 672 
(Crealic, IN Gide iit J2\ceaeneanaceriencagudde sedodnco0 coscoo adoro asonocdcst ood 159 
(Comal ers, JRO) Cane cnat onaenor ear encod Cnorhe LEOROS I 05 DAC ERDe Dec oucoda nes 142 
(Chioting, Dyan) 1D) per aeanesiseeeu coccocuc pancun Doo0ekd0ddd sanado;co0ncs 452 
PF pansr seh ecnalival MMIC) ie cnccicsiccclseincssctesaccsscssscacieccensicndssoese 881 
[Dinigi ta, JERE RES) \Wicoobariodecugacoqgd con ndueac ococnon clancucaaccd oaccon 971 
ID iitseie, My Cccdsno ontanee ecuboionos codes noneacaccssserbRasosnnss saehac 616 
DTAPEL; PAMES.. sac. cavecsseccaaidancanaserceserssresorssssconasssseessi 967 
WNP OLS A leg onewsinea si saserseciss>icclasse(soccanieceees[oncesttesivcercelosie 215 
Hine re hha COUP Otcccmdietassccisceceeiatcantesncerlorusaiecccwearsiesecas 514 
Mtoe MElGnn yates assess ails enaciseanssenfacctcesseicosessacloeese ses 376 
CLO OVW UNIAN Secerc coder ss. cosluacecmnssrisas[evocccserinsasesiesesscsee 381 
WIS Kop WMO cco sceccnssaccdsssel scmeccnciscorenieciseviciussraclsscccelanscns 488 
LENS EG UICC a serae wcececa cnoLecen PoC HUnneUCoaua I DASECe COCHBECCOM SERCO 453 
MiGs ORIAM des eacesvaleterniuseesasealeseadclaseteniececnaeresacesies 668 
BRIG td iN eceesceleneccshecssieancenieceasaivnsssaneciscues ses sseslccursesue 669 
Fisher, JabeZ......0..cccessvccescccvccces seccersosece soenee seven socecs 672 
Hashor. WieiMecccscccansccsccesseccereenecsdssectiisereta-vecesesisccess 57 
Ola os SOLOMON s.-.coecuoatseceversitetoc ssnsisereanousiovsamesssisevocests 489 
HO DOWN Ss. .0...c00e cecescereseceseisscesninsnesecssierassesvaicssoseocs 615 
HOPED AV IC Seces-s\s-ceecceclescecceesivsonesiececnnsssitnssncinasseslovedes 515 
[Rired erick, JWIGAZOla.ccsccucersececccsoaesesnnlesdtcenssecsacricvesesees 382 
Mrenchs WMAGlesiilisn es sosecnsecwscnsajsereesreclscseecastnctccsiarenssese 960 
Gaston; WLUiaIN....cscsesesasnres oe JOOS IRC IOSIIONOSE COOH SOORECOCn 21 
(MESA dik NiliecceacpucteC cap horep pad sonorcsbeneconcep clgdlodien cuohaneceno: 110 


Xx 


PAGE 

Gridley, Jieremish\.........),5...0000 ecueccnees senaneenedseeme ieostan OOO 
Griges: PROMAS o0..c.<peesceesecess-leenenereniesaoeneeees Chacon peers 871 

| Grover, HO WAM... ..cccossscrse+cos-o:ccs50sfsesessaenes + eosee ta seeee eam 
| Hewins Family (The)).....<..00...sss-:«ccsesses escasessoeeeeaeetee 470 
Hodges; Al irediccccsst-0s-sonsine BEES BOR SOOICO LECUCE NE OS sileeeesene 708 
Hodes, Benjamins... ...0..cvsccencjeasascncosuemeeceenenes caceieaneee 706 
Hodges’ amily (‘The).......,..0sa<cscasse/rsnsenpaeeaieeseeeesteeeee 705 
Od ges, LeON ard ss..cveecescs sore cccecrassecesesleastersones Bocororidos 6a ilits) 
VOd Fes) (SOWwallleso...csscesesciccsecaess -ssesclee: ee eee ee eeen ese Boren i AUO 
Hodges, William A <..:-cscs.cceceseiccsseeteebecss ee eee eee 386 
Holbrook, -Aimos’ Hi’. jecsicsvercecssnesacciececceese these mee eee neeee 158 
FF olbrook, iB. N.c.c..ctsessscoceseses os cceecssienenteeeaeeeeee seseoaendes 437 
Hollingsworth, BH. A\.......0.s-00-:cstse~ -coe sees s/neossasesieeeenenae 132 

| eolimes; Warren sMi:). «cnc. ceiice. caoc seas cosne eee enero pases 473 
Howe; rAippletons...c..sescecorcsotieos-oseeseesnes ena tereee et eeeeetees 611 
Kimball, Danieli:..c....s.css0s.0sessecssssascoseeeessseeereeeeeenee 540 

| Kantoman, Bradtord.cc-..scsscscoressslseoccosclomenstsisceeetiesseeeeate 883 
Tamsons Al Vaiis..ccsnssscessesceceiesosesiecsces setveesse econ eteeeeeen 99 
Pincoln; James) i cececscoseieeseselsetnsleceamscceneee ements Bs0C0ee 670 
THY.O01, JH Alias. conse sscuscees:sesssiecece ds coasceseelshetesse tetas aeeeeeeae 539 

| McDonnell; Patrick:.....0..-scesscsseiessceeseciossserivacsnieeeeent 384 
Mamsfield SWalliaim’.. .</ssccsconsclcasosacccisoose=ssel we coneceeeeiemens 963 

| Mann, George H.... sc... sosesssocccnsncnne seceeseronounronnsjetsssanes 470 
| Martin, N. Cu... ceccecce scerccserennceeeees covesccoenenes seceernes 782 
Monk, Blisha:. C.....sc00<ccs50 0sececcss sosecsiscsiceslacosesteeeeeeenaemt 422 
Morrison Family (The)... 2020-00: ce esisuosdesiseeoeiensserenenem 133 
Morse, Bigg Avcccse.sccccocnscestsincteecossl sone seis eenearenteneeee 965 
Morse; Utheticecence steno) nelson elnons avons ceteltalsitielscmeitertets donboane 473 

| PMIOTRESOUSivsccccacses-ecclsceeeancssecrercenslaccereseet eset nentamaeet 516 
| Noyes ySamueliB ..ssccecedses sccklaenrecscelse=sselsferesree t= eeeeer 22 
Orr; Gale 2225. osteo esesteovessneslenc sec losescsicadeeh oneaene see ene 538 
Parsons, WHOM ASrsscsciscecese sel accrelsctisielesoancdetasnerls BNOKONSDCS: 880 
Pal) HbeneZerssivs cccscvstoe ccs csecsssncstecsessetecste ce sesceneenemee 108 
Peirce, THOM yas. sess socesessciecis sacsssiosiassencnianslerdacaneneceenenates 879 

| Pierce, Edward! Us csicecceoscecscss:a+2<centsy stacedem ae eeneeeeeeeee 777 
| Pierce:Mamily: (DG) sco soct cocaceis+ccensclslsna sey esse in ss sccmalsneaee 408 
|) Pierce; Heniyy Dineerertecessiescersescis+sesseselibiieseeaet see eteeen 410 
Pierce; Jessi. seccvas costs ves tieeecsssvosetlsses sumeceaoee eset eee eeeeee 408 
Porter; Robert: coccicccssecevs ss sscdees duvechcce ae boeieceerineeeeeaemeee 425 
Riay,; Jian OS vPresccocedlerececssslseesse|selnescenelvcoss-lecesetintecsenaetia 184 

| ays POSe phi Greccessoccsssccseovecsasdnecseactienseores cient cpencenes 185 
Richards; IMSS... cccscicccsseses- nee csare reese etait ee eeee mate 472 

| Richardson; Stephen’ Wi:........0accossesleeossecorcee=tenseeenectten 187 
Sanford) (Mis His. u.cicccisecc cutee owclesebeoviocs vowels cuene csaaniceaseneeeeen 555 
Sargent, James H.... 0.25 secs: acseceraiecsisnaenoesmasins seniusteelssents 560 
Shaw Natnanicli-cos occa. ctueseccseccasesisteneatecee coctskone 613 
Sheldons WRHOGESs<.sccc.cjcc enon sacs ssicncesccssusssncensiavemeeesnteaseen 671 
Shepard, DAMES 9... cer. so+c sec sreneseriorseocciicoessricvswersene oserey GOs 
sSherburne,, Williams. <5. sccsc.sisscans sesesicccestiesicceslenventereaenne 671 
|! Sherman, w) Obi..c.cccccecssccecs ceedecesdtesvewecncensesasethien ase eeree 707 
Blatter’ Carlos <.. Maccsccencceclcsccastecosecsessatiocsbe seetertiocsasaie 107 
Smiths Wisaaencccesverecescccesitcccavecstesceuecetecdshecsicamsodeessemeas 702 
Smith, Ly MAanisccos).-0.0.cew scessresuinnseceecenctrwes leceecriessmesses 513 

| Southgate, George A....... cccccsessesces sevescessasseessscevenseors 109 
| Southworth, Amasa..........,..00c00sees metre ane lccenariaavenianseeaces 421 














ILLUSTRATIONS. xi 
' 

PAGE PAGE 
OULHWOLLH ARO lescccccaccarcdcaccdslsccocerecuscicestencccstsessns SP LUO Wales ON RCHANICl-22 7 con ccenclsccacticscccs cossgocsusecncauscscuasteccccee S402 
Southworth, Consider..........0..ssseseereeees eiidcuvedonesceecneeees AGES WAT Ord OBIS nc ocreslsccssessaiscousevessn Maweeccaeldacdcneacuartaeees seen DTG 
Southworth, Col. Consider........ a Locteboes subeoteceaecbicestts pee DOW LO AEN OV sORMUCL c..cccscectesecres cecrecenelss sek swices sizes teecrtvoness 21 
Spaulding, Corodon............. Beiceetersncieneardeccberen dose sceoeens 970 Washburn, Andrew.......... aeeatieccesstoasents caaooisueantnaasenaa rac 917 
SLOISONS! OAIGD: teseseassecsscccsssactscsscessessersscssscsassccesccee-o Lol | Wason, HIDTIO ge... 2... .....cesccssescascencceas discaaastvocassessteshst’s 878 
RILAESOTIMOHIVOR Obb- rec cestcscss <coscoscuc sce Uoscaeecle ceeeecesieccoees seis 727 | Wentworth Family (The)...............06 sae's coiceaa deedapenwasvese 968 
Stetson, J. A............ Sedasiee Riessanejeadaacee® RCOLCBSACOROSIG CORREO OEE SOMME UOT Mop NG coancnscses slacicencioecensicescealesncenieececncesiscneacers 535 
Stone, Ebenezer.......... Seer cean ce soctcleseeaesteecearcrareseectesece LAN) Jt WEG IMO EO \GCOLLO sc ccccvcecsveccsccasedencoe.oseecesdeis dass netsees 492 
Stone, Eliphalet...............0. code conadd cosEceaHOdasannoce pecesenc 107 VALI s TN Tg: Uhis5-605 anéaas toons aa eancos oan ag SS NOT aAEA aK 139 
SL isVPHILAITE Desteses fosestee: cnesscesdececsesarcsize>seceneshesee PO LM lee VV Ibes HOM ASencncsocclecocssancidscnencae cnccsriceccnrace ncncas wdvtnews - 438 
Patt, Hera W.;.<scs-sssls02s0 eeeeese SD SSCOORCC ONO sponticecnnoseaonoane cD Gh WERE IG WAN neeee ciocens sisueoes coneseieaescdesspanieceadereclereaseese 110 
SEEN O LM AEN CN ocenent-ns-ceslswconscsn/sococcesseevnscvestccvescctlccssec Ai a WIG e CHAT CS  sccusccescveccarssssecescieanseusselcsrcciswansiactecetiecsres 874 
piveny Cree Daya cece nnsarerakescatlseserciceesseccesuescles scolleesss cases PLS GCM es HC WAG! UAt cs esieswss cic ccne'svaniseeiess ve. cciesee beeen omereneneees 876 
Mince rawhinanie iseesseres ce -Wecceerescueciescieresanc-cesdcesscoredsecsccese) DLO | NVOLCO Lis: HugE\sconcecesjnoseccewnenasaaresescinscecsisorascinscecouesisnseee 779 
Siprredilees ales eeeereeccacs caesssteredencessceceoerorcerecseadcoscssseem mOLON | WOOG sm EL CN DY nccacceinanon scecrelesvestaeccelsaasericosensinescmneneasens . 490 
PROTO Yai IMES peciss(seseressescesceescacens cece soarooconaanacesuedacs 62051) Worthinoton pHrastus:..-.sces|o-c scons cossueaoscnscersseirssescioeatee 25 

WWictles | Martin cc cccsssn-cocaesee =o asboro desconéicouseto anaes cosccoten 414 | 
PAGE PAGE 
PAC ANNs OM Nemseavens saccossce vo sveninceccsase\veesconet sansorscs facing: 320) ||) Draper; James.c\ccc..ccocescnose ss voces swaace succes oastedesees facing 967 
Ata, POL QUINCY)-2-.-:c00-0+0-cscceasccoranessaseascosse & SOS SDTV BOIS; AS He. geccoce a ciuaressdceccuccsovcertecvenceeeeeboows ss 215 
Adams, Thomas......... .cssscesesecseceeeseeeteqpersereeereees es SHO HVCLGhia CEOLLO: costes ceosteececccs <tecee ee ceecionsecoeeaecaes ce 514 
Alden, Eberezer...........ccscoessecseescccccssseccencenseeees s ZO SiH HARON HEN Cys Heeecssstcuscsecce derorscosarcdeceaces-trosees ss 377 
PAI OS mV allies ee anise accasee cocedes sctevdoecledeacscncscseedesas e Le | Hiel dy Willian’. a.ecnscecewsssiccnsacJesscbacectorcane serenees «e 381 
Atherton, James..............s0006 PREC OCECD OOS COCO LOCOS OLIENEE se AN St Wishers MriMy, oc cise. soswdnacanssstedaces sbedsaeeeseet anes fs 557 
Atherton, Samuel..............ccecsecoseececceces caresesoeees Api pc Wiskap lr MOUs ec cecessdoceaessteccsel cs sss es seaesueestaese ate 4 488 
PAUWOOG yO MeOMaCHrercaosacsicnesecee-/ovenccter cvcsacc~claaeas “ ES GU | WMISkes ISAACT cc csscsccccescsssccescncaeoscessissoconeeelacesecece es 453 
EPG Keg Se Eaeate seteeee sence cecnyeleces<2sse'a1sasneiecceceseasts) | arg GSS] ISKCON atic tasces sc ciasscescss <onsosecsice-sarteacscessontesenses 669 
Bacon, Joseph T...........cccsesesccoscossseece secscecccssoneee es GOP) Mace Solo Oni... .cc.c.ccvcssasiseccosccs <ectceeonesitacess ses ss 489 
SEXP CE AD AMT G Use P cae siecle scaiscsecscacinciecNaiseccssevieckoncess ee DOSS | HOP TDA VIGUSc5-cores-cos osisecscesoncssscveccmeescraceeseessei E 515 
SATO WSs A OMIAS ss cseslecenseisccccceceneracessiessevler ees between 92, 93 HO ROOMS ic catcarwaruosecbcssssanass signee seers reece cose ere? ob 615 
Esse maT SMD sce FALE, 3 Seals nyeed foe UcedaucsSseussesse facing 618 | Frederick, Eleazer................. i: toeeieine nae «382 
‘Bird, Francis’ W)..:........ Beamer ecusnee cdeslsweviaise Teclesececese §s 2 9ele Breneh- Charles: Hesc..ccsscccevsscccs sascsetscsucsoreeccucceen: b 960 
> Blake GhEOLPO) Lye csesscearacscassascocarcesssennecisossenasnense ce 883, | (Gastons \Williambt-cc: .c-cc.c0s+0esceses veseeessose-cceceeoceee ee 21 
Bem T Os OD EE reccoces slavscscesc'sooccslocccesacsiveesssi0=-resie~= s DEI |e Grae yard ne Wisseanaieas sjesiwesissacisl ose ns ccecins scealenesecses between 110, 111 
‘ “‘ Boylston Place,’ Residence of Henry Lee............ se SHO Gini crs. Wheartiag p Ph soe soe oho) onc wa dacewaw che cutee facing 871 
‘ Burgess, Hbemezer ........ss0nscseescoccececeesecscersseee cee é QOH Own SmVWNE DUD cc eds snesctccwcorecestineeeselsncosncscesace ecco és 471 
: Bullard, JOMMN.........c.ccccsecorsesenssoe, one SoocnHON GAAaSAce * 92 | Hodges, Alfred......... ER ee wi eg 7 oe ce 708 
amd are ReiGrs Was. .ceacciesccossncrselsseose sasve-sneessloenee ROS | SHOUT OS m DEN] AMIN s.csece.cinetesssecnccessseeissasoetbsaussocd a: TN6 
; Canton Memorial Hall............ ..c00. severe orccensesceeees * Gol Hodges, Meonard:2...<cc.-+--0---+e+ee)s Sbeeaseciacsssseaceeces s 418 
; Capen, Nahum .........cceceseenceeceeseceec nesses see seeeee ces s J Gain GUS ek se Me Wallllescceceesacsastiscecssens sores taeaercssnccceese ee ss 705 
Carpenter, J. B.......cc.ecce ceeeeecencen scenes tecenceseteenes ee MOSeye tod mess, William SA... Jesctccccs cose ve cceeventocen. conteccecsss cs 386 
Chapman, 0. S.........c:.secccececeee cece eeceee seeeesceaees cee is 962" | olbrook:, (Am Os Hiss. .c..sj:<ssesesscsesescesreceseessslucocssest Be 158 
bm eH WAM OSs. nc. .0cecs cc 0cce cacdacescerensesioseersianncense & TOUMUE EL OLDTOO Keb Ns soracsicccccccss/esiccae covcestecoesseereasseceee es 437 
Churchill, C. C........0.c0scescscceoes coccecece coscccese betweensl0S 109) is Hollies worth, BAe. cre ....ccecersesesrvsieccsassese oscars G2 132 
@lapps UUCIUS2.c5,..c-c----aa2c.ccaoseras conus osseonseeiseeseree= PACING mea Co VOLES; Wathen. .s.ccs2selssscesnce)cwsrtowstecsssencnlecnas> 473 
Clark, Joseph W........0 cscs scsecosce sevees seeceeee pepoeae “ 102. Hunnewell, H. H., Residence and Views of Grounds.. 478-480 
Cleveland, Ura... .....20.ccces cesses ccvercces occcseee=csccosess £ NOM EELON ey eA PP lelONe.acccecscaceseiesnsewinescsnitecesicladecsesaacese facing 612 
Wilbur OVW ald Oreccecescsescescessleacsacieeranasacncesarlaences= os Dar SAIN SOW, PAL VAN nes -oswinse cs riec-reclcacccins esosecae sccanicecees fe 99 
Wag kw OracenUincsececisaseccoccnenesnisnencsenssssines sph ot agNOee aa Gia) elitiverence; A A”, IueSId ence: (Of.csscensiccnceseaeaan tomes 859 
WOOK Na THAN TA cacacescccccssiusss cs sesveiscescielensasnjsnes ens sé 5 Spe rincolyers aives Dc: ossieceses awecessestveesseeereceses between 670, 671 
CHL TiO sass econconsoconccocad Saeooduco EA ane oo Oca ss ADE | Miliny ons Bis TAV.ks co setecanbsiavis svianisecesssicessesiesecigeeesecce(oaeses facing 539 
Wurtiss Daniel Des. cc ccscoccieccecoccsearoes asanesiaveess cers o AD De anti G COLPOME ecessccccscesnoucineeccectalecs sasjenceecieccee= id 470 
Davis, RiODELE S...s.2.<ocscassococcec tenes ccese veces cose csse sf SoD eManstields Williatier-.cuetscs\orecsce tcc ecestinwctecescseecace s 963 
Weare TAnGis \W escreiccsestiocecorscclssace) caaccslsvesssica sone « Oita |) McDonnell) Patrick:cccv..2<.ccccssevessesocnescsecessecoecss oe 384 
Wrziera Vien Ceceernsccarenccacc cscaceiscises's cvencciscieshe/ccanem seo DD GUE Monks Bilish’ah Ce occsccccen nse ccontoeccjacesectceoereswsveseiter se 422 














xil ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE PAGE 
OY Koy wl tio) + a. Ce Agnocage Sieecadehcnsabceats ccna casera scdacing U34! | (Stone, Hbenezer....s.s.cececccraeccsconssesassccsesccosociscosest ACN DME 
Morrison, A. S......0+00 Kiar te eenenry cRateeee e e » © 185: |" Stone, Wliphalet..cess,-<r-++4: vecuena edtensirics MOSSE . ane 
Wronnisoniep Deeiicsceaciactesaseaccecesesaceatsasesarieesohtwescs sé 136) |; Stuart; Williamivd).2.t.ce.c..ccascececossescnesscnctveessvacercoiminas 917 
OTE OM ENNAN WAterccaceusccieresticese\secssceaar« teccracs fidag UE 965 | Taft, Ezra W....... Co Ancnoc soSanoNNANA aatagsceseoennctsnenonten bd 106 
Morse, Otis.........- Seperncanesiernacvieceacseomcsecess moeaneseaes “ HIGH MalbotssWiarrenivesss ecareessassaccets peecoccor seoveeee, Detween 472, 473 
INO V.GE pOATIUOL Descaccercnscrancescecionacascas codoreacdbeea00c 6 20/a| eittrauven. uD a yada mest eee seen eee Roccrssteamiee . facing 137 
Orr Galen cccccraccsesccvesccrecclurcecrncccecucesscivnsence senses ce 538 | Tinker, Francis........ Sescgessensne a dassceaiceeceaieabees between 514, 515 
Parsons, THOMAS. ........0..scccceeees Sacond aes S81) Mince sim Os secemmesseeeenienseee ese nogenocd Seeaosast * 612768 
Paul, Hbenezer..........0....00 Dae ceecenanye aaeeee eee wes ott LOOM einrell Wino teeeeanstremesciacasesteess coleeeeensasoneteaces ) 1612563, 
POINCe  ELODTY:ccacsscnnsaccscacee= Saas cstecissaessiencecslececnas ciao 880. || "Norrey,, Jamesyesecntctsacccrie nerd eteenteee ..facing 620 
Pierce, Edward L......... Peecediacsemesereredsuacsscisnseacese a6 Gt |) Wises; s Man LIN easn-cecsciessnescers=ndeecnssesnatedasenes ie co 414 
rence melennyslusscrccs. corecesskcccsccssvasesesiestes re (Co A110 Wiles) Naitihanie] sesaeeeeaeer ese eee sent eeeeee Reece le 
AT ONGOseOlOSSOscececiacccaracs[cesseclacecceonclsnessincaaate sauseees ce 408"|' "Ware; JOsiah;.c.c.scciseessnececeseeteccerecenesccenecenmenees ae 976 
BOTUEK RODEN asacssesucccesvisccccciccsccscssircccceacclsowscsces ob 425) | Wiatner SAMUCl..coccccsteassescsenneceeroscer deesecsvnccscsae mines 20 
Vay TICS ULisn snoenaqsie veretecssleceseccnassesissasscirsocecinase < 1845\\ Washburn) eAndrewn-cqccsctceccceronessteenescesnenineee con | 918 
Ray, JOSCPH Gea... .e.. cece eccccnee ccanecsesssccscacssoscseers se TS5y Wiason se Mlbrid ce rensaeseseseresers BR ISCEANSDSOIHD adagURICONIC 3 ESS 878 
uc Hun SMV OSOS\serocseciasscrssscitocecccesisosocaeasseslnesees ao 472, | Wellesley College: . sc. -cssupsecscnsceeseestconeses BEE CONSE D510000 CONC « 482 
Richardson, Stephen W........2.00.+.0.+sse0 Pepe ecenieeses es 187 | Wellesley College, Hast Lodge.............-..s-0 eieceees poccenno “teks 
DATIFOU COREL ec cccccccecisssovelestesviessees svecccse aideloeeoeeest se 555 | Wellesley College, Library...............s0s-ss00 Sscevcseteceeeeeseloo 
Sargent, James H..............ccescscssescescesee veoses sooees “ 560 | Wellesley College of Music............0.-ssss00- Bosdadio 0200 Bpeceeao. i 
SSHoinee NSN AINE leet ayienccasasceescatcescsiroccdsiesseaivoccier lit « 613, |) Wellesley College (Stonte) Hall ece.:wccccsccnecetseceraseeiean sees . 486 
Ried GHBEUN OM Sass coscecerce-clesececanccctecacecessicesdecese a ot 671 | Wellesley Town Hall and Library.............0.s.s+00 facing 477 
PME PAN, IAMES S........c-csacocrease cerca sacserensssssoness © 964 | Wentworth, Edwin...... ious ae ducdoes evs eeeteccmeecenleeeeemed 969 
ORO UBTIOMV LAM vars crenesancdesciastasdascrepicedeses -between 670, 671 | Wentworth, Nathaniel.......... Bpodaddcioocedun ad.cuacconse ee 968 
SRG) ODearccsel cases doeccse(cnce sc casisoccsccecaceorclccsese facing 707 | Whitaker, EB. K.............. ci visage setae s/ealeeeacneecettenaeee see 536 
Seas, (CE REA pocecasscas socobe cooace0d0de Hacaoboseccooscoos fe 107 | White, Judge George...........06 SOGRaNGUBCObOOKoscOo ener ee 492 
SinnliNs TIEROGX¢ aces eodancadocadkoscoeccococde eUCScLeeeanenoaGe |) OQ. | Wihite; IN. Wii... dis.ccsssitoseescosvesscelssneteureccaensesd atte mms 139 
RUIN UHM MINA Neer scssectescccsescicicessectsneancem ses saescecies ss DISa MAW shite, MEN OM ASsececciccsscsisscses BOD OIOS CHERCO LoubSONSO O6oKIIC e 438 
SOUL WORTH APA IN aNa.cas.sccclececocseeciocasccetsesocclorecceseen iar 421 | IWihitin oe eHidiwits ence astorscsssecteecomanceseenacsactare between 110, 111 
DU MULW ONE N CONSICOD scacccsssieceracencisceceseselcersescnslecl= Ys 419 | Wild, Charles.........0c00+-.c-ce- RE Renee ccch Coton facing 874 
Southgate, George A........ BGenCooe: codasD podabcosdiaaDoos0N6 oe 0.903) Wald Hidiwand ACs cccriscescecrsiedconnisnesssiecenccice senate 876 
PAMIAINS i COTODON).coserineccociecmecsisscnscivsreselececsses/sae ss 970 | Wood, Henry............ nadie asa: Medora Sis00c001) poo Se 490 
MINELSOLIMMUA LGD asc cncseccececerciacctansesleoscecise<csevecsiiocs corn es DSies| WWrolcott, oH. W.. csscssesccsicesscencwesee dectectseenceremmmnme eg 779 
Stetson, Hverett...........ceccsssorsossees sasenererseticeccoses sf (2a | sWiorthine tons Hrastusscascsascsscsrcccscsscsiadetetesest oe 25 
PIUOUSOM tulle Alsasccescislesesasioseacciesisescsesisose dew sislecesslene sais ce 376 

° 







Aa} x st z 


DZ 
Nori 









ot \ j 
5 19, ma faba: may igo 


fh re 
sedi fa del D a Wrautham 
P.O iad 


oe i ta “Wreldonv'e ) 


% 


nee Mest 
\ # Tani ssville ) Wreretuain Dian eS 
4 (se 


sf 


RHODE ISLAND \~ | Pinte’ 


he 


_/WR THAM 


ia 
Sth Birgintree - 
et j 


TDodlbrook: I 










‘s Fon 


“AP Me 







ee 




















= 


B UD N TY 
MASS ‘ 


Ae Pe 
Engraved Expressly for this Work. 











Ne OE hy Cor Oa: 


BY NAHUM 


THAT divisions and subdivisions of extended terri- 
tory, of increasing population and the multiplying 


wants of society are necessary for safe and economic © 
efficiency, are truths almost too obvious to require | 


elucidation. In these are to be found the outlines of 
Their importance was fully exemplified in the reign 
of Alfred the Great of England’. The Puritans and 
the Pilgrims had no choice but to adopt such a system 
that they might hold their possessions as they ac- 
quired them by purchase or otherwise, and preserve 
their authority as they had means to establish it with 
an increasing population. 
was recognized as a part of their community without 
The terms first adopted were 
modified from time to time, according to their grow- 
ing importance. Under the monarchy of Great 


No individual nor family 


a registered permit. 


_ Britain the American continent was divided into 


provinces, or colonies, and these were subdivided into 
towns and counties. 
Before Massachusetts was nominally divided into 


CAPEN, LL.D. 


| things for the General Court amongst the three Regi- 
ments, is to be carried by the deputies to the freemen 


} 


| 


of every towne, and their answer returned to the 
next session of this Court.” Winthrop’s Journal of 


May 16, 1639, says, “two Regiments in the Bay 
republican strength necessary to a permanent union. | 





mustered at Boston.” Evidently the phrase “in the 
bay” “then excluded soldiers who belonged to what 
was afterwards called Essex County. Hence regi- 
ment at these dates denoted an equal number of gen- 


_ eral and territorial divisions in the colony.” ” 


The following statistics of Norfolk County repre- 
sent the towns as they stood from 1793 to 1868, 


when Hyde Park was taken from Dorchester, Ded- 


counties, in 1643, it appears to have had such divis- 


ions, designated by the term regiments. Under the 
date of Oct. 7, 1641, in General Court records is the 


uties for a yeare, and transacting and preparing all | 





ham, and Milton, and incorporated April 22, 1868. 
Norfolk was taken from Wrentham, Franklin, Med- 
way, and Walpole, and incorporated Feb. 23, 1870. 
Norwood was taken from Dedham and Walpole, and 
incorporated Feb. 23, 1872. Holbrook was taken 
from Randolph, and incorporated Feb. 29, 1872. 
Wellesley was taken from Needham, and incorporated 
April 6, 1881. 

Norfolk County was taken from Suffolk County, 
March 26, 1793. It was bounded northeast by Bos- 


_ton harbor, north by Suffolk County, west by south- 
following passage : ‘The proposition of choosing dep- | 


east part of Worcester County, south by the northeast 
part of Rhode Island, and southeast and east by the 


counties of Bristol and Plymouth.’ 


1 After Alfred had subdued and had settled or expelled the | 


Danes, he found the kingdom in the most wretched condition; 
desolated by the ravages of those barbarians and thrown into 
disorders which were calculated to perpetuate its misery. 


“These were the evils for which it was necessary that the 
vigilance and activity of Alfred should provide a remedy. 

“That he might render the execution of justice strict and 
regular, he divided all England into counties; these counties he 
subdivided into hundreds, and the hundreds into tithings. 
Every householder was answerable for the behaviour of his 
family and slaves, and even of his guests if they lived above 
three days in his house. Ten neighboring householders were 
formed into one corporation, who, under the name of a tithing, 


Number of square miles, 4495. 
Population: 1790, 23,878; 1800, 27,216; 1810, 


31,245 ; 1820, 36,471 ; 1830, 41,901 ; 1840, 53,140 ; 


1850, 78,892 ; 1860, 109,950 ; 1870, 51,286 ; 1880, 


| 70,9224 


County town, Dedham. Number of towns, 27, 
less Dorchester and Roxbury, annexed to Boston, 
viz.: Bellingham, Braintree, Brookline, Canton, Co- 
hasset, Dedham, Dorchester, Dover, Foxborough, 


| Franklin, Holbrook, Hyde Park, Medfield, Medway, 


decennary, or fribourg, were answerable for each other’s con- | 


duct, and over whom one person, called a tithing-man, head- 
bourg, or borsholder, was appointed to preside. 
was punished as an outlaw who did not register himself in some 
tithing. And no man could change his habitation without a 
warrant or certificate from the horsholder of the tithing to 
which he formerly belonged.” —Hume, vol. i. pp. 70, 71. 

i 


Every man 


Milton, Needham, Norfolk, Norwood, Quincy, Ran- 
dolph, Roxbury, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Wel-# 
lesley, Weymouth, Wrentham. 





2 Mass. State Records, vol. i. p. 26. Edited by Nahum Capen. 

3 Mass. State Record, 1847, vol. i. p. 26. 

4 These figures will be varied by the annexation of Rox- 
bury, West Roxbury, and Dorchester to Boston. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Bellingham was set off from Dedham and incorpo- 
rated as a town in 1719. It lies eighteen miles 
southwest from Dedham, seventeen north by west 
from Providence, R. I., and twenty-eight southwest 
from Boston. 

Braintree formerly included Quincy and Randolph, 
and was at first called Mount Wollaston, the first 
settlement of which was in 1625. Braintree was 
incorporated in 1640. It lies ten miles south by 
east from Boston, and twelve east by south from 
Dorchester. 

Brookline, before its incorporation in 1705, be- 
longed to Boston. It is four miles southwest from 
Boston, and five miles north-northeast from Ded- 
ham. 

Canton was originally the south precinct of Dor- 
- chester, the first parish of Stoughton, called Dorches- 
ter Village. It was incorporated in 1797. It is 
fourteen miles south by west from Boston, and six 
miles southeast from Dedham. 

Cohasset was originally a part of Hingham. It 
was incorporated in 1770. 

The settlement of Dedham commenced in 1635. 
Dedham is the shire-town of the county, and lies ten 
miles southwest from Boston, thirty-five east from 
Worcester, thirty-five northwest from Plymouth, 
twenty-six north by west from Taunton, and thirty 
north-northeast from Providence." 

Dorchester was incorporated in 1630, annexed to 
Boston at different periods, and now makes a part of 
Suffolk County. 

Dover was originally a part of Dedham. It was 
incorporated as a precinct in 1748, and as a town in 
1784. 


teen southwest from Boston. 


It is five miles west from Dedham, and four- 


Foxborough was settled previous to 1700, and 
was formerly a part of Wrentham, Walpole, and 
Stoughton. 

Franklin was set off from Wrentham in 1737 as 
a distinct parish, and incorporated as a town, and 
named in honor of Dr. Franklin, in 1778.’ 


1 See History of Dedham, by Erastus Worthington, Esq. 
2“The name was selected in honor of Benjamin Franklin, 
LL.D. 


Boston wrote to him that a town in the vicinity of Boston had 


While Dr. Franklin was in France, a friend of his in 


chosen his name, by which to be known in the world, and he 
presumed, as it had no bell with which to summon the people 


to meeting on the Sabbath, a present of such an instrument 


from him would be very acceptable, especially as they were | 


about erecting a new meeting-house. The doctor wrote, in re- 


ply, that he presumed the people in Franklin were more fond 


of sense than of sound ; and accordingly presented them with | 


a handsome donation of books for the use of the parish.”— 


Smalley’s Centennial Sermon. 





Centre Village, twenty-seven miles southwest from 
Boston, and seventeen southwest from Dedham. 

Medfield was originally a part of Dedham. It 
was incorporated in 1650. It lies eight miles south- 
west from Dedham, and seventeen southwest from 
Boston. 

Medway was originally a part of Medfield. It 
was incorporated in 1713. It lies twenty-four miles 
southwest from Boston, and fourteen southwest from 
Dedham. 

The Indian name of Milton was said to have been 
Uncataquisset. The town of Dorchester in 1662 
voted that Unquety should be a township, and it was 
incorporated in 1662. It lies seven miles from 
Boston, and six east from Dedham. 

Needham was originally a part of Dedham. It 
was incorporated in 1711. It lies five miles north- 
west from Dedham, and by Worcester Railroad 
thirteen miles southwest from Boston. 

Quincy was originally the first parish in Braintree. 
It was first settled in 1625. It lies eight miles south 
by east from Boston, and ten east from Dedham. 

Randolph was originally a part of Braintree. It 
was incorporated in 1793. It was named in honor 
of Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, the first president 
of the American Congress. It lies fourteen miles 
south from Boston, and twelve southeast from Dedham. : 

Roxbury was incorporated in 1630. Roxbury and 
West Roxbury now make a part of Boston and Suf- 
folk County. 

Sharon was originally the second parish of Stough- 
It was incorporated in 1765. It was first 
named Stoughtonham, but it was soon changed to 
Sharon. 
from Boston, and nine south from Dedham. 

Stoughton was originally a part of Dorchester, 


ton. 


It is seventeen miles by railroad southwest 


and embraced within its limits the towns of Canton, 
Sharon, and Foxborough. 
1726. It lies eighteen miles south from Boston, and 
ten southeast from Dedham. 


It was incorporated in 


Walpole was originally a part of Dedham. It was 
incorporated in 1724. South Village is three miles 
from the Kast Village, and the East is nine miles 
south by west from Dedham, and nineteen southwest 
from Boston. 

Weymouth, the Wessagussett of the Indians, is 
the 


Plymouth. 


oldest settlement in Massachusetts except 
It lies eleven miles south by east from 
Boston, and fourteen southeast from Dedham. 


It 


was set off in 1661, and incorporated as a town in 


Wrentham was originally a part of Dedham. 


1673. It lies twenty-seven miles south-southwest from 
Boston, and seventeen south-southwest from Dedham. 








INTRODUCTION. 


It is a beneficent provision of Providence that 
society is divided and subdivided into circles, whether 
of a political, industrial, moral, domestic, social, or 
religious nature. Each circle has its centre, from 
which emanate its own peculiar influences, and which 
are reflected back from its circumference. This is 
true of the county, although the political organiza- 
tion of a county affords but few opportunities to its 
inhabitants to distinguish themselves either officially 
or as citizens. 
extent, and character. And yet, if we turn to his- 
tory, we find numerous examples of remarkable 
events within the smaller circles leading to great re- 
sults in the larger. This truth was fully exempli- 
fied in the action of committees, town-meetings, and 


can Revolution. Such action was natural, easy, con- 
venient, and practicable, party-men acting together 
in the same neighborhood, town, or county. Some 


of the most important measures of the Revolution | 
originated in the committee, the town-meeting, or in | 


the county convention.” Several of the counties of 
Massachusetts held conventions, and some of the 
most spirited and patriotic resolutions were passed. 
The Provincial Congress was recommended by these 


county conventions and the Continental Congress | 


‘ boldly sustained. 

At this critical and alarming period no county 
distinguished itself for intelligence and patriotism 
more than the inhabitants of Norfolk County. 


“Ata meeting of the Delegates of every Town and District | 
of the County of Suffolk [which embraced the towns now Nor- | 
folk County], on Tuesday, the 6th of September, 1774, at the | 


house of Mr. Richard Woodward, of Dedham; and by ad- 
journment at the house of Mr. Vose, of Milton, on Friday, 
the 9th of September. 

“Joseph Palmer, Esquire, being chosen Moderator, and Wil- 
liam Thompson, Esq., Clerk. 

“A Committee was chosen to bring in a Report to the Con- 





1 The Puritans did not allow the people to plead distance as 


an excuse for non-attendance at church. The following item | 


is taken from the town records of Ipswich, Mass.: “1661. As 


Still, it is alive to its own interests, | 








| line; Doctor Samuel Gardner, Milton; 
county conventions in the earlier days of the Ameri- | 


3 








vention; and the following being several times read, and put, 
paragraph by paragraph, was unanimously voted.’ 3 


The committee reported nineteen resolutions, re- 
citing the grievances of the colonies and recommend- 
ing uncompromising action, and boldly appealed to 
the people to defend their constitutional rights.‘ 


“At a Meeting of Delegates from several Towns and Dis- 
tricts in the county of Suffolk, held at Milton, on Friday, the 
9th of September, 1774. 

* Voted, that Dr. Joseph Warren and Dr. Benjamin Church, 
of Boston; Deacon Joseph Palmer, Germantown ; Captain Lem- 
uel Robinson, Dorchester ; Colonel Ebenezer Thayer, Braintree ; 
Captain William Heath, Roxbury; William Holden, Esq., 
Dorchester; Colonel William Taylor, Milton; Captain John 
Homans, Dorchester; Isaac Gardner, Esq., Brookline; Mr. 
Richard Woodward, Dedham; Captain Benjamin White, Brook- 
Nathaniel Sumner, 
Esq., Dedham; and Captain Thomas Aspinwall, Brookline, be 
a Committee to wait upon his Excellency, the Governor, to 
inform him that the people of this county are alarmed at the 
fortifications making on Boston Neck, and to remonstrate 
against the same; and the repeated insults offered by the sol- 
diery to persons passing and repassing into that town, and to 
confer with him upon these subjects. 

“Attest, WILLIAM THoMmpsON, Clerk.”’ 


The committee prepared a communication to Gov- 
ernor Gage, and he replied to it, but his reply was 
deemed unsatisfactory, and it was voted to insert the 
correspondence in the public papers.° 

In August, 1774, the grand jurors of this county 
and the petit jurors unanimously refused to be sworn 
because of the late tyrannical acts of the British 
Parliament, and publicly gave their reasons. Of the 
twenty-two in number, six were from Boston, and 
sixteen were from the towns, now Norfolk County, 
VIZ. : 

Ebenezer Hancock, Boston ; Samuel Hobart, Hing- 


_ ham ; Peter Boyer, Boston ; Joseph Pool, Weymouth ; 


Joseph Hall, Boston; William Bullard, Dedham ; 
Thomas Craft, Jr., Boston ; Jonathan Day, Needham ; 
James Ivers, Boston; Abijah Upham, Stoughton; 
Paul Revere, Boston; Moses Richardson, Medway ; 


Robert Williams, Roxbury; Henry Plympton, Med- 


an inhabitant of Ipswich, living at a distance, absented him- | 


self with his wife from public worship, the General Court em- 


ower the ‘Seven men’ (the town authorities) to sell his farm, | 
Pp , 


so that they may live nearer the sanctuary, and be able more 
conveniently to attend on its religious services.” 
2 In his letter to the Abbé De Mably, John Adams says,— 
“The consequences of these institutions have been, that the 
inhabitants having acquired from their infancy the habit of 
discussing, of deliberating, and of judging of public affairs, 


it was in these assemblies of towns or districts that the senti- | 
ments of the people were formed in the first place, and there | 


resolutions were taken from the beginning to the end of the 
disputes and the war with Great Britain.””—John Adams, vol. 
v. p. 495. 


field; William Thompson, Brookline; Lemuel Hal- 
lock, Wrentham; Abraham Wheeler, Dorchester ; 
Joseph Willet, Walpole; Joseph Jones, Milton; 
Thomas Pratt, Chelsea; Nathaniel Belcher, Brain- 
tree; Nicholas Book, Bellingham. 

The names of the petit jurors are given, but not 
the towns from which they came.® 

The county is an important part of the common- 





3 American Archives, vol. i. p. 776. 
£ These resolutions are too long to be copied. They may be 
found in American Archives, vol. i. p. 776. 

5 See American Archives, vol. i. pp. 779-782. 

6 See ibid., pp. 747-49. 


4 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





wealth, and the ambition of its officials is to make 
reports of the people not only favorable to themselves, 
but creditable by comparison with other counties. It 
has a natural ambition and a commendable pride in 
its courts and institutions to see that justice is promptly 
administered, the criminal secured, the wicked re- 
formed, the weak defended against the strong, the 
widow wisely advised, the orphan protected. 
authority adjusts the highways from town to town, 
builds the bridges, and decides upon the convenience 
and interests of the people who have occasion to 
travel within its boundaries. ‘The farmers and the 
learned professions associate within county limits to 
perfect themselves, each class in its own way, by 
making common stock of individual experience, and 
by discussing doubtful questions. The fruits of such 
associations in due time are extended to the com- 
monwealth and to the nation, either by the press or 
conventions. 

Norfolk County can boast of one organization, 
such as cannot be found in New England, viz., “ The 
Stoughton Musical Society.” It was organized by 
leading men of Norfolk County, Nov. 7, 1786, and it 
is said to be, of the kind, the oldest in the United 
States. 

It adopted a constitution of nine articles, denomi- 
nated ‘ Regulations.” 

The following extracts “indicate the moral and 
artistic character of the association :” 


“Bvery member shall behave with Decency, Politeness, and 
Dignity; and whosoever behaves disorderly shall be punished 
according to the nature of his offence, as the society shall 
order. 

“There shall be a Committee chosen, who shall examine all 
persons who shall wish to join the Society, and no one shall be 
admitted without their approbation.” 


To these regulations the following names were 
subscribed : 


Elijah Dunbar, Esq., Enoch Leonard, Capt. Samuel | 


Talbot, Samuel Capen (2d), Nathan Crane, Thomas 
Crane, Elijah Crane, James Capen, Joseph Smith (4th), 


Uriah Leonard, Samuel Dunbar, Jonathan Capen, | 


Andrew Capen, Isaac Horton, Thomas Capen, Sam- 
uel Tolman (deacon), Joseph Richards, Jr., George 
Wadsworth, David Wadsworth, John D. Dunbar, 
Peter Crane, Lemuel Fisher, Jonathan Billings, Jesse 
Billings, Atherton Wales. 

22, 


At a meeting, Nov. 1786, the following were 


chosen officers of the society : 


Capen, register (or secretary); Capt. Samuel Talbot, 


Its | 
| first publication in 1829, “The Stoughton Collec- 





Committee of Examination: Elijah Dunbar, Esq., 
Capt. Samuel Talbot, Lieut. Samuel Capen, Capt. 
Joseph Richards, Jr., Andrew Capen, Jonathan 
Capen, Enoch Leonard. 

At this meeting it was voted to purchase the 
“ Worcester Collection,’ a book which had been 
recently published by Isaiah Thomas,—the first type 
music published in America. The society issued its 
tion,” from the press of Marsh & Capen, Boston, 
which passed through several editions, and was the 
text-book for practice by the society for many years." 
The second publication of the society was “The 
Centennial Collection,’ published by Oliver Ditson 
in 1878. 

Esquire Dunbar, as he was universally called by 
way of honorable distinction, remained president of 
the society until 1808, and was succeeded by Capt. 
Talbot, who held the office until 1818. 

In 1787 a new constitution was adopted. In the 
preamble the value of the cultivation of vocal music 
by man, “who is of that elevated rank of beings 
capable of sounding forth the praise of God,” was 
asserted, declaring it a recognized duty “to study to 
promote that harmony which is pleasing to our Maker, 
and so delightful to ourselves.” 

In 1801 another constitution was adopted, in 
which the members pledged themselves anew to the 
duty of the study and practice of vocal music as a 
“Divine institution, promotive of friendship and 
sociability.” 

The constitution was again revised in 1872. Since 
1825 the annual meeting has been held the 25th 
December, Christmas afternoon and evening; dinner 
at five o’clock, and a grand concert in the evening 
with a selected programme from ancient and modern 
authors. 

The society now numbers about five hundred mem- 
bers, resident chiefly in Stoughton, Canton, Sharon, 
Randolph, Braintree, Weymouth, Milton, Abington, 
Brockton, Easton, and Quincy. The attendance of 
members at these annual meetings is often above 


three hundred, ‘joyously uniting their voices,” to 


quote the language of President Battles, “in the 


swelling strains of the precise tunes, words, and 


notes which were sung by their predecessors nearly 
a hundred years ago.” 
The present government of the society (1884) is 


as follows: 
Elijah Dunbar, Esq., president; Lieut. Samuel | 


vice-president ; Joseph Smith (4th), first treasurer ; 


Andrew Capen, second treasurer. 


Winslow Battles (Randolph), president; T. H. 


1Tts preface and introduction were prepared by Nahum 
Capen. 





THE BENCH AND BAR. 


5 





Dearing, M.D. (Braintree), Hon. David W. Tucker | 
(Milton), Elijah G. Capen (Stoughton), George N. 
Spear (Holbrook), Charles F. Porter (Brockton), 
vice-presidents; Daniel H. Huxford (Randolph), 
secretary; Alfred W. Witcomb (Randolph), treas- 
urer; Prof. Hiram Wilde (Boston), conductor ; 
George N. Spear (Holbrook), vice-conductor ; 
Lucius H. Packard (Stoughton), George R. Whitney — 
(Brockton), George N. Spear (Holbrook), executive 
committee; Herman L. West (Holbrook), pianist. 

Not to notice such a society in this introduction 
would be an unpardonable omission. Some of its 
leading members, from its organization to the present 
time, are numbered as among the most distinguished 
citizens of Norfolk County. 

As natives or residents of this county may be men- 
tioned the illustrious names of John Hancock, John 


and in the honorable success of its citizens, however 
and wherever engaged. This is natural. Beginning 
with the family, what mother could find children 
superior to her own, a medical adviser more skillful 
than her physician, or a religious teacher more attrac- 
tive and eloquent than the minister of her own parish ? 

Enter what circle we please, all is centred in what 
we have, in what we think, and in what we do, and 
in the place where we live. 

This is as it should be. 
of things. 


It is in the constitution 
If we do not care for our own, or our 
surroundings, who could be found to care for us? 
But, in boasting of what is personal, selfish, or local, 
let us not narrow the habits of the mind. Let us 


_ not forget that we are capable of expanding our sense 


Adams, John Quincy Adams, Charles Francis Adams, | 


Gen. Joseph Warren, James Bowdoin, William Eus- 
tis, Edmund Quincy, Josiah Quincy, Capt. Roger 
Clapp, John Capen (the first in the colony to contri- 


bute money to public schools), Roger Sherman,’ Rey. | 


Dr. Emmons, Fisher Ames, Horace Mann, Erastus 
Worthington, Marshall P. Wilder, Dr. Jonathan 


Wales, Rev. T. M. Harris, Samuel D. Bradford, Ed- | 
ward Everett, A. H. Everett, John Everett, Edward — 


H. Robbins, Daniel Fisher, John Wells, ete. 
write the names as they occur to us and without order 
as to date, but to include all would too much extend 
the list for this place. 

To all the sources of gratification which are to be 
found in society, it may be added that the people 
of a county, whether by birth, residence, or associ- 
ation, become attached to one another, and have a 
common pride in all that is done within its limits, 





1 Roger Sherman lived in Canton before he removed to Con- 
necticut. 


We. 


of duty, our affections and generous considerations, 
from the smaller to the larger circles, from the town 
to the county, from the county to the commonwealth, 
and from the commonwealth to the great republic, 
the American Union.” To this broad and commend- 
able pride is to be attributed the production of the 
following pages, giving to the world a just estimate 
of the character and distinction of some of the men 
who have lived to honor Norfolk County. 





2In speaking of the American Continent, in 1776, in his 
article published nnder the title of ‘“ Common Sense,” Paine 
says,— 

“?Tis not the affair of a city, a county, a province, or a king- 
dom, but of a continent,—of at least one-eighth part of the 
habitable globe.” 


“Tn this extensive quarter of the globe we forget the narrow 
limits of three hundred and sixty miles (the extent of Eng- 
land) and carry our friendship on a larger scale; we claim 
brotherhood with every European Christian, and triumph in 
the generosity of the sentiment. 

“Tt is pleasant to observe by what regular gradations we sur- 
mount local prejudices as we enlarge our acquaintance with 
the world.”—Common Sense, pp. 33, 35. 





CHAPTER, f. 


THE BENCH AND BAR. 


BY ERASTUS WORTHINGTON, 


THE county of Norfolk was incorporated by an 
act of the General Court which passed March 26, 
1793, and took effect June 20, 1793. All the terri- 
tory of the county of Suffolk, not comprehended 
within the towns of Boston and Chelsea, was then 
erected into an entire and distinct county, with Ded- 
ham as its shire-town. The towns of Hingham and 


Hull were excepted by another act passed at the 
same session, and a few years after, those towns were 


' annexed to Plymouth County. The territory of the 


new county extended from the line between Boston 
and Roxbury, southwesterly to the Rhode Island line, 
and from Middlesex on the north, to the Old Colony 
line, excepting Hingham on the south. It was com- 
posed chiefly of towns with farming communities, 
having but few compact villages, except in the lower 
parts of Dorchester and Roxbury, which were imme- 
diately contiguous to the large town of Boston. The 
formation of a new county had been the subject of 
petitions to the General Court from the towns for 


6 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





J 
several years, based upon the obvious grounds of con- 


venience to the people in transacting the public busi- 


ness. Dedham was selected as the shire-town on 

account of its central position, and perhaps because it 

was the parent town, which once included all the 

northerly and westerly towns of the county. Med- 

field had been proposed, with the idea of uniting sev- | 
eral towns of Middlesex. At this time Dedham had 

i population of about two thousand people, mostly 

farmers, with a small central village. 

As there was no court-house, the records of the 
Supreme Judicial Court from 1794 to 1796 contin- 
ued to be kept in Boston, and the records for 1797 
and 1798 are imperfect. The first term of the Court 
of Common Pleas, then a county court, was held in 
the meeting-house in Dedham, Sept. 24, 1793, and 
the first case was committed to a jury at the April 
term, 1794. At the same term the number of actions 
entered was one hundred and sixty-six. The first 
term of the Supreme Judicial Court was held in 
August, 1794. A court-house and jail were ordered 
to be built in 1794, but they were not finished until 
1795. Both structures were of wood and have long 
since disappeared. 

Fisher Ames, in a letter to Thomas Dwight, dated 
Sept. 11, 1794, writing of Dedham, says, ‘“ Our 
city is soon to be adorned with a jail and court- 
house, provided a committee of the Sessions can be 
persuaded to hasten their snail’s gallop. I think 
I have mentioned in a former letter, that the Honor- 
able Supreme Court was to sit here in August. They 
did sit, and in tolerable good humor. ‘Two days and 
a piece finished the business. ‘The jurors could not 
but feel relief from the former burden of attending 
fifteen, sometimes thirty days in Boston.” he allu- 
sion to the humor of the judges is made more em- 
phatic in a letter written several years later, where 
he speaks of Judge Ursa Major, R. T. Paine, and 


of whom, after an uncomfortable scene in court, Mr. 





Ames once said, with reference to his deafness, that | 
‘““no man could get on there unless he came with a club 
in one hand and a speaking-trumpet in the other.” 
At the beginning of the separate existence of Nor- 
folk County, the number of lawyers practising in the 


towns must have been very few. There were not a | 





dozen lawyers in the town of Boston. Fisher Ames 
and Samuel Haven of Dedham, Horatio Townsend 
of Medfield, Thomas Williams of Roxbury, Edward | 
Hutchinson Robbins of Dorchester Lower Mills, 
Asaph Churchill of Milton, were the only attorneys | 
practising in the courts at this period. Members of | 
the bar in Suffolk, Middlesex, Worcester, and Bristol | 
then and for some years afterwards were in the habit | 


of attending the courts of Norfolk County, and of 
course had a considerable share of the practice. The 
profession was then regarded with much jealousy 
and suspicion, which found expression in the records 
of the towns of that period. Among the instructions 
given to the representative from Dedham in 1786 
occurs the following: 


“Tue Orper or LAwyers.—We are not inattentive to the 
almost universally prevailing complaints against the practice 
of the order of lawyers, and many of us too sensibly feel the 
effects of their unreasonable and extravagant exactions; we 
think their practices pernicious and their mode unconstitu- 
tional. You will therefore endeavor that such regulations be 
introduced into our courts of law that such restraints be laid on 
the order of lawyers as that we may have recourse to the 
laws and find our security and not our ruin in them. If, upon 
a fair discussion and mature deliberation, such a measure 
should appear impracticable, you are to endeavor that the order 
of lawyers be totally abolished, an alternative preferable to 
their continuing in their present mode.” 

Among the reasons urged for the division of the 
county was the belief that if the court was held in a 
country town “the wheels of law and justice would 
move on without the clogs and embarrassments of a 
numerous train of lawyers. The scenes of gayety 
and amusement which are now prevalent at Boston 
we expect would so allure them as that we should be 
rid of their perplexing officiousness.” With such a 
distrust existing in the country towns, the number of 
lawyers was no doubt kept conveniently small. 

The first meeting of the members of the bar for 
the county of Norfolk was held at the office of Sam- 
uel Haven, in Dedham, Sept. 28, 1797. 


present at this meeting Fisher Ames, who presided, 


There were 


Samuel Haven, who acted as secretary, Thomas Wil- 
liams, Horatio Townsend, and Asaph Churchill of 
the county, and Seth Hastings from Worcester, 
Laban Wheaton from Bristol, and Artemas Ward 
from Middlesex. The only business done at this 
meeting was to establish a schedule of prices for 
writs. No other meeting was held until 1802, when 
the additional names appear of William P. Whiting, 
Henry M. Lisle, Jairus Ware, John 8. Williams, 


James Richardson, and Gideon L. Thayer of Nor- 
_ folk County, with others from Bristol and Plymouth. 


It would seem from the attendance at this meeting, 
that the number of lawyers was rapidly increasing. 
In 1803, the bar adopted an elaborate code of regu- 
lations relating to the practice of law in the courts. 
From this time forward, excepting intervals of a few 
years, the bar of Norfolk County held its stated 
annual meetings down to 1853. These meetings 
were held generally for passing upon the qualifications 
of candidates for admission as attorneys to the different 
courts and of counsellors to the Supreme Judicial 








THE BENCH AND BAR. 


a 





Court, the law then requiring separate admissions as 
attorneys and counsellors to the respective courts. 


The recommendation of the bar was then a pre- | 


requisite for admission. In a few instances they ad- 
ministered discipline upon members who had brought 
disgrace upon the body by their intemperance or evil 
practices. There were also many resolutions passed 
at these meetings to provide against the infringement 
of the rights of one of the brethren by another in 
encroaching upon his field of practice. 

A very curious and suggestive record, illustrative 
of their scrupulous care upon this matter, was en- 
tered at the meeting held September, 1805, which 
shows in a striking manner how this practice of hav- 
ing offices in two places was then viewed. 


“Voted, unanimously, that the bar discountenance and will 
by no means sanction any gentleman of the profession having 
more than one office at any time in the same or different towns; 
and understanding that Perez Morton, Esq., now has an office 
in Boston, and another in Dedham, further voted that the sec- 
retary of the bar furnish Mr. Morton witha copy of this vote, 
thereby requesting him to immediately relinquish and discon- 
tinue, both directly or indirectly, either one or the other of said 
offices, The secretary is desired, if the above request to Mr. 
Morton is not complied with, to make a communication on the 
subject to the Suffolk bar.” 


There is a tradition in the county, that one of the 
justices of the County Court of Common Pleas once 
overruled a motion made by a Suffolk lawyer on the 
ground that he was an interloper. The records of bar 
meetings show, that a careful scrutiny was made not 


ouly into the qualifications and time spent in the | 


study of law of the candidates, but also into the 


| 


personal and professional conduct of each member of | 


the bar in his profession and practice. 

At this time there was but one court of general 
common law jurisdiction in the commonwealth, which 
was the Supreme Judicial Court, established July 3, 
1782. 
Court of Common Pleas, also established July 3, 
1782, whose powers and jurisdiction and number of 


There was also a county court called the 


justices were afterwards changed by several acts of | 


the General Court. 
fined to cases where the ad damnum was over £4. 
By statute 1798, chapter 24, the court was made to 
consist of a chief justice and three other justices. In 
1803 the powers and duties of the Court of General 
Sessions and of the Peace were transferred to the Court 
of Common Pleas, except as to jails and county build- 


Its original jurisdiction was con- | 


ings, accounts of county, county taxes, licenses, and | 


highways. In 1811 the commonwealth was divided 


into six circuits, and Circuit Courts were established, | 
to consist of a chief justice and two associate justices. | 
“son, one of the first members of the bar, admitted 


This court was known as the Circuit Court of Com- 





mon Pleas, and it continued until 1820, when the 
Court of Common Pleas for the commonwealth was 
established, and which existed until 1859, when the 
Superior Court was created. 

There was also another county court called the 
Court of Sessions of the Peace, which was established 
in 1782. This court consisted of the justices of the 
county, and determined all matters relative to the 
preservation of the peace and punishment of offences 
cognizable by them. In 1803 the powers and duties 
of this court were transferred to the County Court 
of Common Pleas, except those relating 
county buildings, allowing and settling county ac- 


to jails and 


counts, estimating, apportioning, and issuing warrants 
for county taxes, granting licenses, and highways. In 
1807, this court was made to consist of one chief 
justice and four associate justices in this county. By 
another act of the same year, the name of this court 
was changed to the Court of Sessions, and in 1809 
this court was abolished, and its powers and duties 
transferred to the Court of Common Pleas. In 1811 


| the Court of Sessions was restored, and again in 


1813 it was abolished, and its powers and duties 
transferred to the Circuit Court of Common Pleas. 
This last act was repealed in 1818, and the Court of 
Sessions again established. After some further legis- 
lation in 1819 and 1821, finally in 1827 the Court 
of Sessions was abolished, and the Court of County 
Commissioners established. 

These changes effected in the courts are remark- 
able and perplexing, and can only be understood with 
the explanation that they were made as one political 
party or another had the control of the Legislature. 
In 1807, Dr. Nathaniel Ames, the clerk, records that 
after passing sundry accounts, ‘an eternal adjourn- 
ment of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace 
is made according to law.” But the Court of Sessions 
was afterwards twice restored and twice abolished. 

The Probate Court has remained unchanged since 
1784, except that in 1858 it was consolidated with 
the Court of Insolvency. 

Fisher Ames died July 4, 1808. Although he 
spent the last fifteen years of his life upon his estate 
in Dedham, and had a law-office near the court-house, 
yet the state of his health was such during much of 
the time as to prevent his engaging in constant prac- 
tice, but he tried many causes before the jury, and was 
retained in some important causes in other counties. 
His fame as a statesman, orator, and political writer 
completely overshadowed his reputation as a lawyer. 
His name does not appear upon the bar records after 
1804. He had for his law partner James Richard- 


8 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








after the formation of the county. He studied law _ 


with Mr. Ames, and was admitted as an attorney of 
the Supreme Court in 1803. He always lived in 
Dedham, where he practised his profession until the 


infirmities of age withdrew him from active life. He 
at one period engaged in manufacturing business, 
which somewhat interfered with his practice. He 


before the members of the Norfolk bar, at their re- 
quest, on the “ antiquity and importance”’ of the legal 
profession, its ‘‘duties,and responsibilities ; the evils 





pher Webb, of Weymouth. All these had been ad- 
mitted as attorneys to one of the courts prior to 1820. 
Ashur Ware, afterwards judge of the United States 
District Court in Maine, had an office in Milton, 
where he lived from 1815 to 1824. At a later pe- 
riod, John W. Ames and Jonathan H. Cobb began 


practice at Dedham, Aaron Prescott at Randolph, 
was a man of excellent attainments in law and let- | 
ters, and on Feb. 25, 1837, he delivered an address | 


to which its members are exposed,” and its ‘‘ conso- | 


lations and rewards,’ which was printed. 
president of the bar for many years, and died in 
1858. 

Probably no member of the Norfolk bar ever ex- 
ercised a stronger influence in elevating its profes- 
sional standard and in making it a body deserving of 
respect and confidence, than Theron Metcalf. 
came to Dedham in 1809, having had unusual ad- 
vantages for the time, in pursuing his preparatory 
justly celebrated for the eminence of its teachers. 
period of thirty years. While nearly all his contem- 
poraries in practice at Dedham embarked in manu- 
facturing enterprises or adopted other callings, Mr. 
Metealf steadily devoted himself to the study and 


practice of his profession, although at this time it 
was not very remunerative. 


the bar association adopted a resolution expressing 
their estimation of his learning, integrity, and profes- 
sional character ; and while they regretted “ his loss 
to their fraternity, they had reason to rejoice that he 
had been called to exercise his pre-eminent talents 
and distinguished learning in a sphere more extended 
in usefulness, where the profession might be equally 
benefited.” 

Among the earlier members of the Norfolk bar 
who were contemporaneous with Mr. Richardson and 
Mr. Metcalf, may be mentioned Asaph Churchill, of 
Milton; Thomas Boylston Adams, the third son of 
President John Adams ; 
Thomas Greenleaf, of Quincy; Daniel Adams, of 


He was | 





He | 


_ present at the term of the Supreme Court. 
studies at the law-school in Litchfield, Conn., then | 


| 


| 





Warren Lovering at Medway, and Jonathan P. 
Bishop at Medfield. In 1827, Horace Mann began 
practice at Dedham, and in 1826 John J. Clarke 
began practice in Roxbury. In 1834, Ira Cleveland 
began practice in Dedham, occupying the office re- 
cently vacated by Horace Mann. Ezra W. Sampson 
had an office in Braintree for twelve years, until 
1836. Ezra Wilkinson came to Dedham about 
1835, and occupied the office with Mr. Metcalf, which 
was formerly that of Fisher Ames, opposite the court- 
house. — 

The court-house, which forms the south wing of 
the present building, was finished and occupied for 
the first time in February, 1827, the full bench being 
Chief 


Justice Parker made some complimentary remarks 


concerning the new building, and the bar gave a din- 
He remained in practice at Dedham until 1839, a | 


ner to the justices of the Supreme Court, reporter, 
attorney-general, solicitor-general, and the architect, 
Solomon Willard. The new court-house was a Gre-’ 
cian building, with porticoes at both ends, like that on 
the south wing at present. It was considered a fine 


structure for the time, and there were other court- 
At the time of his ap- | 
pointment as reporter of judicial decisions, in 1839, | 


houses in the commonwealth, designed by the same 
architect, which bore a resemblance to it in its 
architecture. The extensive enlargements of the 
court-house on the northerly end were completed in 
1861. 

The county in 1835, had been established upwards 
of forty years, during which period it had grown in 
wealth and population, and by the introduction of 
manufactures had ceased in some degree to be an ex- 
clusively agricultural county, as at its beginning. 


Some of the original members of the bar had dropped 


from the ranks, either into other callings or into re- 


Gideon L. Thayer and> 


| 


Medfield ; William Dunbar, of Canton ; Jabez Chick- | 


ering, Erastus Worthington, and John B. Derby, of 
Dedham ; Williams, John 
Samuel J. Gardner, and David A. Simmons, of Rox- 
bury; Samuel P. Loud and Abel Cushing, of Dor- 
chester; Josiah J. Fiske and Meletiah Everett, of 
Wrentham ; John King, of Randolph; and Christo- 


Thomas 


S. Williams, | 


tirement, or had removed or died. The trial of cases 
in court was about to pass into the hands of another 
generation of lawyers. In important causes in the 
Supreme Court eminent counsel from other counties, 
—among whom were Pliny Merrick of Worcester, 
Rufus Choate and Franklin Dexter of Boston—were 


sometimes retained, but it was not many years before 


a large majority of the cases were tried by Mr. Wil- 


kinson on one side, and Mr. Clarke on the other. 
For more than twenty years they were the leaders of 
the Norfolk bar. Mr. Wilkinson had acquired the 


THE BENCH 


AND BAR. 9 





reputation of being an able, upright, and learned 
lawyer, and thoroughly devoted to his profession. 
Mr. Clarke also stood deservedly high in his profes- 
sion, and was especially successful in the trial of cases 
before the jury, and had a large practice. The in- 
fluence of both these gentlemen upon the character 
of the members of the bar during their professional 
career was marked and exemplary. Mr. Wilkinson 
retired upon his appointment as a justice of the Su- 
preme Court in 1859, and Mr. Clarke a few years later 
left practice in Norfolk County,—Roxbury having 
been annexed to Boston in January, 1868. Besides 
these leaders, there were other good triers of causes 
at the bar. Among these were David A. Simmons, 
Ellis Ames, Francis Hilliard, and Asaph Churchill, 
the younger of that name. : 

The successors to the leadership of the bar, after 
the retirement of Mr. Wilkinson and Mr. Clarke, 
were William Gaston, of Roxbury, and Waldo Col- 
burn, of Dedham. Mr. Gaston was not admitted to 
practice in this county, but he studied law with Mr. 


Clarke, and practised in this county for many years, 


and considered himself a Norfolk lawyer. He was an 


eloquent and successful advocate and had an excellent | 


practice. He had removed to Boston prior to the 
annexation of Roxbury. Mr. Colburn always prac- 
tised in Dedham until he was appointed an associate 
justice of the Superior Court in 1875. He attained 
a high position in his profession as a wise counsellor, 
an able trier of causes, and a lawyer in whose hands 
the interests of his clients were always safe. 

In the decade from 1865 to 1875 the course of 
legislation and events had tended to diminish the 
legal business of the county by transferring it to the 
county of Suffolk. 
allowed actions to be brought in the county where 
either party had a place of business, had encouraged 
the members of the bar in all the towns near Boston, 


to open offices there, and therefore to bring many of | 


their actions in Suffolk County. 


were residents of this county, and gradually the choice 


A statute passed in 1854, which | 


There were many | 
clients who had places of business in Boston, but who | 


| 
| 








which this statute gave as to the place where actions | 


might be brought, was made in favor of Suffolk County. | 


Boston was becoming at this period what it has since 


actually become, a place of legal exchange for the sur- 


rounding country within a circuit of twenty miles. | 


In addition to these incidental causes, for several 
years the project of annexing the city of Roxbury to 
Boston had been agitated, and petitions presented to 


the Legislature until, by the act which took effect in | 


January, 1868, the union of the two cities was effected. | 


The loss of Roxbury was a serious one in many ways 


| 


to the county, and in nowise was the loss more 
seriously felt than in the removal of some of its best 
practitioners at the bar and the consequent withdrawal 
of their business. Mr. Clarke, Mr. Gaston, and Mr. 
John W. May, all having a good practice in Norfolk 
County, in course of time ceased to practise here alto- 
gether. In 1870 the old town of Dorchester, one of 
the best towns in the county, and in 1874 West Rox- 
bury were both annexed to Boston and taken from the 
county. The inevitable results of the removal of such 
a large proportion of the territory, valuation and busi- 
ness of the county, were to materially diminish the 
business of the courts, and to deprive the bar of many 
of its best members. 

The last recorded meeting of the bar but one, was 
held Oct. 15, 1852, when resolutions were passed 
with reference to the decease of Daniel Webster, re- 
questing the court to adjourn, and that the bar attend 
the funeral in a body, and that John J. Clarke offi- 


~ciate as marshal, and that the sheriff be requested to 


suitably drape the court-room in mourning. The last 
meeting was held in February, 1853, and was a busi- 
ness meeting relating to the purchase of books for the 
library. This is the last recorded meeting of the Nor- 
folk bar as an organized fraternity. An attempt was 
made to reorganize it some years afterwards, but with- 
out success. 

In 1815 there was formed a Law Library Associa- 
tion, which continued in existence until 1845. An 
attempt was made to reorganize it in 1860. 

In speaking of the Norfolk bar as it now exists, 
reference could be made only to those members resi- 
dent within the county and who practise in it. The 
number of such gentlemen is not larger than it was 
fifty years ago, although the number of attorneys who 
reside elsewhere and practise in the county is much 
greater. The profession has everywhere changed in its 
character during the last half-century. The fraternal 
feeling, the jealous watchfulness that no unworthy 
applicant should be admitted to the profession, the 
old-time distinctions as to leadership have all passed 
away, and nowhere is this change more clearly to be 
seen than in Norfolk County. In former times mem- 
bers who had offices in Boston and in the town of 
their residence, were censured by their brethren at bar 
meetings in formal votes. At the present time there 
is scarcely a member of the bar who has not two 
offices, one in Boston and another in the county. The 
old organization with all its traditions has passed into 
history, but beyond this it has ceased to have any 
influence upon the present time. Of the new era in 
the profession, of the character of its members, of its 
methods in the conduct of causes, of its emoluments, 


10 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





and of the rapid increase of its members, the time has 
not yet come to speak as matters of history. 

Justices of the Judicial Courts. — THERON 
METCALF was the son of Hanun and Mary Metcalf, 
and was born in Franklin, Oct. 16, 1784. He and 
his ancestors for five generations belonged to the 
county of Norfolk. At the age of seventeen years 
- he entered Brown University, where he was gradu- 
ated in 1805. After graduating, he studied law 
with Mr. Bacon, of Canterbury, Conn., and in April, 
1806, he entered the law-school at Litchfield, then a 
celebrated institution, and the only law-school in the 
United States. Here he remained until October, 
1807, when he was admitted to the bar in Connec- 
ticut. After studying a year with Hon. Seth Has- 
tings, of Mendon, he was admitted as an attorney of 
the Cireuit Court of Common Pleas in this county 
at the September term, 1808, and as counsellor of 
the Supreme Judicial Court at the October term, 
1811. He practised law for a year in Franklin, and 
removed to Dedham in 1809. 

In 1817 he became county attorney, and con- 
tinued to hold that office for twelve years, until the 
office was abolished by the statute establishing the 
office of district attorney. He was representative to 
the General Court from Dedham in 1831, 1833, and 
1834, and a senator from the county in 1835. 

In October, 1828, he opened a law-school, and 
began a course of lectures upon legal subjects in 
Dedham. He had many students, among whom 
were the late Hon. John H. Clifford, of New Bed- 
ford, and the Hon. Seth Ames, the son of Fisher 
Ames, and afterwards a justice of the Supreme 


Judicial Court. The series of papers published in 


the American Jurist and afterwards embodied in | 


his work on the “ Principles of the Law of Contracts 
as applied by the Courts of Law,” were originally 
prepared for his students. 

In December, 1839, he was appointed reporter of 
the decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court, and re- 
moved from Dedham to Boston. He held this office 
until Feb, 25, 1848, when he was appointed a justice 
of the Supreme Judicial Court. He remained upon 
the bench until Aug. 31, 1865, when he resigned 
after over seventeen years of service. 


years. 
Although Judge Metealf had removed from the 
county, and was in no way identified with it during 
the last forty-six years of his life, yet the thirty years 
during which he had resided and practised in Dedham 
comprehended nearly the whole of his professional 


career. During this period he edited a number of 


He died in | 


Boston, Nov. 13, 1875, at the age of ninety-one | 
| 





law books, among which were “ Yelverton’s Reports,” 
“Starkie on Evidence,” ‘“ Russell on Crimes,”’ 
‘Maule and Selwyn’s Reports,’ “ Digest of Massa- 
chusetts Reports,” and with Horace Mann supervised 
the publication of the Revised Statutes of 1836, the 
index to which was made by him. 

Of his reputation and influence while at the bar 
some mention has been made. There were probably 
few lawyers in the commonwealth of his time who 
had such a full and accurate knowledge of the prin- 
ciples of the common law as Judge Metealf. His 
reputation as a writer upon legal subjects is well 


established. His volumes of the Massachusetts Re-- 


ports, it has been said, are the “model and despair 
of his successors.” His opinions as a justice of the 
Supreme Judicial Court are remarkable for their 
precision of statement and their familiarity with the 
decisions, both English and American, as well as with 
the principle and maxims, of the common law, of 
which he was master. He never concealed his dis- 
trust of the changes effected in the administration of 
the law by legislation, especially the statute giving 
full equity jurisdiction to the Supreme Judicial 
Court. 

He was an accurate scholar, and occasionally wrote 
articles for the reviews on other than legal subjects. 
He was in person below the average height, and of 
great gravity of demeanor, although he had a quaint 
He was a keen and intelligent critic upon 
many subjects, and his pithy sayings will be long 


humor. 


remembered and quoted by those who knew him. 

He received the degree of Doctor of Laws from 
Brown University in 1844, and from Harvard College 
in 1848. 

SrerH AMES was the youngest child of Fisher 
Ames, and was born in Dedham, April 19, 1805, 
and was but three years of age when his father died. 


He was graduated at Harvard College in 1825, and 


studied law with Theron Metcalf in Dedham, and 
was admitted as an attorney of the Court of Common 
Pleas at the September term, 1828, being the same 


| term at which Ezra Wilkinson was admitted, He 


never practised law in this county, but removed to 
Lowell, where he practised law for twenty years. In 
1849 he was appointed clerk of the courts for the 
county of Middlesex. In 1859 he was appointed a 
justice of the Superior Court, then established, and 
in 1867 was appointed chief justice of that court. 
In 1869 he was made an associate justice of the 
Supreme Judicial Court, which office he resigned 
Jan. 15, 1881. He died at his residence in Brook- 
line, in this county, Aug. 15, 1881. 

Although Judge Ames had no connection with 


eS 








THE BENCH 


AND BAR. 11 











Norfolk County during his professional career, yet 
as he was born and pursued his professional studies 


in Dedham, and was admitted to practice in the court | 
held for this county, and often presided as justice of | 


the courts here, he may be claimed as a son of Nor- 
folk County. He well sustained the illustrious name 
he bore. Of great simplicity and modesty of char- 
acter, he possessed an admirable judicial mind, and 
was the master of a pure and concise style as a writer, 
qualities which make his legal opinions worthy of 
imitation. In the language of Chief Justice Gray, 
“he was a diligent student, a good lawyer, a safe 
counsellor, a faithful and useful public servant, a 
Christian gentleman.” 

Ezra WILKINSON.—He was born in Attleborough, 
Feb. 14, 1801, and was graduated at Brown Univer- 
sity in 1824. He began his professional studies with 
Hon. Peter Pratt, of Providence, R. 1, where he 
remained about a year,and he completed them in the 
office of Josiah J. Fiske, in Wrentham. He was ad- 
mitted as an attorney of the Court of Common Pleas, 
at Dedham, at the September term, 1828. He was ad- 
mitted as a counsellor of the Supreme Judicial Court, 
at Taunton, at the October term, 1832. 
practice at Freetown, and subsequently removed to 
Seekonk, in Bristol County. In 1835 he removed to 
Dedham, and had an office in the same building for- 
merly occupied by Fisher Ames, and then by Theron 
Metcalf. He was employed to collate and complete 
the records of the court, which had fallen into some 
confusion through the prolonged illness of Judge 
Ware, the clerk, who had then recently deceased. In 
1843 he was appointed by Governor Morton as dis- 
trict attorney for the district then composed of Worces- 
. ter and Norfolk Counties. 
1855. In 1859, upon the establishment of the Su- 
perior Court, he was appointed one of the associate 
justices, being then nearly sixty years of age, and he 
held the office until his death, Feb. 6, 1882, being 
He had been in active 
practice for thirty-one years, so that his professional 





more than twenty-two years. 


and judicial career covered a period of fifty-three 


years. He faithfully and promptly met all the re- 





He was always a Democrat in politics. He was 
representative to the General Court from Dedham for 
three sessions, and was the candidate of his party 
against John Quincy Adams for Congress. He was 
also a member of the Constitutional Convention of 
1853. 

He died in Dedham, but his remains were interred 
in Wrentham. At his funeral in St. Paul’s Church, 
Dedham, a large number of members of the bar from 
Resolu- 
tions of respect for his memory were presented in the 


Boston and elsewhere were in attendance. 


Superior Court at Salem, and in Boston, shortly after 


his decease. At the April term of the Superior 


| Court in Norfolk County, 1882, Associate Justices 


Colburn and Staples being upon the bench, the fol- 
lowing resolutions, adopted by the members of the bar 


| practising in Norfolk County, were presented to the 


He began | 


He held this office until | 


quirements of his judicial position without any inter- 


ruption by illness, or asking any time for relaxation. 
Within a month before his death he held a term of 
court at Salem, and rendered decisions which com- 
manded respect and confidence. In person he was 
very tall and erect, even to the last days of his life. 
He was scrupulously neat in his attire, and bore him- 
self with dignity without affectation. 
easy or fluent in speech, but he was concise and accu- 
rate in his use of language. 


He was not 


court, and entered upon its records. These resolu- 
tions, with the remarks by Mr. Justice Colburn, em- 
body the high estimation and profound respect felt by 


_the bench and bar for Judge Wilkinson’s character 


and attainments. 

They were presented by Asa French, Esq., district 
attorney, and addresses followed from Ellis Ames, 
John Daggett, Asaph Churchill, Nathaniel F. Safford, 
Samuel B. Noyes, Frederick D. Ely, and Erastus 
Worthington. The following are the resolutions: 


‘“Wuereas, On the sixth day of February last the Hon. Ezra 
Wilkinson, a justice of the Superior Court, departed this life at 
the age of eighty-one years, the members of the bar practising 
in the county of Norfolk, where he was born, and for twenty- 
five years was a leading practitioner, at the first term of that 
court held for civil business since his decease, would express 
their high appreciation of his character and services as a coun- 
sellor, as a prosecuting officer, and a judge, in the following 
resolutions : 

“ Resolved, That we hold in grateful memory the high sense 
of professional duty and obligations, and the thorough devotion 
to the study of jurisprudence, which characterized Judge Wilk- 
inson from the beginning to the end of his long career; that 
we would recognize his accurate and ample learning both in the 
common and statute law, his unswerving integrity, which tol- 
erated no suggestion of any indirect or questionable method in 
advancing his client’s cause, his power of clear statement and 
convincing argument to the jury upon which he relied, rather 
than upon appeals to passion or prejudice, and his constant 
desire to maintain the honor and dignity of his profession. 

‘“‘That asa district attorney from 1843 to 1855 for the district 
of which the county of Norfolk formed a part, he acquired a 
deserved reputation of strict fidelity to the duties of that respon- 
sible office, and for learning and skill in criminal pleading and 
practice, and for his performance of the highest duties of a pros- 
ecuting officer in ten capital trials from 1843 to 1849, that being 
the period during which the office of attorney-general was 
abolished in this Commonwealth. 

“That as a judge of the Superior Court during a period of 
more than twenty-two years—1859 to 1881—we recall his judi- 
cial patience in the trial of causes, his readiness and aptness in 
applying legal principles to the facts of the case, and in which 


12 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





he rarely erred, and his capacity to discern the real points in 
issue, which enabled him to bring to the minds of the jury the 
exact questions they were called upon to decide. 

“That by his death has been removed one of the few survivors 
of the latest generation of lawyers who were trained in the school 
of the common law before its essential modification by the stat- 
utes, and we regard Judge Wilkinson as a remarkable example 
of a jurist who kept himself fully informed of the decisions 
and statutes made and pussed during half a century, and at the 
age of more than fourscore years, and scarcely more than a 
month prior to his death, was able to preside at the term of his 
court in the county of Essex, and to render decisions which 
commanded the respect and confidence of those before him.” 


Mr. Justice Colburn responded to the resolutions 
as follows: 


“Gentlemen of the Bar,—The life of Judge Wilkinson ex- 





those well acquainted with him knew, and as his notes in the 
volumes of his extensive library and various memoranda show. 

“Though always deeply interested in public and political 
affairs, he was never a politician or desirous of political ad- 
vancement, his political services having been limited to three 
sessions of the Legislature and the Constitutional Convention 
of 1853. He thoroughly despised all hypocrisy, cant, and in- 
sincerity, and never hesitated to express his convictions on all 
proper occasions, but never obtrusively, however much they 
might conflict with the prevailing sentiment of the times. All 
kinds of dishonesty, oppression, and injustice excited his indig- 
nation, and as prosecuting officer, though pursuing offenders he 
believed to be guilty with all his strength, he has been known 


| to withdraw a case from the jury when the evidence appeared 


tended over nearly the entire portion of the nineteenth century | 


which has passed. 
a few years spent in the adjoining county of Bristol, he con- 


tinued a resident of this county until his death. Leading a 


single life, unaverted by family ties and cares, from inclination | 
| positive statute provision could induce him to add what he 


or gradually contracted habit, going but little into society, he 
early learned ‘to scorn delights and live laborious days,’ not 
from a desire for fame or fortune, but from a pure love of know- 
ing all that could be learned upon all subjects which excited his 


interest or would qualify him for the adequate discharge of the | 


From his admission to the bar 
to his appointment to the bench he had an extensive and varied 
practice. 
ney, and during the first half of this time, there being no attor- 
ney-general, he had the sole management of all capital trials 
and the argument of all exceptions in criminal cases in his dis- 
trict. As soon as appointed he began to especially qualify 
himself for his new duties; he went to the fountain-head; he 
acquired all the English criminal reports and leading treatises 
and books of precedents, and became one of the most accom- 


duties of his chosen profession. 


plished criminal lawyers and an unsurpassed criminal pleader. | 


“Upon the formation of the Superior Court, in 1859, Judge 
Wilkinson was appointed to that bench, and continued uninter- 
ruptedly, ably, and acceptably to discharge his judicial duties 
during the remainder of his life. For the adequate perform- 
ance of these duties his legal acquirements and extended civil 
and criminal practice qualified him in an unusual degree. His 
independence of his surroundings rendered absence from home 
at long terms of the court in distant counties less irksome to him 
than to other men. He seemed always to have some subject 
which occupied his mind and furnished him with all the recrea- 
tion he required, exempting him from that feeling of impatience 
which sometimes results from protracted labor away from home 
and friends. His stores of learning, his knowledge of unfa- 
miliar matters of practice and procedure, the results of wide 
studies and long experience, were always at the service of his 
brethren of the bench, and the starting of an inquiry, which he 
could not readily answer, would lead him to an investigation 


Born in this county, with the exception of | 








for the assistance of an associate with as much interest and | 


patience as if it had become important in the discharge of his | 


own duties. 
“Though not possessed of what are considered brilliant tal- 
ents, he had a soundness of judgment, an independence in 


to be leading to certain conviction, having become satisfied from 
his previous conferences that his witnesses, through excessive 
zeal or pride or opinion or some worse motive, were testifying 
more strongly against the defendant than their actual knowl- 
edge would warrant, and fearing that injustice might be done. 
And I have heard him say that, in sentencing defendants, he 
had never imposed more than the one day of solitary imprison- 
ment absolutely required in certain cases; that nothing but a 


regarded as a kind of torture to a term of confinement to hard 
labor. 

“Descended from a long line of New England yeomanry, he 
derived from them many of the best characteristics of that 
branch of the Anglo-Saxon race, which has so largely influ- 


| enced the destiny of the Western world, had a fund of anecdote 


For twelve years he held the office of district attor- | illustrating their early struggles and peculiarities, and an un- 


usual knowledge of their local and municipal histories. As age 
advanced his fondness for rural quiet and retirement increased ; 


he acquired large tracts of land, and delighted to spend his 


| summer leisure among their rocks and woods, brooks and foun- 


tains, which had been familiar to him in youth and early man- 
hood. Though he appeared to those who did not know him 
well reserved and unsocial, this was not his natural disposition, 
but resulted from circumstances and his self-reliance, which 
induced habits of life not readily changed. He was at times a 
most instructive and entertaining companion. No man who 
has lived eighly-one years can be said to die untimely ; but the 
strength which extended his years so far beyond the allotted 


| term appeared so free from the predicted labor and sorrow that 


we failed to realize how much our senior he really was. A 
learned lawyer, an upright judge, a high-minded, honorable 
man, in the maturity of years and the full vigor of his powers, 
has passed away, leaving the burdens he bore so long and well 
to be taken up and carried by younger men, until they in their 
turn shall be called upon by the great Disposer of the destinies 
of men to lay them down, to be again assumed by others. 

“Tn accordance of the request of the bar their resolutions, 
with a memorandum of these proceedings, will be entered upon 
the records of the court.” 


Hon. Watpo Corpurn, son of Thatcher and 
Hattie Cleveland Colburn, was born in Dedham, 
Mass., Nov. 13, 1824. He traces his ancestry in this 


country to Nathaniel Colburn, who emigrated from 


reaching his conclusions after duly weighing all arguments, a | 


power of application, and a willingness to give his entire time 
and attention to any subject he had in charge, which more than 
compensated for the most brilliant talents without these quali- 
ties. He had read appreciatively all the leading authors in 
English literature, some of whom he especially admired, as 


England, and Aug. 11, 1637, received a grant of 
land in the town of Dedham. 
until his death, May 14, 1691. 
is as follows: Samuel, born Jan. 25,1654; Ephraim, 
born Nov. 5, 1687; Ephraim, born Dec. 31, 1716; 
Ichabod, born Feb. 26, 1754; Thatcher, born Feb. 


He remained here 
The line of descent 





ee 











THE BENCH AND BAR. 





13 





20, 1787, and united in marriage with Hattie Cleve- 
land in June, 1823. 
The subject of our sketch received the rudiments 


of his education at the common schools of his native | 


town, and at the age of fifteen entered Phillips (An- 
dover) Academy, where he graduated in 1842, in the 


“English Department and Teachers’ Seminary,” | 
which at that time was entirely distinct from the — 
classical course. In the following year (1843) he en- | 


tered the classical department, where he remained 


and for two years following engaged in various pur- 
suits, chiefly, However, civil engineering and survey- 
ing. 

May 13, 1847, he entered the law-office of Ira 
Cleveland, Esq., at Dedham, where he pursued his 
studies with diligence and attention, and May 3, 
1850, was admitted to the bar. In the mean time, 
however, he had spent some time in the Harvard Law- 
School. He at once commenced the practice of law 
in his native town, and very soon took a leading posi- 
tion at the bar. He continued practice here until 
May 27, 1875, when he was appointed by Governor 
Gaston one of the justices of the Superior Court, a 
position virtually thrust upon him, as he knew nothing 
of the intention of Governor Gaston to appoint him 
until the day his name was proposed to the Council, 
and he was promptly confirmed. 





in the State Senate, and served on the Judiciary 
Committee, and had charge of drafting the well- 
known corporation act. Judge Colburn was also for 
several years the candidate of the Democratic party 
for attorney-general. He was chairman of the board 
of selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor of 
Dedham for nine successive years, beginning in 1855. 
He is also president of the Dedham Institution for 
Savings, and a director in the Dedham National 


- Bank. 
until the summer of 1845, when he left the academy, | 


| with which he has since affiliated. 


Politically, Judge Colburn was a member of the 
old Whig party, but upon the death of that organi- 
zation he became a member of the Democratic party, 
He is a kind and 


| beneficent neighbor and friend, a learned and upright 


Nov. 10, 1882, he | 


was commissioned by Governor Long as a justice 


of the Supreme Court, a position which he occupies 
at the present time. 
by Governor Gaston, a writer says, ‘‘ The comprehen- 
sive knowledge of affairs, the wisdom, tact, and abil- 
ity, the legal culture and judicial grasp of mind dis- 
played by Judge Colburn, clothe his appointment 
to the bench of the Superior Court with special fitness 
and propriety, and make it one of the salutary acts of 
Governor Gaston’s administration.” One of the lead- 
ers of the Suffolk bar, in speaking of Judge Colburn, 
says, “ He is one of the ablest, most successful, and 
popular judges in the commonwealth.” 


judge, and one of Massachusetts’ most honored citizens. 

Nov. 21, 1852, he united in marriage with Miss 
Mary Ellis Gay, daughter of Bunker Gay, of Ded- 
ham. She died Oct. 22, 1859, leaving two daugh- 
ters,—Mary and Anna F.,—who are still living. 
Aug.*5, 1861, he married Elizabeth C. Sampson, 
daughter of Ezra W. Sampson, a lawyer, and for thirty 
years clerk of the courts of Norfolk County. There 
was one son by this marriage, who died in childhood. 

Eiis AMEs (see history of Canton). 

Judges of Probate.\— WILLIAM HEATH was born 
in Roxbury, March 2, 1737, on the estate settled by his 
ancestor in 1636, and was bred a farmer. His fondness 
for military exercises led him, in 1754, to join the 


_ Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, which he 


In speaking of his appointment | 





Judge Colburn, although never having been an | 
active politician, has always labored to advance the | 


interests of his native town, and has filled many posi- 
tions of trust and responsibility within the gift of his 
townsmen. He was a member of the Legislature in 


1853, serving as chairman of the Committee on_ 


Parishes, Religious Societies, ete. He was returned to 


the Legislature the following year, and served as | 


chairman of the Committee on Railroads and Canals. 
During these years he earnestly opposed loaning the 
State’s credit to the Hoosac Tunnel scheme. 


commanded in 1770, having previously been made a 
captain in the Suffolk regiment, of which he became 


| colonel in 1774. In 1770 he wrote sundry essays in a 


Boston newspaper, signed “ A Military Countryman,” 
on the importance of military discipline and skill in the 
use of arms. He wasa member of the General Court 
in 1761 and in 1771-74, engaged with zeal in the 
Revolutionary contest, was a delegate to the Pro- 
vincial Congresses of 1774-75, and was a member of 
the Committees of Correspondence and of Safety. 
Appointed a Massachusetts brigadier-general Dee. 8, 
1774; major-general, June 20, 1775 ; brigadier-general 
(Continental army), June 22, 1775; major-general, 
Ait oe Miniilsy 
pursuit of the British troops from Concord, April 19, 


He rendered great service in the 


1775, and in organizing the rude and undisciplined 
army around Boston, and with his brigade was sta- 
tioned at Roxbury during the siege of Boston. After 
its evacuation he accompanied the army to New York, 





1 The following notices of the judges of the Probate Court 


| are taken from the “‘ Norfolk Court Manual,” prepared and 


| published by Henry 0. Hildreth, Esq., in 1876, with the kind 
In 1870 he represented the Second Norfolk District | 


permission of the author. 


14 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





opposed the evacuation of that city, and near the close 
of the year 1776 was ordered to take command of the 
posts in the Highlands. 

In 1777 he was intrusted with the command of the 
eastern department, and had charge of the Saratoga 
(convention) prisoners. In June, 1779, he was or- 
dered to the command on the Hudson, where he was 
stationed till the close of the war. Returning to his 
farm, he became a delegate to the convention that 
adopted the Federal Constitution in 1788, State 
senator in 1791-92, and in 1806 was chosen Lieu- 
tenant-Governor of Massachusetts, but declined the 
office. July 2, 1793, he was appointed judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas for the new county of Nor- 
folk, and the same day was appointed first Judge of 
Probate for the county. He died Jan. 24, 1814, 
aged seventy-seven years. 

Epwarp Hurcntnson Roppins was born in 
Milton, Feb. 19, 1758, and was graduated at Har- 
vard College in 1775. He studied law with Oakes 
Angier, of Bridgewater, and commenced practice in 
his native town. He was chosen a Representative 
from Milton in 1781, and Speaker of the House of 
Representatives in 1795, which office he held for 
nine successive years. In 1802 he was chosen Lien- 
tenant-Governor, and held the office until 1807. In 
1793 he was appointed Special Justice of the Court 
of Common Pleas for Norfolk County, and in 1799 
was appointed Chief Justice of the same court. In 
1808 and 1809 he was a member of the Executive 
Council. He also held many other positions of trust 
and responsibility. On the decease of Gen. Heath, in 
1814, he was appointed Judge of Probate for the 
county of Norfolk, which office he held until his 
death, which occurred Dec. 29, 1829." 

SHERMAN LELAND was born in Grafton, March 
29, 1793, and remained on his father’s farm until he 


was more than twenty years of age. During the two 


or three years following he attended school most of | 








the time, and in October, 1805, commenced the | 


study of the law, employing the winter months of 
that and the three succeeding years in teaching. 
was admitted to the bar at Worcester in December, 
1809, and commenced practice at Eastport, Me., 
January, 1810. Oct. 11, 1811, he was appointed 
prosecuting attorney for the county of Washington. 


He | 


He represented Eastport in the Massachusetts Legis- | 


1 Judge Robbins was a man of fine personal presence, of 


genial manners, and great kindness of heart. He was emphat- 
ically the friend of the widow and orphan, and his death was 
regarded as a great public loss. He lived and died on the fine 
estate on Brush Hill, now the residence of his son, Hon. James 


Murray Robbins. 


lature of 1812, and in December of that year was 
appointed first lieutenant, and served under that ap- 
pointment in the army of the United States upon the 
eastern frontier until April, 1813, when he received 
the appointment of captain in the Thirty-fourth Regi- 
ment of Infantry in the United States army, and 
served until June 5, 1814, when he resigned his 
commission and resumed the practice of his profes- 
sion. In July he removed to Roxbury, Mass., and 
in the year 1815 opened an office in Boston, and 
commenced practice in both the counties of Suffolk 
and Norfolk. He was a Representative from Rox- 
bury in the Massachusetts Legislature for the years 
1818, °19,’20,and’21. He was also a delegate from 
Roxbury in the Constitutional Convention of 1820. 
He was a member of the Senate of Massachusetts 
from the county of Norfolk for the years 1823 and 
1824, and, during the temporary absence of the presi- 
dent, was elected president pro tem. He was again 
a member of the House of Representatives in the 
year 1825, and was chairman of the committee on 
the judiciary. In 1824 he was a candidate for Rep- 
resentative in Congress for the Norfolk District, but, 
after several trials, his competitor, Hon. John Bailey, 
was elected by a small majority. He was again elected 
a member of the Senate from Norfolk County for the 
years 1828 and 1829, and was president of the Senate 
for the year 1828, and chairman of the Committee on 
the Judiciary for 1829. On the 26th of January, 
1850, he was appointed Judge of Probate for the 
county of Norfolk, in place of Judge Robbins, de- 
ceased, and immediately entered upon the discharge 
of the duties of the office, which he continued to per- 
form until his death, which occurred Nov. 19, 1853, 
at the age of seventy years. 

WiLLiAM SHERMAN LELAND was born in Rox- 
bury, Oct. 12, 1824. After leaving the public 
schools in his native town, he entered the law-office 
of his father, Hon. Sherman Leland, then Judge of 
On the death of 
his father, in November, 1853, he was appointed to 


Probate of the county of Norfolk. 


fill the vacancy, which position he continued to oc- 
cupy until 1858, when, under the administration of 
Governor Banks, the law concerning Courts of Pro- 
bate and Insolvency was changed, and he failed to re- 
ceive the appointment as judge of the new court. 
He resumed the general practice of law, and soon ac- 
quired a large and lucrative practice. He was for 
many years one of the directors of the People’s Bank 
of Roxbury, and was at one time its active president. 
He was one of the projectors of the Elliot Five Cent 
Savings-Bank, and was chosen its president, which 
office he continued to hold until his death, which 





THE BENCH AND BAR. 


15 





took place July 26, 1869, at the age of forty-four 
years. 
GrorGE WHITE was born in Quincy. He was 


fitted for college under the instruction of William M. | 


Cornell, LL.D., and at the Phillips Academy, in 
Exeter, N. H. He was graduated at Yale College 
in 1848, and began his professional studies in the 
Dane Law-School at Cambridge, and received the 
degree of LL.B. from Harvard College in 1850. 
He completed his studies with Hon. Robert Rantoul, 
Jr., and upon his admission to the Suffolk bar, in 
1851, he became a partner with Mr. Rantoul, having 
an office in Boston. He was a member of the Con- 
stitutional Convention from Quincy in 1853. He was 
appointed Judge of Probate and Insolvency in 1858, 
and he has held the office since that time. He now 
resides in Wellesley, having an office in Boston. (See 


notice of Judge White in history of Wellesley.) 
the bar in Suffolk in 1781. He was graduated at 
Harvard College in 1774, and studied law with Wil- 


liam Tudor in Boston. He had an office in Boston 


the time of the incorporation of the county. He 


built an office and began practice, although he was a | 
His health, how- | 


member of Congress until 1797. 
ever, failed in 1795, and while he continued to 
practise in the courts to some extent, he gradually 
withdrew towards the close of his life. 
evidently found the trial of ordinary cases very 
irksome, and his time and attention were taken up 
by his farm and politics. His fame asa lawyer was 
completely overshadowed by his eminence as a states- 
man and political writer. An account of his life and 
character will be found in the history of Dedham in 
this volume. 


Horatio TOWNSEND was born in Medfield, March 


Mr. Ames | 


and Ames Street, about 1795. 


| in 1818. 
for a short time, but he removed to Dedham about 


| it is now removed. 
The Bar.—FisHer AmeEs.—He was admitted to | 





29, 1763, and was graduated at Harvard College in | 


1783 ; studied law with Theophilus Parsons at New- 
buryport, and began practice in Medfield. 
he was appointed special justice of the Court of 
Common Pleas, and about the same time was appointed 
clerk of the courts, which office he held until 1811, 
when he was removed by Governor Gerry. He was 
reappointed the following year, and continued in office 
until his death, which occurred at Dedham, July 9, 
1826, at the age of sixty-three years. 

SAMUEL HAVEN.—Admitted to the Suffolk bar 


in 1799) 


ter, of Boston. He was the first Register of Probate 
of this county. In 1802 he was commissioned a 
Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and in 1804 
was appointed Chief Justice, and continued in that 
office until the court was abolished, in 1811. He 
was in the office of Register of Deeds until 1833, a 
period of forty years, and almost wholly retired from 
the practice of law. He then removed to Roxbury, 
where he continued to reside until his death, Sept. 4, 
1847, at the age of seventy-six years. 

The mother of Judge Haven was the sister of 
Samuel Dexter, Sr., and daughter of Rev. Samuel 
Dexter, minister of Dedham. He built the fine 
house near the court-house, on the corner of Court 
His office stood 
upon his grounds, and was the first office occupied 
by Waldo Colburn, who began practice in 1850, but 
It was in this office probably 
the first meeting of the bar was held. He was in- 
terested in theological questions, and wrote an elabo- 
rate pamphlet upon the case of the Dedham Church 
He was the father of Samuel F. Haven, 
of Worcester. 

THOMAS GREENLEAF.—He was a member of the 
bar before the incorporation of the county. He was 
born in Boston, May 15, 1767, and was graduated at 
Harvard College in 1784. He removed to Quincy 
early in the present century. He was a represen- 
tative to the General Court from 1808 to 1820. He 
was a member of the Executive Council from 1820 
to 1822. 
of the Court of Common Pleas for the county of 
Norfolk. He died Jan. 5, 1854, aged eighty six 
years and seven months. 

ASAPH CHURCHILL, of Milton, was a member of 
the bar at the formation of the county. He was born 
in Middleborough, May 5, 1765, and was graduated 
at Harvard College in 1789, having a disputation 


In 1806 he was appointed a special justice 


_with Nahum Mitchell, of Bridgewater, as his part for 


commencement. He studied law with John Davis, 


| Esq., of Plymouth, and was admitted to practice in 


before the incorporation of the county of Norfolk. | 


He was the son of Rev. Jason Haven, the minister 


of Dedham, and was born April 5, 1771. He was 


graduated at Harvard College in 1789, and studied | 


law with Fisher Ames and his cousin, Samuel Dex- 


Boston in 1795. 
ably less than twelve, at that time practising law in 


He was one of few attorneys, prob- 
Boston. Having continued his office in Boston for 
several years, he removed to Milton, where he pur- 
chased an estate on Milton Hill of Edward H. Rob- 
bins. He had a large practice in Norfolk County. 
He died in Milton, June 30, 1841, at the age of 


seventy-six years. He was a descendant of John 


Churchill, who came to this country in 1640. 


JouN SHIRLEY WILLIAMS.—Attorney of Supreme 


Judicial Court, 1803. He was born in Roxbury, May 


lige = bec 2 
| 83,1772, and was graduated at Harvard College in 


16 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








1797. 
In 1811 he was appointed Clerk of the Courts by Gov- 
ernor Gerry, but was removed the next year by Gov- 
ernor Strong. He was also County Attorney. He 
died at Ware, Mass., while on a journey for his health, 
in May, 1843, aged seventy-one years. 

Henry Maurice Lisir.—Attorney of Supreme 
Judicial Court, 1802. He was an Englishman who 
practised law in Milton. He was a man of ability, 
but little is known concerning him. ‘There is a tra- 
dition that he went to the West Indies. 


James Ricuarpson.—Attorney of the Supreme | 
He was born in Medfield, Oct. | 


Judicial Court, 1803. 

2, 1771, and was graduated at Harvard College in 
1797. He studied law in the office of Fisher Ames in 
Dedham, and was afterwards his partner in business 
until the death of Mr. Ames. He was a learned lawyer, 
and had a taste for literature. He was a senator from 
the county in the session of 1815-14, and a member 


of the Constitutional Convention of 1820. He was 
one of the Presidential electors in 1832. He was 


president of the Bar Association of the county for 


many years. He was at one time engaged in manu- 


facturing business, and towards the close of his life | 


withdrew from active practice. He continued to be 
president of the Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
pany until his death, which occurred in May, 1858. 
Jainus WARE.—Counsellor of Supreme Judicial 
Court, March, 1808. 
Jan. 


sity in 1797. 


22, 1772, and was graduated at Brown Univer- 
He practised law in Wrentham. He 


was Representative to the General Court from 1809 to | 


1816, and also 1818-23; member of the Executive 


Council, 1825-26; in 1811 Justice of Circuit Court | 


of Common Pleas; and in 1819 Chief Justice of the 
Court of Sessions. He was appointed Clerk of the 
Courts Sept. 1, 1826, and held the office until his 
death, which occurred at Dedham, Jan. 18, 1836, at 
the age of sixty-four years. 

Tuomas B. ApAMs.—Counsellor of Supreme Ju- 
dicial Court, March, 1808. He was the third son of 
President John Adams, and was born in Quincy, then 
Braintree, Sept. 15, 1772; was graduated at Harvard 
College in 1790; was admitted to the bar in the State 
of Pennsylvania, and returned to the commonwealth 
after the incorporation of the county. 
justice of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas in 1811, 
Representative to General Court from Quincy in 1805, 
and in 1811 was a member of the Executive Council. 
He died March 12, 1832, 
Mr. Adams took an interest in the 


at the age of fifty-nine years 
and six months. 
bar meetings for a time, and his name frequently 
appears in these proceedings. 


He was born in Wrentham, | 


| 


He practised law at Roxbury and at Dedham. | 


} 


| 
| 


i 





| County, and also with Judge Crauch. 


| Ware, in 1826, was made Chief Justice. 


GiprEoN L. THAYER.—Counsellor of Supreme Ju- 
dicial Court, 1808. He was the son of Hon. Ebenezer 
Thayer, and was born in Braintree, Sept. 24, 1777. 
He was graduated at Harvard College in 1798, and 
studied law with Benjamin Whitman, of Plymouth 
He practised 
in that part of Braintree which is now Quincy, and 
also in the easterly part of the town near Weymouth 
Landing. He had a high standing in his profession. 
He died July 17, 1829, at the age of fifty-two years. 

WittiAM DunBar.—Counsellor of Supreme Ju- 
dicial-Court, 1809. He was born in Stoughton, now 
Canton, Aug. 15, 1780, and never received a collegiate 
education. He practised law in Canton for a time, 
and then went West or South, and was gone many 
years. He returned to Canton a few years before his 
death, which took place May 6, 1848, and did some 
office work. 

DanieL ApAMS.—Counsellor of Supreme Judicial 
Court, 1809. He was born in Watertown, March 26, 
1779 ; was graduated at Harvard College in 1799, and 
commenced the practice of law at Medfield. He was 


_a Representative to the General Court from 1812 to 


1820, excepting one year, and again in 1841. He was 
appointed Judge of the Court of Sessions of Norfolk 
County in 1822, and upon the retirement of Judge 
He died 
Sept. 2, 1852, at the age of seventy-three years. 
JABEZ CHICKERING.—Counsellor of Supreme Ju- 


dicial Court, 1809. He was the son of the Rev. Jabez 


Chickering, of Dedham (South Parish), where he was 


He began practice in Dedham 
He subsequently 


born Aug. 28, 1782. 
and continued it for many years. 
engaged in manufactures, and was cashier of the Ded- 
ham Bank. He removed in 1823 to Monroe, Mich., 
where he died Oct. 20, 1826. 

JosEPH HaArrinarton.—Counsellor of Supreme 
Judicial Court, 1809. He had an office in Roxbury, 
where he practised many years. 

Davip ALLEN Srimmons.—Attorney of Circuit 
Court of Common Pleas, September, 1812. He was 


born in Boston, Nov. 7, 1785, and was educated at 


Chesterfield Academy in New Hampshire, whither he 


removed in his childhood. He returned to Boston 


in 1806, and studied law with Thomas Williams, of 


He was chief | 


| Keith and Harvey Jewell. 


Roxbury. He had an office in Boston, and was part- 
ner with George Gay, who was admitted at the same 
time, for many years, and afterwards with James M. 
He always lived at Rox- 
bury, and had a good practice in Norfolk County. He 
was a man of remarkable energy, and conducted his 
cases with zeal and ability. He died in Roxbury, 
Nov. 20, 1859, at the age of seventy-two years. He 








THE BENCH AND BAR. 


17 





had received the honorary degree of Bachelor of Laws 
from Dartmouth College. 

JosraH J. Fiske.—Counsellor of the Supreme 
Judicial Court, 1815. (See history of Wrentham.) 

JouHn Kina.—Counsellor of Supreme Judicial 
Court, 1811. He had an office in Randolph, where 
he practised many years. 

SamueL P. Lovup.—Counsellor of Supreme Ju- 
dicial Court, 1811. He was born in Weymouth, 
March, 1783 ; was graduated at Brown University in 
1805; studied law in the office of John Quincy 
Adams, and began the practice of law in Dorchester. 
He was a representative from Dorchester and senator 
from Norfolk County for many years; was a member 
of the Executive Council in 1841 and 1842, and 
represented the town in the Constitutional Conven- 
tion of 1853. He was for six years a justice of the 
Court of Sessions for the county, and from 1828 to 
1853, a period of twenty-five years of continuous 
service, he was chairman of the county commission- 
ers. He died at Dorchester, July 11, 1875, at the 
age of ninety-two years and four months. 


CHRISTOPHER WEBB.—Counsellor of Supreme 


Judicial Court, 1813. He was graduated at Brown 
University in 1803 and resided in Weymouth, and 
was a representative to the General Court from that 





town for many years, and was also a senator from | 


the county from 1827 to 1834. He was county 
attorney for the county, and in 1826 was commis- 
sioner of highways. He died in Baltimore in Febru- 
ary, 1848, aged sixty-seven years. 


Erastus WortHINGToON,—Counsellor of Supreme | 


Judicial Court, 1813. He was born in Belchertown, 


Mass., Oct. 8, 1779, and was graduated at Williams | 


College in 1804. After his graduation he was em- 
ployed for a time in teaching, and then began the 


study of law, which he completed in the office of | 
ad- | 
mitted in Suffolk, but came to Dedham in 1809. | 


John Heard, Esq., of Boston. He was first 


Here he continued to practise until about the year 


_being the youngest member of his class. 


EBENEZER F. THAyER.—Counsellor of Supreme 
Judicial Court, 1813. He was a brother of Gideon 
L. Thayer, and was born in Braintree, June 12, 1784. 
He studied law with H. M. Lisle, of Milton, with 
James Sullivan and Gideon L. Thayer. In company 
with Samuel K. Williams, he practised in Boston 
some six or eight years, and afterwards in Brain- 
tree. He died Feb. 15, 1824, at about forty years 
of age. 

THOMAS GREENLEAF, JrR.—Counsellor of the 
Supreme Judicial Court, 1814. He was a son of 
Thomas Greenleaf, of Quincy ; was graduated at Har- 
vard College in 1806, and died in 1817. 

Cyrus ALDEN.—Counsellor of the Supreme Ju- 
dicial Court, 1815. He was born at Bridgewater, 
Mass., and was graduated at Brown University in 
1807, and studied law at Litchfield, Conn., and with 
William Baylies, at West Bridgewater. He was ad- 
mitted to the bar first at Plymouth. He began the 
practice of the law at Wrentham, where he remained 
for six years and then removed to Fall River, from 
which town he was Representative to the General 
Court in 1837. In 1819 he published a work en- 
titled, ““An Abridgement of Law, with Practical 
Forms.” He was a worthy man and had a good rep- 
utation in his profession. He died in 1855. 

SamuEL J. GARDNER.—Counsellor of Supreme 
Judicial Court, 1814. He was born in Brookline, 
July 9,1788. He entered Harvard College in 1803, 
He left 


_ college a few days before the close of his senior year, 





1825, when, having been active in the formation of | 


the Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance Company, he 


became its first secretary, and held this office until | 


1840, when he resigned it on account of ill health. 
He was Representative from Dedham to the General 


Court in 1814 and 1815. He wrote and published 


“An Essay on the Kstablishment of a Chancery 
Jurisdiction in Massachusetts,” which is believed | 
upon competent authority to have been the first ar- | 


gument published in favor of an equity jurisdiction 
in the commonwealth. In 1827 he wrote and pub- 
lished a “ History of Dedham from its Settlement in 
1635 to May, 1827.” He died June 27, 1842. 

9 


Gardner 
was invited to return and take the valedictory part at 
commencement, but he declined. Some years after, 


being engaged with his class in a rebellion. 


he received an honorary degree from the college. He 
studied law with Judge Fay, of Cambridge, and at- 
tended lectures at Philadelphia. He began practice 
in Roxbury in 1810. His office was on Boston Neck, 
and was a well-known landmark for twenty years. 
He acquired considerable property in his practice, 
and retired from active practice after a time. He was 
active in public affairs, being secretary and treasurer 
of the Roxbury Grammar School, and manager of 
the Roxbury Benevolent Society. He was a Repre- 
sentative to the General Court, president of the Nor- 
folk County Temperance Society, and Deputy Grand 
Master of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons in Massa- 
chusetts. 

He subsequently lost much of his property, and in 
1838 he removed to Newark, N. J., where he en- 
gaged in literary pursuits and in the education of his 
In 1844 he removed to New York. He 
was for eleven years editor of the Newark Daily Ad- 


children. 


18 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








vertiser. He was an accomplished scholar and able 
writer, and under his editorial administration his paper 
held a high position among the leading journals of the 
country. In the discussions preceding the war of the 
Rebellion he was a vigorous supporter of the party of 
the Union. 
seventy-two in 1861. He died in the White Moun- 
tains, July 14, 1864, at the age of seventy-six years. 
After his death a selection of his writings, written for 


the columns of his newspaper, appeared under the | 


name of “ Autumn Leaves,” and in these the wit and 
humor which made his conversation delightful found 
expression. 

ABNER LorinG.—Attorney of the Supreme Judi- 
cial Court, 1813. He was born in Hingham, July 
21, 1786, and was graduated at Harvard College in 
1807. He studied law with Ebenezer Gay. He 
began practice at Dorchester, and was well read in his 
profession, devoted to business, and of unexception- 
able character. He died, deeply lamented, July 18, 
1814, at the age of twenty-eight years. 

Tuomas Totman.—Counsellor of the Supreme 
Judicial Court, 1820. He was born in Stoughton, 
Feb. 20, 1791, and was graduated at Brown Univer- 
sity in 1811. He practised law in Canton until 1837, 
and then removed to Boston and had an office there. 
He was a Representative to the General Court from 
Canton in 1828 and 1836. He was afterwards a 
member of the Executive Council. He died in 
Boston in 1869. 

Joun B. Derpy.—Counsellor-at-Law of Supreme 
Judicial Court, 1821. He practised law in Dedham 
for some years, and afterwards removed to Beston, 
where he died. He was the father of Lieut. Derby, 
well known as a humorous writer under the nom de 
plume of “ John Phoenix.” 

Lewis Wuitine Fisuer.—Attorney of the Cir- 
cuit Court of Common Pleas, September term, 1819. 


He retired from this post at the age of | 


| 





He was born in Franklin, Dec. 29, 1792, was grad- | 


uated at Brown University in 1816, and studied law 
with Josiah J. Fiske, at Wrentham. He afterwards 
opened an office at Wrentham, where he lived until 
his death, April 20, 1827. 

Joun W. AmeEs.—Attorney of Supreme Judicial 
Court, 1820. He was the eldest son of Fisher Ames, 
and was born Oct. 22, 1793. He was graduated at 
Harvard College in 1813, and studied law with 
Theron Metcalf. He had an office in Boston for a 
short time, but soon removed to Dedham. He was 
Representative to the General Court from Dedham in 


was much interested in the building of the court-house 
in 1827. 

ABEL CusHi1na.—Counsellor of Supreme Judicial 
Court, 1818. He was graduated at Brown Univer- 
sity in 1810, studied with Ebenezer Gay, of Hing- 
ham, and practised law in this county for a number 
of years, having an office in Dorchester. He was 
afterwards appointed a justice of the Justices’ Court 
in Boston, which office he held until his resignation, 
shortly before his death, in 1866. He was a Repre- 
sentative to the General Court from Dorchester for 
three years, and also a Senator from Norfolk County. 

MeLerian Evererr.—Counsellor of the Supreme 
Judicial Court, 1820. He was born in Wrentham, 
June 24,1777. He was graduated at Brown Uni- 
versity in 1802. He studied law with Hon. Laban 
Wheaton, of Norton, and began practice in Foxbor- 
ough, where he resided until about the year 1832, 
when he removed to Wrentham. He was a Repre- 
sentative to the General Court from Foxborough in 
1831, and was a Senator from the county in 1841 and 
1842. He was a safe and prudent counsellor. He 
died in Wrentham in 1858. The Hon. Horace 
Everett, of Vermont, was his brother. 

Ezra Weston Sampson.—He was probably ad- 
mitted to the bar in the county of Plymouth. He 
was born in Duxbury, Dec. 1, 1797, and was gradu- 
ated at Harvard College in 1816. He had an office 
in Braintree, where he practised law about twelve 
years. Upon the decease of Judge Ware, he was ap- 
pointed in 1836 Clerk of the Courts for the county, 
and held the office until January, 1867. During the 
last year of his life he was unable to perform the 
duties of his office by reason of illness. He died in 
Dedham, Jan. 15, 1867, at the age of sixty-nine 
years. 

WARREN LOvERING.—Counsellor of the Supreme 
Judicial Court, October term, 1825. He was grad- 
uated at Brown University in 1817. He had an 
office in Medway for many years, and at one time had 


an extensive practice. He was a Representative to 


the General Court from Medway in 1827 and 1828. 


1822, and was president of the Dedham Bank from | 


June 16, 1829, to his death, Oct. 31, 1833. 
never married, but always lived with his mother. 


He was 


He | 


He held several important offices, and was a promi- 
nent member of the Whig party. The last years of 
his life were spent in poverty and obscurity. He died 
in 1876. 

JONATHAN PARKER BisHoP was born in Kil- 
lingly, Conn., April 10, 1792. 
Jonathan Parker Bishop, a well-known physician, 
and Hannah (Torrey) Bishop. He commenced the 
practice of law in Medfield about the year 1818, 
having been admitted to the bar in another county, 
and was prominently identified with the affairs of the 


He was the son of 





THE BENCH AND BAR. 


19 





town during his life. He represented the town in 
the Legislature in 1848 and 1851, and was actively 
interested in the election of Charles Sumner to the | 
United States Senate, which first took place in the 
latter year. He was largely instrumental in the build- | 
ing of the Charles River Railroad, which was opened 
through the town in 1861. He died July 10, 1865. 

AARON PreEscortr.—Attorney of Supreme Judi- 
cial Court, 1820. He was graduated at Harvard | 
College in 1814. He practised law for many years | 
in the county, and had an office in Randolph. He 
died in 1851. 

JoNATHAN H. Coss.—Counsellor of Supreme 
Judicial Court, 1824. He was born in Sharon, 
July 8, 1799, and was graduated at Harvard College 
in 1817. He began the study of law in the office | 
of William Dunbar, of Canton, where he remained | 
until Oct. 9, 1818, when he went to Charleston, 
S. C., and opened a classical school. In 1819 he 
returned to Massachusetts, and completed his legal 
studies in the office of Jabez Chickering, of Dedham. 
He was editor of the Village Register, in Dedham, 
and had an office in Boston. In 1831 he was active 
in the formation of the Dedham Institution for Say- 
ings, of which he was the first treasurer. In 1831 
the Legislature requested the Governor to procure 
the compilation of a manual on the mulberry-tree 
and the manufacture of silk, which was prepared by 
Mr. Cobb, of which several editions were published, 
and afterwards republished by order of Congress. 
In 1837 he established a manufactory of sewing-silk 
in Dedham, of which he was superintendent and 
principal proprietor, but which was burned in 1845. 
In 1833 he was appointed register of probate for | 
Norfolk County, which office he held until 1879. 
He was for thirty consecutive years the town clerk 
of Dedham, declining re-election in 1875. He was | 
deacon of the First Church for more than forty 
years, and for the same period an active magistrate of 
the county. He died March 12, 1882. 

GrorcE ©. WiLtpE.—Attorney of the Supreme 
Judicial Court, October term, 1826. He was the 
son of the Hon. Samuel S. Wilde, a justice of the 
Supreme Judicial Court. His professional life was 
a brief one, but he practised law in Wrentham until 
about the year 1835, when he was appointed Clerk of 
the Supreme Judicial Court in the county of Suffolk, 
an office which he held for about forty years. 

IrA CLEVELAND.—Attorney of the Court of 
Common Pleas, Dec. 5, 1827. 

Horace Mann.—Attorney of Court of Common 
Pleas, 1826; Supreme Judicial Court, 1827. He | 
was the son of Thomas and Mary Mann, and was | 





| caustic pen. 





born in Franklin, May 4, 1796. He was graduated 
at Brown University in 1819. He entered the office 
of Josiah J. Fiske, at Wrentham, but soon after 
became a tutor at Brown University for two years. 
He then studied a year in the law-school at 
Litchfield, Conn., and completed his studies with 
James Richardson, at Dedham. He opened an 
office in Dedham, being the same lately occupied 
by Jabez Chickering, on the corner of Court and 
Church Streets. He was a Representative to the 
General Court from Dedham for four years, 1827- 
31. In 1833 he removed to Boston, and entered 
into a partnership with Edward G. Loring. He was 
a member of the Senate from Suffolk four years, and 
in 1837 was president of that body. He was chair- 
man of the committee for the revision of the statutes 
of 1836, and prepared the marginal notes and cita- 
tions of cases, as editor with Theron Metcalf. He 
was appointed secretary of the Board of Education 
upon its organization, June 29, 1837. Of the great 
distinction and influence to which he attained in this 
office it is unnecessary to speak in this notice, or of 
his career as a member of Congress from 1848-52, 
which though brief was memorable. He died while 
president of Antioch College, Ohio, Aug. 2, 1859. 

The brief period of practice in his profession at 
Dedham is naturally overlooked by reason of his 
having become so widely known as an educator and 
philanthropist, yet he was remembered by his con- 
temporaries who knew him as a lawyer as a man of 
brilliant parts, and was a successful advocate. He 
was fond of controversy, and wielded an extremely 
He had many admirers in Norfolk 
County, and years after his removal from Dedham, 
when he was an independent candidate for Congress, 
the popularity and influence gained while at the bar, 
aided materially in his election. 

JoHN JONES CLARKE.—Counsellor of the Supreme 
Judicial Court, Nov. 5, 1830. He was born Feb. 
24, 1803; was the son of Rev. Pitt Clarke (H. C. 
1790), of Norton, Mass., and Rebecca (Jones) 
Clarke, of Hopkinton. He was at school at the Nor- 
ton Academy, and was fitted for college partly at the 
Framingham and Andover Academies and partly by 
his father, who was, for his time, a distinguished 
scholar and teacher. 

He entered Harvard College in 1819, with a class 
in which, at the end of the course of four years, a 
famous rebellion occurred, on account of which a 
large majority of the class were refused their degrees, 
and it was not until 1841 that Mr. Clarke received 
from the college the degrees of A.B. and A.M. 

Upon leaving college, Mr. Clarke pursued the 


20 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





study of law in the office of Hon. Laban Wheaton, 
of Norton, for a year; he then’ entered the office of 
James Richardson, Esq., at Dedham, where he re- 
mained two years; he was then, in 1826, admitted to 
the bar of the Court of Common Pleas, and after- 
wards, in 1830, to the bar of the Supreme Court. 


In 1826, Mr. Clarke commenced the practice of | 


law in Roxbury, where he has ever since resided, 
having an office on Washington Street, nearly oppo- 
site Eustis. Here his business gradually increased, 
and in 1830 he married Miss Rebecca Cordis Has- 
well, a daughter of Capt. Robert Haswell, formerly 
in the navy, and afterwards in the mercantile service, 
and step-daughter of John Lemist, Esq., a prominent 


| 


citizen of Roxbury, a union which has been emi- | 


nently happy, the fiftieth anniversary of which was 
celebrated by a large circle of their friends in 1880. 

Mr. Clarke early became one of the leaders of the 
bar of Norfolk County, and he was frequently re- 
tained in important cases in Plymouth and Bristol 
Counties. 

On the acceptance in 1848 of a seat on the bench 
by Hon. George T. Bigelow, Mr. Clarke formed a 
partnership with his brother, Mr. Manlius S. Clarke, 
who had to that time been Judge Bigelow’s partner. 
The principal office of the firm was in Boston, but 
Mr. Clarke retained his office in Roxbury for some 
years after this, and continued to attend to business 
in Norfolk County, in addition to attending to a por- 
tion of the large business of the firm of J. J. & M. 
S. Clarke in Suffolk County and elsewhere. 


This partnership was ended by the death of Mr. | 


M. S. Clarke in 1853, and for a few months Mr. 
Elias Merwin was associated with Mr. Clarke, and 
aided in winding up the unfinished business of the 
old firm. In April, 1854, he took as a partner Mr. 
Lemuel Shaw, Jr., who had been a student in his 
office. This partnership continued until 1863, when 
in consequence of the increasing personal responsi- 
bilities of both partners it was dissolved, and from 


throp Bank of Roxbury, was one of the founders 
and the first president of the Roxbury Gas Company, 
and in the early history of the Metropolitan Railroad 


_ was one of its directors, and in every relation in life 





has always commanded the respect and confidence of 
his fellow-citizens. 

Mr. Clarke was in early life a zealous member of 
the Whig party, but since the dissolution of that 
party he has not taken an active part in politics, 
though always doing his duty as a good citizen in 
voting at every election. He has always taken a 
great interest in the suppression of intemperance, and 
has for many years been a total abstainer from all 
intoxicating agents. 

Mr. Clarke continues to occupy an office at 27 
State Street, Boston, where he has been in practice 
since 1848, but of late years his time has been de- 
voted principally to the care of estates of which he is 
trustee. 

Joun Mark GourGas.—Attorney of the Supreme 
Judicial Court, November term, 1830. He was grad- 
uated at Harvard College in 1824. He practised law 
in this county during his life, having an office in 
Quincy. He died in 1862, and was never married. 
He was a careful and accurate lawyer. 

NATHANIEL FostER SAFFORD was born in Salem 
in 1815, and was graduated at Dartmouth College in 
1835. He studied law with Asahel Huntington, of 
Salem, where he was admitted to the bar. He began 
practice in Dorchester in 1839, where he acted as 


_wagistrate, and also as a master in chancery in the 


period of jurisdiction under the insolvent laws. He 
was Representative to the General Court from Dor- 
chester in 1850 and 1851. In 1853 he was nomi- 
nated by the Whig party to succeed Samuel P. Loude, 
who had declined further service as county commis- 
sioner, but there having been no choice by the people 


_ after two trials, he was appointed by Governor Clifford 


| to fill the vacancy. 


the same cause Mr. Clark gradually withdrew from | 


active practice. 
Mr. Clarke early joined the First Church in Rox- 
bury, and has been an active and useful member of 


that church and congregation. 


He was a member of the House of Representatives | 


for Roxbury in 1836 and 1837, and of the Senate | 


for Norfolk County in 1853, and when Roxbury was 
incorporated in 1846 he was chosen its first mayor, 
and rendered efficient service in organizing the new 
city government, but declined to hold the office for 
more than one year. 

Mr. Clarke was at one time president of the Win- 


He was elected chairman of the 
board, a position which he continued to fill by succes- 
sive re-elections until Jan. 1, 1868. He was again 
elected county commissioner in 1872, and from Jan. 
1, 1873, to January, 1879, he was chairman of the 
board. He now resides in Milton, but has an office 
in Boston. 

WitirAm 8S. Moron practised law at Quincy for 
many years, but he was not admitted in this county. 
He was graduated at Harvard College in 1831, and 
died at Quincy in 1871. 
some years. 

NaaMAN L. Wuite.—He was graduated at Har- 
vard College in 1835. 


tree for many years, where he now resides. 


He was a trial justice for 


He has had an office in Brain- 
He was 




















THE BENCH AND BAR. 


21 





admitted to the bar elsewhere, and is not now in 
active practice. 

Fisoer A. KINGsBuRY was a native of Norfolk 
County, and practised many years at Weymouth. He 
died many years ago. He acted as magistrate in Wey- 
mouth. He was admitted as counsellor of the Supreme 
Judicial Court in 1831. 

ASAPH CHURCHILL, JR.—Attorney and counsellor, 
September term, Court of Common Pleas, 1834. He 
was born in Milton, April 20, 1814. He was grad- 
uated at Harvard College in 1831; studied law with 
his father at Milton, and in the Harvard Law-School. 
He was admitted to the bar before he was twenty-one 
years of age, and had an office at the Lower Mills, in 
Dorchester, and Milton until 1857, when he took an 
office in Boston, where he has since continued to prac- 
tise, having had for his partner, from 1857 to 1870, 
Edward L. Pierce, and since that time his son, Joseph 
R. Churchill. He was a Senator from Norfolk County 
in 1857 ; wasa director and president of the Dorchester 


and Milton Bank, afterwards the Blue Hill Bank, for | 


more than twenty-five years. He was also president 
of the Dorchester Mutual Fire Insurance Company. 
He has resided in Dorchester, and has had a large 


practice, to which at this date (1883) he is fully | 


devoted. 

ABNER L. CusHinG.—He was born in Dorchester, 
and was the son of Abel Cushing. He was graduated 
at Harvard College in 1838. He edited the Boston 
Republic a few years, and studied law with his father. 
He began practice in Boston, and subsequently re- 
moved to Randolph, where he had an extensive prac- 
tice in this county for many years. In 1863 he 
removed to New York, where he is now engaged in 
the practice of law. 


SAMUEL WARNER.—Attorney and counsellor, Court | 


of Common Pleas, September term, 1841. He was 


born in Providence, R. I., and was fitted for college | 


at Day’s Academy, in Wrentham. 
ated at Brown University in 1838. He began prac- 
tice in Wrentham, where he has continued to reside 
and practise law ever since. He was Representative 
to the General Court from Wrentham in 1843, 1848, 
and 1882. He was Senator from the county in 1851, 
and a member of the Constitutional Convention in 
1853. He was land agent of the commonwealth 
from 1851 to 1854, and has been a trial justice since 
1858. 

Eviis WortHINGTON.—Attorney and counsellor, 
September term, Court of Common Pleas, 1842. 
He was born in Dedham, Feb. 11, 1816, and was 
the son of Erastus Worthington. 


He was gradu- 


| 





He was fitted for | 


college at Day’s Academy, in Wrentham, and entered | 


Brown University, but did not complete his college 
course. He studied law in the Dane Law-School at 
Cambridge, and in the office of Ezra Wilkinson at 
Dedham. He had an office in Dedham for a short 
time after his admission to the bar. He afterwards 
removed to Fort Wayne, Ind., and thence to Mil- 
waukee, Wis., where he continued to practise law. 
He was afterwards the general agent of the Aitna 
Insurance Company of Hartford at Springfield, IIl., 
and was subsequently the vice-president of the Put- 
nam Insurance Company of Hartford. He died in 
Palmyra, N. Y., Nov. 28, 1871. 

Joun K1na.— Attorney and counsellor, April term, 
Court of Common Pleas, 1843. He is the son of 
John King, of Randolph, and was graduated at Har- 


_vard College in 1839, and studied law with Ezra 


Wilkinson. He had an office in Dedham for a time, 
but he afterwards removed to the West, and now 
resides in Lowa. 

Hon. Wiii1AmM Gaston.—The subject of this 
sketch traces his ancestry to a family of France who 
were zealous adherents of the Huguenot cause. The 
direct ancestor of his branch of the family, driven 
from his native land, sought refuge in Scotland, from 
which place, between the years 1662 and 1668, his 
sons, being in great peril because of their firm ad- 
herence to the Protestant faith, fled to the north of 
Ireland for safety. 

The forefather of Governor Gaston, with a younger 
brother, arrived in this country about 1730. He 
located in Connecticut, where his family remained 
for more than a century. Not only has Governor 
Gaston honored the family name and connected his 
name inseparably with the history of the old com- 
monwealth, but North Carolina as well claims among 
her distinguished citizens one of the same name and 
family, William Gaston, an eminent jurist and states- 
man, judge of the Supreme Court of the State. 

Governor William Gaston, son of Alexander and 
Keziah Arnold Gaston, was born in Killingley, Conn., 
Oct. 3, 1820. His father was a well-known mer- 


| chant of Connecticut, and a man of sterling integrity 


and strong force of character. The family removed 
from Killingley to Boston in 1838. Mr. Gaston was 
prepared for college at Brooklyn and Plainfield Acad- 
emies, and at the early age of fifteen entered Brown 
University, where he maintained a high rank in his 
class and was graduated with honor in 1840. Hav- 
ing decided upon the legal profession as a life-study, 
he entered the office of Judge Hilliard, of Roxbury, 
where he remained for a time, and continued his legal 
studies with C. P. and B. R. Curtis, of Boston, with 
whom he remained until his admission to the bar in 


22 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





1844. In 1846 he opened a law-office in Roxbury, 
and very soon took a leading position at the bar. 
continued his practice here with marked success until 
1865, when, in company with Hawley Jewell and 
Walbridge A. Field, he formed a copartnership in 
Boston, under the firm-name of Jewell, Gaston & 
Field, which continued until Mr. Gaston’s elevation 
to the gubernatorial chair of Massachusetts in 1874. 

Governor Gaston is a Democrat in politics, and, 
although not an active politician, he has had many 
positions of trust and responsibility virtually thrust 
upon him, and his career in many respects has been 
In 1853 and 1854 
he was elected to the House of Representatives as a 
Whig, and in 1856 was re-elected by a fusion of 
Whigs and Democrats against the Know-Nothing 
candidate. He was elected to the Senate in 1868, 
although his district was strongly Republican. He 
was also for a long time city solicitor of Roxbury, 
and mayor of Roxbury, 1861-62. 
his party’s candidate for Congress, but was defeated. 
In 1870, after the annexation of Roxbury to Boston, 
he was elected mayor of the city, and re-elected in 
1871. In this year a spirited contest ensued for the 
mayoralty, Mr. Gaston being the Democratic candidate 
and Hon. Henry L. Pierce the nominee of the Re- 
publicans. At first it was announced that Mr. Gas- 
ton was elected, but upon a recount of votes Mr. 
Pierce was declared mayor by a plurality of seventy- 
nine votes. 


as remarkable as it was brilliant. 


Mr. Gaston’s popularity and strength 
was significantly shown in this contest, for only one 
month previously Gen. Grant had carried the city 
by five thousand five hundred majority. 

In the fall of 1874 Mr. Gaston recceived the nom- 
ination for Governor, and entered the canvass in op- 
position to Hon. Thomas Talbot, at that time acting 
Governor of the commonwealth, and one of the 
strongest men in the Republican party. The result 
astonished and electrified the country. Mr. Gaston 


was elected by seven thousand plurality. He entered | 


upon his high office with a determination to discharge 
its duties solely for the benefit of the commonwealth 
He 


brought to the gubernatorial chair not only a superior 


as a whole, and nobly was this duty performed. 


legal mind, but that executive ability which a success- 
Not a bitter 
partisan, he was guided by a conservative policy 


ful administration of the office demands. 


which was commended alike by both parties. 
declined the nomination for Governor in 1876, al- 
though a large majority of the convention was in his 
favor, and he also declined in the same year the con- 
gressional nomination from the Fourth District. 

In 1875 he received the degree of LL.D. from 


He | 


In 1870 he was | 





He | 


Harvard, and also from his Alma Mater, Brown Uni- 
versity. In 1852 he united in marriage with Louisa 
A., daughter of Laban 8. Beecher, of Roxbury. 
Scholarly, with social attainments of a high charac- 


| ter, and a legal mind that has placed him among the 


leaders of the Suffolk bar, he is justly esteemed as 
one of Boston’s most honored citizens. 

SAMUEL BrapLEy Noyes, eldest son of Samuel 
and Hlizabeth (Morrill) Noyes, was born in Dedham, 
April 9, 1817. On his father’s side he is of the 
Noyes family of Choulderton, Wiltshire, England, and 
his ancestor, Nicholas Noyes, with his brother, James, 
a clergyman, came to New England in 1634, to New- 
bury in 1635, five years after Winthrop’s settlement 
of Boston. On his mother’s side his grandfather, 
Eliakim Morrill, was a highly respectable citizen of 
Dedham, and his great-grandfather, the Rev. Isaac 
Morrill (H. U. 1737), was a solemn Puritan divine, 
who died (1793) in office as pastor at Wilmington. 
It will thus be perceived that Mr. Noyes is of a very 
old New England stock, and of that Puritan clerical 
strain which Dr. Holmes so felicitously calls “the 
Brahmin caste” in society. Mr. Noyes himself has 
always been interested in church and parochial affairs, 
and has enjoyed a wide acquaintance with the clerg 
of his faith. He attended the public schools, and for 
one year a private school in Dedham under the tuition 
of Hon. Francis W. Bird (B. U. 1832). He entered 
Phillips Academy, Andover, in 1836, and remained 
there till the summer of 1840, when he left to join 
his class at Cambridge (H. U. 1844). Of his student 
life at Phillips Academy Mr. Noyes has always re- 
tained a most tender regard; and in 1875 the Phil- 
omathean Society in the academy, in which Mr. Noyes 
played a prominent part during his student days at 
Andover, held its semi-centennial anniversary and he 
was chosen the orator of the day, his address being 
subsequently printed, together with the other literary 
exercises of the day, in an illustrated pamphlet of 
permanent interest and value. On leaving college he 
studied law with the Hon. Isaac Davis, of Worcester 
(B. U. 1822), afterwards with Hon. Ezra Wilkinson, 
of Dedham (B. U. 1824), and Hon. Ellis Ames, of 
Canton (B. U. 1830). He was admitted to the 
Norfolk County bar, April, 1847, and began practice 
in his adopted town of Canton, where he has resided 
ever since, with the exception of two years which he 
spent in Florida. He married, in January, 1850, 
Miss Georgiana, daughter of James and Abigail 
(Gookin) Beaumont. Her father came to New 
England from Derby, England, in 1800, and built 
the first mill erected for the manufacture of cotton 
by machinery in Massachusetts in 1802. Her mother 











o ay ph 


THE BENCH AND BAR. 23 








was the daughter of Edmund Gookin, a lineal de- 


-scendant from Daniel Gookin, who in 1650 was 


magistrate of all the Indians in Massachusetts, and 
who accompanied the Apostle John Eliot in his visits 
to the various tribes, and whose history of the Indians 


is published in the collections of the Massachusetts | 
Historical Society. They have four children and two | 


grandchildren. 

His public offices have been justice of the peace 
(1849), trial justice (1850), commissioner of insol- 
vency (1853), special county commissioner for Nor- 
folk County (1856), trial justice again (1857). From 


1849 to 1871 he was a member of the school com- | 


mittee of Canton, superintendent of public schools, 
1857-58, 1861-64, 1867-71, and he has always been 
an interested worker in the cause of popular education 
even beyond the borders of his own town. 

In 1864 he was appointed by Hon. William Pitt 
Fessenden, Secretary of the United States Treasury 
Department, a special agent of the department, and 
acting collector of customs at Fernandina, Florida. In 
this post, on the frontiers of a rebellion not then sub- 
dued, he had a rare chance to study the undercurrents 
of the great war among the Southern people, and his 
private journal would no doubt show quaint and sug- 
gestive incidents of the popular temper and conduct 
in Florida and Southern Georgia at that exciting time. 
After two years’ service here he returned North, leay- 
ing behind him many warm friends, whose memory 
he cherishes as among the most valued treasures of 
his busy life. On his return to Massachusetts, in 
May, 1867, he was appointed by Hon. Salmon P. 
Chase, chief justice of the Supreme Court of the 


United States, a register in bankruptcy for the Second | 
_ often a picturesqueness and vivacity which are charm- 
which he still holds, although the acts of Congress of | 


Congressional District in Massachusetts, an office 


1878 so far modified its duties that Mr. Noyes has 


had leisure to return to some extent to the practice of | 
Asa lawyer Mr. | 
Noyes has naturally been interested in politics,—State | 


his favorite profession of the law. 


and national,—giving much time and attention to 
questions of public policy and administration, and 
since its organization has been a consistent and useful 
member of the Republican party. 

In politics results are generally reached through 
carefully-arranged and judiciously-executed details, 





projected and planned away from public observation — 
and in a wise adjustment of means to ends, in the. 


absence of which political movements are like the 
moves ina game of chance. As an adviser as to what 
to do and how to do it, and a worker in the execution 
of well-laid plans, he has lent a ready and serviceable 
hand to party movements and party successes. 





Mr. Noyes has always maintained an extensive 
acquaintance with political leaders, hence his influ- 
ence has been much sought and not withheld when 
it could be used in the furtherance of justice or the 
promotion of the right, etc., in helping to shape 
party action and legislation, so to secure these desir- 
able ends. 

In private life Mr. Noyes is known to be a man of 
taste and culture, a reliable friend, and never more 
so than when friendship is needed, a genial com- 
panion and an accomplished entertainer in private 
hospitalities. The classics of his school and college 
life have been to him life-long companions and friends. 
He has from his youth devoted himself to music with 
an absorbing enthusiasm. While in college he was 
leader of the college choir and of the Harvard Glee 
Club. 

It is quite safe to assume, that had he given him- 
self to the study and practice of the fine art of 
music as the leading object of his life, the natural 
qualities of his voice, so finely attuned, combined 
with a power of passionate musical expression, born 
of genius, would have given him distinguished rank 
among the great tenors of the age. As an ama- 
teur he has been always heard with favor at the 
musical festivals, parish churches, and society meet- 
ings in the county, and whenever he consents to take 
the “baton” and assume the conductor’s role, as he 
does sometimes in the old “Stoughton Musical So- 
ciety,” he discovers the ability to impress large bodies 
of performers with his own enthusiasm, and to lead 
them to fine musical results. 

He has also been a very industrious writer for the 
public press, and his historical and local essays have 


ing. He is fond of ancient lore, and of gath- 
ering and reading out-of-the-way literature of the 
personal and archaic kind, from which he gathers 
rare sayings and incidents to adorn his contributions 
to the press. His special taste is towards the old 
English writers of the age of Addison and of John- 
son, while his knowledge of Shakespeare, and of the 
famous actors who have represented him for the last 
forty years on the American stage, is extensive. He 
is a member of the New England Historic and 
Genealogical Society, of the New England Agricul- 
tural Society, of the Massachusetts Press Associa- 
tion, of the Bunker Hill Monument Association, and 
of the Stoughton Musical Society, of which latter he 
is a member of the committee of arrangements for 
the centennial celebration of its anniversary in 1886. 

Socially, Mr. Noyes is a hale and hearty friend, 
with nothing negative in his make-up, but abounding 


24 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





in positive points of a warm and strong personality. 
Of Puritan stock, he has not a shade of Puritan 
austerity, but rather the reverse, and his good fellow- 
ship is a Boston proverb. He is Saxon rather than 
Norman in temperament, and his friends find in him 
a certain mellowness, as of an older civilization than 
our own, which makes him well met with the agree- 
able and those who make merry. 

In the affairs of a busy and exacting proton he 
has retained and developed his taste for literature and 
history, and while a New Englander by birth and 
education, his temperament has always led him to 
that wider society of mankind, where 


“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” 


NevemiAu C. Berry.—Attorney and counsellor, 
Dec. 24, 1846. He had 
an office for some years at Randolph, and practised 


Court of Common Pleas, 


in this county, but he many years since removed to 
Roxbury, and took an office in Boston, where he 
continues to practise in his profession. 

Evwan Fox Haxri.—Attorney and counsellor, 
Court of Common Pleas, September term, 1847. 
He began practice as a partner with Jonathan P. 
of Medfield. He afterwards was a partner 
with Fisher A. Kingsbury at Weymouth, where he 
He 


Bishop, 


continued to practise until his death in 1867. 
acted as a magistrate in Weymouth. 

James Humpnrey was born in Weymouth, Jan. 
20,1819. He was educated at the Phillips Acad- 
emy in Andover, where he was graduated with the 
first honors of his class in 1839. He was a teacher 
until 1852, when he entered the office of D. W. 
Gooch, in Boston, and was admitted to the Suffolk 
bar in 1855. 
Weymouth for twenty years, and during a large part 
of the time was chairman of the board. He was Rep- 
resentative to the General Court in 1852 and 1869, 
and was a Senator from the Norfolk and Plymouth 
District in 1872. He was elected a county commis- 
sioner in 1874, and held the office until November, 
1882, being chairman of that board during a great 
In November, 1882, 
he was appointed justice of the District Court of 


He held the office of selectman in 


portion of his term of service. 


East Norfolk, which office he now holds. 
at Weymouth. 


Epwarp Avery was born in Marblehead, March | 


12, 1828. He was educated in the schools of his 


native town, and afterwards in the classical school of 


Mr. Brooks, in Boston. 
of F. 
School 


He studied law in the office 
W. Choate in Boston, and at the Dane Law- 


in Cambridge. He was admitted to the bar 


He resides | 





| has thus been identified with the Norfolk bar. 





1 April, 1849, and began practice in Barre, in the | 


_ county of Worcester, where he remained until the 


winter of 1850-51, He then removed to Boston, 
and has since had an office there. On the Ist of 
October, 1858, he became associated in business with 
George M. Hobbs, a copartnership which still con- 
tinues. Mr. Avery has for many years been a lead- 
ing practitioner in all the courts of Suffolk and other 
counties, and the firm has up to the present time al- 
ways had an extensive practice. Mr. Avery has 
given especial attention to cases arising under the 
insolvent laws of Massachusetts and under the United 
States Bankrupt Law, and in this branch of the law 


_he has been eminently successful, although he has 
_ always attended to general practice. 
_he has had an office in Boston, has always been a resi- 


Mr. Avery, since 


dent in Norfolk County. For some time he resided 
at Quincy, but for many years past he has lived at 
Braintree. 
trial of many important causes in this county, and 
In 
1866 he was a Representative to the General Court 
from Braintree, and in 1867 was re-elected to the 
House, and also to the Senate from the Norfolk and 
Plymouth District. 

Epwarp Litire Prerce.—Admitted at the Feb- 
ruary term of the Supreme Judicial Court, 1853. 
He was born March 29, 1829, and is a son of Col. 
Jesse Pierce, of Stoughton. He was graduated at 
Brown University in 1850. During his college course 
he distinguished himself in several prize essays and 
in articles which appeared in the Democratic Review. 
He entered the Law-School at Cambridge, and re- 
ceived the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1852. He 
was the author of the successful prize essay offered to 
his class upon the “ Consideration of a Contract,” 
which was printed. He afterwards wrote an essay 
upon “Secret Suffrage,’ which attracted attention in 
England, and was there reprinted. He was after- 
wards in the law-office of Salmon P. Chase, at Cincin- 
In 1857 he published the first edition of his 
“ American Railroad Law.” He took an 
active part in politics in 1857 as a member of the 


He has been employed as counsel in the 


nati. 
work on 


| Republican party, advocating the most liberal treat- 


ment of foreigners against the proscriptive policy 
which then was popular in Massachusetts. 

He continued to practise in his profession, having an 
office in Boston, as a partner of Asaph Churchill. 
At the breaking out of the war, in 1861, he enlisted 
as a private in the Third Massachusetts Regiment. 
He afterwards, in 1862, by appointment of Secretary 
Chase, had the charge of the freedmen and plantations 
of the Sea Islands, and his official reports of this trust 


were widely read. He was on duty at Morris Island 








AY 


AK 





THE BENCH AND BAR. 25 











in August, 1863, when he was appointed collector of 
internal revenue for the Third District of Massachu- 
setts, which office he held for three years. 

He was appointed by Governor Bullock, in 1866, 
to the office of district attorney of the Southeastern 
District, to which office he was elected by the people 
in 1866, and again in 1868. In October, 1869, he 
was appointed secretary of the Board of State Chari- 
ties, and held that office until 1874, when he re- 
signed it. 

In 1875 and 1876 he was Representative from 
Milton in the General Court, and in the latter session 
was chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. 
He is the author of the “ Act to Limit Municipal 
Indebtedness.” He was appointed by President Hayes 
in December, 1878, assistant treasurer of the United 
States at Boston, but he declined the appointment. 

Mr. Pierce has been one of the lecturers at the 
Boston Law-School since its foundation. In 1881 
he published a new edition of his work on “ American 
Railroad Law,” much enlarged and enriched by co- 
pious notes and citations. In 1874 he prepared an 
elaborate “Index of the Special Railroad Laws of 
Massachusetts.” 

Mr. Pierce was one of the literary executors of 
Charles Sumner, and was the author of the memoir 
of Mr. Sumner, published in 1877, an elaborate and 


excellent biography. He has also been the author of | 
many articles contributed to the reviews and news- | 


papers, of official reports, and public addresses upon a 
variety of social and political topics, all of which are 
marked by such ability, breadth, and exhaustiveness 
of treatment of their respective subjects as to entitle 
them to hold a permanent place in the current dis- 
cussions of vital questions. 


result of which was given in his report for 1873 as | 


secretary of the Board of State Charities. 

Mr. Pierce received the degree of Doctor of Laws 
from Brown University in 1882. 
Milton, and has an office in Boston. 

AsA FRENCH was born on the 21st of October, 
1829, in Braintree, where his ancestors have lived 
since the town’s earliest settlement. 


He resides at | 
1856 he was elected register of insolvency, which 





office of David A. Simmons and Harvey Jewell, in 
Boston. 

Mr. French was first admitted to practice in the 
Supreme Court of New York, at Albany, in 18553, 
and afterwards at Boston. He has always had an 
office in Boston; but has made Braintree his home, 
and has been identified with the Norfolk County 
bar. 

He represented Braintree in the lower branch of 
the State Legislature in 1866. In 1870 he was ap- 
pointed by Governor Claflin district attorney for the 
Southeastern District, to fill the vacancy caused by the 
resignation of Hon. Edward L. Pierce, and held this 
office by successive re-elections until October, 1882, 
when he resigned. 

In 1882 he was tendered the appointment of justice 
of the Superior Court of Massachusetts, but declined 
it. He has been one of the commissioners on inland 
fisheries for the State of Massachusetts since 1873. 

He is president of the board of trustees of the 
Thayer Academy and of the Thayer Public Library, 
both in Braintree, and both founded and endowed by 
the late Gen. Sylvanus Thayer. 

In 1883 he was placed by President Arthur upon 
the annual Board of Visitors to the West Point Mili- 
tary Academy. 

Mr. French was appointed judge of the Court of 
Commissioners of Alabama Claims in Washington, 
under the act re-establishing that court, approved 
June 5, 1882. 

Erastus WortTHINGTON.—Attorney and coun- 


_sellor, February term, Supreme Judicial Court, 1854. 


Mr. Pierce has made | 
several journeys to Europe, one in 1873, to inspect | 
European prisons, reformatories, and asylums, the | 





| to 1867. 


He received his early education in the public schools, | 
| that office in January, 1867, and has since been elected 


was prepared for college at the Leicester Academy, 
Worcester County, Mass., and was graduated at Yale 
College, in the class of 1851. Upon leaving college, 
he began the study of law at the Albany Law-School, 


and afterwards entered the Harvard Law-School, where | 


he received the degree of LL.B. in 1853. He sub- 


He is the son of Erastus Worthington, of Dedham, 
where he was born Nov. 25, 1828. He was gradu- 
ated at Brown University in 1850. After residing 
nearly a year in Wisconsin, he entered the Dane Law- 
School, at Cambridge, where he received the degree 
of LL.B. in 1853. He completed his professional 
studies in the office of Ezra Wilkinson, at Dedham. 
He began practice in Boston, and was for some time 
a partner with David A. Simmons, of Roxbury. In 


office he held until July, 1858, when he resumed 
practice in Dedham. He was trial justice from 1857 
In 1866 he was elected clerk of the courts 
for Norfolk County, and entered upon the duties of 
for three terms of five years each. He continues to 
hold the office, and resides in Dedham. 

CHarLes Enpicorr.—Attorney and counsellor, 
April term, Court of Common Pleas, 1857. He was 
born in Canton, Oct. 28, 1822. He was for several 


sequently pursued the study of his profession in the | years town clerk, selectman, and held many town 


26 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





offices. He was a deputy sheriff of the county from 
1846 to 1853, and commissioner of insolvency from 
1855 to 1857. Upon his admission to the bar he 
began practice in Canton, where he continues to re- 
side. He was a Representative to the General Court 
in 1851, 1857, and 1858, and a Senator from Norfolk 
County in 1866 and 1867, and a member of the Ex- 
ecutive Council in 1868 and 1869. He was county 
commissioner from 1859 to 1865. He was State 
Auditor from 1870 to 1875, and Treasurer and 
Receiver-General for the Commonwealth from 1876 
to 1881, when he became ineligible for re-election by 
reason of the constitutional limitation in the term of 
that office. He now holds the office of tax com- 
missioner. He resides in Canton. 

JosEPH McKEAN CHURCHILL is the son of 
Asaph Churchill, and was born in Milton, April 
29, 1821. He was graduated at Harvard College 
in 1840, and pursued his professional studies in the 
Dane Law-School, Cambridge, where he received the 
degree of LL.B. in 1845. He began and continued 
the practice of law in Boston for many years. He 
was Representative to the General Court from Milton 
in 1858, and a member of the Executive Council in 
1859 and 1860. He was also a member of the Con- 
stitutional Convention of 1853, and for twelve years 
was an overseer of Harvard College. He was a cap- 
tain in the Forty-fifth Regiment Massachusetts In- 
fantry in the war of the Rebellion. He was a 
county commissioner from Jan. 1, 1868, until April, 
1871, and chairman of the board during two of those 
years. He was then appointed a justice of the Mu- 
nicipal Court of Boston, which office he continues to 
hold. He resides in Milton. 

JAMES H. TIRRELL was born in Weymouth, March 
28, 1833. 
mouth, and studied law with Fisher A. Kingsbury 


and Elijah F. Hall, in Weymouth. He was admitted | 


to the bar in Suffolk, July 16,1856. He now resides 
and has an office at Quincy. 

Joun L. ExpripeGe was born in Provincetown, 
Mass., Dec. 25, 1842. He was fitted for college at 
the Boston Latin School, and was graduated at Har- 
vard College. 
Dane Law-School, and received the degree of LL.B. 
in 1866. He also studied in the office of Joseph 
Nickerson, in Boston. 
in Suffolk in November, 1867. He resides at Quincy, 
but has an office in Boston. 

Kvererr ©. Bumpus was born in Plympton, Nov. 
28, 1844. His parents subsequently removed to 
Braintree, and he left the Braintree High School in 


He was educated in the schools of Wey- | 


| 





He pursued his legal studies at the 


He was admitted to the bar | 


United States during the civil war. He served with 
some intervals until the war ended, both as private 
and officer. He pursued his studies while in the 
army, and at the close of the war he entered the office 
of Edward Avery, and was admitted to the bar in 
Suffolk, May 10, 1867. He was a trial justice at 
Weymouth from 1868 to 1872, when he was appointed 
Justice of the District Court of East Norfolk, which 
office he resigned Oct. 1, 1882. He was then nomi- 
nated and elected the district attorney for the South- 
eastern District, to succeed Asa French. He was 
re-elected in 1883 for the term of three years, and 
now holds that office. His residence is in Quincy, 
but he has an office in Boston. 

Freperick D. Eniy.—Attorney and counsellor, 
Superior Court, Oct. 8, 1862. He was born in 
Wrentham, Sept. 24, 1838, was fitted for “college at 
Day’s Academy, in Wrentham, and was graduated at 
Brown University in 1859. He studied law in the 
ofice of Waldo Colburn, in Dedham. He has been 
a trial justice from 1867 to the present time. He 
was Representative to the General Court from Ded- 
ham in 1873, and Senator in 1878 and 1879. He 
resides in Dedham, but has an office in Boston. 

Joun D. Cops.—Attorney and counsellor, Superior 
Court, April 23, 1867. He was born in Dedham, 
April 28, 1840, and was graduated at Harvard Col- 
lege in 1861. He studied law in the Dane Law- 
School, and received the degree of LL.B. in 1866. 
He also was in the office of Waldo Colburn, at Ded- 
ham. He entered the military service of the United 
States Aug. 16, 1862, and served until the end of the 
war as sergeant, and was promoted to be lieutenant 
and acting adjutant of the Thirty-fifth Massachusetts 
Infantry. He was Representative to the General Court 
from Dedham in 1876 and 1877. He was appointed 
assistant register of probate Jan. 1, 1879, which office 
he has since held. He resides in Dedham. 

Epmunp Davis.—Attorney and counsellor, Supe- 
rior Court, Oct. 1, 1867. He was born in Canton, 


| Dec. 12, 1839, and was graduated at Dartmouth 
| College in 1861. 


He entered the military service of 
the United States Aug. 16, 1862, and was severely 
wounded at the battle of Antietam, by reason of which 
he was discharged from service Sept. 16, 1862. He 
studied law in the office of Waldo Colburn, at Ded- 
ham. He began practice in Franklin, and was a trial 
justice for some time. He then removed to Hyde 
Park, where he now resides and has an office. 
Tuomas E. Grover was born in Mansfield, Feb. 
9, 1844. He studied law principally in the office of 


Ellis Ames, in Canton, and was admitted to the bar 


April, 1861, to go into the military service of the | Sept. 7, 1867. Mr. Grover has held the office of trial 


ae 


THE BENCH AND BAR. 27 











justice for many years. He resides in Canton, and has 
offices both in Canton and Boston. 

JAMES E. Correr was born in Ireland in 1848. 
He came to this country in 1856, and resided in 
Marlborough until his admission to the bar. He was 
educated in the public schools, and at the State Normal 
School at Bridgewater. He studied law with William 
B. Gale, of Marlborough, and was admitted to the bar 
in Middlesex, Jan. 2, 1874. He removed to Hyde 
Park, where he now resides. He has an office in 
Hyde Park and in Boston. 

GEORGE WINsLOow WiGGIN.—Attorney and coun- 
sellor, Superior Court, Oct. 17, 1871. He was born 
in Sandwich, N. H., March 10, 1841. He was edu- 
cated in the course for four years at Phillips’ Acad- 
emy, Exeter, N. H. He was afterwards a teacher in 
the Friends’ Boarding-School at Providence, R. L., 
and principal of the Wrentham High School for four 
years. He studied law in the office of Samuel War- 
ner, of Wrentham. He began practice in Franklin 
in 1872, where he has since resided and practised law. 
He has been a trial justice since 1872, and was elected 
a county commissioner in 1878, and was re-elected in 
1881. He has been chairman of the board during 
the past year. He has also an office in Boston. 

JAMES HeEwIns was born in Medfield, April 27, 
1846. He was educated in the Medfield and Wal- 
pole High Schools, and entered Amherst College. 
He studied law with Robert R. Bishop and at the 
Dane Law-School, in Cambridge. He was admitted 
to the bar in Suffolk, Feb. 26, 1868. He has been 
a trial justice, and is Representative to the General 


Court in 1884. He resides in Medfield, but has an 


office in Boston. 

Oscar A. MARDEN was born in Palermo, Me., 
Aug. 20, 1853. He was educated at the Westbrook 
Seminary, in Deering, Me. He studied law in the 
Boston University Law-School, where he was grad- 
uated in 1876. He also studied in the office of S. K. 
Hamilton, in Boston. He was admitted to the bar in 
Suffolk, Oct. 8, 1876. He has been a trial justice 
for several years, and resides in Stoughton, but has an 
office in Boston. 

The following gentlemen were admitted to the bar 


in Norfolk County, and are now practicing attorneys in | 


the county: 
Asa Wellington, Quincy, admitted April, 1852. 
Charles J. Randall, Wrentham, admitted Jan. 3, 
1859. 


Henry B. Terry, Hyde Park, admitted April 4,1871. | 
Don Gleason Hill, Dedham, admitted Oct. 18,1871. | 
Charles Amory Williams, Brookline, admitted Oct. | 


1, 1873. 








Zenas 8. Arnold, Boston, admitted Jan. 20, 1874. 

Charles A. Mackintosh, Dedham, admitted Oct. 4, 
1875. 

Frank Rockwood Hall, Brookline, admitted Jan. 8, 
1878. 

William G. A. Pattee, Quincy, admitted May 14, 
1879. 

John Everett, Canton, admitted May 14, 1879. 

Nathan Hyde Pratt, Weymouth, admitted Jan. 1, 
1880. 

James J. Malone, Quincy, admitted May 18, 1881. 

Charles Francis Jenney, Hyde Park, admitted Oct. 
4, 1882. 

Albert Everett Avery, Braintree, admitted Jan. 
23, 1883. 

The following gentlemen were admitted to the bar 
elsewhere, but are now practicing attorneys in the 
county : 

Charles H. Drew, Brookline. Office in Boston. 

Moses Williams, Brookline. Office in Boston. 

Bradford Kingman, Brookline. Office in Boston. 

Thomas L. Wakefield, Dedham. Office in Boston. 

Alonzo B. Wentworth, Dedham. Office in Boston. 

John R. Bullard, Dedham. Office in Boston. 

Horace E. Ware, Milton. Office in Boston. 

Henry F. Buswell, Canton. Office in Boston. 

Jonathan Wales, Randolph. Office in Boston. 

John V. Beal, Randolph. Office in Boston. 

Charles H. Deans, West Medway. 

Emery Grover, Needham. Office in Boston. 

E. Granville Pratt, Quincy. Office in Boston. 

George Fred. Williams, Dedham. Office in Boston. 

Orin T. Gray, Hyde Park. Office in Boston. 

W. H. H. Andrews, Hyde Park. Office in Boston. 

Artemas W. Gates, Dedham. Office in Boston. 

Robert W. Carpenter, Foxborough. 

Fred. H. Williams, Foxborough. 

Edward Bicknell, Weymouth. Office in Boston. 

Fred. J. Stimson, Dedham. Office in Boston. 

Charles E, Perkins, Brookline. Office in Boston. 

John C. Lane, Norwood. Office in Boston. 

Sheriffs.\—Hon. Ebenezer Thayer, of Braintree, 
the first sheriff of Norfolk County, was the son of 
Hon. Ebenezer Thayer, also of Braintree, and was 
born Aug. 21, 1746. His father was for many years 
a prominent citizen of the town, having served in the 
office of Representative eighteen years, and was chosen 


| Representative to the General Court seventeen years 





1 The following sketches of the sheriffs and county treasurers 
of the county are mainly taken from the ‘‘ Norfolk County 
Manual,” by Henry O. Hildreth, Esq., by the permission of the 
author. 


28 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





successively, and in 1776 was a member of the Hx- 
ecutive Council. His mother was Susanna, daughter 
of Rev. Samuel Niles, of Braintree. Mr. Thayer 
served the town many years as selectman, town clerk, 
and treasurer; was Representative to the General 
Court in 1796, 1800, and 1801, a member of the 
Senate in 1795, ’96, *97, 98, ’99, and a member of 


the Executive Council in 1793 and 1794. He was 
also a brigadier-general in the militia. On the or- 


ganization of the county, in 1793, he was appointed 
Sheriff, but owing to ill health, resigned early in the 
following year. He died May 30, 1809, aged sixty- 
three years. 

Atherton Thayer, half-brother to the preceding, 
was born in Braintree, Feb. 9, 1766. His mother 
was Rebecca Miller, of Milton, who was the second 
wife of Hon. Ebenezer Thayer, Sr. On the resigna- 
tion of the office of sheriff by his brother, in 1794, 
he was appointed to fill the vacancy, and continued in 
the office until his death, July 4, 1798, aged thirty- 
two years. 

Benjamin Clarke Cutler, of Roxbury, was born in 
Boston, Sept. 15, 1756, and was for many years a 
merchant, removing afterwards to Jamaica Plain. 
He was appointed sheriff July 31, 1798, and held 
the office until his death. He died very suddenly at 
his residence on Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, April, 
1810, aged fifty-four years. 

Elijah Crane was born in Milton, Aug. 29, 1754, 
and was the son of Thomas Crane, for many years a 
prominent citizen of that part of Stoughton, now 
Canton. He early removed to Canton, where his 


. . . | 
regular business was that of a farmer, in which he 


met with marked success, although much of his time 


was devoted to public life. He was a man of large 


and erect stature, well-developed form, and graceful | 


carriage, and was noted for his splendid horseman- 
ship. He early took a deep interest in military mat- 
ters, rising by successive appointments to the rank 
of brigadier-general of the Second Brigade, First Di- 
vision, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, to which he 
was promoted Aug. 1, 1803, and promoted and com- 
missioned major-general of the First Division June 
16, 1809, which position he continued to hold until 
his discharge, June 8, 1827, a period of service in 





the highest military office of the State without a 


parallel in Massachusetts. He also attained high 
rank as a Mason, being successively Junior Grand 


Warden of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in 


Grand Master in 1832. 
Cutler, in 1810, he was appointed sheriff, and con- 
tinued in office until 1811, when he was removed for 


| clusive. 


' some time he carried on the same business. 


political reasons by Governor Gerry. The following 
year he was reappointed, and continued in office by 
successive reappointments until his death, the longest 
term of service as sheriff ever held in the county. 
He died Feb. 21, 1834, aged eighty years. 

William Brewer, of Roxbury, was for many years 
a prominent citizen of the town, having been chair- 
man of the Board of Selectmen for several years, and 
was Representative to the General Court from 1801 
to 1811, inclusive, and again from 1814 to 1817, in- 
In 1811 he was appointed sheriff of Nor- 
folk County by Governor Gerry, which position he 
held for one year. He died Aug. 2, 1817, aged 
fifty-nine years. 

John Baker (2d) was born in Dorchester, Feb. 27, 
1780. He learned the trade of a wheelwright in 
Roxbury, and soon removed to Dedham, where for 
He was 
a coroner, and for several years a deputy sheriff of the 
county. On the death of Gen. Crane, in 1834, Mr. 
Baker was appointed sheriff, and held the office until 
his death, which occurred Jan. 1, 1843, at the age of 
sixty-three years. 

Jerauld Newland Ezra Mann was born in Med- 
field, June 26, 1796. He learned the trade of a 
carriage-painter, serving his time with the Messrs. 
Bird, of Walpole. In 1823 he went to Easton, 
where he remained but a short time, removing the 
year following to Taunton, where he remained five 


years, at the end of which time he went to Wrent- 


ham, and thence to Dedham, where he took the 
place of his brother-in-law, Maj. T. P. Whitney, 
as deputy sheriff and jailer. On the death of 
Sheriff Baker, Mr. Mann was, Feb. 8, 1843, ap- 
pointed sheriff for the term of five years, at the ex- 
piration of which he declined a reappointment, but 
continued to act as deputy sheriff and jailer until 
July, 1855, when failing health compelled his resig- 
nation. He soon after removed to Vernon, Conn., 
the residence of his youngest daughter, where he died 
April 15, 1857, aged sixty years and ten months. 
Thomas Adams was born in Quincy, April 20, 
1804. 


his father as a butcher, and afterwards was proprietor 


In early life he was engaged in business with 


of different stage-lines, and an extensive dealer in 
horses. He then went to Roxbury, where he con- 
tinued to reside until his death. He was deputy 


sheriff under Sheriff Mann, and in 1848 succeeded 


that officer as sheriff of the county. He was re- 
1820 and 1821, Senior Grand Warden in 1822, and | 


On the death of Sheriff | 


| office until Jan. 1, 1857. 


| 
| 


moved from office for political reasons in 1852, but 
was reappointed the following year, and continued in 
After Roxbury became a 
He 


city he was for two or three years city marshal. 


NORFOLK DISTRICT MEDICAL SOCIETY. 29 





died suddenly of apoplexy Jan. 2, 1869, aged sixty- 


five years. 
John W. Thomas was born in Weymouth, April 
1, 1815. Learned the trade of a shoemaker, and 


was a Representative to the General Court in 1852, 
a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1853, 
and a lieutenant-colonel in the militia. May 13, 1852, 
he was commissioned sheriff of Norfolk County by 


year for political reasons. In 1856 he was elected 
sheriff by the Republican and American parties, and 
assumed the position Jan. 1, 1857. 
removed to Dedham, where he continues to reside. 
He was the first sheriff elected by the people in the 
county, and at each successive election was chosen by 
a large majority of the popular vote. He held the 
office until January, 1878, when he declined a re- 
election. 

Rufus C. Wood was born in Palmer, May 30, 
1818. His parents removed to Dudley, where he 
learned the trade of a machinist, and lived until he 
was twenty years of age. He previously had at- 
tended the public schools and the Nichols Academy 
in Dudley. He removed to Canton in November, 
1836, and worked at his trade for eleven years in the 
Kinsley Iron and Machine Company’s works. He was 
appointed a deputy sheriff by Sheriff Adams in 1853, 
and he held that office until his election as sheriff, 
in 1877. During President Lincoln’s administration 
he was appointed postmaster at Canton, which office 


He soon after 


he held for sixteen years, and resigned at the time 
of his election as sheriff. In 1877 he was elected 
sheriff of the county, has been twice re-elected, the 
last time, in 1883, by the nomination and vote of 
both political parties. Since his election as sheriff he 
has resided in Dedham, and is master of the House 
of Correction in connection with his office. 

County Treasurers.—Isaac Bullard, the first 
treasurer of the county, was born in Dedham, July 
10, 1744, and was a lineal descendant from William 
Bullard, one of the first settlers of the town. He 
was for many years in public life, having been town 
clerk for three years, selectman five years, and Rep- 
resentative to the General Court from 1794 to 1801, 
and again in 1806 and 1807. He was chosen deacon 
of the First Church, May 28, 1780, which office he 
continued to hold until his death. 
tion of the county, in 1793, he was chosen county 


On the organiza- 


treasurer, to which position he was annually elected 
until his decease, which occurred June 18, 1808, at 
the age of sixty-four years. 

John Bullard, son of the preceding, was born in 


Dedham, Jan. 9, 1773. He was also much in public 
life, having been twenty years a selectman and one 
year town clerk. On the death of his father, in 


1808, he was chosen county treasurer, which position 
afterwards went into business as a manufacturer; 


he occupied by successive elections until his death, 
Feb. 25, 1852, a period of forty-four years. He was 
seventy-nine years of age. (See history of Dedham.) 

George Ellis was born in Medfield, Sept. 2, 1793, 


_and early removed to Dedham, where for several 
Governor Boutwell, but was removed the following 


years he carried on business as a trader. He was 
captain of one of the Dedham militia companies, for 
several years a deputy sheriff of the county, and for 
fourteen years one of the selectmen of the town. He 
was secretary and treasurer of the Dedham Institution 
for Savings from May, 1845, to June, 1855, when, 
owing to ill health, he resigned. On the death of 
John Bullard, in 1852, he was appointed by the 
county commissioners county treasurer, and the two 
following years was elected by the people, failing of a 
re-election in 1855. He died June 24, 1855, aged 
sixty-two years and ten months. 


Chauncey C. Churchill. (See history of Dedham.) 





CHAPTER. BE 


NORFOLK DISTRICT MEDICAL SOCIETY. 


BY A. E. SPROUL. 


INCLUDED in the Massachusetts Medical Society 
are several subordinate organizations, ‘“ wherein the 
communication of cases and experiments may be 
made, and the diffusion of knowledge in medicine 
and surgery may be encouraged and promoted.” 
One of these is the Norfolk District Medical Society. 
It is subject to the regulations of the general society 
in all matters wherein the latter is concerned. It 
was organized in 1850, and consists of Fellows of 
the Massachusetts Medical Society residing in those 
portions of Boston formerly known as Roxbury, Dor- 
chester, and West Roxbury, and in the towns within 
the present boundaries of Norfolk County. The 
‘« district” corresponds to the old county lines, which 
were changed by the annexation of Roxbury and 
Dorchester to Boston. The officers are as follows: 
President, Dr. J. H. Streeter, Roxbury; Vice-Presi- 
dent, Dr. A. R. Holmes, Canton; Secretary and 
Librarian, Dr. G. D. Townshend, Roxbury; Treas- 
urer, Dr. E. G. Morse, Roxbury. 


Following is a 


30 


list of present members, brought down to Feb. 1, 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








1884: 


1835.1—Alexander, Andrew, Dorchester. 
1866.—Allen, George Otis, West Roxbury. 
1866.—Amory, Robert, Brookline. 

1873.—Bemis, Charles Albert, West Medway. 
1882.—Blanchard, Benjamin Seaver, Brookline. 
1840.—Blanchard, Henry, Dorchester. 
1871.—Blodgett, Frank Marcellus, Roxbury. 
1871.—Bolles, William Palmer, Dorchester. 
1868.—Bowditch, Henry Pickering, West Roxbury. 
1871.—Bragdon, George Abbott, Dorchester. 
1878.—Broughton, Henry White, Jamaica Plain. 
1879.—Brown, Roscoe Ellsworth, East Weymouth. 
1873.—Call, Norman, Roxbury. 

1865.—Campbell, William Henry, Roxbury. 
1878.—Channing, Walter, Brookline. 
1868.—Chase, John Winslow, Dedham. 
1882.—Cheever, Clarence Alonzo, Mattapan. 
1874.—Clement, George Wilmot, Roxbury. 
1837.—Cotting, Benjamin Eddy, Roxbury. 
1849.—Cushing, Benjamin, Dorchester. 
1874.—Cushman, Thaddeus Thompson, Randolph. 
1878.—Daniels, Edwin Alfred, Medway. 
1862.—Dearing, Thomas Haven, Braintree. 
1847.—Dickerman, Lemuel, Foxborough. 
1880.—Donovan, Samuel Magner, Quincy. 
1883.—Drake, William Abram, North Weymouth. 
1879.—Dunbar, Eugene Fillmore, Roxbury. 
1867.—Edson, Ptolemy O’Meara, Roxbury. 
1868.—Edwards, Charles Lawrence, Hyde Park. 
1870.—Emery, William Henry, Roxbury. 
1881.—Ernst, Harold Clarence, Jamaica Plain. 
1865.—Everett, Willard Shepard, Hyde Park. 
1874.—Farr, Edwin Lawson, Roxbury. 
1848.—Faulkner, George, Jamaica Plain. 
1866.—Fay, George Wyman, East Weymouth. 
1858.—Fifield, William Cranch Bond, Dorchester. 
1875.—Finn, James Anthony, Roxbury. 
1847.—Flint, John Sydenham, Roxbury. 
1847.—Fogg, David Sylvester, Norwood. 
1880.—Fogg, Irving Sylvester, Norwood. 
1856.—Forsaith, Francis Flint, Weymouth. 
1848.—Francis, Tappan Eustis, Brookline. 
1880.—Fraser, John Chisholm, East Weymouth. 
1877.—French, Justus Crosby, Dedham. 
1882.—Galligan, Eugene Thomas, Roxbury. 
1882.—Garceau, Alexander Emmanuel, Hyde Park. 
1863.—Garceau, Trefflé, Roxbury. 

1875.—Gerry, Edwin Peabody, Jamaica Plain. 
1854.—Gifford, Silas Swift, East Stoughton. 
1869.—Gilbert, Daniel Dudley, Dorchester. 
1854.—Gilbert, John Henry, Quincy. 
1871.—Gordon, John Alexander, Quincy. 
1869.—Goss, Francis Webster, Roxbury. 
1878.—Gould, Lawrence Mervin, Hyde Park. 
1882.—Granger, Frank Clark, Randolph. 
1863.—Greene, James Sumner, Dorchester. 
1871.—Hall, Josiah Little, Brookline. 
1847.—Harlow, James Frederick, Quincy Point. 
1867.—Hayes, Charles Cogswell, Hyde Park. 
1869.—Hazelton, Isaac Hills, Grantville. 


1 Date of admission. 





1853.—Hitchcock, Joseph Green Stevens, Foxborough. 


1862.—Holbrook, Silas Pinckney, West Medway. 
1854.—Holmes, Alexander Reed, Canton. 
1880.—Jaques, Henry Perey, Milton. 
1833.—Jarvis, Edward, Dorchester. 
1877.—Kenneally, John Henry, Roxbury. 
1877.—Kilby, Henry Sherman, Wrentham. 
1848.—King, George, Franklin. 
1875.—Kingsbury, Albert Dexter, Needham. 
1869.—Mansfield, Henry Tucker, Needham. 
1883.—Martin, Francis Coffin, Roxbury. 
1846.—Martin, Henry Austin, Roxbury. 
1874.—Martin, Stephen Crosby, Roxbury. 
1849.—Maynard, John Parker, Dedham. 
1872.—MeNulty, Frederick Joseph, Roxbury. 
1875.—Mecuen, George Edward, Roxbury. 
1872.—Moran, John Brennan, Roxbury. 
1870.—Morse, Edward Gilead, Roxbury. 
1843.—Morse, Horatio Gilead, Roxbury. 
1880.—Mullen, Francis Henry, Dorchester. 
1870.—Nichols, Arthur Howard, Roxbury. 
1871.—Otis, Robert Mendum, Roslindale. 
1878.—Page, Frank Wilfred, Jamaica Plain. 
1870.—Perry, Joseph Franklin, Dorchester. 
1882.—Pierce, Matthew Vassar, Milton. 
1867.—Pratt, Gustavus Percival, Cohasset. 
1881.—Prior, Charles Edwin, Holbrook. 
1867.—Quincy, Henry Parker, Dedham. 
1877.—Read, George Mumford, Dorchester. 
1856.—Richardson, John Henry, Medfield. 
1858.—Robinson, Albert Brown, Roxbury. 
1873.—Rogers, Orville Forrest, Dorchester. 
1873.—Sabine, George Krans, Brookline. 
1854.—Seaverns, Joel, Roxbury. 
1881.—Sherman, Warren Hobart, Quincy. 
1852.—Shurtleff, Augustine, Brookline. 
1863.—Skinner, Edward Manning, Jamaica Plain. 
1871.—Smithwick, John, Sharon. 
1855,—Stedman, Charles Ellery, Dorchester. 
1864.—Stedman, Joseph, Jamaica Plain. 
1861.—Stone, Silas Emlyn, Walpole. 
1847.—Streeter, Joseph Herman, Roxbury. 
1882.—Thurlow, John Howard, Roxbury. 
1872.—Tinlkkham, Granville Wilson, Weymouth. 
1862.—Tower, Charles Carroll, South Weymouth. 
1877.—Towle, Henry Charles, Dorchester. 
1877.—Townshend, George Drew, Roxbury. 
1868.—Trull, Washington Benson, Brookline. 
1876.—Van Slyck, David Bernard, Brookline. 
1872.—Vogel, Frederick William, Roxbury. 
1854.—Waldock, James, Roxbury. 
1838.—Wales, Bradford Leonard, Randolph. 
1880.—Welch, John Frederick, Quincy. 
1874.—Wescott, William Henry, Dorchester. 
1880.—West, Edward Graeff, Roxbury. 
1882.—White, Herbert Warren, Roxbury. 
1878.—Wells, Frank, Brookline. 
1872.—Williams, Edward Tufts, Roxbury. 
1831.—Wing, Benjamin Franklin, Jamaica Plain. 
1874.—Wing, Clifton Ellis, Jamaica Plain. 
1876.—Wingate, Uranus Owen Brackett, Wellesley. 
1867.—Winkler, Joseph Alexander, Jamaica Plain. 
1880.—Withington, Charles Francis, Roxbury. 
1882.—Wood, Henry Austin, Roxbury. 
1875.—Yale, Joseph Cummings, Franklin. 
1874.—Young, Charles Sayward, Stoughton. 





DEDHAM. 





dl 





CHAPTER, 111. 


DEDHAM. 


BY ERASTUS WORTHINGTON.! 


The Settlement—The Town Covenant—Names of the Signers— 
Organization of Town Government—Character of Settlers— 
Formation of the Church—The Rey. John Allin—Division 
of Lands—Burial-Ground—Training-Ground—Description of 
the Village in 1664. 


On the third day of September, 1635, at the Gen- 
eral Court held at Newtowne, afterwards Cambridge, 
it was thus ordered : 

“There shall be a plantation settled about two 
miles above the falls of Charles River, on the north- 
east side thereof, to have ground lying to it on both 
sides the river, both upland and meadow, to be laid 
out hereafter as the court shall appoint.”’ 

The falls of Charles River here referred to, are the 
falls at Newton, and although the distance above the 
falls is understated in the record, yet the place desig- 


nated can be none other than that now occupied by | 


the village of Dedham. This order was the fiat which 
proclaimed the existence of the settlement of Dedham, 
and the record therefore properly stands at the begin- 
ning of its written history. It marks with certainty 
the time when the settlement had been definitely de- 
termined upon. 
record clearly implies, the lands described, to some 
extent, must have been explored, and settlers were 
ready to undertake the new plantation. The settle- 
ment at Watertown, begun in 1630, had already be- 
come alarmed at the rapid increase of its inhabitants. 
The tide of emigration had then set strongly to the 
shores of Massachusetts Bay, and a new settlement 
had to be provided. In the preceding spring the 
General Court had given leave to the inhabitants of 
Watertown to remove themselves to any place they 





1 Tn writing the following history of Dedham, I have taken 
the materials largely from my father’s “‘ History of Dedham,” 
published in 1827; from the Centennial address of Samuel F. 
Haven, in 1836; from the historical discourses of the Rev. Dr. 
Lamson, and the other historical discourses by the pastors of 
other churches. The care and accuracy with which these were 
prepared render them authentic sources of history, and they 
have left little for the gleaner in the history of the first two 
centuries. I have also availed myself of the researches of others 


Before this time, however, as the | 





upon certain special subjects; but with these exceptions, I have | 


sought original sources for historical facts. 


I only regret that | 


in the limited time given for the preparation of this history, | 


there has been no opportunity for giving citations of authorities, 


or for that careful revision of the text which every historical | 


work should receive.—E. W. 
DepuHaw, Feb. 1, 1884. 





should make choice of, provided they should continue 
under the government. The student of the early 
records of the colonial towns, and especially those of 
Watertown, will be surprised and interested to find 
how soon after the arrival of Winthrop, the insuffi- 
ciency of land became an urgent and impelling reason 
for the advance of civilization into the interior. It 
is easy to imagine how eagerly the pioneers, in the 
search for an eligible location, ascended the river above 
the lands already granted to the Newtowne proprietors, 
lying above Watertown, to the broad meadows and 
wide plateau of the future town of Dedham. To the 
eye of the early settler, it must be remembered, 
meadows had an especial value, since they would fur- 
nish both water .and forage for his cattle before the 
uplands could be cleared. 

The removal from Watertown was gradually ef- 
fected, and it is probable that the year 1635-36 was 
mainly spent in preparation for occupying the new 
settlement. The fact, however, that in the register 


| of births and deaths in Dedham are recorded the 


births of two children in June and July of 1635, 
would seem sufficient to prove that the plantation 
was actually begun in that year. It is said that there 
were twelve of these pioneers who first planted their 
rude houses upon the plains of Dedham. Although 
the names of all these cannot now be ascertained, yet 
among those who were here as early as 1635 were 
doubtless Edward Alleyne, Philemon Dalton, Samuel 
Morse, John Dwight, Lambert Genere, Richard 
Evered, and Ralph Shepherd. Capt. Thomas Cake- 
bread was the military man of the company, but he 
never came as a settler. Mr. Robert Feake was a 
prominent man at Watertown, and although his name 
was first subscribed to the covenant, and he had an 
Possibly 
Abraham Shaw was one of the number, as his house 
and goods at Watertown were burned about—this 
time. 

On the eighth day of September, 1636, upon the 
petition of nineteen settlers for a confirmation of the 
grant of the previous year, and to distinguish the 
town by the name of Contentment, the General Court 
ordered ‘‘ that the plantation to be settled above the 
falls of Charles River shall have three years immu- 
nity from public charges, and the name of the plan- 
tation to be Dedham; to enjoy all that land on the 
southerly and easterly side of Charles River not for- 
merly granted to any town or particular persons, and ~ 


allotment of land, he never removed here. 


| also to have five miles square on the other side of the 


river.” 
This is to be considered as the act incorporating 


‘the town, as it conferred the name by which it has 


32 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





always been known. No definite reason can be as- 
signed for the change made in the name selected by 
the petitioners; but it has been suggested that John 
Dwight, John Rogers, and John Page were emigrants 
from Dedham, in Suffolk, England, which may satis- 
factorily account for it. 

The territory included in this grant to the Dedham 
proprietors was magnificent in its extent and some- 
what indefinite in its boundaries. On the southerly 
and easterly side of the river, it included the present 
town of Dedham, with the portions that have been 
annexed to West Roxbury and Hyde Park, the 
towns of Norwood, Dover, a portion of Natick, Med- 
field, Walpole, Norfolk, Franklin, Wrentham, and 
the greater portion of Bellingham. On the northerly 
and westerly side of the river the grant of five miles 


square included Dedham Island, then a neck of land, | 
| liams at Providence. 


Needham, Wellesley, the greater portion of Natick, 
three thousand four hundred acres in the town of 
Sherborn, and the town of Medway. Besides, three 
hundred acres had been purchased near the Roxbury 
line, by the proprietors, of Philemon Dalton, John 
Dwight, and Lambert Genere, who had bought of 
Samuel Dudley. 

The easterly boundary of the territory then was not 
Neponset River, owing to grants to Israel Stoughton 
and others which intervened, but a century after, 
Neponset River became the boundary-line between 
Stoughton and Dedham. It required many commit- 
tees and much negotiation subsequently to define the 
boundaries between Dedham and Roxbury and Dor- 
chester. 

This grant of the General Court in confirmation 
and enlargement of the grant of a plantation made 
in 1635 was made to the nineteen persons who were 
They were the sole owners of the land 
The names 


petitioners. 
until they should admit new associates. 
of these petitioners and proprietors were 


Lambert Genere, 
Nicholas Phillips, 
Ralph Shepherd, 


Edward Alleyne, 
Abraham Shaw, 
Samuel Morse, 
John Gaye, 
Thomas Bartlett, 


Francis Austen, 


Philemon Dalton, 
Ezekiel Holliman, 
John Kingsbury, 
John Dwight, 


John Coolidge, 


John Rogers, 
Joseph Shaw, 
Richard Evered, William Bearestow. 
John Howard, 
While it is true that the nineteen men 
names are signed to the petition should be regarded 
as the nominal founders of the town, yet only a few 
of them were long identified with the plantation or 


had any permanent influence upon its future growth. 





_had not yet removed from Watertown. 


whose | 


| ard. 


Edward Alleyne, who had come from Watertown the 
preceding year, was doubtless the principal man of 
the company. ‘That he was a man of education, the 
records of the first two years, made by him, are ample 
evidence, and the covenant drawn by him shows that 
he was a man of excellent capacity. He afterwards 
obtained a grant of three hundred acres of land for a 
settlement at Bogastow (Hast Medway), but he died 
suddenly while attending the General Court in 1642, 
Abraham 
Shaw, having obtained leave to erect a corn-mill on 
Charles River, died in 1638, without beginning his 
enterprise, and Joseph Shaw, his son, removed to 
Weymouth. Ezekiel Holliman remained only a short 
time, and then removed to Salem, and became an 
adherent of Roger Williams. He subsequently went 
to Rhode Island, and, it is said, baptized Roger Wil- 


without having begun his new plantation. 


Philemon Dalton removed to 
Ipswich, Ralph Shepherd and Nicholas Phillips to 
Weymouth, William Bearestow to Scituate after a 
few years, and Francis Austen to Hampton. John 
Coolidge, Thomas Bartlett, and John Rogers prob- 
ably never removed from Watertown. Of those who 
remained here as permanent settlers were Lambert 
Genere, John Gay, John Kingsbury, and John How- 
Richard Evered was the progenitor of the 
Dedham family bearing the name of Everett. John 
Dwight was for sixteen. years a selectman, and died 
here in 1661. It was from him that Dwight’s Brook 
took its name, and his house, which stood near the 
brook, on High Street, near the easterly abutment of 
the railroad bridge, was not removed until the con- 
struction of the railroad in 1849. 

The settlement was now in the period of its “non- 
Its 
affairs were guided and directed at first by those who 
But in the 
winter of 1636-37 there were some who had begun 
Of the 
motives and character of the settlers we have clear 


age,” as it was aptly termed in the petition. 
One ry p 


to live permanently in their new habitations. 


and indubitable assurance in the covenant which was 
Its sim- 
plicity and brevity are admirable, while the spirit 
which pervades it shows that their earnest desire and 


drawn up before the act of incorporation. 


prominent motive were for a loving and comfortable 
society. 
“THE COVENANT. 
“ce If. 
and reverence of Almighty God, mutually and severally promise 


We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, do, in the fear 


amongst ourselves and each to other to profess and practise 
one truth according to that most perfect rule the foundation 
whereof is everlasting love. 

“2. That we shall by all means labor to keep off from us all 
such as are contrary-minded, and receive only such unto us as 


ee — 


\ 


DEDHAM. 


be such as may be probably of one heart with us, as that we 
either know or may well and truly be informed to walk in 
peaceable conversation, with all meekness of spirit, for the edi- 
fication of each other, in the knowledge and faith of the Lord 
Jesus, and the mutual encouragement unto all temporal com- 
forts in all things, seeking the good of each other out of all 
which may be derived true peace. 

* 3. That if at any time difference shall arise between par- 
ties of our said town, that then such party and parties shall 
presently refer all such difference unto some two or three others 
of our said society, to be fully accorded and determined without 
any further delay, if it possibly may be. 

“4, That every man that now or at any time hereafter shall 
have lots in our said town shall pay his share in all such rates 
of money and charges as shall be imposed upon him rateably 
in proportion with other men, as also become freely subject 
unto all such orders and constitutions as shall be necessarily had 
or made, now or at any time hereafter, from this day forward, 
as well for loving and comfortable society in our said town, as 
also for the prosperous and thriving condition of our said fel- 
lowship, especially respecting the fear of God, in which we 
desire to begin and continue whatsoever we shall by his loving 
favor take in hand. 

“5. And for the better manifestation of our true resolution 
herein, every man so received to subscribe hereunto his name, 
thereby obliging both himself and his successors after him for 
ever, as we have done. 

“ Names subscribed to the covenant as followeth.” 


There is no date to this covenant to show when it 
was drawn up, but it must have been before the act 


of incorporation, for the petitioners state that they 


One hundred and 
twenty-five names are subscribed to this covenant, 
but it will be found upon examination that the list 
contains the names of some who were mere children 


were at present under covenant. 


who came years after the beginning of the settlement. 


| John Kingsbury, Watertown. 
when they came with their parents, and also of others | 


In the fifth clause of the instrument the intention is | 


clearly expressed that it should be signed by every 
man received into the society, both himself and his 
successors after him for ever. 


In order that these names may be conveniently | 


referred to, and that what is known concerning them 
may be given in a condensed form, the list has been 
prepared, with such additions as are furnished from 
authentic sources : 


Robert Feake, Watertown. Freeman May 18, 1631; he never 
removed to Dedham, although he had an allotment of land. 

Edward Alicyne, Watertown. Freeman March 13, 1638; 
representative four years, 1639-42; died suddenly while at- 
tending General Court, Sept. 8, 1642. 

Samuel Morse, Watertown. Came in the “ Increase” from 
London in 1635; freeman Oct. 8, 1640; died June 20, 1654. 

Philemon Dalton, Watertown. 
“Tnerease”’ in 1635; removed to Dedham in 1657, and from 
thence to Hampton or Ipswich in 1640; freeman March 3, 1636; 
died June 4, 1662. 

John Dwight, Watertown. Removed in 1635 to Dedham; 
freeman March 13, 1638; died Jan. 24, 1661. 

Lambert Genere, Watertown. Removed to Dedham in 1636; 
freeman May, 1645; died June 30, 1674. 

3 


A linen-weaver; came in the 


33 





Richard Evered, Watertown. Removed to Dedham in 1636; 
freeman May 6, 1646; died July 3, 1682. 

Ralph Shepherd, Watertown. Came in the “ Abigail’ in 
1635, and removed to Dedham the same year, and afterwards to 
Weymouth, where he died. 

John Huggin, Watertown. He never lived in Dedham, but 
was afterwards at Hampton. 

Mr. Ralph Wheelock, Watertown. Educated at Clare Hall, 
Cambridge University, England, where he took his degree in 
1626 and 1631; he came to Dedham in 1638; freeman March 
13, 1638; died Jan. 11, 1684, at Medfield. 

Thomas Cakebread, Watertown. He never removed to Ded- 
ham, but had an allotment of land; freeman May 14, 1634; 
died at Sudbury Jan. 4, 1643. 

Henry Phillips. Freeman March 13, 1638; member of ar- 
tillery company, 1640; ensign of militia company, 1648; he 
removed to Boston; he was a butcher by trade. 
| Mr. Timothy Dalton. He was an elder brother of Philemon 
Dalton; freeman Sept. 7, 1637; educated at St. John’s College, 
Cambridge, England, where he took his degree in 1613; he had 
been in office in England, and was called to be teacher in the 
church at Hampton. 

. Mr. Thomas Carter came in the “ Planter” in 1635 to Water- 

town. Educated at St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he 
took his degree, 1629-33; he was called to the church at Wo- 
burn. 

Abraham Shaw, Watertown. His house and goods were 
burned at Watertown in 1636, and he removed to Dedham; 
freeman March 9, 1637, and died in 1638. 

Freeman May 25, 1636; 
never removed to Dedham, but had an allotment of Jand. 

Nicholas Phillips, Watertown. Freeman May 13, 1640; he 
was a brother of Henry Phillips; removed to Weymouth late 
in life, and died September, 1672. 

John Gaye, Watertown. Freeman May 6, 1635; removed to 
Dedham; died March 4, 1688. 


John Coolidge, Watertown. he 





Freeman March 3, 1636, and 
removed the same year to Dedham; he was a representative in 
1647; he died in 1659. 

John Rogers, Watertown, 1636. He probably never removed 

to Dedham, but had an allotment of Jand. 
He was here but a short time, but removed 
to Hampton according to Savage; the note in Haven’s Centen- 
nial address respecting him is doubtless an error, as will be seen 
by the reference to Winthrop’s History there cited. 

Ezekiel Holliman. Had an allotment of land in Dedham, but 
remained only a year or two; he removed to Salem, and thence 
to Providence, R. I. 

John Batchelor, Watertown. 


Francis Austin. 


Freeman May 16,1635; he re- 


| moved to Hampton. 


Nathaniel Coaleborne. 
1691. 
, John Roper. 


Freeman June 2, 1641; died May 14, 


Freeman June 2, 1641; he had an allotment 
of land in Dedham; he had one son in Capt. Lothrop’s com- 
pany killed by Indians at Bloody Brook, Sept. 18, 1675, and 
another who was in Capt. Turner’s company in King Phillip’s 
war, and whose wife was killed by Indians. 

Martin Phillips. He was in Medfield in 1664. 

Henry Smyth. Freeman May 13, 1640; he came from New 
Buckenham, Norfolk, in England; he had an allotment of land, 
and lived in that part of Dedham which became Medfield. 


John Frayrye. Freeman March 13, 1638; he was one of the 
founders of the Dedham Church, and lived in that part of Ded- 
| ham which became Medfield. 

Thomas Hastings, Watertown. 


to Dedham. 


He probably never removed 





34 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Francis Chickering. Freeman in 1640; came in 1637 from 
the north part of Suffolk, England; member of artillery com- 
pany in 1643; ensign and representative in 1644 and 1653, 

Thomas Alcock. Freeman 1635; came in the fleet with Win- 
throp; he lived in Dedham till 1646, and afterwards removed 
to Boston. 

William Bullard. Freeman May 
died in Dedham in 1687. 

He was a tanner and lived in Dorchester. 

Edward Kempe. Freeman March 13, 1638; he probably re- 
moved to Wenham, and afterwards to Chelmsford. 

John Hunting. Freeman March 13, 1638; one of the founders 
of the Dedham Church, and the first ruling elder; he died 
April 12, 1689. 

Timothy Dwight. Freeman June 2, 1641; he was a brother 
of John Dwight; representative for Medfield, 1652, where he 
died in 1677. 

Henry Dengayne, Watertown. He was a physician, and never 


3, 1640; he lived and 


Jonas Humphrey. 


came to Dedham. 

Henry Brock. He came in 1642, and died in 1652. 

James Herring. Freeman in 1654; he came in 1642. 

Nathan Aldis. Freeman in 1640; joined the Dedham Church 
in 1640; one of the first deacons; he died March 15, 1676. 

Edward Richards. Freeman June 16, 1641; he married a 
sister of John Hunting. 

Michael Powell. Freeman June 2, 1641; he came in 1639 ; 
representative in 1641; he kept an ordinary in Dedham; re- 
moved to Boston in 1646, and was one of the original members 
of the Second Church there in 1650, and was called to act as 
teacher, but was not approved by the court. 

John Elderkin. He came from Lynn in 1641; he removed 
to Reading in 1646, and thence to New London, Conn., and died 
June 23, 1687. 

Michael Bacon. He came from Ireland in 1640; his de- 
scendants removed from Dedham. 

Robert Onion. Freeman in 1646; came in the “ Blessing”’ to 
Roxbury at the age of twenty-six, and removed to Dedham. 

Samuel Mills. He came in 1642, and lived and died in Ded- 
ham. 

Edward Colver. We came in 1640. 

Joseph Shaw. Freeman May 22,1639; he wasa son of Abra- 
ham Shaw, and removed to Weymouth soon after his father’s 
decease, in 1658. 

William Bearstowe. 
he was one of the petitioners for incorporation of the town, and 
afterwards removed to Scituate. 

John Howard. Freeman May 14, 1634; he died in 1660. 

Thomas Bartlett, Watertown. He never removed to Ded- 
ham. 

Ferdinando Adams. Freeman May 138, 1640; he had an 
allotment of land, and was called a shoemaker; in August, 
1651, he had leave to go to England, and afterwards went to 
St. Catherine’s and sold his allotment to John Frayrye, Oct. 10, 
1652. 

Daniel Morse, Watertown. 
son of Samuel Morse; he removed to Dedham, and afterwards 
to Medfield; he died in Sherborn in 1688. 

Joseph Morse, Watertown. Freeman May 6, 1635; son of 
Samuel Morse; removed to Dedham; he died June 20, 1654. 

John Ellice. Freeman 1641; he lived in Medfield, where he 
died April 2, 1697. i 

Jonathan Fayerbanke. 
with six children, before 1641; his name does not appear in the 
he died Dec. 5, 1668. 


Freeman May 6, 1635; he was a 


list of freemen ; 
John Eaton, Watertown. 
to Dedham; died Nov. 17, 1638. 


He came in the “ Truelove” in 1635; | 


He came from Yorkshire, England, | 


Freeman May 25, 1636; removed | 


| 
| 
| 
| 





Michael Metcalfe. Freeman May 13, 1640; he was born in 
1586, at Tatterford, in Norfolk, England, and was a dornock 
weaver at Norwich; he arrived, with his wife and nine chil- 
dren and a servant, about midsummer in 1437; he was admitted 
as a townsman July 14, 1637; joined the church in 1639, and 
was selectman in 1641; his name stands first on the committee 
chosen to “ contrive the fabrick of a meeting-house;” he died 
Dee. 27, 1664. 

John Morse, Freeman May 13,1640; he was probably a son 
of Samuel Morse. 


Mr. John Allin. Came over in 1637; freeman March 13, 


| 1638 ; ordained as pastor or teacher of the church April 24, 1639, 


and continued in that office until his death, Aug. 26, 1671. 
Anthony Fisher. Freeman May 3, 1645; born at Syleham, 
near Hye, in Suffolk, Engiand, on the border of Norfolk; he 
came to Dedham in 1637; in his will he is called late of Dor- 
chester; he died Feb. 13, 1670. 
Thomas Wight. We came from the Isle of Wight to Dedham 
in 1637; he was of the Medfield incorporation in 1652, and 


| died March 17, 1674. 


Eleazer Lusher. Freeman March 13, 1638; he came to Ded- 
ham in 1637, and was one of the founders of the church; also 
one of the founders of the artillery company ; representative 
in 1640 and for many years after; assistant in 1662 and to the 
time of his death; captain in 1644, and major of the regiment 
afterwards; he was town clerk twenty-three years and select- 
man twenty-nine years; he died Nov. 13, 1673. 

Robert Hinsdale. Freeman March 138, 1638; one of the 
founders of the church Nov. 8, 1638; member of the artillery 
company in 1645; removed to Medfield, where he aided in 
founding the church; and thence to Hadley, where he resided 
for several years, and afterwards to Deerfield, “‘and there was 
gathering his harvest in the corn-fields when he was killed, with 
his three sons, when Capt. Lothrop, with the flower of Essex, 
fell at Bloody Brook.” (Savage’s Genealogical Dict.) 

John Luson. Freeman March 13, 1638; he came to Dedham 
in 1637, and was one of the founders of the Dedham Church; 
he died in May, 1661. 

John Fisher. It is impossible to identify him; his place in 
the order of names indicates that he came with John Luson 
and Thomas Fisher, and may have been a brother of the latter. 

Thomas Fisher. Freeman March 4, 1634, and came to Ded- 
ham in 1637; he was in Cambridge in 1634. 

Joseph Kingsbury. Freeman 1641. 

George Bearstowe, He came from London in the “ Truelove”’ 
in 1635; had an allotment of land in 1636, but probably did 
not come until 1642; member of the artillery company; he 
afterwards removed to Scituate; he was a brother of William 
Bearstowe; the family name is properly written Barstow. 

John Bullard. Freeman May 13, 1640; came in 1638, and 
was either the eldest son or a brother of William Bullard, 

Thomas Leader. He came to Dedham in 1640; removed to 
Boston in 1647, where he died Oct. 28, 1663. 

Joseph Moyes. Nothing is known of him except that he re- 
moved to Salisbury, where his wife died in 1655. 

Freeman May 13, 1640, and afterwards 
removed to Hampton. 

James Allin. Freeman in 1647; came to Dedham in 1639; 
he was a cousin of Rev. John Allin, and received a legacy in 
his will; he was received into the Medfield Church, Oct. 2, 
1646, and died Sept. 27, 1676. 

Richard Barber. Freeman May 13, 1640; died June 18, 
1644; he gave his small estate, by his will, to the poor. 


Jeffrey Mingeye. 


Thomas Jordan, We was probably of Dorchester, and never 
lived here; his daughter Hannah was probably married to 


Isaac Bullard. 


DEDHAM. 








Joshua Fisher. Freeman May 2,1649; he lived in that part | according to tradition, burned at the stake; two of his sons, 


of Dedham which became Medfield; representative in 1653, 
and six years more, and died in 1674; he was a deacon of the 
church. 

Christopher Smith. He married Mary, daughter of Jona- 
than Fayerbanke, but there is no evidence that he ever lived 
in Dedham. 


John Thurston. Freeman May 10, 1643; he came from 


Wrentham, in Suffolk, England, a carpenter, in the “ Mary | 


Ann,” of Yarmouth, in 1637; his estate was partly in Medfield, 
set off in 1651. 

Joseph Clarke. He came probably from Dorchester to Ded- 
ham, and removed to Medfield. 

Thomas Eames. He was in Dedham in 1642; he afterwards 
lived in Cambridge, Sudbury, and Sherborn; on Feb. 1, 1676, 


he suffered by the Indians, who burned his buildings, killed | 


his wife and some of his children, and carried away others 
captive. 

Peter Woodward. Freeman May 18, 1642; he was repre- 
sentative in 1665, 1669, 1670; he died May 9, 1685. 

Thwaits Strickland. He came to Dedham in 1648; he re- 
moved to the Narragansett Country. 


John Guild. Freeman May 10, 1643; admitted to the church 


July 17, 1640; he died Oct. 4, 1682; he had lands in Wrentham | 
and Medfield; he was the progenitor of the numerous family | 


of the name in Dedham. 

Samuel Bulleyne. Freeman June 2, 1641; he was deacon of 
the church, and died Jan. 16, 1692. 

Robert Gowen. Freeman 1644. 

Hugh Stacey. Came in the “Fortune” to Plymouth in 


1621; he afterwards removed to Dedham, where his wife and | 


daughters were admitted to the church in 1640; he removed 
soon after to Lynn or Salem, or may have returned to Eng- 
land. 

George Barber. 
company in 1646; freeman May 16,1647; he removed to Med- 
field; was representative in 1668-69, and the chief militia 
officer. 

James Jordan. He was the father of Thomas Jordan; he 
died in April or May, 1655, and in his will speaks of his age 
and infirmity. 

Nathaniel Whiting. Freeman May 18, 1642; he came to 
Dedham in 1641; he married Hannah, eldest daughter of John 
Dwight; he is said to have lived in that part of Dedham 
which became Medfield. 

Benjamin Smith. Freeman June 2, 1641. 

Richard Ellice. He married a daughter of Lambert Genere, 
but his name does not appear upon the list of freemen. 

Austen Kilham. 2, 1641; 
Salem; removed to Wenham, and afterwards to Chelmsford. 

Robert Ware. 
member of the artillery company in 1644; he married Marga- 


He came in 1643; member of the artillery 


Freeman June he came from 


| Joseph and John, settled in Medfield. 


He was the second son of Jonathan 
Fayerbanke, and removed to Medfield, and afterwards to Sher- 
born; he was noton the list of freemen; he died Jan. 10, 1683, 

Timothy Dwight. He was the son of John Dwight, and came 
to Dedham with his father in 1635, when about five years of 
age; freeman in 1655; representative in 1678 and 1691, and 
perhaps later; town clerk ten years; selectman twenty-four 
years; he died Jan. 31, 1718. 

Andrew Dewing. Freeman in 1646; member of artillery 
company in 1644. 
Joseph Ellice. 

Ralph Freeman. 

John Rice. 

Daniel Pond. Freeman in 1690; he died in February, 1698; 
his sons, Ephraim and John, settled in Wrentham. 

John Houghton. He probably came in the “ Abigail” from 
London when quite young ; he removed to Lancaster about 1652. 

Jonathan Fayerbanke, Jr. 


George Fayerbanke. 


Freeman in 1663. 


He was the youngest son of Jon- 
athan Fayerbanke, and came with his father when a child; 
freeman in 1690. 

James Vales (properly Fales). Freeman in 1673; he lived 
in that part of Dedham which became Medfield. 

Thomae Metcalf. Freeman in 1653; youngest son of Michael 
Metcalf; deacon of the church; representative in 1691; died 
Nov. 16, 1702. 

Thomas Fuller, Freeman in 1672; he came in 1643; en- 
sign; representative in 1672, 1679, and 1686; died Sept. 28, 
1690. 

Thomas Payne. Freeman June 2, 1641; died Aug. 3, 1686. 

Robert Crossman. He probably was of Taunton; his son 
Nathaniel was killed by the Indians at Wrentham, March 8, 
1676. 

William Avery. Freeman in 1677; a physician and apothe- 
cary ; member of the artillery company in 1654; lieutenant of 
town’s company in 1673; representative for Springfield in 1669 ; 
died at Boston, March 18, 1687, aged about sixty-five years; he 
made a donation of sixty pounds to the town for a Latin school 
in 1680. 

John Aldis. He was a son of Nathan Aldis; deacon of the 
church, and died Dec. 21, 1700. 

John Mason. He was a son of Robert Mason, who removed 
from Roxbury to Dedham, where he died Oct. 15, 1667; he 


| married a daughter of John Eaton, May 5, 1651. 


Isaac Bullard. He was a son of William Bullard, and came 
with his father when a child; he died in 1676. 

Cornelius Fisher. Freeman May 2, 1649; he was a son of 
Anthony Fisher; he lived in that part of Dedham which be- 


came Wrentham; representative under the new charter in 


Freeman May 26, 1647; he came in 1643; | 


ret, daughter of John Hunting; his daughter married Rev. | 


Samuel Mann, of Wrentham, and his son, Robert Ware, was 
one of the settlers of Wrentham. 

Thomas Bayes. He is not on the list of freemen, and re- 
moved to Boston. 

John Fayerbanke. He was probably the eldest son of Jona- 
than Fairbanks, who died Noy. 13, 1684. 

Henry Glover. He died in Medfield, July 21, 1653. 

Thomas Herring. Came to Dedham in 1642. 

John Plympton. Freeman probably May 10, 1643; he came 
from Roxbury to Dedham in 1642; he removed to Deerfield and 
was sergeant; his son Jonathan was killed by the Indians, Sept. 
18, 1675, at Bloody Brook, and two years after he was taken 
captive himself by the Indians and carried towards Canada, and, 


1692, and died Jan. 2, 1699. 

John Partridge. He was of Medfield. 

James Draper. Freeman in 1690; he came to Dedham in 
1683, having formerly lived in Lancaster and Roxbury; he 
died July 13, 1697, aged seventy-three years. 

Freeman in 1690. 
He was of Wrentham, where he was deacon 


James Thorpe. 
Samuel Fisher. 


| of the church; representative in 1689, and died Jan. 5, 1703. 


Benjamin Bullard. He lived in that part of Dedham which 
became Medfield, and afterwards at Sherborn. 

Ellice Wood. He married the widow of John Smith, of 
Dedham, who was the schoolmistress for many years; he re- 
moved to Dorchester, where he died Oct. 19, 1706, aged seventy- 
three years. 

Thomas Fisher. 
Fisher, who removed to Dedham from Cambridge. 


Freeman in 1678; he was a son of Thomas 


nl 


36 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The covenant may be considered as the constitution 
embodying the general principles and purposes of the 
company. But in the work of organizing their gov- 
ernment they also displayed that remarkable capacity 
which characterized the Puritan colonists, and in se- 
curing the titles to their lands and providing for the 
common weal, they adopted laws and regulations 
similar to those under which they and their ancestors 
had lived for centuries. 

The inhabitants having acquired the right to make 
laws, exercised it for three years in their aggregate 
capacity. But as the affairs of the plantation required 
monthly town-meetings, these diverted them from 
their necessary business, and in 1639 they delegated 
all their power to seven men to be chosen annually. 
The powers of these seven men were coextensive in 
every respect with those of the town in legal town- 
meeting assembled, excepting that they were subse- 
quently prohibited from making free grants, from ad- 
mitting townsmen, and from making dividends of 
lands. 
and inserted them in the town records, and they are 


The seven men kept records of their doings 


recorded promiscuously among the doings of all the 
proprietors. ‘They met monthly for many years, and 
passed many necessary by-laws, for the establishment 
of highways and fences; for the keeping of cattle 


and swine and horses; for keeping a proper register 


of land-titles, and of births and marriages; for the 


support of schools and religion ; for additional bounties | 


for killing wolves and wild-cats, and for the extinguish- 
ment of Indian claims. 

The proprietors were extremely anxious lest any 
unfit persons should gain admittance to their society, 
and by an ordinance it was declared that every man 


should give information of what he knew concerning | 


any man coming into the town, before he should “ be 
admitted into the society of such as seek peace and 


ensue it.’ No person in covenant should bring his 


servant with him, and thereby entitle the servant to a | 


lot of land, without bringing testimony of a good 
character before he should be permitted to reside here. 
Nor could any proprietor sell his lots without leave of 
the company. ‘The purpose of these ordinances was 
to protect the plantation from such as should be “ con- 


trary-minded,” in the language of the covenant. It is 


to be remembered that a leading idea of the colonists | 
was to build up a homogeneous society, where all | 


should be of the same religious belief, and from its 
fellowship all others were to be excluded. 

In the allotment of lands, each married man had a 
home-lot of twelve acres, with four acres of swamp- 
land, and each unmarried man eight acres, with three 


acres of swamp-land. The village was laid out in 


_ lots of similar size, and all having a margin of meadow. 
| So accurately were these lots defined, that not many 
years since a plan showing the lots first granted in 
Dedham village was made from the description in the 
proprietors’ book of grants, and some of the lines 
verified by an actual survey. Excepting the home- 
lots, all the lands cultivated were inclosed in common 
fields. In 1642 the proprietors agreed that two hun- 
dred acres south of High Street should be made a 
common tillage field, and that each proprietor’s share 
therein should be marked out by the seven men 
chosen for the purpose. This common plough-field 
was surrounded by a fence made at the common 
The wood-reeves decided the number of 
rods of fence to be made by each owner. ‘This field 
was to be cleared every year by October 12th, in order 
that the cattle might be turned into it. After the 
timber was cleared from the home-lots, then the in- 
habitants were to obtain leave of the wood-reeves to 
cut wood and timber from the common lands. After- 
wards woodlands were assigned to the proprietors 
Besides these 
lands there were herd-walks or common feeding lands 
These were burned over annually for 
many years. By an ordinance of 1637 absence from 
town-meeting was punishable by a fine, one shilling 
for the first half-hour, and three shillings for the 
whole meeting. In 1639 it was required that every 
householder should provide a ladder for his house 
A long ordinance 


charge. 


according to their services and merit. 


for the cattle. 


under a penalty of five shillings. 
for the establishment of highways was passed in 1637. 
Officers called wood-reeves were chosen annually for 
burning over the herd-walks, to give orders for cutting 


wood and timber on the common Jands, to cause the 
ordinance respecting ladders to be observed, to collect 
the penalties for trespasses on the common lands, and 
to view fences, and cause them to be repaired. One 
of the earliest of the ordinances declared that there 
should not any waters become appropriated to any par- 
ticular man, but should rest for the common benefit of 
Another ordi- 
nance provides for the discovery of mines in the 


the whole town for matter of’ fishing. 


town, reports having been made of a copper-mine at 
Wrentham, and a bright and shining metal near a 
brook in Natick. 

Such was the manner in which the settlers organ- 
Worthington, in his 





ized their town government. 
History (1827), makes the following just reflections 
concerning the circumstances under which they acted : 
‘“‘ Here in the woods at Dedham a number of strangers 
met, who had come from various places in England, 
and had probably acquired some slight knowledge of 





the intentions of each other when they first set out 





DEDHAM. 


37 





from Watertown to come here. ‘There were then no 
general laws in the colony to regulate their various 


interests or their common enterprises. It was after 


the coming of the first inhabitants to this place that 


the General Court delegated powers to the selectmen to 
execute according to their best discretion what was 
afterwards regulated by general statutes. They had 
the common intent of dwelling in the town, and they 
formed a civil society out of its first simple elements. 
They actually did what theorists have conjectured 
might be done in such a case, but of which they could 

The 
It was 


never exhibit a well-authenticated instance. 
colonial government was given by a charter. 
the offspring of royalty. The Dedham Society origi- 
nated in a compact, and its laws derived their force 
from the consent of the people. It was the begin- 
ning of the American system of government.” 


To some of the men who laid these foundations | 


allusion has been made. Edward Alleyne died in 


1642, and but few of the original nineteen petition- 
In 1637 the company 


ers even then remained. 





received important accessions by the admission of | 


several men of superior character and intelligence. | 


Among these were Mr. John Allin, invited, it is said, 
to become the teacher in the church, Eleazer Lusher, 
Michael 
Fairbanks, all of whom remained and identified them- 
selves with the town. 
of the church hereafter. But probably Eleazer 
Lusher maintains the most eminent position among 
the real founders of the town. 


man all his lifetime, and directed the most important | 


affairs of the town. He was town clerk for twenty- 


three years and selectman for twenty-nine years. The 


full and perfect records he kept, the excellent style of | 
| These agreed to go out, each in turn, while his char- 
"acter and qualifications for church membership were 


his writings, the peace and success of the plantation 
under his guidance show that he was the leader in 
the organization of the town. He was a deputy to 
the General Court for many years, and an assistant 
from 1662 to the time of his death, which occurred 
Nov. 13; 1672. 


colony as well as the town. 
d 


He was also prominent in the 
Johnson, in the ‘* Won- 
der-Working Providence,” styles him the ‘“ nimble- 
footed captain, a man of the right stamp, and full for 


the country.” 


Metcalf, Anthony Fisher, and Jonathan | 


Of Mr. Allin more will be | 


said in connection with the account of the gathering 


He was the leading | 


| 





In the church records, at the time of | 


his death, he is spoken of as Maj. Eleazer Lusher, “a | 


man sound in the faith, of great holiness and heavenly- 
mindedness, who was of the first foundation of this 
church, and had been of great use, as in the common- 
wealth so in the church.” 

The following couplet was repeated frequently by 
the generation which immediately succeeded him : 


| 
| 


“When Lusher was in office, all things went well, 
But how they go since it shames us to tell.” 

There were others who came the succeeding year 
and afterwards who deserve honorable mention, such 
as Ralph Wheelock, a man of excellent education, 
who went to Medfield ; Robert Hinsdale, also of Med- 
field, and afterwards of Hadley; Michael Metcalf, 
always prominent in the church and town; William 
Bullard and John Bullard, Thomas Fuller, Edward 
Richards, and John Guild, names which are still 
well known in the town which they founded. 

The company in 1638 consisted of about thirty 
families. They at first met for religious worship 
under one of the large trees which probably stood on 


the east side of Dwight’s Brook, near the house of 


John Dwight. As early as the Ist of February, 


| 1638, a committee was chosen “to contrive the frame 


of a meeting-house, to be in length thirty-six feet 
and twenty feet in breadth, and between the upper 
and nether sill in the sides to be twelve feet.” The 
pits, or pews, were five feet deep and four and one- 
half feet wide. The elders’ seat and the deacons’ 
seat were before the pulpit; the communion table 


| stood before these seats, and was so placed that the 


communicants could approach in all directions. This 
house was not finished until 1646. It was subse- 
quently enlarged, and finaily pulled down in 1672. 
The formation of a church was attended with 
some delays and difficulties. At first, the settlers 
who were members of the Watertown Church re- 
quested a dismission, with Mr. Thomas Carter as a 
teacher. The 
people then requested Mr. Allin, with such as he 
might see fit to associate with him, to undertake the 
formation of a church. He first applied to Mr. 
Ralph Wheelock, and they jointly added eight more. 


This request was not complied with. 


scanned by the rest, they agreeing to submit to the 
judgment of the company, to be taken or left as might 
seem fit. The result was that Mr. John Allin, Ralph 
Wheelock, John Luson, John Frarye, Eleazer Lusher, 
and Robert Hinsdale were accepted. Edward Al- 
leyne, at first objected to, was afterwards received. 
John Hunting was admitted towards the end of the 
summer, making in all eight ready to enter church 
communion. They endeavored to secure for teacher 
a Mr. John Phillips, a minister of reputation, then 
recently from England, and he came, only to spend a 
year. 

The eighth day of the ninth month (November), 
1638, was the day appointed for entering into church 
covenant, and, according to the usage of that time, 


38 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





letters were sent to the magistrates and other churches, 
giving them notice of their intention and requesting 
The Govy- 
should be 


their countenance and encouragement. 


ernor informed them that no church 


gathered without the advice of other churches and | 


the consent of the magistrates, and afterwards ex- 
plained that there was no intent to abridge their 
liberties, but if any people of unsound judgment or 
erroneous way should privately set up a church, the 


commonwealth would not so approve them as to | 
communicate the freedom and privileges which they | 


did unto others, or protect them in their government 
if they saw their way dangerous to the public peace. 

In the letters sent to the churches their presence 
and spiritual help was requested, and they were 
represented on the day appointed. It was agreed 
that the day appointed should be spent in solemn 
prayer and fasting. Mr. Wheelock should begin 
with prayer, and Mr. Allin should follow, first in 


prayer, and then, “by the way of exercising his | 
_ words of ordination: ‘‘ We, in the name of the Lord 


gift,’ should speak to the assembly, and conclude 
with prayer. Then each of the eight persons made 
a public profession of faith and grace. 
and messengers of the other churches and the whole 
people were then called upon to state any impedi- 
ment to the further proceeding, if any were known 
to them. Mr. Mather, teacher of the church in 
Dorchester, replied, in the name of the rest, that 
they had “nothing to declare from the Lord which 
should move them to desist,’ and gave them some 
loving exhortation. The covenant was then publicly 


read, to which all assented; the right hand of fellow- 


ship was extended to each of them by the elders, in | 


This 


was the manner of forming the church in Dedham. 


token of loving acceptation into communion. 


The covenant then entered into related to living in 
holy fellowship, according to the rule of love in all 
holy watchfulness of each other, to mutual helpful- 
ness, and for the spiritual and temporal comfort and 
good of one another in the Lord. 


The church thus gathered was without officers. | 
Mr. Allin was requested to supply the place of teacher | 


for a time, with the assistance of Mr, Wheelock, to 
see that its affairs were orderly conducted. During 
the following winter ten additional members were 
admitted, and the next spring they proceeded to fill 
the more important offices. Mr. Allin was chosen 
into the teaching office, and there was some further 
discussion and consultation with the churches as to 
whether he should be appointed as pastor or teacher ; 
but Mr. Allin, while professing that he was indifferent 
as to which office was selected, thought he was better 


qualified for that of pastor, and with the assent of the 


The elders | 





| 


| 





ordination and to whom the right belonged. 


rest took the title of pastor. 
named for the office of ruling elder: Ralph Wheelock, 
John Hunting, Mr. Thomas Carter, and John Kings- 
bury, of Watertown. 


Four persons were 


John Hunting was chosen, and 
Mr. Wheelock was much disappointed, as he had been 
thought of before Mr. Hunting. 

Everything was ready for the ordination, but still 
there was considerable agitation as to the nature of 
The 
conclusion to which they arrived was that the ordi- 
nation was simply a declaration of the election, and 
that the same body which could elect, could also of 
The 24th day of April, 1639, was the 
The elders of the 
neighboring churches were present, but took no part 


right ordain. 
time appointed for the ordination. 


in the services excepting in giving the right hand of 
fellowship at the conclusion. Elder Hunting was 
first ordained by John Allin, Ralph Wheelock, and 
Edward Alleyne, they being deputed for the purpose. 
They laid their hands on his head, repeating these 


Jesus Christ, ordain thee, John Hunting, into the 
office of ruling elder in this church of Christ.” Then 


Elder Hunting, with the other two, laid their hands 
upon the head of Mr. Allin, accompanied with prayer, 
and in the name of Christ and his church ordained 
him “to the office of pastor in the church,” “the 
whole proceeding on the part of the elder being 
marked with gravity, comely order, and with effect- 
ual and apt prayer and exhortation to the church.” 
Mr. Whiting, of Lynn, then gave the right hand of 
On the 
Sunday following the ordination, notice was given to 
church members to bring their children for baptism, 
and to prepare themselves for communion on the 
Sunday after. 

No deacons were chosen until 1650. 


fellowship, and the assembly was dismissed. 


There were 
some different apprehensions in the church as to the 
nature of the office. Finally, June 23, 1650, Henry 
Chickering and Nathan Aldis were regularly chosen 
to the office, and were ordained the following Sunday. 
A year after Mr. Allin’s ordination the number of 
church members was fifty-three. 

The Dedham Church was the fourteenth church of 
Christ under the government of Massachusetts Bay. 
Johnson says, ‘ They called to the office of pastor 
the reverend, humble, and heavenly-minded Mr, John 
Allin, a man of very courteous behavior, full of sweet 
Christian love towards all, and with much meekness 
of spirit contending earnestly for the faith and peace 
of Christ’s churches.” Cotton Mather, in his life of 
Allin, says, “ He was none of those low-built, thatched 
cottages that are apt to catch fire, but, like a light- 


DEDHAM. 


39 





built castle or palace, free from the combustions of 
passion.” 

The Rev. John Allin probably came from Wren- 
tham, county of Suffolk, England, and was born in 
1596. He was graduated at Cambridge University, 
and was a preacher in England, though it is uncertain 
whether he was ever “in orders in the Church of 
England.” 
influence in both the civil and religious affairs of the 


town was very great from the beginning. For this 


work he was admirably fitted by temperament and _ 
| fund of the annual income of twenty pounds for the 


education. When some dispute arose in the colony 
respecting its relations to the English government, 
and the question was referred to the ruling elders for 
advice, Mr. Allin was chosen to deliver their opinion. 
A discourse delivered by him before the Synod at 
Cambridge in 1648, which framed the well-known 
platform, received a warm eulogium from Governor 
Winthrop. Healso, with Mr. Shepherd, of Cambridge, 
was the author of a ‘‘ Defence of the Nine Questions 
or Positions,” being a reply to some charges by Eng- 
lish divines that their brethren on this side had em- 
braced opinions at variance with those professed 
before embarkation. 


averse to controversy. His brethren and townsmen | 


The church continued 
He received lib- 
eral grants of land from the Dedham proprietors and 


were much attached to him. 
in great harmony during his life. 


two hundred acres from the General Court at Bogas- 


tow in 1643. He took an interest in the labors of | 


John Eliot among the Indians. He was a man of 


learning, had a vigorous mind, and in the discharge | 


of his pastoral duties was faithful and assiduous. 
Cotton Mather writes his epitaph thus: 


“Vir sincerus, amans pacis, patiens que laborum 
Perspicuus, simplex doctrine, purus amator.” 


Mr. Allin married, for his second wife, the widow 
of Governor Thomas Dudley, Nov. 8, 1653. He 
died Aug. 26, 1671. After his death: his people 


published two of the last sermons he preached, | 


“writing their preface with tears,’ according to 
Mather. 
his grave, with an inscription cut thereon with the 
date of his death. Elder Hunting died April 12, 
1689, and the office of ruling elder was never again 


filled. 


He came to Dedham in 1637, and his | 


But he was from disposition | 


They also built a tomb or monument over | 


| 
| 








During Mr. Allin’s ministry of thirty-two years | 
the records do not show any rates for his support. | 


He depended upon voluntary contributions and the 
grants of land from the proprietors. 


All his succes- | 


sors had salaries voted them by the town, although — 


the salary was paid by the people. 


When the proprietors divided their common lands, 


| in 1656, eight shares were devoted to the support of 


the teaching church-officer. The shares drew divi- 
dends wherever they were made, of the common lands, 
and remained unsold until after the Revolution. Since 
that time some of these lands have been sold, and the 
proceeds are the funds now belonging to the first 
church in Dedham. 

In 1644 the inhabitants declared their intention to 
devote some portion of their lands to the support of 


schools, and granted lands to trustees for raising a 


salary of a schoolmaster. The town raised this sum 
before the lands became productive. In 1680, Dr. 
William Avery, formerly of the Dedham Church, 
gave sixty pounds for a Latin school to be ordered 
by the selectmen and elders. This fund was for 
many years in the hands of trustees, but was finally 
lost by being wrongfully appropriated, or discredited 
by the operations of bills of credit. In 1695 three 
hundred acres of good land in Dedham were granted 
as a school-farm to support schools. This farm was 
sold by order of the town to defray its ordinary ex- 
penses. Thirty years after, the town instructed a 
committee to recover this farm, and voted a larger 
sum to carry on the law-suit than the compensation 
received for it. This was the work of the second 
and third generations. The first school-house was 
built in 1648, and the master’s salary twenty pounds 
at first, and afterwards twenty-five pounds. 

In 1638, land was “set out for the use of a public 
burial-place for the town forever” from the lands of 
Nicholas Phillips and Joseph Kingsbury, who were 
compensated by the allowance of other land. Prob- 
ably it had been used for burials before. This reser- 
vation, although its contents are not given, refers to 
the ancient burial-place in Dedham village, with its 
present boundaries, except the additions made in 1860. 
A way to it leading from High Street was established 
in 1664. 

In 1638 an acre of ground, upon which the meet- 
ing-houses have always stood, was obtained of Joseph 
Kingsbury for the purpose of erecting a meeting- 
house upon it. In 1641, John Phillips sold to the 
church three acres, being another part of the same 
lot sold to him by Kingsbury, having the burial- 
ground on the south. In the same year Joseph 
Kingsbury granted to the church three acres lying 
between the parcel last named and the meeting-house 
acre. In this way the church acquired its title to 
lands in Dedham village. 

The “training-ground,” a portion of which has 
since been known as the * Great Common,” was ap- 


40 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





propriated by the proprietors in 1644 for the use of 
the military company. This grant was confirmed in 
1648, with the provision annexed, that the trained 
company should not appropriate it to any other use 


than the public exercise of the company, without the | 
consent of the selectmen, nor should the selectmen | 


have power to dispose of any parcel thereof without 
the consent of the trained company. 
acre was granted to Amos Fisher in fee, and other 
persons have been permitted to improve portions of 
the ground. An almshouse was built in the westerly 
portion in 1773, and in 1836 this building and land 
belonging to it was sold by order of the town. In 
the alienation of both parcels it is stated that the 
consent of the parties interested was first obtained. 


A highway laid out through it in 1826 completed all _ 
that remained to be done, to destroy its symmetry and | 


its usefulness for any purpose. 


In 1677 one | 





A law of the colony forbade the settlers to build | 


their houses above half a mile from the meeting- 


house, and this law was enforced for more than fifty | 


years.. As late as 1682 complaints were made that 
this law had been disregarded. 


It has been seen that in choosing a place for the | 
plantation the settlers were careful to provide for | 


In the summer the cows and oxen fed 
on the common lands The herds in- 
creased rapidly, and in 1659 there were four hundred 
and seventy-two cattle feeding on the common lands. 
The horses were turned into the woods, and, though 
fettered, broke into the corn-fields. 


their cattle. 
near home. 


Sheep were not 
introduced until a later period, when they were kept 
in one flock, and guarded by a shepherd from the 
wolves. Swine, with yokes upon their necks, were 
allowed to run in the woods. There was a scarcity 
of English grass for many years, and in 1649 the wet 
season prevented the making of hay upon the mead- 
ows, and the inhabitants went to Wollonomopoag to 
cut grass. Wheat was raised until about 1700 on 
the newly-cleared lands, and flax was cultivated to 
some extent. 


The village of Dedham in 1664 is thus described | the next hundred years. 


in Worthington’s History (1827), and it probably | 


gives a substantially correct idea of the first collec- 
tion of houses built upon the plain near the meeting- 
house : 


“Tn 1664 ninety-five small houses, placed near each other, | 
were situated within a short distance of the place where the | 


court-house now stands, the greater part of them east of that 
place and around Dwight’s Brook. <A row of houses stood on 
the north side of High Street, as that road was then called, 
which extends from the bridge over Dwight’s Brook westerly 
by the court-house. The total value of these houses was six 


hundred and ninety-one pounds. Four only of the houses 





| There was no saw-wmill in the settlement for many years. 


were valued at twenty pounds each. The greater number were 
valued at from three to ten pounds. Most of these houses were 
built soon after the first settlement commenced. There were 
then very few carpenters, joiners, or masons in the colony. 
The 
only boards which could be procured at first were those which 
were sawed by hand. The saw-pits now seen, denote that 
boards were sawed in the woods. The necessary materials— 
bricks, glass, and nails—were scarcely to be obtained. These 
houses, therefore, must have been constructed principally by 
farmers and not by mechanics, and were very rude and inconven- 
ient. hey were probably log houses. Their roofs were covered 
with thatch. By an ordinance of the town a ladder was ordered 
to extend from the ground to the chimney as a substitute for a 
more perfect fire-engine. Around these houses nothing could 
be seen but stumps, clumsy fences of poles, and an uneven 
and unsubdued soil, such as all the first settlements in New 
England presented. The native forest trees were not suitable 
shades for a door-yard. A shady tree was not then such an- 
agreeable object as it now is, because it could form no agreeable 
contrast with cleared grounds. Where the meeting-house of 
the first parish now stands there stood for more than thirty 
years a low building, thirty-six feet long and twenty feet wide 
and twelve feet high, with a thatched roof and a large ladder 
resting on it. This was the first meeting-house. Near by was 
the school-house, standing on an area eighteen feet by fourteen 
feet, and rising to three stories. The third story, however, was 
a watch-house of small dimensions. The watch-house was be- 
The spectator elevated on the 
little box, called the watch-house, might view this plain on 
which a part of the present village stands, then a common 


side the ample stone chimney. 


plough-field, containing about two hundred acres of cleared 
Around 


him at a further distance were the herd-walks, as the common 


land, partially subdued, yet full of stumps and roots. 


feeding lands were called in the language of that time. ... 
The herd-walks were at first no better cultivated than by cut- 
ting down trees and carrying away the wood and timber, and 
afterwards, when it was practicable in the spring, by burning 
them over under the direction of town officers called wood- 
reeves. . . . The meadows were not yet cleared to any extent. 
Beyond the herd-walks was a continuous wilderness, which was 
becoming more disagreeable to the inhabitants, for the cattle, 
goats, and swine seem to haveallured the wolves to their neigh- 
borhood. The dense swamp about Wigwam Pond was not yet 


cleared.” 

After King Philip’s war the inhabitants began to 
abandon their first habitations, and built houses in 
all parts of the town. In sixty or seventy years the 
humble village of the first settlers was swept away, 
and their places were occupied by a few farmers for 
Some removed to Boston 
In 1642 the number 


of persons taxed was sixty-one, and in 1666 the 


by reason of King Philip’s war. 


number was ninety-five, and in 1675 the number 
continued the same. 








DEDHAM. 


41 





CHAPLET Eh Iv. 
DEDHAM—( Continued). 


Mother Brook, or East Brook—Dedham Island—Long Ditch— 
Indian Village at Natick—Pacomtuck, or Deerfield—Bogas- 


tow, or Medfield—Wollonomopoag, or Wrentham—Decease | 


of Leading Men among the First Settlers. 


On the twenty fifth day of the first month, March, 
1639, it was ordered “that a ditch should be dug 
at common charge through upper Charles River 
meadow unto East Brook, that it may both be a par- 
tition fence in the same, and also may form a suitable 
creek unto a water-mill, that it shall be found fitting 
to set a mill upon, in the opinion of a workman to be 
employed for that purpose.” This is the origin of 
Mother Brook, or Mill Creek, which starts out of 
Charles River about a quarter of a mile north of High 
Street, and runs in a direct course through the meadows 


7 
| 


and frequent complaints were made by Nathaniel 
Whiting to the town, and a committee chosen to 
regulate the water at the upper dam. Finally, in 
1699, it was thought advisable to remove Morse’s 
dam and let the water run in its old channel. Asa 


compensation for this measure, forty acres were 





and around the highlands, through the easterly vil-_ 


lage of the town to Neponset River. It is estimated 
that about one-third of the water of Charles River 


flows through this channel, and upon it are five mill- 


dams of great value, and at the present day are two _ 


extensive woolen-mills and one cotton-mill, beside the 


old saw-mill. East Brook took its rise about one 


| 


hundred rods east of Washington Street, where it | 


crosses the stream. From Charles River to this point 
the channel is obviously artificial, and was constructed 


under the order of the town in 1639. The plan was 


then conceived and carried out, of uniting the waters of | 
Charles with the waters of East Brook, and afterwards 


with those of Neponset River. The execution of a 


public work like this in the very infancy of the settle- 


ment is striking evidence of the energy and capacity | 


of the settlers. 


They then had only small hand grist- 


mills, which had been imported by Governor Win- | 


throp, and their chief design in cutting this canal was to — 


make a dam, where they might have a grist-mill oper- 
ated by water-power. The town at the same meeting 
granted liberty to any one to build a water-mill on that 
stream who would undertake it. 


the first to accept this proposal, and grants of land 


John Elderkin was | 


were made to him accordingly. In 1642 he sold one- | 
half of his rights to Nathaniel Whiting and the other | 
half to Mr. Allin, Nathaniel Aldis, and John Dwight, | 


and in 1649, Nathaniel Whiting became the sole 


owner. In 1652 he sold the mill and his town rights | 


for two hundred and fiftv pounds, but in 1653 he re- 
purchased the same. 

In 1664 a new corn-mill was erected by Daniel 
Pond and Ezra Morse, but Nathaniel Whiting remon- 
strated and brought a suit, which he lost. Further 


granted to Ezra Morse, near Neponset River, at the 


| old saw-mill, or at Everett’s Plain, where he may find 


it most to his satisfaction. In 1700 the Whiting 
mill was burned, and the town loaned twenty pounds 
for one year as aid towards the erection of another mill. 

In 1658-59, Eleazer Lusher and Joshua Fisher 
agreed to build a saw-mill on the Neponset River, 
near the Cedar Swamp. 

In 1682, Jonathan Fairbanks and James Draper 
asked leave to build a fulling-mill below the corn- 
mills on East Brook, but Nathaniel Whiting was 
associated with James Draper by order of the town. 

The descendants of Nathaniel Whiting held these 
mill privileges on Mother Brook down to the present 
century. 

The turning of the waters of Charles River by 
means of the artificial channel, and uniting them with 
head-waters of Mother Brook, in 1640, has proved to 
be most beneficial and permanent in its consequences 
through all the subsequent history of the town. Until 
the beginning of the present century it furnished saw- 
mills and grist-mills, then of the highest importance, 
with power, and from 1807 down to the present time 
there have been erected upon it cotton- and woolen- 
mills, which have been prosperous, and have con- 
tributed to the substantial growth of the town. 

At the beginning of the settlement of the town, 
what is called Dedham Island was a neck of land 
around which Charles River flowed, with a slight fall 
in its course, a distance of nearly five miles in an 
irregular horseshoe bend, leaving a distance of only 
two-thirds of a mile across the meadows at its_heel. 
This neck is estimated to contain about twelve hun- 
dred acres, and upon it was a herd-walk and possibly 
some houses of the early settlers. Across “ Broad 
Meadows,” at the heel of the horseshoe bend, the 
upper and lower channels of the river are distinctly 
visible at high water. The damage to the meadows 
arising from the waters remaining upon them, was felt 
to be serious by the first generation, as it has been by 
The 


enterprising and public-spirited settlers conceived the 


every succeeding generation of riparian owners. 


plan of cutting a “creek or ditch” through the 
‘Broad Meadows,” thus uniting the two channels of 
the river. The purpose was to permit the flow of the 
waters through this artificial channel instead of accu- 


mulating upon the meadows along the river below. 


42 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





In 1652 liberty was granted to cut a creek or ditch 
through the “ Broad Meadows” from river to river. 
Lieut. Fisher and Thomas Fuller were deputed to 


survey the length of the water-course through the | 


“Broad Meadows,” and the manner of the ground 
through which the same was to be cut, and the 
height of the water in the lower river. 


”? 


This was the origin of “ Long Ditch,” the con- 
struction of which converted the neck into an island. 
It is not long since it was possible to pass through 
this channel in a small boat, but the lower portion 
has become much obstructed by the growth of bushes 
and the closing of the channel. Its history, however, 
is a monument of the energy and foresight of the 
The great 
causeway on the bank of the river, which crosses the 


first generation of the Dedham settlers. 


channel of ‘Long Ditch” where it leaves the river, | 


was built in 1701. 

In 1646, John Ehot, the minister at Roxbury, 
began the work of converting the Indians to Chris- 
tianity and civilization. His first instructions were 
given at Nonantum, a part of the present city of 


Newton. He met with success in 





| 





the conversion 


of some Indians, among others, of Waban, a wise 


and grave man of the Massachusetts tribe. Mr. Eliot 


maintained that the Indians could not become Chris- | 


tians unless they were first civilized. He therefore 


proposed that the Indians should be collected into one | 


village, and designated a place on Charles River, ten 
miles west of the village of Dedham. 
southerly part of the town of Natick, a name which sig- 


This was in the 


nifies ‘‘a place of hills.” To this proposition, when pro- 
posed to the General Court, Dedham readily assented. 
Mr. Allin was interested in Eliot’s work, and aided 


him in his new enterprise. The General Court 


stables and smaller officers. In 1670 the Indian 
Church at Natick had two teachers and from forty to 
fifty communicants. They observed the Sabbath, 
some of them could read and write and rehearse the 
catechism. 


ful. 


The experiment was in a degree success- 
In the beginning of the eighteenth century the 


_ tribe was in a civilized state, they had civil officers 


of their own, and a military company organized in 
the manner of the colonists. There were some, like 
Waban and Deacon Ephraim, who led sober, Christian 
lives, but their numbers gradually diminished until 
they were extinct in 1826. 

When the General Court granted the two thousand 
acres, to be taken from the territory of Dedham for 
the Indian town at Natick, it granted to the Dedham 
proprietors, as compensation, eight thousand acres of 


unlocated Jands which they might select. In 1663 


| messengers were sent out to explore near Lancaster. 


The messengers reported the land to be good, but 
hard to cultivate, and there was not enough meadow 
land. John Fairbanks informed the selectmen of 
some good land twelve miles from Hadley, and John 
Fairbanks and Lieut. Daniel Fisher were sent out 
On their return they 
reported the land to be exceedingly good and that it 


to discover and examine it. 


should be taken possession of under the grant. This 
was Pacomtuck, the present town of Deerfield. 
When the report was received, the Dedham proprie- 
tors appointed six persons to repair to Pacomtuck, 
and cause the eight thousand acres to be located. 
Capt. John Pynchon, of Springfield, was employed 
by the town to purchase the lands of the Indians, 


_and procured three deeds from them, which are now 


granted two thousand acres at Natick in 1651 for 
| Daniel Fisher, and other English of Dedham, tbeir 


the new Indian town. It has been asserted that the 
town really had about six thousand acres, and the 
boundaries were never satisfactorily settled with the 


Indiaus. 


soon built a little town which had three long streets, 


The Naticks, as they were afterwards called, 


two on the north, and one on the south of Charles 
River. 
consisted of poles set in the ground, and were covered 
with peeled bark. 


Kach family had a house-lot. The houses 
A few, built in the manner of 
English houses, were less perfect and comfortable. 
There was one large house which answered the double 
purpose of a school-room and meeting-house. In the 
second story the Indians deposited their skins. 
were supplied with spades, hoes, axes, and other 
farming implements. A form of government was 
adopted, and an English magistrate was appointed to 


hold a court, and, in fact, appointed the Indian con- 


They | 


carefully preserved at Deerfield. The grantee in these 
deeds is Capt. John Pynchon, of Springfield, for the 
use and behoof of Maj. Eleazer Lusher, Ensign 


Dedham gave £94 10s. 


for these deeds, which sum was raised by an assess- 


associates and successors. 


ment on the common rights in the Dedham proprie- 
tary. 

In 1670 the proprietors of Pacomtuck met at 
Dedham, twenty-six being present,—Capt. John 
Pynchon, Samuel Hinsdale, John Stebbins, John 
Hurlburt, and Samson Frary not being inhabitants of 
Dedham, but Samuel Hinsdale was a son of Robert 
Hinsdale, of Dedham. The remaining proprietors 
were inhabitants of Dedham. It was then voted to 
have a correct plan made, the place for the mecting- 
house to be designated, the church-officers’ lot and 
lots of proprietors to be assigned. 

In 1672, 


slain at Bloody Brook, made a petition to the Dedham 


Samuel Hinsdale, who was afterwards 





DEDHAM. 


43 





proprietors to authorize five persons to admit inhabit- 
ants, and to hire an orthodox minister at Deerfield, 
and to act for themselves in other matters, by reason 
of their remoteness from other settlements. This 
petition was granted, and seems to end the relations 
of the Dedham proprietors with Pacomtuck. Doubt- 
less their shares were purchased by the Pacomtuck 
proprietors who inhabited there. 
incorporated as Deerfield, May 24, 1682. 

As the territory granted to the Dedham proprietors 
in 1636 was so extensive, there was a great induce- 
ment to begin new settlements within its limits. The 
desire or necessity for more land, seems to have been 


a controlling reason fur extending the settlements. | 


The fear of attacks from the Indians had at first 
checked the advance of the line of settlements. 


From the beginning, the settlers had looked with | 


The town was | 


| 
| 





longing eyes upon the wide meadows at Bogastow, | 


now the easterly part of Medway. Edward Alleyne, 
in 1640, had a grant of three hundred acres there, 
where he should choose, with fifty acres of meadow. 


The attention of the settlers was also turned south- 
ward to their uplands and meadows at Wollonomopoag. 
The large and beautiful ponds there, are not mentioned 
in the records as among its attractions, but in 1649 
they had gone there to cut grass from the meadows, 
and in 1647 notice was given by John Dwight and 
Francis Chickering of their hopes of a mine there. 
In 1660 a committee was deputed to view the up- 
land and meadow near about the ponds by ‘“ George 
Indian’s wigwam.”’ In 1661, at a general town-mect- 
ing, it was voted that a plantation should be set up at 
Wollonomopoag, and that six hundred acres should be 
laid down for the encouragement of the plantation. 
The bounds of the plantation were afterwards fixed 
in the same year; the south bounds to be the Dor- 
chester line, and the north bounds to be the Medficld 
bounds in part and Charles River in part. In 1662 
a committee made a report upon extinguishing the 
Indian title. Philip, sachem of Mount Hope, claimed 


lands at Wollonomopoag. In 1662 Dedham had paid 
| £24 10s. for his title to lands within its plantation, 


After the death of Mr. Alleyne, in 1642, this grant | 


was located under the direction of Maj. Lusher. 


In | 


January, 1650, with the sanction and co-operation of 


the Dedham proprietors, at a general meeting there 
was granted, for the accommodation of the village, a 
tract extending east and west three miles, and north 


and south four miles. A company was immediately 


formed, and regulations similar to their own, adopted | 


for the government of the new town, and rules were 
adopted for the equitable division of the lands. 
January, 1651, Dedham formally transferred all right 
and power of town government to the new settlement, 
which was incorporated May 23, 1651, as Medfield. 
The grant to Edward Alleyne was conveyed to the 
town of Medfield by his nephew in 1652. A num- 


In | 


and again in 1669 the further sum of £17 Os. Sd. 
were paid him for a further release of his title. ‘The 
payment of these sums seems to have been an obstacle 
In 1663 the 
company drew lots in the Wollonomopoag plantation, 
and a settlement was actually began. An examination 
of the names of these settlers shows that they were 
nearly all the sons or sons-in-law of the Dedham set- 
tlers, so that the new plantation was actually the child 
of Dedham, and the Dedham proprietors continued 
to aid and direct it in a paternal way for several years. 
In 1669, Mr. Allin, the Dedham pastor, Elder Hunting, 
and Major Lusher approved a call to the Rev. Samuel 


to removing to the new plantation. 


' Mann to be the minister for the infant settlement. 


ber of the Dedham settlers removed to Medfield, and | 


prominent among them was Mr. Ralph Wheelock, 
said to have been a non-conformist preacher in Eng- 
land, educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge, and who 
came to Dedham in 1638. Whether his disappoint- 
ment at not being the choice of the Dedham Church 
as ruling elder, had inclined him to remove is not 


Major Lusher kept their records. *At length, in 1672, 
the inhabitants were of sufficient numbers and capac- 
ity, in the opinion of the General Court, to carry_on 
the work of the church and commonwealth, and upon 
their petition, Oct. 17, 1673, they were made a tuwn 
by the name of Wrentham. In the following Decem- 


_ ber the books and records were transferred from Ded- 


stated upon authority, but he was in the habit of | 


preaching occasionally at Medfield. He was a repre- 
sentative from Medfield, and died Jan, 11, 1684, at 
the age of eighty-three. 
founder and first president of Dartmouth College. 
The fact that so large a number of the Dedham set- 
tlers had early received grants of land in Medfield, 
makes the existence of that town nearly coeval with 
Dedham. It was an offshoot of the Dedham settle- 
ment, rather than a child of the parent town. 


He was the ancestor of the 


ham to Wrentham. Fifty years later a considerable 
portion of the south precinct of Dorchester was also 
set off to Wrentham. 

The settlement at Dedham was gradually increasing 
in its population. In 1657 there were one hundred 
and sixty-six families. Mr. Allin sixty 
pounds as his annual maintenance, and had a 


received 
good 
stock of cattle, and a good accommodation in corn- 
land and meadow. Johnson describes Dedham about 


this time as ‘“‘an inland town about ten miles from 


| Boston, well watered with many pleasant streams. 


44 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





abounding with garden fruits fitly to supply the mar- 
kets of the most populous town, whose coin and com- 
modities allures the inhabitants of the town to make 
many a long walk; they consist of about a hundred 
families, being generally given to husbandry, and 
through the blessing of God are much increased, 
ready to swarm and settle on the building of another 
town more to the inland.” 
to barns and orchards. The inventory of Mr. Allin’s 
estate included chairs upholstered with leather, Tur- 
key-work cushions, feather-beds and pillows, ‘‘a gilt 


bowl with covering,” “‘a wine-cup with a foot,” and 
{ 


a warming-pan, so that some of these homes in the 
wilderness had both comforts and luxuries. Mr. 
Allin was a well-to-do farmer, having extensive out- 
lands and a comfortable homestead, with parlor, kitchen, 
and buttery on the first floor, and chambers over each. 
Deacon Chickering the largest landholder; Ensign 
Daniel Fisher, for three years speaker of the House 
of Deputies, and afterwards an assistant ambassador 
to King Philip, “learned in the law,’” the father of 
him who afterwards collared a royal governor ; Tim- 
othy Dwight, who came over with his father, John 
Dwight, when a mere child, the town recorder, select- 
man, deputy to the General Court, “of an excellent 
spirit, peaceable, generous, charitable ;’ Elder Hunt- 
ing, son-in law to Mr. Allin; Michael Metcalf, the 
schoolmaster ; Dr. William Avery, the donor of money 
for a Latin school ; and Lieut. Joshua Fisher, who kept 
the ordinary and had an annual bill for “dieting the 
selectinen ;” these were the contemporaries of the gra- 
cious Allin and Maj. Lusher through the first thirty- 
five years of the settlement. How wisely and well 
these men wrought has already been seen. 


But the time had arrived when the leaders of 
the first generation’ were to rest from their labors. 


Michael Metcalf died in 1664; Anthony Fisher, in 
1669; Mr. Allin, in 1671; Major Lusher and Joshua 
Fisher, in 1672; Daniel Fisher, in 1683. Another 
generation was about to enter into their labors and 
the rule of peaceful life was about to be broken. 


CHAPTER “Vv. 
DEDHAM—( Continued). 


Indian Deeds—Philip’s War—Rey. William Adams—New 
Meeting- House—Timothy Dwight—William Avery—Daniel 
Fisher, the second—His Part in Resisting Sir Edmund 


Andros, 


At the time of the coming of the settlers, there 
were no Indians to be seen within miles of the set- 


The deeds of lands refer | 





tlement. Chicatabot, sachem of the Neponsets, after- 
wards claimed the territory west of Neponset River, 
bounded northerly on Charles River and southerly 
on the land of Philip, sachem of the Pokanokets. 
Philip claimed lands at Wollonomopoag, and was ° 
in the habit of repeating his claims after he had 
once released them. Magus, another sachem, claimed 
the territory including Natick, Needham, and Ded- 
ham Island. It was the policy of the Massachu- 


setts colony, under the advice of the Council for 


New Kngland, to purchase the title of any savages 
who might pretend to rights of inheritance to the 


lands granted, that they might avoid the least scruple 
of intrusion. The Dedham settlers were careful to 
observe this precept. It has been seen that deeds 
from Philip of the lands at Wollonomopoag and from 
the sachem of the Pacomtucks at Deerfield were 
procured by the Dedham settlers. Besides these 
deeds, in 1685 there was obtained from Josias, the 
grandson of Chicatabot, a confirmatory title to the 
tract of land known as the town of Dedham. In 
1680, John Magus and his wife, Natick Indians, in 
consideration of five pounds in money, released the 
Indian title to Natick, Needham, and Dedham Island. 
In 1685, William Nahaton, Peter Natoogus, and 
Benjamin Nahaton, Punkapog Indians, released their 
title. 

In 1681 the town voted that all deeds and other 
writings relating to town-rights, should be deposited 
in a box kept by Deacon Aldis for the purpose, and 
it appears there were seven Indian deeds among 
them. Whether this box was really provided or 
not, a bundle of Indian deeds was found in 1836, 
including all the deeds excepting that from Philip, 
A curious letter 
from Philip to the selectmen of Dedham, which was 


whose autograph cannot be found. 


copied into the Wrentham records, relates to his land 
Three of the deeds are still kept in the 
town clerk’s office at Dedham, and the three deeds 
from the Pacomtucks have been sent to Deerfield. 


claims. 


For all these conveyances an adequate consideration 
in money was paid, and if there was any attempt at 
overreaching in the bargains, it was by Philip of 


| Mount Hope, to whose unscrupulous demands the 





, the Indians. 


| Dedham settlers yielded for the sake of peace. 


In 1673 the selectmen received orders from the 
General Court to prepare the town for defense against 
For several years Philip had excited 
alarm in the Plymouth colony by his bad faith and 
secret combinations with other tribes, and it was now 
rendered certain that a serious outbreak was about to 
occur. The soldiers were called out for frequent 


trainings. A barrel of gunpowder and other ammu- 


DEDHAM. 


45 





nition were procured. The gun, which was a small 
field-piece called a drake, given to the town by the 
General Court in 1650, was mounted on wheels. 


The meeting-house was made the depository for sup- | 


plies. The people maintained a garrison and set a 
watch. The inhabitants had been encouraged to en- 


list into the troop of horse commanded by Capt. Pren- 


tice by an abatement of taxes. The fear excited was 


great in the settlement, and many fled to Boston. | 


The Wrentham settlers packed their goods, and with 
their wives and children came to Dedham, leaving 
their deserted houses behind them. 
well situated for defense. It was built in a compact 
manner, that it might be prepared for defense against 
the Indians. 
north, were safeguards against approach from that 


direction, while on the other sides of the village the | 
plain was cleared to a considerable extent, and was | 


overlooked by the watch in the belfry of the new 


meeting-house. The Indians in the town were 


ordered to depart, and to go either to Natick, Ne- | 


ponset, or Wamisit. A war tax was levied upon 
the inhabitants, which exceeded one shilling for 


every pound of valuation. 


Dedham escaped the horrors of an Indian attack | 


by reason of these preparations, but Dedham men 
were found in the bloodiest battles of the war. The 
troop of horse under Capt. Prentice was a part of the 
force which made the first attack upon Philip on 
June 28, 1675, immediately after the massacre at 
Swanzey, and lost one killed and one wounded. 
Robert Hinsdale, one of the founders of the Dedham 


The town was | 


Little River and Charles River on the | 





gone to the Narragansett country in pursuit of him, 
but he escaped them. 

This achievement contributed much to bring the 
war to a successful conclusion, as Pomham was re- 
garded as an enemy second only in power and influ- 
ence to Philip himself. The death of Philip soon 
after brought hostilities in this vicinity to an end, 
and the settlement could again feel some sense of 
security. 

There were other changes going on in the town 
besides those resulting from the dread realities of 
an Indian war. It has been seen that many of the 
leading men of the first generation had gone to their 
final rest. Ina little more than six months after Mr. 
Allin’s death, Mr. William Adams had been called to 
be his successor, and was ordained Dee. 3,1673. He 
was the son of William Adams, of Ipswich, born May 
27, 1650, and was graduated at Harvard College 
in 1671. He married, for his second wife, Alice 
Bradford, daughter of Maj. William Bradford, of 
Plymouth. He relinquished for one year eight pounds 


_of his salary on account of the expenses incurred 





| 


during Philip’s war. 
Soon after his settlement as minister, the new meet- 
ing-house was raised. The old meeting-house, with 


its thatched roof, was out of repair and insufficient 


Church in 1638, but who had removed to Hadley, | 


with his three sons, were killed at Bloody Brook in 
Capt. Lothrop’s company. John Wilson, John 
Genere, and Elisha Woodward were slain at Deer- 
field. 

In December, 1675, the combined forces of the 
colonies, consisting of six companies under Gen. 
Winslow, were collected at Dedham and marched 


Fort. In February, 1676, Medfield was burned and 
twenty of the settlers killed, and the deserted houses 
at Wrentham were nearly all consumed soon after. 
Indians were detected lurking in the neighboring 
woods of the Dedham settlement, but they found the 
watch set and the garrison prepared. On the 25th 


of July, 1676, a party of Dedham and Medfield men, | 


numbering thirty-six Englishmen and ninety praying 
Indians, won a signal success in slaying Pomham, a 
Narragansett sachem, and capturing fifty of his fol- 
lowers. An expedition under Capt. Church had 


for the congregation. In 1672, before Mr. Adams 
was called, the people had voted to erect a new meet- 
ing-house. It was finished in 1673. It had “‘ three 
’ one at the north, another at the east, 
and another at the south corners. The fore seat in 
the front gallery was parted in the middle, and the 
rest open at both ends. The south gallery was for 
men, and the north gallery for women and boys. The 
seats in the lower part of the house were parted 
in the middle by an aisle, so that the men were 
ranged on one side and the women on the other. It 
had a bell, which had become quite necessary, since 
the people were moving farther from the meeting- 


See) ai 
pair of stairs, 


_house than formerly. The practice of beating the 
against the Narragansetts in Rhode Island, and was | 
the force engaged in the great battle of the Narraganset | 


| over.” 


drum to summon the congregation had been aban- 
doned for many years. They had much difficulty in 
caring for the orderly behavior of the boys, to whom 
were assigned seats where they might “‘ be watched 
Ten years after, it was proposed to construct 
new galleries, and in 1696 galleries were erected 


? 


‘‘over the other galleries,’ that over the woman’s 
gallery being for “young women and maids to sit 
= 2? 
in. 


Mr. Adams died Aug. 17, 1685. 


mons were printed, one being an election sermon. 


Two of his ser- 
In 
a book used for the parish records there is a com- 
mentary written by him covering sixty-three pages. 


46 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





During kis ministry there was harmony among his 
people, and they showed attachment to their pastor. 
The parish now included all of the original territory 
granted to Dedham proprietors excepting Medfield 
and Wrentham. In 1682 a vote was passed that no 


one of the inhabitants should remove a greater dis- 


tance than two miles from the meeting-house withont — 


special license, as any person so removing would ex- 


pose himself to danger, and to want of town govern- | 


ment. The people, therefore, were not widely scat- 
tered, although the small house-lots of the village 
were gradually being abandoned. The generation 
which had now succeeded to the management of the 
secular and religious affairs of the town were much 
inferior to the first, in point of education and manners. 
The wilderness had been a rough school in which to 
rear their families, in spite of the care which the 
fathers had taken to provide for their education. 
The town was indicted in 1674, and again in 1691, 
for not supporting a school. The Indian war had 
doubtless a depressing influence in this respect. 

The leading men at this period appear to have 
been Timothy Dwight, Daniel Fisher (the second of 
that name), and William Avery. Timothy Dwight 
was the son of John Dwight, and was a small child 
when he came with his father. He had been town 
clerk ten years and selectman twenty-four years before 
this time, but he was still in active life, and survived 
until Jan. 31, 1718. He was the husband of six 
wives and the father of nineteen children. He was 
the progenitor of a line of. descendants that have 
made the name of Dwight known and _ honored 
William Avery 
was the son of Dr. William Avery, and was a deacon 


through the succeeding generations. 


of the church and selectman for twenty-two years. 
His name was honorably perpetuated for many years 
in Dedham. Capt. Daniel Fisher succeeded to the title 
and name of his father but not to his official distine- 
tion, but he inherited his spirit. His father had been 
prominent in the struggle between the Massachusetts 
colony and Randolph, the special messenger of the 
crown, in his attempts against the colonial charter. 


Among those against whom he exhibited articles of | 


high misdemeanor was Daniel Fisher, and in 1682 
Randolph wrote to England that “‘ His Majesty’s quo 


warranto against the charter, sending for Thomas | 


Danforth, Samuel Norvell, Daniel Fisher, and Elisha 


Cooke, will make the whole faction tremble.” Such was | 
the character and position of the first Daniel Fisher, | 


who died in 1683. In 1686 the charter was vacated, 


| 





and soon after, Sir Edmund Andros was appointed — 


the royal Governor of all the English possessions in 
America north of Pennsylvania, by King James II. 


| jail. 


| what would follow.” 


His activity in oppressive legislation had rendered 
him especially obnoxious to the people of Boston, 
where he resided. In April, 1689, the news of the 
landing of the Prince of Orange in England was 
brought to Boston. On the morning of the 18th 
of April, it being Thursday, when the weekly lecture 
of the First Church invited a concourse from the 
neighboring towns, a rumor spread that there were 
armed men collecting and a rising in the different 
‘At nine of the clock the drums 
beat through the town and an ensign was set up on 


parts of Boston. 


the beacon.” The captain of the “ Rose” frigate was 
taken and handed over to a guard, and Randolph 


_ and other high officials were apprehended and put in 


From the eastern gallery of the town-house in 
King Street, a declaration of the gentlemen mer- 
chants and inhabitants of Boston and the country 
adjacent was read to the assembled people, reciting 
the oppressive acts of Andros, and concluding that 
they seize upon the persons of the grand authors of 
their miseries to secure them for justice, and advising 
the people to join them for the defense of the land. 
Andros was in the fort on Fort Hill. 
was sent to him to surrender and deliver up the 


A summons 


government and fortification, promising him secu- 
rity from violence, but assuring him an attempt 
would be made to take the fort by storm if opposition 
should be made. 
ernor “‘came forth from the fort and went disarmed 
guard to 
day, the 
the coun- 


After some negotiation the Goy- 


to the town-house, and from thence ‘under 
Mr. Usher’s house.” On the succeeding 
news having spread to the adjoining towns, 
try people, according to Hutchinson, “ came into town 
in such a rage and heat as made.all tremble to think 
Nothing would satisfy them but 
that the Governor must be bound in chains or cords 
and put in a more secure place, and Andros was con- 
ducted under guard from Usher’s house back to the 
fort. Tradition says that the man who led the im- 
prisoned Governor by the collar of his coat was Capt. 
Daniel Fisher, the second of the name, of Dedham. 
As Haven in his centennial address most felicitously 
says, it was “a second Daniel come to judgment.” 
He was inspired with a keen sense of the personal 
obloquy his father had endured from royal emissaries 
as well as a thorough sympathy with the cause of the 
people. He served as selectman for nine years. He 
was the Daniel Fisher who went to Deerfield with 
John Fairbanks in 1663. He was also the great- 
grandfather of Fisher Ames. 


DEDHAM. 47 





CHAPTER VI. 


DEDHAM—( Continued.) 


Province Charter—Changes and Contentions—Incorporation of | 


Needham—Rey. Joseph Belcher—The Second Parish and 
Church—Rev. Thomas Baleh—The Third Parish and Church 
—Rev. Josiah Dwight—Reyv. Andrew Tyler—Incorporation 


of Walpole—Services of Church of England begun—Rey. | 


William Clark—Samuel Colburn—Devise of Estate to Epis- 
copal Church—Rev. Samuel Dexter—The Fourth Parish and 
Church—Rey. Benjamin Caryl—Services of Dedham Men in 
French Wars—New Meeting-House—Dr. Nathaniel Ames— 
The Pillar of Liberty—Events Prior to the American Revyo- 
lution. 


In 1692 the charter, under which the colony had 
existed for fifty-five years, was dissolved by a legal 
judgment, and a new charter of the province of Mas- 


In civil matters, there were some changes worthy of 
In 1694 the inhabitants of the town and 
the proprietors first acted as separate bodies. In 
1695 the proprietors laid out the thirty-four hundred 
acres of their Sherborn lands which were included in 
the grant of 1636, and assigned them to those who 
could then show their rights therein. This was to aid 
in the formation of the new town which was incorpo- 
rated in 1694. In 1698 the bounty for killing a full- 
grown wolf was increased from twenty to thirty 


mention. 


shillings, and a number of these bounties was soon 
after received. A considerable portion of the town 


still remained a wilderness. In raising thirty pounds 


to repair the meeting-house, it was voted to pay one- 


_ lings. 


sachusetts Bay, with a Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, | 
and secretary, appointed by the crown, took its place. | 
This is commonly considered as marking the begin- 


ning of a new period in the history of Massachusetts. 
In the Dedham settlement it was a time of depres- 
sion. The town had been without a pastor for about 
eight years, since the death of Mr. Adams. 
sions had arisen among the people during the vacancy, 
and they had extended calls to four different persons 
to become their minister. In the correspondence 
and town, the discouraging state of affairs at Ded- 
ham was not concealed, and it bad the effect of 
causing a declination of each invitation. At length, 
in 1692, Mr. Joseph Belcher, of Milton, accepted 
the call. The town offered him sixty pounds to pro- 
vide him with a dwelling, and a salary of one hun- 
dred pounds, and afterwards wood to the value of ten 
pounds was added, or that amount in money. He 
was ordained Nov. 29, 1693. Soon after, the meet- 


Divi- | 


half in wheat at five shillings, rye at four shillings, 
corn at two shillings, and a day’s work at two shil- 
In 1701 it was voted that the law forbidding 
any person not an inhabitant to purchase land in the 
town is in force, and that measures be taken to get it 
approved by the General Court. The contentions 
and divisions existing in the town are well exempli- 
fied by the town-meeting in March, 1703. It as- 
sembled on the sixth, and was held all day, but did no 
business but adjourn to the thirteenth day. The ad- 


_journed meeting could do no business, but adjourned 


| 


to the seventeenth day, when town- officers were chosen. 


_ A new meeting was called on the twenty-seventh day, 
which occurred during these efforts of the church | 


when another board of town-officers was chosen, and on 
the seventeenth of April a third board of town-officers 
was chosen by order of the Court of Sessions. In 1700, 
Sir Prentiss began to keep school at twenty pounds 
for the year and keeping his horse with hay and 
In 1715 the town granted fifteen pounds for 
the school, which was the sum granted for several 
years, both before and after that year. In 1718 the 


grass. 


town imposed a penalty of twenty shillings for every 


ing-house was enlarged by the addition of new gal- | 


leries. Prior to this time, the ministerial rate had 
been paid by the voluntary contributions made each 
Sabbath. Mr. Belcher proposed that for one quarter, 
his salary should be paid, and he would rely upon 
contributions for the remaining three-quarters of the 
year. 


The result was not satisfactory, and a few | 


years after, the ministerial rates were collected in the 


same manner as the country rates. ‘Those who de- 
sired to worship elsewhere had liberty to pay the 
rates to the minister where they worshiped. These, 
doubtless, were those who lived at a remote distance 
from the meeting-house and were desirous of forming 
new parishes. About the year 1702 pews were first 
introduced, and a year or two previous, the meeting- 
house was again enlarged. 


| poration of new towns. 


month an unlicensed stranger should remain in the 
town. The province taxes until 1720 were called 
the country taxes in the assessment, as the name of 
province was odious to the people. In 1722 the 
settlement was visited with the smallpox, and the 
inhabitants held public worship in a private house 
for fear of the contagion. 

The gradual extension of new settlements within 
the territory of the proprietors is shown by the incor- 
In 1711 forty persons, re- 
siding in that part of the town now called Needham, 
petitioned the General Court to be set off as a sepa- 
rate township. Dedham at first opposed the separa- 
tion, but afterwards gave its consent on condition 
that the petitioners should have less territory than 
they demanded. The town of Needham was incor- 


| porated Nov. 5, 1711, with all the territory asked for 


48 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





in the petition. Bellingham was incorporated Nov. 
27,1719. In 1691 the selectmen had reported that 
the lands near Mendon and Wrentham, which con- 
stituted the town of Bellingham, were not worth lay- 
ing out for a dividend, so that there was probably no 
opposition to the incorporation. It was named in 
honor of Governor Richard Bellingham. The town 
of Walpole was incorporated Dec. 10, 1724, and was 
carved out of the southerly part of Dedham. 
was named for Sir Robert Walpole, then the prime 
minister of England. 


Mr. Belcher died at Roxbury, April 27, 1723. | 


Five of the principal inhabitants were directed to 
hire a coach to bring his body to Dedham, and forty 


pounds were afterwards allowed Madam Belcher for | 


expenses upon the occasion of the funeral. He was 


born in Milton, May 14,1668. He was graduated at | 


Harvard College in 1690. His house stood upon the 
site occupied by the meeting-house of the Allin 
Evangelical Society. His portrait, which now hangs 


in the vestry of the First Parish, was presented by Mrs. | 


Elizabeth Gay, Jan. 1, 1839. Dr. Cotton Mather 
preached a discourse after his death, in which he 
speaks of him as “an excellent preacher to walk with 
God, and an excellent pattern of what he preached.” 
The inhabitants residing in the southerly and west- 
erly portions of the town, on account of their remote- 
ness from the meeting-house, had for several years 


made known their desire for a new parish. In 1722 


they had presented their petition to be set off into a | 


town or precinct. But the town did not then give its 
consent to the prayer of the petition. 
ever, the town voted that if the inhabitants of the 
southerly part of the town will unite with some 


It | 


In 1728, how- | 





families in the westerly part of Stoughton in a petition | 


to be made a parish, it will give its consent. Ac- 


cordingly the South Parish of Dedham was incorpo- | 


rated by the General Court, Oct. 18,1730. The terri- 
tory thus incorporated included also what was after- 
wards the West Parish. 
sections was not of long continuance. 


But this union of the two 
A division 
arose at once between them upon the location of the 
meeting-house. Indeed, the frames of two meeting- 
houses were raised about the same time, and neither 
was satisfactory to all parties. 
question, the precinct voted to petition the General 
Court for a committee to come and view their situa- 
tion, and to set off to the old precinct as many as they 


shall judge to be most for the peace and harmony of | 


both precincts, and the committee did set off to the 
old precinct those families living in what afterwards 
became the West Parish. They also recommended to 


the South Parish that it remove its meeting-house 


farther south, which was done. In 1769 another 
meeting-house was erected in this parish. 

The church connected with the Second, or South 
Parish of Dedham was gathered June 23, 1736, con- 
sisting of fifteen members. They called the Rev. 
Thomas Balch to be their pastor, and on June 30th 
he was ordained. Mr. Balch was a native of Charles- 
town, and was born Oct. 17, 1711, and was graduated 
at Harvard College in 1733. He continued to be the 
pastor of this church until his death, which occurred 
Jan. 8, 1774, at the age of sixty-two years. His 
ministry continued thirty-seven years and nearly six 
months, and he died in the full confidence and affec- 
tion of his people. He was an excellent preacher, 
and was a man of high character and attainments. 
A number of his sermons were printed. 

The people in the westerly section, after being re- 
united with the old parish in 1733, were still dissatis- 
fied with their parochial relations, and on the 4th of 


| June, 1735, they organized a new church indepen- 


dently of the First Church. On that day the Rev. 
Josiah Dwight, a son of Capt. Timothy Dwight, of 
Dedham, was installed as pastor. That this procecd- 
ing was viewed with disapproval by the First Church, 


_is evident from the fact that, though invited, it was 


not represented at Mr. Dwight’s installation. The 
number of church members was thirteen. At the 
time of Mr. Dwight’s installation the meeting-house 
begun in 1731 was unfinished; it was not plastered, 
and had no pews except those built by individuals for 
themselves. It was afterwards completed, and the 
house stood for seventy-eight years before the present 
one was built. The parish was finally incorporated 
as the Third Parish, Jan. 10,1736. But the trials of 
this people were by no means ended. Mr. Dwight 
and his people did not get on without differences and 
dissensions, and he requested a dismission, which was 
eranted May 20, 1743. The terms of the dismis- 
sion were that he should receive fifty pounds, and 
that a ‘“‘ number of respectable individuals should on 
his removal accompany him as far as Thompson.” 
He was born in Dedham, Feb. 7, 1670, and was grad- 
uated at Harvard College in 1687, and was the min- 


ister of Woodstock, Conn., before he came to Dedham. 


Unable to settle the | 


After his dismission from the Third Parish he returned 
to Woodstock, where he spent the remainder of his life. 

The name by which this parish is designated in 
the act of incorporation, and which it has since re- 
tained, is that of “the Clapboard trees.” This was 


an ancient name for this locality, and probably there 


were trees here at the beginning of the settlement, 
which were considered to be adapted to furnish a 
covering for the dwelling-houses. 





DEDHAM. 49 





In November, 1743, the Rev. Andrew Tyler, of 
Boston, was ordained as Mr. Dwight’s successor. He 
was of good repute as a preacher, and a man of per- 


sonal attractions, During the first twenty years of 


his ministry he had the respect and confidence of his _ 


people. From 1764 to 1772 very serious disputes 


arose between him and the parish, and repeated but © 


fruitless attempts were made to restore peace by 
parish meetings, church meetings, and ecclesiastical 
councils, and finally by referees, until Dec. 17, 1772, 
when he was dismissed. 
sided in Boston until his death, in 1775. The church 
had no other pastor for nearly eight years after Mr. 


Tyler’s dismission, during which its troubles and dis- | 


sensions appear to have continued, which the trials 





He left the ministry and re- | 





and expenses of the Revolutionary war did not serve | 
| 18th of June, 1769, he began his services as mis- 
In 1731 the Rev. Dr. Timothy Cutler, rector of | 


to mitigate. 


Christ Church, Boston, ‘ at the desire of some church- 
men and dissenters willing to be informed,”’ first began 
the service of the Church of England and to preach 
in Dedham. He was a graduate of Harvard College, 


a native of Charlestown, had been pastor of a Congre- 


gational Church at Stratford, Conn., and subseqnently 
president or rector of Yale College. He had con- 
formed to the Church of England, and was at this 
time a missionary of the “Society for the Propaga- 
tion of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,’ a society formed 
in London in 1701. The place where these services 
were held by Dr. Cutler, was in a house owned by 
Joseph Smith, in the westerly part of Dedham. 


The | 


house was standing until within a few years on Sum- | 


mer Street. Here Dr. Cutler preached at intervals, 
and between November, 1732, and May, 1733, 
monthly, to congregations of forty or fifty persons, 
and administered the sacrament to eight or nine 
He continued his services until Christmas, 
In 1734 


In the same year six per- 


persons. 
1733, after which they were not regular. 
he baptized five children. 
sons had their ministerial taxes abated on the ground 
that they carried on the worship of God in the way 
of the established Church of England, as the law at 
this time permitted them. After this time, Dr. Cut- 
ler visited Dedham occasionally, preaching to a con- 
siderable congregation and administering the sacra- 
ments. Dr. Cutler died in 1765, and after his death, 
Dr. Ebenezer Miller, of Braintree, succeeded to the 
In 1733-34 efforts were 
made towards the building of a church, but it was 


charge of the services here. 


not until 1758 that the work was actually begun, | 


and it was opened, Dr. Miller officiating, the Sunday 
after Easter, 1761. The location of this church was 


near the corner of Court and Church Streets, but be- 
q 





fore 1771 nothing was done more than outside work. 
A contribution from some gentlemen in Newport, R. L., 
Up to the time of the 
Revolution it had not advanced very far towards 
completion, as it had no pews, and was neither lathed 
nor plastered. After Dr. Miller’s death the Rev. 
Edward Winslow, his successor at Braintree, con- 


aided in finishing the house. 


tinued to have charge of the services. 

On the 16th of August, 1767, the Rev. Wil- 
liam Clark began to read the service at Dedham. 
He was the son of Rey. Peter Clark, of Danvers, 
a graduate of Harvard College in 1759, and was 
educated to be—like his father—a Congregational 
clergyman, but had conformed to the Church of 
England. 
Dec. 18, 1768, by the Bishop of London. 


He went to London and was ordained 
On the 


sionary, officiating on alternate Sundays at Dedham 
and Stoughton. He married, Sept. 15, 1770, 
Miss Mary Richards, of Dedham. After 1772 he 
took leave of his people at Stoughton, and removed 
to Dedham. 
ceding the first conflict of the Revolution interfered 


The troublous times immediately pre- 


with the attendance upon his services and the ad- 


ministration of the sacraments. But he continued to 


-—=— 


hold service until after Easter, 1777, and the law 
was passed forbidding prayers for the king’s majesty, 
when he closed his church. Mr. Clark was very 
discreet in his conduct and speech during this trying 
At the public town-meeting held May 29, 


L777, a vote was passed that he, with three of his 


period. 


church, were looked upon as inimical to the United 


States. On the 21st of the following May he writes: 
‘‘T was surrounded by a mob when I got home, but 


escaped on my parole.” On the 5th of June follow- 
ing he was taken prisoner and carried to Boston, 
when he gave bail, and the others were taken to jail. 
His arrest was not approved by the committee of the 
town at first, but they were urged to make the 
prosecution. The charge made against him, was 
based upon his writing a letter to a gentleman of a 
neighboring county, recommending one of his con- 
gregation who was in distress to his kindly assistance 
in helping him to support himself. He was adjudged 
guilty by the tribunal in Boston, and sentenced to 
banishment and confiscation of his estate, and sent on 
board a guard-ship in Boston harbor, where he re- 
mained about ten weeks, when he returned to Ded- 
ham. On the 10th day of June, 1778, having 
through the intervention of Dr. Nathaniel Ames, 
who sympathized with him in his distress, procured 
a passport, which was brought to him by Fisher 
Ames, he took leave of his friends in Dedham and 


50 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





sailed from Boston to Newport, thence to New York, 
and thence to England. 


| Church in Dedham. 


His wife accompanied him | 


| 
to Newport, but returned to Dedham, where she 


died in child-bed in the succeeding December. He 
remained in EKvgland during the war, when he re- 
turned to Nova Scotia, where he again married, 
and resided a few years. He finally lived at Quincy, 
Mass., where he died, in 1815, at the age of seventy- 
five years. 

In 1756, Samuel Colburn, the only son of Benja- 
min Colburn by his second wife (Mary Hunting), a 
young man twenty-four years of age, whose father 
had died in 1747, leaving him a large landed estate, 
enlisted as a volunteer in the force raised during the 
French war by Governor Shirley, destined to reduce 


the fortifications of the enemy at Crown Point and | 


vicinity. 
from Dedham. 


Into this force about twenty men enlisted | 
It has been asserted and believed | 


that Colburn was drafted or impressed into the ser- | 


vice, but against his name on the original roll at the 
State-House is plainly written the word volunteer. 
His friend and neighbor, Samuel Richards, also en- 


listed, and there is really no ground to believe | 


that he was compelled to join the army. He enlisted 
on the 18th of March, 1756, marched with his com- 


pany, and on the 28th day of October he died of | 


disease at the Great Meadows, between Saratoga and 
Stillwater. His friend, Samuel Richards, died on 
the 13th day of August. 


Before his departure, Samuel Colburn made his > 


will, dated May 7, 1756, by which he devised his 
estate to trustees, subject to the life-estate of his 
mother, for her maintenance and comfortable sub- 


Owing to mismanagement of 
the estate by those intrusted with it, some of it was 
alienated and lost, and the devise of the church acre 
After the Revolution, and the de- 
cease of Mrs. Colburn in 1792, what remained was 
appropriated for the support of preaching “in the 
Episeopal way.” How and by what inducements 
Samuel Colburn was led to make this liberal devise 
to the church of England, then so obnoxious. to the 
Puritan establishment, has been a matter of con- 


wholly ignored. 


jecture and of vague tradition. That Samuel Colburn 
was well acquainted with the service of the Episcopal 
Church and the Book of Common Prayer, there is 
He had lived in the family, or was 
the neighbor, of Samuel Richards, who was a zealous 
churchman, and as clergyman of the Church of Eng- 
land had held services in Dedham during twenty-five 
years, and ever since the time of his birth, he must 


some evidence. 


have known something of the church which he made 
the object of his bounty. Besides, it is said that he 
disapproved of the conduct of some of his relatives 
and neighbors in religious matters. 

Retracing the events of the eighteenth century, 
the vacancy occasioned by the death of Mr. Belcher 
was filled in a little more than three months by the 
Rev. Samuel Dexter. He was born in Malden, was 
graduated at Harvard College in 1720, and was or- 
dained May 6, 1724. The first meeting of the parish 
as a separate precinct, consequent upon the incorpo- 
ration of the Second Parish, was Jan. 4, 1730-31. 
The meeting-house required frequent repairs, and 
owing to a depreciation of the currency there were 


frequent adjustments made in the minister’s salary ; 


sistence, first, for the payment of £26 14s. 4d. towards | 


the building of an Hpiscopal Church in Dedham, 


whenever the same should be undertaken ; and when | 
_ turbance by the boys,—such were the more important 


such church should be undertaken to be erected, one 
acre of his land on the south side of the way opposite 
his dwelling-house, next to Samuel Richard’s house, 
should be set apart for that purpose in the most con- 
venient place, and this notwithstanding the devise to 
his mother. 


In case the church should be built at | 


the time of his mother’s decease, the said estate | 


should be to the use of said church; and in ease it 
should not then be built, then the income should be 
applied to hire and pay for preaching and carrying on 
public worship in the Episcopal way in Dedham until 
said church should be built, and then the whole to be 
By this will, at the de- 
cease of his mother, in addition to the church acre, 


to the said church forever. 


, journal. 


pews first began to be erected; two new bells were 
provided in two years; the deacons’ wives had sepa- 
rate seats assigned them ; and the ever-recurring dis- 


events in the history of the parish during Mr. Dex- 
ters ministry. On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, 
1738, being at the conclusion of the first century 
since the church was gathered, he preached a dis- 
course, of which two editions have been printed, and 
is the first sermon containing historical references 
which has been printed. He also left a diary or 
In the earlier portion of his ministry there 


_were dissensions in the parish, and these gave the 


about one hundred and thirty-four acres of land, in- | 


cluding the Colburn homestead, which was in Ded- | 


ham village, was given for the use of the Episcopal 


i] 


sensitive pastor much distress. After the incorpora- 
tion of the West Parish, affairs moved more smoothly. 
He died, after a short illness, Jan. 29, 1755, in the 
fifty-fifth year of his age and the thirtieth of his 
ministry. ‘ He died as he had lived, enjoying the 
general respect and confidence of his people.” 

In 1748 a fourth parish was incorporated called 


DEDHAM. 





Springfield, now the town of Dover. The Rev. Ben- | 


jamin Caryl was ordained as pastor of the church 
Nov. 10, 1762, and he died Nov. 13, 1811. The 
parish was incorporated as a district by the General 
Court, July 7, 1784, when the name of Dover was 
given to it. 

This was the period in the history of Massachu- 
setts when her people were involved in the wars and 
military expeditions of the mother-country. In an 
expedition against the Spanish West India settle- 
ments the province furnished five hundred men, and 
six men from the South Parish of Dedham were 
among those who perished. In the famous expedi- 
tion against Louisburg, 1745, there were a number 
of men probably from the South Parish, and among 
them the Rev. Mr. Balch, who served as one of the 
chaplains, and was absent from his people sixteen 
months. In the last French war more than fifty 
Dedham men served at Ticonderoga, Fort Edward, 
Fort William Henry, Lake George, and in Canada, 
at the Bay of Fundy and Louisburg. Among the 
names of those who served in this war will be found 
those of the oldest families, and it is said that at this 
period one-third of all the effective men of the prov- 
ince were in some way engaged in the war. Mr. 


Haven quotes from Dr. Nathaniel Ames’ Almanac of | 


1756 the following lines : 


“Behold our camp! from fear from vice refined, 
Not of the filth but flower of human kind! 
Mothers their sons, wives lend their husbands there ! 
Brethren ye have our hearts, our purse, our prayer.” 


These wars were the schools in which Massachu- 
setts men were trained in the duties of the soldier, 
and which fitted them for the great conflict with the 
mother-country in the war of the Revolution twenty 
years later. 

On the 5th day of February, 1756, about seven 
months after the decease of Mr. Dexter, Mr. Jason 
Haven, of Framingham, was ordained as his successor. 
One hundred and thirty-three pounds, six shillings, 
and eightpence had been voted him “as an encour- 
agement to settle here,’ with an annual salary of 
sixty-six pounds, thirteen shillings, and eightpence, 
and twenty cords of wood, during the time of his 
ministry here. 
currency, the salary of Mr. Haven was increased in 
1770, and again in 1779. 

The old meeting-house built in 1673 had now 
stood for more than eighty years, and in March, 1761, 
it was voted by the parish, with unanimity, to build 
anew one. The structure was to be sixty feet long 
and forty-six feet wide, with a steeple and two porches. 
A committee was appointed to apply to the church 


Owing to the depreciation of the 


d1 





“ for liberty to get materials or timber’ from its lands. 
Mr. Haven furnished the plan of pews and seats on 
the floor of the house. On the 7th of June, 
1762, the inhabitants assembled to take down the old 
house. The new house was finished Sept. 21, 1763. 
The timber was of solid oak and the floor had oak 
underneath. It had fifty pews on the floor. The 
person paying the highest parish rate had the first 
choice, and so on to the end of the list. The deacons’ 
seat immediately under the pulpit, and above it, entered 
from the pulpit-stairs half-way up, the elders’ seat, 
were both retained in the new as in the old house. 
But the velvet cushion given by the young women 
for the pulpit, the curtain for the window, the clock 
given by Samuel Dexter, and the Bible afterwards 
presented by Mrs. Barnard, formerly the widow of 
Rev. Mr. Dexter, on condition that the reading of a 
portion of it should have a place in the public services 
on the Lord’s Day,—all these things show some ad- 
vancement in the ideas of the people respecting pub- 
lic worship. The old New England version of the 
Psalms was exchanged for Tate and Brady, and a 
chorister was appointed, with power to nominate a 
number who should assist in singing. Before this, 
one of the deacons had read the Psalm line by line 
as it was sung. No instrument of music was intro- 
duced until 1790, when the bass viol was admitted to 
strengthen the bass. 

The church and parish were now entering upon a 
The 


serious questions which were beginning to arise be- 


period of respite from disputes and dissensions. 


tween England and the province perhaps served to 
withdraw the minds of the people. Perhaps the in- 
fluence of a man like Samuel Dexter, who had re- 
moved to Dedham, may have been exerted for peace. 

Samuel Dexter was the son of the Rey. Mr. Dexter, 
and was born in Dedham, and became a merchant in 
Boston. In 1763 he came to Dedham, and built-a 
fine residence for that day, which now stands in ex- 
cellent preservation. He was a man of wealth, of 
public spirit, and no man since the days of Lusher 
had done so much to promote the interests of the 
town and church by his services, his advice, and his 
donations. He was many times a deputy to the 
General Court; he sat five years in the Provincial 
Congress, and was negatived several times as a coun- 
cilor by the royal governor. At the beginning of 
the Revolution he was a member of the Supreme Ex- 
ecutive Council of State, which assisted and supported 
the military operations in the vicinity of Boston. 
He differed from the majority of his associates as to 
the policy of bringing undisciplined troops so near the 
British army in Boston, and in consequence retired 


52 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





from public service, and never entered it again. In 
1784 he sold his estate to Dr. John Sprague and re- 
moved to Mendon, where he died June 10, 1810, in 
the eighty-fifth year of his age. He bequeathed five 
thousand dollars to Harvard College to found a pro- 
fessorship for promoting the study of Biblical Criti- 
cism. 
the eminent lawyer, and afterwards Secretary of War 
and of the Treasury in the administration of John 
Adams. 

In 1732, Dr. Nathaniel Ames removed from Bridge- 
water to Dedham. He was a man of an acute mind, 
a ready wit, and of amiable temper. He is best 
known as the author of the Ames Almanacs, which 
were published for forty years, although it has been 
said some of the first of these must have been published 
by his father. 
was much employed in town and parish affairs. 


He became a prominent citizen, and 
He 
married, for his second wife, Deborah, the daughter 
of Jeremiah Fisher, and granddaughter of Daniel 


Fisher, the second of that name. By this union he 


had several children, among whom were Fisher Ames | 


and Nathaniel Ames, who both lived and died in 
Dedham. 
and contain predictions of wars and direful events, 
founded upon the conjunctions of planets, with some 
He lived in a house which was a 
tavern for many years, and which stood on the loca- 


The Ames almanacs are rare and curious 


quaint verses. 


tion of Ames Street, near High Street, opposite the | 
2 iS Pally | slavery, and confirmed our most loyal affection to King George 


court-house in Dedham. It was known prior to the 
Revolution as Woodward’s tavern, but at some time 
previous it had been kept by Dr. Ames. He died in 
1764. His widow survived until 1817, and died in 
the ninety-fifth year of her age. The house was 
taken down after her death. 

The passave of the Stamp Act in 1765 was the 
beginning of the series of measures by which Kng- 


land asserted the right to tax the colonies, and which | 


were the proximate causes of the American Revolu- 
tion. The attempt to enforce it in Boston excited the 


people to violence, and a mob destroyed the records 


of the Vice-Admiralty Court, and the houses of the | 
With this spirit of resist- | 
In | 


Crown officers of customs. 
ance the men of Dedham had full sympathy. 
October, 1765, Samuel Dexter, their representative to 


the General Court, was instructed not to encourage the 


execution of that act, and the duty of resisting it was 
enjoined upon him, for the reasons so fully assigned at 
that time in public documents and writings. In October, 


He was the father of the Hon. Samuel Dexter, | 


| 





_ people testified their gratitude and delight. 





ber, however, the town voted that it would be a 
dangerous precedent to grant it as a matter of right, 
but that ““we may show our dutiful regard to our 
most gracious sovereign, and our gratitude to those 
worthy persons who caused the repeal of the Stamp 
Act, we give instructions to vote for the indemnity, 
as it is now asked for on the ground of generosity.” 

The news of the repeal of the Stamp Act reached 
Boston in May, 1766. It was received with the 
most enthusiastic expressions of joy; a day was set 
apart for the purpose, and by the ringing of bells, the 
display of banners, the release of prisoners for debt by 
subscription, a brillant illumination with loyal inserip- 
tions, and figures of Pitt, Camden, and Barré, the 
In this 
public rejoicing the people of Dedham most heartily 
joined, and they have left a lasting memorial of their 
joy to succeeding generations. 

In the northwest corner of the court-house yard 
there stands a square granite pillar, about five feet in 
height, which bears the followipg inscriptions, reveal- 
ing its history to him who can decipher the letters, 
now blurred by time: 


“The Pillar of Liberty erected by the Sons of Liberty 
in this vicinity. 
“Laus Deo Regii et Immunitat m autoribusq maxime 
Patronus Pitt qui Rempub. rursum evulsit faucibus Orci. 
“The Pillar of Liberty to the honor of William Pitt, Esq., 
and others, Patriots, who saved America from impending 


III. by procuring a repeal of the Stamp Act, 18th March, 
1766. 

“rected here July 22, 1766, by Dr. Nathaniel Ames (2d), 
Col. Ebenezer Battle, Major Abijah Draper, and other patriots 
friendly to the rights of the Colonies at that day. 

“ Replaced by the citizens, July 4, 1828.” 


This monumental stone once formed the pedestal 
of the “ Pillar of Liberty.” It was surmounted by 
a wooden column about twelve feet high, on the top 
of which was placed a wooden bust of William Pitt. 
From memoranda now preserved, it appears that the 
stone was prepared in May, and on the 22d of July 
the Pillar of Liberty was erected in the presence of 
‘““a vast concourse of people.” Whether the bust 
which had been “ bespoken” on July 2d was never 
furnished, or whether it proved unsatisfactory is un- 
certain, but in the succeeding February, Dr. Ames, 


| with Rev. Mr. Haven and Mr. Battle, went to bos- 


1766, the General Court having proposed to the town | 


whether it will bestow an indemnity on the late sufferers 
; 3 ‘ a 
by the riots in Boston, the town voted that it could 


not consent even toa partial indemnity. In Novem- 


ton and bespoke “ Pitt’s bust of Mr. Skillin.” The 
Mr. Skillin referred to was a ship-carver, and those 
who remember the figure-heads of vessels fifty years 
ago, can form a good idea of the artistic merits of 
this bust of William Pitt. The pillar was originally 
placed on the corner of the common, in front of the 





DEDHAM. 53 





It stood 
intact until about the beginning of the present cen- 
tury, when the column and bust fell, and, after lying 


meeting-house, directly opposite the tavern. 


about the stone pedestal for a time, disappeared. | 
After the building of the new court-house, in 1827, | 
the pedestal was removed across the street to near | 


its present location. Such, briefly, is the history of 


one of the oldest memorials now preserved in Ded- 


ham, and it is worthy of better care of the present 


and coming generations than it has received from the 
past. 

Another monument of this period, when the minds 
of the people were turned to preparations for war, is 


the old powder-house, on the rock which bears its | 


name, on Ames Street, near the river. As early as 
1762 the town voted “to have the powder-house 
builded on a great rock in Aaron Fuller’s land, near 


Charles River.” The committee chosen did not per- 


form their duty, and in May, 1765, two more persons | 
were joined to the committee, and instructed to have | 


the house built forthwith. It was finished in 1766, 


and was used for many years for the storage of am- 
munition, probably as long as there were trained com- 


panies in the parish. 
owned muskets ard cartridge-boxes which have been 
handed down for many years. 

The town sent delegates to a convention held in 
Faneuil Hall in September, 1768. This convention 
of the towns of the province was called to protest 
against the encroachments of the crown. 


Immedi- | 


But the time for resolutions and con- 
ventions was wellnigh spent. Samuel Dexter and 
Abner Ellis were chosen delegates to the Provincial 
Congress in January, 1775, and in March, the town 
voted to raise a detached company of minute-men, 
consisting of sixty, to be drilled in the military art, 
three half-days in each week, and be ready to act on 
the shortest notice in case of an alarm. They were 
Their pay was fixed, and 


were passed, 


enlisted for nine months. 
the money was borrowed to pay them. 

We are now brought by the course of events to the 
very beginning of the Revolution. 
since the town was summoned to take an active part 


It was a century 


in Philip’s war, the first real conflict of arms since 
During the last 
half of the century then passed, in the French wars, 


the beginning of the settlement. 


and in many expeditions and campaigns, Dedham 
men had been called upon to participate, and in 1775 
there were not a few survivors of these veteran sol- 
diers. 
Boston they were prepared, not only in spirit and 
resolution, but by military experience gained in real 


For the great conflict about to begin around 


campaigns. 


The town has very recently | 


CHAPTER, Vik 


DEDHAM—( Continued). 


ately upon the adjournment of this convention, the 


squadron conveying the troops from Halifax, sent for 


by Governor Bernard, arrived and the selectmen | 


refused them quarters. 


In March, 1770, all duties imposed by the act of | 


1767, except the tax on tea, were abolished. In the 
same year Dedham declared by vote, ‘‘ That, as the 
duty on tea furnishes so large a sum towards the 
maintenance of innumerable multitudes, from the 
odious commissioner of customs down to the dirty 
informer by him employed, we will use no foreign tea, 


Loy dey 


nor permit our families.’ In January, 1775 and 
1774, the town passed similar resolutions, and a com- 


mittee of correspondence was chosen. In Septem- 


ber, 1774, the town met for the purpose of adopting | 


measures to prevent the late acts of Parliament from 
being carried into effect, and chose delegates to the 


convention which subsequently passed the Suffolk 


resolves. A convention had been held in Stoughton 
in the preceding August, and was adjourned to meet 
at Woodward’s tavern, in Dedham, on the 6th of 


September. It was then adjourned to Vose’s tavern, 


in Milton, on the 9th of September, when the resolves | 


Dedham Village in 1775—Leading Men—Lexington Alarm— 
| Minute-Men and Militia Companies March—Siege of Bos- 
ton—Town Votes upon Question of Independence—Bounties 
for Soldiers—Parishes Raise Money by Taxation—Articles 


of Confederation Approved—Delegates to State Convention 
for forming Constitution—Expenses of Revolutionary War— 
Pecuniary Distress—Amendments to State Constitution Pro- 
| posed—Col. Daniel Whiting. 


In 1775 Dedham contained about seventeen hun- 


dred inhabitants, who lived in four parishes, what is 
now Dover being the fourth. They were nearly all 
farmers, for there was then no compact village near 
the meeting-house of the First Parish. During the 
century then passed the inhabitants had removed to 
the other parishes, and the village had been aban- 
doned except by the farmers. Near the meeting- 
house stood the residence of Samuel Dexter, and di- 
rectly opposite the parsonage, while a little farther east, 
' stood Woodward’s tavern. There were a few mechan- 
ies, but no shop-keepers and no lawyers. There was 
a physician (Dr. Nathaniel Ames), and one school- 
master, and he was employed only for a short time in 


one place. The farmers carried the products of their 


5+ 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








farms to Boston for a market, though the roads were 
bad and circuitous. Among the articles they carried 
were peeled oak bark, hoop-poles, oak and pine tim- 
ber for building, oak staves, ship timber, charcoal, 
and wood for fuel to some extent. 
produce from the gardens were carried in panniers. 
The generations of the preceding century had endured 
great hardships, and probably derived but a bare sub- 
sistence from their labor. 


as soldiers in the French wars, but the taxation of 


their polls and estates to meet the expenses of these 
wars had been a drain upon their resources. More- 


over, by the emission of bills of credit, the currency | 


Vegetables and | 


They had not only served | 





had so depreciated, that by the end of the wars eleven | 
or twelve hundred pounds were not equal to more | 


than a hundred pounds sterling. 


All these expenses | 


had been met without obtaining any compensation — 


from the mother-country. 
living were also deficient in education, as, in the 
pressure for money, the funds given for schools 
by Metcalf, Avery, Kingsbury, and Damon had been 


The generations then | 
| galloping for his musket and accoutrements. 


applied to other purposes, and the school lands in | 


Needham had been sold to pay ordinary expenses. 
But they retained the strong love of civil and relig- 


ious liberty of their ancestors, though somewhat nar- | 


rowed and intensified by political events and their 
The places of Lusher and Fisher 


own circumstances. 


of the first century were filled now by worthy succes-— 


sors. First and foremost among them should be 
named Samuel Dexter, who was usually the mode- 
rator of the town-meetings and framer of the resolu- 


tions then passed. He was a man of vigorous spirit, 


and gave liberally of his means to the patriotic cause. | 


There was Dr. Nathaniel Ames the younger, the town 
physician, an ardent patriot, then in the thirty-fourth 
year of his age, his brother Fisher being then but 


seventeen. There were also Abner Ellis (Third Par- 


ish), a deputy to the General Court; Richard Wood- | 


ward, of Woodward’s tavern; William Avery, repre- 
sentative of an honored name in Dedham annals; 


| 


Capt. Joseph Guild and Capt. George Gould, men 
who held posts of trust and responsibility; and Capt. | 


Aaron Fuller and Sergt. Isaac Bullard, names of' fre- 
quent recurrence in the town records, and who were 
afterwards deacons of the Dedham Church. 

The men of 1775 were now ready for further sac- 
rifices and suffering in the maintenance of their liber- 
ties. 


their brethren in the province in their resistance to 


British aggression, and they were prepared to redeem | 


that pledge. There were five companies of militia in 
the town, corresponding to the number of the parishes, 


except there were two in the First Parish. Besides 


They had pledged themselves to stand with | 


| 


these were the minute-men and an association of 
veterans of the French wars. 

Such were the names and characters of some of 
those who stood ready on Dedham soil to join their 
countrymen in the conflict about to open, and such 
was the preparation that had been made when, on the 
morning of the 19th of April, 1775, there came the 
messenger to bring to them the “ Lexington alarm.” 
We are told he came through Needham and Dover, 
and probably the more direct routes were obstructed 
by the British. It was received a little after nine 
o’clock in the morning, so that the news had no 
doubt gone through the southern towns of Middlesex 
The minute-men were 
ready to march as they had enlisted, “upon any 
emergency.’ There are traditions still kept of the 
plough being left in the furrow and of the team stopped 
in the highway and its driver mounting his horse and 
They 
did not wait for more than a platoon to gather before 
they started. Capt. Joseph Guild, of the minute- 
men, with his own hand silenced some croaker who 
said the alarm was false. As the day wore on, the 
militia companies mustered under their respective 
captains. The first company of the First Parish, with 
sixty-seven officers and men, were led by Capt. Aaron 
Fuller. A second company of seventeen men, under 
Capt. George Gould, with Richard Woodward as 
lieutenant, went probably from Dedham Island and 


before reaching Dedham. 


that portion of West Roxbury formerly included in 
Dedham. Then the company of the Third Parish, 
under Capt. William Ellis, consisting of thirty-one 
men. Next in distance came the company of the 
South Parish, under Capt. William Bullard, with 
sixty men. The company from the Fourth Parish 
(Dover), under Capt. Ebenezer Battle, with sixty- 
seven officers and men, perhaps marched by another 
route. Nor were these all. The veterans of the 
French wars, whose blood was stirred by the long- 
expected summons, gathered themselves upon the 
common before the meeting-house, and after a prayer 
offered by Rev. Mr. Gordon, of Roxbury, followed 
their sons to the post of danger, led by Hezekiah 
Fuller and Nathaniel Sumner. 

We are told that the town that day ‘‘ was almost 
literally without a male inhabitant below the age of 
seventy and above that of sixteen.” There were not 
less than three hundred men under arms, including 
the minute-men and the militia and excluding the 
veterans. It is not known where the Dedham sol- 
diers met the British on the retreat towards Boston, 
but of those who actually participated in the conflict 


one (Klias Haven) was killed and one (Israel Everett) 


DEDHAM. 


55 








wounded. The former was from the Fourth Parish, | 
and was the son of Deacon Joseph Haven, and was | 
thirty-three years old at the time of his death. He | 
left a son and a daughter. He is supposed to have 
been killed in Cambridge. There were two named 
Israel Everett inthe Dedham companies. The father 
was a sergeant in Capt. Gould’s company, and served | 
The son, called Israel Everett, Jr., served 
in Capt. Aaron Fuller’s company, and is no doubt the 
one who was wounded, as the roll shows that he served 
but one day. He was probably the same Israel 


three days. 


Everett who is named in the Everett genealogy as 
the son of Israel, born Oct. 13, 1744. 

The rolls of all these companies, containing the 
names, time of service, and number of miles traveled, 
signed and attested by their respective captains, are 
carefully arranged and preserved at the State-House, | 
with the names of the thousands who on that day 
marched at the Lexington alarm. 

It would seem from these rolls that the companies | 
from the First Parish marched out about fourteen | 
miles, and the companies from the other parishes | 
marched about twice that distance. These facts | 
would indicate that they did not go beyond Cam- 
bridge. The minute company was kept in service 
about a fortnight, and the rest from three to ten 
days. 

During the month of April, companies of soldiers 
from the southerly parts of the province and from 
Rhode Island were constantly passing through Ded- 
ham in large numbers. 





Some of the provincial 
cannon were removed to Dedham on the 28th of the 
month. All was tumult and confusion. In May, 
the town voted to raise one hundred and twenty | 
men in the parishes, to be ready to march on an 
alarm, and to be raised by the several militia officers 
of the town., The minute-men were to assemble for 
two months, three half-days in the week, to learn | 
their duty. The privates in the two companies were | 
to be paid at the rate of four shillings a day while in | 
actual service. 





Committees were appointed to pro- 
cure guns and ammunition, to establish a night-watch, 
and to cause the great gun of King Philip’s war “ to 
be swung.” Samuel Dexter announced that he 
would give his time, trouble, and expense in serving 
the town at the Congress, and Ebenezer Brackett 
was chosen to guard the cannon. 

The Dedham soldiers were part of the provincial | 
army then concentrating around Boston, with head- 
quarters at Cambridge. They probably did not par- 
ticipate in the action on Bunker’s Hill. During the | 
succeeding winter they formed a portion of the force | 


held there and at Braintree. 
_and papers from the registry of deeds were also 
| removed to Dedham. 


| The 





engaged in the siege of Boston on Dorchester 





Heights. After the evacuation of Boston by the 
British, in March, 1776, they marched to Ticon- 
deroga, to Canada, and other points, and some moved 
with the army to New York. On the 4th of April, 
1776, Gen. Washington spent the night in Dedham 
on his way to New York. ‘There is a tradition that 
he was entertained at the residence of Mr. Dexter. 
At the November session of the General Court in 
1775, an act was passed reciting that, whereas Boston 
is now made a garrison by the ministerial army, and 
become a common receptacle for the enemies of 
America, it provides that Dedham should be the 
shire-town of Suffolk, and that the courts should be 
The books of record 


On the 27th of May, 1776, 
in the warrant for the town-meeting in March, there 
having been an article “to know the minds of the 


_town about coming into a state of independency,” 


after several adjournments, the town unanimously 
voted that if the honorable Congress shall declare the 
colonies independent of Great Britain, the inhabitants 
will solemnly engage to support it in that measure 
In July of the same 
year, the towns in the province having been required 


with their lives and fortunes. 


to procure their proportion of soldiers in two levies, 
Dedham voted a bounty of seven pounds in addition 
to the other wages of the soldiers in enlisting. Sevy- 
A committee was 
Com- 


mittees of safety and correspondence were chosen 


enty men received this bounty. 
chosen to provide for families in distress, 


for the year and the subsequent years of the war. 
aggregate amount of service by the soldiers of 
the town during this year must have been equal to 
Upon 
the records of the First Parish there is recorded a 
report, made by Capt. Joseph Guild, showing the 
number of soldiers from the First Parish during 1775— 


fifty-five men employed twelve months each. 


76, and the amounts of the bounties paid to them. 
By this report it appeared, that fifty-five soldiers 
from the First Parish only had served during 1776, 
whose aggregate services were equal to twenty men 
employed twelve months each. In February, 1777, 
the town voted a bounty of twenty-four pounds to each 
man who would enlist for three years or during the 
war. Forty-nine soldiers received. this bounty. 
Afterwards each parish assumed the payment of 
the bounties to soldiers belonging to it, and raised 
the money by taxation. In 1778 the First Parish 
imposed a tax upon its inhabitants of four thousand 
four hundred and eighty pounds. The Second Parish 
in 1777 raised their quota of men for the Continental 
service without using any bounty-money of the town. 


56 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





In 1778 the First Parish alone had thirty-three men 


employed one month near Boston, seventeen men in — 


other places, and thirty men in the army. The 
selectmen, militia officers, and special committees 
were authorized and requested to procure soldiers 
and borrow money. In January, 1778, the town 
approved the articles of confederation of the colonies. 
In May a form of State constitution proposed by the 
Provincial 


province. The next year the town instructed its 


Congress was approved by the town, 
though it was rejected by a large majority in the | 





representative to vote for a convention for the pur-— 


pose of proposing a form of State government to the 
people. In July the Rev. Jason Haven and Dr. 
John Sprague were chosen delegates to the conven- 
tion for forming a new constitution. 


In 1779, eight thousand pounds were assessed 


In 
1780, the committee appointed the last year to hire 


towards defraying the expense of hiring soldiers. 


soldiers reported that they had performed that ser- | 


vice, and had paid them twelve thousand pounds; the 
number employed was sixty-six, and the amount of 


service equivalent to twenty-two men twelve months | 


each. 
a demand was made for a supply of beef for the army. 


To meet this demand, the sum of one hundred thou- | 


During this and subsequent years of the war | 





sand pounds was assessed upon the inhabitants, and | 


The com- 
mittee authorized to hire soldiers this year reported 


eight thousand pounds more for horses. 


that they were unable to procure any; but a small | 
number were afterwards hired, and twenty-six men — 


drafted from the companies to complete the required | 


number. 


taxes on account of the fluctuations of the paper | 


currency, then much depreciated. This is the ex- 
planation of the apparently large sums raised by tax- 


ation. The credit of the town was bad and money 


Great difficulties arose in collecting the | 





They were all farmers, and had but 
little money. That the war had exhausted their 
means of payment appears quite manifest, for, not- 
withstanding their strong attachment to the cause to 


ary distress. 


which they had pledged their lives and fortunes, they 
at last complained to the General Court. 

In the common cause the people acted and suffered 
with great unanimity. The strong current of popular 
feeling ran in one direction, and the public doings of 
the town were harmonious. They had the leadership 
and advice of able and competent men, and neither the 
records nor tradition disclose any opposition to the 
support which the town gave to the patriotic cause in 
the American Revolution 

The treatment of the Rev. William Clark and the 
other inoffensive members of the Church of England 
has already been described. That he was forced to 
leave his home and his country without being guilty 
of any real offense, would seem to be established by 
the fact that a committee of the town had once ex- 
amined the charge against him and dismissed it, ex- 
pressing themselves as satisfied, and that they disap- 
proved of the action of his accusers. The interest 
taken in him by Dr. Nathaniel Ames after his trial 
at Boston would also confirm this view. His expul- 
sion must be set down as one of those acts done where 
the public mind is wrought up by excitement upon 
a great occasion, of which every civil war fur- 
nishes a parallel, and, while unjustifiable, must be 
pardoned to the spirit of liberty. It is said there was 
a prominent citizen of the town who was a loyalist, 
and, although a military man, he took no part in the 
war, but he remained undisturbed. 

The Revolution imposed upon the people the neces- 
sity of forming a State government, and upon the sub- 
mission of the constitution to the people, the town 


_ unanimously voted to adopt the preamble and most 


scarce, and a deduction of two shillings on the pouud | 


was made to persons who made prompt payment of | 


their taxes. Worthington, in his history, estimates 


the annual expenditures of the town during the war | 


at about eight thousand dollars, federal currency. 
The nominal amount of the expenditures very imper- 
fectly denotes the weight of the burden. 
two thousand pounds in lawful money, or its equiva- 


lent in Continental currency, was granted to defray | 


the expenses of hiring soldiers. 


committee to remonstrate to the General Court that 


it has been called upon to raise more than its propor- 
tion of men. 

It is obvious from the recorded votes of the town 
during the war that the burden of taxation was very 
great, and that the inhabitants suffered much pecuni- 


In 1781 | 


The town chose a | 





| 


of the articles, but some were objected to, and a com- 
mittee of fifteen was chosen to report amendments. 
These amendments were that all religious denomina- 
tions should be equally protected ; that judges should 


_ hold their offices for seven years instead of during 


good behavior ; that clergymen should be ineligible to 
the office of representative, and that the salary of the 
Governor and judges should not be increased for the 
first five years after their appointment. These amend- 
ments were adopted by the town, and are quite sig- 
nificant of the political views and temper of the 
people. 

In the appendix to Mr. Haven’s centennial address 
(1836), there are given the names of one hundred 
and six men who served in the war of independence. 
The first name in the list is that of Col. Daniel Whit- 





DEDHAM. 


D7 








ing, who was probably the most prominent officer from | June 7, 1780, by the Rev. Thomas Thacher, who was 


Dedham. He was born in that part of Dedham 
which is now Dover, Feb. 5, 1732-33. He served 


{ 
| 


in the French wars, and at the Lexington alarm he> 
marched as lieutenant of one of the companies, and — 


He 
afterwards served in the Continental army at Ticon- 
deroga. At the attack on Cherry Valley, N. Y., 
led by Walter Butler, a savage Tory, with Joseph 
Brant, the Mohawk chief, the fort was defended by 
Col. Ichabod Alden’s regiment, of which he was 
Col. Alden was killed and Maj. Whiting 


was also captain during the siege of Boston. 


major. 


succeeded to the command. He served during the _ 


whole of the war, and died at Natick in February, 
1808, and was buried at Dover. 





CHAP HAR. VOLE: 
DEDHAM—( Continued). 


Second Parish—Rey. Jabez Chickering—Third Parish—Reyv. 
Thomas Thacher—Fourth Parish Incorporated as a District 
under the name of Dover—Shay’s Rebellion—Incorporation 
of Norfolk County—Episcopal Church—Rey. William Mon- 
tague—Old Church Removed and Rebuilt—Fisher Ames; 
Sketch of His Life—Edward Dowse—Reyv. Jason Hayven— 
Chureh Covenant of 1793—-Division in the Third Parish— 
New Meeting-House—About Sixty Members Withdraw to the 


born in Boston Oct. 24, 1756, and was a son of Oxen- 
bridge Thacher, Esq. He was graduated at Harvard 
College in 1775. He was a man of excellent abilitics, 
and about twenty of his discourses were published. 
He was a member of the American Academy of Arts 
and Sciences, and was a delegate from Dedham to the 
convention for adopting the Constitution of the United 
States in 1787, with Fisher Ames as the other dele- 
gate. It was during his ministry in 1808 that a divi- 
sion occurred in this parish respecting the location of 
a new meeting-house, and a portion of the parish 
withdrew and afterwards were members of a Baptist 


Society in the same territorial parish. Mr. Thacher 


_ was opposed to the Calvinistic theology, and by his 


Baptist Society in Medfield—Second Parish and Chureh— | 


Rey. William Coggswell. 


ALTHOUGH for eight years the town had been dis- 
turbed in its internal affairs by the burdens of the 
war, still they did not suffer the vacancies in the office 
of pastor to go unfilled. In the Second Parish Mr. 
Balch died in 1774, and on the third day of July, 
1776, the Rev. Jabez Chickering was ordained as his 
successor. He was born in the Fourth, or Springfield 
Parish of Dedham, now Dover, Nov. 4, 1753, and 


He 


was graduated at Harvard College in 1774. 


will he gave his farm of twenty acres, and personal 
estate amounting to three hundred and sixty-five dol- 
lars, upon the condition that the parish should dis- 
solve its connection with any pastor who should adopt 


He died Oct. 
19, 1812, in the fifty-sixth year of his age, and the 


the Calvinistic or Hopkinsian creed. 


thirty-third of his ministry. He never married, and 
in his manners was somewhat eccentric, but was much 
respected for his character and abilities. 

In 1784 the Fourth Parish was incorporated as a dis- 
Its first minister, the 
Dover 


trict, with the name of Dover. 
Rev. Benjamin Caryl, survived until 1811. 
was incorporated as a town, March 31, 1836. 

During the Revolutionary period, the town was 


_ accustomed to give minute instructions to its repre- 


studied theology in his native town under the direc- | 


tion of the Rev. Benjamin Caryl. He married 
Miss Hannah Balch, a daughter of his predecessor, 
April 22, 1777. During the early portion of his 
ministry the public mind was occupied with the Rev- 


olutionary struggle, and the number of additions made 


to the church during his long ministry is said to have 
> | 


been small. His parish was harmonious, however, 
and he continued its pastor for thirty-five years and 
He died March 12, 1812, in his fifty- 


He was a man of excellent repute in 


eight months. 
ninth year. 
the churches, but he left no printed discourses. 

In the Third Parish, the vacancy occasioned by the 


dismission of Rev. Andrew Tyler in 1772 was filled ' 


In 1786, they in- 
structed Nathaniel Kingsbury, its representative, to 


sentatives in the General Court. 


attempt the reduction of taxes by reducing the sala- 
ries of public officers, by lopping off unnecessary de- 
partments of government, by abolishing the Courts 
of Quarter Sessions, by regulating the practice of 
lawyers or totally abolishing them; also to use his 
utmost efforts to procure a division of the county,to 
oppose the emission of a paper currency, to encour- 
age manufactures, and to prevent the introductiou of 
foreign luxuries. It is obvious, from the language of 
these instructions, that there was a considerable num- 
ber of sympathizers with the promoters of the insur- 


But 


in September of that year the town promised to use 


rection known as Shay’s Rebellion in 1786. 


strenuous exertions in support of the government, 
and in October a committee appointed to report a list 
of grievances made their report, protesting against 
treasonable and riotous proceedings, and proposing, as 
remedies for existing evils, private economy, industry, 
and frugality. 

The General Court, by an act passed March 26, 
1793, which took effect on June 20th, incorporated 


58 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





| 


the county of Norfolk, including all the towns of Suf- pounds sterling per annum for preaching every other 


folk, except Boston and Chelsea. Hingham and Hull 
were excepted by an act passed subsequently. Dedham 
was made the shire-town. 
of the people for many years, and at several periods 
since 1726 it had been the subject of votes and reso- 
lutions in the towns. The local position of Dedham 
probably determined its selection as the shire-town, 
although several other towns were proposed, among 
them Medfield, and it was also proposed that several 
towns of Middlesex County should be united with 
this county. A wooden court-house and jail were 
finished in 1795. The court-house stood on the west 
side of Court Street, fronting the meeting-house 
common, while the jail stood near the corner of High- 
land and Court Streets. Until the erection of a 
court-house the courts were held in the meeting- 
house. 


In 1792, the Rev. William Montague, who was | 


born at South Hadley, Mass., Sept. 23, 1757, and 
was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1784, came 
to Dedham. He had been admitted to orders as 
deacon and priest in the Episcopal Church of the 


United States by Bishop Seabury in 1787. He was 


Sunday, and at the end of that time he was to have 


_one hundred pounds sterling per annum. He was to 


This had been the desire | 





no doubt attracted to Dedham by the condition of | 
the Colburn estate, which had now fallen to the Epis- | 


copal Church upon the decease of Mrs. Colburn. He 
took an especial interest in the recovery of glebe- 
lands which had been given for the Episcopal Church 
in New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as in Mas- 


He 


sachusetts, during the time he was in Dedham. 


found here scarcely more than a handful of the old | 


churchmen remaining. 
had passed since Mr. Clark’s departure, in 1778, the 
services of the Episcopal Church had been suspended, 
except on a few occasions, when Dr. Parker, of 
‘Boston, officiated. The old half-finished church, 
then called Christ Church, was standing, but its 
windows were broken and it was much dilapidated. 
It was made a depository of miltary stores during the 
war, but it had been afterwards cleared for public 
worship at the request of Dr. Parker. 
who had resisted the urgent request of Mr. Clark, to 


The trustee 


set apart the church-acre according to the provisions 
of the will of Samuel Colburn, had also suffered great 
and unnecessary waste to be committed upon the rest 
of the estate. Probably he was embarrassed, if not 
overawed, by the intense hostility which then existed 
towards the Episcopal Church. Twelve persons as- 
sembled and agreed with Mr. Montague that he 
should become rector, and wardens and vestrymen 
The income of the estate was vested 


in him for fifteen years, and he was to receive fifty 


were chosen. 


During the period which | 


have liberty to reside in Boston, Cambridge, Brain- 
tree, or Dedham. At the same time, Mr. Montague 
was authorized to settle the affairs of the church 
relative to the lands, leases were to be executed, and 
the prices, shape, and dimensions of the lots were to 
be fixed by him. In February, 1794, he procured 
an act to be passed by the General Court by which 


the rector, wardens, and vestrymen were authorized 


to lease the lands and to do all necessary corporate 
acts. Mr. Montague was his own surveyor and con- 
veyancer, and the divisions of the lots and the lines 
of the streets bounding and intersecting them are the 
work of his hand. A considerable portion of the land 
was alienated. As the church lands occupied a cen- 
tral situation in Dedham village, there was a demand 
for lots, and Mr. Montague was frequently brought in 
contact with the people in a manner which led to dis- 


trust and misunderstandings. He continued to offici- 


_ate in the church at irregular intervals until 1811, 
| = . 
| when he ceased, although he claimed to be rector at 


a subsequent time. Moreover, his accounts in the 
management and leasing of the lands, being unsettled 
and involved, became the subject of disputes with the 
members of his parish, and afterwards of litigation. 

Finally, in 1818 about thirty persons, including all 
the members of the parish, obtained a new act of in- 
corporation giving the church control of the estate, 
and in July of that year Mr. Montague was suspended 
from the ministry, upon his resignation, by Bishop 
Griswold. He died in Dedham, July 22, 1833. 

The old church was repaired, pews built, and an 
In 1797 it was voted to re- 
move the church to vacant land on what is now 
Church Street, on Franklin Square. The church 
was moved to this new location, but while raising it 


organ put up in 1795. 


_ to the proposed height, the timbers supporting it gave 


way, the whole structure fell, and was broken in frag- 


ments. The rebuilding of the church was begun, 


This 
work was carried on during several years, and it was 
not finished until 1806. 
basement, originally intended for an academy by Mr. 


only a portion of the old church being used. 
It was constructed with a 


Montague, but which afterwards was used for storage. 
The entrance to the church was by means of a double 
flight of steps rising parallel with the front on Church 
Street. 
reading-desk in front of the chancel-rail, and a gal- 
It 


was painted in fresco, with Grecian columns and cor- 


It had a recessed chancel, with pulpit and 
lery at the opposite end, in which was an organ. 


nices. It was surmounted with a belfry, and in 











DEDHAM. 59 





1818 a bell was placed in it by subscription. In | was familiar with Shakspeare and Milton. He studied 
1803, Madam Esther Sprague gave five hundred dol- | 
lars to the church, and Madam Elizabeth Sumner | 


gave two hundred and fifty dollars for a library or 
plate. In 1813 there were thirteen communicants 
and twenty families belonging to the parish. 

After the reorganization of the parish, which 
during the time Mr. Montague continued to be the 


rector, was known as Christ Church, the church was _ 
repaired and opened for divine service on the last | 


Sunday of October, 1818. 
were continued without interruption, sometimes by 
the neighboring clergy, and from Haster, 1819, until 
the beginning of 1821, the Rev. Cheever Felch, a 
chaplain in the navy, officiated. 
November, 1821, the Rev. Isaac Boyle, having been 
elected rector, was formally instituted into that office 
by Bishop Griswold. 

In the spring or summer of 1793, Fisher Ames, 
after an absence of a few years, returned to Dedham, 
and from this time he made his permanent residence 
there. He was born in Dedham, April 9, 1758, and 
was the youngest child of Dr. Nathaniel Ames. His 
mother was Deborah Fisher, the daughter of Jeremiah 
Fisher, from whom he took his first name. His father 
died when he was but six years old, and his early train- 
ing was left to his mother, a woman of excellent capa- 
city and strength of character. He early began the 
study of Latin, and was instructed partly in the town 


school when the teacher happened to be capable of | 


teaching him, and partly by the Rev. Mr. Haven, min- 
ister of the Dedham Church. In 1770, soon after he 
was twelve years old, he entered Harvard College, 
where he was graduated in 1774. He was too young 
during his college course to master the sciences then 
taught, but he was remarkably attentive to his studies, 
and his mind was quick and accurate. He excelled in 
the classics and the literary exercises. His declama- 
tions were remarkable for their energy and propriety, 
and he sometimes spoke an original theme and wrote 
some verses. He had a poetic imagination, which he 
showed in his prose writings afterwards, but he never 
confessed to being a poet. After his graduation in 
1774, on account of his youth and the troubles inci- 
dent to the outbreak of the Revolution, as well as the 
limited resources of his mother, he did not begin his 
professional studies for some years. During this pe- 
riod he was engaged for a time in teaching school, 
and he did military service in some expedition to 
places in Massachusetts or to the Rhode Island fron- 
tier. He continued his studies, revising his course 
in the Latin classics, and reading history, both ancient 


and modern. He was especially fond of poetry, and 


From that time, services | 


On the 22d day of | 


law with William Tudor in Boston, where he was 
admitted to the bar in 1781. He probably began 
practice in Dedham, although at that time there 
could have been but little litigation. But he em- 
ployed his pen in writing a series of political essays 
for the Independent Chronicle, under the names of 
Lucius Junius Brutus and Camillus, upon the 
questions which agitated the people of Massachusetts 
during Shay’s Rebellion. The vigor of thought and 
style of these essays attracted attention, and they may 
be regarded as the beginning of his public career, since 
they first introduced him to prominent public men. 
He was chosen a delegate to the convention for rati- 
fying the Federal Constitution, held in 1788, of 
He made his 
first speech in this convention upon biennial elec- 
He was elected also to the Legislature of 
He produced such an impression upon the 


which he was an ardent supporter. 


tions. 
1788. 
public mind by his speeches and essays, that he was 
chosen the representative to the first Congress from 
the Suffolk District, which office he held during the 
whole of Washington’s administration, a period of 
His congressional career was brilliant 
and successful. Probably in the galaxy of statesmen 
and orators, for which this period of American history 
was so remarkable, there was no man who produced 


eight years. 


a greater impression as an orator and political writer 
than Fisher Ames. He was a Federalist of the 
school of Hamilton, Jay, and Pickering, and his 
later essays are worthy of being ranked with the 
papers of the “ Federalist.” As a political writer his 
fame has been as enduring as it was brilliant. The 
few speeches which have been published were prob- 
ably imperfectly reported, and while characterized by 
an elevated tone of thought and vigorous expression, 
yet much of the profound impression which they 
produced must have been due to the circumstances 
under which they were delivered. 

On the 15th day of July, 1792, he married Frances, 
the third daughter of the Hon. John Worthing- 
ton, of Springfield, of whom President Dwight, of 
Yale College, said, “ He was a lawyer of the first emi- 
nence and a man who would have done honor to any 
After his marriage, Mr. Ames 


? 


town and any country.’ 
kept house in Boston until the succeeding spring. In 
1791 he had opened a law-office on King, now State 
Street. The formation of the new county of Norfolk 
doubtless determined his removal to Dedham. In 
November, 1795, he finished his substantial mansion, 
built upon his patrimonial estate, near the old house 
where his mother continued to reside. His law-oflice 
in Dedham was on the corner of the meeting-house 


60 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





common, near the “ Pillar of Liberty.” About the 
time he removed to his new residence his health sud- 
denly failed in a dangerous and alarming manner, and 
for the remainder of his life he never fully recovered 
it. In a letter dated Dec. 9, 1795, referring to a 


party of his neighbors to partake of a supper in his | 


new house, he speaks of lying down “ to prepare 


and talking, and husbanding 


himself for sitting up 2, 


his words till the supper was done.” 


ter he speaks of weighing one hundred and forty-four 


| 


In another let- | 


pounds, which was thirty less than his utmost in health. | 


In August of the same year he writes, “ Court week 


is over and [ am alive and beginning to take long | 


breath. Not half the jury actions were tried. My 


share of them kept me in a throng of people at my | 


own house, and on the way to and from court, and | 


there the heat, the crowd, and the effect of speaking, 
almost did me over.” 


From the close of his congressional career in 1797, | 


Mr. Ames spent the most of his time upon his estate 


in Dedham. He practiced his profession in Suffolk and | 


Norfolk, and had his health permitted he would have 
devoted himself to the law. But he took great satis- 
faction in the care of his farm. He makes frequent 
allusions in his letters written at this time to his large 


stock of cattle; to the productiveness of his cows ; 


to his breed of sheep; to his sixty swine; to his de- | 
sire to get the best of garden seeds; to his belief that | 


his farm is approaching the period when it will be 
profitable, and adding that “if he did not think it 
would be, it would not be an amusement; it would be 
a mere piece of ostentation on any other prospect, an 
expensive folly, a toilsome disappointment.” 


Mr. Ames was deeply interested in the growth and 


development of his native town. Writing to Thomas 
Dwight in 1795, he says, ‘“‘ Dedham will never become 
more than a village, but it is growing up to be a smart 


of Judge 


of a mill 


one;” and after describing the new house 
Haven then building, and the establishing 
for printing calico and muslin, he resumes, “ This, if 
true, will look very like bragging. But is there not 
a cold, hard spot in that heart which is indifferent to 
the natale solum ? Philosophers affect to despise such 
attachments, and few who do not feel them will give 


them quarter. The growth of the place I live in 


concerns my profit and pleasure, and it seems to me 


there is reason, if not philosophy, for my taking an | 


interest in the event.” He had a desire to cultivate 
social relations with his neighbors. 
having invited thirty to his house to a supper, he 
continues, “ Although it is a reproach that so much 
company has been so unsocial, [ do not despair with 


proper help of regenerating Dedham in this respect.” 


After alluding to | 


He was active in attempting to improve the ex- 
ternal appearance of the village. In 1800 he writes, 
“T went home yesterday to attend town-meeting. 
After a long and rather wrangling contest, sometimes 
outvoted, at last prevailing, we carried it to apply 
nine hundred dollars by way of contract to our roads,” 
and concludes, ‘I am sick of town-meeting. I took 
no refreshment, but stayed many hours in the meet- 
ing-house, and am two-thirds dead in consequence.” 
Soon after he writes again, ““ We have done as well 
with our road through our village as we did ill in the 
meeting-house. The whole, from Mr. Joe Lewis’ up 
to Parson Wight’s, is an elegant road, equal to a 
turnpike, all ploughed, and raked and rounded off, so 
that all admired, and many will, I hope, imitate it. 
It was done by subscription.” He was interested in 
schools; in a scheme for bringing water in logs to 
the western part of our plain; in the building of the 
Boston and Providence Turnpike, of which corpora- 
tion he was the first president; in the making of a 
public square in the centre of the village; in the 
draining of the meadows on Charles River; in the 
straightening and widening of the roads; in the es- 
tablishment of an academy, a library, and the build- 
ing of a new meeting-house and a town-house for 
holding meetings and the safe-keeping of the records, 
He planted the elms on High Street, of which but 
few remain, the only memorials of the taste and public 
With his declining health and 
strength, he was unable to overcome with his per- 


spirit of Fisher Ames. 


suasions and arguments the determined opposition of 
the sturdy farmers from the other parishes to the orna- 
mentation and improvement of the village, which has 
not disappeared in the lapse of three-quarters of a 
century. Had the suggestions of Mr. Ames been 
adopted in his time, Dedham village would have been 
the “ loveliest village of the plain.” 

The only public office which Mr. Ames held after- 
wards was that of councilor, when Increase Sumner 
was Governor. He received the degree of Doctor of 
In 
1804 he was chosen president of Harvard College, 
In 1800, by request of 


the Legislature, he delivered an eulogy upon Wash- 


Laws from the College of New Jersey in 1796. 
but he declined the office. 


ington, which has been much admired. 

The most attractive side of Mr. Ames’ character is 
revealed through his familiar letters. Those which 
have been published are written with a remarkably 
They 
give us an idea of his personality and of his conver- 
We 


desire to know more of his social and domestic char- 


facile pen, and are full of brightness and wit. 
sational powers, for which he was distinguished. 


acter, and it is to be regretted that no memoir of 


DEDHAM. 


61 





personal recollections was written by one of his con- 
temporaries. 


character and services, than a biography. 

Fisher Ames died on the morning of July 4, 1808, 
being little more than fifty years of age. He hada 
public funeral in Boston, at which his friend Samuel 
Dexter pronounced the eulogy. He was buried in 
the old burial-ground in Dedham village. Mrs. 
Ames resided in Dedham until after the decease of 


The essay by President Kirkland, pub- | 
lished with his works, is rather an estimate of his | 





her eldest son, John Worthington Ames, in 1833, | 


after which she resided with her son, Seth Ames, at 
Lowell until her death, Aug. 8, 1837. 
house was sold in 1837, and nothing but the frame 


The mansion- 


now remains in the main portion of the residence of 
Mr. F. J. Stimson, opposite the court-house. 

Fisher Ames was the youngest child in a family 
His eldest brother was Dr. Na- 
thaniel Ames, who was born Oct. 9, 1741, and was 


of five children. 
graduated at Harvard College in 1761. He married 
Melitiah Shuttleworth, March 13, 1775, and died 
July 21, 1822, leaving no children. He was a 
practicing physician, and he also was the first clerk 
of the Court of Sessions and Court of Common 
Pleas in the county. He built and occupied the 
house now owned by Dr. J. P. Maynard, and his 
land joined that of his brother Fisher. Dr. Ames 
was pronounced in his political views, and he 
Between the 
brothers there was no agreement in_ politics, 


was 
a thoroughgoing Republican. two 
and 
this led to heated controversies between them, but 
it should be added that this did not destroy their 
fraternal affection and confidence. Another brother 


was Dr. Seth Ames, born Feb. 14, 1743; was 


graduated at Harvard College in 1764; was a sur- | 
geon in the Revolutionary army, and died Jan. 1, | 


1778. William Ames, another brother, died young, 
and Deborah, a sister, was married to Rey. Samuel 
Shuttleworth, of Windsor, Vt., who was afterwards 
a member of the bar. 

Fisher Ames had six children. John Worthing- 
ton was the eldest, born Oct. 22, 1793; was gradu- 
‘ated at Harvard College in 1813,; was a member of 
the bar; representative to the General Court and 
president of the Dedham Bank, and died Oct. 31, 
1833. Nathaniel, the second son, entered Harvard, 
but left during his college course and went to sea. 
He was the author of ‘“ Mariner’s Sketches,” a book 
which attracted some attention. Jeremiah Fisher 
Ames, the third son, was graduated at Harvard Col- 
lege in 1822, was educated as a physician, and pur- 
sued his studies abroad, but he died at the age of 
twenty-seven. Hannah Ames, a daughter, died 


young and unmarried. William Ames was bred to 
business, but retired early. He lived in Dedham 
until his death, in 1880, though he was accustomed 


to make annual visits to Springfield and other places. 


All these children died unmarried. Seth Ames, who 
was born April 19, 1805, and was graduated at Har- 
vard College in 1825, and who was chief justice of 
the Superior Court and a justice of the Supreme Ju- 
dicial Court, died in 1881, leaving several children, 
none of whom reside in Dedham. The youngest son, 
Richard, removed to the West when a young man, 
and died, leaving a family in Bloomington, IIl. 
There is no living representative of the Ames family in 
Dedham. The most conspicuous and illustrious name 
in its history has disappeared from among its citizens. 

In 1798, Mr. Edward Dowse, a retired merchant 
from Boston, purchased the lands on either side of 
High Street, and soon after built his mansion-house 
upon the north side of the street. He married the 
daughter of William Phillips, of Boston, a wealthy 
merchant, and her sister, Mrs. Shaw, the widow of 
Maj. Samuel Shaw, lived with them. Mr. Dowse 


- was a hospitable and liberal-spirited gentleman, and 


was the donor of the clock in the spire of the meet- 
ing-house, which still strikes the hours for the village. 
He was a Republican, and was elected to Congress in 
1819 from the Norfolk District, but resigned his seat 
at the close of the first session. In this house Presi- 
dent Monroe was entertained during his visit to Bos- 
Mr. Dowse died in 1828, in his seventy-third 
year. Mrs. Shaw died in 1833, and Mrs. Dowse in 
1839, and then the estate passed into the possession of 


ton. 


their nephew, Hon. Josiah Quincy, and was the resi- 

dence for many years of the late Edmund Quincy. 
On the 17th of May, 1803, the Rev. Jason Haven, 

the minister of the First Church, died, in the seventy- 


_ first year of his age, and the forty-eighth of his ministry, 


which was longer than that of either of his predecessors. 
It also included a period of many important events. 
It began when Massachusetts was a province under a 
royal Governor. Mr. Haven, during the Revolution, 
was a strong supporter of the patriotic cause, and did 
much to sustain the people in their sacrifices during 
this trying period. He was chosen a member of the 
Constitutional Convention of 1779. In 1793, the 
church covenant and the mode of admitting church 
members were changed. The covenant then adopted 
was very brief, and does not contain articles of belief, 
like that of 1767. Its only requirement was a belief 
in the Christian religion. The effects of the Revo- 
lution upon the opinions of men in religious matters 
were now beginning to be seen in that spirit of indif- 
ference to the dogmas of the Puritan theology which 


62 





was to culminate twenty-five years later in open revolt. — 


But to Mr. Haven, supported by his deacons and the | 


church, is due especial honor for having so managed 


the church property that the income remained for a_ 


_long time untouched, and the capital accumulated, 


the parish expenses meantime being met by taxation, | 


and at a time of pecuniary distress. 

Probably no pastor of the Dedham Church, with 
the possible exception of Mr. Allin, had ever exer- 
cised so strong an influence upon his people as Mr. 


He 


had talents and gifts which qualified him for the 


Haven. He was a faithful pastor and preacher. 


varied duties of his sacred office. His sermons were 
perspicuous and direct. He had all the gravity and 
dignity which belonged to the ministerial character, 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





easy to understand what has been affirmed by con- 
temporaneous history to be the causes of the division 
of opinions and belief in the Dedham Church. 
There had been, as we have seen, a relaxation of the 
articles of belief contained in the former church cov- 
enants in that of 1793, and a reaction had been 
going on since the close of the Revolution throughout 


The 


this country against the dogmas of Calvinism. 


_ voleano which had long been slumbering was ready to 


and Dr. Prentiss, in his funeral sermon, says of him | 


that, ‘‘from a personal intimacy of more than thirty | 


years, I can, with pleasing confidence, add that in his | 


temper and life there appeared an habituai correspond- 
ence with his professional character.” 

Mr. Haven preached the Artillery Election sermon 
in 1761, the General Election sermon in 1769, the 
Dudleian lecture in 1789, and the Convention sermon 
in 1791. 
tion and occasional sermons. 


These were printed, and also eleven ordina- 


an excellent historical sermon, it being forty years 
after his settlement in the ministry. He also preached 
a half-century sermon, “relating to changes in the 
inhabitants,” 
Discourses’’ (1838), but no copy probably exists. 

As in the last years of Mr. Haven’s life his health 
and strength declined, the church extended a call to 


as stated in Dr. Lamson’'s ‘“ Historical 


Mr. Joshua Bates to become an associate pastor, and 
he was ordained March 16, 1803, only a few weeks 
before Mr. Haven’s death. 


burst into an active eruption. Mr. Bates was a Cal- 
vinist, and while his abilities, his piety, and his un- 
exceptionable life served to repress any active oppo- 
sition during his ministry, yet when he asked a 
dismission, the majority voted for it willingly, in the 
belief that a successor might be ordained whose 
views would be more compatible with their own. 

The division which occurred in the Third Parish 
in 1808, growing out of the location of the new 
meeting-house, resulted in the union of the seceding 
members with the Baptist Society in Medfield. 
They numbered about sixty. While the new doc- 


_ trines which they heard at Medfield doubtless proved 


In 1796 he preached | 


Mr. Bates was a native 


of Cohasset, and was born March 20, 1776, and was | 


graduated at Harvard College in 1800. He was 
licensed to preach by the Andover Association in 


1802. Dr. Bates continued to be the pastor until 


Feb. 20, 1818, when he resigned to accept an elec- 


tion as president of Middlebury College, in Vermont. 
Upon the Sunday preceding the dissolution of the 
pastoral relation, Mr. Bates preached a sermon re- 
viewing the ministry of his predecessors, and in 


which he alludes to ‘a gradual but evident declen-_ 


sion in the zeal and spirituality of the church” which 
took place towards the close of Mr. Haven’s life. 
Mr. Haven also had left an address to be read to his 
people after his death, which contains warnings and 
exhortations. Mr. Bates, in his sermon, states, how- 
ever, there had been a gradual improvement for 
several years in the state of religion in the parish. 
From these expressions in Mr. Bates’ sermon it is 


_ seen for many miles. 


offensive to some, yet the law then compelled them 
to belong to some religious society for the purpose 
After the new 
meeting-house of the parish had been completed, the 


of taxation, and so they remained. 


old one was advertised to be sold at public auction. 
It was purchased by Mr. Aaron Baker, who offered 
it to the seceders, and it was taken down and its 
timbers were removed and erected upon the site now 
occupied by the Baptist meeting-house in West Ded- 
ham. The meet- 
ing-house was finally completed, and dedicated to the 
service of Almighty God on Thanksgiving-day, Nov. 
28,1810. From that time until 1823 the Rev. Mr. 
Gammell preached alternately here and at Medfield. 
The number who took letters from the church in 
Medfield for this church was twenty-five, and Nov. 1, 
1824, “The First Baptist Church in Dedham” was 
duly formed, and the Rev. Samuel Adlam ordained 
as its first pastor. In the same year a parsonage was 
built by Miss Molly Fisher, and during her life she 
kept it in repair, and at her decease, in 1837, she gave 
it to the church by her will. 

On the Ist day of March, 1809, the new meeting- 
house of the Third Parish was dedicated to Almighty 
God. 


This was in the spring of 1810. 


It occupies an elevated situation, and can be 
The land upon which it stands 
Its bell was a gift from 
The pulpit was 


was given for the purpose. 
Hon. Joshua Fisher, of Beverly. 
furnished by the ladies of the parish, and subscriptions 
were made, so that in 1836 the fund amounted to 


upwards of five thousand dollars. Previous to 1817 





ewe 


DEDHAM. 63 





heated bricks and foot-stoves were the only heating- 
apparatus in the meeting-house. The Rev. Mr. 
Thacher preached a sermon, on leaving the ancient 


meeting-house, from the text, “ Our fathers worshiped 
inthis mountain.” At the dedication of the new meet- 
ing-house the Rev. Mr. Bates, of the First Parish, 
and the Rev. Mr. Chickering, of the Second Parish, | 
took part in the exercises. 

In the Second Parish, more than three years | 
elapsed before the settlement of a successor to Mr. | 
Chickering. On the 26th of April, 1815, Mr. Wil- | 
liam Cogswell was ordained as the minister of the 
parish. He was a native of New Hampshire, and 
was a graduate of Dartmouth College in 1811. Mr. 
Cogswell continued to be the pastor of this church © 
until 1829, when he resigned to become secretary of | 


the American Education Society. During the min- | 
istry of each of the first three pastors of the Second 

Church and Parish, peace and harmony had prevailed | 
within it, while discords and divisions prevailed in the | 
The ministry of the first 
two pastors covered a period of more than seventy-two | 
years, and to this circumstance, as well as to the per- 


other parishes of the town. 


sonal character and influence of the incumbents, is to 
be ascribed the exemption of this parish from church 
quarrels. Mr. Cogswell preached a sermon, June 23, 
1816, containing a brief history of the South Church 
and Parish, which was printed. In 1828 the meet- | 
ing-house erected in 1769 was taken down, and the 


present one was erected the same year, and dedicated 
Oct. 9, 1828. 





CHAE TER. EX. 


DEDHAM—( Continued). 





Dedham in the Beginning of the Present Century—Manufac- 
turing Corporations—Mill Privileges on Mother Brook—War 
of 1812—Legaey for Schools in Will of Samuel Dexter—The | 
First Church—Resignation of Rey. Joshua Bates—Parish 
Elect Rey. Alvan Lamson — Majority of Church Refuse 
to Concur—Ecclesiastical Council—Protest by a Majority 
of the Church—Ordination of Mr. Lamson—Suit at Law to 
Recover Church Property—Decision of Supreme Court—New 
Meeting-House Society Formed—Reyv. Ebenezer Burgess— 
Improvements in Old Meeting-House—Third Parish——Rev. 
John White—Second Parish, Rev. Harrison G. Park, Rey. 
Calvin Durfee and his Successors—Description of Dedham 
Village in 1818—Dedham Bank—New Jail and Court-House 
—Town-House—Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance Company 
—Dedham Mutual Fire Insurance Company—Dedham In- 
stitution for Savings—-Gen. Lafayette’s Visit—Gen. Jack- 
son’s Visit. 


In the beginning of the present century, Dedham 
remained a farming town, with a population nearly 





wealth seeking a pleasant country residence. 


the same as it had been for fifty years previous. The 
occupations of the people had not changed materially 
since the period preceding the Revolution. A greater 
interest in the public schools was manifested, and a 
new brick school-house, near the meeting-house, was 
finished in 1800. In 1804, the sum of twelve hun- 
dred dollars was granted by the town for the support 
of schools. At this period, however, the schools were 
Fisher 
Ames, in one of his letters, expresses the opinion that 
the law should require the district school to be kept 
a certain number of months. 


kept only a few weeks during the winter. 


In 1799, the money 
eranted for the support of schools was divided accord- 
ing to the number of scholars in each district between 
the ages of five and sixteen. There were signs of 
present and future growth in population, and in the 
external appearance of the village. Besides the erec- 
tion of the fine houses on High Street and elsewhere, 
the lands of the First Church and of the Episcopal 
Church were leased in village lots, and a number of 
smaller houses were built. The fact that Dedham had 
been made the shire-town of the new county, gave it 
some additional importance, and attracted hither 
lawyers seeking practice, and some retired men of 
The 
completion of the Norfolk and Bristol turnpike in 
1804 was an important event, since it afforded a 
direct and well-graded road between Dedham and 
Boston, and afterwards led to the establishment of 
the stage-lines between Boston and Providence, which 
brought in the business of coach-making, and gave 
the appearance of bustle and life to the quiet village, 


_ when the stages stopped for change of horses. In 
| 1801, a fire-engine was purchased by subscription and 
_ presented to the town, and a company of twelve men 


appointed to take charge of it at the upper vil- 
lage. In 1802 a second fire-engine was provided in 
the same way, with a company of eighteen men at 
Dedham village. 


company, known as the Union Light Infantry, and a 


There was a uniformed military 


troop of cavalry, besides the three militia companies 


in the town. The town on the 22d of February, 
1800, voted to commemorate the birthday of George 
Washington, and a eulogy was pronounced by Rey. 
Thomas Thacher. The laying out of new roads, the 
establishment of the first newspaper, the Columbian 
Minerva, in 1796, and a proposition by Calvin Whit- 
ing the same year, to construct an aqueduct in the 
village, were further indications of growth and im- 


| provement. 


But a more important and significant mark of 
the enterprise of the citizens at this period, was the 


establishment of manufacturing corporations. The 


64 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





great increase in the production of cotton in the 
Southern States, and the invention of the cotton-gin 
in the latter part of the eighteenth century, had at- 
tracted the attention of enterprising men in Rhode 
And 
it was perceived by some citizens of Dedham that the 


Island and Massachusetts to its manufacture. 


excellent water-power furnished by the canal dug in 
1640, known as Mother Brook, might be utilized for a 
cotton-factory. From the earliest settlement of the town 
the descendants of Nathaniel Whiting had continued 
to maintain grist-mills and saw-mills at the second 
and third privileges. At the upper dam, about which 
there was a controversy in the first century, had been 
built a leather-mill by Joseph Lewis. The first cotton- 
factory was built at this dam. In 1807, Samuel 


Lowder, Jonathan Avery, Reuben Guild, Calvin 


the business were ever declared. At the close of the 
war of 1812 came a fall in prices, and the Norfolk 
Cotton-Manufactory was left with manufactured goods 
on hand, to the amount of upwards of twenty thou- 
sand dollars, which were worth less than it cost to 
manufacture them, besides uncollected debts to the 
Of course from 
this time the property rapidly declined in value, but 
for a time the stockholders were divided as to the 
expediency of closing the business and selling the 
property. 
twenty-five thousand dollars, the land, privileges, 


amount of forty thousand dollars. 


Finally, after having refused to take 


_ buildings, and machinery were sold at public auction 


Guild, Pliny Bingham, William Howe, and others, | 


were incorporated as the Norfolk Cotton Manufactory, | 


for the manufacture of cotton goods. 
corporators were citizens of Dedham. 
stock was divided into fifty shares. A large wooden 
factory was built, and a tub-wheel with common 
water-frames placed in if. The machinery was 
rude and imperfect. The cotton was picked in the 
neighboring houses by hand, and after it was spun, 


it was sent abroad to be woven. 


Its capital | 


Nearly all the | 


But soon the store- | 


rooms were crowded with cotton yarns and cotton | 


cloths. Many of the manufactured goods were sold 
by retail at the mill. In order to have a better assort- 
ment of goods, the company obtained leave to manu- 
facture wool, and made satinets. During the war of 
1812 manufactured goods commanded a high price, 
and the affairs of the company appeared very prosper- 
ous. 
able business, were festive occasions. 


The annual meetings, with the reports of profit- 
The stock- 
holders were regarded as public benefactors, as well 


as fortunate in business. he inhabitants felt a 


in 1819 to Benjamin Bussey for twelve thousand five 
hundred dollars. ‘The stockholders lost about one- 
third of their investment, besides interest. 

But the failure of this experiment did not deter 
others from engaging in similar enterprises. In 1821 
the Dedham Worsted Company was incorporated, with 
William Phillips and Jabez Chickering as the princi- 
pal corporators. This company purchased the second 
privilege, with the saw-mill and grist-mill owned by 
Hezekiah Whiting and his ancestors. This purchase 
was made in 1823, but owing to the failure of Mr. 
Chickering the mill and property were sold in 1824 
to Benjamin Bussey. 

The first and second privileges were now owned by 


| Benjamin Bussey, a man of capital, energy, and ¢a- 


degree of pride in having a cotton-factory in the town, | 


and when their friends from the interior visited them, 


they were invited to see its curious and wonderful | 


machinery. After a time the tub-wheel gave way to 
the common water-wheel, and the cotton-picker was 
introduced. 

But this career of apparent prosperity was not of 
long duration. The business was not conducted by 
an agent, but by a president, three directors, a clerk, 
and treasurer. 


The three directors were required to | 


remain at the factory, and no one was permitted to | 


transact important business without the concurrence 
of his colleagues. The manufactured goods accumu- 
lated during the war, although high prices could 
have been realized. They were held in the hope of 


still better prices. No dividends from the profits of 


pacity. He soon after erected woolen-mills at both 
the privileges, with machine-shops, dye-houses, and 
dwellings, and began the manufacture of woolen 
cloths, which he successfully conducted until 1843, 
when he sold the property to J. Wiley Edmands. 
The manufacture of woolen goods has ever since 
been carried on at these privileges, first by Edmands 
& Colby, incorporated in 1853 under the name of the 
Maverick Woolens Company, with Thomas Barrows, 
of Dedham, as agent, and afterwards by the Mer- 
chants Woolen Company, incorporated in 1863. 
During all this period the business has been profita- 
ble to the owners. Mr. Barrows was an experienced 
and prudent manager, and the sale to the Merchants 
Woolen Company was made at an advantageous 
price. This company has much enlarged the capac- 
ity of the mills and machinery, and the privilege 
has long since ceased to furnish the necessary power 
for running the machinery, which is supplied by 
steam. The water of Charles River is found to be 
unequaled for the purposes of cleansing wool. 

The fourth privilege was first used by Nathaniel 
Whiting and James Draper in the first century of 
the settlement of the town. But this right had re- 
verted to the town, for in 1789 the town again trans- 


“7s 





DEDHAM. 65 





ferred it to Joseph Whiting and others. Upon 
this privilege, a building had been erected for block- 
ing copper cents, but it was used for this purpose 
only a short time. It was afterwards fitted up by 
Herman Mann for the manufacture of paper. In 
1804, George Bird purchased the property, and car- 
ried on the manufacture of paper with success. At 
about the same time, another mill was erected for the 


manufacture of wire, of which Ruggles Whiting, of | 


These mills were near to- 
gether, and were operated by the same wheel. 
mill of Mr. Bird was burned in 1809, and was rebuilt 
with a new raceway and foundation. 
paper-mill. 


Boston, was the agent. 


This was a 
In 1814 the manufacture of wire was 
discontinued, and the factory was used for making 
nails. In 1819, George Bird became the owner of 
the whole privilege, land, and buildings. 

In 1823, Frederick A. Taft, a skillful and experi- 
enced manufacturer of cotton goods, formed a copart- 
nership with George Bird, and the factory was fur- 
nished with machinery from the Norfolk Cotton- 
Factory. In 1823, a new corporation was created 
under the name of the Norfolk Manufacturing Com- 
pany, in which John Lemist, of Roxbury, and 
Frederick A. Taft were prominent corporators. Mr. 
Bird leased the land, privilege, and buildings to the 
corporation for ten years. In 1830 the corporation 
bought the whole of the mill property. In 1832, F. 
A. Taft sold his interest in the company to his brother, 
Ezra W. Taft, and in a few years after, Mr. Lemist 
disposed of his interest to James Read. The principal 
owners were Mr. Read and Mr. E. W. Taft, who was 
the agent of the corporation. In 1835 a new stone 





| population. 
The 


as Readville, now in Hyde Park, on which a cotton- 
factory was built. 

Although, as has been seen, the first manufacturing 
corporations were unsuccessful in business, still they 
gave a new impetus to the improvement of the town. 
They brought hither men of enterprise and capital, 
who became valuable citizens, and also employed 
many skilled operatives of character and intelligence. 
The most striking results occurred in the increase of 
In 1800 the population of the town 
was 1973. In 1820 it was 2485, and in 1830 it 
had increased to 3057. In the first quarter of the 
present century the village had changed from being 
a collection of scattered farm-houses to a compact 
and growing village. 

In the war of 1812, Dedham took decided ground 
in support of the government and the policy of the 
war. When the Hartford Convention was proposed 
by the General Court, one of its representatives de- 
nounced it as a revolutionary proceeding. Upon a 
communication from the town of Boston requesting 


its co-operation in measures to oppose the war, the 


mill was erected by the corporation and supplied with | 


new machinery. Mr. Taft continued to be the agent 


affairs of the corporation prospered. In 1863 the cor- 
porators decided to close up the business, and the mill 
and privilege were sold to Thomas Barrows. Mr. Bar- 
rows enlarged the mill, and supplied it with machinery 
for the manufacture of woolen goods, which business 
he continued until 1872, when he sold the property to 
the Merchants Woolen Company, which conveyed 
the same to Royal O. Storrs and Frederick R. Storrs 
in 1875. The business was continued by R. O. Storrs 
& Co. until their failure in 1882, when the property 
was purchased again by the Merchants Woolen 
Company. By purchase of Thomas Barrows, this 
company also became the owner of the third privilege, 


town, in July, 1812, rejected the proposed combina- 
tion. The town voted that every drafted man should 
receive from its treasury, a sum sufficient to make his 
wages fifteen dollars a month while in actual service. 
Soldiers for the army were here recruited and drilled. 
In August, five hundred delegates from the towns of 
the county assembled in convention at Dedham, and 
expressed their approbation of the war. The Dedham 
Light Infantry, Capt. Abner Guild, did service at 
South Boston during the war for several months. 
During this war, large quantities of beef and pork 
were packed in West Dedham by Willard Gay, and 


_while the coast was blockaded, James Pettee, Samuel 
for about thirty years, and under his management the | 


with the old saw-milfand grist-mill, so that it now owns | 


the first four privileges on Mother Brook. 
the Dedham Manufacturing Company was incorpo- 
rated, and erected a fifth dam at the village known 


ma 


3) 


In 1814 | 


French, and Colburn Ellis drove horse- or ox-teams 
to New York and Philadelphia. The trip to New 
York occupied three weeks and to Philadelphia six 
weeks. 

The Hon. Samuel Dexter, who died in 1810, had 
left in his will, a legacy of one hundred and seventy 
dollars as an addition to the school funds, and in 
making this bequest, he suggested that certain sums 
formerly appropriated for the same purpose, which 
were expended in hiring soldiers, should be replaced 
by the town. The town accepted the bequest, and 
directed the treasurer to loan the money on security. 
But this fund has disappeared with the other school 
funds of the town. 

In the year 1818, occurred the division of the 
church connected with the First Parish, perhaps the 
most memorable event in the history of the town. 
It was the result of no parish quarrel over some 


66 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





question of temporary importance, like the location 
of a meeting-house, but was the natural conclusion 
of theological differences which had been gradually 
developing for a quarter of a century. Nor were the 
questions involved only of local interest and import- 
ance; but upon the legal determination of them by 
the Supreme Judicial Court, the title to the property, 


church records, and all the material part of the | 


churches in half the towns of eastern Massachusetts 
was decided to be vested in the town or parish, and 
not in the churches. It is not difficult, therefore, to 
understand why this event produced such a profound 
impression not only in the Dedham parish, but in all 
the neighboring towns. 

The occasion of the controversy was the election of 
a successor to the Rev. Dr. Bates, who had resigned 
in February, 1818. On the 31st day of August, 
Mr. Alvan Lamson was elected as “‘a public Protest- 
ant teacher of piety, religion, and morality” at a 
meeting of the parish by a vote of eighty-one 
to forty-four. 
to concur by a vote of seventeen to fifteen. The 
parish, having received Mr. Lamson’s acceptance of 
its election, caused a council, composed of the pastors 
and delegates of thirteen churches, to be convened on 
the 28th day of October following for the purpose of 


ordaining Mr. Lamson. When the council assembled, 


the Hon. Samuel Haven, a son of the former pastor, | 
| principles of Congregational polity, and to the parish 


appeared and read an elaborate and learned protest on 


behalf of a majority of the church against the ordi- | 
The propositions | 


nation of Mr. Lamson as its pastor. 
waintained in this protest were, that according to 
Congregational usage, the first step in electing a pas- 
tor must be taken by the church; that while the 
parish, under the constitution of the commonwealth, 
might choose a religious teacher and contract to sup- 
port him, still he would not be a settled minister of 
the gospel or pastor of the church; that the parish, 
being merely a civil body, could not call together an 
ecclesiastical council, but this could only be done by 


the church; that the ecclesiastical body, the Christian — 


church existing in this place, had chosen no pastor, of 


course desired no ordination, and had not invited her | 


sister churches to convene for any purpose whatever, 
and concluded with a solemn protest against the council 
taking any further measures in relation to the ordina- 
tion of Mr. Alvan Lamson. These positions were care- 
fully argued at considerable length, and in a manner 
becoming the gravity of the occasion, by Judge Haven. 
The protest was printed in the pamphlet afterwards 


In this election the church refused | 


1818, with some Considerations on Congregational 
Church Polity.” It was claimed on the part of the 
parish, that it did not request to have Mr. Lamson 
ordained over the church, but that a majority of the 
church actually concurred with the parish, including 
members of other churches who resided and com- 
muned in Dedham, and that the opposition was 
altogether of a doctrinal nature, which was disclaimed 
by the committee of the church. 

The council continued their deliberations during 
the first day, and decided to ordain Mr. Lamson over 
the First Parish in Dedham. In the result of the 
council, drawn up and read by Dr. Channing before 
the ordination exercises, it is stated that ‘the council 
regard the well-known usage according to which the 
first step in electing a pastor is taken by the church 
But they believe 
that this usage, founded on different circumstances 


as in the main wise and beneficial. 


of this Christian community and on different laws of 
the commonwealth from those which now exist, is 
not to be considered as universally necessary.” They 
held that the spirit and end of the usage was to be 
regarded rather than the letter, and that an adherence 
to it would increase division or postpone indefinitely 
the settlement of a Christian minister; that, while a 
concurrence of the church and parish was very de- 
sirable, each body had the right to elect a pastor for 
itself, it being secured to the church by the essential 


by the constitution and laws of the commonwealth. 
They expressed the satisfaction “ with which they 


_ witnessed the singular self-command manifested by 





both parties in the public discussions before them, 
a circumstance too honorable to be passed over in 
silence.” The “ Result’? closed with many earnest 
exhortations to a spirit of conciliation. 

It is a somewhat remarkable circumstance, that in 
the protest of the church, or in the “statement” pub- 
lished by Judge Haven, or in the “ Result of the 
Council,” there is scarcely an allusion to any diver- 
sity of religious opinions in the parish. Beyond the 
fact that the parish committee claimed that this was 
the reason of the opposition to Mr. Lamson, and that 
the church committee disclaimed it, and a single allu- 
sion in a few words in the “ Result,” there is abso- 
lutely nothing in the printed proceedings which dis- 
closes that the controversy had any religious aspect. 
The issues were made upon questions of Congregational 
usage and the legal powers of parishes, and not upon 


| ° are . '. ° 
articles of religious belief. As it often happens in 


published and written by him, entitled a “ Statement | 


of the Proceedings in the First Church and Parish 
in Dedham Respecting the Settlement of a Minister, 


public discussions, the real points of difference were 
kept in reserve. But there can be no doubt that the 
parish and the church were then divided into two re- 





DEDHAM. 





ligious parties, known afterwards under the distinctive | 
names of Unitarian and Orthodox. Mr. Lamson was 
a graduate of the Divinity School in Harvard College, | 
and was a Unitarian. The Rev. Dr. Henry Ware, 
who preached the ordination sermon, had been elected, 
in 1805, Hollis Professor of Divinity as a Unitarian, 
and Dr. Channing, who was one of the council, had 
his celebrated controversy with Dr. Worcester in 1815, 
which resulted in the separation of the Unitarian from | 
the Orthodox Congregationalists. All the members | 
of the ordaining council represented churches which 
were either at that time or afterwards became Unita- 
rian. That those who opposed Mr. Lamson’s ordina- 
tion were Orthodox Congregationalists, was proved by 
their subsequent action. Probably there were some 
who acted without regard to differences of faith. 
Mr. Lamson was ordained Oct. 29, 1818. 
majority of the church, including the two remaining 
deacons (one having died soon after Mr. Lamson’s 
ordination), and a minority of the parish, being dis- 


satisfied, caused another council to be convened at | 


Dedham, on Nov. 18, 1818, composed of pastors and 
delegates of sixteen neighboring churches belonging 
to the same association which did not attend, at the 
invitation of the parish, the ordaining council. This 
council was called for its advice to those who re- 
quested it. It was in session two days, and reviewed 
the proceedings in Mr. Lamson’s ordination. The - 
result of their deliberations was, that “in the settle 
ment of a minister in the First Church and Parish, 

the council discover in the measures pursued, the 
want of such a spirit of condescension as seems 
best adapted to produce and preserve unity and peace. 
It appears that the parish, in opposition to the wishes 
of the church, have proceeded to settle a public | 
teacher of religion and morality, not in accordance 
with the accustomed and pacific proceedings of Con- | 
gregational Churches in New England, nor, in the 
judgment of this council, was this one of those cases _ 
of necessity which, in the opinion of some, would 
justify such a procedure.” 
definite advice. 

The church, or that portion which remained united 
with the parish, elected Mr. Lamson as its pastor 
Nov. 14, 1818, by a majority of the voting mem- 
bership of the church. But at this time the dis- 
satisfied members had withdrawn. 
Fales did not attend services after Mr. Lamson’s | 
ordination. Deacon Joseph Swan died November | 
13th, and Deacon Jonathan Richards resigned March 
15,1819. Deacon Fales was removed or dismissed, 
and Eliphalet Baker and Luther Richards were | 
chosen. That portion of the church which had | 


But the council gave no 


Deacon Samuel 


in Dedham. 


The | 


of a Christian ministry.” 


67 





seceded, claimed to constitute the First Church, and 


as the lands and funds of the church, under the laws 


of the commonwealth, were vested in the deacons, a 


suit was begun by Deacon Eliphalet Baker and Dea- 
con Luther Richards against Deacon Samuel Fales 


for the recovery of the property of the First Church 
After a trial by the jury, the case was 
carried upon questions of law to the full bench of the 
Supreme Court, and was argued by Solicitor-General 
Davis for the plaintiffs and Daniel Webster for the 
defendant. 

The two questions involved in this decision are, 
whether the plaintiffs were in fact deacons of the 
First Church in Dedham, having been appointed by 
those members of the church who remained and 
acted with the parish, and the legal character of the 


grants to the church in Dedham. But, in consider- 


ing these questions, both resolved themselves into 


one point. The legal estate of these grants to the 
church in Dedham being vested in the deacons by 
the statute of 1754, as trustees, the court holds “ that 
the trusts intended, must have been the providing for 
the public worship of God in Dedham, and the in- 
habitants at large of that town, as parishioners or 
members of the religious society, were the proper 
cestuis que trust, because the effect of the grants was 
to relieve them from an expense they would other- 
wise have been obliged to bear or forego the benefits 
The court say, further, 
“in whatever light ecclesiastical councils or persons 
may consider the question, it appears to us clear 
from the constitution and laws of the land, and from 


| judicial decisions, that the body which is to be con- 


sidered the First Church in Dedham must be the 
church of the First Parish in that town, as to all 
questions of property which depend upon that re- 
lation.” 

The court held that, while the proceedings of the 
parish and the council were not conformable to the 
general usage of the country, yet, under the third 


article of the Declaration of Rights, parishes have 


the exclusive right of electing public teachers, and 


that a teacher of ‘piety, religion, and morality” is a 


minister of the gospel within the meaning of the 
Declaration of Rights; that the non-concurrence of 
the church in the choice of a minister, in no dezree 
impairs the constitutional right of the parish; that 
Mr. Lamson became the lawful minister of the First 
Parish in Dedham and of the church subsisting 
therein; that the church had the right to choose 
deacons, finding that the former deacons had abdi- 
cated their office ; that the members of the church 
who withdrew from the parish ceased to be the First 


68 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Church in Dedham, and that all the rights and | 


duties of that body relative to property intrusted to 


it devolved upon those members who remained with | 


and adhered to the parish. 


It is to be observed that the decision of the court | 
turned chiefly upon the third article of the Bill of | 
| meeting-house of 1763. 


Rights passed in 1780, which gave to parishes the 


right to elect a public teacher. As a civil tribunal, it | 


paid no regard to the rules or decisions of ecclesias- 


The ques- 


tical councils or the usage of churches. 


tions decided, related to the title of the church prop- | 


erty, and as achurch could not exist independently of 
a parish, the members who remained with the parish 








incorporated in connection with the church, under the 
In 


1826 a new vestry was built by Mr. Burgess at his 


name of the “New Meeting-House Society.” 


own expense. 

The First Church and Parish, after the separation, 
were also moved to the improvement of the old 
In 1805, the parish had 
determined to enlarge it, but afterwards rescinded 
the vote. In 1807, it was voted to erect a new 
meeting-house, and a building committee chosen, 
but this vote was also rescinded. But in 1819, the 
old house was enlarged by an addition in front, the 


slant of the roof being changed, the north and south 


were the church in the eye of the law, and the mem- | 


bers who seceded were not. 
Of the effects of this great controversy and its final 
decision upon the inhabitants of the First Parish in 


Dedham, it is to be said that it implanted a root of | 
| merly of Dedham. 


bitterness among those who participated in it on 
either side, and among their immediate descendants. 
The church connected with the First Parish has 
always rested its claim to be the First Church in 
Dedham upon the decision of the court. The church 


formed by the seceders in 1818 has also claimed to 


be the First Church in Dedham in accordance with | 


Congregational usage, and because they were a ma- 
jority of its members at that time. The church con- 
nected with the First Parish, still retains the church 
covenant of 1793, while the church now known as the 
First Congregational Church adopted articles of faith 
and a new form of covenant in 1821. 

The members of the church who withdrew after 
the ordination of Mr. Lamson numbered eighty-nine, 
twenty-four men and sixty-five women, and including 
the three deacons. During the year 1819, these 
church members, with those of the parish who came 
away with them, held services on the Sabbath in the 
house which was formerly that of the Rev. Mr. 
Haven. This was directly opposite the parish 
meeting-house, and on the site of the present meet- 
ing-house of the new society. This was dedicated 
Dec. 30, 1819. 





The erection of this spacious and | 


well-proportioned house in a little more than a year | 


from the time of the separation, at an expense of 


nearly ten thousand dollars, by forty-three contribu- | 


of 


striking evidence of their zeal and spirit of  self- 


tors, none 


sacrifice. While they were without a pastor, they 
maintained prayer-mectings, which had been hitherto 
The widow of Deacon Swan 


On 


unknown in the parish. 
gave two silver flagons and a baptismal font. 


the 14th day of March, 1821, the Rev. Ebenezer | 
' to sanction the dissolution of Mr. Cogswell’s pastoral 


Burgess was ordained as pastor. A new society was 


whom had large means, furnishes | 





porches removed, and the house entirely remodeled 
within. ‘The outside clock was given at this time by 
the Hon. Edward Dowse and Mrs. Hannah Shaw, a 
sister of Mrs. Dowse. The inside clock was the gift 
of John and Samuel Doggett, Jr., of Boston, for- 
In 1821, an organ was purchased, 
and soon after Dr. Watts’ version of the Psalms was 
exchanged for the New York Collection of Hymns. 


| In 1828 a vestry was provided for the use of the 


Sunday-school and for libraries. A Sabbath-school 
had been founded in 1816, and was held in the old 
brick school-house, which stood near the meeting- 
house. 

In the Third Parish, the vacancy existing by the death 
of the Rev. Mr. Thacher was not filled until April 
20, 1814, when the Rev. John White was ordained. 


| He was born in Concord, Dee. 2, 1787, and was 


graduated at Harvard College in 1805. His ministry 
continued until his death, Feb. 1, 1852, and during 
this whole period of nearly thirty-eight years, this 
parish enjoyed uninterrupted harmony. Mr. White 
was a sincere man and a faithful pastor, and entirely 
devoted to his work. He was ‘ mild, gentle, courte- 
ous, and conciliatory.” During his ministry, a Sun- 
day-school was organized, and the children were 
catechised by the pastor. Mr. White and his esti- 
mable wife are held in most grateful memory by the 
people of this parish. Mr. White was ordained 
before the separation of the Unitarians from the 
Orthodox Congregationalists, but he, with his parish, 
was always ranked with the Unitarians. Mr. White 
delivered a centennial discourse relating to the history 
of this parish, Jan. 17, 1836, which was printed. 
The Second Parish, on the other hand, adhered to 
the confession of faith and covenant of its founders, 


On the 


and has always been known as Orthodox. 


16th of December, 1829, Mr. Harrison G. Park, a 


graduate of Brown University, was ordained as pastor 
by the same ecclesiastical council that was convened 








DEDHAM. 


69 





relation. Mr. Park remained as pastor until Sept. 
23, 1835, when he was dismissed at his own request. 
He was succeeded by the Rev. Calvin Durfee, a grad- 


uate of Williams College, who was ordained March 


2, 1836. On June 26, 1836, he preached a centen-— 


nial discourse relating to the history of this parish, 
which was printed. 
until 1852, when he was succeeded by the Rev. 
Moses M. Colburn. Mr. Colburn resigned Feb. 3, 
1866, and Oct. 1, 1866, the Rev. Joseph P. Bixby 
became the acting pastor. Mr. Bixby remained pastor 
of the South Church and Parish at the date of the 
incorporation of the town of Norwood, in 1872. 
The following interesting description of the appear- 
ance of Dedham village in 1818 is found in a sermon 
delivered by Rev. Dr. Lamson in 1858, being the 
It 


Sunday after the fortieth year of his ordination. 





Mr. Durfee remained the pastor _ 


will serve to make the changes which occurred during | 


those forty years more striking and apparent : 


g, 
habits and occupations of the people the last forty years have 
produced a marked change. Until a comparatively recent 


period the population of the place was almost exclusively agri- 


cultural, and there were remains clearly discernible of primi- | 


tive tastes and habits. The old settlers, as they were called, 


were still largely represented. Where yon manufacturing 
village, bearing every mark of prosperity and thrift, now 


greets the eye, there stood at the time of my coming here only 


a small cluster of dwellings—eleven, I believe, in all—dotting | 


the roadsides, and a school-house of the scantiest dimensions, 
old and of the rudest structure, sufficed to hold the children. 
In the central village the houses could be readily counted, and 
there were large fields and vacant spaces. 


court-house and several adjacent buildings now stand, there | 


was, inclosed in part by a stone wall of an ordinary kind, old 
and irregular, an open lot which served for a corn-field or for 
mowing in summer, and in winter furnished excellent coasting- 
ground for the children. 
know, in those days. 


There were no railways, as you 
Stage-coaches, several in number,—from 


four to six and eight, and sometimes more,—and usually keep- | 


ing together, passed through the place, conveying passengers 
to and from the steamboats at Providence, in the dry weather 
of summer, raising a dust which penetrated the neighboring 
houses and covered the gardens, lying thick on every leaf and 
flower. Between Dedham and Boston, for the accommodation 
of the inhabitants of this place and of Roxbury, there was five 
days in the week—Wednesdays and Sundays being the ex- 
cepted days—a slow, lumbering stage-coach, ordinarily drawn 


Where our classical | 








by two horses, and on certain days, as Monday and Saturday, | 


by three, going in the morning and returning in the afternoon, 
and occupying two hours each way on the road, the time con- 
sumed in taking up and leaving the passengers at the ends of 
the line often making an extra half-hour. Of this no one 
complained, and the public seemed to think itself amply ac- 
commodated. The inhabitants assembled for worship on Sun- 
day, occupied the large square pews—the body-seats, as they 
were then called—and the free seats in the galleries. The 
interval and afternoon service was 
short, and most of those who lived out of the village stayed 
either in and about the meeting-house or at the neighboring 
inn. 


between the morning 


The house had then neither furnace nor stove, but foot- 


_ for the main portion of the present structure. 





stoves were used, which were replenished with coals at the 
parsonage or at some other friendly house within convenient 
distance. The afternoon service was then and for several 
years, as it is now, generally, in the more rural parishes better 
attended than the morning, and the minister reserved what he 


considered his best sermon for the afternoon.” 


But a new era of changes and improvements had 
It was about to 
shake off its rural aspect and to take on a more im- 


already begun in Dedham village. 


posing appearance. 

In 1814, the Dedham Bank was established with a 
Its first 
president was Willard Gay, who lived and carried on 
the business of packing beef and pork at West Ded- 
He resigned his office May 20, 1829, and 
was succeeded by John Worthington Ames, the eldest 
son of Fisher Ames. Upon the decease of Mr. Ames, 
in 1833, Dr. Jeremy Stimson was elected, his election 
having been made Feb. 14,1834. Dr. Stimson held 
the office of president, until the bank was reorganized 


capital of one hundred thousand dollars. 


ham. 


-as a national bank, Feb. 7, 1865, when he declined 


“Tn prevailing ideas and modes of thinking, and in the | 


a re-election, and Lewis H. Kingsbury was elected. 
Mr. Kingsbury resigned May 20,1873, and Ezra W. 
Taft was elected, who has since held the office. 

The cashiers of the bank have been Jabez Chicker- 
ing, from March 25, 1814, to Dee. 19, 1823; Eben- 
ezer Fisher, Jr., from Dec. 19, 1823, to Jan. 1, 
1847; Lewis H. Kingsbury, from Jan. 1, 1847, to 
Feb. 7, 1865; John H. B. Thayer, from Feb. 7, 
1865, to his death in April, 1873; and Lewis H. 
Kingsbury, from May 20, 1873, to the present time. 
The capital of the bank at the present time is three 
hundred thousand dollars. 

In 1817, the county had erected a new stone jail 
on the site of the present one, with a house for the 
keeper. These buildings were built of hammered 
stone, at an expense of about fifteen thousand dollars, 
The jail was thirty-three feet square and eighteen feet 
high. Its walls were massive, leaving but —little 
space in the interior for cells and staircases. The jail 
stood until 1851, when it was removed to make room 
The 


| old wooden jail, built in 1795, was used as a house 


of correction until 1833, when a new brick building 


was erected on the site of the present jail. Some of 


the cells of this house of correction are retained in 


the present jail, but the building was taken down 


in 1851. The stone house for the keeper stood 


/ until 1880. 


On the 4th day of July, 1825, the corner-stone of 
the new court-house was laid. It was built of hewn 
white granite, brought from Dover, about eight miles. 
It was then a Grecian building, ninety-eight by forty 


feet, with porticos at either end, having four Doric 


70 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





columns, three feet and ten inches in diameter at the 


base, and twenty-one feet high. The architect was 


Solomon Willard, of Boston, and Damon & Bates, | 


Its cost was about thirty thousand 
dollars, and its architecture was always much ad- 
mired. 
1827, during the term of the Supreme Judicial Court. 
Chief Justice Parker made an address, and the bar 
gave a dinner to the judges and attorney-general. 


master builders. 


The enlargement on High Street, which completely 
changed the appearance of the building, and the 
dome surmounting it, were finished in 1861. 

Prior to 1829, the town-meetings were held alter- 
nately in the meeting-houses of the different parishes. 
In that year, the town built a plain one-story building, 
costing about two thousand two hundred dollars, for 
It was a rude building, and had no 
rooms for offices, or place for the preservation of 


a town-house. 


It was completed and dedicated Feb. 20, | 





records, but it served for town-meetings and elections 


until 1868. In 1832, the town-farm of sixty-three 
acres, situated in the West Parish, was purchased 
for a poor-house. 

In April, 1825, the Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance 


Company was organized. Its first president was John 


Endicott, and its first secretary was Erastus Wor- | 


thington, and it was mainly through his efforts that 
In 1833, Mr. Endicott 
was succeeded by James Richardson, and on June 30, 
1840, Mr. Worthington having resigned by reason of 


the company was established. 


ill health, he was succeeded by Ira Cleveland as sec- 
retary. ‘The subsequent presidents have been Abra- 
ham I. Howe, from April 7, 1857, to April 1, 1862; 
Luther Metcalf, from April 1, 1862, to April 5, 1863; 


time. The secretaries, after the resignation of Mr. 
Cleveland, April 5, 1863, were George D. Gordon, 
from April, 1863, to April, 1873; Preston R. Mans- 
field, from April, 1873, to February, 1880; and Eli- 
Mr. Cleve- 
land has also been treasurer of the company since 
1850. 


always been considered a reliable and conservative 


jah Howe, from that time to the present. 
This company has been successful, and has 


company. 
which its office and the Dedham National Bank are 
located. 

The Dedham Mutual Fire Insurance Company was 
incorporated in 1837 for insuring buildings and _per- 
sonal property. ‘This was an offshoot of the Norfolk 
company, and its officers have generally been the same 
as of that company. 

In 1831, the Dedham Institution for Savings was 
incorporated. The first president was Rev. Ebenezer 
Burgess, D.D., who held that office from May 4, 1831, 





to Dec. 7, 1870. 





, He was succeeded by Thomas Bar- 
rows, who was president until May 12, 1877, when 
he was succeeded by Waldo Colburn. Its treasurers 
have been Jonathan H. Cobb, from May 4, 1831, to 
Nov. 10, 1834; Enos Foord, from Nov. 10, 1834, to 
May 9,,1845,; George Ellis, from May 9, 1845, to 
July 2, 1855; and Calvin Guild, from that date until 
the present time. The amount of deposits received 
from May 1, 1831, to May 1, 1843, was two hundred 
and twenty-six thousand nine hundred and fifty-four 
dollars, and the amount from May 1, 1867, to May 1, 
1881, was one million eight hundred and thirty-four 
thousand seven hundred and ninety-four dollars. 

All these things indicate the growth of the town 
in wealth and enterprise, and that Dedham was be- 
coming a centre of business activity, as well as as- 
suming the proper dignity becoming the shire-town 
of the county. It had become a resort of people 
from Boston to spend the summer, and in the winter 
for lawyers and others attending the courts; and 


there were balls and sleighing parties. There were 


_ two good taverns, where guests were hospitably enter- 


tained, one near the court-house, kept by Martin 
Marsh, and afterwards by Francis Alden and Moses 
Gragg. The other was built by Timothy Gay on the 
site occupied for many years by the Phoenix House. 
In 1830, the population of the town was upwards of 
It had then a stone court-house and 
In the town there 
were four Congregational meeting-houses ; one Epis- 
copal Church and a Baptist meeting-house in West 


three thousand. 
a stone jail and keeper’s house. 


| Dedham; eleven small school-houses, two woolen- 


_ mills, two cotton-mills, four saw-mills, five manufac- 
and Ira Cleveland, from April 5, 1863, to the present | 


It is the owner of the brick building in | 


tories for making chaises and carriages, one machine- 
shop, one manufactory for making ploughs, five 
taverns, eleven retail stores, two apothecaries, one 
printing-press for printing books and a newspaper, 
and a bank and an insurance company. Many new 
streets had been laid out and constructed between 
1820 and 1830. 

On the 23d day of August, 1824, Gen. Lafayette 
passed through Dedham on his way from Providence 
to Boston. He arrived at half-past ten o’clock in the 
evening, and remained about an hour at Alden’s 


Hotel. 


number of people, who had gathered during the day 


He was enthusiastically received by a large 


in anticipation of his arrival, and by a salute of artil- 
lery, by the ringing of the bells, and the illumination 
Hundreds of ladies and 
gentlemen shook hands with the general, and at half- 


of the houses in the village. 


past eleven o'clock he was escorted by a cavalcade of 
a hundred horsemen to the residence of Governor 


| Eustis, in Roxbury, where he spent the night. 





‘DEDHAM. 


(fs 








In 1833, Gen. Andrew Jackson, then the President 
of the United States, made a visit to Boston, and 
passed through Dedham on his way from Providence. 
He made the journey in a carriage, and was accom- 
panied by Martin Van Buren, then Vice-President, 
and members of his cabinet. He was received in 
Dedham by a large concourse of people, who were 
ranged in lines on each side of Court Street as the 
carriages containing the party passed. It was on the 
occasion of this visit that President Jackson received 
the degree of Doctor of Laws from Harvard College. 


CHAP TER. XxX. 


DEDHAM—( Continued). 


Universalist Society, South Dedham—Episcopal Church—Rev. | 
Isaac Boyle—Reyv. Samuel B. Babecock—New Church—Ded- | 


ham Branch Railroad—Manufactures—Population in 1835— 
Newspapers—Centennial Celebration, 1836—Dr. Lamson’s 
Historical Discourses, 1838—Dr. Burgess’ Discourse in “‘ Ded- 
ham Pulpit’”—Reyv. John White’s Historical Discourse, 1836— 


Rey. Mr. Durfee’s Historical Discourse, 1836—Destructive | 


Fires—Improvements in Schools and School- Houses—Norfolk 
County Railroad—First Baptist Church, West Dedham— 
Baptist Church, East Dedham—Baptist Church, South Ded- 
ham—Methodist Episcopal Church, East Dedham—First 
Parish—Resignation of Dr. Lamson, and of Dr. Burgess— 
Third Parish—Successors of Rev. John White—Successors of 
Dr. Lamson in First Parish—Improvements in Meeting- 
House—Suecessors to Rev. Dr. Burgess—Burning of St. 
Paul’s Church—New Stone Church —Chapel—Roman Cath- 
olic Church—St. Mary’s School and Asylum—Annexations 
to West Roxbury and Walpole—Dedham Gas-Light Company 
—Dedham Historical Society. 


In the year 1827 there began a movement which 
led to the formation of the Universalist Society in 
the South Parish. It will be remembered that the 
church of the Second Parish adhered to the ancient 
covenant and confession of faith, and probably those 
who dissented had been seeking another place of wor- 
ship. The Rev. Thomas Whittemore, a preacher of 
the Universalist denomination, held services Feb. 6, 
1827, for the first time. In the following September, 
fifty-two persons entered into covenant or agreement 
for forming a religious society to be denominated the 
In May, 1828, a legal 
meeting was held to take the first steps towards the 


First Universalist Society. 


building of a church edifice. The work was speedily 
begun, and on the 14th day of January, 1830, the 
church was dedicated. While the church was being 
built, the Rev. J. C. Waldo supplied the society for 
about eight months. The Rev. Alfred V. Bassett 
was the first pastor, being inducted into office June 





17, 1830. He died Dec. 26, 1831, having in his 
brief ministry secured the affection of his people. 
His successors were the Rev. T. B. Thayer and Rev. 
R. 8. Pope, and from the years 1836 to 1840 the 
society was without a pastor. In 1840, the Rev. 
Edwin Thompson became the pastor, and closed his 
ministry here in 1844. He was prominent in the total 
abstinence movement begun about this time, known 
by the name of the Washingtonian movement, to 
which he subsequently gave his whole time and ener- 
gies. After Mr. Thompson, the succession of pastors 
were the Rev. C. H. Webster, from 1846 to 1853; 
the Rev. Ebenezer Fisher, from 1853 to 1858; the 
Rev. A. R. Abbott, from 1858 to 1860 ; and the Rev. 
M. R. Leonard, from May, 1861, to 1865, when he 
was succeeded by Rev. George Hill. 

The Episcopal Church in Dedham village, during 
the rectorship of the Rev. Mr. Boyle, had received 
some accessions to the number of families, and also to 
the number of communicants connected with it. The 
troubles arising from the divisions in the First Church 
had caused many persons to have a nominal con- 
nection with the Episcopal Church for the purpose 
of parochial taxation, since the law then compelled 
every property-holder to pay a tax for the support of 


_ public worship, though he might select his place of 


worship. There were some, however, who were in- 
terested in the services of the church, among whom 


may be named Samuel Lowder, Edward Whiting, 


Theron Metcalf, and Erastus Worthington. The 
growth of the parish, however, was quite gradual. 
In 1822 a Sunday-school was first established. The 
number of families reported as connected with the 
parish from 1822 to 1828 was about fifty, and the 
number of communicants increased from twenty-five 
in 1822, to forty-one in 1828. In 1831, an organ was 
procured by subscription, Mr. Edward Whiting being 
a large contributor. From the beginning of the rec- 
torship of Mr. Boyle, the name of the church was 
changed from Christ Church to St. Paul’s Church. 
Mr. Boyle was a man of high character and scholarly 


attainments, but he was afflicted with deafness, which 





_ impaired his efficiency in the public services of the 


church. He resigned April 21, 1832. The parish, 
in accepting his resignation, entered upon its records 
a minute of its estimation of his “ Christian integrity 
and pastoral fidelity.”” He was graduated at Harvard 
College in 1813, and received the degree of Doctor 
of Divinity from both Trinity and Columbia Colleges 
in 1838. He was ordained as deacon by Bishop 
Griswold April 29, 1820, and he died Dee. 2, 1850. 
The parish then invited Mr. Samuel Brazer Babcock, 
a graduate of Harvard College in 1830, a lay reader, 


72 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





but who was pursuing his theological studies, to off- 


ciate in the parish, which invitation he accepted Au- | 


gust 18, 1832. 
in 1852, and as priest in 1833. 
years of Mr. Babcock’s ministry, the parish received 


During the first ten 


the accession of two gentlemen who subsequently 


became identified with the parish, and have been its | 
constant and liberal benefactors down to the present | 


time, and both are still living. The project of erect- 
ing a new church had been entertained for some time, 
but could not be carried out for lack of means. Kd- 
ward Whiting had left a bequest of one thousand 
dollars for the purpose. 
The site of 
the old church on “ Franklin Square” was objection- 


parish proceeded to erect a new church. 


able, both to the parish and to the people who resided | 


upon the square. <A subscription was made up by 


several owners of estates bounding upon the square, 


and paid to the parish, and a conveyance was made to 
the subscribers of the whole “ church common,” with 
the provision that no building should ever be erected 
upon it. A new site on the corner of Court Street 
and Village Avenue was purchased. The old church 
was taken down in December, 1845, and on Jan. 15, 
1846, the new church was consecrated. It was con- 
structed of wood, of medizval Gothic architecture, 
with a tower after the Magdalen tower, in Oxford, Eng- 
land, and was an architectural ornament to the village. 


It had a good organ and fine bell, both the gifts of | 


parishioners, and other liberal gifts were made by 
others. 


sand dollars. On Nov. 30, 1845, it being the last 


Sunday on which services were held in the old church, | 


Mr. Babcock preached a historical discourse reviewing 
the history of the parish, which was printed. 
The building of the Boston and Providence Rail- 


Mr. Babcock was ordained as deacon | 


At length, in 1845, the | 


It cost, including furniture, about seven thou- | 





road was an event which excited much interest in the | 


people of Dedham. The first surveys located the road 
through Dedham village, southerly of the present 

The 
decision to change this location occasioned great dis- 
The people doubtless regarded the 
railroad as a substitute for the turnpike, and they 


station, and following the line of the turnpike. 
appointment. 


desired to retain the same relative position to the 
former, which they had hitherto sustained to the 
latter. The losses: which the owners of the stage 
company had sustained in the burning of the Dedham 
Hotel and stable, with sixty horses, Oct. 30, 1832, 
and the burning of the Phoenix stable, with fifty-three 
horses, Jan. 7, 1834, had prepared the minds of the 
people to regard favorably the new enterprise of the 
railroad. 


Raymond Lee, afterwards the superintendent, with 


other engineers and contractors, resided in Dedham. 
Application was made to the directors of the Boston 
and Providence Railroad Company for building a 
branch from Low Plain, now Readville, to Ded- 
ham. This application was granted upon condi- 
tion that the citizens of Dedham would give the 
land. A subscription was immediately collected in 
Dedham amounting to about two thousand dollars, 
besides some contributions of lands, and deeds were 
made to the Providence Railroad corporation. An 
act authorizing the construction of the railroad was 
This was done in 1834, 
and the road was completed in December of that 


passed by the Legislature. 


year, and was opened Dec. 28, 1834, when the presi- 
dent and directors of the Boston and Providence 
Railroad Company were invited to a collation at the 
Phoenix Hotel, then kept by James Bride. The cars, 
built in the manner of English railway-carriages, with 
two compartments each like a stage-coach, were drawn 
by horses to Boston until the completion of the main 
line, when a connection was made at Readville with 
It 


was some years before trains were drawn from Ded- 


trains from Providence drawn by locomotives. 


The first season- 
ticket passengers to Boston from Dedham, were Alvan 
Fisher and Francis Guild. 


the building of the railroad upon the local business 


ham to Boston by steam-power. 
The ultimate effects of 


prosperity of Dedham were quite different from what 
was then anticipated. The manufactories for building 
stage-coaches, for which extensive buildings had been 
erected near the Phoenix Hotel, in the course of time 
were suspended, and no other business ever took their 
places. Indeed, for a time the old stage-coaches ran 
from Dedham to Boston, as passengers preferred to be 
called for at their houses. ‘To meet the convenience 
of this class of passengers, the railroad corporation 
provided a carriage for several years to take up pas- 
sengers in Dedham. As late as 1841, a long omnibus; 
drawn by four horses, was driven from Dedham to 
Boston by Reuben Farrington, Jr. 

There was at this period considerable business 
activity in Dedham. A silk-manufactory had been 
established by Jonathan H. Cobb, for many years the 
In 1837 there. 


register of probate for the county. 


_ were manufactured 7135 pairs of boots and 18,722 


| pairs of shoes, valued at $32,485. 


There were also 
silk goods manufactured to the value of ten thousand 
dollars, straw bonnets of the value of twenty thousand 
dollars, chairs and furniture of the value of twenty- 


/one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars, and 


marble paper and enameled cards of the value of 


Gen. McNeill, the engineer, and William | 


eighteen thousand dollars. 
In the Second, or South Parish there was also an 





DEDHAM. a 


3 





activity in manufacturing enterprises. The tanneries 
established by George Winslow, Lyman Smith, and 
Joseph Day had begun the successful business which 
has ever since been continued by their enterprising 
sons. Willard Everett made furniture, a business 
afterwards much enlarged, and continued for many 
years by his sons. Subsequently, Curtis G. Morse 
and Addison Boyden prosecuted the same business. 
The enterprise of these men and others laid the 


foundation of the growth and prosperity of this | 


beautiful village, which is the present village of 
Norwood. 

In the Third, or West Parish the activity in manu- 
facturing enterprises was less apparent. 
an iron foundry, and some years after a sugar-mill at 
the dam of Rock Meadow Brook. But this parish 
having the best farming lands in the town has 
always remained an agricultural community. 
Boston by milk wagons. Probably this parish has 
experienced fewer changes than any other portion of 
the town during the last century. 

The population of the town in 1835 was three 
thousand five hundred and thirty-two. In 1840, it 
was three thousand two hundred and ninety, the de- 
crease being due to the depression of business in the 
Although 
the building of the railroad had an untoward effect 


mills following the financial crisis of 1837. 


upon the local business of Dedham village, it induced 


many excellent and valuable citizens, whose places of | 
business were in Boston, to make their residence 


here. 
those seeking a country residence. 

Since the beginning of the century, there had been 
during most of the time a weekly newspaper in Ded- 
ham. The Columbian Minerva was published by 
Herman Mann from 1797 to 1804. The Norfolk 
Repository was published by the same proprietor 
from 1805 to 1814, though with some irregularity. 
In 1813, the Dedham Gazette was established by 
Jabez Chickering, with Theron Metcalf as editor, and 
1819. In 1820 the Village 
Register was started by Asa Gowen, and continued 
by Jonathan H. Cobb and Barnum Field. In 1822, 
it passed into the hands of H. and W. H. Mann, who 
continued it until 1829, when it was discontinued. 
In 1829, the Norfolk County Republican was pub- 
In 1830 the Dedham Patriot 
was established, and passed through various changes 


was continued until 


lished for one year. 


in name and location. 
ward L. Keyes, a prominent politician and gifted 
man, who purchased it in 1844, and published it in 
Roxbury, and afterwards in Dedham, under the name 


There was | 


It has | 
produced large quantities of milk, which is sent to | 


Dedham was then regarded with favor by 


It was finally edited by Ed- | 


| 


| 








| 


of the Dedham Gazette. It was afterwards owned 
and edited by Henry O. Hildreth, who subsequently 
removed it to Hyde Park. In 1831 the Jndependent 
Politician and Working Men's Advocate was begun. 
In 1832 it became the Norfolk Advertiser and Inde- 
pendent Politician, and afterwards the Norfolk Ad- 
vertiser. It was afterwards published under the name 
of the Norfolk Democrat by Elbidge G. Robinson 
until his decease in 1854, when it was merged in the 
Dedham Gazette. 

On the 21st day of September, 1836, the town 
observed the second centennial anniversary of its 
The bells were rung at sunrise and 
At half-past ten 


O ° 5 
o'clock a procession was formed, moving, under the 


incorporation. 
a salute of one hundred guns fired. 


escort of the Dedham Light Infantry, commanded by 
Capt. William Pedrick, with the Boston Brass Band, 
through the principal streets to the meeting-house of 
the First Parish. At the Norfolk Hotel, the proces- 
sion was joined by His Excellency, Edward Everett, 
the Governor of the commonwealth, and his suite, 
and by the reverend clergy and other invited guests. 
On the green in front of the meeting-house, was an 
ornamental arch erected for the occasion, covered 
with evergreens and flowers. Upon one side of it 
was inscribed, “Incorporated 1636,” and on the 
other, “1836.” 


house, eight engine-companies had placed their engines 


Between this arch and the meeting- 


and apparatus in two lines, leaving a space between 
them for the passing of the procession. On the inner 
sides of these lines about five hundred children of 
the public schools were arranged by their instructors. 
Under the arch and between these lines of children, 
the procession passed into the meeting-house. The 
A hymn, 
written for the occasion by Rev. John Pierpont, 
sung to the tune of “ Old Hundred,” and a prayer by 
the Rev. Alvan Lamson, were followed by an—ad- 
The se- 
lection of the orator was in every way a fortunate 


services of the day were full of interest. 


dress from Samuel F. Haven, of Worcester. 
one. <A native of Dedham, having for his maternal 
grandfather Mr. Dexter, and his paternal grand- 
father Mr. Haven, both ministers of the Dedham 
His ad- 


dress, which was printed with an appendix con- 


Church, he was also a learned antiquary. 


taining valuable notes, is perhaps the most concise and 
interesting account of the early history of the town 
At the dinner about 
six hundred persons were seated, and James Rich- 
ardson presided. Governor Everett, a direct de- 
scendant of Richard Everard, one of the first settlers 


which has ever been written. 


of Dedham, made a very felicitous and elegant speech. 


' Other speeches were made by Judge John Davis, 


74 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Josiah Quincy, Henry A. 8. Dearborn, William Jack- 
son, Franklin Dexter, Alexander H. Everett, and 
Robert C. Winthrop. The ladies furnished a colla- 
tion in the court-house, using the court-room as a 


drawing-room, and the library for the tables. There 


was also vocal music, and an address from the Goy- | 
At the time of this cele- | 


ernor in the court-room. 
bration there were nine men who had served in the 





Continental army, or had done military duty’in dis- | 


Be- 
sides these, there were thirteen others who had done 


tant campaigns in the Revolution, still living. 


military duty during the Revolutionary war in the | 


State. The whole services of the day were worthy 
of the event they commemorated. 
The two hundredth anniversary of the gathering of 


the First Church occurred Noy. 18, 1838, allowing | 


for the difference between the old and new style. 
The Rev. Dr. Lamson prepared and delivered three 


historical discourses on the occasion, on Thanksgiving- 


day, and the succeeding Sunday. ‘These discourses | 


contained a very accurate and complete history of | 


the church down to the time of Dr. Lamson’s set- 
tlement, and were printed with many pages of val- 


uable notes. 


They contained full notices of the 


lives of Allin, Adams, Belcher, Dexter, and Haven, | 


and of their respective terms of service. Dr. Lamson 
was an excellent historical scholar and critic, and 
the discourses are admirable for their true historical 
method and perspicuity of style. 


The Rev. Dr. Burgess also delivered in “the new 


a carpet-factory was burned in 1827, 


meeting-house of the First Church” a centennial | 


discourse Nov. 8, 1838. 
historical, it contained a full account of the pastors 
of the Dedham Church. 


volume of sermons of all the different pastors from 


Although not exclusively 
It was printed in a 


1638 to 1800, which was prepared with great care 
and fidelity by Dr. Burgess in 1840. <A printed 
discourse by Mr. Allin, the first pastor, was found, 
after a patient search, and inserted in the volume. 
The title of this collection of sermons was the “ Ded- 
ham Pulpit,” and the preservation of these sermons, 
which had become extremely scarce, was an appro- 
priate memorial of the second centennial of the 
church. 

On the 17th of January, 1836, the Rev. John 
White delivered an interesting and valuable his- 
torical discourse upon the first centennial anniversary 


of the church in the Third Parish. This, with the 


destroyed. 


centennial discourse upon the history of the South | 


Church in the Second Parish by the Rev. Mr. 
Durfee, delivered June 26, 1836, completed the ob- 
servance of the centennial anniversaries of all the 


Congregational Churches of the town. It is not a 


little remarkable that the First Church closed the 
second century of its existence only about two years 
after the Second and Third Churches closed their 
first century. Posterity cannot be too grateful to 
these faithful pastors for their efforts to preserve 
these memorials of the past. 

Some destructive fires occurred between 1830 and 
1850 which are worthy of record. On the 30th day 
of October, 1832, the Dedham Hotel and _ stable, 
owned by Timothy Gay, were consumed by fire, and 
one man and sixty horses perished in the flames, in- 
volving a loss of twenty-eight thousand dollars. On 
the 7th day of January, 1834, the stable attached 
to the Phoenix Hotel, which was rebuilt on the same 
site, was burned and fifty-three horses perished, with 
Both these fires were 
the work of an incendiary, and one John Wade was 


a loss of ten thousand dollars. 


convicted of the former offense, and sentenced to death, 
but his sentence was commuted to imprisonment in the 
State prison for life. The motive was the destruction 
of the property of the Citizens’ Coach Company. Jan. 
27, 1837, the railroad station, with cars and_loco- 
motive, were burned, with an estimated loss of ten 
March 12, 1845, the silk-factory 
was burned, with a loss of forty thousand dollars. 
March 28, 1845, the factory near Cart Bridge, used 
for calico printing, was burned, with a loss of fifteen 
On the site of the latter building 
July 17, 1846, 
a paper-mill, known as Taft’s Mill, belonging to the 


thousand dollars. 


thousand dollars. 


Norfolk Manufacturing Company, was destroyed, 
In 


January, 1849, another railroad station was burned, 


being the third mill burned on the same spot. 


and Jan. 17, 1850, the Phoenix stable was again 
These visitations of the same spots by 
fire are somewhat remarkable. 

In 1840, the condition of the public schools still 
continued to be unsatisfactory. The school-houses 
were small and inconvenient. Kven in Dedham vil- 
lage there had been up to a recent period a one-story 
About the 


year 1848, there began to be a new interest in the 


school-house with two school-rooms. 


improvement of the schools. The school committee 
recommended the abolition of the school districts, and 
the establishment of a high school in Dedham village. 
This latter proposition met with a decided opposition 
from the people of the other parishes, but at length 
it was carried by great effort, and the high school 
It was opened Sept. 15, 1851, and 
Charles J. Capen was the first master. It was kept 
in the Masonic Building, on Church Street, and had 
Mr. Capen re- 
signed in 1852, and was succeeded by Carlos Slafter, 


was established. 


forty-two scholars at its opening. 


DEDHAM. 


75 





who has remained the master ever since. The school- 
house was dedicated Dec. 10, 1855, and cost about 
five thousand five hundred dollars. 

In the South Parish a new school-house was built 
in 1851, and in 1856 it was much enlarged aad im- 





proved, making the expense of the whole structure | 


about ten thousand dollars, 

In Dedham village, May 23, 1859, a new and 
spacious school-house erected by the Centre School 
District was dedicated. It was named the Ames 
School, in honor of Fisher Ames. 

New school-houses had 
few years at West Dedham and at East Dedham. 
The latter school-house was enlarged and improved in 
1860, by adding four rooms at a cost of about six 
thousand dollars. In 1860, there were remaining but 
two or three of the small school-houses of the former 
time. The town also had begun to make more liberal 
appropriations for the support of the schools. In 
1840 the appropriation was three thousand dollars ; 
in 1850, five thousand dollars; and in 1856, nine 
thousand seven hundred and ten dollars. The reports 
of the school committee during this period indicate 
progress in the condition of the schools themselves, 
and the establishment of the high school did much 
In 
1867 the school committee gave names to the schools 
By the abolition of the school districts 
The 
names of men who had by their benefactions or ser- 


to raise the efficiency of the grammar schools. 


of the town. 
their former designations had become obsolete. 


vices done something worthy to be recognized, such as 


also been built within a_ 


The effect of 
these changes in the ownership of the Norfolk County 
Railroad has been to leave Dedham without any direct 
railway connection with the westerly and southerly 


a mile and a half south of the village. 


portions of the county, and to the obvious detriment 
of the shire-town. 

In addition to the formation of the Universalist 
Society in the South Parish in 1827 (of which an 
account has already been given), there were other 
religious societies formed during the first half of the 
present cefitury in other parts of the town. Mention 
has already been made of the organization of the 


“First Baptist Church” in West Dedham in 1824, 


of which the Rev. Samuel Adlam was the first pastor. 
The succession of pastors after him were Rev. Jona- 


| than Aldrich, Jan. 3, 1828, to Feb. 27, 1830; Rev. 





Thomas Driver, May, 1830, to the autumn of 1838; 
Rev. T. G. Freeman, from the spring of 1839, to 
April, 1841; the Rev. Joseph B. Damon, from Oct. 
13, 1841, to October, 1843; the Rev. J. W. Park- 
hurst, from October, 1843, to Nov. 24, 1850; the 


| Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin, from Nov. 24, 1850, to 


Dexter, Avery, Ames, Everett, Colburn, and Fisher, 


were thus perpetuated. 

In 1859 a committee reported in favor of building 
a new town-house, but no action was taken on the 
subject. 


Sept. 6, 1858; the Rev. Benjamin W. Gardner, from 
Nov. 11, 1858, to Nov. 1, 1867; the Rev. I. J. 
Burgess, from Nov. 1, 1867, to Sept. 9, 1871; the 
Rev. Samuel J. Frost, from Sept. 15, 1872, to April 
26, 1874; the Rev. S. C. Chandler, from Sept. 6, 
1874, to Jan. 20, 1878; the Rev. T. M. Merriman, 
from April 6, 1879, to May 6, 1883; the Rev. E. 
S. Ufford, from June 28, 1883, to the present time 
(1884). 

A Baptist Church was formed in Kast Dedham, 
Sept. 13, 1843, consisting of twenty-one members, of 


_whom sixteen were members of the Baptist Church 


In 1849, the railroad from Dedham to Blackstone, | 
then known as the Norfolk County Railroad, was | 


opened. About the same time, and for the purpose 


of connecting with this road, the Boston and Provi- 


dence Railroad corporation built its new branch | 


through West Roxbury to Dedham. 
much discussion respecting the building of the rail- 
road to Blackstone for several years, and another rival 
route had been surveyed, running through the west- 


There had been | 


erly part of the county, known as the “ Air-Line.’’ 
The majority of the people of Dedham favored the | 


Norfolk County route, and so instructed their rep- 
resentative, and the “ Air-Line” was constructed 
through Dover and Needham. Not many years after- 
wards the Norfolk County Railroad passed into the 


' church, but he remained less than a year. 


at West Dedham. 
which was removed to High Street, opposite Harrison 
Grove, in 1846. In 1848, the Rev. William C. Pat- 
terson became the first pastor of the church, andthe 
chapel soon proved too small for the congregation. 
The new church, built on the corner of Milton and 
Myrtle Streets, which is the present house of wor- 
ship, was built at a cost of less than five thousand 
dollars, and was dedicated Nov. 18, 1852. The 
Rev. Mr. Patterson continued to be the pastor of the 
church until 1863, when, at the request of the church, 
the relation of pastor and people was dissolved. In 
1866, the Rev. Charles Skinner was called to this 
In 1869 
the Rev. A. Edson was recognized as pastor, and re- 


A small chapel was soon erected, 


| mained one year. In 1871, the Rev. K. H. Campbell 


hands of other corporations, and a new road con- | 


structed through Dorchester connected with it about 


installed as pastor, and he remained until 1878. 


was pastor for only a short time. 
In November, 1875, the Rev. Charles H. Cole was 
In 


76 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





February, 1879, the Rev. D. C. Bixby was called. 
The society was then in debt, and the house of wor- 
ship out of repair. By a great effort on the part of 
pastor and people, some repairs were made and a debt 
of nearly two thousand dollars canceled. Mr. Bixby 
closed his pastorate in November, 1880. He was 
succeeded by Rev. J. H. Wells, May 1, 1881, who is 
the present incumbent. During the year after his 
becoming the pastor the house of worship was re- 
paired at a cost of two thousand five hundred dollars. 
In 1882, Mr. Jonathan Mann, of Milton, presented 
the society with a fine bell weighing two thousand 
one hundred and sixty pounds. In 1883, the pastor 
procured pledges for the sum of two thousand two 
hundred dollars for the erection of a parsonage, and 
Mr. Mann purchased and presented a lot of land 
for the purpose, and at the close of the year 1883 
the parsonage was completed. The present number 
of church members is eighty, and the church and 
society are in a better condition than ever before. 

On the 3d day of November, 1858, a Baptist so- 
ciety was formed at South Dedham by members of 
the First Baptist Church in West Dedham who 
lived in South Dedham. 
dedicated April 25, 1862. 
Rev. Joseph B. Breed, and his successors were the 
Rey. J. J. Tucker, from Sept. 1, 1862, to his death, 
June 13, 1864; Rev. C. Osborn, from April 5, 
1864, to Aug. 25, 1865; the Rev. George C. Fair- 
banks, from Sept. 6, 1866, to March 9, 1869; Rev. 
Edwin Bromley, from June 6, 1869, to April 6, 


The house of worship was 


1876; Rev. J. H. Gilbert, from Aug. 3, 1876, to | 





; Rey. W. A. Worthington, from May 4, 1879, 
to Sept. 12, 1880, and soon after he was succeeded 
by the Rev. B. W. Barrows, the present pastor. 

The church edifice of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church at Hast Dedham was dedicated Oct. 12, 
1843. As early as 1817, the Rev. Enoch Mudge, 
with his colleague, Rev. Timothy Merritt, both Meth- 
In 
1825 a “class” was formed of twenty members and 
attached 
meetings from time to time afterwards were held 
in Dedham, Lower Plains, and Mill Village. In 
1842, Mr. J. E. Pond, of Walpole, a local preacher, 


was engaged to supply every Sabbath, and this year 


odist preachers, had held meetings in Dedham. 


to the church in Dorchester. 


The first pastor was the | 


dollars. Reopening services were held in the church 


on the evening of Oct. 22, 1880. 











Methodist | 


the Rev. C. K. True baptized nine persons. Ser- | 
vices were then held in Trescott’s Hall. In 1858 


the church edifice was enlarged, and again, during 
the pastorate of Rev. Z. A. Mudge; in 1880, it was 
moved, raised, and new vestries put in 
thoroughly comfortable and commodious house was 


secured, at an expense of three thousand seven hundred 


The pastors of this church have been Rev. Henry 
P. Hall, 1844; Rev. J. L. Hanaford, 1845; Rev. 
William R Stone and Leonard P. Frost, 1846; Rev. 
Leonard P. Frost (supplied), 1847; Rev. Daniel 
Richards, 1848-49; Rev. John G. Cary, 1850 ; Rev. 
Kinsman Atkinson, 1851-52; Rev. Howard C. 
Durham, 1853-54; Rev. John M. Merrill, 1855- 


56; Rev. Augustus Bailey, 1857; Rev. William 


Pentecost, 1858-59; Rev. Mosely Dwight, 1860-61 ; 
Rev. Ichabod Marcy, 1862-63; Rev. William P. 
Blackmar, 1864-66; Rev. J. W. P. Jordan, 1867; 
Rev. A. B. Smart (local preacher), 1868-69; Rev. 
F. T. George, 1870; Rev. James A. De Forest, 
1871-72; Rev. Z. A. Mudge, 1873-75; Rev. Wil- 
liam Cottle (local preacher), 1876; Rev. Charles H. 
Vinton, 1877 ; Rev. John Thompson (local preacher), 
1878; Rev. Z. A. Mudge, 1879-81; Rev. E. W. 
Virgin, 1882-84. 

On the 29th of October, 1860, it being just forty- 
two years from the day of his ordination as pastor of 
the church of the First Parish, the Rev. Alvan 
Lamson, D.D., resigned his office. Two years pre- 
vious he had preached a sermon reviewing the forty 
years of his ministry, and which may be regarded as 
his farewell discourse. His text on that occasion was 
from Deut. viii. 4, ‘‘ These forty years,” and it is not 
often that a minister is permitted to take the retro- 
spect of so long a ministry himself. Dr. Lamson’s 
election and ordination as pastor was the occasion of 
a bitter and prolonged controversy, which resulted in 
a division of the church and parish, and a resort to 
litigation. But happily, after the strife which im- 
mediately followed his ordination had ended, the 
internal relations of his society became peaceful and 
harmonious, and so remained during the rest of the 
forty-two years; and this was due in a great measure 
to the character and influence of Dr. Lamson. While 
from the beginning he was a Unitarian of the school 
of Channing, and his works and contributions to the 
reviews were mainly in exposition and support of 
Unitarian doctrines and some were published as 
denominational tracts, yet in his pulpit and in his 
intercourse with his people he avoided controversy 
upon doctrinal topics. He labored for peace, and he 
truly says, in his farewell discourse, “a polemic pulpit 


tp | 


was always my aversion. Dr. Lamson, in his work 


| entitled “The Church of the First Three Centuries,” 
) 


, and a| 


1 As an evidence of his desire to conciliate, in 1846 the Rev. 
Dr. Bates, his predecessor, and a Calyinist, preached in his 
pulpit by his invitation. 


ee ee 


DEDHAM. cy 











embodied his writings upon the views held upon the 
Trinity by early Christian writers. Besides, he 
preached many occasional sermons and wrote some 
tracts, all of which were published in pamphlet 
form. He was a scholar of extensive research, espe- 
cially in ecclesiastical history, and his writings are 
models of pure English, without affectation or redun- 


daney. As a preacher, he was plain and straight- 


forward, and relied upon his theme to interest his | 


hearers. Asaman, he was retiring in his manners, but 
to those who enjoyed his acquaintance he was genial and 
cordial. In the community where he lived and labored 
he was known as an active and intelligent promoter of 
all its interests, and he exerted a strong influence in 
raising the condition of the public schools at a time 
when his efforts were needed. He was a careful and 
patient student of the local history of Dedbam, espe- 
cially as connected with that of the Dedham Church. 


His sermons published in 1838 and in 1858 contain | 


the results of much research, and form a complete 
and exhaustive history of the church and parish. 
He was the first president of the Dedham Historical 
Society, and attended its meetings so long as his 
health permitted. He died July 18, 1864, of paral- 
ysis, at the age of seventy-one years. 

In 1861 the Rev. Ebenezer Burgess, D.D., retired 
from the active labors of his pastoral office, after a 
The fact that both Dr. 


Lamson and Dr. Burgess should remain as pastors 


ministry of forty years. 


during the same number of years, and for so long a 
period, is somewhat remarkable. Dr. Burgess was 
born in Wareham, April 1, 1790, and was graduated 
at Brown University in 1809. He was a tutor for a 
time in that college, and afterwards a professor in the 
University of Vermont. In 1817 he visited the 
Colony of Liberia under the auspices of the American 
Colonization Society. He pursued his theological 
studies at Andover and Princeton. He also studied 
with Dr. Griffin, at Newark, N. J., and with Dr. 
Emmons, at Franklin. He adhered to the ancient 
faith of the early churches of the colony, and the 
modifications of creeds which occurred during his 
time, even in his own denomination, did not affect his 
own belief. He was a Puritan in doctrine and in 
practice. 
upon old customs and practices in religious worship, 
such as the introduction of the organ in sacred 
music. He was a minister of the old school, impos- 


ing in his presence and precise but courteous in his | 


manners. He was inflexible in adhering to his con- 
victions of duty, and to the prerogatives of a pas- 


tor. He was faithful and devoted to his pastoral 


duties, and during all his ‘ministry was liberal in his | 


He viewed with distrust the innovations | 


| 





charities, and gave largely from the ample means at 
his command, not only to his own church and society, 
but to Christian missions, in which he took a great 
interest. His sermons were concise in expression, 
and his manner as a preacher was dignified and im- 
pressive. Dr. Burgess wrote little for the press. In 
1840, he edited a volume of sermons of the pastors of 
the First Church, entitled “Dedham Pulpit;”’ he 
wrote for Sprague’s “Annals” a “ Reminiscence of 
Samuel J. Mills’ in 1849, and the “ Burgess Geneal- 
ogy,” published in 1865. He died Dee. 5, 1870, at 
his estate, “ Broad Oak,” where he had built a man- 
sion many years before, and continued to reside after 
his withdrawal from the ministry, in 1861. He was 
the president of the Dedham Institution for Savings 
from the date of its organization until his death. 

In the church and society of the Third Parish in 
West Dedham the Rev. Calvin S. Locke was ordained 
as the successor of the Rev. John White (who died 
Feb. 1, 1852), on the 6th day of December, 1854. 
Mr. Locke remained the pastor until June, 1864. 
After a vacancy of two years, the Rev. Henry Westcott 
was with the society one year, and Rey. Elisha Gifford 
received a call Aug. 12, 1867, and resigned March 
11,1872. The Rev. Edward Crowninshield began 
his ministry Jan. 1, 1873, and closed his pastoral 
The Rev. George W. 


Cooke has been the pastor since December, 1880. 


connection May 351, 1879. 


In the summer and autumn of 1855, repairs costing 
upwards of twelve hundred dollars were made in the 
church edifice. The floor was raised, a lower and 
more elegant pulpit was substituted for the old one, 
the walls and ceiling frescoed, and the pews exchanged 
The Ladies’ Benevolent Society 
carpeted, cushioned, and furnished the church. The 
new horse-sheds were built in 1869. The Rev. Mr. 
Locke, on the 7th of December, 1879, preached an 
occasional sermon, which was printed, and from-which 
these facts are taken. 
lightning and seriously damaged in April, 1883. 


for concentric seats. 


The church was struck by 


In the church connected with the First Parish, 


upon the resignation of the Rev. Dr. Lamsen in 1860, 
_after the lapse of a few months the Rev. Benjamin 


H. Bailey was ordained as pastor March 14, 1861, 
and he remained until Oct. 13, 1867, when he re- 
signed. He was succeeded by Rev. George M. Fol- 
som, installed March 31, 1869, and resigned July 1, 
1875. The Rev. Seth Curtis Beach was installed as 
his successor Dec. 29, 1875, and is the present in- 
cumbent. In 1856 the parish erected a vestry, which 
was much enlarged and improved in 1879, at a 
cost of about three thousand three hundred dollars. 
The old meeting-house of 1763, which was remod- 


78 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





eled and improved in 1819, was again remodeled in 
1857 in the interior, by removing the pews and sub- 
stituting the concentric seats for the pews, and the 


erection of a new and lower pulpit, placed in a recess | 


at one end of the church. At the same time a large 
and excellent organ was placed in the gallery, built 
by the Messrs. Hook. 


forty-three dollars and eighty-one cents. 


The “ New Meeting-House,” as it was called in the | 


act of incorporation, and which title was retained until | 


1864, was much improved and refitted with a pulpit 
of rosewood in 1846. In 1857 a large and superior- 
toned organ was placed in a recess behind the pulpit. 
In 1866, the whole interior was remodeled and made 
more convenient. In 1864, the society was reorgan- 
ized under the name of the “ Allin Evangelical Soci- 





ety,” and the church in 1876 adopted the name of the | 


’ 


“ First Congregational Church in Dedham.’ 

The Rey. Jonathan Edwards was installed as pas- 
tor of the church Jan. 1, 1863. 
at his own request, on account of continued ill health, 


April 13, 1874. The Rev. Charles M. Southgate | 


was installed as his successor Dec. 16, 1875, and he 
still continues to be pastor of the church. The con- 


1875. 
was three hundred and eleven. 


The membership of this church Jan. 1, 1884, 
In 1876 the chapel 


He was dismissed | 


structed was eighteen thousand three hundred and 
thirty-six dollars and fifty-one cents. 

In 1859 the tower and spire were finished, at an 
additional cost of twelve thousand one hundred and 
In 1875 
the brick chapel was erected, at a cost, including the 
furniture, of about seven thousand dollars, and paid 
for from a legacy given to the parish for the purpose 
by George E. Hatton, M.D., in his last will. The 
interior decorations, made by Mr. Arthur Noble in 
1882 and 1883, were also given by Mr. Cleveland, at 
an expense of three thousand five hundred dollars. 
The organ was also remodeled and enlarged in 1882, 
at the expense of Mr. J. W. Clark, the original donor. 
In 1881, Mr. Cleveland placed the chime of ten bells 
in the tower of the church, made by Meneely & Co., 
of Troy, N. Y., and costing five thousand three hun- 
dred and forty dollars. 

The services of the Roman Catholic Church began 


_ about the year 1846, and were at first held in private 





connected with the church edifice was much enlarged | 


and improved, at a cost of four thousand five hundred 
dollars. 

On the 7th day of December, 1856, St. Paul’s 
(Episcopal) Church, erected in 1846, was wholly 
consumed by fire, with its organ and all its contents. 
The loss was a severe one to the parish, and to 
the village, since it was a tasteful and attractive 
Both the Unitarian and Orthodox Con- 
gregational Churches immediately tendered the use of 


church. 


_O' Beirne. 


_and is known as St. Catherine’s Church. 


their houses of worship to the parish of St. Paul’s | 


Church, which offers were declined with thanks, and | 


the use of the court-room in the court-house was ob- 
tained for the purpose of holding their services. 
mediate measures were taken to rebuild the church of 


stone, and of somewhat larger proportions. The 
wealthier parishioners made large subscriptions. The 


ims} 


stone was given by the heirs of John Bullard, from 


their quarry about a mile and a half from the village. 
The architect was Arthur Gilman, of Boston, and I. 
& H. M. Harmon were the contractors. 
was finished and the tower carried up two stories. 
The organ was given by Mr. Joseph W. Clark, and 
the stained-glass windows, made by Doremus, of 
New York, were the gift of Mr. Ira Cleveland. The 
stone font was the gift of Mrs. K. F. Babcock, the 


wife of the rector. The cost of the church thus con- 


| Street, was built and completed in 1857. 
fession of faith now in use was adopted in March, | 


houses. Afterwards services were held in Temperance 
Hall until 1857. St. Mary’s Church, on Washington 
The Rev. 
P. O’Beirne, of Roxbury, was the priest who had 
charge of the parish from 1846 to 1866. The old 
meeting-house of the Universalist Society in South 
Dedham was sold in April, 1863, to the Rey. P. 
It has since been enlarged and improved, 
The Rey. 
J. P. Brennan had charge of the parish from 1866 to 
1877. 
portion of this time, and the Rev. D. J. O’Donavan 
The Rev. D. J. 
O’Donavan was the priest in charge from January, 
1877, to August, 1878. 

In June, 1866, Martin Bates, the owner of the 
hotel last known as the Norfolk House, and which 
had been kept as a hotel for many years, conveyed 


The Rev. J. D. Tierney was curate during a 


was curate during the remainder. 


that estate to Ann Alexis Shorb and others, Sisters 
of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, in trust for 
The 
Sisters of Charity had a school in this building from 
1867 to 1879, since which time it has been sus- 


pended. 


the use of St. Mary’s School and Asylum. 


The land and house for parsonage, and the adjoin- 


ing land for a church site, were purchased by the 


The church | 


Rev. J. P. Brennan in June, 1867. The Rey. 
Robert J. Johnson took charge of the parish in 
August, 1878, with the Rev. J. J. McNulty as 
In 1878 a church was built at East Ded- 
The 
Rey. Mr. Johnson now has charge over the two 
churches in Dedham and St. Catherine’s, in Norwood. 


curate. 
ham, and is known as St. Raphael’s Church. 


DEDHAM. 


79 





The corner-stone of the new church now being 
erected on High Street was laid Oct. 17,1880. It 
is one hundred and fifty feet in length, and sixty-six 
feet in width. It is being built of Dedham granite, 
and when completed will be the largest and most im- 
It is estimated that the 
number of Roman Catholics in Dedham is about two 


posing church of the town. 


thousand. The number of scholars in the Sunday- 
school of St. Mary’s Church is about four hundred. 
In 1852, a part of Dedham was set off to West 
Roxbury. Previous to this time the territory of 
Dedham had extended some distance north of Charles 
River, but by the legislative act of 1852 the centre 
of the channel of Charles River became the boundary- 


line between West Roxbury and Dedham, from Cow | 
Island Pond to a point about one hundred and fifty | 


rods easterly of Blue Rock Bridge. The same line 
is now the boundary-line between Dedham and 
Boston. 

In the same year, a small portion of the territory 
of Dedham was annexed to Walpole. A considerable 
portion of the village of East Walpole stands upon 
the portion of Dedham then annexed to Walpole. 

In 1853 the Dedham Gas-Light Company was in- 
corporated, with a capital of fifty thousand dollars. 
This company has its works at East Dedham. In 
1871 the name was changed to the Dedham and 
Hyde Park Gas Company, for the purpose of extend- 
ing its pipes to Hyde Park. This company continues 
to supply gas for lighting the streets and houses in 
Dedham village and East Dedham, and to some ex- 
tent in the neighboring town of Hyde Park. 

In 1862 the Dedham Historical Society was in- 
corporated ‘for the purpose of collecting and_pre- 
serving such books, newspapers, records, pamphlets, 
and traditions as may tend to illustrate and perpetuate 
the history of New England, and especially the his- 
tory of the town of Dedham.” ‘This society has a 
valuable collection, especially of books and pamphlets 


relating to the history of Dedham. It also has one 





of the hand corn-mills imported by Governor Win- | 
throp, a sermon by the Rey. John Allin printed in| 


1672, together with many other objects of interest. 
The society has needed for many years a suitable 
room or building where its collection could be ar- 
ranged and made accessible. or a number of years 
it has been stored in a small room in the court-house, 
but this is quite insufficient for the purpose. With 
a suitable building, and a fund sufficient for the care 
and preservation of its collection, this society would 
be able to attract to itself and its purposes a much 
greater interest than it has succeeded in doing here- 
tofore. 


| 





| themselves in perfecting their drill. 


The officers of the society for 1883-84 are Henry 
O. Hildreth, president; Alfred Heuries, vice-presi- 
dent ; Rev. Carlos Slafter, corresponding secretary ; 
Waldo Colburn, Erastus Worthington, Henry W. 
Richards, curators; A. Ward Lamson, George F. 
Fisher, auditors; Don Gleason Hill, historiographer ; 
George F. Fisher, chronicler. 


CHAP THR xt: 
DEDHAM—( Continued). 


The Civil War, 1861-65—Companies of Dedham Men—Their 
Services in the War—Commodore G. J. Van Brunt—Expenses 
of the War for Bounties and Aid to Soldiers’ Families—Me- 
morial Hall—Names of those who Fell Inscribed on the 
Tablets. 


Av the beginning of the civil war in 1861, there 
None had ex- 


There were a few men residing in 


was no militia company in Dedham. 
isted since 1842. 
Dedham who belonged to the regiments of volunteer 
militia, and they at once joined their companies and 
went to Washington for three months’ service. But 
the inhabitants of Dedham, while they differed as to 
the political causes of the war, were united in their 
efforts to sustain the President in his call for seventy- 
five thousand volunteers. The young men immedi- 
ately took steps to form a company, in anticipation 
that their services would soon be required. The 
ladies with great promptness forwarded to the Gov- 
ernor, on the 23d of April, sixty flannel shirts for 
the soldiers about to depart. The town, at a meeting 
legally called on the 6th of May, by formal resolution 
pledged itself “ to stand by the volunteers and protect 
their families during the war,” and appropriated ten 


thousand dollars for this general purpose. The first 


| company was formed early in May, and while waiting 


to be assigned to some regiment the men employed 
The town sup- 
plied them with uniforms, and allowed them com- 
In August, this 
company was mustered into the service of the United 
States as Company F, Eighteenth Regiment, Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was com- 
manded by Col. James Barnes, a graduate of West 
Point, an officer possessing high qualifications, as was 


pensation during a certain period. 


subsequently proved. All the commissioned officers 
and fifty-six men of this company belonged in Dedham, 
Its officers were Henry Onion, captain, with Charles 
W. Carroll as first lieutenant, and Fisher A. Baker as 
second lieutenant, the two latter having recently 


graduated from Dartmouth College. Nine Dedham 


80 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





men also enlisted in Company H of the same regi- | 


ment. On the 26th of August, they left for the seat 
of war. They parted from their friends expecting a 


short campaign and a speedy return, so little was the | 


nature of the conflict understood at its beginning. 
The regiment was assigned to Martindale’s brigade, 
and, after being engaged in drill and working on the 
fortifications of Washington, on the 26th of Septem- 
ber it took up its position at Hall’s Hill, Va. 
company spent the winter in camp. The ladies sent 


them a supply of garments, and the citizens generally 





Here the 


sent them a feast for New-Year’s day. Some of their | 


townsmen visited them in camp, and a few obtained 


furloughs to visit their homes. Three deaths oc- 


curred during the winter, Sergt. Damrell and privates | 


Guild and Stevens, whose remains were brought home 
for burial. 
On the 28th of October, 1861, Capt. Onion resigned 


his commission, and Lieut. Carroll was commissioned | 


as captain, Second Lieut. Baker as first lieutenant, and 
Edward M. Onion as second lieutenant. 
pany with its regiment served during the Peninsular 
campaign, but during all the battles before Richmond, 


the Kighteenth was detached from its brigade and did | 


not participate in the engagements. 


The com- | 


Private Jordan, | 


of Company H, who had left his company, was killed | 


while in the ranks of the Ninth Regiment. 
battle at Gaines’ Mills Adjt. Thomas Sherwin, of the 
Twenty-second Massachusetts Infantry, was wounded, 


In the | 


Cox, Sumner A. Ellis, Patrick Mears, and Isaac N. 
Parker were wounded, and soon after discharged by 
reason of their wounds. 

The first rumors of this disastrous battle reached 
Dedham on Sunday, Aug. 31, 1862. On the day 
previous, a telegraphic dispatch had been published 
that the enemy were retreating to the mountains. 
Special messengers had been sent to many of the 
towns near Boston, and the services in the churches 
of the village were interrupted with the announce- 
ment that a great battle had been fought, and a call 


made for lint, bandages, and stimulants. The re- 
ligious services were at once suspended, and men, 


Six- 


teen large packages of necessary articles, including a 


women, and children went to work with a will. 


large amount of clothing, bandages, lint, jellies, cor- 
dials, were sent on that Sunday afternoon, and more 
was afterwards dispatched. 

After the close of the Peninsular campaign the 
President had called for three hundred thousand men 
for three years, and the quota assigned to Massachu- 
Of this number the quota 
of Dedham was sixty-nine. In the autumn and winter 


setts was fifteen thousand. 


previous, a number of Dedham men had also enlisted 
in the Twentieth, ‘'wenty-second, and Twenty-fourth 
Massachusetts Infantry, and were then at the seat of 
war. The realities of war had been fully brought home 


tothe people, and the quota of Dedham was to be raised 


and was promoted major for gallant conduct, his com-— 


mission dating June 28th, the day succeeding the 
battle. 

In the series of battles prior to the second battle 
of Bull Run, the Highteenth bore a prominent part, 


being attached to Porter’s corps. In the battle of 


Bull Run it suffered severely. Of the Dedham com-— 


pany, seven were either killed or died afterwards of | 


wounds then received, and five others were wounded 


more or less severely. Among them was Carroll, the | 


brave young captain, who fell mortally wounded, and 
was left on the field within the enemy’s lines, where 
he died three days after. He was decently buried on 
the field, but his remains were subsequeutly brought 
Corp. Edward Holmes, privates Robert R. 
Covey, George O. Kingsbury, and Henry D. Smith 
were killed on the field. Edmund L. 
Thomas and George N. Worthen lingered, mortally 


home. 


Privates 


in view of them. ‘The recruiting was carried on under 
the direction of the selectmen thenceforward during 
On the 21st of July the town voted to pay 
a bounty of one hundred dollars to each volunteer, 
with aid to families, and appropriated six thousand 
nine hundred dollars for the bounties. A large and 
impressive meeting was held July 10th, before the 


the war. 


legal town-meeting. A roll was opened and a call 


made for volunteers. The first man to sign the roll 
was the father of the boy who had been killed at 


Gaines’ Mills. Another was a young man who had 


_ been recently graduated at Harvard College, and was 
ys ge, 


wounded, but a few days in the hospitals, and | 


died soon after, the former near Washington and the 
latter at Philadelphia. It is stated that of forty men 
of the company who were engaged, fourteen only came 
out unharmed. Of Company F, Corp. William 
Simpson and privates Elias W. Adams, Edward G. 


A third 


announced his purpose in earnest words, to which 


just beginning his professional studies. 


subsequently a severe wound received in battle, nearly 
a year’s confinement in four rebel prisons, and ad- 
hering to his regiment to the last day of its service, 
bore ample testimony. 

With such a spirit animating them, others were en- 
rolled, and soon the number was complete. Uniting 
with men from Needham and Weston, they consti- 
tuted Company I, Thirty-fifth Massachusetts Infantry, 
Col. Edward A. Wild. The captain was Sidney 
Willard, of Weston, but its first lieutenant was John 
Lathrop, and the second lieutenant was William Hill, 


DEDHAM. 


81 





both of Dedham. Without any opportunities for 
drill or organization, the regiment left Boston Aug. 
22, 1862, for the seat of war. On their arrival in 
Washington they were immediately assigned to the 
defenses of the city, throwing up earthworks and 





doing picket-duty. They were near their townsmen | 
who were in the EKighteenth Regiment, who had pre- | 
ceded them one year in the service, and they heard 
the guns around Centreville on the day of the dis- 
astrous battle of Bull Run. 

Both companies were now in the Army of the Po- 
tomac, the first having the discipline of veterans but | 
with thinned ranks, while the second, as yet imperfect _ 
in the duties of the soldier, was fresh and vigorous. | 
The Kighteenth still remained with Porter’s corps, and 
the Thirty-fifth was in the Ninth Corps, under Burn- 
side. ‘The army was then in motion towards Mary- 
land, to meet Lee in his first invasion of what may | 
be termed the neutral ground of the Rebellion. The 
necessities of those days were inexorable, and called | 
for long and rapid marches. 


Burnside’s corps started | 
first, and on the 14th September—only three weeks © 
after they had left their homes—our men of the | 
Thirty-fifth met the enemy at South Mountain. 
The Thirty-fifth on that day dislodged rebel sharp- 
shooters from au extensive tract of forest, and received 
a sharp attack from the enemy. Here private George | 
F. Whiting was mortally wounded, and died on the | 
7th of October. Sergt. Henry W. Tisdale and private | 
Clinton Bagley were wounded, the former severely. 
With no knowledge of battalion movements, and 
having had but a brief period for drill, this new 
regiment encountered the disciplined brigades of the | 
enemy, and stood the test firmly. 
But South Mountain was a prelude only to the | 
| 
| 





memorable battle of Antietam, three days after. | 
Porter’s corps, which left Washington on the 12th, | 
now joined the main army, and on the 17th supported | 
batteries in the battle. The Thirty-fifth was engaged | 
in the movements of Burnside’s corps, which had a | 
highly important part in the battle. They charged | 
the enemy, drove him over the bridge, and held the 
crest of the second hill beyond, until ordered to retire. 
They behaved with such steadiness and gallantry as 
to receive the highest encomiums of their commander. © 
Thus within a month from their departure from 
home this regiment had been twice on hard-fought | 
fields, and in the thickest of the battles. But they | 
had told fearfully upon the regiment. Of those pres- | 
ent, two-thirds of the officers and nearly one-third of | 
the men had been disabled. At Antietam, Corp. | 
Edward E. Hatton (a true man and a brave sol- | 


dier), and privates Charles H. Sulkoski and Joseph | 
6 


| the whole term of its service. 


thence to Baltimore. 


P. White, of South Dedham, were killed. Corp. 
Edmund Davis was very severely wounded, and 
six others were wounded more or less severely, of 
whom private Nathan C. Treadwell died about a 
month after. Besides these, there were two of the 
company killed and several wounded who belonged 
elsewhere. Such was the share of Company I in 
the glory and sacrifices of Antietam. 

Company F of the Eighteenth surtained no loss at 
Antietam, but at Shepardstown, on the 20th, they 
were engaged with their regiment, which lost three 
killed and eleven wounded. The Maryland campaign 
ended with the retirement of Lee into Virginia, and 
whither also returned the Army of the Potomac, but 
with unequal steps. 

Svon after the call under which Dedham had fur- 
nished sixty-nine men for the Thirty-fifth Regiment, 
there came yet another call from the President, with 
an order for a draft, to which Dedham was required 
to respond with one hundred and twenty-two men 
for nine months’ service. In anticipation of the 
draft, the town offered a bounty of two hundred dol- 
The short 
term of service was a great inducement to some who 
were unable to enlist for three years, and soon the 
requisite number was made up, almost exclusively 
from Dedham. ‘These chiefly constituted Company 
D, Forty-third Regiment Massachusetts Infantry. 
its captain was Thomas G. Whytal, of West Rox- 
bary, the first lieutenant, Edward A. Sumner, and 
the second lieutenant, James Schouler, both of Ded- 
ham. On the 24th of October, 1862, it was ordered 
to North Carolina, where it remained during nearly 


lars, with aid to families, to volunteers. 


The regiment was 
under fire at Kinston and Whitehall in December. 
The Dedham company, with two others, was detached 
for picket-duty for a time, and afterwards marched 
with the regiment on Trenton; was ordered to the 
relief of Little Washington, and encountered the 
enemy at Blount’s Creek. It was then occupied in 
picket-duty and those other nameless duties which 
constitute so large a part of a soldier’s life in camp. 
On the 27th of June it was ordered to report to Gen. 
Dix, and proceeded to White House, on the Pamun- 
key, in Virginia, thence to Fortress Monroe, and 
On the 7th of July, the term 
of service having expired, it was left to the option of 
the men to go to the front (this being immediately 
after the battle of Gettysburg), or to return home, 
and two hundred of the regiment remained, among 
whom were thirteen of the Dedham company. These 
returned home July 21st, and all were mustered out 
July 30, 1863. 


82 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Such briefly is the record of the company of nine 
months’ men. But one of its number had died, and | 
his was an accidental death at Readville. It will not | 
do, however, to infer from this that their service was 
light or unimportant. They were in a department 
where no considerable active operations were carried — 
But whenever | 


on during their term of service. 
called upon, as they often were, for special duty, © 
their record shows it was well performed; and there 
is no doubt but they would have acquitted themselves | 
with honor in any exigency of the service. 

Nothing decisive had occurred with the Army of 
the Potomac after the battle of Antietam until the — 
13th of December, 1862, when occurred that saddest | 
of all the battles of the war, the assault upon Fred- 
The army was now under Burnside, and 


ericksburg. 
his name is inseparably associated with that ill-_ 
starred movement. In this assault, both of the com- 
panies bore a very prominent part. The Highteenth | 
was the leading regiment of its corps, and on the 
13th, having remained until one o’clock on the oppo- 
site side of the river, then crossed and engaged in the 
battle, which lasted until dark. The regiment 
charged the enemy and nearly penetrated his forti- 
fied position and stronghold on Mary’s Heights, 
when it was compelled to return. It rallied again, | 
however, and was in advance of the corps throughout | 
the battle. The record adds: “It is believed that the | 
dead of this regiment lay nearer the enemy’s works 

than those of any other engaged upon that part of the - 
field.” Two Dedham men in this regiment were 
killed, privates Jonathan H. Keyes and Daniel 
Leahey, and several were wounded. 
lost in this engagement two officers and eleven men 


rem het =) 
killed, and nine officers and one hundred and twelve 





men wounded. 

The position of the Thirty-fifth was scarcely less 
exposed, being in the advance of its corps, and they 
They held 


received a deadly fire at short range. 


The regiment | 





their ground until, their ammunition being exhausted, | 


their brigade was relieved. 
but one to leave Fredericksburg. The gallant Maj. 

Willard, who commanded the regiment in the assault, 

was mortally wounded while leading his men sword 

He was the first captain of Company I, 

although not a resident of Dedham. Lieut. William 

Hill, of Company I, but who on that day was in 

command of Company K, and private George C. 

Bunker were killed on the heights and buried on the | 
field. 

wounded more or less severely. 
the regiment was about sixty. The survivors of both | 


in hand. 


Four Dedham soldiers of this company were | 
The whole loss of | 


companies may recall with satisfaction and soldierly 


It was the last regiment | 


pride the deeds performed on that bloody and unsuc- 
cessful day at Fredericksburg. 

The army now ceased active operations until the 
spring of 1863, when Gen. Hooker assumed command, 
and it entered upon the Chancellorsville campaign. On 
the 2d and 3d of May the Highteenth was engaged, 
and lost one officer and thirteen men killed, but none 
of these were from Dedham. In the Second Massa- 
chusetts Infantry, private Michael Henihan, a Ded- 
ham soldier, was killed, his being the only name in 
that heroic regiment of a Dedham man who was killed 
during the war. 

The Thirty-fifth had now been detached from the 
Army of the Potomac and sent to another and dis- 
tant department. In March, 1863, it had proceeded 
with the reorganized Ninth Corps ( Burnside’s) to the 
Southwest, where its services were much needed. 
Thence 
it was transported down the Mississippi to the vi- 
cinity of Vicksburg, where the men threw up earth- 
They were now with the Army 
of the Tennessee, under the command of Gen. Grant. 
Under Sherman, after the surrender of Vicksburg, 
they marched into the interior of Mississippi in pur- 
suit of the force of Gen. Johnston. After days of 
toilsome and painful marches, with frequent. skir- 


April and May it passed in Kentucky. 


works and defenses. 


mishing and a brief siege, they captured Jackson, 
the capital of the State. Here the Thirty-fifth had 
the honor of being the first regiment to plant its 
colors within the city, pulling down the rebel ensign 
from the State-House and of throwing to the breeze 
the stars and stripes. In this campaign, private 
David Phalen died in camp of disease. In August, 
the regiment almost exactly retraced its steps, and on 


the Ist of October was in Kentucky. 


The Army of the Potomac, in the mean time, had 
again moved into Maryland and Pennsylvania to repel 
Lee’s second invasion. In the great victory of Get- 
tysburg the Highteenth was engaged, and lost one 
man killed and thirteen wounded, but the name of 
But Ded- 
ham was not without its representative in the sacrifices 
of that victorious field. On the 3d of July, Sergt. 
Edward Hutchins, of the First Company Andrews’ 
Sharpshooters, received his death-wound, and lin- 


no Dedham soldier appears among them. 


gered but two hours. He was a faithful and fearless 
soldier, and one well qualified for his peculiar service. 
The Highteenth was in the battle at Rappahannock 
Station, Nov. 7th, and at Mine Creek on the 29th 
and 30th of the same month. These concluded its ' 
campaigns in 1863. 

The Thirty-fifth, in October, marched across the 
mountains through Cumberland Gap to Knoxville, 


DEDHAM. 


83 





Tenn. It was engaged at Loudon Bridge and Camp- 
bell’s Station, and afterwards fell back to Knoxville, 
then besieged by the enemy under Gen. Longstreet. 
It was during this campaign, that private Charles 


| 


| 


Henry Ellis, the regimental clerk, was taken prisoner, | 
was confined in Belle Isle prison, and, it is supposed, 


died in Richmond the succeeding year. 
winter, the regiment suffered much for want of food 


During this | 


and clothing. In March its Western campaign ended, | 


and it was transported again to Annapolis, Md., where 
the Ninth Corps was again reorganized. 


We are now brought to the last and greatest act | 
of the drama,—Grant’s overland campaign,—which | 


on the one hand is characterized as ‘‘a campaign un- 
surpassed by any on record in the elements which 
make war grand, terrible, and bloody,” but on the 
other, it should also be said, a campaign invested 
with a glory that will never fade, since it brought 
a victory and peace. At home the summer and 
autumn of 1864 were the darkest period of the war. 


| battle. 





the Eighteenth was engaged in skirmishing and in 
assaults upon intrenchments. No fatal casualties 
occurred among our Dedham men, but Col. Hayes 
was severely wounded, and several were killed and 
wounded in the regiment. 

The Thirty-fifth, with the Ninth Corps, crossed 
the Rapidan two days later, and passing over the 
battle-grounds at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, 
arrived in the Wilderness during the second day’s 
In the movement towards Spottsylvania the 
Fifth Corps were charged with the duty of seizing 
Spottsylvania Court-House. Both the Fifth and 
Ninth Corps were in line of battle on the north of 
Spottsylvania. Here occurred one of the most fierce 


and deadly struggles of the war. In the engagement 


_ of the 18th of May the Thirty-fifth participated. The 
result of the battles leaving the Union lines intact, 





_each other at the North Anna River. 


Men had learned to feel the dread perils of battle | 


to the cause of the country, as well as to the lives of 
our soldiers. 


All available able-bodied men had been | 


sent to the field. The draft, like a heavy cloud, | 


brooded over the community. A Presidential cam- 


paign had intervened to divide men in their counsels, | 


if it did not destroy their harmony of action. The 
country seemed to rest under a shadow which nothing 
could dispel. It was, however, the darkness which 
precedes the dawn, though the day was as yet afar 
off. 

Again the two Dedham companies were in Vir- 
ginia; the Eighteenth Regiment being in Ayre’s 
brigade, Fifth Corps (Warren's), numbering about 
three hundred men. The Thirty-fifth remained in 
the Ninth Corps, with about two hundred and fifty 
men ready for duty. The corps was still under 
Burnside, whose command was independent of Gen. 
Meade, then commanding the Army of the Potomac. 
All acted under the orders of Gen. Grant. 

On the 3d of May, 1864, at midnight, the march 
began, the Fifth Corps having the right of the 


column. On the 5th of May, while reconnoitring for | 


the enemy, the Highteenth was the first regiment to 
encounter Kwell’s corps, then moving in pursuit. 
The first infantry man killed in the campaign be- 


longed to the Highteenth, and it received the brunt | 
of the first assault of the enemy in the battles of the | 


Wilderness. 
lasting three days, where neither cavalry nor artillery 


During all those marvelous battles 


| quent skirmishes with the enemy. 


could be used, where “not only were the lines of | 


battle entirely hidden from the sight of the com- 


mander, but no officer could see ten files from him,” © 


another turning movement was determined upon. On 
the 20th of May the hostile armies again confronted 
The Kight- 
eenth, crossing at Jericho Ford, was then detached 
from its brigade to occupy an eminence where it was 
exposed to a heavy fire from Hill’s corps, during 
which assault Lieut.-Col. White was wounded. The 
Thirty-fifth crossed on the 24th, when it began a 
brilliant skirmish, followed by the whole brigade. 
The enemy were driven into their works, but a sud- 
den storm and a fresh force of the enemy compelled 
the regiment to retire. 

On the 23d of May, at the battle on the North 
Anna River, Sergt. John Finn, Jr., Twenty-second 
Massachusetts Infantry,—a Dedham soldier who had 
well earned promotion,—received a wound on his 
arm which rendered amputation necessary, and he 
died from its effects on the 5th of June. 

Another flank movement of the Union army turned 
it towards the Chickahominy, ‘“‘a wet ditch on the 
outer fortifications of Richmond,” and a place of sad 
memories for soldiers of the campaign of 1862. 
But before the passage of the Chickahominy, another 
fearful battle awaited them at Cold Harbor. War- 
ren’s corps, a few days previous, had encountered 
the enemy on the Shady Church road, where a 
branch of the Tolopotomy crossed it, and had fre- 
While near 
Bethesda Church, and holding a line nearly four 
miles in extent, the enemy fell upon it with great 
vigor and inflicted a considerable loss. In the assault 
at Cold Harbor, the Fifth Corps did not actively par- 
ticipate. The Ninth Corps was partially engaged, 
and the Thirty-fifth was employed in throwing up 
But in that bloody battle Dedham had 
The 


earthworks. 
a representative in the list of the killed. 


84 





Twentieth Massachusetts Infantry was with the Sec- 
ond Corps (Hancock’s) holding the left of the assault- 
ing column. On the 3d of June, private Albert C. 
Bean, of Company I, was wounded, and died five days 
after. On the 7th of June, the Highteenth reached 


the Chickahominy, and, after some days’ skirmishing, | 
? ? teaP) | 


crossed on the 15th of June. ‘They passed the 
James on the 16th of June, and marched directly 
to the fortifications in front of Petersburg. Here 
they were engaged in throwing up earthworks in the 


On the 5th of July, private 


presence of the enemy. 


Cyrus D. Tewksbury, who had served from the be- | 


ginning, was killed,—the last man of the Eighteenth 
to fall in battle. It is a somewhat curious fact, and 


perhaps worthy of mention, that the first of the Ded- | 
ham men who fell in battle in 1862 and the last just | 


named, were cousins, both belonging to the same 
company and regiment, and died on fields not many 
miles distant from each other. 

The Kighteenth had now reached nearly the end 
of its term of service of three years, and on the 20th 


of July it was ordered to Washington in anticipation | 


of discharge. Twelve of our Dedham men had re- 


enlisted, and these, together with those whose term | 


was not ended, remained with the Highteenth Bat- 
talion and did good service. When the officers were 
mustered out, this battalion was merged in the 
Thirty-second Regiment. Among these men was 
private Henry C. Everett, who died in Washington 
Jan. 19, 1865. 

On the 3d of September, 1864, the old Eighteenth 
was mustered out of service, and its honorable record 
closed. 
Of the fifty-eight who enlisted from Dedham, eleven 
had fallen on the field, six had died from disease and 
wounds received in battle, eight had been discharged 
by reason of wounds, and thirteen by reason of dis- 
Of the whole com- 
pany, twenty-three men had either died or fallen in 
battle. 

The regiment bore an honorable part in nearly all 


ability resulting from wounds. 


the great general battles of the Army of the Potomag, | 
except those of the Peninsula before Richmond, and | 
- 9th of April occurred the surrender of Lee at Appomat- 
tox Court-House, and at last peace had come, crowned 


its tattered battle-flag bears no stain, save from the 


blood of its defenders. While often called to share in 


It had participated in some fifteen battles. | 


1 
| 
| 


| 


| 








the defeat of the Army of the Potomac, yet in the | 
_ review at Washington, May 23d, reached Massachu- 


darkest hours of the war it kept its high discipline, 
unswerving fidelity, and patriotic faith; and although 
it did not see the days of final victory, it aided in 
accomplishing those unparalleled movements, and 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





| which they accomplished. 


were welcomed with fitting ceremonies, in which all 
joined with grateful hearts, though sensible that the 
formalities of a public occasion but inadequately ex- 
pressed their debt of gratitude. 

The men of the Thirty-fifth were now destined to 
bear a part in the siege of Petersburg and the closing 
At first they were employed “ in throw- 
ing up earthworks and batteries, laying down abattis,”’ 
and in the construction of works necessary for a be- 
At the memorable explosion of the 
“Mine,” July 30th, it was their duty to advance, 
after the explosion, and turn the works of the enemy, 
Private Michael Colbert 
was killed in the advance of the regiment over the 
works, and the regiment lost one officer and nine men 
killed, and three officers and twenty-eight men 
The dead were buried under a flag of 
Being now in the immediate presence of the 


campaign. 


sieging army. 


wounded. 
truce. 
enemy, they were frequently engaged, and suffered 
considerable losses, especially while in position on the 
Weldon Railroad. At Poplar Spring Church, Septem- 
ber 30th, the regiment was repulsed by an attack on the 
right and rear, with a loss of nine killed and one 
hundred and fifty prisoners. In the same action John 
W. Fiske, formerly a sergeant in Company I, but re_ 
cently promoted to be first lieutenant in the Fifty- 
eighth Massachusetts Infantry, which was also en- 
gaged, was killed, and buried on the field. He was 
an efficient officer, and much beloved. 

Nothing decisive occurred to the regiment during 
the winter of 1864-65. In March, 1865, it was re- 
moved to a part of Fort Sedgwick, about four hun- 
dred yards from the enemy’s works,—a post of great 
danger, being subject to an almost continuous fire,— 
where it remained one month. On the 2d of April 
it assaulted Fort Mahone, the rebel work opposite, 
and held a portion of it. During the same night, 
Petersburg was evacuated by the enemy, and on the 
next morning the men had the proud satisfaction of 
marching through the streets of Petersburg with 
colors flying, band playing, and of receiving, with 
shouts of victory and welcome, the President of the 
United States as he rode along their lines. On the 


with honor and victory. The regiment passed in 


setts on the 13th of June, and was mustered out of 


| service on the 27th. 


fighting those continuous battles, which made com- 


plete victory possible at the last. 
home of the few brave men left of the company, they 


Upon the return | 


The Thirty-fifth saw nearly three years of active 
and arduous service, beginning almost with the day 
of its arrival in the field. On its colors are in- 
scribed, by an order of Gen. Meade, the names of 





DEDHAM. 


85 





thirteen battles, to which was afterwards added a 
fourteenth. The record shows that its campaigns 
were not limited to a State or a department, but that 
in Kentucky, East Tennessee, and Mississippi, as well 
as in Maryland and Virginia, it was actively em- 


ployed. 


among the most exposed to the enemy, and sometimes | 


in the most deadly conflicts. Indeed, it became a 
proverb among the soldiers that the commanding 
officer of the Thirty-fifth was sure to be struck down 


in every engagement. Of the sixty-eight who en- 


listed from Dedham, six were killed in battle, and | 


one more died soon after of his wounds, five died in 
the service from disease, eight were discharged on 
account of their wounds, and eleven for disability. 

At the expiration of their service it was desired to 
give the men a public welcome, but with a soldierly 
modesty they declined the invitation, saying they 


preferred to pass without ceremony from the life of | 


the soldier to that of the citizen. They went when 
days were dark, and men were few; they returned 
when the anthems of victory were resounding through 
the land, and they would have received shouts of wel- 
come and of gratitude. 
their trials, they were true to themselves, and chose 


the conscious rewards of duty done, rather than the’. 


loud plaudits of their fellow-citizens. 


The roll of the dead is not yet complete. In other | 


regiments than those to which reference has been 
made—both of Massachusetts and of other States— 
are to be found the names of men born and reared in 
Dedham. The Twenty-fourth, Twenty-eighth, Thirty- 
ninth, and Fifty-sixth Massachusetts Infantry each 


had one man from Dedham among those killed in | 


battle. From two regiments of Massachusetts cav- 


alry three names appear. ‘Three died as prisoners of 


war, without a friend to minister to their last neces- | 


sities, or even to raise for them a humble headstone. 


In many of its battles its position was 


Yet in their triumphs, as in| 





gles of those memorable years. The record of her 
brave sons who marched to the battle-fields of the 
war is one of which she has always been proud, and 
has been ready to perpetuate. 


Besides those who served in the army during the 
war of the Rebellion, there were a number who had 
various positions in the navy. Prominent among 
these was Commodore Gershom J. Van Brunt, for 
| many years a resident of Dedham. He was a native 
of New Jersey, and entered the service from that 
State in 1818. In the spring of 1861, he was as- 
signed to the command of the steam frigate ‘“ Minne- 
sota,’ was employed in the severe and trying blockade 





service at Hampton Roads, and also took an important 
He 
| was subsequently intrusted with the supervision and 
_ equipment of the expedition to New Orleans under 
Gen. Banks, and at the time of his death was acting, 


part in the reduction of the Hatteras forts. 


under the orders of the War Department, as inspector 
of transports for the New England district. He 
received his commission as commodore in July, 
1862. He died at his residence in Dedham, Dec. 
17, 1863. Those who 
days of the Rebellion, or who knew of his service 


saw him in the early 
afterwards, will not soon forget his fervent zeal, lofty 
patriotism, and unswerving faith in the ultimate 
triumph of the flag of his country. 

The town was liberal in its appropriations of money 
| for bounties and aid to soldiers’ families during the 


war. The raising of each quota of men required 


large sums of money and for a considerable period 
the constant efforts of the selectmen, who were 


officially charged with the business of obtaining vol- 
unteers. A statement of moneys expended during 
' the war, made in 1868, is probably nearly accurate. 
It is taken from the appendix to the pamphlet con- 
taining the exercises at the dedication of Memorial 


Hall, Sept. 29, 1868: 


In that hecatomb at Fort Wagner—where the negro — 


so nobly vindicated his right to the name and fame of | 
Vir- | 
ginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia hold the ashes of | 


the soldier—Dedham had one representative. 


Dedham men, and at the battle of Cane River, in 
Louisiana, while leading his men to the charge, Capt. 


Julius M. Lathrop fell, closing a long and honorable | 
service, in which rank was nobly earned, with a tri- 


umphant and peaceful death. 
In this general survey of the services rendered by 
Dedham soldiers in the field during the civil war, no 


biographies of the heroic dead have been attempted. — 


But among them were true and noble men, whose 
memories are, gratefully cherished in Dedham. 


The 


old town had its full share in the sacrifices and strug- — 


Amount Expended by the Town of Dedham for Soldiers’ Boun- 
ties and Aid of Soldiers’ Families during the War of the 
Rebellion. 

Whole number of men raised and mustered into the military 
and naval service, six hundred and seventy-two. 

| Company F, Eighteenth Regiment Massachusetts 

Infantry—59 men. 


For outfit, uniforms, ete., under vote 





Of May 6) 1861 ioc. ccccceccccssescscasses $1591.66 
For drill, under votes of May 6 and 
Maryn 21, US6L eo cc .cccisceccesco-nsseo0sse 2573.15 
| For further pay for drill under vote 
| Of UMOrA MSG Oeeeteteeceteesnsenectras 4650.00 
| — $8,814.81 
| Company I, Thirty-fifth Regiment Massachusetts 
Infantry—69 men. 
For bounties under vote of July 21, 1862 ($100), 6,900.00 


86 





Company D, Forty-third Regiment Massachusetts 
Infantry, and other nine months’ men—126 
men. 

For bounties under votes of Aug. 25, 
and Sept. 15, 1862 ($200) ........... 
For expenses of enlistment 


$25,200.00 
520.00 


$25,720.00 





Men enlisted in other regiments and in navy, in- 
cluding substitutes provided by individuals— 








418 men. 
For bounties under votes of April 4 
and July 25, 1864.......0ccssesessossse $20,950.00 
For expense of recruiting, estimated 
AUnewecaras(snscecasaecislee reseeaucrnat setlocetls 600.00 
27,456.00 
Estimated amount expended in aid of soldiers’ 
families, exclusive of State aid........... ass 16,200.00 
Amount of State aid (nominally reimbursed to | 
EHOMtOWH) feccenciccase Seececcleeteccessccevesivecorsecaeract 51,000.00 





$136,090.81 


During the year 1864, thirty-four enrolled men procured 


substitutes in the military and naval service, at an expense to | 


themselves of not less than $20,000. 


Not long after the close of the war the erection of 
a soldiers’ monument was proposed, and was consid- 


ered in town-meeting. But at a town-meeting held 


May 7, 1866, it was voted to erect a building to be 
ealled “‘ Memorial Hall,” the walls to be of Dedham | 


granite. Its purposes were to provide a suitable place 
for the transaction of all the public business of the 
town, and also a suitable memorial of the soldiers of 
Dedham who had died in the service of their country. 


The land was purchased by subscription, and presented — 


to the town for the purpose. The building was begun 


in the course of the year, and was finished in the | 
The cost of the building, me- | 


summer of 1868. 
morials, furniture of the hall, and the grading of the 


lot, including expense of the committee and architect, | 


was less than forty-seven thousand dollars. The size 


of the building, the general arrangement of the rooms, | 


and the manner of locating the building and the lot, 


were determined by the committee. The architect was | 


Mr. Henry Van Brunt, and the memorials were de- 
signed by him, but the committee are responsible for 
the inscriptions. In some particulars the committee 
did not adopt the designs of the architect, and in 
others, though they adopted his designs, they did not 
adopt the designs considered most appropriate by him 
The stone- and brick-work was done by D. G. Corliss 
& Co., of Quiney. 

The following is a brief description of the building : 

The design, which was by Messrs. Ware & Van 
Brunt, architects, of Boston, recalls the provincial 
town-halls of England in outline and general char- 
acter, and is carried out in the peculiar, warm, yellow 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





granite of the neighborhood, relieved by bands of 
blue Quincy granite. Its main exterior dimensions 
are one hundred and four by sixty-four feet on the 
ground, with an elevation of thirty-four feet to the 
cornice, and eighty-five feet to the summit of the 
tower, which surmounts the middle division of the 
front on Washington Street. On this front, in the 
most conspicuous place over the main entrance, is 
inserted a large tablet of Quincy granite, decorated 
with oak leaves and a crown of laurel, and bearing this 
inscription : 
“To Commemorate 
The Patriotism and Fidelity 
Of Her Sons 
Who Fell 
In Defence of The Union, 
In The War 
Of The Rebellion, 
Dedham 
Erects This Hall. 


A.D. 
MDCCCLXVII.” 


In the main vestibule, from which stairs to the 
right and left conduct to the hall above, in a broad 
niche facing the entrance, are five marble tablets in a 
Gothic framework of black walnut. The central tab- 
let, which is enriched by a carved canopy supported 
by columns, bears this inscription : 


<The 
Town of Dedham 
Has Caused 
To Be Inscribed Upon 
These Tablets, 


be names of ber Sons, 
Who Fell 
Representing Her, 
an Defence of the Union, 
In The War Of 
The Rebellion—1861-1865, 
And In Whose Honor 
She Has Erected 
This Hall.” 


~~ 


UH 


The tablets on either side contain the names of 
forty-six soldiers, with the rank, date, and place of 
death in each case, arranged in order of regiments. 

The following is the list of names on these tablets : 


Michael Heniban, Co. F, 2d Regt.; killed at Chancellorsville 
May 3, 1863, aged twenty-five. 

Charles W. Carroll, capt. Co. F, 18th Regt.; wounded at 2d 
battle of Bull Run Aug. 30, 1862; died Sept. 2, 1862, aged 
twenty-six. 

Robert R. Covey, Co. F, 18th Regt.; killed at 2d battle of Bull 
Run Aug. 30, 1862, aged thirty-six. 

Edward G. Cox, Co. F, 18th Regt.; wounded at 2d battle of 
Bull Run Aug. 30, 1862; died Oct. 22, 1864, aged twenty- 
five. 

Henry C. Everett, Co. F, 18th Regt.; died Jan. 19, 1865, aged 
twenty-two. 





DEDHAM. 


87 








Edward Holmes, corp. Co. F, 18th Regt.; killed at 2d battle 
of Bull Run Aug. 30, 1862, aged twenty-six. 

Jonathan H. Keyes, Co. F, 18th Regt.; killed at Fredericks- 
burg Dec. 13, 1862, aged twenty. 


George 0. Kingsbury, Co. F, 18th Regt.; killed at 2d battle of 


Bull Run Aug. 30, 1862, aged nineteen. 

Daniel Leahy, Co. F, 18th Regt.; killed at Fredericksburg 
Dec. 13, 1862, aged twenty-eight. 

Leonard W. Minot, Co. F, 18th Regt.; died April 23, 1862, 
aged twenty. 


Henry D. Smith, Co. F, 18th Regt.; killed at 2d battle of Bull | 
| John W. Fiske, Ist lieut. Co. B, 58th Regt.; killed at Poplar 


Run Aug. 30, 1862, aged thirty. 

Nelson R. Stevens, Co. F, 18th Regt.; died March 1, 1862, 
aged nineteen. 

Edmund L. Thomas, Co. F, 18th Regt.; wounded at 2d battle 
of Bull Run Aug. 30, 1862; died Sept. 16, 1862, aged 
nineteen. 

George N. Worthen, Co. F, 18th Regt.; wounded at 2d battle 
of Bull Run Aug. 30, 1862; died Sept. 4, 1862, aged 
twenty-four. 

Horace S. Damrell, sergt. Co. H, 18th Regt.; died March 7, 
1862, aged nineteen. 





Julius M. Lathrop, capt. Co. I, 38th Regt.; wounded at Cane 
River April 23, 1864; died April 26, 1864, aged twenty- 
three. 

Charles L. Carter, Co. E, 39th Regt.; died a prisoner of war 
Feb. 8, 1865, aged twenty-three. 

James J. Hawkins, Co. D, 43d Regt.; died Nov. 4, 1862, aged 
twenty-five. 

John H. Bancroft, Co. A, 54th Regt.; killed at Fort Wagner 
July 18, 1863, aged twenty-four. 

Anson F. Barton, Co. G, 56th Regt.; died Oct. 7, 1864, aged 
eighteen. 


Spring Church Sept. 30, 1864, aged twenty-three. 


| William H. Tillinghast, Co. E, 1st Cav.; killed at Deep Bottom 


Aug. 14, 1864, aged forty. 


| Joseph T. Stevens, corp. Co. I, Ist Cav.; died March 31, 1862, 


Oscar S. Guild, Co. H, 18th Regt.; died Feb. 22, 1862, aged | 


seventeen. 
Joseph M. Jordan, Co. H, 18th Regt.; killed at Gaines’ Mills 
June 27, 1862, aged eighteen. 


Cyrus D. Tewksbury, Co. H, 18th Regt.; killed at Petersburg | 


July 5, 1864, aged twenty-four. 

Albert C. Bean, Co. I, 20th Regt.; wounded at Cold Harbor 
June 3, 1864; died June 8, 1864, aged thirty. 

John Finn, Jr., sergt. Co. B, 22d Regt.; wounded at North 
Anna River May 23, 1864; died June 5, 1864, aged 
twenty-three. 

William Heath, Co. I, 22d Regt.; accidentally shot at Hall’s 
Hill Dec. 7, 1862, aged twenty-five. 


David Fletcher, Co. I, 28d Regt.; killed at Whitehall, N.C., | 


Dec. 16, 1863, aged forty-two. 

Charles W. Phipps, Co. A, 24th Regt.; killed at Deep Bottom 
Aug. 16, 1864, aged twenty-seven. 

Edward Sheehan, Co. B, 28th Regt.; died Nov. 17, 1863, aged 
forty-three. 

John H. Birch, Co. I, 35th Regt.; died Aug. 15, 1863, aged 
thirty-two. 

George C. Bunker, Co. I, 35th Regt.; killed at Fredericksburg 
Dec. 138, 1862, aged twenty-one. 

Michael Colbert, Co. I, 35th Regt.; killed at Petersburg July 

30, 1864, aged thirty. . 
1863, aged twenty-eight. 

Charles H. Ellis, corp. Co. I, 35th Regt.; died a prisoner of 
war Feb. 27, 1864, aged thirty. 

Edward E. Hatton, corp. Co. I, 35th Regt.; killed at Antietam 
Sept. 17, 1862, aged twenty-two. 

William Hill, 1st lieut. Co. I, 35th Regt.; killed at Fredericks- 
burg Dee. 13, 1862, aged thirty. 

David Phalen, Co. I, 35th Regt.; died July 30, 1863, aged 
forty-eight. 


Sept. 17, 1862, aged twenty. 

Nathan C. Treadwell, Co. I, 35th Regt.; wounded before Rich- 
mond Sept. 28, 1862; died Oct. 26, 1862, aged nineteen. 

Joseph P,. White, Co. I, 35th Regt.; killed at Antietam Sept. 
17, 1862, aged twenty-five. 

George F. Whiting, Co. I, 35th Regt.; wounded at South 
Mountain Sept. 14, 1862; died Oct. 5, 1862, aged twenty- 
seveDe 








| 
| 


| 


aged twenty-nine. 

Albert 0. Hammond, Co. M, 2d Cav.; died Sept. 12, 1864, aged 
twenty-eight. 

John E. Richardson, 4th Cay.; died a prisoner of war in 1864, 
aged nineteen. 

Edward Hutchins, sergt. Andrew Sharpshooters; killed at 
Gettysburg July 3, 1863, aged thirty-six. 

The first floor is occupied by two rooms for the 
town officers, a room for the school committee, and a 
small hall, besides two rooms rented for stores. The 
main hall on the second floor is fifty-six by ninety feet, 
with a balcony at the entrance and an ample stage 
opposite, from which there is ready retirement to 
four committee-rooms, all of which are accessible 
from Church Street by a private entrance and stair- 
ease. The hall is capable of accommodating one 
thousand people. The building throughout is finished 
with chestnut. In 1881, steam heating apparatus 
was provided, the hall received a new floor and other 
repairs, and its walls and ceilings were elaborately 
decorated in colors, at a cost of $4667.53. 

A fine copy of Stuart’s large portrait of Washing- 
ton in Faneuil Hail, executed by Alvan Fisher, an 
artist who resided many years in Dedham, and who 
died in 1863, was placed in the hall by his widow. 


|The copy of Stuart’s portrait of Fisher Ames was 


John G. Dymond, corp. Co. I, 35th Regt.; died March 29, presented by Judge Seth Ames, and the portrait 


of Lincoln was procured by subscription. The clock 
was the gift of Mr. John Bullard, of New York, a 
native of Dedham. 

On the 29th day of September, 1868, the hall was 
dedicated. The occasion was one of great interest. 
The principal address was delivered by Erastus Wor- 


_thington, and contained a historical account of the 


Charles H. Sulkoski, Co. I, 35th Regt.; killed at Antietam | services of the Dedham soldiers during the war. 


Addison Boyden was the president of the day. The 
report of the building committee was briefly made by 
Waldo Colburn, and the keys delivered to Ezra W. 
Taft, chairman of the selectmen, who responded with 
appropriate remarks. Original hymns, written by 
Mrs. William J. Adams and William Everett, were 


88 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





sung, and a patriotic poem delivered by Horace H. 
Currier. The address and poem, with the other ex- 
ercises of the day, were published by the town. Ap- 
pended to these is a roll of officers and men from the 
town of Dedham who served in the army or navy of 
the United States during the war. 


CHAP THR Scr 


DEDHAM—( Continued). 


Readville Annexed to Hyde Park—Dedham Public Library— 
Incorporation of Norwood—Death of Rev. Dr. Babcock— 
Steam Fire-Engine—Dedham Water Company—Temporary 
Asylum for Discharged Female Prisoners—Oakdale—Church 
of the Good Shepherd—Islington—Congregational Chureh— 
New Colburn School-House—Brookdale Cemetery—Town 
Seal—Conclusion. 


Own the 22d day of April, 1868, the town of Hyde 
Park was incorporated, including within its limits 
that portion of the territory of Dedham known as 
Readville. 
turing village, but its proximity to the village of Hyde 
Park, which had grown up quite rapidly, had served to 
increase its population. During the war, the plains on 
both sides of the Boston and Providence Railroad and 
between Sprague Street and the New York and New 
England Railroad had been used as a place of ren- 
dezvous for the regiments about to depart for the 
seat of war. 


For many years this had been a manufac- 


From the summer of 1861 to the close 
of the war, these plains were almost continuously oc- 
cupied by the camps of the newly-raised regiments, 
and presented a warlike scene. 
Park was made from the territory of Dorchester, 
Dedham, and Milton. The number of acres taken 
from Dedham was eight hundred and eighty-six. 
The taxable valuation of Readville May 1, 1867, 
was four hundred and seventy-five thousand, eight 
It was estimated 
that Dedham lost by the annexation of Readville to 
Hyde Park, about one-tenth of its population, one- 


hundred and forty-four dollars. 


eleventh of its valuation, and one-twentieth of its 
territory. The town appointed a committee to ap- 


pear before the legislative committee and oppose the 


. annexation of the whole of the territory asked for in | 


the petition, but the Legislature gave substantially 
all the territory the petitioners desired. 

In 1871, a corporation was established by the 
Legislature, under the name of the Dedham Public 
Library. It is a private corporation, and the num- 


But the 


purposes for which it was created were to form and 


ber of its members is limited to thirty. 


The town of Hyde | 





maintain a public library and reading-room in Ded- 
ham, and the act of incorporation provides that so 
long as said corporation shall allow the inhabitants 
of Dedham free access to its library and reading-room, 
under reasonable regulations, the town may annually 
appropriate and pay to said corporation a sum not 
exceeding one dollar on each of its rateable polls. It 
is therefore a private corporation for the purpose of 
maintaining a free public library. The corporation 
was organized in November, 1871. About three 
thousand volumes were transferred to it by the Ded- 
ham Library Association, which had existed for some 
years previously. A fair was held by the ladies, on 
Feb. 22, 1871, which was very successful, and raised 
for the funds of the corporation, upwards of four 
Soon after, Mr. Charles Bullard 
left by his will the sum of three thousand dollars, 
the income to be expended in the purchase of books. 
In 1876, Dr. Danforth P. Wight left by his will the 
sum of one thousand dollars for the same purpose, 
and in 1877, the corporation received one thousand 


thousand dollars. 


| dollars under the provisions of the will of Dr. George 


K. Hatton. In 1882, the funds were largely increased 
by a legacy of ten thousand dollars given by the 
will of Mr. John Bullard, of New York, a native of 
Dedham. The income of this fund is to be used in 
the purchase of books, unless the corporation shall 
become possessed of another like sum to be used in 
the erection of a library building, in which event the 
corporation may use the legacy of Mr. Bullard for 
that purpose. The want of a suitable library build- 
ing has long been felt by the friends of the library 
corporation, and in the course of time this want will 
doubtless be supplied. 
the amount of nineteen thousand four hundred dol- 


The corporation has funds to 


lars, the income of which is appropriated to the pur- 
chase of books and the cost of binding. The town 
has annually appropriated a sum which is used to 
meet the current expenses of the library. In 1882, 
the town appropriation was eleven hundred dollars. 
Books are delivered to the people at East Dedham and 
West Dedham, by agents of the library corporation. 
The library has increased to some extent by donations 
of books, but principally by purchase from the funds 
Since the organization of the 
corporation, Alfred Hewins has been its president. 


of the corporation. 


The town of Norwood was incorporated Feb. 23, 
1872. 


was taken for the new town, but it was mainly con- 


A small portion of the territory of Walpole 


stituted from that portion of Dedham known as the 
South Parish, or South Dedham. In 1872 the valu- 
ation of Norwood was one million six hundred and 
eighteen thousand five hundred and fifty-six dollars, 





DEDHAM. 


89 








and the number of acres of land, six thousand two | 
Probably the town of | 
Dedham lost one-fifth of its valuation, and about one- | 


hundred and seventy-five. 


fourth of its population, by the incorporation of Nor- 
wood into a separate town. In the scale of valuation 


and population it was a serious loss to Dedham, and | 


tended to reduce the relative standing and importance 
of the town in the county. 
intelligent and enterprising citizens. But the course 
of events had tended to this result for many years. 
The village of South Dedham was situated four miles 
from Dedham village, and the railroad communication 
between them had ceased over the Norfolk County 


Railroad. There was but little business connection | 


or community of interests between the villages. Ex- 
cepting on election-days and at town-meetings, the 
people of South Dedham scarcely saw their fellow- 
citizens of the old parish. the 
idea of a new town was entertained, and perhaps 


As early as 1722, 


never wholly abandoned afterwards. 
sion of the movement in 1872, was a warm con- 
troversy which arose respecting the establishment of 


a high school in South Dedham. The people of 


It also took away many | 





a new one built and destroyed, and a third church of 
larger proportions and of more durable materials had 
been erected. Nearly all the members of his parish, 
who were here in 1832, had passed away. The parish 
had passed through a period of changes, in which it 


had become stronger and more united. Dr. Babcock 


_had attached personal friends, who were liberal bene- 





But the ocea- | 


that village alleged their remoteness from the high — 


school at Dedham village, as a reason for its estab- 
lishment. The people of the other villages opposed 
the proposition mainly on the ground that there were 
not a sufficient number of scholars in South Dedham, 
of the proper age and qualifications, to render another 
high school necessary or expedient. 


had been carried in two town-meetings, but at a third 


The proposition 


and very large town-meeting, the proposition was de- 
feated by a small majority. This was in the summer 
of 1871, and the petition for the new town was pre- 
sented to the next Legislature. 


The town of Ded- | 


ham voted not to oppose the petition, further than | 
it proposed to take more territory than had been in- 
_ means of extinguishing fires, naturally led to the con- 


cluded in the South Parish. The separation was 
made in an amicable spirit, and the two towns have 


always been united in the same district for electing a | 


representative to the General Court. 


On the 25th day of October, 1873, the Rev. | 
Samuel Brazer Babcock, D.D., the rector of St. Paul’s | 
Church, died in Boston, having been stricken with | 


apoplexy some days previous, while absent from home. 
He had been rector of the parish for over forty years, 
and it is significant of the stability of affairs in Ded- 


ham village, that both the pastors of the Congrega- 


tional Churches and the Episcopal rector, should | 


have remained over their respective parishes for so 
long a period. 
was graduated at Harvard College in 1830. During 
his rectorship, the old church had been taken down, 


Dr. Babcock was born in 1808. He | 


factors of the parish, which during his rectorship 
He was a man of 
genial manners, a devoted pastor, and an earnest 
preacher. His health, for some years previous to his 
death, had declined, but he officiated in the church 
shortly before his death. He received the degree of 
Doctor of Divinity from Columbia College, New 
York, and from Griswold College, Iowa, in 1870. 
He was buried in the churchyard, and a marble 
monument was erected to his memory by two of his 
friends and parishioners. His successors have been 
the Rev. Daniel Goodwin, from November, 1874, to 
September, 1879 ; and the Rev. Arthur M. Backus, 
from January, 1880, to the present time. 

In 1873, the attention of the people of the town 
was called to the necessity of providing new apparatus 
for the extinguishment of fires. The hand-engines 
in Dedham village and at the upper village were more 
than twenty years old, and were found to be quite 
inadequate for the service required at a fire of any 


was harmonious and prosperous. 


magnitude. Upon the recommendation of a com- 
mittee appointed to consider the condition of the fire 
department, the town voted to purchase a steam fire- 
engine, of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, 
with a hose carriage, at a cost of five thousand dol- 
lars. The town also expended at the same time 
about two thousand five hundred dollars in the pur- 
chase of new hose. A new engine-house containing 
a lock-up was erected the same year. 

The discussion and investigation relative to the 


sideration of the greater question of procuring a full 
supply of water for domestic purposes, as well as for 
the extinguishment of fires. This subject had been 
talked about for some years, but no definite plan or 
source of supply could be decided upon. In 1876, 
however, a number of citizens obtained an act of 
incorporation as the Dedham Water Company, which 
gave the right to the corporation, to take water from 
Charles River, or from any pond or brook in the town. 
If water should be taken from Charles River, the 
amount of water was limited to a million and a half 
gallons daily. This corporation was organized Jan. 
31, 1877, and the capital stock was afterwards fixed 
at seventy-five thousand dollars. There was, how- 


ever, but little public interest in the subject, but the 


90 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





In 


organization of the corporation was maintained. 


the autumn of 1880, a sum was subscribed to obtain | 


the services of an engineer, to examine and report as 


to the best source of supply and cost of constructing | 
The engineer, Mr. Perey M. Blake, | 
about Jan. 1, 1881, made a report, which was printed, | 


the works. 


Mr. Blake 


recommended the plan of taking ground-water from 


with a contoured plan of the village. 


the meadows on the southerly side of Charles River, - 


near Bridge Street, and to pump it through the vil- 
lage to a stand-pipe to be located on Walnut Street. 
About the same time several large subscriptions for 
stock were obtained, and with a definite plan in 
view, and with effort on the part of some of the cor- 
porators, the whole amount of the capital stock was 
obtained. In January, 1881, the work of construc- 
tion was formally authorized by the directors of the 
corporation. 
direction of Percy M. Blake, engineer. The pump- 
ing-engines were constructed by the Knowles Steam 
Pump Works, of Warren, Mass. The water is taken 
from a collecting-well, twenty-six feet in diameter and 
eighteen feet deep, located between the engine-house 
and Charles River. 
of two independent engines, one a compound con- 
densing engine, capable of raising seven hundred and 
fifty thousand gallons one hundred and eighty feet 
high in twenty-four hours; the other a duplex high- 
pressure engine, capable of raising one million four 
hundred thousand gallons two hundred and _ thirty 
feet high in twenty-four hours. The iron reservoir 
on Walnut Street, is one hundred and three feet in 
height and twenty feet in diameter. 
iron of four grades of thickness, the first twenty- 
five feet from the base, being five-eighths of an 
inch thick ; the second twenty-five feet, half an inch ; 
the third twenty-five feet, three-eighths of an inch ; 
and the remainder, five-sixteenths of an inch. The 
reservoir was built by Kendall & Roberts, of Cam- 
bridgeport, Mass. The service-pipes are cement- 
lined pipes, and were furnished and laid by George 
Goodhue, of Concord, N. H.’ The total cost of the 
works, as reported by the directors, January, 1882, 
was about ninety-two thousand dollars. The 
crease in the expenditure over the estimated cost 
was owing to the enlargement of the reservoir or 
stand-pipe, and the laying of nearly ten miles of 
pipe instead of seven, as provided in the original 
contract. 


in- 


To meet this additional cost, the capital 
stock of the corporation was increased to one hun- 
dred thousand dollars. During the year 1883, 
the service-pipes were extended in Hast Dedham. 
The corporation provides about one hundred hy- 


The works were constructed under the — 


The pumping machinery consists | 


It is built of | 





| . 
church, which was consecrated Nov. 2, 1876. 





drants for fire service in Dedham village and Hast 
Dedham, for which, with a supply for public build- 
ings, the town in 1883 contracted to pay annually for 
three years the sum of five thousand dollars. The 
quality of the water furnished by this company is of 
remarkable purity, and the supply is ample. The 
introduction of water into Dedham by this corpora- 
tion is the greatest work of a public nature ever 
accomplished in Dedham, whether we consider its 
cost, the effort required to carry it through to 


completion, or the benefits it confers upon the 


people of the town. The first president of the 
company was Royal O. Storrs, but since his resigna- 
tion in 1882, Winslow Warren has been the president. 

About the year 1863, a private charitable insti- 
tution was established in Dedham, under the name 
of the Temporary Asylum for Discharged Female 
Prisoners. It owed its origin to the personal efforts 


of Miss Hannah B. Chickering, of Dedham, a lady 


of high character and ability, who devoted many 
years of her life to the welfare of prisoners in penal 
and reformatory institutions, and who was for a time 
a member of the Prison Commission of the common- 
wealth. During the last ten years, the buildings, 
which are located on what was formerly the farm of 
Capt. Eliphalet Pond, about a mile south of the 
court-house on Washington Street, have been much 
enlarged and improved. The institution is supported 
by the donations of a large number of its friends in 
Boston and vicinity, and by an annual appropriation 
from the Commonwealth. 

The village of Oakdale, in Kast Dedham, was begun 
about the year 1870. The land was divided into 
building lots, and sold by Charles C. Sanderson to 
Mr. San- 
derson also erected a building containing a public 
The school-house was built in 1878, 
at a cost of about five thousand dollars. A mission 


parties who erected the dwelling-houses. 


hall and a store. 


_ Sunday-school was begun here June 8, 1873, through 


the interest and efforts of members of the family of 
Horatio Chickering, who belonged to the Episcopal 
Church. 
public services of the Episcopal Church were begun 


Soon after, on the 29th of the same month, 


in Sanderson Hall, and for three years they were 
In 1874 Mr. Chickering 
purchased a lot of land for the purpose of building 
He died in the spring of 1875, but he 
made provision in his will for the erection of the 
The 


conducted by lay-readers. 


a church. 


architecture of this church is attractive and appro- 


priate, and in it have been placed memorial windows 
in memory of Mr. Chickering and his sisters, Mrs. 
D. F. Adams and Miss H. B. Chickering. The Rev. 





DEDHAM. 91 





William F’. Cheney became the minister in charge in 
August, 1876. The parish was organized May 1, 
1877, under the name of the “ Church of the Good 
Shepherd,” and the Rev. Mr. Cheney was chosen 
rector, which office he continues to hold. The parish 


was admitted into union with the convention of the | 


Episcopal Church, in the diocese of Massachusetts, 


in May, 1878. Besides the liberal gifts of the church | 


and land by Mr. Chickering, the parish has received, 
or is entitled to receive, other bequests from his 
widow, the late Mrs. Lucy Lee Chickering, and from 
his sisters. 

Between the years 1870 and 1875, a small number 
of houses was built upon lands owned and divided 


, into lots by Alonzo B. Wentworth, about a mile and 
a half south of the court-house on Washington Street, 


and along the line of the New York and New Eng- 
land Railroad. 


It has a post-office and railway 


| 
| 


| 





station, and these are known by the name of Islington. © 


In 1882, a Congregational Church was gathered 
here, having for its pastor the Rev. C. B. Smith, of 
Medford. In the same year a small but tasteful 


church was erected for this society at the junction of | 


East and Washington Streets. 

In 1875, a new school-house for the Colburn 
School at West Dedham, with a hall on the third 
floor, was built by the town at a cost of about twelve 
thousand five hundred dollars. This is one of the 


dollars appropriated for the purpose. The land was 
purchased and proceedings taken to perfect the title to 
a portion, the reversion of which belonged to Harvard 
College under Statute 1877, Chapter 99. A topo- 
graphical plan was made by Mr. Ernest W. Bowditch, 
landscape gardener, of the whole tract. The name 
The 
care and control of the cemetery was given to three 


given by the town was “ Brookdale Cemetery.” 


commissioners appointed annually by the selectmen. 
A receiving-tomb was built, a portion of the land 
graded, and lots laid out. In 1880 the town set apart 
a portion of the cemetery for the exclusive use of such 
Roman Catholic residents of Dedham as may purchase 
lots therein. The expense of improving this beauti- 
ful cemetery has thus far been met by the sale of lots, 
and, notwithstanding the differences of opinion which 
existed respecting its purchase, the people of the town 
quite generally have a feeling of pride and satisfaction 
in the possession of a rural cemetery so attractive and 
accessible. 

It was not until April, 1878, that the town adopted 
a common seal. It was then voted “that the town 
hereby adopts and establishes a common seal, with 
the following device, to wit: In the centre of the 
foreground a shield, upon which is inscribed the rep- 
resentation of an ancient oak; on the right of the 


_ background, the representation of a factory building ; 


best school-houses of the town, and is an example of | 
the great advancement made in school architecture — 
_of the border, Tor Town oF DEDHAM, and in the 


during the last twenty-five years. 


The necessity for a new cemetery had been appar- | 


ent for many years, and in 1876 the town appointed 
a committee to consider and report what action should 


be taken concerning the purchase of a suitable tract. 


of land for that purpose. 
mittee made a report recommending the purchase of 
a tract containing about forty-three and one-half 


The majority of that com- | 


acres, bounded by Mother Brook, Kast and Harvard | 
and seal were made by Henry Mitchell, of Boston. 


Streets. At the April meeting, 1877, this report 
was presented and recommitted, with instructions to 
obtain the prices of the lands. 
meeting, held April 16th, the committee reported, 


At an adjourned | 


recommending the purchase of a portion of the lands. | 


The town voted to adopt the recommendation by one | 


At another 
adjourned meeting, it was voted not to purchase said 
lands, and another committee was appointed. 
committee made a printed report at a meeting held 
Oct. 20, 1877, but not recommending any particular 


majority, and then reconsidered the vote. 


That | 


on the left, the implements of agriculture ; above, the 
sword and scales of justice; and beneath, in a scroll, 
the motto, CONTENTMENT ; in the upper semicircle 


lower semicircle, PLANTATION BEGUN 1635, INcorR- 
PORATED 1636; and that said common seal, when 
executed, remain in the custody of the town clerk.” 
This design originated with a member of the Ded- 
ham Historical Society, who first submitted it to a 
committee of that society appointed for the purpose, 
and it having received the approval of the society, it 
was presented to the town for adoption. The design 
The oak upon the shield was intended to represent 
the Avery oak, a well-known landmark, and one of 
the original forest-trees of the town. The mill and 
the implements of agriculture signify that Dedham is 
both a manufacturing and an agricultural town. The 
scales and sword, signify that Dedham is the seat of 


| justice, where the laws are administered and executed. 


The motto—ConTENTMENT—is the name first given 
to the settlement. The legend in the border gives the 


| date when the General Court first ordered the planta- 


lot. It was then voted to purchase thirty-nine acres, | 


more or less, of the lands recommended by the former 
committee, and a sum not exceeding twelve thousand 


tion, and also the date of the grant giving the settle- 
ment the name of Dedham, which properly may be 


termed its incorporation. 


92 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Here this history of Dedham reaches its natural | 
conclusion. In the retrospect of nearly two hundred | 
and fifty years, we have endeavored to trace the | 
transitions which have taken place from one period 
to another. 
the unnoted and gradual change which is constantly 


The most impressive fact of history is 


in operation. Probably there are few communities | 
which have experienced less changes than the people 
of Dedham since the time of its settlement. They | 
have been remarkable for the stability of their char- 


acter. For nearly two centuries they were mainly © 


sturdy farmers, well informed in public affairs, jealous 


of encroachment upon their political rights, ready to 


maintain their opinions, and unfriendly to innova- 
tions. While, during the last half-century, these 
characteristics have been gradually modified by 
changes of occupations and a wider intercourse with | 
men, still it cannot be said that the spirit which | 
animated the fathers has not in some degree descended 
to the children. Many of the old families have 
Not 
many new ones have permanently occupied their 
places since the beginning of the present century. 
The greatest change in the inhabitants has doubtless | 
been effected by the establishment of the woolen-mills | 
at Hast Dedham, where the operatives live only | 
But | 

numerically these constitute a considerable proportion | 
| 

| 


entirely disappeared and are now disappearing. 


for a time and then make room for others. 


of the inhabitants. ‘The local business of Dedham, | 
except in the woolen-mills, has substantially passed | 
away. The sessions of the courts, and the transaction | 
of other public business at the shire-town of the | 
county, still bring people to Dedham from elsewhere. 
But these come by one railway train only to leave 
by the next departing train. The hotels, once the 
centres of social life and gayety, have disappeared. 
Dedham village is mainly a place of residence for 
those whose business is in Boston. These constitute 
the main body of its most valued citizens, and upon 
them and upon the interest which they may take in | 
its local affairs, must chiefly depend its future char- | 
acter and prosperity. 


Dedham has become simply a 
suburban town in the immediate vicinity of the great 
city of Boston. It should be the effort of its people | 
to make it a desirable place of residence for all who | 
may come there to live, by actively maintaining its | 
churches, its schools, its public library, and other | 
public institutions, its moral and social character, its | 
local town government, and every undertaking made 
to elevate or alleviate the condition of its people. 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


JOHN BULLARD. 


This branch of the Bullard family traces its an- 
cestry in this country to William Bullard, who was 
probably the oldest Puritan of the name who settled 
in New England. He was born in 1594 and arrived 


_ here in 1635, and is spoken of as ‘‘a man of charac- 


ter and consideration,’ and a “distinguished Puri- 
” He probably first settled in Watertown, and 
subsequently became one of the planters of Dedham. 
He was the fifty-third signer of her social compact, 
and is found among the first to whom her lands were | 
assigned, and on whom taxes were imposed. The 
line of descent is as follows: William (1), Isaac (2), 
William (3), Isaac (4), Isaac (5), John (6), William 
(7). Isaac (2) was entered on the records of Ded- 
ham in 1651, and in 1652 and 1653 was taxed 
above the average of her citizens. He married Ann 
Wight in 1655, and resided in Dedham. William 
(3) lived upon the present Bullard homestead in 
Dedham, and in 1697 married Elizabeth Avery. He 
was spoken of as ‘‘ an insatiate lover of real estate,” 
He owned 


tan. 


and carefully preserved ancient papers. 


lands in Dedham, Walpole, Sutton, Upton, Sherborn 


Dividends (Douglass), Natick, and Charlestown, and 
was one of the great land-owners of the colony. 
Isaac (4) was a coroner, and received in 1731 
from his father, William, a deed of the homestead in 
Dedham. He married Mary Dean in 1731-32. 
Isaac (5) was born July 10, 1744, married Patience 
Baker in 1766, and died June 18, 1808. He in- 


_herited the ancient homestead, and erected in 1787 


a house (near the site of the original one) which 
gave place in 1856 to the present stone-house. 

He was a man of intelligence and sterling worth, 
much employed in the transaction of public business, 
being often placed on important committees with his 
friend and neighbor, Fisher Ames. He long served 
the ancient church of Dedham as deacon, and was 
for many years returned a representative to the Gen- 
eral Court, and annually elected treasurer of Norfolk 
County from its organization in 1793 until his death 
in 1808. 

John (6), whose portrait accompanies this memoir, 
was born in Dedham, Jan. 9, 1773, married Lucy 
Richards in 1802, and died Feb. 25, 1852. He in- 


herited the Bullard mansion in Dedham, and suc- 


_ ceeded his father in the regard and confidence of the 


citizens of Norfolk County, manifested in his election 


to the office of county treasurer on the death of his 

















\ 
C 
\ 
\ 


Zhe 

















a — 


a cae 





DEDHAM. 


93 





father ; and so acceptable were his services, and so 
highly was he esteemed as a man, that amidst all the 
violence of religious and political feeling, and the 
changes of office, he was, by the annual voice of the 


county, continued in this responsible position from | 


1808 to 1852, a period of forty-four years; father 
and son having held the office fifty-nine years, from 
the incorporation of the county to 1852. 
universally esteemed, and his death was a public loss. 


His children were Maria, born May 4, 1803, married | 
H. F. Spear, M. D., resided in Dedham and Brook- | 


lyn, N. Y., and died in 1863; John, born Jan. 2, 
«1807, married Jane E. McKillup, resided in Brook- 
lyn, N. Y., and died Jan. 13, 1881 ; Lewis, born Aug. 


13, 1810, an iron and steel merchant in Boston, died : 
April 18, 1881; and William, born April 20, 1816, | 


married, in 1841, Mary R. Henderson, died Sept. 28, 
1879. 





He was | 


facturing Company, on Milton Street, to which he 
made large additions and improved machinery, and 
began again the manufacture of woolens on his own 
account. His success varied with the times. In 
1872, owing to his advanced age and the depression 
of the woolen business, he was induced to sell his mill 
to Mr. Harding, and retired from business with his 
fortune materially reduced. 

Mr. Barrows married, early in life, Mrs. Elizabeth 
Bosworth, of Halifax, Mass., by whom he had four 
children, two sons and two daughters. The latter 


only are living,—EHlizabeth, wife of Col. Stone, of 





Dedham, and Sarah, wife of C. H. Miller, of Jamaica 
Plain. 

Mr. Barrows was one of the many instances of a 
poor lad acquiring wealth and high social positio 


through a long course of honorable toil. 


John and William carried on together a successful | 


business in hides and leather in New York City ; 


William returned to Dedham in 1856, and thereafter | 


took an active interest in its banking institutions and | 


in the improvement of the town. To his efforts, with 
those of others, it is indebted for the ‘“ Memorial 
Hall” and the upper or “ cart” bridge. 

William only of this generation had children, who 
are Wm. M., born Jan. 13, 1842; John R., born 
March 3, 1846; Lewis H., born Dec. 21, 1848, and 
Mary, born Feb. 18, 1855. 


THOMAS BARROWS. 


Mr. Barrows was born in Middleboro’, Plymouth 
Co., in the year 1795. In his youth he lived at 
home, assisting his father in the cultivation of his 
farm until 1812, when he entered a cotton-mill as an 
operative, where he continued for two years. From 
there he went to Wrentham, in this county, where 


REV. SAMUEL BRAZER BABCOCK, D.D. 


Samuel Brazer Babcock was the son of Mr. Samuel 
Howe Babcock, and was born in Boston, Sept. 17, 
A.D. 1807. His early education was commenced at 
the academy in Milton, but afterwards completed in 


the English High School in Boston. He was a mem- 


_ ber of the first class of 1821, and officiated as chap- 





| . . 5 = 
lain at the semi-centennial celebration. 


He pursued 


_ his classical studies at Claremont, N. H., under the 
| Rev. James B. Howe, the father of the present Bishop 
of South Carolina. 


| 





he engaged in the same capacity for a time, from > 


whence he was called back to his native town to take 
the superintendence of the mill in which he first 
commenced his labors. 


until his removal to Dedham, in 1825, to act as 
agent of Benjamin Bussey and George H. Kuhn, in 
the manufacture of broadcloths. In 1842 the 
mills passed into the hands of Mr. Edmunds. In 
1847, Gardner Colby became a partner with EKd- 
munds, Mr. Barrows continuing his position as agent 
up to 1864, when he retired, and the mills were sold 
to the Merchants’ Woolen Company. Soon after Mr. 


Here he remained five years, — 
and then took charge of a mill in Halifax, Mass., | 





He entered Harvard University in 1826, and grad- 
uated in 1830. He pursued his theological studies 
at first under the Rey. Alonzo Potter, then the rector 
of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Boston, and after- 
ward completed the same in the Episcopal Theologi- 
cal Seminary at Cambridge, Mass. In 1832 he was 
ordained a deacon by Bishop Griswold. During that 
year he first came to reside in Dedham. On the 9th 
day of October of the same year he was married to 
Miss Emmeline Foxcroft, the daughter of Mr. Fran- 
cis Augustus Foxcroft, of Boston. She was a woman 
of refined taste and excellent judgment, and proved to 
be a true and valuable helper to him through his long 
and arduous ministry, not only in domestic and social 
life, but also in the discharge of his parish duties. 
By her kindness of heart and gentleness of manner, 
and her many charitable ministrations to the desti- 
tute and afflicted, she well deserved the epitaph in- 
scribed upon the monument under the shadow of tho 


church she so much loved,—‘ When the ear heard 


| her then it blessed her, and when the eye saw her it 
Barrows purchased the mill of the Norfolk Manu- | gave witness to her, because she delivered the poor 


94 





that cried, the fatherless, and those who had none to | 
help them.” | 
In 1833 he was advanced to the priesthood, and 
appears in the Convention as minister of St. Paul’s | 
Church, Dedham, but does not report himself as | 


rector until the Convention of 1834. In principle he | 
was a stanch churchman, but he was truly catholie in | 
spirit. 
liness of manner made him eminently successful in 
In his pul- 
pit ministrations he did not present the gospel truths | 


His habitual cheerfulness of spirit and kind- 


his visitations to the sick and sorrowful. 
in forms of gloom. He taught no hopeless reproba-_ 
tion of the sinner. 
of his guilt, he also pointed out a sure way of escape 
through the redemption of Jesus Christ. 
in the holy Scriptures as the word of God, and accept- | 


If he showed him the enormity 
Believing | 
ing the creed of the church as its sure warranty, he | 


With the whole | 
sincerity of his nature he himself rested, and he | 





indulged in no vain speculations. 


taught his people to rest, in the grand simplicity of | 
the truth as it is in Jesus. 

In 1833, when he first took full charge of the | 
parish, all its affairs were in a most unpromising 
condition. ‘The old church building itself hardly 
presented decent accommodations for the proper 


celebration of divine service. The parishioners were | 
few in number, and had not been accustomed to de- | 
vote much of their worldly wealth towards the support 
of the church; in fact, everything, both temporal 
and spiritual, had fallen into a most lamentable 
condition, and to all human appearance everything | 
looked dark and discouraging. But he, by his | 
cheerful disposition and his patient and untiring | 
energy, gradually taught his people to hope for 
better things. Under his wise management his | 
parish increased in stability and influence year by | 
year. This growth continued to increase till in 1845 | 
he induced his old parishioners, and many new ones | 
who had become members during his ministry, to— 
make liberal subscriptions for the erection of a new | 
church, and with the valuable aid which he obtained | 
from churchmen outside of his own parish he suc- 
ceeded in raising sufficient funds to build a new and 
beautiful church, costing over seven thousand dollars. 
By the contributions of friends and the timely aid of 
the faithful women of his parish the church was duly 
It was consecrated Jan. 15, 1846. He | 


now seemed to have reached the result for which he | 


furnished. 


had prayed and labored for so many years, and his 
heart was satisfied. 

For upwards of ten years afterward the temporal | 
and spiritual interests of his parish were in a pros- 


perous condition, and he lived and labored joyously 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





among his beloved people. But this prosperity was 
not permitted to continue. He was soon to meet a 
new and severe trial of his faith. 

On acold Sunday morning in December, 1856, the 
beautiful church he so much loved suddenly disap- 
peared in flames. 

But the faithful servant of God did not yield to 
discouragement. On that same Sunday morning, 
while the flames were consuming the church, he 
celebrated, in another place temporarily prepared for 
the purpose, the holy communion, to strengthen the 
souls and encourage the hearts of his sorrowful 
parishioners. 

When the time for action arrived he was ready, 
heart and hand, to aid in raising means for rebuilding 
the sanctuary. He was always full of hope, and he 
By his 
own faith and zeal, and the energy and liberality of 


never doubted the success of the enterprise. 


his parishioners, the sorrow for the loss of the former 
church was soon changed to joy. 

In its place there arose a new fire-proof stone 
This church, 
when the tower was finished and the spire erected in 
1869, cost over thirty thousand dollars. 
consecrated June 17, A.p. 1858. 

After this time, during the remainder of his min- 
istry, his life seemed to be almost entirely free from 
trouble and anxiety. 


church of much larger dimensions. 


It was duly 


Sometimes the indications of failing health admon- 
ished him of the necessity of temporary relief from 
his pastoral labors, but the interests of his church 
continued to flourish, and he enjoyed the strong and 
undivided affection of his people. He had calls to 
other fields of labor, but he chose rather to remain 
in the parish he so much loved, and among the people 
with whom he had so long dwelt. 
attachment to this, his only parish, that he was never 


So great was his 


willing to spend his vacation where he could not 
readily answer any call for his pastoral services. 

Thus he continued to grow in the love and rever- 
ence of his own people, and the high estimation of 
all who knew him. 

His influence was by no means confined to the 
He did much for the 
He 


was for a long time an active and influential member 


limits ,of his own parish. 
educational interests of the town of Dedham. 


of the school committee, and was chairman of the 
board when the high school was established. 

He was the most active and influential agent in 
establishing the parishes at Wrentham and Hyde 
Park, and devoted much time and labor towards the 
accomplishment of the work. 

He was four years secretary of the Diocesan Board 





=~ 











a 


DEDHAM. 


95 





of Missions; nineteen years he was treasurer of the 


ing Committee from 1868 to 1873, the time of his 
death. He was specially interested in the Society for 
the Relief of Aged and Indigent Clergymen of the 
Diocese, and spared no efforts to enforce upon church- 
men the claims of this excellent charity. 

He was for many years a member of the General 
Board of Missions from Massachusetts, and twice a 
delegate to the General Convention. 

In 1870 he received the degree of Doctor of 
Divinity from Columbia College, New York, and the 
same year the same degree from Griswold College, 
Towa. 

Three years afterward, on a pleasant autumnal 
Monday morning, he went into the city, apparently 








in his usual health, to attend a meeting of the clergy, © 


and, while drafting a resolution, he was suddenly 
seized by an attack of apoplexy, from the effects of 
which he died in Boston, Oct. 25, a.p. 1873. 

His remains were brought to Dedham, and in the 
succeeding week, in the presence of his family rela- 
tives and his many friends, were quietly laid to rest 
where he had always desired to be—under the shadow 


of his own church, and near the grave of the sainted — 


Griswold. 

Thus ended the comparatively long and useful life 
of one who was distinguished, not as a sensational or 
popular preacher, but as an earnest, devoted Christian 
minister, who was found faithful even unto death, 
and who now inherits the unfading crown of an 
endless life. 





REV. EBENEZER BURGESS, D.D. 


BY REV. A. C. THOMPSON. 


Thomas Burgess and Dorothy, his wife, of Pilgrim — 
memory, who arrived at Salem, Mass., about the year | 


1630, afterwards removed within the limits of Ply- 


of the church formed at Sandwich in 1638. Thomas 
Burgess was a prominent man in that place, becoming 
a large landholder, filling various offices, being in his 





| the ninth of eleven children, and was born in Ware- 
Diocesan Convention, and was president of the Stand-— 


ham, April 1,1790. The homestead which descended 
from Ebenezer of the third generation still belongs 
to the family, as is also the case with the patriarchal 
estate of the Pilgrim Thomas, in Sandwich. The 


| parents of Dr. Burgess, no less than remoter ancestors, 


possessed to a marked degree the better traits and 
habits of early New England, as regards piety, indus- 
try, thrift, and public spirit. At the home in Ware- 
ham influences were peculiarly suited to the cultiva- 
tion of reverence, truthfulness, self-restraint, energy, 
and methodical ways. Domestic worship, morning 
and evening, was a truly hallowed season, and the 
Sabbath, strictly kept, was a day of elevated religious 
enjoyment. At eighteen years of age (April 24, 
1808) Dr. Burgess publicly expressed the hope that 
he had been savingly renewed, made profession of 
faith in Christ, and entered into fellowship with the 
church of his fathers. 

His fifteenth year found him master of a grammar 
school in his native town; and entering Brown Uni- 
versity a year in advance, he graduated (1809) with 
honor. Though among the younger members, he 
was inferior to none of them in propriety of conduct, 
diligence in study, or extent of attainments,’ and was 
by all regarded as among the very first in the class 
for scholarship. Immediately upon graduation he 
was chosen principal of the University Grammar 
School. From the year 1811 to 1815 he was a tutor 
in the college. After spending some time in theolog- 
ical study with Dr. Emmons, at Franklin, he entered 
the Middle Class of the Andover Theological Semi- 
nary, and graduated in 1815. His only surviving 
classmate, the Rev. Herman Halsey, now (1884) 
ninety-one years of age, writes with his own hand: 
‘‘In scholarship he was accounted the leading mem- 
ber of his class; his character as a Christian was of 
the higher type; as a man, modest and dignified, as 


| a companion, amiable, unpretending, courteous, gen- 
mouth Colony, and were among the original members | 


later years called Goodman Burgess, and dying in | 


1685, at the age of eighty-two. His descendants 
are scattered throughout the country from Maine to 
California. In some branches of the family the name 
has been gradually changed into Burghess, Burges, 
Burgis, Borgis, Burge, and Bure. 

The Rev. Ebenezer Burgess, who belonged to the 
sixth generation from the forenamed Thomas, was the 
son of Prince Burgess and Martha Crowell. 


He was | 


s, g 
erous.”’ 


Having completed his studies at Andover, he became 
Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in 
the University of Vermont. 
reorganization of the University. It had been closed, 


That was the period of 


_and the buildings had been occupied by our genera] 
number at the present time several thousands, and | 


government during the war of 1812-15 with Great 
Britain. 
diverted to itself the current of students; political 


A rival institution had, in the mean time, 


_ intrigues hindered resuscitation ; and after two years 
of waiting for prosperity which did not return till 


some time later, Dr. Burgess was the more ready to 





1 MS. letter of the late Rev. Jacob Ide, D.D., a classmate. 


96 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





yield to solicitations that he would enter upon a special | 
service in behalf of the American Colonization Society. | 
Samuel J. Mills, who had become an agent of that 
society, was requested to enlist some one as an asso- 
ciate in visiting Sierra Leone and other parts of the 

West African coast, with a view to selecting a site for 

a colony of free blacks from the United States. — 
“ Will you go, Brother Burgess?” wrote Mills in | 
1817. We go. 
to make free men of slaves. We go to lay the foun- 


“ Oan we engage in a nobler effort ? 


dation of a free and independent empire on the coast | 


of poor degraded Africa. Your knowledge of the | 





Spanish language may enable you to perform most | 


important services. The information you have already 
obtained on the subject under consideration qualifies — 
you to be eminently useful on the mission.” While 
at Andover he had been deeply interested in behalf of | 
the colored race, and a series of articles from his pen 
had appeared in the newspapers of Boston, and other | 
articles elsewhere. 


He accepted the proposal. The 
two men received their commissions, and sailed from | 
Philadelphia, Nov. 17, 1817. The voyage was mem- 
orable for a very signal deliverance. During a terrific 
storm the captain ordered the masts to be cut away. | 
The ship drifted helplessly toward a ledge of rocks 
which extended both ways as far as the eye could 
reach, and on which the sea was dashing furiously. | 
““ We are gone for this world !” exclaimed the captain. 
Dr. Burgess went on deck, where the crew, in con- 
sternation and expecting death momentarily, gathered | 
round him, and he commended them to the mercy of | 
Almighty God. 


at the same time engaged in earnest prayer. The ship | 





Fellow-passengers in the cabin were 


on coming within a few rods of the rocks was caught 
by a strong current, carried into deeper water, and 
borne along nearly parallel with the reef. She rounded 
the western extremity, just grazing on a shoal of sand, 
and was safe. All exclaimed, “It is the work of 


God!” 


Arriving in London, the two commissioners pre- | 


sented their letters to Zachary Macaulay (father of | 
the late Lord Macaulay), previously Governor of | 
Sierra Leone, and to the Rev. Messrs. Pratt and | 
Bickersteth, secretaries of the Church Missionary | 
Society. William Wilberforce also received them 
cordially, and introduced them to Lords Bathurst and | 
Gambier, preparatory to their introduction to His | 
Royal Highness, the Duke of Gloucester, who was | 
president of the African Institution. 

The required information having been obtained, | 
and other preparations made, they embarked for 
Africa Feb. 2, 1818. 
brought them to their destination, where letters from | 


A voyage of seven weeks | 


Lord Bathurst, Secretary of State for the Colonies, to 
the Governor and other officers at Sierra Leone, secured 
for them civilities and assistance. The two agents 
having made needed exploration of the coast for more 
than two hundred miles, and held intercourse with 
native chiefs, embarked May 22d on their homeward 
voyage. Within less than a month Mills died of 
a pulmonary disease, and was buried in the ocean. 
Returning by way of England, Dr. Burgess arrived 
home Oct. 22,1818. The report of the exploration 
served materially to concentrate the thought and en- 
courage the anticipations of those who were friendly 
to African colonization. He was requested to super- 
intend the establishment of that colony which became 
the Republic of Liberia; but his health was impaired ; 
the effects of an African malarial fever were still upon 
him, and he had other duties in view. His interest, 
however, in the cause of colonization remained with- 
out abatement, and in 1827 the managers “ Resolved, 
That the thanks of this society be presented to the 
Rev. Mr. Burgess for his continued exertions in the 
When in 1839 the constitu- 
tion was so altered as to admit directors for life, on 
the payment of one thousand dollars, he became one. 


cause of this society.” 


In 1843 he was chosen a vice-president of the Massa- 
chusetts Colonization Society, and the year following 
its president, in place of Hon. William B. Banister, 
deceased; but he declined on the ground that the 
office should be filled only by a layman. A town in 
Liberia was named Millsburgh, in token of combined 
respect for the two explorers. 

Some months in the winter and spring of 1819-20, 
Dr. Burgess spent in study with the Rev. Dr. Edward 


- Dorr Griffin, at Newark, N. J., but on the last Sabbath 


of July in the last-named year he commenced supply- 
ing the pulpit of the First Church in Dedham. This 
church, the fourteenth in the order of seniority among 
churches organized in New England, was instituted 
Nov. 8, 1638. 
pastors, five of whom died in office, and one, then 


There had been a succession of six 


living, the Rev. Joshua Bates, D.D., had, early in 
1818, become the president of Middlebury College. 
In the autumn of that year the parish, having called 
a minister in opposition to the voice of a majority of 
the church, the latter, by a decision of the Supreme 
Court, lost its records and other property. A new 
house of worship, however, was ready for dedication 
at the close of 1819, and Dr. Burgess was installed 


| pastor March 14, 1821. 


During the forty years of his active ministry in 
Dedham he commanded, with great uniformity, the 
respect of his fellow-citizens, and the unwavering 
confidence and deferential affection of his parishioners. 


DEDHAM. 


97 





In the pulpit he was always noticeably reverent, and 
there, as well as elsewhere, his devotional exercises 
were characterized by appropriateness, variety, and 
freshness. 
arrangement, a practical aim, and well-considered, in- 
structive material. 


His sermons never failed to have a lucid 


Mere speculation and imaginative 
flights were quite foreign to his ideas of what is best 
suited to the wants of a congregation, needing, as 
every congregation does, to be built up in a firm and 
intelligent apprehension of the great truths and duties 
of the evangelical system. Theologically he differed 
but little from Jonathan Edwards. Among the Scrip- 
ture doctrines uniformly inculcated, and always im- 


plied in his discourses, were the native depravity of | 
the human heart, the consequent need of regenerating | 


grace, the duty of immediate repentance and faith in 
the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is God 
manifest in the flesh. The days of the Assembly’s 
Catechism were not then numbered, and in that the 
young were faithfully taught. Neighborhood prayer- 
meetings were not unfrequently held; and for years a 
week-day service, with preaching, was maintained at 
Mill village. Distance, darkness, inclemency of 
weather never detained him from any official ap- 


pointment. Indeed, his habits of punctuality, prompt- | 


ness, and general fidelity were of a marked order. 





In pastoral labor the poor, the sick, and afflicted | 
always received tender and faithful ministrations, and, | 


where there was special need, were often thought- 
The 
young of the congregation, whether in the Sunday- 
school or not, had a large place in his heart ; and in 


fully remembered in the way of temporal aid. 


the form of little books or otherwise, they often | 


received proofs of his affectionate thoughtfulness. 
Dr. Burgess took great pains to improve the service 
of song in the house of the Lord by his encourage- 
ment of singing-schools year after year. 

Secular education in the public schools enlisted his 
interest. 
duce into New England the infant school with some- 
what of the kindergarten element. The first tem- 
perance gathering in Dedham was upon his invita- 
tion, which resulted in a town temperance society 
duly organized. He was also the first in the place to 
suggest an institution for savings, became the first 
president of the same (May, 1831), and continued 


He was the first, so far as is known, to intro- | 


in office till his death. Perhaps no savings-bank in | 


the State has been more wisely and faithfully admin- 
istered. In the year 1826, Dr. Burgess built at his 
own expense a spacious vestry to the new meeting- 


house.’ During his active ministry there was scarcely | 





1 Worthington’s ‘ History of Dedham,” p. 125. 
7 








a Congregational Church formed, or a house of wor- 
ship built in the vicinity, to which he did not con- 
tribute personal and pecuniary assistance. In sup- 


| plying the families of Norfolk County with the Bible 


He held office in various 
local benevolent societies, and an active membership 


he took a prominent part. 
in several that were national. It would not be easy 
to reckon up the number of boxes containing useful 
and valuable articles that went from his house for the 
aid and comfort of home missionaries at the West. 
When the fortieth year of his pastorate and the 
seventieth of his life were completed (1861), Dr. 
Burgess resigned official responsibilities and salary. 
At the outset of his ministry the average Sabbath 
congregation was about one hundred. In the church 
of eighty resident members there was, at that time, 
Growth, however, steady, 
healthful, and substantial, took place. 


not one young man. 
Five or more 
seasons of marked religious interest occurred. One 
of these was in the year after his ordination, when 
fifty-two members were added to the church ; another 
in 1827, the fruits of which were seventy-three such 
additions; yet another in 1832, when sixty-seven 
heads of families made public confession of faith 


in Christ. No professional evangelist was employed 


| by him; the occasional services of earnest and judi- 


cious ministers were welcomed. Upon his demission 
of pastoral duties the membership of the church 


| numbered two hundred and fifty-three, all but six of 


whom had been received in the course of his min- 
istry. During the same period nearly an equal num- 
ber (two hundred and thirty-two) had left to consti- 
tute or to strengthen other churches, the Spring 
Street Church in West Roxbury being a colony from 
that in Dedham. 
six hundred and twenty-four, of whom one hundred 


The whole number admitted was 


and forty were removed by death, while the obituary 
list of the society amounted to between five and-six 
hundred. Two hundred and seventy-five marriages 
were solemnized, and three hundred and ninety-five 
children baptized. 

When Dr. Burgess became a pastor annual minis- 
As time 
advanced it became his practice to take a journey, at 
considerable intervals, with his family, visiting the 
Middle or Western States, or Canada. One voyage 
with an invalid brother-in-law, Mr. Edward Phillips, 
was undertaken in the summer of 1826, and in 1846 
—47, accompanied by his family, he made a tour in 
Europe, which embraced, besides the countries usually 
visited by Americans, two or three which were then 
less frequently resorted to, Russia and Sweden, a trip 
down the Danube to Constantinople, a visit to Greece, 


terial vacations had not come in vogue. 


98 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. Sketches, to a limited | now seems to be fast becoming a lost art, was gener- 


extent, of the trip, which involyed an absence of 
fifteen months, appeared in the form of letters to the 
Puritan Recorder. 

As a general thing Dr. Burgess refrained from 
frequent contributions to the periodical press, and 
such contributions, when made, were almost invaria- 
bly anonymous. For similar reasons, partly from 
native modesty and self-distrust, partly from a fixed 
purpose to allow nothing to interfere with professional 
duties, he refrained from authorship. He had schol- 
arly tastes, was more or less acquainted with the 
French, Italian, Spanish, and Arabic; was familiar 
with the Hebrew, as well as the Greek and Latin; 
he had clearly defined opinions regarding the topics 
of the day ; he used the pen daily and with much 
ease; and yet he shunned the enticement and the 
publicity of ordinary book-making. With rare ex- 
ceptions he declined, when requested, to give sermons 
into the printer’s hands. Only a few were published, 
as 

“A Sermon preached before the Auxiliary Educa- 
tion Society of Norfolk County,” 1825. 

‘Wareham Sixty Years Since:” a discourse deliv- 
ered at Wareham, May 19, 1861. 

‘Our Fathers Honorable and Useful to Posterity :” 
a Centennial Discourse delivered in Dedham, Nov. 8, 
1838. This was the closing sermon in the volume 
entitled “The Dedham Pulpit,” pp. 517, which Dr. 
Burgess edited in 1840. 

A sketch of the Rev. Samuel John Mills, Jr., 
from his pen is found in Sprague’s “ Annals of the 
American Pulpit” (1849), vol. ii. pp. 569-72. 

In 1865 appeared the ‘“ Burgess Genealogy,” a 
volume of 212 pages. 


Asa minister of the gospel, ‘This one thine I do,” | 
CD ) oD ) 


was his motto; hence he declined the presidency of 
Middlebury College, which was offered him not long 
Other offers of eligible positions 
It was a settled purpose with 


after his ordination. 
were also declined. 
him not to allow his name to stand in any connection 


implying responsibility without endeavoring faithfully | 
This led him to | 


to meet the demands of the place. 
resign as trustee of the Andover Theological Seminary, 
when his tour of 1846-47 would occasion an absence 
from at least two meetings of that body. 


Whatever a man’s public character may be, the | 


home test is, after all, the chief test. In his domestic 


life and relations Dr. Burgess was peculiarly happy. | 


May 22, 1823, he married Abigail Bromfield, a daugh- 
ter of Lieutenant-Governor William Phillips, who 
became a helpmeet, with warm sympathy in all his 


Hospitality, which 


religious interests and labors. 





_ hearty welcome. 


ously exercised at their house. Not only parishioners, 
but numberless other persons found a uniform and 
For more than twoscore years it 
was a ministers’ home, a frequent place for their rest 
and Home and foreign missionaries 
found an asylum there. Distinguished visitors from 
a distance were often guests. 

A more affectionate father, wisely indulgent, yet 
tenderly vigilant and firm, it would be hard to find. 
The early conversion of his children and their relig- 
ious culture were evidently his chief aim. The tes- 
timony of many who were well acquainted—having 
been inmates of the family for months, and some of 
them even for years—is that as head of the house- 
hold Dr. Burgess was most exemplary, prudent, sym- 
pathizing, noticeably thoughtful of the comfort and 
welfare of all, domestics included. One who spent 
three years in the family, a person of high culture, 
keen discernment, and connected with a different 
denomination, has said, deliberately, ‘‘ He was the best 


refreshment. 


man I ever knew.” 

In stature Dr. Burgess was above the average 
height, erect, and finely proportioned. The first im- 
pression made upon a stranger would be that of dig- 
nity and gravity. One acquaintance used to pronounce 
him “ the last of the Puritans.” For the Puritans and 
Pilgrims he entertained a profound filial respect. His 
native county had a large place in his heart. On vis- 
iting Plymouth, holding his first-born child in a large 
willow basket, he set the little fellow on Pilgrim Rock, 
and, raising his hands towards heaven, engaged in 
silent prayer. 

Dr. Burgess’ manners were in some measure old- 
time manners, with a touch of primitive New England 
stateliness. But it required no long acquaintance to 
discover a genuine benignity, a pervasive kindliness. 
No harsh judgments would escape from him ; no loss 
of temper would ever be witnessed ; no social or pro- 
fessional indiscretions would be detected. The clerical 
office was sure to be respected in the man. Hgotism 
had no place ; for ostentation he cherished a deep dis- 
like. Regularity, personal neatness, and temperance 
in meats and drinks were characteristics. His three 
thousand manuscript sermons are models of unblem- 
ished orderliness ; not a blot and scarcely an erasure 
could be found on them. 

In all later years Dr. Burgess enjoyed excellent 
health, which was due in part, no doubt, to well-regu- 
lated exercise in superintending and cultivating his 
farm on the banks of Charles River. To human ap- 
pearance there was every reason to suppose that in 
longevity he might even surpass his ancestors. In 











34A-C ATATWL ee OM 








» 
‘ 
' 
iz 
} 
. 


DEDHAM. 99 





March, 1870, however, at eighty years of age, he met 
with an injury which undermined his strength, and 
which induced or aggravated a fatal complaint. Only 
a few times could he appear at worship on the Lord’s 
Day. Suffering became extreme, but it was borne with 
Christian heroism till December 7th, when, joyfully 
trusting in Him who is the resurrection and the life, 
he entered into rest. Underneath his name on a 
monument in the cemetery are these words,— 


““ Whose faith follow.” 





ALVAN LAMSON. 


Alvan Lamson was born at Weston, Mass., Nov. 
18,1792. The genealogy of the family does not 
seem to be very well known. John Lamson, the 
great-grandfather of Alvan, is believed to have gone 
from Reading to Weston, and is supposed to have 
been the son of Joseph Lamson, of Charlestown, or 
Joseph Lamson, of Cambridge,—the name Joseph 
Lamson appearing in both places. Joseph Lamson, 
of Cambridge, was the son of Barnabas Lamson (or 
Lamsonn, as he wrote his name), of Cambridge. 

John Lamson, of Weston, the grandfather of Alvan, 
was born in 1724, married Elizabeth Weston, of 
Lincoln, and died in 1785. 

John Lamson, the father of Alvan, was born in 
Weston, in 1760. He married Hannah Ayers, of 
Needham, Oct. 17, 1790, and died Sept. 3, 1833. 
He was a farmer, owning the land he cultivated. 


Alvan Lamson worked on his father’s farm till he | 


left home for the academy at Andover. He early 
showed a love of reading and study, being marked at 
the district school as exemplary in conduct and rank- 


ing high among his schoolmates. 


he looked forward to studying for the ministry. | 


After attending the district school and being for some 
time under the instruction of Dr. Kendall, the clergy- 
man at Weston, he went to Phillips Academy, And 
over, where he completed his preparatory studies, and 
in 1810 entered Harvard College. 

His class—the class of 1814—contained several 
who stood high in after-life, among others, James 
Walker, who became professor and president of the 
college; Pliny Merrick, who was judge of the Su- 
preme Court of Massachusetts; and William H. 
Prescott, the historian. 
his classmates in the beginning, and maintained it to 
the end. In college, as at the academy, he depended 
largely on his own exertions for his support. 

For two years after graduating he was a tutor in 


He took a high rank among 


When still young | 





Bowdoin College. He then entered the Divinity 
School at Cambridge, appearing in the catalogue as 
a member of the first class which graduated from the 
school (in 1817). 

In 1818 he was invited to become the pastor of 
the First Church and Parish in Dedham, and, after 
some hesitation, accepted the invitation. 

It was a time of change in religious societies. 
Differences of opinion and belief had become de- 
cided and sometimes irreconcilable, many old parishes 
were divided and new ones formed. There was dis- 
agreement in the Dedham Church and Parish as in 
others. A considerable majority—two-thirds, or 
more—of the parish sympathized with what was 
called the Liberal, or Unitarian belief, the larger 
number of the most active members of the church 
being more favorable to what has been known as the 
Orthodox faith. The invitation to Dr. Lamson was 
given by the parish without the concurrence or 
approval of the church, though a majority of the 
members of the church finally acquiesced in the 
action of the parish. Hence arose a controversy 
which was prolonged and bitter. The parish, and, 
in its turn, the church, summoned a council, and the 
conflict led to legal proceedings, the final decision of 
the Supreme Court’ being that the parish and the 
portion of the church which remained with it still 
continued to be the First Church and Parish, re- 
taining all their rights and property. The members 
of the church and parish who were not satisfied with 
the consequences of this decision withdrew and 


_ formed a new association, the church thus consti- 


tuted being now known as the “Orthodox,” or ‘ Allin 
Congregational Church.” 

After his settlement Dr. Lamson devoted himself 
to his parish and to literary pursuits. His life was 
earnest and laborious, but, like most lives given to 
study and the quiet performance of duty, it affords 
little on which the writer of a brief memoir may 
enlarge or which will arrest the attention of a casual 
He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity 
from his college in 1837, and acquired a high repu- 
He at- 
tended carefully to his pastoral duties, performing 
them with his best strength and ability. 

He fully appreciated the importance of good 
schools, and gave much time and labor to the care 
and improvement of the public schools of the town, 
being an active member of the school committee for 
a number of years, and diligently attending to some 
of its most troublesome and important duties. 


reader. 


tation as a preacher, writer, and scholar. 





1 Baker vs. Fales, Mass. Rep., vol. xvi. p. 488. 


100 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





His health was never robust, and at times was 
quite feeble, and his work often brought weariness, 


nervousness, and discouragement,—uncomfortable 


days, and nights with little sleep. About middle | 


life he was attacked by a serious illness, which, be- 


sides its effect on his general health, produced a_ 


paralysis of certain muscles, and which perplexed and 
baffled his physician. He suffered from this for 
several years, but was finally relieved by vigorous 
treatment at the hot sulphur springs of Virginia. 
During his absence there the cause of his illness was 
almost accidentally discovered. It arose from the 
use of water impregnated with lead. This water was 
brought from a spring on “ Federal Hill,’”’ through 
logs, to two reservoirs in the village, and thence dis- 
tributed by lead pipes. It was supposed to have 
caused several cases of severe illness and some deaths. 

This visit to Virginia in pursuit of health, and a 
trip to Europe of a few months in 1853, were prob- 


ably his most extended absences from home after his | 


settlement. Living thus in Dedham, which during 
the earlier part of his residence was a somewhat 
secluded village, he came to feel a strong attachment 
to the place and his people, and a deep interest in all 
that concerned them, and these feelings continued to 
the end of his life. 

Dr. Lamson had a strong literary taste. 
a high estimation of the Greek and Latin classical 
writers and the standard English and American 
authors, and was well versed in general literature. 
He was a ready though not a hasty writer. His 
simple—had force and 





style—always pure and 
beauty, and his writings won the warm praise of his 
contemporaries, who were most capable of judging of 
them. 
the examining committee in Rhetoric, during the 
professorship of Edward T. Channing, in Harvard 
College. 

He wrote many articles in the Christian Examiner, 
of which, with Rey. E.S. Gannett, he was editor from 
January, 1844, to May, 1849. He published a 
volume of sermons in 1857, and a number of occa- 
sional sermons and addresses, including “ A History 


He had | 


He was for a number of years a member of | 





culture, pomology, and arboriculture. 


of the First Three Centuries.” He spent much time 
on this work after its first publication, and a revised 


_and enlarged edition of it was issued in 1865, after 


his decease, under the supervision of Professor Ezra 
Abbot. He was familiar with the history and doc- 
trines of New England Congregationalism, and was 
summoned as a witness in a case in the New Hamp- 


‘shire Court,’ which depended on the meaning of the 


term ‘ Congregational.” He was also selected to 
write the article on Unitarianism, in Rupp’s “ History 
of all the Religious Denominations in the United 


| States.” 


Dr. Lamson was very fond of country life, thought 
much of his garden, and took great interest in agri- 
He was a 
member of the Norfolk Agricultural Society, and de- 
livered the annual address before it in 1857. 

His personal character was of much simplicity. He 
was conscientious,—sometimes more than conscien- 
tious,—scrupulously honest and honorable in his 
dealings, always anxious to avoid violating the rights 
of others, and often ready to sacrifice his own. But 
he was not wanting in judgment and sagacity. He 
was exact in the performance of all which he regarded 
as duty, desiring to leave nothing undone which 
properly belonged to him to do, but was generally in- 
dulgent in his judgment of others. He was no 
ascetic, and was never inclined to condemn a reason- 
able indulgence in the amusements of life. In his 
hours of leisure he enjoyed social intercourse, though 
a natural reserve and sensitiveness, and his studious 
habits, prevented him from seeking it as constantly as 
many do, and gave him the appearance of caring less 


| for it than he really did. 


His connection with his parish continued till Oct. 
29, 1860,—forty-two years from the time of his 
settlement,—when his resignation, offered a little 
while before, took effect. After his retirement he 
still retained a lively interest in the affairs of the 


_ parish, taking part in the instruction of the Sunday- 


of the First Church and Parish in Dedham, in three | 


Discourses,” delivered Nov. 29 and Dee. 2, 


1838. | 


He was fond of historical and antiquarian researches, | 


was a member of the Massachusetts Historical So- 
ciety, and one of the original members of the Dedham 
Historical Society. 

He was especially interested in the history of the 


early church, and in the works of the early Christian | 


writers,—the Fathers, as they are often called. 
1860 he published a volume entitled “The Church 


In | 


| 
| 


school, and holding himself ready to aid his successor 
and his people whenever his assistance was desired. 
He married, in 1825, Frances Fidelia Ward, 
daughter of Artemus Ward, who was a long time 
chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He 
died July 18, 1864, of paralysis, of which he had 


1 Attorney-General vs. Dublin, New Hampshire Rep., vol. 
xxxviii. p. 459. Dr. Lamson testified fully for the defendant in 
this case, but the court, in their decision, held that such evi- 
dence was not admissible, and that the meaning of the word 
Congregational should be determined by the court as a question 
of law, reference being made to historical works and other 
works of authority. 











GQ/¥2 ay 


el 


{ 


is 


J 


y 


? 


Sor A 








DEDHAM. 


101 








had a slight attack the preceding year,—an attack so 
slight that its true character was hardly recognized 
at the time. 

The following is a list of the publications of Dr. 
Lamson : 

Sermons, 12mo, pp. 424. 1857. 

The Church of the First Three Centuries; or, 
Notices of the Lives and Opinions of some of the 
Karly Fathers, with special reference to the Doctrine 
of the Trinity: illustrating its late origin and gradual 
formation. S8vo, pp. 352. 1860. 

Second edition of the same, revised and enlarged ; 
edited by Ezra Abbot. 8vo, pp. 410. 1865. 

An edition of this work, with additional notes by 
Henry lIerson, was published by the British and 
Foreign Unitarian Association. London. 1875. 

Pamphlets.—Sermon on the Adaptation of Chris- 
tianity. 1825. 

Remarks on the Genius and Writings of Soame 
Jenyns, and on the Internal Evidences of Christianity. 
1826. 

Sermon preached at the Ordination of Rev. Charles 
C. Sewall, at Danvers. 1827. 

Discourse at the Dedication of Bethlehem Chapel, 
Augusta, Me. 1827. 

Discourse on the Validity of Congregational Ordi- 
nation (Dudleian Lecture), 1834. 

Sermon on the Sin against the Holy Ghost. 1835. 

A History of the First Church and Parish in 
Dedham, in three Discourses, delivered Nov. 29 and 
Dec. 2, 1838. Published in 1839. 


A Discourse delivered on the day of the National | 


Fast, on occasion of the death of President Harrison. 
1841. 

Congregationalism. A Discourse delivered before 
the Massachusetts Convention of Congregational 
Ministers. 1846. 

The Memory of John Robinson. A Discourse de- 
livered at Dedham, Sunday, Dec. 21, 1851. 

Impressions of Men and Things Abroad. <A Ser- 
mon preached at Dedham, Sept. 11, 1853, after 
an absence of some months in Europe. 


Agricultural Life in some of its Intellectual | 


Aspects. An Address delivered before the Norfolk 
Agricultural Society, Sept. 30, 1857. 

A Sermon preached Oct. 31, 1858, the Sunday 
after the Fortieth Anniversary of his Ordination. 

A Discourse preached Oct. 28, 1860, on Resign- 
ing the Pastoral Charge of the First Church and 
Parish in Dedham, after a Ministry of Forty-two 
Years. 

Funeral Sermons.—On Ebenezer Fisher, Jr. 1847. 

On Mrs. Mary Dean. 1851. 








{ 


On Rev. John White. 1852. 

On John Endicott. 1857. 

On Hon. James Richardson. 1858. 

Tracts (Unitarian).—On the Doctrine of Two 
Natures in Jesus Christ. First Series, No. 20. (Re- 
printed in England. ) 

On the Foundation of our Confidence in the 
Saviour. First Series, No. 89. (Reprint of Sermon 
at Ordination of C. C. Sewall.) 

On Earnestness in Religion. First Series, No. 188. 

What is Unitarianism? First Series, No. 202. 
(Reprint, after revision, of the article on ‘“ Unitarian 
Congregationalists,’ in Rupp’s “ History of all the 
Religious Denominations in the United States.”’) 


IRA CLEVELAND. 

Ira Cleveland was born in the town of Hopkinton, 
Middlesex Co., Mass., Feb. 1, 1802. When four 
years old he moved with his father, Ira Cleveland, to 
a farm in Milford, Worcester County, and was occu- 


| pied in attending school and in assisting his father 


in agricultural pursuits until he entered college. He 
prepared at a private academy in Mendon, entered 
Brown University in September, 1821, and graduated 
in 1825 valedictorian of his class. Soon after leaving 
his Alma Mater he began to study law at Marlboro’, 
Mass., and in 1828 came to Dedham and entered 
the office of the Hon. Horace Mann, where he was 


| engaged in attending law lectures and preparing for 


admission to the bar. During the December term of 
the Court of Common Pleas, in 1829, he was duly 
admitted as an attorney-at-law, and in the usual 
course a counsellor in that and the Supreme Judicial 
Court. The ten years which followed were given ex- 
clusively to his law practice, which by his industry 
and wisdom increased until he received a goodly share 
of the business of the county, and held a satisfactory 
position as an advocate. He always had a high re- 
gard for the justice and equity of the several legal 
tribunals and the integrity of their officers, but at the 
same time he was never disposed to favor litigation, 
and in most eases advised his clients to adjust their 
disputes by private agreement, rather than have re- 
course to an expensive and extended process by law. 
Mr. Cleveland, in 1840, was connected with the 


| Dedham and Norfolk County Mutual Insurance Com- 





panies, and became so much engaged with the prosecu- 
tion of this business that he gradually withdrew from 
the bar. He was also appointed public administrator, 
which office he held forty-two years. At the present 
writing, although in his eighty-second year, he is ac- 


102 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





tively engaged with the above-named corporations, as 


president of one and treasurer of both. 

In the spring of 1837, Mr. Cleveland married Miss 
Frances M. Whitney, daughter of Major T. P. 
Whitney, of Wrentham. His wedded life was brief: 
He buried his wife and infant daughter in the year 
following. In his intense bereavement he found a 
deeply sympathizing friend in the Rev. Dr. Babcock, 
rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. He was 
affectionately taken into his family and provided with 


a home, where he remained until it was broken by | 


death, a period of forty-three years. He now resides 
in the family of the present rector, the Rev. Arthur 


M. Backus. 


Mr. Cleveland, soon after coming to Dedham, in- | 


terested himself and others in beautifying the streets 
and squares of the village. 
were planted in various quarters, and the village 


Many ornamental trees 


cemetery changed from a dilapidated condition to one 
of order and attractiveness. 


St. Paul's Church. 


church in 1838. The same year he was elected | 


warden and a delegate to the Diocesan Convention of 


Massachusetts, and has acted constantly in these > 
His gifts to the | 
He was | 


capacities until the present time. 
parish have been generous and frequent. 


well preserved. His life has been unostentatious, yet 
Intensity of 
purpose and persevering devotion are his prevailing 
These, with his benevolence and 
generosity, will make him ever to be venerated, and 
his name one which his friends and associates will 


ever delight to honor. 


not devoid of strength and earnestness. 


characteristics. 





JOSEPH W. CLARK. 


Elder John White, the ancestor of Joseph W. 
Clark on his mother’s side, was one of the first set- 
tlers of Cambridge, of Hartford, and of Hadley, Mass. 
He was a passenger in the ship ‘“ Lyon,” which sailed 
from England June 22, 1632. She brought one 
hundred and twenty-three passengers, thirty-three 
adult males, including John White. The General 
Court had assigned the town of Cambridge—then 


called Newtowne—for their settlement, together with 
His more excellent labors have been in behalf of | 


He became a member of the | 


actively engaged in forwarding the execution of the | 
va cow-yard. Gore Hall, the beautiful library building 


church building which was constructed in 1845, 
costing seven thousand dollars. 
was burned, his efficient help enabled the parish to 
build the present beautiful stone edifice, at an expense 
of over thirty thousand dollars. The sum donated 
by him to assist in these two cases was greater than 
thirteen thousand dollars. He was largely instru- 


mental in erecting the costly monument to the memory 


After this church | 


| 


of the late Bishop Griswold which stands on the | 
north side of the church; and, together with Joseph 


W. Clarke, Esq., placed the beautiful testimonial in 
marble, which stands near it, to the memory of his 
cherished friend and rector, Rev. Samuel B. Babcock. 


In 1881 he added to his constantly increasing bene- | 


factions the gift of a chime of ten bells, the largest 
weighing three thousand and fifty pounds, at a cost 
of over five thousand dollars. 


In 1882 the gratitude 


of the parish was called for again through the offer | 


to decorate the interior of the church at an expense 


of more than three thousand dollars. The acceptance 


of this gift enabled him to fulfill his heart’s desire, | 


and to make glorious that object upon which his affec- 
tion was set, viz., the House of God. 


Mr. Cleveland, although weighted with the burdens | 


of over fourscore years, is wonderfully active and 


the company of Rev. Thomas Hooker, who had ar- 
rived a short time before and made a temporary settle- 
ment at Braintree. Here John White found his first 
home in this Western world. His home-lot, with his 
dwelling-house, was on a street called Cow-Yard Row. 
This home-lot with about thirty acres farming land 
was early allotted to him, and in August, 1633, the 
town granted him three-fourths of an acre more for 


of Harvard University, probably now graces this cow- 
yard. 

The location and quantity of his ailotments indicate 
that in his contributions to the common stock he was 
in a middle place, neither among the wealthier nor 
poorer class. 

In February, 1635, the town made its first election 
of a board of seven men “to do the business of the — 
They were then called Townsmen or 
selectmen. John White was one of the number 
Soon after the Rev. Mr. Hooker and his 
people began to feel straitened in their accommo- 
dations, and determined to look out for a new home. 
They selected the valley of the Connecticut, and 
having obtained the reluctant consent of the govern- 
ment of Massachusetts, in June, 1636, the main body 
of the company effected their removal. 

Trumbull, the historian, says in his graphic narra- 
tive, “About a hundred men, women, and children 
traveled more than one hundred miles through a 
tedious and tractless wilderness to Hartford. They 
had no guide but their compass over mountains and 


whole town.” 


chosen. 


rivers, through swamps and thickets, with no covering 
but the heavens; they drove one hundred and sixty 





| 
. 





DEDHAM. 103 











head of cattle and subsisted on the milk of the cows. 
Mrs. Hooker was borne on a litter through the wil- 
derness.” In the records of Hartford, John White 
appears as one of the original one hundred proprietors. 
His home-lot was on what is now Governor Street ; 
only eighteen of the original had a larger share than 


his. Here he was chosen one of the board of | 


‘‘ Orderers,” as the selectmen were called. Little is 
known of his private life except that he was a frugal 


and industrious farmer, careful in securing for his | 


children a good education. 

Dissensions soon arose in the church between the 
minister and Elder Goodwin, and it was determined 
by the elder and his following to found a new colony. 
On the 18th of April, 1659, sixty persons signed an 
agreement to remove to Hadley. John White’s name 


being fifth on the list, indicates that he was one of | 


the leaders in this important step. 


of Hadley says, “This plantation by the engagers | 


did on the 9th of November, chuse by vote six per- 
sons (John White being one of them) to order all 
publick occasions that conscerns the good of the plan- 
The margin of the 
record calls this the first choice of “‘ Townsmen.” 
Thus were laid the foundations of Hadley,—the 
frontier settlement of that day,—looking out towards 
the northwest, north, northeast, and east on the 


tation for the yeare ensuing.” 


3 é | 
boundless forest and its savage Indian occupants. 
John White’s share in the common enterprise was | 


one hundred and fifty pounds, the highest share 
being represented by two hundred pounds. 
once took an active part in the affairs of the town, 


and was sent a number of times as deputy or rep- | 


resentative to the General Court at Boston. As evi- 


dence of his good report among the brethren, he was one 


of the “ messengers” from Hadley when the church | 


at Northampton was gathered, in the year 1661. 
After 1670 his name does not appear in the records, 

he having returned to Hartford. A new church was 

formed there, and he was chosen elder in it. The 


home of twenty-three years of the vigor of his life | 


retained a strong hold on his affections, and it needed 
only the attraction of a church formed after his idea 
of a perfect Scripture model to win him back to his 
early home. 
and in the winter of 1683-84 he rested from his 
labors. 


His good sense and sound judgment are attested | 
by the nature of the services his fellow-citizens sought _ 


from him. 
which he lived received his aid in management of its 
prudential affairs. 


The capacity to discharge the duties of a townsman - 


The town record | 


He at | 


His life was prolonged to a good old age, | 


Each of the three important towns in 


: i 
as well as those of representative to the colonial 


Legislature was in that day an indispensable pre- 
requisite to the appointment. The office of ruling 
elder in the church, which he held during the last 
ten or twelve years of his life, was one of great in- 
fluence and importance; it was designed to relieve 
the pastor of a considerable part of the responsibility 
attending the government and discipline of the 
church. It required a grave and discreet man, one 
who had earned a good report of those without and 


within the church. Such a one in all respects fur- 
nished for his work was our John White. 

To be the descendant of one whose qualifications 
' caused him to be galled to these various duties in the 
church and in the State, and who has discharged 
them well, is a matter of just pride. 

His descendants should abundantly honor the an- 
cestor in whose footsteps they may so safely walk. 

Joseph W. Clark was born in Easthampton, Mass., 
Sept. 16, 1810. He was the seventh generation 
in descent from ‘the Most Worshipful William 
Clarke, Esq.” (as the record has it), who died in 
| Northampton, July 19, 1690, aged eighty-one. He 
was born in England in 1609, and sailed from 
Plymouth with his family in 1630, in the ship “ Mary 
and John,” for Boston, a few weeks before that dis- 
tinguished company of fifteen hundred, headed by 
John Winthrop, afterwards Governor, in a fleet of 
_ thirteen vessels, from the Isle of Wight for Salem. 
| He settled first with the Dorchester colony, where he 
remained till 1659, when he was induced to join the 
Northampton colony, which was made up in good 





part by his companions on the voyage from England, 

particularly his lifelong friend, Elder John Strong. 
These two worthies were perhaps equally con- 

spicuous in stamping their unbending Puritan princi- 





| ples upon this frontier colony. Two years later, viz., 
in 1661, at the organization of a train-band or militia 
company of sixty men, the number being incomplete, 


'and not large enough to entitle them to a captain, 
William Clarke was chosen the highest officer, viz., 
“]ieutenant,’’—at that time considered a most impor- 
tant position, securing to him ever after the dis- 
tinguishing title of Lieut. Clarke. 

He held other important positions,—as representa- 
tive to the General Court at Boston, and for more than 
He was one of 


twenty years one of the selectmen. 
the judges of the County Court, held alternately at 
Northampton and Springfield. He was mentioned, 
moreover, as one of the seven pillars on which, with 
the first minister, the church there was originally 
constituted. 

The descendants of this godly man number many 





104 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





thousands, some of whom, even of the ninth genera- 
tion, are active to-day in the affairs of church and 
state in most of the States of the Union. 

He settled on a twelve-acre lot on what is now 
Elm Street, there being no street till long afterwards. 

The President Seelye place is part of this lot, and 
through the long period of over two hundred and 
twenty years some part of these twelve acres has con- 


tinued in possession of Lieut. William’s descendants. | 





In point of longevity and rapid increase, this is prob- | 


ably the most remarkable family ever reared in the 
town. 

The record shows that the sixth child of Lieut. 
William had eleven children; one died in early life, 
three lived to be above seventy, three above eighty, 
and four above ninety. Of these, six were sons, and 
each lived with the wife of his youth more than fifty 
years. Governor Caleb Strong says they were all 
living within his memory, all were respectable, and 
in good circumstances. 


One of the sons, Lieut. | 





Ebenezer, who lived near the President Seelye place, | 


attained the age of ninety-nine. At his death, in 


1781, there had sprung from the original pair, as _ 


stated by President Dwight, of Yale College, eleven 
hundred and forty-five persons, of whom nine hundred 
and sixty were then living. When it is remembered 
that all this relates simply to one of Lieut. William’s 
sons, viz., Deacon John and his posterity, some faint 
idea may be formed as to the multitude of his de- 
scendants, which it is estimated would number not 
less than thirty thousand. His tomb and monument 
may be seen in the old cemetery at Northampton. 
Asahel Clarke, the fifth in descent from Lieut. 
William, was born Feb. 17, 1737, was a lieutenant 


of St. Mark’s Church, New York City. 


in the Revolutionary army, and died in Hasthampton, | 


He married 
They had twelve 


on his eighty-fifth birthday, in 1822. 
Submit Clapp, who died in 1818. 
children. The sixth son, Bohan, was born in 1772, 
and died at Cambridge in 1846. 


ley. She died in Romeo, Mich., October, 1868. 
They had four sons and two daughters. 


He married, in | 


1802, Polly White (J. W. Clark's mother), of Had- | 


| Edward Sturgis Grew. 
live in Boston. 


When Joseph was eight years old his father re- | 


_ of the Dedham and Hyde Park Gas Company some 


moved to Northampton, having bought the mill 


property on Mill River with the homestead on South | 


Street. 


mon-school education till 1825, when he went to | 


Here he had only the advantages of a com- | 


Providence to live with his brother, Enoch White, | 


who had established a banking-house there as a | 


branch of the eminent firm of S. & M. Allen & | 


Co., of Philadelphia and New York, who had also | 


similar branches in many of the Southern and West- 


ern cities. In 1829, before he was twenty years old, 


he was admitted as partner with his brother in the 
new firm of EK. W. Clark & Bro. A few years later 
the concern established itself in Boston, and in 1836 
E. W. Clark removed to Philadelphia and founded 
the house of E. W. Clark & Co., which is continued 
to-day by the children of the two succeeding gen- 
erations, and enjoys deservedly a high position there. 
Joseph W. remained in Boston, under the style of 
J. W. Clark & Co. From these two parent houses 
in Philadelphia and Boston sprang HE. W. Clark, 
Dodge & Co., of New York; E. W. Clark & Bros., 
of St. Louis; Clark’s Exchange Bank, of Springfield, 
Ill.; and KE. W. Clark, Brothers & Farnum, of New 
Orleans. 

In 1834 he married Eleanor Arnold Jackson, 
daughter of Nathan W. Jackson, of Providence, R. I. 
The first seven years of married life they lived in 
Boston, and three children were born there, viz.: Ran- 
dolph Marshall, Agnes White, and Eleanor Jackson. 
In 1840 he bought a beautiful residence on Blue Hill, 
in Milton, where three children were born,—Mary 


Frances, Annie Crawford, and Susan Goodman. Five 
years later he removed to Dedham, and since that time 
—thirty-nine years ago—he has lived there. Here 


Carrie Ward, the youngest child, was born. She died 
in Boston in 1872. Randolph Marshall married, in 
1863, Mary Vinton, daughter of Rev. A. H. Vinton, 
He died 
Sept. 11, 1872, in Dedham, leaving two daughters, 
who, with their mother, live in Boston. Agnes White 
married, in 1859, Charles Van Brunt, of Dedham, son 
of Commodore Van Brunt, of the United States navy. 
Mary Frances married, in 1863, Dr. Courtland Hop- 
pin, of Providence, R. I. He died in 1876, leaving 
Annie Crawford married, in 1867, 
They have four children and 


three children. 


He is partner in the commission 
house of Lawrence & Co., successors to the eminent 
firm of the last generation of A. & A. Lawrence & 
Co. Susan Goodman married, in 1867, Gustav Stell- 
wag, a German merchant, who lives in New York. 
In Dedham Mr. Clark took an active interest in 
all local improvements. He was the chief promoter 
thirty years ago, and has for many years been presi- 
dent of the corporation. More recently the people 
are indebted to Mr. Clark, with two or three enter- 
prising citizens, for perhaps the greatest boon that 
has ever been conferred upon the town, the water- 
works, giving an ample supply of pure spring water 
for all domestic and fire purposes. But for his pecu- 
niary aid and influence it is not probable that this 


~ would have been accomplished perhaps for many 





DEDHAM. 


105 











years. From his earliest residence in town he has 
been intimately identified with St. Paul’s Episcopal 
Parish, under the rectorship of his early and constant 
friend, Rev. Samuel B. Babcock, D.D. He was for 
many years junior warden, with his friend Ira Cleve- 
land as senior. He was a liberal contributor in all 
the departments of church and parish work. He 
was frequently chosen delegate to the diocesan con- 
vention. 

Soon after the treaty with the Indians, by which 
the upper peninsula of Michigan was ceded to the 
United States when the vast wealth of the mineral 
deposits began to be known and appreciated, he be- 


came greatly interested in these lands, and has since | 


that time been identified with the wonderful devel- 
opment of that region which has added so vastly to 
the national wealth, and has become one of the lead- 
ing sources of copper supply for the world, while this 
wilderness of ice and snow has been converted into a 
vigorous and thrifty commonwealth, with schools and 
churches, and the accompaniments of civilization as 
found in the Eastern States. He was one of the 
original proprietors of the land which made up the 


Calumet and Hecla mines when they were entered at | 
one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre under the land | 


department of the United States government. This 
is probably the richest copper-mining property ever 
developed in the annals of mining. The present valua- 
tion is about twenty-five million dollars, while an equal 


_agift of ten thousand dollars as a memorial to his 





son, who was for many years greatly interested in 
its beneficent work. This fund is known as the 
“Randolph Marshall Clark Memorial Fund.” He 
is one of the board of trustees of donations to the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, and has been for forty- 
five years. He has traveled quite extensively at home 
and abroad, has made ten voyages across the Atlantic, 
made an extended tour through Norway and Sweden 
and Continental Europe. From Stockholm he crossed 
the Baltic through Finland to Petersburg and Mos- 
cow to Novgorod, at the head of navigation on the 
Volga; then down that river and the Don by the Sea 
of Azof and the Straits of Kertch into the Black Sea, 
visiting Sevastopol, Balaklava, and the intensely in- 
teresting fields of the great strife of France and Eng- 
land against Russia in 1854-55, returning, via Odessa 
and Galatz, up the Danube through Hungary and 
Austria. He also visited Cuba soon after the bloody 
termination of the Lopez expedition, having for its 
object the invasion and revolution of that island. 
The sudden death of Randolph Marshall was a 
severe shock to his father, and made him nearly for- 
But he 
soon resumed the management of his affairs, which 
since his protracted absence in Europe he had almost 
wholly placed in his son’s hands by unlimited power of 


get his interests in matters of daily life. 


attorney. His early education was under the eye of 


amount has been divided in money to the shareholders, | 


ageregating little less than fifty million dollars. 
is president of the St. Mary’s Canal Mineral Land 
Company. This was the largest land company in the 
United States up to the time when the enormous sub- 
sidies for railroad building began to work. This grant 
was for seven hundred and fifty thousand acres from 
the United States government to the State of Michigan 
for the purpose of building a canal round the Falls 


He | 


of St. Mary’s at the outlet of Lake Superior, and its | 


completion opened to the world the vast commerce 
of that inland ocean. 


Now, since the Northern Pa- | 


cific Railroad is extended to Puget Sound and the | 


Pacific Ocean, the mind can hardly grasp the magni- 


tude of the interests involved. He is president of the 


Osceola Consolidated Mines, a legitimate and conser- | 


vative company, which has been successfully worked 
some ten years, and in the past seven years has paid 
regular dividends aggregating about one million dollars 
to the shareholders. For more than forty years he 
has been one of the managers and treasurer of the 
‘“¢ Episcopal Clerical Fund,” a chartered society for 
the relief of aged and indigent clergymen, and a 
liberal contributor to its funds. In 1881 he made 





his pastor, Dr. Babcock, of Dedham; then he went 
to Churchill's military school, at Sing Sing, N. Y., 
where he prepared for Harvard University. He 
graduated with honor in the class of 1855. Then 
he spent some years in travel and study, and entered 
into mercantile life as treasurer of a factory in which 
his father was largely interested. The church of his 
choice in which he was reared carried the affections 
and convictions of his manhood. He was a devout 
churchman. 

On breaking out of the Rebellion he enlisted in the 
Massachusetts First Cavalry as lieutenant, and went to 
South Carolina, where he served in the region about 
Hilton Head and Beaufort. He saw some hard 
service there. Then ordered North, he served on the 
lower Potomac, and the campaign culminated for him 
in the hard-fought battle at Antietam. He was pro- 
moted to captain in the Massachusetts Second Cavalry 
Regiment, but was soon after cnvalided by the surgeon 
of his regiment without his consent, or even his 
knowledge, and returned to his home with broken 
health. Disease contracted here probably cost him 
his life. 

He was thoroughly educated,—accomplished in 
French and German. He traveled much, crossed 


106 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








the Atlantic twelve times, spent a winter in Dresden, | 


made a journey through Norway and Sweden, visited 


Russia twice, and had exceptional facilities for ob- | 
His | 


servation which he did not fail to improve. 
occasional letters to the press, over the signature of 
“ Dolphus,” were extensively copied through the 
country. “ Moscow and Central 
Russia” was received with marked favor. 


His lecture on 


The exceptional relations of companionship and 


trust which always existed with his father were re- | 


markably tender and touching. 
The following tribute to his worth is most appro- 
priate and expressive : 


“Minirary OrpER Loyant Leaion, UNITED STATES. 
“ HEADQUARTERS COMMANDERY OF THE STATE OF 
“ MASSACHUSETTS. 
“ Boston, October 3, 1873. 

“At astated meeting of this Commandery, held at the Parker 
House, School Street, on Wednesday evening, October 1, 1873, 
the following report of a committee to draft resolutions relative 
to the decease of Companion Captain Randolph M, Clark, 


late First Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers Cavalry, was | 


adopted : 
* REPORT. 


“Companion Captain Randolph Marshall Clark, died at his | 
_ mained in this connection thirty years. 
“An earnest, upright man, strong in his convictions and | 


boyhood’s home, at Dedham, Massachusetts, September 11, 1873. 


conscientious in his expression of them,—he united with a cul- 
tivated mind sound judgment and thoroughness,—independence 
of thought and fearlessness of action,—kindliness of heart and 
tenderness of sympathy,—governed always by principles of 
right and justice,—a trusted friend,—a good soldier,—a valued 
citizen,—a true man, 

“ Resolved, That by his death is stricken from the list of 
living companionship and added to the increasing roll of our 
fallen comrades,—who rest in peace,—another name, which 
shall be guarded in memory with tenderness. 

“ Resolved, That we deeply deplore the death of our com- 
panion in the midst of his usefulness, and realize the loss we 
are called to mourn, 

“ Resolved, That we tender our heartfelt sympathy to that 
home circle in which he was so loved. 





EZRA W. 


Ezra W. Taft, son of Frederick and Abigail Wood 
Taft, was born in Uxbridge, Mass., Aug. 26, 1800. 


TAFT. 


| Early in life he commenced that business activity 





“ Resolved, That the recorder be instructed to transmit a | 


copy of these resolutions to the afflicted family of our deceased 
companion, and that this declaration of our remembrance be 
entered upon the records of this Commandery. 


“ARNOLD A. RAND, 

“Col. UsiS. VOls:, 
“ Greorce N. Macy, 

“ Brevet Maj.-Gen. U.S. Vols., 
“Francis A. Osporn, 


wp 


| 
t Committee. 
| 
srevet Brig.-Gen. U.S. Vols., J 


[Extract from the Minutes. ] 


“CHARLES DEVENS, Jr., 
“Bvt. Major-Gen. U. S. Vols., Commander. 
“Jas. B. Beii, Recorder.” 


_ three years as overseer. 


out through the country to be woven. 


which has since been characteristic of the man. He 
came to Dedham in 1815 and went to work with 
Frederick A. Taft, who started the Dedham Manu- 
facturing Company. He remained here most of the 
time until 1820. In that year, then only twenty 
years of age, he went to the neighboring town of 
Walpole, where he hired a little mill and made forty 
thousand yards of negro-cloth for the Southern trade. 


_In 1823 he went to Dover, N. H., and assisted in 


starting the Cocheco Mill, now one of the largest 
cotton-mills in New England, where he remained 
In 1826 he returned to 
Dedham and took the agency of the Dedham Manu- 
facturing Company, which position he retained six 
years. In 1832, Mr. Taft severed his connection 
with this company and assumed the agency of the 
Norfolk Manufacturing Company at Hast Dedham, 
where he built the stone mill now standing, and re- 
At the time 
Mr. Taft first identified himself with the manufactur- 
ing business all yarn was spun at the mills and sent 
From this 
crude beginning he has lived to witness the develop- 


| ment of the business until a modern woolen-mill is 


one of the wonders of the nineteenth century. 
In 1864, Mr. Taft retired from manufacturing, 


_and since that time has devoted himself almost con- 
| tinuously to the business of the town. 


For more 
than thirty years he was a member of the school 
committee, and for thirty-one years a director of the 
Dedham Bank, and since 1875 has been its presi- 
dent. He has been connected with the Dedham In- 
stitution for Savings since its organization, and is one 
of the investment committee at the present time. 
He has also been a member of the old Norfolk In- 


_surance Company since its organization, and is a 
director in the Dedham Mutual Insurance Company. 


He was for fourteen successive years one of the se- 


'lectmen of the town, during twelve of which he was 





chairman of the board. He also represented Dedham 
four years in the Legislature, besides filling many 


other positions of honor and trust. No citizen of 


_the town of Dedham has been so continuously con- 


nected with bank and town business as Mr. Taft, 
who lives to enjoy the fruition of a successful busi- 


| ness. career. 


Mr. Taft’s grandfather, Samuel Taft, lived to be 
over eighty years of age, and had twenty-two chil- 


—. 














> 





DEDHAM. 


107 





dren. He was a noted hotel-keeper in Uxbridge 
during the Revolution, and had the honor of enter- 
taining Gen. Washington and staff on their journey 
north. A pleasing incident is related in this con- 
nection. Washington was so much pleased with Mr. 
Taft’s two daughters that he sent them each a hand- 


some dress as evidence of his gratitude for their kind- | 
which the town has much reason to be proud. 


ness and attention to him during his sojourn. 


Frederick Taft, father of the subject of this notice, | 


was a very active public man in Worcester County. 
He was surveyor for all the southern portions of the 
county, and for twenty years was deputy sheriff. “He 
lived to the advanced age of eighty-seven, and his 
wife, Abigail Wood, reached the age of ninety years. 

Mr. Taft is a member of the Orthodox Church, 


and a Republican in politics. He has ever labored 


zealously to advance the interests of the town, whether | 


material, religious, or educational, all finding in him 
an earnest advocate, ever ready to take the laboring 
oar in all good works. 

Sept. 8, 1830, Mr. Taft united in marriage with 
Lendamine Draper, eldest daughter of Calvin Guild, 
of Dedham, and their family consists of six children, 
all of whom were present at Mr. and Mrs. Taft’s 
golden wedding, which was celebrated Sept. 8, 1880. 


CARLOS SLAFTER. 


Well may the name and worth of Carlos Slafter 
have honorable mention in the history of Dedham, 
for to him, perhaps more than to all others, is the 
town indebted for the prosperity of the high school 
and for the measure of usefulness to which it has 
attained. This school was founded in 1851, and in 
1852 Mr. Slafter became its principal, and has re- 
mained in that capacity to the present time, a period 


of over thirty years. He watched with untiring zeal 








over its struggling infancy, and, as its hold on the | 


community grew firmer and its usefulness broader, 
his watchful interest kept even pace with its benefi- 
cent development. 
instituted measures for its progressive advantage. 


At an early day he arranged a course of study for | 


three years, and soon after for four years; and, with 


various modifications demanded by the advance in» 


educational ideas, the four years’ course has been 
continued. The sons and daughters of his earliest 
pupils have been graduated, some for college and 
some for normal schools, and many for business pur- 
suits. Mr. Slafter has been a careful observer of the 
progress and improvements in teaching, and has aimed 


to keep abreast of the times. He has found great 


He has constantly suggested and | 





| cester Co, Mass., May 12, 1813. 


sources of enjoyment in his calling, and yet has not 
been so absorbed in it as to lose interest in the affairs 
of the community in which he lives. 

The Dedham Library Association was formed at 


his suggestion, and to his energy and untiring de- 


votion is largely due the foundation of the public 
library, an institution of great public benefit, and of 


From early manhood, almost boyhood, Mr. Slafter 
has been an educational instructor. He is son of 
Sylvester and Mary Slafter, and was born in Thet- 
ford, Vt., July 21, 1825. The district school fur- 
nished his early means of education, and after a full 
term of study at Thetford Academy, at the age of 
sixteen years and a few months, he began to teach 
in the town of Fairlee, Vt. 
taught winter schools in the town of Lyme, N. H. 
Dividing his time between work on the farm and 
study at the academy, he entered Dartmouth College 
in the summer of 1845. By teaching winters he 
obtained the chief means of completing his college 
studies, and was graduated in 1849. At the close 
of his college course he decided to devote himself to 
the teacher's calling, although fully aware that it did 


For several years he 


not offer pecuniary rewards to satisfy the most 
ambitious minds. 

The two years after graduation he spent in Ded- 
ham, chiefly in teaching, but for several months he 
read law in the office of Ira Cleveland, Esq. In 
1851 he became principal of the high school in 
Framingham, Mass., but at the close of the year he 
was recalled to Dedham, where the years of his active 
life have been spent. 

In May, 1865, Mr. Slafter was ordained a deacon 
in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and was chap- 
lain several years for the Dedham jail and house of 
correction, but, finding clerical duties combined 
with teaching too burdensome, for several years he 
has wholly relinquished the former. 

In 1858 he married Rebecca, daughter of William 
and Rebecca (Dagget) Ballard, and their family con- 
sists of a son and daughter,—Theodore Shorey and 
Annie Rebecea,—the former an artist, educated in 
the Royal Academy of Munich, and is now in Bos- 
ton, and the latter, having spent three years in the 
Massachusetts Normal Art School, is now a teacher 
of art in the Westfield Normal School, at Westfield, 
Mass. 


ELIPHALET STONE. 
Eliphalet Stone was born in Hubbardston, Wor- 
At the age of 
six years he was left fatherless, and his family being 


108 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





in very moderate circumstances he was adopted by a 
relative. Though he was ambitious to acquire an 


education, his early advantages were extremely 


limited, being such as farmers’ boys received forty — 


years ago in the district school. 
active business of life at an early age, and in 1833 
settled in Dedham, since which time he has been 
largely engaged in the baking and grocery business, 
real estate and building, and for many years was the 
leading auctioneer in that part of the county, and 
what is a little unusual with so many “irons in the 
fire,’ he succeeded in all. He has been especially 
active in building residences in the east village, and 
has labored earnestly to advance the interests of this 


part of the town, and has lived to see it develop from 


an insignificant portion of the town to its present 
prosperous condition. 
Mr. Stone from early youth has manifested a lively 


interest in agriculture and horticultural pursuits, and | 


| July 21, 1784, and died July 8, 1833. 


has written many valuable papers on fruit culture. 
Col. Stone, as he is familiarly called, has been 


honored by his fellow-citizens with many positions of | 


trust and responsibility, and for four years repre- 
sented the town of Dedham in the legislature, viz., 


He entered into the | 
ing land in Taunton in 1637, and married Marjorie 
Turner, of Taunton, in 1638. The line of descent is 








1861, 62, °63,’69. This was during the dark days of | 


the Rebellion, and it is but simply justice to Col. 
Stone to add, that during the war no person was 
more interested in the welfare of our soldiers than 


he, and that he even sacrificed his business interests | 


to visit the soldiers upon the field, and made arrange- | 


ments for their comfort, and also interested himself | 


Be- 


in making suitable provision for their families. 


nevolence is one of his leading characteristics, and | 
| Susan Dresser, of Dedham, a native of Lunenburg, 


no one was ever turned empty-handed from his door. 


Although now past the scriptural age of three- | 


. . | 
score and ten, he apparently retains all the vigor and | 


elasticity of youth, and is a specimen of the good- 
natured, whole-souled, careless man, whose greatness 
hangs lightly upon him. He has a prodigious amount 
of power, which he carries, apparently, with the ut- 
most indifference and unconcern to himself. He is a 
fine specimen of the gentleman of the old school. 
With much dignity and courtesy in his manners, he 


is strictly honorable, frank in his address, a keen 





EBENEZER PAUL. 


The subject of this sketch traces his ancestry in 
this country to Richard Paul, one of the first settlers 
of Taunton, Mass., who is first mentioned as purchas- 


as follows: Richard, Samuel, Samuel, Samuel, Eb- 
enezer, Samuel, Ebenezer. Samuel, the great-grand- 
father of Ebenezer, came to Dedham in 1719, and 
settled in a portion of the town which is now known 
as Hyde Park, bordering on the Neponset River, 
where five generations of the name subsequently lived 
from 1719 to 1867,—one hundred and forty-eight 
years. (A portion of this farm was occupied by the 
government during the war of the Rebellion, and was 
known as the “ Readville Camp-Grounds.”) His son, 
Ebenezer Paul, was born June 16, 1738, and died 
Aug. 20, 1803. Samuel, son of Kbenezer, was born 


Ebenezer, the subject of this sketch, was born in 
that part of Dedham now known as Hyde Park, Nov. 
26, 1819. 
lowed agricultural pursuits through life. 


He was reared as a farmer, and has fol- 
He has 
given his time and attention to his favorite calling, 
and is ranked among the progressive agriculturists 
of the town. He is a worthy citizen and a man of 
sterling integrity. In 1867, after its occupancy by the 
government, he sold the Paul farm and purchased the 
Deacon Samuel Fales estate in Dedham, where he 
Politically, he is a Republican, and a 
member of the Orthodox Cougregational Church. 
April 15, 1847, Mr. Paul united in marriage with 


now resides. 


Mass. They have had six children, five of whom 
are living, viz.: Henry M., born June 25, 1851; 


| Edward C., born Oct. 10, 1853; Isaac F., born Nov. 
| 26, 1856; Ebenezer T., born Dec. 6, 1858; Susan 


observer of men, emphatic in the expression of his | 


views, and is justly held in high esteem by the people | 
to Japan to open the chair of astronomy at the Im- 


of Dedham. 


He is a Republican in polities. 


Oct. 10, 1839, he united in marriage with Eliza- | 


beth, daughter of the late Thomas Barrows, a notice 
of whom may be seen on a previous page of this 
work. 


/ in the fall of 1883. 


F., born May 24, 1861, died Oct. 12, 1862; Martha 
D,, born Nov. 1, 1865. 

Henry M. graduated from Dartmouth College in 
1873, and from Thayer School of Civil Engineering 
in 1875. He then went to Washington as assistant 
professor of astronomy in the United States Naval 


Observatory. He married Augusta A. Gray, of 
Washington, Aug. 27,1878. In 1880 he was called 


perial University of Tokio, which position he held 
till his return to his former position in Washington 
He has one son, Carroll Paul, 
born in Tokio, Japan, May 6, 1882. Edward C. 
resides in Dedham, and is assistant cashier of the 


Dedham Institution for Savings. He married Jo- 

















DEDHAM. 





sephine M. Prince, of Dedham, Oct. 12, 1881. 
Isaac F. graduated from Dartmouth College in 1878, 
was admitted to the bar in 1882, and is now a prac- 


ticing lawyer in the city of Boston, where he resides. | 


He married Ida L. Batcheller, of Fitzwilliam, N. H., 
March 22, 1883. Ebenezer T. resides on the home- 


stead. He married Marietta Taylor, of Wakefield, | 


Mass., Nov. 7, 1882. Martha D. is at home with 
her parents, not having yet completed her education. 


CHAUNCEY C. CHURCHILL. 

Chauncey C. Churchill, son of William L. and 
Eliza Lamphear Churchill, was born in West Fairlee, 
Vt., Sept. 26,1815. Like many of the leading men 
of to-day at the bar, among the clergy, and in busi- 
ness circles, he was reared on a farm, received the 
advantages of the common and high schools, and 
subsequently engaged in teaching. 


mean time working on a farm during the fall and 
summer seasons. 

In 1839 he went to Salisbury, Mass., as an em- 
ployé in the Salisbury Mills, where he remained until 
1842. He then came to Dedham, and entered the 
employ of what is now the Merchants’ Woolen Com- 
pany’s Mills, remaining thirteen years, until 1855. 


His business capacity, integrity, and usefulness | 


as a citizen had won for him the confidence and 
esteem of the people of Norfolk County, and in 1855 
he was elected to the responsible and honorable 
office of county treasurer, and has been successively 
re-elected to the present time, a period of nearly 
thirty years. 

In 1864 he was appointed deputy collector of in- 
ternal revenue, and served five years. He was also 
a member of the Dedham school committee for nine 


years, commencing in 1871. Although not a com- 


municant of any ecclesiastical body, he is an active | 
member of the Allin Evangelical Society, in Ded- 
ham, and has been its collector and treasurer for | 


a number of years. 
June 7, 1842, he united in marriage with Peme- 


lia Sabin, daughter of Deacon Benajah Sabin, of | 


Salisbury, Mass., and their family consists of two 
children, a son, Chauncey 8., and a daughter, Isa- 


dore Maria, wife of Charles H. Leeland, of Dedham. | 


Mr. Churchill’s long and honorable public service 


has won him hosts of friends, and he is justly re- | 


garded as one of Dedham’s most esteemed and 
honored citizens; all movements looking to the 
welfare of his adopted town have found in him an 
earnest advocate. 


During four) 
winters he engaged in this laudable vocation, in the © 


109 








GEORGE A. SOUTHGATE, M.D. 

Dr. George A. Southgate dates his ancestry in this 
country to Richard Southgate, who came from Eng- 
land in 1714, the line of descent being as follows: 
Richard, Richard, Isaac, Samuel, Samuel, George A. 

In 1718-19 the latter, with his family, consisting 
of wife and five children, accompanied by his brother 


| 
| 
| 
| 


John, joined a company who moved from Boston and 
vicinity to Strawberrry Hill, in Worcester County, 
and organized the town now known as Leicester. 
The elder Richard Southgate was the first treasurer 
of the town and a large landholder, receiving from 


| the original grant seven hundred and forty acres of 
‘land. He was a civil engineer, and did much in 

making and laying out lots in the town. The lon- 
Richard died in 
Leicester, aged eighty-four, and his son Richard also 
died in Leicester, aged eighty-four. 

Isaac, son of the second Richard, also lived and died 
in Leicester at the age of eighty-one; and Samuel, 
son of Isaac, lived and died in Leicester, in 1859, 
aged eighty-one; and Samuel, father of the subject of 
this sketch, died in Dedham in 1877, aged seventy 
years. 

Dr. Southgate’s mother was Charlotte Warren Ful- 
ler, daughter of Charlotte Warren. His maternal 
ereat-grandmother was Hlizabeth Wheeler, and his 
creat-great-grandmother Mary Belcher Bass Hen- 





| gevity of the family is remarkable. 





shaw, whose father was Joseph Bass, who miarried 
Ruth Alden, daughter of John Alden and Priscilla 
Mullen. His mother and grandmother are both 
living in Leicester, aged seventy-three and ninety- 


three years respectively. 

Dr. Southgate was born in Leicester, Sept. 27, 
1833, and educated at Leicester Academy, where he 
fitted for college, and continued under a private tutor 
for two years. After spending two years in New 
York he entered the office of Jonathan EK. Linnell, 
M.D., of Worcester, and when sufficiently advanced 
entered the medical department of Dartmouth Col- 
lege, Hanover, N. H., under Dixi Crosby. He 
took his degree in Philadelphia in 1859, and in the 
| same year commenced practice in Millbury, where he 
remained until July, 1863, when he removed to Ded- 


ham, where he has since remained in the active prac- 
tice of his profession. He was married June 13, 
1860, to Miss Mary Bigelow Willson, of West Rox- 
_ bury, daughter of Rev. Luther Willson, of Petersham, 
and sister of Rev. E. B. Willson, now of Salem, for- 
_merly of West Roxbury. They have five children, 
_—Robert Willson, Delia Wells, May Fuller, Walter 
| Bradford, and Helen Louise. Politically, he is a 
' Republican, and in religion, liberal. 





110 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





JEREMIAH W. GAY. 


Jeremiah W. Gay was born in Dedham, Aug. 30, | 


1804. His father, Capt. William Gay, was born 
in Dedham, June 25, 1752. Nov. 25, 1790, he 
married Elizabeth Whiting, of Dedham, the daugh- 
ter of Joshua Whiting, by whom he had four children, 
—William King, who was born April 20, 1792, and 
died Jan. 6, 1860; Sophia, who was born Sept. 21, 
1793, and died, unmarried, at the age of seventy-eight 
years; Lucy, who was born Sept. 22, 1797, and died, 
unmarried, at the age of eighty-five years; and Jer- 


emiah W., who was married to Hannah K. Dean, | 
daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Farrington) Dean, | 
by whom he had two children, Joseph A., who died | 
at the age of twenty-seven, and Lusher, who died at | 


the age of three years. William King Gay married 
Susan Gould, by whom he had three children. Capt. 
William Gay died at the age of seventy-six years, and 
Elizabeth Whiting, his wife, died at the age of ninety- 
one years. The grandfather of Jeremiah W. Gay was 
Deacon Ichabod Gay, who married Elizabeth King, 
who died at the age of forty-two years. 
wards married Lucy Richards, who also died at the 
age of seventy-three years. Deacon Ichabod Gay was 
a farmer, as were nearly all the ancestors of Jeremiah. 
He died, greatly respected, Dec. 14, 1814, at the age 
of ninety-one years. The great-grandfather of Jere- 
miah W. Gay was Lusher Gay, who was born Sept. 
26, 1685. The great-great-grandfather of the sub- 


ject of this sketch was Nathaniel Gay, who was born | 


in 1642. Of Jeremiah W. Gay it may well be said 
that he has shown respect to the scriptural injunction, 


“yemove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers | 
My 


have set up,” for the old homestead has remained in 
the possession of the family from the time of the first 


settlement of Dedham down through six generations | 


to the present time. 
buried in the First Parish cemetery and in the cem- 
etery in West Dedham. 

The educational advantages enjoyed by Mr. Gay 
were those of the common school. 
mer all his life, and the presence of a comfortable home 
with modern appointments, fine barns and outbuild- 


ings, and broad, well-tilled acres clearly indicate a | 
Mr. Gay inherits the | 


large measure of success. 
manly bearing and positive character of Deacon Icha- 
bod Gay, his grandfather, who was a soldier in the 
Revolutionary war. 
members of the Unitarian Church, and were highly 
respected. 


Whig party, and has been identified with the Repub- | 


lican party from its organization. He has been an 


He after- | 


The ancestors of Mr. Gay were | 


He has been a far- | 


The parents of Mr. Gay were | 


Mr. Gay was in politics a member of the | 


| 
_ extensive reader on agricultural matters, is well ad- 


vised of the current news of the day, and is a man 
whose opinion on general matters is rendered of value 
by reason of the sturdy good sense with which he is 
endowed. Mr. Gay has lived in Dedham all his life, 
_and has always been respected as a good citizen and 


~ 





_ neighbor. 


EDWIN WHITING. 


Edwin Whiting, only son of Abner and Loacada 
Whiting, was born in Dedham, Jan. 27, 1806. 
His father was born in Dedham and married Loacada 
Whiting, by whom he had four children, three daugh- 
ters and one son. In 1786 he built the house in 
which his children were born, and which has been 
continuously occupied by members of the family up 
to the present time. There have been but two deaths 
in the old homestead, that of himself and that of his 
wife. 

Edwin is of the seventh generation from Nathaniel 
| Whiting, who settled in Roxbury, Norfolk Co., at 


a very early date. 

The ancestors of Edwin became farmers and mil- 
_lers, and carried on an extensive business after the 
settlement of Dedham, prior to which one had settled 
on the banks of the Charles River and another on the 
Neponset River, where they gained a livelihood by 
trapping and hunting. Edwin's father was a farmer, 
and Edwin was reared on the farm, being the fourth 
child, his three sisters passing away at advanced ages. 
Edwin’s father died at the age of seventy-seven, and 
his mother at the age of eighty-six. 

Mr. Whiting received the sort of education ordi- 
_narily obtained in the district school, attending only 
the winter term, and working on the farm with his 
father during the summer. Thus he continued to 
live until the death of his father, when at the age of 
| thirty-two years he took possession of the farm, making 





_ just and equitable settlement with his sisters for their 
| portion of their father’s estate. He subsequently 
_inherited considerable property from his uncle, Ed- 
ward Whiting, who died without issue. Mr. Whit- 
ing’s paternal grandfather was Joseph, and his ma- 
ternal grandfather was Joshua. Mr. Whiting married 
Rebecca Dean, who was the daughter of Joseph and 
| Hannah (Farrington) Dean, of Dedham, by whom 
there was born to them a daughter and son. Mrs. 
Whiting died Feb. 12, 1882, and the daughter, 
Frances R., directs the household affairs for her 
The son, George E., carries on the farm 
| Mr. Whiting has been a farmer all his life, 
and at one time owned a large tract of land about 





father. 
affairs. 











Lee 

















BRAINTREE. 


111 





the old homestead, but now his real estate possessions 

comprise some one hundred and forty acres only, he 

having invested to some extent in modern securities. — 
Mr. Whiting was a Whig in politics, but at the 
present time takes but little interest in political 
affairs, being content to lead a quiet life at his home. 
He is independent in his religious convictions and a 





good citizen. 


WILLIAM AMES. 


Amos Ames, of Groton, Mass., was born Jan. 18, 
1734; was a farmer and large land-owner. He mar- 
ried Abigail Bulkley, born Oct. 28, 1733, daughter 
of Col. John Bulkley, who was a prominent citizen 
of Groton, where he died in 1772, aged sixty-nine 
years. Amos Ames died Aug. 4, 1817; Abigail, 
his wife, died Aug. 20,1809. The Bulkley family | 
traces its ancestry to Lord Viscount Bulkley, whose 
seat was at Bron Hill, in the Isle of Anglesey. 
Rev. Peter Bulkley settled in Cencord, Mass., in 
1636. His father was Rev. Edward Bulkley, D.D. 

Rev. Edward Bulkley, son of Rev. Peter and Jane 
Bulkley, was born at Odell, England, June 17, 1614; 
he emigrated to this country in 1634. He was 
licensed to preach the gospel, and was ordained at 
Marshfield in 1642. 

Hon. Peter Bulkley, oldest son of Rev. Edward 
Bulkley, was born Noy. 3, 1641; graduated in 1660. 
He settled in Concord. He held many important 
offices, and acquitted himself with honor. He mar- 
ried Rebecca Wheeler; died at the age of forty-four. 

Joseph Bulkley, son of Hon. Peter and Rebecca 
Wheeler Bulkley, born Sept. 7, 1670. He made > 
his will, which is found on the records of Middlesex, | 
Mass. He lived in Littleton, Mass. 

John Bulkley, son of Joseph Bulkley, born about 
1703. He held a colonel’s commission, and died in 
Groton, in 1772, aged sixty-nine. John, his son, 
born in 1748, graduated at Harvard in 1769; was 
a lawyer, and died Dec. 16, 1774. 

Amos and Abigail Ames had seven sons and three 
daughters. 


Three of the sons were in the Revolu- 
tionary army, the youngest being only sixteen years | 
of age at the time of entering the service. All were 
taken prisoners, being confined on the prison-ship at | 


Halifax ; they afterwards made their escape and again 
entered the army. 

Bulkley Ames, son of Amos Ames, farmer, was 
born in Groton, July 20, 1772; held many offices of 
trust, being selectman of the town for seventeen | 
years in succession; married Lydia Prescott, born | 


Jan. 8, 1780, daughter of Ebenezer Prescott, of 
Westford, Mass., whose ancestors settled in Lan- 
caster about 1647. He was a large land proprietor, 
and owner:‘of the iron-works at Forge Village, in 
Westford; cousin of Col. William Prescott, of Bun- 
ker Hill fame. He died Jan. 22, 1811. 

Bulkley and Lydia Ames had three sons and one 
daughter. William Ames, son of Bulkley Ames, 
was born in Groton, Aug. 6, 1807. He was for a 
number of years partner of Jabez Coney, and largely 
interested in the millwright and machinery business ; 
was superintendent in the building of several fac- 
tories and public buildings; married Susan Lewis, 
daughter of Capt. Samuel Lewis, of Dedham, who 
lived on the place upon which his ancestors settled 
in the early settlement of the town. She was born 
April 26, 1814, died Feb. 13, 1880. He had two 
sons and two daughters. Politically he is a Repub- 
lican. 





OHA PYRE, Xie 


BRAINTREE. 


BY SAMUEL A. BATES. 

THE town of Braintree was incorporated May 13, 
1640 (O. S.). It included within its limits the 
present towns of Braintree, Quincy, Randolph, and 
Holbrook. Previous to its incorporation Quincy was 
called Mount Wollaston, and Braintree, Monoticut. 
It took its name from the river which flows through 
it, and which is spelled in so many different ways in 
the ancient records that it is uncertain which is the 


correct one. It is now written Monatiquot. Hol- 


| brook and a part of Randolph (perhaps the whole) 


In one 
Tradition 
says that Randolph was once called Scadding, but I 
have never seen the name on the records. Quincy 
was set off as a separate town in 1792, and Randolph 
in 1793. Holbrook at that time was a part of Ran- 
dolph. In 1856 a small portion of Braintree was 
annexed to Quincy. 


were called Cochato, sometimes Cocheco. 
instance Cochato was called Beersheba. 


It was that portion known in 
ancient times as Knight’s Neck, but in later days as 
Newcomb’s Landing. 

Religious Societies.—The first church in Brain- 
tree was organized Sept. 16, 1639, it being the Lord’s 
day. The meeting-house was situated in the north 
part of the town, in the centre of the street now called 
When 
the way from Boston to Plymouth was laid out, in 


Hancock, near the junction of Canal Street. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





1648, it was to be four rods wide, commencing at 
Smelt Brook, on the borders of Weymouth and | 
Braintree, running over what is now Commercial | 
Street in Braintree, and Franklin, School, and Han- 
cock Streets in Quincy, till it comes to the meeting- | 
house, when it shall be two rods on one end of the | 
house and two rods on the other end, thus leaving it 
in the centre of the street. At that time there were 
but a few inhabitants in the south part of the town. 
But the settlement continued to increase, and grad- | 
ually to extend towards its southern limits. At what | 
time the first house was erected in the limits of | 
Monoticut, the ancient name of the present town of | 
Braintree, is unknown. We know that in February, 
1639-40, only five months after the embodiment of 
the church, we find a grant of land to John French 
and John Collins, of Monoticut. Soon after 1643 
the iron-works were built on Monoticut River, which 
must have caused much increase of population in 
that part of the town. As early as 1658, and prob- | 
ably earlier, the town had been settled as far south as 

Randolph line, on the old road to Taunton, for at | 
that time John Moore resided on what is still known 

as Moore’s farm, a plot of six hundred acres of land, | 
bounded on the north and east by Monoticut River, | 
and partly on the west by Great Pond. This portion 
of the river in latter years has been called Moore’s 
Farm River, in memory of the first settler upon its 
borders. As the settlement enlarged, the inhabitants | 
felt that they needed a more convenient place of 
assembling themselves together, as some of them were 
obliged to travel many miles to attend upon public | 
worship. About 1690 the inhabitants began to 

move in the matter of forming a new precinct in the 

south part of the town, but it was opposed by those | 
living in the north part. A bitter feud existed be- | 
tween the different sections of the town concerning | 
this matter, of which but little is known at the 
present time; but a person then residing at the north | 
end, named John Marshall, has left a diary which | 
contains some sharp allusions to members of the | 


church, who, he says, acted in a disorderly manner, | 
and withdrew from the Lord’s table. That he made | 
charges which he could not maintain is evident from 
what afterwards transpired. The for a 
new society was continued until 1706, when a meet- 


movement 


ing-house was built near the corner of Washington 
and Elm Streets, in the present town of Braintree. 
That this was done legally no one claimed, but its 
founders did claim that might deprived them of their | 
just rights, the opposers of the new movement being 


composed of the most influential citizens of the town, © 
| 
at the head of whom stood the Hon. Hdmund 


Quincy, one of the leaders of the government of the 
colony. But the advocates of the new precinct were 
sustained by the advice and support of the leaders of 


the church in the vicinity, and on May 6, 1706, the 


meeting-house was raised in which they might wor- 
ship, and which was soon after completed. Sept. 10, 
1707, Rev. Hugh Adams was ordained its pastor, and 


the church was recognized on the same day. He was 
the son of John and Avis Adams, born in Boston, 


May 7, 1676, graduated at Harvard College in 1697, 
at the age of twenty-one years. In his diary he 
states that at his installation at Durham, N. H., “the 
Rev. Jonathan Cushing read publicly the testimonial 
of my ordination at Braintree, signed by the Rev. 
Increase Mather and his son Cotton Mather (of the 
Old North Church, in Boston), and Rev. Mr. James 
Keith, the hoary-headed pastor of the church in 
Bridgewater, who laid their hands on my head in that 
ordination.’ This testimonial was also signed by the 
Rev. Nehemiah Walker, pastor of the church in Rox- 
bury. We see in this account the names and in- 
fluence of those men who, without the consent of the 
authorities of the colony, dared to organize the new 
church Had those men of whom 
Marshall spoke acted in an unchristianlike and dis-. 


in Braintree. 


orderly manner, as charged by him, we do not believe 


that such men as the Mathers, Keith, and Walker, 


leaders in the church at that time, would have en- 
couraged them in their great undertaking, and lent 
their aid and presence to embody their new church, 
and, in addition, ordain a pastor to break for them the 
bread of life. But they had other opposition still to 
encounter, and they petitioned the legal authorities to 
be set off from the old society, and establish a new 
precinct, to be called the South Precinct, in Braintree. 
By the action of the authorities in answer to their 
petition, they were compelled to pay their proportion 


of the expense of supporting the old society, which 


was raised by legal rates, and also to pay for the sup- 
port of their own pastor, the money necessary being 
raised by subscription. This double burden was a 
heavy tax upon the new precinct, as it was composed 
Rev. Mr. Adams re- 
mained as their pastor until Aug. 22, 1710, when 
the connection was dissolved, and he removed to 
Chatham, Mass., and afterwards to Oyster River 


of men with moderate means. 


parish, now Durham, N. H. During the pastorate of 


Mr. Adams the South Precinct was set off, and regu- 
larly established as the South Precinct of Braintree. 
This was not accomplished without opposition. 

A town-meeting was called to meet Nov. 3, 1708, 
to consult and consider about, and, if possible, to fix 
upon a suitable and reasonable line of division, dis- 





: 
4 
, 
J 








BRAINTREE. 113 





tinction, or limitation of the said South End assem- 
bly and society and of the North End congregation, 
that said line be lovingly agreed upon and settled, if - 
it may be. There were those that did immediately 
declare against the dividing of the town, and that | 
they did refuse to join with said inhabitants in that 
affair, and requested that it might be entered with their 
names in the town-book. These then entered their 
names: Lieut. John Cleverly, Ensign William Veasey, 
Solomon Veasey, Moses Penniman, James Penniman, 
Samuel Penniman, John Newcomb, Jr., James Brack- 
ett, Nathan Brackett, and John Sanders. The same 
day it was voted that Col. Edmund Quincy, Esq., and 
Seret. Nehemiah Hayden be a committee to petition 
the General Court in the name of the town to set off | 
the south part of the town as a separate precinct. 
This was granted, and the legal existence of this so- 
ciety commenced on Noy. 5, 1708, and has contin- 
ued to this day. The names of those who were 
especially active in securing the organization of the 
new precinct were Samuel White, Caleb Hobart, 
Nehemiah Hayden, Joseph Allen, Samuel Bass, | 
Samuel Payne, Ebenezer Thayer, Samuel Niles, Jr., 
and Samuel French. 

The Rev. Samuel Niles, second pastor of the so-— 
ciety, was ordained May 23, 1711. Rev. Peter | 
Thacher (his father-in-law), of Milton, Rev. Joseph 
Belcher, of Dedham, Rev. John Danforth, of Dor- 
chester, and Rev. Mr. Thacher, of Weymouth, as- 
sisted in the services, the sermon being preached by 
the pastor-elect, as was the usual custom in those 
days. Rev. Mr. Niles was the son of Nathaniel and 
Sarah (Sands) Niles, of Block Island, and grandson 
of John Niles, one of the first settlers of Braintree. 
He was born May 1, 1673; baptized March 14, 
1697, by Rev. Peter Thacher, at Milton, owning 
his father’s covenant; joined the church at Mil- 
ton, January, 1699; entered Harvard College when 
twenty-two years of age, from whence he graduated 
in 1699; was licensed to preach soon after; acted as 
pastor of the church in his native place for two years, 
and until his ordination, in 1711, was actively engaged 
in farming and ship building, by which occupations 
he earned his living. He had three wives and a 
large family of children. He was an able preacher, 
and one of the strong supporters of the Calvinistic 
creed. He naturally became a leader in the op- | 
position to the introduction of Unitarian principles | 
into the Congregational Church of New England. 
He died May 1, 1762. He was pastor of this 
church for nearly fifty-one years, and was engaged 
in active service from the time of his settlement, and _ 


preached till the last Sabbath previous to his death. | 
8 


His funeral sermon was preached by Rey. Mr. Smith, 
of. Weymouth, from the text, “And Samuel died.” 
He kept a diary during the whole term of his pas- 


_torate, which is now in possession of the Hon. Asa 


French, of Braintree, and which is very valuable to 
the genealogist. The third pastor was the Rev. Ezra 
Weld, ordained Nov. 17, 1762. He was born in 
Pomfret, Conn., June 13, 1736, graduated at Yale 
College in 1759, and died Jan. 16, 1816, aged nearly 
eighty years. He retired from active duties Aug. 
17, 1807, the society paying him two hundred and 
eighty-six dollars and sixty-six cents per annum dur- 
ing the remainder of his life. 

The Rev. Sylvester Sage was installed as the fourth 
pastor Noy. 4, 1807. In consequence of the health 
of his family he was compelled to ask for his dis- 
charge, which was granted, and he was dismissed by 
council May 4,1809. Rev. William Allen was given 
an invitation to become pastor of this church May 
24, 1810, but he declined the call. Oct. 26, 1810, 
the town voted to invite Mr. Richard Salter Storrs 
to settle with them in the work of the gospel minis- 
try, which vote was unanimous. Nov. 5, 1810, it 
was voted to pay Mr. Storrs the sum of eight hundred 
and twenty dollars per annum as long as he is the 
minister, and that John Hobart shall carry the pro- 
ceedings to him for his consideration, and get his an- 
swer as soon as may be, for which service he shall 
receive the sum of six dollars. It was also voted that 
Dr. Daniel Fogg and Lieut. Nathaniel Thayer shall 
be a committee to assist the clerk in fixing and writing 
a letter to Mr. Storrs. July 3, 1811, Mr. Storrs was 
ordained the fifth pastor of the church. He was born 
in Longmeadow, Feb. 6, 1787, and was the son of 
Rev. Richard S. and Sally (Williston) Storrs, and 
graduated at Williams College in 1807. Previous to 
his ordination he spent six months in the missionary 
service in Georgia. After a long pastorate of-more 
than sixty-two years, he passed from earth Aug. 11, 
1873, aged eighty-six years, six months, and five 
days, leaving behind him an unblemished reputation 
as a Christian, a scholar, a citizen, a neighbor, and a 
friend. In whatever path he trod, he left his footsteps 
so deeply imprinted that time will never erase them. 
An earnest advocate of the education of the young 
and tender mind, he spent much time in watching 
over the interests of our schools, for many years be- 
ing placed at the head of the committee of superin- 
tendence by the free suffrages of his fellow-citizens. 
As a citizen he took an active part in the welfare of his 


State and nation, and was selected, Oct. 20, 1820, as 


the delegate of the town to meet delegates of other 
towns in convention at Boston, for the purpose of re- 


114 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





vising the Constitution of government of this com- 
monwealth. As a clergyman he stood at the head of 
his profession, attracting large audiences when it was 
known that he was to take part in the services, his 


impassioned oratory almost magnetizing his hearers. | 


He was an orator, created rather than manufactured. 
His deep, sonorous voice, commanding presence, and 
lightning-like eloquence conveyed to the hearts of his 
hearers the conviction that his words not only flowed 
from the mind, but also from the heart. He married 


three times, and had by his second wife one son, the | 


Rey. Dr. Richard Salter Storrs, of Brooklyn, N. Y., 
who is well known throughout the country. About 


1831 the church voted that their pastor, Rev. Dr. | 
| Dependence French, a committee appointed by the 


Storrs, should be at liberty for a term not exceeding 
five years, that he might accept the position of asso- 
ciate secretary and general agent of the American 
Home Missionary Society for the New England States. 
It therefore became necessary that a colleague should 
be procured to perform the duties of the pastorate 
during his absence. Mr. Edwards A. Park was se- 
lected for that purpose, and was ordained to the work 
of the ministry Dec. 21, 18531. 
mained as colleague pastor until Jan. 17, 1834, when 
a council dissolved the connection in consequence of 
his acceptance of a professorship in Amherst College. 
The senior pastor did not resume his duties until 
1836, and the pulpit was supplied by transient cler- 
gymen, among whom may be named Rev. Paul Jewett 
and Rev. William R. Jewett, who preached most of 


the time. During the last few years of his life he 


was obliged to have assistance, and Rev. E. P. Tenney 


and William 8. Hubbell were procured for that pur- 


pose, and [ think the last gentleman was regularly in- 


stalled colleague pastor. The Rev. Thomas A. Emer- | 


son, the sixth pastor, was installed May 7, 1874. He 
was born in Wakefield, Dec. 27, 1840, and was the 
son of Thomas and Emily (Swain) Emerson. He 
graduated from Yale College in 1863, and also from 


Andover Theological Seminary in 1869. He married, | 
of his life, which I trust he will pardon me for 


Oct. 27, 1875, Fannie Huntington Brewster, daughter 
of Rey. Dr. Robert and Ellen M. (Griffin) Crawford, 


Rev. Dr. Park re- | 


{ 





and granddaughter of Rev. Dr. Griffin, president of 
with fifteen added years upon the retired list, was 


Williams College. 

During the existence of this church, a period of 
hundred and 
worshiped in four different meeting-houses, the first 
About 1758, the house 


having become dilapidated, they resolved on having 


one seventy-seven years, they have 


having been built in 1706. 
a new 
meeting was held within its walls on Thursday, June 
28, 1759, that being the day appointed for a public 


fast. It was in this house that the citizens of the 


and more convenient house, and the first | 


old town of Braintree were accustomed to assemble 
for the transaction of their civil business, and it 
was here that those true men, led by John Adams, 
Ksq., then a young lawyer, but afterwards President 
of the United States, were heard lifting up their 
voices in behalf of American independence. This 


_ house was torn down in 1830, to give place to a new 


house, which was dedicated to the worship of God 
Dec. 29, 1830, with appropriate services. June 3, 
1857, the present house of worship was dedicated 
by solemn services. 

Opposite the church is the spot selected to bury 
their dead. It was purchased of Josiah Hobart by 
Deacon Joseph Allen, Deacon Samuel Bass, and 


precinct for that purpose. The deed bears date 
March 10, 1718, and states the price paid for one- 
half acre of land to be ten pounds. Within its 
limits are buried the earthly remains of those three 
veterans in the ministry, Rev. Samuel Niles, Rev. 
Ezra Weld, and Rev. Dr. Richard S. Storrs. 

About 1810 the citizens of the east part of the 
town joined with the inhabitants of that part of 
Weymouth called the Landing, and formed the second 
society in Braintree, taking the name of the Union 
Religious Society of Weymouth and Braintree. It 


| purchased the meeting-house of the Hollis Street 


Church, in Boston, and removed it to Braintree, and 
they still occupy it. Their first pastor was the Rev. 
Daniel Clark, installed Dec. 31, 1811, who was dis- 


missed Oct.-1, 1813, he not giving good satisfaction. 


Their second pastor was the Rev. Jonas Perkins, who 
was ordained June 14, 1815. He was born in North 
Bridgwater, Oct. 15, 1790, graduated at Brown Uni- 
versity in 1813, and died June 26, 1874. He was the 
son of Josiah and Anna (Reynolds) Perkins. He was 
the minister of my boyhood, and I knew him well. I 
can find no language to express my appreciation of his 
worth as a citizen, pastor, neighbor, and friend better 
than that used by Hon. Joseph W. Porter in a sketch 


copying: ‘The pastorate of Rev. Mr. Perkins, 
covering, as it did, forty-six years of active service, 


in great good to the 
church and society, increasing largely their material 
as well as spiritual strength, adding to the member- 
ship of the church, principally during three powerful 
revivals, three hundred and twenty-two members. 
Consecrating his whole powers to the work of the 
gospel ministry, uniting in himself ripe scholarship, 
excellent judgment, with firmness of purpose, and 
the strictest integrity, his was a character of the 


long and successful, resulting 





BRAINTREE. 


115 





most admirable proportions. A wise and faithful 
pastor, he was eminently a peace-maker, and when, 
at the full age of seventy years, in accordance with 
long-expressed plans, he resigned his office and re- 
tired from its duties, he carried with him the affec- 
tion and respect, not only of his own church and 
society, but that of the whole community where he 
lived.” Being a contemporary of Dr. Storrs, he 


served with him upon the school committee to the | 


_ the society. Rev. Aaron Haynes then took charge of 
15, 1860, the church was left without a pastor. But | 


satisfaction of the town. Upon his resignation, Oct. 


on Jan. 17, 1861, Rev. Lysander Dickerman was 


installed pastor over the society. He held that posi- | 


tion until July, 1867, when he resigned the pas- 
torate. He was succeeded by Rev. A. A. Ells- 
worth, who supplied the pulpit for about three and 
one-half years, when the Rev. Lucien H. Frary ac- 
cepted a call from the church and society, and was 
installed pastor April 13, 1875, and still remains. 
He endeavors to follow in the footsteps of his 
venerable predecessor, who so long lived with this 
people, and I trust that the mantle of Jonas has 
fallen upon him. He is highly esteemed by all 
who know him. 

The South Congregational Church was the third es- 


tablished in the town. It built a house of worship in 





in that year, obtained a foothold in the society, and 
held meetings there frequently, sometimes every day 
in the week. There was great excitement in the town. 
It succeeded in making many proselytes, some of them 
being the leading members of this young church, 
It was a blow from which they never fully recovered, 
although time ought to have convinced the followers 
of Miller of their error. The ministrations of the 
Rev. Mr. Waitt also tended to injure the welfare of 


the society, but failed to heal the difficulties with 
which they were surrounded. He only remained one 
year. Rev. George Daland then took charge, and re- 
mained with them about nine years, the longest 
pastorate they enjoyed during their existence. During 
the ministry of Rev. Mr. Daland, an offshoot from 
this society, comprised of some disaffected members, 
held meetings in Monatiquot Hall, but a few rods 


| from the old house, but they had but a brief existence. 


Rev. Ruel B. Moody, Rev. Thomas C. Russell, and 
Rey. George B. Williams officiated as pastors during 


| the few following years. The society became so weak 
that it was unable to support the preaching of the 
_ Gospel, when they sold their house to the Methodists, 


South Braintree, and ordained for its first pastor the 


Rev. Lyman Matthews, Aug. 4, 1830. He continued 
in that position about fourteen years, and resigned 
Oct. 4, 1844, at which time he removed to Vermont. 
This is the longest pastorate in the society, and the pul- 
pit has been occupied by many clergymen during the 
Matthews resigned. Some of them were installed, 
while others were hired from year to year. Among 
those who have ministered unto them for any con- 
siderable time [ remember Rev. Francis V. Tenney, 


and some of them joined that church. 
The Second Baptist Church in Braintree was or- 


ganized about 1869. It was composed of members 


of the First Baptist Church, who withdrew to form 


a church in the north part of the town. They 
bought the old school-house which stood near the 


‘corner of Washington and West Streets, and re- 


_ modeled it as a chapel, removing it to Washington, 
period of forty years which has passed since Rey. Mr. | 


them the bread of life. 


Rev. William B. Hammond, Rev. Dennis Powers, — 
Rey. Lucius R. Eastman, Jr., Rev. L. Wheaton Allen, | 


Rey. Albion H. Johnson, and Rev. Edwin Smith. 


Rev. HE. O. Dyer is supplying the pulpit at present. | 


A few years since their meeting-house was burned, 
and another was erected on the same site. 

The First Baptist Society was organized about 1842, 
and built their meeting-house the same year. 


| meetings in the hall of Samuel V. Arnold. 
Their | 


first pastor was, I think, the Rev. John Blain, al- who ministered unto them, as far as I can learn, was 


though he was never settled over the society, being | 


what was called an Evangelist. 
Rev. George N. Waitt commenced his labors with 
them Sept. 10, 1843, and resigned his place in March, 


1846. Previous to the coming of Mr. Waitt—that is, © 


during the winter of 1842 and 1843—the sect called 
Millerites, who predicted the destruction of the earth 


and afterwards to Elm Street, nearly opposite the 
church of the First Congregational Society. Rev. 
George B. Williams, the former pastor of the First 
Baptist Church, went with them, and broke unto 
But the society failed for 
want of support, and the chapel was sold, and_after- 
wards used as a factory for the manufacture of boots. 
It existed about seven years. 

About the year 1831 a number of the citizens of 
the town united together for the purpose of sustain- 
ing preaching by Methodist clergymen, and held their 
These 
meetings were held at intervals, and the only person 


the Rev. Jefferson Hamilton, who removed afterwards 
to the South. It endeavored to obtain the town hall 
in which to hold their meetings, but the town refused 
to open its doors for their accommodation. Whether 
they ever enjoyed a legal existence is very much 
doubted, although spoken of in the records of the town 
as the Methodist Episcopal Society of Braintree. It 


116 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





existed but a short time, and gradually died out. But 
a society of this denomination met Feb. 22, 1874, 
and formed themselves into a legal organization. 
the time of its organization the pulpit was supplied by 
Rey. Louis E. Charpiot. He was succeeded by Rev. 


At | 


William Livesey, who died during his term of service, | 


and Rev. Joseph Hammond finished the term. In 
1876, Rev. Edward M. Taylor, from Pennsylvania, 
was appointed to the station, and remained three 
years. 

Rev. Marcus F. Colburn was the next pastor, but 
his health failing, he was relieved by Rev. William I. 
Ward. During the pastorate of the Rev. Mr. Col- 
burn, a branch Sabbath-school was established in the 
east part of the town, and a preaching service held 
there each Sunday evening. In 1881, Rev. George 
KE. Brightman was appointed its pastor, and still re- 
mains, but his term of service will expire in April 
next, the full term of three years being then com- 
pleted. At their organization they purchased the 
meeting-house formerly occupied by the First Baptist 
Society, which was completely destroyed by fire in 
the latter part of the year 1883. Since that time 
they have held their meetings in the town hall. 
They will undoubtedly rebuild the coming summer, 
about three thousand dollars having been subscribed 
for that purpose. 

About fifty years ago the doctrines of Universalism 
were preached to its hearers by different clergymen 
of that denomination, chiefly through the instru- 
mentality of Samuel V. Arnold, the meetings being 
held in his hall. A society was formed soon after- 
wards, but it never gained a foothold, and went out 


of existence on the death of Mr. Arnold. The Uni- | 


tarians also held meetings at the town hall for some 


years, but have been discontinued, although they had 


all the money they needed, but failed for want of 
hearers. Rev. Edward C. Towne, Rev. Fiske Bar- 
rett, and others ministered unto them during the time 
of their existence. 


In 1877 the Catholics organized a society, which is | 


a branch of the Quincy diocese. 


‘all other institutions were at that time. 





For some time they 


held their meetings in a hall, but a few years since | 
ored his name by naming streets, school-houses, etc., 


built a church on Central Avenue, where they con- 
tinue to hold their services. The attendance on the 


Sabbath is quite large. These are all the religious 


organizations of which we have any knowledge, al- | 


though the Spiritualists have held meetings in the 
east part of the town. 

Schools.—As soon as a church was established by 
the early settlers of New England they began to take 
measures to educate their children. 
schools were partly supported by assessments upon 





| ing. 


Although the | 


each scholar, they were made payable in wood. This 
enabled the parent to pay those assessments easily, as 
all of them owned land which was well covered with 


wood. If a new settler came into town they could 


_ purchase land for from three to six shillings per acre. 


The schools of the town were supported by labor, as 
Gold and 
silver were rarities at that time, and the trade was 
almost wholly carried on by barter. The first men- 
tion in the town records of schools is the following 
paper, which I copy in full : 


“MR. FFLINTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE SALE 
OF THE SCHOOLE HOUSH. 


“This day Mr. flint made acknowledgement of the sale of 
the house and lote which was lately John Paflins, and since his 
death sold unto the said Henry flint by William Penn, by vir- 
tue of an execution, sued out by him in the presence of all the 
townsmen, the said Henry filint doth acknowledge himself fully 
satisfied, By Doctor John Morly for the sd house, only the sd Mr. 
Doctor doth promise that if he should be called forth off the 
towne to sirrender backe again the sd house to Mr. flint at 
the same rate of seayen pounds which he payd, being allowed at 
the discretion of indifferent men for such charges as he has 
binne att, in witness hereof the sd Henry flint and Mr. Doctor 
have hereunto set their hands the day and year above written 
in the presence of 

“SAMUEL Bass. 

“ RICHARD BRACKETT. 
“Moses PAINE. 
“THoMAS BLANCHER. 
“ MARTIN SANDERS. 
“ MarrHew Barnes. 
“WILLIAM ALLIS.” 


“ HENRY FFLINT. 
“ JoHn Morty. 


On the upper corner of the record is the year 1648, 


_ the day or month being torn off. Henry Flint, teacher 


of the First Church in Braintree, was probably the 
schoolmaster, and was succeeded by Dr. John Morly, 
who afterwards taught school in Boston or Charles- 
town. Previous to the execution of this paper, how- 
ever, is an account of land recovered from Mr. Cod- 
dington, who had removed to Rhode Island. ‘Tradition 
says that William Coddington gave the town of Brain- 
tree certain lands, the income of which should be ex- 
pended for the support of schools in said town. Upon 
the division of the town this fund was divided, each 
town being allowed their portion. Quincy has hon- 


by the name of Coddington. The record is headed 
“The Schoole Lands, 1640.” In the margin are 
these words, “‘ The deed of the Land recovered of Mr. 
Coddinton.”” The record is incomplete, owing to the 


| worn state of the paper, much of it being illegible, but 
enough is left to understand something of its mean- 


It was covenanted between the town of Brain- 
tree and Richard Right that the said Richard Right 
shall put the town of Braintree in full possession of 


BRAINTREE. 


117 





land formerly called Mr. Coddington’s Neck, to the 
said town to be held forever (then giving its bounds) 
in consideration of all the said lands the said town of 
Braintree hath given to the said Richard Right ninety- 
eight pounds, — shillings, and eight pence, being 


ground allowed by the courts to the town of Braintree 


out of the goods of — Coddington. Richard Right 
was the legally appointed attorney for William Cod- 
dington in Massachusetts. That the town of Brain- 


tree sued Coddington is undeniable, that the courts | 


allowed the town this land is substantiated, and that 
the town paid for this land is equally true. Did 
Coddington then give this land for the benefit of the 
schools? I answer, decidedly, Vo; and until some 
evidence is produced to substantiate that claim, I shall 
adhere to that opinion. 


In the year 1716 the first school was established | 
year 1643 a company called the “ Company Under- 


in the present limits of Braintree. It was called a 
“yeading- and writing-school.” Oct. 1, 1716, the 
selectmen have agreed with Joseph Parmiter to keep 
the school at Monotoquod for six shillings per week 
and his diet. What his diet cost we know not, as 


Mr. Peter Hobart received about six pounds for diet | 
and a pair of shoes, together with a part of his school | 


wages. He was engaged the next year at eleven 
shillings per week. 

To endeavor to trace the formation of all the schools 
would require much space. 
town a high school kept in the town house in apart- 


There are now in the 


ments especially built for it, two school-houses 
where four schools are kept, one house with three 
schools, one with two schools, and five with one 
school. Besides this, in 1877 a beautiful building 
was built on Washington Street, near the town hall, 
from the bequest of Gen. Sylvanus Thayer, who en- 
dowed the institution with about two hundred and 





for the education of the children of those who were 


' members of said society. The society built a build- 


ing near the church, and established a school called 
the Hollis Institute, which was in successful operation 
until 1858, when the high school was opened, and it 
ceased to exist. It could hardly be called a free 
school, as a small tuition was charged each scholar 
per quarter, as the income of the fund was not large 
enough to pay for its support. Rev. William M. 
Thayer and Benjamin Kendall were among the prin- 
cipal teachers. Upon its discontinuance the fund was 
taken for the purpose of building a new meeting-house, 
and the institute building was changed into a dwell- 
ing-house. 

Manufactures.—The first establishment for man- 
ufacturing purposes in the town was on Monatiquot 
River, in the easterly part of the town. About the 
takers of the Iron-Works” was formed for the pur- 
pose of establishing iron-works in Massachusetts. 
The citizens of the town of Boston, then, as now, 
ever ready to extend aid to foster the manufacturing 
interests of the nation, granted Jan. 19, 1643, 
unto John Winthrop, Jr., and associates, three thou- 
sand acres of land for the encouragement of an iron- 
work to be set up about Monatiquot River, the 
said land to be laid out next adjoining and most con- 


venient for their said iron-works. The title to this 


' land was not completed until Nov. 25, 1647, when 


eighty thousand dollars, to which was added by the | 


town the sum of twenty thousand dollars. This 
school, free to all the citizens of the old town of 
Braintree, prepares its pupils for admission to college, 


and is under the supervision of Rey. Jotham B. | 


Sewall, formerly professor in Bowdoin College, as- 
sisted by an able corps of teachers. Besides the do- 
nations to the town which I have named, Nathaniel 
Thayer left to the town the larger part of his estate, 
and is now a part of the school fund of the town, 
which yields an annual income of from three hundred 
to four hundred dollars, and which is used for the sup- 
port of schools. 

May 4, 1842, John Ruggles Hollis, a native of 


a deed was given of two thousand eight hundred and 
sixty acres of land, bounded as follows, viz.: South 
and west by Boston Common, on the north by divers 
lots belonging to Boston, on the east by Weymouth 
lands and Weymouth Pond. Also one hundred and 
forty acres bounded on the south by Mr. Henry 
Webb’s farm, Monatiquot River on the west, and on 
the north and east with certain lots of Boston. Pat- 
tee, in his history of old Braintree and Quincy, 
locates this land on the borders of the towns of 
Quincy and Milton, the land lying in both towns. 
That this is incorrect is evident to every careful exam- 
iner of our records. Although it is difficult after the 
lapse of so many years to give it a precise location, 
yet the records of Suffolk County give light enough to 
designate nearly its location, The plot of two thou- 
sand eight hundred and sixty acres was situated in the 
easterly part of the present town of Braintree. The 
line of the town of Weymouth was its easterly bound, 


' and it extended southward as far as what is now Hol- 


this town, died, and left a will bequeathing to the | 
South Congregational Society a sum of money, the | 


brook line. Where the easterly line was, is evident from 
this fact, that when the way was laid out from Braintree 
to Cochato, or Holbrook, it butted on the land given 


income of which was to support a high grade of school | by the town of Boston for the encouragement of the 


118 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








iron-works. It is therefore, clearly to be seen that 
the tract of land was situated in that part of old 
Braintree commencing at Holbrook line and running 
northerly nearly along the line of what is now Wash- 


ington Street at Cranberry Brook to Union Street, | 
| into the town new settlers, who built dwelling-houses 


thence running easterly to Weymouth line, the 
north line being at not a great distance from Union 
and Commercial Streets. 


session of the descendants of Samuel White. 
of the old deeds and later conveyances refer to the 
fact of its having been part of the land given for the 
encouragement of the iron-works. But it may be 
said that the one hundred and forty acres was located 
near Milton, and upon that the iron-works were located. 
Let us briefly consider this point. 
bounded? On the north and east by certain lots of 
Boston, says the grant. On the north was the South 


Commons, and on the east what was called Little Com- | 


mons. Its western boundary was Monatiquot River. 
Its southern boundary was Mr. Henry Webb’s farm. 
A portion of Webb’s farm was sold to Samuel Allen 


This land was afterwards | 
sold to John Holbrook and Samuel White, of Wey- 

mouth, and a portion of this land is now in the pos- | 
Many | 


How was it | 





in 1648, and remained in the family until within a_ 


few years, and is situated near the station on the 
South Shore Railroad, at Kast Braintree. These 
boundaries place the location of the one hundred and 
forty acres of land as being near the junction of 
Commercial and Adams Streets. 
the possession of the creditors of the company, and 
was afterwards sold by them. A portion of it was 
bought by Elder Nathaniel Wales, who built a house 
upon it in 1692, and is occupied by his descendants 


at the present time. In the appraisement of the com- 


This land came into | 


pany’s property when it failed are lots of land named | 


after different individuals, probably after those who 
had previously owned it. We find among the names 
those of Thayer, French, Penn, Ruggles, and New- 
comb, who all owned land in the vicinity of what we 
The Suffolk records 


contain many allusions to these lands, but they are 


claim as being the true location. 


too voluminous to copy for this work. 


ro 





The company | 


} 
was not successful in business, and failed in 1653. | 


Why it was so we know not at this late day, but pre- 


sume that the persons who conducted its affairs were | 


inefficient and unacquainted with the business, as one | 


of the employés of the company, James Leonard, 


soon after its failure went to Taunton and formed a | 


company to carry on the same business there, which 
was successfully continued for many years. The 
difficulty appears to be that Leader, Gifford, and 


others whom the company selected as agents or over- 


their yearly salary, and that the proprietors knew but 
little or nothing of the business. The location of the 
dam was about forty rods above the bridge on Shaw 
Street,in Hast Braintree. Although unsuccessful, it 
produced some good results to the town, as it brought 


and reclaimed wild lands. Soon after 1680, John 
Hubbard, of Boston, rebuilt the dam, and erected a 
saw-mill, iron-works, and forge on or near the same 
spot. 

These works were occupied some years, but there 
was a continual contention between the owner, Thomas 
Vinton, who bought them of the Hubbard family, 
and the town concerning the passage of the fish up 
the Monaticut River. Alewives and other fish ran 
in large quantities up the river to the ponds to lay 
their spawn if they were not hindered by obstructions 
in the river. The people were jealous of their rights, 
and claimed that they were deprived of a portion of — 
their living by these obstructions, as it was their cus- 
tom to preserve in the proper season all the alewives 
they could consume in their families during the suc- 
To deprive them of their fish was to 
deprive them of their living, and they would not 
submit to this loss. 
that a number of men went one night and destroyed 
the dam. 
town purchased the dam and privilege, and this settled 
the difficulties. For many years nothing was done 
with this privilege until Caleb Hunt and others ob- 
They 
built a new dam about forty rods below the ancient 
one, where a saw-mill was established, and afterwards 


ceeding year. 
So great was the disaffection 


Thereupon law-suits arose, until finally the 


tained the right from the town to build a mill. 


a grist-mill, which for many years was owned by 
Abraham Hobart, and is now occupied by the firm 
of Ambler & Hobart, extensive grain dealers. 

About the year 1790, Col. William Allen erected 
a grist-mill on the river on the south side of Commer- 
cial Street, near the stone bridge. It was occupied 
by himself and partners for some years, and after- 
wards purchased by Jonas Welch, who commenced 
the manufacture of chocolate. The chocolate made 
proved to be the best in the market, and brought the 
highest price. Welch’s chocolate became celebrated 
throughout the country. Upon the death of Mr. 
Welch the business passed into the hands of Alexan- 
der Bowditch, who continued the business for some 
years. About 1853 another building was erected for 
the manufacture of carpeting upon the same privilege, 
but did not prove a success. It was also used for a 
short time as a manufactory for boot- and shoe-lasts. 
About twenty years ago it was burned to the ground 


seers, had no personal interest in the business except ' together with the old grist- and chocolate-mill. Al- 








BRAINTREE. 


though several companies have endeavored to purchase 
the privilege, they were unable so to do, and the site is 
still bare and desolate, with hardly a vestige remaining 
to mark the spot. 

Not far from 1680 a young man by the name of 
John Bowditch, supposed to come from Salem, came to 


119 








Not far from 1760 Hobart Clark came to town, 


and built a fulling-mill upon or near Adams Street. 


the town, and, marrying the daughter of John French, | 


settled here, built a dam, and set up a fulling-mill near 
Commercial Street, on one of the best sites for a mill 
privilege on Monatiquot River. 
mained in the hands of the Bowditch family until about 
1796, when it was sold to other parties. During the 
time it was in their hands a grist-mill was built, but 
when isunknown. When the mill was sold by the heirs 
of John Bowditch, a grist-mill is mentioned, but no 
fulling-mill. The business of fulling cloth, as separate 
from the weaving thereof, had departed. It is remem- 
bered by the oldest citizens that one Abigail Bowditch, 
a maiden lady, took sole charge of the grinding of corn, 
and would with ease take a two-bushel bag of meal 
upon her shoulder, carry it up the stairs to the 
street, and place it in the wagon, without assistance. 


This privilege re- | 


This privilege was used only a few years, and I can 
find no evidence that it was occupied by any other 
person except Adam Hobart, Jr., who had a lathe 
there a short time, but what he did I find no account 
of. This dam finally became rotten, and is now only 
known as having caused a vexatious law-suit, which 
will be mentioned in another place. 

Another dam was erected on Adams Street about 


_the year 1835 by the Hon. Benjamin V. French, a 


For about twenty years it was occupied by Jonathan | 


Thayer, Amasa Penniman, Walter Rogers, Benjamin 
Smith, and other parties in the manufacture of various 
kinds of goods. 
of business carried on there would fill many pages of 
manuscript, and then would be incomplete from lack 
of evidence, the information being mostly derived 


To attempt to describe the varieties 


from tradition. About 1823 a company was formed, 
purchased the privilege, and commenced enlarging and 
John Edson acted as their 
Cotton-gins were manufactured quite exten- 


improving the property. 
agent. 
sively, and a mill was built for the making of cotton 
cloths, which stood until last year, when it being old 
and dilapidated, was torn down. This company sold 
it to the Boston Flax Company, who did a large and 
successful business in the manufacture of twine, linen 
goods, etc., employing about six hundred men, women, 
and children. It gave an impetus to the growth of 
that village hitherto unsurpassed in the history of 
Braintree. During the thirty years of its existence 
houses were built for the use of the employés, stores 
were opened, and business was brisk, not only in the 
immediate locality, but throughout the town. 

About 1880 they removed their machinery to Lud- 
low, Mass., and sold the establishment to the Jenkins 
Manufacturing Company. Since that time it has been 
occupied by its owners in the manufacture of shoe- 
lacings, by the Columbia Rubber Company in that of 
rubber cloth, and F. B. Allen in that of fans. The 
village has not yet recovered from the effects of the 
removal of the Boston Flax Company. 


native of the town, who had acquired a fortune while 


a merchant in Boston. He was a man of active 
business habits, and did much for the improvement 
of his native town. He purchased a large farm and 
carried on the business extensively. He cleared un- 
cultivated pastures and meadow lands, built heavy 
stone walls, planted all kinds of fruit and ornamental 
trees, and so improved the condition of his farm that 
it was the attraction of the town for many years, 
visitors coming from all parts of the country to view 
and enjoy its beauties. 
of the leading agriculturists and horticulturists in 
the State. 
greatest benefactor of the town, it would be the Hon. 
Benjamin V. French. The dam he built on Mo- 
natiquot River was not used for some years after its 
erection. The owners of the Bowditch privilege 
bought the Hobart Clark privilege, and built a 
temporary dam that flowed the water back so far 
that the French privilege was useless. In order to 
obtain his rights, Mr. French was obliged to institute 
a suit at law, which, after being carried to the high- 


est courts in the State, was finally decided in his 


He was well known as one 


If I were to name any one man as the 


favor. He immediately proceeded to erect a grist- 
mill, which went into successful operation. He 
carried on the grain business for about twenty years, 
when the torch of the incendiary applied to the 
building destroyed in one hour all the labor of years. 
This loss, together with his large expenditures on 
his farm, crippled his resources, and compelled him 
to surrender his valuable property into the hands of 
his creditors. The privilege passed into the hands 
of Benjamin Lyman Morrison, who now improves it as 
a woolen yarn manufactory, and who has done a re- 
munerative business. 

At what time the old Thayer mill, as it was for- 
merly called, was built we know not, neither by whom 
the enterprise was started. On the laying out of 
Middle Street as a public way in 1690 it was men- 
This dam was the 
It 


tioned as passing over the dam. 
boundary line of Middle Street on its west side. 


' was first used for a saw-mill, afterwards for a grist- 





120 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





mill. About the year 1816, Robert Sugden, a native 


of England, leasing the premises, commenced the 


manufacture of woolen goods, and carried it on a 
number of years. 


tive of New Hampshire, leased the privilege, and began 
the manufacture of woolen goods, especially woolen 
His business proved successful, and he after- 
He continued to im- 


yarns. 
wards purchased the property. 


prove this property from time to time, until a short | 
time previous to his death, by the erection of new 


buildings and other improvements, until he was the 
owner of one of the best factories on the river. His 


prosperity was mainly due to his skill, and also espe- | 


cially to his faithfulness in putting upon the market 
the best goods that were manufactured. 


that if their customers wanted the best stockings they | 


must have Morrison’s yarn to knit. No better praise 


need be given to his memory. 


der of his long life, a period of more than fifty years’ 


residence, always taking an active interest in town | 
and State affairs, honored by his townsmen in many of | 


the most important positions it could confer upon him. 


He will be well remembered, especially by his poorer | 


and more afHlicted neighbors, who were the recipients 
of his freely-given bounties for their relief and com- 
fort. 


name of Morrison Brothers. 


It was still owned by the Thayer | 
family. About the year 1851, Alva Morrison, a na- | 


In the | 
country around, the old stocking-knitters would say | 


Hon. Alva Morrison | 
remained in the town of his adoption for the remain- | 


The business is now conducted by his three | 
sons, Alva S., R. Elmer, and Ibrahim, under the firm- | 





| 
| 


) 





In the year 1822, Oliver Ames and Elijah Howard | 


purchased of Asa French, Esq., an unoccupied privi- 


lege at the foot of Pearl Street for the purpose of | 
working in iron, and during the three following years | 


built shops, dwellings, and other buildings necessary 


for the carrying on of the shovel and nail and tack | 


business. The shovel business has been a part of the 


extensive works of the Ameses, who have a national | 


reputation. The nail and tack business was carried 


on by Elijah Howard, of North Easton, and his son, | 


Jason G. Howard, and their copartner, Apollos Ran- | 


dall, a native of Easton, who made this town his res- | 


idence, after entering into business, as long as he 
lived. 


at present. 


The tack and nail business is not carried on 


partner, has retired from business, and resides in 
Easton. 

In the year 1868, James T. Stevens and George 
D. Willis built a small factory on the corner of 
Tremont and Taylor Streets, and commenced the 
manufacture of nails and tacks. 


used. or various reasons they removed their fac- 


Steam-power was _ 


Jason G. Howard, the only surviving | 


tory to Weymouth about 1871. In 1872 they 
bought a piece of land adjoining the shovel-works, 
and erected buildings thereon, using the waste water of 
the pond of the shovel-factory and also steam-power. 
Mr. Stevens having a thorough knowledge of his 
trade, being a practical mechanic, and Mr. Willis 
proving an excellent salesman, have built up a good 
business with a reputation for good work. 

Just off Hancock Street are two privileges now oc- 
cupied by the Hollingsworth & Whitney Manufactur- 
ing Company, which it will be necessary to take up sep- 
arately. One is called the upper mill, the other the 
lower mill. The first we know of the lower mill it 
was used for sawing lumber until about 1810, when it 
was enlarged, and a grist-mill added. It was owned 
by Abraham Thayer, a native of the town. The 
At what time this 
privilege was first occupied is not known, but as long 
ago as 1764 it was sold by Daniel Hayden to Azariah 
Mr. 
Faxon owned it about thirty years, when he sold it 
to Jonathan Thayer. It was used for the manu- 
facture of various articles of merchandise by different 
individuals until about 1820, when it was purchased 
by the Blake & Revere Copper Foundry Company, 
who manufactured bells and did other copper work 
for several years. About the year 1832, John M. 
and Lyman Hollingsworth, two brothers who came 
from Milton, purchased both the upper and lower 


upper mill is of an older date. 


Faxon, and described as a saw- and grist-mill. 


privileges, and commenced the manufacture of paper. 


It was at this mill that they discovered how to make 


manilla paper from the old rope, which could be 
bought at a small price, and transformed into paper: 
which was very strong and almost impervious to 
water. This discovery was made in 1842. When 
they removed from the town their brother, Ellis A., 
took charge of the business, under the firm-name 
of Hollingsworth & Whitney, and so well have they 
succeeded that they make at this establishment alone 
about five tons of paper per day, and which finds a 
About 1882, upon the death of both 
the partners, a stock company was formed, although 


ready sale. 


the stock is nearly, if not all, owned by their heirs. 
The Hollingsworth brothers all made a good fortune 
in their business. This company has built on the 
old site the most convenient mill in the State. 

Just in the rear of the Braintree Cemetery, situated 
on Pond Street, is an old dam. 


to it | have found in the records it is called Samuel 


In the only reference 


Niles’ dam, and probably was used as a site for a saw- 
This was in 1731, and the mill was then prob- 
ably not in existence, as it is spoken of as formerly 
It must be of very ancient 


mill. 


known by that name. 





BRAINTREE. 


121 





date, most likely before 1675. No tradition exists, 
as. far as I can learn, of what the dam was used for. 
There is a privilege situated near the corner of 


Pond and Granite Streets which was in 1730 in pos- 


session of Col. William Hunt, who occupied it for a 
The ore was taken from the bottom of Great 
Tron ore has 


forge. 
Pond by dredging, so tradition says. 


| 


_ goods in return. 


many wharves, from whence the products of the coun- 
try were conveyed to the markets, and receiving 
Prominent among these places may 
be mentioned a wharf called William Penn’s upper 
landing place as early as 1645, and probably earlier. 
It was situated near the foot of Mill Lane. The only 


wharf now used in that vicinity is occupied by Joel 


been found in considerable quantities, and at one time 


was exported from the town. The cinders made at 
this forge can be seen at this time. It was afterwards 
purchased by David Holbrook, and remained in the 
family for four generations, used for a saw- and grist- 
mill. Since the death of Moses Holbrook it was pur- 
chased by George White, and afterwards used as a 
saw-mill by him until his death, which was caused by 
an accident while at work in the mill. After his 
death it was compelled to yield to the torch of the 
incendiary. 

Another saw- and grist-mill was situated near Wash- 
ington Street, on Cranberry Brook, and is known as 
Ludden’s mill. But little is known of its history, 
~ but the ruins of the dam are plainly to be seen. Still 
another saw-mill was situated on the same brook, far- 
ther up the stream, and near Liberty Street. It was 
the property of William Wild, a native of the town, 
who removed to that vicinity about 1750. 
but the dam remains. 


Nothing 


These privileges were all situated on the Monati- 
quot River or its tributaries. 
near the great Blue Hill, in Canton, and is called 
Blue Hill River until it reaches Great Pond, in Brain- 
tree, when it takes the name of Moore’s Farm River. 
Near the place where it receives the waters of Little 


Said river takes its rise 


Pond it joins the Cochato River, which rises near the 
borders of Holbrook and Stoughton, and near the 
junction it receives the waters of Cranberry Pond, and 
flows into Boston Harbor. In the year 1818 the 
owners of the privileges on Monatiquot River obtained 
of the General Court authority to use the waters of 
Houghton’s Pond, in Milton, and Great, Little, and 
Cranberry Ponds, in Braintree, that they might have 
those waters to use during the droughts of summer. 
They have enlarged and deepened the natural outlets 
of Great and Little Pond for that purpose. Monati- 


quot River, after it arrives at the line between Brain- | 


tree and Weymouth, is sometimes called Weymouth 


Fore River, but the name on the ancient records is | 
service of the government during the Rebellion, and 


that of Monoticut. 
was formerly much ship-building carried on by Sam- 
uel Arnold, Nathaniel R. Thomas, and others. But 
the business has not been carried on for some years. 
The river is navigable as far as Shaw Street bridge, 
and on its borders in ancient times were situated 


Near the Weymouth line there 


F. Sheppard, a native of New Jersey, for the trans- 
action of a coal and wood business. Besides the 
water received from the ponds, the river is fed by a 
large number of springs, with which the town abounds. 
The most noted of these springs is situated at the 
foot of a gravel plain, from whence flows a steady 
stream of pure water which never freezes, but con- 
tinues to flow with a never-failing supply, although 
the earth is parched by the heat of summer ; nor does 
it increase during the heavy rains of spring and au- 
tumn. The people come for miles around, and carry 
away barrels every day through the summer for fam- 
It has been analyzed by competent chemists, 
The water 


ily use. 
and found to contain medical qualities. 
of Monatiquot River is also used by the tannery of 
Col. Albion C. Drinkwater, which is situated on the 
corner of Adams and Elm Streets. He pronounces 
it the best water in the State of Massachusetts for 
tanning purposes. About the year 1800 the manu- 
facture of shoes was commenced in the town by Sam- 
uel Hayden, who disposed of his goods in Boston. 
This, with the addition of boots, soon became an ex- 
tensive business, and from that time to the present 
they have been manufactured in this town, not as 
large now as at a former period. The number of the 
manufacturers are so many that I cannot devote the 
space for their names. Suffice it to say that almost 
every dwelling had a shop built near it, where the 
workmen took their work from the manufacturers and 
made the boots for market. 
gone to decay or have been removed for other pur- 
poses, so that now one can scarcely be found, the 
workmen laboring in factories. The Braintree thick 
boot bore the highest price in the market, and 
sustained its good name for many years. On the 
borders of Little Pond, Warren Mansfield commenced 
a wheelwright business, which gradually enlarged 


These have gradually 


until he was compelled to erect a stone factory with 
steam-power to fill his numerous orders. He became 


a large manufacturer of cars, wagons for the military 


also large wagons, which he shipped to Cuba and South 


America. 
During the last few years a factory has been built 
for the manufacture of Cardigan jackets, and is run 


by steam-power. The business is carried on by 


122 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Joseph Winter and wife, natives of England. They 
are doing a good business, making the best goods in 
the market. 

Joseph I. Bates has also lately started a new 
business for this town, manufacturing what he calls 
‘Bates’ Consumption Pills,” for which he finds a 
ready sale. 


Old Colony Bulletin.—On June 5, 1875, appeared | 


the first number of the Old Colony Bulletin, which 
was published in South Braintree by Mr. C. Franklin 
David. 
existence some six months, when its publisher re- 
moved to Abington. Its first editor was Mr. A. E. 
Sproul, who is now on the reportorial staff of the 
Boston Herald, and well adorns the profession, prov- 


It was issued fortnightly, and remained in 


ing himself an able and ready writer. 


Oecd PURER Sel Vs 


BRAINTREE—( Continued). 
MILITARY HISTORY. 


DurinG the year 1807, when it was feared that 
the country would become involved in a foreign war, 
it was voted by the town that the men who turned 
out for the service of the country should fare as well 
as the Third Regiment should fare. At a meeting of 
the town, held May 12, 1808, it was voted to give 
the men who enlisted in the United States service 
three dollars each. Under this vote the town paid 
three dollars each to twenty-two men, as appears by 
the order-book. The persons paid were Thomas 


Hollis, Jr., William Thayer (3d), John Hollis (2d), | 


Moses French, Joshua Sampson, Jr., George New- 
comb, Ebenezer Hayward, Alexander Holbrook, 


brook, Isaac Allen, James French, Abia Holbrook, 


| 
1 
{ 


_ foe, with respect to the defense. 





| from the performance of their duty. 


Asaph Faxon, Jr., Samuel Holbrook, James Hol- | 


Levi Thayer, Jr., Jonathan Thayer, Jr., Samuel | 


Robinson, Jonathan Hill, Thomas Wild, Warren 
Loud, John Cushing, and Charles Bass. 

In the war of 1812 the town of Braintree, like 
most of the towns in the State, was opposed to the 


war with Great Britain, and the state of feeling can | 


be seen by the vote for Governor at the election held 
Noy. 12, 1812, a high state of political feeling exist- 


1 The history of the Revolutionary war is being written for | 


this volume by the Hon. Charles F. Adams, Jr., of Quincy. I 
shall therefore leave it to his able pen. 


| 


ing at the time. For the Federal candidate there 
were thrown eighty-six votes, for the Republican only 
fifty. At a town-meeting called May 28, 1812, it 
was voted to make each man’s pay, with the United 
States pay, fourteen dollars per month, as long as 
they are out in the service. It was also voted that 
if the drafted men are called out for military duty 
more than by order of the government, the town 
agree to pay them one dollar for each day. Sept. 
16, 1814, a town-meeting was held to see if the town 
will take into consideration the alarming situation 
which threatens our shores by invasion by the hostile 
Voted to add four 
persons to the selectmen, which shall be denominated 


a Committee of Safety. The selectmen at that time 


_ consisted of Caleb French, Dr. Jonathan Wild, and 


Major Amos Stetson. The persons added were 
Messrs. Jonas Welch, Capt. Thomas Hollis, Lieut. 
William Reed, and Minott Thayer. Voted that the 
town raise the sum of three hundred dollars to pay 


| the troops, and that we pay the same that Randolph, 


Milton, and Quincy pay. The only persons I have 
heard of in the United States service were John, 


_ Isaac, and Ebenezer Holbrook and James French. 
The latter died in the service at Plattsburg, N. Y., 


in 1814. 

Upon the breaking out of the Rebellion, in 1861, 
one of the first towns to respond to the call for troops 
It already had a company of in- 
fantry, who had joined themselves together for the 


was Braintree. 


purpose of perfecting themselves in military drill, and 
They 
little dreamed that they would be called at a few 


to enjoy the pleasures of the training-field. 


hours’ notice to leave their comfortable homes and 
loved and loving friends to mingle in the dangers of 
But so it proved. On the 15th day of April 
of that year they received orders late in the afternoon 


war. 


to report in Boston on the following day, to go— 
But they did not shrink 
Many of them 
had families dependent upon their daily labor for the 


they knew not whither. 


necessaries of life, and knew not how they could sus- 
tain those families in comfort while they were absent 
in their country’s service. But they marched with 
full ranks, in full trust that God would provide means 
and would open the hearts of their townsmen, so that 
these loved ones would be cared for in their absence. 
On the morning of April 16th the Braintree Light 
Infantry, Company C, Fourth Regiment Massachu- 
setts Volunteer Militia, were formed at their armory 
prepared for duty. They marched for Boston to join 
their regiment, and in a few days sailed for Fortress 


Monroe, where they remained the term of their en- 


BRAINTREE. 


123 





listment, and returned to their homes July 22d, the 
same year. Immediately after their departure the 
selectmen of the town issued their warrant for a town- 
meeting to be held on April 26th, to provide for the 
families of the soldiers. The warrant was dated April 
19th, only three days after their departure, and was 
signed by David H. Bates, N. H. Hunt, and Phillips 
Curtis. At that meeting it was voted that a sum not 
exceeding $1500 be appropriated for the support of 


the families of those who have left the town and | 


their homes in obedience to the call of the President 
of the United States. David H. Bates, N. H. Hunt, 
Phillips Curtis, J. H. D. Blake, Jason G. Howard, 
Caleb Hollis, and Elisha Thayer were appointed a 
committee to expend and distribute the above appro- 
priation. Under this vote the committee expended 
$1437.44. 

Another call was made for troops, and the State 
passed a law authorizing towns to aid the families of 





COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 


Three Years’ Regiments. 


Warren M. Babbitt, asst. surg. 55th Mass. Inf. and surg. 103d 
U.S. colored troops, from Aug. 11, 1863, to April 30, 1866. 

Cephas C. Bumpus, capt. 32d Inf. and 3d Heavy Art. 

George A. Thayer, capt. 2d Inf. 

Norman F. Steele, capt. 32d Inf. 

Edgar L. Bumpus, brevet capt. 33d Inf. 

Everett C. Bumpus, Ist lieut. 3d Heavy Art. 

Edward H. Mellus, 1st lieut. 3d Heavy Art. 

Richard M. Sanborn, Ist lieut. 3d Cav. (complimentary). 

Theodore C. Howe, Ist lieut. 3d Cav. (complimentary). 

James B. Leonard, 2d lieut. 32d Inf. 

Ebenezer C. Thayer, Jr., 2d lieut. 2d Louisiana Inf. 

Marcus M. Pool, 2d lieut. Ist Heavy Art. 


Volunteer Militia. 
Cephas C. Bumpus, capt. Co. C, 4th Inf., for 3 months. 


| James T. Stevens, capt. Co. I, 42d Inf., for 100 days; Ist 





soldiers, and on August 19th of the same year the town | 
voted to borrow $1000, to be expended according to | 


law. The sum expended under this vote was refunded 
by the State. July 14, 1862, the town voted to 
offer a bounty of one hundred dollars to each indi- 


vidual volunteer resident of Braintree who shall, un- , 


der the direction of the selectmen, within thirty days 
from date, volunteer for the war. The selectmen, 
under this vote, expended the sum of $8637.30. 
This sum also includes the money paid agreeable toa 
vote passed Aug. 18, 1862, whereby the selectmen 


shall enlist previous to the first day of September 
under the late call of the President for nine months 
$125, to the number of the quota assigned to the town, 
and $7500 was appropriated for that object. 
the year 1864 the town paid the sum of $8360.77 for 
bounties and expenses of recruiting the quota of the 
town. June 1, 1864, it was voted to authorize the 
selectmen to pay from the treasury the sum of $125 
for each person volunteering in the quota of Braintree 
previous to the first day of March, 1865, under any 
call from the President of the United States. 

During the year 1865 the town paid for bounties 
and expenses the sum of $9495, making a total of 
$27,930.51 which had been paid by the town in its 
corporate capacity for the prosecution of the war. 
This is in addition to the sum refunded by the State, 
and also to many private contributions for the same 
purpose. 

The following is a register of the officers and pri- 
vates, as far as has been ascertained, who served in the 
army. There may be errors, but if so, they are diffi- 
cult to correct from lack of records: 


During | 


| John T. Ayers, corp. 
| John C. Sanborn, corp. 
were authorized to pay each volunteer resident who | 





lieut. Co. C, 4th Inf., for 3 months. 


| Isaac P. Fuller, 2d lieut. Co. C, 4th Inf., for 3 months. 


John C. Sanborn, 2d lieut. Co. B, 43d Inf., for 9 months. 
Charles A. Arnold, 2d lieut. Co. I, 42d Inf., for 100 days. 


ENLISTED MEN, 


Fourth Regiment, Company C, Mass. Vol. Militia (Braintree 
Light Infantry). 


Mustered into service April 22, 1861; discharged July 22, 1861. 


William M. Richards, sergt. 
Joseph L. Frasier, sergt. 
Andrew G. King, 
Edgar L. Bumpus, sergt. 
Samuel M. Hollis, corp. 


Reuben F. Hollis, corp. 


John Finegan. 
Roland E. Foster. 
William B. Foster. 
Nathan T. Freeman. 
Henry W. Gammons. 
Charles Gifford. 
Joseph E. Holbrook. 
George F. Howard. 
Thomas Huston. 

L. Frank Jones. 
James B. Leonard. 
William Leggett. 
Thomas J. Morton. 
Edward H. Mellus. 
Francis McConity. 


sergt. 


Charles A. Arnold. 
Marcus P. Arnold. 
James T. Bestick. 
John E. Boyle. 
Everett C. Bumpus. 
John R. Carmichael. 
John Coughlan. 


Chandler Cox. 
Nelson Cox. 
Marcus F. Cram. 
Thomas J. Crowell. 


William Cunningham. 


William A. Daggett. 
Solon David. 


| Henry W. Dean. 





James Donahoe. 
Peter Donahoe. 
Lawrence A. Dyer. 


William H. McGann. 


Albert S. Mason. 
Marcus A. Perkins. 
Henry H. Shedd. 
Norman F. Steele. 


Thomas B. Stoddard. 


Elihu M. Thayer. 
Joseph P. Thayer. 
Loring W. Thayer. 
Andrew Toomey. 
Henry W. Wright. 


Alpheus Field. 


There were ten others from other towns who ac- 
companied them, making the whole number of rank 
and file sixty-six men. 

Besides these, Charles H. Crickmay went with 
Company H, Fourth Regiment, and Jeremiah Dal- 
ton, Jr., with Company G, Fifth Regiment, both of 
Braintree. 


124 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The following were mustered in Oct. 11, 1862, 
and discharged July 30, 1863, and served in Com- 
pany B, Forty-third (nine months’) Regiment Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers : 


Edward H. Mellus, sergt. William G. Hill. 


Charles W. Bean, corp. 
Charles A. Arnold, corp. 
Thomas B.Stoddard, corp. 


Albert O. Hollis. 
George A. Howe. 
Charles B. Leonard. 


Jonathan R. Clark, corp. 
Hiram E. Abbott. 

John R. Carmichael. 
Silas B. Crane. 

Robert M. Cummings. 
William B. Denton. 
Edward A. Fisher. 
Hosea B. Hayden. 
Hosea B. Hayden (2d). 


George A. Mower. 
William W. Mower. 
Shubael M. Norton. 
John F. Pool. 

Jacob C. Snow. 
Cranmore N. Wallace. 
Francis A. Wallace. 
Morrill Williams. 


Forty-fourth Regiment,! Company H. 
Everet C. Bumpus, Sept. 12, 1862, to June 18, 1863. 


Company I. 
Joseph H. J. Thayer, Sept. 12, 1862, to June 18, 1863. 


Forty-fifth Regiment,! Company A. 
John W. Fowle, Oct. 13, 1862, to July 7, 1863. 


Forty-seventh Regiment,! Company K,. 


James Willis, Oct. 31, 1862, to Sept. 1, 1863. 
John Wilson, Oct. 31, 1862, to Sept. 1, 1863. 


Forty-eighth Regiment,! Company I. 
John Freel, Oct. 18, 1862, to Sept. 3, 1863. 


Company K. 
James Dooley, Nov. 1, 1862, to Sept. 3, 1863. 


The following were mustered in July 14 to Nov. 
11, 1864, and served in Company I, Forty-second 
Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, being enlisted as 
one hundred days’ men: 


Cranmore N. Wallace, sergt. | Waldo Holbrook. 
Walter Holbrook. 
Davis W. Howard. 
“Moses Hunt. 

Moses N. Hunt. 
Newell A. Langley. 
John McDermott. 
Ruel B. Moody. 
George W. Nickerson. 
Henry Pratt. 
Samuel Rennie. 
Charles R. Smith. 
Thomas O. Sullivan. 
Francis P. Thayer. 
Lucian M. Thayer. 
Fred. H. Wales. 
George D. Willis. 
James M. Willis. 


John R. Carmichael, sergt. 
Isaac P. Fuller, sergt. 
Robert Gillespie, sergt. 
William L. Pratt, corp. 
Francis A. Wallace, corp. 
Marcus A. Perkins, corp. 
George W. Abbott. 

J. Fred. Allen. 

Fred. C. Armstrong. 

B. Herbert Bartlett. 
Henry W. Dean. 

Otis B. Dean. 

Edwin F. French. 
William L. Gage. 

Caleb H. Hayden. 
Charles T. Hayden. 
Lorenzo Hayden. 


Edward Fisher was corporal in Company A, Forty-second 
Regiment, from July 14 to Nov. 11, 1864. 


Nelson Beals belonged to Twentieth Unattached Company 
from Aug. 11 to Noy. 18, 1864. 





1 Nine months’ regiment. 


| 
| 
| 
| 


| 


Persons who enlisted for three years in the service 
of the United States : 


Second Battery Light Artillery. 
William E. Foye, Sept. 3, 1864, to June 11, 1865. 


Seventh Battery Light Artillery. 


John Brennon, Jan. 1, 1864, to Nov. 10, 1865. 


Twelfth Battery Light Artillery. 





Silas B. Crane, March 26, 1864, to. June 22, 1864. 


First Heavy Artillery, Company C. 
Paul Nadell, July 5, 1861; transferred to navy, April 13, 1864. 
Marcus M. Pool, July 5, 1861, to May 15, 1865. 
James E. Hobart, July 5, 1861, to August 16, 1865. 


First Heavy Artillery, Company E. 
James T. Bestick, sergt., Aug. 6, 1862, to March 26, 1865. 
Calvin Briggs, Aug. 6, 1862 ; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. 
Edward 8. Dean, Aug. 6, 1862, to July 8, 1864. 
Henry W. Gammons, Aug. 6, 1862, to July 8, 1864. 


Company I. 
John F. Salmon, July 5, 1861, to July 8, 1864. 


Company M. 
Linus C. Bird, March 3, 1862; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. 
Denis Foley, March 6, 1862, to Aug. 16, 1865. 
Elisha P. Goodnow, March 3, 1862, to May 19, 1864. 
William Higgins, March 17, 1862, to Feb. 15, 1865. 
Michael McDonald, March 6, 1862, to March 6, 1865. 


Second Heavy Artillery, Company C. 
John E. Boyle, Sept. 5, 1864, to June 26, 1865. 
Nehemiah T. Dyer, Sept. 5, 1864, to June 26, 1865. 
George P. Hollis, Sept. 5, 1864, to June 26, 1865. 
Albert T. Pool, Sept. 5, 1864, to June 30, 1865. 
Andrew C. Toomey, Sept. 5, 1864, to June 30, 1865. 


Company F. 
Fred. W. Ingraham, sergt., Sept. 5, 1864, to June 26, 1865. 
George Atwell, Sept. 5, 1864, to Jan. 17, 1865. 
Hiram §. Thayer, Sept. 5, 1864, to June 26, 1865. 


Company G. 


| John Navan, Aug. 29, 1864, to June 30, 1865. 


Company H. 
Samuel Meeker, Aug. 9, 1864, to Sept. 3, 1865. 


Company L. 


| Edward Freel, sergt., Dec. 22, 1863, to Sept. 3, 1865. 


Orrin H. Belcher, corp., Dec. 22, 1863, to Sept. 3, 1865. 


Horatio W. Cole, corp., Dec. 22, 1863, to Sept. 3, 1865. 
Henry B. Dyer, Dec. 22, 1863, to June 22, 1865. 
Jacob A. Dyer, Dec. 22, 1863, to Sept. 3, 1865. 

Henry Joy, Dec. 22, 1863, to May 26, 1865. 


Third Heavy Artillery, Company D. 
Lewis Hobart, March 30, 1864. 


Company E. 


John Cronin, corp., Aug. 27, 1863, to Sept. 18, 1865. 
Patrick Regan, Aug. 27, 1863. 

Company F. 
Edward H. Mellus, sergt., Sept. 16, 1863, to Sept. 18, 1865. 


Shubael M. Norton, Sept. 16, 1863, to Sept. 18, 1865. 
Caleb S. Benson, Aug. 24, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 


' William B. Denton, Sept. 24, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 





BRAINTREE. 





Lawrence A. Dyer, Sept. 16, 1863, to Sept. 18, 1865. 
Pearl 8. Grindall, Sept. 16, 1863, to Nov. 1, 1864. 
Elias Holbrook, Aug. 24, 1864, to June 20, 1865. 
Charles H. Howe, Aug. 23, 1864, to June 20, 1865. 
Hosea Jackson, Aug. 23, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
Hervey N. Jillson, Aug. 24, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
John G. Minchin, Aug. 23, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
Martin V. B. Minchin, Aug. 23, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
Henry 0. Pratt, Sept. 16, 1863, to Sept. 18, 1865. 
Andrew J. Rubert, Aug. 24, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
Samuel W. Savill, Aug. 24, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 


Company G. 


Eli W. Chase, Oct. 20, 1863, to Sept. 18, 1865. 
Robert M. Cummings, Oct. 20, 1863, to Sept. 18, 1865. 


Third Heavy Artillery, Company K,. 
Robert Rennie, corp., May 12, 1864, to Sept. 18, 1865. 


Company L. 


Charles F. Arnold, corp., Aug. 29, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
Amos W. Hobart, artificer, Aug. 29, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
Cyrus G. Bowker, Aug. 29, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 

Alfred H. Butler, Aug. 29, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 

Elbridge Joy, Aug. 29, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 

Joseph P. Thayer, Aug. 29, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 


Fourth Heavy Artillery, Company C. 
Orace W. Allen, sergt., Aug. 9, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
Nahum Sampson, sergt., Aug. 15, 1864, to May 5, 1865. 
William C. Stoddard, corp., Aug. 9, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 


Cyrus Cummings, wagoner, Aug. 13, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 


John G. N. Henderson, Aug. 10, 1864, to June 17, 1865, 
Lathrop C. Keith, Aug. 9, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
William C. Knight, Aug. 11, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
John Laing, Aug. 12, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 

Angus McGilvray, Aug. 10, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
Michael Nugent, Aug. 10, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 


Company F. 
John Flynn, Aug. 15, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 


Company G. 
Robert T. Bestick, Aug. 26, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
George C. H. Deets, Aug. 26, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
Samuel V. Holbrook, Aug. 26, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 
James Toole, Aug. 26, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 


Company K. 


William M. Strachan, sergt., Aug. 18, 1864, to June 17, 1865. 


First Battery Heavy Artillery, Company A. 
Benjamin J. Loring, sergt., Feb. 26, 1862, to Feb. 27, 1865. 
George S. Huff, sergt., Feb. 26, 1862, to Feb. 27, 1865. 
Charles E. Pratt, corp., Feb. 21, 1862, to Feb. 27, 1865. 
Henry Bayley, July 1, 1864, to June 22, 1865. 

Frank Osborn, Feb. 24, 1862, to July 20, 1862. 
Elihu M. Thayer, Feb. 19, 1862, to Oct. 20, 1865. 


Company B. 


Calvin T. Dyer, Sept. 10, 1863, to June 29, 1865. 

John Q. Ela, Dec. 3, 1863, to June 29, 1865. 

Edward A. Hale, Oct. 29, 1862, to June 29, 1865. 
George B. Jones, Oct. 29, 1862, to June 29, 1865. 
Charles H. Loring, Oct. 10, 1862. 

Michael B. McCormick, Jan. 13, 1863, to June 29, 1865. 
George H. Randall, Aug. 7, 1863, to June 29, 1865. 





| William A. Daggett, bugler, Sept. 16, 1861, to Sept. 21, 1864. 





Wilbert F. Robbins, Dec. 4, 1863, to June 29, 1865. 
William H. Saunders, Oct. 25, 1862, to June 29, 1865. 
Jacob C. Snow, Aug. 18, 1863, to June 29, 1865. 
Benjamin F. Spear, Aug. 7, 1863, to June 29, 1865. 


Company C. 


Francis White, q.m.-sergt., Aug. 22, 1863, to Oct. 20, 1865. 
Warren C. Mansfield, Aug. 3, 1863, to June 29, 1865. 
William H. McQuinn, Aug. 18, 1862, to June 29, 1865. 
Samuel E. Whitmarsh, April 22, 1863, to Oct. 20, 1865. 


Company D. 
Charles Blake, June 6, 1863. 


First Cavalry, Company H. 


Peter A. Drollett, Oct. 12, 1861, to Oct. 8, 1864. 
Alvin Jackson, Oct. 12, 1861, to Jan. 15, 1865. 


Company K. 


| James B. Frazier, Noy. 26, 1861, to Jan. 4, 1865. 





Henry A. Hobart, sergt., Nov. 26, 1861. 


| George F. Penniman, Sept. 25, 1861, to Sept. 25, 1864. 











! William A. Bishop, bugler, Aug. 


Second Cavalry, Company F. 
Henry W. Gammons, Jan. 2, 1865, to July 20, 1865. 


| George F. Thayer, April 3, 1863, to April 1, 1865. 


Company H, 
Owen Fox, Oct. 9, 1863, to July 6, 1864. 
Third Cavalry, Company B. 
Edwin L. Curtis, sergt., Dec. 11, 1863, to Sept. 28, 1865. 
Company D. 
Richard M. Sanborn, sergt., Jan. 30, 1864, to Sept. 28, 1865. 


125 


Theodore C. Howe, q.m.-sergt., Dec. 7, 1863, to Sept. 28, 1865. 


Hosea B. Hayden, corp., Dec. 31, 1863, to Sept. 28, 1865. 
William G. Hill, corp., Dec. 5, 1863, to July 29, 1865. 
Joseph W. Huff, corp., March 11, 1864, to Sept. 28, 1865. 
Charles B. Leonard, corp., Dec. 21, 1863, to Sept. 28, 1865. 


Jonathan R. Clark, blacksmith, Dec. 31, 1863, to Sept. 28 


1865. 
George V. Chick, Dec. 5, 1863, to Sept. 28, 1865. 
Stephen W. Dawson, Jan. 29, 1864, to his death. 
John Halpin, Dec. 28, 1863, to Sept. 28, 1865. 
Isaac R. Harmon, Feb. 15, 1864, to Sept. 28, 1865. 


| Philip McQuinty, Jan. 5, 1864, to July 29, 1865. 


George A. Mower, Feb. 9, 1864, to Sept. 28, 1865. 
James Spear, Dec. 10, 1863, to Sept. 28, 1865. 
Charles S. Thayer, Feb. 15, 1864, to Aug. 19, 1865. 


Company E. 


| James Riley, Sept. 20, 1862. 


Company G. 
Patrick Dunlay, Nov. 1, 1862, to May 20, 1865. 
Company I, 
Royal Belcher, Aug. 5, 1862, to May 20, 1865. 
James Smith, Aug. 5, 1862, to May 20, 1865. 


Company K. 


John T. Ayres, sergt., Aug. 6, 1862, to Oct. 19, 1864. 


Timothy Curran, corp., Aug. 6, 1862; transferred to Vet. Res. 


Corps. 
John G. Ingraham, corp., Aug. 6, 1862, to March 1, 1863. 


Res. Corps. 
6, 1862, to May 30, 1865. 


| Jonathan S. Paine, corp., Aug. 6, 1862; transferred to Vet. 


126 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 











Edward E. Patten, saddler, Aug. 6, 1862, to Nov. 15, 1864. Company C. 


John 1 Albee, Feb. 29, 1864, to June 22, 1864. John P. Murphy, June 11h. 1861, to June 21% 1864. 
Edward Bannon, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. 

John Barry, Aug. 6, 1862, to Sept. 28, 1865. Company G. 

Lewis D. Bates, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. Cornelius Furfy, June 11, 1861, to July 1, 1862. 
Leonard Belcher, Aug. 6, 1862, to March 1, 1863. Richard Furfy, June 11, 1861, to June 21, 1864. 


Elisha S. Bowditch, Dec. 7, 1863, to Sept. 19, 1864. 

James E. Burpee, Aug. 6, 1862; transferred to Vet. Res. Corps. 
Patrick Cahill, Dec. 12, 1863, to July 5, 1865. John Foley, Aug. 21, 1863, to June 10, 1864. 
Stephen Connor, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 2], 1865. 
Chandler Cox, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. 
Marcus F. Cram, Aug. 6, 1862, to Jan. 26, 1864. Anthony Columbus, Aug. 21, 1863, to June 10, 1864. 
William L. Cram, Aug. 6, 1862. 

John Craddock, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. 


Company H. 


Company K. 


Eleventh Infantry, Company B. 


Birdsey Curtis, Aug. 6, 1862. John P. Maloney, sergt., June 13, 1861. 
Charles C. Davis, Aug. 6, 1862, to Jan. 23, 1863. William M. Tirrell, sergt., June 13, 1861, to June 24, 1864. 
Joseph Desotelle, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. James Wilkie, corp., June 13, 1861. 


John Flood, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. 


Eleventh Cavalry, Company D. 
Charles E. Fogg, Aug. 6, 1862, to Aug. 9, 1865. 


William H. French, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. OwentGreclish j June) 13) o Ot tee ee 
Thomas C. Gardner, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. Company E. 

Ege oatmey ue. 0, 1862, Francis Marmont, Aug. 14, 1863, to July 14, 1865. 
Oliver S. Harrington, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. 

Almon E. Ingalls, Dec. 21, 1863; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. Company K. 

George A. Joy, Aug. 6, 1862, to April 27, 1863. James Barrett, June 13, 1861. 

James Kennedy, Jan. 1, 1864; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. | Thomas H. Neal, June 13, 1861, to Oct. 22, 1862. 
William S. Leach, Aug. g; 1862, to Aug. 7, 1863. Samuel W. Saville, June 13, 1861, to June 24, 1864. 
Frederic Marr, Aug. 6, 1862. Thomas Wilson, Aug. 12, 1863, to July 14, 1865. 
William P. Martin, Feb. 22, 1864; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. 

Frank McConerty, Aug. 6, 1862; absent. Twelfth Cavalry, Company C. 
Michael MeMurphy, Aug. 6, 1862. Francis W. Kahle, July 22, 1863, to March 6, 1864. 
William W. Mower, Dee. 21, 1863. Michael Preston, July 5, 1861, to Dec. 31, 1862. 
Albert 8. Nason, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1860. Ephraim F. Thayer, June 26, 1861, to Feb, 28, 1863. 
Daniel W. Niles, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. John Q. Whitmarsh, June 26, 1861, to Sept. 18, 1862. 
Samuel H. Paine, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. 

Charles E. Pratt, Aug. 6, 1862, to Nov. 15, 1863. Company E. 

Isaac Raymond, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. Christopher P. Tower, June 26, 1861, to March 9, 1863. 
Oliver Simmons, Aug. 6, 1862, to Feb. 18, 1863. 

Quincy Sprague, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. Company F. 


George H. Stevens, Dec. 21, 1863; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. | Joseph P. Davis, June 26, 1861, to July 8, 1864. 
Ansel P. Thayer, Aug. 6, 1862, to Sept. 19, 1864. | 


Ephraim F. Thayer, Dec. 31, 1863, to Aug. 8, 1865. Coon 


Major Tirrell, Aug. 6, 1862, to May 21, 1865. Charles A. Pope, sergt., June 26, 1861, to Nov. 30, 1863. 

Americus V. Tirrell, Aug. 6, 1862, to Jan. 18, 1864. Warren Stetson, July 17, 1863, to June 29, 180% 

John F. Wild, Dec. 26, 1863, to April 8, 1864. John Q. A. Thayer, June 26, 1861, to July 8, 1864. 

r OEE ce Ts1)%, z" 863: rans ; . iE rps. * 

Thomas §S. Williams, Dec. 5, 1863; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps Thirteenth Cavalry, Company G. 
Company M. Hiram §. Thayer, July 16, 1861, to Aug. 1, 1864. 

Garrett G. Barry, sergt., Dec. 13, 1861, to April 8, 1864. Sixteenth Cavalry, Company I. 


iaumhaCvaln), Company D. William Cunningham, Aug. 30, 1861, to July 15, 1863. 


Alvin Jackson, Jan. 9, 1864, to Jan. 15, 1865. Company K. 


: James Bradley, July 2, 1861, to July 27, 1864. 
Company F. : 
William L. Cram, Jan. 27, 1864, to Nov. 14, 1865. Seventeenth Cavalry, Company E. 
~ Albert T. Pool, Sept. 5, 1864, to June 30, 1865. 

Pifth Cavalry. John F. Pool, Sept. 5, 1864, to June 30, 1865. 


Jhmes M. Cutting, vet. surg., Sept. 16, 1864, to Oct. 31, 1865. 
Company G. 


Second Infantry, Company G@. John Navan, Aug. 29, 1864, to June 30, 1865. 
William Foley, May 25, 1861, to July 26, 1863. 
Dennis Moriarty, May 25, 1861, to April 1, 1862. Lighteenth Cavalry, Company E. 
William Welsh, May 25, 1861, to Jan. 31, 1863. Asa W. Holbrook, Aug. 24, 1861, to Oct. 26, 1864. 
Ninth Infantry, Company B. | Company K. 





John Healey, June 11, 1861. Thomas Smith, Jr., corp., Aug. 24, 1861, to Jan. 26, 1863. 





t 





BRAINTREE. 127 





Nineteenth Cavalry, Company B. 
Duncan Crawford, Aug. 3, 1863, to Jan. 14, 1864. 


Company E. 


Daniel Carrigan, Sept. 2, 1861, to June 30, 1865. 
James Carrigan, July 26, 1861; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. 


Company K. 


Samuel D. Chase, corp., Oct. 31, 1862, to June 30, 1865. 
Marcus P. Arnold, Oct. 29, 1862, to June 30, 1865. 


N. Augustus White, Aug. 19, 1861; no record of discharge. 


Twentieth Cavalry, Company F. 


Duncan Crawford, Jan. 14, 1864; trans. to navy. 


Company G. 
John Goodman, Sept. 4, 1861, to Sept. 3, 1864. 


Company I. 
Charles Holbrook, Dec. 9, 1861, to Oct. 15, 1862. 


Company K. 
Thomas J. Crowell, corp., Aug. 21, 1861, to Dee. 13, 1862. 


Twenty-second Cavalry, Company E. 
Jeremiah Dalton, 2d corp., Oct. 1, 1861, to June 27, 1862. 


Company F. 


Charles L. Holbrook, July 28, 1863, to Oct. 26, 1864. 
Edward Huff, July 17, 1863, to Oct. 26, 1864. 


Company I. 


Charles H. Crickmay, corp., Sept. 6, 1861, to June 30, 1862. 


Alexander R. Fogg, Sept. 6, 1861, to June 27, 1862. 


Twenty-third Cavalry, Company H. 
George B. Jones, Sept. 28, 1861, to Sept. 8, 1862. 


Twenty-fourth Cavalry, Company B. 
George White, Sept. 18, 1861, to Dec. 18, 1863. 


Company C. 
Daniel Austin Thayer, July 29, 1862, to Jan. 4, 1864. 


Company G. 
Loring N. Hayden, Nov. 15, 1861, to Jan. 20, 1866. 
Edward M. French, Noy. 13, 1861, to Aug. 4, 1863. 
W. Martin Harmon, Nov. 13, 1861, to April 30, 1863. 
Abraham W. Hobart, July 26, 1862. 
Seth Taunt, Dec. 5, 1861, to July 15, 1865. 
George N. Thayer, Sept. 16, 1861, to Jan. 20, 1866. 


Company H. 
James L. Curtis, July 29, 1862, to Jan. 20, 1866. 


Twenty-seventh Cavalry, Company D. 
Maxon G. Healy, July 23, 1862, to Sept. 27, 1864. 


Twenty-eighth Cavalry, Company B. 


John Connors, Aug. 10, 1863, to July 6, 1864. 
Amos A. Loring, Jan. 5, 1864, to his death. 


Company C. 
Henry Barton, Dec. 13, 1861, to Dee. 19, 1864. 


Company D. 


John Connor, sergt., Jan. 2, 1864, to Aug. 19, 1864. 
Adams H. Cogswell, Jan. 2, i862. 





Charles Gray, Aug. 10, 1863, to Sept. 15, 1864. 
William Reevers, Aug. 12, 1863, to June 20, 1865. 


Company F. 

Thomas Smith, Jan. 8, 1862, to Sept. 30, 1862. 
Company G. 

Charles Miller, Aug. 12, 1863. 

Francis Winn, Dec. 19, 1861. 


Company I. 
Frederic Smith, Aug. 11, 1863. 


Unassigned. 


| Peter Higgins, Aug. 14, 1863. 


Twenty-ninth Cavalry, Company A. 
John W. Sweeney, May 21, 1861, to Aug. 28, 1862. 


Company B. 
Tra D. Bryant, May 14, 1861. 
James Freel, May 14, 1861. 
George S. Whiting, no record; now draws a pension. 


Company D. 


John Conley, Aug. 20, 1864, to July 29, 1865. 
James Flynn, Aug. 19, 1864. 


Thirtieth Cavalry, Company F. 
Samuel F. Harrington, Nov. 18, 1861, to July 5, 1866. 


Thirty-first Cavalry, Company K. 
Ebenezer C. Thayer, Jr., corp., Jan. 29, 1862, to Sept. 30, 1864. 
John W. Dargan, Jan. 23, 1862, to Nov. 27, 1864. 
William Kayhoo, Jan. 17, 1862, to Feb. 14, 1864. 
John Rennie, Feb. 6, 1862, to Noy. 1, 1862. 


Thirty-second Cavalry, Company E. 
Loring W. Thayer, sergt., Dec. 2, 1861, to Sept. 30, 1864. 
Norman F. Steele, sergt., Dec. 2, 1861; 2d lieut. 
James B. Leonard, corp., Dec. 2, 1861; 2d lieut. 
Leonard F. Huff, Dec. 2, 1861, to Aug. 23, 1862. 
Henry T. Wade, Dec. 2, 1861, to July 2, 1863. 


Company F. 


Asa W. Holbrook, Jan. 21, 1864, to June 29, 1865. 


Company H. 
John Foley, Aug. 21, 1863, to June 29, 1865. 


Company I. 
William Daley, musician, Aug. 11, 1862, to June 29, 1865. 
Anthony Columbus, Aug. 22, 1863, to his death. 

Company L. 


Charles L. Holbrook, July 28, 1863,to June 29, 1865. 
Edward Huff, July 17, 1863, to June 29, 1865. 


Thirty-third Cavalry, Company E, 


| Edgar L. Bumpus, sergt., Aug. 5, 1862, to May 15, 1864. 





Company K. 
Martin Branley, Aug. 8, 1862, to Nov. 24, 1862. 
T. Horace Cain, Aug. 8, 1862, to July 7, 1865. 
William Mulligan, Aug. 8, 1862, to June 11, 1865. 
John W. W. Rowell, Aug. 8, 1862, to Dec. 28, 1863. 
James N. Tower, Aug. 8, 1862, to June 11, 1865. 
Nathaniel A. White, Aug. 8, 1862; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. 


Thirty-jijth Cavalry, Company E. 
William D. Lyons, Aug. 19, 1862, to April 20, 1863. 


128 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








Company H. 
John Davis, Aug. 19, 1862, to Aug. 23, 1863. 


Thirty-sicth Cavalry, Company K. 
Albert G. Wilder, corp., Aug. 11, 1862; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. 
Daniel W. Dean, Aug. 8, 1862, to his death. 
Seth Dean, Aug. 8, 1862, to Jan. 27, 1863. 


Thirty-eighth Cavalry, Company I. 
Edward Freel, Aug. 21, 1862, to Feb. 14, 1863. 
John V. Hunt, Aug. 21, 1862, to June 30, 1865. 
James W. Thayer, Aug. 21, 1862; trans to Vet. Res. Corps. 
Stephen Thayer, Aug. 21, 1862, to June 30, 1865. 

Company K. 

Hiram P. Abbott, corp., Aug. 20, 1862, to June 30, 1865. 
Henry H. Shedd, Aug. 20, 1862, to Oct. 24, 1862. 
George H. Bryant, Aug. 20, 1862, to March 24, 1863. 
Warren R. Dalton, Aug. 20, 1862, to June 30, 1865. 
Charles David, Aug. 20, 1862, to Feb. 13, 1863. 
Edward David, Aug. 20, 1862, to June 14, 1863. 
Solon David, Aug. 20, 1862, to June 30, 1865. 


Thirty-ninth Cavalry, Company G. 


James Bannon, Sept. 2, 1862, to April 12, 1865. 
Warren Stetson, July 17, 1863, to May 18, 1865. 


Company H. 
John Preston, Sept. 2, 1862, to Jan. 29, 1863. 


Fortieth Cavalry, Company F. 
Michael McMurphy, Sept. 3, 1862, to March 24, 1863. 


Company H. 
Daniel F. Leonard, Sept. 1, 1862 ; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. 


Fifty-sixth Cavalry, Company E. 
Michael P. Foley, Jan. 12, 1864, to July 12, 1865. 


Fifty-eighth Cavalry, Company E. 
Joseph Jenkins, March 1, 1864, to July 14, 1865. 


Fivst Company Sharpshooters. 


Josiah H. Hunt, Oct. 31, 1862; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. 
N. Warren Penniman, Oct. 13, 1862, to July 25, 1864. 


Veteran Reserve Corps. 

William Butler, Sept. 3, 1864. 

Patrick Callahan, May 16, 1864. 

Barney Feeney, May 16, 1864. 

Peter Hutchneck, May 17, 1864. 

Edward Kellogg, May 17, 1864. 

Jethro Lynch, May 16, 1864. 

Jesse B. Nourse, May 11, 1864. 


United States Regulars. 

Albert F. Wood, April 11, 1861, to April 11, 1864. 
Musicians, 

Abijah Allen, Dec. 22, 1863, to May 31, 1865. 
Hiram A. French, Dec. 22, 1863, to May 31,1865. * 
Eugene D. Daniels, Dec. 22, 1863, to May 31, 1865. 
Luther Hayden, Oct. 26, 1864, to June 13, 1865. 
Francis W. Holbrook, Jan. 4, 1864, to May 31, 1865. 
Jacob S. Lord, Oct. 26, 1864, to June 18, 1865. 
Jonathan Thayer, Jr., Oct. 26, 1864, to June 13, 1865. 


Seventieth Infantry ( Colored). 
John Bell, Jan. 31, 1865. 











| Thomas J. Martin. 


| John T. Ayres. 


| William 8. Adams. 
| William C. Bright. 


| Daniel H. Ellis. 
John Freel. 


Seventieth New York Infantry. 
Levi Bunker, June 20, 1861, to June 16, 1863. 
Edward S. Bunker, July 13, 1861, to Sept. 11, 1862. 
Alfred E. Parker, July 15, 1861, to May 5, 1862. 


Twenty-fifth New York Infantry. 
Thomas Smith, May 13, 1861, to June, 1862. 
Third Maryland Infantry. 


John Finegan, February, 1862, to March 12, 1863. 
Alonzo A. Tower, February, 1862. 


Twelfth Vermont Infantry. 


Benjamin F. Arnold, Oct. 4, 1862, to Dec. 29, 1864. 
Nelson Arnold, Oct. 18, 1862, to June 19, 1864. 


The following enlisted in unknown organizations, 
Viz. : 


Lewis U. Hubbard. 
John W. Langley. 
Bernard McGovern. 
George HE. Nelson. 
John O’Neil. 

John Smith. 
Charles E, Smith. 
William Taylor. 
Edward Tilden. 
William Townsend. 
Peter Whitmarsh. 
William O. Wright. 


Symmes G. Buker. 
James Dooley. 
Michael Doran. 
Edward Doyle. 


James Flynn. 
Patrick Glancy. 
James T. Godfrey. 
John Hanlon. 
Albert Howard, Jr. 


The following enlisted in the navy, viz. : 


Michael Tenney. 
Duncan Crawford. 
Royal J. Freeman. 
George Howe. 


George A. Raymond. 
William H. Spear. 
Charles Smith. 
Paul Nadell. 
William H. Matthews. 
Besides these there were thirty-four who were 
strangers, some of whom were assigned by the State 
as the quota of the town. 
Names of those who fell on the field or from 
wounds received in battle: 
Elisha Paine Goodnow. 


George Frederic Thayer. 
Owen Fox. 


Alexander R. Fogg. 

Jeremiah Dalton (2d). 

Lawrence McLaughlin. 

Loring Winthrop Thayer. 

Henry T. Wade. 

Edgar Lewis Bumpus. 

Edward David, 

Ebenezer Coddington Thayer, 
Jr. 

Thomas Smith. 

Alfred Emmons Parker. 

Nelson Arnold. 


Edward Everett Patten. 
Ansel Penniman Thayer. 
John Francis Wild. 
Garrett George Barry. 
Alvin Jackson. 

Cornelius Furfy. 

Thomas John Crowell. 
Charles Henry Crickmay. 


Those who died in prison or from the effects of 


_ prison life were : 


| John Ferdinand Albee. 


James Bannon. 
Benjamin Franklin Arnold. 


William Higgins. 
Charles Gray. 
From disease : 


Elisha Strong Bowditch. 
William Sanford Leach. 


Silas Binney Crane. 





BRAINTREE. 129 





Francis W. Kahle. 
Daniel Austin Thayer. 
William Martin Harmon. 
Amos Atkins Loring. 
Leonard F. Huff. 
Anthony Columbus. 

T. Horace Cain. 

Daniel W. Dean. 

Seth Dean. 


Henry Winslow Dean. 
John Finegan. 

Levi Bunker. 

Edward 8. Bunker. 
Paul Nadell. 

Stephen W. Dawson. 
Dennis Moriarty. 
John Connors. 


The women of the town deserve honorable men- 
tion. They contributed to the needs of the soldiers , 
such articles as bedding, clothing, lint, bandages, and 
delicacies of diet as far as was within their means. 
An illustration of the spirit of some of the women in | 
raising funds for these purposes of mercy is worth | 
preserving. One summer, when money was hard to 
get, a townsman jocosely offered, without thinking 
his proposal would be accepted, to give the ladies a 
load of hay, lying in the wet meadows, if they would 
carry it away. They promptly accepted the gift, and 
several of the younger women went into the fields, 
loaded the hay, had it properly weighed, and duly 
deposited in the barn of a purchaser, and converted 
the proceeds into stockings, drawers, and shirts for 
the men at the front. 

For the most of the above statistics I am indebted 
to the labored researches of the Rev. George A. 
. Thayer, a native of Braintree, an officer in the army, 
and who now resides at Cincinnati, Ohio. 

As an outgrowth of the war, soon after its close 
the soldiers of the United States army formed an | 
organization which they called ‘‘ The Grand Army of | 
the Republic.” A branch was formed June 4, 1869, 
and named Gen. Sylvanus Thayer Post, No. 87, De- 
partment of Massachusetts. It was organized by | 
Gen. James L. Bates, assisted by Capt. Charles W. | 
Hastings. The charter members were Capt. James 
T. Stevens, George D. Willis, Francis W. Holbrook, | 
Joseph EK. Holbrook, Robert P. Bestick, Lucian M. 
Thayer, Marcus A. Perkins, John R. Carmichael, 
William A. Dagget, and Edward 8. Dean. They now | 
number sixty-three comrades. 


They have strewed 
with flowers the graves of their departed comrades on 
Memorial Day each year since their organization. | 
Nine of their comrades they have borne to the silent. 
tomb and performed over their graves the usual ser- | 
vice. They have expended for the relief of their | 
members the sum of one thousand three hundred and 
two dollars and thirty-five cents. They held their 
meetings for some time in Holbrook Block, until its 
destruction by fire in June, 1882, when they lost 
nearly all their property. But though small in num- | 
bers, they, by the aid of their townsmen, have fur- 


nished a fine hall in Rosenfeld’s block, which they | 
9 . 











occupy at present. It has been beautifully decorated, 
mainly through the labor and taste of Comrade Thomas 
B. Stoddard, who deserves this notice. The Past 


| Commanders are James T. Stevens, James T. Bestick, 
| George D. Willis, Abijah Allen, Henry A. Monk, 
Edwin L. Curtis, William L. Gage, Thomas Fallon. 


Marcus A. Perkins has served as Quartermaster 


| nearly fifteen years. 


Early in the year 1865 a meeting of the citizens of 
the town was held in the town hall to devise measures 
to secure the erection of a suitable memorial to the 
soldiers from the town who died or were killed in 
service. They decided to hold a fair, and were joined 
by the ladies to further the object. From the fair 
and a musical entertainment about fourteen hundred 
dollars were realized. By the will of Mr. Harvey 
White a legacy was given towards the accomplishment 
of the same purpose. The town in its corporate capa- 
city contributed the remainder of the necessary sum 
for its completion. The town selected, in 1867, a 


| committee, consisting of Messrs. F. A. Hobart, Asa 


French, Horace Abercrombie, Levi W. Hobart, E. W. 
Arnold, Jason G. Howard, Edward Avery, Alva 
Morrison, and Edward Potter, to procure plans and 
estimates for some memorial. June 27, 1873, the 
town voted “that the soldiers’ monument committee 
be instructed to erect upon some portion of the town- 
land, near the town house, a statue cut in granite, 
after a model submitted by Messrs. Batterson & Can- 
field, of Hartford, Conn., with a pedestal designed by 
H. & J. E. Billings, architects of Boston, at a cost 
not exceeding five thousand dollars above the foun- 
dation.” 

Jason G. Howard and Edward Potter having re- 
moved from the town, James T. Stevens and William 
M. Richards were chosen to fill the vacancies. AI- 
verdo Mason, Marcus A. Perkins, Charles W. Procter, 
and Abijah Allen were also added to the committee. 
Under the above vote the monument was erected. 

The statue is a full-sized model of a soldier, stand- 
ing with his musket in position at rest, and is cut 
from Westerly granite. The inscriptions placed upon 
the pedestal are, upon the front, ‘The town of 
Braintree builds this monument in grateful remem- 
brance of the brave men whose names it bears ;” also, 
“1874.” Upon the reverse this simple inscription, 
‘“ Dying they triumphed.” Upon the north and south 
sides are the names of those of the quota of Brain- 
tree who died or were killed in the service; also 
“©1861” at the top and “1865” beneath, denoting the 
duration of the war. 

The funds placed at the disposal of the committee 
were: citizens’ fund and interest, $2338.19; town 


130 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





appropriations, $3628.07; Harvey White’s legacy, 
$500.00: total, $6466.26. On the 17th of June, 
1874, this monument was dedicated with appropriate 
ceremonies. There let it stand till time shall be no 
more, as a record that shall tell future generations of 
the bravery and heroism of our citizen soldiers in 
defense of the union of the States which was founded 
by our fathers, maintained by our brothers, and which, 
we trust, will be transmitted to the latest generation. 


Miscellaneous.— Besides the bequests to the town | 


before mentioned, Josiah French, a native of the town, 


him to some of the most important offices, left, as de- 
scribed in his will, the following property, viz.: “I 
give and devise to the town of Braintree, in the 
county of Norfolk, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 
a certain piece of mowing and tillage land lying and 
situate in said Braintree, containing five acres, more 
or less, and bounded as follows: easterly on Washing- 





ton Street, northerly on land of Capt. Ralph Arnold, | 


southerly on town land, and westerly on land of Peter 
Dyer. To have and to hold the same to the said town 
of Braintree forever, to be used and occupied by the 
said town as a common or common field for companies 
and buildings for town or public business, but no pri- 
vate dwelling-houses or buildings whatever to be 
placed on said premises, but to be forever French’s 
common, except the wood I give my wife.” This 


will was dated March 19, 1845, and probated Feb. 11, | 


1851. 
possession of the property. 
graphical centre of the town, and upon it, in 1858, 


It is situated in the geo- 


was built a large and commodious house, which is | 
used for town hall, high-school room, and for various | 


town purposes. 
improvements upwards of twenty thousand dollars, 


and is a credit to the town. ‘The remaining portion 


of the land is used as a play-ground for the youth, | 
that the plans for the building had been carefully pre- 


there being on the west side a fine grove. Josiah 
French, the donor, died Jan. 1, 1851, aged about 


seventy-four years. Long may his memory be cher- | 
g J 


ished and his gift appreciated. 


It has cost the town for building | 
| disagreement of the citizens where the library building 
should be located. 





After a vexatious law-suit, the town obtained | 
a vote of two hundred and nineteen for rescinding and 





From the incorporation of the town to 1730 the | 


town-meetings were held in the meeting-house of the 
North Precinct; from 1730 till 1750, in the same 
place and the meeting-house of the Middle Precinct 
alternately ; from 1750 to 1830, in Middle Precinct 
meeting-house. ‘he town hall erected on the corner 
of Washington and Union Streets was first occupied 
‘as a place for the meetings of the town on March 1] 
1830. 
to private parties, who removed it to Taylor Street, 
and remodeled it into two dwelling-houses. 


y] 
It was occupied until 1858, when it was sold 


Thayer Public Library.—At a special town- 
meeting held May 16, 1870, the following communi- 
cation from Gen. Sylvanus Thayer was received and 
read by Asa French, Esq. : 


“To THE CITIZENS OF THE TOWN OF BRAINTREE: 

“ (fentlemen,—To establish a free public library in this town, I 
propose to erect a fire-proof building, suitable for the purpose, 
towards the cost of which the town shall contribute the sum of 
ten thousand dollars, the amount needed to complete the build- 
ing to be paid by me. And I will loan to the town the said sum 
of ten thousand dollars, for such time as it shall require it, to 
comply with this offer, at six per cent. interest. Upon the ac- 


and one who had been honored by the town in electing | ceptance of this proposition by the town, I will give the further 


sum of ten thousand dollars, as a permanent fund, the income 
of which shall annually be devoted to the maintenance of said 
library. Should the town take favorable action upon this mat- 
ter, I shall be happy to confer with a committee with reference 
to the immediate consummation of the project. 

his 
8. + THAYER. 


“ Respectfully, 
mark 


“BRAINTREE, May 16, 1870.” 


At the same meeting this proposition was almost 
unanimously accepted, the town appropriating the sum 
named, and a committee appointed to confer with 
Gen. Thayer, with full authority to act for the town 
in locating said library building and in carrying out 
the plan covered by this proposition. Asa French, 
Edward Avery, Francis A. Hobart, Alva Morrison, 
and Charles H. Dow were chosen said committee. 

Oct. 27, 1870, a meeting of the town was called to 
see if the town would rescind the above vote, but after 
a thorough discussion it was decided not to rescind, by 


three hundred and twenty-eight opposed. At the 
same meeting Warren Mansfield, Joseph A. Arnold, 
and Jacob S. Dyer were added to the library com- 


mittee. This action was taken in consequence of a 


April 7, 1873, the committee reported to the town 


pared under the personal supervision of the donor, 
although the building had not been commenced at his 
decease. The executors of his will recognized the 
validity of the contract, and set apart the sum of 
twenty thousand dollars to be applied for the erection 
of said building. They also reported that a lot of 
land had been purchased by subscription and pre- 
sented to the town asa site for the building. This 
land joined the land given the town by Josiah 
French. They further reported that the contract for 
the erection of the building had been executed, and 
that it would be completed the coming season. Asa 
French, Francis A. Hobart, and Henry A. Johnson 
were appointed trustees on the part of Gen. Thayer’s 





Taina) 
Pins 








= 
_—— 
" | eee 
Son i 
it j | 
i 
ied 
f iy 
j He | 
a | . | 
Bit 7 | 
i ' 
" ~ 
i SSNS © wis os hoe as) ae 7 aes * ; i ; | | | ; 
-_ ; | 
i g 














Hy 
Hi 
Hi , 
Hh Wi 
i! 
; 
ft 
Hi 
i 
iW 
Mi 
uh 
if 


fi 
i! 
Hi 
a 


if if 
HH 


We 

iy 

Y 

i ij 
Wy 


M 
yi) yy 
HH 


ni 
He 


iM 

i nH 
Ht 
Hy 





wa 
ee 
te 
GORD. 
— 
= 
Ss 
woe 
es CaF nse 
ER a tr nS oe Te let oe ere EE ey 


& 
~~ 








BRAINTREE. 


131 








estate, and Nathaniel H. Hunt and N. F. T. Hayden 
were chosen by the town. 

The library was opened to the public Sept. 1, 1874, 
and is kept open a portion of each day in the week, 
except on the Sabbath. It contains at the present 





time (1884) six thousand five hundred and thirty vol- | 


umes, and has upon its books as borrowers the names 
of two thousand five hundred and seventy-four persons. 


Besides the gifts mentioned, it has been the recipient 


of about five hundred dollars’ worth of books from E. 
Anderson Hollingsworth, and also a large number of 


valuable and beautiful reference books from Jonathan | 


French, of Boston, whose father was a native of the 
town. Miss Abbie M. Arnold is the librarian. 
has held the situation since the opening, and gives 
general satisfaction. 

Puritan Lodge, No. 179, I. O. of O. F., was organ- 
ized April 11, 1877, and numbers about seventy 
members. They hold their meetings in Odd-Fellows’ 
Hall in the south village. 

Braintree Lodge, No. 1494, Knights of Honor, 
numbering about sixty, was organized Feb. 26, 1779, 
and holds its meetings in Grand Army Hall. 

In closing these sketches, permit me to acknowledge 
my indebtedness to the Registers of Probate and 
Deeds for Suffolk and Norfolk Counties, to John 
Ward Dean, Esq., Librarian of the New England 
Historic-Genealogical Society, and to the aged citizens 
of the town, for information which has enabled me to 
give so many facts in the history of our town. 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


CALEB STETSON. 


Caleb Stetson was born in Braintree, Mass., Jan. 
6, 1801. 
Amos Stetson. He received the best education the 
country at that time afforded, spending six months at 
school and the remaining six playing or working on 
the farm. He was offered a collegiate education by 


his father, who had a prosperous business, but he de- 


She | 


1812 he was major of the State militia, and was or- 
dered out for service, in 1813, for coast defense. 
After two years’ application to the study of law Ca- 
leb Stetson abandoned the profession and began to 
His aptitude for busi- 
ness soon became conspicuous in the management of 
his father’s affairs, which he conducted with great 
success for five years. At the age of twenty-two he 
married Susannah, daughter of the late Deacon Hunt, 


assist his father in his store. 


of Weymouth, a most estimable lady, by whom he 
had six children. 

Mr. Stetson selected for his business the manufac- 
His father furnished him 
a capital of three hundred dollars, and he went to 


ture of boots and shoes. 


work, this being all the aid he received from any one. 


_ Adding industry and good judgment to his small 


fund, he conducted a prosperous business in Braintree 
for years. 

In 1826 he became initiated into the mysteries of 
Freemasonry, becoming a member of Orphans’ Hope 
Lodge in Weymouth. During the anti-Masonic ex- 
citement which followed the reported death of Wil- 
liam Morgan, of New York, Mr. Stetson found him- 
self so unpleasantly situated in Braintree that he 
removed to Boston, where, though anti-Masonry 
prevailed to some extent, it was far less aggressive 
than in the country towns. He eventually acquired 
great wealth in the shoe business, and extended his 
operations into other branches of industry. His ac- 
tive labors have covered more than half a century of 


time. He has passed through four or five severe 


| financial revulsions in trade,—say, 1826-28, 1836-37, 
| 1847-49, 1857-61,—and what is very remarkable, 


he has had no occasion to ask any renewal or ex- 


| tension of his liabilities for a single day during his 
| whole life,—a prosperous business period of over 
_ forty years. All correct cash bills have been instantly 


| paid on presentation. 
He was the eldest of the three sons of | 


In 1842 Mr. Stetson—wa 
elected a director in the Shoe and Leather Dealers’ 
Bank, in Boston, and in 1857 he was made president. 


| This office he held ten years, with great distinction to 


clined it, his spirit of enterprise being more active | 


than his love of study. 
private school, with a view to the study of law, for 
which profession he had a growing taste, and which 


In 1815 he was sent to a 


he would have honored had he completed his studies. | 
His father was three or four times elected to repre- | 
sent the town of Braintree in the Legislature of Mas- | 


sachusetts, and was one of the selectmen and asses- 
sors of Braintree for many years. 


In the war of | 


himself and great profit to the bank. 

Although Mr. Stetson was an observing and unde- 
viating Democrat, of unquestionable courage and pa- 
triotism, he was no politician in the low sense of that 
word. In 1835 he and his 
wife became members of Rev. Dr. Adams’ church, 
After the death of his wife, in 1863, he 
In 


1852 he was elected a representative to the General 


He was no office-seeker. 


Boston. 
became connected with the Episcopal Church. 


Court from Braintree, and was made chairman of the 
House Committee on Banks and Banking. The bill 
establishing a Board of State Bank Commissioners 


132 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





was prepared by him. 
by the Democratic State Convention as the candidate 
for Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts. The same 
year he was elected a presidential elector on the Demo- 
eratic ticket. This honor he declined, and after that 
date he accepted no nominations whatever for political 
office. 

His first appearance as a public writer was in 1835. 
The late Hon. Amasa Walker published a series of 
articles advocating extensions of the credit system to 
six, eight, and ten months to Southern and Western 
purchases. These were answered by Mr. Stetson with 
much ability. The general crash of 1837 proved his 
In 1836 he wrote several 
The many fail- 


wisdom and foresight. 
articles in favor of the sub-treasury. 
ures of banks turned his attention to the subject of 
banking, and he opposed the further issue of currency 
under the general system then established. He con- 
sidered that the banks were unsafe under the general 
laws of Massachusetts, as it tended to encourage their 
increase without real capital. He advised the safety- 
fund system, which was afterwards adopted in New 
York and Massachusetts in 1854. 

In 1854 he published a pamphlet, over the signa- 
ture of “ Silex,” of about one hundred pages, giving 
a history of mining and the probable effect which the 
discovery of gold would have on the future value of 
property. ‘To this was appended some twelve or fif- 
teen letters, written and published in the Boston 
Traveller in the winter of 1853. 

On Mr. Stetson’s return from Europe, he visited 
California. While at San Francisco he was so ill that 
it was only with great difficulty that he could be 
brought home, and for four years there was hardly a 


hope of his recovery ; but by skillful medical attend- | 


ance and good nursing he was restored almost to his 
original vigor and health. ‘To escape the severity of 
Northern winters he has spent them for several years 
at the South, having purchased a plantation of five or 
six hundred acres in Georgia. 

In reply to an inquiry made by a friend how it had 
been possible for him to accomplish so much in his 
life, he replied, “‘The last forty years of my life, I 
have risen out of my bed, when well, at four A.M., and 
have done all my correspondence and written all arti- 


In 1854 he was nominated | 





cles for the press or otherwise from four to seven A.M. | 


before eating or drinking anything. It is now five 
A.M., the day of our forefathers’ landing, and I am 
nearly seventy-eight years of age.” 

For practical common sense and industry; for 
sterling integrity and consistency of practice in har- 
mony with the profession of principle; for his noble 
and generous sympathies as a friend and citizen, and 





as an example of legitimate success worthy to be fol- 
lowed by young men, but few who live to the ripe age 
of fourscore years have a more commendable record 
than Caleb Stetson, of Braintree. His name will be 
an enduring honor, both to his native town and coun- 


try. 


ELLIS A. HOLLINGSWORTH. 


Ellis A. Hollingsworth, son of Mark and Waitstill 
(Tileston) Hollingsworth, was born in Milton, Mass., 
March 6, 1819. His grandfather, Amor Hollings- 
worth, was born on the old family homestead in 
Chester County, Pa., held by a deed given from 
William Penn, and rendered historic by being the 
place whereon the memorable battle of Brandywine 
was fought between the forces under Lord Howe and 
Gen. Washington. 
Quakers, who came to America with William Penn, 
—probably from Chester County, England. 

Amor afterwards moved to Delaware, where his 
son Mark was born. Mark received a good com- 
mon-school education, and, after having served his 
time at paper-making, he immediately started for 
Boston to see Bunker Hill and Long Wharf. This 
trip decided his future career. Not returning, he 
engaged with Hugh McLean, manufacturer of paper 
at Milton Upper Mills, now called Mattapan, and 
said to be one of the oldest establishments of the 
kind in America, a company having obtained from 
the General Court, about the year 1728, the exclu- 
sive privilege of making paper for the term of ten 
years, upon condition that they should make, after 
the third year, five hundred reams per year for each 


The family were originally 


succeeding year of the remaining ten, one hundred 
and fifty reams of which were to be writing-paper, 
and a fine of twenty shillings was imposed upon every 
ream made by any one else. After McLean’s death, 
Mark Hollingsworth, in 1809, purchased these mills, 
and, associating himself with Edmund Tileston, his 


| brother-in-law, under the firm-title of Tileston & Hol- 


lingsworth, established the business of paper-manu- 
facturing, which has continued from that time until 
the present in the same families and under the same 
firm-name, the eldest son of each generation succeed- 
ing, without an exception, to the business. Mark 
Hollingsworth was a Quaker, and was characterized 
by the attributes of his people, a quiet, positive, re- 
flective man, and a hater of shams. He possessed 
much mechanical ingenuity, and by his tact and in- 
dustry acquired a competency which made him for his 
own time wealthy. He died in March, 1855. Ellis 
Anderson was the youngest son of a family of eight 








a 











BRAINTREE. 


133 





attaining maturity, viz.: Leander M., Amor, John 
Mark, George, Lyman, Maria H. (Mrs. EH. K. Cor- 
nell), Cornelia W. (Mrs. W. Babcock), and Ellis 
Anderson. 

When young, Ellis Anderson, owing to precarious 
health, was placed with a progressive and scientific | 
farmer of the State of New York, with whom he | 
remained until he had obtained a thorough knowl- | 


edge of agriculture, both theoretically and practically, 
and for which he ever after manifested a fondness in | 
the application of his knowledge to the care of a farm 
of his own. He married Susan J., only daughter of 
Rufus and Susanna Sumner, a cousin of the Hon. 
Charles Sumner. Their children are Sumner and 
Ellis. In 1849, under the stimulant of the gold 
excitement, he went to California, and after a sojourn | 





of a year or more he returned to Massachusetts, and | 
in 1851 took possession of his father’s mills at South — 
Braintree, Mark Hollingsworth having purchased the | 
old Revere Copper Works at South Braintree, and 
there established a paper manufactory. 

One of the most fortunate discoveries of modern | 
times was the invention at this mill in 1843 of ma- | 
nilla paper, the production of which has become so 
valuable in every branch of industry. Ellis Anderson 
continued the manufacture of this paper, and after- 
wards in association with Leonard Whitney, Jr., of 
Watertown, under the firm-name of Hollingsworth 
& Whitney, they commenced the making of their 
paper into bags by machinery. The enormous in- 
crease of business necessitated the construction and 
purchase of new mills, which were accordingly erected 
in Watertown, Mass., and in Gardiner, Me. The Po- 
quonock mill at Hartford, Conn., was purchased, and — 
partnerships were formed with large manufacturers 
both in Baltimore and in Philadelphia. Mr. E. A. 
Hollingsworth showed a wonderful adaptability to the 
details of business, and possessing a clear compre- 


hension of the mechanical processes, through his 
care, economy, and ability the business not only as- | 
sumed large proportions, but was put upon a solid | 
financial basis. He was in many respects a most 
remarkable man. He did nothing upon the impulse | 
of the moment, but gave each subject the most care- | 


ful thought and consideration. 





Apparently of vigor- 
ous health, he was yet for years a great sufferer, but 
possessed of wonderful physical endurance he trans- | 
acted business day after day when others would have | 
withdrawn from the task. Calmly, patiently, and | 
without complaint, he was a personal exemplification | 
of the motto inscribed upon the Hollingsworth coat | 
of arms, “ Disce ferenda pati” (Learn to suffer what 


must be endured). Although thus heavily engrossed | 


' he had numbered nearly five hundred varieties. 


in his immense business, his mind took cognizance of 
other more scientific and literary pursuits. A student 
of the Journal of Speculative Philosophy, of which 
he was among the first subscribers, he was accus- 
tomed to remark that his acumen, insight, and success 
was largely the result of his philosophical researches. 
A lover of the beautiful in nature, he would point 
out what would be obscure to a common observer. 
He took an interest in collecting minerals and shells, 
and a fanciful delight in gathering grasses, of which 
In 
reference to his last visit to his Gardiner mills, a 
friend writes, “‘ We met him, on the north side of the 
Cobbossee, gathering ferns and grasses; we little 
thought then that this was the last time we were to 
see him.” Mr. Hollingsworth was a Unitarian in his 
religious views, although by no means bigoted or 
He was ex- 
tremely unconventional, and by his lack of ostentation 
and display showed the spirit of his Quaker ancestry. 
His kind heart and sound judgment gave him an 
interest in all good and progressive works, of which 
Although his 
fellow-townsmen honored him with the presidency of 


sectarian, and a Republican in politics. 


he was also a generous contributor. 


the Braintree Savings-Bank, he would not consent to 
other offices of public trust. 
he had comparatively small acquaintanceship with his 


Of a retiring nature, 


fellow-citizens; but it arose rather from ill health, 
and from his quiet, unobtrusive manner, than from 
any pride of position or lack of geniality. With 
intimate friends he was ever social and communi- 
cative. Original and keen-witted, he would give 
expression to his thoughts with a clearness and purity 
A quick 


observer of the comic in life, and possessing a great 


of language that gave him few equals. 


| fund of quiet humor, he could tell a story so humor- 


ously as to draw tears with laughter. Independent, 
self-reliant, and tenacious of purpose, he was ever in 
social and family relations companionable, loving, 
and tender. 

Sincerely beloved and deeply lamented by the 
community at large, a wide circle of business friends, 
and by those who knew him best, he passed this life 
Jan. 6, 1882. 


THE MORRISON FAMILY. 


The Morrison Family originated in the island of 
Lewis, on the west coast of Scotland, from Scandinavian 
stock. There are many ways of spelling the name, 
but from about 1800 Morrison has been generally ac- 
cepted. It is Gaelic, from Moor’s son, signifying re- 


nown, famous, a mighty one. Their heraldic crest is 


134 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





three Moors’ heads, eae clearly to their. origin. 
The chief of the clan Morrison was a ruler of Lewis for 
many generations, and many instances of their prow- 
ess, mechanical skill, and humor may be cited. ‘ The 


record of this remarkable family is one of thrilling 


interest, and an air 
the descendants of the Brieve of Lewis. 
walks of life, in peaceful scenes, in foreign climes, they 
are as celebrated as were their ancestors in the feuds 
and bloody dramas of the past. 


covery, in politics, in the conflicts of arms, in business 


In various 


and mercantile life, their history is one of progress, 
and their record one of honor.” 
Joun Morrison, born Scotland, 


in 


of romance still lingers about | 


In the fields of dis- | 


county of | 


Aberdeen, 1628, was one of the first settlers of Lon- | 


donderry, N. H., previous to which he assisted in de- 
fending Londonderry, Ireland, in its memorable siege of 
1688-89. He and his family were among the number 


driven beneath the walls, and subsequently admitted _ 


into the city, remaining there until its relief. He re- | 


moved to America in 1720 with a young family. 


His | 


sons James and John, who had preceded him to the | 


New World, deeded him on Christmas, 1723, a tract of | 


land, now situate in Derry, N. H., where, on Jan. 19, 
1736, being near his end, and “ very sick and weak in 
body, but of perfect mind and memory,” he made his 
last will and testament, and shortly thereafter died at 
His 
son James was one of the proprietors of the ancient 
town of Londonderry, N. H., and one of those to whom 
its charter was given, from which he is known as 
“ Charter James Morrison.” He was one of the earliest 
settlers of the town, and the land then “ laid out” in 
He 
was prominent in town affairs, and selectman in 1725. 
By his wife, Mary Wallace, who died in Ireland, he had 
two sons, Halbert and Samuel. He died about 1756. 


the reputed age of one hundred and eight years. 


1728 is now owned by his great-great-grandson. 





Samuel, born in Ireland in 1704, came to London- | 


derry with his father in 1719, a lad of fifteen, and 
shared the hardships of the new settlement. 
deeded a 
Windham, still owned in the Morrison name and with 
of the 


He was 
arm which was 


unchanged boundaries. He was moderator 


first town-meeting held in Windham in 1742, and | 


He wasa 
member of the first board of selectmen, acting in 


presided at fifty-one consecutive meetings. 
this 
He was 
the 
Cap- 


capacity at different times for seven years. 


town clerk four years. He was a lieutenant in 


French and Indian war, and was present at the 
July 26, 1758. He 


ture of Louisburg, married 


afterwards set off into | 


Martha, daughter of Samuel Allison, of Londonderry, | 


born March.31, 1720. She was the first female child 
of European parentage born in that town. 


Their son | 


Weare lived all his life in Windham, N. H. ; was born 
Feb. 6, 1758, and was a farmer. He faa twelve 
children, among them Ira and Alva. 

From the “ History of the Morrison Family” 
extract the following graphic sketch : 

“Hon. Alva Morrison [John (1), James (2), 
Lieut. Samuel (3), Robert (4) ] was born at Wind- 
ham, N. H., May 13, 1806. His father died when 
he was nearly two years old. From that time until 
he was twenty years of age his life was passed quietly 
at home with his mother. He received whatever 
education the district school was able to give, and 
From his earliest years he ex- 
hibited that spirit of industry which led to his success 
in after-life. In the spring of 1826, desiring to acquire 
a knowledge of some business other than farming, he 


worked at farming. 


left his boyhood’s home and went to Stoughton, 
Mass., where his brother Leonard was at work in a 
woolen-factory. He worked at the same place, but 
the proprietor soon becoming insolvent, he went to 
Canton and obtained a situation in a woolen-factory 
Here he remained only until the 
factory at Stoughton started again under the control 


in that town. 


of a new owner, when he returned to his former situ- 
ation. It was while in Stoughton that he married, 
July 11, 1830, Mira, only daughter of Col. Consider 
Southworth, of that town. (See his biography in 
Stoughton history.) She was born Nov. 3,1810. He 
remained in the same factory until May, 1831, when he 
moved to Braintree, which was ever after his home. 
Having acquired a thorough knowledge of the busi- 
ness, he, in company with his brother Leonard, com- 
menced the manufacture of woolen goods. They 
soon sustained a high reputation, as the goods made 
by them were the best in the market. They remained 
in company five years, when they dissolved partner- 
ship. Alva continued the business at Braintree, and 
Leonard started anew at Salem, N. H. By close 
attention to business and strict integrity they accumu- 
lated wealth. He remained in business until 1871, 
when he retired and was succeeded by his sons, who 
still maintain the high reputation he established in 
1831. 
tive and senator, and was the recipient of other im- 


He was several times chosen as representa- 


portant trusts from his fellow-townsmen, who relied 
implicitly upon his high integrity and intelligence. 
In his 
private as well as public life he was highly esteemed 


He was a large-hearted, whole-souled man. 


for great energy of character and strength of purpose. 
The wealth which he accumulated he made generous 
use of in public and private benevolence. He was 
greatly interested in the honor and success of his 


He was a man of much reading; he loved 


country. ae 





~ 
= 
~ 
= 


Wi 














— = 


BRAINTREE. 135 





and appreciated the best books of English literature. | building. When R. Elmer became of age, in 1864, he 


In the intervals of business he was given to study 
books of science and theology, and upon these sub- 
jects formed independent and progressive, though 
thoroughly reverent opinions. Religion was with 
him a practical thing for every-day use, and his sense 
of duty toward his fellow-man and God was the 
highest. He was very domestic in his tastes, and found 
his greatest enjoyment in his home. In return for 
his great love of his family, he found them ever ready 
to bestow on him the warmest affection and sympa- 
thy. He died May 28,1879.” The business estab- 
lished by Alva and Leonard Morrison in 1831, and 
continued for a few years, was making satinets. Mr. 
Morrison abandoned this in 1837 and began to make 
woolen yarns. He made good goods and established 
a first-class reputation. During all financial reverses 
Mr. Morrison paid every dollar of every obligation, 
and never asked an extension. 
of justice and the principles of universal right, he 


was admitted partner, and Mr. Abercrombie retired, 
and the firm became “A. Morrison & Sons.” In 
1872, Ibrahim was admitted as partner, and the firm 
became ‘“‘ A. 8. Morrison & Bros.” The brothers 
have worked together harmoniously, used good mate- 
rial, given good work, maintained the high reputation 


| previously established, and Morrison’s yarns and un- 


derwear are standard among dealers throughout New 
England. The excessive demand for their goods 
necessitated another large building in 1874, since 
which time their business has doubled. During the 
Rebellion “ Alva Morrison & Co.” for four years man- 


"ufactured hosiery and underwear, and in 1879 this 


Strong in his sense > 


was among the first to join the anti-slavery move-— 


ment. In those days that meant almost social ostra- 
cism, and in these days we can little conceive the 
courage required to maintain those principles. He 


was a member of the secret society organized to aid | 


escaped slaves, and his name was placed at the head 
of the Free-Soil ticket for years. From 1856 he 


supported the Republican party until Grant’s second | 
administration, when, with Charles Sumner, Wendell | 


Phillips, and others, he abandoned it. 
unusual powers and usefulness, a citizen of command- 
ing presence and acknowledged integrity, the whole 
community felt a loss when Alva Morrison passed 
away. His children were M. Lurett, AlvaS., Mary 
C. (deceased), E. Adelaide, Robert Elmer, Augus- 
tus M. (deceased), and Ibrahim. 

Atva 8S. Morrison, son of Alvaand Mira (South- 
worth) Morrison, was born Nov. 9, 1835, in Braintree. 
Attended common and private schools, which attend- 


A man of | 


ance was supplemented by two years passed in Con-_ 


ference Seminary, at Northfield, N. H. He received | 


a thoroughly practical business education in his 
father’s mills, working in every department, and when 
old enough was placed in charge of the financial in- 
terests, and was admitted partner in April, 1856. 


From that time Mr. Morrison has attended personally | 


to the development of the business, and under his 
careful management it has grown slowly and steadily. 
Previous to 1856 the firm had been “ A. Morrison & 
Co.,” Horace Abercrombie, his son-in-law, being a 
partner. An increase of business demanded a larger 
and more commodious building, and in 1856 the pres- 


ent stone mill was erected a little to the east of the old | 


the manufacture of 
which department is 
a very prominent one in their business. ‘“ A. S. Mor- 
rison & Bros.” have ever kept abreast of the progress 
of improvement, and availed themselves of each new 


firm’s successors introduced 


‘sents’ fashioned underwear,’ 


? 


advance in machinery or otherwise to secure for their 
manufactory the best possible result. Their special- 
ties are yarns for manufacturing purposes, knitting 
yarns, and the underwear spoken of. Their trade- 
mark is the family coat-of-arms with the three 
Moors’ heads. Alva S. has steadily and earnestly de- 
voted himself to business, and has preferred this to 
meddling with public affairs, but has served on school 
committee seven years, and, believing in the princi- 
ples of economy and equality enunciated by Thomas 
Jefferson, he is active in support of Democracy, and 
as a Democrat was elected to represent his district in 
1883. He has been twice married, first, Nov. 9, 
1857, to Elizabeth A., daughter of Ira and Elizabeth 
W. Curtis, of Weymouth. She died Jan. 1, 1874. 
Their surviving children are Anna G., Walter E., 
Fred. G., and Mira I. He married, second, Rebecca 
H., daughter of Edward Holyoke, of Marlboro, June 
13, 1875. By this marriage he has one daughter, 
Alice Southworth. For the last quarter of a century 
Mr. Morrison has been one of the representative and 
successful manufacturers of Braintree, and his success 
has been worthily won by his skill, attention, and ap- 
plication in his chosen field of labor. 

IrA Morrison, [John (1), James (2), Lieut. 
Samuel (3), Robert (4), Ira (5) ] was born July 18, 
1798, in Windham, N. H. He was first a hatter and 
afterwards a farmer, and settled first in Hopkinton, 
N. H., next in Ripley, Me., and in 1845 he moved to 
Braintree, Mass., and subsequently bought a farm in 
Salem, N. H., where he resided until a year or two 
previous to his death, which occurred in Braintree, 
March 10, 1870. He married Sophia Colby, and had 


four children, among them Benjamin Lyman. Ira 


136 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. } 


i 





was a quiet, unostentatious person. “ His life was 
his best memorial. It was marked by uprightness, 
strong love for his family and friends, warm hospi- 
tality to those who visited his home, deep interest in 
the cause of religion, humble hope in our Divine 
Lord, and a death whose sorrows never checked his 
faith, and whose happy submission left to all who 
loved him the confidence that when he was absent 
from the body he was present with the Lord.” 
BenyjAMIN Lyman Morrison, son of Ira and 
Sophia (Colby) Morrison, was born in Ripley, Me., 
March 28, 1828. He received the limited educational 
advantages of a farmer’s boy at the common schools, 
and when seventeen came to Braintree, and went to 
work in the yarn-mill of his uncle Alva, and, with 


the determination to make manufacturing his life- | 


work, remained with him twelve years, thoroughly 
mastering every branch and all details of the business. 
During this period, by strict economy, he had laid up 
a small capital, and after a fruitless tour through the 
West, in search of a location in which to begin busi- 
ness, he returned to Massachusetts, purchased a dis- 
earded set of machinery of his uncle, and established 
himself in an unpretending way as a manufacturer of 
woolen yarn in Stoughton, Mass., in company with 
Asahel Southworth. This partnership continued eight- 
een months, when Mr. Morrison returned to Brain- 
tree, and leased a mill at Hast Braintree. This was 
about 1860. Remaining there four years, his industry 
and close personal attention being well rewarded, he 


was requested by Horace Abercrombie, who owned a | 


flouring-mill not far away, to join him in partnership, 
and make of his property a manufactory of yarn. 
Mr. Morrison accepted this proposition. They formed 
the firm of ‘‘ Abercrombie & Morrison.” Within a 
year's time Mr. Morrison purchased the interest of 
Mr. Abercrombie in the mill, and conducted business 


in his own name until Jan. 1, 1881, when his son | 


Lyman W. became a partner. The firm-name has 
since been “ B. L. Morrison & Son.” Since 1878 the 
machinery has been run by stedim- as well as water- 
power. Mr. Morrison has been satisfied with a sure 
and safe business. He has personally given his at- 
tention to each department, manufactured a high grade 
of goods, and has been prosperous. He married, Nov. 
22, 1855, Lydia D., daughter of Nathaniel and Hliza- 
beth (Hollis) Penniman, who belonged to an old 
Braintree family. Their children are Lyman W. and 
Helen M. In politics Mr. Morrison is Republican. 
He was chosen a representative in 1872. He is a 
member of Delta Lodge, F. and A. M., of Weymouth, 
and is a liberal in religion. Mr. Morrison is a man 
of strict integrity, genial nature, industrious habits, 


| 
| 
| 
| 





and one whose honor is unquestioned, and whose word 
is as good as his bond. He is a man of kind affee- 
He has concientiously been faith- 
ful to his trusts, devoted to his duties, and a sincere, 
generous, and true friend. 


tions and feelings. 


‘ 


DAVID THAYER, A.M., M.D. 


David Thayer, A.M., M.D., of Boston, is a native 
of Braintree, Mass., where he was born July 19, 
1813. His ancestors, who were among the first set- 
tlers of the town of Braintree, were of Puritan stock, 
and came from England previous to 1640, in the 
‘“ Mayflower,” with the Pilgrims who landed at Plym- 
outh in 1620. His father was Deacon Nathaniel 
Emmons Thayer, and his mother Deliverance, daugh- 


_ter of Deacon Elephaz Thayer, a soldier in the war 


of the Revolution, who served under Washington at 
West Point. 

Dr. Thayer obtained the rudiments of his education 
in the common school of his native town, but his 
He 
early showed a love of reading, and lost no opportunity 


active mind sought a wider range of thought. 


of increasing his knowledge in this way. After work- 
ing all day on the farm, the late hours of the night 
often found him absorbed in study. He was by no 
means a book-worm. He loved out-door amusement, 
and was always eager to join his comrades in their 
active sports. 

There is a French saying that the time best em- 
ployed is that which one loses. Its truth was demon- 
strated in the case of young Thayer, when, in common 
with every one of his school-fellows, he seemed des- 
Though the experi- 
ment proved a failure, the time thus lost was well 


tined to become a shoemaker. 


employed, as all idea of his ever becoming an accom- 
plished artist in this useful branch of industry was 
happily abandoned, and he was allowed to seek the 
highest education he so eagerly desired. He became 
a student at Weymouth Academy, and in 1833 he 


entered Phillips’ Academy at Andover to fit himself 


for college. It was here that he gave his adherence 
to the cause he served in later years with unswerving 
faith and zeal. George Thompson, the noted English 
Young 


Thayer heard him, became convinced of the crime of 


anti-slavery orator, lectured in Andover. 


slavery, and joined with a number of his fellow-stu- 
dents who wished to form an anti-slavery society. 
This the faculty of Phillips’ Academy and of the 
theological seminary forbade. To join the anti slavery 
society already formed by the citizens, and to discuss 
the slavery question in the Philomathean Society in 








sf 7 tf betes oe 














nt 


\ 








BRAINTREE. 


137 





the Academy, was also forbidden. Then about forty 


of the students revolted and asked for their creden- | 


tials, and left the Academy in a body. Among them 
was David Thayer, who was readily given an honor- 
able discharge. He completed his preparations for 
college at Appleton Academy, New Ipswich, N. H., 
and entered Union College in 1836. 

During his college course he showed a preference 
for modern languages, which he acquired with facility, 


and for the natural sciences, and he took up the study | 


of medicine under Prof. B. F. Joslin, M.D., LL.D. 


At this time his inclination was for a life of travel 


and exploration, and a knowledge of languages and | 


of medicine would, he thought, be valuable aids. He 
graduated in 1840, then started out on his travels, 
going to the South and West. He remained in Ken- 
tucky a year or two, teaching and continuing his 
studies. 
Braintree in 1842. 

While at home he continued the study of medicine, 
and after the death of his father he entered the med- 
ical department of Harvard College, but without 
any intention of ever becoming a practitioner of med- 
icine. 

It was in compliance with the earnest desire of his 


The illness of his father recalled him to 


to the new school of practice. He joined the American 
Institute of Homeopathy in 1847, and twenty-three 
years later he was elected its president. 

In 1854, Dr. Thayer, in order to apply a crucial test 
to the claims of homeopathy, selected several dis- 
eases over which allopathic treatment has little or no 
power to cure. These diseases were gall-stone disease, 
rachitis (or the distortion of the spine, incurvation of 
the long bones, deformed chests, etc.), calculi of the 
kidney, and organic disease of the heart. The result 
of these observations and tests was so satisfactory as 
to convince every unprejudiced mind of the efficacy 
of homceopathic medicines in these grave diseases. 

In December, 1854, he made the discovery which 
has brought him enviable fame,—the discovery of the 
homeeopathie specific for gall-stone colic. A patient 
who had suffered periodically for years from severe 
attacks of gall-stone colic came under Dr. Thayer’s 
observation. Allopathic treatment could not cure the 
disease, and could only alleviate the suffering in part 
by opiates and hypodermic injections. The doctor 
carefully noted and studied the symptoms of the case ; 
then he set to work to search the homceopathic materia 


_ medica for drugs whose provings corresponded with 


mother, after the death of his father in the same year, | 


that he abandoned the idea of foreign travel, and de- 
cided to enter the profession. He took his medical 
degree in 1843 at the Berkshire Medical Institute, 


Pittsfield, Mass. 
Dr. Thayer began the practice of his profession 


in Boston, and in 1844, with J. E. Murdock, the | 
eminent elocutionist, he established the Boston Gym- | 
nastic Institute, a school for physical education and | 
and talked about, and were reported to medical socie- 


the culture of the voice. 
and was well patronized by the best people of Boston. 
It was at this period that Dr. Thayer began his in- 
He had read of the 


new method of practice, and he now began to experi- 


It soon became popular, 


vestigations of homoeopathy. 
ment with homeeopathic remedies. Therapeutics had 
ever been his favorite field in medical science, and 
tracing out the secret relations between diseases and 


their remedies possesses for him a peculiar fascination. | 


In 1845 he began to treat cases of diarrhoea with a 


drug homeeopathically prepared. The result was a_ 


cure in all the thirty-five cases. The success of this 
experiment incited him to further investigation. 

And in the same year he opened a dispensary in 
Boylston Hall, for the free medical treatment of the 
poor in connection with Dr. C. F. Hoffendahl, a 


homeeopathic physician of long experience. This 


wider field of observation confirmed the results of | 


former experiments, and Dr. Thayer became a convert 


these symptoms. Several were selected which cor- 
responded with the totality of the symptoms, but 
these failed to give relief. Finally cinchona, which 
has periodicity for one of its characteristics, was tried 
in the third decimal attenuation, and proved success- 
ful. Months, years passed, and the patient had no 
return of the pain. The cure was radical. Dr. Thayer 
continued to study the disease, and has treated near a 
thousand eases of gall-stone colic with equal success. 
His remarkable cures of gall-stone colic became known 


ties. These reports were published, and physicians 
all over the country availed themselves of his discov- 
ery. Recently a noted French physician in Paris 
wrote to Dr. Thayer a letter of congratulation ca 
making one of the greatest discoveries in therapeu- 
tics, and translated his paper on “ Gall-Stone Colic and 
its Remedy” into the French language, and published 
it in the Bulletin de la Société Medicale Homeo- 
pathique de France. 

Dr. Thayer early became an Abolitionist, and iden- 
tified himself with Garrison and his party. His house 
was an asylum for fugitive slaves for many years be- 
fore the civil war, and his heart and hand were ever 
prompt in aiding the distressed. John Brown visited 
him, and received generous contributions of money in 
aid of his project of freeing the slaves in Missouri. 
The doctor was also an active worker for the cause of 
Abolition in politics, and was associated with the 


138 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








prominent men of the party. He was elected a mem- 
ber of the Massachusetts House of Representatives 
five times. While in the Legislature he was largely 
influential in securing the charters of the Massachu- 


setts Homoeopathic Medical Society, the Dispensary, 


| 
| 


the College, and the Homeopathic Hospital, in| 


Boston. 
At a period of the civil war when there was great 


health, and returned enriched with the results of many 
original observations and reflections. While visiting 
the hospitals of Europe his sympathies were aroused 
by witnessing the cruelties inflicted on the poor people 
who resort to these institutions for medical and sur- 
gical aid; nor was he blind to the manifest tyranny 


_ of the governments, as shown by the sad, bitter lot of 


need of medical aid in our army, Dr. Thayer offered | 


himself to Governor Andrew for any service where he 
could be useful. The Governor forwarded the letter, 


with a cordial recommendation of the writer, to Sur- | 


geon-General Dale. In answer, Dr. Thayer received 


this brief reply, “ When your services are needed you | 


will be notified.” It is perhaps needless to add that 
had this offer come from an allopathic practitioner of 
like ability and standing it would have been accepted. 

Dr. Thayer was one of the eight homeopathic phy- 
sicians, also members of the Massachusetts Medical 


their toiling peasantry, crushed by taxation, and the 
degraded condition of women ; and the general aspect 
of all the nations of Central Europe forced him to the 
conclusion, so epigrammatically stated by his friend 
Wendell Phillips, that under such sore and cruel op- 


pression ‘‘ Dynamite and the dagger are the proper 


Society (allopathic), who were summoned for trial | 


before a committee of that society in 1873 for “ con- 
duct unworthy and unbecoming an honorable physi- 
cian and member of the society,” viz.: for practicing 
homeeopathy. Though educated an allopathic physi- 
cian, Dr. Thayer had practiced homeeopathy since 


1847, and had been allowed to continue a member of | 





this society while guilty of such alleged conduct for | 


twenty-six years ! 
of these physicians. 


The trial resulted in the expulsion 
Dr. Thayer’s speech in his own 


behalf and of one of his colleagues was a forcible, clear, | 


and logical defense, and was also a powerful argument 


substitutes for Faneuil Hall and the Daily Advertiser.” 

Dr. Thayer has given special study to malarial fever 
and kindred zymotic diseases. His paper on “‘ Miasm” 
was published in full in the “ Publications of the 
Massachusetts Homeeopathic Medical Society” in 
1879. In the ‘ Transactions of the American Insti- 
tute of Homoeopathy” for 1883 is published his 
‘History of Malarial Fevers.” In the former of 


_ these papers Dr. Thayer brought accumulated evidence 


to show that there is some ground for the belief that 


_miasm becomes infectious by attenuation,—by being 


diffused through a great extent of atmospheric air,— 
and that this law finds analogy in that principle re- 
cognized in the homceopathic school of medicine, viz. : 


_ that specific medicine is powerful to cure just in pro- 


in favor of homceopathy. ‘The facts he stated could | 


not be disputed, his conclusions could not be denied. 
It was published in a pamphlet and widely read, gain- 
ing for him many friends outside of Boston. 

When the Boston University was established, Dr. 
Thayer was very active in organizing the Homeopathic 
College as its medical department. He received the 
first nomination as candidate for dean of the college, 
but declined the honor. He has occupied the chair 
of professor of Practice and that of Institutes of 
He 
was for twenty-five years surgeon of the Ancient and 
Honorable Artillery Company. 


Medicine in Boston University for eight years. 


In 1878, when the yellow fever was scourging New 
Orleans, the death-rate enormous, and the infection at 
its height, Dr. Thayer, learning that homceopathic 
treatment was wanted there, wrote to the president of 
The 


fearlessness and generosity of this offer were charac- 


the Relief Association offering his services. 


teristic. 


Five years later, when he had passed his seventieth 


portion to its attenuation within limits not yet dis- 
tinctly defined, and in that well-known fact, that the 


_ toxic effect of certain drugs is also increased by being 


attenuated and minutely subdivided. He also brings 
evidence to show that some of the miasmata in their 


crude and wnattenuated state are not only non-in- 


| fectious, but seem sometimes to act as prophylactics 


_ against the diseases which the miasmata in an at- 


Dr. 


tenuated state have the power to produce. 

Dr. Thayer’s eminent success as a physician is due 
The late 
Carroll Dunham, whom all good homceopaths 


in no small measure to his great industry. 


reverenced, once wrote to a patient: ‘‘ It is impos- 
sible for the physician to do his best in any case 
unless the patient submit himself without reserve or 


qualification to such inquest as the physician may 


from time to time deem necessary, throwing himself 


| as much as possible into the state of passive follow- 


| your-leadism which a lawyer requires in a discreet 


client. The physician must say, as the lawyer does, 
select counsel in whom you ean place full confidence, 


place all the facts before him without reserve, give 


_ access to all sources of knowledge, then let him con- 


duct the examination and the case according to his 


birthday, he visited Europe for the benefit of his | untrammeled judgment.” It is just this power of 











BRAINTREE. 


139 








winning confidence, inducing the patient ‘to place all 
the facts before him without reserve,” that gives a 
physician the surest means of forming a correct diag- 
nosis, and Dr. Thayer possesses it in an enviable 
degree. His nature is peculiarly sympathetic, and 
acts as a magnet upon those who approach him in 
professional as well as social relations, while his 
downright honesty inspires absolute trust and reliance. 
“There isn’t a bit of humbug about him; he tells 
the truth without fear or favor,’ one patient was 
heard to say to another as both sat in his waiting- 
room. 
fearlessness command the respect of all, even his 


His uncompromising honesty and absolute 





enemies,—for so positive a character is sure to have 


enemies,—who have reason to know that he is “a | 


good fighter.” An eminent divine, in commenting 


upon the notorious trial and the expulsion of the | 


homeeopathic physicians from the Massachusetts 


Medical Society, spoke of the homceopath defiantly | 
shaking his little bottle of pellets in the faces of his | 


judges, referring to Dr. Thayer. 


- . | 
this, as upon all occasions when aroused to defense, | 


shows the courage and self-reliance which are his 
dominant traits. Convinced that he is right, he 
would maintain his ground unshaken, and defy the 
How 


richly this granite strength of character is marbled 


whole world were it arrayed against him. 


with golden veins of tenderness and charity his many 
friends, who know and love him well, can testify. 
This tenderness was beautifully shown in his life-long 
devotion to his mother, who lived to the age of 


ninety-two years. It was in loyalty to her wishes 


that he relinquished the cherished plans of his youth, | 


and entered the profession whose honors and rewards 
now crown his ability and untiring industry. For 
years before her death, no matter what the pressure 
of professional work or his own fatigue, through heat 
of summer and winter storms, he left the city every 
week to visit her retired home, and found in her 
loved presence the charm that banished weariness and 
pain. Such filial love is as rare as it is worthy of 
emulation. His charity, both of spirit and of deed, 
is one of his noblest, most endearing traits. Towards 


human error and imperfection he is ever lenient, and 


His attitude upon | 





if his tongue cannot speak good, it speaks no evil. | 


As he has risen by dint of his own unaided efforts, 


he knows how to sympathize with those who are | 


struggling, and the poor and the oppressed have 
always found in him a true friend. When he finds 
a fellow-creature in distress, his ever-ready sympathy 
is excited, perhaps too easily, and he has often parted 
with large sums of money to help persons who seemed 
to need it more than himself. The oppressed always 


| his adoption. 





found in him a true friend, and the oppressor an un- 
relenting enemy. The exacting duties of his profes- 
sion and the constant demands of a large practice have 
left him no leisure for the scholarly pursuits in which 
he delights ; but even now, as in youth, after a hard 
day’s work, the midnight hour often finds him enjoy- 
ing the sounding lines of Homer or the eloquence of 
Demosthenes. He is an independent thinker, having 
His 
tendencies are liberal and progressive to a degree that 
He believes 


his own views upon all subjects he investigates. 


has sometimes exposed him to criticism. 


| that no candid or scientific mind will turn aside from 


the investigation of what may prove to be a hidden 
truth, and may enlarge the resources which the phy- 
Be- 
lieving that “that life is most acceptable to the 
Almighty which is most useful ito His creatures,” he 
has honestly striven to serve his fellow-men, doing 
good wherever he found opportunity, and verily such 
shall have their reward. 


sician brings to the aid of suffering humanity. 





NAAMAN L. WHITE. 

The White family of which we write is largely repre- 
sented in colonial New England. They were extensive 
land-owners and generally successful agriculturists. It 
may be truly said of them, in summing up their general 
characteristics, that they abstained from the allure- 
ments of the vices of the day in which they lived. 
They were remarkable for their temperance, integrity, 
and perseverance, and with sincerity practiced the 
virtues of the genuine type of New England charac- 
ter, and in whatever condition of life they have been 
placed their descendants have honored their position 
and name. By searching old records we find Thomas 
(1) White, probably brother or cousin of William 
White (father of Peregrine), admitted freeman of 
Massachusetts colony March 3, 1635, being an inhab- 
itant of Weymouth, of which he was one of the firs 
settlers, and whose earliest records bear his name. 
He was a man of ability and determination, was for 
many years selectman of Weymouth, representative 
to the General Court in 1637, 1640, 1657, 1671, and 
was commander of a military company, at that time 
a post of distinguished honor and responsibility. 
Thomas (2), son of the first Thomas, of Weymouth, 
was born in Weymouth, and married Mary Pratt ; 
settled in Braintree, and was admitted freeman in 
1681. He was a man of education, distinction, and 
worth, and held a high social position in the town of 
His children were Thomas, Mary, 
Samuel, Joseph, and Ebenezer (3). His death oc- 
curred in April, 1706. 


140 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Ebenezer (3), youngest son of Thomas (2) and > 


Mary (Pratt) White, of Braintree, was born in 1683, _ 


married Lydia , and lived in Kast Braintree. 
They had seven children,—Lydia, Elizabeth, Eben- 


ezer, William (died in infancy), William, Anne, and | 


Thomas (4). 


Kbenezer was a farmer, quiet, unpre- 


tending, devoting himself entirely to agriculture. | 


Thomas (4), son of Ebenezer and Lydia ———— 
White, married Deborah Nash, Aug. 23, 1753. He 


was a man of decided energy and pluck, was captain | 


of a military company ordered to Dorchester Neck 
(South Boston), March, 1776. 


Blihu (5). 


Elihu (5) married Sarah, daughter of Ellet and | 


Sarah (Pratt) Loud. He was by birth and education 
a farmer, but afterward engaged in commerce, made 
foreign voyages, and acquired a competency. He was 
a captain in the militia, deputy fish commissioner of 
the State for many years. He had nine children, of 
whom all attained maturity,—Sarah (deceased) ; El- 
hott L. (deceased), remained at home, and filled im- 
portant offices in the town; Elihu (deceased), was a 
graduate of Brown University, and physician in Bos- 
ton ; Harvey (deceased), who engaged in commercial 
business; Harriet A. (deceased) ; Sarah, married An- 
drew Glover, of Glover’s Corner, Dorchester ; Deborah 
Prince; Catharine S. (deceased); and Naaman L. 
(6), whose ancestral line is Thomas (1), Thomas (2), 
Ebenezer (3), Thomas (4), Elihu (5), Naaman L. 
(6). 

Naaman L. White, son of Elihu and Sarah (Loud) 


White, was born on the place where he now resides | 


in Braintree, June 24,1814. He was fitted for college 
at Amherst and Phillips’ Andover Academy. He 
entered Harvard University in 1831, in a class which 


His children were | 
Thomas, Deborah, Alexander, Silence, Solomon, and | 





has furnished its full proportion of men who have | 


since distinguished themselves in the various walks | 


of life. 


It has been said that nowhere is the character and 


Mr. 
White was elected into and became an active mem- 
ber of all three. Of the last-named society he was 
the president, and at one of its anniversaries he was 


—as a general rule, to not more than one. 


chosen the orator. 

During two years of the college course he was ap- 
pointed by the faculty a class-monitor,—an office of 
truth and responsibility, in which weekly reports to 
the president were required, and for which a small 
He also competed with the best 
scholars of his class for many of the prizes offered by 
the University for literary excellence, and at one time 
he was awarded the first prize for the best-written 
essay on a subject given out by the college, and also 


salary was allowed. 


the first Boylston prize for declamation ; so that his 
prize-money and salary were sufficient not only to 
pay all college bills for that term, but left a liberal 
supply for pocket-money besides. 

He was a fine belles-lettres scholar, and particu- 
larly good in the ancient classics and in the modern 
languages and literature. At the same time he was 
so far proficient in mathematics and the severer 
studies connected therewith as to receive at one of 
the exhibitions of the junior year a mathematical 
part,—an appointment which required of the recipient 
of it to propose some original proposition or problem 
in the higher mathematics, and to write out, in de- 
tail, a full demonstration of it, which papers were 
to be deposited in the college library. At the close 
of the junior year he was elected a member of the 
Phi Beta Kappa Society. It was also during this 
year that the Harvardiana, a literary periodical, was 
started by members of his class, and during the re- 
mainder of the college course he was a frequent 
contributor to its pages. He was graduated with 
high honor in 1835. The subject of the com- 
mencement part assigned him was the ‘“ Character 
of Chief Justice Marshall,” a rather large subject for 
so young a man, but which he sustained with such 


credit as to receive the warm approbation of such 
ability of a man more accurately weighed and gauged | 


than in the close contact, the constant and intimate | 


association, and the sharp competitions of college life. | 


However this may be, the appreciation in which Mr. | 


White was held by his associates is perhaps some- 
what indicated by the number of literary societies 
into which he was chosen during the college course. 
There were at that time three leading literary so- 
cieties in the college, conducted by the undergrad- 
uates,—the Harvard Union, devoted principally to 
public debate, the Institute of ’76, and the “ Hasty- 
Pudding Club.” 


every class to belong to some one of these societies, 


It was usual for each member of 


men as Judge Story and Charles Sumner, who were 
of the audience. 

After graduation he was engaged one year as prin- 
cipal of the classical department of the Weld School, 
in Roxbury, then one of the most popular and 
flourishing boarding-schools in the vicinity of Bos- 
ton. After leaving this school he commenced the 
study of law in the office of Judge Sherman Leland, 
and subsequently, successively, in the offices of John 
©. Park and Rufus Choate. He was admitted to the 
bar in 1839, and opened a law-office in his native town. 
For thirty years he had a quite large and lucrative 


He 


practice, principally in the county of Norfolk. 











BRAINTREE. _ 141 





then gradually withdrew from active pursuit of his 
profession, and devoted himself principally to the care 
and arrangement of his own ample estate and of the 
estates in trust of his friends who availed themselves 
of his services. 

As a lawyer, in his business relations with his | 
clients, he gave them his honest opinion upon their | 
cases, derived from study, observation, and experience, 
whether that agreed with their own preconceived 
opinions or not, or whether it apparently promoted | 
his own immediate business interests or not; and it | 


may be truly said that the amount and volume of | 
litigation in the community where he dwelt was di- 
minished, rather than increased, by his influence. | 
He was in the habit of saying to his clients that _ 





“laws are highly needful for the welfare and preser- | 
vation of society, but that individual law-suits should 
not be commenced except under the pressure of 


absolute necessity, as they were an expensive luxury, | 
in which few persons could afford to indulge.” If he 


saw any sign of undue excitement or heat of passion, 
his counsel would be that a little delay would not 
prejudice his client’s rights, and that a few nights’ 
sleep and a few days of reflection might be highly 
beneficial. These suggestions and a little delay would 
most generally bring about a change of views, and 
avoid a long, troublesome, and, perhaps, comparatively 
fruitless suit. 

He was particularly averse to what lawyers some- 


times call ‘fancy actions,” designed to vindicate | 
by Jegal process the personal character and repu- 
tation of the party. He told his clients that though | 
there might be exceptional cases of outrageous libel 
or slander where a resort to the law might be not | 
only commendable, but necessary, and where a jury | 


would give, and rightly give, exemplary damages, 
yet in ordinary and the great majority of cases of this 
kind the party would be far better off to pass the | 
slander by in silence, and trust to living it down, rather | 


than make a spectacle of himself by entering the 
arena of litigation, where the worst and bitterest 
passions were sure to be aroused, and where the 
general public would take little interest, except as they 
would be interested in a gladiatorial combat, without 
regard to the moral or intellectual character of either | 
of the combatants; that such a contest would be | 
almost sure to degrade both parties to one common | 





level. His theory and advice to his friends in matters | 
of this kind was, that the common estimate of character | 
entertained by the community where one dwells is in | 
the end much more correct than we are apt to imagine ; | 
and that, as a rule, it is better to rely upon this es- | 
timate, more conducive to peace of mind and more 


_ seek the man, and not the man the office. 


consistent with true manly dignity, than to invoke 
the aid and redress of the law; and that persistent 
and malignant slander very seldom, in the long run, 
hurts the object at which it is aimed, but is almost 
sure to recoil with redoubled force upon the head of 
the author of it. 

Through life he has rather avoided than sought 
public office. He has acted upon the principle that 
no man has a right to pass through the world as a 
“ deadhead,” enjoying the benefits and privileges of 
society, but refusing to bear a fair share of its labors 
and burdens. Yet he held that the office should 
Soon after 
he commenced the practice of law in Braintree, he 
was twice elected to represent the town in the State 
Legislature. He has also filled most of the more 
important offices in the town,—selectman, assessor, 
overseer of the poor, and surveyor of highways. He 
was particularly interested in educational matters, 
and in the welfare of the public schools, holding that 
the educational department of the town, on account 
of its present and prospective influence upon the 
character of its citizens, is by far the most important 
Uniformly he advocated 
the most liberal appropriations for educational pur- 
poses. 
ber of the general school committee, and for the 


department in the town. 
For more than fifteen years he was a mem- 


greater part of that time was chairman of the board. 
At the present.time he is president of the Braintree 
School-Fund Corporation, a corporation having in 
charge the real estate, public funds, and securities 
left to the town by will, and the income of which is 
specially devoted to the support of its public schools. 
For several years he has been president of the Wey- 
mouth and Braintree Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
pany, and also a director and vice-president of the 
Weymouth Savings-Bank. He was a trial justice in 
the county of Norfolk for several years, and held that 
office till the change in the system of administering 
justice in this commonwealth by the creation of Dis- 
trict Courts. 
inspector of the State militia, an office which gave 


Early in life he was appointed brigade 
him the military rank of major. But having no 
great predilection for military life or glory, especially 
in time of peace, he resigned the office after holding 
it one year. 

In early manhood he became a member of the 
Congregational Church connected with the parish, 
where he had been accustomed to worship. Like 
most thoughtful persons, his mind had frequently 
been turned to the serious consideration of the great 
problems of life, death, and immortality,—of his per- 
sonal relations to God as his Creator, preserver, and 


142 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





final judge, and to Christ as his personal Saviour. 
He joined that particular communion as more nearly 
coinciding with his views upon these subjects than 
any other religious organization. 


There was nothing of narrowness or bigotry about | 


Claiming the fullest freedom for himself, he 
Regarding 


him. 
willingly conceded the same to all others. 


religion as a personal matter between each man and | 
his Maker, with which no other may authoritatively | 
| . 

effort to produce which had previously cost hundreds 


interfere, there was little in him of what might be 
called proselytism, or of that lingual activity and 
volubility which finds expression in public exhorta- 


tions and advice. He held that the best and most 


efficient lay preaching consisted in an exemplary | 


Christian walk and life. 


LUTHER OSBORN CROCKER. 


Luther Osborn Crocker was born in West Dedham, 
Jan. 11,1829. He was the son of Luther Harlow 
Crocker and Mary Osborn, and grandson of Daniel 
Crooker (now Crocker), being a descendant of Zenas 
Crooker, the first American ancestor. Daniel, the 
grandfather, was probably born in Pembroke. Luther 
1804. His advantages for obtaining an education 
When very young, he was put to 
Arriving at suitable age, he went 


were very limited. 
labor on the farm. 
to Randolph, and learned the trade of wheelwright, 
serving a regular apprenticeship. From there he 
went to West Dedham, and worked at histrade. While 





there he married Mary Osborn, a native of Hanson. | 


He remained there until 1838, when he removed to. 


Hingham. He engaged in various occupations. At 


one time he worked at shoemaking. Then he in- 


| . ? 
_ entering the employ of the gas company. 


vested what little capital he had accumulated in the | 


foundry business, but lost it through the fault of | 


those connected with him. Naturally endowed with 
large inventive powers, and being very ingenious, he 
originated many inventions. 

While residing in Hingham he engaged in the manu- 
facture of stoves from original patterns made by him- 
self. After being engaged in this business for about 
two years he received an advantageous offer from 
New Albany, Ind., which he accepted. 
was engaged in making patterns for hemp and spin- 


ning machinery, “breakers,” ete. After about two 





Here he | 


| Hanson, Mass., in 1872. 


years the main factory was removed to Louisville, | 


Ky. hither he removed with his family, who 
had remained until this time in Hingham. 
was about 1842. 


and Mr, Crocker started again in the manufacture of 


A few years after the firm failed, 


This | 


ous contrivances for utility and amusement. 


was asked to volunteer as soldiers. 


| give his services. 
_ joined the army, and performed military duty both in 


manufactured the same stove he did at Hingham 
(Andrews’ and Austins’ patent), having an oven at 
each end, with the fire between them. Various kinds 
of heaters were designed, originated, and manufac- 
tured by him. During the years from 1842 to 1849 
he engaged in the manufacture of gas- and water-pipe, 
wagon-boxes, shaftings, pulleys, hemp-breaking and 
shackling machines, invented by himself, which pro- 
duced this result without injuring the hemp, the 


of dollars, and that in vain. This was the crowning 
work of his life, and was patented by him. A cool- 
ing fan, to be placed in offices, dining-rooms, ete., run 
by machinery, which was wound up as a clock is 
wound, was also invented by him. 

His brain teemed with positive and original crea- 
tions, and he was the inventor of many other ingeni- 
He 
made the machinery for the manufacturing of the 
hemp raised on the plantation of one Thompson. 
His agreement with him was that he should furnish 
machinery, keep it in order for one year, and receive 
one-half of the profits. He invested several thousand 


dollars in this enterprise, which, however, proved 
Harlow Crocker, the father, was born in Pembroke in | 


disastrous. 

In 1849 he removed to Cincinnati, and was em- 
ployed by the gas company in making draughts and 
patterns for the necessary castings, pipe, ete., re- 
maining in their employ until 1855. During that year 
he removed to the Scioto Valley to take charge of a 
saw-mill, grist-mill, and a mill for reducing iron ore to 
pig metal, acting as overseer for a large and wealthy 
In 1861 he returned to Cincinnati, again 
With the 
opening of the civil war the firm engaged in the 
manufacture of shot and shell, Mr. Crocker remaining 
with them until nearly the close of the war. 

He was a member of a local military organization. 


firm. 


_ When the rebels threatened Cincinnati the company 


Mr. Crocker was 
the first, and, with one exception, the only man to 
Like a true patriot, as he was, he 


camp and under fire. He was at this time over sixty 
years old, and from the exposure he contracted dis- 
ease from which he never recovered. He died at 
A man of marked and pos- 
itive character, he left the world wealthier for his 
having lived in it. 

Luther O. Crocker was the oldest child of his par- 
ents. He inherited the inventive genius of his father, 
and early in life manifested it in numberless ways. 


stoves, again making the patterns himself. He here | Not caring for books, he neglected what opportunities 











i 
' 
} 
} 
} 








BELLINGHAM. 


143 





were presented for obtaining an education. 
attendance at school would not probably exceed six 
months, so that experience and observation have been 
his principal teachers. Inured to labor from early 
childhood, he was employed at various occupations 
until he-was seventeen years old, when he began to 
run a stationary engine for one of his father’s hemp- 
breaking and shackling machines. This business 
suiting his taste, he was employed as engineer in 
various places until 1865. During the war he was 
employed at the Bridgewater Iron- Works to run the 
engine and look after the machinery. Here was built 
the iron for the iron-clad “ Monitor,’ made famous by 
its encounter with and victory over the rebel ram 
“ Merrimac.” 

Whilst employed as engineer at the Boston Flax 
Mills, in East Braintree, he invented the now so well 
known ticket-punches for the use of railroad conduc- 
tors. This punch was invented in 1865. The first 
one made was placed in the hands of Conductor 
Osborn, one of the oldest conductors on the Old 
Colony Railroad, for trial. Finding it worked well, 
after devising various improvements, he obtained a 
patent April 30, 1867. During his spare moments 
he made several punches, when his eyes were opened 
to what might be done by devoting his whole time to 
their manufacture, by unexpectedly receiving an order 
As 
his entire bank account at this time was only seventy- 


for a large number of his punches from Chicago. 


five dollars, and he had his family expenses to meet, 
the outlook was not very promising. Inquiry was 
made about this time by a person—he having seen 
one of the punches in use—who the inventor was 
and where he lived. Learning his name and address, 
he called upon Mr. Crocker, and offered to take joint 
interest in the patent and furnish capital for their 
manufacture. 
This 
gentleman soon endeavored to manufacture by himself 


patent was issued to them as joint owners. 


| 


| paper. 


armorial bearings. 


His years he was so thoroughly prostrated as to be unable 


to read oreven to hear so much as the rustling of a news- 
To-day the machinery for his manufactory is 
run by an eight horse-power steam-engine, and he keeps 
five men constantly employed in the manufacture of 
these punches. Their reputation is“A1.” They are 
in use on all the principal railroads in this country and 
the civilized world, as well as in all places where and 
for all purposes which canceling punches are used. 
The punch used on the first through train of the 
Union Pacific Railroad was manufactured by him. 
He made two “Anchor” punches for the well-known 
and popular author Charles Dickens; also one 
for Duke Alexis, of Russia, which cut out all his 
He was awarded a medal by the 
Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics’ Association in 
1869, and a silver medal by the National Exposition 
of Railroad Appliances, at Chicago, in 1883, as being 
the best punch manufactured. He manufactures over 
one thousand different designs, all of which are orig- 
inal with him. 

He bought the site upon which his house and shop 
now stand when it was a barren ledge of rocks, but 
through his taste and skill it has been transformed into 
one of the handsomest places in the town of Brain- 
tree. 

Mr. Crocker was married, Aug. 15, 1854, to Olive, 
daughter of Capt. Cyrus Munroe, an officer in the 
war of 1812. Her mother’s name was Deborah 
Thomas. Their children are Oscar Munroe, mar- 
ried Anna L. Noyes (he is employed as telegraph 
operator in the office of the general manager of the 
Old Colony Railroad Company at Boston) ; and Luther 
O., who is connected with his father in manufactur- 
Luther married Jennie Pratt. 


ing. 


They have one 


_ son,—F red. 


This proposition being accepted, the | 


in another State, which caused Mr. Crocker to resort | 


to legal measures to secure his rights. This he did by 
invalidating the first patent, and procuring one in his 
own name. This patent was dated Sept. 21, 1869. 


Mr. Crocker soon began their manufacture himself, 


but in avery short time his buildings, tools, and stock | 


were destroyed by fire,—a total loss. 
had lost all, nothing daunted, he at once commenced 
to build up his business. Aided by his strong 


Although he | 


physique and indomitable pluck, he succeeded in | 


building 
working from sixteen to eighteen hours a day. 


over-exertion and mental anxiety soon told the strain 


up a permanent and lucrative business by | 
His | 


to which his system had been subjected, as for several | 


Mr. Crocker is in politics Republican, an attendant 
at the Congregational Church, and a member of Delta 
Lodge, F. and A. M., Weymouth, Mass. 


CLHEA: PA Hos, Vic 


BELLINGHAM, 
BY RUFUS G. FAIRBANKS, LL.B. 


Previous to the 17th of November, A.D. 1719, 
that tract of land now known as the town of 
Bellingham existed merely as am unimportant por- 
tion of the town of Dedham, which town then ex- 
tended from Mendon line to the line of Providence, 





144 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





R. L, by way of the Petucket River; thence to | 


Attleborough and Wrentham, in our own State, and 
then running its northern boundaries, which serve 
no purpose in our present work. 


That portion of © 


this area lying between Mendon and Wrentham first | 


came to particular consideration on the 27th of 
October, A.D. 1713, when the Dedham _proprie- 
tors granted thirty-five acres of it to one Jacob 
Bartlett, who was found already settled on the prem- 
ises. At this early period so vast and extensive was 
the territorial area that acquiring land by purchase 
was almost altogether unknown. As a matter of 
record, the first public gathering on the above-named 
tract was a meeting of the settlers called by virtue of 
a crown warrant, the return upon which was as fol- 
lows : 


“Tn pursuance of a warrant to me directed by John Chand- 


ler, Esquire, one of her Majesty’s Justices of the Peace for the | 


County of Suffolk, These are to give Publick notice that a 
meeting of the proprietors of that tract of land belonging to 


Dedham lying between Wrentham, Mendon, and Providence | 


is appointed to be held and kept at the house of Deacon 
Thomas Sanford, in Mendon, on the eleventh day of March 
next ensuing, at eight o’clock in the morning, then and there 
to agree upon a division of land and what relates thereunto, 


their attendance accordingly. Dated this twenty-fifth day of 
February, A.p. 1714. JonaTHAN Wicut, Constable.” 


On the following March the scattered populace 


longing to Dedham, westward of Wrentham, and ye Inhabitance 
of a Considerable Farm adjoyning thereto and ye Inhabitance 
of a small Corner of Mendon ajacent Thereto (to ye number of 
That Whereas ye above Sd 
Inheritance are Scituated at a Remoat Distance from ye Respec- 
tive Towns where they at present belong: (viz.) The Inhabit- 
ance of the Town of Dedham, to ye number of three and 20 
Families are about Twenty miles Distance from the Town where 
they belong and Doe Deuty, & being very Remoate from ye 
Publie worship of God, & The Inhabitance, to the number of 
thirteen families of ye above Sd Farme being Six or Seven 
miles Distance from ye place of Public worship: & ye Inhab- 
itance of Mendon afore Sd being about four miles Distance; 
and Considering our Remoateness & ye Inconvenianecys we La- 
bour under by Reason of the same: and that ye uniting and 
Incorporating of ye above Sd Tracts togeather & making of 


four families) Humbly Shewette : 


Them a Town may put us in a way in Some Convenient Time 
to obtain ye Settlement of ye Gospel among us &e (the uniting 
of ye Above Sd Tracts of Land, Together will make a Town of 
aboute seven Miles Long & three miles & half wide) and Fur- 
ther Considering what ye Inhabitance of ye above Sd Tract of 
Dedham Land & the Farme are already Incorporated into a 
Training Companie and that they have little or No Benefit of 
Town Privelidges or having No benefit of ye Schools we do Re- 
spectively Pay to. The whole Number of Families belonging 
to ye above Sd tracts being forty & Lands enough already Laid 


out to accommodate 20 or 30 more: The Inhabitance of Ded- 


| ham Land being voated off by ye Town for that end. 


assembled as above, having previously divided the | 


land into three divisions, containing lots of from 
twenty to sixty acres each, and, having chosen Capt. 


John Ware, of Wrentham, moderator, and Thomas 


Sanford clerk, they proceeded to draw slips of paper 
from a box. On each slip of paper was a number 
corresponding to a lot of land, and he who drew a 
number became the owner in fee-simple of the tract, 
the numbers running as high as one hundred and 
twenty-one, thus showing one hundred and twenty- 
one settlers located or about to locate. From the 


year 1714 to 1719 the chief, and, indeed, the only, 


public business consisted in the laying out of land to | 


new-comers and the granting of additional territory 
to those already settled. In the year 1719 the people 
became exceedingly restless over the difficulty expe- 
rienced in attending church at Dedham Centre and 
the performing of town business there. Accordingly, 
as the outgrowth of this agitation, a petition was 
drawn up,— 

“To his Exclency Samuel Shute, Esq., Capt. General and 
Governor in Chieff in & over his Majesties Province of ye 


ry 


Massachusitts Bay, in New England, & to ye Honourable Coun- 
a . . - 1 ' A 
cil & House of Representatives in General Court conveined at 


Boston. 


| 


“The Petition of The Inhabitance of a Tract of Land be- | 


“Our Prayer Therefore is that your Honours would Gra- 


- : . | ciously plese to consider our Diffeculty Circumstances and grant 
of which all persons concerned are to take notice and give | yt 7 8 


us our petition, which is That ye above Mentioned Tracts of 
Land (as by one Platt hereto affixed & Described) may be in- 
corporated togeather & made a Town & Invested with Town 
Preveliges. That we may be Inabled in Conveniaut Time to 
obtain ye Gospel & public worship of God settled, & our Incon- 
veniances by Reason of our Remoateness be Removed: granting 
us such Time of Dispence from Public Taxes as in wisdom you 
shall think Conveniant, & in your so doing you will greatly 
oblige us who am your Humble petitioners: and for your 
Honours, as in Consciance we are Bound, Shall forever pray. 
Dated yel7th Day of November 1719. 


“ John Darling Daniel Corbet 
Nicholas Cook William Hayward 
Pelatiah Smith 
Tho. Bureh 
John Thompson 
Ebenezer Thayer 
Cornelius Darling 
Samll. Hayward 
John Marsh 
Oliver Hayward 
Samll. Rich 
John Thompson Jr 
Isaac Thayer 
Ebenezer Thompson 
Richard Blood 
Joseph Holbrook 
Zuriel Hall 

‘Tn the House of Representatives 

‘“ Nov. 26, 1719 Read &c. 
“Ordered that the Prayer of the Petitioners be Granted & That 
a Township be Erected & Constituted according thereunto & the 
Platt above: Provided They Procure and Settle a learned or- 
thodox Minister within the Space of three years now coming. 
“And That John Darling, John Thompson & John Marsh be 
Impowered to Call a Town Meeting any time in March next to 


James Smith 

Nicolas Cook, Jr 
Jonathan Hayward 
Seth Cook 

Samll. Thompson 
Samll. Darling 
Joseph Thompson 
Nathaniel Weatherby 
Samll. Smith 

The Inheritance of Mendon 
John Holbrook 

John Corbet 

Peter Holbrook 
Eliphalet Holbrook. 





BELLINGHAM. 





choose Town Officers & manage ye other prudentiall affairs of 
ye Town. The name of the Town to be called Bellingham. 
“Sent up for Concurrence 
“Joun Burrity, Speaker. 
“Tn Council Noy. 27, 1719 
“ Read and Conecurred 
“ JosepH WILLARD, Sec. 
“A true copy examined 
«Pp, J. WILLARD, Sec.” 


Why or how the name happened to be Bellingham 
cannot be told, although it was undoubtedly borrowed 
from Sir Richard Bellingham, an early colonial Gov- 
ernor. 
ration, Bellingham never had a corporate charter, but 


came into existence solely on the proviso that a learned — 


orthodox minister was settled in three years, and this 
being complied with, she took her stand among the 
sister towns of the colony. In accordance with the 
allowing of the petition, the citizens came together at 


the house of John Thompson, and organized a town- | 


meeting. Thus it was on March 2, 1720, the first 
town-meeting was held in Bellingham. 
that meeting was the election of Pelatiah Smith 
moderator ; Selectmen, John Darlin, Pelatiah Smith, 
John Thompson, Nathaniel Jillson, and John Corbet ; 
Town Clerk, Pelatiah Smith; Treasurer, John Hol- 
brook; Tithingmen, John Marsh, Nicholas Cook ; 
men for the due observance of swine, Samuel Darling, 
Oliver Hayward; Constables, William Hayward and 
Nicholas Cook. The matter of a house for public 
worship being considered, John Darlin, Nicholas 
Cook, Sr., John Corbet, John Holbrook were chosen 
a committee to find a suitable place to locate the 
building. John Corbet, Pelatiah Smith, Nathaniel 
Jillson, and Nicholas Cook were chosen a committee 
to build the house, so far as covering and inclosing 
was concerned. At a meeting called in May, it being 


The action of | 


desirous to have funds, it was ‘‘ Voted that no inhabit- 


ant shall take in any cattle from any outside town 
without first paying twelve pence per head into the 
town treasury, this vote to stand in full force for the 
term of one year.” In the 14th of November meet- 
ing at John Thompson’s house the town decided 
“That the meeting-house should be sett whare thare 
Is a stake Standing Near Weatherlys corner with a 
heap of stones Laid about said Stake and a pine-tree 
marked Said Stake Standing In an old Road that goes 
from mendon to wrenthan, the Demension of the 
meeting-house Voted to be: fourty foott long thirty 
foott wide, Highteen foott Between Joynts. The 
Stated price for the Laborers for a Narrow axx man 
finding himself tow shillings and a sixpence pr Day, 
Broad axx man three shillings pr day, finding them- 


selves.” It was also decided at this same meeting 
10 


As will be noticed from the order of incorpo- | 


145 





that forty pounds be raised for the town expenses for 
that year. The location of the building is fixed in 
the vicinity now known as Crimpville, near the resi- 
dence of Albert Burr. Ata meeting held Nov. 23, 
1721, the vote was passed that the meeting-house 
should be lathed and plastered with white lime, also 
an “alley-way” should be left four feet wide through 
the centre and an “alley-way” four feet wide between 
the ends of the seats and the sides of the building. 
In January, 1772, seventy-four pounds were received 
from the Great and General Court as a part of the 
fifty thousand pound bank. A very common practice 
in our town at this early period was the allowing of 
swine to go at large during the late fall and winter 
months, sometimes extending the time even so late as 
June. On one occasion in particular the town de- 
clared any rams found at large between July and 
November might be taken up by any one, and the 
owner obliged to pay three shillings for each offense, 
but nothing was to be paid unless the ram. was first 
captured. In April, 1720, the inhabitants laid out 
sixty-six acres of land about the meeting-house for a 
training-field. Onasurvey the area measured seventy- 
seven acres, the records saying eleven acres were for 
bad land. In January, 1723, the town decided to 
grant fifty acres of land to the first minister settling 
in town, and shortly afterward Thomas Smith entered 
upon his duties. In this same year a difficulty arose 
with Wrentham on account of the dividing-line be- 
tween the two towns, and considerable spirit was man- 
ifested by the people before the line was amicably 
adjusted, Bellingham going so far as to choose a com- 
mittee to go before a court of law, and a tax was levied 
on cows to defray the expense thereof. The town after- 
ward sold one hundred and fifty acres of common 
land, and realized one hundred and forty pounds, 
which was expended in surveying and other incident- 
als connected with establishing the final line. April 
22, 1726, a town-meeting was called, in which it was 
decided to have a new minister, Rev. Mr. Smith hav- 
ing left and Rev. Mr. Sturgeon then acting as pastor. 
In the following meeting it was fully decided to dis- 
miss Mr. Sturgeon, and pay his board-bill of twenty- 
six shillings and his bill for firewood at the same time. 
In the following winter Rev. Jonathan Mills was 
ordained. A familiar and common practice among 
our early settlers was to warn people outside the town 
lines. Numerous instances occur, and we give a form 
as showing how the end was accomplished: “ Suf- 
folk SS. To the constable of the town of Bellingham 
Greeting. 
forthwith to warn his wife and children out of 
our town of Bellingham within fourteen days as the 


In his Majesties name you are required 





146 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








law directs and make return of this warrant with your | protest signed by nineteen citizens was sent to the 


doings herein-unto the Selectmen.” 
observed, an effectual road was opened to rid the town 
The old 
meeting-house location having become obnoxious, or 
at least not desirable, on Feb. 1, 1754, a new build- 
ing stood completed near the town centre, concerning 


of those people liable to become paupers. 


So, as will be | 


| 
H 


which more will be said hereafter, and a town-meeting — 


was straightway called about money matters. 
searching records we find it no uncommon thing to 


see the result of a negative vote recorded as “ passed | 
In 1755, John Corbet asked the | 
privilege of building a mill and dam’ on the Charles | 


in the nagetive.” 


River, but the town 
In the same meeting the first call (we have observed ) 


refused to grant him the right. 


for a member to the General Court was brought up, 


and the town decided not to send anybody. The 


Great and General Court being not only surprised but | 


incensed at this answer to its decree, promptly fined 
the town. A town-meeting was straightway called, 
and a vote passed to draw up a petition asking the 
General Court to abate the fine. In addition to this, 
the town voted two pounds and ten shillings to carry 


On 


the same day the town decided to assess the soldiers 


on the petition and to cover unforeseen charges. 


who enlisted in his Majesty’s service, and not being 
quite decided as to the effect of this vote,an addi- 
tional vote was recorded that the town would stand 
by the assessors in the assessment of said soldiers. 

In the early part of the year 1757 a demand was 


again made for a representative, and the town again | 


At 


voted “in the nagetive” at its May meeting. 


about this time the first continuous town pauper came | 


to the surface, and being considered an evil, but neces- 
sary fixture, he was passed from hand to hand in 


a manner not to be envied even by a convict of our late | 


day. 


At the meeting of 1759 the abatement of a tax | 


was first requested, but the town decided not to abate. 
In April, 1761, the town again voted not to send a 
representative. In 1761 a town-meeting was con- 
vened, and a committee chosen to find the centre of 


the town. 


At an adjourned meeting it was voted to | 


Tn | 














build a second meeting-house (Baptist), and to locate 


the same on the knoll in the crotch of the roads at | 


the town centre. In May, 1762, the General Court 


again asked for a delegate, but the town passed over | 


the warrant bya large vote. On March 6, 1764, the | 


townsmen came together and elected officers for the 
year. On the 15th of the same month, at an ad- 
journed meeting, the town voted to annul the votes of 
March 6th, and then proceeded to elect other and 
different their stead. 


officers in At this action, a 


| 
| 
| 


General Court and also entered on the record of the 
The Legislature decided that the March 6th 
meeting was legal and the after-vote void, much to 
The town 
neglected to choose town officers in full in 1765, anda 


town. 
the satisfaction of the cfficers first chosen. 


command so to do was sent by the court at Boston. 
The result of this action was a meeting in which Bel- 
lingham was burdened that year with nine selectmen 
and seven assessors. This action stood but one year; 
the town choosing the usual number of selectmen and 
three assessors at the next annual Assembly. At the 
March meeting in 1773, the condition of the country 
being in an unsettled state, and the town being greatly 
inconvenienced by the excessive taxation, a committee 
consisting of John Metcalf, John Corbett, Samuel 


Scott, William Holbrook, and Benjamin Partridge 


were chosen to look into the condition of affairs, and 
report at the next meeting. The town being so neg- 


ligent about sending a representative, a fine was again 


imposed, and a petition of abatement was sent as pay- 


Some expense accruing in the conveying of 
the petition,and no immediate action being taken 


ment. 


on the part of the Legislature, the town voted Oct. 
22, 1773, as follows: ‘ Put to vote to see if the town 
will send to Court any more to get the fines of that 
we are fined for not sending a Representative in years 
passed. Passed in the negative.” 

The industry of the town, as also that of nearly every 
other town surrounding, was agriculture. The largest 
farm ever known here went by the name of Rawson’s 
farm, and its area amounted to nearly nineteen hun- 
dred acres, and was located at the north end. 

The public business up to the time of the Revolu- 
tion appears to have been the settlement of town 
lines and the consideration of church affairs. 

Taxation becoming more and more burdensome, 
the people asked the General Court in May, 1774, to 
assess the town for a less sum, and the committee laid 
before the court the poverty of the people; in addi- 
tion to which they sought to be excused from sending a 
representative and from being fined. On Sept. 2, 1774, 
nineteen shillings were voted to the General Court to 
assist in carrying on expenses; also to agree to the 
covenant whereby the citizens declared the purchase 
of no goods imported from Great Britain. The sum 
of twenty-five dollars was voted for ammunition, and 
delegates were chosen to the convention at Dedham,: 
wherein prudential measures were adopted on current 
affairs. On Sept. 30, 1774, the town chose Luke 
Holbrook as its first delegate, he to attend “the 
Provincial Congress to be held in Concord on the 
second Tuesday of Oct. next.” December 19th, seven 





BELLINGHAM. 


147 








pounds additional were set out to the purchase of pow- 
der and bullets. Stephen Metcalf was elected the con- 
gressional delegate for February. In the January 
meeting the motion was put to see if the town would 


pay those men ready to go at a minute’s warning in| 
| centre of the district, that there may be an easy communica- 


defense of the colonies, and “not a hand was raised 
in the affirmative.’ On April 25, 1775, the town 
‘‘ Voted six dollars bounty to its share of men (each) 
of the thirteen thousand six hundred enlisted, if 
Congress does not give it.” Dr. John Corbett was 
then chosen to the Congress assembled at Watertown. 
Stephen Metcalf was also empowered. At the meet- 
ing of November 3d the first vote to establish a new 
county was taken, and Bellingham voted ‘“ no” unani- 
mously. At the next meeting, held shortly after, the 
town resolved ‘“ that it is the opinion of the inhabit- 
ants of this town that it is constitutional and necessary 
for each county in this colony of Massachusetts Bay 


to have county assemblies erected and established © 


in them, the members to be chosen one or more 
in each town each year, with power to grant county 
taxes and establish roads, and to perform all acts 
proper for county assemblies. All that are chosen to 
be paid for by those that chose them.” Bellingham 
was heartily in accord with the popular feeling con- 
cerning the stand taken by Great Britain, and so 
deeply did she feel the injustice that on July 4,1776, 
a town-meeting was convened, and the people declared 
(almost at the same moment the declaration was 
proclaimed in Philadelphia), “ that in case the Hon- 
orable Continental Congress should think it necessary 
for the safety of the United Colonies to declare them 
independent of Great Britain, the inhabitants of this 
town with their lives and fortunes will cheerfully 


support them in the measure.’ The sum of two 


hundred and forty pounds was voted to pay enlisting | 


soldiers. Concerning the form of a new government 
for the State, Bellingham responded to the General 


Court as follows, “dated Sept. 17, 1776, concern- | 


ing a form of government for this State, as voted in 
town-meeting, called in conformity to said resolve, on 
due notice for that end, held at Bellingham on the 
20th of October, and by adjournment on the 2d of 
December after : 


“We are of opinion that the settling a form of government 


for this State to originate in each town, and by that means we 
may have ingenuity of all the State, and it may qualify men 
for public station, which might be effected if the present Hon- 
orable House of Representatives would divide this State into 


| districts of about thirty miles diameter, or less if it appear most 


convenient, so that none be more than fifteen miles from the 


tion between each town and the centre of its district, that no 


| town be divided, and that each town choose one man out of each 
| thirty inhabitants to be a committee to meet as near the centre 


of the district as may be; to meet about six weeks after the 
House of Representatives have issued their order for the towns 
to meet to draw a form of government, and the same committee, 
to carry with them the form of government their town has drawn 
at the district meeting and compare them together, and propose 
to their towns what alteration their town in their opinion ought 
to make, and said committee in each district adjourn to carry 
to their several towns, and lay before them in town-meeting for 
that end, the form of government said district has agreed to, 


and the town agrees to or alters as they see meet; after which the 


district committee meet according to adjournment and revise 


| the form of government; after which each district committee 


choose a man as a committee to meet all as one committee at 
Watertown at twelve weeks after the order of the House of 
Representatives for the town, first meeting to draw a form of 
government, which committee of the whole State may be em- 
powered to send precepts to the several towns in this State to 
choose one man out of sixty to meet in convention at Water- 
town, or such other town as each committee shall judge best. 
Six weeks from the time of said district’s last sitting the said 
one man out of sixty to meet in convention to draw from the 


| forms of government drawn by each district committee one 


form of government for the whole State; after which said 
convention send to each town the form of government they 
have drawn for the town’s confirmation or alteration, then ad- 
journ, notifying each town to make return to them of their do- 
ings at said convention, and at said adjournment said conven- 
tion draw a general plan or form of government for this State, 
so that they add nothing to nor diminish nothing from the 
general sense of each town, and that each town be at the charge 
of all they employ in the affair. 

“Doctor JOHN CoRBETT, 

“ Coroner JoHN METCALF, 

“ELpER Noan ALDEN, 

“DEACON SAMUEL DARLING, 

‘Lieut. Seta HAL, 


“ Committee.” 
According to the desire of the General Conrt, a 
vigilance committee was chosen on March 5, 1777, 
consisting of Jonathan Draper, Daniel Penniman, 
Asahel Holbrook, David Scott, and Ezekiel Bates. 


In April, a certain party being sick, a town-meeting 


_ was straightway convened, and it was voted that the 


for this State is a matter of the greatest importance of a civil | 


nature that we were ever concerned in, and ought to be pro- 
ceeded in with the greatest caution and deliberation. 
pears to us that the late General Assembly of this State, in 
their proclamation dated Jan. 23, 1776, have well expressed 
that ‘power always resides in the body of the people.’ We 
understand that all males above twenty-one years of age, meet- 
ing in each separate town and acting the same thing and all 
their acts united together, make an act of the body of the people. 
We apprehend it would be proper that the form of government 


It ap- | 


| man had the smallpox, and in consequence of this 


vote a hospital was established in the woods. On the 
records we find, “‘ Voted that the town forbid any 


| person from having the smallpox in the house of 


Daniel or Silas Penniman, except said Silas, now sick, 
and if any person or persons be so presumptuous as to 
have the smallpox in either of them two houses they 


_ shall forfeit to the town ten pounds, to be recovered 


i 


by the treasurer.” Ezekiel Bates was chosen to look 


148 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





into, receive evidence, and decide on Tory cases. The 
form of government proposed on May 28, 1778, by 
the General Court was voted on by the town, and 
unanimously adopted by a vote of seventy-three per-_ 
sons. The names of those citizens of this town who 
served in the Continental army are as follows: 


Amos Ellis. 
Nathan Holbrook. 
Abijah Holbrook. 
Seth Holbrook. 
Nathaniel Thayer, Jr. 
Dennis Darling. 
Nathaniel Scott. 
David Scott. 

Lot Perry. 

Joseph Perry. 
Asahel Holbrook. 
David Perry. 
Henry Holbrook. 
Joel Leg. 

Joseph Frost. 
Stephen Wyman. 
Elisha Hayward. 
Amariah Holbrook. 
Abel Bullard. 
Benjamin Twitchell. 
John Rockwood. 
William Chase, Jr. 
Thaddeus Gibson, 
John Phillips. 
Moses Hill. 
Ichabod Bozworth. 
Amos Thompson. 
Benjamin Clark. 
Josh Phillips. 
Caleb Phillips, Jr. 
James Bailey. 

Asa Holbrook. 
John Cook. 

Daniel Cook, Jr. 
Samuel Adams. 
Oliver Perry. 
David Staples. 
Nathan Freeman. 
Cyrus Thompson. 
Joseph Rockwood, Jr. 
Aaron Hill. 

Eben Darling. 
David Belcher. 
Elias Thayer. 
John Coombs, Jr. 
Moses Darling, Jr. 
Levi Darling. 


Samuel Pickering. 
Simon Alvison. 
John Chilson. 
Robert Smith, Jr. 
Elisha Alden. 
Caleb Thompson. 
David Cook, Jr. 
Jabez Metealf, 
Stephen Perry. 
John Godman. 
Joshua Darling. 
Levi Daniels. 
Peter Albee. 
Daniel Trask. 
Nathan p 
Abner Wight. 
Phineas Holbrook. 
Sylvenus Scott, Jr. 
Samuel Arnold. 
David Jones. 
Joseph Ward, Jr. 
John Arnold. 


Capt. Jesse Holbrook. 


George Slocomb. 
Silas Penniman. 
Ezekiel Hayward. 
Jonathan Scott. 
Levi Rockwood. 
Silas Adams. 
John Chilson. 
Ezekiel Thayer. 
Samuel Wight, Jr. 
John Upham. 
John Hall. 

Noah Alden, Jr. 
Ichabod Draper. 
Ichabod Seaver. 
Joseph Partridge. 
Richard Darling. 
Joseph Dartridge. 
Amos Adams. 
Samuel Twist. 
David Thompson. 
Stephen Kastey. 
Hennery Holbrook. 
Elijah Holbrook. 








framing a Constitution or form of government for the 
Massachusetts Bay Colony, we, your constituents, 
being legally assembled in town-meeting on this 16th 
day of August, 1779, claim it as our inherent right 
at all times to instruct those that represent us, but 
more necessary on such an important object as that 
of a form of government, which not only so nearly 
concerns our interests, but our posterity. We do, in 
the first place, instruct you, previous to your entering 
upon the framing the form of government, you see 
that each part of the State have properly delegated 
their power for such a purpose, and that a bill of 


_rights be framed wherein the natural rights of in- 


dividuals be clearly ascertained,—that is, all such 
rights as the supreme power of the State shall have 
no authority to control,—to be a part of the Constitu- 
tion ; that you use your influence that the legislative 


_ power consist of a Senate and House of Representa- 


tives, the representatives to be annually chosen 


from the towns, as they were previous to the year 


pealler diy 


bribery, corruption, and unchaste influence. 





That the Constitution be so framed that elec- 
tions be free and frequent, most likely to prevent 
That 
the executive power be so lodged as to execute the 
laws with dispatch. The Senate to have knowledge 
of the House, but to revise and propose amend- 
ments to it, and when not agreeing to act as one 
body, the senators to be annually chosen by the peo- 
ple. That the holding the Court of Probate, granting 


of license, and registering deeds in but one town in 


the county, as heretofore established, has been a 


grievous burden to us. That you use your influence 


that the Constitution be so framed that each incor- 
| porated town may have power to hold and exercise 


powers of a Court of Probate, and to grant licenses, 
and to record their deeds within the several towns. 
We further instruct you that, when you have drawn 
a form of government or the outlines thereof, you 


cause a fair copy thereof to be printed. That you 


use your influence that the convention adjourn to 
some future day, and the copies so printed be laid 


before your several towns for their consideration and 


In early days the delegates were not allowed their | 
own judgment in publie affairs, but were instructed. 
Rey. Noah Alden, pastor of the Baptist Church at 
that time, was chosen a delegate, and the town in- 


structed him as follows: “ Sir,—You being chosen by | 
the inhabitants of this town to represent them in a 

convention proposed to be held at Cambridge on the | 
1st day of September next, for the sole purpose of | 


amendment, to be returned to the convention at their 
In this way we think the sense of the 
State at large will be most likely to be collected. 
That the judicial be so established that justice may 


adjournment. 


be impartially demonstrated without being obliged to 
be at such an enormous expense to gentlemen of the 
That right of trial by jury be 
kept sacred and close, as has been the late usual 
That the statutes of Old 
England, or any part thereof, nor any foreign laws 
be adopted in this Constitution. That a county as- 


law to argue causes. 


practice in this State. 





0 


BELLINGHAM. 149 





sembly be established to grant county taxes in each 
county, and to act in all other matters appertaining | 
thereto.” 

In October, 1780, a committee was chosen to favor | 
a new county to be set off from Suffolk. At the 
meeting of April 2, 1781, the town assisted in the 
election of John Hancock, Governor, and his honor, | 
Thomas Cushing, Lieutenant-Governor. Stephen 
Metealf was again elected representative. The name 
of no other man appears as representative from Belling- 
ham for a long term of years. On the 6th of May, | 
1782, he was again elected, and instructed by the town 
as follows : 





“ Sir,—Having chosen you to represent the town in the Gen- | 
eral Court the ensuing year, we think meet to give you the 


following instructions: Whereas, the Governor’s salary for a 
year has been eleven hundred pounds, and Counselors seven 
shillings for one day, and Senators 10 shillings a day, we think | 
them sums exorbitant, and we instruct you to use your utmost 


endeavors and influence to have those salaries lessoned and all 


others in this Commonwealth to be set at a reasonable rate, and | 
that all persons under pay from the Commonwealth that are 
not absolutely necessary for the business thereof be dismissed, 


and that there may be a law made that every representative be 
paid out of his own town treasury such sums as he and his town 
shall agree upon for his attendance while he is sitting, and that 


the General Court be removed out of Boston and set in some 
other town, and that the annual expense of this State be ascer- 
tained that is used for its own support, and the annual income | 
thereof, and how the money has been expended that has been 


granted toward its support, and how much it is in debt when | 
what is granted is all paid, that so the people, who have aright 
to know, may know how the money is expended that they pay ; 
and a separate account of the annual expense this Common- 
wealth is at for and toward Continental charges, and how much 
this State is in debt for Continental affairs, and that there be 
printed, published, and sent to each town in the State every 


year the state of its treasury and of what money has been and 


from time to time is granted and how expended, that for this 
Government and Continental affairs, separate, and whereas the 
mode of trials in our common Jaw courts, the attorneys’ fees 
that they demand is so extravagant that poorer sort of people 
are necessitated to suffer every injury without being able to 
obtain redress in common course of law of which a redress | 
ought to be obtained.” 


The same gentleman was chosen by the town at its 
first affirmative action on a new county to represent 


its will. In 1784 the town voted not to send any one 
to the General Court. On the following year Stephen 
Metcalf was again empowered to attend, but before © 
leaving the town instructed him to use his “ utmost | 
endeavor that the Stamp Act made last session of the | 
General Court be repealed, and that a law be passed 


allowing no action in any other county than where 
the defendant resides. Also that the Governor's salary — 
and other servants of the State be made less, and all | 
other needless expense reduced.” 
interested in fishing to some extent, chose Joseph | 


The town being | 


| two votes each. 


tion of the smallpox, and voted no. 


Holbrook to join with the other towns on the Charles 
River in a petition to the General Court, for “ ways 
to be opened through dams on the river to allow the 
free passage of fish.” In 1787 the town cast sixty- 
seven votes for Governor, sixty-three of which were 
for John Haucock; also in the same meeting Lieut. 
Aaron Holbrook was chosen representative in place 
of Judge Metcalf, who alone had represented the 
town previously. Lieut. Holbrook was instructed to 
influence the establishment of courts in a small circuit, 
also that he do his best to establish credit, ‘that he 
use his power to have what was called a dry-tax light, 
and that the banefull ‘gugaws’ of Briton and all 
West India goods that the Publick can best do with- 
out be heavily dutied. We charge you to encourage 
home manufactorys.’ In December, 1787, Rev. 
Noah Alden was sent to the convention in Boston to 
give expression to the town’s mind on the proposed 
Constitution, and which expression had been previously 
declared in that it was against the adoption. The 
first action taken by the town in national govern- 
ment affairs was at a meeting held Dec. 18, 1788, in 
which, as national representative, Fisher Ames re- 
ceived eight votes and William Heath six. Electors 


| for choice of President, Jabez Fisher and Caleb Davis, 


As representative to the General 
Court, Lieut. Holbrook served two years, the town in 
the year 1789 sending no one. In 1791, Lieut. 
Holbrook was returned to the General Court, and 
specially empowered to seek a division of Suffolk 
County. 
see if the town will provide a house for the inocula- 
Secondly, voted 
that the town disapprove of the smallpox coming 
into town Contrary to Law.” 

In 1784 (one hundred years ago) Bellingham had 
as her citizens the following persons : 


At the same meeting it was ‘ put to vote to 


David Metcalf. 
Stephen Metealt. 
John Metealf. 

John Metealf, Jr. 
Jonathan Metealf, Jr. 
John Coombs. 

John Coombs, Jr. 
Jonathan Hill. 
Aaron Hill. 

David Hill. 

Robert Smith. 

Abel Smith. 
Ebenezer Fisher. 
Amos Ellis. 
Benjamin Partridge. 
Joseph Partridge. 
Job Partridge. 
John Partridge. 
John Corbit, M.D. 


Benjamin Spears: 
Nathan Holbrook. 
Seth Holbrook. 

Eben Holbrook. 
Amzi Holbrook. 
Aaron Holbrook. 
Joseph Holbrook. 
Joseph Holbrook, Jr. 
Peter Holbrook. 
Asahel Holbrook. 
Asa Holbrook. 

Jesse Holbrook. 
Darias Holbrook. 
Amariah Holbrook. 
Joel Jencks. 

Ezra Forestall. 
Elisha Burr. 
Benjamin Boss. 
Nathaniel Butterworth. 


150 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Johnson Streetor. 
Joseph Thompson, 
Josiah Wheelock. 
Eben Wheelock. 
Gideon Albee. 
Nathan Albee. 
Stephen Albee. 
Abel Albee. 

James Albee. 

Asa Pond. 

Eli Pond. 

Lisa Pond. 

John Clark. 
Samuel Clark. 
Isaac Bates. 
Timothy Merriman. 
Amariah Jones. 


Samuel Cobb. 
Joshua Bullard. 
Obediah Adams. 
Samuel Adams. 
Amos Adams. 
Silas Adams, 
Jeptha Wedge. 
Daniel Wedge. 
David Hayward. 
Hezekiah Hayward. 
Thayer. 
Jonathan Wright. 
Jonathan Howe. 





David Lawrence. 
David Penniman. 
Samuel Penniman. 
Josiah Penniman. 


A total of seventy-one, all of whom resided in the 
thirty-one dwelling-houses then standing, with an 
accompaniment of twenty-nine barns. 
Jr., possessed two saw-mills, and John Corbit one, 
the only mechanical industry in town. Acres of 
meadow-grass, 151; pasture land, 330; woodland, 


in barrels, 110. Number of horses, 35; oxen, 


40; cows, 152; young stock, 52; sheep, 86; and | 


swine, 38. 
In 1793 and 1796 no representative was sent, and 
in May of the same year a warrant was issued bear- 


ing the words “ Norfolk County,” all previous | 


having “Suffolk SS.” upon their face. The nine 
towns in the new county, through some dissatisfac- 
tion, considered the proposition of returning to Suf- 
folk. 
and chose a committee to oppose any such action. 
In the next annual meeting Joseph Holbrook was 
elected representative, and his pay placed at one 
dollar per day, the town-fathers further declaring “ if 
he receive more, he shall pay it to the town.” 


Bellingham loudly remonstrated against. it, 


this time the General Court ordered a survey of the 
different towns in the State, and Judge Metcalf was 
chosen to the work here, but we cannot give the 
result of his effort, as it is not a matter of record. 
In 1796 the town located guide-boards for public 
convenience, and in the next meeting considered the 
feasibility of uniting with other towns for the pur- 
pose of establishing a post-road to Dedham, what 
is now known as the old Boston and Hartford turn- 
pike. Two years previous to this, however, the 
matter was privately agitated, as the following letter 
will show: 


John Metealf, | 


answer to our proposal, which I had the honor to present with 
the articles of association of the first branch inclosed to you 


| lately, requesting your speedy answer, which is not yet re- 


ceived. Here a number of us have associated to run carriages 


| statedly from Boston to Smith’s, in Bellingham, as soon as the 


rest of the line is completed, but cannot proceed to the expense 
of purchasing eight coach-horses with carriages until some 


| confidential persons along the road shall assure of its being 


And if you think best to have 
no connection with us, we request to know it immediately, that 


continued through to Hartford. 


| others may be taken into the company, with full resolution to 
| carry it into effect, and we hope yet we shall not have to regret 


the disinclination of so able a partner. 
“Tn haste, though with esteem, I am 
“Your very humble servant, 
‘FISHER AMES.” 


| © To Senator Metcatr, BELLINGHAM.” 





About | 


“ PHILADELPHIA, April 1, 1794. 
“STEPHEN Metcatr, Hsq.: 
“ My Dear Sir,—On my motion the road to Hartford by 
Dedham, Mendon, and Pomfret, is agreed to in the committee 
of the whole House on the post-office bill. It will probably 


| pass the House, and I will endeaver by proper explanations to 
| procure for it a due consideration in the Senate. 
land cultivated, 127; English mowing land, 170; | 


Should it be 
established by law that a mail shall be put on the middle road, 
it will be important that the towns should exert themselves 


aes | re th hey have d heretofore t rk the high 
171; other land, 1974. Annual amount of cider, Sen Sy ta ee ee ace a ena 


and render the middle road passable. I thought it might be 
useful to give you early information on this subject. There is 
again a hope of peace. Some among us have their passions 
raised to the war pitch, and others would like a war against 
their debts; but the prevailing desire is peace. It will be 
necessary, however, to prepare for war, as it is thought that it 
will prove the most effectual way to avoid it. Our happy 
country seems to stand in need of little more than peace and 
good order to secure its prosperity. I own I dread war, hy 
which we can gain nothing and may lose everything as a 
people. The arrangements which the present critical posture 
of affairs demands will delay the session of Congress for some 
time. It is however expected that we shall rise by the middle 
of May at the latest. I am, dear sir, with esteem and regard, 
“Yours truly, 
“ FISHER AMES.” 


This road was finally established and a post-mail 
placed on the same through Mr. Ames’ infiuence with 
the national government, the towns and States of 
Massachusetts and Connecticut assisting in the con- 
struction. 

The town finding some difficulty in obtaining the 


_ church for public meetings, chose a committee to pass 


“ Depuam, March 27, 1794. 
“Sir, —After your good wishes expressed toward establishing 
a line of stages on the middle road between Boston and Hart- | 


ford, we feel a little disappointed at not receiving so prompt an 


upon the feasibility of constructing a new building, 
and the finding of a suitable location therefor. This 
committee— 


“having met and taken the matter into consideration, agree- 
able to appointment, beg leave to report: That we are 
of opinion that the most central and convenient spot for 
erecting said building is on the land now occupied by David 
Jones, situated at the end of the road leading from Ezekiel 
Bates’ dwelling-house to the road known as the Taunton road, 
and is bounded partly on the west by the said Taunton road. 
The said Jones proposes giving the town one acre of land for 
the purpose of setting said house and other buildings upon, 
providing said town will agree to erect such a building as will 





BELLINGHAM. 


151 





best accommodate the religious society in said town for a house 
of public worship. 
“HZEKIEL BATES, 
“ LABAN BAtTEs, 
“Joun SCAMMELL, 


} 

| 

f Committee.” 
“Eras Wieut, J 


“ BELLINGHAM, March 15, A.p. 1800. 

“We, the undersigned, do hereby propose to the inhabitants 
of said Bellingham that we will undertake the building of a 
public house in said town for the purpose of better accommo- 
dating said inhabitants to transact their public concerns in. We 
propose said house to be forty-five by fifty feet on the ground, 
twenty-five feet posts, and one porch of fourteen feet square, 
which shall be built of good materials and be well wrought ; 
providing said town will grant the sum of one thousand dollars, 


five hundred to be assessed and paid into the treasury for the | 


above purpose by the first day of April, 1801, and the other five 
hundred to be paid by April 1, 1802, and also to grant us the 
privilege of building pews in said house for the accommodation 
of the religious society in said town, and giving us the benefit of 
the sale of said pews to defray in part the expense of said build- 
ing; and if the above proposals should be accepted by a vote of 
said town, we do hereby jointly and severally agree and en- 
gage to completely finish said house without any other expense 
to said town, and we will give bonds to indemnify for the above 
purpose. 
“Tn testimony whereof we have hereto set our hands, 


“LABAN BATES, 
“ EviAB WIGHT, 


“ JoHN SCAMMELL, 

“ Joun CHILSON, 

* Smmeon Honiproox, “JoserH FAIRBANKS, 
“Speru HoLprook, “SamMuEL DARLING, JR., 
“ SrepHeN MercaLr, JR., “ ELisHaA Burr.” 


In the September meeting the above was accepted 
by the town, and the first sum of five hundred dol- 
lars assessed. Joseph Fairbanks having set up a saw- 
and grist-mill on the Charles River, near where the 
Caryville Mills now stand, the selectmen laid out the 
road now known as Pearl Street, the read running to 
the Franklin line from the old turnpike. 
to 1800 the town was not represented in the Legisla- 
ture, but in the last-named year Laban Bates was 
elected to that office, serving also in 1804. In 1802 
the town declined to be represented. In December 
of the same year the town accepted of the new meet- 
ing-house (our present town hall), and Thomas Bald- 
win, of Boston, was decided upon to preach the dedi- 
cation sermon. A committee was chosen, and the 


clergy in surrounding townsinvited. A subscription- 


paper was then circulated for the support of services. | 


From 1796 | 





This not meeting with much favor, the town voted | 


two hundred dollars in lieu thereof, and Rev. N. W. 
Rathburn was called. At the next annual meeting 
John Bates was chosen town clerk, in place of Kliab 


Wight, who had served the town in that capacity for | 


a long term of years. In 1804 the town exchanged 
the old training-ground for a new one about the new 
meeting-house. 

The difficulty arising from the attendance upon 





_ Jonathan 


public duties at Bellingham Centre on account of the 
great distance, and this, aided by the growth of West 
Medway, so near by, culminated in 1807 in a petition 
for a new town formed from parts of Bellingham, 
Franklin, Medway, and Holliston. A viewing com- 
mittee from the Legislature visited the premises and 
reported adversely. In 1816 the matter was again 
agitated, and a hearing granted by the standing com- 
mittee of the House of Representatives. This com- 
mittee decided favorably, providing a portion of that 


part taken from Bellingham was relinquished ; but 


_ the people declining to do this, the decision was again 


adverse. In 1823 the matter was brought up again, 
In May, 1824, the fol- 
lowing petition was sent to the Senate and General 
Court. ‘The undersigned, inhabitants of the West 


Parish in Medway, humbly represent that your peti- 


and several hearings granted. 


tioners, comprising a small part of the towns of Med- 
way, Bellingham, Holliston, and Franklin, were incor- 
porated for parochial purposes about seventy-five years 
past by an act of the Legislature, since which time re- 
ligious worship has been regularly supported and parish 


| privileges constantly exercised therein. That within 


a few years past two commodious houses for public 
worship, a parish house, and other buildings equally 
adapted to town and parish purposes have been erected, 
and that said parish as herein described contains about 
two hundred and fifty ratable polls, twelve hundred 
inhabitants, and nine hundred acres of land. They 
further represent that the inconveniences and evils of 
transacting town business in their several towns at the 
distance of from four to seven miles from their homes, 
while the distance to the centre of the parish does in 
no instance exceed three miles, the remoteness of 
your petitioners in Holliston from the shire-town of 
their county (Worcester) as at present situated, and 
the expense and inconvenience of performing military 
duty in their several towns at the distances above men- 
tioned, render an incorporation of your petitioners for 
town purposes highly desirable and necessary. Your 
petitioners therefore humbly pray that they may be 
incorporated as a town, with all the privileges of other 
towns within this commonwealth, according to the fol- 
lowing boundaries, viz.: Beginning at the Milford line, 
on the northerly side of Nahum Clark’s farm, and 
running easterly, including said farm and across the 
land of Henry Adams, to a stake and stones on the 
northerly side of a town road; thence across said 
road to the northeast corner of said Adams’ farm ; 
thence to a white-oak tree standing on the east side 


| of the road, about twenty rods north of Capt. 


the 
south side of the farm belonging to the estate of A. 


Hardine’s barn; from thence to 


152 








HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Morse, opposite his dwelling-house ; from thence to 





continue a straight line on the southerly side of said | 


Morse’s farm to the Pond road, so called ; thence run- 
ning southerly on said road about twenty-five rods ; 


thence easterly a straight line along the south side of 


Capt. M. Rockwood’s home farm to the old grant 


line (so called); thence southerly on said line and | 


Candlewood Island (so called); road to the old county 
road ; thence running southerly across said road and 
Charles River to the end of a road near Amos Fisher’s 
house, in Franklin; thence southwesterly on said road 
to a town road leading from the factory village in 


Medway to Franklin meeting-house ; thence to the; 


corner of the road near the house of Joseph Bacon ; 
thence, following said road by Luther Ellis’ house, to 


served two years, with Maj. Scammel returned in 


1831. In 1829, John Cook was chosen town clerk, 
and the matter of a town farm was first discussed. 
In 1830 the annual town expense reached one thou- 
sand one hundred dollars. The committee authorized 
purchased the farm of Seth Holbrook, paying therefor 
three thousand five hundred dollars. The farm con- 
tained one hundred and fifty-five acres, and also its 


equipment of stock and tools. Rules for the disci- 


_pline of inmates were adopted at the time the town’s 


paupers were removed there. The expense the first 
year was four hundred and twenty-four dollars and 


eighty-four cents. The town’s powder-house stood at 


_ this time on the land owned by Simeon Barney, and 


the southeasterly corner of Leonard Lawrence’s land | 


on the westerly side of said road; thence to the | 


southeast corner of Stephen Allen’s meadow-land ; 
thence westerly across Mine Brook to a white-oak tree 
on the line between Bellingham and Franklin ; thence 
westerly, on a division line of lands of Stephen Met- 
calf and Jesse Coombs, to a town road in Bellingham ; 


thence westerly across Charles River to a stake and | 
stones beside the turnpike road west of Elijah Dew- | 
ing’s barn; thence, crossing said road and running | 
northwesterly, to atown road on the division-line of Na- | 


than Allen and Benjamin R. Partridge, easterly from 
said Allen’s house ; thence northerly on said division 


line to Hollistontown line; thence running westerly — 
on Holliston’s line to farm corner (so called) ; thence 


northerly on the town line of Milford to the corner 
first mentioned. 


pray.” 


And as in duty bound will ever 


At this time (1825) Bellingham’s valuation was | 
$15,627 ; number of polls, 215; inhabitants, 1034. | 


The amount of valuation taken into the proposed 
new town, $2157 ; number of polls, 28; inhabitants, 
201. 
and 187 polls, with 833 inhabitants. 
acres of land in Bellingham, 11,466; the number 


proposed to have been taken, 1133; leaving 10,333. | 


The new town as a whole would, had it been set off, con- 
tain a valuation of $14,793, with 
inhabitants. 
off (134), only 61 objected, and 173 asked the State 
government to incorporate them, they representing a 
valuation of $11,280.70; but, for some reason to the 
writer unknown, the town was never established, and 


This would have left a valuation of $13,570, 
The number of 


| 
| 





234 polls, and 1225 — 


Out of all the persons to have been set | 





the question from that day to this has not been agi- 


tated, though it seems from present indications it may | 


arise before long. 


served as representative. No one served in 1828, 


but in 1829 Col. Joseph Rockwood was elected, and | 


In 1827, Maj. John C. Scammel | 


which house was built in 1811. In 1836 the small-. 
pox again made its appearance, and a hospital was 
erected on the town farm, and the sum of one hundred 
In 
1837 the town petitioned for a post-office, and selected 
Rev. Joseph T. Massey as postmaster. In the latter 
part of the year 1837, Edward C. Craig was appointed 
town clerk in place of John Cook (2d). Mr. Craig 
was appointed to the office at the next meeting. In 
1840 the third story in the meeting-house was fin- 


and fifty dollars was expended in inoculation. 


ished off for an armory, and at this time the roll 
numbered one hundred and thirty-two of those per- 
sons doing and subject to military duty. Edward C. 
Craig declining to serve, Francis D. Bates was chosen 
town clerk in 1842. 
of tithingmen was abolished. 


In this same year the choosing 
In 1842 the town 
eranted James Freeman the right to construct a shop 
on the town’s land adjacent to the church, and in 1843 
stoves were procured and placed in the town meeting- 
house for heating purposes. The selectmen generally 
occupied the position of Board of Health, but the first 
regular board consisted of Nahum Cook, George W. 
Blake, and James P. Thayer, elected May 1, 1843. 
In 1845, James M. Freeman was chosen town clerk. 
In 1846, Noah J. Arnold was chosen to favor the 
construction of a railroad from Woonsocket, R. L., to 
Boston. Mr. Freeman was retired in 1846 as town 
clerk, and Amos Holbrook elected. In 1832 and 
1834, Stephen Metcalf served as representative; in 
1836, no one; and 1837, John Cook (2d); in 1838, 
Asa Pickering; 1839 and 1840, no one; 1841, 
Dwight Colburn; 1842, Edward C. Craig; 1843, 
Jeremiah Crooks; 1844, James W. Freeman; and 
in 1845 and 1846, no one. At the meeting in No- 
vember, 1846, four votes were taken on a represen- 
On 


the next day four more ballots were taken, with the 


tative, and no choice was made in either ballot. 


same success. On the following day, after two more 


ballots, it was voted to dismiss the warrant without 











BELLINGHAM. 153 





T 


sending a representative. The first printed school 


committee report was issued in 1847. In the same 
year the town was unsuccessful in electing a repre- 


sentative. In 1848 a movement was instituted on 


the part of the town of Roxbury, seeking to have the | 


county-seat removed thereto, but the idea never met 


mously. Francis D. Bates was again chosen town 
clerk. About this time a difficulty arose with the 


Norfolk County Railroad, and the town forbade the~ 


company crossing or otherwise interfering with the 
town roads. In 1849 a board of town auditors was 
first chosen, which board consisted of Samuel Met- 
calf, George Nelson, and Edward C. Craig. In 1851, 
Martin Rockwood acted as representative. In the 
same year leave was granted James P. Thayer, Alan- 
son Bates, and others to build a boot-shop on the 
town’s land at the centre. 

In 1851 ten ballots were taken before Edwin Fair- 
banks was elected representative. 
crows becoming so numerous as to cause a great deal 


Next year, the 


of damage, a bounty of twenty-five cents was allowed 
on old birds and one-half as much on young crows, 
the bounty extending over a period of four months. 
The orthodox church at this time having become a 
thing of the past, and the building being occupied 
solely by the town, it was decided expedient to finish 
off the lower floor and rent it for boot-shop purposes. 
Fenner Cook served at the State-House in 1853, and 
Willard Thayer, after a long struggle, was finally 


elected delegate to the convention on revising the | 


State Constitution. 
of land about the town house was sold, reserving one 


In the same year all that tract 


acre for the town hall and yard. 

As crows previously became so far a nuisance as 
to demand a bounty, so this year a bounty of twenty- 
five cents was allowed on woodchucks. In Novem- 
ber the town so far relented as to allow, for the first 
time, the leasing of the town hall for “ public enter- 
tainments of a moral nature.” In the same month, 
after an uninterrupted and persistent effort to choose 
a representative for the next year, the idea was 
finally abandoned, and no choice was made. The 
Charles River Railroad being agitated, and the town 
recognizing the benefit naturally derived from direct 
communication with Boston, resolved, in 1849,— 


“That it is of vital importance to the present and future wel- | 


fare of this town to have the Charles River Railroad extended 
to the State line, near the village of Woonsocket, in the State 
of Rhode Island, and the town in its co-operative capacity does 
most earnestly pray that the said railroad may be chartered 
agreeably to the report of the committee on railroads and canals 
which is now before the honorable Senate on its final passage, 
as the passage of the bill chartering said railroad would be the 











means of building it, and thus opening a communication by 
railroad to the inhabitants of Bellingham not only with Boston, 
but with Woonsocket and Providence, in the State of Rhode 
Island, and with the city of New York.” 


This resolution passed unanimously, and the railroad 
is now known as the Woonsocket Division of the New 


the State capitol. 


; : - | York and New England Railroad. 
with much favor, our own town voting no unani- | 2 Hraalto 


acted as town clerk, 
served as representative. 


short intervals of rest. 
Pickering, collector. 


(previously named), elected town treasurer. 


Sanford W. Allen. 
Addison H. Allen. 
Elijah Arnold. 
Louis Arnold. 
Albert Arnold. 
George Ames. 
Samuel A. Adams. 
Edmund J. Adams. 
Dexter D. Bates. 
Addison 8. Burr. 
Seneca Burr. 
Crawford Bowdich. 
Albert F. Bates. 
Alanson Bates. 
William Bates. 
Edward Butler. 
Henry W. Blake. 
Nathaniel Bozworth. 
Boswell Bent. 
Charles Barrows. 
Andrew Boyce. 
Frederick J. Bemis. 
Charles E. Burr. 


Adams J. Barber, Jr. 


Smith Burlingame. 
James Burlingame. 
Joseph U. Burr. 
Davis P. Chilson. 
Elisha N. Crosby. 
Hiram A. Cook. 
Samuel W. Claflin. 
Willard N. Chilson. 
Henry Cook. 
Elisha Chase. 


tion was made for the town hall for a dance, and the 
town considered the request, as it ‘‘ Voted that the 
town let the town hall for all good and lawful dances.” 
In 1856, Martin Rockwood was sent to the General 
Court, and during the next year Ruel F. Thayer 
In 1858, Horace Rockwood 
In 1858 our present tax 
collector came to light in the same official position 
_which he has held for a long term of years, with 

We refer to Hon. Daniel J. 
In 1860 the renowned Dr. 
George Nelson was placed on the school committee, 
and the Baptist clergyman, Rev. Joseph T. Massey 
In 1861 


the citizens liable to military duty were a follows: 


Anson E. Cook. 
James O. Chilson. 
Louis M. Chilson. 
Whipple O. Chilson. 
Hiram M. Cook. 
Munroe F. Cook. 
William E. Cook. 
Nathan A. Cook. 
John D. Chilson. 
William E. Coombs. 
Stephen F. Coombs. 
John Carr. 

Henry B. Cook. 
William H. Carey. 
Albert H. Colburn, 
Julius Cross. 
Joseph Cross. 
Alvin H. Clark. 
Sherman R. Chilson. 
Moses Drake. 
Thomas McDowell. 
Joseph L. Daniels. 
Perry H. Dawley. 
Lyman C. Darling. 
Alfred 0. Darling. 
William A. Darling. 
A. M. Darling. 
Luke Darling. 
Edward McDowell. 
Alexander McDowell. 
Ariel B. Drake. 
William McDowell. 
O. N. Evans. 

John H. Eaton. 


In the year 1856 
the town abated the taxes on the stock of the above 
road. In 1854 and 1855, Charles Cook (2d) served at 
At the March meeting Eliab Hol- 
brook was elected town clerk. About this time applica- 


154 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





John Eddy. 

Albert W. Follett. 
Joseph Fairbanks. 
Edwin Fairbanks. 
William Fairbanks. 
Calvin Fairbanks, 
John E. Fisher. 
Louis L. Fisher. 
Charles Farrington. 
Joseph Fisk. 
Oliver Gardner. 
Edward Gallagan. 
John W. Gerstle. 
Alonzo H. Gayer. 
Joseph Gerstle. 
Thomas H. Gay. 


Thomas B. Getchell. 


Joel Howard. 
George Hixon. 


Joseph H. Holbrook. 
Charles P. Hancock. 


Frank E. Hancock. 
Jarius Hancock. 
Michael Harpen. 
John W. Higgins. 
George H. Howard. 
Thomas Hines. 
Joseph Hope. 
Charles N. Hixon. 
Luther Hixon. 
George Jennison. 
James A. Joslin. 
Horace Inman. 
Dudley Keach. 
William Keach. 
Amos Keach. 


Frederick Kingman. 


Peter McKean. 
David Lawrence. 
Warren Lazelle. 
George Matterson. 
Joseph Moore. 
John C. Metealf. 
Francis Metealf. 


Frederick B. T. Miller. 


Solyman Miller. 
James Malone. 
George Nelson (2d). 
Ellis T. Noreross. 


Amos L. Osgood. 

Asa Pickering (2d). 
William Page. 

Amos Partridge, Jr. 
Charles Partridge. 
Vernon §. Partridge. 
Asa Partridge. 
Calvin N. Rockwood. 
Vernon B. Rockwood. 
Henry U. Rockwood. 
George B. Rockwood. 
Louis H. Rockwood. 
Henry Rhodes. 
Thomas R. Richards. 
William Sherburne. 
Charles H. Shippee. 
Edgar N. Scott. 
Erastus D. Slocum. 
William Sprague. 


George N. Tillinghast. 


Benjamin Tinkham. 
Andrew J. Tingley. 
Martin Tingley. 
Charles W. Thayer. 
Charles Tingley. 
Henry Thayer. 
Charles Williams. 
Sylvanus White. 
Elbridge Whitney. 
Henry A. Whitney. 
Willis Whitney. 
Samuel Sturtevant. 
Cornelius Sullivan. 
Daniel Shea. 
Lucian Sheppard. 
Hazard P. Slocum. 
Ruel F. Thayer. 
James P. Thayer. 
Charles T. Thayer. 
Joseph Thompson, Jr. 
Charles Thomas. 
Benjamin M. Usher. 
Alonzo N. Whitney. 
Jonathan Wright. 
Elijah D. Wilcox. 


Benjamin W. Woodbury. 


Henry Wilcox. 
Henry Waterman, 


In all one hundred and sixty-nine. 


The commencement of the civil 


war drew out 


the first public action of the town in an appropria- 
tion of two thousand dollars to fit out and drill 
those men who had gone and were going in defense 
of their country. In the same year Hon. Daniel J. 
Pickering was sent as representative. In July, 1862, 
the town offered a bounty of one hundred dollars for 
each volunteer until seventeen were obtained, and to 
all who enlisted in ten days after that date ten dol- 


lars additional was paid. A call coming in August 


of the same year for more men (nine months’), a | 
bounty of two hundred dollars was offered, and those | 


! 


_ to pay the town’s enlisting soldiers. 
_H. Townsend was sent as representative. 


enlisting for three years received seven hundred dol- 
lars. In September five thousand dollars were voted 
In 1863, George 
In 1865 


one thousand dollars was expended in paying State 


' aid to soldiers’ families. 


In the same year Hollis 
Metcalf and others asked the town to lay out and 


_ widen the street now known as Pearl Street. The 


town refusing the prayer of the petition, the county 
commissioners granted the same, and charged the 
expense to the town. In 1866, William Fairbanks 


_ was elected to serve the district at the State-House. 





| A total of thirty-three. 





Of those persons from our town who served in the 
war of the Rebellion, the following names appear in 
the ‘“‘ Record of Massachusetts Volunteers,’ none ap- 
pearing on the town books : 


John V. Coombs. 
Amos R. Bent. 
Joseph Osgood. 
Pardon L. Crosby. 
Asa Pickering. 
Frederick Bates. 
Martin V. B. Cook. 
John J. Gertsell. 
Joseph Gertsell. 
Samuel D. Gregory. 
Handel Holbrook. 
Joseph W. Holbrook. 
Willis Whiting. 
James W. Pickering. 
Garrick F. Moore. 
Howard Carleton. 


George Swift. 

Elisha H. Towne. 
Charles E. Burr. 
Patrick Gallagher. 
John Terlin. 

Peter McKeen. 
George L. Metealf. 
John C. Metealf. 
Edward J. Adams. 
Charles P. Hancock. 
Jarius Lawrence. 
Thomas McDowell. 
Willard O. Freeman. 
George A. Richardson. 
Robert Poste. 

James Davis. 
Thomas D. Getchell. 


In 1872, Seneca Burr was 


_ chosen representative, and in 1875, Rev. Joseph T. 


_ Massey, pastor of the Baptist Church, was sent. In 
1879, Hiram Whiting was empowered, and in 1882, 


| Nathan A. Cook. 


In 1870, Rev. J. T. Massey was 
elected town clerk, and served ten years, Roland 
Hammond, M.D., being then chosen to the office on 


_ account of Mr. Massey resigning his pastorate and 


leaving the town, to spend the remainder of his life 


near his boyhood home in Virginia, where he has 


purchased the “ Thomas Jefferson” estate. In April, 
1882, Dr. Hammond tendered his resignation, and 
Arthur N. Whitney was appointed by the selectmen 
to serve out the unexpired term, and in 1883, Henry 
A. Whitney, the present incumbent, was elected. 
Having considered in chronological order the most 
important events in the town’s past career, it may be 
advisable to look for a moment to its people, its facili- 
ties, and its industries as they now exist. Our people, 
collectively considered, travel very little, and the pos- 
terity of the early families to a great extent still reside 
within the town limits, and on the same homesteads 


occupied by their fathers. Few mechanical indus- 





BELLINGHAM. 


155 





tries have settled here; still, those that have, find This privilege consists of two granite mills having 
warm support on the part of the citizens. Perhaps eight sets of machinery and a capacity of three 


because farming alone constitutes the chief industry 


of the town, this may serve as a reason why so _ 


many of our young men leave town on arriving at 
that period when it becomes necessary for them to 
strike out for themselves. 

By the last census the town had as its inhabitants 
612 males and 635 females, a total of 1247. 
this number, 360 were ratable polls, 507 of whom 
were born in town, 24 were naturalized, and the re- 
mainder persons coming in from other towns. There 
are 25 individuals following professional pursuits in 
town and out, and 26 are engaged in trade, 178 in 
farming, and 356 in manufacturing and mechanical 
industries, making a total of 1069, who are continually 
adding to the common stock. There are 11 foreign- 
born and 5 native-born who can neither read nor 


write. Of those citizens who have been and are 


OF | 


thousand yards per day. This mill is superintended 
by Hiram Whiting, Esq. One mile below on the 
river, and four miles from the centre, is the Caryville 
Mills, having a capacity of three thousand yards of 
satinet, as at North Bellingham. This privilege is 
owned by Taft, McKean & Co. (Moses Taft, William 
A. McKean, Addison E. Bullard), and was formerly 
run by William Cary, from whom the locality was 


named. Previous to the present company the con- 


cern was run under the name of ©. H. Cutler & Co., 


the latter firm coming into existence on the death of 
C. H. Cutler, five years ago. At Rakeville is an 
establishment where farm tools are made, and which 


_ business was established by Jerold O. Wilcox, and 


specially prominent and beneficial to the town we | 


may mention Stephen Metcalf, Stephen Metcalf, Jr., | 


Noah Alden, Noah Arnold, Rev. Joseph T. Massey, | 


Cornelius H. Cutler, William Fairbanks, Hiram W. 
Whiting, EK. Baron Stowe, Ruel F. Thayer, and 
Nathan A. Cook. The town is divided into localities, 
as follows: At the south end of the town, ‘ Rake- 
ville” and “Scott Hill’; west of and approximate 
to the town centre, ‘‘ Crimpville” ; toward the north 
part of the town, ‘‘ North Bellingham”; and at the 
extreme north end, “ Caryville,” named from William 
H. Cary, formerly a resident, but now of Medway. 
Bellingham Centre has a post-office, with one mail 
per day from Boston. North Bellingham has a post- 
office, with two mails per day from Boston, and Cary- 
ville also has a post-office, and besides having two 


mails per day to and from Boston, has one to Milford | 


and one to Medway. Bellingham is in the form of 
a parallelogram, is nine miles long by two wide, and 
is bounded by Medway and Franklin on the north 
and east, the State of Rhode Island on the south, and 
the towns of Mendon and Milford on the west. The 
Charles River enters the town at South Milford, and 
flows through the town centre, North Bellingham, 
and Caryville. 
property of Seneca Burr, who runs a saw- and grist- 
mill; the other, known as “the old red mill,” is owned 


At the centre are two dams, one the 


by the Rays, of Franklin, and is now used to grind 
At North Belling- 
ham the Ray Woollen Company has an extensive 
privilege for the manufacture of satinet cloth, and 
which was formerly run by Noah Arnold as a cotton- 
mill. Dr. Seth Arnold, of “Dr. Seth Arnold’s 
Balsam,” formerly resided here with his relative. 


rags, etc., for use at other mills. 


is now carried on by his son, D. E. Wiicox. The 
main line of the New York and New England Rail- 
road runs through the southeast portion of the town, 
and the station there is termed Rand’s Crossing. 
The Woonsocket Division of the same road runs the 
entire length of the town, with stations at the centre, 
North Bellingham, and Caryville. The Milford, 
Franklin and Providence Railroad, just completed, 
runs across the town, and crosses the Woonsocket 
Division of the New York and New England Rail- 
road at Bellingham Centre, and also has a station in 
town named South Milford, so, as will be observed, 
there are four stations in the town besides the junc- 


tion at the centre. The passenger service is so ad- 


_justed that nearly every station in town can forward 


its trafic to and from Boston five times daily, the 
distance being about twenty-nine miles. In town 
there are five stores, four factories, three grist-mills, 
and seven saw-mills. Formerly there were four boot- 
and shoe-factories, producing over 225 twelve-pair 
cases per week, three of which establishments were 
at the town centre and the largest at Caryville. To 
the one at Caryville we now refer. This business 
was established in 1848 by E. & W. Fairbanks. In 
1864 the latter bought out the former, and made 
within ten years two substantial additions thereto, so 
that ninety hands found employment in making 
boots for the Western trade. 
consisted of 7000 cases, in the making of which 


The annual production 


were consumed 125,000 pounds of sole leather, 350,- 
000 feet of upper leather, 160 bushels of pegs, and 
7500 pounds of nails. 

In the year 1874 the proprietor, William Fair- 
banks, died, and, virtually, with his death the entire 
business became lost to the town. Immediately upon 
his decease the business was disposed of by his ex- 
ecutor to Houghton, Coolidge & Co., of Boston, 


156 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





who undertook its continuance, but discontent and | have been put on the market, but this also has gone 
dissatisfaction arising, on the night of the 25th into disuse, 


of July following the entire factory was burned, 


with nothing saved, the whole entailing a pecuniary | 


loss of nearly one hundred thousand dollars. Thus 


was lost to the town one of its most prolific sources of | 


income, which has never been regained. 
the Ray Woolen Company constructed a granite mill, 


In 1882 | 


which has in some measure atoned for this loss, and | 


as the census of 1875 appears the best source of’ in- 
formation, we give the condition of the town for that 
year, which is, in fact, substantially its present basis, 


excepting the boot and shoe industry, which does not | 


exist with us in any capacity. We find in the entire 


town two hundred and fifty dwelling-houses occupied 
With these we find three hundred | 


and seven vacant. 
and nineteen families, and for their use are one public 
school and three Sunday-school libraries, containing 


In addi- 


tion to these, at the town clerk’s office are one 


eleven hundred and seventy-five volumes. 
hundred and thirty-four volumes of “ Massachu- 


The amount of personal property in town is valued 
at $109,160; real estate, $418,808; the total val- 


uation, $527,968; number of farms, 157; acres _ 
in farms, 8000; acres unimproved, 3000; value of | 


farms and buildings, $361,639: total value of farm 
property, $430,156 ; woodland in acres, 1232; cul- 
tivated land, 2331; number of horses, 185; cows, 
300; total income from farm property, $94,017 ; 
capital invested in boot and shoe business, $25,000 ; 
product, $33,000 ; wages paid annually’to laborers on 
boots and shoes, $175,000; stock used in manufac- 
ture, $352,940 ; capital invested in factory for manu- 
facturing farming tools, $2500; product, $18,000 ; 


sum invested in satinet cloth making, $150,000, pro- 


ducing a valuation of $330,000. In town are 11 











manufacturing establishments, 5 engines, and 5 water- 


wheels, with an aggregate of 405 horse-power and 
machinery to the value of $50,000; also 29,778 
domestic animals, valued at $23,000. The total 
amount of capital invested in town is $180,000, 
and this sum realizes annually $638,547. Quite a 
number of years ago, previous to the building of the 
Woonsocket Division Railroad, an iron-mine was dis- 
covered in that tract of land “ Cedar 
Swamp,” and this mine was worked for several years, 


known as 


locomotives. For the last twenty-five years, however, 
On the road leading 


from North Bellingham Station to what is called 


nothing has been done with it. 


“ Bellingham Four Corners” is a whetstone quarry, 
from which in the past quantities of the material 


At the centre of the town, in the triangle fronting 
the Baptist Church (Rev. Daniel A. Wade, pastor), 
is a soldiers’ monument measuring in height about 
fifteen feet, placed there by the citizens of Bellingham 
in commemoration of those who gave their lives in 
support of the national Constitution. 

At the present time there are but two churches in 
town,—the Centre Baptist, to which previous refer- 
ence has been made, and the North Bellingham Bap- 
tist, a short sketch of which is as follows: 

The North Bellingham Baptist Church’ is the 
outgrowth of an interest established here in 1847 as 
a society called the ‘“‘ North Bellingham Baptist So- 
ciety,” which worshiped in a chape! built for the 
purpose by Bates & Arnold, at that time prominent 
cotton-manufacturers in this town, and formally ded- 
icated to the worship of God in September or October 


_of that year, Rev. Dr. Granger, of Providence, R. L., 
_ preaching the dedication sermon. 
setts Reports,” war records, and public documents. | 


The society had no settled pastor for many years, 
but depended upon supplies from week to week, 
though with a few brief exceptions they have had 
uninterrupted preaching, the late Rev. Otis Converse, 
of Worcester, supplying them for upwards of a year 
They 


have always maintained a Sabbath-school, which is 


at a time on three or four different occasions. 


still in existence. 

On the 13th of October, 1867, a church was formed 
consisting of ten persons, as follows: William Hunter, 
of Goose River Church, Nova Scotia; Roswell Bent, 
of East Dedham Church; Ann Bent, of First Baptist 
Church, Lowell; Elizabeth Hunter, Mary Hunter, 
Jane Hunter, Barbara Hunter, of Goose River 
Church, Nova Scotia; Rebecca Bemis, Matilda 8S. 
Murphy, of West Medway Church. 

At the same meeting the following persons were 
received as candidates for baptism, and it was fur- 
thermore voted that they be considered as constituent 
members, viz., John B. Philips, Stephen F. Coombs, 
Hiram E. Hunter, Catherine Thomas, and Nancy 8. 
Coombs. 
Sabbath, October 20th, when the foregoing persons 
Since 


The first baptism occurred the following 


were baptized, Rev. Samuel Hill officiating. 


that time some seventy-five different persons have 


united with the church, forty-five of whom have 
the ore being carried to Taunton and worked up into | 


been received on profession and the balance by letter. 
Of this number the church has lost fifteen by dismis- 
sion to other churches, five by death, and four by ex- 
clusion, leaving its present membership fifty-one. 





1 By 8. F. Coombs. 





BELLINGHAM. 


157 





It has had five deacons, viz., William Hunter, 
Justin E. Pond, George H. Greenwood, Charles O. 
Drake, and Roswell Bent, which latter is the present 
Stephen F. Coombs has been its clerk 
since its organization, with the exception of ten 
months, and was also superintendent of the Sabbath- 
school eleven years. About the middle of March, 
1882, the church extended a unanimous call to Rev. 
Edwin D. Bowers, of Rockport, Mass., to become its 


incumbent. 


| 
| 


| 


pastor, which action was concurred in by the society | 


a few days afterward, he accepting, and entered upon 


that relationship the Ist of April following, and so 


5) 
Worship is still held 
in the chapel, which is large enough for all purposes, 


having been improved and beautified at different times 


continues at the present time. 


as necessity demanded. 
Educational,—Readily appreciating the advan- 


always gone to a deal of trouble and expense in pro- 
viding proper schools, and the result is most gratifying. 
As a matter of fact, she entered upon this duty of 
intellectual culture soon after her incorporation, in 


the county, as in 1882 the towns of Dedham and 
Randolph alone excelled her. Medway, our next- 
door neighbor, ranks number sixteen. In the county, 


the towns of Dover, Medfield, Norfolk, and Sharon 


_ have a less number of pupils than our own town. 


The superintendent’s (Rev. D. A. Wade) report 
for 1883 shows a marked improvement over 1882, 
and subsequent years will no doubt excel each other, 
consecutively, in this work, so highly essential to com- 
The annual meet- 
ing of 1884 has entered upon the duty of reducing 


mon advancement and well-being. 


the number of school committees from nine to three, 


_and no doubt in a very few years the number of 
| . 
schools will be reduced, and consequently those re- 


| maining be made larger, and this under the advice of 


the State Board of Education. In whatever else our 


_town may have failed, she cannot be charged with 
tages derived from a thorough education, our town has | 


1719. On May 7, 1792, the town was divided into | 
six districts, and in 1798 into seven, continuing later | 


on into a division of nine. 


She began by appro- 


priating fifty dollars to sessions held only in the win- | 


ter at private houses, and, of course, early observing 
the inconvenience of this method, in 1795 six hundred 
dollars was set off to the construction of a school- 
house in each district, but this amount being decidedly 


having been asleep to the mental and moral worth of 
her children. 

In addition to schools, our people are susceptible to 
the moulding influences of the press. For daily news 
we depend on Boston and also on the Woonsocket 
evening /eeporter, an Associated Press sheet. For 
weekly news of other towns, as well as our own locals, 
we depend on the Milford Journal, Woonsocket 
Patriot, Franklin Sentinel, and Dedham Transcript, 
the last named having the court and county news, 


_ These papers constitute a constant source of reliable 


inadequate to the desired end, eleven hundred dollars | 


more followed the same channel in two years there- 
after. In 1793 fifty pounds was expended in school- 
ing, and in 1796 the appropriation increased to three 
hundred dollars. Since that time the amount has 
the year 1882 the sum of two thousand one hundred 
and sixty-nine dollars and twenty-five cents was ex- 
pended in educational work. The sum appropriated 
for each child between five and fifteen years of age 
amounts to nine dollars and thirty-five cents. The 
largest amount per pupil is expended by the town of 
Milton, which is twenty-six dollars and eighty-eight 
cents. 
work reduced to decimals is .0039, and sixteen out of 


centage of their valuation than does Bellingham, 
the town of Milton standing at the foot of the list. 


information, and meet with an increasing circulation 
among our citizens. Bellingham has two titles, which 


may or may not serve to cause a smile on the coun- 


_ tenances of those who have been accustomed to hear 


| them repeated for many years. 





The first is “ Bel- 
lingham Navy-Yard,’’ and the second “ Blue Jay 


| Town.” As to the first named, we cannot give its ori- 
been annually increased by small additions, until in | 


gin, but, sure enough it is, whoever coined it never 


| lived to see it die, and from present indications I pre- 


sume we never shall. As to the latter title, we must 


admit its force, for in truth the town is as full 6f }7ue 


jays as the annual town-meeting is full of independent 


ideas. As will be noticed by the reader of this arti- 


| cle, our town offers very low taxes and excellent busi- 


The percentage of valuation expended for this — 


ness facilities to new-comers. Situated, figuratively 


speaking, approximate to Boston and Providerce, an 


_ excellent market is always open for the disposal of any 
the twenty-four towns in the county spend a less per- © 


Our town has two hundred and thirty-two pupils, and | 


the average attendance for 1882 was one hundred 
and ninety-one, or, in per cent., .8233. 


In 1883 | 


the average attendance jumped from .8233 to .92, | 


which, we believe, places the town number one in 


production. Mailroad-stations for passenger and 
freight traffic are located in each section of the town, 
and the larger towns beyond give us a much better 
railroad accommodation than is usually found in 


Exeel- 


lent water privileges exist, but, of course, in the 


towns having ten times our own population. 


present age of steam their value is much less than 


formerly. First-class roads and enough of them, pure 


158 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





well-water and plenty of it, no license, together with 
other facilities and a desire on the part of the citizens 
to aid and assist, render to business men a rare oppor- | 
tunity for the establishment of mechanical industries, | 
such as very few towns offer, and such as we believe 

will produce successful competition. If this article | 
shall serve as a fortunate inducement, the writer will 

have been amply repaid for the time and labor spent | 
in its compilation. 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


AMOS HARRISON HOLBROOK. 


Amos Harrison Hoibrook, son of Amos and Lucretia | 
(Burr) Holbrook, was born Nov. 23, 1818, in the 
house where he now resides in the town of Bellingham | 
(and which was also the birthplace of his father). 
Joseph Holbrook, the first settler on this place, came 
from Braintree before 1700, and the Bellingham 
branch has never changed its home. The line to 
Amos H. is Joseph (1), Jesse (2), Amariah (3), 
Amos (4), Amos H. (5). Joseph had sons,—Joseph, | 
Jesse, Elijah,and David. The three lots he owned as 
proprietary lots were divided into four shares, the 
eldest’s being a double portion, following the English 
manner of preference for the elder. Of these shares, 
Amos H. now owns three, all but that of the elder, | 
and thus the land has been in the possession of the | 
Holbrook family since its original occupation by the 


{ 


Indians. 
Joseph was a deacon of the church, and was one of 
the petitioners for the organization of the town of Bel- 





lingham. He was a man of great energy and perse- 
verance. 


back to New Jersey to engage a professor for Provi- 


When over sixty years old he rode horse- | 


dence College on its establishment, and was on the 
road six weeks. Jesse was captain of the Belling- | 
ham company, and was ordered to Ticonderoga in 
1755, and did good service. He helped his son 
Amariah build the house now occupied by A. H. in 
1780, and also in his old age was probably engaged 
with the patriot, or Continental, army in Rhode Island | 
during the Revolution. 
affairs and public business, was selectman in 1780, al- 


He was prominent in town 


ways a farmer, and served his day and generation well. 
He married a Thayer, and had two children,—Amariah 
and Jesse (2). He lived to a good old age, and, with 
his father and descendants, is buried in the cemetery | 
at North Bellingham. Elijah lived on his portion, his 


- ; f ( 
house being about one hundred rods east of the old | 


| Washington. 


| He was a Democrat in politics. 


home, was also a farmer, was married before 1750, 
had four sons, who were all soldiers in the Revolution. 
After the war some of them settled in Virginia. Ama- 
riah was born June 6, 1756. He went as a soldier 
in the Revolutionary war. During his service he 
returned home and married Molly Wright, of Wren- 
tham, now Franklin, born March 28, 1759, died Aug. 
24, 1845. They had nine children,—Tryphena, Na- 
hum, Amos, Amariab, Joel, Abigail, Nathan, Asa, 
Lyman,—all of whom lived to advanced age, except 
Nathan, who died when about forty-five. Amariah (2) 


_ died Sept. 7, 1797. He served during the war in Rhode 


Island, Roxbury, Mass., and New Jersey, under Gen, 
He was paid off at expiration of ser- 
vice in New Jersey with Continental money, and was 


| unable to purchase a dinner with all of it. Had it not 


been for some silver he had in his possession pre- 
viously, he would have fared badly before reaching 
his home in Bellingham. He engaged in farming on 
the homestead after the Revolution, held some town 
offices, was a man of sterling integrity, and held 
in great esteem by his fellow-citizens. Amos was 
born April 27, 1783, lived at home until he was four- 
teen years old, then went to West Medway to learn 
the blacksmith’s trade, where he remained six years. 
He worked as journeyman about two years, then es- 
tablished himself at Bellingham Four Corners for a 
few years. He married, Dec. 1, 1808, Lucretia, 
daughter of Hlisha and Lucretia Burr, of Bellingham 
(an old New England family). She was born Oct. 
12, 1787, died May 10, 1860. Their children were 
Whitman, born Jan. 29, 1811; Lucretia, born Aug. 
20, 1815; Amos H.; Almira, died young; Olive 
(Mrs. C. F. Cushman), born April 26, 1827. About 
the time of his marriage he moved to the old home- 


stead, buying out the interests of his father’s heirs, 


and passed his life there. He worked at his trade 


in connection with farming, and was many times 


chosen selectman, was a captain of the militia, highly 
esteemed for his sound sense and good judgment. 
His death occured 
May 16, 1867. 

Amos H., the present occupant of the Holbrook 
farm, has been twice married, first to Nancy, daugh- 
ter of David and Sally Adams, of Bellingham, Dee. 15, 


1853. By this marriage he had two children,—Ida 


M. (deceased) and Nannie A. Mrs. Nancy Holbrook 
died Nov. 19, 1862, and he married, June 9, 1864, 
Mary J., daughter of Andrew and Margaret Burnham, 
of Medway. They had one child, M. Florence. Mrs. 
Mary J. Holbrook died when Florence was but four 
years old, March 3, 1869. She had enjoyed vigorous 
health, and on the day of her death she was cheerful 





SY, ai 


\\\\ \ 


\ 


AS 














peeEEe 








‘ 


ea | 


BELLINGHAM. 


159 








and happy, and visited friends half a mile distant ; 
while on the way she complained of severe pain in 
her head, and became unconscious ; in ten hours after 


she breathed her last. She possessed talents of a high | 


order, and had a good academic education. Kind, con- 
siderate, and dignified in all her social relations, she 
won the love and confidence of her associates. 
was the light and joy of the domestic, circle,—a de- 
voted wife and faithful, loving mother. Her loss was 
deeply felt by all who had her acquaintance ; ‘* None 
knew her but to love her.” She was a member of 


She | 


the Baptist Church, and distinguished for Christian — 


work, 

Mr. Holbrook had the advantage only of common 
school education, supplemented by attendance at high 
school in Bellingham and Franklin for a short time. 
He has always resided on the old ancestral acres, has 
held various official positions,—town clerk for ten years, 
assessor, selectman for many years,—and in every po- 
sition has ever been worthy of the universal respect 
and esteem with which the people, among whom he 
has always been resident, now hold him. He has never 
given a promissory note but once in his life, and that 
was to his brother in settlement of his father’s estate, 
of whom they were the heirs. His politics have been 
Free-Soil, Whig, and Republican. 
special county commissioner two terms, from 1865 to 
1872, has frequently been sent to State and county 
conventions by his town. 

He is one of Bellingham’s most substantial citizens, 
and one of the truly prosperous farmers, having in 
possession one hundred and eighty acres in Belling- 
ham and Franklin. 





NATHAN A. COOK. 


this family have been connected with affairs of note in 
town and with public office. 

Ziba was a farmer all his life, born and reared in 
Bellingham, and passed most of his days on Scott Hill. 
He married Joanna, daughter of Seth and Amy 
(Cook) Aldrich, and had six children,— Duty, Nahum, 
Ziba, Eunice, Joanna, Amy,—who all attained ma- 
turity. He was amember of the Christian Church. 
He was born May 6, 1764, and died at Blackstone, 
July 15, 1840, aged seventy-six. His son Nahum 
was born in Bellingham March 28,1796, married Sibil, 


daughter of Bazaliel and Jemima (Morse) Balcom, 


_ of Douglas, Mass., and settled in Uxbridge as a farmer. 


| A., Charles W., and Weston. 


After a residence there of four years he returned to 
Bellingham, purchased the place where, with his son 
Nathan, he nowresides. At one time he owned real 
estate insix towns. His children were Nathan A. 
and Amy A. Amy married Alvah Aldrich, of Belling- 
ham; had five children,—Albert A., George E., Hattie 
She died Feb. 9, 1879. 
Mrs. Sibil Cook died June 26, 1858. 
wife were for many years members of the Reformed 


Nahum and 


| Methodist Church. He has held various town offices 


He was chosen | 


Nathan A. Cook was born in Uxbridge, Mass., | 


Sept. 14, 1823. He comes of good Puritanie stock, 


reaching back through the early settlement of New | 


England to an English family of good repute. 
Walter Cook, the first American ancestor, was a resi- 
dent of Weymouth, Mass., in 1643. The line of 
descent to Nahum runs thus: Walter (1), Walter (2), 


Nicholas (1), Nicholas (2), Ezekiel, Ziba, Nahum, | 


Nathan A., which shows Nathan to be in the eighth 
We can tell but little of the two Walters, 
but Nicholas (1) was one of the signers of the pe- 
tition for the organization of Bellingham, which pre- 
viously belonged to Dedham and Mendon. He was a 
very prominent man in town affairs. His will was 
made Oct. 10, 1778, and disposes of real estate at 
“Candlewood Hill.” 


generation. 


From Nicholas to Nathan all | 


during his life, and stands well in the regards of 
those who know him. He is of positive character, 
His ‘ yea is yea, 


and his nay is nay,’’ and dissimulation is unknown to 


strict, stern, and straightforward. 


him; he came of good Democratic stock, and has al- 
At one 
election for member of Congress there was but one 
The 
printed ballots for some reason did not arrive, and 


ways adhered tenaciously to their principles. 
Democratic vote cast in town, and that was his. 


Mr. Cook cut the printed ticket from his newspaper 
and deposited it. Although eighty-seven years old, 
he still attends town-meetings and elections. 

Nathan A. Cook was reared a farmer, and received 
his education at Franklin Academy and Holliston 
Academy. 


under the celebrated instructor ‘‘ Master Rice.’ On 


This last school was a noted institution, 


account of failing health, Mr. Cook was compelled to 
return to country life. He taught winter terms of 
school seventeen consecutive winters, and was called, 
when member of school committee, several terms 
when teachers had failed. 


his father during his whole life, with the exception of 


His home has been with 


two years, and he has succeeded to the management 
of the ancestral acres, of which, in the towns of 
Bellingham and Blackstone, they have about one 
hundred and twenty-five acres. He married, March 
28, 1845, Sena A., daughter of Stephen and Miranda 
(Cook) Cook. Their children were George E., who 
died at twelve years of age; Nahum H., born Jan. 12, 
1849 (he married Ellen R. Farrington, and is now a 


160 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





merchant and deputy postmaster at Bellingham 
Centre) ; Irwin F., born Jan. 31, 1855, was educated 
at the academy at Woonsocket, R. I., and Business 
College, Providence, in which school he became a 
successful instructor. He afterwards taught in the 
public schools of Attleborough, and won high en- 
comiums as a teacher. 
schools, and spared no exertions nor labor to bring them 
' into perfect discipline. He was soon principal of the 
graded school of North Attleborough, and filled that 


position with marked success. His delicate physical 


nature, howeyer, could not stand the labor which his | 


indomitable will placed upon him, and he died of con- 
22, 1880, keeping at work until within 


sumption Sept. 22, 
a very few days of his death. 
paper in noting his funeral says, “Mr. Cook was 
universally respected and beloved, and gained the love 
He 


was devoted heart and soul to his profession, having, 


of his friends and pupils to an unusual degree. 


as his highest aim, his greatest ambition, to be a good 
teacher. Long it will be ere his memory is forgotten.” 
Nathan A. Cook has been much in public business. 
He has often been called upon to fill positions of 
honor, responsibility, and trust. He was appointed 
justice of the peace about thirty years ago, and has 
held that commission ever since. He is in his second 
term as trial justice. He has been selectman three 
terms, town treasurer, assessor, overseer of the poor, 
member of the school committee, superintendent of 
schools, collector of taxes, and, with Samuel Warner, 
of Wrentham, represents the Eighth District of 
Norfolk County in the State Legislature. To this 
office he was electedin 1882, receiving in his own 


town all of the votes cast but five. He is Republican 


in politics. He has done much probate business, settled | 


many estates, is exact, methodical, and accurate, and 
is justly popular. 
Episcopal Church, an exhorter of that communion, and 
is clerk of the Quarterly Conference of the East Black- 
stone Society. He is a member, also, of Montgomery 
Lodge, F. and A. M., Milford, Mass., joining it in 
1862. 


He sought the most difficult — 


An Attleborough | 





CHAPTER XVI 


FRANKLIN.! 


Early History as Precinct—First Cession of Dedham—Pur- 
chase of Wrentham—The New Precinet—Church Organized— 
First Minister—Meeting-House—Chureh Musie—Discords— 
Precinct Ministers—Revs. Haven, Barnum, Emmons—Civil 
History—Move for a Town—Town History—Incorporation— 
Why named Franklin—Town Library—Topography—Maps 
—TIndian Traditions—Revolutionary War—Sentiments in 
Town-Meeting—Soldiers’ Second Meeting-House—Its Site, 
Cost, Bell—Moved and Modernized—Interior Glimpse of 
Home Life—Military Affairs—Trainings and Musters—The 
Poor-—Burial- Grounds —Post-Offices — Temperance — Early 
Industries. 


More than two hundred and forty years ago, when 
the forest-trees had withdrawn their shadows hardly 
the distance of an Indian’s arrow-flight from Boston 


Common, the Puritan immigrants began to feel an 


impulse to ‘go West.” 

Following rather than leading this impulse, the 
Governor and his court, in session at Newtowne, Sept. 
2, 1635, ordered ‘‘that there shall be a plantation 
settled about two miles above the falls of Charles 
River, on the northeast side thereof, to have ground 
lying to it on both sides the river, both upland and 
meadow, to be laid out hereafter as the court shall 
direct.” 

September 8th of the next year, 1636, this order 
was followed by another, naming the new settlement 
“ Deddham,” and this grant of territory was so large 
as to include what now forms thirteen towns and 
parts of four others. 

Twenty-four years passed away, and the new settlers 
so spread that in 1660 thirty-four of them bought of 
the Wampanoags six hundred acres of land still farther 


_ west for one hundred and sixty pounds. They adopted 
He is a member of the Methodist | 


the Indian name of Wollomonopoag. Among their 


_ still familiar names were Anthony Fisher, Sargent 


Ellis, Robert Ware, James Thorp, Isaae Bullard, 
Samuel Fisher, Samuel Parker, John Farrington, 
Ralph Freeman, and Sargent Stevens. 

Oct. 16, 1673, a petition for the incorporation of 


a 


Wollomonopoag as a town was presented to the Gen- 


eral Court, and with, to us, astonishing promptness, 


was granted “the next day,’—so say the colonial 
records. Thus Wrentham, the namesake of the 
English home of some of the settlers, took her place 
and name in history. 

The settlement increased so steadily that in 1718 
it was divided into four school districts, each with a 





1 Compiled from ‘‘Blake’s History of Franklin” and other 


sources, by Mrs. E. L. Morse. Copyright reserved. 








FRANKLIN. 





161 





three months’ school. These afterwards became sub- 
stantially the shoots of three substantial towns, the 
chief of which was Franklin, the others Norfolk and 
Bellingham. The next year (1719) the first precinct 
was set off and called Bellingham. 

After many petitions and refusals, Wrentham reluc- 
tantly gave her consent, and, on the 23d of December, 
1737, Governor Belcher with his signature cut off a 
second precinct, which in forty years grew into the 
town of Franklin. 

The New Precinct.—The first warrant to organ- 
ize the new precinct was issued by Jonathan Ware, 


justice of the peace, and was addressed to Robert 
Pond, Daniel Hawes, David Jones, Daniel Thurston, | 


and John Adams, five of the freeholders. 
petitioners were— 


David Pond, 
John Failes, 
Samuel Morse, 
Michael Wilson, 
Ezra Pond, 
Samuel Metealf, 
Ebenr. Sheckelworth, 
Ebenr. Partridge, 
Thomas Man, Sr., 
John Smith, 
Eleazer Metcalf, 
Josiah Haws, 
Joseph Whiting, 
Eleazer Fisher, 
Simon Slocum, 
James New, 
Uriah Wilson, 
Edward Hall, 
Nathaniel Fisher, 
Samuel Partridge, 
Daniel Maccane, 
Baruch Pond, 


Nathaniel Fairbanks, 
Jonathan Wright, 
Benjamin Rockwood, 
John Richardson, 
Job Partridge, 
Thomas Rockwood, 
Robert Blake, 
John Fisher, 
David Lawrence, Jr., 
Eleazer Ware, 
Eleazer Metcalf, Jr., 
Ebenezer Lawrence, 
Michael Metcalf, 
Ebenezer Hunting, 
Edward Gay, 
Nathaniel Haws, 
Ebenr. Clark, 
David Darling, 
Ichabod Pond, 
Lineard Fisher, 
David Lawrence. 

In all, 48. 


The other 





when built and listen to a minister yet to be called. 
Some twenty brethren, having secured letters from 
the mother-church at Wrentham, kept the 16th of 
February, 1738, ‘“‘as a day of solemn fasting and 
prayer to implore the blessing of God and His direc- 
tion in the settling of a church, and in order to the 


| calling and settling of a gospel minister in said place.” 


And on that day in a large assembly the covenant 
was read and accepted, and Rev. Mr. Baxter, of Med- 


field, moderator, pronounced them a duly-organized 


church of our Lord Jesus Christ. Without any lis- 


 tening to miscellaneous candidates, they united upon 


| leave of the Court. 


The first meeting was held on the 16th of Janu- 
ary, 1737-38, at twelve o'clock. The needful officers 
were chosen, and four days later, at a second meeting, 
they went to work with a will. First, they voted | 
eighty pounds for preaching, and appointed a com- 
mittee to secure it; another committee was chosen 
to provide materials for a meeting-house in place of 
the small building heretofore provided, to be forty 
feet long, thirty-one wide, and twenty-feet posts. They | 
also sent a request to Wrentham for the fulfillment of 
a promise made them ten years before, that money | 
paid by them, amounting to one hundred and thirty | 
pounds eleven shillings, towards its meeting-house 
should be repaid to them. At first Wrentham re- 
fused, but after four months’ delay the request was 
granted. 





First Church and Minister.—Meantime, a church | 


must be organized to occupy the new meeting-house | 
11 


| called to this problem. 


their first selected preacher. On Noy. 8, 1738, Rev. 
Elias Haven was installed as the first pastor of the 
new church. The audience assembled, not in the 
meeting-house, as it was not yet built, but in a 
valley near its future site. After sixteen years of 
ministerial work, performed in physical weariness and 
pain, Rev. Mr. Haven died of consumption, and God 
gave him rest from his labors, Aug. 10, 1754, in his 
fortieth year. The stones placed by a remembering 
town over his grave in the old cemetery still stand, 
and the inscription thereon may be legible for years 
to come. 

The Meeting-House.—The precinct having an 
organized church, a settled minister and his salary 
provided, and materials ready for a church building, 
its next duty was to select a site whereon to build. 
This, as in the first settlement of all New England 
towns, must be at the centre of its territory; for in 
those early days no house was permitted to be built 
above half a mile from the meeting-house without 
At a meeting of the settlers, 
held the 7th of April, 1738, five men were sent into 
a corner “‘to Debate and Consider and Perfix upon a 
place for Building a Meeting-House on and bring it 
to the Precinct in one hour.” Meanwhile, the rest 
spent that hour in voting and unvoting until they 
reached an apparent finality,—to set the house “at 
the most convenientest place on that acre of Land 
That was laid out By Thomas Man for the use of the 
West Inhabitants in said Precinct.” But who shall 
decide where this ‘most convenientest place” is? 
Mr. Plimpton, “survair” of Medfield, is selected to 


| bring his implements to bear on the solution, who 
| reports for the west corner of Man’s lot ‘‘as near as 


they conveniently can.” But next year, May 9, 
1739, a new question arises, whether this be in the 
exact centre of the precinct, and a new surveyor is 


He and his two chainmen 


| are put under oath to honestly “survey the ground 


where the meeting-house shall shortly lie.” 
he reports in writing as follows: 


May 23d 


162 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





“ To the Inhabitants of Wrentham Westerly Precinct. 
“ Gmnt!:—These may Inform you that I the Subscriber Have 
Been and Measured to find the Center of st Precinct, Mess’. 


{ 
{ 


Decon Barber and Benj. Rockwood being chainman, and ac- | 


cording to what we find by Measuring on the Grou™4 from the | 


Northerly End to the Southerly End and from the Westerly Side 


tothe Easterly Side of the Same I find the Center of st Measur- | 


ing to be South westerly from the Present Meeting-house a little 
Beter than an Hundred Rods, where we Pitched a Stake and 
Made an heap of Stones. 
“ ELEAZER FisHer, Surveyor.” 

The deed of one acre of land from Thomas Man 
was accepted Sept. 11, 1759, and was put for safe- 
keeping into the care of Simeon Slocum. In the 
same month of September, another committee put 
seats in the barn-like building according to the tim- 
ber provided, and “one lock and key and bolts and 
latches for the doors, and cants” for the gallery 
stairs, and also a foundation for the pulpit and pul- 


pit stairs, and rails round the galleries, and made five | 
‘ pillows,’—a small number fora modern audience. | 


The bills, presented March 3, 1740, show that the 
committees had been reasonably expeditious. The 
final cost of the meeting-house was £338 13s. 6d., 
as reported in October, 1741. The boys, too, were 
promptly at work, for in July, 1740, Capt. Fairbanks 
is directed to get the windows mended, and to prose- 
cute the depredators. ; 

Pari passu with the meeting-house arose the 
‘“horse-houses,”’ whose long strings of successors 
afterwards made the Franklin Common so famous. 
They were all planted and grew on Thomas Man’s 


acre. Among them were Richard Puffer’s ‘small 


diner-house,” and Jsaac Heton and Dr. Jones had | 


a ‘small noon-house.” 

Of this oldest real meeting-house no picture or 
description is in existence. Some of the sashes, two 
feet square with five-inch panes of glass set diagonally 
in lead, were visible in an old house not many years 
ago, but of their present whereabouts, if they exist 
at all, no man now knoweth. 

The building stood on the slight hill north of the 
present Catholic Church, in a surrounding girth of 
dwarfish pitch-pines. It was guarded by platoons of 
horse-sheds and some small dinner-houses, where the 
forefathers of the hamlet shared their lunch and ex- 


changed opinions, and the mothers nursed their in- | 


fants and compared news during the hour's noon in- 
termission of the Sabbath service. 

This first house was used—subjected to occasional 
internal modifications as the congregation increased 
and the taste changed—until Oct. 12, 1789, forty- 
eight years from its completion. 
then chosen to sell the outgrown and aged building 
within twenty days, or to pull it down at their dis- 


A committee was | 








| ing to tardy oxen winding among their stumps. 





cretion. As there is no record of its sale, it was 
probably taken down. Next to the house and its 
minister comes 

The Church Music of ‘‘ y° Olden Time.’—The 
“Old Bay Psalm-Book” was used at first in all the 
A chorister started the tunes 
with a pitch-pipe, and the congregation, each in his 


colonial churches. 


own good time,—which might be faster or slower 
than the leader’s,—followed on or hastened ahead.. 
All sang the same part, and with an energy begotten 
of facing northeasters, felling forest-trees, and shout- 
No 
two sang alike, and the sounds were so grievous to 
the ears of the people that their distress found voice 
in a vote of the precinct, June 26, 1738, “To sing 
no other tunes than are Pricked Down in our former 
Psalm-Books which were Printed between Thirty and 
forty years Agoe,and To Sing Them as They are 
Prickt down in them as Near as they can.” The 
older people remonstrated against this invasion of 
their liberties, but the precinct refused, in September, 
‘to ease those that were inclined to sing the old way.” 
Six months later, March 8, 1738-39, the church 
‘voted to sing by rule, according to note,” and chose 
Joseph Whiting to set the tunes in the church. 

Later in the same meeting some curious soul stirred 
up the brethren by the query, ‘‘ What notice will the 
church take of one of the brethren’s stricking into a 
pitch of the tune unusually raised February 18th ?” 
For answer, another vote was recorded : 


“WHEREAS, our brother, David Pond, as several of our 
brethren, viz., David Jones, Ebenezer Hunting, Benj. Rock- 
wood, Jr., Aaron Haws, and Michael Metcalf, apprehend, 


| struck into a pitch of the tune on February 18th, in the public 


worship in the forenoon raised above what was set; after most 
of the congregation, as is thought, kept the pitch for three 
lines, and after our pastor had desired them that had raised 
it to fall to the pitch that was set to be suitable, decent or to 
that purpose; the question was put, whether the church ap- 
prehends this our brother David Pond’s so doing to be disor- 
derly; and it passed in the affirmative, and David Pond is 
suspended until satisfaction is given.” 


But David Pond froze over at this cold blast of 


_ reproof and suspension, and his musical thermometer 


went below zero, where it stayed for thirteen years. 
At last, Jan. 12, 1751-52, he melted into confession 
of error, and all discord was drowned in harmony. 
Another vote of the church on this subject is sig- 
nificant. May 18, 1739, it was voted “that the man 
that tunes the Psalm in the congregation be limited 
till further direction to some particular tunes, and the 
tunes limited are Canterbury, London, Windsor, St. 
David’s, Cambridge, Short One Hundredth, and One 
Hundredth and Forty-eighth Psalm tunes; and Benj. 





FRANKLIN. 


163 





Rockwood, Jr., to tune the psalm.” Ten years’ 
practice so wore upon these seven permitted tunes 
that, April 5, 1749, the church removed the limita- 


tion and the hymns thereafter flowed smoothly on in| 


many separate streams like the voice of many waters. — 
All went musically, as between the tunes, for a time; | 
but on April 15, 1760, sprang up a war of rival | 
hymn-books which lasted for five years, until the 4th 
of July, 1765, when it was decided by the victory of | 
Dr. Watts’ version of the psalms over the Old Bay | 
Psalm-Book, and Tate and Brady’s version of psalms | 


and hymns. Dr. Watts remained in possession of the 
field for nearly ninety years, until the Puritan hymn- — 
and tune-book, born in Mendon Association in 1858, | 
raised him also onto the shelf of antiques. 


The Precinct Ministers.—Rev. Elias Haven, the | 


of pastoral labor in failing health, through which he 
was tenderly helped by a loving people, died of con- 
sumption in 1744, and was buried in the central 
cemetery of the town, where a stone still stands to his 
memory. Then came the trying experiences of hear- | 
But they | 
sat down patiently to scrutinize whomsoever came be- 

fore them; and the sitting, if not the patience, lasted | 
for six years. 


| 
| 
first minister of the young church, after sixteen years 


ing candidates and selecting his successor. 


One after another preached in review | 
before them. Aaron Putnam, Joseph Haven, Stephen | 
Holmes, Thomas Brooks, a Mr. Norton, Joseph 
Manning, to whom they said, “Stay with us,” but 
he declined; Messrs. Parsons, Goodhue, Phillips, 
Payson, who also declined their call; Jesse Root and | 
Nathan Holt, who refused to stay; John Hals, Mr. 

Gregory, and at last came Caleb Barnum, of Danbury, | 
Conn. He, the fourteenth candidate, was urged to 
stay by one hundred and two votes, and was offered | 
seventy pounds salary per annum, and one hundred | 
and thirty-three pounds settlement as an additional | 
motive. 


After several months of consideration, he 
finally accepted, and was settled June 4, 1760, and 
six years after the death of Mr. Haven. 

Rev. Caleb Barnum was the son of Thomas and | 
Deborah, born in Danbury, June 30, 1737; gradu- 
ated at Princeton, 1757, and received an A.M. in 
1768 from both Princeton and Harvard. His brief 
pastorate of eight years was full of divers disturb- 
ances, not the least of which was the hymn-book 
conflict already mentioned. Some differed also from | 
his opinions and beliefs as preached from the pulpit, 
and some left to attend Separatists’ meetings, but the 
majority vindicated the pastor. The differences 
seemed to be more between the precinct and the 
church than in the church itself; but the minister | 
stood as a central figure between the two parties, and | 





| among the New Hampshire hills. 


was attacked by both. His resignation was caused 
by these dissensions, and being made final, despite 
their reluctance to grant it, he was dismissed March 
6, 1768. 

The next February he was installed over the First 
Congregational Church in Taunton. In 1775 he 
joined the army of the Revolution, and became chap- 
lain of the Twenty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment, 
Col. John Greaton, then near Boston, Feb. 10, 1776. 
On the return of his regiment from Montreal he was 
taken sick at Ticonderoga, and discharged July 24, 
dying at Pittsfield, Aug. 23, 1776, aged thirty-nine. 

Once more the pulpit was empty, and again a pro- 
cession of candidates appeared. One and another 
was called upon to stop, but each declined, and they 
all moved on. Then the people looked each upon his 
neighbor, and asked, “ Why will no one stay with 
us ?” 

The meeting-house, now thirty years old, and too 
small as well as growing old-fashioned (for there was 
even then a fashion for meeting-houses), was pondered 
upon as a possible obstacle. Therefore, in 1772, they 
chose five men to “consult upon the conveniences 
and inconveniences of enlarging and repairing their 
meeting-house, and to draw a plan thereof and 
report.” 

Meanwhile, the committee of supply had in some 
way heard of a young graduate of Yale College who 
had preached in New York State, and was now 
He was small in 
stature, with a thin, small voice, and he hesitated 
about appearing before a church containing two such 
But he came, Oc- 
tober, 1769, and essayed to fill the vacant pulpit. So 
well did he supply their needs, and so thoroughly did 
they test him, that on Nov. 30, 1772, the church, by 
a vote of thirty-two out of thirty-four, invited him 


vigorous and bellicose parties. 


to become their pastor. Two weeks later the precinct 
heartily seconded their invitation, and April 21, 
1773, NATHANAEL Emmons was settled as the third 
precinct minister. The service was held out of doors, 
like that of both of his predecessors, in the valley 
west of the present Catholic Church. 

The memory of Dr. Emmons’ life and ministry is 
still bright in the town where he lived and labored 
for more than fifty years. His namesakes are found 
in many a family, and many a town and State, while 
anecdotes of him and his pithy apothegms are still 
current, and still bright as new coins, and more valu- 
able for use. 

In one aspect Dr. Emmons has been and still is 
misrepresented. He was not curt, dogmatic, and 


repellent. He was not unsocial and austere to his 


164 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





| 


people, nor a bugbear to the young. He was affable, | It was removed some years ago, and it now does duty 


genial, and witty, and enjoyed a good joke as keenly 

as any. In the pulpit his clear-cut and logical sen- 
tences sharpened the intellects of his hearers and 
made them alert, discriminating, and clear-headed 
thinkers, having settled opinions of their own. 


his people’s intelligent convictions. They knew him 
to be simply following truth, and they had to follow 
his guidance because he justified to them every step 
of his way. 

Dr. Emmons’ active ministry continued about fifty- 


four years, from April 21, 1773, to May 28, 1827. | 


Twice during this time, in 1781 and again in 1784, he 
became discouraged in his work and asked for a dis- 


mission ; but his people unanimously refused to grant — 
| Common. 


it. Before the close of 1784 a powerful revival added 
seventy to his church, quickened his weary spirit, 
and ended his discouragements. During his fifty-four 
years of work three hundred and eight were gathered 


into the church. But his slender physique could not 


forever second the strong spirit within, and in his | 
eighty-third year he fainted in the pulpit while 
preaching a sermon from Acts ii. 37 (see “ Emmons’ © 


Works,” vol. vi., p. 688). He then knew that his 


earthly work was done, and a quiet waiting for the — 


Master’s call to “come up higher” was all that re- 
mained to him here. His letter of resignation to his 
people is worthy of a place in this history for its 
loving simplicity : 
“FRANKLIN, May 28, 1827. 
“To the members of the Church, and to the members of the 


Religious Society in this place. 


“ BRETHREN AND Frienps: I have sustained the pastoral | 


relation to you for more than fifty years, which is a long min- 
isterial life. The decays of nature, and increasing infirmities 
of old age and my present feeble state of health, convince me 
that it is my duty to retire from the field of labor which I am 
no longer able to occupy to my own satisfaction nor to your 
benefit. I therefore take the liberty to inform you that I can 
no longer supply your pulpit and perform any ministerial labor 
among you; and, at the same time, that I renounce all claims 
upon you for any future ministerial support, relying entirely 
on your wisdom and goodness to grant or not to grant any gra- 
tuity to your aged servant during the residue of his life. 
“NATHANAEL Emmons.” 


After thirteen years of patient waiting, he died 
Sept. 23, 1849, at nearly ninety-six. 
funeral, Monday, September 28th, was attended by 
It was the 


Dr. Emmons’ 


ministers and people from far and wide. 
last service held in the old church which his voice had 
dedicated fifty-two years before. The next day the 
carpenters began their alterations. 

Dr. Emmons’ dwelling-house stood on the north 


corner of the present Main and Emmons Streets. | 


He | 


ruled, therefore, only by always moving in the line of | 





| a joint committee to consider the matter. 


as a tenement-house, as historic buildings are wont 
to do in our hurrying age. June 17, 1846, a granite 
monument, paid by a public subscription, was erected 
with public services near the centre of the Common, 
across which the venerable pastor had traveled to 
and from his church for more than half a century. 
An address was given in the church by Rev. M. 
Blake, and then the large company adjourned to the 
Common, where the dedicatory address was made by 
the then pastor, Rev. T. D. Southworth. These 
addresses were printed. 

A few years ago this monument was moved into 
anew part of the cemetery, out of public sight and 
contrary to the unalterable provision of the society 
which procured, located, and erected it on the 

The ecclesiastical history of the precinct, which 
in those early years was practically identical with its 
civil record, here practically ends. 

Precinct Civic History.—In 1740-42 
ments were made in the precinct to petition Wren- 
tham for leave to become a town by themselves; but 


move- 


lack of maternal sympathy quieted them till March 
4, 1754, when a petition was actually presented to 
and refused by Wrentham. Discouraged by this 
rebuff, and absorbed in the political events which 
preceded the Revolution, the people postponed fur- 
ther action, and continued to journey to Wrentham 
But the question soon 
War meetings became 


to vote or stayed at home. 
came up again in earnest. 


| more frequent and important, and the ride of five to 


eight miles to Wrentham so often was wearisome for 
man and horse. The population of the precinct had 
also increased, and was fully large enough to justify 
a separation. Therefore, Dec. 29, 1777, another 
petition was addressed to Wrentham “ for liberty to 
be set off into a district township, according to grant 
of court that they were at first incorporated into a 
precinct, with a part of said town’s money and stocks. 
Deacon Jabez Fisher, Esq., Jonathan Metcalf, Samuel 


| Lethbridge, Asa Whiting, Dr. John Metcalf, Joseph 


Hawes, and Capt. John Boyd, chief men of the 
precinct, are put in charge of the matter.” In re- 
sponse to this petition, Wrentham sent nine men as 
February 
21st they reported that ‘said inhabitants be set off 
as a Separate township by themselves.” The process of 
division was speedily begun. It involved many and 
complicated matters of importance. The men already 
raised as the whole town’s quota for the Continental 
army were proportionately accredited to each section. 


Firearms and military stores were also similarly 





FRANKLIN. 


165 





divided. The salt allowed by the General Court 
and all other properties were duly adjusted. Kven 
of the five solitary paupers dependent upon the whole 
town, two were assigned to the forthcoming town. 
All preliminaries being thus arranged, another com- 


mittee was elected to present their petition to the - 


General Court. The charter of incorporation, granted 
in answer to this petition, appears among the acts of 
1778, and is dated in the House of Representatives, 
February 27th, and in the Council, March 2d. It 


is as follows: 


“Srare of MAssacuusetts Bay. 
“Tn the year of our Lord 1778. 


“An Act incorporating the Westerly Part of the Town of | 


Wrentham in the County of Suffolk into a Town by the name of 
Franklin. 

‘““Wuereas, the Inhabitants of the Westerly part of the 
town of Wrentham in the County of Suffolk have Represented 


to this Court the Difficulties they Labor under in their present | 


situation, and apprehending themselves of sufficient Numbers 
& Ability, request that they may be incorporated into a sepa- 
rate Town. 

“Beit Therefore Enacted By the Council & House of Rep- 
resentatives in (reneral Court Assembled & by the Authority 
of the same, That the Westerly part of said Town of Wrentham 
separated by a line, as follows, viz., Beginning at Charles 
River, where Medfield line comes to said river; thence running 


south seventeen degrees and an half West until it comes to one | 


rod East of y® Dwelling-House of William Man; thence a 
strait line to the eastwardly corner of Asa Whiting’s barn; 
thence a strait line to sixty rods due south of the old cellar 
where the Dwelling-House of Ebenezer Healy formerly stood; 
thence a Due West Cource by the Needle to Bellingham line, 
said Bellingham line to be the West Bounds and Charles 
River the Northerly Bounds, Be and hereby is incorporated 
into a Distinct and separate Town by the name of FRANKLIN, 
and invested with all the powers, Privileges, and immunities 


that Towns in this State do or may enjoy. And be it further 


enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the inhabitants of | 


said Town of Franklin shall pay their proportion of all State, 
County, and Town charges already granted to be raised in the 
Town of Wrentham and also their proportion of the pay of the 
Representatives for the present year; and the said Town of 
Wrentham and Town of Franklin shall be severally held punc- 


Contained and Expressed in a vote of the Town of Wrentham 
passed at Publick Town-meeting the sixteenth Day of Feb- 
ruary, 1778, according to y® plain and obvious meaning there- 
of; and Be it also Enacted by y® authority aforesaid, That 
Jabez Fisher, Esq., Be & he hereby is authorized & required 
to issue his warrant to one of the principal inhabitants of said 
Town of Franklin, authorizing & requiring him to Notifie and 
warn the Freeholders & other inhabitants of said Town to 
meet together at such time and place as shall be expressed in 
said warrant, To choose such officers as Towns are authorized 


by Law to Choose, and Transact other such Lawfull matters as | 


shall be expressed in said warrant. And be it further enacted, 
That the inhabitants living within y® Bounds aforesaid who in 
the Late Tax in the Town of Wrentham were rated one-half 
part so much for their Estates and Faculties as for one single 
Poll shall be taken and Holden to be Qualified and be allowed 


to Vote in their first Meeting for the Choice of officers and such 


other meetings as may be Called in said Town of Franklin 
untill a valuation of Estates shall be made by Assessors there. 
“Tn tHE House or REPRESENTATIVES. 
“Feb. 27, 1778. 
“This Bill having been read three several times, passed to 


be engrossed. Sent up for Concurrence. 


“J. WARREN SYKE. 
“In CoUNCIL. 
“ March 2d, 1778. 
“This Bill, having had two several Readings, passed a Con- 
currence, to be engrossed. 


“Jno. Avery, Dpy. Secy.” 

In the original draft of the charter, as preserved in 
the State archives, the name of the new town is 
written as Exeter. Why its name was first written 
Exeter is a conundrum, whose answer is inaudible 
among the echoes of the past. Why it was changed 
to Franklin is apparent. After the Declaration of 
Independence in 1776, Benjamin Franklin with two 
others was sent forthwith to France, to arrange for a 
treaty of alliance with Louis XVI. The king dallied 
with the ambassadors until the close of 1777, when 
the capture of Burgoyne settled his doubts, and a 
treaty of amity and commerce was formed with them 
in January, 1778. 
this country while the petition of the new town was 
waiting decision. The charter was doubtless amended 
in honor of that event, and Exeter was changed for 
the honored name of FRANKLIN, the jist of the 
twenty-nine towns in our States who have since fol- 
lowed her example in calling themselves by the same 


News of their success reached 


name. 

Dr. Franklin showed his appreciation of the com- 
pliment by sending the town a valuable library of one 
hundred and sixteen volumes, selected by Rev. Richard 
Price, of London, a strong friend of Franklin’s and 
of American liberty. Of these, mostly folio volumes, 
the most secular and sensational was “The Life of 
Baron Trench.” These one hundred and sixteen seed 
volumes were subsequently increased by a social library 


/to some five hundred, and have since multiplied- to 
tually to stand by & perform to each other the Terms & proposals | : P 


three thousand or more, constituting the present 
Public Library, for which maintenance annual grants 
of money are made by the town. 
Topography.—Franklin, in the limits of its orig- 
inal charter, included 17,6023 acres, or 27.6 square 
miles; lying longer north and south than its width 
east and west. It is twenty-seven and a quarter miles 
southwesterly from Boston by the New York and 


| New England Railroad. 


The earliest map of the territory of Franklin was 
made in 1735, by Samuel Brooks, surveyor, and is 
kept in the town office of Wrentham. 
only the four ponds, Uncas, Beaver, Popolatic, and 
Long, two or three short streets, and the names of the 


It contains 


166 





first settlers. The outline of the West Precinct is 
dotted within it, and follows nearly the present boun- 
daries of Franklin. A later map is in the archives of 
the State-House at Boston, and is dated May 27, 1795. 
It was from surveys made by Amos Hawes and Moses 
Fisher in September, October, and November, 1794. 
Nov. 2, 1795, the selectmen were directed to have 
another map of the town drawn on parchment, but if 


this was done the map cannot now be found. In 


) 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





ment on the site, but Franklin did not care to revive 


such tragic memories, and the trees have now hidden 


1832 a map of the town was surveyed by John G. | 


Hales and lithographed, in compliance with an act | 


passed by the State Legislature in 1830. 
has been made since by the town. 


No survey 


Charles River forms its northern boundary and re- 
ceives the overflow of the ponds that lie, like bits of 
broken mirrors, among its hills. Chief of these ponds 
are Beaver, Uncas, Popolatic, and Kingsbury’s, with 
their outlets of Mine Brook, and Stop, or Mill River, 
drawing their surplus waters through Charles River 
into Massachusetts Bay and the sea. The geological 
formation of the town is sienitic, though very few 


ledges of rock appear on the surface. Traces of lime- 


stone have been found, and a deposit of amethysts, | 
now exhausted. Green meadows, deep, shady valleys, | 


and sunny hills make the natural scenery of Franklin 
beautiful. It is one of the highest towns in the county, 
and from some of its elevated highways the blue hills 
of Milton and the round head of Mount Wachusett, 
in Princeton, are visible. 

Its own hills and rocks have retained but few tra- 
ditions of their aboriginal owners and their deeds. 
Yet Indian Rock still records the story of the forty- 
two of King Philip’s warriors, who stopped for a night 
and laid themselves down to sleep around its base. 
They had been on the war-path to Medfield, burning 





I \ 
the houses of its settlers, and were on their way back | 


to Narragansett. It.is said a man named Rocket, in 
searching for a lost horse, found their trail, which he 


He 
hastened back to the settlement, and before daylight 


followed till he saw them asleep at Indian Rock. 


he was back again, with a dozen men in command of 
Capt. Robert Ware, to watch and take care of the 
sleeping murderers. When the Indians arose at day- 
light a dozen bullets quickly found their mark. 
Their punishment was so swift and fatal that only 
one or two escaped to tell others of the steady and 
sure aim of the white man. Hence came the name 
of the ledge, which still rears its monumental head 
above the trees some five hundred yards east of the 
The Fourth of July, 1823, was celebrated 
on this rock, and its stony breast is still marked with 


Common. 


the graven initials of the managers of that celebration. 


even the path to Indian Rock. 

Uncas Pond also holds the tradition that the wily 
Mohegan sachem, in some of his campaigns with the 
Pequots in this region, made the shores of this pond 
one of his occasional haunts, and the early settlers at- 
tached his name to the wood-sheltered sheet of water 
as a memento of the fact. But the settlement was 
too insignificant at the time of the Indian war to at- 
tract any massacres or conflagrations as befell its neigh- 


_ bors, Medfield and Wrentham, and it has to be content 


without its legends of savage warfare. 

The Revolution.—The young town took her stand 
courageously beside her older sisters in the troublous 
Instead of the horn of Ceres, 
she must grasp for a while the sword of Mars. Many 
of her men had been enrolled two years before among 
the five companies of minute-men formed within the 
Some of her inhabitants 
were among those who, on the first alarm from Con- 
cord, ‘‘marched from Wrentham on the nineteenth 
of April (1775) in the Colonial service.” The ex- 
igencies of the Revolution demanded many town- 
meetings. Thirty-one were held in the five years 
between January, 1773, and Feb. 16, 1778, this 
being the last before the separation of Franklin from 
Wrentham. 

At one of these meetings, held at Wrentham June 


times of the colonies. 


whole town of Wrentham. 


| 5, 1776, one day less than a month before the Dec- 


laration of Independence, a paper of instructions to 
their representatives to the General Court was, “after 
being several times distinctly read and considered by 
the town, unanimously voted in the affirmative with- 
out even one dissentient.”” This paper is inserted as 
a sample voice of the times, indicating the clear and 
decided convictions of that day, and the hopelessness 
of attempting to dragoon such study yeomanry into 
duty : 

“GENTLEMEN,—We, your constituents in full town-meeting, 


Whereas, 
Tyranny and oppression, a little more than one century and a 


June 5, 1776, give you the following instructions: 


half ago, obliged our forefathers to quit their peaceful habita- 
tions and seek an asylum in this distant land, amid an howling 
wilderness surrounded with savage enemies, destitute of almost 
every convenience of life was their unhappy situation; but 
such was their zeal for the common rights of mankind that 
they (under the smile of Divine Providence) surmounted every 
difficulty, and in a little time were in the exercise of civil gov- 
But 
after some years had passed and the Colonies had become of 


ernment under a charter of the crown of Great Britain. 
some importance, new troubles began to arise. The same spirit 
which caused them to leave their native land still pursued 
Letters 
began to be wrote against the government and the first charter 


them, joined by designing men among themselves. 


r : . j 
They then proposed erecting a commemorative Monu- | soon after destroyed. In this situation some years passed be- 








FRANKLIN. 


167 








fore another charter could be obtained, and although many of 
the gifts and privileges of the first charter were abridged by 
the last, yet in that situation the government has been tolera- 
bly quiet until about the year 1763, since which the same spirit 
of oppression has risen up. Letters by divers ill-minded per- 


sons have been wrote against the government (in consequence | 
of which divers acts of the British Parliament made, mutilat- | 
ing and destroying the charter, and wholly subversive of the | 
constitution); fleets and armies have been sent to enforce them, | 


and at length a civil war has commenced, and the sword is 
drawn in our land, and the whole united colonies involved in 
one common cause; the repeated and humble petitions of the 
good people of these colonies have been wantonly rejected with 


disdain ; the prince we once adored bas now commissioned the | 


| 
} 
i 
| 
| 
| 
| 


cision. Money as well as men were furnished often 
and heartily, and the town bore with marked una- 
nimity the heavy expenses of the Revolution as well 
as the depreciation of the currency as their home 
part of the price paid for liberty. 

The depreciation of money was rapid and severe 
In July, 1781, the ratio 
of paper to silver was as one to forty; in September 


in its results upon values. 


_ of the same year, one to one hundred and fifty. In 





instruments of his hostile oppression to lay waste our dwellings | 
with fire and sword, to rob us of our property, and wantonly to | 
stain the land with the blood of its innocent inhabitants; he | 


has entered into treaties with the most cruel nations to hire an 
army of foreign mercenaries to subjugate the colonies to his 
eruel and arbitrary purposes. In short, all hope of an accom- 
modation is entirely at an end, a reconciliation as dangerous 
as it is absurd; a recollection of past injuries will naturally 
keep alive and kindle the flames of jealousy. We, your con- 
stituents, therefore think that to be subject or dependent on the 
crown of Great Britain would not only be impracticable, but 
unsafe to the State. The inhabitants of this town, therefore, in 
full town-meeting, unanimously instruct and direct you (v.e., 
the representatives) to give your vote that, if the Honorable 
American Congress (in whom we place the highest confidence 
under God) should think it necessary for the safety of the 
United Colonies to declare them independent of Great Britain, 


that we, your constituents, with our lives and fortunes will most | - _ é 
a ‘ as _should “avoid lending to Monopolizers, Jobbers, 


cheerfully support them in the measure.” 


Sept. 15, 1774, soon after the encampment of Gen. 
Gage on Boston Common, Wrentham voted to buy 
two cannon “of the size and bigness most proper and 
beneficial for the town,” and ordered them to be made 
Ammunition was also bought, and 
men were armed and trained in military exercise. 
The last vote of the whole town touching the war 
previous to the incorporation of Franklin, Feb. 16, 


fit for action. 


1778, was the acceptance of a committee’s report, 
that the full quota of the town, “being the full 
seventh part of the male inhabitants of the town,” 
had been secured. 

The First Meeting of the town of Franklin was 
called by Jabez Fisher, justice of the peace, and was 
held Monday, March 23, 1778, at 9 o'clock, A.M. 
The requisite town officers were chosen. They were 
Asa Pond, town clerk; Asa Whiting, treasurer ; 
Samuel Lethbridge, Deacon Jonathan Metcalf, Asa 
Whiting, Hezekiah Fisher, Ensign Joseph Hawes, 
selectmen ; and Ensign Hawes was representative to 
the General Court. The Committee of Correspondence, 
who looked after the affairs of the war, were Capt. 
John Boyd, Deacon Daniel Thurston, Lieut. Ebenezer 
Dean, Capt. Thomas Bacon. 
they meditated for a month upon the new State Con- 
stitution, preparatory to an intelligent and wise de- 


After adjournment 


| proper court. 


the following February the town paid £400 for ten 
shirts to Deacon Joseph Whiting, who, of course, 
would not overcharge. 

The patriotic little town looked sharply after its 

It voted to report all Tories to the 
It directed the soldiers’ families to be 
“supplied with the necessaries of life at a stipulated 
price at the town’s cost.” They voted not to deal 
commercially with any who did not conform to the 
scale of prices recommended by the Concord conven- 
tion of 1779. They furnished their quota of beef 
for the army—thirty-three thousand nine hundred 
and eight pounds—in eighteen months, taking almost 
the cattle on a thousand hills. They voted in 1779 
—when the money credit of the government was 
rapidly sinking—that all who had money to lend, 


home enemies. 


Harpies, Forestallers, and Tories, with as much 
caution as they avoid a pestilence,” and rather to 
lend to the Continental and State treasuries. There 
was the irrepressible spirit of liberty here. 

Franklin has not preserved any muster-rolls or 
other data to make up a list of its soldiers in the 
Revolutionary war. From the muster-rolls of Wren- 
tham preserved in the archives of the State one can 
select the residents of Franklin proper only by simi- 
larity of name. But an examination of these rolls 
shows that they do not include all who should be on 
them, for the names of many men whose military 
record is known from other sources are not-on the 
lists. Of the five companies of Wrentham, under 
the command of Capts. Oliver Pond, Benjamin 
Hawes, Samuel Kollock, Elijah Pond, and Asa Fair- 
banks, the last two of the companies were mostly of 
Franklin names, as follows: 


Capt. Asa Fairbanks’ Company. 


private. 
“ee 


Asa Fairbanks, captain. Asa Metealf, 

Joseph Woodward, lieutenant. Matthias Haws, 
sé John Fairbank, 
Joseph Streeter, 
John Adams, ce 
Nathan Wight, Ke 
Philemon Metcalf, ‘“ 
Asa Whiting, 


Joseph Haws, 
James Gilmore, sergeant. 
Joseph Hills, ss 
David Wood, corporal. 
Peter Adams, private. 
John Clark, ce 


168 HISTORY OF NORFOLK 


COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Abijah Allen, private. 
Jonathan Hawes, ‘“ 


Jesse Ware, private. 
Peltiah Fisher, o 


Isaac Heaton, eS John Pearce, iw | 
Peter Fisher, se Will Man, ce | 
Elisha Harding, ‘“ Ebenezer Dean, “s 
Levi Chaffee, ss Matthew Smith, “ | 
William Sayles, 2 Asahel Perry, wv 
James Smith, ots John Clark, Jr., s | 
Joseph Harding, “ Joseph Hills, ‘ | 
William Gilmore, “ Aaron Fisher, sf | 
Ichabod Dean, ‘s Joseph Guild, ee 


Capt. Elijah Pond’s Company. 


Elijah Pond, captain. 

Asa Pond, lieutenant. 

Jonathan Bowditch, 2nd lieu- 
tenant. 

Robert Blake, sergeant. 

Timothy Pond, ‘“ 

Duke Williams, corporal. 


Benjamin Pond, _ private. 
Timothy Rockwood, ‘ 
Elias Ware, r 
Elisha Bullard, ss 
Daniel Thurston, 
Nathaniel Thayer, 
Peter Darling, 


Samuel Pond, s 


Simeon Fisher, se 
Elisha Partridge, & 


Simeon Daniels, 


Amos Bacon, drummer. 
Nathan Daniels, clerk. 


Elisha Rockwood, private. John Allen, tS 
Abijah Thurston, sf James Fisher, sf 
Robert Pond, Pe John Metealf, os 
Zepha Lane, es Elisha Pond, fg 
Eleaz. Partridge, cf John Richardson,  “ 
Joseph Ellis, e¢ Elisha Richardson, “ 


In Capt. Cowell’s company, of Col. Benjamin 
Hawes’ regiment, sent on a secret expedition, 23d of 
September, 1777, occur the names of Michael and 
Timothy Metcalf and Benjamin Rockwood, Frank- 
lin men. 

There were at least seventeen Ponds that flowed 
from Franklin into the American army and are not 
recorded. One, Elisha Pond, escaped one night from 
the old Sugar-House at New York, where he had 
been imprisoned and nearly starved by the British. 
Another Pond, Pennel, “ died Dec. 16, 17—, in York 
harbor on board a guard-ship, supposed to be poisoned | 
by ye British doctors.” So his only record says, writ- 
Philip | 


Blake was blacksmith and commissary to a portion of 


ten in stone in the City Mills graveyard. 


the American army on Dorchester Heights, and was 
afterwards in Sullivan’s retreat on Rhode Island, but 
his name is not on any roll. 


Some of the lists must 
have been lost. John Newton, an English soldier, 


impressed on board a British man-of-war, escaped from 


his ship in Boston harbor by swimming three miles 


on a dark and stormy night. He reached the shore 
too exhausted to walk or stand; but when rested, he 


fled towards Dedham. 





He was met on the way and 


was asked, ‘‘ Who are you?” He only answered, | 


“ John—going!” and he went on, beyond curious 
His first as- | 


sumed American name he kept, and his descendants | 


querists, until he reached Franklin. 


still live in Franklin with the name modernized into | 


| 1786. 


| drawing, and quartering a traitor. 


| pendence, and settled down to repair damages. 


| material for a new building. 


| what is best to be done to repair it.” 


Gowen. John Adams, ancestor of the Adams family, 
was also a victim of English impressment who found 


David Lane, 


a home among the Franklin patriots. 


afterwards called McLane, and a native of Attle- 


borough, came to Franklin, and married a wife in 
Ten years after he started for Canada as gen- 
eral of a secret project, said to be originated by the 
French minster to this country, to incite the Canadians 


| to revolt against Great Britain, and thus to aid the 


United States. MclLane’s directions were to raise 


_men in Quebec and seize the garrison and then cap- 
ture the city. But McLane was betrayed by one of 


his men and taken as a spy. He was publicly 


_ executed on the glacis outside the city walls of 


Quebec,—the last and probably the only instance in 
America of the ancient brutal mode of hanging, 
McLane was, with- 
out doubt, more an unhappy lunatic than a criminal. 
But the spirit of those days was full of animosity and 
cruelty. The later wars of the Republic will find 
mention farther on. 

The Second Meeting-House.—The war was at 
last ended, and the country had won for itself inde- 
The 
old town question soon presented itself again,—whether 
There 
were evidently two opinions in the town, for April 
26, 1784, two hundred pounds were voted to buy 
But October 3d of the 
next year the opposition carried the day, and the 
constable was ordered “to pay back the money col- 
lected for the meeting-house and return the tax-bill 
into the town clerk’s office, and that the town clerk 
pull off the seal of the warrants and write on the 
back that they are null and void;’ and secondly, 
“that a committee view the meeting-house and report 
Asa result, 
10d. were spent in patching the shingles, sup- 


to repair the house of worship or build anew. 


£6 2s. 
plying glass to the upper windows, and boarding up 
But this putting of new cloth upon the 
A 


new meeting-house became more and more a visible 


the lower. 
old garment was an economy of short duration. 


necessity. 

One question towards it had been settled January, 
1784, in regard to the fixedness of the centre of 
Franklin. Two surveyors and three chainmen had, 
at a cost of £26 3s. 4d. (of which £1 12s. 11d. was 
for ‘“lickquer”), discovered that “ forty-seven rods 
from the centre of the west door of the meeting-house 
where it now stands” was the same unmoved centre 
found fifty years ago near the same Morse’s mud- 
pond. 

On Dee. 17, 1787, Deacon Samuel Lethbridge, Asa 





FRANKLIN. 


169 





Whiting, and Ensign Joseph Whiting presented the 
following report which was accepted, and a larger 
site for the new building than the Thomas Mann’s 


acre was bought: 
“We have agreed with Mr. John Adams for the 


wedge of land lying between the way from the meet- | 


ing-house leading to the Rev. Nathanael Emmons 
and the way from the said meeting-house to Ensign 
John Adams’, being nine acres, at £1 10s. per acre; 


also thirty-eight rods of land west of said way at the | 


same rate; also one and a half acres in the hollow 
south of the old meeting-house at three pounds. 
of Nathaniel Adams one hundred and forty rods of 
land east of the way from said meeting-house leading 
to Mr. Emmons at the rate of £1 10s. peracre. Also 
a road three rods wide through his improved land, 
beginning at the road from John Adams’, Jr., to go a 
straight course between his house and well to the 
land above mentioned, for which he is to receive as a 
satisfaction eight pounds in money and the acre of 
land on which the meeting-house now stands, with 
the road that is now wanted, in by his house, to said 
acre.” 

Two years later (1789) fifty-nine and a half rods 


| 





And | 


lying north of the new meeting-house were bought | 


at sixpence per rod. This lot completed the nine 
acres, of which the present Franklin Common was 
a part. This land, when first bought, was covered 
with a dense growth of pitch-pines, standing with 
their feet firmly planted among small bowlders. It 
cost sixty dollars and ninety-one cents to clear this 
untamed spot and cover it with grass. Three sides 
of this wedge-shaped nine acres were afterwards 


trimmed with slender Lombardy poplars. They 


were planted April 6, 1801, by William Adams, | 


according to a previous vote of the town. 


Some | 


twenty years afterwards the south end of the Com- | 


mon was sold for building sites, and on the centre lot 
Dr. Amory Hunting built a house in front of the old 
gun-house, since removed. After the meeting-house 
had been moved to its present site and reversed, the 
town bought the Common of the parish and com- 
This 


association has bordered it with hardy trees, crossed 


mitted it to the care of a voluntary association. 


it with walks, and surrounded it with a durable fence. 

A plan for the new meeting-house was presented 
by a committee of thirteen, and accepted by the 
town December, 1787. 
lows : Sixty-two feet long and forty wide, with a porch 
at each end fourteen feet square. It had fifty-nine 
pews on the floor and twenty-one in the gallery, be- 
sides the singers’ and boys’ seats. The centre of the 
house had at first long benches on each side of the 


years, and receipts in full were exchanged. 


Its dimensions were as fol- | 





main aisle, afterwards exchanged for narrow pews. 
The frame still lives, unaltered in size, within a new 
covering. 

The building was carried on with characteristic 
energy and finished in July, 1788, seven months 
from the acceptance of the plan. The cost, as ren- 
dered by the committee to the town, March 7, 1791, 
was as follows: 











a th ee Ie 
| .Lumber at Boston ...........00. 57 19 3 0 
Carting from Boston........... 16 19 3 0 
Rum, sugar, molasses, and 
lemons at Boston............. 12 6 3 0 
Lickyuers bought at home..... 33 4 0 
Cost of raising the house..... 26 8 9 0 
Nails and other iron-ware at 
BOStON ese vcsewsicecescleeseres seco Mey 7 
Nails and other iron-ware at 
OM Ctscee-cseiassesesueosesecescs Pi Gy 27 
Painting, tarring,andglazing 73 6 5 0 
Boards, clapboards, and shin- 
gles at home: .-.2<.....--s0cese- 3: 5/0) 10 
Plastering and whitewashing 18 4 3 2 
Underpinning the house....... 26 12 5 0 
Boarding the workmen......... Sl 147.8) 0 
Carpenters’ work...........2.00+ 233 0 8 0 
Door - stones and _ paving 
round the house..............+ Oe ela 250 
Window-weights.............006 5 18 4 0 
Cost of the curtain (behind 
thre pul pits) eeccsescetesacewiee'sen By (Rok U) 
Expenses of the committee... 69 3 7 O 
—-——_——_——— £ EB th fe 
OUD Se veccessisecescesiacerrestasetcesasesscrse 2/2 Oi Ome 
Donations. 
Hezekiah Fisher, to purchase £ 8. d. /. 
thie Pol assccecescciacstececsieceass 29 4 4 3 
Nathaniel Thayer............+0. ZO iene 
Jonathan! Waless......s0csccc ae Ibe aly 0) 
JOsiah) EIAWeSter-ssscsleeccescssenss 144 3 0 O 
Nathan Maniijcsccccseecscacecesss t 3 Gal: 
(So added in the original) £ 35 8 8 3 
ef Re th) 
MotalsOficlass-tiXccccwssssescsees ede else ele wl 
Received from sale of pews... 622 11 0 0 
Interest on securities forpews. 13 17 6 0 
From the old house............. 3) 2) 16090 
£943 18 1 1 


ea 








Total cost of meeting-house, £1054 


Or, at the then value of paper currency, $3514.86. 


This bill was not accepted as readily as the plan 
had been; but examination of the charges by an 
auditing committee, March 10, 1794, showed that 
£18 5s. 5d. more were due to the committee than 
they had charged. The honest town voted that 
this balance should be paid, with interest for four 
The bill 
probably included the cost of preparing the land. In 
1806 the east porch was raised into a belfry to re- 
ceive a clock and bell, which bad been given to the 
parish, costing seven hundred and forty-five dollars. 
The bell has never told the name of the giver, nor 
the clock-hands pointed to the time or place of its 
record, and none of the living know the generous 
donor or donors. 


170 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








In 1830, while workmen were painting the belfry, 
they spattered the bell, whereon some bright genius 
among them, thinking to better the matter, painted 
the luckless bell all over. 
voice of the bell was almost silenced,—it was supposed 


Under this covering the 


forever. It was thereupon sent to the foundry at 
East Medway in exchange for a heavier one. The 
dumb bell came forth from the fiery furnace freed 
from the smothering paint and musically toned as 
ever. It now tells the people of Paxton the times 


of public assemblings. 


The second house was used for fifty-two years, | 


when it was moved about eighty feet directly north, 
and turned a quarter round, with its belfry towards 
the south. 
modern slips, and all the congregation were seated in 


In 1856 


The old square pews were exchanged for 


platoons with their faces toward the pulpit. 
the interior walls were frescoed. 

Upon the completion of the third and present Con- 
eregational meeting-house, the second, which was in 
its turn the old, was sold and deeded, through Davis 
Thayer, Jr., to J. L. Fitzpatrick, and by him trans- 
ferred to the Right Rev. J. J. Williams, now arch- 
bishop of Boston, for the use of the Catholic congre- 
gation. 


preached by Rev. Luther Keene, the pastor, in which | 


he stated that in its eighty-four years of service there 
had been 8736 Sabbath sermons preached from its 
pulpit, which had been in the charge of 13 ministers ; 
900 infants received the rite of baptism; and unnum- 
bered dead reposed in it while the last services for 
them were being held before burial. 

Before the doors of the old sanctuary are closed 
after the last service held in it before its alteration in 


The last sermon in it before its sale was | 


} 


| the new singers. 





1840 (which was the funeral of Dr. Emmons), let us _ 


reproduce its interior as described by one who re- 


members it well: ‘‘ What picture can produce its 


interior! Its high box pulpit and impending sound- 


ing-board, hung by a single iron rod an inch square ; | 


the two pegs on each side of the pulpit window, on 





one of which sometimes hung the old pastor’s blue- | 


black cloak, and on the other always his three-cor- | 


nered clerical hat! By no means omit the short 


little preacher in the pulpit, with clear, sharp eyes, 


| justify themselves for their absence. 


bald, shining head, small, penetrating voice, and _ 


manuscript gesture; the square pews, seated on four | 


sides, with a drop-seat across the narrow door, and 
the straight, cushioned chair in the centre for the 
grandmother, filled every one with sedate faces over 
which gray hairs usually predominated. The open 
space before and below the pulpit, where in winter a 
massive wood stove reared its iron head and opened 


its square mouth to be filled morning and at noon | 


with blocks of hard wood big enough to hold fire 
through the following services, and keep the circle 
of old men who sat around it in a sleepy warmth 
while the unfortunate sitters in the outer corners 
To it at noon came the mothers, 
bringing their small tin hand-stoves, with perforated 


shivered with cold. 


sides and an iron box within to hold live coals, for 
a fresh supply to keep their feet warm through the 
afternoon service. The long balustrades hemming 
the side galleries were crowned with hats against the 
two stairways, which a puff of wind from the open 
porch-doors sometimes sent scattering down upon the 
uncovered heads below. ‘The singers’ seats filled the 
long gallery fronting the pulpit, in which nothing 
louder than a wooden pitch-pipe for years dared to 
utter a note. But about 1825 a singing-school 
timidly prepared the way for a violin, which soon 
introduced a bass-viol for the support of itself and 
The boys had seats in the south- 
west elbow of the gallery, each boy with one eye on 
the tithing-man sitting high up in the northwest cor- 
ner pew and the other eye wandering or asleep, while 
both ears were enviously open to the neighing of the 
horses in the hundred horse-sheds and the twitter of 
birds in the Lombardy poplars near by.” 

Not only was the irrepressible boy from the first 
looked after by the tithing-man, chosen “ to take care 
of y° children, to prevent their playing in meeting,” 
but in May, 1791, another duty was laid upon these 
“ May, 1791, on complaint that divers 
persons have from time to time behaved in a very unbe- 


same officers. 


coming manner by standing in the porches of the meet- 
ing- house of this town on the Lord’s Day, and other- 
wise conducting in a manner not only inconsistent with 
the purpose for which they professedly assemble, but 
highly unbecoming a person-of good breeding or the 
character of a gentleman: Voted, that such conduct 
ought to be highly reprobated and discountenanced by 
every sober man, and they will hold them as scan- 
dalous and infamous persons; and the tithing-men 
are to take their names and publicly expose them 
next town-meeting, and post up this vote and the 
Absentees had to 
Kven after the 


names of all future offenders.” 


congregation were all safely in their pews, and under 
the vigilance of such sentinels, the minister could 
not always control their attention. It is said that on 
one July Sunday in 1790, when the audience were 
unusually torpid and sleepy, Dr. Emmons closed his 
manuscript, took down his three-cornered hat, came 
down from the pulpit, and went quietly home, leaving 
his comatose congregation to finish their naps or dis- 


miss themselves without a benediction. After giving 








FRANKLIN. 


171 





them a fortnight to consider their ways and be 
wise, he explained the reasons of this conduct, and 
his penitent church voted: ‘1. It is reasonable the 
pastor should insist upon having the proper attention 
of the people in time of public worship. 
reasonable the church shall desire and endeavor that 
proper attention be given in the time of public wor- 
ship, and discountenance all inattention.” 

As a result of the alterations and modernizings of 
1840, the top of the old sounding-board lighted upon 
a well-house in Ashland; the old pulpit ended a long 
journey in the lecture-room of the Chicago Theologi- 


cal Seminary. At the same time, also, the long rows 


of horse-sheds were demolished, save a very few | 


moved to the rear of the new site. The noon-houses 
had disappeared some years before 1840. They had 
been built for a resort in the intermissions on cold 
Sundays. 
each side and a narrow floor in front of it. 


They were four-square, with a seat on 
A large 
stone hearth filled the centre, on which a fire was 
built in a pile within reach of the cold feet aimed at 
it from the four sides, while the smoke found its way, 
when ready, through a wigwam-like hole in the roof. 

Home Life.—In these early colonial towns the 
meeting-house was as literally their social as their 
geographical centre. 


territory, and, being busy all the week at home, the 
Sunday noon intermissions spent in the horse-sheds 
and noon-houses were their only opportunities for in- 
terchange of family greetings and friendly gossip. 
The rude connecting roads were too long, rugged, and 
lonely to be traveled for evening gatherings, and the 
young folks had to supplement 
by the few weeks of the winter 


industries were home industries 


their Sunday talks 
school. The town 
among the stumps 
and rocks of the slowly civilizing acres and at looms 
in the attics. 
only external necessities. 


soon as possible,—the meeting-house first, and then the 


corn-mill. Then both soul and body could be equipped | 


for other work. Most of their daily food was raised 


at home, and they clothed themselves in homespun 


cloth made from the flax of their fields and the fleece 
of their flocks, whose bodies they ate. A rare visit 


to Boston secured what their farms could not supply. 


The country grocery was an invention of a later age | 


and a larger liberty. 

The population of the town increased slowly, from 
less than one thousand at its incorporation in 1778 to 
seventeen hundred and seventeen in 1840. The first 
sixty-two years of its town life showed less than six 
per cent. increase. 


2. It is | 


The families settled on their | 


farms in concentric circles to the outer limits of the | 


A corn-mill and a saw-mill were their | 
These they had to build as 


For many years after the war for liberty the chief 
| business of its town-meetings was discussions of town 
_ boundaries and laying out of roads. On March 23, 
1795, the selectmen were directed to erect the first 
eulde-posts. 

Military Affairs.—The military spirit, first called 
' forth by the stern service of the Revolutionary war, 
did not die out with the close of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, but was revived at least on two days of the year, 


i 


' —of the May training of the two military companies, 
the North and the South so called, and of the fall 
| muster of the regiment to which they belonged. The 


May trainings were the times for a public comparison 





of these two companies, when they both manceuvred 
_ at opposite ends of the Common, marched around Davis 
Thayer’s store and Dr. Emmons’ house, and halted in 
front of Joseph Hill’s store under the poplars, and 
when the voices of the captains, and the fifes and 
A troop of 
cavalry was enrolled, mostly within the town, and the 


drums were heard through the town. 


horses, fresh from the plow and harrow, pranced and 
danced at the unwonted music of the bugle among 
the sweet ferns at the south end of the Common. 
But greater was the excitement, especially among the 
boys, when the Franklin Artillery appeared in all its 


brazen majesty on the same Common where its gun- 
house, cannon, tumbrels, and harnesses were kept. 
The dark-blue uniforms, the Bonaparte chapeaux with 
their long, black, red-tipped plumes, the flashing long 
swords, the slow march to the dirge-like ‘“ Roslyn 
Castle,” as the lumbering brass four-pounders were 
| dragged over the tufts of grass and bushes by drag- 

ropes, angling outwards like wild geese lines reversed, 

were always followed by a crowd. But the climax of 
military excitement was reached when, about 1825, 
the Franklin Cadets made their first public appear- 
ance. Their white pantaloons, blue coats, abundantly 
buttoned and silver-laced, black shining leather caps 
crowned with black-tipped, perpendicular 
plumes, and above all their new glinting muskets, 


white 


made each boy wish himself a man and a cadet. 
| Many of the after prominent citizens of the town 
were proud to be called captain of such an admirably- 
drilled corps. The Franklin Cadets, the Wrentham 
Guards, and the Bellingham Rifles were the flower of 
the old Norfolk County regiment. 

The fall musters, however, condensed the highest 
interest. They came after the sowing and reaping of 
the year were done, and all were glad for a holiday. 
The following description of an old-time regimental 
muster from a frequent participant will be enter- 
taining: 

“The day before muster a detailed squad of men 


172 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





marked out, by a long rope and with the heads of old 
axes, a straight and shallow furrow as a toe-line for 


the regiment, which they generally adhered to until | 


afternoon. A boundary was also roped along the 
eastern side, next the road, which marked the limit 
for spectators. On this side were built rough booths 
for the sale of eatables and drinkables and gewgaws 
to the crowd of the coming day. With the earliest 


daylight came noisily-driven teams into town, bring- 


ing soldiers and civilians, lads and lassies from far and | 


near. Tents and marquees were hastily pitched 


around the meeting-house and along the west side of | 


the Common. Luncheon-boxes and extra garments 


were stowed in these, guards were set, and at six | 


o'clock the long roll from a score or less of kettle- 
drums called the companies together. Drills, evolu- 


tions, and marchings displayed the skill of the cap- 


nine o’clock, when, at the vociferous shouting of the 
adjutant, the musical squads headed their companies 
up to the toe-line. The musicians were then gath- 
ered at the head of the regiment, near the gun-house, 
to receive the colonel and his staff whenever they 


On 


their appearance and reception, the wings wheeled 


should emerge from the tavern near at hand. 


into an inclosing square with the officers in the cen- 


tre, while the chaplain, on horseback, prayed for the | 


country and the protection of life and limb. On 
straightening out again, then came the march of the 
single fife and drum down and back the length of the 
line, the official inspection, the regimental manceuvre- 
ings, and the dodging of the line of guards by the 
spectators. 

“ At one o’clock came dinner, in tent, booth, on the 
grass, anywhere, hilariously moistened,—possibly with 


gun and a solemn cavalcade of colonel and staff with 
chaplain and surgeon called the scattered bands into 


line for the grand finale—the sham-fight. | Some- 





times the infantry tried to capture the guns of the | 
artillery ; sometimes, divided into two equal battal- 


ions, they furiously bombarded each other; some- 
times a tribe of pretentious Indians rushed from be- 
hind Dr. Pratt’s barn with indescribable yells upon 


far between. 


the cavalry, only to be ignominiously chased back to | 


their invisible wigwams. Sometimes the whole regi- 
ment formed a hollow square, facing outwards, with a 
cannon at each corner in defense of their officers, 
and banged away at unseen and unanswering enemies, 
while the cavalry dashed in all possible directions to 
repel imaginary sallies. Trumpets blared, drums rat- 
tled, horses reared and snorted, children screamed, 


ramrods, forgotten in the hurried loading, hurtled ’ 


| these are still used for the same purpose. 


| fees for burial. 
venerable cider at least,—until at three o’clock a big 


through the poplars, till a cloud of villainous salt- 
petre enwrapped in suffocating folds soldiers, specta- 
tors, booths, and landscape, and until cartridge-boxes 
were emptied and military furore was satiated. The 
hubbub subsided about five o’clock into an occasional 
pop from tardy muskets, and the wounded—by pocket- 
pistols—were picked up in the booths and along the 
poplars, and the crowd took their winding—to some 
very winding—way to their supperless homes.” 

The Poor.—It was not until 1799 that public pro- 
vision had to be made for their poor by this thrifty 
Then there were but five persons. They 
were at first boarded by the lowest bidder, who must 
be approved by the selectmen, and was held strictly 
to take good and generous care of them, furnishing 


town. 


' everything needed except clothes and medical care. 
| These were separately supplied by the town. 
tains and astonished the fast-gathering crowds until | 


If he 
failed in any respect, he was to remove his charge 
In 1835 the dwell- 
ing-house and farm of Alpheus Adams were bonght 
for an almshouse at a cost of three thousand dollars. 


elsewhere at his own expense. 


In 1868 the house was burned, but another was 
speedily built a few rods farther east. 


At no time 
since 1835 has the number of its inmates exceeded 
twelve. The appropriation for 1883 was four thou- 
sand dollars. 

Burial-Grounds.—Land was set apart at the be- 
ginning of the settlement for the burial of the dead. 
One ‘“ God’s acre” was at Stop River, now the City 
Mills Cemetery; the other at the Centre. Both of 
They were 
open and uncared for until 1768, when they were 


fenced by stone walls. In 1795 committees were 


| chosen to repair the fences, choose sextons, and fix the 


These cemeteries have been enlarged 
from time to time as needful, and the dead of to-day are 
laid near where the forefathers of the hamlet sleep. 

In 1864, November 8th, a third burial-ground was 
This is called 
the Catholic Cemetery, and lies some one hundred 
and fifty rods west of their churah. 

The Post-Office.—Franklin had no regular post- 
office until 1819. Letters and papers were few and 
These were left at Wrentham by the 
carriers, who passed three times a week between 


bought and approved by the town. 


Providence and Boston. Any one who chanced to 
visit Wrentham brought them to the owners. In 
1812, Herman C. Fisher, then a lad of fifteen, was 
hired by a few families to go on horseback Satur- 
days to South Wrentham and bring the mail to Na- 
thaniel Adams’, afterwards Davis Thayer’s, store. 
His route was through Wrentham and Guinea to the 
old tavern on the Boston and Providence turnpike. 





FRANKLIN. 173 





About 1815, David Fisher, keeper of Wrentham tav- 

This brought the 
but letters for the 
northern part of the town were brought from Med- 
way village. 
Mills was built by Eli Richardson, who secured a 
post-office there. Fora while Mr. Richardson brought 
the letters and papers for Franklin Centre to meeting 
in the box of his sulky every Sunday, and H. C. 
Fisher carried them to the store of Maj. Davis 
Thayer to be distributed. 
Centre people began a movement for a post-office of 
their own. 


ern, was appointed postmaster. 
Franklin mail much nearer; 


But after two years the 


In 1822 they succeeded in securing a 
regular office, of which Maj. Thayer was postmaster. 
His successors have been Spencer Pratt, Theron C. 
Hills, David P. Baker, Cyrus B. Snow, Charles W. 
Stewart, David P. Baker again, A. A. Russegue, as- 


_ sities of the new settlement. 
About 1819 the stone store at City 





Early Industries.—Sawing or splitting the forest- 
trees into boards for their houses and grinding the 
corn raised on their cleared land were the first neces- 
The first corn-mill was 
built in 1685, by John Whiting, on the site of the 
present Eagle Mill, at the foot of the long and for- 


_merly steep hill of that name, and about midway be- 


| by Whitings for more than a century. 


sistant, Smith Fisher, and J. A. Woodward, the 


office moving with the appointment from place to 
place. 


caused his sudden death, to the grief of the whole 


Mr. Woodward held from 187i to May 14, | 


: p | equal proporchon throught in procuring of irones & hueing 
1883, when a fall from a scaffolding of his house | 


community, with whom he was held in the highest | 


respect for his uniform urbanity and kindliness. His 
successor, and the present postmaster, is Oliver H. 
Ingalls ; assistant, Laura E. Blake. The income from 
the office at first was not more than thirty dollars per 
year ; but it gradually increased till in 1882 the 
salary was raised to seventeen hundred dollars. 
now rated in the third class of post-offices. 


This mill was owned 
In 1713 the 
North Precinct settlers sought for mill privileges nearer 
home, and Daniel Hawes, Jr., and Eleazar Metealf 
associated with others to utilize the falls in Mine 
Brook for a saw-mill. 
which they signed: 


tween the two communities. 


The following is the contract 


“WreENTHAM Feb. the 7 1713. 
“We hose names are hereunto subscribed doe agree to build 


| a saw mill at the place called the Minebrook: Daniel Hawes 


wone quarter, John Maccane wone quarter, Eleazar Metealf and 
Samuel Metcalf wone quarter, Robert Pond Sen. wone quarter. 
We doe covenant & agree as follows: 

“1 We doe promis shat we wil each of us carry on & do our 


framing of adam & mill & all other labor throught so faire as 
the major part shall se meat to doe then to com to a reckoning. 

“2 We doe agre that all of us shall have liberty for to work 
out his proporsion of work & in case aney wone of us neglect to 


| carry on said work till it be done & fit to saw & he that neglects 


to carry on his part of said mill shall pay half a crown a day to 
the rest of the owners that did said work. 
“3 We doe agre that said land shall be for a mill pond soe 


long as the major part shall se fit. Wedu all so agre that no 


| won shall sell his part of said mill till he has first made a ten- 


It is | 


der to the rest of the owners. Wedual so agre that no won 


| shall sell his part in the land til he hes tenderd it to the rest 


Temperance.—Most of the people in the olden | 


time drank liquors to some extent and without scru- 
ple, under the impression that they were healthful 
and strength-giving. 


good people cast about for some external check upon 
the appetite. When said strength became too fre- 
quent and dangerous to the home-peace, their names 
were posted by the selectmen so that the dealers, 
‘who in regard of their remoteness from Boston had 


There were some who on spe- | 
cial occasions would get so thoroughly drunk that 


liberty to sell strong waters to supply the necessity of | 


such as stood in need thereof,’ should not sell to such 
But the evil habit of drinking in- 
creased in spite of church and minister. As early 
as 1825, after a lecture given in the Popolatic school- 
house by a son of Dr. Lyman Beecher, Caleb Fisher, 
Elisha Bullard, and several others not only signed a 
pledge, but. refused to furnish liquor to their men at 


under a penalty. 


of the owners. 

** Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of 
“Ezra Ponp 

“ JoNATHAN WRIGHT 


“ RoBART PoNnD 
“ DantEL Haws 


his « Joon MaccaNe 
“ Ropert < Ponp ‘“ ELEASAR METCALF 
mark ‘ SAMUEL METCALF.” 


On the back is the still further agreement : 


“to lay out each man’s loot as they are drawn—the first loot 
is to be gin four foot from the upper sil of the streax sil and soe 
up unto the ind of the sleapers, and to devid it equal into fower 
loots & from the sleapers towards the road so as not to interrupt 


the road. 
“ Ropart PonpD 


 JouN MAccANE 
“ SamMuEL METCALF 


“ DANIEL Haws 

“ ELEASER METCALF 

“ DANIEL THURSTON 
“March the 7 1717.” 


This first saw-mill came into and remained in the 


hands of the Whitings. 


work. The example spread, and Franklin became and | 


still is a temperance town. It has always voted no 
license, and now has two active temperance organiza- 
tions—a Temperance Alliance and the Woman’s 


Christian Temperance Union. 


In the laying out of a surveyor’s district, May 29, 
1736, there is mention of ‘“‘ The Iron Works,” said to 
be located near the foot of Forge Hill, ‘ Ben Works’ 
saw-mill’’ and “ Adams’ corn-mill’” at City Mills, sites 
now occupied by other works; but of other mills or 
factories no record is preserved until the beginning 
of the present century. 


174 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





CHAPTER XVITE 
FRANKLIN—(Continued). 


Later Town History—Eeclesiastical—Ministers of the First 
Church—Other Churches and Meeting-Houses—South Frank- 
lin Congregational—Grace Universalist—Baptist—Catholic 


_and dismissed July 6, 1864. 


—Methodist—Town Library—Public Schools—High School | 


—Franklin Academy—Dean Academy—College Graduates— 
Statistics of Growth—Town Industries—Straw 
Goods—Feltings, etec.—Newspapers — Railroads — Banks — 
Fire Protection—The Rebellion—List of Soldiers—Precincet 
and Town Officers—Centennial Celebration. 


Material 


Ministers of the First Congregational Church. 
—Rery. ELam SMALLEY was settled as the succes- 
sor, not colleague, of Dr. Emmons, June 17, 1829. 
He was dismissed July 5, 1839, and installed Sep- 
tember 19th over the Union Church, Worcester. 
He remained there until 1853, when he was dis- 
missed to become pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian 
Church, Troy, N. Y., but was soon compelled by fail- 
ing health to give up his work and try a voyage to 
Europe, seeking restoration and strength ; but with- 
out benefit, for he died soon after his return, in New 
York City, July 30, 1858, aged fifty-eight. Mr. 
Smalley was born in Dartmouth, fitted himself for 
college, and was graduated at Brown University, 
1827, whence he received D.D. in 1849. He studied 
theology with Rey. Otis Thompson, of Rehoboth. 
He supported himself while in college mainly by 
teaching singing-schools, in which he was eminently 
successful. His only son, George W., is the well- 
known London correspondent of the New York 
Tribune. 

Rey. Tertius DuNNING SouTHWORTH was in- 
and dismissed April 25, 1850. After leaving Frank- 
lin he preached statedly in Lyndon, Pownall, and 
Bennington, Vt., nearly five years, teaching a school 
at the same time in his house. 
Pleasant Prairie, Wis., where he preached for ten 
years, part of the time under commission of the 
the American Home Mission Society, until a rheu- 
matic fever disabled him from further active service. 
He returned in 1869 to his early home in Bridge- 
water, N. Y., where he died Aug. 2, 1874. He was 
buried in a silken surplice given him by the ladies of 
Franklin thirty years before. 
was born in Rome, N. Y., July 25,1801; graduated 


| President. 





Thence he went to | 


Rev. Mr. Southworth | 


at Hamilton College, 1827; spent one year at Au- | 
burn Theological Seminary, N. Y., and graduated at 
Andover, 1829; ordained at Utica, N. Y., Oct. 7, | 


1832 ; installed at Claremont, N. H., June 18, 1834, 


remaining there until he came to Franklin in the 
summer of 1838. 

Rey. SAmueL Hun was installed Dec. 4, 1850, 
He next entered the 
service of the American Missionary Association in 
establishing schools among the freedmen in North 
Carolina. He became associated in 1868, as seere- 
tary, with Hon. Henry Wilson, afterwards Vice- 
He aided in preparing Mr. Wilson’s 
work, ‘‘ The Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in Amer- 
ica,’ and edited the last volume after Mr. Wilson’s 
death. Mr. Hunt was born in West Attleborough, 
March 18, 1810; graduated at Amherst College, 
1852 ; studied theology from 1836 to 1838 in Prince- 
ton, N. J.; preached a year in Mansfield, Mass., and 
was ordained in Natick, July 17, 1839, whence he 
came to Franklin. He died in Boston, July 23, 1878. 

Rey. Georae A. Peron was installed for one 
year, Aug. 9, 1865, but withdrew during the year 
following for a Western field. 

Rey. Luruer Keene, the eighth regularly in- 
stalled pastor of the old church, was installed Oct. 9, 
1867, and died suddenly in the midst of his days 
April 17, 1874, aged forty-four. His last public ser- 
vice was April 5th. He was born in Milo, Me., Jan. 
30, 1830; graduated at Amherst College, 1859, and 
at Bangor in 1862. He was first settled in North 
Brookfield, in October, 1862, as pastor of a Union 
Congregational Church. After five years he resigned 
His ministerial labors, though 
The membership of the 
church was nearly doubled, and a new meeting-house 


to come to Franklin. 
short, left permanent results. 


and a commodious parsonage near it were built. Rey. 
Mr. Keene was the first occupant of the parsonage, 


_ and dedicated the new church Jan. 4, 1872, preaching 
stalled the fifth pastor of the church Jan. 23, 1839, | 


from John xii. 5. 

After Mr. Keene’s death the church remained with- 
out a settled pastor, depending on the broken and 
evanescent impressions of transient supplies, until the 
wiser conclusion of the church led to the installation 
of the present efficient pastor on Dec. 8, 1880. 

Rev. GEorGE KE. Lovesoy, now in office, is a 
native of Bradford, Mass., and was resident licentiate 
at Andover, 1873. His pastorate previous to Frank- 
lin was in Bedford, Mass. Since his ministry here 
between sixty and seventy have been added to the 
church, increasing its present membership to two 
hundred and ninety-two. 

The present Congregational Church was built during 
1871, as has been mentioned. Its site was bought, 
bordering the southeast corner of the Common, and 
the building committee in charge pushed the work 
through with business-like energy. They were Messrs. 





FRANKLIN. 175 





Davis Thayer, Jr., Henry M. Greene, Albert E. Dan- 
iels, Osman A. Stanley, Dr. George King, E. H. Sher- 
man, and Frank B. Ray. John Stevens was the | 
architect, and Hanson & Hunniwell the builders. The 
organ was built by Stevens, of Cambridge. The di- 
mensions of the main building are 100 by 60 feet ; 
audience-room, 60 by 80, and 29 feet high; chapel | 
attached to the rear, 45 by 55 feet ; two wings, 25 by | 
14 feet; height of steeple, 164 feet; whole cost of | 
the house furnished, $36,000. It has 650 sittings in: 
the main audience-room, and 100 in the gallery. The | 
chapel will seat 500, and the dining-room 400. 

Other Churches and Houses of Worship.— | 
SourH FRANKLIN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.— | 
Through the summer of 1855 meetings were held on | 
alternate Sundays in the South Franklin district | 
school-house. A Sunday-school was formed, and a | 
library given by friends. 








The scattered families of 
that region showed so much interest in meetings near 
their homes, that a council of churches was called 
Aug. 20, 1855, at the house of Willard C. Whiting. | 
As a result, September 13th, a church of eighteen 
members was organized. During the spring following 


fifteen hundred dollars were secured by subscription 
for a meeting-house. The corner-stone was laid Sept. | 
5, 1856, and the house was dedicated July 25, 1857. | 
This church has not yet felt strong enough to enjoy 
a settled ministry, but has been supplied by acting 
pastors to the present date. 

Grace CHuRcH, UNIVERSALIST.—On Oct. 4, 
1856, a Universalist parish was organized. At first 
their services were held in the town hall, but under | 
the inspiration of a generous offer from the late Oliver | 
Dean, M.D., it was determined to build a house. | 
This was located close upon Main Street, and was | 
consecrated May 5, 1858. The cost, besides the land, | 
was about seven thousand dollars. The building was | 
used until June, 1874, when it was sold to the Bap- 
tists, and removed to School Street. In 1873 the 
parish built the present ‘* Grace Church” directly in | 
the rear of its first building. This graceful and | 
beautiful house of worship is one of the architectural 
attractions of Franklin. 





It cost, with all its appoint- | 
ments, furniture, organ, and steam-heating apparatus, 
fifty-two thousand dollars, of which sum Dr. Dean 
originally gave two thousand dollars. Rev. A. N. 
Adams was the first settled pastor. He was installed | 
May 5, 1858, and on the same day in which the first | 
church building was dedicated, and was dismissed in 
1860. 

In 1860 a church was organized, also a Sunday- 
school, and all the other auxiliaries which help to sus- 


tain vigorous church work. The pastors have been | 


| 
\ 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 


| with thirteen members. 


Rev. A. N. Adams, 1858-60; Rev. N. R. Wright, 
1861-62 ; Rev. 8. W. Squires, 1862-66; Rev. H. D. 
L. Webster for a few months, succeeded by Rev. Rich- 
ard Eddy, 1867-69. After being without a pastor for 
nearly three years, Rev. A. St. John Chambre (D.D. 
1878) was installed July 1, 1872. He closed his 
pastorate in 1880, and was followed by Rev. L. J. 
Fletcher, D D., just deceased. The list of church 
members numbers now about one hundred and eight 
from a parish of about ninety families. 

THe Baprist CHURCH was organized in 1868 
Its pastors have been Rev. 
J. W. Holman, M.D., succeeded by Rev. George 
Ryan in May, 1873. In 1876 the church was dis- 
banded. September, 1881, Rev. A. W. Jefferson, 
from Poultney, Vt., was sent into this field to awaken 
anew the denominational interest. Asa result of his 
labors the church was reorganized in June, 1882, 
and now numbers thirty-five, with a Sunday-school 
of about sixty-five. This society first held their ser- 
vices in the town hall until a neat chapel was built 
on Kast Street during the pastorate of Rev. Mr. 
Rounds. In 1874 the society purchased the build- 
ing in which they now worship of the Unuiversalists, 
moved it to School Street, and made some alterations. 

CatHoLic CHurcH.—In 1851 the Catholics were 
given the use of the town hall for a service, conducted 
monthly by Rev. M. X. Carroll, from Foxborough. 
In 1862 he was succeeded by Rev. M. McCabe, of 
From 1863 to 1873, Rev. P. Gillie, of 
From 1872- 
76, Rev. Francis Gonesse, of Walpole, had charge of 
the parish. In February, 1877, Rev. J. Griffin 
became and still remains the resident pastor. In 
1871 the society bought the old Congregational 
Church, and remodeled its interior for their forms 


Woonsocket. 
Attleborough, held occasional services. 


of worship. A large and commodious parsonage has 
been built directly west of the church. 

THe Meruopist CuurcH.—As early as 1853 a 
Methodist meeting was held in the town hall by 
Rey. John M. Merrill. He gathered quite a large 
congregation. In 1855, Rev. Pliny Wood succeeded 


him. In 1856, Rev. M. P. Webster took up the 


_work, but the enterprise failed so rapidly that the 


Conference decided in 1857 to suspend the services, 
In 1871 meetings were again started under the charge 
of Rev. John R. Cushing, of Boston. 
a Sunday-school, and gathered a good congregation. 
In April, 1872, the Conference sent Rev. KE. P. King 
into this field. He organized a church of thirteen 
members, and laid the corner-stone of a church build- 
ing October 3d. The house was dedicated June 25, 
1873. The same year the church membership in- 


He organized 





176 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





ereased to sixty-six. April, 1874, Mr. King was 
transferred, and Rev. J. N. Short became pastor for 
three years. He was followed in 1878 by Rev. 
William Wignall, 1878-79; Rev. O. W. Adams, 
1880-81; Rev. A. C. Godfrey, 1882 ; and Rev. M. D. 
Hornbeck, the present pastor, since April, 1883. 


SwEDENBORGIAN.—A few members of the New | 
Jerusalem Church have held meetings constantly for | 


seventeen years at the house of the late J. A. Wood- 
ward, but they have never been organized into a 
distinet church. 

Town Library.—Mention has been made of the 
library presented by Dr. Franklin to the town asa 
birthday-gift. With its one hundred 
volumes was afterwards connected a private library 
of one hundred and twenty-five volumes for the use 


and sixteen 


of its shareholders. 
library was limited to members of the parish; but in 


1791 it was “opened to the whole town, until the | 


town shall order otherwise.” 
became so little esteemed, that in 1840 they were 
found stowed away in their venerable bookcase in a 
barn. In 1856 a library association was formed 
to which the town by vote gave in charge the old 
Franklin and Social Library. 


These antiquated books 


These libraries were formed into a free town library, | 
to which the town has appropriated money annually | 


At first the use of the public | 


for its increase and support; in addition to this town | 


grant, amounting now to five hundred dollars, the 


library has the income of three thousand dollars, a_ 


legacy of Dr. Dean, for the purchase of books. 
report for 1883 is as follows: 





Librarian’s salary..... $150.00 ; Volumes added......... 217 
facmerenteecsrecssscoees,  L002000) Loaned: i. ccctcc-ccccss se 12,785 
Incidentals.............. 201.75 | Number. of borrowers. 657 
116 new books......... 187.77 
| Whole number of vol- 
Total, $639.52 | UmMeS.....ccecs covecesee 3,000 


Waldo Daniels has been the librarian from the 
beginning. 
Public Schools.—The first grant of money by the 


The | 


one hundred scholars. 





town for the support of schools was £200, voted May | 


20, 1778. 


This was divided in proportion to the | 


number of children living in each school district be- | 


tween the ages of four and sixteen. The grants of 
money in succeeding years have steadily increased 
with the increase of school attendance. 
was only £80, and varied but little till 1796, when it 
was $320; increasing till in 1814 it was $600, and 
in 1839, $1000. In 1873 it reached $6000. 


In 1782 it | 


It has | 


increased largely each year, till the appropriation for | 


1883 was $8300. These sums include the total annual 


grant for schools. 


| Massachusetts 


_ the belfry of the South Franklin Church. 


In 1795 the number of children in town required 
six school-houses, whose location was decided by a 
committee chosen for the purpose. Now the town 
supports ten mixed schools, exclusive of the High 
School. The Central School is graded into four de- 
partments and six schools. 

At first the clergyman visited and catechised each 
school annually. As the notice of his coming visit 
was announced from the pulpit the previous Sunday, 
After the close 
of Dr. Emmons’ ministry this duty of examination 


great were the preparations for it. 


by law devolved upon the school committee, and with 
them it now rests. 

A High School was established by the town in 
1868. It was opened on May 20th with twenty-two 
scholars, Miss Mary A. Bryant, principal. She was 
succeeded by Miss Annie HE. Patten and Thomas 
Curly. Lucien I. Blake, of Amherst College, was 
principal in 1877-78, followed by Theodore Parker 
Farr, a graduate of Tufts College. The present 
principal is Mrs. M. A. B. Wiggins. 

Private Schools.—<At the request of many parents, 
Mortimer Blake, a graduate of Amherst College, 
began in September, 1835, at his own charges, a 


_ private school of a higher grade than the town public 


He occupied first the Central District school- 
house with fifty-six scholars, fourteen of whom came 


schools. 


from other towns; but within the first year of this 
school’s existence a large two-story building was 
erected at the western foot of the Common by a stock 
company with accommodations for one hundred pupils, 
This 


besides recitation-rooms and exhibition hall. 


building was in after-years used for a store and straw- 


shop alternately, till now—minus the cupola—it is 
used entirely for tenements. The bell now hangs in 
The school 
continued for several years, and during the first princi- 
pal’s connection with it its term-rolls often numbered 
It included the names of 
many scholars since well known, and not a few re- 
nowned as educators and heads of important institu- 
tions of instruction, as well as lawyers, physicians, 


and ministers. The academy gradually subsided 
under the rise of public high schools, although the 
succeeding principals, Bigelow and Baker, endeavored 
faithfully to maintain it. 

A Kindergarten was opened a few years since by 
Miss Lydia P. Ray, a graduate of Vassar College, ina 
building fitted especially for the purpose. It is now 
taught by Mrs. J. C. Blaisdell, and numbers about 
twenty little children. 

Dean Academy.—At the annual session of the 


Universalist Convention, held in 








FRANKLIN. 


177 





Worcester, Oct. 18-20, 1864, the subject of a State | show a larger ratio of educated men and women. 


denominational school, to be of the highest grade be- 
low that of colleges, was brought before the Council 
by Dr. A. A. Miner, president of Tufts College. A 
committee was appointed with full discretionary 
powers, Rev. A. St. John Chambre, of Stoughton, 
chairman. Dr. Oliver Dean offered a tract of eight or 


nine acres which he had bought of the estate of Dr. | 


Emmons, and $10,000 towards a building, besides 
$50,000 as a permanent fund, and his offer was ac: 
cepted. May 16, 1867, the corner-stone of Dean 
Academy building was laid with appropriate public 
As the work of building went on, Dr. 
Dean increased his donations to nearly $75,000. The 
style of the edifice was French Lombardic, and its 
total cost, exclusive of furniture and gas apparatus, 
was $154,000. It was two hundred and twenty feet 
front; the main centre fifty by sixty feet deep, of 
four stories ; and two wings, each fifty-eight by forty- 


ceremonies. 


four feet in depth, with still other wings in the rear | 


and three stories high. It was dedicated May 28, 
1868, Rev. E. C. Bolles, of Portland, giving the 
address. The school had been commenced with forty- 
four pupils, Oct. 1, 1866, in the vestry of the Uni- 
versalist Church, under Mr. T. G. Senter, principal. 
The summer term of 1868 was opened in the new 
edifice. 

Four years later, during the night of July 31, 
1872, this magnificent building with nearly all its 


contents was destroyed by fire. The young school 





became suddenly homeless, and Principal Senter re- | 


signed. The Franklin House was bought and the 
school resumed in it, with C. A. Daniels as principal 


for one year, and Dr. J. P. Weston for five years. 


After two years of labor and great anxiety, a second 


and the present edifice was completed and dedicated 
June 24,1874. It occupies substantially the same 
foundations, and differs but little from the previous 
one, except being in Gothic style. 

Until the year 1877, Dean Academy was open 
to both sexes; but the demand for a young ladies’ 
school led the trustees to limit it accordingly. The 
new arrangement opened in 1877-78, with about 
fifty pupils, under Miss H. M. Parkhurst, principal. 
After two years’ trial the limitation was removed, 
and the school is now open to both sexes. Professor 
Lester L. Burrington, from the Illinois State Nor- 
mal University, became the principal in 1879, and 
the school is still under this faithful and devoted 
teacher. 

College Graduates.—The interest of the town in 
education is further indicated by its long roll of col- 


lege graduates and professional men. 
12 


Few towns can 





Name. Institution. Graduated, 

| Professor Aldis S. Allen, M.D... Yale................seccecoss seoeee 1827 
Benjamin F. Allen...............0 IBLOWillwacssccasce- cossedeces eters 1817 
Juidive Asa Al discs. cccscesessceccese BLOW Meresesiedeesesseomecerinscees 1796 

| J. Frank Atwood, M.D............ Hava Clessescccsssesccrseiercoes 1869 
Henny pM Bacon<ccss-ccslesessen AMIN CTS ticesessccesaceneeansecenes 1876 
Reva AbijahyR. Bakery D>Diss- A MHeCrst..c..scesscosiseeonsieonees 1830 

li Davyad HS Baker ..c..-sc.croececssss MINN CLSL...01-socecesetsrcrecsoss LOC 
Rev. Mortimer Blake, D.D....../ Amiherstvcnvssccclseccscsscmescee 1835 
Gilbert; Clarks MED ccsecccssseo Eclectic Medical, Phila.....1873 
Rev. Henry M. Daniels........... Chicago Theological......... 1861 
Rev. William H. Daniels......... Mid detowitice--cisecsas) anecens 1868 
Hon. Williams Emmons........... BLOW Miescescocsseucesenecieneeneene 1805 
Elisha Fairbanks, Esq............. BYrOWil.cccsssecssscniderasioccens 1791 
Mheodorey Ea Harlaccestcscecsesesss IE oncg Reccoganonaocono scone 1878 
Professor A. Metcalf Fisher..... Yale....... ...c0csscosesesesresees 18135 
Rev. Charles R. Fisher............ AMBIT RY antecoqcoongacosbaobooc 1842 
Hon. George Fishevr................ Brown sacesllles lies 
Me WASM Wi. HISH Tz. ..iccscsensesiecesse LOW Mie snecescclercecsenciesacsenes 1816 
Elisha Harding, M.D.............. IBTOWiDissscsbivcecscledecscieccnsenes 1819 
Rev. Thomas Haven............+0. Hat Var sesscsiececesccccinsosesaet 1765 
Peter Hawes, Hsq.........0eeseeeee IBTOWilsscsescveseclecceceoesiocemee 1790 
Rev. Isaac E. Heaton..........006. IBTOWNtecss\cccorcieceterieamecetes 1832 
Revs Santordidia Horton, DsDs cUriMity, ccccsccescnesceceosessenss 1843 
Rev. Samuel Kingsbury........... IBTOWillscsvccens/ccececncsiscercecs 1822 
S2 Allon Kinesbury. MiDers sc. SLOW. scseslecscescrsieoronsessers 1816 
Hon. Horace Mann, LL.D........ IBLOWillicstesesessonsectencienesemsen 1819 
Edward McFarland, Esq......... Holy Cross, Worcester....... 1873 
Alfred Metcalf, Esq..........secee IBTOWillecesecacs(octeecessrerseeses 1802 
John G. Metcalf, M.D............. IBYOWibsccccessesercssarismeaneacs 1820 
Judge Theron Metcalf....... ..... BLOW cerss\esncosicenostecenscees 1805 
George T. Metcalf, Esq............ BLOWN csescooss coosecesenecneeees 1853 
Erasmus D. Miller, M.D......... IBLO Willers scsiecsscsncedecescasse 1832 

| Lewis L. Miller, M.D..........-0 BLOW Discscossocescesestavecceess 1817 
Rey. William Phipps......... ...-«+ NMOL) .wewelesoneeinecadessent= 1837 
Rev. George G. PhippS........++4+ AIMNELBt\. 2.0.0 ccccescenlocssssers 1862 
Benjamin Pond, M.D.............. Medical, Dartmouth......... 1813 
Rev. Daniel Pond............<..css Harvard (ceesctsosessiesecsciseeces 1745 
Samuel M. Pond, Hsq........ 20.00 BLOWD...00.seeees consee conseecee 1802 
Rev. Limothy (Pond... seocesess ElamvanQtesesc trac seclerscortoemee 1749 
Metcalf E. Pond, D.D.S.......... Boston Dental College...... 1874 
Jenner L. S. Pratt, M.D.....:....Columbia, New York.........1842 

| Spencer A. Pratt, Hsq.........0+6 IBNOWM ie cacckcuscedsosope dem sesee 1830 
PeMassiliydiaiea Haycccssccocessssess Wassar Collere......ccsssoscecs 1878 
| William F. Ray, A.M..........s00 BIOWNs....cesecen) eosceseaterer 1874 
Rev. Albert M. Richardson...... Oberlinifs.ss.ecesesrerssdenseeser 1846 

| Professor Henry B. Richardson. Amherst .........eeseeeeeeeeees 1869 
Frank BH. Rockwood, Hsq......... BrOWN.....+..ceccsee ences ceeees 1874 
Lucius 0. Rockwood, Esq........ BLOW wececscsicccsssieseecsieteete 1868 

| Henry E. Russegue, M.D......... Boston University..........0 1878 
George W. Smalley........s00seeeee Wale csecs.cosisesesscesinvecvosesses — 
Rev. William M. Thayer......... IBrOWilccracdeccesceescieessecisesers 1843 

| Abijah Whiting, Hsq............... IBYOWiseccctss ocoileccersledeieelcass 1790 
Nathan Whiting, Esq...........00. BLOW see-sceclocssccossjoneeecoes 1796 
Rev. Samuel Whiting............+. Harvard isccccsescleccceccanserecs 1769 





Since its incorporation as a precinct, fifty-three of its 
young men and one lady are known to have graduated 
from college. Their names are here given. Many 
others, natives, but hailing elsewhere, are graduates. 
The honorable women of the town who married pro- 
fessiona! men are nota few. The total number given 
in Blake’s “ History of Franklin” is one hundred and 


twelve. 


LIST OF GRADUATES. 


In addition to those mentioned in the above list 
were several others who died in the course of their 
collegiate studies or were arrested by change of cir- 
cumstances. 

Material Progress.—The following table, com- 
piled from the earliest reliable sources, exhibits the 
growth of the town: 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 























178 
: ar 
ot 3 xz | g a = s. | Total 
Year = | Valuation. | 2 | = | & | @ | 2 | 9 | Popula- 
& mia lm} o|S | a | tion. 
| 
£2401 18s. | 127 | 119 132} 198 | 570| 856 1100 
£2803 14s. 6d. | 143 | 131 | 139 | 270 | 788|.....| 1101 
$13,294.40 | 169 | 157 | 180 | 275 | 729|.....| 1255 
17,318.95 | 180/178 | 163 | 265 | 733 ].....| 1398 
15,524.75 |210|180| 143 | 274| 599] .....! 1630 
343,124.00 | 234 | 208| 149 | 274 563|301) 1662 
417:978.00 | 262 | 227/183/191| 448/129) 1717 
648,436.00 | 304|240/185/192) 493] 12| 2043 
811,636.00 | 379 | 269/245|142/508) 5] 2172 
1,116,660.00 | 402]..... | 269}... 573] 10] 2510 
1,433,635.00 | 464] ...../331].....|466] 4] 2983 
1,736,370.00 | 632|320|448| 40/393] 14| 4051 
1,873,830.00 | 658 | 354/451) 50 549) 16) ...... 
| | | 





These tables indicate that the 
has in late years been rapid for 
The impulses of this growth are found in the devel- 


progress of the town 


opment of business, as the facts following indicate. | 


They have been carefully gathered from original 
sources. 

Later Industries.—The beginning of the present 
century marks the introduction of the straw business, 
in which the town still holds a foremost rank. The 
braiding and making of rye-straw into bonnets came 
from Providence, R. I. A milliner of that city, Mrs. 


Naomi Whipple, and her assistant, Miss Hannah Met- | 


calf, unraveled a piece of imported braid and learned 
the secret of its plaited strands. She made and sent 
a case of bonnets, from braid of her own manufacture, 
to New York, which sold with the rapidity of foreign 
goods. Sally Richmond, a scholar at Wrentham 
Academy in the summer of 1799, taught the art of 
braiding to the ladies where she boarded, and thus 
came the new industry to Wrentham and Franklin. 
The storekeepers at first exchanged their goods for 
the braid ; but as it accumulated, they began to make 


staid New England. | 


| into individual firms. 








it into bonnets, carrying it with wooden forms from | 


house to house to be sewed into shape by the farmers’ 
wives and daughters. The bonnets so made were 
gathered and pressed at first with common hand-flats, 
afterwards with jack-presses worked by the foot. So 
grew up the great industry which now employs thou- 
sands of people in this region. 

The first straw manufactory in Franklin was begun 
in 1812 by Asa and Davis Thayer. After the death 
of Asa Thayer, in 1816, a partnership was formed be- 
tween Davis Thayer and Herman C. Fisher, to which, 
in 1825, Albert EK. Daniels was admitted. Another 
early firm was Asa Rockwood & Son. 

The trip to New York, where their sales were made, 


was not to these first merchants a night ride in a | 


steamer. They went with a horse and wagon to Prov- 
idence and thence in a sailing-vessel, whenever a cargo 
and wind and tide were ready, waiting sometimes two 
weeks for a favorable wind. When they should return 


to their factories was still more uncertain. Between 





| Thayer Bros. 


the two termini of their business, their lives were 


drawn in unequal and indefinite lengths which unusual 
patience alone could equate. 

Thayer, Fisher & Daniels after a while separated 
Thayer became Thayer, Gay 
& Co., then D. Thayer, Jr., & Bros., until their final 
transfer to Hubbard, Snow & Co. 

Hermon C. Fisher became Fisher & Norcross, then 


H.C. Fisher alone a few years, afterwards Fisher & 


Adams, and, after the death of Mr. Simeon Adams, 
Fisher again until he was succeeded in the business 
by Horace M. Gowen. This line is now extinct. 

Albert E. Daniels became Daniels & Green, then 
Daniels & Son, when the business was transferred to 
Green & Baker, then to Henry M. Green alone; again 
it became Farmer & Sherman, then Bassett, Sherman 
& Co., and now is Oscar M. Bassett & Co. Other 
firms have also engaged in the straw business,—Hart- 
well Morse & Co., for twenty years; Horace S. Morse 
& Capron, for twelve years, in the old academy build- 
ing; Foster, Pratt & Day, and Gen. Sumner & Co., 
about 1855-60. In 1869 no less than seven manufac- 
tories of straw goods were in active operation, making 
a million hats and bonnets per year. ‘These were at 
that time all made, pressed, and finished by hand; 
but about 1872 the hydraulic press was introduced, 
and in 1875 sewing-machines came into use. They 
greatly increased the amount of production, but with 
a large decrease of employés as well as a reduced 
value in products. ‘Two firms only are now manufac- 
turing straw goods in Franklin, as below: . 

Hupparp, Basserr & Co. are at the New York 
end of the line, and HuBBARD, Snow & Co. occupy 
in Franklin the large factory formerly used by Davis 
They have three hundred and twenty- 
five employés at the factory, and two hundred and 
fifty outside to whom work is carried. They manu- 
factured in 1883 nineteen thousand cases, each con- 
taining on an average four dozen hats or bonnets ; 
total, nine hundred and twelve thousand. Oscar M. 
Bassett & Co., successors of Bassett & Sherman, 
have manufactured only since Sept. 1, 1883; but they 
already employ about two hundred hands and make 
all varieties of straw goods. 

FET’, SATINET, AND CASSIMERE MANUFACTURES 
have become another leading industry in Franklin. 
Col. Joseph Ray came with his family to Franklin in 
1839, and engaged in making cotton goods. One of 
his sons, Frank B. Ray, started the first woolen-mill 
in town at Unionville, a village a mile and a half 
west of the Centre. He at first prepared wool shoddy 
to sell to others, using probably the first shoddy picker 


in the country. 





FRANKLIN. 


179 





In 1870 he started the first felt machinery in town. | bought Dr. Emmons’ barn, moved it, and began 
This enterprise of felt manufactures grew rapidly by | manufacturing therein. He was succeeded by James 


the forming of new firms and the addition of cassi- 
mere and satinet goods. 
were followed by Rays, Rathburn & McKenzie, 
and The Franklin Felting Company,—Enoch Waite, 


James P. and Joseph G. Ray. There are now seven 


The firm of J. P. & 


J. G. Ray are running four mills, viz.: a shoddy- 


of these felting-mills running. 


mill, using from six to eight thousand pounds of” 


rags per day, and employing fifty hands; a cassimere- 


twenty-five hands, and making 200,000 yards per 


year ; a cotton warp woolen satinet mill, with eight | 


sets, one hundred and fifty hands, and 1,000,000 
yards per year,—this mill is located in Bellingham ; 
the City Mills, now in Norfolk, for all kinds of felt- 
goods, eighty hands, and 500,000 yards per year. 
Their wool and waste trade amounts to one million 
dollars per year. 


Frank B. Ray has one felt- and one shoddy- 


mill, both in Franklin. 

Wiuiiam F. Ray, son of Frank B. Ray, runs a 
mill at Norfolk, for wool extracts and shoddy, em- 
ploying fifteen hands’and producing 400,000 pounds 
per year. 

A Satiner-MIL1, built by Ray, Rathburn & 
McKenzie in 1872 for a felt-mill, was bought, 1881, 


Morse & Waite, in 1871, | 


by C. J. McKenzie and changed to a satinet-mill. | 
It runs three sets of woolen machinery, employs | 
forty hands, and produces 350,000 yards per annum. | 


Tue Fevtine-MIx1 of the Franklin Felting Com- 
pany was purchased, in the spring of 1883, by Adel- 
bert D. Thayer. 
dollars. 

Another CAssIMERE-MILL has this year (1883) 


been started by Addison M. Thayer, with forty thou- | 


sand dollars capital. 
Of these ten mills, three are just beyond the town 
limits, but are owned and operated by Franklin firms. 


} 
| 


| the works. 








| 


M. Freeman, who enlarged both business and shop, 
but he retired in 1879, and the business also. 

THE FRANKLIN Rupser-Boot CoMPANY was 
organized, 1882, with a capital of seventy-five thou- 
sand dollars. Moses Farnum, president; Joseph G. 
Ray, treasurer; Horace Jenks, superintendent of 
They are located near Beaver Pond, and 
are employing one hundred and twenty hands, 


_and make 800 pairs of rubber boots and the same 
mill, with six sets of machinery, one hundred and 


number of overshoes per day. 

LuMBER AND Box Facrorigs.—kE. L. and O. F. 
Metcalf commenced as contractors and builders in 
1843. In 1847-49 they were actively engaged in 
building depot, bridges, ete., for the Norfolk County 
Railroad and Southbridge branch. In 1856 they 
bought the Frost water-mill, about two miles from 
the Centre, fitting it up with wood-working ma- 
chinery, and also opened a lumber-yard at the village. 
In 1867 they built a steam-mill near the railway 
station, which has been enlarged until its present 
dimensions are sixty by one hundred and eight feet, 
with wings thirty by fifty feet and thirty by forty 
In 1870 they added a saw- 
mill and, in 1873 a grain-mill. 


feet, all two stories high. 
They employ a 
large number of hands in the sash, door, blind, and 
box departments. 

The original firm, after almost forty years of suc- 
cessful business, dissolved in 1881 by mutual con- 
sent, Erastus L. going out, and Walter M. Fisher 
taking his interest in the business, which is now 


carried on with the firm-name of O. F. Metcalf & 


It has a capital of forty thousand | 


Sons. 
In the northwestern part of the town is another 


lumber- and box-factory, started by Lucius W. 
| 


_ keep its saws busy. 


THE FRANKLIN Corron MANUFACTURING Com- | 


PANY has just been formed. This corporation is 
erecting at Unionville a granite building one hundred 


and thirty-three feet long and fifty-five feet wide and | 
two stories high, to be run by both steam and water, | 


as the supply serves. They will make a new kind of 
fancy cotton goods, with imported English machinery, 
and intend to commence Jan. 1, 1884. Capital, one 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The officers are 
George Draper, of Milford, president; James P. 
Ray, of Franklin, treasurer. 


DANIELS in 1874, making 50,000 packing-boxes and 
using 750,000 feet of lumber per year. ~The saw- 
mill demands 400,000 feet of lumber per 


year to 
At Nason’s Crossing, about half a mile south of the 
Centre, JosepH M. Wurrina has been engaged for 
several years running a grist-mill. 
MACHINERY.—Joseph Clark owns the one ma- 
chine-shop in Franklin, located at Nason’s Crossing. 
He manufactures largely woolen machinery, as well 


| as repairs cotton machinery of all kinds, employing a 


THE SHor Business has never put more than — 


one foot into the town. 


In 1850, N. C. Newell | small scale. 


large number of men and adding much to the town 
industries. 

CANNED Goops.—North Franklin is a head centre 
of the canning industry. The large factory of Rich- 
ardson & Hopkins commenced ten years ago on a 
Their buildings have been enlarged and 


180 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





machinery added, including two forty horse-power 
boilers. During the busy season, they now employ | 
about one hundred and fifty hands. They make their | 
own cans, of which in 1882 they produced 400,000. 
This firm put up last year 112,000 cans of corn, 90,- 


722 of tomatoes, 45,387 of squash in three-pound 
cans, and 1267 in gallons; peas and beans, 15,000 ; 
pumpkins, 5140 ; cranberries, 3000. Fifteen thousand | 
cases were required to pack the shipped goods. 

GrorGE BAcon commenced the same industry in 
1881 with about twenty-five hands, making a good 
start the first year with 20,000 cans of corn, 23,000 | 
of tomatoes, and 3,200 of squash, he also making | 
his own cans. 

R. E. Gurney commenced canning in 1882, put- 
ting up about 20,000 cans, and raising nearly all the 
material used. , | 

Breer SuGar.—The experiment of making sugar | 
from beets was tried in Franklin for a year by a cor- | 
poration formed in 1879, with a capital of one hun- | 
But the en- | 
terprise was abandoned for lack of beets. 


dred and thirty-three thousand dollars. 
It was 
thought that they could not be raised with profit to 
the farmer at prices which would also render it profit- 
able to the corporation. 

Near the depot are StreAM Print-Works, owned 
by Charles L. Stewart and started by him in 1873. 

On Dean Street is L. W. MILirKEeNn, manufac- 
turer of loom-pickers, straps, and other manufactures 
of leather. 
of R. Sommers, for toilet and laundry soap, carried 


On the same street is the manufactory 





by teams in all the region round about. 

On East Street A. Parker Smith manufactures a 
leather lacquer for carriages, for Boston trade. 

A company has been formed for the manufacture 
of jewelry, with a capital of six thousand dollars. 
Henry R. Jenks is president, and a building is nearly | 
completed on Dean Street. 
early in 1884. 

The Press.—The first newspaper published in | 


Work will commence | 


open accounts at the present time. 
deposits, $295,574,38. 





town was The Franklin Register, a weekly. It was 
started October, 1872, by James M. Stewart, editor 
and proprietor. It was continued until the removal 
of Mr. Stewart in 1881. In 1878 The Franklin 
Sentinel began its weekly rounds. It was put on 
duty by R. EK. Capron. Since January, 1883, The 
Sentinel has been published by Houston & Lincoln, 
with a lengthened circuit and more imposing dimen- 
sions. May its circuit be enlarged as its value 
increases. 

Railroads.—The Norfolk County Railroad was 
incorporated in 1847. In 1849 the road was com- 


pleted and running its trains. The line connected | 


Dedham and Blackstone, and was twenty-six miles 
long. The bridge just west of the Franklin station 
covers the summit of the road. Its elevation above 
the mean low-water level in Boston at this point is 
296.25. feet. The Norfolk County Railroad has since 


100 


| become a link of the New York and New Eng- 


land Railroad, and has been gradually lengthened 
until, from Boston to Fishkill,—its proper western 
terminus,—it measures 227? miles of main track, ex- 
clusive of its branches. 

In 1877 the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Rail- 
road was completed, connecting Franklin and Prov- 
idence via Valley Falls, twenty miles. It is owned 


and controlled by both Massachusetts and Rhode 


Island parties, each on its side of the line. During 


the past summer (1883) the Milford and Franklin 


Railroad has been completed, and trains are now run- 
ning regularly and often over its ten miles of length, 
connecting, through Hopkinton and Ashland, with the 
Boston and Albany Railroad. Franklin is thus amply 
provided with railway connections. 
Banks.—Franklin has two banks,—the FRANK- 


Lin NATIONAL, with a capital of two hundred thou- 
sand dollars; President, James, P. Ray, and Cashier, 
| Moses Farnum; and the BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SAv- 
|inGs BANK, incorporated Feb. 21, 1871. President, 


Davis Thayer, Jr.; Cashier, Charles W. Stewart. 
Number of depositors since 1871, two thousand four 
hundred and six; and eleven hundred and seventy 
Amount of net 


As will be seen, the industries of Franklin have 


_ increased rapidly. 


Fire and Water.—For the protection of all the 
varied industries and their buildings, as well as the 
houses of the inhabitants of the town, there are as 
yet but two hand-engines. These, in case of fire, can 
throw water from cisterns or wells, if near and ample 
But several recent destructive fires, which 
literally devoured the buildings they attacked, have 
proved that Franklin is without sufficient protection 


enough. 


against this terrible foe. 


Several movements have been made towards the 
building of protective water-works, and preliminary 
surveys were made by P. M. Blake, C.E., in 1876. 
But nothing was done by the town until the town- 
meeting in March, 1883. A committee of three— 
Joseph G. Ray, Asa A. Fletcher, and William E. 
Nason—were then chosen to ascertain the cost and 
all other information necessary for the introduction 
of a water supply. The immediate and only present 
result appears in an act of incorporation passed by 
the Legislature May 16, 1883, authorizing the forma- 











e. 


FRANKLIN. 


181 





tion of the Franklin Water Company, to take water | 
from Beaver Pond, and to issue bonds for seventy-five © 


thousand dollars, payable in thirty years from the 


date of issue; the whole capital not to exceed sev- 
enty-five thousand dollars, in shares of one hundred 
dollars each. Associated with the committee in the 


act of incorporation were Rev. William M. Thayer, | 


James M. Freeman, James P. Ray, George N. Wig- 
gin, Henry R. Jenks, and Homer V. Snow. As yet 
the company have attempted no visible measures, 
though their next report to the town may contain 


definite suggestions. 


The town also chose a committee, Sept. 30, 1882, | 


to take charge of the question of a new town-house. 
This subject is awaiting decisive action, not to be 
much longer delayed, as the present town-house is 
inadequate for use. 


The Rebellion of 1861.—The response evoked | 


by the war for slavery is indicated by the following 


resolve, passed unanimously at a town-meeting, 
May 2, 1861: 


“ Resolved, That it is the duty of all good citizens to dis- 
countenance and frown upon every individual among us, if any 
there be, who shall express sentiments disloyal to the govern- 
ment of the United States, or offer aid or sympathy to the 
plotters of treason and rebellion.” 


But the town expressed itself not in words alone. 
It at once raised, on its quota of twenty-three, thirty- 
four men, and three thousand dollars were promptly 
pledged as aid. On the call of August, 1862, for 
three hundred thousand more, forty-three were en- 
listed on its quota of thirty-four. The town responded | 
with a like promptness and profusion to every subse- 
quent call for troops. Individual citizeus were gen- 
erous in subscriptions to pay bounties and to aid the | 
families of volunteers. 

When the first detachment—the overquota of. 
thirty-six, and called Company OC, Forty-fifth Regi- 
ment of Massachusetts Volunteers, under 2d Lieut. 
Lewis R. Whitaker, a soldier for freedom in Kansas 
—was leaving for the field, a farewell meeting was 
held in the town hall, at which their lieutenant was 
surprised with a fine sword from his men, and they 
in turn received each a Bible. When a temperance 
pledge was proposed, all, save one or two, enthusiasti- 
cally attached their names. On the announcement 
that only twenty-three had been called for, one of | 
the thirteen said they would al/ go, if they went 
afoot and alone. 

It is known that two hundred and eighteen soldiers — 
were furnished by the town during the war. How | 
many were natives cannot now be ascertained, as the | 
town’s list is confessedly imperfect. But the record | 





of ninety-seven natives has been made, whose names, 
grade, and fate are as below: 


Charles R. Adams, son of Peter, Co. A, 33d Regt.; killed near 
Winchester. 

Henry P. Adams, son of Oren W., 3d Regt.; in Andersonville 
prison. 

William M. E. Adams, son of Erastus, Co. I, 18th Regt.; served 
through. 


, Alvin B. Adams, son of Oren W., Co. G, 16th Regt.; not 


known. 

William W. Adams, son of Oren W., Co. C, 45th Regt.; served 
through. 

Andrew J. Alexander, son of William, Co. C, 45th Regt.; hon- 
orably discharged. 

Lowell W. Adams, son of Oren W., Co. G, 45th Regt.; wounded, 
served through. 

William G. Adams, son of Gardner, Co. K, 44th Regt. ; wounded, 
served through. 

Caleb W. Ballou, son of Caleb, Co. H, 40th Regt.; disabled 
and discharged. 

Adin Ballou, son of Albert, 10th Regt., Me.; not known. 

Owen E. Ballou, son of Barton, Co. C, 4th Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 

William A. Ballou, son of Albert, Co. C, 45th Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 

William H. Baldwin, son of Henry, Co. A, 35th Regt.; Ander- 
sonville, died. 

Seth Blake, son of Seth, Co. I, 1Sth Regt.; in Andersonville. 

Charles H. Bemis, son of Henry, Co. C, 45th Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 

Thomas Coffield, son of John, Co. I, 18th Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 

Barton F. Cook, son of Milton, Co. H, 3d R. I. Artillery; hon- 
orably discharged. 

Joseph W. Cook, son of Winslow, R. I. Cavalry; honorably 
discharged. 


| Daniel C. Corbin, son of Otis, Jr.; wounded, discharged. 


| Anthony Conner, son of Isaac, Co. I, 18th Regt.; honorably 


discharged. 
George Clark, son of John, Co. I, 18th Regt.; died in Ander- 
sonville. 


| James Clark, son of John, Co. B, 18th Regt.; not known. 
; Nathan Clark, son of Alfred, Co. I, 18th Regt.; wounded and 


discharged. 
Barton A. Colvin, son of Jasper, Co. C, 45th Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 
Charles A. Cole, Co. C, 45th Regt.; honorably discharged. 
George W. J. Cole, Co. C, 45th Regt.; honorably discharged. 
Cornelius Dugan, Co. K, 33d Regt.; honorably discharged. 
Joseph Day, son of Hermon, Co. A, 35th Regt.; sick and dis- 


charged. 


| Edward H. Freeman, son of James M., Co. C, 45th Regt.; hon- 


orably discharged. 


| George M. Farrington, son of Nathan, Co. A, 35th Regt.; 


wounded and discharged. 
Alfred J. Fitzpatrick, son of John L., Co. H, 18th Regt.; hon- 
orably discharged. 


| John M. Fisher, son of Weston, Co. C, 38th Regt.; killed. 


Walter M. Fisher, son of Walter H., Co. C, 45th Regt.; hon- 
orably discharged. 

Marcus Gilmore, son of Mareus, Co. A, 35th Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 

William S. Gilmore, son of Philander, Co. F, t0th Regt.; hon- 
orably discharged. 


182 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


_ 








Nathaniel S. Grow, son of Nathaniel, Co. C, 45th Regt.; hon- 
orably discharged. 

Samuel E. Gay, son of Willard, Co. K, 31st Regt.; disabled. 

Pliny A. Holbrook, son of Ellis, Co. C, 45th Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 


Joseph W. Holbrook, son of Eliphalet, Co. C, 45th Regt. ; hon- | 
| Michael O. Sullivan, son of Jeremiah, Co. C, 45th Regt. ; hon- 


orably discharged. 

Samuel C. Hunt, son of Rey. Samuel, Co. C, 45th Regt.; hon- 
orably discharged. 

Frank F. Hodges, son of Willard, Co. C, 45th Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 

Norman Hastings, son of Nathaniel, Co. C, 45th Regt.; died 
on return. 

Albert L. Jordan, son of Alfred, Co. I, 18th Regt.; wounded 
five times, discharged. 

Henry A. Jordan, son of Alfred, Co. H, 1st Cavalry ; honorably 
discharged. 

Edwin A. Jordan, son of Alfred, Co. H, 1st Cavalry; honorably 
discharged. 

Samuel H. Jordan, son of Alfred, Co. C, 45th Regt.; lost an 
arm, discharged. 

George King, M.D., son of George, surgeon, 16th and 29th 
Regts. ; honorably discharged. 

H. D. Kingsbury, son of Nathaniel D., Co. K, Ist Cavalry ; 
honorably discharged. 

Emery T. Kingsbury, son of Fisher A., Co. C, 45th Regt. ; 
honorably discharged. 

George A. Kingsbury, son of Horatio, Co. B, 42d Regt.; pris- 
oner and paroled. 

Herbert L. Lincoln, son of Manly, Co. A, 35th Regt. ; wounded 
and died. 

Granville Morse, son of Levi F., Co. I, 18th Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 

Lewis L. Miller, son of John W., Co. H, 12th Regt.; wounded 
and died. 

Eugene H. Marsh, son of Lewis H., 2d R. I. Cavalry ; honorably 
discharged. 

Jeremiah Murphy, son of Thomas, Co. C, 45th Regt.; honor- 
ably discharged. 

Charles M. 
orably 

William E. 
orably 

George W. 
Co. H, 25d Regt.; col. of Newbern fire department; hon- 
orably discharged. 

Albert D. Nason, son of George W., Co. C, 45th Regt.; honor- 
ably discharged. 

Albert J. Newell, son of Arnold J., Co. 
known. 


Nason, son of George W., Co. A, 35th Regt.; hon- 
discharged. 

Nason, son of George W., Co. A, 35th Regt. ; hon- 
discharged. 


Nason, son of George W., Co. I, 5th Regt., and in 


I, 23d Regt.; un- 


Olney P. Newell, son of Hiram, Co. B, Ist Cavalry ; honorably 
discharged. 
Duane Newell, son of Nelson C., Co. C, 45th 


and discharged. 


tegt.; disabled 


George L. Partridge, son of Seth, Co. B, 42d Regt. ; honorably 
discharged. 

Whipple Peck, son of Whipple, Ist R. I. Regt.; wounded and 
discharged. 

Horace W. Pillsbury, son of Stephen, Co. I, 18th Regt.; wounded 
and discharged. 

Alfred J. Pierce, son of Israel, 3d R. I. Artillery ; honorably 
discharged. 

Israel F. Pierce, son of Israel, R. I. Cavalry; honorably dis- 
charged. 

Henry M, Pickering, son of Samuel, Co. C, 45th Regt. ; honor- 


ably discharged. 





James M. Ryan, son of James, Co. C, 45th Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 
William Sullivan, Co. K, 33d Regt.: unknown. 


| Charles H. Scott, Co. A, 35th Regt.; unknown. 


Smith O. Sayles, son of Oren W., R. I. Cavalry; unknown. 
Thomas W. Sayles, son of Oren W., R. I. Cavalry ; unknown. 


orably discharged. 

George W. Thompson, son of Thaddeus, Co. I, 18th Regt. ; 
honorably discharged. 

Ransom Tift, son of James, Co. I, 18th Regt. ; honorably dis- 
charged, 

William H. Thomas, son of Sandrus, Co. I, 18th Regt.; un- 
known. 

Abram W. Wales, son of Amos A., Co. I, 18th Regt. ; honorably 
discharged. 

Shepard G. Wiggin, son of Joseph, Co. A, 35th Regt. ; died. 

Silas H. Wilson, son of Enoch, Co. A, 35th Regt.; prisoner, 
paroled, disabled. 

Otis Winn, son of Peter, Co. A, 35th Reet.; died. 

Henry J. Ward, son of Reuben, Co. C, 45th Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 

Owen W. Wales, son of Otis, Jr., Co. C, 45th Regt.; discharged, 

Lewis F. Williams, son of William, 12th Heavy Artillery; un- 
known. 

John B. Whiting, son of Sydney, Co. C, 45th Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 

Daniel W. Whiting, son of Willard C., Co. K, 23d Regt.; hon- 
orably discharged. 

Lewis R. Whitaker, son of Richard, Co. C, 45th Regt.; 2d 
lieut.; honorably discharged. 

George F. Woodward, son of Austin, Co. C, 45th Regt.; hon- 
orably discharged. 

Lewis E. Wales, son of Otis, Jr., Co. B, 42d Regt.; died in New 


Orleans. 

John D. Wales, son of Otis, Jr., Co. B, 42d Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 

George H. Scott, son of George W., Co. I, 18th Regt.; un- 
known. 


Alonzo F. Eddy, son of Asahel, Co. I, 18th Regt.; honorably 
discharged. 

George L. Rixford, 4th Cavalry ; honorably discharged. 

James F. Snow, son of John W., Co. C, 56th Regt.; unknown. 

George B. Russell, son of Thomas, 12th Heavy Artillery; un- 
known. 

William G. White, son of Adam H., —— Battery; unknown. 

Dana Follen, son of James; honorably discharged. 


These were natives or residents of the town. 

Many natives resident elsewhere enlisted in other 
places. Among them some are known to have attained 
honorable rank and distinction. Edmund Dean, son of 
Luther, became adjutant-general of Kansas; Charles 
H. Thayer, son of Nathaniel, was promoted to a cap- 
tainey, confined in Libby prison, and exchanged. 

It is an honorable record that only one of all the 
native soldiery deserted. No public monument, how- 
ever, has yet been erected to the memory of the Union 
soldiers of Franklin. But it has a G. A. R. Post, 
and a public commemoration upon Decoration Day. 

Public officers, from the incorporation of the 
precinct to the present time.— Among the citizens 





FRANKLIN. 


183 





whom Franklin has honored are the following elected | 


Centennials.—The first century of Franklin vs a 


to its chief offices, both as a precinct and as a town: | precinct was completed Dec. 23, 1837 (old style). 


PRECINCT CLERKS. 
Daniel Thurston (first clerk), ; Michael Metcalf, 1757. 


1738. 
Ezra Pond, 1739, 1742. 
Simon Slocum, 1740, 
1743, 1748, 1752. 
John Fisher, 1744, 1747. 
Jabez Fisher, 1753, 1756. 


TOWN 
Asa Pond, 1778, 1780, 1782, 
1785. 
Hezekiah Fisher, 1781. 
Nathan Daniels, Jr., 
1791, 1804. 
Amos Hawes, 1792, 1805. 
Asa Harding, 1805, 1815. 
Lewis Harding, 1816, 1823. 


1786, 


Hezekiah Fisher, 1758, 1769, 
1773. 


1741, | Timothy Pond, 1759, 1762. 
| Jonathan Whiting, 1763, 1768. 


Ebenezer Metealf, 1774-77. 


CLERKS. 


Capt. David Baker, 1824-36. 

Wilkes Gay, Jr., 1837-39. 

Davis Thayer, Jr., 1840-45. 

Theron C. Hills, 1846-62. 

Alpheus A. Russegue, 1863— 
75, 1879, 1882. 

George W. Wiggin, 1876-78, 
1882, 1883. 


PRECINCT TREASURERS. 


Eleazer Metealf, 1738. 

Nathaniel Fairbank, 1739. 

David Jones, 1740, 1741. 

Thomas Bacon, 1742, 1753. 

Robert Blake, 1743-52, 1758, 
1768. 


Baruch Pond, 1754-57, 1761, 
1764. 

Daniel Thurston, 1759-60, 
1765, L767, 1769; Ue71- 


TOWN TREASURERS. 


Asa Whiting, 1778-87, 1792, 
1793. 
Seth Lawrence, 1788-91. 
Joseph Whiting, Jr., 1794-96. 
Hanan Metcalf, 1797-99. 
Lieut. Phineas Ware, 1800-4. 
Timothy Metcalf, 1805-16. 
Simeon Partridge, 1817-19. 
Col. Caleb Thurston, 1820-52. 


REPRESENTATIVES TO 
Ensign Jos. Hawes, 1778, 1881. 
Dr. Joseph Metcalf, 1779-80. 
Peter Adams, 1782-83. 
Samuel Lethbridge, 1784-85. 
Hon. Jabez Fisher, 1786, 1798— 
99. 

Capt. Thomas Bacon, 1787-88. 

Lieut. Hezekiah Fisher, 1789- 
97. 

Col. John Boyd, 1800-4. 

Pelatiah Fisher, 1805-6. 

Capt. Joseph Bacon, 1807-14. 

Lieut. Phineas Ware, 1811-17. 

Lewis Fisher, 1815-16, 1818— 
21, 1823, 1826. 

Dr. Nath’! Miller, 1827, 1833. 

Col. Caleb Thurston, 1829-30. 

Willis Fisher, 1831. 

Maj. Davis Thayer, 1832, 1834, 
1840. 

Ensign Seth Dean, 1834. 

Joel Daniels, 1837. 

Col. Nathan Cleveland, 1838— 
39. 


THE 


Joel Daniels, 1833-35, 1842- 
53. 

Wilkes Gay, Jr., 1836-39. 
George W. Morse, 1840-41. 
Theron C. Hills, 1854-60. 
Adams Daniels, 1861, 1662. 
Alpheus A. Russegue, 1863-74. 
James M. Freeman, 1875-83. 


GENERAL COURT. 
Ward Adams, 1840. 

Albert E. Daniels, 1841. 
Col. Saul B. Seott, 1843-44. 
Dr. Shadrack Atwood, 1847. 
Col. Paul B. Clark, 1848. 
George W. Nason, 1850. 
William Metcalf, 1851. 
Capt. Hartford Leonard, 1852. 
Seneca Hills, 1855. 

Mason F. Southworth, 1856. 
Theron C. Hills, 1857. 
Stephen W. Richardson, 1858. 
James M. Freeman, 1860. 
James P. Ray, 1861, 1877. 
Rey. Wm. M. Thayer, 1863. 
Francis B. Ray. 1865. 
Alpheus A. Russegue, 1867. 
Henry E. Pond, 1868. 

Rey. Richard Eddy, 1870. 
Joseph A. Woodward, 1871. 
John H. Fisher, 1873-74. 
Davis Thayer, 1876. 

Henry R. Jenks, 1880. 
Sabin Hubbard, 1883. 


The event was commemorated by a historical sermon 
preached Feb. 25, 1838, by the then pastor, Rev. 
Elam Smalley, and afterwards printed. The close of 
the town’s first century, March 2, 1878, was antici- 
pated, in a town-meeting of March, 1873, by the 
choice of a committee “to prepare a plan for an ap- 
propriate celebration of the anniversary, to secure 
statistics, and to do whatever they may deem neces- 
sary in the matter, and report at a future town-meet- 
ing.” The committee were Stephen W. Richardson, 
William M. Thayer, Waldo Daniels, William Rock- 
wood, and Adin D. Sargent. They reported the plan 
of a public celebration, and an address by Rev. 
Mortimer Blake, D.D., a son of Franklin, then in 
Taunton. The plan was adopted, and in 1877 five 
hundred dollars were appropriated for expenses, in- 
cluding the publication of a town history. March, 
1878, the committee was enlarged by the addition of 
A. St. John Chambré, Henry M. Green, James P. 
Ray, Paul B. Clark, and Edward A. Rand, as a com- 
mittee of arrangements. As March is usually unfit 
for a public celebration, June 12th was selected, and 
the day proved most favorable for the occasion. 

The chief features of the celebration were a pro- 
cession, including the public schools, and a repre- 
sentation of the industries of the town; a historical 
address, with other services, in the Congregational 
Church ; a dinner under a large pavilion on the Com- 
mon with twelve hundred guests, where history and 
prophecy, wisdom and wit, from the Governor of the 
State to the town official, abounded until the wester- 
More 
than ten thousand people came together from far and 


ing sun suggested an adjournment until 1978. 


near. 

A museum of local antiquities, collected by the in- 
dustry of a committee of ladies in the vestry of the 
Congregational Church, was visited during the day 
by more than a thousand people, and elicited unani- 
mous surprise at the valuable relics they had gathered. 
A vocal concert in the evening was fully attended, 
and closed the centennial day. 

The history of Franklin, afterwards published, con- 
tains the historical address, enlarged by addenda ; 
biographical sketches ; genealogies in brief’; speeches 
at the dinner; with portraits, views of buildings, ete. 
It is an octavo of over three hundred pages, prepared 
by the author of the address, and published by the 


committee of the town. Very few copies remain in 


' the bands of W. Rockwood of the committee. 


184 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


JAMES P. AND JOSEPH G. RAY. 


There is an inspiration to others in the history of 
self-made men; so we gather these fragments from 
the lives of these brothers, and place them as honored 
records among the names of those worthy to occupy a 
place in the “‘ History of Norfolk County.” Energy 
is the corner-stone to their characters, the secret of 
their successful lives,—well-directed, steady, per- 
sistent energy. Joseph Ray, the father of these 
brothers, was born in West Wrentham, Mass., July 
24,1791. He learned the stone-mason’s trade, and 
followed that some years, building mills, mostly in 
the Blackstone Valley, whither he moved in 1813, 
making his residence South Mendon, now Kast 
Blackstone. In 1814 he married Lydia, daughter of 
James Paine, an iron-worker, then of Smithfield, 
R. I., but afterwards a resident of Mendon. Mr. 
Ray entered into partnership with Mr. Paine in 
1821, the firm-name being “ Paine & Ray.” They 
engaged in the manufacture of cotton and woolen 
machinery. Mr. Ray had become thoroughly familiar 
with their mechanism, and applied himself not only 
The first 


geared speeders were invented and constructed in his 


to their construction but improvement. 
shop. The firm had two manufactories, one at South 
Mendon, with one hundred and fifty hands, the other 
In 1826 
Mr. Ray purchased a cotton-mill of nine looms at 
Hillsboro’, 
He conducted this successfully until 1839, 


at Slatersville, R. I., with one hundred men. 
> ’ 


N. H., which number he increased to 
ninety. 


when his intimate business relations with Abraham | 
and Isaac Wilkinson, large cotton manufacturers of | 


Rhode Island, involved him in their failure, and he was 
compelled to suspend payment. Receiving an exten- 
sion on his notes for five years, he struggled faithfully 
during that period to restore his wrecked fortunes, 
but failed and retired 
died in 1847. 

JAmEs P. Ray, eldest son of Joseph and Lydia 


from business in 1844. He | 


| Republican in politics; as such has been representa- 





tered a cotton-factory and remained one year stripping 
The next year (1837), in the midst of the 
greatest financial panic this country has ever known, 


cards. 


a boy of seventeen, his entire wealth consisting of 
seven dollars, he started business on his own account 
by hiring two carding-machines and power to run 
them, and buying two hundred pounds of cotton 
waste with which to make cotton batting. This was 
the humble beginning of a most remarkable and suc- 
cessful business career. He ran his machine several 
months, then hiring a horse and wagon, peddled out 
his goods. Encouraged by his success, early the next 
season he purchased six carding-machines which he 
placed in a room in City Mills, Franklin, and con- 
tinued the manufacture of batting until 1838, when 
he purchased a small “ mule” and made cotton wick- 
ing during the winter. Notwithstanding his industry 
and care, by the depression of prices he found himself 
five hundred dollars in debt the next spring. 

Hiring the new mill of Joseph Whiting, of Union- 
ville, he moved thither in May, 1839, his father’s 
family (now dependent on him) also moving there. 
Managing his affairs with sagacity and untiring 
energy unusual in so young a man, and making cot- 
ton batting, wicking, and cotton twine, by 1844 he 
had accumulated two thousand dollars. He was 
again at this time embarrassed by the failure of 
George Blackburn, of Boston, his commission mer- 
chant. 
last of the notes due in 1847. 
has been one of prosperity. 


Receiving an extension of time, he paid the 
From this his career 
In 1844 his brother, 
Frank B., three years his junior, who had been em- 
ployed by him from youth, became his partner, with 
firm-name of J. P. & F. B. Ray. 
the celebrated “‘ Makepeace Mill,” and here ‘and in the 


They purchased 


mill at Unionville manufactured batting, twine, wick- 
ing, and bagging until 1851, when Joseph G. was 
admitted partner, the firm becoming “ Ray Brothers.” 

Mr. Ray married, May 31, 1843, Susan K., 
daughter of Capt. Alfred Knapp, of Franklin. Their 
children are Edgar K. and James F. Mr. Ray is 


_ tive from Franklin one term, and State senator two 


(Paine) Ray, was born in South Mendon, Mass., in | 


1820. 
the common and high schools of Bellingham and Ux- 


He received the educational advantages of 


bridge, and the Manual Labor School at Worcester, 
with such attention as to qualify him as a teacher at 
the age of fifteen, when he took charge of the dis- 
trict school at Northbridge, Mass., for one term. He 
then became a clerk in a store at Upton, Mass., but 


in 1836 his father, who had been living in North- 


| Church and one of its trustees. 


years. He is a leading member of the Universalist 
Far-seeing, bold, 
energetic, and persistent, he has deserved and at- 
tained success far beyond the hopes and ambitions of 
his early manhood. He has neither courted popu- 
larity nor feared censure. He gives generously where 


his judgment approves, and refuses sometimes bluntly 


| when persistently urged to support what he does not 


| commend, 


bridge, removed to South Mendon, where James en- 


He has recently devoted much time to the con- 





494", 


i 


/ 
Ny 


Hi 


) 


} 
Hi) 


WW 
Wy 
Wy) 


} 
i 























FRANKLIN. 


185 





struction of the Milford, Franklin, and Providence 
Railroad, of which he is president, and its construc- 
tion is due to his untiring efforts. He was incor- 
porator, and is director of Franklin Rubber Company, 
president of Putnam Manufacturing Company, and 
of the manufacturing corporations at Woonsocket and 
City Mills. 

JosepH G. Ray, youngest son of Joseph and 
Lydia (Paine) Ray, was born in South Mendon, now 
East Blackstone, Oct. 4, 1831. When but a lad of 
eight he began life’s battle by working all his spare 
time morning and evening in his brother’s mill at 
Unionville making twine. When twelve he attended 
school one year in Nashua, N. H. His vacations 
were passed in the mill, where he became expert in 
the methods of manufacture. 
money enough for his expenses, he attended school 
another year in Walpole, N. H. In 1850 he engaged 
with his brother Frank, receiving four hundred and 
fifty dollars yer year for his services, and during the 
year started the first ‘ rag-picker” and manufactured 
the first “shoddy” made in New England. In 1851, 
in connection with James, he formed the firm of 
Ray Brothers, and bought the property in South 
Mendon—then owned by Jenckes & Scott—where 
their father commenced the manufacture of cotton 
machinery. In 1854 he married Emily, daughter of 
Col. Joseph Rockwood, of Bellingham. Their chil- 
dren are Lydia P. and Annie R. (Mrs. Adelbert D. 
Thayer). From 1861 to 1871, Mr. Ray resided in 
Unionville; from thence removed to Franklin, where 
he still lives. 

His summer residence is the old homestead of Col. 
Rockwood, which Mr. Ray has taken much pains to 
make a model home. He has spared no expense in 
this, as the elegant building and elaborate surround- 
ings clearly indicate. 


In 1847, having saved | 


He is a lover of fine horses and | 





and attention for several years, carrying the entire 
financial responsibility. To him more than to any 
other living. man are the people of Franklin and the 
Universalist society indebted for the completion of the 
beautiful church and Dean Academy. By his kind- 
ness of heart, unfailing courtesy, his known integrity, 
fine social qualities, skill in business and financial 


| operations, Mr. Ray has won the respect and confi- 





stock, and has done much to improve the quality of | 


both. 


cattle, of which he owns a fine herd. 


He has made several importations of Holstein 


most unique features of this farm is its fish pond, 
well stocked with German carp, surrounded by a pri- 
vate race-course. Republican in politics, in 1859, 


when but twenty-eight years old, Mr. Ray was chosen 


One of the | 


representative from Blackstone in the State Legisla- | 


ture, of which he was the youngest member, and in | 


1869 was elected to represent his district in the State 


Senate. 


of the trustees of the church, and the intimate friend, | 
confidant, and adviser of the late Dr. Dean in the | 
building of Dean Academy and the Universalist | 


Church of Franklin, and was the executive of the 
doctor’s bequests, to which he gave his whole time 


Universalist in religious belief, he was one | 





dence of his fellow-citizens, and particularly of those 
who have been brought into intimate connection with 
him. He is treasurer of various manufacturing cor- 
porations, was an incorporator, and is director and 
treasurer of the Milford, Franklin and Providence Rail- 
road Company. As a business man he has few if any 
superiors. Both James and Joseph have contributed 
largely to church advancement and support. They have 
been connected personally and financially with every im- 
portant business undertaking begun in Franklin since 
the organization of the firm of Ray Brothers. In 1856 
their mill at South Mendon was burned, and imme- 
diately rebuilt. In 1858 they sold a right to raise a 
dam for a new mill built by Edward Harris in the 
north part of Woonsocket. ‘This caused the water to 
flow back and so injure their manufactory at South 
Mendon that they closed up business there, removing 
the machinery to Unionville. Frank B. retired from 
the firm of Ray Brothers in 1860, the business being 
continued by the two other members under firm-title 
of J. P. & J. G. Ray. This firm purchased the 
Bartlett mill at Woonsocket, where they manufactured 
cotton sheetings, and in 1873 they, with Oscar J. 
Rathburn, president of the Harris Woolen Company, 
formed the firm of Rays, Rathburn & Co., which 
now owns and operates Jenckesville Mills, of Woon- 
socket. In 1865, J. P. & J. G. Ray purchased the 
woolen-mill in North Bellingham, which was built in 
1810 by their father, and of which he was part owner. 
Here they manufacture satinets as Ray Wovlen Com- 
pany. 
and used in making “‘ shoddy.” 


Their first mill in Franklin was built in 1870, 
The firm of Rathburn 
& Mackenzie was formed in 1872 by James P. and 
Joseph G. Ray, Oscar J. Rathburn, and Charles J. 
Mackenzie, and built a mill for the manufacture of 
In 1874, J. P. & J. G. Ray purchased an in- 
terest in Franklin Felting Company, reorganizing it as 
Franklin Woolen Company. In 1877 they built a 
brick mill at Franklin in which to manufacture fancy 


feltings. 


cassimeres. In 1876 they purchased the original mill 
of the Putnam Manufacturing Company, at Putnam, 
which was built by Hosea Ballou, of Woonsocket, and 
also City Mills, in Franklin. Their business and finan- 


| cial progress since 1847 has been steady and satisfac- 


tory. Commencing in both branches of textile indus- 


186 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


4 





tries with the lower ae of work, they have havaneed 
step by step, making, in cottons, first batting, next | 
wicking, next twine, then seamless bags, and finally | 
finished cloths. In woolen, first shoddy, next satinets, 
then fancy cassimeres, 
on taking up another. 

Epa@ar K. Ray, son of James P. and Susan 
(Knapp) Ray, was born in Franklin, Mass., July 17, 
1844. 
tion, was fitted for business by his father and uncles, 
and has been associated with them since 1865, and in 
1870 became a partner in both the firms of J. P. & 
J. G. Ray, and Ray, Rathburn & Mackenzie. 


After a common-school and academic educa- | 


| 
| 
| 


without abandoning any branch | 


becoming also a student in the office and assisting in 
the practice of the celebrated Dr. Winslow Lewis. 
He made good use of the opportunities afforded him, 
and was graduated from Harvard in February, 1830. 
He soon commenced his long and successful medical 
practice by establishing himself at Marlboro’, whence, 
after eighteen months’ time, he removed to Belling- 
ham, where he was located for several years. In 
1836 or 1837 he changed his residence to Franklin, 


_ which, with temporary absences, has been his home to 


He is | 


treasurer of Putnam Manufacturing Company, and — 


vice-president of their Woonsocket corporation ; is an 


active, energetic, and successful business man. 


SHADRACH ATWOOD, M.D. 


Shadrach Atwood, M.D., was born in 
Plymouth Co., Mass., May 17,1801. His parents 
were Francis and Elizabeth (Ward) Atwood. His 
Benjamin Ward, was a captain in the 


Carver, 


grandfather, 
colonial army of the Revolution, and his grandfather, 
William Atwood, was a lieutenant in the same service. 
in 1811 
purchased a farm in Middleborough, and removed 
thither. 
he was twenty-one, having advantages of education 


Francis Atwood was a farmer, and 


Shadrach remained with his parents until 


only in a small district school until he was nineteen, 
when he attended the academy at South Bridgewater. 


the present. In 1878 he gave up active practice, 
and retired after a professional career of success and 
profit of nearly half a century. He built up a large 
practice, was active, energetic, and won many friends. 
His nature is positive, and from peculiar circum- 
stances he was early thrown entirely on his own re- 
sources in his profession, and developed self-reliance, 
care, and close observation—almost minute—of all 
his cases. skill in 


diagnosing disease, and very successful in his treat- 


He was remarkable for his 
ment. 
gave to it all the strength of his manhood and the 
vigor In 1866 he 


Wrentham, where he resided four years. 


He made his profession his life work, and 


removed to 
While re- 
turning to Franklin, and while some of his goods had 


of his nature. 


been conveyed thither, an incendiary fire burned the 
house in Wrentham, with his library, books of account, 


_and much other valuable property. Notwithstanding 


he | 


A few months thereafter he engaged as teacher in a | 


district school, but becoming acquainted with a new 


and remarkably successful system of teaching gram-— 


mar, he engaged in teaching that as a specialty, with 
He 


study of Latin preparatory to a college course, and 


marked results for some time. then began the 
when twenty-two years old he went to Amherst, 
and, after some preliminary academical study, entered 
Amherst College, where he remained ahout eighteen 
months. Here he made rapid progress, showing 
those qualities of determination and tenacity of pur- 
pose so strongly shown in his entire career, and 
which, when a mere child, caused his father to say, “ I 
did not 


and never heard him say ‘I can’t do 


never told Shadrach to do a thing which he 
accomplish, 


1b. 
under Dr. 


About 1825 he began the study of medicine 
of Middleborough, 
few months went to Boston, and attended 
three courses of lectures at Harvard Medical School, 


Arad Thompson, but 


after a 


these and other reverses, he is to-day one of Frank- 
lin’s substantial cititzens. 

In_ politics, “Old Line 
Whig,” departing from the Democratic principles of 
his fathers, but after the dissolution of the Whig party 
he affiliated with the Democratic party, and has since 


in early life he was an 


supported it and its candidates. In 1847 he was 
elected to represent the town of Franklin in the State 
Legislature by an unprecedented majority, and 


while in the Legislature was largely instrumental in 


securing the charter for the Norfolk County Railroad 
(an extension of the railroad from Walpole to Black- 
which gave railroad facilities to Franklin, and 
marked a new era in its growth and prosperity. Of 
He was 


stone), 


this road he was one of the incorporators. 
at one time a director of the Benjamin Franklin 
Savings Bank, of Franklin. 

He married (1) Nov. 28, 1832, Mrs. Ruth M. 
Pond, daughter of Cyrus and Ruth (Makepeace) Snow. 


She died, leaving no offspring, Nov. 7, 1862; (2) 
Nov. 27, 1878, Charlotte M., daWohior of Walter 


Harris Gay and Sally A. Hawkins, his wife. She is 


a native of Franklin. 
Dr. Atwood has stood high among his profes- 


sional brethren, has honored his domestic  rela- 








\ 


pe 


) 





eZ Vy HK (tl 


= 








arm gee ere RR tne rete mw sone Sores e, es 


a - 
















































































































































































FRANKLIN. 


187 








tions, his social and official obligations, and enjoys the 
esteem of a large and honorable circle of friends and 
acquaintances. 





STEPHEN W. RICHARDSON. 


(17, 1774, aged ninety-five. 








the State, and, in fact, through the whole country, is | 


thus given in an English work, ‘“ Camden’s Remains 


Concerning Brittaine :’’ “ William Belward, Lord of | 
the moiety of Malpasse, soon after the Norman Con- | 


quest, had two sons; the younger, Richard, named | 


from his size Richard the Little. One of the sons of 
the last-named Richard was called John Richardson, 
taking his father’s name with the addition of son for 
his surname. 
Richardson.” It is now found in nearly every county 
of England, and during the past seven hundred years 


Hence came the name and family of | 
| 1782. 


has been prominent in nearly all departments of | 


human life, civil, military, literary, and ecclesiastical. 
Of the numerous descendants of the old Norman 
settling in America in early colonial days, we find 
John Richardson, at Watertown, in 1636, perhaps in 
1635. 
of him: “ Feb. 28, 1836-37, he and ‘all the towns- 


Vinton, in his “ Richardson Memorial,” say- | 


men then inhabiting’ had each a grant of one acre in| 


the Beaver Brook Plowlands, ‘bounded on the Great 


Dividend Lots on the north side, and Charles River | 


on the south.’ 
owned in Watertown. It forbids the idea of his re- 
maining there, and so we find him no more in that 
place. We find him, or another of the same name, in 
Exeter, in 1642, as a witness to a deed, and probably 
shall not err if we set him down as the ancestor of 
that large and eminently respectable family of Richard- 
son who, from 1679, spread themselves out through 
Medfield, Medway, Wrentham, Franklin, Leominster, 
Barre, and many other towns.” 


This, we believe, was all the land he | 


_ in common, 


John Richardson (2), believed by Vinton after 


careful investigation to be son of the above, married 
in Medfield, Rebekah, daughter of Joseph and Alice 
Clark, early settlers in Medfield, then Dedham, and 
settled in East Medway, where he died May 29, 
1697. (See “Richardson Memorial.) He had 
seven children, the oldest of whom, John (3), born 
Aug. 25, 1679, married Esther Breck, whose father 


assisted in repelling Indian assaults on the garrison © 


house at East Medway. He was a cordwainer by 
trade, as was his father, but abandoned that for hus- 
bandry. He had a number of tracts of land, and 
died May 19, 1759. 


His wife died of cancer, Aug. | 


They had twelve chil- 
dren, of whom John (4) was second. He was born in 


_ Medway (Old Medfield), Oct. 22,1701. He married, 
May 5, 1730, Jemima, daughter of Edward and 


Rebecca (Fisher) Gay. (She was born in what is 
now called Franklin, then Wrentham.) When he 


_ was twenty-three years old his father purchased fifty- 
The origin of the family name of Richardson, | 
which is so numerously represented in this portion of | 


four acres of wild land for him, paying therefor £60. 
(This is now a part of the Stephen W. Richardson 
farm.) Mr. Richardson was an energetic, active, and 
capable man of business, and bought and sold much 
property. Both he 
and his wife were church members early in life. 
When the church in the West Precinct of Wrentham, 
now Franklin, was formed (Feb. 27, 1738), they 
were among the number dismissed from the Wren- 
tham Church to constitute this. He died Nov. 5, 
1767. His wife survived him, living till Dec. 26, 
They had seven children. John (5) was 
third child and second son. He was born July 2, 
1735, While a young man he worked at his trade, 
house-carpentry. He 23% itioue 
Abigail, daughter of Deacon Moses and Hannah 
(Walker) Haven, and cousin of Rev. Elias Haven, 
the first minister of Franklin. For ten years he 
lived in Framingham, but after his father’s death he 
returned to Franklin (Wrentham), and buying the 
homestead from his brothers, Elisha and Eli, resided 
there until his death. This deed was dated April 6, 
1770, and, for £200, transfers eighty-five acres of 
land, with all buildings thereon. 

“ During nearly thirty years John Richardson was 
the nearest neighbor of his brother Elisha. They 
They were 
strongly attached to each other, and lived in great 


He was a carpenter by trade. 


married, Nov. 


lived less than a third of a mile apart. 


harmony, having farming implements and other things 
John, in particular, was a man of great 
amiableness and gentleness of character.” - His will 
was made May 4, 1809, the day of his death.—In 
his will ‘* John Wilkes Richardson, laborer,” is called 
‘““my only beloved son.” He gave him by deed, Sept. 
16, 1796, one-half of the homestead farm, contain- 
ing one hundred acres, and one-half of the dwelling- 
house and other buildings thereon. 

This Joun WitKeES RicHARDSON was the sixth 
in direct descent from John the emigrant, and was 
born in Franklin, Mass., Dec. 30,1774. He lived 
and died on the ancestral home owned in the family 
from 1724. 
and great worth. 
Franklin and adjacent towns for thirty-one successive 


He was a farmer, of sound judgment 
He taught common schools in 


winters. 
Franklin, and held other offices of trust. 


He was for several years an assessor of 
It is worthy 


188 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





of note that he was the first child with a middle name 
baptized in Franklin. He married Matilda Kings- 
bury, Nov. 3, 1796, and had three children,— Abigail, 
(married Noyes Payson Hawes), John Haven, and 
Stephen Wilkes. He died Sept. 15, 1843. 
STEPHEN WILKES RICHARDSON, whose portrait 
accompanies this sketch, is the seventh in direct de- 
scent from John Richardson the emigrant, the line 


being John', John’, John*®, John‘, John*®, John | 


Wilkes’, Stephen Wilkes’. He was born March 30, 
1813, on the homestead mentioned above, which, in 
an improved condition, is now his home. He was 
educated at the common schools of Franklin, and at 
Day’s Academy, Wrentham, and early became a 
teacher. 
after several terms he relinquished it for book-keep- 


He was book-keeper in the office of the Boston 


He had good success in this avocation, but 


ing. 


Journal when that paper was established in 1834; it 


was then called the Mercantile Journal. He married, 
first, May 6, 1835, Eliza, daughter of Amos and Abi- 
gail Bullard, of Hast Medway, who died Oct. 17, 
1844 ; second, Feb. 6, 1845, Mary Bullard, sister of 
Eliza. She died April 30, 1883. His five children 
were all by his first wife, of whom two, John War- 
ren and Henry Bullard, now are living. 
ardson has been chairman of the town board of asses- 
sors almost consecutively for twenty-five years; repre- 
sented the towns of Franklin and Bellingham in the 
State Legislature in 1858; was assistant assessor of 
internal revenue for United States government from 


1862 to 1871; was trial justice from 1871 to 1874; | 
has been continuously engaged in probate business | 


since 1845, and settled many estates, besides holding 
other offices of prominence and trust. He has fre- 


Mr. Rich- | 





quently been requested to act as referee in the settle- 


ment of controversies between parties, and very seldom 


has an appeal been taken from the award or decision | 


made by him. In all relations of official trust and 
private business Mr. Richardson has shown rare 
good judgment and sterling integrity. Quiet and un- 
assuming in his manners, he is firm of principle and 
courageous in his convictions, and no man ever more 
fully enjoyed the esteem of the solid men and sub- 
stantial citizens of his vicinity than he. 

JouN WarREN RicHArpDson (eighth generation), 


_worthily written. 


ceased), by his first wife ; by his second wife, Albert 
M., Helen E., and George W. 

Henry Buniarp Ricnarpson (eighth genera- 
tion), born May 21, 1844, prepared for college at 
Phillips (Exeter) Academy; was graduated from 
Amherst College in 1869; married, July 13, 1869, 
Mary E. Lincoln, of Amherst. They have three 
children,—Mary L., Carrie A., and Henry S. Mr. 
Richardson is now professor of German in Amherst 
College. 


CHAPTER XVIIL 


RANDOLPH. 


BY A. E. SPROUL. 


To attempt a just treatment, within circumscribed 
limits, of a town so rich in historical material as Ran- 
dolph, is almost an impertinence in itself. It not 
only necessitates the vigorous application of the 
literary pruning-knife in the lopping off of many 
details which, to the reader, are none the less inter- 
esting because in some respects trivial, but it also 
compels the omission of those quaint old letters, docu- 
ments, and memoranda of various kinds, which serve 


so well in giving an insight into the home-life of the 


original settlers, their means of instruction or amuse- 
ment, and their humble every-day avocations. But 
Some day, and by some 
gifted hand, the history of this ancient town will be 


what must be, must be. 


For present purposes, however, 
what follows may, perhaps, in some degree serve to 
present a few facts, which may do their greatest good 
in supplying suggestions for that other writer who is 
to come after, while, at the same time, they are not 
altogether without present interest. 

General History.—Randolph is the daughter of 
Braintree and the mother of Holbrook. It came 
very near being the twin-sister of Quincy, which had 


_ said “ good-by ” to the mother-town but a year earlier, 


born Sept. 8, 1839, is engaged in agriculture, and | 


has built up, in connection therewith, a fruit-canning 
He has been 
thrice married, first, Dec. 4, 1862, to Elmira L. Ma- 


business of considerable importance, 


1875, to Sarah A. Metcalf, of Medway. 


_and there is little doubt that the setting off of the 


last-named town served to stimulate to renewed 


efforts the advocates of separation who lived at the 
opposite extremity of the ancient town of Braintree. 


In 1775 it 


The latter was incorporated in 1640. 


_ contained two thousand four hundred and thirty-three 
son, daughter of Orion and Tama Walker Mason, of | 
Medway ; she died May 18,1874; second, April 22, | 


His chil- | 


dren are John M., Mary, William S., and Henry (de- | 


inhabitants, and in 1790 the number had increased 
to two thousand seven hundred and seventy-one. 
The town was divided into three precincts,—North, 
Middle, and South. The North Precinct included 














RANDOLPH. 189 





substantially the present town of Quincy ; the Middle, 
the present town of Braintree ; the South, the present — 
towns of Randolph and Holbrook. -At a meeting of 
the South Precinct, held March 15, 1792, it was | 
voted “that Samuel Niles, Esq., Lieut. Nathaniel 
Niles, Dr. Ephraim Wales, Joseph White, Samuel 
Bass, and Col. Seth Turner be a committee, with dis- | 
cretionary power, to endeavor to effect a separation 
between this parish and Mr. Weed’s parish, by | 





measuring and forming a plan of the two parishes, 


sustaining the claims of the South Parish for a di- 
vision before the General Court, or doing anything 
they may think proper for the purpose aforesaid.” 
At a precinct meeting specially warned and held June 
15, 1792, it was voted that, ‘‘ Whereas, a petition | 
has been presented to the General Court for a division | 
of the town of Braintree, by a large number of signers, 
Hon. Samuel Niles, Dr. Ephraim Wales, Samuel 
Bass, Col. Seth Turner, Seth Mann, Joseph White, | 
and Lieut. Nathaniel Niles be chosen a committee, 
with discretionary powers, to sustain the aforesaid 
petition until the passage of it shall be granted.” 
Judge Samuel Niles, the chairman of the committee, | 
was a resident in the south part of the present town 
of Braintree. It was intended and expected by the 
petitioners that Cranberry Brook, leading from Co- 
chato River to Cranberry Pond, would be the divid- 
ing line between the two towns; but that line being | 


objected to, it was finally decided that the division | 
line should run so as to include the farm of Judge 
Niles in Braintree, and not in Randolph. The peti- 
tion was warmly opposed, yet the prayer of it was 
ultimately granted, and the South Precinct was in- | 
corporated as a town March 9, 1793, by the name of | 
Randolph. | 

At the State-House in Boston are preserved many — 
interesting old documents relating to Randolph, most | 
of them being petitions, ete., of the period just pre- | 
vious to the incorporation of the town. As specimens, | 
a copy of one of the leading petitions in favor of the | 
setting off of the town is below given, followed by a_ 
sample ‘‘remonstrance,” and, further on, by a copy of | 
the act of incorporation and annexed document : 


“To the Hone Senate, and the Hon»!© House of Representa- | 
tives in General Court assembled : | 

“The Petition of the Inhabitants of the South Precinct of | 
Braintree most respectfully shews—That your Petitioners from | 
long Experience have found the inconvenience of being Con- | 
nected with the other parts of the town of Braintree—As the 
town is very long & narrow; the Centre of said South Precinct 
is more than five miles distant from the middle precinct meeting 
house: which is the usual and most convenient place of holding 
town meetings, while the town remains in its present form: 
which makes it necessary that nearly one half of your Peti- 
tioners should travel five miles and upwards to attend every 





| evils—they submitted to. 


town meeting : or otherwise which is frequently the Case ; they 
are oblig’d to submit to the Centre of the town’s transacting 
the whole of the Business: which they do, as your Petitioners 
think, with a very Partial Eye to their own Interests. 

“And as travelling is often very bad at March and April 
meetings, it is difficult, & many times impossible for Elderly & in- 
firm people to improve the Priviliges they might otherwise do; & 
which every free man wishes to enjoy. Many other disadvantages 
peculiar to your Petitioners’ extreem situation in the town— 
will be made more fully to appear should your Honors grant 
them a hearing. 

“And your petitioners wish further to sugest, that the South 
Precinct aforesaid, in its present form, is very incommodious 


| & irregular and was owing originally to a Cause, which now 


When the Division of the middle & 
South Precinct was first proposed, the Rev? Mr Niles was Min- 


ceases to exist: viz: 


| ister of both in one, and owned a large farm, which incircled 


several other farms, that lay within the bounds of the proposed 
South Precinet; but the Rev? M* Niles being willing his own 
farm should lye within the limits of his own parish—opposed 
the South parish’s going off unless he might be thus gratified: 
and as he was then a man of much Influence, your Petitioners 
were obliged to relinquish said farms, or continue, very much to 
their disadvantage, a part of his parish—the former of the two 
But circumstances relative to said 


| . . . 
| farms are now far different: a considerable part of said Mr. 


Niles’s farm is now owned by Residents in the South Precinet— 
and the Proprietors of the other farms aforesaid, are desirous of 
improving the advantages they ought long since to have en- 
joyed, by joining the South Precinct—as they are much nearer 
to that meeting than their own. Your Petitioners wish, there- 
fore, to be set off from the other parts of the town of Brain- 
tree, in connection with the proprietors of the aforesaid farms, 
asa seperate town: and your Petitioners as in Duty bound 


| shall ever pray : 


“Joshua Howard Seth Turner, Jnt™ 


Ephraim Wales 
Ebent Alden 
Seth Turner 
Seth Man 

John Stetson 
Nath! Niles 
Jon* Wales 
Isaac Niles 
Joseph Spear 
Seth Hunt 
Zacheus Thayer 
Richard Thayer 
Lot White 
Lewis Lothrop 
Levi Thayer 
Rufus Thayer 
Reuben Thayer 
Hopeful Bradley 
Atkins Clark 
Benj® Man 


Benj® Silvester, Jr. 


Elisha Man 
Gideon Hunt 
Timothy Sioan 
Philip Silvester 
Sam! Lull 
Joseph Tower 
Will™ Kimball 
Eleazer Beal 


Zebu" Howard, Jr. 


Joshua Clark 
Enoch Hubb? 
Thos Wales 

Silas Pain 
Robart Whitcomb 
Joseph Belcher 
Rich? Belcher 
John Dunham 
Nath! Holb*, Jn™. 
Joseph White, Jr. 
Benj* Thayer 
Levi Thayer, Jr. 
John Whitcomb 
Jon® Randal 


Noah Whitcomb, Jr. 


Caleb White 
David Whitcomb 
Timothy Thayer 
Simeon Thayer 
Simeon Thayer, Jr. 
—— Thayer 
Nath! Hunt, Jr. 
James White 
Joseph Porter 
Zenas French 
Will™ Linfield, Jr. 
Joseph White 
Sole White 

Jacob Clark 

Silas Chapman 


190 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK 





Eben Niles 
Mesheck Thayer 
Simeon Spear 
Isaac Snell 
Moses Wales 
Benj" Linfield 
Sam! Linfield 


Will™ Linfield, 34. 


David Linfield 
Benj" Howard 
Tsaac Spear 
Atherton Wales 
John Spear 
John Burrage 
Frederick Read 
Zebedee Randall 
James Kingman 
Oliver Thayer 
Bar’ Clark 
Nath: Spear 
Adonijah French 
Jos: Riford 
John French 
Sam! Stetson 
John Niles 

Jon* Spear 
Joshua Spear 
Deering Spear 
Eben? Crane 


COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Jos? Kingman 
Israel Beals 
John White 
Will™ Linfield 
Hry: Ludden 
Adam Hollis 
Nath! Hubb?. 
Gideon Stetson 
Lem! Clark 
Jon* Belcher 
Sam! Belcher 
Eph™ Belcher 
Sam! Belcher, Jr. 
John May 

Isaac Thayer, Jr. 
Lewison Howard 
Aron Howard 
Micah White 
Silas Clark 
Abioger Howard 
Seth Man, Jun". 
Timothy Thayer 
Sam! Thayer 
Elias Spear 

Tech? Holbrook 
Howard Faxon 
Jon® Curtis 
Jer2 Monk 
Elisha Wales” 


[Indorsed on back as follows :] 


“In the House of Representatives, Jany 17t®, 1792. 
“Read & committed to the standing Committee on Incor- 
porations, to consider report. 
“Sent up for concurrence. 
“D. COBB, Spkr. 


“In Senate, Jany 18th, 1792. 
“Read & Concurred. 
“SAML, PHILLIPPS, Presid‘.” 


“Wethe Subscribers Inhabitants of the Now North Pre- 
einct in Braintree being Deeply imprest With the Disagree- 
able Situation of this once Respectable Town of Braintree a 
Town Which has of the first Characters 


Produced Some 


amongst man kind and Even those Who have arisen to Exalted | 


the old North 
Precinct are already got off from us and incorporated into a 


Stations Amongst the Rulers of our Country. 


Town by the Name of Quincy and our Breathren of the South 
Precinct are Now Petitioning the General Court to be set off and 
incorporated into a Town by Some other name should the 
Prayer of their Petition be granted there will be but a small 


Part of their old Town of Braintree left to bare up the Name, 


it appears to us that the Reasons Why our Brethren in the 


South Precinct are aiming to git off from us is that they Sup- | 
pose the Number of Inhabitants in this Now north Precinct | the same is now bounded, with the inhabitants dwelling there- 


| on, be, and they hereby are, incorporated into a town, by the 


Will be greater than in the South Precinct and by that means 
they Will be Exposed to have Voted from them those Privi- 
leges Which they have a Just Right to. 
minds of our Brethren in that Respect We the Subscribers do 
hereby upon our Words and Honour Which in the Nature of 


under Engage that We Will at All times as far as We are able 
prevent their having Just Cause of Complaint in that Respect 
and We do hereby Declare that if they Will Withdraw their 








now to Ease the | 


Petition Which We think Will be to their advatage as Well as 
ours and Equally so that We are Willing that the meetings 


_ Shall be held Alternately and that our Breathren of the Said 
| South Precinct shall have Every advantage from the Suffrages 


of the People at Large if We Continue together Without 
Seperation Which they Shall have any Just Reason to Expect 
and at the same time that We may Experience the same benevo- 
lence from them and that We may Continue together in 
Brotherly Love and Unity is the Sincear and hearty Wish of 





Us the Subscribers. 


“ James Faxon 
Elisha French 
Adam Hobart 
Jonathan Thayer 
Josiah French 
Calvin Thayer 
Abraham Thayer 
Jonathan Holbrook 
Jonathan Thayer, Jr. 
Nathanial Thayer 
Moses Holbrook 
Caleb Holbrook, 2d. 


Stephen Penniman, Jr. 


Philip Thayer 
William Thayer 
Jonathan Derby 
Joshua Sampson 
Caleb Hayward 
Abijah Allen 
Ebenezer Thayer, Jr. 
Caleb Faxon 
Zachariah M. Thayer 


Nehemiah Hayden, Jr. 


Eliphaz Thayer 
Silas Wild 
Micah Wild 
Jonathan Wild 
Levi Wild 
Samuel Holbrook 
Caleb French 
Lemuel Veazie 
James Tower 
Elkanah Thayer 
Moses French 


Ephraim Blanchard, Jr. 


Seth Copeland 


William Allen 

Job Thayer 
William Brigg 
David P. Hayward 
Daniel Hayward 
Barnabas Thayer 
Benjamin Veazie 
Ambrose Salisbury 
Thomas Hollis, Jr. 
Nathaniel Hollis 
William Reed 
Ebenezer Clark 
Richard Thayer 
Robert Hayden 
Caleb Hobart 
Thomas Wild 
Lemuel Clark 
Benjamin Hayden, Jr. 
James Penniman 
Eli Hayden 
Ebenezer Denton 
Joseph Allen 
Josiah Vinton 
William Penniman 
Bartimeus White 
Increase Bates 
Daniel Loring 
Jonathan Hayward 
Nathaniel Hayward 
Hobart Clark 

John Hayward 
William Harmon 
Nehemiah Holbrook 
Daniel Foge 

Jesse Pratt” 


“ CoMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 


“Tn the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and 


Ninety-three. 


“An Acr for incorporating the South Precinct of the Town of 
Braintree in the County of Suffolk into a separate Town by the 


name of Randolph. 


“ Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in 
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That 
the lands comprised within the South Precinct in Braintree, as 


name of Randolph; and the said town of Randolph is hereby 
invested with all the powers, privileges, and immunities to 
which towns within this Commonwealth are, or may be, en- 


_ titled, agreeably to the Constitution and Laws of the said 
the thing is the strongest obligation that We can lay our Selves | 


Commonwealth, 

“And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That 
the inhabitants of the said town of Randolph shall pay all the 
arrears of taxes which have been assessed upon them by the 





RANDOLPH. 








191 





town of Braintree, and shall support any poor person or persons 
who have heretofore been, or now are, inhabitants of that part 
of Braintree which is hereby incorporated, and are or may be- 
come chargeable, and who shall not have obtained a settlement 
elsewhere, when they may become chargeable; and such poor 
person or persons may be returned to the town of Randolph, in 
the same way and manner that paupers may, by law, be re- 
turned to the town or district to which they belong. And the 
inhabitants of the said town of Randolph shall pay their pro- 
portion of all debts now due from the town of Braintree, and 


shall be entitled to receive their proportion of all debts and | 


moneys now due to the said town of Braintree; and also their 
proportionable part of all other property of the said town of 
Braintree, of what kind or description soever. Provided al- 


ways, That the lands belonging to the said town of Braintree, 


for the purpose of maintaining schools, shall be divided between 
the said town of Braintree and the said town of Randolph, in 
the same proportion as they were respectively assessed for the 
payment of the last State tax. 

“PROVIDED NEVERTHELESS, and be it further enacted, That 
any of the inhabitants now dwelling within the bounds of said 
town of Randolph, who have remonstrated against the division 
of the town of Braintree, and who may be desirous of belonging 
to said town of Braintree, shall, at any time within six months 
from the passing of this act, by returning their names to the 
Secretary’s Office, and signifying their desire of belonging to 
said Braintree, have that privilege, and shall, with their polls 
and estates, belong to and be a part of said Braintree, by pay- 
ing their proportion of all taxes which shall have been laid on 
said town of Randolph, previously to their thus returning their 
names, as they would by law have been holden to pay had they 
continued to be a part of the town of Randolph. 

“And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
Samuel Niles, Esq., be and he is hereby authorized to issue his 
warrant, directed to some principal inhabitant of the said town 


of Randolph, requiring him to warn and give notice to the in- | 


habitants of the said town, to assemble and meet, at some suit- 
able time and place, in the said town of Randolph, as soon as 
conveniently may be, to choose all such Officers as towns are re- 
quired to choose, at their annual town-meeting in the month of 
March or April, annually. 

“Tn the House of Representatives, March Sth, 1793. This 
Bill having had three several readings, passed to be Enacted. 

“Sent up for concurrence. 

“ Davip Coss, Spkr. 
“Tn Senate, March 6th, 1793. 


“This Bill having had two several readings, passed to be | 


enacted. 
“Samu. Puruuips, Predt. 
“ By the Governor, 
“Approved March 9th, 1793. 
“ Joan Hancock.” 


{Attached to the original parchment copy of the foregoing act 
is the following supplementary document :] 

“WuereAS, By an act of the Great and General Court passed 
in the year of our Lord 1793, incorporating a part of the town 
of Braintree intoa town by the name of Randolph, & whereas a 
number of persons, whose names are hereafter subscribed, living 


within the limits of the now town of Randolph, did petition | 


that we might still belong to said town of Braintree, and the 
General Court did in the incorporating act grant us the prayer 
of our petition, that we should still belong to said town of Brain- 
tree, by leaving our names with the Secretary of this Common- 
wealth, we whose names are hereafter subscribed request that our 
names may be entered in said office, that we wish all our estates 


and privileges may still belong to said town of Braintree, agree- 
able to said incorporating act. 
“SAMUEL CHEESMAN, 
“Levi THAYER, 
““NoAH CHEESMAN, 


‘‘ ABRAHAM JONES. 
“ BRAINTREE, June 6th, 1793. 


“ SECRETARY'S OFFICE, June 13th, 1793. 
“Received and annexed to the act above mentioned. 
“Joun Avery, Jun., Secry. 
“ August 19th, 1793. I join inthe above request to belong as 
heretofore to the town of Braintree, South Precinct. 
“TrmotHy THAYER.” 


Peyton Randolph, for whom the town was named, 
was born in Virginia in 1723. He was the second 
son of Sir John Randolph, and was graduated at Wil- 
liam and Mary College. He studied law at the Temple 
in London, was appointed in 1748 royal attorney- 
general for Virginia, and, having been elected to the 
House of Burgesses, became chairman of a committee 
In 1752 he visited 
England as a commissioner to seek redress for griev- 
ances, and in 1764 framed the remonstrance of the 
House of Burgesses to the king against the passage of 
the stamp act ; but after its passage he discountenanced 
| Patrick Henry’s celebrated “ five resolutions” of 1765. 
He resigned the office of attorney-general in 1766, 
and was Speaker of the House of Burgesses for several 
years thereafter. 


to revise the laws of Virginia. 


He was chairman of the “com- 
mittee of vigilance,” chosen March 10, 1773, and was 
an efficient worker in promoting, through correspond- 
ence, a concert of action with the other colonies. 
| He presided over the Virginia convention at Wil- 
liamsburg in August, 1774; was chosen a delegate 
to the Continental Congress; was first President of 
that body upon its meeting at Carpenters’ Hall, 
| Philadelphia, on Sept. 5, 1774, though from ill health 
he soon resigned that post; presided over the second 
Virginia convention at Richmond, on March 20, 
1775; was again chosen Speaker of the Continental 
Congress when it reassembled at Philadelphia on 
May 10, 1775, but resigned May 24th, returning to 
Virginia to preside over the House of Burgesses. A 
few months later he resumed his seat in Congress. 
He died of apoplexy at Philadelphia on Oct. 22, 1775, 
' and was buried in the chapel of William and Mary 
College. 
of his countrymen, therefore, when, less than eighteen 


His memory was still fresh in the minds 





years later, it became necessary for the sturdy patriots 


who were the pioneers of the present town of Ran- 
| dolph to fix upon a name for their young munici- 
| pality. 
wise, a worthy, and a dignified selection ? 

The first town-meeting was held on April 1, 1793, 
by virtue of a warrant issued by Hon. Samuel Niles, 


Who shall say that they did not make a 





192 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





in accordance with a provision contained in the act of | 
Dr. Ephraim Wales was chosen mod- | 


incorporation. 
erator; Samuel Bass, Hsq., clerk and_ treasurer ; 


Joseph White, Jr., Dr. Ebenezer Alden, and Micah | 


White, Jr., selectmen. Samuel Bass, Hsq., Col. Seth 


Turner, and Lieut. Nathaniel Niles were appointed a 
The 
whole number of ballots cast for Governor was eighty, 
of which John Hancock, Esq., had seventy-five ; El- 
bridge Gerry, Esq., four ; Samuel Adams, Esq., one. 
The number of ballots cast for Lieutenant-Governor 


committee to settle with the town of Braintree. 


was fifty-four, of which Samuel Adams, Hsq., had fifty- 


three, and John Hancock, Esq., one. Samuel Bass, 


: 
Esq., was elected representative to the General Court, 


May 16, 1793. 
1794 the town officers of the preceding year were 


At the annual meeting of the year 


re-elected and the following votes, among others, were 
passed : 


| 








“ Voted, Thatthe committee appointed to settle with Brain- | 


a here . 1 
tree shall apply for a division of powder and balls, and in case | 


of a deficiency the selectmen are requested to procure more. 

“ Voted, That the selectmen be requested to build a powder- 
house in some suitable place, according to their discretion. 

“ Voted, That the surveyors of highways be directed to open 
all town roads, especially that near Ziba Hayden’s; and that 
Thomas Wales’ district be allowed to fence a new road near to 
Edward Faxon’s, if they please. 

“ Voted, To lay out a road from Solomon White's to Simeon 
Thayer’s, provided the land be given. 


This year, of seventy-five ballots cast for Governor, 


sixty-seven were for Samuel Adams ; and of seventy- 


one for Lieutenant-Governor, William Heath had sixty. | 


At a 
town-meeting held Oct. 6, 1794, it was voted to pay 
every soldier who may enlist, or be enrolled, into the 
Continental service, fifteen dollars a month for actual 


Samuel Bass was re-elected representative. 


service, including the Continental pay ; and six shil- | 


lings to each soldier for mustering. It was also 


voted that should any of the light horsemen enlist, or | 


be drafted, in this town for the Continental army, 
there shall be one, and one only, entitled to receive 
the same pay from the town as a foot-soldier, 
1795, Samuel Bass was re-elected town clerk and 


treasurer, and Samuel Bass, Joseph White, Jr., and | 


Micah White were chosen selectmen. 
Adams had sixty-three votes for Governor, and Moses 
Gill, Esq., fifty-two votes for Liewtenant-Governor. On 
May 6th of that year the town voted in favor of a 
revision of the constitution,—twenty-four yeas against 


nine nays. The same year, also, it was unanimously 


voted not to send a representative to the General | 


Court. At the annual town-meeting in 1796, held 
April 4th, Dr. Ebenezer Alden was chosen modera- 
tor, and the clerk, treasurer, and selectmen of the 


In | 


Hon. Samuel | 


preceding year were re-elected. Seventy-three votes 
were cast for Governor,—sixty-eight for Samuel 
Adams, and five for Increase Sumner, Esq. ; and for 
Lieutenant-Governor, twenty for Moses Gill, and forty 
for Benjamin Austin. At a town-meeting held Nov. 
7, 1796, for the election of a member of Congress in 
the second southern district, Rev. John Reed, of 
Bridgewater, received nineteen votes, and Rev. Sam- 
uel Niles, of Abington, eighteen. At the same meet- 
ing the votes for an elector of President and Vice- 
President of the United States in the same district 
Hon. Edward H. Robbins, seven ; 
William Seaver, twelve; Ebenezer Thayer, twenty- 
In 1797 the town clerk, 
treasurer, and selectmen of the previous year were re- 
elected. The votes for Governor were: Increase 
Sumner, seventeen ; Moses Gill, fifteen; James Sul- 
livan, fifty-seven ; for Lieutenant-Governor, Moses Gill, 
thirty-three. On May 15th, Samuel Bass was elected 
representative, but declined serving, and the meeting 
dissolved. 
town officers, and at the annual meeting a committee 
was chosen, consisting of Maj. Barnabas Clark, Lieut. 
Nathaniel Niles, Joseph White, Samuel Temple, and 
Samuel Bass, to petition Congress not to allow our 
Of sixty- 
six votes cast for Governor, Increase Sumner had 
eleven ; William Heath, fifty-two; James Sullivan, 
two. For Lieutenant-Governor, Moses Gill had 
thirty-four, and William Heath, one. On May 3d it 
was voted unanimously not to send a representative 
to the General Court that year. The annual meeting 
for the year 1799 was held on April 1st, when Deacon 
Zaccheus Thayer was chosen town clerk and treas- 


stood as follows: 


one; Benjamin Beale, two. 


The year 1798 brought no change in the 


merchantmen to arm their vessels at sea. 


_urer, and Capt. Thomas French, Joseph White, and 


Micah White, selectmen. It was voted to give a 


premium of twenty-five cents a head on all old crows 





killed in the town between May Ist and June 1st, “ the 
heads to be exhibited to the town clerk within one 
week after they are killed.” William Heath received 
one hundred and twenty votes for Governor, Increase 
Sumner, eleven, and Moses Gill, two. For Lieutenant- 
Governor, Moses Gill had one hundred and fourteen 


votes, and William Heath, one. The town sent no 


_ representative to the General Court during that year. 


In 1800, Samuel Bass was elected town clerk and 


_ treasurer, and Samuel Bass, Joseph White, and Micah 


White selectmen. 


Hon. Elbridge Gerry received 


_ one hundred and nine votes for Governor, and Hon. 





For Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor, Moses Gill had one hundred and sixteen votes, 
and William Heath, six. On May 15th Joseph White 
was elected representative to the General Court by 


Caleb Strong twenty-one votes. 








RANDOLPH. 


193 





forty-two out of seventy-one votes cast. At an election 
held November 3d, Josiah Smith received seventy- 
three votes, Nahum Mitchell eighteen, and Benjamin 
Whitman four, as representative to Congress from the 
second southern district. 

The following table exhibits at one view the 
amounts raised for town and school expenses, respec- 


tively, in each of the years from 1793 to 1800, inclu- 


sive, as given by Dr. Alden: 


Year. Town Expenses. Support of Schools. 
WED mecacecoeisecet sida seis £300 £50 
Tie aesoco cosecocesece 300 50 
TALE RiceSosnanacnnecaaedc 50 50 
LY Ssscseacnaceo coce coerce cere $250 
MiDilicecaccsstcccarcisoss ss $500 Baa 
WD Siccsceeesdesieeessices 400 200 
1799.. 400 250 
US O0R scsuseccisvstscincsce. 500 305 


The school money was annually distributed among 
the districts according to the number of families con- 
tained in each. During this period, and for many 
years subsequently, the highway tax was assessed sep- 
arately, committed to the surveyors in the several dis- 
tricts, and was made payable in labor on the road at 
a fixed price per day, varying in different years from 
three shillings to one dollar, the latter being the most 
common allowance. ‘Ihe number of poor was not 
great, and they were boarded and cared for in some 
of the families of the town, being usually let out to 
the lowest bidder. The whole number thus supported 
in 1800 was seven, and the price paid per week varied 
from 1s. 5d. to 5s., the average being rather more than 
half a dollar. Persons so supported were commonly 
able to perform some light labor, which was for the 
benefit of the families in which they resided, and 
diminished the expense of their support. Clothing 
and other extraordinary charges were paid for by the 
town. 

“Seventy years ago,” wrote Dr. Alden in 1857, 
“ Randolph was a quiet, agricultural parish, contain- 
ing probably one hundred and thirty to one hundred 
and forty families, and not far from seven hundred 
inhabitants. With the exception of a few persons 
(perhaps one hundred connected with the society of 
Rev. Mr. Briggs, then recently organized), all met 
together in one congregation for public worship on 
the Sabbath. Such was their confidence in each 
other that probably uot twenty families thought of 
bolting the doors of their dwellings at night. A 
painted house was an unusual sight. A carpet on 
a floor was rarely seen; not a dozen were to be found 
in the town when it was incorporated. ‘'T'allow candles 
of domestic manufacture were used for lights. There 
were no lamps then in use but the primitive one of an 
iron cup with a wick projecting from one side over the 


15 


rim, fed by refuse lard or some similar substance, and 


a coarsely-made tin lamp constructed on the same 
principle. The state of the roads forbade the use of 


_ wheeled carriages for the conveyance of persons. Be- 


tween this town and Abington and South Weymouth 
there was no communication except through the woods 
by bridle-paths. Market-men conveyed their articles 
to Boston in paniards [panniers?]. The principal 
road to Boston was through Braintree and Quincy to 
Milton Mills, thence through Dorchester and Roxbury. 


The road through the Blue Hills was exceedingly 


circuitous and nearly impassable. What would our 
fathers of that period have thought of being wheeled 
through the air to the metropolis in thirty minutes 
after leaving their homes, and that independently of 
horse- or ox-power? If such a thing had been pre- 
dicted as possible, would they not have exclaimed, 
‘Behold! if the Lord would make windows in heaven 
might this thing be?’” And the present writer hopes 
it is not irreverent to inquire what Dr. Alden himself 
would have “ exclaimed” had any one told him, even 
in his later day, that the time would come, for instance, 
whena Randolph citizen might converse with a friend 
miles away over a slender wire? 
move, and the end is not yet. 

The original town of Randolph was bounded on the 
north by Milton, Quincy, and Braintree; easterly, 
by Weymouth; southerly, by Abington and North 
Bridgewater (the latter being the present thriving 
young city of Brockton) ; westerly, by Stoughton and 
Canton. Its length from north to south was about 
seven miles; its breadth, from one and one-half to 
four miles; its bearing from the State-House in Bos- 
ton south, four degrees east ; distance from the State- 
House, thirteen miles. Its average distance from the 
sea was about six miles; average elevation above tide- 


The world does 


water, about one hundred and fifty feet; area, about 
eighteen square miles, or eleven thousand four hun- 
dred and thirty-five acres, of which Ponkapog Pond 
occupies one hundred and six acres, Great Pond (for- 
merly called More’s Pond) thirty-eight acres, and other 
ponds about ten acres. The summit level between 
Massachusetts and Narragansett Bays lay in the 


_southerly portion of the town, one hundred and 


- Tunkawaton swamps. 


thirty-four feet above high-water mark at Weymouth 
Landing. A narrow valley passed through the town 
from north to south. Through this valley flowed 
the Cochato River, which had its rise in Howard’s 
meadow and the Middle swamp in the southerly part 
of the town, forming a dividing line between the 
East and West villages, and receiving, as it progressed, 
accessions from streams rising in the Three, Bear, and 
The soil was denominated 





194 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





“strong,” and was in many parts rocky; the surface 
was undulating, without great elevations or deep de- 
pressions. The two principal villages were situated 
on roads about one mile distant, east and west, from 
the Cochato River, running parallel with it, and were 
respectively known as “ West Randolph” and “ Kast 
Randolph.” 

When what is now known as the Old Colony Rail- 
road was built, the line running from South Braintree, 


| of the church was effected on the the 28th of May, 


by the way of Bridgewater and Middleboro’, to Fall | 


River, passed midway between the two villages. The 
station (the same which is now known as Holbrook) 
was called Randolph. Some years later, however, 
when the railroad line from South Braintree to Fall 
River, via Taunton, was constructed, it was laid out 
directly through the village of West Randolph, and 


gave a new impetus to the business of that section of | 


the town. The East and West villages did not grow 


together, however, as was hoped, and finally, in 1872, | 


Kast Randolph was incorporated as Holbrook (treated 
at length elsewhere in this volume), and the word 


‘““ West” was forever dropped from the appellation of | 


the remaining village, now the town of Randolph. 


Under appropriate heads will be given particulars of | 


the development of the town in various directions. 
First in importance, as in interest, the churches claim 
attention. 

Ecclesiastical History.—The year 1727 found 
so many inhabitants at the south end of the South 
Precinct of Braintree (the territory now covered by 
the towns of Randolph and Holbrook), and they were 
so distant from their old meeting-house, that they de- 
termined to have a precinct, meeting-house, and min- 
ister of their own. Their petition to this effect to the 
General Court (still preserved) is dated Dec. 28, 
W727. They “above forty families.”’ 
They had already erected a “ convenient house,” 


numbered 


“though it was not yet finished,’ and were seeking 
fo) o] fo) 


‘a suitable minister to preach with us this winter.” | 
This petition, signed by twenty-eight leading citizens, | 
near it stood the original school-house, illustrating the 


was promptly granted. Regular Sabbath services 
were begun as early as the autumn of 1728, perhaps 
earlier, but it was not till the spring of 1731 that the 
people found a minister to please them. 
was Elisha Eaton, of Taunton. He graduated from 
Harvard College in 1729. It was voted to give him 


| 








1731 (O.8.), when ten persons entered into solemn 
covenant with God and one another. Their names 
were Hlisha Eaton, pastor ; John Niles, Moses Curtis, 
John Niles, William Copeland, Thomas Wales, David 
Kames, Samuel Bass, Joseph White, David Slone.” 
Their church was styled “The Third Church in 
Braintree.” The minister was immediately ordained, 
June 2,1731 (O.8.). Of this event The Boston 
News Letter for June 10th gives the following 
notice : 


: “BRAINTREE, THIRD Precinct, June 2, 1731. 
‘““A church has been lately gathered in this Parish, and the 


| Rev. Mr, Elisha Haton was this day ordained the pastor of it. 


The Rev. Mr. Paine, of Weymouth, began with prayer. The 
Rey. Mr. Lewis, of Pembroke, preached from 1 Cor. ix. 27,‘ Lest 
that by any means when I have preached unto others I myself 
should be a castaway.” The Rey. Mr. Niles, of Braintree, 
gave the charge, and the Rev. Mr. Gay, of Hingham, the fel- 
lowship of the churches.” 


The same year in which the pastor was ordained 
Thomas Wales was elected deacon, and in 1733 
Samuel Bass was also appointed to that office. The 
membership of the little church rose during the first 
two years to thirty, and in the subsequent years of 
Mr. Eaton’s ministry to one hundred and _ thirty. 


|The first pastor continued in office till June 7, 1750. 


He was afterwards settled in Harpswell, Me., where 
he enjoyed a useful ministry till his death, April 22, 
1764. 

The meeting-house in which Rey. Mr. Haton be- 


_ gan his ministry was probably erected (as has been 


intimated already) in 1727. It was rudely built, in 
keeping with the wilderness in which it stood. Of 
paint, fire, steeple, or bell it never boasted. An acre 
of land for precinct use was obtained of Joseph 
Crosby for forty shillings. It has been taken rod by 
rod by the demands of highways, and now forms the 
public square in the centre of the village, on the 
border of which the present church stands. The first 
house was on the northeastern corner of the lot, and 


familiar lines of Whittier on ‘ Our State :” 


His name 


“seventy-five pounds a year for two years, then rise 


five pounds a year for two years, and then eighty 
pounds a year for his salary,” and also to give him 
“an hundred and fifty pounds for settlement.” 
Katon accepted the call, but the church was not yet 
organized. 


through the “ precinct meeting.” 


All the work had thus far been done. | 
The organization | 





‘“Nor heeds the sceptic’s puny hands, 

While near her school the church spire stands ; 

Nor fears the blinded bigot’s rule, 

While near her church spire stands the school.” 
church was Rev. 


The second minister of this 


_ Moses Taft, of Mendon, who was ordained Aug. 26, 
1752, having graduated from Harvard College the 
Mr. 


preceding year. The ordination sermon (by Rev. 
John Shaw, of Bridgewater), with the other exercises 
of the occasion, was printed, together with the con- 
fession of faith presented by the candidate to the 








RANDOLPH. 


195 





council, and which was declared “ worthy of imitation 
in these perilous times in like cases, as one proper ex- 


pedient to prevent the further spread of error in the | 


land and dejection in the churches.” Mr. Taft’s 
pastorate was the longest in the history of the church, 
covering thirty-nine years and three months. He 
died in office Nov. 11, 1791, after an honorable but 
not eventful ministry. The most important action of 
the parish during this period was the erection of its 





| progress. 


second house of worship, a beautiful structure, built | 


in 1764. During the last and feeble vears of Mr. 
Taft an associate pastor was sought for him, and 
found in the person of Rev. Jonathan Strong, who 
was ordained as junior pastor, Jan. 28, 1789. Mr. 


Strong graduated from Dartmouth College in 1786, | 


and studied divinity with Rev. Ephraim Judson, of 
Taunton, by whom the ordination 
preached. The sermon was printed. The ministry 
thus begun was long and replete with interest. 

Dr. Strong was quite a giant in his day, physically, 
mentally, and in things spiritual. He exercised great 
influence in his pulpit and out of it. In the ecclesi- 
astical affairs of the State he took an important part 
with the leading ministers of the denomination. 
Several powerful revivals of religion were -enjoyed 
during Dr. Strong’s ministry, and the church had 
great prosperity under his preaching and pastoral 
care. 


some sadly broken up by the theological controversies 
and religious defections so rife at the time, this 
church stood united in unshaken loyalty to the doc- 
trines of evangelical religion. 

It may be interesting to remark that it was in 1813, 
toward the close of Dr. Strong’s pastorate, that the 
custom of reading the Scriptures as one of the exercises 
of public worship on the Sabbath was first adopted. 
In the matter of singing in the house of the Lord 
important changes had been made earlier. While 
the people worshiped in the first meeting-house the 
deacons “set the tune.” After the occupation of 
the second house the precinct regularly appointed 
“tuners.” 
by vote of the precinct, and singing “in parts’? was 
introduced, and soon after a regular choir. But each 
step of progress in securing both excellence and vari- 


ety in this important service seems to have been con- 


tested. The ancient German and English custom of 


“lining off” the hymns one line at a time prevailed | 


in this church till 1781. It was then voted, as a 
concession to the progressive element, that “the 
singers shall sing half the time by reading one line, 


and half the time by reading two lines !” This cus- 


sermon Was | 


While many churches in the opening years of | 
the century were seriously distracted, divided, and 


In 1775 printed music began to be used | 


\ 


| 





| persons came into its communion. 





tom was probably entirely surrendered about the time 
that Dr. Strong commenced his ministry, when Watts’s 
Psalms and Hymns superseded the revised edition 
of the Bay Psalm-Book, or New England Psalm- 
Book, which had long been in use. 

It will be recognized at once that the pastorate of 
Dr. Strong was not only important in itself, but also 
covered a period full of interesting changes and much 
The honored and beloved pastor was 
stricken down by sudden illness in the prime of his 
useful life, and died at the age of fifty years, Nov. 9, 
1814. 

Rev. Thaddeus Pomeroy succeeded, with a brief 
pastorate. He was born in Southampton, graduated 
from Williams College in 1810, and was ordained 
pastor of this church Nov. 22, 1815. On the 15th 
of December, 1818, forty members of the church, in- 
cluding its two deacons, were dismissed to form the 


_“ Second Church,” located in Kast Randolph (now 


Holbrook). At this period Sabbath-schools were 
coming into favor among the good people of New 
England, and this church welcomed the new method 
of instruction. A school was established on the first 
Sabbath in May, 1819, Dr. Ebenezer Alden being the 
first superintendent, and continuing in office for 
thirty-nine years. Rev, Mr. Pomeroy was dismissed 
April 26, 1820, and on the 28th of February, 1821, 
Rey. Calvin Hitchcock was installed the fifth pastor 
of the church. 

Dr. Hitchcock proved himself an eminently useful, 
devoted, and beloved minister. The church rejoiced 


_in marked prosperity under his long-continued labors. 
| A new house of worship was dedicated in 1825, 


and soon after Dr. Hitchcock’s ministry opened the 
most powerful revival in the history of the church 
was experienced, as the fruit of which seventy-eight 
Other seasons of 
large increase were granted to the earnest and united 
labors of pastor and people. At the age of sixty-four 
the honored pastor voluntarily withdrew from the 
pastorate (June 9, 1851), and resided in Wrentham 
till his decease, Dec. 3, 1867. He was succeeded by 
Rey. Christopher Cordley, who was installed March 
3, 1852. He gave six years of vigorous service to 
the cause of Christ in this place, and was then dis- 
missed, Oct. 14, 1858. He was afterwards settled in 
Lawrence, Mass., where he died June 26, 1866. 
Rev. Henry K. Dwight was ordained Dec. 29, 1859, 


and dismissed April 1,1862. The present attractive 


' and commodious meeting-house was erected in 1860, 


and was extensively repaired in 1880. Rev. John C. 


| Labaree was installed Dec. 14, 1865, and now remains 


in office. 


196 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Of the young men who have been trained up in 
this church and congregation, forty-one have received 
a college education, twenty-one have consecrated 


_ stated supplies, and their terms of service, an asterisk 


themselves to the Christian ministry, twelve have | 


entered the profession of medicine, and others have 
made their mark in the legal profession and other 
prominent positions in active life. The church and 
parish have received important donations and lega- 


cies at various times, and the history of its funds is: 


interesting, 

Dr. Ebenezer Alden was clerk of the church for 
more than half a century, and gathered a great many 
facts relating to its early affairs. He prepared a 


valuable manual of the church in 1862, and in | 


various ways contributed very largely to its influence 


and prosperity. The one hundred and fiftieth anni- | 
versary of the organization of this church was suit- 

ably observed June 8, 1881, and the proceedings were | 
| Lowell Parker; and, about that time, Zenas P. Wild. 
| All of these, except Isaac Smith, are now dead. 
| Marked religious ingatherings were enjoyed under 


published in full. 

The First Baptist Church of Randolph was organ- 
ized under the following circumstances: In the year 
1819 a number of members of the Baptist Church 
in South Randolph (now East Stoughton), who were 
residing in the northern part of the town, were de- 
sirous of better church facilities. 


not less than five thousand dollars, a house forty-five 
by fifty feet in dimensions, to be located on grounds 
donated by Zeba Spear—the present site of the 
church. ‘The work began at once, and was finished 
by October. 
new church organization, which was consummated 
by a council convened November 3d of the same 


Steps had meantime been taken for a 


year. 

The church thus organized consisted of forty- 
seven members, all but two of whom came from the 
parent church at Stoughton. As that church, now 
over a hundred years old, was then in Randolph, the 
new organization was styled the North Baptist Church 
in Randolph, which name it continued to bear till 
1875, when by legal enactment it was changed to 
that which it now bears, viz., the First Baptist 
Church of Randolph. 


bers are now dead, the last one, Mrs. Polly Spear, 


All of the constituent mem- 


passing away in December, 1882. 
The new church chose as deacons, Seth Alden and 


Zeba Spear; as clerk, Thomas W. Tolman; and as | 


On Feb. 22, 1820, | 


treasurer, Dr. Jonathan Wales. 
a call was given Rev. Warren Bird, of Foxboro’, to 


At a called meet- | 
ing, January 28th, it was voted to build, at a cost of | 


(*) denoting those now deceased : 


| Weare 18siet 565300. nospecocacsacodcce April, 1820 May, 1821 
*S. C. Dilloway (supply)........... Sept. 1821 Sept. 1822 
*Benjamin Putnam) <........ <2... March, 1823 April, 1829 
AMOS WetaViOUDcsecescerecesorsee nee May, 1829 June, 1830 
=Joseph M. Driver...............-.--. Nov. 1830 Oct. 1832 
FJ ames iM. Coleyiese-t-cecice-cceseases June, 1833 Feb. 14836 

Conant Sawyereccssscsnece.ssecieues es April, 1836 Sept. 1838 
*() f8) COUVOLSC.sccceassieoseosieocsccese- Jan. 1839 Oct. 1839 
*Charles H. Peabody............0+0-- Dec. 1840 April, 1842 

HennyiClarkscr..sssecccsssesclcoveoetes July, 1842 Dec. 1846 
Ee Wie) Hise SO Willerceccesetscessecectet June, 1848 May, 1849 
*Thomas Driver (as supply).......Sept. 1849 March, 1850 

fe «(as pastor)........March, 1850 April, 1852 
# Benjamin sWiheelen. c....<sceseess +s May, 1852 Dec. 1858 

William F. Stubbert .............-.. April, 1859 Oct. 1865 
= WallettyiViaiyecccsscesencacscesehsmaces April, 1866 March, 1867 

John Pryor (supply) .........seceeee June, 1868 June, 1869 

Jamies EH WilSOnts.:.scseeseessecsiee Oct. 1869 Dee, 1871 

Josephy@sHostermmesscosnciecccisecess Jan. 1873 Jan. 1882 

Meonardlsi. Deathirs.c2ss (cece oes June, 1882 





become pastor, which call was accepted, and Mr. | 


Bird entered upon his pastorate in April, upon a 
salary of “ £100 lawful money.” The following table 


will give the names of the different pastors and 


| much improved in 1860. 


Of these, Mr. Peabody died, while pastor of the 
church, in 1842. The church also licensed to preach, 
in 1830, John Holbrook and Isaac Smith; in 1842, 


the pastorates of Pastors Putnam, J. M. Driver, Con- 
verse, Peabody, Clark, T. Driver, Wheeler, and Fos- 
ter. The present membership is two hundred and 
nine. 

Of those who, as deacons, have ministered not 
only in temporal but also in spiritual things, should 


be appreciatively mentioned Zeba Spear, Seth, Al- 


_phaeus, and Daniel Alden, Jacob Wales French, 
Henry Bangs, Leonard Faunce, Austin Roel, Aaron 


Prescott, and John May. Only the last two sur- 
vive and are now in service. 

Of the church’s material improvements it may be 
noted that in 1824 the present parsonage was pur- 
chased of Deacon Daniel Alden. A vestry was built 
near the church in 1837. This was largely due to 
the suggestion of Thomas W. Tolman and his dying 
legacy of two hundred dollars. This structure was 
In 1842 the house of wor- 
ship was lengthened by thirty-two feet. This, with 
other improvements, cost nearly five thousand dollars. 
The parsonage was also remodeled. Again, in 1873 
and 1874, the house of worship was so completely re- 
built and refurnished as virtually to be a new edifice, 
The total cost, including that of the new bell and 


the tower clock, was about thirty thousand dollars. 


‘The vestry was also sold, and the parsonage much 
improved. The church is now thriving and vig- 
orous. 

A Sabbath-school was organized at the founding of 
the church, which has flourished till the present time. 
The present superintendent is Dr. C. C. Farnham, 


Among its past superintendents may be mentioned 





RANDOLPH. 


197 





the honored name of Deacon John May, nearly a 
quarter of a century faithfully laboring, and still, as 
previously noted, busily doing the Master’s work. 


| Methodist Episcopal Church so long as the said 


Church shall hold and maintain regular services 


Time wouid fail to tell of the honored dead and | 


living, and space be lacking to record their self- 
sacrificing work ; but there will always be time to 
think of their example, and room in the hearts of 
those who remain for their cherished memory. 

St. Mary’s Catholic Church has the largest mem- 
bership in the town. 
in this region—forty years ago or thereabouts—the 
parish in which Randolph was located inciuded in addi- 


In the early days of Catholicism | 


therein.” The chapel was built and dedicated in 
1872. The first pastor was the Rev. Bradford P. 
Raymond, and he was succeeded by the Rev. Messrs. 
Storey, Colburn, Rotch, Duckwall, and Jones. The 
present pastor, the Rev. W. Lenoir Hood, was ap- 
pointed Sept. 18, 1881. 

Military History.—No better sketch could be 
given of the honorable part which Randolph took in 
the war of the Rebellion than is found in the fol- 


lowing extracts from an address delivered on the 


tion the towns of Randolph, Stoughton, Canton, Hing- 


ham, Weymouth, Abington, and Quincy. The latter 
town was the head of the parish, and from it were sent 


out the priests who conducted the services in the other | 
towns,—usually about once a fortnight in each place. | 


At these times services were held in Randolph in a 
hall in the hotel. Later, however, the town hall was 
used for the purpose. Among the early priests were 
Fathers Fitzsimmons, Stran, Callaher, and O’Beirne. 
The latter caused to be purchased the land on which 
the present church stands, and put in the foundations 
of the original edifice. 
Father Fitzsimmons again, and he, in turn, was 


After Father O’ Beirne came | 


shortly succeeded by Father Rodden, who built the | 


first church in 1849. The dedication occurred in 
August, 1850. Father Rodden was the first resident 
priest, settling in the town about 1851. 
sisted in his labors by Father O'Sullivan, curate. 
After Father Rodden came, in succession, Fathers 
Roche, Welsh, McGlew, Denvir, 
O’Brien, and Thomas O’Brien, the latter being in 


He was as- 


Burns, James 
charge at the present time, assisted by Father Kelly. 
The church edifice was enlarged by Father Burns 
about a dozen years ago, and the present parochial 
residence was built by Father Thomas O’Brien. 
The church is free from debt, and is in all respects 
flourishing and prosperous. The curates have been 
Fathers O'Sullivan, Brennan, Bannon, Denehy, and 
Kelly. 

At Tower Hill, in the westerly portion of the town, 
is located a Methodist Episcopal chapel. It has no 
separate membership, being connected, as an organi- 
zation, with the Methodist Episcopal society of North 
Stoughton. A society gathered itself together at Tower 
Hill several years ago somewhat informally, without 
definite organization, hiring a minister by subscription 
and holding meetings in Niles’s Hall. Very largely 
through the generosity of the Hon. James A. Tower, 
the present chapel property was donated to Bradford 


evening of May 30, 1876 (the “centennial year” of 
the nation), in Stetson Hall, before the members of 
Capt. Horace Niles Post, No. 110, G. A. R., by the 
Hon. J. White Belcher : 


* *x * * * *x * *x 


‘“¢ Among the first regiments called into the field was 
the Fourth Massachusetts, composed of companies 
belonging to various towns along the Old Colony 
Shore. The order for its appearance on Boston 
Common at noon of Tuesday, April 16th, reached the 
hands of Col. Packard at Quincy late on the after- 
noon of the 15th. He immediately issued his orders 
and dispatched them by a special messenger to the 
Within 
twelve hours every company had reported at Faneuil 
Hall instead of the Common, on account of the severe 
Company D of this 


several companies under his command. 


storm which then prevailed. 
regiment was composed principally of citizens of Ran- 
dolph, and was first organized in 1855 as the Ran- 
dolph Light Infantry. Its first captain was Hiram 
C. Alden, who held the office until July, 1860. 
April 15, 1861, at nine o'clock in the evening, orders 
were received by the clerk of this company to report 
in Boston at nine o'clock the next morning. The 


_ company at this time not having any commissioned 


P. Raymond, Caleb Tucker, and Wales B. Thayer, 
‘prompt and ready response of those who enrolled 


trustees, the property to be held by them “for the 


officers, Sergt. Hiram F. Wales labored all that night 
to notify the company so as to have them respond 
promptly to their country’s call. In the general indif- 
ference in regard to military organizations which ex- 
isted throughout the State for some time previous to 
this sudden call, the town of Randolph was not an 
exception. But when the sound went forth that the 
flag of the Union had been fired upon, this company, 
with the others, received a new impulse, and was 
ready the next morning to move onward. They did 
not stop to ask or inquire about the difficulties which 
might lie in the way, but with all the manliness of 
heroes they entered at once upon the duties before 
them. 

“Many of you who sit here well remember the 


198 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





themselves for three months’ service. Who will ever 
forget the first drum-beat to arms in this village 
which saluted us on the morning of the 16th of April, 
1861? Many of our citizens and neighbors, un- 
trained except for peace, took their places in the 
ranks and departed for the defense of the national 
capital, expecting soon to return to their homes 
bearing with them the proclamation of peace. But 
we were only on the very threshold of the Rebel- 
lion. The darkest hours had not yet come. The 
soil of America had not yet been baptized with the 
blood of those whose names we honor to-day. Ata 
quarter before nine o’clock on the morning of April 
16th this company was escorted to the station by a 
band of music and a large concourse of citizens. 
They arrived in Boston at forty minutes past nine 
o'clock, when they immediately marched to Faneuil 
Hall. 


rived in Boston, and was received with cheers of wel- 


This was one of the first companies which ar- 
come. There are many present who remember that 
cold and stormy morning. There were many scenes 
which touched the stoutest hearts. Many a tear was 
shed when bidding the final farewell, they knew not 
but forever. Many a silent prayer ascended on that 
morning that a kind Providence would watch over 
Upon the arrival of the company 


in Boston an election of officers was held, which re- 


and care for them. 


sulted in the choice of Horace Niles for captain (a 
name which has been honored by your Post), Otis 8. 
Wilbur first lieutenant, and Hiram F. Wales second 
On Wednesday, the 17th day of April, 


the regiment started for Fortress Monroe, arriving 


lieutenant. 


April 20th, at which time it was unknown to them 
whether they were to meet friends or enemies, until 
they saw the stars and stripes floating from the old 
fortress. A short time after the regiment left, the 
selectmen received a telegram from the adjutant-gen- 
eral of Massachusetts that Company D was deficient 
in numbers, and that twenty-two additional men were 


required to complete it. Within a few hours after it 


was generally known, the full number had enlisted, and | 


even a whole company could have been organized. 


On the following morning they left Randolph for | 


Boston; and such was the enthusiasm, to my own 
knowledge, that several persons followed them to the 


State- House, thinking that some one or more might | 


fall out and there would be a chance for them to go to 
At the State-House these 
twenty-two men were sworn into their country’s ser- 
vice and placed under the command of Sergt. Edmund 


Cottle. 


on board the steamer which was to convey them to 


the defense of the Union. 


In the afternoon of the same day they went 


Yortress Monroe. 








“History has already recorded that the three months’ 
men were the first to respond to the call of the Presi- 
dent ; the first to march through Baltimore to the de- 
fense of the capital; the first to shed their blood for 
the maintenance of the government ; the first to land 
on the soil of Virginia and hold possession of the 
most important fortress in the Union, The Sixth 
Regiment undoubtedly saved Washington ; the Fourth 
saved Fortress Monroe. They each upheld the good 
name of the commonwealth during their entire term 
of service, and by their courage and devotion to duty 
in the hour of peril they became the right arm of the 
national government. Their record will always be prized 
by Massachusetts as one of her richest historic treas- 
ures. The full company having performed important 
duties at Fortress Monroe, Newport News, and Hamp- 
ton Village, returned in July, 1861, and were received 
by the Fire-King, Relief, and Independence Engine 
Companies and escorted to this hall, where a public 
dinner was given them. They served the time for 
which they enlisted, but the war had not yet 
closed. On the 4th of August, 1862, an additional 
call was made by the President for three hundred 
thousand men to enlist for the term of nine months, 
and this, too, while in the midst of filling the quota 
for three years under another call for the same number 
of men. The Fourth Regiment again volunteered with 
the same promptness as in 1861, and was ordered at 
once to Camp Joe Hooker, in the town of Middle- 
boro’. Hiram C. Alden was re-elected captain of 
Company D, Myron W. Hollis elected first lieutenant, 
Edmund Cottle second lieutenant. Ninety members of 
this company enlisted from Randolph. On the 17th 
of December, 1862, the regiment having recruited to its 
maximum under command of Col. Walker, of Quincy, 
was ordered to join the forces of Maj.-Gen. Banks in 
the Department of the Gulf. December 2 
ment left camp for New York, where transports were 


ld 


7th the regi- 


in readiness to convey them to New Orleans, where 
they arrived Feb. 7, 1863, when they at once 
proceeded to Carrollton and landed February 13th, 
having been on shipboard forty-seven days. 

‘In the expedition against Port Hudson this regi- 
At its surrender they 
were the first to enter the fort, where they remained 


ment bore a conspicuous part. 


until August 4th. This regiment performed important 


duties also at Brashear City and many other places; 


and Aug. 28, 1863, having served eleven months, 
arrived home and were mustered out of service. One 
hundred and twenty-five of this regiment, who left 
Massachusetts Dee. 27, 1862, never returned. Some 
fell in battle and some by lingering disease in that un- 


healthful climate. Ten of the number were our own 








RANDOLPH. 


199 








citizens, young men just entering the years of man- 


hood, and belonging to Company D. 


ok K *K *K K 7 * * 


“On the 4th of July, 1862, the President of the | 
United States called for three hundred thousand men | 
| these two battles the loss was severe. 


to serve for three years, unless the war sooner closed. 
The proportion for Massachusetts to furnish, either 
by volunteers or draft, was fifteen thousand men. 
Recruiting at once commenced in earnest. 
Thirty-fifth Massachusetts, having recruited to its full 





The | 


number at Camp Stanton, Lynfield, was organized and | 
mustered into service Aug. 21, 1862, and left the State | 
on the following day, very imperfectly fitted out, owing | 
to the urgency of the demand for fresh troops at Wash- | 


ington. 
mand of Col. Edward A. Wild, whom those of that 
regiment who are present to-day only remember to 
The soldiers were at first armed 
with Enfield rifles of very poor quality, and quite 


honor and respect. 


dangerous to handle. 
‘Sixty-two of the citizens of Randolph enlisted in 
Company E of this regiment, while others enlisted 


The regiment was placed under the com- | 





subjected to slaughtering cross-fires, was with a 


_ steadiness that veterans might be proud of until they 


were ordered to retire a little to a more sheltered 
spot.’ 

“T need not remind you on this occasion that in 
I need not tell 
you of the intense feeling of anxiety manifested in 
this community on receiving news of this battle. 
Many of your hearts were wrung with sorrow as each 
Two-thirds of the 
officers and one-third of the men were killed or 


telegram announced the result. 


wounded. ‘The authorities of this town sent at once 
two of our citizens, George N. Johnson and Dr. E. 
A. Allen, to aid and render relief to the wounded and 
suffering, and to tenderly care for the dead. Their 


_ services were faithfully performed and gratefully ap- 


_ preciated. 


| their final resting-place. 


in other companies of the same regiment, some of | 


whom had seen service and re-enlisted. 
election of officers, Horace Niles was chosen captain, 
Jonathan W. Ingell first lieutenant, William Palmer 


At the first | 


second lieutenant, all of whose names appear on these | 
tablets which have been so beautifully decorated with | 


flowers to-day. 

“The adjutant-general says in his report that among 
the many good regiments Massachusetts had sent 
Its 


commander, Col. Wild, was a man highly intelligent 


forward, few, if any, surpassed the Thirty-fifth. 


as well as brave, and who had a full appreciation of 
the magnitude of the war. In a letter written by 
Col. Wild, after leaving Massachusetts, he says, 
‘The regiment arrived at Washington August 234, at 


once crossed the Potomac and encamped beyond Ar-— 


lington Heights. On the 6th of September the 
regiment was transferred to the command of Maj.- 
Gen. Burnside, from which time to September 14th 
we made ‘continued short marches and bivouacs until 
the battle of South Mountain. We entered the fight 
at half-past four in the afternoon, and it lasted until 
after dark. 
weeks after leaving Massachusetts (the first ordeal of 


the Thirty-fifth), their behavior was excellent. The 


In this battle, which occurred but three | 


men were always ready to do anything they were | 


ordered. Three days afterwards came the battle of An- 
tietam. Here again the Thirty-fifth bore a conspicuous 
part. Their behavior was excellent throughout. I 
cannot picture to you the scenes of that day. The 
position this regiment held for some time, though 


We remember to-day the names of those 
whose lifeless forms were forwarded by them from the 
field of battle to their sorrowful homes, and the sad 
and solemn ceremonies observed by this whole com- 
munity in yonder church before conveying them to 
Capt. Horace Niles, whose 
name stands at the head of this list, died of wounds 
received in this battle Sept. 27, 1862, just five weeks 
after he left this State for the seat of war. But he 
was not the only one who fell. I have not the time 
to call each by name, or to speak of them individually. 
Seventeen others, whose names are found on these 
tablets, laid down their lives upon the altar of their 
country, who belonged to Company K, of the Thirty- 
fifth. This regiment afterwards performed important 
duty in Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, 
and Mississippi. It has an honorable record of 
taking part in the battles of South Mountain, An- 
tietam, Fredericksburg, Jackson, Campbell Station, 
siege of Knoxville, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Cold 
Harbor, Weldon Railroad, Vicksburg, Fort Sedgwick, 


Petersburg, and several others. 


*K *K 


“While I have spoken particularly of the Fourth 
and Thirty-fifth Regiments, there are many other 
names recorded on these tablets, and whose graves 


_you have visited to-day, who faithfully performed 


equally as meritorious services in different organiza- 
tions, each and all of whom fell while fighting for the 
preservation of the Union. From the commencement 
to the close of the war the town of Randolph, then 
including Holbrook, furnished nine hundred and 
nineteen men as its proportion required under the 
different calls of the President, leaving a surplus of 
thirty-one over all demands; eighty-one of these fell 
in battle, or died of disease contracted while be- 
longing to thé Union army. While the last living 


4 


_ 


00 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


—£ 








link of the Revolution has long ago separated from 


us, it is not so with the Rebellion of 1861. Our | 


neighbors, our friends, our relatives went forth from 
us to become soldiers and martyrs, but some of them 
returned. Let us not, therefore, forget those who - 
assemble on these memorial days, having faithfully 

performed their duty to their country, who fortunately — 
escaped the perils of the camp and the dangers of the 
conflict, and returned to their peaceful homes, putting 


off the soldier’s armor and again entering upon the 





duties of civil life.” 


ok * > > *K K kK *K 


The tablets alluded to by the orator in the fore- 
going quotations are large and handsomely designed 
slabs of marble, placed on either side of the platform 
in Stetson Hall. Each bears this inscription : 


“ASD. LS i 
Erected by the town of Randolph to perpetuate the memory of 
its patriotic citizens who voluntarily entered and fell 
in their country’s service during the war of the 
GREAT REBELLION.” 


Above these words are inscribed on the slab at the 
right of the stage the following names: 


William F. Gill. 
Frederick M. Wortman. 
Ephraim T. Cole. 
Sidney A. Mann. 
Cornelius Desmond. 
Stephen C. Yeaton. 
John A. Law. 

Charles D. Hodge. | 
John A. Kennedy. 


Horace Niles. 
William Palmer. 
George Henry. 

Jobn Dunton. 
Richmond Blencowe. 
Seth C. Bean. 

Levi A. Brundage. 
Theodore Compass. 
Richard H. Cox. 
Joel King. Adoniram J. Townsend. 
James Jones. Frederick Nightingale. 
Henry Keily. 
Edward McMahon. 
Albert M. May. 
Daniel Rieardon. 
John H. Gill. 
George S. Sloan. 


Cornelius Murphy. 
John H. Baker. 
Elbridge G. Simpson. 
Herbert C. Blood. 
Otis Crooker. 

George H. Croak. 
Philip Donahoe. 
John W. Heath. 
Maurice Twohig. 





Joseph V. Sloan. 
Warren C. Turner. 
Charles E. Hunt. 


The companion tablet on the left of the platform 

bears the following names : 

J. Wilson Ingell. 

George Washburn. 

Matthew Clark, Jr. 

Cornelius Clark. 

William H. Shed. 

George B. White. 

Kdward McLaughlin. 


John Foley. 

John D. Flynn. 
Alvan Faunce. 
Henry Keily, 2d. 
George W. Mann. 
Thomas O’Halloran. 
J. 


George Smith. 


Frank Poole. 
Charles L. Thayer. 
W. Leander White. 
Seth M. Harris. 

John Q. A. Sylvester. 
Daniel O’ Niel. 
William M. Hobart. 
John F. Riley. 


Henry Snow. 

John P. Turner. 

C. Payson Thayer. 
Nelson L. Thayer. 
Thomas F. Whitmarsh. 


Michael Kelliher, Jr. 


| 


_ pointed the first charity committee. 


Thayer was elected Commander. 


| William A. Croak was elected Commander. 


Philemon White. 
Thomas E. Willis. 
Edward K. Hobart. 
William F. Hill. 
Jerome R. Hodge. 
Alson W. Thayer. 
Zenas M. Hayden. 


Post No. 110, Dept. of Massachusetts, G@. A. R., 
was formed Oct. 29, 1869, the first meeting being 
held on that date in Good Templar Hall (the old 
meeting-house) on North Street. The charter mem- 


bers were fifteen in number, viz.: Edmund Cottle, 
Hiram C. Alden, Charles H. Greeley, James W. White, 


Garrett G. Barry. 
James Hogan. 
Job D. Harris. 
Patrick Hand. 
Loring Taunt. 
Charles Weathee. 


| Richmond T. Pratt, Samuel R. Hodge, Joshua Hor- 


ton, James I’. Dargan, Francis A. Belcher, 8. Melvin 
Clarke, Joseph W. Thayer, Nelson Mann, George C. 
Spear, Samuel White, and Warren Thayer, Jr. At. 


_ this meeting the following officers were elected for the 


remainder of the year: Commander, Kdmund Cottle ; 
S. V.C., Richmond T. Pratt; J. V. C4 Jamesiehe 
Dargan ; Adjutant, Hiram C. Alden ; Quartermaster, 
Charles H. Greeley; O. D., James W. White; O. G., 
Samuel R. Hodge ; Surgeon, Samuel White; Chap- 
lain, Warren Thayer, Jr. Another election of officers 
was held Dec. 31, 1869, but the roster was un- 
changed. Ata meeting held Feb. 4, 1870, the name 
‘“‘Capt. Horace Niles” was adopted. 

From this time the growth of the Post was vigor- 
ous, and new members were admitted at nearly every 
meeting. May 30, 1870, was the first Decoration 
Day observed, the Post parading with a band and an 
escort of firemen and some of the societies of the 
town. June 17, 1870, Hiram CU. Alden was elected 
Commander. He appointed Warren Thayer, Jr., as 
his Adjutant, and at the meeting of July 1, 1870, ap- 
Aug. 19, 1870, 
a code of by-laws, drawn by George C. Spear, Charles 


| Miller, and Warren Thayer, Jr., was adopted for the 


better governing of the Post, and in February, 1871, 
the first fair for the benefit of the Charity Fund was 
held in Stetson Hall, and additional by-laws to govern 


that fund were adopted. Dec. 15, 1871, Royal W. 


He held that posi- 
tion four years. His Adjutants were Warren Thayer, 
Jr., to Dec. 20, 1872; William A. Croak, to Dec. 17, 


1875. At the latter date Galen Hollis was elected 
Commander. He held the position for five years. 


His Adjutant was William A. Croak. 
with the Good Templars the Post moved their quar- 
ters to Alden’s Hall, North Street. Dec. 3, 1880, 
He ap- 


In company 


_ pointed Horace A. Drake his Adjutant. Dec. 2, 1881, 


Commander Croak appointed Lorenzo KH. Wilbur his 
Adjutant. June 20, 1882, the Post, in company with 





RANDOLPH. 201 








the Knights of Honor, moved into Shankland’s Hall, | 


on Main Street, the two societies hiring it together. 
To this date (January, 1884) the Post has borne on 
its roll one hundred and forty-seven names. Of this 


number some have died, some have been transferred 


to other Posts, and the usual per cent. dropped. The 
membership is now fifty. Since the formation of the 
Post there has been expended for relief, by the direc- 
tion of the various relief committees, a little over 
four thousand dollars. Of this sum three thousand 
one hundred and twenty-three dollars and twenty-two 
cents was drawn from what is known as the relief 
fund, being money given the Post as donations, or 





raised by the fairs which have been held yearly for the | 
benefit of the fund. This money can be spent in no > 


other way. The remainder was drawn from the Post 
fund, and is money contributed by the members 
which they can spend as they please. 


hundred and forty dollars and twenty-three cents, in | 


the hands of three trustees, viz.: Hiram C. Alden, 


Horace A. Drake, and Samuel White. There is also 


a fund known as the “ Grandmother Spear Fund,” | 


This grew from the one | 1875. 


amounting to fifty dollars. 


dollar note given the Post by an old lady (eighty-nine | 


years), Mrs. Capt. Otis Spear. 
separate fund for the present. 


This is kept as a 
The Post fund is 
ample for all present wants. The officers for the 
year 1884 are: Commander, William A. Croak ; 
S. V. C., Horace A. Drake; J. V. C., William R. 
Roberts; Adjutant, Lorenzo E. Wilbur; O. D., 
Myron W. Hollis; O. G., Marcus M. Poole ; Quarter- 
master, Galen Hollis; Surgeon, Lewis A. Hunt; 
Chaplain, Francis A. Stanley. 


The Post had | 
on hand in its relief fund, on Jan. 1, 1884, nine | 





Public Buildings.—The town hall (known as | 


Stetson Hall) is a handsome and commodious edifice, 


located nearly opposite the Congregational Church, in | 


It is built of wood and cost 
It is named in commemoration 


the centre of the town. 
ten thousand dollars. 
of the late Hon. Amasa Stetson, who presented it to 
the town, and was dedicated in 1842. Within it is 


to be seen a life-like portrait, by Frothingham, of | 
Charlestown, of the generous donor of the building. | 


In the lower portion of the edifice is located the high | 


school, which is partly supported by the income of a 
fund of ten thousand dollars, left for the purpose by 
Hon. Amasa Stetson, and partly by taxation. 
Stetson was born in Randolph, March 26, 1769, being 
the son of John and Rachel (Paine) Stetson. He 
married Rebecca Kettell, of Boston, Aug. 21, 1798. 


Beginning life as a poor boy, he learned the trade of 
: | Board of Selectmen at any time be composed of more than 
a shoemaker, and, upon going to Boston, where he — 


Mr. ! 


associated himself with his brother Samuel in the © 


shoe business, succeeded, by strict economy and close 
application, in laying the foundation of his large for- 
tune. In the war of 1812 he was appointed by 
President Madison to the office of commissary for the 
district of Massachusetts, and was also elected by the 
Democrats to the State Senate. 
manifested his liberality by his donations to his native 
town, and also to the town of Dorchester, his adopted 
home, where he presented the Rev. Mr. Hall’s church 
with a handsome clock costing seven hundred dollars. 


During his life he 


In the town of Stetson, Me., which was named for 
him, he had a church built for the use of all denom- 
His death occurred Aug. 2, 1844. He 
was aged seventy-five years, four months, and six days, 


inations. 


and was buried at Dorchester. He died without issue, 


leaving a fortune of over five hundred thousand dol- 


lars. In addition to his previously mentioned dona- 


tions to Randolph, he gave the town one hundred 
dollars to build a face wall around the old North Cem- 
etery, where his parents lie buried. 

The Turner Public Library occupies a handsome 
stone building just north of the Congregational 


Church. It was completed and occupied early in 


The building, independent of the land, cost 
forty thousand dollars, and the lower rooms on the 
ground floor are occupied by the national and sav- 
ings banks and by a grocery store. The library was 
the gift to the town of Seth, Royal W., Mary B., 
and Abby W. Turner, and Anne M. Sweetser. Fol- 
lowing are the essential portions of the deed of gift: 


“ Know all men by these presents, that we, Seth Turner, Royal 
W. Turner, and Abby W. Turner, of Randolph, in the County 
of Norfolk, and Anne M. Sweetser, of Boston, in the County 
of Suffolk, widow, all in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 
heirs-at-law of Royal Turner and Maria, his wife, late of said 
Randolph, deceased, in consideration of one dollar to us paid 
by the Inhabitants of the Town of Randolph aforesaid, the 
receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, do hereby remise, re- 
lease, and forever quitclaim unto the said Inhabitants of Ran- 
dolph, a certain lot of land, with the new stone building thereon, 
containing ten thousand four hundred and ninety-seyen and 
one-half feet, and bounded and described as follows, viz. : [De- 
scription given at length. ] 

“Said grantors hereby also give to said grantees the sum of 
ten thousand dollars ($10,000), which shall constitute a fund 
for the purpose hereinafter set forth. 

“To HAVE AND TO HOLD the same to-the said inhabitants of 
Randolph forever, but upon the following conditions and trusts, 
Viz. : 

“First.—Said land and building, together with the fund 
aforesaid, shall be under the control of a Board of Trustees 
consisting of fifteen (15) members, of which Board the Select- 
men of said town for the time being—not exceeding three (3) 
in number—shall be ex officio members; and should said 
three members the town shall, at a meeting called for that pur- 
pose, designate which of them (not exceeding three, as afore- 


202 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





said) shall act as said Trustees. The Board of Trustees so con- 
stituted shall manage and improve said real estate and fund 
for the uses and purposes of a Free Public Library for said 
Town of Randolph forever, subject to such reasonable rules 
and regulations as said Trustees shall from time to time adopt. 

[The second condition designates the manner in which the 
trustees (exclusive of the selectmen) shall be chosen, and va- | 
cancies filled, ete. 
in their discretion apply the whole or any part of said fund in | 





The third proviso is that the trustees ‘‘may | 


furnishing the library, reading, and trustees’ rooms in said 
building, and the purchase of books therefor” ; and the fourth 
section permits the leasing of a portion of the building, the 
proceeds to go to the library. ] 

“ Freru.—Said Town of Randolph shall defray the expenses 
of keeping said building 


o) 


with the books, furniture, and fix- 


tures belonging to said library, at all times properly insured 
against loss by fire, for an amount to be determined by the | 
trustees, and shall also keep said building in thorough repair. 

“Sixtuo.—Should said building be destroyed by fire, the pro- 
ceeds of any insurance thereon shall be applied to rebuilding 
the same. | 

“SeventuH.—lIf at any time hereafter said land and building 
should, from any cause, cease to be used for the purposes here- 
in designated, the same shall revert to the grantors, or their 
heirs.” 

The Hon. Seth Turner, upon his death, left by a_ 
provision in his will the additional sum of ten thou- | 
sand dollars, the income of which is to be applied to 
the uses of the library, and to be known as the 
Turner Fund. This sum has been paid by the ex- 
ecutors of the will to the trustees of the library, who 
are as follows: J. White Belcher, acting president ; 
Royal W. Turner, treasurer; Gilbert A. Tolman, | 
secretary; Rev. John C. Labaree, Rev. Joseph C._ 
Foster, D.D., Royal T. Mann, John B. Thayer, | 
Rufus A. Thayer (the three latter being selectmen | 
of Randolph, and trustees ex officio), Benjamin Dick- 
erman, Daniel Howard, John V. Beal, Nathaniel 
” Howard, John B. Thayer, J. Winsor Pratt, Edwin 
Dr. Charles C. Farnham is librarian, 
and Miss Margaret W. Boyd assistant librarian. 
The number of volumes Jan. 1, 1884, was eight | 
thousand three hundred and forty-five. 

The Hon. Seth Turner died at his home on Main 
Street at about 1 o'clock a.m., April 8, 1883, after 
gradually failing in health for several months. On 
the evening previous to his death, while bathing, he 
fainted and fell, coming in contact with the bath-tub. 
He was found in an unconscious state, and so re- 
mained until he died. 
July 29,1821. He received his education at the | 
Randolph Academy, then a flourishing institution, | 


N. Lovering. 





He was born in Randolph, | 


and entered the Randolph Bank as clerk at its organ- | 
ization in 1836. His father, Col. Royal Turner, was 

cashier, and when the latter became president (at the | 
death of his predecessor) Mr. Turner succeeded his | 


father as cashier. Col. Turner died in 1861, at which | 


time Mr. Turner was elected president of the bank. 
A few years later he was elected president of the 
Shoe and Leather Bank, of Boston, a position which 
he retained until about two years prior to his death, 
when, on account of the manifold duties devolving 


_upon him, his health became impaired and he ten- 
dered his resignation, which was accepted. In poli- 


tics he was a stanch Republican, and was twice 
elected to the Legislature, also to the Governor’s 
council in 1873, 1874, and 1875. He was one of 
the trustees of the Thayer Academy at South Brain- 
tree, treasurer of the Randolph Savings Bank, secre- 
tary of the Stetson School Fund, and at different 
times held many other important positions of trust in 
various financial institutions. He was not only 
locally popular and respected, but his name was widely 
and favorably known in the principal financial circles 


_of the country. His funeral, which was conducted 


by the Rev. J. C. Labaree, was very largely attended, 
and resolutions of tribute to his memory were passed 
by several of the institutions with which he had been 
identified. 

Banks.—The Randolph Bank was incorporated in 
1836 with a capital stock of $150,000. Subsequently 
it was reorganized under the National Bank Act with 
a capital stock of $200,000, and at the present time 
has a surplus exceeding its capital. Its present 
officers are: President, Royal W. Turner; Cashier, 
Charles G. Hathaway; Directors, David Burrell, J. 


| Winsor Pratt, E. Everett Holbrook, Thomas White, 


J. White Belcher, Benjamin Dickerman. 

The Randolph Savings Bank was incorporated in 
April, 1851. The amount of deposits Jan. 1, 1884, 
was $800,952. The officers are J. White Belcher, 
president; Royal W. Turner, first vice-president ; 
Thomas White, second vice-president ; Hiram C. Al- 
den, treasurer; Trustees, J. White Belcher, Royal 
W. Turner, Thomas White, Alfred W. Whitcomb, 
Richard Stevens, Sidney French, Charles Harris, 
Nathaniel Howard, J. Winsor Pratt, Daniel Howard, 
Charles H. Howard, John T. Flood, George B. 
Bryant, Benjamin Jonathan Wales, 
Wales B. Thayer. 

Newspapers.—On Saturday, March 14, 1857, 
appeared a “specimen number” of the Randolph 
It was 
a small four-page sheet, five columns to a page, and 


Dickerman, 


Transcript and Norfolk County Advertiser. 
was sold for “one dollar per year . . . in advance in 
all cases.” Samuel P. Brown, the editor, in an edi- 
torial headed “ Our Terms and Intentions,” said that 
the “specimen number” was issued as a sample of 
“the paper which it is proposed to publish weekly 


in this place, if it is recognized by the public as sup- 


RANDOLPH. 


203 





plying a want which we are told exists here.” There 
was little or no local news in the “‘ specimen number,” 
its reading-columns being mostly filled with miscel- 
laneous selections. Among other paragraphs was one 
relative to the inauguration of President Buchanan, 
and another giving a list of the members of his eabi- 


net. As usual with old newspapers, the advertise- 


ments of the 7ranscript are more interesting to one | 





who glances over its faded and time-stained pages | 


than is the reading matter. The local ‘ads.” are 
those of B. G. Veazie, who apparently not only dealt 
in newspapers, stationery, etc., but also in “some of 
the best three- and one-cent cigars ;’’ James Maguire 


& Co., boot manufacturers; P. Gifford, tailor; C. 


Morton, Jr., dealer in dry-goods, etc.; Seth Mann, | 


2d, insurance agent; EK. A. Allen, M.D.; George 
Fowkes, harness-maker; Daniel Howard, boot manu- 
facturer ; J. Litchfield, Jr., “dealer in groceries and 
ready-made clothing ;” J. Clark, market; S. White, 
dealer in papers, periodicals, and ‘“ confectionary ;” 
Darius Payne, auctioneer; A. Townsend, dealer in 
dry-goods; James K. Nash, jeweller; William Cole, 
Jr., expressman ; J. L. Brown, painter. An adver- 
tisement headed “ Randolph Liquor Agency’’ an- 
nounced that the selectmen had “appointed Dr. E. 


A. Allen as town agent for keeping and selling 


spirituous and intoxicating liquors for medicinal, 
chemical, and mechanical purposes only.”’ Two pe- 
titions to the selectmen for the laying out of new 
streets were also published. 

Apparently Mr. Brown met with encouragement 
in his new venture, for “Vol. I., No. 1,” of the 
Transcript appeared promptly on the following Sat- 
urday,— March 28, 1857. This was the first news- 
paper venture, so far as known, ever made in Ran- 
dolph. 

On April 2, 1859, Mr. Brown changed the name 
of his paper to the Randolph Transcript and New 
England Advertiser, and also increased the yearly 


subscription to one dollar and fifty cents. It con- 





tinued to be published by this title until April 7, | 


1860, when the original name was once more placed 
From June 14, 1862, 


only small supplements were issued for seven weeks, 


at the head of the first page 


but not numbered in the volumes, which again began 
regularly on Aug. 2, 1862, with No. 12, Vol. VI.; 
but on August 23d of that year Mr. Brown announced 
its discontinuance. On August 31st of the same 
year it was revived, under the name of the Randolph 
Advertiser, and printed on a small sheet at fifty cents 
ayear. It was enlarged April 4, 1863, and on October 
10th of the same year it was discontinued. Its 


valedictory was as follows: 


| and we shall never forget them. 


“Six years and six months we have published this paper, 
though never a source of profit. 
patrons, we will say that as much has been done by some of 
them for the encouragement of a local paper as is done in any 
place. 
erous. 


In taking leave of our 


They have been more than just,—they have been gen- 
By words and deeds they have cheered and helped us, 
As to the community gen- 
erally with whom we have come in contact, we have had from 
it our share of commendation and condemnation; probably of 
the former as much as we deserved—the latter we will forget, 
or try to, as much as cannot be made beneficial for us all to 
remember.” 


Mr. Brown, on Jan. 7, 1865, issued a new series 
of the Transcript and Advertiser, and on July 8th 
enlarged it. The price per year at that time was one 
dollar and fifty cents. On October 1st the paper 
changed hands, Mr. Joseph Jones becoming editor 
and proprietor. 
Norfolk Register, and fixed the price at two dollars 
per annum. July 5, 1867, Elmer W. Holmes suc- 
ceeded Mr. Jones; March 19, 1869, Stillman B. 
Pratt and David S. Hasty became editors and pro- 
prietors, under the firm-name of Pratt & Hasty ; 
April 22, 1871, E. Marchant assumed control; Aug. 
19, 1871, it passed to Ichabod N. Fernald; Jan. 20, 
1872, E. Marchant again took charge; Oct. 5, 1872, 
Charles M. Vincent became editor and proprietor, 
and remained as such until March 15, 1873, when 
he was succeeded by Mr. Daniel H. Huxford, who 
changed the name to the Norfolk County Register 


He changed the name to the Last 


and Holbrook News, and who still remains “ at the 
helm.” 
been twice enlarged, being now a handsomely-printed 


Under his management the Register has 


thirty-six-column sheet, and has become prosperous, 
A well-managed “ Holbrook 
department” is one of its features. 

Societies.—Freemasonry in Randolph dates back 
Rural 
Lodge, the pioneer Masonic organization of the town, 
was organized June 8, 1801, and of Masonry 5801, 
A. L. From the original charter (signed by John 
Boyle, Senior Grand Warden; John Soley, Junior 
Grand Warden; and John Proctor, Grand Secretary ) 
the following extract is made: 


newsy, and entertaining. 


to the beginning of the present century. 


* *K * K * * K * 


“Know ye, therefore, that we, the Grand Lodge aforesaid, 


| reposing special trust and confidence in the prudence and fidel- 


ity of our beloved brethren above named, have constituted and 
appointed, and by these presents do constitute and appoint 
them, the said William P. Whiting, Thomas Bb. Wales, Jona- 
than Wales, Jr., Thomas French, Jr., Joshua Niles, Elihu 


| Bates, Isaac Walker, Eleazer Beals, Ephraim Wales, John 


Turner, Theophilus Wentworth, Isachar Snell, and William 
French, a regular lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, under 
the title and designation of the Rural Lodge, hereby giving and 
granting unto them and their successors full power and author- 
ity to convene as Masons within the town of Randolph, in the 


204 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





County of Norfolk and Commonwealth aforesaid, to receive and 
enter Apprentices, pass Fellow Crafts and raise Master Masons, 
upon the payment of such moderate compensation for the same 
as may be determined by the said lodge. Also, to make choice 
of a Master, Wardens and other office-bearers, annually or 


otherwise, as they shall see cause; to receive and collect funds 


for the relief of poor and distressed brethren, their widows or | Lodge of Massachusetts for a charter 


children, and in general to transact all matters relating to Ma- 
sonry which may to them appear to be for the good of the 


craft, according to the ancient usages and customs of Masons.” | 


The lodge was temporarily organized on the even- 
ing of the day when the members received their 
charter, as follows: W. M., William P. Whiting; S. 
W., Jonathan Wales, Jr.; J. W., Thomas French, 
Jr.; S. D., Joshua Niles. 
mittee was chosen to purchase jewels and other 
necessary articles for the lodge. 


At this meeting a com- 


The next meeting 


was held June 23d, and the lodge completed its per-_ 


manent organization. A short time after a contro- 


versy arose respecting the building of a hall, and as a 


| 





result a majority of the members withdrew in January, | j : 
| The lodge continued to meet at the above hall until 


1802. 


or eight persons. 


This action decreased the lodge to some seven 
During 1803 some four new mem- 
bers joined ; but just as the lodge seemed to have new 
life imparted to it it again became embarrassed by the 
un-Masonic action of the Master, and Jan. 31, 1803, 
he was expelled. Ata meeting held April 4, 1803, 
a new code of by-laws was accepted, and the mem- 
bers who had previously withdrawn rejoined the 
lodge, ‘‘ having become satisfied that the lodge would 
now act in harmony.” 
made, as follows: 
W., Thomas French, Jr.; J. W., William French ; 
Treas., Jacob Niles; See., Simeon Alden. 

In November, 1803, the sentiment of the lodge 
appears to have been in favor of a remoyal to Quincy, 


A new choice of officers was 


|The above lodge met June 





making some arrangements for the formation of a 
lodge in their own town. At this meeting Brother- 
Simeon Alden was chosen moderator, and Brother 
Royal Turner scribe. A committee was chosen to 
present a petition to the Most Worshipful Grand 
On June 9, 
1819, a charter was granted by the Grand Lodge 
to the following charter members: Royal Turner, 
Ephraim Wales, Luther Thayer, Jr., Robert Shank- 
land, Samuel French, Isaac Spear, Leonard Alden, 
Timothy Dorman, Samuel Thayer, Jr., Horatio B. 
Alden, William French, and Joshua Niles, with full 
powers and authority to convene as Masons in Ran- 
dolph under the name of Norfolk Union Lodge. 
22, 1819, at the hall of 
Brother Silas Alden, in the building now occupied 
by the post-office, printing-office, and periodical store, 
and chose the following officers: W. M., Royal Tur- 
ner; S. W., Ephraim Wales; J. W., Luther Thayer. 


1824, afterwards meeting in the hall of Brother Seth 
T. Thayer, hall of Brother David Jacobs (now 
Howard House), Shankland’s hall, Hiram Alden’s 
hall, hall on North Street (old meeting-house), and 
the present hall (Jones’s block). 

The following brothers have served as Worshipful 


_ Masters since the organization of Norfolk Union 


W. M., Jonathan Wales, Jr.; S. | 
| John Johnson, 1828; 


| Wales, 1830-32; 


and a petition to that effect, presented to the Grand | 


Lodge, called forth the following dispensation : 


“ To all the Fraternity to whom these presents shall come: 
“Know ye, that on a petition preferred to the Grand 
December, 5803 (1803), by the officers and members of Rural 
Lodge, for permission to hold that lodge in future in the town 
of Quincy, in the County of Norfolk, which by the within 
charter was established to be held at Randolph, in said county ; 
“Tt was unanimously voted to grant the prayer of the 
petitioners, and that Rural Lodge should hereafter hold their 
meetings in the town of Quincy only. 
“By order of the Most Worshipful Grand Master. 
“* Attest. 


*‘Joun Procror, 


© Grand Secretary.” 


Thus Rural Lodge went to Quincy, and there it 
has since remained and _ prospered. 


20% 


Lodge: Royal Turner, 1819-20; Timothy Dorman, 
1821; Luther Thayer, 1822; Aaron Prescott, 1823— 
25; Ephraim Spear, 1826; George Clark, 1827; 
B. L. Wales, 1829; John 
Robert Shankland, 1833-34; B. 
L. Wales, 1835-37; B. L. Wales, 1855-56; J. 
White Belcher, 1857-63; John B. Thayer, 1864— 
66; Cyrus Morton, 1867 ; Henry H. Packard, 1868- 
Frank Morton, 1871-72; Samuel A. Bates, 
1873-74; Frank Morton, 1875; J. Tisdale South- 
worth, 1876-77; N. Everett Buck, 1878-80; Car- 


| roll A. Thayer, 1881-82; Henry A. Belcher, 1883. 


Lodge of Massachusetts, on the evening of the I2th day of | 


Of those who served as Masters previous to 1837 
all but one, Bradford LL. Wales, are now deceased. 
From 1833 to 1837, owing to the continued perse- 
cution of Masonry caused by the so-called Morgan ex- 


citement, but a few regular communications were held, 


_ and in December, 1837, the charter of Norfolk Union 


On the evening of Jan. 22,1819, a few of the | 


brothers of Rural Lodge, residing in Randolph, met 


at the residence of David Jacobs for the purpose of | 


Lodge, in common with those of many other Masonic 
lodges, was surrendered to the Most Worshipful 
Grand Lodge. 
the members passed away, but in 1855 the true spirit 


During the next eight years many of 


of Masonry, which had lain dormant in the hearts of 
the few remaining members, kindled with a new life, 
and seven members petitioned the Grand Lodge for 
the return of the charter; and at the December meet- 











ing of the Grand Lodge in that year the charter was | 


returned, and a new era commenced in the history of | 


Norfolk Union Lodge. At the communication held 
in January, 1855, Bradford L. Wales was chosen 
Worshipful Master; Isaac Spear, Senior Warden ; 


E. S. Conant, Junior Warden. From 1857 to 1866, 


under the administration of Brothers J. White 


Belcher and J. B. Thayer, many names were added 
to the roll of membership; but many others, who 
were called to serve their country in the late Rebel- 
lion, left to return no more. 

From 1866 to the present time the lodge has pros- 
pered, having on its rollof membership two hundred and 
eighty-four names since the organization of the lodge, 
with a present membership of seventy-five. 
Masters who have served since 1855, the lives of all 
but one (Cyrus Morton) have been spared, and they 
are to-day active members and workers in the lodge. 


Rising Star Lodge, No. 76, I. O. O. F., was organ- | 


ized May 24, 1845, on which date the first meeting 
was held in the office of John King, Esq., a lawyer. 
This meeting was a preliminary one, and was called 
to organize the lodge, choose officers, and adopt a 
constitution and by-laws. The second meeting was 
held on June 3, 1845, at which time Rising Star 
Lodge was instituted, and the following officers in- 
stalled by officers from the Grand Lodge of Massa- 
chusetts: N. G., Hiram Alden; V. G., John King ; 
Sec., R. W. Turner; 
Samuel Clark; C., William D. Daggett; O. G., 
Joseph 8S. Rollins; I. G., Samuel M. Soule; R.S. 


Treas., Caleb Stevens; W., | 


RANDOLPH. 205 
Name. From To 
ean i (Jan. 17,1850 July 1, 1850 
William’ Jacobs) ss<.s--.c.---s<5 | July 20, 1857 Tani. crease 
| Meonatd SPoole.. -cncstccoscsss c-- July 1, 1850 Jan. 6, 1851 
| Goring We Thayers...<cre--0-- Jan. 6, 1851 July 7, 1851 
| Richard Stevens................4 Jan. 5, 1852 July 19, 1852 
ZiCNAS SNOW scscosessessiqsasecsen =: July 19, 1852 Jan. 3, 1853 
His CS Whittemore... ..2.0060=5-- Jan. 2, 1854 July 17, 1854 
SO! PUN CL :s.sacastseaceseeet-- July 2, 1855 Jan. 14, 1856 
(July 7,1851 Jan. 5, 1852 
George N: Jiohnson..2.<...t2-.:.: + Jan. 14, 1856 July 14, 1856 
Jan. 7, 1861 Jan. 6, 1872 
(Api shy Unb July 20, 1857 
[ BmoshS=8 Miuloont-ses.-+.n esses: J July 2, 1860 Jan. 7, 1861 
( Jan. 12, 1863 Sept. 12, 1864 
ete (Jan. 4, 1858 July 12, 1858 
| William S. Handly.............. | July 14, 1862 raed 6, 1862 
Wit y As Ticker: oi iicecte. aes Jan. 3, 1859 July 11, 1859 
ora ( July 11, 1859 July 2, 1860 
Bee Gatton ds eectscescueeces cece asses fake 9, 1866 Jan. 17, 1867 
Danforth Thayer:............-+-- Jan. 6, 1862 July 14, 1862 
| OHM Gere OOlecesetiescsccessecees July 15, 1867 Jan. 6, 1868 
Of the | LANG Maintiel dy sces. cess siecicenese July 6, 1868 Jan. 4, 1869 
Jis Be Hathaway <nccon-seccsceeece Jan. 4, 1869 July 12, 1869 
{ May 12, 1869 Jan. 3, 1870 
|) EsraelPS Beal. ccecstsecesieseest cae (Jan. 6, 1873 July 7, 1873 
IMM Aldon. wcrc; scceosscses.ccs Jan. 3, 1870 July 11, 1870 
Roy alle Mis i haa erseccccdecses seis: July 11, 1870 Jan. 2, 1871 
|) Eiphraime Mamticccs.: -s.c-oesess Jan. 2, 1871 July 10, 1871 
Warren M. Babbitt...........:.. July 10, 1871 Jan. 1, 1872 
Ae Se. Jan. 1,1872 July 1, 1872 
| (George |S: Wilbur:..--:.-.....:.. ee 12, 1875 Jan. 3, 1876 
Jae phe Liv OUS e.g ccscecees -osces Jan. 1, 1872 Jan. 6, 1873 
Niodialiva. Wee (OE Nd oe oecrccesueccooe: July 7, 1873 Jan. 5, 1874 
Ti : e Jan. 5, 1874 July 6, 1874 
George Wi. Hawes....:.s0ssese \5an 4, 1875 July 12” 1875 
James WiaiWDite-2..c-.scccccenes Juiy 6, 1874 Jan. 4, 1875 
AVGNDeanen sls eee July 10,1876 . Jan. 1, 1877 
Q : . (Jan. 1, 1877 July 2, 1877 
S. Edgar Burrell).:....:.00.....+> Jan. 5, 1880 July 12, 1880 
Daniel Hy Huxtordcs...2-cs.se July. 2, 1877 Jan. 7, 1878 
| Hred= Wh, Dyeri..-crs: -c-cceses6 Jan. 7. 1878 July 1, 1878 
| (Wiales’ Rrenchic.e: tet ctscceces se July 1, 1878 Jan. 13, 1879 
[ASSEN Ghiaxere corse tse. fterscas. Jan. 13,1879 Jan. 5, 1880 
WAR DW = Hamiltonbssess.ce-cesecess July 12, 1880 Jan. 3, 1881 
William Am Croakkiste:-...-sc-.ce Jan. 3, 1881 Jan. 9, 1882 
| Eleniy He moned desecce..ss cues ece Jan. 9, 1882 July 10, 1882 
| John EH. Nickerson.............. July 10, 1882 Jan. 1, 1883 
| Wioseph, Belcher2s..c.25..0.se-c0e Jan. 1, 1883 July 9, 1883 
HdwinB. Hooker... <cccs..ss-s July 9, 1883 Date. 


N. G., Levi Mann (2d); L.S.N. G., J. P. D. Wil- 


ease. 6: Vi: G., Levi Mann; L.'8:-V.G.,Seth T. | 


King; Investigating Committee, Levi Mann (2d), 
Caleb Stevens, Samuel M. Soule; Scene Supporters, 
George Jennings, William T. Cooper. 


The present officers, for the term beginning Jan. 
7, 1884, are: N. G., Edwin B. Hooker; V. G., 


| Chas. H. Thayer; Rec. Sec., Frank N. Deane; Per. 


Below is a list of the Noble Grands of the lodge | 
| Thos. Stetson; Conductor, Geo. W. Hawes; O. G., 
| H. H. Bromade; I. G., M. Norton Hunt; R. S.N, 


since its institution, with their terms of service : 


Name. From To 
PAITRINWANC ON sccsesis sa eas/ooseseebs June 3, 1845 Oct. 7, 1845 
SOM AKAD 5.0 c.astens severe sence ces Oct. 7, 1845 Jan. 6, 1846 

(Jan. 6,1846 April 7, 1846 
| July 17, 1854 Jan. 15, 1855 

> J , , 
WaALlEDIStSVCUSs. soisc0ecseessascber 1 Jan. 22, 1866 July 9, 1866 
(Jan. 3, 1876 July 10, 1876 

e (April 7,1846 July 7, 1846 
Tewie Mann: (2d))\.c.c<sseieeae vases | Oct. 6, 1846 Tek 5, 1847 
See Dy WOIKINS sescacecesoteccs July 7, 1846 Oct. 6, 1846 

(dog 5, 1847 July 6, 1847 | 

, Jan. 15, 1855 July 2, 1855 

J ? 
Daniel Howard ........ rieees eves 1 Sept. 12, 1864 Tain 22 1866 
| Jan. 14, 1867 July 15, 1867 
Mim Hap IMeCnen ds. 2o.cgsc05 scteees2 July 6, 1847 Jan. 3, 1848 
pammuel, Clark. 1... .catssosssssces Jan. 3, 1848 July 3, 1848 
Ralph Houghton................. July 3, 1848 Jan. 1, 1849 
(Jan. 1, 1849 July 2, 1849 
Barnard Greene..............-.+ | July 14, 1856 Bed x 1857 
(July 2, 1849 Jan. 17, 1850 
} July 11, 1853 Jan. 2, 1854 
g 4 ’ 
Orlando Pendergrass............ 1 July 12, 1858 Jan. 3, 1859 
|Jan. 6,1868 July 6, 1868 


Sec., A. L. Chase; Treas., Chas. E. Lyons; Warden, 


G.,S. Edgar Burrell; L. 8S. N. G., H. H. Shedd; R. 
Ss. V. G-., Geo: A. Rayne ; L..S: Vz G., H. 1. Spear: 
R. 8. 8., Chas. Middleton; L. 8. 8., Saml. A. Foster ; 
Chaplain, Elmer L. Willis. 

The lodge is now in a very prosperous condition, 
numbering over one hundred members. 
building which it occupies. 

Randolph Lodge, No. 524, Knights of Honor, was 
instituted March 22, 1877. The present officers are: 
P. D., Ira E. Beals; D., Weston P. Alden; V. D., 
George B. Bryant; A. D., Nelson E. Knights; C., 
Gustavus Thayer; G., Cyrus N. Thayer; R., Daniel 
B. White; F. R., Minot W. Baker; T., Charles H. 
Belcher; G., William W. White; S., George B. 


It owns the 


206 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Nichols. It has a membership of fifty-six, and is in 
good working condition. 


Union Lodge, No. 435, Knights and Ladies of | 


Honor, was instituted May 13,1881. 


It is now off- | 


cered as follows: P. P., Mrs. Geo. W. Holbrook; P., | 


Mrs. Geo. W. Hawes; V. P., Mrs. Royal W. Thayer ; 
S., Mrs. M. W. Baker; F. S., M. W. Baker; C., 
Miss Helen M. Houghton; T., Mrs. Wate Lyons; 


G., Mrs. H. H. Bromade; G., Mrs. Nelson KE. | 


Knights; 8., Cyrus N. Thayer. 

Webster Council, No. 451, Royal Arcanum, was 
instituted March 17, 1880. The Regents have been 
as follows: 1880, Charles EK. Higgins; 1881, Daniel 
H. Huxford; 1882, George H. Wilkins; 1883, 
William A. Croak. Present officers: R., Henry L. 


Belcher; P. R., William A. Croak; S., Walter H. 
Lyons; C., Edward H. Bromade; T., Franklin W. 
Hayden; G., William B. Brown; C., Lewis S. 


Paine; W., Walter M. Howard; S., Frank E. Fay; | 


M. E., Dr. Frank C. Granger; R. to G. C., Wm. A. 
Croak ; Alternate, George H. Wilkins. 

In addition to these, there are several other tem- 
perance and social organizations in the town, all of 
which are flourishing and doing a good work. 

The Randolph Choral Society merits a word by 


the choral society has enjoyed upwards of thirty 
years of useful life. 
generally some of the best music by the best masters, 
—such, for instance, as Haydn’s “ Creation,’ Men- 
delssohn’s “St. Paul,” Mozart’s ‘‘ Twelfth Mass,” and 
Haydn’s “Seasons.” The society visited both the 
great ‘‘ Jubilees” held in Boston in 1869 and 1872, 
with one hundred members. 
Dr. Ebenezer Alden was president and Mr. John B. 


Thayer, a widely-known musician, chorister. Mr. 
? 


The members have practiced | 


At that> time the late 


through the region, and has caused to be erected in 
their stead the great factory buildings of the present 
day. Formerly, the work went to the workman; 
now, the workman goes to his work. In the old 
days a man who had learned the trade of shoemaker 
knew all about the details of manufacture, and could 
turn out, with his own hands, a complete article of 
footwear. To-day the workman of the shops knows 
only his particular branch, and is practically ignorant 
of all others. He is a small cogwheel in a great 
machine, instead of being, as formerly, the thorough 
Years ago it was 
customary for shoemakers to travel miles to Randolph 
after ‘ stock.” 


master of all parts of his trade. 


They would load up with the roughly 


cut “raw material,” and take it away to their re- 
Spear; V. R., L. Morton Packard; O., Joseph | 





Thayer filled the latter office acceptably for upwards | 


of twenty years. Dr. Alden was succeeded in the 
presidency by Mr. Alfred W. Whitcomb. The 
present officers are: President, Hon. Winslow Bat- 
tles; Vice-President, John B. Thayer; Conductor, L. 
F. Brackett ; Secretary, George C. Spear. 
ent membership is about seventy. 
Business.—Randolph was one of the pioneer ‘“ shoe 


The pres- | 


towns” of the State, and the business of manufactur- | 


ing boots and shoes still remains her chief industry. 
It dates back to the beginning of the century, and 


one cannot help being impressed, on looking back- | 


ward over the years, with the vast improvements and | 


changes which have taken place. Machinery has 


done it all. 


shoemakers’ shops which were formerly scattered all | Georgia and others of the Southern States. 


Machinery has swept away the little | 


Sometimes, when it 
was more convenient, several of these shoemakers 
would jointly occupy the same apartment, and work 


spective homes for completion. 


as a separate “ gang,” which was the nearest approach 
To Ran- 


dolph came workmen from widely scattered towns, 


to the factory system of the present time. 


_ often many miles distant, seeking for work to be done 


at their homes. It is an interesting fact that at the 
period to which allusion is made the present flourish- 


ing ‘shoe city’ of Brockton (then the little village 
g ry. g 


| of North Bridgewater) paid tribute to Randolph, and, 
itself. Music has always flourished in Randolph, and | 


together with the remaining villages of the old town 
of Bridgewater, as well as the Abingtons, Hanson, 
Halifax, Weymouth, Braintree, aud other towns, sent 
thither her shoemakers for employment. The quality 
of the leather used in shoemaking then was as much 
superior to that now employed as the clumsy appearance 


| of the manufactured product was inferior to the stylish 


footwear of the present year of grace. Everything 
was done by hand. The men did the heavier work, 
while in almost every house the ‘ women folks” 
turned an honest penny by “ fitting” or “ siding’ boots, 


7.e., sewing up the side-seams of the legs with waxed 


| thread, holding the boot, meanwhile, fast in a pair 


| of wooden “ clamps.” 





As there were no railroads, 
shipments were slow and uncertain. It was common 
enough for a man to load boots into sacks and carry 
them into Boston on horseback. 

Mr. David Burrell, still hale and hearty at eighty- 
two, and himself one of the pioneer boot and shoe 
manufacturers of the town, said to the writer, recently, 
that he well remembered that during the war of 
1812, when the presence of British cruisers off the 
Atlantic seaboard made shipments by water unsafe, 
men would load ox-teams with boots (the latter being 
placed in empty molasses hogsheads), and in that 
primitive fashion make their slow way southward into 
The same 


RANDOLPH. 








octogenarian, when asked to name the first shoe manu- | 
facturer of the town, gave the name of Capt. Thomas 

French as being, if not the earliest, certainly one of | 
the very first. He had a tannery, located on the site | 
of the present residence of Mr. Jonathan Wales, and | 
manufactured shoes to some extent. Other early | 
manufacturers were Isaac Thayer, Silas Alden, Elea- 

zar Beal, Alden & Tolman, Howard & Niles, Seth | 
Mann & Co., Burrell & Maguire, John Alden, Hiram — 
Alden, Luther Thayer, Oliver Leach, William Abbott, 
David Parker, Levi Mann, Mann & Odell, Charles 
McCarty, Wales Wentworth, James Littlefield, James 
A. Tower, Samuel French, Henry Bass, John Wales, | 
John Belcher, Ezra Thayer, Alexander Strong, Dan- | 
iel Howard, Alfred W. Whitcomb, Matthew Clark & | 
Co., Mann & Sawin, Jonathan W. Belcher, ete.; 
while of more recent date are J. Warren Belcher, 
Howard & French, F. Clark & Co., Charles H. How- 
ard, and George H. Burt & Co. Other firms there 
were, and are; but as the present article does not | 
attempt to serve the purposes of a gazetteer or of a | 





directory, no attempt will be made to make the list 
scrupulously complete. | 

More than passing mention should be made, how- 
ever, of the present firm of George H. Burt & Co., 
which is considerably the largest in the town at the 
present time, employing some three hundred hands, oc- 
cupyiug two connecting factories (the largest being one 


hundred and sixty-two feet in length), and manufac- 

turing from twenty thousand to twenty-four thousand | 
cases of fine calf boots per year. The business was 
begun by Alexander Strong in 1849, and he con- 
tinued a partner in the business, either active or 
silent, until his death. His son, Edward, was also 
identified with the business for many years, withdraw- 


- 


Ing some two years ago. 


Mr. Sidney French was 
the firm’s agent in charge of the factory until about 
1871, when Mr. George B. Bryant, the present agent, | 
succeeded him. , The concern has other factories in 
the “‘ shoe towns” of Marlboro’ and Brookfield. The 
pay-roll at the Randolph factory is from twelve 
thousand to fifteen thousand dollars per month. 

Mr. Charles H. Howard, who manufactures fine 
boots and shoes, is quite an old established manufac- 
turer, and like the other principal remaining manu- 
facturers, Howard & French and F. Clark & Co., does | 
a prosperous and increasing business. 

The following interesting boot and shoe statistics 
are taken from the census of 1880: 


Number; of: estab lishinents:..-...csc--.-2s6sassesiosccesass sesesense 26 
Employés (male) over sixteen..........s0ccescsccssscecveves tovceess 649 | 
ad (female) MOVED SEXECON!ces.cc-sccccceraclesescesssiosssscese 82 | 
Total wages paid Curing year.........i-+.2-coecceoee soceee $300,843 | 
Capitallifinviestedanasestasesscedssrecse=sseceosesecae’sscneer cons 153,600 | 


| machines—* Fire-King,” 


_ ciency. 


1 
| Royal Turner, 1818, 1821-24, 





207 
WUD Kea S CUS es ex cou cverse\seseetactsseccesssionstacevciescus. Vesswe $721,450 
Waltievoinproducts.:-...cccesns<+--selerocacceria-aecs (secousssaes 1,163,300 


The boot and shoe shipments for 1883 were 38,000 
cases. 

The firm of J. W. Pratt & Co. is an old and pros- 
perous one. Calf shoe-laces are a specialty, while a 
large business in leather remnants is also done. Over 
one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of work is an- 
nually turned out. 

Messrs. George ©. Spear & Co., who deal exclu- 
sively in leather remnants, have built up a heavy and 
growing trade, their goods being exported to a con- 
siderable extent. 

Fire Department.—For years the town has main- 
tained an efficient fire department. The old hand- 
‘“‘ Fearless,’ and “ Inde- 
pendence’ —have, however, been replaced by two 
steamers, an extinguisher, and the requisite hose and 
hook-and-ladder companies. In years past nearly all 
the prominent men of the town had belonged to the 
department, and had “run wid der machine”’ to fires 


_ with youthful ardor, in order to assist at “ breaking 


her down” according to the fashion of the times. 
The present department is in a high state of effi- 
Mr. C. A. Wales is chief engineer. 

Statistics.—It has seemed most convenient and 
appropriate that certain statistical information respect- 
ing the town be grouped under a single general head. 
The subdivisions will be clearly indicated. 

The following-named persons have served the town 


'as selectmen from its incorporation in 1793 to the 


present time (January, 1884): 


Joseph White, Jr., 1793-98, | 
1800-4. 
Dr. Ebenezer Alden, 1793-94. 


John Porter, 1829-30. 
Henry B. Alden, 1829-34. 
Joshua Spear, Jr., 1831-32, 


Micah White, Jr., 1793-1817. | 1835-38. 
| Samuel Bass, 1795-98, 1800, David Blanchard, 1831-32, 
1802-4, . 1834, 1852, : 
Thomas French, 1799,1 1805- | Zeba Spear, 1833-34. 
Ete Jonathan White, 1833. 


Zacheus Thayer, 1801. 
Jonathan Belcher, 1804. 
Joseph Porter, 1807. 
Nathaniel Spear, 1808. 
Jonathan Wales, Jr., 1812-17. 
Jacob Whitcomb, Jr., 1813. 
Joseph Linfield, 1814-17, 1822 
-25. 
Seth Mann, 1818-24, 


Zenas French, Jr., 1835-49. 
Samuel Thayer, 1835-38. 
Benjamin Richards, 1839-44. 
Isaac Tower, 1839-51. 
Aaron Prescott, 1845. 
Jonathan Wales, 1846-50. 
Bradford L. Wales, 1851-53. 
Archibald Woodman, 1852. 
John T. Jordan, 1853. 
J. White Belcher, 1853-55, 
1861-72. 
Seth Mann (2d), 1854-57, 1859 
-60, 1862-64, 1872-73, 1876. 
Thomas White, Jr., 1854-55, 
Jacob Whitcomb, 1856-60, 
1867-68. 


828-30. 


1828. 
Zenas French, 1818-21. 
Luther Thayer, 1819-20. 
Horatio B. Alden, 1825-27. 
Thomas Howard, 1825-27. 
Lewis Whitcomb, 1826-28. 





1 Resigned May 2d. 


208 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


. 


. 





Ephraim Mann, 1856-57. 

Horatio B. Alden, Jr., 1858-61, 
1868-72. 

Lemuel §. Whitcomb, 1858, 
1861-63. 

John Adams, 1864-66. 

Nathaniel Howard, 1865-67. 

John Underhay, 1869-71. 


| John T. Flood, 1873-82. 


-79. 
Sidney French, 1876, 1880. 
Daniel Howard, 1877-79. 
Royal T. Mann, 1880-83. 
John Berry Thayer, 1881-83. 
Lufus Albert Thayer, 1883. 


The following-named persons have served the town | 
as town clerk and treasurer up to the present time | 


(January, 1884) : 


Samuel Bass, 1793-98, 1800-6. 
Zacheus Thayer, 1799, 1807-8. 
Jonathan Wales, Jr., 1809-22. 
Royal Turner, 1823-28. 
Henry B. Alden, 1829-34. 
Alvin Kidder, 1835-38. 


Bradford L. Wales, 1839-43. 
Eleazer Beal, 1844-53. 


-76, 1880-83. 
Henry Stevens, 1864. 
| Charles C. Farnham, 18 


ard 


bbb 


9. 


In 1840 there was published a plan of Randolph, 
In the right- 
map was some letter-press 
Under the 


was the following array of 


from surveys made by H. Beal, Jr. 
hand upper corner of this 
giving a few facts respecting the town. 
head of ‘“ employments” 
statistics, which is not without interest at the present 
day: 

“ The chief manufacture is that of boots and shoes. 


In 1837 there were made 200,175 pairs of boots, and | 
470,620 pairs of shoes and brogans, of the estimated | 


value of $944,715 


this business 804 males and 677 females. The occu- 


pations of the heads of families (1839), some of | 


whom are females, are as follows: The whole num- 


ber of families in town is 677; of these, 464 are | 


boot and shoe makers ; 60, farmers ; 


45, laborers; 23, carpenters; 6, millers; 5, butchers ; 


4, stone-cutters; 4, tailors; 3, wheelwrights; 3, 
blacksmiths ; 2, harness-makers ; 2, painters; 2, cur- 


riers; 1, landlord; 1, cabineramteley ; 1, brick-maker ; 
1, cooper; 1, basket-maker ; Of the me- 
chanics, 40 are engaged during the summer in farm- 


1, sailor. 


emi- 
Fifty of the families, taken as they rise, 
250 inhabitants, whose 23 


ing. Of these mechanics and laborers, 58 are 


grants. 


| 


number average age is 
years.” 

Under the caption “literary,” the old map said, 
“ Randolph Academy was incorporated in 1833, and 


its average number of scholars is from 80 to 100. 


James A. Tower, 1874-75, 1877 | 


Hiram C. Alden, 1854-63, 1865 | 


There were then employed in | 


48, merchants ; | 


|The academy, the Athenzeum, and the societies—even 











that with the ponderous name—have for a long time 
been extinct. 
CENSUS OF 1880. 
Number of families.............. Se 930 
Number of; diwelllinesisscsscco-ncssyseaceseeerereee 771 
Number of native born persons... 3264 
Number of foreign born persons.. de saciateasenrene 763 
Number of persons who cannot write, aged 
ten years and upWards.............csececeee 153 
Number of persons who cannot read, aged 
ten years and UpWATdS...........scescerocens 106 
| 
| POPULATION. 
| 
| Year. Number. | Year. Number. 
LB O03 Pine chiccssecsncenccuocee WO2ZT |wlS55... 1.2 coveted ocendmeneee 5538 
UBMO te secassocdaccsecesescesens TE 0y| USC 0L. cneceeeotecesieceemeee 5760 
|, ABZ eo ceeacdessctenvsacneeesee LOAG i! VS65.cccccsoectonse aoerenomeee 5374 
USS Ocecsceescnceevscusecsscs e200) MUST Ouest ot. eee 5642 
USA i osceccescscicsecssescacrs 3Z13)i|| T8i7iscccoespesecccseene coreesen 4064 
USS OY e.Secseciscnsslees sebeeees ATTAIN T8805 55 choesenesercenereeee 4027 
TOWN DEBT. c 
Year Amount. Year, Amount 
LS (0 gas. aeseeeeseO,020220) Si (avessescsoneeas $17,564.13 
LST letiseastecsteees 67,373.96 Wii Si seccee sceeets 36,555.24 
USD. csicosie co's sonics 59,909.42 NB Qe vcceesseseeeee 39,055.24 
SW aieceseccseeen tes 39,940.90 W880) ccesccvsr doses 41,138.00 
BTA oseacaleesecs 37,506.66 USS cc scesteeceees 24,328.64 
USDiscscscscsonssse Zoo LOnLD: 1882. 24,736.51 
US Giszreesscoeeses 21,619.45 Do ema iobin-c 19,751.09 
1884 (as estimated Feb. 1, 1884) BECECOOIGO0 AOD ssoeee 14,000.00 
VALUATION, 
Year. Real. Personal. Total. ee 
| US TO Me eeace $1,454,190 $1,426,800 $2,880,990 $17.00 
TST ivesesess, 15485,020 500,950 1,985,020 20.00 
1872......... 1,378,000 971,050 2.349.050 13.00 
MST Scccercess 1,382,960 632,765 2,500,105* 13.00 
1,420,420 622,690 2,611,860F 14.00 
1,441,840 619,390 2,652, 795+ 14.00 
1,453,900 650,610 2,558,9267 12.60 
1,464,030 665,125 2.552,041.54+ 12.00 
1,467,680 646,120 2.449 422. 80+ 12.00 
‘ 1,461,350 628,440 2 ,460, 838.557 15.00 
88 1,469,550 609.490 2°523,990,08+ 14,00 
1881 1,468,300 601,320 2 5 53, 702.48} 17.00 
WES Z ic ccsssse 1,471,350 584,900 2 5495,002.95+ 16.00 
T1SSaie 1,453,800 563,580 ——_-2,017,380.00t 14.20 





* In 1873, the year after the setting off of Holbrook from Randolph, 
there was included in the total valuation here given four hundred and 
eighty-four thousand three hundred and eighty dollars of bank and 
corporation stock owned by residents of Randolph, and taxed by the 
State. 

+ Including bank and corporation stock. 

t Does not include bank and corporation stock. 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 





The Athenzum has 202 volumes. The Philoa- | 
lethian Society has 230 volumes. The Female Read- | 


ing Charitable Society has 228 volumes. The | 
schools for different parts of the town are 10. The | 
number of scholars in 1838, from 4 to 16 years of 
age, was 840; and in 1839 the scholars were 911. 
The amount raised by tax for public schools the latter 
year was $1900, and the sum for 1840 is $2000.” | 


EBENEZER ALDEN, M.D.1 


The subject of this sketch was born in what is now 
the town of Randolph, Mass., March 17, 1788. At 


the time of his birth this territory constituted the 


southerly precinct of the ancient town of Braintree, 


and was organized into the Tou EEN: of Ran- 





1 By Rey. Increase N. Tarbox, D.D. 












































RANDOLPH. 





209 





dolph in 1793. An ecclesiastical parish had been 
formed here May 28,1731. On the 8th of June, 
1881, corresponding in the new style with the date 
above mentioned, the church at Randolph celebrated _ 
its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary with appro- | 
priate and deeply interesting services. Had this event 
occurred in the days of Dr. Alden’s strength and 
activity, no man would have borne a more prominent 
part in it than he, for this was a field in which he 
was especially at home. As it was, the manuscripts 
and published articles which he had left behind be- 
came the chief sources of information for those who 
took the principal parts in this commemoration. 
Throughout the services his name came up continually 
as authority for statements made, and was mentioned | 
always with gratitude and love. 

Dr. Alden was of the seventh generation from | 
John Alden, of the ‘ Mayflower.’ The line of suc- | 
cession from this honored founder, as traced by him- 
self and gathered from his volume entitled “The 
Alden Memorial,” is as follows : 

Of the eleven children of John and Priscilla (Mul- 
lens) Alden, the second was Joseph, who was born in | 
Plymouth in 1624. In early manhood he became a 
citizen of Bridgewater. 

Of the five children of Joseph and Mary (Simmons) 
Alden, the second was Joseph, who was born in 1667. 
He was known as Deacon Joseph, and lived in what | 
is now South Bridgewater. 

Of the ten children of Deacon Joseph and Hannah 
(Dunham) Alden, of Bridgewater, the eldest was | 
Daniel, who was born Jan. 29,1691. This Daniel 
remained an inhabitant of Bridgewater for a time, 








and then removed to Stafford, Conn. 

Of the eleven children of Daniel and Abigail | 
(Shaw) Alden, the second was Daniel, who was born 
Sept. 5, 1720. This last Daniel lived in Stafford, | 
Conn., in Cornish, N. H., and in Lebanon, N. H.,_ 
where he died. He was known as Deacon Daniel. 

Of the twelve children of Deacon Daniel and Jane | 
(Turner) Alden, the fifth was Ebenezer, who was born | 
at Stafford, Conn., July 4, 1755. 

Of the three children of Ebenezer and Sarah (Bass) | 
Alden, the eldest was Ebenezer, the subject of this 
sketch, who was born (as previously stated) March 
7, L788. 

_His mother, Sarah Bass, was also a lineal descendant 
of John Alden, of the ‘‘ Mayflower,” in the line of 
Ruth, his daughter, who married John Bass, of Brain- | 
tree, son of Samuel Bass, deacon of the First Church 
in Roxbury. By the same line the family was con- | 
nected with the Adams family of Quincy, the mother | 


of John Adams, the second President of the United | 
14 





States, being a descendant of Ruth, the daughter of 
John Alden. 

Going back now a single step, let us make our de- 
parture from the first Dr. Ebenezer Alden. The track 
over which we have just traveled will serve to show 
that he came of a religious stock. He was educated 
at Plainfield Academy, Connecticut, and having pur- 
sued his medical studies with Dr. Elisha Perkins, was 
invited, in due form, to settle in the South Parish or 
Precinct of Braintree. He was called there in 1781, 
as the man the people had chosen for their physician, 


| just as the Rev. Jonathan Strong, D.D., a few years 


This was a 
good old New England custom which we have now 
outgrown. It was just one hundred years from the 


later, was called to be their minister. 


| coming to Randolph of the first Dr. Ebenezer Alden 


to the death of the second. These two men, in the 
qualities of their intellects and their characters, were 


_in many respects alike, though the son had enjoyed 
_ larger opportunities for general and professional edu- 
| cation than the father. 


When Dr. Alden, Sr., died 
at Randolph (of typhoid fever), Oct. 16, 1806, his 
pastor, Rey. Dr. Strong, said of him, “The duties 
of his profession he discharged with reputation to 
himself and great usefulness to his employers. His 
circle of business, though small at first, gradually in- 
creased until it became extensive. Asa physician he 
was remarkably prudent, attentive, and successful. 


| During the latter part of his life his advice was much 
| sought and respected by his brethren of the faculty 


in his vicinity. No physician in this part of the 
country possessed the love and confidence of his pa- 
This was evident from the 
universal sorrow felt at his decease.” 


His own son, in “ The Alden Memorial,” says of 


tients to a higher degree. 


him, “ He was eminently a child of the covenant, his 


parents and grandparents and theirs on both sides 


| down to the first ancestors who came in the ‘“ May- 
flower,” having been members of the Congregational 


Church ; and, so far as is known, having honored 
their Christian profession.” Not only was he an able 
physician with a wide and increasing practice, but he 
was also a medical teacher. Quite a number of young 


| men were prepared by him for the medical profession, 


some of whom became eminent. He was cut off by a 


_ deadly fever just when he was rising into special 


He fell in the 
very strength of his days, at the age of fifty-one. His 
son was blessed with a life protracted to an unusual 


prominence as a man and a physician. 


| degree. 


The childhood and youth of the son were passed, 
therefore, in a home of intelligence and Christian worth. 
He grew up amid the associations and traditions of 


210 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





the old style of medical practice, when the country 
physician compounded his own medicines and carried | 
them with him in large variety to suit the various exi- 
At that time the homes of 
the people were widely scattered; the roads were 


gencies that might arise. 


rough and hard, and in the plain country towns 
apothecaries were almost unknown. ‘To do business 
in any proper and efficient way, the physician must 
have his medicines and his instruments always with | 
him. 

The year after Dr. Alden’s birth, ze. in 1789, 
the Rev. Jonathan Strong, D.D., was settled in the 
parish as colleague pastor with the Rev. Moses Taft, | 


who had been in office there for nearly forty years, | 
and was now in the feebleness of age. Mr. Taft died 
two years later, in 1791, when Dr. Strong remained 


sole pastor till his death, in 1814. Dr. Strong was 


therefore the minister of Randolph through all the | 
The Rev. Thomas | 
Noyes, of Needham, in the American Quarterly Reg- | 


early years of Dr. Alden’s life. 


ister, vol. viii. p. 54, says of him, “ Dr. Strong’s labors 
were much blessed in three revivals during his minis- | 
try, in which he numbered more than two hundred 
The 
Massachusetts Missionary Magazine and the Panoplist | 


converts. His influence was extensively felt. 


were enriched with his productions. He was one of 
the editors of the former work, and a trustee of the | 


Massachusetts Missionary Society from its formation 


till his death.” From his earliest years, therefore, Dr. 
Alden received that bent of character which brought | 


o 
aD) 


him, all his life long, into close and living sympathy 
with the church and with all our great religious insti- 
tutions. 


influence to Dr. Strong. In a place such as Randolph 


It is fair to credit a good measure of this | 


was at that time the families of the minister and the 


physician would be closely united. Especially would 
this be so when the physician himself was a religious 


man, and closely identified with the church. 


One hundred years ago schools to fit boys for col- 
lege were rare. This educational work was largely 
Some of them, here and 
Dr. | 
Nathan Perkins, of West Hartford, Conn., Dr. Samuel 
Wood, of Boscawen, N. H., and many others, became 


done by settled ministers. 
there, had family schools for this purpose. 


noted teachers, though they had parish cares also con- 
tinually on their hands. Young Alden, in preparing for 
college, pursued his studies under the direction of his 
minister. 


Dr. Jonathan Strong was a native of Bolton, Conn., 
born in 1764. 
was a farmer. When the boy was eight years old the 
family removed to Orford, N. H. Dr. Eleazer 
Wheelock had just then gone up to plant his | 


His father was of the same name, and | 


Indian Charity School in the woods of New Hamp- 
shire, and so to lay the foundations of Dartmouth Col- 
lege. Here young Strong was educated, graduating 
with honor in 1786. He became a man of much 
more than usual mark in his generation. Quite a 
large number of the early graduates of Dartmouth 
were from Kastern Connecticut, and especially from 
the towns of Lebanon, Hebron, Bolton, Coventry, 
Windham, ete., where Dr. Wheelock was familiarly 
known and much admired. Jonathan Strong went 
from Bolton, and was graduated at Dartmouth in 
1786, and three years after was settled in Randolph. 

Young Alden was made ready for college at the 
age of sixteen, and entered Harvard in 1804, gradu- 
ating in 1808. After finishing his college course he 
went to Dartmouth College to study medicine. Using 
his own language, as copied from ‘‘'The Alden Memor- 
ial,” he “ pursued his professional studies with Nathan 
Smith, M.D., at Dartmouth College, where he re- 
ceived the degree of M.B. in 1811; then attended 
the lectures of Drs. Rush, Barton, Wistar, Physick, 
and others, in Philadelphia, and received the degree 
of M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 
1812. He settled as a physician in his native 
town.” 

His father had died in 1806, while he was in col- 
lege. Had his father been alive, very likely the 
medical education of the son would have gone on 
Other men resorted to that home 
for their medical education, and it would have been 


largely at home. 


altogether natural that he should have done the same. 
As it was, he was fully educated professionally, and 
entered upon his work under happy auspices at the 
age of twenty-four. 

Six years later, April 14, 1818, he was united in 
marriage to Miss Anne Kimball, daughter of Capt. 
Edmund Kimball, of Newburyport. She was born 
June 14, 1791. 

Dr. Alden was now fully launched upon his life- 
work, and by degrees came to fill the place which the 
father had left vacant, until at length he more than 
filled it. By virtue of his superior education, both as 
a physician and surgeon, and by his native powers and 
faculties, eminently fitting him for success, he was 
widely known and recognized as a leading member in 
his profession. Not only was he thoroughly in- 
structed in matters pertaining to his special calling, 
but he had also an innate love for studies historical 
and ecclesiastical. He grew to be a prominent Con- 
eregational layman, and his knowledge and experience 
in this department were often called into use. He 
was a Pilerim of the Pilgrims, and he understood well 
the difference between the Congregationalism that 


RANDOLPH. 211 





came over in the “‘ Mayflower” and that which early 


prevailed in the Massachusetts Bay and was embodied, | 
He found | 


in 1648, in the Cambridge Platform. 
great satisfaction in tracing out the way by which the 
latter style of church polity was gradually displaced 
in New England and the former brought to the front. 
The writer well remembers the pleasure Dr. Alden 
had, between twenty and thirty years ago, in a new 
edition of John Wise’s famous book, “The Church 
Quarrel Espoused,” and what measures he took to 
promote its circulation. He recognized in the Rev, 
John Wise—settled 1683-1725 over the Second 
Church, Ipswich (now Essex)—one of the stoutest 
defenders of the liberty of the New Hngland churches 
as against the dominating power of the ministers. | It 
was in 1710 that the above book was first published, 
and it was largely through this volume and another 


from the same pen published in 1717, entitled ‘‘ A | 


Vindication of the Government of the New England 
Churches,” that a healthier direction was given to 
New England Congregationalism. 

Dr. Alden was a bibliophile, and early began to be 
a collector of rare books and pamphlets, especially 
those appertaining to the civil and ecclesiastical his- 
tory of New England. He built up a choice private 
library at a time when such enterprises were not so 
common as now. That library still remains, and 
doubtless contains many specimens, in the shape of 
pamphlet and bound volume, which the collectors 
would call precious nuggets. 


have thus been briefly noticed that Dr. Alden was long 


ago recognized as a ‘‘wise master-builder” in our | 
ecclesiastical and educational departments, and for the | 


last forty or fifty years (until laid aside by blindness 
and extreme age) he has been an active worker in 
It would probably be difficult to 
find another man who has been identified with so 
many religious and educational interests for such long 
ranges of time. The year after his marriage, 7.e., in 
1819, the first Sabbath-school was organized in Ran- 
dolph. 


these connections. 


He was chosen its superintendent, and con- 
In 1827 
he was made one of the trustees of the Massachusetts 
Home Missionary Society. He held this office by 
re-election and performed its duties for forty-two 
years, until 1869. In the year 1837 he was chosen 
one of the trustees of Phillips Academy and of An- 
dover Theological Seminary. This office he retained 
forty-four years, till his death, though in his later 
years he was not able to attend the meetings of the 
trustees. For forty-one years, from 1840 to his 
death, he was one of the corporate members of the 


tinued in the office for nearly forty years. 

















American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis- 
From 1841 to 1874 he was a trustee of Am- 
From 1842 to 1867 he was a director 
of the American Education Society. 

There was another class of organizations for which 
he had a lively sympathy, and with which he was in 
active co-operation. He had a strong love for anti- 
quarian and genealogical pursuits, and especially as 
they appertained to the origin and growth of New 
England. In all these connections he was an indus- 
trious worker. He early became a member of the 
American Antiquarian Society of Worcester. He 
bore a prominent part in the formation and growth of 
the American Statistical Association. 


sions. 
herst College. 


He became a 
member of the New England Historic-Genealogical 
Society in 1846, the year after its organization, and 
soon after its present building was erected in Somerset 
Street, paid, of his own good-will, five hundred dollars 
towards the librarian fund. With all the early move- 
ments toward the formation of the Congregational 
Library, now grown to fair proportions, he had the 
most cordial fellowship and participation. 

Then, again, as a prominent member of the medical 
profession, he was brought into quite another set of 
associations. He was connected with medical socie- 
ties, county, State, national, not as a mere looker-on 
or listener, but as one who contributed interesting 
papers and valuable information for their meetings. 
Of an observing and studious mind, he held also the 


_pen of a ready writer, and took special delight in 
It was because of such tastes and tendencies as | 


adding to the general stock of human knowledge. 

Still, again, he was a bold and aggressive worker 
in the temperance movement, especially in its earlier 
days, and before it had become so intermingled with 
party politics. He was for many years known as a 
public lecturer upon this subject, and, from his estab- 
lished character as an able physician, his lectures 
carried with them unusual weight. 

Then, in addition to all his other talents and ac- 
tivities, he was a singer, and took a lively interest in 
Through the whole of his public life 
in Randolph he was a leader and organizer in this 
department, and this love continued with him to the 
In the year 1869, at the time of the National 
Peace Jubilee in Boston, the writer well remembers 
a brief interview with him as he was about to enter 
the great building erected for the concerts on the 
back bay. 
had his singing-book under his arm, and entered into 
the whole business with the enthusiasm of youth. 
He was at that time eighty-one years old. Of the 
creat multitude of singers who made up the chorus 
for that first jubilee, he was, without much doubt, 


church music. 


last. 


He was one of the chorus singers, and 





>) 


_ 


21 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





the oldest, but he yet carried with him a large meas- 
ure of the zeal and energy of his earlier years. He 
made one of the vastly larger chorus in the Inter- 
national Jubilee of 1872, being then eighty-four years 
old. 

Not long after this his eyesight began to fail him, 
and little by little the shadows of night gathered 
about him, until at length he was wrapped in total 
darkness. His last years were passed in the quiet of 
his home and in the society of his kindred and 
neighbors. But with the eye of his mind he still 
watched the goings-on of the great world, and was 
interested in all passing events. He died Jan. 26, 
1881, aged ninety-two years, ten months, and nine 
days. 

The wife of his youth had passed away ten years 
before, April 14, 1871. 
These are the Rev. Ebenezer Alden, born Aug. 10, 


Three children survive him. | 


1819, who was ordained a Congregational minister in | 


1845, and spent five years as a pioneer home mis- 
sionary in Lowa, being a member of the “ Towa 
band.” Since 1850 he has been the pastor of the 
First Congregational Church in Marshfield. While 
he was yet young in the ministry, he had as one of 
his parishioners no less a man than Daniel Webster, 
and it fell to his lot in 1852 to conduct the simple 


funeral services of the great statesman in the Webster | 


mansion at Marshfield. It was like Mr. Webster to 
prefer that his funeral should be in the plain New 
England fashion, and should be conducted by his 
country minister. 
mund Kimball Alden, D.D., who was ordained to the 
Congregational ministry in 1850, and, after serving 
for some twenty-six years as Congregational pastor at 
Yarmouth, Me., Lenox, Mass , and in Phillips Church, 


| 


The second son is the Rev. Ed- | 








Dr. Alden was connected in his life came up before 
him for remembrance in this final disposition of his 
property, such as the American Board, the Massa- 


_chusetts Home Missionary Society, the American 


College and Educational Society, the Seamen’s Friend 
Society, Amherst College, Iowa College, Phillips 
Academy, the American Antiquarian Society, the 
American Statistical Association, the New England 
Historic-Geneaological Society, the Congregational 
Library, Stoughton Musical Society, ete. 

We have already implied that Dr. Alden was a writer 
as well as a busy actor, but most of his writings 
were of a kind to servethe purposes of the passing 
time, and cannot well be reported in a paper like this. 
Nevertheless, he has left behind some published works 
in the shape of pamphlets and books, among which 
are the following: ‘“ Address before the Dartmouth 
Medical Society,’ Boston, 1820; “ Medical Uses of 
Alcohol ;” “ Tribute to the Memory of Deacon Eph- 
raim Wales,” Boston, 1855; “ Historical Sketch of 


| the Origin and Progress of the Massachusetts Medi- 
_eal Society,’ 1838; ‘Tribute to the Memory of 


Deacon Wales Thayer ;” ‘“ Tribute to the Memory of 
Mr. Samuel Whitcomb ;” ‘‘ Early History of the Med- 
ical Profession in the County of Norfolk, an Address 
before the Norfolk District Medical Society,” Bos- 
ton, 1853; ‘Memoir and Correspondence of Mrs. 
Mary Ann Odiorne Clark,” Boston, MSS., 1844; 


|“ Memoir of Bartholomew Brown, Esq.,” Randolph, 


1862; ‘“ Memorial of the Descendants of the Hon. 
John Alden,” 1867; enlarged 1869, octavo, pp. 184. 

Some of these publications required a large amount 
of labor and careful study. For example, ‘ The 
Early History of the Medical Profession in the 


| County of Norfolk” involved brief biographies of the 


Boston, is now one of the secretaries of the American 
| 


Board. 


There was another son, Henry Augustus, | 


born Aug. 8, 1826, who became a civil engineer and | 


died June 9, 1852. There were three daughters, of 
whom Mary Kimball died Aug. 18, 1860, and Anne 
Kimball died Dee. 28, 1854. 
Sarah Bass Alden, now occupies the homestead at 


The remaining one, 


Randolph, and has had the care of her father in his 
declining years. 

Dr. Alden left a memorandum indicating his gen- 
eral wishes as to the disposal to be made of his prop- 
not in the 


erty, which was considerable. It was 


shape of a mandatory will. He constituted his three 


surviving children his executors, but, confiding in | 


their judgment, gave them certain discretionary 
powers that they might decide matters according to 
the circumstances of the case at the time of his death. 


Almost all the societies and institutions with which | 


| various localities. 


numerous physicians of the county during the earlier 
generations, a work to be accomplished only by much 
correspondence and patient research, 

But these few publications would give only a faint 
idea of all that he accomplished by his pen. In a 
local paper he published a long series of articles on 
the history of Braintree and Randolph, going into 
the business minutely, taking up the several portions 


_ of the territory, and tracing the early families in their 


Indeed, he was the local historian, 
the public chronicler of Randolph, and, to a large ex- 
tent, of the region lying around. 

By his intellectual character, as also by his large 
enterprise and activity, he was a man to come to the 
front wherever he might happen to live, and bear a 
large share in human affairs. The totality of life 
within him was greater than in ordinary men, and 
it was natural for him to put himself forth in thought 


RANDOLPH. 


213 





and action. Hence through the long years of his 
active life he was intensely busy, aiming to fill his 
place punctually and thoroughly in all his multiplied 
relations. Though connected with so many societies 
and associations, hardly any one was more likely to 


he. 

In the year 1861, July 3d, occurred in Braintree 
the fiftieth anniversary of the ordination and settle- 
ment of Dr. Richard 8. Storrs. The occasion was 


one of very marked interest, both from the eminent | 
character of Dr. Storrs himself, and from the con- 


spicuous men who took prominent part in the ser- 
vices. 
followed the Rev. Dr. Park in the exercises of the 
afternoon. The presiding officer of the day was the 
Rev. Richard S. Storrs, Jr., of Brooklyn, N. Y., and 
in introducing Dr. Alden he said, ‘‘ We have heard of 


the ministers of Braintree; Dr. Alden will give us, op clerical. 


from his knowledge and his personal recollections, a 
true sketch of the people of the town, and of their 
former manners and life.” 

From this address of Dr. Alden we will, in conclu- 
sion, select two or three passages, which will illustrate 
more perfectly than any general description can do the 
style of the man and his manner of thought. He 
said,— 


“T have been requested to present some ‘reminiscences of 
Braintree fifty years ago,’ by which I understand in the olden 
time; but with a special caution to be very brief—‘ ten minutes 
better than an hour’—as if by any necromancy it were possible 
to bring up not only Samuel (Rev. Samuel Niles), but three 
generations of his people, and cause them to pass before you 
Nev- 
ertheless, as it was my privilege to commence professional life 
with him and sometimes to prescribe for him, it is but reason- 
able that I should now consent that he prescribe to me; which 
I do not only cheerfully, but thankfully, because it affords me 
opportunity publicly to express the respect I have long enter- 
tained for him and for his people.” 


like a moving panorama at the bidding of your minister. 


But in the first place it was needful to give the 
boundaries of the place which he was going to de- 
scribe, and these were as follows: 


“The ancient Brantry was bounded north by Neponset 
River and Massachusetts Bay ; east by Narraganset; south by 
the Old Colony and ‘terra incognita’ long in dispute; west by 
Punkapog and Unguety—including the present towns of 
Braintree, Quincy, and Randolph. Monatiquot, or modern 
Braintree, was bounded north by Merry Mount; east by Iron- 
Works’ line; south by Cochato and Scadin Woods; west by 
the Blue Hills, extending, in the dialect of Father Niles, 
‘from Dan to Beersheba.’”’ 


Dr. Alden had in this address a somewhat lengthy 


and graphic passage on the singing question, as it was 
discussed in the churches before the middle of the 


o f rf 
Among the last named was Dr Alden, who | which belonged to Elisha Niles, Esq., youngest son of the 





be present at their recurring business-meetings than hibited in this conflict. 


last century. Throughout almost every part of New 
England the fierce discussion went on, and many 
churches were well-nigh rent asunder by the violent 
feelings awakened. The beauty and majesty of 
ancient New England conservatism are strangely ex- 
The effort was to bring the 
people out of the miserable droning habit of singing 


| four or five tunes only, and that by rote, and to teach 





them to read music so that they could sing all tunes 
Dr. Alden said,— 


“The evil became so intolerable that Rev. Thomas Walter, by 
request of several ministers of Boston and the vicinity, pre- 
pared and published, in 1721, a musical manual and tune 
book. And here is a copy of it, the identical one 


by note. 


minister and executor of his estate. The names of twenty-two 
of the most eminent clergymen of the colony are attached to 
the recommendatory preface. But the name of Samuel Niles 
isnot there. He insisted upon the ‘old way’ and his own way. 


Nor would he yield the tithe of a hair to any solicitations, lay 


“Meanwhile some of his people had provided tune books, 
and were bent on ‘making melody to the Lord’ by note. Then 
came the ‘tug of war.’ Original sin, with which the pastor 
was familiar, and afterwards wrote a treatise upon it, as he did 
upon ‘ Indian Wars,’ broke out into actual transgression. The 
people assembled for public worship, but no minister came. 
They sent him word that they were all ‘ present before the Lord 
to hear all things which were commanded him of God.’ He 
responded that he would not preach in the meeting-house unless 
they would sing by rote; and he invited all who were so dis- 
posed to repair to the parsonage, where he would preach, and 
they might sing ‘in the old way.’ Council after 
council convened without success to settle the controversy. At 


| length, all parties having become weary, the last council, more 


fortunate, if not more sagacious than the rest, came to this 


| unanimous, most profound, and successful result, which was 


adopted, but never, so far as I can ascertain, recorded on the 
church books: ‘ Voted that the council recommend to the 
pastor and church at Monatiquot, that in conducting public 
worship they sing part of the tune by note, and the rest of the 
tune by rote.” 


There were probably a great many churches in 
New England where the old system of rote singing 
went out at last by some such compromise as_in this 
case. 

We might give other interesting 
this address, but these will suffice as examples of 
Dr. Alden’s manner, and with these we conclude our 


passages from 


| article. 


The following address was delivered at the funeral 
service by Rev. John C. Labaree, pastor : 


“A patriarch among us has fallen. He has died in a good 
old age, an old man, and full of years, and is gathered to his 
fathers. We have long regarded him as avenerableman. Yet 
we are surprised to find how far back we are carried by this one 
It covers a period longer than that of our Amer- 
ican Republic. When Dr. Alden was born the first President 
of the United States had not been inaugurated, nor the Federal 


Constitution ratified. 


extended life. 


214 





ge \ al 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





“For those primitive times the circumstances of his early life 
were very favorable. His childhood was largely spent in the 
noble old mansion of his father’s, which till lately formed so 
His education was carefully 
He passed from stage to stage in his studies till he 


familiar a landmark in our town. 
attended to. 
returned to his native village to take up the profession of his 


father, and unfold that strong and striking character which now | 
stands before us in its completeness. 

“By nature our honored friend was richly endowed. He | 
would have been a man of mark in whatever calling in life he | 
might have chosen. His mind was clear and acute, broad and 
masculine; his perceptions were quick, his judgment discrimi- 
nating, his will strong. 
and rigorous discipline of his powers. 
Providence gave him was faithfully improved. 


To nature’s gifts he added a careful 
The material which | 
His habits of 
thought were excellent; his study of a subject was systematic 
and searching ; his cross-questioning worthy of a trained law- | 
yer. He went to the heart of amatterand brought his mind to 
a decision he did not often have to reverse. His improvement | 
of time, his methods of investigation, his orderly and patient 
arrangement of knowledge, his readiness in recalling what he 
wished to use, his conscientious care in reaching a conclusion, 
furnish a fine model for young men, whether in business or 
literary pursuits. 

‘But his mental powers were not those to which our friend 
gave the most interested attention. His mind was directed at 
an early period to the claims of religion. Always respectful to 
the subject, he came at last face to face with the personal duty of | 
repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 


It was a serious hour, a bitter struggle,—one to which he re- 
At that | 
time, as he believed, he learned a lesson, never to be forgotten, 
of human depravity and divine grace. 


ferred, not often, but always with very tender feelings. 


His long and unalter- 
able devotion to the Saviour and the teachings of Scripture bear 
Witness to the genuineness of the change he had experienced. 
He united with this church in 1816, at the age of twenty-eight | 
years. From that period the enlargement of Christ’s kingdom 
in the world was the object to which he devoted his talents. 
His whole life confirmed the interest with which he sang the 
hymn, 





‘Tlove Thy Kingdom, Lord,’ 


“The church of Christ was to Dr. Alden as a citadel which 
he was appointed to aid in strengthening and defending. He | 
thoroughly studied its necessities. Its weak points and its | 
grand strategic points were well understood by him. The call 
for defensive and aggressive warfare he heartily responded to. 
He loved the work. Nothing else in life was of so much account 
to him. 

“ He perceived that if the church of God is to prosper, the ut- | 
most care must be paid to the family. By counsel and example 
he impressed this principle. His own home he sought to make 
a model Christian home. Its hours of prayer and praise he 
With him it 
was a strong point that family worship should not be merely 


loved, and held sacred from every interruption. 


formal, but interesting and instructive. And he was accus- 
tomed, with great plainness and tenderness, to encourage Chris- 
tian parents to special fidelity in all the duties of household 
piety. He also felt the need of some method of religious in- 


struction additional to that generally enjoyed in the family. 


And the suggestion of the modern Sabbath-school was, therefore, 
cordially welcomed by him. In 1819 he organized the school 
in this church, For thirty-nine years he continued its superin- 
tendent, and then as a teacher held his place for a score of years 
longer. 

“From the home and the Sabbath-school Dr. Alden followed | 


with special interest the youth who entered on a course of | 


| and meetings of the church. 


| they were seeking. 





higher education. That the church should pay most careful 
attention to her future pastors and teachers and educated men 
was to him self-evident. He entered into the study of meth- 
ods of education with his accustomed energy and thoroughness, 
And he was thus introduced to one of the most important spheres 
of influence which Providence called him to fill. His services as 
a member of the Board of Trustees of Phillips Academy and the 
Theological Seminary at Andover, and of Amherst College, are 
by the nature of the case but little known to the world. They 
will be alluded to by one especially qualified to speak of them. 
But we know something of the intelligence and fatherly solici- 
tude with which he followed young men through school, college, 
The day of ‘ prayer for colleges” was always an 
occasion of much interest in the Randolph Church, and one to 
which our friend was ever ready to contribute stirring words 
and fervent prayers that the Lord of the harvest would send 
Hehad a peculiarly kind feel- 
From 
his wide professional experience he had seen how great are the 


and seminary. 


forth laborers into his harvest. 
ing for young men who had chosen his own profession. 


opportunities for good open to the Christian physician. 

“Young ministers were sure of a welcome to his home and 
heart. He entered into their plans with zest. Were they to 
remain in New England, or to plant new churches in the grow- 
ing West, or to seek yet more distant fields of labor among hea- 
then nations, he followed them all with love and prayer. Their 
trials, their reverses, their progress were watched by him with 
intelligent sympathy as he studied the missionary reports of 
theday. These organs of home and foreign work have had 
few more constant and appreciative readers for the past fifty 
years. 

“The Home Missionary Society and the American Board 
were objects of his special interest. He gave efficient aid in or- 
ganizing and maintaining among the churches of the Norfolk 
Conference the Palestine Missionary Society formed in 1820, one 
of the earliest auxiliaries of the Board. 

““Meanwhile his own home church was never neglected by 
reason of his many broader fields of influence. He gave to it 
the energy and enthusiasm of his young manhood, and for sixty 
years it has been strengthened by his counsels and example 
and prayers. He loved the sanctuary, and all the ordinances 
Long professional rides were 
often necessary before services, and again after services were 
over, but they were always timed so as to give him the calm 
enjoyment of the house of God. His seat vacant, signified to 
all that some case was very critical. And for years after he was 
wholly deprived of sight one of the greatest comforts in bis 
affliction, and which he would not readily forego, was to be led 
to his familiar seat in the church twice every Sabbath day. The 
silent influence of such an example has reached many hearts. 
Those who did not believe as he did, yet cherished a silent re- 
spect for his fidelity to his convictions and his strength of pur- 
pose. 

“By the members of the church, it is not invidious to say, no 
one of their number was regarded with so great veneration and 
affection as Dr. Alden. 
He possessed a rare knowledge of the Bible, an ex- 


Few were so well qualified to advise and 
encourage. 
tensive and accurate acquaintance with theology, a profound 
personal experience of religious truth, a deep insight into hu- 
man nature; adding to these attainments his wide intercourse 
with men, his relation to many societies and institutions, and 
his rich endowments of mind and heart, and we see that he was 
fitted in an unusual manner to guide and instruct the church. 
Many an anxious inquirer has he wisely directed to the Saviour 
Christian friends, beset with temptations 
or perplexed with doubts, have often found in him the safe and 


sympathizing counselor they needed. His visits as “the be- 














RANDOLPH. 


215 








! 


loved physician” were doubly prized by numerous families to 


whom he was enabled to bring peace of mind as well as healing 
of the body. 
“Tn his earlier days Dr. Alden did hard but very useful work 


as a pioneer in the cause of truth. He was an earnest advocate | 


of foreign missions when the subject was but little understood. 


He introduced the Sabbath-school when there was much preju- 


dice against it. He was an outspoken friend of total abstinence 
when such a position was extremely unpopular. He aided many 
a good cause in in its infancy and weakness, which has now 
grown strong in the hearts of the people. He found them feeble, 
he has left them vigorous. 
isfaction. He could see that the world has grown better since 
first he knew it, and he rejoiced. He did not, indeed, indorse 
every modern idea of professed reformers; some of them he 
stoutly refused to accept; yet he spoke of them with charity. 
Instead of the characteristics which often come with age, he 
seemed to us to grow more gentle and mellow. He was clothed 
His words fell with more 
love and tenderness, and all felt that he was ripening for his 
home above.” 


Hon. Alpheus Hardy, of Boston, delivered the fol- 
lowing remarks at the funeral service : 


with increasing wisdom and grace. 


“Tn the death of Dr. Alden a strong and vigorous light has 
Its rays were not confined to this 
town or to this vicinity; it was far-reaching, healthful, and 
helpful in all its influence. 

“Tt is now nearly thirty years since I first made Dr. Alden’s 
acquaintance. I was invited by his friend and my friend, the 
late Rev. William A. Stearns, president of Amherst College, to 
take a seat as one of the trustees of that institution. Trained 
as I had been to a business life, I hesitated to accept the po- 
sition, to step within the circle of Christian education, and 
might not, had not Dr. Alden so kindly and so encouragingly 
taken me by the hand and given me a warm welcome. We 
were at once made colleagues on the finance committee, and 
thus I began to know of his fidelity and conscientious dis- 
charge of his duty. There as at Andover, where we were 
similarly connected on the Phillips Academy board of trus- 


ceased to burn on earth. 


tees, he was scrupulously exact in the discharge of every duty. 
It was not enough that the treasurer reported sundry funds as 
in hand, but he must see them, and verify every item. He did 
not accept the position as trustee for the small honor such an 
election conferred, but to attend the meetings promptly and 
meet every varied duty as work he had assumed and that must 
be accomplished. His judgment was sound and leading. 
firmness was tempered with kindness. 
differed from others, were given with manly courtesy. At 
Andover, where I met him most frequently, he was ever faith- 
ful, shrinking from no toil. 
marks of fidelity; he pored over them as conscientiously as 
over his Bible. 

“The Academy, no less than the Seminary, shared his care; 
his thoughts were for the boys as well as for the more ad- 


Those old rusty ledgers bear his 


vanced students. 
those who were to fill our pulpits, to be our legislators, and 
exert an influence in the world; in the true spirit of the found- 
ers of that school he would have their hearts cultivated, while 
the head was educated, and would have religion and education 
go hand in hand. 

“Tt has been reported by the press that he had resigned his 
position as trustee at Andover; true, but his resignation was 


too highly, and respected him too much to sever his relations; 
they would have him die as he did in the harness. 


Their progress gave him great sat- | 


“Por a professional man he had, largely, business habits, 
habits of exactness, application, fidelity, frugality, the condi- 
tions of success. His views of Christian duty were as broad as 
the Gospel plan; he drank of its living fountain. He was alive 
to the elevation and salvation of men in all lands and all climes. 
I have rarely met a man whose whole being was so permeated 
with the idea of loyalty toduty. This one thing I must do, and 
do well, was his constant aim. 


pressed in the spirit of the beautiful hymn, commencing, 


The tenor of his life was ex- 


“°A charge to keep I have— 
A God to glorify.’ ” 





ALEXANDER E. DU BOIS. 


Alexander Edson Du Bois was born in Braintree, 
Vt., March 22, 1801, and was the second child of 
Joseph and Polly (Spear) Du Bois. Joseph Du Bois 
was the son of a ship-carpenter of Huguenot descent, 
and was born in Providence, R. I., Aug. 1, 1775. 
He was educated as a physician, and practiced his pro- 
fession for many years in Vermont with marked suc- 
cess. Polly Spear was born in Randolph, Mass., Aug. 


7, 1778, and was the daughter of Jacob Spear, who, 


with others of his townspeople, settled in Vermont 
while his daughter was very young. 

At the beginning of this century our New England 
villages did not afford the facilities for education 
which they now do, so that the subject of this sketch 


_ had very limited opportunities during his boyhood of 


' entered the store of Turner & Tolman as clerk. 


His | 
His opinions, if they | 


He realized that within their ranks were | 


He often worked for 
the neighboring farmers, and took pleasure in thus 
being able to add to the family income, as the pro- 
fession of a country physician was far from lucrative 
when a fee for a visit was only twenty-five cents, and - 
At the 
age of twenty-one he came to Randolph, Mass., and 
Mr. 
Du Bois won the confidence of his employers, and in 
a few years entered into partnership with Col. Royal 
Turner, and still later carried on the same business 
himself with good success. He was honest and just 
in his dealings, and gained for himself a well-deserved 


gaining knowledge from books. 
gal knowledge from book 


patients were widely scattered over the hills. 


reputation as an upright man in every relation of life. 

His good judgment and deep interest in all that 
concerned the welfare of the town made him an ex- 
cellent citizen. His townsmen’s appreciation of these 
qualities was shown by his election as a member of 
important committees chosen to advise on questions 
Mr. Du 
Bois was one of the committee appointed in 1833 to 


provide for the establishment of the Randolph Acad- 


relating to the varied interests of the town. 


; _emy, also a member of the committee which presented 
not accepted. The board of trustees appreciated his services | 


to the Legislature in 1835 a petition of the citizens 
to have a bank incorporated in the town. For some 


216 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








years he was a fire warden, and was always much in- 
terested in the laying out of new streets, and in what- 
ever else tended to promote the growth and prosperity 
of Randolph. He was made deputy sheriff of Nor- 
folk County in 1839, and held the office a number of 
years, and also received a commission as justice of the 
peace. Mr. Du Bois was one of the directors of the 
Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance Company. In 1825 
he became a Free Mason, and afterwards held various 
offices in the lodge of which he was a member. 

Notwithstanding the limitations of his youth, he 
by self-education became a man of more than ordi- 
nary attainments, and his advice and assistance was 
much sought in the settlement of estates and in other 
legal matters. His keen sense of justice and clear 
insight into human nature, together with his strong 
persuasive powers, made him an excellent arbiter, and 
he was often called upon to adjust difficulties between 
individuals. Mr. Du Bois took a deep interest in 
young men struggling to establish themselves in busi- 
ness, and was ever willing to give them assistance. 
His kind and sympathetic nature led him to listen to 
the needs of the poor, and they found in him a gen- 
erous helper. 

At the age of forty-three he united with the Bap- 
tist Church in Randolph, and was ever an active and 
consistent member of that body. He contributed lib- 
erally to the support of the gospel in his own town, 
as well as to the cause of home and foreign missions 
and other objects of Christian benevolence. Ever 
cherishing a deep love for his early home, the Baptist 
Church in his native town, by his exertions, was re- 
paired and occupied after having been closed for a 
number of years. 

Mr. Du Bois was married Oct. 18, 1827, 
R. Tucker, daughter of James and Betsey (Withing- 


ton) Tucker, of Stoughton, Mass. Their children 


were George E., born Feb. 24, 1829, and Joseph N., | 
_ upholding the arm of the nation, Cohasset has always 


born Sept. 4, 1832. George E. Du Bois was married 
Nov. 25, 1856, to Clara P. Fowler, of Danvers, Mass., 
and died Nov. 3, 1859, leaving one child, Ellen T. 
Du Bois. 


commission merchant in Boston. He led an upright, 


For many years he was a boot and shoe 


Christian life, respected and beloved by all who knew 
him, 
1867. 
kind and generous in his nature, his genial disposition 
winning for him many friends. 

Mr. Du Bois died Oct. 19, 1862, after an illness 
of a few days. 


power in his last hours. 


to Ellen | 


Joseph N. Du Bois died, unmarried, May 6, | 
He was also in the shoe business, and was | 
_ long before this date. 


His hope in Jesus was a sustaining 


| 
| 








CHAPTER XIX: 
COHASSET. 


Pioneer History—Reference to Hingham—Heirs of the Sachem 
Chickatabut—Deed from the Indians, July 4, 1665—The 
Pioneers: Beal, Cushing, James, Lincoln, Tower, Sutton» 
Bates, Kent, Nichols, Orcutt, Pratt, Stoddard—The First 
Settlement—Its Location—Derivation of Name of Town— 
Incorporation of Parish—Little Hingham—The Chureh— 
Petition for Incorporation of Town—Opposed by Hingham— 
Town Incorporated, April 26, 1770—Early Votes concerning 
Schools—Votes concerning the Revolution—Cohasset’s Rep- 
resentative at the Boston Tea-Party—Maj. James Stod- 
dard—War of 1812—Shipwrecks, ete. 


Ir is a natural and praiseworthy feeling that leads 
the good men and women of New England to cele- 
brate the day that marks the birth of each town, to 
repeat the names of their fathers, and to trace the 
steps by which each little independent community 
has risen from the poverty and weakness of former 
times to the wealth, prosperity, and comfort of the 
present. The town government is the foundation of 
the State; attendance on town-meeting and perform- 
ance of town duties are precious training to the peo- 
ple ; and the New England youth who has wandered 
to the ends of the earth in search of fame or fortune 
looks forward to the day when he shall cast anchor 
near the old homestead, and hopes that, at last, his 
dust shall mingle with the dust of his kindred. 

One hundred years ago your fathers met within 
these walls to receive the charter and to organize 
the town of Cohasset. The careful antiquarian may 
remind me that the word “district,” instead of 
“town, was used in the act of the General Court, 
for the reason that Cohasset was still joined with 
But in 
performing municipal duties, and in bearing munici- 


Hingham in the choice of representative. 


pal burdens, in the care of roads, of the poor and of 
schools, in sharing the counsels of the State, and in 


shown herself to be every inch a town. And if any 
lingering doubts remain in your minds as to the style 
of your loved municipality, you will be glad to know 
that in 1786 it was enacted that all districts incor- 
porated before 1777 should be, to all intents and pur- 
poses, towns. 

The history of the founders of Cohasset begins 
For they were also among the 

On Sept. 18 (O. 8.), 1635, 


founders of Hingham. 


| Peter Hobart and twenty-nine others drew lots for 


homesteads, and thus organized that settlement, which 


1The following chapter was contributed by Hon. Thomas 
Russell, being an address delivered by him at the Centennial 
Anniversary of the town of Cohasset, May 7, 1870. 


COHASSET. 


217 








had been begun two years before by a few of Mr. | 
Hobart’s townsmen from England. These earliest set- 
tlers bore the names of Hobart, Jacobs, Smith, and 
Cushing. Peter Hobart came, with his friends, from 
Hingham, in Norfolk County, and, like many of the 
early settlers, they gave to the new town the name of 
their old home. In his diary we read this record: 
“1635, June 8.—I, with my wife & 4 children came 
safely to New England June ye 8, 1635, forever prazed 
be the God of Heaven, my God & King.” Mr. Ho- 
bart was a man of learning, of ability, and of zeal,—a 
good specimen of the strong men who, in poverty and | 
in danger, laid the foundations of the American Km- | 





pire. 

In the early annals of your parent town we find 
much to remind us of their hardships. We read of | 
bounties given for wolf-scalps ; of the meeting-house | 
surrounded by palisades as a protection against sud- 
den attack; of John Jacob slain by Indians in his | 
wheat-field, in April, 1676; of five dwelling-houses | 
burned during King Philip's war. Such was the | 
welcome of your fathers to these shores. Such were 
the perils they gladly bore for their faith. 

The horrors of King Philip’s war have often been 
sketched. The flames that were kindled at Swanzey 
and Dartmouth rolled all over the land; the best 
blood of the youth was poured out in the meadows of 
Deerfield, by Turner’s Falls, and in the swamps of 
Rhode Island. 
Wonderful was the devotion that, unaided and alone, 


No town, no home, no man, was safe. | 


endured the fearful conflict. 

As an illustration of the sacrifices of our ancestors, | 
we read that the public debt of the neighboring 
colony of Plymouth far exceeded the whole amount 
of personal property in that colony. Well may the 
historian feel pride in recording the fact that this 
debt was paid, principal and interest,—paid just as it 
had been agreed to be paid. Our fathers never 
dreamed of repudiation. And this contract-keeping 
people found favor with a covenant-keeping God. 

This flourishing town was greatly disturbed by the 
question of militia elections, and by a quarrel about 
This 
quarrel I pass by as more interesting to the people of 


the location of the second meeting-house. 
that day than to this generation. What interests us 
most is, that the meeting-house was finally built in 
1681, and that it now stands,—the oldest church edi- | 
fice in the United States, containing beams that were in 
the first meeting-house,—fragrant with old memories. 
We love to believe that some of the earliest comers 
to Massachusetts Bay have worshiped this 
venerable structure, and to know that the first- 
born of the Pilgrims may have sat within its wails. 


in 


| virtue from which all virtue springs. 





Such thoughts bring us into the more immediate 
presence of our fathers. Well for usif we could act as 
in that presence and be animated by their spirit. 

The militia excitement of 1644 and 1645 fills a 
large space in the annals of Massachusetts Bay, and 
for seven years disturbed the peace of Hingham. The 
origin of this trouble was the election of militia cap- 


_ tain, and the question involved was the right of the 


people to choose for themselves, without the control 
of the magistrates. 
to by Deputy Governor Winthrop as tending to “ mere 


Mr. Hobart’s course was objected 


He and his associates were fined for 
These fines 


democracy.” 
their turbulent opposition to the court. 


_ were resisted, and for this resistance Mr. Hobart was 


once more dealt with by the court. And when, at a 
great wedding of a Hingham man, Mr. Hobart was 
invited to preach in Boston, he was forbidden by the 
magistrate, because, among other reasons, ‘“‘ he was a 
bold man, and would speak his mind.” The people 
stood by their pastor, paid his fines, and held him 
always in higher esteem. 

It is an honorable record for his many descendants 
to read of their ancestor, that, two hundred and 
twenty-five years ago, his views tended to pure dem- 
ocracy, and that, being a bold man, he would speak 
his mind. 
made helped to forward the day when a brave son of 
Hingham should receive the sword of Cornwallis at 
Yorktown, and to that greater day when another 
man of Hingham descent proclaimed that slavery in 


Such assertions of equal rights as he 


| America was forever at an end. 


We lose our patience as we read the story of this 
contest. We smile at the superstitious bigotry of 
Winthrop, who finds a Providential interposition 
when some Hingham men made light of the colony’s 
fast, and, attempting to take a raft to Boston, were 
delayed a month by bad weather. But while we 
criticsie and smile, we should remember that Hobart 
and his friends were believed to threaten the powers 
of the rulers of the province, and that such threats 
imperiled the right of self-government. We know, 
also, that they were dreaded because they troubled 
the churches, and those who troubled the churches 
were believed to endanger souls. On both sides we 
find error, on both sides sincerity,—the great manly 
There have 
been men of gentler disposition than Peter Hobart, 
of more enlightened views than Governor Winthrop, 
of more refined taste, of more graceful speech than 
any of the Pilgrim Fathers ; but those men have no 
New England for their monument. 

Besides this internal strife, your fathers were con- 


'stantly in danger from the savages and from the 


218 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





enemies of England. They sent six men to fight 
the Pequots in 1637. 
French, the Dutch, and the Spaniards. 
in the burial-place at Hingham are believed to be 
relics of the Dutch fort. 
and nine others perished in Sir William Phipps’ ex- 


The mounds 


pedition in 1690, one of the party being slain by the 
Maj. 
Samuel Thaxter and five other citizens of Hingham 


enemy and the others dying of smallpox. 


were taken prisoners at the fall of Fort William 
Henry in 1757. 
tured before the surrender of the fort, one of whom 


Two Hingham men had been cap- 


was put to death, and one of whom, Jeremiah Lin- 
coln by name, escaped from captivity to lead an honor- 
able and useful life. 
of this expedition, lived to a great age at Leicester, 
Mass. Capt. Joshua Barker was among those who 
served the in 1740. For 
these facts I am indebted to the careful researches of 


in attack on Havana 


that learned antiquarian, your neighbor and friend, 


Hon. Solomon Lincoln. 
aration for the great war of Independence. 


These wars were a fit prep- 
The 
stories of the living and the memory of the dead 
kept alive a martial spirit in the hearts of the colon- 
ists,—even as the stories of "76 and the memories of 
1812 prepared for the greater contest of our own day. 

An interesting event in the annals of your parent 
town was the obtaining of a deed of its territory from 
the heirs of Chickatabut. 
living on the banks of the Neponset, ruled over a 


This powerful sachem, 


ereat part of what is now Plymouth and Norfolk 
Counties. He is supposed to have given permission 
to the first settlers to make Hingham their home. 
His sons, Wampatuck, Squmuck, and Ahahden, 


deeded the whole tract which comprises Hingham 


and Cohasset to Capt. Joshua Hubbard and Ensign | 


John Thaxter, for the inhabitants, in 1665, on the 
4th of July. 


famous as the date of an infinitely greater charter. 


That day was destined to become 


The first mention of this locality in the town rec- 


ords of Hingham is in February, 1647, when divi- | 


sion of meadow land was made among the proprieters 
at Conghasset. Not all of these proprietors, how- 
ever, were residents of this territory. 
Hingham settlers here are said, by Rev. Mr. Flint, to 
have borne the familiar names of Beal, Cushing, 
James, Lincoln, Tower, and Sutton. 
joined the families of Bates, Kent, Nichols, Orcutt, 
Pratt, and Stoddard. The first settlement is reported 
to have been at Rocky Nook, and on the Jerusalem 
road. The name of your town is said by some to 
mean ‘“‘a fishing promontory,’ by others to mean “a 


place of rocks.” Hither name would fit the place, 


Knight Sprague, a survivor | 


| 


They armed against the | 


| 


| 


Capt. Thomas Andrews | 





| . ° 
assures me that neither of these is correct. 


and either name would apply to Cohasset Narrows, in 
Sandwich. Mr. Trumbull, the best living authority, 
Unfortu- 
nately, he cannot give the true meaning of the word. 
It ig enough that Cohasset now means a place where, 
for two hundred years, upright men have led honor- 
able lives, and where an honest New England town 
has flourished for a century. 

In 1714 Hingham was requested in vain to remit 
the school and ministerial taxes to this portion of the 
old town. 
quest, provided that Cohasset would settle an ortho- 
dox minister, and accept this settlement of the matter 
But the citizens of Cohasset voted that 
they could not do so cheerfully. In 1717 an act of 
the General Court was obtained creating a second 
parish in Hingham; and on July 14, 1718, the act 
was accepted at a meeting, over which Daniel Lin- 
The meeting was called for Cohasset, 
alias Little Hingham. 


In 1715 Hingham voted to grant the re- 


cheerfully. 


coln presided. 
This strange phrase is several 
times repeated. 
anything but honesty. Yet here it was applied to a 
community as honest as ever breathed. 

In 1719 a fast was appointed for the third Thurs- 
Mr. 
Pierpont was called at this time, and Mr. Spear in 
the spring of 1721. But no one was settled until 
September of that year, when Nehemiah Hobart be- 
came pastor, 
General Court for liberty te apply taxes to schools, 
and in October, 1728, schools were established. In 
1731 it was voted that the two arms of the district 


To lawyers the word alias savors of 


day of April, in order to give a minister a call. 


In 1727 the precinct petitioned the 


should each have its share of school money, Rocky 





enough for twenty cords of wood. 


The first | 


Nook at one end, and the Beech-Woods at the other. 

In 1740 the church lost its able and beloved pas- 
tor, who was a worthy descendant of Peter Hobart. 
His place was not filled without long delay, nor with- 
One prop- 
osition was to pay £400, old tenor, as settlement, and 


out various attempts to fix proper terms. 


£350 as salary, corn and rye to be taken at 15s. in 
February, and beef at 10d. in November, with money 
John Fowle was 
for a short time the successor of Mr. Hobart, and 


This able 
preacher served faithfully for forty-five years, preach- 


then Rev. John Brown became pastor. 


_ing on the last Sabbath of his life, and dying at the 


With these were | 


| 


| 
1 


Governor Hancock’s state visit to 
Your town is 
filled with traditions of his quaint sayings. 


age of sixty-six. 
him was a great event in Cohasset. 
Serving 
for one campaign as regimental chaplain in the Nova 
Scotia expedition, he never lost his military spirit, and 
his love of liberty made him a warm friend of inde- 


pendence. When the mild and conservative Mr. Gay 


Rat 


COHASSET. 


219 








asked him what he would do if the British should | is now extinct) who loved virtue in the abstract, but 


come into Cohasset Harbor and try to burn the vessels, 
your minister replied, ‘‘ I would shoot them!’ When, 
at a meeting in 1775, he had urged recruits to enlist, 


and an old man had taunted him with calling upon | 
others to do what he dared not do, he raised his staff | 
and threatened to cane the ‘old Tory” who insulted | 


him. 
old elm in Hingham, was a powerful exhortation to 
fight for the liberties of America. 
on the Boston massacre was published. No one, then, 
had proclaimed that a clergyman should never exhort 


His sermon, preached to volunteers under the 


men to discharge their duties in this world; no one 
had denied that patriotism is a duty. Woe to New 


England if, when liberty, loyalty, and humanity are | 


in danger, her pulpit ever shall be dumb. 

In 1750 it was reported at a parish-meeting that 
the meeting-house had been completed at a cost of 
four thousand pounds. This was, of course, old tenor, 


A stirring sermon | 


but it was a large sum for the men of those days. | 
| dren was not neglected. The annual election of 


The building was sufficiently completed to be used in 


1747-48. This is the building in which we now are 
assembled, and for more than a hundred and twenty | 
years its walls have echoed the prayers and praises of | 
| the imagination of sportsmen. 


four generations of men. 

In March, 1752, it was voted to petition Hingham 
and the General Court for the setting off of a new 
town. 
more especially when town-meetings became frequent, 


This project was renewed again and again, 


on account of the questions with the mother-country. 
But Hingham, while earnest for independence, could 
not see the importance of self-government to her sub- 
ject province. Yet her opposition was, after all, a 
compliment. No wonder that the parent town was 
loth to part with so fair a territory and with so worthy 
a people. 

Before leaving Hingham, let me refer to a vote in 
1768, when impending trouble with England ad- 


monished the people to look well to their ways. A 


committee was chosen in March, composed of the | 


best men in the town, who in May reported resolves: 
“First, that we will, by all ways and means in our 
power, encourage and promote the practice of virtue 
and suppressing of vice and immorality, the latter of 





| Continental Association. 





which seem daily increasing among us, and the decay — 


of the former much to be lamented.” 
the affirmative. 


This passed in 


Next, they reported, that to promote virtue and 


discourage vice, it was desirable to lessen the number — 


of licensed houses, so that there should only be six 
in the town,—three in the North Parish, two in the 
Kast, and one in the South. This passed in the 


an act of treason. 


opposed every practical measure for the suppression 
of vice. 

On March 23, 1767, it was voted by this precinct 
not to give up singing line by line, conservatism win- 
ning a victory over the radical youth of the church ; 
and in March, 1768, the porch was added to this 
house. 

On May 7, 1770, the act of incorporation, which had 
been signed by Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson on 
April 26th, was accepted at a meeting where Deacon 
Isaac Lincoln acted as moderator and Daniel Lincoln 
It was voted to ask that the style of “ dis- 
trict” be changed to “ town.” 


as clerk. 
I have referred to the 
general act by which this was finally accomplished. 
In December, 1770, it was voted that each child 
bring one foot of wood to school, or 1s. 6d., and the 
assessors should charge each person that was ‘‘ be- 
hind.” 


and remind us that even then the education of chil- 


Such votes carry us back to primitive times, 


“‘ deer-reeves”’ tells of the time when the beech-woods 
were alive with game, as the mention of Turkey Hill, 
in running the bounds of the precinct in 1647, kindles 
But graver matters 
soon occupied the minds of men who could use fire- 
On March 7, 1774, it was voted to build a 
Already 
the little town was preparing to resist the British Em- 


arms. 
closet in the meeting-house for ammunition. 


pire, and the same walls that heard your fathers’ 
prayers for deliverance and their resolves to resist 
oppression sheltered the ammunition which was to 
enforce these resolves, and to show that those prayers 
were honest. 

On Dec. 25, 1774, the 
mittee of eleven, agreeably to the Articles of the 
was 


town chose a com- 
Jesse Stephenson 
chairman of this committee. Thomas Lothrop was 
placed at the head of a committee to draft a paper 
to be signed by freebolders in approval of that asso- 
ciation. 
the province tax to Henry Gardner, and to indem- 
This 


seems a simple matter, but Mr. Gardner was treasurer 


At the same meeting it was voted to pay 
nify the selectmen and constables for so doing. 


under a revolutionary government, and this vote was 


Thus, day by day, in regular 


| town-meeting, by solemn vote, each little municipality 


negative, for there were men in those days (the race _ 


fell into the ranks, and pledged its faith for the con- 
test with Great Britain. 

On March 6, 1775, it was voted to pay the share 
of Cohasset for Deacon Lincoln’s attendance on the 
Provincial Congress, and for Col. Benjamin Lincoln’s 
attendance at the General Court at Salem. It was 


220 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





worth while to be united with Hingham in the choice 
of a representative, since thus you shared the credit 
of having such a patriot as your spokesman. Again, 
in November, 1775, your fathers joined with Hing- 
ham in sending Col. Lincoln to the Provincial Con- 
Thus, by being 


united with Hingham as a representative district, 


gress at Concord and at Watertown. 


your town was honored in sending to the Legislature 
the able general who was destined to receive the 
surrender of Cornwallis, to sit in the United States 
Cabinet, to crush by his vigor the rebellion of Shay, 


and to continue always the trusted friend of Wash- | 


ington. 

On April 28th it was voted to buy five hundred 
bushels of corn, one hundred pounds of gunpowder, 
and five hundred flints. On May 29th a Committee 
of Correspondence was chosen, of which Deacon Isaac 
Lothrop was chairman. Also a committee, of which 
Joseph Luther was the head, to call on Maj. Thomas 
Lothrop to ‘see whether he will call the alarm-list 
In March 


next a Committee of Safety was chosen, of which 


together and settle them in some order. 


Thomas Lincoln was chairman. 
On June 15, 1776, 
it was voted (and no other vote was taken) that if the 


Beal was elected representative. 


honorable American. Congress should declare the 
united colonies independent of the kingdom of 
Great Britain, the town would support it with their 
Thus, when Congress made the 


declaration, they only echoed the voices of the people 


lives and fortunes. 


and renewed their sacred pledges. 
On August 22d it was voted to raise fifty-two 


In May, Jonathan | 





pounds as bounty for four soldiers required for the | 


Northern army. 


In September sixty-two pounds | 


were raised as bounty for sixteen soldiers to march | 


to Connecticut. In December forty shillings were 
added to the pay. of volunteers to encourage them to 
march on the shortest notice. Subsequent additions 
were made to this sum, and a final addition was voted 
At a later date 


the sum of ten pounds was given for three years’ en- 


of three pounds if ordered to march. 


listments. 

The Declaration of Independence was in December 
copied into the town records. 

The town did its full share of service in the war. 


One full company, commanded by Capt. Job Cush- | 


ing, was attached to Col. Revere’s regiment. 


Capt. | 


Stowers commanded a company, nearly all from Co- | 


hasset, who did guard duty on the coast, and Noah 
Nichols was commissioned as captain of an artillery 
company comprising many Cohasset men. 

In the early days of the controversy your town was 


Stoddard. Tradition tells, also, of an English brig 
bound for Boston with supplies for the British army 
becalmed off these shores, and taken by a boat manned 
by Cohasset men. Maj. Stoddard was the leading 
spirit on this occasion, and when one of the boat’s 
crew pointed to the brig’s artillery, and proposed to 
return, the major declared that there should be no 
going back. The defenses of the brig proved to be 
‘‘(Quaker guns,” and she becamie an easy prize. Her 
cargo was rum, and if, as is reported, the town was 
for a few days a little more lively than usual, we must 
borrow the words of Burke, and “ pardon something 
to the spirit of liberty.” 

Many of you must remember the veteran Noah 


Nichols, who was accustomed in his old age to shoul- 
der his fire-lock, 


“ And show how fields were won.” 


You have heard his story of Washington ordering 
him to repair the wheel of a gun-carriage while on a 
forced march, of his request for permission to stop 
while mending it, and of the general’s abrupt refusal. 
“Tt was the hardest thing I ever did,” the old man 


_ would add, “ but I did it.” 


One of your truest patriots in this contest was 
Joseph Bates. 
Boston, he declared that he never should return. 


Marching to join the army around 


He fought at Bunker Hill, and when the ammuni- 
tion of the Americans had failed and they were 
obliged to retreat, he was seen throwing stones at the 
well-armed British soldiers as they swarmed into the 
redoubt. 
defeat ; cast down, but not destroyed. 


Such was the spirit of our fathers, firm in 
Well did 
Washington say, when he heard of the result, the 
retreat, the British victory, but heard also of the 
spirit of the people, well did he say, ‘‘ Thank God, 
America is free!” When a man is in earnest for 
the right, whether he stands on a lost battle field in 
Charlestown, Mass., or beneath a gallows in Charles- 
town, Va., he knows that failure is only the prelude 
of success, and that death will at last be swallowed 
up in victory. 

During the war, in 1780, the Constitution of this 
State was adopted, with its bill of rights, containing 
the words “ All men are created free and equal.” 
These words are often misquoted as occurring in the 
Declaration of Independence, but the slaveholder who 
wrote that instrument did not and could not use the 


word “free.” It was inserted in our bill of rights by 


a wise judge, in order to abolish human bondage in 


represented at the Boston tea-party by Maj. James | 


Massachusetts. Prior to this time slavery was held 
to have a legal existence in Massachusetts, and, as 


the old records of Hingham show, even the soil of 











COHASSET. 


221 





Cohasset was trodden by master and slave. But after 
the adoption of the State Constitution, a fellow-towns- 
man of your fathers by birth, Levi Lincoln, trying the 
cause of a man held as a slave in Worcester County, 
procured a decision that broke the shackles of every 
bondman in Massachusetts. Mr. Lincoln, who was 
born in Hingham, rose to great eminence at the bar, 
was chosen to Congress, was appointed attorney- 
general, held the office of Lieutenant-Governor in this 
State, and declined appointment as judge of the 
Supreme Court of the United States. But his greatest | 
honor was that he pleaded the cause of the oppressed, 
and won a victory for freedom. 

This was one of the forward steps that gained for | 
When the Fifteenth | 
Amendment went into operation, it had no effect in 
Massachusetts. 


our State its proud position. 


Here was no law which it could 
Other States obtained their freedom with a | 
great price. We were born free. 

The war of 1812 found the men of Cohasset ready 
to stand by the flag, although they were not attached 
to the administration, and although the town had suf- | 
fered greatly from the embargo. They forgot that 
they were Democrats or Federalists, and only remem- 
bered that they were Americans. A Committee of 
Safety was chosen, a coast-guard of seventy-five was 
formed, and a committee was sent to ask arms and | 


repeal. 





Lieutenant-Governor | 
Cobb (in the absence of Governor Strong) refused 
the request, and recommended the hoisting of a white 
flag. The men of Cohasset disdained the timid coun- 
sels of the executive, and finally procured muskets 
and a field-piece. The executive of to-day would give | 
no such prudent advice in any similar peril. Govy- | 
ernor and Lieutenant-Governor alike would counsel 
the use of no flag except their country’s flag—and 
that nailed to the mast. 

In June, 1814, a British man-of-war having sent a 
flotilla of barges to burn the shipping of Scituate, 
sailed for Cohasset on a like errand. Capt. Peter 
Lothrop, roused by a messenger from Scituate, leaped 
from his bed, and, without hat or coat, mounting a 
horse without a saddle, rode through the village and 
roused the slumbering inhabitants. Marching to 
White-Head, the militia and other citizens threw up 
an earthwork, pastor and people working together, 
and when, on Sunday morning, the British appeared, 
they found a redoubt held by what appeared to be a 
formidable force. The enemy withdrew; the fleet of 
twenty-seven vessels was carried to Gulf River and | 
scuttled. The militia of Hingham and Weymouth, 
with the artillery of Abington, Hanover, and Scituate, | 
marched to Cohasset, and for three months White | 


ammunition from the State. 


And so the com- 
munity was kept in constant alarm till, on February 


Head was occupied by a garrison. 


21st, came the glad tidings of peace, which was cele- 
brated, with the birthday of Washington, by a dinner 
at the academy. 

The diary of Josiah Willcutt tells of the fishing- 
schooner ‘‘ Nancy,” captured in September, 1814, two 
of her crew being set ashore at Plymouth, and the 
others carried to Halifax jail. In April, 1815, Ezekiel 
Wallace returned, bringing news that Isaiah Lincoln 
had died in prison. 


England alone, among civilized 


nations, makes war on poor fishermen. 


Tradition tells of a brave son of Cohasset who could 
not bear to see the English fleet insulting our shores. 
Alone he embarked in his ducking-boat, declaring 
that he would have one shot at the enemy. He fired 
his shot with effect, but was taken prisoner, and died 
in Halifax jail. I have inquired in vain for his name, 
but I cannot give up my faith in the story of the 
British fleet assailed by a punt. 

To us it seems strange that through this contest 
the shores of this State were invested by the enemy,— 
Nantucket flying a flag of truce, Provincetown Harbor 
occupied by a hostile fleet, and Boston closely block- 
aded. This can never happen again. 
of the country forbids it. Our mail-clad ships 
would forbid it. And, better far, the spirit of 
the people would guard the shores from foreign insult. 
There may be different opinions as to the efficiency of 
our navy as compared with England’s, but there can 
be no doubt about the sailors who would man our 


The growth 


navy. 
“Vain are those fleets of iron framed, 
Vain those all-shattering guns, 
Unless tHE UNron keep untamed 
The strong heart of her sons.” 


And that the strength of American hearts is un- 
broken, the recent Rebellion has shown. 

Your good town early responded to the call of-the 
country. In May, 1861, most liberal provision was 
made for the pay of volunteers and the support of 
their families. Similar votes were passed as need 
And under the folds of a noble flag, given 
by a patriotic citizen, the sons of Cohasset met, from 
time to time, to enlist for the defense of the Union 
and Liberty of which that flag is the emblem. 

One of your fellow-citizens, Oliver E. Simpson by 
name, fell in the first great battle at Bull Run. The 
names of your other martyrs are known to you all— 
Arnold, Bates, Litchfield, Lincoln, Manuel, Nimms, 
Riply, Shays, Treat, Thayer. William Bates had 
the mournful honor of giving two of his sons to his 


arose. 


country. 


222 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





You are all proud of Gen. Zealous B. Tower, | In the morning hardy sailors rescued them with great 
first in his class at West Point, afterwards for a time hazard, losing one boat upon the rocks, and humane 


head of that institution, distinguished in the Mexican 
war, where he fought by the side of Lee and Beaure- 


| 
| 


gard, winning the high praise of Gen. Scott, serv- 
ing bravely on many a field of the war against rebel-_ 


lion, wounded while fighting for the Union, known 
and honored wherever courage and loyalty are honored. 


Such men are the glory of their homes and the | 
humanity of the people of Cohasset; and when, 
years after, Mr. Hubbard, a citizen of Boston, was 


strength of America. 
But I must not forget : 


—— ‘ Peace hath its victories 
Not less renowned than war.” 


And of such victories this rugged coast has often been 
the scene. For when the gales have hurled the 
Atlantic waves upon Cohasset rocks, and when some 
vessel has become a wreck, there have never been 
wanting men who were ready to risk their lives to 
save the forlorn strangers, and every house has been 
ready to become a home for the rescued mariner. 


The days of chivalry have not gone, when every | 
northeasterly storm summons to the shores of New | 


England a host of men ready to brave death in the 
hope of saving life. 
men who, if to-morrow morning should bring a storm 
and a wreck, would man the lifeboat and welcome 
the shipwrecked sailor. If I must ever be subject to 
marine disaster (which is not wholly improbable), let 


it be off Cohasset, and let some Doane, or Lothrop, 


or Tower receive me on the shore. 

Grandest of all the scenes of nature is a winter 
storm upon a rocky coast. But grander far to see, 
as I saw once, as you have often seen, the will of man 
triumphant over the strife of the elements. 
stranded vessel lies hopeless on the shoal. Her master 
is lashed to the bulwarks; the freezing sleet has 
numbed his limbs; every wave dashes over him. All 
the billows of despair have gone over his soul. Then 
a man of the sea leaps into his cockle-shell of a boat, 
sends a token to his children, who may be orphans at 
night, and guides his frail canoe among the rocks. 
Now the waves have swallowed him up, but strength 
and skill prevail; he reaches the ship; he bears the 


The | 








its honor and the honor of humanity. 


almost lifeless sailor in safety from the parting frag- 


ments of the wreck. 
Time would fail me if I sought to recall all the 
marine disasters which this spot has witnessed. Let 


a few records suffice. 


been able to procure the names of all. 


On Feb. 12, 1783, the Danish ship “ Gertrude | 


Maria,” ina driving snow-storm, struck on a ledge, and 
finally went to pieces on Brush Island, where the sur- 


_ surprise, an infant girl. 


vivors of the wreck found poor shelter for the night. | 


; gers were 


This was the 
reception of men who, fearing that they were about 
to fall into the hands of savages, had cut the gilded 
buttons from their coats, lest they should tempt the 
barbarous people to crime. 


friends sheltered them at their homes. 


The king of Denmark, learning the facts, sent 
medals of gold and silver to honor the gallantry and 


carried into the harbor of St. Croix dangerously 


sick, the health laws were suspended; the rigorous 
_ quarantine gave way in token of the hospitality which 


Capt. Clien and his men had received when wrecked 
at Cohasset, near the port of Boston. Thus was 
America honored in distant lands; the humanity of 
your fathers was repaid toa stranger, and the nations 
of the world were brought nearer to each other. 
Rey. Mr. Shaw was among those who were con- 
spicuous for their humanity. The names of Doane 
and Tower were not wanting on the roll of honor. 
The proceeds of one of the gold medals were most ap- 


_ propriately used to add to the communion plate of the 
To-day you can point out the | 


first church—appropriately, for when the men of 
Cohasset rescued and fed and clothed and sheltered 
the poor wayfarers cast upon these shores, they be- 
stowed their gifts on Him who is commemorated by 
the communion service : 


““The Holy Supper is kept indeed 
In whatso we share with another’s need.” 


In October, 1849, the British brig “St. John,” with 
immigrants from Galway, struck on the Sea Ledges, 
a little to the west of the Minot, and immediately 
went to pieces. More than a hundred of her passen- 
drowned. Others were rescued by the 
humane exertions and heroic daring of the men of 
Cohasset; and every house was open to welcome 
those who were thus snatched from the grave. I 
Let 
me name some of those who, in our own day, sustained 
Studley, 
Snow, Lawrence, Hardwick, Lothrop, 'Tower—these 
I have not 


have already named the founders of your town. 


were prominent in their efforts to save. 
Their modesty 
will thank me, as the modesty of all would have 
thanked me if all the names had been withheld. 

One affecting incident of the wreck must be famil- 
iar to you all. Mr. Lothrop watched a little package 
that floated in the surf, and grasping it, found, to his 
The mother had wrapped up 
her child with careful hands, and committed her to 











COHASSET. 


223 








| 
the waves, as once a mother placed her loved child in | 


a little ark upon the water’s edge, and prayed that | 
Heaven would save the infant’s life. And this child, | 
also, was received into princely hands. But a | 
mother’s care and the stranger’s daring would have | 
been in vain, had it not been decreed by Him who 
holds the waters in the hollow of His hand that this — 
child should live and not die. 

Another child was brought in this vessel by her | 
aunt to meet the mother who had come to America 
before. When the mother sought her infant, she 
found her resting with her head upon the shoulder of 
her aunt, but the child and the woman alike were 
dead. The heart-broken mother only survived for — 
three days. 

In striking contrast with the heroism and kindness 
of your people, was the heartlessness of the captain of 
the “St. John,” who, with the crew, left his vessel in 
a boat only half filled, and who, in his cruel cowardice, | 
neglected to inform the crew of a life-boat that his 
wrecked vessel was filled with perishing men and 
women. 

Life is filled with just such contrasts. 
waters that witnessed the heroism of Capt. Williams 


The same 


and his officers going down at their posts, unwilling | 
to desert the sinking flag, saw the captain of the “ Bom- | 
bay” leaving the ship whose sides he had crushed, hur- 
rying away as fast as wind and steam could carry 
him, trembling all over with cruel fear lest in the 
bottom of his vessel there might be some plank as 
rotten as his own heart. 

On Jan. 19, 1857, the brigantine “ New Empire” 
was wrecked at Little White-Head.. The floating ice 
Peter Follen, 
procuring two cylinders from the Humane House, 
placed them between his knees, and took a line to the 
ship, casting in his lot with the shipwrecked men 
that he might save them all. 


prevented all approach to the shore. 


Of course the standard jokes about wreckers are re- 
lated of the inhabitants of these shores. Of one it is 
said, especially, that when asked what his luck had_ 
been for the season, he answered, “I got a good deal | 
of stuff and put it in the barn, but they do steal so 
the second time, that sometimes I almost wish there 
never would be another wreck.” | 

A wuch better authenticated story is that of the | 
Swedish brig wrecked on Minot’s Ledge, December, | 
1836; her two decks washing ashore upon Beach Is- | 
land, three miles distant, her precious cargo strewn all | 
along the shores upon the bottom of the sea. Ninety 
per cent. of that cargo was recovered; every bar of | 
iron was delivered to the owners, the count answering — 


the invoice; while of forty bales of crash, consigned | 


to one Boston merchant, forty save one were carried 
to him in the winter, and the remaining bale was re- 
stored in June. 

In 1798 the last slave ship that sailed from Boston 
was driven upon the bar at the mouth of your harbor, 
and so her criminal voyage came to a fortunate end. 

Since the erection of Minot Light these disasters 
are almost unknown in this spot. The whole country 
recollects the destruction of the first light in April, 
1851. <A long storm had strewn the shores of New 
England with shipwrecked vessels. A former gale 
had shattered one of the iron pillars that upheld the 
structure. And when the morning light of April 18th 
broke through the storm, the anxious eyes that looked 
seaward could see no vestige of the lighthouse. Two 
men perished in its downfall. The present structure 
Had it been erected in 
ancient times, it would have added one to the won- 
ders of the world. 


is the pride of the coast. 


As it stands now, firm and erect 
amid the raging sea, it is not only a noble triumph 
of human skill, but the fittest emblem of a true man 
constant for the right against a gainsaying world. 
Such a symbol might have been borne upon the coat- 
of-arms of Peter Hobart in 1645, or, in 1829, upon 
the spotless shield of William Lloyd Garrison. 

But it is not in scenes of war or of wreck that the 
You love Co- 
hasset, because here for generations an industrious, 
intelligent, and contented people have found a happy 
home. 


true life of such a town is found. 


Here, as among all your neighbors of the 
South Shore, hard work, “ plain living, high think- 
ing,” with peace and freedom, have been the habitual 
life of the people. Your fathers turned early from 
the hard and scanty soil to reap their richest harvests 
The exportation of lumber to the West 
Indies has ceased. No more fortunes can be made 
by selling fish at famine prices in the Atlantic and 
Mediterranean ports of France and the Peninsula. 
But still, like your fathers, you draw wealth frem 
the ocean, and with it the more precious treasures of 


on the sea. 


vigor, energy, and enterprise. Nor is agriculture neg- 
Labor and skill make 
Your pleasant beaches 
tempt and refresh the wearied fugitives from the 
cares and toils of the city. The growth of Cohasset 
in wealth has been used as an argument to stimulate 
Well 
may they desire to share those facilities, when they 
read that your valuation has increased from three hun- 
dred and six thousand dollars in 1840, to nearly 


lected even on these shores. 
your rocky fields productive. 


your neighbors to demand railroad facilities. 


one million eight hundred thousand dollars to-day. 
Your care of schools increases with your wealth, in- 
creasing the town appropriation in twenty-five years 





224 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





from eleven hundred dollars to four thousand dollars. | 


Three younger churches have grown up around this 
venerable mother. The last not only bears a pleasant 
name—‘ the Beechwood Church’’—but its origin 
carries us back to Puritan days, for it was founded 
after forty days of prayer by an earnest woman. 
And while this takes our thoughts back to old times, 
the first contribution for this church reminds us of a 
story that can never grow old. For the first gift set 
apart for its treasury was the smallest coin that ever 
issued from our mint. 

And who and what are the men that are the pro- 
duct of your institutions? You may well boast of 
Benjamin Pratt, who was born March 13, 1710-11, 
in a house on what is now called South Main Street. 
A gifted writer in prose and verse, an eloquent and 
successful lawyer, he was appointed to the high place 
of chief justice of New York, and died in 1763, too 
early to share in the contest for independence, al- 
though he heard the argument of James Otis against 
writs of assistance, and declined a retainer on each 
side of that great argument. He had collected ma- 
terials for a history of New England; and those who 
love to read her story have reason to lament that he 
In his youth a fall from 
a tree made Benjamin Pratt a cripple for life, and 


did not complete his work. 


this was the reason that he gave up his chosen occu- 
pation as a blacksmith and became a lawyer. 
example of Yankee thrift. Accident ruins the young 


blacksmith. His parents send him to the greatest 


Rare | 


master of law, and fit their unfortunate boy to become | 


chief justice of a great State. 

In later days Middlebury College was glad to re- 
ceive a Cohasset man as president, in the person of 
Rev. Dr. Bates. 


dier who is your pride. 


I have already spoken of the sol- 
If the grief were not too 


recent, and if his friends were not so near, I should | 


speak of the skilled and loved physician who served | 


this State faithfully for years, and whose hospitality 
made so many New Englanders at home in the heart 
of a Western city. 

The true glory of this, as of other New England 
towns, is found, not in the conspicuous few, but in 
the honorable and useful lives of the many. And if 
a stranger desired to see a community who live in the 
fear of God and the love of their fellow-men; who 
mind their own business, and yet make the cause of 
the poor and ignorant their business ; whose best men 
render every precious service to their town without 
money and without price; a community from which 





a dying man would be glad to select guardians for | 


his orphan children ; a people who stand firm for the 
faith of their fathers, yet are ready to receive all the 


truths which lay undeveloped in the creed of those 
fathers ; ‘‘ Catholic for all the truth of God: Prot- 
estant against every error of man;” if a visitor 
sought such a community, I would take him to a vil- 
lage on the ‘‘ South Shore” and tell him to seek no 
farther. 


CHA PPE R Xx 


COHASSET—( Continued). 
Banks—Civil History—Military. 


The Cohasset Savings Bank’ was incorporated 
Feb. 28, 1845. The corporators were Paul Pratt, 


| Henry J. Turner, and John Bates, their associates 


and successors. The first trustees were Henry J. 
Turner, Daniel T. Lothrop, Job Cushing, Francis L. 
Bates, Lot Bates, Zenas Stoddard, Thomas Smith, 
Levi N. Bates, James C. Doane, Abraham H. Tower, 
Nichols Tower, and Solomon J. Beal. 

The names of the presidents from the incorporation 
to the present time are Paul Pratt, Abraham H. 
Tower, and Martin Lincoln; Secretaries, Thomas M. 
Smith, Newcomb Bates, Jr., and Levi N. Bates; 
Treasurer, Levi N. Bates. 

The present officers are Martin Lincoln, president ; 
Capt. John Warren Bates, vice-president; Levi N. 
Bates, treasurer and secretary. 

The present trustees are Martin Lincoln, John W. 


| Bates, J. Q. A. Lothrop, Zaccheus Rich, Newcomb 


Bates, Louis N. Lincoln, Morgan B. Stetson, Abra- 
ham H. Tower, Newcomb B. Tower, Philander Bates, 
Joshua W. Davis, Alfred Whittington, Loring Bates, 
and Charles H. Willard. 

The first deposit was made March 28, 1846, by 
Abigail Burtenshaw, widow ; amount, $116. 

Present amount of deposits, $344,269.46. 

Paul Pratt served as president three years, and was 
succeeded by Abraham H. Tower, who was continued 
in the office for a period of twenty-five years, when, 
declining a re-election on the ground of his advanced 
age and long services, Martin Lincoln was chosen, and 
has been annually re-elected to the present time. 

The office of vice-president having been created by 


an amendment of the by-laws in 1874, John W. 


Bates was elected to that office, and has since been an- 
nually re-elected. 
The following-named individuals have served as 





1 By Levi N. Bates. 


COHASSET. 


bo 
bo 
we 





secretaries of the board of trustees, viz. : Zenas Stod- : 
dard, Levi N. Bates, Martin Lincoln, and Newcomb | 
Bates, the latter being the present secretary. | 

The board of investment during the first year con- | 
sisted of the president and treasurer,and Abraham 
H. Tower, Daniel T. Lothrop, and Thomas Smith. 
The present board consists of Martin Lincoln, presi- | 
dent ; Capt. J. Warren Bates, vice-president; J. Q. | 
A. Lothrop, and Louis N. Lincoln. 

The following is a list of trustees from organiza- 


tion of bank to 1884: 


Paul Pratt, Aug. 21, 1853. 

Henry J. Turner, Jan. 22 
1860. 

John Bates. 

Laban Souther. 

Nichols Tower, Jr., Dec. 28 
1868. 

Zenas Stoddard, Sept. 13, 1879. 

Josiah Oakes, May 12, 1863. 

John Parker, March 26, 1868. 

Caleb Lothrop. 

Abm. H. Tower, June 19, 1881. 

Jacob Tuck. 

Abraham Hall, Feb. 17, 1867. 

Levi Nichols, April 24, 1868. 

Wm. Kilburn, June 27, 1852. 


Warren Orcutt, Mar. 24,1872. 
George Ripley, Jan. 13, 1865- 


John Pratt, Jan. 13, 1865. 
James Pratt, July 4, 1874. 
James Wilson. 


Lewis Willeutt, Nov. 30, 1881. 

David Wilson. 

Henry Snow, Jr. 

Charles Pratt, Aug. 2, 1883. 

Alfred Whittington. 

Henry K. Hall, April 17, 1875. 

Martin N. Bates, July 5,1876 

Newcomb Bates, Jr. 

John Haskell. 

Josiah O. Lawrence, April 26, 
1865. 

Danl. T. Lothrop, Sept. 2, 1871. 

Levi N. Bates. 

Nichols Tower, Sept. 28, 1866. 

Daniel Tower. 

Peter Lothrop. 


The following-named individuals have held the 


Newcomb Bates, Aug. 3, 1865. 

Jonathan B. Bates, Dec. 5, 
1879. 

Lot Bates. 

Francis L. Bates, May 19,1882. 

Solomon J. Beal. 

James C. Doane, Sept. 19, 
1878. 

Job Cushing, Oct. 5, 1867. 

James Willcutt, Dec. 8, 1864. 

Martin Lincoln. 


Edward Tower, March 6, 1873. | 


Levi Tower. 

Charles H. Willard. 
David S. G. Doane. 

Job Pratt, Sept. 27, 1882. 
Nichols Tower (2d). 

J. Q. A. Lothrop. 


| Thomas N. Tower. 
' Zaccheus Rich. 
Henry W. Beal, Aug. 24, 1876. | 


Abraham H. Tower, Jr. 
Andrew J. Souther. 

Thos. M. Smith, Jan. 28, 1881. 
Ephraim Snow. 

Aaron Pratt. 

Loring Bates. 

Isaac Hali, April 17, 1879. 


Calvin Merriam, April 30,1872. | c 
eee bee" " except between the last two, when the interval was 


Capt. J. Warren Bates. 
Edward E. Tower. 
Joshua W. Davis. 
Louis N. Lincoln, 
Morgan B. Stetson. 
Elisha Stetson. 
Philander Bates. 
Charles F. Tilden. 
Newcomb B. Tower. 
Caleb Lothrop. 


office of trustee for one or more years, viz. : 


Paul Pratt. 
Capt. Abraham H. Tower. 
Capt. Daniel T. Lothrop. 
Thomas Smith. 
Josiah O. Lawrence. 
Job Cushing. 
James C. Doane. 
Solomon J. Beal. 
Zenas Stoddard. 
15 


Caleb Lothrop. 

J.Q. A. Lothrop. 
Thomas N. Tower. 
John Pratt. 

David S. G. Doane. 
Ephraim Snow. 
Abraham H. Tower, Jr. 
Calvin Merriam. 
Thomas M. Smith. 





| 





John Parker. 
Henry J. Turner. 
Levi N. Bates. 
James Pratt. 

Capt. Martin Lincoln. 
Jonathan B. Bates. 
Charles Pratt. 
Daniel Tower. 
James Willeutt. 
Henry K. Hall. 
Newcomb Bates, Jr. 


Charles H. Willard. 
Zaccheus Rich. 
Edward E. Tower. 
Capt. John Warren Bates. 
Morgan B. Stetson. 
Louis N. Lincoln. 
Philander Bates. 
Loring Bates. 
Newcomb B. Tower. 
Joshua W. Davis. 
Alfred Whittington. 


The first deposit in the bank was made in March, 


1846. 


The following will show the number of depositors, 
amount of deposits, and increase or decrease for each 
. 


succeeding five years: 


Depositors. Amount. 
Jan. 1, 1847... 41 $7,352.69 
sé 1852...140 26,810.01 Increase, $19,457.32 
(G 1857...377 80,697.84 < 53,837.83 
1862...473 105,693.20 5 24,995.36 
UG 1867...622 ToD taL2eT G sé 49,619.57 
os 1872...881 295,927.45 se 140,614.68 
és 1877...962 384,856.93 se 88,929.48 
ee 1882...825 326,024.05 Decrease, 58,832.88 
Dec. 1, 1883...870 344,269.46 Increase, 18,245.41 
Amount. 
Accounts open with women ..............s00008 375 $132,784.11 
«e ss *PUSTOIANS: 2.2 s000 -cecesess 7 3,984.90 
ss ae religions and charities 8 5,075.68 
ce AN tEUSE sw ccscccssessecescesclessescers 78 25,355.02 


At 


each semi-annual meeting during the first 


twenty-one years semi-annual dividends of two and 
one-half per cent. were declared. During the next 
eight and one-half years the semi-annual dividends 
| were three per cent.; and from that time, viz., from 
July, 1876, with the exception of one year, when the 
dividends were two and one-half per cent., the semi- 
annual dividends have been two per cent. 

During the above time, at intervals of five years, 


eleven years, extra dividends have been declared, 
amounting in the aggregate to forty-three per cent., 
_ making the average dividends, including ordinary and 
| extra, for the thirty-seven years six and twelvé-dne- 
| hundredths per cent. per annum. 

Konohassett Lodge of F. and A. M.' was organized 


| June, 1865, as follows: George Beal, Jr., James H. 


Bouvé, Zaccheus Rich, M. B. Stetson, A. T. Prouty, 
H. C. Mapes, C. A. Gross, and Joseph H. Smith, of 


| Cohasset, with J. O. Cole, Howland L. Studley, 
| Henry Merritt, and A. J. Poole, of Scituate, petitioned 


the Grand Lodge for a dispensation, which was 
granted by the M. W. Grand Master, C. C. Dame; 
_ first communication under dispensation was held June 
30, 1865, in the building corner of Main and Brook 


Streets, known as the James building 


g, at this time, 








1 By James H. Bouré. 


6 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





1883, occupied by the post-office, Gross & Nichols, 
grocers, and Miss Nichols, dry-goods. In September, 
1865, the lodge moved into their lodge-room in 
Tower’s building, opposite the First Church, where it 
has remained until this time. 

Since its organization thirteen members have with- 
drawn and opened a lodge at Hanover, which is in a 
flourishing condition; also twenty, and organized a 
lodge in Scituate. The deaths in the lodge have been 
but eleven, leaving a membership of sixty-five. The 
following-named brethren have been honored with 
the position of Worthy Master, viz.: George Beal, 
Jr., James H. Bouvé, Zaccheus Rich, Charles A. 
Gioss, A. W. Williams, William J. Newcomb, David 
Bates, A. A. Seaverns, and George H. Bates, who at 
present occupies the chair. 

The lodge, like all other institutions of the kind, 
has just passed through a season of quietness from 
stagnation of business and such like causes, but has 


now started again with the young men of the town, | 


and bids fair to have a season of usefulness and pros- 
perity. 

Henry Bryant Post, No. 98, G. A. R., so named 
for a prominent citizen of this town who was an army 
surgeon and also brigade surgeon, and who afterwards 
died in the West Indies, was organized Jan. 15, 1883, 
and now numbers twenty-eight members, viz.: Chas. 
A. Gross, C.; E. E. Wentworth, Sen. V.-C.; O. S. 
Wilbur, Jun. V.-C.; J. Foster Doane, Adjt.; W. F. 
Thayer, Q.-M.; Daniel B. Lincoln, Surg.; Robt. B. 
Pratt, Chap.; Thomas Ward, O. of D.; Thomas 
Blossom, O. of G.; Willie F. Thayer, Seret.- 
Maj.; Joseph Smith, Q.-M. Sergt.; James E. Otis, 
Chas. H. Williston, Azel W. Drake, John Keating, 
Ashael F. Nott, Joseph Munnice, Samuel P. Stod- 
dard, James Rooney, Caleb F. B. Tilden, Alonzo L. 
Palmer, David Lyons, Leander W. Groce, Frank <A. 
Field, Isaac Tower, John Barnes, Joseph 8. Butman, 
Cyrus H. Bates. 

Town Officers—The following is a list of the 
town officers of Cohasset from its incorporation, in 
the year 1770, to 1883 inclusive, compiled by Mr. N. 


B. Tower, the present town clerk: 


1770.—Deacon Isaac Lincoln, moderator ; Daniel Lincoln, town 
clerk; Thomas Bourn, treasurer; Deacon Isaac Lincoln, 
Daniel Lincoln, Joseph Souther, selectmen. 

1771.—Thomas Lothrop, moderator; Isaac Lincoln, town clerk ; 
Thomas Bourn, treasurer; Isaac Lincoln, Thomas Lothrop, 
Dr. Lazarus Beal, selectmen. 

1772.—Dr. 
clerk ; Abel Kent, treasurer; Isaac Lincoln, Thomas Loth- 


Lazarus Beal, moderator; Isaac Lincoln, 


rop, Abel Kent, selectmen. 


1773.—Capt. Thomas Lothrop, moderator; Lazarus Beal, Jr 





town | 


| 1789.—Uriah 


town clerk; Abel Kent, treasurer; Isaac Lincoln, Thomas 
Lothrop, Abel Kent, selectmen. 

1774.—Deacon Isaac Lincoln, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, 
town clerk; Thomas Bourn, treasurer; Isaac Lincoln, 
Thomas Lothrop, Abel Kent, selectmen. 

1775.—Deacon Isaac Lincoln, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, 
town clerk; Ignatius Orcutt, treasurer; Isaac Lincoln, 
Thomas Lothrop, Abel Kent, selectmen. 

1776.—Abel Kent, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town clerk; 
Ignatius Orcutt, treasurer; Thomas Lothrop, Abel Kent, 
Ignatius Oreutt, selectmen; Jonathan Beal, representa- 
tive. 

1777.—Thomas Lincoln, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Ignatius Orcutt, treasurer; Thomas Lothrop, Abel 
Kent, Ignatius Orcutt, selectmen ; Jonathan Beal, repre- 
sentative. 

1778.—Capt. Job Cushing, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Josiah Oakes, treasurer; Thomas Lothrop, Abel 
Kent, Ignatius Orcutt, selectmen. 

1779.—Capt. Job Cushing, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Lieut. Josiah Oakes, treasurer; Thomas Lothrop, 
Capt. Job Cushing, Ignatius Orcutt, selectmen. 

1780.—Deacon Abel Kent, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Lieut. Josiah’ Oakes, treasurer; Thomas Lothrop, 
Deacon Abel Kent, Capt. Job Cushing, selectmen ; Lieut. 
Stephen Stodder, representative. 

1781.—Lieut. Josiah Oakes, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Lieut. Josiah Oakes, treasurer; Thomas Lothrop, 
Deacon Abel Kent, Capt. Job Cushing, selectmen. 

1782.—Maj. Job Cushing, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Lieut. Josiah Oakes, treasurer; Thomas Lothrop, 
Maj. Job Cushing, Obadiah Lincoln, selectmen; Thomas 





Lothrop, representative. 

1783.—Jerome Stephenson, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Lieut. Josiah Oakes, treasurer; Thomas Lothrop, 
Deacon Abel Kent, Maj. Job Cushing, selectmen ; Thomas 
Lothrop, representative. 

1784.—Uriah Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Lieut. Josiah Oakes, treasurer; Thomas Lothrop, 
Deacon Abel Kent, Maj. Job Cushing, selectmen; Thomas 


Lincoln, moderator; 


Lothrop, representative. 

1785.—Capt. Solon Stephenson, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, 
town clerk; Lieut. Josiah Oakes, treasurer ; Thomas Loth- 
rop, Deacon Abel Kent, Maj. Job Cushing, selectmen ; 
Thomas Lothrop, representative. 

1786.—Uriah Lincoln, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Uriah Lincoln, treasurer; Thomas Lothrop, Dea- 
con Abel Kent, Maj. Job Cushing, selectmen; Thomas 
Lothrop, representative. 

1787.—Josiah Oakes, moderator ; Thomas Lothrop, town clerk ; 
Uriah Lincoln, treasurer; Josiah Oakes, Uriah Lincoin, 
Galen James, selectmen. 

1788.—Jerome Stephenson, moderator ; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Uriah Lincoln, treasurer; Josiah Oakes, Uriah 

Lincoln, Levi Tower, selectmen. 

Lincoln, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 

clerk ; Josiah Oakes, Galen 

James, Levi Tower, selectmen; Thomas Lothrop, repre- 


Uriah Lincoln, treasurer ; 


sentative. 

1790.—Jerome Lincoln, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Uriah Lincoln, treasurer; Uriah Lincoln, Galen 
James, Levi Tower, selectmen; Thomas Lothrop, repre- 
sentative. 

1791.—Capt. Levi Tower, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Josiah Oakes, treasurer; Uriah Lincoln, Capt. Levi 
Tower, Galen James, selectmen. 








or 


COH ASSET. 


227 





1792.—Hlisha Doane, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Josiah Oakes, treasurer; Uriah Lincoln, Capt. 
Levi Tower, Josiah Oakes, selectmen; Thomas Lothrop, 
representative. 

1793.—Elisha Doane, moderator ; Thomas Lothrop, town clerk ; 
Uriah Lincoln, Josiah Oakes, Jerome Lincoln, selectmen. 

1794.—Deacon Uriah Lincoln, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, 


town clerk ; Deacon Abel Kent, treasurer; Uriah Lincoln, | 


Josiah Oakes, Jerome Lincoln, selectmen. 
1795.—Elisha Doane, moderator ; Thomas Lothrop, town clerk ; 
Deacon Abel Kent, treasurer; Uriah Lincoln, Josiah 


Oakes, Jerome Lincoln, selectmen; Thomas Lothrop, rep- 


resentative. 
1796.—Elisha Doane, moderator ; Thomas Lothrop, town clerk ; 
Deacon Abel Kent, treasurer; Deacon Uriah Lincoln, 


Thomas Bourne, Jr., Jerome Lincoln, selectmen; Thomas | 


Lothrop, representative. 





1797.—Elisha Doane, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town clerk ; | 


Deacon Abel Kent, treasurer; Deacon Uriah Lincoln, 
Elisha Doane, Thomas Bourne, selectmen ; Thomas Loth- 
rop, representative. 

1798.—Elisha Doane, moderator ; Thomas Lothrop, town clerk ; 
Deacon Abel Kent, treasurer; Deacon Uriah Lincoln, 
Elisha Doane, Thomas Bourne, selectmen. 

1799-1800.—Deacon Uriah Lincoln, moderator; Thomas Loth- 
rop, town clerk; Deacon Abel Kent, treasurer; Uriah 
Lincoln, Thomas Bourne, John Pratt, selectmen; Thomas 
Lothrop, representative. 

1801.—Elisha Doane, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town clerk ; 
Samuel Brown, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Elisha Doane, 


Caleb Nichols, selectmen; Thomas Lothrop, representa- | 


tive. 


1802.—Deacon Uriah Lincoln, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, | 


town clerk; Samuel Brown, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, 
Caleb Nichols, Samuel Brown, selectmen. 

1803.—Capt. Luther Stephenson, noderator; Thomas Lothrop, 
town clerk; Job Turner, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Uriah 
Lincoln, Caleb Nichols, selectmen; Thomas Lothrop, rep- 
resentative. 

1804.—John Pratt, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town clerk; 


Zealous Bates, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Uriah Lincoln, | 


Caleb Nichols, selectmen; Thomas Lothrop, representa- 
tive. 

1805.—Thomas Bourne, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk ; Thomas Bourne, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Uriah 
Lincoln, Caleb Nichols, selectmen. 

1806-8.—Thomas Bourne, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Thomas Bourne, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Uriah 
Lincoln, Caleb Nichols, selectmen; Thomas Lothrop, rep- 
resentative. 

1809.—Elisha Doane, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town clerk ; 
Thomas Bourne, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Uriah Lin- 
coln, Caleb Nichols, selectmen; Thomas Lothrop, repre- 
sentative. 

1810.—Thomas Bourne, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Thomas Bourne, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Uriah 


Lincoln, Caleb Nichols, selectmen; Thomas Lothrop, rep- | 


resentative. 
1811-12.—Thomas Bourne, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town 
clerk; Thomas Bourne, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Caleb 


Nichols, Levi Tower, Jr., selectmen; Thomas Lothrop, | 


representative. 


1813.—Thomas Bourne, moderator; Thomas Lothrop, town | 


clerk; Samuel Bates, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Caleb 
Nichols, Levi Tower, Jr., selectmen; Thomas Lothrop, 


representative. 








1814-15.—Thomas Bourne, moderator; Samuel Bates, town 
clerk; Samuel Bates, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Peter 
Lothrop, Levi Tower, Jr., selectmen. 

1816.—Thomas Bourne, moderator; Samuel Bates, town clerk ; 
Samuel Bates, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, John Pratt, 
Levi Tower, Jr., selectmen; Capt. Levi Tower, represent- 
ative. 

1817.—Elisha Doane, moderator; Samuel Bates, town clerk; 
Samuel Bates, treasurer ; Thomas Bourne, John Pratt, Levi 
Tower, Jr., selectmen. 

1818.—Thomas Bourne, moderator ; Samuel Bates, town clerk; 
Samuel Bates, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, John Pratt, Levi 
Tower, Jr., selectmen. 

1819.—Luther Stephenson, moderator; Samuel Bates, town 
clerk; Samuel Bates, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, John 
Pratt, Levi Tower, Jr., selectmen. 

1820.—James C. Doane, moderator; Thomas Bourne, town 
clerk; Samuel Bates, treasurer; Peter Lothrop, Thomas 
Bourne, Levi Tower, Jr., selectmen; Rev. Jacob Flint, 
representative. 

1821.—James C, Doane, moderator; Thomas Bourne, town 
clerk; Samuel Bates, treasurer; Samuel Bates, Thomas 
Bourne, Aaron Pratt, selectmen. 

1822.—William Whittington, moderator ; Thomas Bourne, town 
clerk; Samuel Bates, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Samuel 
Bates, Aaron Pratt, selectmen. 

1823.—Nicholas Tower, moderator; Thomas Bourne, town 
clerk; Henry J. Turner, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Sam- 
uel Bates, Aaron Pratt, selectmen. 

1824.—Samuel Whitcomb, moderator; Thomas Bourne, town 
clerk; Henry J. Turner, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Sam- 
uel Bates, Aaron Pratt, selectmen; James C. Doane, rep- 
resentative. 

1825.—Luther Stephenson, moderator ; Thomas Bourne, town 
clerk; Samuel Bates, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Samuel 
Bates, Aaron Pratt, selectmen. 

1826.—James C. Doane, moderator; Thomas Bourne, town 
clerk; Samuel Bates, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Henry 
J. Turner, James C. Doane, selectmen. 

1827.—Caleb Nichols, moderator; Thomas Bourne, town clerk ; 
Caleb Lothrop, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Henry J. Tur- 
ner, Samuel Bates, selectmen; James C. Doane, represent- 
ative. 

1828.—Caleb Nichols, moderator; Thomas Bourne, town clerk ; 
Samuel Bates, treasurer; James C. Doane, Nichols Tower, 
Martin Lincoln, selectmen. 

1829.—Henry J. Turner, moderator; Thomas Bourne, town 
elerk; Samuel Bates, treasurer; James C. Doane, Nichols 
Tower, Martin Lincoln, selectmen; Henry J. Turner, rep- 
resentative. 

1830.—James C. Doane, moderator; Thomas Bourne, town 
clerk; Samuel Bates, treasurer; James C. Doane, Nichols 
Tower, Martin Lincoln, selectmen; James C. Doane, rep- 
resentative. 

1831.—James. C. Doane, moderator; Thomas Bourne, town 
clerk; Caleb Lothrop, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, James 
C. Doane, Caleb Nichols, selectmen; Nichols Tower, rep- 
resentative. 

1832.—James C. Doane, moderator; Thomas Bourne, town 
clerk; Caleb Lothrop, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, James 
C. Doane, Caleb Nichols, selectmen; Thomas Bourne, rep- 
resentative. 

1833.—James C. Doane, moderator; Thomas Bourne, town 

Caleb Lothrop, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Caleb 

Nichols, Caleb Lothrop, selectmen ; Thomas Bourne, rep- 

resentative. 


clerk ; 


228 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





1834-36.—Caleb Nichols, moderator; Thomas Bourne, town 
clerk; Caleb Lothrop, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Caleb 
Nichols, Caleb Lothrop, selectmen; Thomas Bourne, rep- 
resentative. 


1837.—James C. Doane, moderator; Henry J. Turner, town | 


clerk ; 
Lincoln, Laban Souther, selectmen; Thomas Bourne, rep- 
resentative. 

1838.—Caleb Nichols, moderator ; 
clerk; Paul Pratt, treasurer ; 


Paul Pratt, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Martin 


Thomas Bourne, Martin 
Lincoln, Laban Souther, selectmen; George W. Collier, 
representative. 


1839-40.—James C. Doane, moderator; Caleb Nichols, town | 


clerk; Paul Pratt, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Martin 
Lincoln, Laban Souther, selectmen ; Nichols Tower, repre- 


sentative. 


1841.—Martin Lincoln, moderator; Caleb Nichols, town clerk ; | 


Josiah O. Lawrence, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Martin 
Lincoln, Solomon J. Beal, selectmen; Martin Lincoln, rep- 
resentative. 


1842.— William E. Doane, moderator; Caleb Nichols, town | 


clerk; Levi N. Bates, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Martin 
Lincoln, Solomon J. Beal, selectmen; Martin Lincoln, rep- 
resentative. 

1843-44.—William E. Doane, moderator; Caleb Nichols, town 


Henry J. Turner, town | 








clerk; Levi N. Bates, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Martin | 
Lincoln, Solomon J. Beal, selectmen; Josiah 0. Lawrence, | 


representative. 
1845.—James C. Doane, moderator; Caleb Nichols, town clerk ; 


Levi N. Bates, treasurer; Thomas Bourne, Martin Lin- | 
coln, Solomon J. Beal, selectmen; James C. Doane, rep- | 


resentative. 

1846-47.— Martin Lincoln, moderator; Edward Tower, town 
clerk; Levi N. Bates, treasurer; Martin Lincoln, Solo- 
mon J. Beal, Abraham H. Tower, selectmen; Solomon J. 
Beal, representative. 

1848.—Henry J. Turner, moderator; Newcomb Bates, Jr., 
town clerk; Levi N. Bates, treasurer; Abraham H. Tower, 
Jonathan B. Bates, Lot Bates, selectmen; George Beal, 
representative. 

1849.—Henry J. Turner, moderator; Newcomb Bates, Jr., 
town clerk ; Levi N. Bates, treasurer; Jonathan B. Bates, 


Lot Bates, Newcomb Bates, Jr., selectmen; George Beal, | 


representative. 

1850.—Henry J. Turner, moderator; Newcomb Bates, Jr., 
town clerk; Levi N. Bates, treasurer; Jonathan B. Bates, 
Charles Pratt, Newcomb Bates, Jr., selectmen; Thomas 
Stoddard, representative. 

1851.—Henry J. Turner, moderator; Newcomb Bates, Jr., 
town clerk; Levi N. Bates, treasurer; Jonathan B. Bates, 
Charles Pratt, Stoddard, 
Stoddard, representative. 

1852.—Martin Lincoln, moderator; Newcomb Bates, Jr., town 


Thomas selectmen ; Thomas 


clerk; Levi N. Bates, treasurer; Martin Lincoln, Laban 
Souther, Charles Pratt, selectmen; Thomas Stoddard, rep- 
resentative. 

1853.—Martin Lincoln, moderator ; Edward Tower, town clerk ; 
Levi N. Bates, treasurer ; Martin Lincoln, Laban Souther, 
Charles Pratt, selectmen; Jonathan B. 
tative. 

1854.—Martin Lincoln, moderator; Edward Tower, town clerk ; 


dates, represen- 





Levi N. Bates, treasurer; Edward Tower, Thomas Bates, | 


J. Q. A. Lothrop, selectmen; Edward Tower, represen- 
tative. 
1855.—Edward Tower, moderator; James Hall, town clerk ; 


Edward Tower, treasurer; Edward Tower, Thomas Bates, | 


| 1861.—Solomon J. Beal, moderator ; 


J. Q. A. Lothrop, selectmen; George Beal, Jr., represen- 
tative. 

1856.—Edward Tower, moderator; James Hall, town clerk ; 
Zenas Stoddard, treasurer; Levi N. Bates, Caleb Beal, Jr., 
Zenas Stoddard, selectmen; J. Q. A. Lothrop, representa- 
tive. 

1857.—Edward Tower, moderator; Newcomb Bates, Jr., town 
clerk ; Zenas Stoddard, treasurer; Edward Tower, Zenas 
Stoddard, Caleb Beal, Jr., selectmen ; George M. Allen, of 
Scituate, representative. 

1858.—Edward Tower, moderator; Newcomb Bates, Jr., town 
clerk ; Nichols Tower (2d), treasurer; Edward Tower, J. 
Q. A. Lothrop, George Beal, Jr., selectmen; John Burn- 
ham, representative. 

1859.—Solomon J. Beal, moderator; Newcomb Bates, Jr., 
town clerk; Edward Tower, treasurer; J. Q. A. Lothrop, 
John Wilson, Jr., Solomon J. Beal, selectmen; George 
Beal, representative. 

1860.—Solomon J. Beal, moderator; Newcomb Bates, Jr., 
town clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; James C. 
Doane, Isaac Hall, Silas Bates, selectmen; Loring Bates, 
representative. 

Newcomb Bates, Jr., 
town clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. 
Lothrop, Solomon J. Beal, David Beal, selectmen ; George 
C. Lee, of Scituate, representative. 

1862.—Solomon J. Beal, moderator; Newcomb Bates, Jr., 
town clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. 
Lothrop, Solomon J. Beal, Fordyce Foster, selectmen ; 
Rey. Joseph Osgood, representative. 

1863.—Martin Lincoln, moderator; Newcomb Bates, Jr., town 
clerk ; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer ; Martin Lincoln, 
Charles Pratt, Ezra Brown, selectmen; Abel Sylvester, of 
Scituate, representative. 

1864.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Newcomb Bates, Jr., 
town clerk: Andrew J. Souther, treasurer; J. Q. A. 
Lothrop, Solomon J. Beal, selectmen ; 
Ephraim Snow, representative. 

1865.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Andrew J. Souther, town 
clerk; Andrew J. Souther, treasurer; J. Q. A. Lothrop, 
Solomon J. Beale, Zaccheus Rich, selectmen; Billings Mer- 
ritt, of Scituate, representative. 

1866.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Edward Tower, town 
clerk; Calvin Merriam, treasurer; J. Q. A. Lothrop, Sol- 
omon J. Beal, Zaccheus Rich, selectmen; J. Q. A. Lothrop, 
representative. 

1867.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Edward Tower, town 
clerk ; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lothrop, 
Solomon J. Beal, Zaccheus Rich, selectmen; John Manson, 
of Scituate, representative. 

1868.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Edward Tower, town 
clerk ; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer ; J. Q. A. Lothrop, 
Zaccheus Rich, Martin Lincoln, selectmen; Loring Bates, 
representative. 

1869.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Edward Tower, town 
clerk ; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J.Q. A. Lothrop, 
Zaecheus Rich, Martin Lincoln, selectmen; Andrew J. 
Waterman, of Scituate, representative. 

1870.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Edward Tower, town 
clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lothrop, 
Martin Lincoln, Louis N. Lincoln, selectmen; Martin Lin- 
coln, representative. 

1871.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Edward Tower, town 
clerk ; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lothrop, 
Martin Lincoln, Louis N. Lincoln, selectmen; Moses R. 
Coleman, of Scituate, representative. 


Ezra Brown, 











COHASSET. 


s 


229 





1872.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Edward Tower, town 
clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J.Q. A. Lothrop, | 


~ Louis N. Lincoln, Adna Bates, selectmen; Joshua W. Davis, 
representative. 

1873.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Newcomb B. Tower, town 
clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; Martin Lincoln, 
Louis N. Lincoln, Adna Bates, selectmen: James L. Mer- 
ritt, of Scituate, representative. 

1874.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Newcomb B. Tower, town 
clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; Louis N. Lin- 
coln, Adna Bates, Philander Bates, selectmen; 
Beal, representative. 


George 


1875.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Newcomb B. Tower, town | 


clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lo- 
throp, Louis N. Lincoln, Philander Bates, selectmen; George 
W. Merritt, of Scituate, representative. 


1876.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Newcomb B. Tower, town | 


clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lo- 
throp, Louis N. Lincoln, Philander Bates, selectmen; Dan- 
iel J. Bates, representative. 

1877.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Newcomb B. Tower, town 
clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lo- 
throp, Louis N. Lincoln, Philander Bates, selectmen; 
Amos W. Merritt, of Scituate, representative. 

1878.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Newcomb B. Tower, town 
clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lo- 
throp, Philander Bates, Caleb F. Nichols, selectmen ; 
William C. Litchfield, of South Scituate, representative. 

1879.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Newcomb B. Tower, town 
clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lo- 
throp, Philander Bates, Caleb F. Nichols, selectmen; 
Philander Bates, representative. 

1880.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Neweomb B. Tower, town 
clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lo- 
throp, Philander Bates, Caleb F. Nichols, selectmen; 
Thomas F. Bailey, of Scituate, representative. 


1881.—J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Newcomb B. Tower, town | 


clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lo- 


throp, Philander Bates, Caleb F. Nichols, selectmen; Al- 


pheus Thomas, of South Scituate, representative. 

1882.—J.Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Newcomb B. Tower, town 
clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lo- 
throp, Philander Bates, Caleb F. Nichols, selectmen ; Louis 
T. Cushing, representative. 


1883.—J.Q.A. Lothrop, moderator; Newcomb B. Tower, town | 
clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lo- | 


throp, Philander Bates, Caleb F. Nichols, selectmen}; 


Charles E. Brown, of Scituate, representative. 


The following is a muster-roll of Capt. Job Cush- 


ing’s company, in the Thirty-sixth Regiment of 


Foot Infantry, Continental Army, encamped in Fort 
INos 2, Oct. 5; 1775: 


Job Cushing, capt., engaged May 16th. 
Nath. Nichols, Ist lieut., engaged May 16th. 
Josiah Oakes, 2d lieut., engaged May 16th. 
Eleazer James, sergt., engaged May 18th. 
Gideon Howard, sergt., engaged June Ist. 
Isaac Burr, sergt., engaged May 16th. 
Peter Nichols, sergt., engaged May 16th. 
Abraham Tower, corp., engaged May 22d. 
Adna Bates, corp., engaged May 22d. 
James Bates, corp., engaged May 22d. 
Bela Nichols, corp., engaged May 22d. 
Levi Tower, drummer, engaged May ISth. 


William Stoddard, fifer, engaged May 17th. 
Elisha Bates, engaged May 22d. 
Jonathan Bates, engaged May 22d. 
Josiah Bates, engaged May 23d. 
Zealous Bates, engaged May 16th. 
Ephraim Battles, engaged May 16th. 
Jared Battles, engaged May 16th. 
Joshua Beal, engaged June Ist. 

Sam’l Beal, engaged May 23d. 

Amos Brown, engaged May 16th. 
Calvin Cushing, engaged May 22d. 
Obed Dunbar, engaged May 23d. 
George Humphrey, engaged May 16th. 
Benj. Jacobs, engaged May 16th. 
Jared Joy, engaged May 16th. 
Melzer Joy, engaged May 20th. 

John Kilby, engaged May 16th. 
Richard Kilby, engaged May 16th. 
John Kilby, Jr., engaged May 16th. 
Galen Lincoln, engaged May 16th. 
Jerome Lincoln, engaged May 16th. 
Charles Luneand, engaged May 17th. 
Joseph Neal, engaged May 25th. 
Caleb Nichols, engaged May 16th. 
Daniel Nichols, engaged June Ist. 
Ebenezer Orcutt, engaged May 17th. 
Ephraim Orcutt, engaged May 16th. 
Luke Orcutt, engaged May 27th. 
Haugh Oakes, engaged May 16th. 
Joshua Oakes, engaged May 16th. 
Samuel Oakes, engaged May 16th. 
Caleb Pratt, engaged May 18th. 
Oliver Prichard, engaged May 18th. 
Richard Prichard, engaged May 16th. 
Elisha Stephenson, engaged June Ist. 
Luke Stephenson, engaged May 16th. 
Joseph Sutton, engaged May 25th. 
Joseph Souther, engaged May 24th. 
James Stoddard, engaged May 17th. 
Benjamin Stutson, engaged May 23d. 
Reuben Thorn, engaged May 16th. 
Jesse Tower, engaged May 24th. 
Tsaac Tower, engaged May 16th. 
James Worrick, engaged May 23d. 
John Whitcom, engaged May 23d. 
Gershom Wheelwright, engaged May 16th. 
Benjamin Woodward, engaged May 16th. 


War of the Rebellion—Cohasset respouded 
promptly to the call for men and money to put down 
the Rebellion, and in less than two weeks from the 
opening gun at Sumter, May Ist, a ‘“‘ mass meeting” 
of her citizens was held. At this meeting it was 
voted that the payment of ten and fifteen dollars per 
month to each volunteer be limited to six months, 


and the treasurer was ordered to borrow money to pay 


' dollars (for twenty days). 


State aid to soldiers’ families. 

July 21st the town voted a bounty of one hundred 
August 12th it was voted 
to continue it, and August 21st a bounty of one hun- 
dred and fifty dollars was voted. 

In 1864 one thousand dollars was voted for the 


230 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





payment of State aid during that year to soldiers’ 


families. 

The town furnished one hundred and ninety men, | 
three of whom were commissioned officers, and ex- 
pended, exclusive of State aid, $17,401.87. Money 
expended for State aid to soldiers’ families was as fol- 
lows: in 1861, $103.54; 1862, $2443.86; 1863, 
$4718.74; 1864, $5626.50 ; 1865, $3000; mak- 
ing a total of $15,928.74. 

The selectmen during this time were John Q. A. 
Lothrop, 1861-62, and 1864-65 ; Solomon J. Beal, | 
1861-62, and 1864—65 ; David Beal, 1861; Fordyce 
Foster, 1862; Martin Lincoln, 1863 ; Charles Pratt, 
1863; Ezra Brown, 1863-64 ; Zaccheus Rich, 1865. 
The town clerk was Newcomb Bates, and the town 
treasurer was A. H. Tower, Jr., in 1861-63, and 
A. J. Souther, in 1864-65. Population in 1861, 
1953, and in 1865, 2048. 


List of volunteers who have entered the United | 
States service since May, 1861: 


Arnold, Daniel P., 38th Regt. 
Arnold, George, 38th Regt. 
Arnold, Edward H., 38th Regt. 
Ainslie, Peter, U.S.N. 

Ainslie, Henry, U.S.N. 

Beal, Samuel, Ist Co. H. Art. 
Beal, James §., Ist Co. H. Art. 
Bates, James L., Ist Co. H. Art. 
Bates, Lincoln, U.S.N. 

Bates, Joseph J., Ist Co. H. Art. 
Bates, Bela, 38th Regt. 

Barnes, Albert F., 24th Regt. 
Bourne, Ezekiel P., 12th Regt. 
Bates, Cyrus H., 45th Regt. 
Bourne, Elias W., 45th Regt. 
Bates, Caleb L., 45th Regt. 

Bates, John F., 4th Cav. Regt. 
Beal, Robert Y., U.S.N. 

Barnes, John, 3d Co. H. Art. 
Barnes, John O., 4th Cav. Regt. 
Crane, Franklin J., 7th Regt. 
Carl, William R., 41st Regt. 
Couilard, David J., 3d Co. H. Art. 
Clark, John, 3d Co. H. Art. 
Conner, Moses, 29th Regt. 

Curtis, Alonzo, U.S.N. 

Doane, J. Foster, Ist Regt. 
Dunster, Samuel K., 24th Regt. 
Davis, Joseph R., 11th Mass. Bat. 
Davis, Charles F., 3d Co. H. Art. 
Dinsmore, John H., Engin’r U.S.N. 
Fish, Joseph W., 38th Regt. 
Fuller, Warren, 32d Regt. 

Fish, George A., 2d Co. H. Art. 
Groce, Leander W., Co. H. Art. 
Gibbs, Thomas O.S., 44th Regt. 
Gross, Charles A., 45th Regt. 


Henry, Harrison, 24th Regt. 





Hayden, Thomas O., 38th Regt. 
Hayden, John G., Ist Co. H. Art. 


Hardwick, Henry C., Ist Co. H. Art. 
Haskell, Alfred, 83d Co. H. Art. 
Harris, Wm. F., Jr., 3d Co. H. Art. 
Hayden, Solomon J., Co. D, H. Art. 
Kane, Thomas, 3d Co. H. Art. 
Linsey, Alexander, U.S.N, 
Litchfield, George A., 32d Rest. 
Lincoln, Stephen Ps, U:SENe 
Lincoln, Daniel B., U.S.N. 
Leithead, George F., 19th Regt. 
Lincoln, Stephen, 45th Regt. 
Lincoln, Richard H., 45th Regt. 
Lincoln, Alfred W., U.S.N. 
Litchfield, Joseph W., U.S.N. 
Morey, George T., Ist Co. H. Art. 
Morey, Oliver L., Ist Co. H. Art. 
Manuel, John L., Ist Co. H. Art. 
Minot, Leonard W., 18th Regt. 
Morse, William H., 2d Co. H. Art. 
Minot, Levi L., 3d Co. H. Art. 
Murphy, Thomas, Co. D, H. Art. 
Munnies, Joseph F., Co. D, H. Art. 
Nott, Dawes, 12th Regt. 

Newcomb, Warren, Co. D, H. Art. 
Oreutt, John, 20th Regt. 

Oakes, B. Franklin, 24th Regt. 
Phinney, Isaac, 35th Regt. 

Pratt, Charles A., Ist Co. H. Art. 
Pratt, Charles H., U. 8S. Sappers and Miners. 
Pratt, Nichols, U.S.N. 

Poole, Amos L., 26th Regt. 

Pelby, Forrester A., Ist Regt. 
Prouty, George H., 32d Regt. 
Palmer, Alonzo L., 2d Co. H. Art. 
Pratt, William H., 45th Regt. 
Pratt, Gustavus P., asst. surg. 19th Regt. 
Powers, Henry, U.S.N. 

Ripley, Martin T., 52d Regt. 
Richards, John J., Ist Co. H. Art. 
Randall, William, 44th Regt. 
Remington, Wm. H., 3d Co. H. Art. 
Rooney, James, Jr., 4th Cav. Regt. 
Simpson, Oliver E., Ist Regt. 


Stoddard, Zenas, Jr., U. 8. Sappers and Miners. 


Smith, William L., 2d Regt. D. C. Guards. 
Shaw, Robert B., 32d Regt. 
Spooner, George, Ist Co. H. Art. 
Spear, Thomas F., U.S.N. 
Sweeney, James M., 45th Regt. 
Sewall, George W., 47th Regt. 
Shays, James, 30th Regt. 

Studley, Andrew J., 6th Regt. 
Treat, John A., 14th Regt. 

Treat, Sylvanus F., 14th Regt. 
Tilden, Caleb F. B., Ist Co. H. Art. 
Tower, John W., Ist Co. H. Art. 
Tower, Francis H., Ist Co. H. Art. 
Towle, Joseph M., 32d Regt. 
Thayer, William F., Ist Regt. 
Tower, Geo. B. N., Engin’r U.S.N. 
Thayer, Anselm, 32d Regt. 
Tower, Thomas, 2d Co. H. Art. 
Tower, Levi C., 2d Co. H. Art. 
Tilden, Eustice W., 2d Co. H. Art. 
Tower, Isaac H., 2d Co. H. Art. 
Thayer, Willie F., 4th Cav. Regt. 








COHASSET. 


231 





Williston, Thomas, 38th Regt. 

Whittington, Hiram, U.S.N. 

Wells, Charles F., Ist Regt. 

Williams, Andrew W., U.S. Sappers and Miners. 
Willcutt, Elbridge, U. 8S. Sappers and Miners. 
Whittier, Charles, Ist Co. H. Art. 

Whittier, William, Ist Co. H. Art. 

Whittier, Leavet, 39th Regt. 

Willcutt, Lyman D., 45th Regt. 

West, Charles H., 29th Regt. 

Wheelwright, Lewis L., Co. D, H. Art. 


CHAPTER XXII. 


COHASSET—( Continued). 


ECCLESIASTICAL AND EDUCATIONAL. 


BY REV. JOSEPH OSGOOD. 


Pioneer History—First Reference to Cohasset in Hingham 
Records— Various Votes concerning the Town—Divisions of 
the Meadow Lands with the Proprietors at Conihasset-—The 


First Meeting-House—Subsequent History—Methodist Soci- | 


~ ety in North Cohasset—Second Congregational Church— The 

Beechwood Church—St. Anthony’s Church—Educational In- 

terests. 

THE early history of Cohasset is essentially the 
history of the parish or precinct which was separated 
from the town of Hingham, solely because the in- 
habitants were too far from the Hingham meeting- 
house to attend religious services and because they 
felt the need of a place of worship nearer their homes. 


For fifty-two years from its organization as a pre- | 


cinct, till it was incorporated as a district entirely 
separate from Hingham, it had only the management 


interests were ordered by the town of Hingham, of 
which it formed a part. 








Colony formed part of Hingham. The name, spelled 


Conihasset, is found applied to the locality as early as 


England, as it is planted this year, 1634.” In the 
records of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, under 
date of May 22, 1639, is the following entry: “ For 


that it appeareth unto the Court that our people of | 


| tities varying from one-half acre to six acres. 


there, in pre-arranged proportions. 
Cohasset in the early period of the Massachusetts | 


that Mr. Dunean, Mr. Glover, Willi: Heathe, and 
Willi: Parke, or any three of them, shall have power 
to dispose thereof to the inhabitants there, according 
to the number of persons and estates, for the most 


| benefit of the towne, having consideration to such 


quantities of land and meadow as have been formerly 


' aloted to the said inhabitants, so as such as have fallen 


short in former distributions may have supply by this.” 

The first reference to Cohasset in the records of the 
town of Hingham is under the date of July 6, 1640, 
as follows: ‘“ It is agreed upon by a joint consent that 
after the new comers which come short, and others of 


_ the old planters, accommodations be made up to equal 
| proportions according to their stock and necessities, 


that the remaining part of Conyhasset shall be divided 
according to men’s heads and stock, 25 pounds in stock 
to go in equal proportion to a head.” Nine men were 
chosen “ to divide Conihasset by equal proportions.” 
The lands to be divided were probably the salt mead- 


ows. The division does not seem to have been imme- 


diately effected, for in February, 1647, the town voted 


to divide “‘ the meadow lands among the proprietors at 
Conihasset.”’ These lands seem to have been arranged 
in three divisions, and to have been allotted in quan- 
These 


lands comprised about one hundred and seventy acres. 


| Feb. 28, 1647-48, “Anthony Eames, Nicholas Jacob, 


John Otis, and John Beals were chosen a committee to 
hire a herdman to keep the dry cattle at Conyhasset.” 
The final division of the lands embraced in the terri- 
tory of Cohasset was not made till 1672. Then all 
the uplands were divided into three portions, called 
the first, the second, and the third divisions. These 
divisions, as a whole, were further divided into seven 


| hundred smaller portions,—narrow strips of land,— 
of its ministerial and school affairs ; while all its other | 


which were assigned by lot to one hundred and three 
proprietors, residents of Hingham, or heirs of estates 
It is probable 
that the settlement of Cohasset began about this time, 
and that some of the persons to whom lots were as- 


signed took up their residence on them, and began to 
1634, on Wood’s map of the south part of “ New | 


Hingham stande in great need of hay, it is ordered, | 


that they may make use of so much of the ground 
neare Conihasset as lye on this syde the ryver where 
upon the bridge is.” 

1640, May 13.—“It is ordered, that such land 
and meadow at Conihasset as shall fall within this 


Jurisdiction shall be confered upon Hingham, and ° 


Others, 
doubtless, who chose to remain in the town, sold their 


cut down the forest and clear lands for farms. 


portions to the new inhabitants of Cohasset, or ex- 
changed them for the lands which these new settlers 
relinquished in the old town. Many of those to whom 
lands had been assigned, however, continued to hold 
possession of them while they continued to reside in 


| Hingham. 


Hence, we have the record, 1713, May 14, “that 
the proprietors of the undivided lands gave their 
consent to the inhabitants of Conohasset, to erect a 
meeting-house on that land called the Plain.” 


232 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, 


MASSACHUSETTS. 





No record has been found of the pualdine, of the | 


meeting-house; but as there is no subsequent record 
of the building of the house, and_as in 1714 Hingham 
was asked in vain to remit the school and ministerial 
taxes to this portion of the old town, the meeting- 


house was probably built in 1713. 
about thirty-five feet long and twenty-five 


The house was 
feet 
wide, on the Plain, a little to the south of the present 
house. 

In 1720 the parish voted fifteen shillings a year for 
a man to take care of the meeting-house, sweep it 
twenty-six times a year, get the “ cacements” hung, 
fasten the doors, and get the glass mended. 

The second and present meeting-house was begun 
in 1746 and finished in 1747. 
sixty by forty-five feet. 
of the roof a belfry. At different times a tower and 
steeple have been substituted for the belfry, a porch 
has been added on the west side, and changes have 
been made in the interior to adapt it to modern 
needs. 


After the building of the first meeting-house, and > 


probably for some years before, religious services were 


dox minister among themselves.” This vote was not 


_ acceptable to the inhabitants of Cohasset. 


On the 12th of March, 1715-16, the town voted 
to remit to the inhabitants of Conohasset their minis- 
terial and school taxes, without any conditions. This 
vote was not satisfactory. 

Finally, after further petitions to the General Court, 
and further opposition by the town, on Nov. 21, 
1717, an act was obtained creating a second parish 
in Hingham, which act was accepted at a meeting 
held July 14, 1718, “at Cohasset, alias Little Hing- 


ham.” 


It covers an area of © 
It had on the northerly end — 


Having thus secured the right of a distinct corpo- 
rate existence, the citizens of Cohasset at once ad- 
dressed themselves to the work of settling a minister. 

At the first meeting after the organization of the 
parish, or precinct, Aug. 11,1718, it was voted to 
raise twenty-five pounds, ‘“‘in such money as passeth 
from man to man,” for the support of the ministry ; 
and at a meeting on the 16th day of the next Feb- 


_ruary, it was voted to settle a minister, and to raise 


held occasionally. The inhabitants were too far from | 


the old meeting-house in Hingham to attend service 


there conveniently, especially as the roads then were | 


very rough, crooked, and rocky. Consequently, they 
were very desirous to have a minister of their own 
and religious services in the house which they had 
just built. 

In 1714-15, March 7, they asked the town “to 
consent that they might be made a precinct, or that 
they might be allowed something out of the town 
treasury to help maintain the worship of God, or that 
they might be allotted that which they pay to main- 
tain the worship of God at the town.” 
were not granted. 


These requests 


In May of the same year twenty-four of the in- 
habitants of Cohasset presented to the General Court 
a petition for a precinct. The town opposed the pe- 
tition. 

In July of the same year, 1715, “ the town voted to 
remit the ministerial taxes of the inhabitants on con- 
dition that they procure an orthodox minister among 
themselves and accept the settlement cheerfully. This 
the citizens of Cohasset voted that they could not do 
cheerfully.” 

In September following “the town voted to reim- 
burse to the inhabitants of Conohasset, or to those 
that should afterwards inhabit in the first and second 
divisions of the Conohasset uplands and in the second 
part of the third division, all their ministerial and 


_ called, and in the spring of 1721, Mr. Spear. 


eighty pounds for his support. 

In the spring of 1719 a fast was appointed, in or- 
der to give a minister a call. Mr. Pierpont was then 
Both 
appear to have declined. 

Mr. Nehemiah Hobart, who had been employed to 
preach at Cohasset at times before, ‘‘ preached a fast” 
there July 13, 1721, and continued to preach after- 
wards till September 18th, when ‘“ he was chosen by a 
major vote.” 

A church was formed on the 12th of the following 
December, and on the 13th Mr. Hobart was ordained 
as pastor of the church and parish. He continued 
in his office till his death, May 31, 1740, at the age 
of forty-three years. 

He was born in the First Parish, the son of David 


| Hobart, Esq., and grandson of Rev. Peter Hobart. 


He was graduated at Harvard College in the class of 


1714. “Ashe had lived use he died much la- 
mented by his people.” 

After the death of Mr. Hobart the parish heard 
candidates for more than a year. They finally agreed 
to settle Mr. John Fowle, and he was ordained Dee. 
31, 1741, and was dismissed in the fifth year of his 
ministry. 

Mr. Fowle was born in Charlestown, was graduated 
at Harvard College in 1732, anddied in 1764. <A no- 


tice of him states that “he was allowed by all good 


_ a popular preacher. 


school taxes so long as they should maintain an ortho- | 


judges to be a man of considerable genius and hand- 
some acquirements ; and for two or three years he was 
But he had a most irritable, ner- 
vous temperament, which rendered him unequal in his 


an ee 





COH ASSET. 233 





performances, and, at times, quite peevish and irregu- 
lar.” 

After the close of Mr. Fowle’s ministry the parish 
heard candidates. In November, 1746, they invited 
Jonathan Mayhew to become their minister. This 
invitation he declined, and the next year he was or- 
dained as pastor of the West Church, in Boston. He 
was a man of advanced and liberal views, opposed to 


Calvinism in theology, and to the British policy with — 


regard to the colonies. 

He was an ardent patriot at the time of the Amer- 
ican Revolution, and was the first, or one of the first 
Congregational ministers in Boston who openly 
preached Unitarianism. At the first council called to 
ordain him over the West Church, in Boston, only 
two churches were represented, and at the second 
council which ordained him, when Dr. Gay, of Hing- 
ham, preached the sermon, no other church was repre- 
sented. 

At length John Brown was called to the pastorate 
of the Cohasset Church, and was ordained Sept. 2, 
1747, before the new meeting-house was quite com- 
pleted. He continued as minister of the parish till 
his death, Oct. 22, 1791, in the sixty-seventh year of 
his age, having preached until the last Sabbath of his 
life. . 

He was the son of Rev. John Brown, of Haverhill, 


| 
| 
} 


and was graduated at Harvard College in the class of | 
_ preach them.” 


1741. 

Rev. Mr. Flint, in a notice of him, wrote: ‘‘ The 
talents of Rev. John Brown were considerably more 
than ordinary. In a stately person he possessed a 
mind whose perceptions were quick and clear. He 
thought for himself, and when he had formed his 
A 
warm friend to the interests of his country, he zeal- 


ously advocated its civil and religious freedom. By 


opinions, he uttered them with fearless freedom. 


appointment of government he served one campaign | 


as chaplain to a colonial regiment in Nova Scotia, and 
for his service a tract of land (now Liverpool) in that 
province was granted him by the crown. Taking a 
lively interest in the American Revolution, he en- 
couraged, by example and by preaching, his fellow- 
citizens at home and abroad patiently to make those 
sacrifices demanded by the times, predicting at the 
same time, with the foresight of a prophet, the pres- 
ent unrivaled prosperity of the country.” 

He preached an “ excellent” sermon to a company 
of New England soldiers under the wide-spreading 


elm in Hingham, and preached a sermon on the 


massacre at Boston. 
After the death of Mr. Brown, Mr. Josiah C. Shaw 


was employed as the first candidate, and was ordained | 


as pastor of the parish Oct. 3, 1792. His ministry 
terminated June 3, 1796. Mr. Shaw was born in 
Marshfield, graduated.at Harvard College in the class 
of 1789, and died in 1847, at Newport, R. I., where 
he occupied an honorable business position after leay- 
ing his ministry in Cohasset. 

After hearing a number of candidates, a call, without 
opposition, was given to Jacob Flint, who was ordained 
Jan. 10, 1798, and continued as pastor of the parish 
for about thirty-seven years. He was born in Read- 
ing, Mass., in 1767, graduated at Harvard College in 
1794, and died suddenly at East Marshfield, after 
having conducted the morning service, Oct. —, 1835. 

The memory of Mr. Flint was long cherished, and 
is still cherished by the older people of the town 
with profound respect and affection. 

He was a man of great benevolence of feeling, of a 
sympathizing heart, and of a cheerful and hopeful 
spirit. He had a well-trained and scholarly mind, 
and published a number of carefully-prepared dis- 
courses. His two discourses preached on the com- 
pletion of the first century from the organization of 
the church have excited much interest, and have 


been reprinted. His manner of delivery in the 


pulpit was said to be slow and monotonous. He 
had an excellent ear and voice for singing. His 


brother, Dr. James Flint, of Salem, used to say to 
him that “he ought to sing his sermons, and not 


During his ministry those changes took place in 
the parish which were going on in almost all the New 
England parishes at about the same time, by which 
the old churches and societies were broken up into a 
number of different and often antagonistic organiza- 
tions. These changes were deeply painful to him, 
and saddened the latter years of his ministry. 

Mr. Harrison Gray Otis Phipps succeeded Mr. 
Flint as minister of the parish. He was ordained 
Nov. 18, 1835, and died, while pastor of the parish, 
December, 1841, 

Rey. Mr. Phipps was a native of Quincy, Mass. ; 
was graduated at Harvard College in 1852, and at 
the Cambridge Divinity School in 1835. 

Mr. Phipps was highly esteemed for his sincerity, 
for his quiet devotion to his work in the ministry, 
and for the promise he gave of future usefulness in 
the work to which he had devoted his life. 

After the death of Mr. Phipps the pulpit was sup- 
plied by various ministers till the following summer, 
when Joseph Osgood was engaged to preach four 
Sundays after the completion of his studies in the 
Cambridge Divinity School. 

He was born in Kensington, N. H , Sept. 23,1815; 


234 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





was graduated at the Cambridge Divinity School, | He was a man of literary tastes, and published two 
Friday, July 15, 1842, first occupied the pulpit the | books,—‘ Twin Heroes” and ‘‘ The Boy Lollard.” 


17th of the same month, and has continued as min- | 


ister of the parish ever since, more than forty-one | 


years, having been ordained Oct. 26, 1842. 

The Methodist Society in North Cohasset was 
organized Dee. 17, 1817. 
there in private houses once in two or once in four 
weeks. 


There had been preaching 


The persons who constituted this society 
lived partly in Hingham and partly in Cohasset, 
their residences being mostly on the two sides of the 
road which separates the two towns. As they were 
about three miles from both the Hingham and Co- 


hasset meeting-houses, they found it inconvenient to 


attend these places of worship, and many had ceased — 


to attend religious worship. Their first meeting- 
house was built in the spring and dedicated in June 
of 1825. The second and present house was dedi- 
cated Sept. 3, 1845, Father E. HE. Taylor, who had 
one season at an early period labored among them, 
preaching the sermon at the dedication. 

In the early years of this religious society the pulpit 
was probably supplied by the services of a preacher 
from the Conference. 


who had charge of the Hingham Methodist Episco- 
pal Church. It was then, in connection with the 
Hingham Church, and sometimes with the addition 
of Scituate or Weymouth, placed under the care of 
ministers sent from the Conference. Of late years it 


has generally had the entire services of one man, who 


has continued in charge for three years in succes- | 


sion. 

The Second Congregational Church and Society 
was organized Nov. 24, 1824. The corner-stone of 
their meeting-house had been laid on the 8th of 
October preceding.. 

Rev. Aaron Pickett was installed as pastor Nov. 
15, 1826; dismissed May, 1833. Rev. Martin 
Moore was installed September, 1833; dismissed 
August, 1841. 
1842 ; dismissed June, 1847. Frederick A. Reed 
was ordained March 9, 1848, and was dismissed 
March 13, 1866. 

Rey. Mr. Reed was born in Boston, Dee. 7, 1821, 
graduated at Amherst College in 1843, and at the 
Bangor Theological Seminary in 184€. 
Harvard, Mass., where he was engaged in the active 
duties of the ministry, in 1883. 

After leaving Cohasset he preached for eleven years 
in Taunton and three years in Harvard. 

Mr. Reed is remembered with respect and affection 
by the people of Cohasset. 


In 1832, and for two years | 
afterwards, it was supplied by Rev. Stephen Puffer, © 


| 





| society. 


i 
| 


| 





tev. Daniel Babcock, installed June, | 


He died at | 


) 


_ house. 


| Cohasset. 


Rev. Calvin R. Fitts was installed April, 1868, 
and was dismissed October, 1870. He died in Sud- 
bury in 1883. 

Rev. Moody A. Stevens was installed April, 1872, 
and dismissed June, 1878. 

Rev. Granville Yager was installed in June, 1878, 
and dismissed Feb. 6, 1883. 

Of the ministers who have been ordained or in- 
stalled as pastors of this church and society, only the 
two last named are living at the present time, 1884. 

Beechwood Church.—In about the year 1862 
there began to be stated preaching in the part of 
Cohasset called Beechwood. The services were in a 
hall, and were conducted by Rev. Cyrus Stone. (Re- 
ligious services had been held occasionally in this 
locality for many years.) 

In about eighteen months a church was organized. 
The corner-stone of the Beechwood meeting-house 
was laid Oct. 18, 1866, and the house was dedicated 
Jan. 15, 1867. The house is very near the boundary- 
line between Scituate and Cohasset, and the congre- 
gation is composed of worshipers from both towns. 
in the church have been sustained in 
part by missionary aid. Sometimes the church has 
had a minister of its own, and sometimes it has been 


Services 


under the pastoral care of a clergyman who also had 
the charge of a church in Hingham. 

Rev. Cyrus Stone, Rev. Charles B. Smith, Rev. 
T. S. Norton, Rev. Austin S. Garver, and Rev. EH. 
C. Hood have been ministers of the church and 
The present minister is Rev. Harlan Page, 
who was ordained Feb. 6, 1883. 

St. Anthony’s Church was built by the Roman 
Catholics in 1875, and services were first held in 
was 


it July 15th of the same year. The church 


| built under the direction of Rev, Hugh P. Smyth, 


who for some time had the pastoral care of the 
Roman Catholic churches in Weymouth, Hingham, 
Cohasset, and Scituate. He was succeeded by Rev. 
Peter J. Leddy, who had the pastoral charge of 
the churches in Hingham, Cohasset, and Scituate 
till his death in 1880. 


have been under the care of Rev. Gerald Fagin, 


Since then these churches 


aided by an assistant. 

Educational Interests.—It is probable that the 
town of Hingham before the incorporation of Cohas- 
set as a precinct maintained only one public school. 
That was kept in a school-house near the old meeting- 
In 1714 Hingham was requested to remit 
the ministerial and school taxes to the inhabitants of 
This request was refused. 








COHASSRET. | 235 





Hingham voted “ March 13, 1720-21, that a school 
be kept by Peter Ripley’s six months in the year,” 


-and “that a school-house be erected by Peter Rip- | 


ley’s by the selectmen.” 
June 29, 1724, the town voted “that the school 
should be kept half the time in the old school-house, 


Cohasset ; the time the school was to be kept in each 
of these three places to be apportioned according to 
the amount of tax which is paid by each. Sixty 
pounds school money was voted. 

This arrangement was continued for eighteen years, 


_ with the exception of one year (1737), when the 


and the other half at the school-house near Peter | 


Ripley's.” 

The first reference to school matters in the records 
of Cohasset is as follows: 

“March 31, 1721. John Farrow, Obediah Lin- 
coln, and Joseph Bate are chosen to take care con- 
cerning the school, and to take the money from the 
-town of Hingham, and to dispose of it as followeth : 


school money was divided among the three parts of 
the town. 

May 14, 1752, the town voted to have one grammar 
school, to be kept in the north school-house the whole 
year, and a “ writing and reading school,” to be kept 


_ seven months of the year in the East Parish (Cohasset), 


' and five months in the South Parish. 


One-third part of it to be paid to a school-dame for 


teaching the children to read, and two-thirds of the 
money to be disposed of to teach the children to 
write and to cipher.” 

The next record is three years later, viz., March 
31, 1724. 
the town, which is in the hands of John Farrow, 


“ Voted that the money that came from | 


Obediah Lincoln, and Joseph Bate, should be dis- | 


posed of to learn the childsen to read and write in 
this precinct.” 
It is not probable that any school had been estab- 


This contin- 
ued to be the way in which the schools were regulated 
as long as Cohasset remained a precinct of Hingham, 
except that in 1756 and subsequently Cohasset had 
its just portion of the money raised instead of the 
seven months’ time of the “writing and reading 
school.” 

The date of the building of the first school-house 
in Cohasset must be assigned to the year 1734. It 
stood on the Plain, between where the houses of the 
late Capt. Samuel Hall and of Mr. Zenas Lincoln 
now stand. This was the only school-house in (o- 


_hasset till 1792, when it was voted to build a new 


lished in Cohasset, and it is doubtful if there was | 
any money for schools in the hands of the above-_ 


named men, for there is no record of a vote of the | 


town of Hingham to appropriate money for a school 
Besides, March 22, 1727, Cohasset 
‘‘nassed a vote to choose a committee to make an 
address to the town of Hingham relating to the 


in Cohasset. 


school for our part of the school money or our part | 


of the schooling.” Hingham the previous year (May 
9, 1726) had “refused to have the school kept any 
part of the year in Cohasset.” 

Aug. 14, 1727, Cohasset voted to address the 
General Court concerning the school, and chose John 
Jacob agent to prefer the petition to the General 
Court. 

This action seems to have had the desired effect, 
for Hingham voted May 6, 1728, “to raise eighty 


pounds for the support of schools, and that the in- | 


habitants of Cohasset and Great Plain shall be al- 


lowed to draw out of the town treasury their propor- | 


tion of what they pay towards the same sum, provided 


they employ the same for the support of schools among | 


themselves, and for no other use.” 
This arrangement continued for six years, till March 


school-house and remove the old one. The schools, 
other than the one in the centre, must have been 
kept in private houses. 

Although the precinct voted in 1821 and in sub- 
sequent years how the money to be received from the 
town for schools should be apportioned and spent, 
and chose men to take charge of it and of the schools, 
yet we have no record of any money having been ap- 
propriated by the town or received by the precinct 
till 1728. There were probably no public schools in 
the precinct till that year. “October 13th, John 
Jacob, Joshua Bate, and John Orcutt were chosen to 
provide a schoolmaster, and also to provide a school- 
house for the present.” From this time a school was 
kept some part of the year. 

Dee. 30, 1731, ‘it was voted that the two arms of 
the precinct and those that are minded to join with 
them might have the school with them, their pro- 
portion, according to what they pay to said school, 
viz.: the inhabitants of Rocky Nook, Strait’s Pond 
Mill, and Nichols’ at one end, and the inhabitants 
of the Beechwoods at the other end.” 

From 1734 to 1752 the precinct had its share of 


the services of the one grammar-school teacher of 


4, 1733-34, when the town “ voted to have one school | 


the year ensuing, and but one.’ This school was to 
be kept in three places, viz., in the town part (so 


called), at the Great Plain, and in the precinct of 


Hingham, who probably divided his time between 
the school in the centre and the schools in the two 
arms. 

From the year 1752 till it was incorporated as a 


236 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





district entirely separate from Hingham, in 1770, it 
had the services of a “‘ writing and reading master 
seven months of each year, or its share of the school 
money raised by the town.” 

Although in 1721 the precinct voted that one- 
third of the school money should be paid to a school- 


. . . - | 
dame for teaching the children to read, there is no | 
evidence that such a school-dame was employed to | 


teach the children till 1768. In that year it was 
“voted that four pounds of the proportion of the 
school money that belongs to the centre of the pre- 
cinct be laid out and improved in three women’s 
schools,” 

In 1769 it was voted that there be four schools 
kept by schoolmistresses in the centre, and that eight 
pounds be appropriated for that purpose. 
when the precinct was separated from Hingham and 


was incorporated as a district, with the rights and | 
duties of a town, it ‘‘ voted thirty pounds for the use | 


of the schools, and that the inhabitants of the Beech- 


allowed to draw their proportion of the money granted 
for the school, or schools, provided they improve the 
same for a writing and reading school.” 

“Tn 1785 the town was divided into three divisions 
convenient for schooling.” 


The usual amount raised for the support of the | 
schools was from thirty to sixty pounds, but some-— 


times the amount was nominally much larger, when 
the Continental money had become greatly depre- 
ciated. In 1780 it was twenty-five hundred pounds. 


An attempt was made to make two districts of the | 
| built. 


centre division, but it was not effected till some time 
afterwards. In 1796 two hundred dollars were raised 
for the support of the schools, of which eighty-six dol- 
lars and eighty-four cents were appropriated to the 
North School, seventy-one dollars and twenty cents to 
the South, fifteen dollars and twenty-seven cents to 
the Jerusalem, and twenty-nine dollars and sixty-nine 
cents to the Beechwoods school. 

In 1800 the town raised eleven hundred dol- 
lars for all town and parish purposes, including the 
salary of the minister; three hundred dollars of this 


amount were appropriated to the schools. A committee | 


of three was chosen to procure schoolmasters and 
continued to choose 
committees for the several divisions till 1829, when 


schoolmistresses. The town 
it voted that each district should choose its own com- 
mittee. This continued, with the exception of two 
or three years, till 1870. Since thaf time the super- 
intending committee have had charge of the schools 
In 1873 the town au- 
thorized the school committee to choose a superin- 


and of procuring teachers. 


tendent, who has singe, under the direction of the 
committee, had the practical charge and oversight of 
the schools. 

The district system in a strictly legal form never 
really prevailed in the town. 

In 1804 a committee of three was chosen to visit 
the schools. This was the first general or superin- 
tending committee chosen in the town. This com- 
mittee was not chosen annually, and the duty of 
visiting the schools seems to have devolved upon the 
minister, the Rev. Mr. Flint, alone. 

In 1818, however, a committee of three was chosen 
to visit the schools with Mr. Flint, and this custom 


| was continued till 1826, when the State law was 
_ passed requiring every town to choose a superintend- 
In 1770, 


ing committee. 

At first the committee consisted of eight members, 
and the town contiuued to choose a large committee 
till 1830, when only three were chosen, and this has 


continued to be the number of the committee, with a 
woods, so called, and of Jerusalem, so called, be | 


few exceptions, to the present time. 

It was not unfrequently the custom of the town to 
devote part of the schoolanoney—from twenty to fifty 
In 1820 it was 
“voted that singing is a necessary charge.” 

In 1792 the first school-house built in the centre, on 
the Plain, was moved to what became the North dis- 
trict, and a school-house was built in what had been 
made the South district. 
had been moved into the North district was burnt in 
1819, and in 1820 a new house was built. 
sold in 1857, and the present North school-house was 


dollars—to the teaching of singing. 


The old school-house which 


This was 


The South school-house built in 1792 was sold in 
1859, and the present South school-house was built. 
A school-house was built in the Beechwoods in 
1794, and was replaced by a new one in 1839, which 


_ also was replaced by a new one, the present Beech- 


woods school-house, in 1852. 

In 1795 the town “ voted to allow the Jerusalem 
people seven pounds and ten shillings towards build- 
ing a school-house, provided that they build one one 
year from this date.’ The house then built was sold 
in 1839, and a new house built, which also was sold 
in 1851, and the present Jerusalem school-house was 
built. 

In 1828 a committee was chosen to select one- 
third of the children of the South, and one-third of 
the children of the North district school, and to 
It was also “‘ voted that the 
town should pay the several districts for their school- 


form a Centre district. 


houses, and for the future build and support all the 
schools in its corporate capacity.” 





COH ASSET. 237 








The present Centre school-house, which has been 
twice enlarged, was built that year. 

A small school-house was at one time built and a 
school established at the junction of King Street and 


| 
| 
| 


Winter Street, but the school was given up, and the | 


house was removed in 1843. The present school in 
King Street was established, and a school-house, con- 
verted from a dwelling-house, was fitted up for the 
school in 1874. 

In 1873 the Harbor primary school was estab- 
lished, and a building was purchased and fitted up 
for its accommodation. 

The subject of a High Schocl, or a school for the 
older children, was agitated before 1826. In that 


year the town voted to establish such a school in the | 


centre of the town for the sole use of such boys and 
girls as have arrived at the age of fourteen years. 
Of the seven hundred dollars school money raised, 
two hundred and twenty-five dollars were appropriated 
for the support of this school. Although this school 
had strong advocates, a vote could not be secured to 
continue it till in 1841, when it was voted to estab- 
lish a High School by a vote of sixty-one to forty- 
three. 

Two hundred dollars were voted for it, and it was 
not to continue over four months in the cold season. 
After that time it was continued annually, as a four 


months’ winter school, till 1851, when it was made a 


yearly school, and has been continued as such to the 
present time. 
school it was put under the charge of a master, aided 
by a female assistant for twelve weeks in the winter. 


When first established as a yearly | 


under the care of female teachars was gradually in- 
troduced, with good results. In 1851 the present 
system was adopted, giving to all the schools forty 
weeks’ schooling and placing them under the charge 
of female teachers who should continue through the 


year without change. 





The next year a female assistant was employed | 


through the year, and such continued to be the ar- 


rangement, except that some years an assistant was | 


not employed in the summer, and for some years two | 


assistants were employed in the winter. 


In 1876 the | 


High School was put under the charge of a lady, Miss | 
Drusilla 8. Lothrop, as principal, with a young man _ 


as assistant. 
with success to the present time. 
The school was first kept in a building called the 


This arrangement has been continued | 


Academy, which had been erected in 1797 by cer- | 


tain proprietors for a private school and other pur- 
poses. The town-meetings were held in this building, 
after they had ceased to be held in the First Parish 
Church in 1832, till 1857, when the present town 
hall, with rooms in the lower story for the High 
School, was built. 

The winter schools in the several divisions of the 


town, and afterwards districts, were always taught by | 


male teachers till the High School was established. 
After that time the plan of putting these schools 


| people. 
| precinct, and afterwards until it became a district or 


This arrangement has continued to the present 
time, except that the Beechwood grammar school 
has for some years been taught by a male teacher 
through the year. 

Primary winter schools began to be provided in 
one or two of the larger districts before 1840. New 
ones have been established as they have been needed, 
and at present there are five yearly primary schools 
in the town. 

In September, 1883, an intermediate school was 
opened. 

At present there are in the town one high school, 
four grammar, two mixed, one intermediate, and five 
primary schools. 

The whole number of pupils in 1882-83 was, in 
the summer term, three hundred and eighty-three ; in 
the fall term, four hundred and two; and in the win- 
ter term, three hundred and eighty-one. The appro- 
priation of the town for the support of the schools 
the current year (1883-84) is five thousand seven 
hundred dollars. 

An account of the schools in Cohasset would not be 
complete without reference to the private schools 
which have had an important part in educating the 
Before the incorporation of Cohasset as a 


town, dame-schools were doubtless supported by the 
voluntary contributions of the people, to supply, in 
part, the utter want of provision made by the town 
for teaching the children, or such provision was made 
to supply its deficiencies. 

After 1797, when the Academy was built, a good 
private school, generally under the charge of a 
liberally-educated man, was kept till a public high 
school was established. Rey. Mr. Flint and Mr. Wm. 
Whittington also taught many private pupils. Young 
women opened private schools and had many children 
committed to their charge ; but since the public schools 
have been lengthened and improved private schools 


have been discontinued. At present none are kept in 


| town. 





Asa part of the educational system of the town, 
a public library for the use of all the inhabitants 
was established in 1879. The town voted to give 
three hundred dollars toward the library, provided 
the school-teachers would raise an equal amount of 
money. They obtained more than that amount, 


238 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





mostly by subscriptions of from twenty-five cents to 
five dollars. Afterwards liberal-minded citizens gave 
larger sums of money ; there have been generous con- 
tributions books, and a considerable 
amount of money was raised from a fair. 
has consented to grant three hundred dollars or four 
hundred dollars annually for the support of the 


library, and has provided for it convenient rooms. 


of valuable 
The town 


The library now contains more than three thousand 
volumes of books, many of which are of great value, 
affording excellent reading to all who choose to avail 
themselves of it in the town." 





CEDAVE, THe on 


DOVER. 


BY MRS. G. D. EVERETT. 


Tue town of Dover lies in the northwestern part 
of the county, is one of the border towns’ between 


Norfolk and Middlesex Counties, and is bounded as | 


follows: on the north by Needham and Natick, on 


the east by Dedham, on the south by Walpole and — 


Medfield, and on the west by Sherborn and Natick. 
Much of the early history of Dover will be found in 


the history of Dedham, of which it originally formed a _ 


part, being known as the fourth precinct of Dedham. 
The earliest record which throws any light upon the 
history of Dover is the charter granted by their Ma- 
jesties, King William and Queen Mary, to the inhab- 
itants of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in New 
England; which charter stated that His Majesty King 
James the First by his letters patent under the 
Great Seal of England, being dated at Westminster, 
Nov. 3, 1621, granted to the Council established 
at Plymouth, in the County of Devon, and their suc- 
cessors and assigns, for the planting, ruling, ordering 


and governing of New England in America, all that | 


part of America lying in breadth between the fortieth 
and forty-eigthth degrees of north latitude, and in 
length all the land from sea to sea, provided they are 
not possessed or inhabited by other Christian prince or 
State. To have, hold, and enjoy, paying to the king, his 
heirs or successors, one-fifth part of the gold and silver 


1 Tn the foregoing history of Cohasset certain proper names are 
spelled in two different ways. The names now spelled Bates, 
Jacob, and Stutson. The part of the town formerly called 
“The Beechwoods” of late years has been called ‘‘ Beechwood,” 
the name given to the post-office in that locality. 


| west. 








ore which from time to time should be found or obtained 
within these lands or territories. And whereas this 
Council established at Plymouth, for the ruling and 
governing of New England in America, did by their 
deed dated March 3, 1628, grant and confirm to Sir 
Henry Roswell, Sir John Young, Knights, Thomas 
Southeott, John Humphreys, John Endicott, and 
Simon Whetcombe, their heirs and assigns, all that 
part of New England in America which lies between 
a great river commonly called Monomack, a/ias Mer- 
rimack, and a certain other river called Charles River, 
being in acertain bay commonly called Massachusetts, 
alias Mattachusetts. 

Also all the lands within the space of three Eug- 
lish miles to the southward of the southernmost 
part of Massachusetts Bay; and all the lands which 
lie within the space of three English miles to the 
northward of Merrimack River; and in breadth from 
the Atlantic Sea on the east to the South Sea on the 
And that the affairs and business, which from 
time to time should happen and arise, concerning the 
planting and governing of these lands, that they might 
be better managed and ordered, King Charles the 
First did make and create, by his letters patent, Sir 
John Roswell, Sir John Young, etc., and others that 
should be admitted, one body corporate, by the name 
of the Governor and Company of Massachusetts 
Bay, in New England; and did grant them and their 
successors, powers and privileges in this letter patent 
which may more fully appear; and whereas, several 
persons employed as agents of our colony, have made 
application unto us that the colony of Massachusetts 
Bay, and the province of Main, and the territory 


| called Acadia or Nova Scotia, be incorporated into one 
_ real province, by the name of “ Our Province of Massa- 


chusetts Bay, in New England.’ We do therefore, 
will and establish, that thenceforth and forever, there 
shall be one governor, one lieutenant, a deputy gov- 
ernor, and one secretary, to be appointed and commis- 
sioned by us, our heirs, and successors, and eight and 
twenty assistants and counselors, to advise and assist 
the governor. 

We find the acts and laws governing the colonies 
during the reign of King William and Queen Mary, 
and their Majesties King George, Queen Anne, and 


'to the time of King George IIL., or from 1688 to 


1760, were explicit and exacting. 
Laws were made for governing the General Court, 
religious services, school taxes, poor, for commission 


_ over the Indians, for breaking the Sabbath, profanity, 
Jacobs, and Stetson, in the early records were written Bate, 


exporting, importing, cruelty to animals, for marriage 
and divorce, drunkards, vagabonds, thefts, fortune- 


’ tellers, collecting debts, ete. 








DOVER. 


239 





Each town within the province was to be provided 
with an able, learned orthodox minister, of good con- 
versation, to dispense the word of God to them. And 


all agreements and contracts made by the inhabitants 


respecting their minister or schoolmasters were to be 


good and valid according to the interest thereof; but | 


if the inhabitants neglect to provide suitable ministers 


or schoolmasters, upon complaint being made to the — 





Quarter Sessions of Peace for that county, the court | 
was empowered to order a competent allowance for | 


such minister, according to the estate and ability of | 


the town, to be assessed upon the inhabitants by a_ 


warrant from the court, directed to the selectmen, to 
be proportioned and assessed as other public charges. 


Or if a town was destitute of a minister for six | 


months the court could procure and settle one, and 


order the charge for his support to be levied upon the | 


inhabitants of the town. 


write, and every town having the number of one hun- 
dred householders should also have a grammar school 
and some person of good conversation, well instructed 
in the tongues, to keep such school. Every such 


schoolmaster or masters to be paid by the inhabitants, 


under penalty of ten pounds for every conviction of | 


such neglect. 

In the year 1635 (history of Dedham) the General 
Court then sitting at Newtowne granted a tract of 
land south of Charles River to twelve men. 


additional grant was made to nineteen persons of all 
the land south of Charles River and above the fall, 
not before granted, and a tract five miles square on 
the north side of Charles River, for the purpose of 


forming a settlement. The above grants constitute 


at the present time the towns of Dedham, Norwood, | 
Norfolk, Medfield, Wrentham, Needham, Bellingham, | 
Walpole, Franklin, Natick, Dover, and a part of Sher- | 
When the General Court gave large tracts of | 


born. 
land to the inhabitants it required them to make new 
settlements as soon as circumstances would permit. 
The early settlers of Massachusetts colony during 
the first five or six years remained in Boston and the 
adjoining towns of Roxbury and Watertown. The 
first twenty-four families who settled Dedham came 
from Watertown. 


The | 


following year several persons joined them, and an | 


The early history of Dover (or | 








from 1635 to 1748) and Dedham are identical, and | 


the early records of Dedham must form the only 
records of many of the adjoining towns, which were 
all embodied in the town of Dedham. 


time and management. Regular monthly meetings 
were held to transact the business, which for many 
years was entrusted to seven men, who made all 
necessary by-laws for the people. The town of Ded- 
ham was fixst known by the name of Contentment, 
this name being written over the records of several 
of the first meetings. Edward Allyne was one of 
the leading men who came in the first company from 
Watertown, the first records of the town being written 
by him. 
and toil on every hand. 


These pioneers were surrounded by foes 
The woods abounded with 
wolves and other wild animals. Indians lurked in 
the forests with suspicious looks and acts, and their 
daily bread was to be wrung from the sterile soil. 

In 1637 a meeting-house was built, which was 
thirty-six feet long, twenty feet wide, and twelve feet 
high, with a thatched roof. It stood where the 


_meeting-house of the First Parish of Dedham now 

Every town within the province having fifty house- | 
holders was to be constantly provided with a school- | 
master, who should teach the children to read and | 


stands. The pitts (as the pews were called in the 
records) were five feet deep and four and one-half feet 
The elders’ seat and deacons’ seat were before 
the pulpit. The communion-table stood before these 


seats, and placed so that communicants could reach it 


wide. 


from all directions. The officers of the church were 


pastor, teachers, rulers, and deacons. ‘The pastor to 
administer the seals of baptism and the sacraments ; 


the ruling elder to admonish, excommunicate, absolve, 


| and ordain ; the teachers to pray, preach, and instruct ; 


deacons to regulate the collections for the poor and 
sing psalms. 

All newcomers were required to give to a commit- 
tee chosen for that purpose an account of their mo- 
tives for wishing to settle there. These questions to 
be answered satisfactorily before they could remain: 
Where they were from? What property they pos- 
If there was a probability of their becoming 
a charge to the inhabitants ? 


sessed ? 
Also what were their 
moral feelings, religious affections, and opinions of 
Christian doctrines ? 

In 1664 the town consisted of ninety-five small 
houses situated near each other, within a short dis- 
Only 


four of the number were valued at twenty pounds; 


tance of where the court-house now stands. 


the others were valued at from three to ten pounds. 
There were no saw-mills, and boards must be sawed 
by hand. They were probably log houses with 
thatched roofs. Every house was obliged to have a 
ladder reaching from the ground to the chimney as a 
means of protection in case of fire, under penalty of 
It was a law of the 
colony that settlers should build their houses near 


five shillings for such neglect. 


each other for protection, and in 1682 a law was 


The affairs of this new settlement required much | passed that no one should move to a greater distance 


240 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





than two miles from the meeting-house without spe- 
cial license, as any one so removing would expose 
himself in time of danger. 

Medfield was the first town settled by the Dedham 
proprietors, in 1641; Wrentham, in 1673; other 
towns were incorporated later. 

The Indians were often troublesome, disregarding 
boundary lines, frequently trespassing after boundaries 
had been established. Richard Ellis and Timothy 
Dwight were chosen agents to treat with King Philip, 
the sagamore, for the possession of land six miles square. 

In 1671 fears were entertained of an attack by the 
Indians, and the great gun now in town, with 
carriage thereunto belonging, was ordered to be put in 
repair forservice. In 1675 the General Court ordered 
the town to be put in readiness for war. In 1675 
the bloody war known as King Philip’s war com- 
menced. 
the murder traced directly to King Philip. He was 
the chief instigator of the war. He had his summer 
hunting seat near Taunton, where some of the people 
furnished him with beef, repaired his muskets, and 


furnished him with some simple tools such as the In- | 


dians could use. These acts of friendship, through 


the | 


capture, and that Sergt. Ellis was paid certain sums 
Horses wearing 
fetters roamed in the woods, and swine wearing great 


for their capture from time to time. 


yokes around their necks ran wild. 

Absences from town-meeting were punished by fine, 
the roll of the townsmen being called after the first 
half-hour had expired. One shilling fine for the first 
half-hour’s absence, and two shillings and sixpence 
Until 1700 the people voted 
by wheat and beans, wheat Coos the affirmative, 


for the whole meeting. 


and beans the negative. 
Many of the first houses built had decayed ; the in- 
habitants had forsaken them and settled on larger 


tracts of land in the west part of Dedham, on the 


A wan was found shot in the woods and | 


land now comprised in Dover, which was established 
some years later as Springfield Parish. 

The inhabitants of the westerly part of Dedham 
presented a petition, March 3, 1728, at a legal 


town-meeting, requesting that they and their estates 


3? 


might be set off as a precinct, with the following 


Philip’s influence, protected them, while other towns | 


suffered from their savage incursions. 


In 1672 a new meeting-house was built on the same | 
site as the former one, that being taken down and | 


giving place to a larger one. The new house had three 


pair of stairs in the corners. Men were seated in 
galleries on one side, women on the other, and boys 
in the front gallery. The duty of the tything-man 
was laborious; he received as much pay 
years as the deputy of the General Court. 
obliged to go on errands for the elders, whip the dogs 
out of the meeting-house, and prevent disorder among 
the boys. 

The business of seating persons in the meeting- 
house came under the jurisdiction of the elders, the 
greatest taxpayer having the best seat. The new 
house was furnished with a bell. 
ten shillings for one year’s service in beating the drum 
to collect the congregation. 

The school-house, a building eighteen feet long by 


fourteen feet wide, and three stories high, the upper | 


story being used as a watch-tower, stood near the 
church. 

In 1691 the town was indicted for not supporting 
a school. 

Sheep were introduced into the town in 1667. A 
large number of dogs were kept in the plantation to 


We find that 
bounties as high as twenty shillings were paid for their 


guard against the ravages of the wolves. 


many | 
He was | 
several ministers of the towns where they attended 


One Balch received | 


bounds, viz.: Beginning at Bubbling Brook, where 
it crosses Medfield road ; and from thence taking in 
the lands of Samuel Giickerme: from thence to the 
westerly end of Nathaniel Richards’ house-lot, and so 
down to Charles River, with all the lands and inhabi- 
tants westerly of said line; which petition was voted 
and granted at said meeting. 

Again, Nov. 19, 1724, a petition was presented to 
the General Court, praying to be made a distinct pre- 
cinct with the above bounds. 

The petition was consigned to a committee, who 
reported that the inhabitants, with their estates, should 
be freed from paying the minister rate in Dedham, 
and ordered that the ministerial taxes be paid to the 


church. This report was accepted by the court. 

In 1736 there were about fifteen hundred inhabi- 
tants and only one minister, and one schoolmaster em- 
ployed a few weeks ina place. There was one physician, 
a few mechanics, no traders or manufacturers. 

Another petition was sent to His Excellency 
William Shirley, Esq., Governor-in-Chief over his 


| majesty’s province, praying that they might be freed 


from paying ministerial rates in the respeetive places 


where they had been ‘accustomed to attend public 
worship, as it was attended with great difficulty and 
labor. They now desired to be set off as a_pre- 
cinct, with parish privileges, feeling that they could 


now build a meeting-house, support a minister, and 


meet together for public worship with some degree 
of ease and convenience. ‘This petition was signed at 
Dedham, March 30, 1748, and presented to the Gen- 
eral Court, April 5, 1748, with the following names: 





DOVER. 


241 





Daniel Wight. 
John Battelle. 
Josiah Richards. 
John Cheeney. 
John Chickering. 
Samuel Metealf. 
Jonathan Day. 
Nathaniel Wilson. 
Ezra Gay. 
Timothy Ellis. 
Daniel Chickering. 
John Griggs. 
Thomas Battelle. 
Jonathan Bullard. 
Thomas Richards. 
Jonathan Whiting. 
Abraham Chamberlain. 


John Draper. 
Samuel Chickering. 
Josiah Ellis. 
Benjamin Ellis. 
Joseph Draper. 
Seth Mason. 

Joseph Chickering. 
Eliphalet Chickering. 
Jabez Wood. 
Oliver Bacon. 

John Bacon. 
Joshua Ellis. 
Hezekiah Allen, Jr. 
Ebenezer Newell. 
Thomas Merrifield. 
Jonathan Battelle. 
Ralph Day. 


This petition was granted Nov. 18, 1748, giving 





Capt. Joseph Williams and four others were chosen 
to select a site for the meeting-house, and Nathaniel 
Wilson and two others to agree with any person or 
persons for the price of the land (if need be). This 


evolved unthought of difficulties with the committee, 


and after repeated meetings, debates, and petitions for 
different spots for the new meeting-house, tie-votes 


and many other obstacles to overcome, it was finally 


agreed to abide by the decision of a committee of dis- 


| interested persons from other towns, who reported that 
_ it should be placed upon the easterly side of Trout 


Brook, in the Third Precinct, not far from ye 
bounds between Deacon Joseph Ellis and Mr. Eliph- 


_alet Chickering, which would be a short distance 


the powers and privileges which precincts enjoy. | 
They then became an incorporated body, styling them- | 


selves the West, or Fourth Precinct in Dedham. 
warrant for the first precinct meeting was issued Dec. 
20, 1748, and as the General Court did not appoint 
a person to call the first parish meeting, one of his 
majesty’s justices of the peace, Joshua Ellis, warned 
the inhabitants to assemble in the school-house in 


A | 


Dedham (Third Precinct, near the dwelling-house of | 
Joseph Chickering), January 4th, at ten o’clock in > 


the forenoon, to choose a moderator, precinct clerk, 
and a committee to call parish, district, or precinct 
The inhabitants assembled at the time and 
place mentioned, and made choice of the following 
officers : 


meetings. 


Joshua Ellis, clerk; Joshua Ellis, Joseph Chick- | 


ering, Joseph Draper, Samuel Chickering, Samuel 
Metcalfe, precinct committee. 

At the next precinct meeting, holden in the same 
school-house March 15, 1749, Jonathan Whiting 
was chosen precinct treasurer; Joshua Ellis, Joseph 
Draper, Joseph Chickering, assessors and precinct 
committee. 

A vote was also passed to grant twenty-five pounds 
to defray the charge of three months’ preaching and 
other precinct charges. 

Joseph Draper, Ralph Day, and David Wight were 
chosen a committee to procure a minister to preach 
with them, also to provide a place for y° precinct to 
congregate in. 

The following committee was also chosen to pre- 
pare timber for a meeting-house: Capt. Hezekiah 
Allen, Joseph Draper, Samuel Metcalf, Daniel Chick- 


| 


back of where the present Congregationalist Church 
now stands. 

The report of the committee was accepted Feb. 
17, 1750, and the first precinct meeting was held in 
the meeting-house, March 20, 1754. At this meet- 
ing money was granted to finish the outside and lower 
floor. In 1758 another grant was made for lathing 
and plastering. During the same year more money 
was appropriated to build a pulpit; then in 1759 still 
another grant to finish two galleries and stairs, with 
this provision, that the galleries should have only 
common seats. The last grant was made in 1761 to 
finish pews on the lower floor. Thus, after ten years’ 
struggle with difficulties hard to overcome, the people 


were prepared to invite a gospel minister to settle 


| with them to dispense the word of God and his sacra- 


ments. 

The first minister employed in the precinct was 
Mr. Thomas Jones, who preached thirteen Sabbaths 
in the spring of 1749; from this time to 1754 noth- 


| ing decided had been done to establish public worship ; 
consequently the people were warned by the grand 


ering, Jonathan Day. The committee who were ap-— 


pointed to prepare the timber for the meeting-house 
were also instructed to build the house forty-two feet 
in length, thirty-four feet in width, and twenty feet in 


height from the top of y° cel to y° top of the plate. 
16 


jury of Suffolk County to give reasons for this neglect, 
with this admonition, if this negligence was continued 
they might expect to be presented. 

The sum of £15 6s. 8d. was voted to defray the 
expense of preaching for three months, and from this 
time to Oct. 18, 1758, different ministers were em- 
ployed for three and four months at a time; then a 
unanimous vote was given for Mr. Joseph Manning, 
of Cambridge, to dispense y® word of God and admin- 
ister y° special ordinances of y° gospel. This invita- 
tion was extended to him, witha salary of £66 13s. 4d., 
but these hopes were soon blighted by his declining 
to accept the call, with this benediction for their fu- 
ture welfare : 

“Therefore finally Brethren, Live in Love and Peace, keep- 


ing y® unity of y° Spiritin y° Bond of Peace. And may y® God 
of Peace be with you, may his peace rest upon you. That y® 


242 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





great Shepherd of y® sheep would in Due time give you a 
pastor after his own Heart, a faithful Minister of y® New Tes- 
tament to your Spiritual Edification and abundant Joy and 
Comfort, is and shall be y® Prayer of your Friend in Christ, 


“ JoseEpH MANNING. 
“ CAMBRIDGE, Dec. 4, 1758.” 


During the next four years different ministers were 
employed, but no one was called to settle. In 1760 
our ancestors were again notified by the General 
Court of their remissness; again in 1762 they were 
admonished by the court to choose a minister. Then 
a unanimous vote was given for Mr. Benjamin Cary], 
with a salary of £66 13s. 4d. 

The following is Mr. Caryl’s letter of acceptance, 
which cannot fail to show his prayerful spirit to be 
directed aright in his duties towards his fellow-men : 


“To the People of Springfield Parish in Dedham, Greeting : 

“* CurisTIAN FripNDS,—I hope I am, in some measure, sensi- 
ble of the over-ruling Providence of God in all things, and willing 
to hear and obey his voice to me therein. Especially would I, 
at this time, acknowledge and view the Providence of God, both 
in so far Uniting your Hearts to invite me, to carry on the 
great work of the Gospel Ministry among you and in inclining 
my heart to accept your invitation. 

“And I desire to bless God, that after so much pains taken 
to know my Duty, I am so well satisfied with the clearness of 
my call to settle among you in the work of the Ministry, tho’ I 
hope I am sensible of my own unfitness, 
insufficiency for these things. But being fully persuaded y® 
Christ as King and head of his Church has appointed and es- 
tablished the Office of y® Ministry to continue in a constant 


unpreparedness, and 


succession to the End of Time, and has promised to be with his | 


faithful ambassadors alway, to the end of y® world, I do, 
therefore, humbly leaning on Christ’s strength, Seriously com- 


ply with your desire to take upon me the Office of a Pastor, and | 


to administer Christ’s Ordinance among you. 

“And as, I hope, I do this with a desire for and aim at the 
Glory of God and our own mutual good, so let your fervent 
Prayers to God be thet he would qualify me for this work, and 
adorn me with all needful Ministerial Gifts and Grace, that I 


may be a workman that need not be ashamed; and that I may 


be Prospered in my labours among you, if it be his will to place 

me as a labourer among you; and that we may live in love and 

peace, as followers of the meek and lowly Jesus, that another 
Day we may appear before him with Joy and not with Grief. 
“Thus asking your Prayers, I Rest Your Humble servant, 
“BENIN. CARYL. 


“ DepuaM, Sept. 5, 1762.” 


Accordingly, Mr. Caryl was ordained Nov. 10, | 


1762, it being more than twelve years after the 
church was organized before a minister was settled. 
The Sunday previous to his ordination the church 
was embodied by Rev. Mr. Belcher, of Dedham, and 
consisted of fifteen male members. In 1763 the 
church was dedicated. 


The depreciation of the currency is fully shown in 





| for the afternoon 


was paid in silver money; in amount, fifty-three 
pounds six shillings and eight pence. 

In 1765 the Fourth Precinct consisted of forty-nine 
houses and three hundred and fifty-two inhabitants. 

Picture to ourselves, if we can, the devotion and 
faith that brought and held this little company of 
worshipers together, under all the trials and difficul- 
ties which were presented. We should see them 
seated in their much-loved meeting-house, which had 
cost them so much care and labor, with its bare walls 
and floor, with uncushioned seats, and only the 
warmth of their hearts to keep at bay the chilling 
cold of our New England winters. 

The families were seated according to age, sex, and 
The boys to be seated on the stairs of the 
men’s and women’s galleries, or, later, between the 
fore seat and side pews, and were to be under the in- 
spection of the older people and the young men, who 
were seated in the side galleries. The singers to be 
seated in the fore seat of the gallery, with a competent 
The pew next 
the pulpit was reserved, having a chest built in it to 


station. 


person appointed to tune the psalm. 


_ keep the church vessels in. 


All were expected to attend divine service, and 
tythingmen were sent about the town to look after 
the absent ones, all unnecessary absence to be pun- 
ished by fine. 

The tythingmen were expected to keep perfect 
order during the long sermons of morning and after- 


| noon, the sermons often reaching fifteenthly and 


sixteenthly, in the afternoon the sun often sinking 
low behind the western hills before the congregation 
was dismissed to go to their distant homes. All this 
was done as a sacred duty and obligation, to be dis- 
charged without question or doubt. 

Some years later, feeling that all physical comfort 
could not be sacrificed for spiritual advancement, it 
was voted that the school-house near the church 
should be opened by the head of some family on 
Lord’s-day immediately after the forenoon exercises, 
and that those of the precinct who had occasion 
might improve said house for their comfort between 
meetings, and that said house be shut up from time 
to time, “ when the minister go to y° meeting-house 
service.” A committee of five, 
consisting of Nathaniel Battelle, Eleazer Allen, Heze- 
kiah Allen, Jr., Peltiah Herring, and John Cheeney, 
were chosen to open, shut, secure the fire, and keep 


| order in said house. 


the increase of Mr. Caryl’s salary from sixty-six | 
y 


ounds to four thousand of the current money during 
J s 


the Revolutionary war. Again, in 1782, his salar 
g ) y 


Application was soon made to the First Church in 
Dedham for a division and allowance of their right 
and proportion of all lands that had been laid out for 


the improvement of the church. In 1773 a vote was 





DOVER. 


243 





given to lay stone steps at the meeting-house doors. 
March 9, 1770, Mr. Lemuel Richards, Mr. Joseph 
Fisher, and Mr. Asa Richards were chosen to tune the 


psalm for the year ensuing. Liberty was also given 


persons in the precinct to take up some of the body- | 


In 
March, 1779, liberty was given the singers to occupy 


seats and build pews at their own expense. 


the front gallery, and seat themselves as suited best 


for singing. 
May 4, 1780, all persons who could produce a 
certificate that they were of the Baptist persuasion 


exempted from paying the ministerial tax. 

During the long pastorate of Mr. Caryl important 
changes had taken place in the country, but nothing 
had occurred to mar the peace and prosperity of the 
church until the evening of Feb. 13, 1810, when the 
meeting-house was burned to the ground. Their 
much-beloved pastor was advanced in years, and too 
feeble in health to cheer them much in this dark hour. 
The fire was supposed to be incendiary, and a reward 
of two hundred and fifty dollars was offered by the 
town for the apprehension of the guilty party. 

At the annual March meeting it was voted to 


rebuild, and the sum of fifteen hundred dollars — 


granted for that purpose. Later, at the April meeting, 
five thousand five hundred dollars more was granted, 


| carried by the different families. 


| 


He graduated at Harvard College in 1761. 


| Caryl married, Dec. 9, 1762, Mrs. Sarah Hollock, 
were recorded as such on the precinct books, and | 


| of that town. 








made for heating the house, and foot-stoves were 
Dr. George Caryl, 
son of the pastor, was invited to select a pew for the 
use of the minister’s family. 

Mr. Caryl remained pastor of the church nearly 


_ fifty years, the union only terminating with his life. 


Rev. Benjamin Caryl was the son of Benjamin, 
and grandson of Benjamin and Mary Caryl, of Hop- 
kinton, and was born in that town in the year 1732. 


Mr. 


of Wrentham, daughter of Rev. Henry Messenger, 
Their children were Benjamin, born 
Dec. 6, 1764, died Sept. 12, 1775; and George, 
born April 1, 1767, graduated at Harvard 1788, mar- 
ried Miss Pamelia Martin, of Uxbridge, in 1790, and 
settled in Dover as a physician, in which capacity he 
was very successful and highly esteemed. He died 
Aug. 9, 1822, leaving a widow, three daughters, and 
a son. 

The old parsonage built by Mr. Caryl in 1777, near 
the small dwelling which to that date he had occupied 


| (the cellar of which may still be seen), is standing 


and occupied by his descendants, with very little 


also four hundred dollars to purchase a bell for the | 


meeting-house. 
the present Unitarian Church stands, an agreement 
having been made with Jonathan Upham to exchange 


The building was to be placed where | 


_man and thoroughly orthodox. 


lands with the district, giving the district about two _ 
acres of land north of the school-house then standing. | 
Stones for the underpinning were carted from Quincy. | 

The new meeting-house was dedicated June 11, | 


1811. Mr. Calvin Richards, Mr. Joseph Richards, 
Mr. Frederic Barden, Mr. Luther Richards, and 
Capt. Hezekiah Battelle were chosen a committee 
to make necessary arrangements for the dedication. 


Caryl, being too feeble in health to be present at the 
services, and unable to even visit the new house of 
worship. 

The new house was large and commodious, having 
sixty-four pews on the lower floor and thirty-two in 
the galleries. 
the house and one in front. These letters, in gilt, 
were on the front gallery: “ Built in 1811, gathered 
in 1762.” 
and side galleries, with wood-work finished higher 
than the adjoining seats, that were set apart for the 
colored people of the district. 


There were galleries on either side of | 


change externally or within since he finished it more 
than a century ago. 

No obituary of Mr. Caryl was ever published, but 
he left a goodly memory. He was much beloved by 
all, and is remembered with respect and affection. 
All are unanimous in testifying that he was a good 
He was remarkably 
earnest and gifted in prayer. He kept himself very 
much at home, seldom attending public meetings 
abroad. He drew as little from books and writings 
as any man of his time, but his sermons were fervent, 
impressive, evidently from the heart, and firm belief 
in the truth and importance of his message. They 
were written in avery fine, but perfectly legible hand, 


_and only one (a Thanksgiving sermon) was ever 
An appropriate sermon was delivered by Rev. Mr. | 
Palmer, of Needham, the pastor, Rev. Benjamin | 


printed. He died Nov. 14, 1811. Immediately 
after the burial services, November 18th, the inhab- 
itants returned to the meeting-house and appointed 
Thursday, Jan. 2, 1812, to be set apart for a day of 
fasting and prayer throughout the district, and chose 
Deacon Jonathan Battelle and Mr. William Richards a 
committee to inform the ministers of the Association. 

After Mr. Caryl’s decease, there was no settled 


minister until the next summer, when the district 


' united with the parish in a vote, June 2, 1812, to 
There were two pews between the front | 


extend a call to Rey. Ralph Sanger to become their 
pastor and gospel minister, with a yearly salary of five 


_ hundred and fifty dollars; also the use and improve- 
No plan had been | 


ment of the church lot; also that Mr. Sanger have 


244 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





liberty to be absent two Sabbaths in a year if it be 
his desire. A committee of three were appointed, 
consisting of Capt. Samuel Fisher, Mr. James Mann, 
and Mr. Aaron Whiting, to inform Mr. Sanger of 


their choice. Mr. Sanger made the following reply : 


“ To the Church and Society in Dover. 
“My CuristrAN Frrenps,—Since I received an expression 
of your wishes, as contained in the votes of the church and so- 


ciety, it has been my earnest endeavor, as well as humble prayer, 


to take the important subject into serious consideration. Ihave 
considered the warm affection and kind attention which were ex- 
ercised and displayed toward him whose labor in the Lord was 
long and precious among you, and whose memory, while he now 
sleepeth with the fathers, you cherish with truly filial affection. 

““T have consulted my friends and have not the happiness to 
say that their opinions were unanimous. I have consulted 
others also, whose opinions I value, and found them far from 
being united. While my mind was undergoing a conflict, from 
their varying opinions, it recurred to a consideration of your 
condition—to a consideration of what might be the situation of 
your affairs in case I should feel myself bound to non-concur 
with your wishes. The thought was painful. It has not, I 
trust, been without its weight on my mind. I have considered 
also your proposals. The form of a part of them now meets my 
most cordial approbation, and should it so happen that no ex- 
plicit alteration in other parts shall take place, permit me to 
understand and expect that I may not materially suffer from 
changes which no 





the changes which await all human affairs, 
prudence can foresee nor care avoid. I have considered also 
your tolerant and catholic spirit, your charity and affection for 
the pious and good of all denominations, your sacred regard for 
the Holy Scriptures in their nature and simplicity and purity 
without human addition or diminution. 
mit me to say that your sentiments perfectly agree with my 
own. And it is my earnest wish, as well as devout prayer, 
that while I shun not to declare the whole counsel of God, ‘I 
may never teach for doctrines the commandments of men.’ 

“ Prom these considerations, and under these expectations, lam 
induced to say, ‘I accept your invitation.’ And, in connexion 
with this acceptance, I tender you, for all your past attention, 
my most hearty thanks, confidently trusting that while nothing 
may in future be wanting on my part, so that there will be no 
less disposition on yours to continue them. And although our 


situation, my friends, may not be the most conspicuous, we may 





| 20, 1839. 


He was ordained Sept. 16,1812. His father, Zed- 
ekiah Sanger, D.D., preached the sermon at his 
ordination. Dr. Sanger enjoyed an unbroken pastor- 
ate of nearly half a century. 

The greatest calamity which befell the society dur- 
ing his ministry was the burning of the church, Jan. 
The next morning members of the society 
gathered around the smoking ruins and made ar- 
rangements for an informal parish meeting; and in 


3) 
less than eight months the present house was finished 


and dedicated. 

The family of Dr. Sanger was of good old Puritan 
stock, and some of his ancestors were among the ear- 
liest settlers in Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. 
His father, Rev. Zedekiah Sanger, D.D., graduated 
at Harvard University in 1771, and was settled in 


_ Duxbury, Mass. ; afterwards in Bridgewater, in the 





In these points per- | 


| Duxbury, June 


not enjoy the stare and gare of the world, still let us do allin | 


our power to enjoy what is infinitely superior,—the cordial 


joy the delightful satisfaction of promoting each other’s happi- 
ness. And, above all, may we enjoy the approbation of our 
own minds and the serenity of a pious hope,—a hope of ob- 
taining his favor, ‘whose favor is life, and whose loving kind- 


ness is better than life.’ 


“Finally, my Brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the | 
| quently having students from Cambridge under his 


power of his might. Praying always with all prayer and sup- 


plication in the Spirit, and for me, that [ may open my mouth 


boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel, for which I | 


am an ambassador. And by our mutual prayers, our kind af- 
fections, and our good offices to each other, by our uninter- 
rupted and increasing friendship here may we be prepared for 
that friendship which death cannot destroy, which eternity 
cannot impair. 
“Thus prays your sincere and humble servant, 
‘* RALPH SANGER. 


“CAMBRIDGE, July 6, 1812.” 


same State, where he performed the active duties of 
a minister till his death, in 1820. He received the 
degree of Doctor of Divinity from Bowdoin College, 
Me., in 1807. His wife was Irene Freeman, and 
their family consisted of thirteen children, eight sons 
and five daughters, all of whom reached years of ma- 
turity. Of the sons, Richard and Ralph were gradu- 
ates of Harvard College, and Zedekiah of Brown 
University, at Providence, R. I. Ralph and Zedekiah 
became ministers. 
Ralph, the subject of this memoir, was born in 
22, 1786, but spent most of his 
youthful days in Bridgewater. He was fitted for 
college by his father, as was customary in the earlier 
days of New England when preparatory schools were 
few. He entered Harvard in 1804, his brother 
Richard being at that time tutor in Greek. In 1808 
he graduated with the highest honors of his class. 
The following year he was master of the Latin gram- 
mar school in Concord, Mass. ; he then returned to his 
alma mater, and was tutor in mathematics for two 


_ years; he then prepared for the ministry under the 
love and mutual kind attentions of each other, still may we en- | ait Eee J 


cuidance of his father, who had many students under 
his care prior to the establishment of divinity schools. 
In 1813 he removed to Dover and took charge of the 
First Parish, at that time the only one in town, living 
in the family of Deacon Jonathan Battelle, and fre- 


care. 

In 1817 he was married to Charlotte Kingman, of 
Kast Bridgewater, Mass., and established his home in 
the centre of the town, where his six children were 
born and reared. Ralph, born March 31, 1818, died 
March 31 (on his birthday), 1850. George Part- 
ridge, born Nov. 27, 1819, graduated at Harvard Uni- 


' versity, 1840, and now United States attorney for Kast- 











DOVER. 


245 





ern Massachusetts, resides at Cambridge, Mass. Char-— 


lotte Kingman, born Aug. 17, 1822, married William 
G. Gannett, Oct. 10,1848, died Aug. 2,1871. John 
White, born March 15, 1824, died at Shanghai, 
China, 1866; was captain in East India trade. Simon 
Greenleaf, born March 9, 1827, graduated at Har- 
vard University, 1848, a teacher in Chicago. Irene 
Freeman, born Aug. 13, 1830, a teacher in Boston. 
He resided here until July 8, 1857, when his house 
was destroyed by an incendiary fire. In this year he 
received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Har- 
vard University. He then went to Cambridge and 
lived with his daughter, Mrs. Gannett, until his 
death, in 1860. But his connection with his parish 
He died 
May 6, 1860, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. 
Among his people Dr. Sanger always labored earn- 


remained unbroken until his last illness. 


estly to promote their material, moral, intellectual, and 
spiritual welfare. He was the means of establishing 
a town library, tock a deep interest in town, county, 
and State societies for promotion of agriculture, and 
during his long ministry, which covered a period of 
nearly forty-seven years, acted as chairman of the 
school committee. He also represented the town in 
the State Legislature three years, and was much inter- 
ested in the project of having a railroad through 
the town. His perceptions were quick and ideas log- 
ical, and he strove not only to do good himself, but 
endeavored to lead others to follow in his footsteps. 
Mrs. Sanger survived her husband twenty-one 
years, dying at the age of ninety. 
labored long 


Together they 
and faithfully for the good of those 
around them ; both did a work worthy of the noblest 
ambition, and both rest from their labors in the beau- 
tiful cemetery of Mount Auburn. No better inscription 
could be placed upon their tomb than “ Blessed are 
the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children 
of God.” 

After the resignation of Mr. Sanger the society 
united in extending an invitation, Nov. 8, 1858, to 
Rey. Edward Barker, a graduate of Meadville Theo- 
logical School, Pennsylvania, to settle with them as 
colleague with Rev. Ralph Sanger, with a salary of 
five hundred dollars. The invitation was accepted 
Noy. 15, 1858, and Mr. Barker was soon ordained, 
and commenced in the labor of the ministry. Mr. 
Barker was pastor of the church a little more than 
two years, his labor terminating Dec. 17, 1860. Af- 
ter Mr. Barker’s withdrawal the pulpit was supplied 
for a while by Rey. Horatio Alger, of South Natick ; 
but he soon felt that the work was too laborious to be 
continued in connection with the care of his own par- 
ish in Natick, and the society was without a settled 


pastor until April 1, 1863, when the parish and 
church concurred in extending a call to Rev. George 
Proctor, of Billerica. George Proctor was born in 
Chelmsford, Mass., Sept. 5, 1814, the son of Aza- 
riah and Lucy (Hodgman) Proctor. He received his 
early education in Chelmsford. In 1839 he commenced 
the study of theology under the instruction of Rev. 
Rufus S. Pope, who for thirty years was pastor of 
the Universalist Society in Hyannis. April 1, 1840, 
Mr. Proctor was ordained and installed pastor of the 
Universalist Society in Sterling, where he labored five 
years ; from that time until April 1, 1847, he was 
pastor of a society in Harvard, laboring a portion of 
the time in Boxboro’ ; he was then called to Billerica, 
Mass., where he remained until 1854. He then became 
pastor of a parish in Oxford; remained there three 
years, when he was recalled to Billerica, where he 
labored six years more, making in all a pastorate of 
April 19, 1863, 
he commenced his labors in Dover, and remained five 


nearly thirteen years in that place. 
years. One of the most gratifying events of his 
ministry in Dover occurred July 7, 1867, when 
twenty-two persons were received into the church by 
He was 
a pastor much beloved and respected by his people. 
In June, 1868, the society invited Rev. Calvin S. 
Locke, of West Dedham, to supply the pulpit for an 


baptism and the right hand of fellowship. 


indefinite period. 

Calvin Stoughton Locke was born in Aeworth, N. 
H., Oct. 11, 1829. 
he was placed, in 1834, under the guardianship of Rev, 
Moses Gerald, of Alstead, N. H., and was reared 
under the most pronounced Calvinistic theology. He 


After the decease of his parents 


was prepared for college at the Kimball Union Acad- 
emy, Meriden, N. H., and at Williston Seminary, 
Easthampton, Mass. He graduated from Amherst 
College in 1849. After teaching two years in Essex, 
Mass., he entered the Divinity School of Harvard 
December 6th of 
the same year he was ordained pastor of the Third 
Parish of Dedham. 
continued until July, 1864, when he opened a private 
school in West Dedham. 
at Dover eleven years, he resigned his charge, much 


University and graduated in 1854. 
His ministry in this parish 
After supplying the pulpit 


to the regret of the society. During his pastorate the 
society procured new hymn books, renovated the 
church, obtained a cabinet organ for the Sunday- 
school, and replaced the pipe organ with a better in- 
Much of this work was due to the labor 
The society still hold 

Since his resignation 


strument. 
and influence of the pastor. 
him in loving rememberance. 
he has and is devoting his time and labor to the pri- 
vate school which he established in 1864. 


246 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





In 1880 the parish extended a call to Rev. Eugene | 


De Normandie, of Sherborn, who still divides his la- 
bors between the societies of Sherborn and Dover. 


The deacons of the church since its formation have | 


been Ralph Day, Joshua Ellis, Joseph Haven, Eben- 
ezer Newell, Noah Haven, Ebenezer Smith, Ephraim 
Wilson, Jonathan Battelle, Ralph Battelle, Joseph 
Larrabee, Asa Talbot, Joseph A. Smith. 

The Second Congregationalist Church.—This 
church was organized December 28, 1838. In 1812 
Rev. Ralph Sanger was settled as Mr. Caryl’s suc- 
cessor by a council of neighboring pastors, who were 
satisfied with his examination on the received creed 
of the New England Congregational Churches. 

It was discovered, however, ere long that he did 
not preach clearly evangelical truths, and gradually 


who represented and loved the faith of the fathers 
felt compelled to withdraw. After secking for a time 
spiritual homes in neighboring towns, they organized, 


with others from the old parish, a society for the | 


express purpose of building a sanctuary of their own, 


cated June 27, 1839. 


| 
| 





Strong, of South Natick, also supplied the pulpit. 
The parish had become weakened by divisions, and the 
pulpit was supplied mostly by theological students 
until 1875, when the Rev. John Wood, of Wellesley, 
was the non-resident minister for about three years, 
and made himself quite as efficient as if living among 
the people,—uniting discordant elements, and receiving 
About this time 
the Charles River prayer-meeting, which was started 
during Mr. Norton's ministry, became a regular Sab- 


new accessions to the communion. 


_ bath afternoon service, under the care of the church in 


Dover. In 1878 the Home Missionary Society united 
the South Natick and Dover societies, and called 
the Rev. Peirce Pinch to settle over them. He was 


installed July 25, 1878. This union of churches 


_ was dissolved May 18, 1880. 
this became so apparent and unsatisfactory that those | 





‘in June, 1880. 


By the action of the 
Home Missionary Society, Charles River and Dover 
societies were united, and the Rev. J. W. Brown- 
ville invited to become pastor over the two societies 
Mr. Brownville resigned in June, 


1882. Rev. I. N. B. Headly and others supplied 


_ until September, 1882, when the Rev. P. C. Headly 
on the site of:the old mecting house, which was dedi- | 


The sermon on the occasion | 


was preached by Rev. S. Aiken, D.D., of the Park | 


Street Church, Boston. 
ized October 23d of the same year. 
zation (in legal form the Second Church) was neces- 


This reorgani- 


sary because, according to the ruling of the courts, 
the original church having withdrawn, those who 
withdrew from the society could not lawfully carry 
any portion of the funds with them; thus the old 
society held the property. The first minister was 
the Rev. George Champion, who was active in form- 


his wife, heads the list of membership. 


The church was reorgan- | 





commenced to supply the pulpit, and is now the resi- 
The Charles River society withdrew 
from the Dover society about this time. 


dent pastor. 


The deacons of the church since its formation are 
as follows: Daniel Chickering, chosen Oct. 31, 1839 ; 
died Jan. 17, 1872. Calvin Bigelow, chosen Oct. 
31,1839; died Jan. 24, 1872. James Chickering, 
chosen May 9, 1872; died Oct. 20, 1875. Prescott 
Fiske, chosen Nov. 13, 1878, for five years; resigned. 
Eben Higgins, chosen Nov. 13, 1878, for three 
years; term expired Nov. 13, 1881. Richard P. 


| Mills, chosen Nov. 5, 1881; removed to Rockport 
ing the new church, and whose name, with that of | 


He left Dec. 5, 1841, and was succeeded by the | 


Rev. Rowell Tenney, who supplied eight months. 
Rey. Alfred Greenwood came September, 1842, and 


remained till 1843, when Rev. Calvin White sup- | 


plied the pulpit until June 20, 1847. 


| Church. 


Rey. Oramel W. Cooley was ordained and installed | 


May 4, 1848. His connection with the church 
ceased in the summer of 1850. The Rev. John 
Haskell was ordained Dec. 2, 1850. Mr. Haskell 
resigned Nov. 3, 1858. 

Until June, 1859, the pulpit was supplied by the 
Revs. Wright, Carver, Small, Peabody, and others, 
when the Rev. T. 8S. Norton was invited to become 
pastor, and, without a formal settlement, remained 
until January, 1869. After Mr. Norton, whose 
pastorate was the longest since 1839, Rev. J. G. 
Wilson and others occupied the pulpit. Rev. S. C. 


‘all. 


in 1883. James McGill, chosen Dee. 17, 1882. 
Rev. T. 8. Norton, chosen April 28, 1883. 

The Baptist Church.—A number of persons pro- 
fessing the Baptist faith, residing in Needham, Natick, 
and Dover, formed themselves into a church in 1837, 
to be known as the Needham and Dover Baptist 
In 1838 a chapel was built and dedicated 
at Charles River village for the accommodation of 
They were publicly recognized by an ecclesias- 
tical council as a Baptist Church. Other churches 
having been formed in the neighboring towns, it was 
thought expedient in 1859 to move the chapel to its 
present location. The church was well attended for 
a number of years, the pulpit being supplied almost 
wholly by students from the Baptist Theological Sem- 
inary at Newton. Sherman Battelle, Esq., and Dea- 
con John Kenrick labored many years for its pros- 
perity, but the numbers being small, it was deemed 
advisable to discontinue public services. 








DOVER. 


247 





The first Sunday-school in town was organized April, 


1818, by Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Battelle, at Charles | 


River village, over the store of Capt. Newell, for the 
instruction of the people laboring in the mills. Little 
is known of this early Sunday-school, as it existed 
only a few years. Some years later another was or- 
ganized in connection with the First Parish Church. | 


In 1822, Miss Mary Perry, being then a teacher in | 


the Centre District School, wishing to encourage an 
interest in religious exercises, invited her pupils to 


commit passages of Scripture and verses of hymns to | 


Some of the 
pupils entered upon the duties with pleasure; but as 


be repeated to her Monday morning. 


the interest increased, jealousies arose, and some of 
the people complained that too much time was taken 
from the public school duties. 


Miss Perry then in- | 
vited the scholars to meet her in the school-house | 





Sunday noons. This invitation was accepted, and a 
larger number was soon in attendance than could be 
accommodated. In 1824 the school was moved to 
the church, but the instructors received but few ex- 
pressions of encouragement or sympathy from pastor 
or people. 

Nearly all of the Sunday-schools in early times 


were held in school-houses during the warm weather, | 


discontinuing during the winter months, and having 
but little or no connection with the church. 
Revolutionary War.—Amid the cares and labors 
of a pioneer life our ancestors were early called to de- 
fend the rights and liberties of their homes in the 
wilderness. On the morning of April 19, 1775, as | 
the British troops marched towards Lexington, a 
messenger, a sharer of the toil of Paul Revere, was | 
sent into the country to arouse the people to defend | 





their homes. Dover, then a precinct of Dedham, | 
was ready to respond to the patriotic call. Sixty- 
eight brave men went forth, and one (Charles Haven) | 
never returned. Two months later, June 17th, at _ 
the battle of Bunker Hill, as Col. Prescott led his | 
thousand men to occupy the heights of Charlestown, | 
we find our noble men among the number, and one 
(Aaron Whiting), ready to be among the defenders, 
left his oxen and plow in the field. His wife un- | 
yoked the oxen and turned them to pasture, but the 
plow remained in the unfinished furrow until his 
return three months later. When Washington | 
reached Boston, a fortnight after the battle of Bunker 
Hill, he found a large body of volunteers ready to be 
organized and disciplined as soldiers. 

Then in May, 1775, when it was decided by some 
of the patriots to secure Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point, we find Nathaniel Chickering, Lieut. Lemuel | 
Richards, Moses Richards, Thadeus Richards, John | 


| whatsoever. 


Jones, and Bariah Smith among the brave to capture 
these forts. One of the number, John Jones, died 
at Crown Point, with smallpox, July 4, 1776. 

The last precinct meeting warned in “His Majesty’s” 
name was April 21, 1774. From that time until 
Sept. 29, 1777, the meetings were warned as free- 
holders and inhabitants of the Fourth Precinct. 
After that date they were warned in the name of the 
government and people of Massachusetts Bay. Large 
sums of money were granted from time to time to 
defray the expenses of the war. 

The town of Dedham declared its independence 


| May 27, 1776. 


The following is the form of the oath of alle- 
giance : 


“We, the subscribers, each one of us for himself, do truly and 
sincerely acknowledge, profess, testify, and declare that the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts is, and of right ought to be, 
a free sovereign and independent State. And I do swear that 
I will bear true faith and allegiance to the said Commonwealth, 
and that I will defend the same against traitorous conspiracies 
and all hostile attempts whatsoever. And that I do renounce 
and abjure all allegiance, subjection, and obedience to the King, 
Queen, or Government of Great Britain (as the case may be), 
and every other Foreign Power whatsoever: and that no For- 
eign Prince, Person, Prelate, State, or Potentate hath or ought 
to have any jurisdiction, superiority, Pre-eminence, Authority, 
Dispensing or other Power in any matter, civil, ecclesiastical, or 
spiritual, within this Commonwealth, except the Authority and 
Power which is or may be vested by their constituents in the 
Congress of the United States. And I do further testify and 
declare that no man or body of men hath or can have any 
right to absolve or discharge me from the obligation of this 
oath, declaration, or affirmation. And that I do make this Ac- 
knowledgment, Profession, Testimony, Denial, Declaration, 


| Renunciation, and Abjuration heartily and truly, according to 


the common meaning and acceptation of the foregoing words, 
without any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret reservation 
So help you God.” 

The following names will show the readiness to 
respond to the call of duty in this trying time: 
Joseph Cheeny, James Cheeny, and Nathaniel Miller 
guarded Burgoyne’s troops one hundred and fifty 
days. Ellis Whiting, Michael Bacon, Jonathan Bat- 
telle guarded Governor’s Island thirty-three days. 


| Capt. Ebenezer Battelle, Lieut. Asa Richards, John 


Cheeny, Adam Jones, Stephen Gay, Samuel Farring- 


ton, John Chickering, Hezekiah Battelle, and Eben- 


ezer Battelle guarded Roxbury fourteen days. 
Bariah Smith, Ebenezer Richards, Jeremiah Bacon, 
Jr., Moses Bacon, Josiah Bacon, Jr., guarded at 
Roxbury and Providence seventeen days. Jabez 
Whiting, Daniel Chickering, Thomas Leath, John 
Brown, Jesse Richards, Luke Dean, Elijah Dewings, 
Nathan Cook, Ichabod Farrington, Abijah Richards, 
Aaron Fairbanks, John Draper, Thomas Leatherbee, 


Bariah Smith, and Samuel Chickering guarded in and - 


248 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








| 


around Boston from eight to one hundred and seven- — 


teen days. Many held the soldier’s rank and three 


were officers,—Col. Daniel Whiting, Lieut. Ebenezer | 
Their names | 


Newell, and Capt. Hezekiah Allen. 
may be read on the moss-covered stones as they sleep 
beneath the sod in the quiet of our loved and hal- 
lowed cemetery. Ebenezer Wilkinson and Daniel 
Fuller were drafted to serve in the war of 1812. 
Civil War.—We would not forget our brave sons 
and brothers who risked fortune and life to free the 


slave and defend the flag of our nation, and as they | 


buckled on their armor in its defense tearful eyes and 
heavy hearts were left behind. 

Thirty-three enlisted and sixteen laid down their 
lives for the country they loved. And as we plant 


the myrtle and the rose over these patriot graves may | 


our prayers be that the nation’s blood may never flow 
again to wash away the stain of the oppressor or the 
foe. 


The following is a list of the names of the soldiers | 
a district with the same boundaries as when a pre- 


who served in the civil war: 


James G. Mann. 
Ellis Marden. 
William Martin. 
Thomas Monroe. 
Robert Mitchell (navy). 
George E. Miller. 
Timothy Ragan. 
Howard A. Staples. 
Lewis Smith. 
Frederic E. Smith. 
John E. Strang. 
Ansel H. Tisdale. 
Levi A. Talbot. 
Benjamin Thomas. 


Henry H. Ayres. 
Calvin Ayres. 
Abraham Bigelow. 
Chester A. Bigelow. 
George Bemis. 
James A. Baldwin. 
Andrew W. Bartlett. 
John M. Brown. 
Joseph A. Copeland. 
James Carey. 
Theodore L. Dunn. 
Perez L. Fearing. 
George W. Fearing. 
John Frost (navy). 
Lewis N. Goulding. 
Edwin F. Gay. 
Henry J. Hanks. 
William G. Hart. 
Willard Hotchkiss (navy). 
C. Dwight Hanscomb. 
George R. Markbam., 
Elbridge L. Mann. 


Samuel G. Thomas. 
Ithamar Whiting. 
Daniel Whiting. 
William Whiting. 
Albert Woods. 
George H. Wise. 
James Welch. 
Patrick Wall. 


Documentary History.—A petition, signed Jan. 
16, 1782, was presented to the General Court, pray- 
ing that the precinct might be incorporated as a town. 


It passed in the House, was sent to the Senate, read | 


the first time, and on the second reading was rejected, 
April 23, 1782. The Fourth’ Precinct of Dedham 
voted, March 17, 1784, to apply again to the Gen- 
eral Court to be incorporated as a town, and John 


Jones, Joseph Haven, and John Reed were chosen | 
? y] | 


agents to present the memorial of the inhabitants to 


the General Court. Humbly showing by their peti- 


| 
| 





of the inhabitants of the precinct were obliged to 
travel from eight to twenty miles to attend the town- 
meetings, and by reason of the extra distance, the 
badness of the ways, and oftentimes deep snows and 


_ stormy seasons, there would not be more than three 








_ the town and district in the General Court. 


or four of the precinct at the town-meeting when 
matters of importance were transacted ; also, that a 


considerable number of the precinct, being worried 


with such unreasonable toil and travel, had deter- 
mined several years ago never to attend another town- 
meeting at such inconvenience ; and although they 
were not many in number or opulent, still if they 
were smaller in number and of less ability, they were 
under an absolute necessity of being incorporated as a 
This petition passed in the House of Repre- 
sentatives but was rejected in the Senate, as the 
numbers in the precinct were below the number re- 
quired for a representative. The inhabitants then 
met, June 28,1774, and prepared a draft to be pre- 
sented to the General Court, to be incorporated into 


town. 


cinct. This petition was accepted, and the precinct 


was incorporated into a district by the name of Dover, 


July 6, 1784, with these provisions, that the inhab- 


itants of the precinct pay all the taxes and debts due 
the town of Dedham; also, relinquish all the rights, 
titles, and interest in the work-house, school money, 
and all donations and public privileges in the town of 
Dedham ; also, that the selectmen of the town of 
Dedham give notice fifteen days at least before 
choosing a representative, to meet with the town of 
Dover to choose a representative. The first public 
meeting of the district was held Aug. 9, 1784, and 
the following officers chosen: Selectmen, John Jones, 
Esq., Deacon Joseph Haven, and Lieut. Ebenezer 
Newell; Treasurer, William Whiting; Theodore 
Newell, constable and collector. May 9, 1785, the town 
of Dedham and district of Dover made choice of 
Nathaniel Kingsbury and Samuel Dexter to represent 
March 


4, 1790, the district of Dover, in the county of Suf- 


their numbers, did not send representatives. 








tion the great inconvenience under which they la- | 


folk, was annexed to the town of Medfield for choos- 
ing representatives for the future. In colonial days 
many of the towns, on account of the smallness of 
Then 
each town paid its representative and were fined if 
one was not sent, delegates often being sent to petition 
the court to remit the fine. 

A petition was presented to the Legislature, Feb. 
17, 1836, praying to be incorporated into a town, 
having ascertained that there were more than one 
hundred and fifty ratable polls, being the number 


. . | . . . . 
bored, not being an incorporated body ; that many § sufficient to entitle them to a representative of their 


: DOVER. 


249 








own. This petition was presented by Walter Stowe, 
Lowell Perry, and Timothy Allen, selectmen of the 
district. The petition was granted March 31, 1836, 
and Dover, having been fifty-six years a precinct and 
fifty-two a district, became a town possessed of all the 
duties and liabilities of other towns of the common- 
wealth. 

Representatives to the General Court have been as 
follows : 


1856. 
1840. 
1844, 
1845. 
1846. 
1850. 
1851. 


| 1853. 
| 1858. 
| 1864. 
1869. 
laeyate 
| 1877. 
Calvin Richards. | 


Rey. Ralph Sanger. 
Calvin Richards. 
Rev. Ralph Sanger. 
Elijah Perry, Jr. 


Rey. Ralph Sanger. 
ec “e 


Rey. Ralph Sanger. 
Henry Horton. 
Theodore Dunn. 
Abner L. Smith. 
Amos W. Shumway. 
John Humphrey. 


In 1754, Ensign John Jones was chosen to pro- 
cure a burial-cloth for the precinct. In 1774 the in- 
habitants voted that. they will not drink any kind of 
India tea, or allow their families to use it. A com- 
mittee of eleven were chosen to make inquiries if any 
persons violate their engagements. 

In 1786 a pound was built. In 1787 the Farm 
Bridge was built. In 1794 cattle and swine were 
allowed to run at large. In 1795 guide-posts were 
erected in various parts of the town. In 1780 taxes 
were grievous to be borne, and great hardships endured 


on account of it. In 1800 it was voted to build a 


powder-house on the land of Capt. Samuel Fisher. | 


It was built by Obed Burridge, and was sold in 1845. 
Fifty dollars were voted to support the singing- 
school in 1830. Census, May 22, 1837, 518. In 
1843 it was voted that citizens have the privilege of 
taking up lots in the burial-ground, not to exceed 
twenty feet square ; it was also voted to lay out walks 
and set out trees. EHlijah Perry, Calvin Richards, 
and Luther Eastman were chosen a committee to 
beautify and improve the burial-grounds. 
In-1862 it was voted to 
pay two hundred dollars to volunteers who would en- 
list to fill the quota of the town. 
population was 645. 

Poor.—For many years the poor of the town were 


tythingmen were chosen. 


. *y. | 
boarded in families, wherever they could be accom- | 


modated. 
the poor, which was afterward sold at public auction. 
In 1865, Joseph Larrabee bequeathed all his real and 
personal estate to the town, the income to be used 
for the comfort and benefit of poor persons, who had 


Later a farm was bought for a home for 


a legal settlement in Dover. 

mended that the trustees use a portion for the aged 

and feeble who could not fully maintain themselves. 
Educational.—Not only were our ancestors inter- 


In 1845 | 


He especially recom- | 





In 1876 the | 


| mittee. 


| 
| 





ested in religious advancement, but the cause of public 
instruction received their early attention. In 1759 
an order for 7s. 4d. was granted to Timothy Ellis for 
mending the windows to the school-house the year 
before. Also, previous to this an order without date 
was granted to Thomas Jackson for £31 6s. 8d., for 
his wife Leonora teaching school at Mr. Bacon’s 
The first precinct meetings, 1748, were held 
in a school-house near the dwelling-house of Joseph 
Chickering. This school-house must have been owned 
by individuals, as in a precinct meeting, March 6, 
1761, the inhabitants wished to remove the school- 


house. 


house to a more convenient place near the meeting- 
house, but the proprietors would not consent to have 
it removed. In 1762 the inhabitants applied to Ded- 
ham for their proportion of school money due the 
Fourth Precinct. Voted, March 21, 1763, to build a 
new school-house, ‘“‘ opposite to y° north side of y* meet- 
ing-house, on land of Dea. Joshua Ellis.” “ Then Dea. 
Joshua Elis made an open declaration to y° said pre- 
cinct, that he did give to y°® said precinct the land 
pitched upon for y* use of a school-house and yard, 
viz., four rods square ; the southerly line of y® said 
square to bound south on the highway that leads by 
the north side of the meeting-house.” ‘‘ And the 
said precinct accepted the same, and voted their 
thanks to Dea. Joshua Ellis for the said land.’ An 
appropriation of twenty-five pounds was made to 
build the school-bouse. 

Voted, April 4, 1785, to build two new school- 
houses, one in the west-and one in the east part of 
the town. Appropriated £25 for building each. In 
1785 granted to Jeremiah Bacon £3 12s. 8d., for keep- 
Also 


ing school in the centre division for the winter. 


| gave an order for £3 June 4, 1786, to Miss Mary 


Whiting, for teaching in the Centre division. In 
1789 gave an order to Paul Whiting for £2 8s. Od., 
for his wife teaching in the East division. In 1791 
paid John Jones Ils. 4d. in part for his services as 
school committee. In 1830, Rev. Ralph Sanger, Jo- 
siah Newell, and Noah Fiske were elected school com- 
In 1838 voted to define school district limits, 
to be designated as the east, west, and centre districts. 
“The inhabitants of the south part of the town to 
draw their proportion of the school money by the 


} 
| scholar.” 


In 1796 voted to grant fifty-five pounds for school- 
In 1798 voted two hundred dollars for the use 
of the schools. 

The Centre division in 1838 consisted of fifty-two 
families, and ninety-nine scholars between the ages 
It being so large it was 


ing. 


of four and twenty-one. 
thought advisable to divide it into two districts, and 


250 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





what is now known as the North district was set off. office was established there were two mails during 
In 1839 it was voted each district choose a prudential the week, Wednesday and Saturday. 


committee. In 1841 it was voted to build a new 


school-house in the West district, the old one being too | 


small for the number of scholars attending ; 


being so low in that part of the house where the 


ceiling 


seats and writing-desks were located that a person of 
medium height could not stand erect. In 1851 voted 
to have school reports printed. 


salary of thirty dollars per year. In 1865 the South 
district formed a union with Walpole and Dedham. 
In 1869 the district system was abolished. 


The money for schools was divided for many years | 
between the districts in proportion as each district 


paid taxes for their support. 

In 1884 the town appropriated twelve hundred 
dollars for the support of schools, and that, with the 
dog-tax and share of State School Fund, gives about 
sixteen hundred dollars for the maintenance of the 
four schools. 

There are one hundred and five children in the 
town between the ages of five and fifteen, who attend 
the public schools. There being no High School, all 
who wish to pursue their studies attend schools of a 
higher grade in the adjoining towns. 

Women have been elected as members of the school 
committee, and have served as superintendents for the 
past eleven years. 


The following names will show the interest that 
has been manifested to procure a liberal education, all — 


having received a college education or were members 
of a college: 


1765. 
1774. 
1774. 
1776. 
1788. 
1800. 
1803. 
1803. 
1810. 
1810. 
1814. 
1818. 
1833. 
1840. 
1797. 
1812. 
1812. 
8114. 


Nathaniel Battelle, Harvard College. 
Jabez Chickering, Harvard College. 
Joseph Haven, Harvard College. 

John Haven, Harvard College. 

George Caryl, Harvard College. 
Hezekiah Allen, Harvard College. 
William Draper, Harvard College. 

Jesse Fisher, Harvard College. 

Samuel Fisher, Harvard College. 

Joseph Haven, Harvard College. 

Mason Fisher, Harvard College. 

Jesse Chickering, Harvard College. 
Fisher Ames Harding, Harvard College. 
George Partridge Sanger, Harvard College. 
Morrill Allen, Brown University. 
Thadeus Allen, Brown University. 
Daniel Whiting, Brown University. 
Hezekiah Battelle, Brown University. 


Post-Office.—The post-office was established in 
Dover, February, 1838. Previous to this the mail 
was brought to Dover from Dedham several times 
during the week on horseback. At the time the 


In 1864 voted that | 
the school committee choose a superintendent, with a | 











The first postmaster, John Williams, was born in 
Groton. In early life he moved to Dedham, married 
Sally B. Stone, of that town, and resided there several 
years. He then came to Dover, established a hotel, 
where many a weary traveler was refreshed at the 
bountiful board, as the four-horse coaeh from Woon- 
socket Falls tarried on its way to Boston. In con- 
nection with the hotel he kept a livery stable and 
store. He was deputy sheriff many years, and held 
other offices of trust and responsibility in town. At 
his decease, February, 1840, Rev. Ralph Sanger was 
appointed postmaster, and held the office twenty-two 
years, resigning January, 1862. It was during his 
term of office that daily mails were established. The 
mail previous to 1861 was brought by stage from Wel- 
lesley to South Natick for several years, then to Need- 
ham until the railroad was built through the town. 

In January, 1862, Isaac Howe, the third post- 
master, was appointed. Mr. Howe was a native of 
Framingham. He married Betsy Williams, the only 
child of the first postmaster, and continued the hotel 
and store several years after the death of Mr. Wil- 
liams. Mr. Howe resigned January, 1875, when his 


son, G. L. Howe, the present postmaster, was ap- 


pointed. There are now two mails daily, A.M. and 
p.M., from Boston. 

Library.—The first library in town was organized 
during the early ministry of Rev. Ralph Sanger, and 
was known as the Proprietors’ Library Association. 
It consisted of the best histories, biographies, and 
The library was 
kept at Mr. Sanger’s house, and quarterly meetings 
Mr. Sanger’s 
knowledge of books and timely suggestions were al- 
Residents of Natick availed 
themselves of the privilege of becoming members, 


miscellaneous reading of the time. 
were held for the exchange of books. 
ways gladly received. 


and were among the regular attendants at the quar- 
terly meetings, this being the largest and best collec- 


_ tion of books in the vicinity. 


This early library and the literary influence exerted 


_by Mr. Sanger fostered a taste for reading which re- 


sulted in the formation of a parish library in 1870. 
Mr. Calvin Richards was deeply interested in its for- 
mation, and it was largely through his instrumentality 
that the scattered volumes of the former library were 
gathered, and that the present one now exists. Feb. 
12, 1874, Mr. Frederic Barden presented the First 
Parish in Dover with one thousand dollars, the interest 
to be used in purchasing books for the parish library. 
The parish wished to change the name from the First 
Parish to the Barden Library, but he modestly de- 








i ae 


DOVER. 251 





clined, wishing not to have his name at the head ofa | 


large or small institution, preferring that it should be 
engraven on the hearts of his dear friends, for whom 
he had the kindest remembrance, both for the living 
and the dead ; and, as he expressed himself, “‘ that he 


took great pleasure in visiting their house of worship, | 


so neatly fitted up, and seeing the young take the 
books from the library, which he hoped would be a 
source to help lead them, through virtue and religion, 
up to God.” ‘The library now comprises about seven 
hundred volumes, and is kept in the vestibule of the 
church. 

Town Hall.— When the Second Church of the First 
Parish was burned, Jan. 20, 1839, the town-meetings 
were held in the Centre school-house, and a committee 
of five, consisting of Capt. Walter Stowe, Capt. Lowell 
Perry, Jeremiah Marden, Capt. John Shumway, 
and Joseph A. Smith, were chosen to negotiate 
with the parish committee, composed of Hiram W. 
Jones, Daniel Mann, and John Williams, in reference 
to building a vestry in connection with the meeting- 
house of the First Parish. The sum of three hun- 
dred dollars was appropriated to defray the expense. 
The vestry was used as a town house from 1839 until 
1880 for all town purposes. The question of a new 
town house was suggested and discussed at different 
times, as early as 1854, but nothing decided was 
done until the spring of 1879, when an appropriation 
of three thousand six hundred dollars was made by 
the town and a committee chosen to superiutend the 
building of a house suitable for the uses of the 
town. 


a difference of opinion as to the expediency of build- 
ing a one-story or two-story building, but a two- 
story building was erected. It was framed, boarded, 
and slated, when a cyclone, July 16, 1879, blew it 


down, making a complete wreck of the building and | 


The committee chosen was Warren Savin, | 
Eben Higgins, William A. Howe. There existed | 
| | country some years previously, it being against the 
laws of England that any skilled mechanics should 








| Josiah Newell and George Fisher. 





killiing one of the workmen and seriously injuring | 


others. The town sustained a loss of nineteen hun- 


dred and twenty-six dollars and eighty-five cents. | 
in length, the water flowing over the top of the 


Meetings were called and the subject again dis- 
cussed, which resulted in choosing a new commit- 
tee, this time the selectmen, Capt. John Humphrey, 
Barnabas Paine, and Asa Talbot. 
another appropriation for a new building. The wreck 
was cleared away, lumber sold, a new site selected, 
and a one-story building erected, capable of seating 
on the lower floor and gallery about four hundred 


people. 
frescoed, and in all respects is commodious and sub- 


It is neatly finished in chestnut, handsomely 


stantial, costing the town, completed and furnished, 


The town made | 


and eight cents. The architect was T. W. Silloway, 
of Boston. It was dedicated June 17, 1880, a large 
audience being present. Remarks were made by John 
C. Coombs, president of the meeting, and a report 
of the building committee was read by the chairman, 
Capt. John Humphrey. Prayer was offered by Rev. 
Horatio Alger, of South Natick ; and an address was 
delivered by Frank Smith, of Dover. Short speeches 
were made by Thomas W. Silloway, of Boston, Rev. 
C. S. Locke, of West Dedham, Rev. Horatio Alger 


_ and Elijah Perry, Esq., of Natick, Rev. T. S. Norton, 


of Prescott, and others. The services closed by sing- 
ing an ode written for the occasion by Rev. C. C. 
Sewell, of Medfield. Music was furnished by L. W. 
Colburn and family, of South Natick ; singing by the 
Medfield quartette. The hall was tastefully decorated 
with potted plants and cut flowers furnished by our 
summer residents, B. P. Cheney, Esq.,and Dr. H. R. 
Stevens. 

Mills.—Dover has been and is largely an agricul- 
tural town, yet other interests at different times have 
been represented in the town. As early as March 
10, 1796, a committee was chosen to view the ground 
for a new road from the house of Lieut. Lemuel 
Richards to Mill Creek, west of Noannet Brook, 
to the new slitting-mill, and October 24th of the 
same year voted to erect a bridge over the waste 
water running from the saw-mill belonging to Capt. 
In 1815 the 
first rolling-mill was built in Dover by a company of 
gentlemen belonging in Boston, Dover, and Medfield. 
They employed a millwright by the name of John- 
stone, an Englishman, who was smuggled into this 


leave it. This was the first rolling-mill built to run 
with one water-wheel in this part of the country ; 
two undershot wheels were formerly used, one for each 
roll, the rolls turning no faster than the wheels, perhaps 
ten times a minute, while this was a bucket-wheel 
thirty-six feet in diameter, the buckets being four feet 


The speed of the rolls was increased to forty 
turns a minute. It had been thought impossible to 
run a mill for rolling iron with so small a supply of 
water, yet this mill was capable of rolling as many tons 
of iron in a year as other mills built at that time, 
driven by all the water in Charles River. Owing to 
the increased speed of the rolls, this mill was used for 


wheel. 


| rolling iron some eight or ten years, when the com- 


pany failed and the land and buildings were sold. 
Nothing now remains but the stone foundations and 


four thousand four hundred and ninety-nine dollars | wheel-shaft. 


252 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





For many years a mill for manufacturing sheathing 
paper has been in active operation on the former site 
of the slitting- and saw-mills, known as the Hill 
Paper-Mills, the 
Hill & Sons. 


In 1865 and for years previous cigars were manu- 


business being done by Messrs. 


factured by Linus Bliss, but the business was not | 


continued after his decease. 

At one time a shoe-manufactory was started, but 
was soon abandoned. 

Early Settlers.—Few towns in the vicinity have 
as fine scenery or more pleasant drives than the quiet 
little town of Dover. The old mill, with its broken 
dams, the little brook rippling through the dams and 
wheel-pit, and passing off under ground for a long 
distance, the foundation-stones of the various build- 
ings situated in the low valley grown up to wood 
and out of sight of human habitation, make it a 
romantic locality. The view of the Charles River 
valley, near Sherborn, or Farm Bridge, formed the 
scene of a fine painting by Inness. 

A look from Pegan Hill well repays for the labor 
of reaching the summit, which is four hundred feet 
above tide-water. 

Looking east upon a clear day, Bunker Hill Monu- 
Turn to the 
northwest, and old Wachusett and the granite hills of 
The Peterboro’ 
Hills may be seen, and nearer, Nobscot and Good- 
man’s Hills. 


ment can be seen with the naked eye. 


Monadnock Mountains are in view. 


Pegan Hill was once the property of Wataspaquin, 
one of King Philip’s tribe, and was left as a gift to 
his sons, Anthony, James, and Thomas. 

The Natick records relate laying out a road from 


Thomas Pegan, Jr.’s, house to Thomas Pegan, Sr.’s, | 


house, on Pegan Hill. Thomas Pegan wasan Indian 
who lived on the northwesterly part of the hill, well 
up towards the top, from whom it took its name (and 
was formerly written Peegun). 


places where his house and buildings stood are still to 





The cellar-holes and | 


of roots and herbs, and even the English people 


came many miles to consult this famous woman. She 
finally came to an untimely end, being burned to 
death Dec. 6, 1821. Her grandson, Joseph Purchase, 
being charged with the crime, was imprisoned, and 
died in the prison before the law was executed. 
Deacon Ephrahim, an Indian of good repute and Eng- 


lish habits, was deacon, with Col. John Jones, of 


Dover, for many years in (Parson Lothrop’s) Rey. 
Stephen Badger’s church of South Natick. 

At a town-meeting in Natick, March 10, 1734-35, 
we find many of these Indians elected to fill town 
offices, —Thomas Peegun, moderator ; Deacon Joseph 
Ephrahim, Thomas Peegun, Josiah Speare, select- 


men; Jeremiah Comecho, one of the constables; 


Thomas Peegun, an assessor ; Nathaniel Coochuck, 
surveyor of highways; Kleazer Annepogeni, Nathan- 
iel Coochuck, fence-viewers; and Thomas Peegun, 
sexton. 

The civilization of these Indians was almost wholly 
due to the missionary labors of John Elliot, who was 
born in England in 1604, came to Boston in 1631, 
and on Nov. 5, 1632, was settled as teacher of a 
church in Roxbury. He soon became much in- 
terested to teach these aborigines the way of a better 
life. 
minister in Newton, in his labors as missionary and 
The 
town of Natick (which signifies a place of hills) was 
granted to the Indian converts at the request of the 
Apostle Elliot, who sent petitions to the General 
Court in their behalf at several different times. 


He was assisted by his eldest son, who was a 


in translating the Bible into the Indian tongue. 


1669.—* The humble petition of John Elliot, in behalf of 
Natik, That whereas this 
honored Court did appoint a committee to fix a line betwixt 


the poor Indians of sheweth, 


| Dedham and Natik, bounding on each other, viz., the Worship- 


ful Mr. Ting, Mr. Jackson, Deakon Park, and Leiftenant Cook, 
of Boston, who took pains in it, and the record of their deter- 
Never- 
Upon one side, 


mination is accepted and put into the Court records. 
theless, some of Dedham doe invade our line. 


| they forbid the Indians to plant, take away theire raills, which 


be seen, and though their homes were rude and their | 


ideas of life crude, it is evident their tastes were not 
wholly barbarous, as shrubs and clusters of rose- 
bushes are remembered by some of the oldest in- 
habitants to have been seen growing about their 
doors. And as we follow down the northwesterly 
side of the hill, and come to the site of the home of 
Deborah Comechos (now Mr. James Draper's home), 
and are shown fruit-trees that were planted and cared 
for by Indian women, we learn that it was not im- 
possible for these warlike people to be taught to love 
and follow the track of civilization. 
an Indian doctress, was celebrated for her knowledge 


Hannah Dexter | 


they have prepared to fence theire corne fields, and on another 
side, they have taken away their lands and sold them to others, 
to the trouble and wonderment of the Indians, these are hum- 
bly to request this honored Court to impower the same worship- 
ful Committee, and request you once more to take pains, and 
goe to the place, wt. ye have allready done, and request our 
brethren of Dedham to be more quiet, and let us peacably 
injoy our owne. So committing this honored Court unto the 
Lord, and to the word of his grace, I remaine, 
“Your humble petitioner, 
“ Joun Evuior,” 


Pegan Hill was the scene of a fierce controversy 
between the Dedham planters and the Indians, which 
Sergt. Richard 
Kllis, of Dedham, obtained a grant of the south- 


did not cease until the year 1700. 


DOVER. 


253 





westerly part of it, and had his home erected upon it. 
Other portions by grant or purchase became the | 
property of the Drapers, Battelles, and Hardings. 
But, through the efforts of John Elliot and the 
Indian preacher, Daniel Takawompbait, these strifes 
ceased, and it is hoped as they listened to the preach- | 
ing of the Rev. Oliver Peabody and Rev. Stephen 
Badger that higher and better thoughts took the | 
place of these discordant feelings. | 

Biographical Sketches.——John Jones, son of | 
John and Mehitable Jones, of Weston, was born Oct. | 
30, 1716. He moved to Dedham (now Dover) in | 
1742. He settled on a farm on the banks of Charles 
River, a promontory in the northern part of Dover, | 
near South Natick, which at the present time is owned | 


and occupied by B. P. Cheney, Esq., as a summer | 
residence. He was married to Hannah Morse, by | 
Rev. Oliver Peabody, at Natick, Feb. 23, 1742-4. | 
He was one of the deacons of Rev. Stephen Badger’s 
church, with Deacon Joseph Ephrahim, an Indian. 
At one time he was proprietors’ clerk for Natick, and — 
living, as he did, so near South Natick (the original 
Natick), he took an active interest in its welfare as | 
Dedham. 


many cases and married many couples, a record of | 


He was justice of the peace, and tried 


which he kept in a book now in the possession of his 
grandson, Amos Perry, of Providence. He was a 
surveyor, and many of his sketches remain to show | 
In 1762 
He was | 


many years clerk and selectman for the Fourth Pre- 


that he had a wide circuit of that business. 
he went to Maine to survey Mount Desert. 


cinct, and the records of Dover show that he was a 
valued and useful citizen. 





He was famous for keep- 
A small book kept by him 
now in the possession of his grandson, Elijah Perry, 
of South Natick, contains valuable records not to be 
found elsewhere. After a long and useful life he | 
died on the farm where he first settled, Feb. 2, 1801, 
aged eighty-four years. 


ing records and dates. 


Rev. Morrill Allen was born on what is known as the 
old Allen farm,in Dover. Graduated at Brown Uni- 
versity, 1797. His health failing, he was advised to | 
work on a farm. 


He settled in Pembroke, regained 
his health, and was considered one of the best farmers | 
of Plymouth County. He early commenced collect- | 
ing the seed of the white pine, bought cheap land, | 
sowed the seed, and saw acres grow up to wood. He 





retained the charge of his parish to an advanced age. 
As an agriculturalist, a citizen, and a pastor he was 
highly esteemed. 

Thadeus Allen was born in Dover, May 14, 1786, 
and spent his youthful days upon the ancestral farm. 
He occasionally taught school, and during his prepara- 


| many years. 


_ walked the streets at ninety years of age. 
| quietly from life aged ninety-six years. 


tion for college resided for a time at Hanover, N. H., 
acting as amanuensis to Professor Shurtleff, of Dart- 
mouth College, who gave him valuable aid in his 
studies. He graduated at Brown University in 1812. 
Soon after leaving college he entered upon prepara- 
tory medical studies, but owing to impaired health 
was induced to enter trade with his brother Timothy, 
and the firm of Timothy and Thadeus Allen was es- 


| tablished, who carried on an extensive wholesale pro- 


vision business for some years in Boston. This 
enterprise ultimately failed, and Mr. Allen organized 
a private school in 1820, which he conducted for 
He was an excellent Greek and Latin 
scholar, and very successful in imparting his knowl- 
edge to others. For many years he privately prepared 
students for college, and gave private instruction to 
persons whose political or other duties claimed higher 
qualifications than their previous education had given 
In the year 1857 he represented in part the 
city of Boston in the Legislature, and was for many 


them. 


years a member of the school committee of that 
city. 

Mr. Allen was thrice married. His first wife, 
Clarisa Bullard, of Needham, lived but a few months. 
Again, in 1816, he married Ann, widow of Joseph 
Hunt, and daughter of John Bullard. By this mar- 
riage there were four children,—Joseph Hunt, James 
Woodward, Clarisa Bullard, and Elizabeth Carter. 

Mr. Allen was married to his third wife in 1834, 
Sophia B., widow of Joseph Frothingham, who lived 
to make his home pleasant for nearly fifty years. 
There were no children by this marriage, but she 
proved a true and loving mother to the children of 
the former marriage. 

In political events he took a deep interest, and was 


_a close and critical student of American political his- 


tory. He was remarkable for his erect form as he 
He passed 
His wife 
survived him but a few hours, and they were borne in 
company to the shades of Mount Auburn. 

The father of Mr. Allen’s second wife, John Bul- 
lard, was closely connected with that famous ride of 
Paul Revere. 

The ‘Sons of Liberty” was an organization em- 
bracing the most active spirits in fostering the Revo- 
lution. Mr. Bullard was an active member, and a 
steadfast friend of Paul Revere. His stable and 
grounds occupied the present site of Bromfield Street, 
and the ‘‘ Old Province House,” opposite the head of 
Milk Street, was the Governor’s residence. It was 
natural for the Governor's groom to spend many a 
leisure hour among the horses in the neighboring 





254 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





stable. One day just after dinner he was there, and 
remarked, ‘There'll be trouble to pay to-morrow.” 
“ What’s up?” was the careless inquiry of Mr. Bul- 
lard. ‘‘ Why, the troops march to-morrow with three 
days’ rations.” Mr. Bullard became somewhat ner- 
vous, and asked the groom if he would not finish the 
horse he was currying, as he had forgotten an errand 
on his way from home. “ Certainly,” was the reply ; 
and Mr. Bullard sped, not to Revere’s work-shop, lest 
it arouse suspicion, but visited another “Son of 
Liberty” and sent him to Revere (who had been 
selected for the duty), with the authentic message 
that the British were intending a raid upon the pro- 
“Tt must be so, if Bullard 
Hence 


vincial stores at Concord. 
told you, and I’m off at once,’ said Revere. 
the famous ride. 


Fisher Allen was born in Medfield, on the Allen | 


homestead. When a young man he moved to Dover 
and bought a farm bordering on Charles River, near 
Sherborn. 
They passed their lives in this quiet home, command- 





| 





He married Rachel Smith, of Medfield. | 


ing the love and respect of all who knew them. He | 


died June 21, 1842, aged ninety-five years. 

Noah Fiske was born in Holliston, Mass., but spent 
the greater part of his life in Dover. 
schoolmaster in his early days, but for several years 
He was 
He possessed 
Few 
excelled him in kindness of heart, honesty, and un- 


He was a 


kept a store in the west part of the town. 
town clerk of Dover many years. 
many traits of character worthy of imitation. 


selfishness. 
in the great bustling world, where greed and inordi- 
nate ambition take possession of men, but his life 
was rather an example of ‘‘ doing unto others as we 
would that they should do to us.” He was re- 


markable for his entire satisfaction with life and the 


He seemed to have no part or interest 


| 
| 





rulings of Providence, giving daily testimony that he | 


believed all things were ordered for the best. 
was surely exemplified in his life, that “an honest 
man is the noblest work of God.” 


174. 


Fisher Tisdale was born in Dover, in 


This | 


_ acter commanded the respect of all. 
Few | 


men commanded more respect or affection from the | 


people. He never married, but found great pleasure 
in storing his mind with knowledge from the best 
authors. A pleasant word and smile were his greet- 
ings for all. He was a constant attendant at church, 
and led a consistent Christian life. The music to 
him was no pastime, but a devotional exercise in 
which he always took part until age disqualified him ; 
head 
“¢ Faith- 


ful to duty’ was his watchword through life. He 


then his attitude, folded arms, and bowed 
showed his interest in music as in prayer. 


was blessed with a rare memory, remembering dates | 


and events many years, telling who preached on cer- 
tain Sabbaths, what the text was, and would often 
repeat accurately sermon and prayer after the min- 
ister. He died Sept. 6, 1856, aged eighty-two years. 
His quiet courtesy and respectful manner endeared 
him to all, but he was the most beloved by those 
who knew him best. 

Daniel Mann was born in Dover, March 23, 1777. 
He resided in the eastern part of the town, where he 
owned a large tract of land and several houses. He 


| was public-spirited, always ready to aid every good 


cause. He was especially interested in getting the 
railroad through the town, and spent liberally of time 
and money to secure it. He married Rachel Allen, 
May 20, 1802. His energy of character and up- 
right business principles made him successful in what- 
ever he undertook. He was justice of the peace, and 
for many years held many offices of trust in the town. 
He died March 4, 1859, aged eighty-one years. 
Calvin Richards, son of Calvin and Lucinda Rich- 
ards, was born in Dover, Sept. 29,1807. Whena 
young man he engaged in business in Boston, but his 
health failing he returned to his native town. After 
the decease of his father he purchased the old home- 
stead, where he resided until a year previous to his 
death, when impaired health compelled him to lessen 
his cares and the farm, which had always belonged 
in the family, passed into other hands. He married 
Lucy M., daughter of Daniel Mann, May 27, 1841. 
He was always interested in the growth and welfare of 
the town, and was untiring in his effort to aid every 
plan towards its advancement. He was greatly inter- 
ested in the education of the young, and served many 
years as superintendent of the public schools and 
in the Sunday-school of the church to which he be- 
longed. He held many positions of trust, both public 
and private, in the town, and was twice chosen by his 
His 


benevolence, sound judgment, and integrity of char- 


townsmen to represent them in the Legislature. 


His power of 
harmonizing opposing elements was unusual. He 
died Oct. 4, 1873. 


Josiah Newell was born in Needham, but moved 


‘ Blessed are the peacemakers.” 


to Dover in 1801, and spent the greater part of his 
life there. He married Betsy Mann, of Dover, sister 
of Daniel, Simeon, and James Mann. Their family 
consisted of nine children (three died in infancy), and 
Mr. Newell 


owned the water-power in the east part of the town, 


six arrived to manhood and womanhood. 


and for many years was engaged in rerolling Norway 
iron for Boston, New York, and Philadelphia markets, 
and was also largely engaged in the manufacture of 


cut nails. He was a very charitable man, an excel- 





| 
| 








DOVER. 255 





lent neighbor, and largely interested in the religious | 
Both he and his wife were for 


interests of the town. 
many years worthy members of the Unitarian Church. 


They were noted for their regularity in attending | 
Josiah Newell, Jr., his oldest son, | 


divine services.: 
engaged in mercantile business in Boston, died in 
1849, aged forty-five years. His youngest son, J. M. 
Newell, was a very successful merchant in Boston. 
He died on the passage to Italy, hoping by the sea 
voyage to regain his impaired health. 
maining brothers and sisters reside in Newton. 





The four re- | 


Mr. Newell died at the age of eighty-four years, | 


and with his wife and oldest son are buried in the 
Dover Cemetery. They are lovingly remembered by 
many who do not forget their virtues. 


Frederic Barden was born in Dover in 1806. At 


the age of seventeen he commenced his work in life | 
at the “ Old Mill,” in his native town, where for | 


several years he conducted successfully the rolling- 
mill and nail-factory. 


| 


In 1840 he removed to New- | 


ton Upper Falls and bought out the iron-manufac- | 
turing business of David Ellis, father of the Rev. 


Drs. Rufus and George Ellis, of Boston, where he | 


continued the business during his life. his busi- 


ness he managed with excellent skill and judgment. | 


He was careful, energetic, and enterprising ; prudently 


economical in his own business, but liberal to the > 
poor, and gave generously to charitable objects. | 


Prompt and exact in all money and business trans- 


actions, men soon learned to rely upon his honesty | 


Barden 
He 
did not seek public notoriety, but was foremost 


and rejoice in his friendship. Twice Mr. 
represented his townsmen in the Legislature. 


in all that pertained to the permanent good of his 
fellow-citizens. Politics to him was a field for use- 
fulness, not an open sea for pillage. He was the 
graduate of no college, except the university of ex- 
perience, but he possessed the dignity of common 
sense and integrity, and wasa vigilant guardian of 
the public welfare.- His life 
balanced with good sense and Christian principles. 
He always showed a special interest in the Bible, and 
was a member of the Channing Religious Society 


seemed admirably 


almost from its establishment, and at the time of his 
death a deacon of the church. Mr. Barden married 
in early life Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. Josiah 
Newell, of Dover, who was his companion and 
co-worker in all labors of love and charity. Although 
they were never blessed with children of their own, 
they took the children of others to their hearts, and 
thus kept the freshness of young love. 
their native town never diminished, and as he gave 
liberally to the library and church, it was, as he ex- 


' nah Guild, Nov. 30, 1826. 


The love for | 





pressed it, “‘ Not that he loved the town less, but 
the church more.” 

He died, after a short illness, Sept. 25, 1877, 
leaving a widow to mourn his loss, and many friends 
to rejoice that he had lived. 

Elijah, son of Elijah and Mary Perry, of South 
Natick, was born Nov. 14, 1807. Married Mehitable, 
daughter of Deacon Jonathan and Mercy Battelle, 
Nov. 29, 1832. He moved to Dover and purchased 
the ‘ Battelle’ farm in 1840, where he resided 
twelve years. He took an active interest in town 
and parish affairs, serving as superintendent of the 
Sunday-school, leader in the choir, and holding 
He called the 
first meeting to encourage a railroad through the 
town, and for several years was one of its directors. 
He was the first to take action that led to the or- 
ganization of the Norfolk Agricultural Society, and 
He 
was justice of the peace, and represented the town in 
the Legislature in 1846. He has been and is 
trustee for several trust estates. He is largely inter- 
ested in ancient records, and the choice and valuable 
collection of past events show clearly that he has 
inherited largely the traits of his grandfather, Col. 
John Jones. 

Miss Mary Perry, a sister of Elijah, was one of the 
early teachers in the Dover schools, teaching several 


many offices of trust in the town. 


for some years was one of its leading officers. 


successive summers, while her brother Leonard taught 
She was identified with the church 
choir, and was one of the few who labored to estab- 
lish a Sabbath-school at that time. She is lovingly 
remembered by some of her pupils to the present 
time. 

George Chickering, son of Jesse and Dorcas (Smith) 
Chickering, was born Dec. 25, 1791. Married Han- 
Mr. Chickering devoted 
his life to agriculture and the public interests of his 
By his thrift and industry he amassed 
a large property, and was for many years treasurer 
of the town, discharging his duties with faithfulness 


the winter terms. 


native town. 


and exactness. He was a calm, deliberate, and _ re- 
served man, of few words, but of good judgment and 
great decision of character. His fellow-townsmen 
learned to respect his integrity and honest purpose. 
He died Sept. 25, 1857, aged sixty-five years. His 
eldest son, George Ellis, still retains the ancestral 
home. 

Luther Richards was born in Dover, April 27, 
1809, and was a prominent citizen of his native town. 
He was superintendent of the Unitarian Sunday- 
school, one of the selectmen, and town clerk for many 


years. In 1855 he was a member of the Constitu- 


256 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





tional Convention. During the last years of his life 
he resided in Boston, where he was engaged in the | 
leather business. He died July 1, 1874, aged sixty- | 
five years. He was an honest, kind-hearted, and 
public-spirited man. 

Abner L. Smith, son of Ebenezer and Rebecca Smith, 
was born in Dover in 1823. Mr. Smith always resided 





in his native town. He was chairman of the board of | 
selectmen nine years, was at one time assessor and | 
member of the school committee, was constable twenty | 


In 1869 he 
represented the towns of Dover, Needham, and Med- 


years, and town clerk seventeen years. 


field in the General Court. He was a quiet, unassum- 
ing man, discharging all his duties with scrupulous 
care and fidelity. He was a most useful and respected | 
citizen. 

Melancthon Smith, a brother of Abner L., was for 
many years a successful dry-goods merchant of Boston, | 
and was at the head of the famous firm of Smith, | 
Sumner & Co., importers, who kept in the old Bowdoin | 
block on Milk Street, corner of Hawley. Mr. Smith — 
amassed a large fortune, and resided at Jamaica Plain, 
where he died July 10, 1861, honored and respected — 
by all who knew him. 

William F., another brother, born in 1826, left 
home at the age of sixteen years and went to Boston 


to learn the trade of a mechanic. He was apprenticed 





to Jabez Coney, and during his five years of appren- 
ticeship paid the strictest atttention to his duties, and | 
soon become a proficient in all the details of the pro- 

fession. From Boston he went to Springfield, Mass., — 
and was employed as a draughtsman in building cars 

and engines for the Springfield Car and Engine Com- | 
pany. Mr. Smith moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1849, | 
and was employed by Messrs. Harbeck, Stone & Witt 
as master-mechanic in the construction of the Cleve- 
land, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, and after 
the building of the road he was continued master- | 


mechanic by the directors until within a few months | 
of his death. He was also a partner with Messrs. | 
Carpenter & Wasson in the Fulton foundry at that | 
time. 


possessed of wonderful abilities as a mechanic and car- | 


Mr. Smith was an unpretending man, but 


builder, to which profession he devoted an unlimited | 
amount of study. He died at Cleveland in 1878, | 
much respected by the profession and beloved by a | 
large circle of friends. 


Capt. Isewis Smith was an honored man; he was 


] 
town treasurer for many years, and filled other offices 
of trust. He was accidentally killed by a falling 
tree at the age of forty-five, deeply lamented by a 
large circle of friends. 


Fisher Ames Harding was the son of John and | 


| ninety and one hundred. 


and beautiful fields are before us. 


Julia (Battelle) Harding, and was born in Dover, Jan. 
23,1811. He graduated from Harvard College in 
1833. He studied law in Daniel Webster’s office in 
Boston, two years. Went to Chicago in 1835, to 
Detroit in 1837, where he remained in the practice 
of law till his death, Aug. 4, 1846. 

Conclusion.—It is not difficult to imagine why 
Dover was called Springfield Parish more than a cen- 
tury ago, when at the present time sixty buildings are 
supplied with pure spring water, which gushes forth 


from Pegan and the neighboring hills. It is esti- 


_mated by good judges that there are at least thirty- 
five other springs of never-failing water, some of 


which yield a large supply, and are conveniently sit- 
uated for easy transportation by rail to Boston and 
adjoining cities. 

The advantage of Dover over many towns in the 
commonwealth as regards climate, air, and situation 
was noted, and a record kept by Rev. Ralph Sanger 
during the first thirty years of his ministry. This 
record showed that one in four had lived to be be- 
tween seventy and eighty, one in seven to be between 
eighty and ninety, and one in twenty to be between 
The record for the past 
thirty years would doubtless be as high. 

It may be due to the sober and industrious lives of 
the people or the natural surroundings, or both com- 
bined; certain it is few towns can show a higher rate 
for age or health. At the present time there are 
living in the town Mrs. Isaac Howe, aged eighty- 
two; Mrs. Daniel Chickering, aged eighty-four; Mrs. 
Ann Miller, aged eighty-three; Mrs. Hannah Soule, 
aged eighty-six; Mr. Micajah S. Plummer, aged 
eighty-seven; Mr. Moses Draper, aged . ninety-one 
years. 

“Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, 
do they live forever?” These were the words that 
formed the text of Dr. Sanger’s discourse, preached 
at the close of a thirty years’ ministry. And as we 
look back to the lives and labors of. our ancestors, 
well may we repeat, ‘“‘ Our fathers, where are they ?” 
Their lives were filled with toil, hardships, and priva- 
tions. A wilderness to subdue, foes to conquer, and 
homes to secure, was their allotted task. 

Civilization and progress have reared their monu- 
Colleges and churches greet us. The broad 
Mechanics and 
What 
shall we do to honor the life that is now passing ? 

There is yet a noble work to be done, and as we 
take up our daily tasks may we leave behind us mon- 


ments. 


artists have laid their trophies at our feet. 


uments more pleasing and enduring than chiseled 
marble or costly temple. 








QUINCY. 


257 








CHAPTER. XXI1LT. 


QUINCY. 





BY CHAS. FRANCIS ADAMS, JR. 


THE MASSACHUSETTS FIELDS. 


Durin@ the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 3%, 
1621, a large sail-boat, or shallop, as it was called, 
came into Boston harbor from the southward. The 


day was fine and the wind light, so that by the | 


time those on board had reached the mouth of the 


exploration. They were complete strangers in those 
dians living there. Accordingly they did not deem 
it safe to pass the night on the main shore, but seeing 
a sheltered cove on the easterly side of Thompson’s, 
or the Farm School Island, they came to anchor in it. 


1 


| 


ing of Sept. 2° 


_ a morning’s meal. 





can now be known, it was here on the early morn- 
29, 1621, that a European foot first 

touched the soil of what is now the town of Quincy. 
As soon as those composing the little party felt the 
pebbles of the beach under their feet, they began to 
look about for something on which they could make 
Presently they found a number of 


| lobsters, which the savages had caught and piled to- 





with the natives with a view to trade. 
Neponset, which to them seemed to be “ the bottom | 
of the bay,” it was too late to do much in the way of | 


gether ready to be taken away, and these they quickly 
disposed of. They had no time to lose. So, as soon 
as might be.after breakfasting, they arranged to ex- 
plore the country; for they had come not out of 
curiosity or a spirit of adventure, but to open relations 
Accordingly 
two men were posted as sentries on the landward side 
of the cliff to secure the shallop from surprise, and 


then Standish, taking with him four others of the 
parts, and knew nothing of the disposition of the In- | 


Presently they landed, and rambled over the island. | 


They found no inhabitants. Indeed the place was 


not only deserted, but there was nothing to show that — 


any one had ever lived there. Calling it the Island 
Trevore, after one of their number, the party re- 
turned on board their shallop and passed the night. 
In all there were thirteen of them. Ten were Eu- 
ropeans and three Indians, the latter having been 
brought along to act as guides and interpreters. Miles 
Standish, then a man of thirty-four, was in command, 
and among the others there is reason to believe were 


Bradford and Winslow, both of them afterwards gov- | 


ernor of the Plymouth colony, as they were also its 
The party had left Plymouth, then a set- 
tlement only eight months old, shortly before Tuesday 
midnight, and, taking advantage of an ebb tide, ex- 
pected to reach their destination at the Massachu- 
setts, as Boston Bay was called, betimes Wednesday 
morning. They found they had been misinformed as 
to the distance. 


historians. 


So, the wind being light, the voyage 
had taken up almost the whole of Wednesday’s day- 
light. 

The night passed quietly. The next morning 
broke clear and fresh, and as the sun rose the whole 


shore and the seaward slope of the Blue Hills, covered | 


as they then were with primeval forest, must have 
glowed in the mellow richness of autumnal tints. 
Opposite to where the shallop lay, and close at hand, 


rose the bold, rocky promontory since known as | 


Squantum Head. Crossing the narrow channel they 


landed on the beach beneath the cliff; and, so far as 
17 


company and Squanto, one of the Indian guides, went 
inland. They had gone no great distance when they 
met an Indian woman, who was on her way to get the 
lobsters they had found. They told her that they had 
eaten them, and gave her something in return, with 
which she seems to have been well content, for she 
then pointed out to them where her people were. 
This would seem to have been on the other side of the 
Neponset, at Savin Hill or Dorchester Heights; for 
when she returned thither Squanto went with her, 
while the rest of the party retraced their way to the 
Their 
explorations, so far as the territory of what is now 
Quincy was concerned, were therefore limited to a 
brief morning's walk, and covered only a portion of 


starting-point, and followed in the shallop. 


the Squantum peninsula. 

The remaining adventures of the party it is not 
necessary here to recount. They do not belong to the 
history of Norfolk County. Itis sufficient to say that 
Standish and his companions visited the sachem Obba- 
tinewat and induced him to swear allegiance to King 
James; then, guided by him, they went in search of 
the squaw sachem of the Massachusetts up the valley 
of the Mystic, and passed a delightful September day 
rambling among the Middlesex hills. Presently they 
returned in safety to Plymouth, full of admiration of 
the noble harbor and the fair country surrounding it 
which they had then for the first time seen, and 
“ wishing they had been there seated.” 

Such was the first recorded visit of Huropeans to 
Quincy, and the name of the peninsula which the 
party visited still stands as a memorial of the event. 
That it was then called Squantum is not certain, 
though the explorers not improbably did at that time 
vive those names of Allerton and Brewster, which 
they have borne ever since, to points in the bay. 


258 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Squanto was the guide in their walk over the penin- 


sula, and it has ever since been called Squanto’s | 


Chappel, and more recently Squantum. 
ble that this was its Indian name, just as Neponset 
was the name of the river which separated it from the 
opposite locality known as Mattapan. The word, too, 
was one familiar enough in the Indian tongue, being 
an abbreviation of Musquantum, meaning he is angry, 
he is bloody-minded, and representing one of the 


Gods, apparently the God of wrath; though by some | 


authorities it is spoken of as the good or kindly God. 


But, practically, the name of the peninsula upon | 


which Standish landed does perpetuate for all time 


It is possi- | 





the memory, not of the Indian deity, but of the - 


Indian guide. [% is also in every way proper that 
this should be so. 


made ready by special providence for a given work of 


If ever a human instrument was 


infinite moment, it was so made ready in the case of 
Squanto. It is scarcely too much to say that but for 
his timely intervention the Plymouth colony could 


not have survived the famine of its earliest winters. 


The Quincy peninsula is his memorial ; but his epitaph | 


is found in the pages of Bradford, who wrote of him, 
on behalf of the Pilgrims, “‘ He was their interpreter, 
and was a special instrument sent by God for their 
good beyond their expectation. He directed them 
how to set their corn, where to take fish and to pro- 
cure other commodities, and was also their pilot to 
bring them to unknown places for their profit, and 
never left them till he died.’’? 

At the time of Standish’s visit the territory since 
called Quincy was occupied by a poor remnant of the 
Massachusetts tribe of Indians, some forty to sixty 
in number. The 
them. Some years before he had dwelt at Mount 
Wollaston, which had then been cleared and culti- 


sachem Chickatabot ruled over 


vated, and the shell-heaps still to be found there- 
abouts indicate that it was a favorite Indian resort. 
North of Mount Wollaston, and between it and the 
Neponset, in that region since locally known as ‘“‘ The 
Farms,” was, and still is, a broad, open plain called 
the 
flourishing days of the tribe to have been its gather- 


Massachusetts Fields, supposed in the more 


ing-place. It lay close to the water and the beach, 


fish of which the savages were inordinately fond ; 


and the tradition is that here the Massachusetts 


Indians met at certain periods of the year and passed 


1 There is another and very absurd derivation of the name 
Squantum, suggested by the bold face of the rock at its seaward 


’ wrote John Adams in 1762, “ the 


extremity, “from whence,’ 
squaw threw herself who gave her name to the place” (Works, 


ii. 136) ; hence squaw’s tumble, abbreviated into Squantum. 





their time in games and feasting. Indeed, the name 
of the tribe is supposed to have been derived from 
the small savin-crowned hummock, lying between the 
Fields and Squantum, and bearing in its shape some 
more or less fanciful resemblance to an arrow’s head.* 
It would thus appear that not only was the name 
of the commonwealth derived from a spot within 
the limits of Quincy, but it was within those limits 
also that the Massachusetts tribe found that common 
gathering-place which was to them what the Isth- 
mian fields were to the Greeks. The eastern slope 
of the Blue Hills and the shores of Quincy Bay 
were the cradle, the home, and the grave of the race. 

At one period, also, and that not long before the 
visit of the Plymouth explorers, the Massachusetts 
were a flourishing and warlike tribe. They occupied 
the whole of Eastern Massachusetts, north of what is 
now the Plymouth boundary, including the present 
counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Middlesex, and Essex. 
He had 
waged war with the Taratines of the Penobscot in 
1615, and was killed by them at his home in Medford 
in 1619. In the days of this sachem, it is said, the 
Massachusetts could put three thousand fighting men 
into the field. Yet, prior to 1620, we get from the early 
records but few glimpses of them, and those broken and 


Nanepashemet was their last great sachem. 





2 Neal, in his history (vol. iii. p. 315), says, ‘It was cus- 
tomary among the savages to give names to their little nations 


| or clans from some remarkable hill, river, or spring about 
| which they lived. 


The most probable account of the origin of 
the name Massachusetts is that which I have received from 


| the Rev. Mr. Billings, of Little Compton, by the hands of a 


learned gentleman of Boston. His words are these: ‘The 
sachem, or sagamore, who governed the Indians in this part of 
the country when the English came first hither had his seat 
on a small hill or upland, containing perhaps an acre and a 


half, about two leagues to the southward of Boston, fronting 


| Mount Bay, and backed with a large tract of salt-meadow ; 
| which hill or hummoth is now in possession of Capt. John 


Billings, and lies in the shape of an Indian arrow’s head, which 


| arrow-heads were called in their language mos, or mons, with 


an o nasal; anda hill in their language is “ wetuset,’’ pro- 
nounced according to us “ wechuset.”” Hence this great sachem’s 
seat was called Moswetuset, which signifies a hill in the shape 
of an arrow’s head, and his subjects the Moswetuset Indians, 
frour whence, with a small variation of the word, the province 


i . | received the name of Massachuset.’ ” 
which afforded an inexhaustible supply of those shell- | 
| American Antiquarian Society” for October, 1867, there is a 


In the appendix to the “ Report of the Proceedings of the 


paper on the name ‘“‘ Massachusetts.” The Society referred the 
question to J. Hammond Trumbull, who, under date of 
Noy. 2, 1867, wrote as follows: ‘ I should say, then, that ‘ Mas- 


| sachusetts’ was originally an Anglicized plural of a corrupt form 


(Massachuset), in which he who first used it blended, through 
ignorance of the language, the description of the place (m’sad- 
chu-ut) at the ‘great hill’ (or ‘ hills’) with the tribal name of 
the Indians who lived thereabouts, M’sadchuseuck, ‘ great hill 


' people.’ ” 








: QUINCY. 


distorted. In 1614, Captain John Smith had voyaged | 
along the New England coast in an open boat, trading | 
and exploring. He then saw something of the Massa- 

chusetts, and he described them as a “ goodly, strong, 

and well-proportioned people,” dwelling in a region — 
which impressed itself upon him as “ the paradise of 
all these parts, for here are many isles, all planted 
with corn, groves, mulberries, salvage-gardens, and 
good harbors.” He speaks of the Indians, too, as | 
“very kind, but in their fury no less valiant ; for 
upon a quarrel that we had with one of them, he | 
only with three others crossed the harbor of Cohasset 

to certain rocks whereby we must pass, and there 

let fly their arrows for our shot till we were out of | 
danger.” 

There can be little doubt, though it cannot be 
positively asserted, that in the course of this expe- 
dition Smith landed in Quincy and had dealings | 
with the savages, for on the rude map of the coast 
which he then drew, “from point to point, isle to 
isle, and harbor to harbor,’ Quincy and Weymouth 
Bays seem to be clearly indicated. Neither could 
the appearance of a European trader in those waters, | 
have been at that time an unusual event, for the har- | 
bor was already well known and frequently visited. 
Indeed, Smith mentions the fact that a French vessel 
had preceded him only a short time before, effectually 
spoiling his market, so far as furs were concerned. 
It had left little in that way for him. But he then 
saw the tribe of the Massachusetts in the full pride 
of its savage strength. 





A “tawny” race of “tall | 
and strong-limbed people,” they were the possessors 
of ‘large corn-fields,” dwelling in plantations which 
covered the islands in the bay. Apparently they 
were as prosperous as any New England tribe, and, 
so far as Kuropeans were concerned, as peaceably 
disposed. 

Not that the intercourse between the traders and 
the natives was at that time of a satisfactory, or 
always of a friendly character. 


On the contrary, | 
the Indians were, after their nature, cunning, cruel, 
and vindictive, while the traders were coarse, reck- 
less, avaricious. 





In their way they were worse than 
the savages. They were wholly unscrupulous in their | 
methods of dealing, for not only did they rob and | 
cheat, but they sold the savages rum and weapons. — 
Outrageous cases of wholesale kidnapping also were | 
not infrequent. Smith accordingly had his skirmish 

with them at the Cohasset rocks in 1614, and a year 

or two later the anchorage off Pattuck’s Island was 

the scene of a terribly tragic incident. It would | 
seem that a French vessel had looked into the har-— 
bor. As she lay at anchor under Pattuck’s, appa- 


| threshold of extinction. 


259 





rently unsuspecting, the savages conceived the idea 
of capturing her. Their plot was simple enough, 
and its very simplicity probably made it the more 
dangerous. Throwing a quantity of furs into sey- 
eral canoes, they paddled out to the anchored vessel. 
Their bearing was wholly friendly, and no weapon 
was to be seen; but beneath their robes, belted about 
their loins, they carried their knives. Coming quietly 
alongside, they flung their furs on the deck of the 
trader ; and then in the usual way proceeded to chaffer 
over the price. Meanwhile, with Indian cunning, 
they watched their opportunity. Suddenly the sig- 
nal was given, and they thrust their “ knives in the 
Frenchmen’s bellies.” The surprise was complete. 
Most of the vessel's crew seem to have been dis- 


patched out of hand; but the master, less fortunate 


_than the others in that he was only wounded, con- 


cealed himself in the hold, whither the savages did 
not dare to follow him. There for a time he hid. 


Meanwhile the captors cut the vessel’s cable, and 


the tide swept her on the beach, where she “lay 
upon her side and slept.” Presently the unfortunate 
master, whether induced by persuasion or compelled 
by pain, hunger, and despair, came on deck. He, 
too, was killed. Then, after the sachem had divided 
among his followers everything which could be taken 
away, the stranded vessel was fired and destroyed. 
A number of years later, in 1631, an early settler in 
Dorchester, while laying the foundations of a house, 
turned up under a deep covering of soil several 
French coins. Not improbably they were a part of 
the plunder taken from the unfortunate trader nearly 
twenty years before. a 

When the capture of this French vessel took place 
the tribe of the Massachusetts were already on the 
Yet never had they been so 
prosperous or so powerful. Indeed, there is a legend 
that they held in wretched captivity some two or three 


| Europeans, of whom in the intervals of servile-labor 


One of these had saved a 
book, supposed to have been the Bible, in which he 
often read; and learning at last the language of his 
captors, he rebuked them and predicted God’s wrath 
upon them. But they laughed at his threats, boast- 


they made savage sport. 


ing that “ they were so many that God could not kill 
them.” 

It was their numbers which in all probability led 
The filthiness of the Indian and 
the Indian village does not need to be here described. 
It is sufficient to say that New England savages lived 


to their destruction. 


more like swine than like human beings, and their 
habitations, reeking with smoke and alive with ver- 
min, were surrounded with every description of decay- 





260 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





As a race they were not less susceptible 
It necessarily 


ing matter. 
to epidemics than were Europeans. 
followed that increase of numbers meant an increase 
of those conditions which are sure to breed disease, 
and the breaking forth of pestilence became a mere 
question of time. In 1615 the tribe was in its most 
flourishing state ; in 1616 a terrible mortality devel- 
oped itself which raged for two years, and then seems 


to have worn itself out for want of fresh material on | 


which to feed. It left behind only a crushed and 
broken-spirited remnant of the Massachusetts. No- 
where does the pestilence seem to have done its work 


more pitilessly. What is now Quincy seems to have 


been swept almost clear of inhabitants. Chickatabot was _ 


driven from his plantation at Passonagessit, as Mount 
Wollaston was called, and apparently took refuge at 
Squantum. Of his followers few survived ; for the 
wigwams were “ full of dead corpses,” and “ they died 
in heaps as they lay in their houses ; and the living 
that were 
away and let them die, and let their carcasses lie 
above the ground without burial. For in a place 
where many inhabited, there hath been but one left 
alive to tell what became of the rest. The living 
being, as it seems, not able to bury the dead, they 
were left for crows, kites, and vermin to prey upon. 
And the bones and skulls upon the several places of 
their habitations made such a spectacle after my com- 
ing into those parts, that as I traveled in that forest 
near the Massachusetts, it seemed to me a new found 
Golgotha.” 

Such were the marks of the great pestilence of 
1616-17, as seen by Thomas Morton when he first 
visited Quincy in the summer of 1622, less than a 
year after Standish and his party had visited Squan- 
tum.' 


CHAPTER XX LY, 
QUINCY—( Continued). 


MERRYMOUNT. 


THouaH visited by the Plymouth explorers in 
1621, the territory of Quincy remained unoccupied 
by Europeans for nearly four years longer. 


1 Tt is not necessary in a local history to discuss the nature of 


the great pestilence. It is a subject, moreover, on which the 


medical authorities have been unable to reach any definite con- 


clusion. See ‘New English Canaan” (Prince Society edition), 
29 


133, n. It is sufficient here to say that, whatever it was, it 
swept the territory, subsequently organized into the township 


of Braintree, almost wholly clear of Indian occupants. 


| was 
able to shift for themselves would run | 


_with pine, hemlock, and cedar. 


_tabot lived apparently on the southwesterly slope of 


cally uninhabited. 


the Squantum headland,’ in a sheltered nook which 


can still be identified. It has already been mentioned 
that his following did not in number exceed three- 
score. North of the Neponset the sachem Obbati- 
newat may have ruled over as many more. South of 
the Monatoquit, in what is now Weymouth, dwelt 
Aberdecest with the poor remnant of his people. 
After the plague, therefore, the country was practi- 
It was given up to wild animals. 
A few years before considerable portions of the more 
fertile uplands had been under rude Indian cultivation. 
With the ravages of the pestilence this ceased, and 
speedily the cleared ground had become covered with 
a young growth of forest trees. Of the original 
aspect of the country nothing now remains except the 
sea-shore and the wooded sides of the Blue Hills. 
All else has been transformed. In 1620 the region 
an almost unbroken The hills 
and uplands were covered with a heavy growth of 
native timber, in which the oak, the elm, the hickory, 
the chestnut, the ash, and the maple were intermixed 
The undergrowth 


wilderness. 


also was heavy, making it difficult to force a way 


through the forest except by the beaten trail. 


_ found a devious way. 


The 
lowlands and valleys, where brooks now flow in 


_ straight channels cut since the settlement, were then 


impenetrable tangles through which sluggish streams 
Densely wooded with swamp 
timber, over which grapevines and creepers grew in 
profusion, these tangles were the home of the beaver, 
the otter, and the miuk, and the refuge of deer, the 
wolf, and the bear. While the shore was alive with 
birds, the sea swarmed with fish. In the autumn 
almost innumerable wild turkeys filled the woods, in 
which grouse and partridge were found in profusion, 
together with geese, quail, woodeock, and snipe. The 


beaches, alive with all manner of shore birds, from 
the duck to the sanderling, seemed underlaid with 


Chicka- | 


Lobsters swarmed in the shallow waters. 


shell-fish. 


2 Tradition points out the small hummock, already referred 
to, between Atlantie and Wollaston as the place where Chicka- 
tabot dwelt. It is so spoken of in Whitney’s ‘‘ History of 
Quincey” (p. 29). But after personal examination of the 
ground, Mr. Henry W. Haynes, the archeologist, was unable to 
find there any trace of Indian occupation, and he asserted that 
the utter absence of fresh water made such an occupation 
wholly improbable. At the cove in Squantum, referred to in 
the text, he found not only a spring of fresh, clear water close 
to the shore, but also a large shell heap, numerous Indian im- 
plements, and other indications of permanent occupation. He 
confidently fixed, therefore, the dwelling place of an Indian 
sachem, presumably Chickatabot, in the immediate neighbor- 
hood of the present summer residence of Mr. G. F. Burkhardt. 








QUINCY. 


261 





Further out were found boundless halibut, cod, and 
mackerel; while in the spring the streams were so 
packed with alewives that it seemed to the first set- 
tlers that “one might go over their backs dry-shod.” 
Of bass Thomas Morton wrote that he had seen a 
school of them sufficient to load an hundred ton ship 
stranded in Black’s Creek at the going out of the 
tide. 
devoted sportsman first occupied it. 

But this did not take place until June, 1625. 
Meanwhile the neighboring territory on the other 
side of the Monatoquit—that portion of the town- 
ship of Weymouth since known as Old Spain 
been twice occupied. In July, 1623, came Weston’s 
party of adventurers, who went away in a body in 
the succeeding March. 


The region was a sportsman’s paradise, and a 





They had been succeeded in 
the following September by the Robert Gorges colony, 
a small remnant of whom still remained there after 
their leader went home to England in the spring of 
1624. But this is a portion of the history of Wey- 
mouth, and relates to Quincy only from the fact that 


Mount Wollaston, apparently came over with Andrew 
Weston in June, 1622, 


that summer at Wessagusset, as Old Spain was then 


and passed a large portion of 


called, returning to England in September. An eager 


ative sense of the beautiful in nature, and he went | 
| succeeded at last in doing, and he is next heard of 


away deeply impressed by what he had seen of the 
country on the south side of Boston Bay. He had 
come to it while it shone with the freshness of June, 
and, roaming through its unoccupied forest wilderness 
during the months of July and August, he had gone 
away just as the full ripeness of the summer was 
mellowing into autumn. 
to him an earthly paradise, and he could not find 
language glowing enough to do justice to it: 


had | 





“And when I had more seriously considered of the beauty | 


of the place, with all her fair endowments, I did not think that 
in all the known world it could be paralleled; for so many 
goodly groves of trees, dainty, fine, round, rising hillocks, deli- 
eate, fair, large plains, sweet crystal fountains, and clear running 
streams, that twine in fine meanders through the meades, mak- 
ing so sweet a murmuring noise to hear as would even lull the 
senses with delight asleep; so pleasantly do they glide upon 


the pebble stones, jetting most jocundly where they do meet, | 


and, hand in hand, run down to Neptune’s Court to pay the 
yearly tribute which they owe to him as sovereign Lord of all 
the springs. 
fowls in abundance, fish in multitudes, and [I discovered], be- 
sides, millions of turtle-doves on the green boughs, which sat 
pecking of the full, ripe, pleasant grapes that were supported by 
the lusty trees, whose fruitful load did cause the arms to bend; 
while, here and there dispersed, you might see [also] lilies of 


the Daphnean tree, which made the land to me seem Paradise; | 


for in mine eye t’was nature’s master-piece,—her chiefest mag- 


'new-comers had necessarily to go elsewhere. 


| the savages might be opened. 


sportsman, Morton was gifted with a keenly appreci- | to have been in any way connected with him. 


azine of all, where lives her store. If this land be not rich, then 
is the whole world poor !”’ 


Going back to England he was eager to return to 
America; for not only was he fascinated with the 
country as a sportsman and lover of nature, but he 
confidently believed that a most profitable trade with 
Meanwhile Weston’s 
enterprise came to a miserable end the following 


spring. Morton apparently, though not wholly with- 


' out means, was unable to organize an expedition of 


his own. He might naturally have applied to Sir 
Ferdinando Gorges, who through all these years was 
laboring to bring about emigration to New England. 
But Sir Ferdinando had just before failed completely 
in his effort to support his son Robert’s colony, nor 
could he have felt very kindly towards any one who 
had been connected with Weston. 


Weston, he was then in serious trouble at court; for 


Indeed, through 


the former had obtained leave to send certain muni- 
tions of war to New England and had then sold them 
to the French. For this act Sir Ferdinando, as head of 


Thomas Morton, a few years later the first settler at | the council for New England, had “ suffered a shrewd 


| check” from Kine Charles’ ministers, and been or- 
fo) ? 


dered to arrest the offender. An associate of Wes- 
ton’s could hardly, therefore, have expected to receive 
aid from Gorges ; nor indeed does Morton now appear 
He 
had consequently to find other associates. This he 
sailing into Boston Bay in June, 1625, in company 
with a number of adventurers, chief among whom 
was a Capt. Wollaston. 
with a body of articled servants, intending to establish 
Of Wollaston, the 


The party had come over 


a plantation and trading-post. 


Accordingly it had seemed | ™&0 who gave to Quincy its first English designation, 


nothing, not even his Christian name, is known. 
Among the Plymouth people he bore the reputation 
of being “a man of pretie parts” and of “ some emi- 
nencie,”’ and it is possible that he may be the same 
person who Capt. John Smith in 1615 metas Lieut. 
Wollaston, serving under one “ Capt. Barra, an English 
pirate, in a small ship, with some twelve pieces of or- 
dinance, about thirty men, and near all starved.” 


_ Whensoever and howsoever he came by his means, in 


1635 Wollaston had sufficient to be the principal 
partner in the company of which Morton was also a 


| member :’ and, presumably under the guidance of the 
Contained within the volume of the land [are] | uy ne A 5 


latter, they found their way into Boston Bay. Wes- 
sagusset, and the old stockade and buildings erected 
there three years before by Weston’s people, they 
found occupied by what remained of the Gorges colony, 


which had now been there nearly two years. The 
They 


262 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





accordingly sat down at a point called by the Indians 
Passonagessit, and ever since known as Mount Wol- 
laston. The exact site of the house they built—the 
first house erected in Quincy—cannot be identified ; 
but tradition places it on the southwestern slope of 


the hill and not far from its summit, at a point where 


in recent years a few coins and the charred remains of | 


ancient timbers turned up in the soil told that some 
edifice, of which no record remains, once had stood. 
In any event, it was in this vicinity that the adven- 
turers established themselves ; nor for their purposes 
was the place badly chosen. They had come to trade. 
They meant to hold active commercial intercourse with 
the Indians, and Passonagessit was not only a favorite 
gathering-point of the Massachusetts tribe, but it 
stood in plain view of the entrance to the harbor. No 
ship could come in without being seen from thence. 
It had but one drawback,—there was no deep water. 
But 


further out, among the islands, there was excellent 


Then as now Quincy Bay was but a tidal inlet. 


anchorage, and Wollaston and his associates evidently 
thought that a boat communication between their 
trading depot and the shipping would answer every 
purpose. 

During what remained of the summer of 1625 the 
party were busy providing themselves with shelter 
and laying outa plantation. Passonagessit was almost 
an island. Qn its northern side was a salt water 
creek, flanked with marshes and soon lost in the tan- 
gled swamps of the neighboring upland; while to the 
south and west was a broad basin, which emptied and 
filled with every tide, and about this lay other marshes 
reaching nearly across to the creek at the north. 
These marshes were thick with liquid mud, and nearly 
impassable from a dense growth of cedar and under- 
brush. Across them ran a few gravel ridges, afford- 
ing the only practicable connection between Passona- 
gessit and the upland., The peninsula itself, it has 
already been seen, had some years before been cleared 
of forest growth. It had then become the burial- 
place of the sachem Chickatabot’s mother, over whose 


grave two great bear-skins had been stretched until 


fi 








some wandering explorers presently despoiled it of | 
_ did both. 


become covered with a young forest growth, which | 


them. While thus abandoned the place had again 
was now to be cleared away and the soil made ready 
for the seed. 

The summer could hardly have sufficed for the 
The winter which ensued 
seems to have satisfied Wollaston. 


he had evidently made up his mind that there was 


work of preparation. 


Before it was over 


smal] profit and no pleasure for him in New England. 
So, early in 1626, he prepared to go elsewhere. Tak- 


ing with him a portion of the articled servants, and 
leaving one of his associates, Rasdell by name, in 
charge of the plantation, he set sail for Virginia. 
There, if he did not find a place of settlement more to 
his taste than Passonagessit, he did find a ready mar- 
ket for those he brought with him, and he is said to 
have sold them, or rather his right to their labor un- 
der his contracts, on terms quite satisfactory to him- 
self. He then sent back orders to Rasdell that he 
should put another of the associates, one Fitcher, in 
charge, and himself come to Virginia, bringing with 
him more of the servants. 
been sold. 
sonagessit was to be broken up. 

This did not meet the views of Morton. How 
large an interest he himself had in the venture is not 
known. 


These also seem to have 
It was evident that the plantation at Pas- 


It was probably small; and he could more- 
over have been looked upon with little favor by the 


other partners, for it was he who by his glowing ac- 


count of the country had got them into their troubles. 
But Morton liked New England, and he evidently did 
At the time 
it was said that he could not go back there: that, in 


not desire to go back to old England. 


fact, he had been implicated in a murder, and had 
fled the country. Later, warrants certainly were out 
And yet there is no evidence in sup- 
port of the charges, for though he was afterwards 
sent back to England under arrest, he never seems to 


against him. 


have been tried; and, if he had committed the hein- 
ous crimes of which he was accused, they would seem 
to have been forgotten before he was arraigned to an- 
swer for them. But of Morton’s earlier life not much 
is known. He seems to have had an education of 
some sort; for, though he could not write English, 
he was fond of quoting Latin, and he had a little 
knowledge of the law. Indeed, he called himself 
“of Clifford’s Inn, gent.;” but that he ever really 
studied law, or had any recognized standing at the 


London bar, is most improbable. An ingrained Bo- 
hemian and sportsman, he had come to New England 
to enjoy himself, and at the same time to make 
money; and it was of very little consequence to him 


how he did either one or the other, provided only he 


He accordingly saw with much disfavor every ar- 
Mean- 
while, supplies were running short, and a spirit of 
Of this Morton took 
advantage, and gradually instilled into the minds 


rangement made to break up the plantation. 
general discontent prevailed. 


of the few servants who were left the suspicion (for 
which there was undoubtedly excellent ground) that 
it would be their turn next to go to Virginia and be 


sold. He then suggested that, if he were at the head 








QUINCY. 263 





of the plantation, they might all dwell there together | Maremount, which, while it bore evidence to Mor- 


as equals, and not only enjoy life, but derive large 
profits from planting and trading. Exclusive of 
Fitcher, there were but seven men now left. All of 
these Morton seems to have won over, and at last 


Wollaston’s deputy was thrust out of doors, and left — 


to shift as best he could. 
Wessagusset, and thence found his way to Plymouth. 
Neither he nor Wollaston are again mentioned, nor 
do they seem to have made any attempt to re-establish 
themselves at Passonagessit. 


He betook himself to | 


_ With him and in one place it was the former 


Morton remained undisturbed at the head of the — 


establishment there, and he proceeded to make good 
his promises as respects both profit and enjoyment. 
With the Indians he was evidently the most popular 
of white men, for not only did he buy their furs on 
the most liberal terms, but he admitted them to the 
free life and noisy revels of the trading-post. 
English of those days, apart from the Puritan classes, 


The | 


were a rude, roistering, hard-drinking race, loose in | 


the relations of the sexes, and coarse in thought and 
speech. It followed accord- 
ingly that he and his men soon began to establish 


Morton was no Puritan. 


trading-post relations with the savages, both men and 


| of purpose to see the manner of the revels. 


_ton’s latinity, was certainly descriptive of the place, 


situated as it was close to the shores of the bay. But 
in that name there is nothing which in any way sug- 


| gests a translation of Passonagessit, a word supposed 


to mean simply some spot near to a small peninsula.! 


Morton was a humorist. In selecting a name there 


is little doubt that he had a play upon words in his 
mind. Maremount and Merrymount were convertible. 
; at an- 
other place and among his companions it was the latter. 

The new name being decided upon, it was “ re- 
solved,” as Morton says, to have it 


“Confirmed for a memorial to after ages in a solemn man- 
ner, with revels and merriment after the old English custom. 
[So they] prepared to set up a maypole upon the festival-day 
of Philip and Jacob, and therefore brewed a barrel of excellent 
beer, and provided a case of bottles, to be spent, with other 
good cheer, for all comers on that day. And upon May-day 
they brought the maypole to the place appointed with drums, 
guns, pistols, and other fitting instruments, for that purpose; 
and there erected it with the help of savages, that came thither 
A goodly pine-tree 


| of eighty foot long was reared up, witha pair of buck’s horns 


women, such as were at a later day common enough, © 


but which up to that time had been unknown, at any 
rate in New England. This recklessness culminated 
with the spring of 1627 in a proceeding which has 
passed into history. 

May-day was then a great English merry-making. 
It came on what is now the 11th of the month, so 
that the season was considerably more advanced than 


it is under the reformed calendar. There was also 


about the anniversary much of the coarseness and goybtless among the earliest efforts of the New Eng- 


loose morality of the time. It was by no means the 
sweet, simple anniversary, devoted to innocent dancing 
about a pole wreathed with garlands of freshly-gath- 
ered wild-flowers, which the modern imagination has 
been wont to depict. On the contrary, it partook of 
the Roman worship of Flora; it was a sort of satur- 
Not without cause, therefore, did the Puritans 


view it with disfavor. 


nalia. 
Yet each recurring season the 
fishermen on the New England coast were wont to erect 
these poles at their stations, making merry about them 
as with noisy games and drunken revelry they greeted 
the return of spring. 

It has already been mentioned that Morton was 
something of a scholar. 


where he and his companions lived had apparently 


been known only by its Indian name. 
solved to formally christen it, and selected May-day 
of 1637 for so doing. He says that he translated the 
name Passonagessit. 


He now re- | 


The new name he fixed on was | 


nailed on somewhat near unto the top of it, where it stood as a 
fair sea mark for directions how to find out the way to Mare- 
mount. They had [also] a poem in readiness, which 
was fixed to the maypole, to show the name confirmed on the 
plantation. There was likewise a merry song made, which was 
sung by a chorus, every man bearing his part, which they per- 
formed in adance, hand in hand about the maypole, while one 
of the company sang and filled out the good liquor, like Gany- 


mede and Jupiter.” 


The poem, as he saw fit to call it, which Morton 
composed for this occasion, and the rollicking chorus 
to which his company danced round the maypole, are 
land muse. Yet they certainly are not its earliest 
effort. 
wife given to verse-making, but at least four years 


Not only were Governor Bradford and his 


before Morton exercised his gifts at Mount Wollas- 
ton the Rev. Thomas Morell had wiled away a 
winter's tedium at Wessagusset in the composition of 
an elaborate Latin poem. It is not necessary, there- 
fore, to here reproduce Morton’s efforts, which can 
always be found in his book. They are only curious 
now; and, though at the time the Plymouth people 


roundly denounced them as scandalous and even lewd, 


it is not easy for modern readers to find in them 


much rhythm or any sense. 


Up to that time the place enough, but doggerel. 


They seem harmless 


Had Morton and his companions been content 
with field-sports and the writing of verses, there is no 
reason to suppose that they might not have set up a 


1 See New English Canaan (Prince Soe. Ed.) 15, n. 


264 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





new maypole at Mount Wollaston with every re- 
curring spring, and sung and danced round it to their 
hearts’ content. Doubtless he would have greatly 
seandalized his neighbors at Plymouth, and they 
might have gone even to the length of remonstrating 
But they 
were a quiet, forbearing people, with little that was 
aggressive about them, and it is not likely that they 


with him because of his carnal practices. 


would have thought of a recourse to force. 
but amusements. He had a very distinct eye to 
Not only was he fully alive to the large 
profits then and since to be made out of the fur 


business. 


trade, but in carrying on that trade he was restrained | 


by no scruples. The furs came from the interior 
y , 


brought by Indians. Through Indians only could 
they be procured, and towards the Indians accordingly 
Morton adopted a policy which was natural enough 
for him, but which none the less imperiled the 
safety of all the settlers on the coast. In exchange 
for their furs he gave the savages fire-arms and 
ammunition. Up to that time guns had never been 
found in the hands of New England Indians. 
French on the coast of Maine and the Dutch in New 
York had begun to traffic in them, and in 1622 the 
practice had been forbidden by royal proclamation ; 
but in Massachusetts the bow, the knife, and the 
hatchet were the only weapons ever met with in the 
savages hands. Of fire-arms he stood in mortal 
dread ; and to this fact the Plymouth colony had owed 
its preservation. But now the red men had begun to 
grow familiar with the new weapons, and they were 
eager to possess them. When it came to trading, 
beads and colored cloth and hatchets no longer had 
their former attraction. They were very well, but 
two things the Indians coveted more,—weapons and 
spirits,—fire-arms and fire-water. For these they 
would give anything they possessed or could procure. 


The trade in spirits was scandalous ; but the English 


| systematically. 








The | 





were a drunken race, and they had few scruples on | 


that score. Morton carefully denied that he ever 


sold the Indians liquor. Yet they took part in his 


revels, and there cannot be much doubt that they 


He does not deny that he used them as huntsmen, 
putting guns into their hands and teaching them their 
use. They proved apt pupils also. They knew just 
where to look for wild animals, and how best to ap- 
proach them. 
sight. Knowing how to use the fire-arms, and seeing 
how deadly as weapons they were, the savages became 
crazy to own them. 


So, in cheap exchange for their furs, Morton gave 
] ton) ? at 


They were fleet of foot and quick of 


more and more frequented Boston harbor. 
Un- | 


fortunately for Morton, his maypole and verses were | 


the entrance of Casco Bay. 


the Indians all the guns he could spare, and, his 
avarice being now excited, he sent to England for a 
larger supply. He proposed to go into the business 
His establishurent also acquired a 
reputation—a bad one, it is true, but still a reputa- 
tion—among the masters of the numerous vessels 
which then each year traded along the coast. They 
Merry- 
mount thus “ began to come forward,” as Morton 
himself expressed it, and so elated was he by his suc- 
cess that he even extended his operations to the coast 
of Maine, where, in the summer following the erection 
of the maypole, he seems to have established a sort of 
branch trading-house on Richmond Island, close to 
Things, indeed, seemed 
to be moving prosperously with the remnant of Wol- 
laston’s company, and those of them who had put 
their trust in Morton doubtless began to feel that 
They looked for- 
ward to an undisturbed life, in which ever-increasing 
profit would be combined with pleasant license. 

They reckoned without their host. To the whole 
coast from Plymouth up to Portsmouth, Merrymount 
became not only a nuisance, but a dangerous nuisance. 
Upon that coast there were not then many inhabited 
places; but there were a few. Plymouth was the 
most populous, and at Plymouth there may have been 


they were justified by the event. 


some two hundred souls in all, dwelling in two score 
houses encircled by a stockade half a mile in circum- 
ference. There was a smaller settlement at Wey- 
mouth, only a mile or so away from Merrymount, and 
scattered families lived at Thompson’s Island, Shaw- 
mut, as the peninsula of Boston was ealled, and 
Charlestown and South Boston. There were a few 
more, traders chiefly, at Hull and upon Cape Ann, 
These people 
They were living 
And now 
Indians with guns in their hands were prowling 
through the woods. 
game only ; but it could not be long before they real- 
Behind the little settlements, 


and near where Portsmouth now is. 
had come to New England to stay. 
here with their wives and their children. 


As yet they were in search of 


ized their new power. 


and between them, lay the vast, impenetrable wilder- 
had their share of the good cheer then provided. | 


ness, in regard to which the settlers knew nothing. The 
Massachusetts Indians were a weak, broken remnant ; 
but who knew what other tribes occupied the inter- 
ior; nor could any one divine the conspiracies which 
might there be forming, ready to burst when least 
expected. The situation was alarming enough at 
best; the sense of the vast unknown doubtless made 
it more so, and Morton’s proceedings were fast ren- 
The instinct of self-preserva- 
tion whispered that something must be done, and that 


dering it unendurable. 


QUINCY. 265 





quickly. Hither the Merrymount trade in fire-arms 
must be stopped, or the country abandoned. 

The remedy for the evil was not equally clear. So 
far as Morton’s immediate neighbors were concerned 
in case of atrial of strength, he, with his Indian allies, 
was probably a match for them all. 
tainers were likely also to increase in number, for, as 


| 


| 
| 
| 


His white re- | 


the ill repute of the Merrymount plantation spread, it | 


would inevitably become the place of refuge for all 
the outcasts and runaways on the coast. The ships 
which yearly came there were manned at the best 
with a rude, lawless set of fellows; and such of these 
as the others would not tolerate were the very ones 
most likely to find their way to Mount Wollaston. 


The danger, therefore, was an ever-increasing one. | 
Tf it was to be dealt with at all, it must be dealt with | 


at once and summarily. 

Under these circumstances, how great the common 
terror was may best be seen from the fact that it 
This 
The 


brought together all the settlers on the coast. 
seems to have been in the early spring of 1628. 


result of the meeting was that the Plymouth author- | 
A | 


ities were asked to take the matter in hand. 
letter was accordingly drawn up and sent to Morton, 
after being jointly signed. 
but init Morton was enjoined to forbear his evil prac- 
tices. 


It was friendly in tone, 


An answer was requested by the messenger 
who bore the missive. The result of the interview 
was far from satisfactory. Morton sent back word to 
the Plymouth magistrates that they were meddling in 
things which in no way concerned them, they having 
no jurisdiction over him or his plantation; further, 
he intimated that it was his intention to deal with the 
Indians as he saw fit. 

Yet a second time Morton was sent to. And now 
they bade him be better advised. for the country 
could not bear the injury he was doing it. 
reminded also of the royal proclamation of 1622 
forbidding the sale of fire-arms to savages. 


He was 


second admonition led to no more satisfactory results 
than the first. Morton denied that King James’ 





into the interior in search of furs. Indeed there 
were but three in all left at the plantation. Standish 
found Morton at Wessagusset, whither he had gone, 
as he says, “to have the benefit of company,” and 
there arrested him. It was not convenient to remove 
He, with a fine 
assumption of surprise and innocence, asked to know 
the reason of the violence to which he was subjected, 
and the names of those who had made charges against 
him; and when his captors declined to enlighten 
him on these points, he stood with much dignity on 
his rights as an Englishman, demanding that he 
should at once be set at liberty. Paying no attention 
to this, Standish made his arrangements to pass the 


the prisoner at once to Plymouth. 


night at Wessagusset. The prisoner was well guarded ; 
but a violent thunder-storm came up before morning, 
and in the midst of it he succeeded in making his es- 


There he 
made preparation for resistance. In the morning Stand- 


cape, getting safely back to Merrymount. 


ish and his party appeared. Walking directly up to the 
door of the house, they demanded to be let in. Their 
coolness and determination apparently had its effect, 
for of the three defenders of the place one at least 
was frightened, while another, in the endeavor to 
stimulate his courage, had got hopelessly and help- 
lessly drunk. Morton thus had only himself to de- 
pend on. None the less he maintained a bold front, 
and to the demand that he should surrender returned 
a scofing reply. Standish then went to work to force 
in the door; whereupon Morton sallied out, followed 
by his single tipsy retainer. The struggle that fol- 
lowed was brief and ludicrous. Morton’s gun, which 
he had aimed at Standish, was knocked up by one of 


| Standish’s party, and at the same time the staggering 


This | 


proclamation was law; and, with many oaths, warned 


the messengers that if any came to molest him they — 


must look to their own safety, for he would be pre- 
pared to defend himself. 


This took place in May, 1628, and in the early | 


days of June Capt. Miles Standish was sent up from 
Plymouth to Boston Bay, to summarily suppress the 
Mount Wollaston nuisance. He had with him eight 
men, and he evidently acted in full understanding with 
Morton’s neighbers, who apparently, in attempting 
the arrest; wanted to take advantage of the fact that 


nearly all the Merrymount company were then gone | 


follower succeeded in running “his own nose upon 
the point of a sword that one held before him as he 
This was the only blood spilt, 
and Morton was now secured and safely carried to 
Plymouth. Thence he was presently sent to the Isles 
of Shoals, where he was put on an outward bound 


entered the house.” 


vessel and carried to England. 

It is not necessary to here discuss the justice or 
legality of this arrest of Morton. That has been 
fully done elsewhere.’ It is sufficient to say that it 
seems to have been a mere act of self-preserva- 
tion. Yet it is equally clear that the Plymouth mag- 
istrates had legally no jurisdiction over any part of 
Boston Bay. Their action could accordingly be justi- 
fied only on the ground of necessity and might, for 
the limits of their territory, as expressed in such a 





1 See the introductory matter to the Prince Society’s edition of 


the “ New English Canaan.” 


266 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





patent as they then had, Jay south of Weymouth. 
Morton, on the contrary, seems to have had some sort 


of a patent of his own from the Council for New Eng- | 
It has not been preserved, and the bounds of | 


land. 


his grant are not known; but his title would seem 


to be the same as that of the Plymouth colony. | 


Both emanated from one source. Meanwhile, just 
before the arrest, the Council for New England, all 
the affairs of which were loosely managed, had issued 
another patent to those who afterwards became the 
Massachusetts Bay Company. This patent bore date 


the 19th of March, 1628, and specifically covered all 


the territory between the Merrimac on the north, and 


an east and west line three miles to the southward 
of the southernmost part of Massachusetts Bay, as 
Boston Bay was then called. 
clearly within these limits, and thenceforth became 
subject to the jurisdiction of the patentees; unless 
there was some saving of rights under the earlier 
Wollaston grant. 
the case. On the 6th of September, almost three 
months after the arrest of Morton, Governor Endicott 
landed at Salem. He represented the new patent and 
the company of the Massachusetts Bay. 

There is reason to suppose that the evil reputation 
of the Wollaston plantation was at this time well 
known in London. 
quarters a close watch was kept over events in New 
England. Accordingly, it would seem probable that 
Endicott came bringing definite instructions as to the 
course he was to pursue toward Morton and his fol- 
lowing. Whether this was the case or not, he cer- 
tainly took prompt action. As soon as he landed at 
Naumkeag—having passed the outward bound Mor- 
ton in mid-ocean—he must have heard of the action 
taken by the Plymouth authorities, for the dwellers 
on Cape Ann had been parties to it. Typical Puritan 
as he was,—harsh in temper, decisive in action, and 
merciless in the infliction of punishment,—Endicott 
doubtless approved of all that had been done, though 
he probably regretted that a more condign treatment 
Nor did he 
delay to do what was still in his power to prevent any 


had not been visited on the transgressor. 


mouth brethren. ‘Taking with him a small party he 
g party 


crossed the bay; and, suddenly appearing at Mount 


Wollaston, he thoroughly overawed the demoralized 


Not only did he sternly rebuke them | 


settlers there. 
for their profaneness and evil doings, but he caused 
the maypole to be felled to the ground. 
monishing them to look to it well that there should 
be better walking, he went back to Salem, leaving 


Mount Wollaston was 


This does not appear to have been | 


From several influential English 


Then ad- | 





Morton’s followers and his maypole equally down- | 


fallen. ‘ So they now, or others,” as Bradford says, 
“changed the name of their place again, and called it 
Mount Dagon.”! 

According to Bradford, “some of the worst of the 
(Merrymount) company” dispersed during this sum- 
mer, betaking themselves elsewhere, while “‘ some of 


the more modest kept the house” until Morton 


should be heard from. 
serted. 


The place was not wholly de- 
Among the worst who went elsewhere was, 
probably, Walter Bagnall, who about this time took 
up his permanent abode on Richmond Island. He 
was commonly known as ‘Great Walt,” and seems 
to have been a rude frontier trader of the most worth- 
less sort. He carried the Merrymount methods with 
him to his new home, where he prospered greatly, 
getting together what was for those days considerable 
possessions in money and goods; until at last, in Oc- 
tober, 1631, the Indians set upon him and killed him.’ 
The only other follower of Morton of whom there is 
any record was Edward Gibbons, apparently one of 
the more modest who kept the house. Ata later day 
Gibbons was a prominent member of the Massachu- 
setts community, rising to the high rank of major- 
general ; and in 1649 he succeeded Governor Endicott — 
in command of the military forces of the colony. But 
Gibbons’ later career was not particularly associated 
with the town of Braintree. Shortly after the hew- 
ing down of the maypole he went over to Salem, 
where, listening to the preaching of the Rev. Francis 
Higginson, he underwent a change of heart and be- 
came a member of the church. But still the original 
Merrymount spirit from time to time showed itself 


in him, and he has left footprints of himself here and 


there in the early colonial records which call in vain 
for satisfactory explanation.” 

It was in the autumn of 1629 that Endicott hewed 
down the maypole. Six months later, in April or 
early May, there is reason to believe that another and 


somewhat mysterious personage took up his abode on 


_the south shore of the Neponset, not far from its 


mouth. This was Sir Christopher Gardiner. Of 


him it is not necessary to here speak at length, as his 


| temporary abode within its subsequent limits in no 
harm resulting from the weak leniency of his Ply- | 


way affected the history of Quincy. It is sufficient to 


1 Dagon was the sea-idol of the Philistines. 


“Sea monster, upward man, 
And downward fish.” 


“When the ark was placed in his temple, Dagon fell, and the 
palms of his hands were broken off.’ (1 Samuel, v. 2-4.) “It 
was on a feast-day to Dagon that Samson pulled down the pil- 
lars of the temple at Gaza.” (Judges xvi. 25-26.) 

2 Prince Society edition of “ New English Canaan,” 218, n. 
3 See note in Palfrey’s “New England,” ii. 226. 





QUINCY. 267 





say that Gardiner was apparently an emissary of the 


Council for New England, sent out to keep a watch | 


on the Massachusetts Bay Company. He brought 


with him to the country a young woman, named | 
Mary Grove, to whom he was not married, and who | 


has since figured largely in American works of fiction. 
The two for nearly a year lived together, it has been 
surmised on the savin-covered hummock not far east 
of the Old Colony railroad bridge across the Neponset, 
on its Quincy side. The magistrates then learned 
that two women in England claimed to be married to 
Gardiner. A warrant for his arrest was accordingly 
issued ; but he, being on his guard, escaped the ofh- 
cers and lay hid in the woods for a month, until the 
He 
was sent back to Boston, and subsequently took his 


savages carried him a captive into Plymouth. 


departure to Maine, and thence to England. He 
seems to have been the first Huropean resident in the 
northern limits of Quincy, for David Thompson, and 
his widow after him, lived on the island which bears 


his name; though not impossibly their patent covered’ 


It is 
also a curious fact that both Gardiner and his com- 
panion were members of the Church of Rome, which 
thus early obtained a footing on Quincy soil,—a hold 


also the neighboring peninsula of Squantum. 


which was early broken. Nearly two centuries passed 
before it was again renewed.’ 

When Gardiner fled into the forest in March, 1631, 
there is reason to believe that the whole region be- 
tween Neponset and the Monatoquit was left without 
asingle Kuropean occupant. His own dwelling was de- 
serted, and the house at Mount Wollaston had a month 
previously been burnt to the ground. During the 
summer of 1629—nearly a year and a half before— 
Thomas Morton had found his way back from Eng- 


land. While there no charge had been brought | 


as he could. For a time he seems to have been toler- 
ated; and he even attended a general meeting of the 
planters at Salem, in which he made all the trouble in 
his power, refusing to conform to the company’s trade 
regulations. About Christmas Endicott sent over a 
party to arrest him. But he was on the watch and 
eluded them, so that they were only able to ransack 
How 
many followers he now had does not appear; proba- 
So he 
In 
the spring Gardiner came and established himself not 


far away; and now probably both he and Morton 


his house, which contained nothing of value. 


bly at the most not more than two or three. 
passed the winter, living upon the game he shot. 


anxiously looked for the arrival of a long talked-of 
outfit which was to take final possession of the region 
around Boston Bay in the interest of Gorges. It was 
well known that Endicott and his people at Salem 


_ had been reduced by disease and famine to the last 





extremity. A remnant of them barely struggled 
Unless aid came soon the settle- 
ment would cease to exist. But instead of a Gorges 
expedition, on the 17th of June Governor John Win- 
throp, who had arrived at Salem five days before, came 


through the winter. 


into the harbor, and Morton must have watched his 


shallop with anxious eyes as it worked its way in front 
of Mount Wollaston up the channel to the mouth 
of the Mystic. Its appearance in those waters boded 
him no good. 

Yet he was not at once disturbed. A few days 
later the whole fleet made its appearance, and dis- 
charged its thousand passengers, the first installment 


Then followed the busy and 


The immigrants were crowded 


of the great migration. 
fatal summer of 1630. 


together on the hill-side at Charlestown ; everything 


against him, and he seems to have worked his way | 


into a certain degree of favor with Sir Ferdinando 
Gorges. 
Plymouth colony, was then in some way induced to 


Isaac Allerton, the agent in London of the | 


| 
| 


befriend him ; and at last even took him back to Ply- | 


mouth, to the unspeakable indignation of the people | 


there,—“ as it were to nose them,” Bradford said. — 
For Morton to remain long in Plymouth was out of | 
the question, nor probably did he have any desire to | 
He wanted to get back to Merrymount. | 
Thither he accordingly went in the autumn of 1629, | 
and there he remained all through the following win- | 


do so. 


ter. To Endicott he now made himself as annoying 





1 A detailed account of Gardiner and his experiences in New 
England is to be found in vol. xx. of the “ Proceedings of the 
Massachusetts Historical Society.” 





was in confusion, and the confinement and salt food 
diet of a long sea-voyage was succeeded by exposure 
on shore, and too great indulgence in the wild fruits 
and berries of a new country. Dysentery naturally 
set in, and soon took the form of pestilence: 
Not until the 23d of August was any meeting of the 
magistrates held. | Morton’s arrest was then ordered. 
He seems to have made no attempt to elude the offi- 
cers or resist them. He probably realized that it 
would be useless. So two weeks later, on what 
would now be the 17th of September, at the second 
session of the magistrates, he was arraigned. 

He can scarcely be said to have had a trial, the 
proceedings were so very summary. He seems to 
have made some attempt at a defense, in the midst 
of which he was bidden to hold his peace and listen 
to his sentence, which was pronounced by Winthrop. 
It was sufficiently severe. He was ordered to be set 
in the stocks, to be sent prisoner to England, to be 


268 





deprived of all his possessions, and to have his house 
burnt to the ground, to the end that “the habitation 
of the wicked should no more appear in Israel.” 
sentence also was literally carried out. There was 
some delay about sending him back to England, the 
master of one vessel refusing to carry him. At length, 
in January, 1651, a passage was secured for him on 
board the “ Handmaid,” and not until then, and while 


This | 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


| 


the prisoner was sailing out of the harbor, was that por- | 


tion of his sentence which related to the burning of | 


his house put in execution. 
been vindictively delayed. 
was applied to the buildings at Mount Wollaston, and 


It would seem to have | 
Then at last the torch | 


to Thomas Morton, as he looked back from ‘a farre | 


of abourd a ship, the smoke that did ascend appeared _ 


to be the very sacrifice of Kain.” 
was wholly destroyed. 


The plantation 
None of Morton’s followers 
remained there; nor did he or any of them ever come 
back to the place. 


GH AP Th Re Xx, 


QUINCY—( Continued). 
MOUNT WOLLASTON. 


For several years after Morton’s expulsion the sea- 





| set. 





first of the many similar barriers which that civiliza- 
tion was destined to overleap. 

It did overleap it in 1635. The region south of 
the river was then known to have a fertile soil, but 
through Morton’s doings it had gained an evil name. 
The course of emigration set along the Charles into 
the interior, and up the Mystic to the north. The 
leading men of the Massachusetts Bay Company be- 
longed to the class of English gentry, and they 
brought with them to America that land-hunger which 
they inherited direct from both Saxon and Norman 
ancestry. ‘They were eager to secure vast estates for 
themselves and their descendants. Accordingly, grants 
were made to them of five hundred acres here, and 
one thousand acres, or two thousand acres, somewhere 
else. In this way the neighboring country was rapidly 
parceled out, and the peninsula of Boston being 


_ “too small to contain many,” the residents there were 


“constrained to take farms in the country.” 
Then at last people began to look across the Nepon- 
Accordingly, at the May session of the General 


Court of 1634, it was ordered “that Boston shall 


have convenient enlargement at Mount Wollaston,” 


and a committee of four was appointed to fix metes and 


ward slope of the Blue Hills remained unoccupied. | 
There were as yet no road from Boston to Plymouth, | 


nor, indeed, to Hingham and Weymouth, and what 
little intercourse there was between these places was 
kept up by boat across the bay. The Indian trail 
followed the shore, but it could not be called a path. 


bounds, and to report the same, with an accompany- 
ing plan or map, to the next General Court. This 
committee did the work assigned to it, though of 
neither its report or plan is there any record. Yet 
both papers seem to have been presented to the court 
and adopted, for in the records of the session held in 


September, 1634, there is the following brief entry: 


The eye of the trained woodsmen was needed to de- | 
tect its devious way as it wound about the head- | 


waters of tidal inlets and across the upland to those 
points at which alone it was possible to cross the 


swamps. A forlorn remnant of the Massachusetts 


| John Wilson, the pastor of the Boston Church. 


. . . | 
tribe, stricken with plague and smallpox, haunted the | 


forest, the mere ghost of a dying.race; but between 
the Neponset and the Monatoquit there were abso- 
lutely no white inhabitants. In 1634 a man named 
Alderman lived at Hingham, or Bear Cove, as it was 
then called. 
undertook to return home by the trail. In doing so 
he lost his way, and for three days and two nights 
he wandered through woods and swamps without fall- 
Then, 
starved and weary, with torn clothing and bruised 
body, he struggled out of the wilderness to find him- 
Scituate. 


ing in with a habitation or a human being. 


self in The Neponset was, in fact, the 


Having occasion to be in Boston he | 


southern boundary of Massachusetts civilization,—the | 


“ Tt is ordered that Boston shall have enlargement at 
Mount Wollaston.” 
the story, and at a general meeting, on public notice, 


The Boston records then take up 


held on the 8th of December following, a formal grant 
of land of Mount Wollaston was made to the Rev. 
He, 
therefore, was the first Quincy landowner under the 
Massachusetts charter. 

When Mr. Wilson went to take possession of his 
erant, which lay apparently in the north part of the 
present township of Quincy, he was confronted by an 
Indian title. ‘This he had to extinguish. It was the 
They all held 


direct from the Indians, as well as from the General 


same with the other original grantees. 
Court. But thirteen months seem to have elapsed 
after the grant to Wilson before further grants were 
made. Then at last, at a meeting held on the 4th of 
January, 1636, the point which still bears his name 
was allotted to Atherton Hough; and at the same 
meeting, instead of making other individual allot- 
ments, a comnittee of five, clothed with full powers, 


was appointed to do this work. But having thus ap- 


QUINCY. 


269 





parently disposed of the whole matter, the meeting 
went on and ordered one holding laid out which after- 
Mr. William 


wards had a curious significance. 


Hutchinson was to have a sufficient farm at Mount 


Wollaston, beyond Mr. Wilson’s, in the country adjoin- 
ing Dorchester. Mr. William Hutchinson, thus made a 
neighbor of the Rev. John Wilson, was the husband 
of Mistress Anne Hutchinson, between whom and the 


pastor of the Boston Church a feud was even then | 
developing which a little later was to divide the set-_ 


tlement into hostile factions and bring it to the verge 
of civil war. 
This did not take place immediately, and on the 


14th of March, 1636, farms along the bay front were | 


confirmed to William Coddington and Edmund 
Quincy. 


wright, shall have an allotment of two hundred and 
fifty acres laid out for him at Mount Wollaston.” In 
a history like the present it is neither interesting nor 
profitable to give to each of these allotments its pre- 


cise place on the map of to-day. It is sufficient to 


On the 30th of February, 1637, it was | 
further agreed “that our brother, Mr. John Wheel- | 





call attention to the fact that Wilson, Hutchinson, | 


Coddington, Wheelwright, and Hough had all been 
provided for at the ‘the Mount,” and that they were 
in 1637 neighbors in what is now Quincy. John 
Wheelwright was the first clergyman settled within 
the present limits of the town; and, while officiating 


as such, it was his fate to preach on a fast-day the | 


most momentous discourse ever delivered from the 
With the Rev. Mr. Wheelwright 
and his little congregation the consecutive civil his- 
tory of Quincy may be said to open. 


American pulpit. 


Lincolnshire hamlet, about twenty-four miles from 


June, 1636. During the following month he was 
admitted to membership in the church. It has 
already been mentioned that the Rev. Jobn Wilson 
was the pastor of that church, the only one in 
Boston ; with him the Rev. John Cotton was asso- 
ciated as teacher. Boston was then a small, newly 
built, seaport settlement, numbering a few hundred 
inhabitants. 


built of logs though some were framed, clustering 


These dwelt in rude houses, mostly 


about a barrack-like structure which served as a meet- 
ing-house. In that early and pious community it 
does not need to be said, though it has ever to be 
borne in mind, everything centred about the church. 
Its membership carried with it political rights. The 
The meet- 
ing, the sermon, and the lecture were the events of the 


week. The affairs of the church accordingly occu- 


clergyman was the first man in the town. 


| pied even more general attention than affairs of 


state, while the two were so interwoven that they did 
not admit of separation. 

At the time Wheelright landed in Boston, Sir 
Henry Vane was Governor of the Massachusetts Bay 
Company, having just been chosen to succeed Haynes. 
Winthrop, the first Governor, had for the time being 
It was said that he had been too 
lax in his administration of the criminal law, and dis- 


lost his popularity. 


posed to overlook transgression more than a Puritan 
magistrate should. The leading men had, some of 
them, grown jealous of him, while the body of the 


In 
Hardly more than a boy, he 


freemen were probably disposed to try a change. 
Vane they found it. 


had been in the country a short time only. He was 


_ full of crude ideas, and of impulses which were even 
John Wheelwright was born at Saleby, a little | 


Boston, in England. Educated at Cambridge, he was 


there a companion of Cromwell, and on the football 
ground it is said that he and the future Lord Pro- 
tector often encountered each other. After gradua- 
tion Wheelwright became vicar of Bilsby, a little 
village not far from the place where he was born. 
He was not only a rigid Puritan, but essentially a 
contentious man. 
been engaged in controversy ; often with his brother 


All through life he seems to have | 


clergymen, and even more frequently in the courts. | 


Having been silenced as a preacher by Laud’s High 


Commission, and driven from his parish in England, © 


early in 1636 he determined to emigrate to America. 
He had then passed his forty-fourth year, and, his first 
wife dying, had married Mary Hutchinson, of 
Alford, a sister of William Hutchinson, who, with his 
wife Anne, had gone to New England two years be- 
fore. Wheelwright landed in Boston on the 26th of 


2 


| 


Within 
the church Mrs. Hutchinson was making her pres- 


more uncertain than they were generous. 
ence felt. At that time a woman of less than forty 
years of age, she had followed Cotton, her favorite 
preacher, to New England, and at Boston found her- 
self in just the position she would naturally have 
craved as that best suited for the full display of her 
peculiar powers. She was an intellectual woman, 
with a great social faculty, and an inordinate love of 
notoriety and prominence. A born intriguer, she de- 
lighted in talking and making her influence felt. 
Accordingly, she had not been long in New England 
when she began to hold a series of exclusively female 
gatherings, and then of gatherings at which men as 
well as women were present. The original idea of 
these meetings was that an opportunity would thus 
be afforded for the recapitulation of the sermons of 
the preceding Sabbath for the benefit of such as had 
been unable to be present at their delivery. Gradu- 


ally these meetings assumed the form of an active re- 


270 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





ligious revival. Then they absorbed the whole atten- "had been arranged, in September, 1636, that those 


tion of the settlement. 
Though an ardent admirer of the teacher, Cotton, 


| 
| 


Mrs. Hutchinson showed scant respect to Wilson, the | 


pastor. 
them. A worthy, sincere minister no doubt, and per- 
haps a forcible expounder of God’s word, Wilson was 
He trod 


clumsily along in the beaten theological track. There 


none the less a heavy, unimaginative man. 


was nothing fine about him. It was inevitable, there- 


There was no bond of sympathy between | 





fore, both being what they were, that, as the influence | 
. . . . { 
of Mrs. Hutchinson increased it would begin to make | 


itself felt in hostility to her pastor. 


This had al- | 


ready become apparent before the arrival of Wheel- | 


wright, and that event brought matters to a crisis. | 
2 | 
In November, 1636, when he had been four months | 


in Boston, it was proposed at a meeting of the church | 


to associate Wheelwright with Cotton, making him an 


additional teacher. It was perfectly understood from 


what source this proposal originated. Next to Cotton, 


Wheelwright was Mrs. Hutchinson’s favorite preacher, 
as he was also the husband of her sister-in-law. 


Wilson’s friends and the conservative party in the | 
church, headed by Governor Winthrop, took the alarm | 


and openly resisted the proposal. Governor Vane sup- 
ported it. The weight of opinion was decidedly in favor 
of Wheelwright, and much feeling was manifested at 
Winthrop’s course ; but, according to the rule of the 
Boston Church, it was sufficient that grave opposition 
was expressed. The proposal was dropped. 


But John Wheelwright was much too active and 


able a man to remain long without a fixed settlement. | 


The large majority of the Boston Church was in sym- 
pathy with him. Among these were a number who 
had recently received land allotments at Mount Wol- 


laston, which they were then engaged in developing. 


Population had accordingly begun to find its way 
Quincy, Coddington, Hutchin- | 


across the Neponset. 
son and Hough dwelt themselves in Boston, but 
those occupying the land at the Mount, whether as 


farmers or employés, were far removed from the town, | 
and had now for some time been complaining that they | 


were practically cut off from all religious privileges. 
Poor men, with families, they were ten or twelve 
miles from the meeting-house. Accordingly, the gath- 
ering of a new church at Mount Wollaston had al- 
ready been under discussion. It was opposed on the 


ground that it would defeat the very object for which 


Boston had received enlargement,—the upholding of | 


the town and the original church. The loss of so 


many leading men as would inevitably join themselves | 


to the new church, if it was called, could not but seri- 


| 
} 


| 


| 
| 


| 





living at the Mount, or having holdings there, should 
pay a small yearly church and town rate to Boston, 
which was fixed at sixpence an acre on land lying 
within a mile of the water, and threepence for land 
further back. 
mutation tax. 


It was a species of non-resident com- 
This arrangement imposed in turn on 
the Boston church a well-understood obligation to in 
some way provide for the religious needs of the out- 
In those early 
days of sparse settlement the situation was not an un- 


lying region thus tributary to it. 


usual one, and it was the custom in such eases to es- 
tablish branch churches, or “ chapels of ease,” as they 
were called. Some elder, or a gifted brother was wont 
to hold forth, or to prophesy, as it was phrased, at 
these each ordinary Sabbath, while at stated periods 
the sacrament was administered in the meeting-house 
of the mother church. 

As soon as Winthrop’s dissent had put a final stop 
to the project of choosing Wheelwright associate 
teacher in Boston, the friends of the former south of 
the Neponset took action. At the same meeting of 
the church its records show that “ our brother, Mr. 
John Wheelwright, was granted unto for the prepar- 
ing for a church gathering at Mount Wollystone, 
upon a petition of some that were resident there.” 
This vote was passed on the 19th of November, 1636. 

If he entered upon his duties immediately,—and 
there can be little question that he did,—John 
Wheelwright ministered to those settled at Mount 
Wollaston months. But there is 
neither local record nor tradition of him or of his 


about thirteen 


work ; nor is it even known where his meeting-house 


| stood, if, indeed, in those early days his scattered 


flock could boast of a meeting-house. It is not at all 
impossible that services may have been held during 
the first winter at the dwellings of different members 
of the little congregation; while the following sum- 
mer the pastor preached “ abroad under a tree,” just 
as Wilson and Phillips had preached at Charlestown 
during the first months of the settlement. If a church 
edifice was then erected, it must have been a very 
simple and temporary structure, built of logs the 
crevices between which were sealed with mud, while 
the roof was covered with thatch. It is not likely 
that it was more than twenty or twenty-five feet 
square, and there can be little doubt that it stood at 
the most convenient point on the old Indian trail, 
then rapidly widening into a road between Plymouth 


_ and Boston. 


The single year of Wheelwright’s settlement was 
the year of the Antinomian controversy, the stormiest 


. . . . . . . 
ously affect the old one. To meet this objection it ‘in the history of Massachusetts. Into the details 








QUINCY. 





271 





of that controversy it is unnecessary to enter here, for 
they are part of the history of the State; but, so far 


little doubt that the whole course of subsequent events 
then received an influence which has ever since been 


wright was a leader among the Antinomians, and his 
parishioners were among the foremost supporters of 
that cause. 


The successful opposition to him as | 


| 





associate teacher was the first overt act in the coming | 


contest. 
Hutchinson ; and she regarded it as such. She was 


not so to be put down, and she gave to her tongue | 


loose rein. No longer cuntent with attacking her own 
pastor, she now boldly assailed the body of the 
clergy, all of whom had evinced their sympathy with 
him. To venture on such an attack required no 
small amount of courage, for the clergy were little 
less than a sacred caste in the early settlement of 
Massachusetts. ‘Tio shake their hold over affairs in 
church and state was almost impossible. But it is 
not likely that Mrs. Hutchinson realized this, or ever 
calmly counted the cost of what she was doing. She 
went on heedlessly. 
those immediately around her in Boston. She could 
count on the support of Governor Vane, and his 
popularity throughout the colony was so great as to 
be still a thing not easy to account for. Many others 
of the magistrates and deputies were with her. <Ac- 


cordingly, she went on step by step, making herself 


always more offensively aggressive, until at last she | 


boldly declared that not only Wilsou, but the whole 
body of the clergy, excepting only Cotton and Wheel- 
wright, were under a covenant of works. Those two, 
and those two alone, walked in a covenant of grace. 
Mere theological jargon now, in 1663 these words 
had a deep significance. In so using them, Mrs. 
Hutchinson did little less than openly express her 
belief that the whole body of the clergy, two only of 


their number excepted, were whited sepulchres. He 


who walked in a covenant of grace was the chosen of | 


the Lord. In him dwelt the spirit of God. 


matter wasin him. Not so he who labored under 
a covenant of works. He might be a very worthy, 
well-meaning, pious man, doing his best according to 
his lights; but his lights were of the earth, earthy. 
God’s voice was not in him. It was the blind lead- 
ing the blind. 


She had the open sympathy of | 


He was | 
inspired ; he preached the true word; the root of the | 


It was a victory for Wilson over Mrs. | 


vocates and friends ; on the other, almost alone, were 


_ Wilson and Winthrop. 
- . | 
as the later town of Quincy was concerned, it admits of | 


Outside of Boston it was not so. The mental con- 
tagion had not spread. The other towns, some twelve 


| in number, gradually, under the influence of their 
felt. As the twig was bent, the tree inclined. Wheel- 


ministers, awoke to a consciousness of what was going 
on, and they rallied to the support of the clergy. 
Winthrop was deputy-governor, and recognized as 
Wilson’s main support in the Boston Church; ac- 
cordingly, his popularity underwent a revival and he 
was brought to the front once more as the exponent 


of the conservative side against Vane, who was the 





| 





Thus she undertook to declare who | 


were inspired and who were uninspired; and as she 


gave utterance to her judgments, incredible as it now 
seems, nearly the whole of the inhabitants of Boston 
lent believing ears to her. On one side were her ad- 


| brother-clergymen would naturally concentrate. 


| eminent of their whole order. 


popular idol of the new movement. Thus matters 
stood all through the winter of 1636-37. The agita- 
tion was continually on the increase, and it seemed 
as if men were fairly bereft of their senses, as indeed 
they were. They argued fiercely about the unknow- 


able in language the terms of which they did not 


understand ; and to-day almost the only intelligible 


thing iu the whole dispute is that Mrs. Hutchinson, 


indulging in wild dreams of ambition on her own ac- 
count, had persuaded herself and others that she was 
inspired, and the first movement of her inspiration 
was to drive Mr. Wilson, whom she did not like, out 
of his pulpit. 

During this time of rising tumult Wheelwright 
was ministering at the Mount, whither he had re- 
moved with his wife and family. In December, at 
the time of the meeting of the General Court, he at- 
tended an angry conference of the clergy, which re- 


sulted only in a widening of the breach. For a 


_ speech which he then made to the assembled digni- 


taries, Wilson had been openly called to account by 
his parishioners in his own church. 


They were all 


_ against him, and after being censured he was publicly 


admonished by the teacher. It clearly was not in 
Wheelwright’s nature to remain silent in the back- 
ground during such a controversy; and even if he 
made an effort at self-restraint, Mrs. Hutchinsoa had 
conferred a dangerous prominence upon him when she 
classed him, with Cotton, as being alone of all the 
clergy under a covenant of grace. She had thus 
made him the centre upon which the anger of his 
His 
position was unlike that of Cotton. Cotton was 
recognized by his brethren as the first and most 
He was regarded 
with reverential respect. Him above all they wished 
to save. But they greatly needed a scapegoat, and 
a scapegoat they found ready to their hands in 
the pastor at the Mount. Nor was he a man to avoid 
the attack. 


He did so in this way. 


On the contrary, he invited it. 


On the 29th [N. 8.] 


272 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





(it was the 19th, old style) of January, 1637, a 


solemn fast was held in view of the trouble then 


impending over the Protestant world in general, | 


and the colony of Massachusetts Bay in particu- 
lar. Not only were the churches at home torn with 
dissension but Indian troubles were impending, and 


in Germany the thirty years’ war was at its height. 





It is possible that Wheelwright on the morning of | 
that day may have preached to his own people at the | 


Mount; but if he did, he later went to Boston, where, 


in the afternoon, he attended church services and | 


listened to a discourse from Cotton. 
had finished, Wheelwright was called upon “ to exer- 
He had come prepared. 


cise as a private brother.” 


Possibly he only repeated the discourse he had that | 


morning delivered to his own flock, though of this 


there is no evidence. In any event, he now preached 


that fast-day sermon for which a few months later he 


was called to such severe account. As he spoke some 


When Cotton | 





person in the audience took careful notes of what he | 


said. His enemies even then were lying in wait for 
him. 

There was nothing in the fast-day sermon which 
in itself, and delivered at any other time and place, 
would have excited general notice. Except in parts 
it isa very dull performance, and, unless delivered 


with peculiar fire, it would now seem more calculated 


to put an audience to sleep than to excite those compos- 


ing it to acts of sedition. 


scriptural phraseology which it was equally a delight | 


for the Puritan to use and to hear, it belongs to an 
artificial form of composition which may have its day, 
but is afterwards sure to be forgotten. In a few 
years it becomes not less antiquated than last century 


garments. 


Couched in that peculiar | 


That the fast-day sermon had a very di- | 


rect bearing on questions then greatly exercising the | 


minds of those who listened to it is indisputable ; 
but that is expected in all occasional discourses. As 
a sharp, vehement arraignment of those who walked 
in a covenant of works, it will not be pretended that 
Wheelwright ought then to have preached this sermon 
in Wilson’s pulpit. To do so was, to say the least, in 
very bad taste. But beyond this the sermon is not 
open to just criticism. 
either intended or calculated to excite sedition, nor 
is there any reason to suppose that it at the time 
Wilson 


caused any particular remark. had been 


It does not seem to have been 


| P . 
declined to answer further questions. 


throp had been made to listen to what the mass of the 
congregation regarded as some thoroughly sound re- 
ligious doctrine. But the latter was not sufficiently 
stirred up by the fact to make any mention of it in 
his diary, and there is no reason to suppose that 
either his safety or that of the settlement were put 
in jeopardy. 

When hostilities are decided upon a pretext for 
open war is always at hand. A silent decree of the 
clergy had evidently now gone forth that Wheelwright 
was to be disciplined. His position invited attack, 
and his utterances in private, doubtless, as well as in 
public, afforded sufficient pretext for it. He had been 
set up against Wilson in Wilson’s own church and by 
Wilson’s people. Accordingly, when the March Gen- 
eral Court met, action was taken on a certain sermon 
which Wilson had delivered before it in December, 
and for which it will be remembered he had subse- 
quently been formally admonished in his own church 
by Teacher Cotton. The court now expressed its 
emphatic approval of this sermon. It then turned 
from Wilson to Wheelwright, and the matter of the 
In answer to a 
summons Wheelwright presently appeared. The notes 


fast-day discourse was brought up. 


taken at the time the discourse was delivered were pro- 
duced, and he was asked if he admitted their correct- 
ness. In reply he gave the court his own manuscript. 

A bitter wrangle followed which lasted through the 
sessions of several days. The conservatives at first 
thought to dispose of the matter behind closed doors. 
The proposal so to do excited strong opposition, and 
Wheelwright, while justifying all that he had said, 
It was then 
decided to go on publicly, and Wheelwright was again 
summoned. The room was thronged, for the court 
itself, magistrates and deputies, numbered some forty 
persons, and, besides others, nearly all the twelve or 
fourteen ministers of the province were present. The 
Again the sermon was produced 
Again he justified 
it; and, in answer to questions put him, he declared 


feeling was intense. 
and putin Wheelwright’s hands. 


that he meant to include in his animadversions, as 
being under a covenant of works, all who walked in 


the way he had described. The matter was then re- 


' ferred to the ministers, who were called upon to state 


thoroughly exhorted from his own pulpit, and Win- | 


1 Tt has been taken for granted that this sermon was preached 
at the Mount (Palfrey’s ‘‘New, England,” i. 479, n.; Pattee’s 
“ Quincy,” 186). 


brought out by Bell, in his monograph on John Wheelwright, | 


in the publications of the Prince Society (pp. 13, 15). 


‘ was not yet over. 


whether ‘‘ they in their ministry did walk in such a 
way.” ‘There was little room for doubt what the an- 
swer would be, for it was an ingenious way of secur- 
ing at once both evidence of guilt and a verdict upon 


it. With one voice the ministers responded they 


: : considered that they did walk in such a way. 
The correct facts, as stated in the text, were | 


The verdict was thus rendered. But the struggle 
The doors of the General Court 





QUINCY. 





273 





were again closed, and behind them a debate began | 


which lasted two entire days. Vane and Winthrop 
led the opposing forces, and for a time it seemed as 
though the party of the clergy would be thwarted. 
But at last they won over to their side two of the 
magistrates, and by a narrow majority the fast-day 
sermon was pronounced seditious. Yet no sentence 
was now passed upon Wheelwright. The contest had 
been long and severe, and the parties were so equally 
divided that it was not thought expedient to then 
proceed further. Wheelwright was accordingly simply 
ordered to appear before the next General Court, and 
he was not meanwhile silenced as a minister. His 
case was commended to the Boston church to be 
spiritually dealt with. 

This was certainly a forbearing disposition to make 
of it. Not only was the church of Boston notoriously 
in sympathy with Wheelwright, but it had already 
so expressed itself. It*had done this, too, in a way 
not to be mistaken, and which was not forgotten ; for 
hardly had the court by formal vote pronounced the 
fast-day sermon seditious, than a petition, bearing the 
names of nearly all the most prominent members of 
the Boston church, had been presented to that same 
court. In this paper the case of Wheelwright was 


\ 


{ 





put an end to strife. When in the order of business 
Wheelwright’s case came up, he appeared before the 
court. Among its forty-three members he saw only 
three faces friendly to him, but he was again allowed 
to depart until the autumn session. He was merely 
admonished to bethink himself in the interval of re- 
tracting his utterances and reforming his errors if he 
hoped to receive favor. 
istic. 


His answer was character- 
If he had indeed, he said, been guilty of 
sedition, he deserved death; but if the court should 
proceed against him, he would take his appeal to the 
king. As for retraction, he had nothing to retract. 

The dominant party now had recourse to a measure 
of legislation which there can be little doubt perma- 


_nently affected the settlement of the future town of 


Quincy. It passed analien law. The tide of immi- 
gration was then setting strongly towards New Eng- 
land. All the towns were looking for additions to 


| their numbers, and Wheelwright and his friends were 


warmly argued, and his punishment deprecated. | 
Respectful in tone, the document was singularly well | 


worded and to the point. At the moment it 
would not seem to have excited particular remark, and, 
received as a matter of course, it was placed on the 
files of the court. But priesthoods have long 
memories. That a long list of influential names was 
appended to this memorial was now noted down, and 
a few months later it was made the basis of a pro- 
scription. 

For the moment the reference of Wheelwright’s 
case to the Boston church seemed to open a door to 


confidently expecting the arrival of a portion of the 
church of a Mr. Brierly in England, who possibly 
may have been Wheelwright’s successor at Bilsby. 
One party was already on its way, and reached 
Boston in July. With a view to this coming rein- 
forcement of the minority, the General Court in May 
passed a law imposing heavy penalties in case 
strangers were harbored or allowed to remain in the 
province three weeks without a magistrate’s _permis- 
sion. All the magistrates belonged to one party, and 
were wholly devoted to it. Accordingly, when the 
body of immigrants from the Brierly church landed 


in Boston, though they were of one blood with those 


who met them on the shore, they were confronted 
with this law. In Boston their friends were in a 
large majority; yet their friends could not shelter 


them above three weeks, nor could Boston sell them 


conciliation ; but now the public feeling was too much — 


excited. A collision was inevitable. 
the other had to establish its supremacy. The party of 
the clergy was unmistakably in the majority in all the 
towns except Boston, and this became apparent at the 
annual charter election. Held on the 27th [N. 8.] of 
May, under a large oak-tree on the edge of what is now 
Cambridge common, the election of 1637 was a 
memorable one. Winthrop, amidst an excitement 
which seemed at times about to result in violence, was 
then chosen Governor over Vane. 
left out of the magistracy. So, also, was Hough. 
The overthrow of the friends of Wheelwright was 
complete. 


At first the party now in complete control used its 


18 


One party or | 


Coddington was — 


a habitation, or a vacant bit of land on which to erect 
one, without incurring a heavy and accumulative 
penalty. A delay of four months only in the enforce- 
ment of the law could be obtained. At the expira- 
tion of that time the new-comers had to be without 
the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. They submitted, 
for they had nothing to do except to submit. None 
the less the law remains one of the curiosities of 
There can be little room for 
doubt that the people thus driven away would, had 


partisan legislation. 


they been permitted to remain in the colony, have 
settled at Mount Wollaston under the ministration 
of Wheelwright. 


settled elsewhere, so high was public feeling running. 


Indeed, they could not well have 


| Under these circumstances, those at the Mount being 
forced to deny even a resting-place to their own kin, 
power sparingly, and an earnest attempt was made to | 


and obliged, as it were, to thrust them out into the 


274 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





| 


wilderness, it was small matter for surprise that when | themselves of it. Measures of severe repression were 


midsummer came there were ‘‘many hot speeches 

given forth,” and angry threats were freely made. 
Karly in August Vane returned to England, and 

Wheelwright lost in him both a friend and a pro- 


tector. Nearly at the same time the Pequot war was 


brought to a triumphant close, and the pastor, Wilson, | 
who during the summer had been with the little army | 


as its chaplain, returned to Boston. He came back 


flushed with a consciousness of victory and bent on | 


revenge. Cotton, who up to this time had preserved 


an appearance of firmness, bowed before the coming 


storm and hastened to make his peace. 


In the first | 


place a synod of the churches was held. This, the | 
earliest gathering of the kind in New England, pro- | 


ceeded at once to detect and spread upon its record, as 
then existing in primitive Massachusetts, no less than 
eighty-two ‘opinions, some blasphemous, others er- 
roneous, and all unsafe,” besides nine “ unwholesome 
expressions.” With two exceptions,—Cotton and 
Wheelwright,—the ministers in the synod were of 
The proceedings consequently 

Certain of the Boston lay- 


one way of thinking. 

were not inharmonious. 
members, indeed, expressing both disgust and indig- 
nation that such a huge body of heresies should be 


paraded, got up and left the assembly ; Wheelwright, 


more sensible, discreetly held his peace, taking the 


ground that abstract errors not directly imputed to | 


him were none of his concern. 

A long discussion of controverted points ensued. 
No one in the assembly had any distinct idea of the 
subjects under debate. For the most part they were 
mere theological abstractions of the most metaphysical 


character relating to justification, sanctification, and | 


the like, and either immaterial or unknowable. At 
last Cotton, with a degree of worldly wisdom which 
did much credit to. his head, announced that he saw 
light. Wheelwright was of a less accommodating 
spirit; thoroughly stiff-necked and disputatious, he 
would not profess to yield. Accordingly, when the 
synod dispersed his enemies had gained their end. 
They had won over Cotton, whom they wished to 
save; while Wheelwright, whose utter destruction 
they sought, was left to confront them without a single 
friend or ally. 

Events now moved rapidly to their foregone con- 
clusion. Immediately after the adjournment of the 
synod the General Court chosen in May was dissolved. 


It had been elected for the entire year, and to thus 


end it was unprecedented; but it had evinced a 








moderation of spirit which did not meet the views of | 


the extremists. The tide of popular feeling was set- 


ting strongly towards them, and they meant to avail 


in due time proceeded to its sentence. 


to be put in force. So the old court was dissolved, 
and the election of a new one ordered. The result 
was all the conservatives could have hoped for. Of 
the thirty-three members of the court now chosen, 
no less than twenty-one were new; and all, old and 
new, save three alone, were strongly opposed to the 
Hutchinson party. Hough was among those left out ; 
Coddington was again returned by Boston. 

The court met on the 12th [N. 8.] of November. 
It found Wheelwright still preaching the covenant of 
grace at Mount Wollaston. ‘I'hough the clouds were 
gathering black over his path, he held straight on, 
rejecting all suggestions of compromise, as he sternly 
declared that the difference between him and his op- 


So, as Win- 


throp expressed it, those in the majority “ finding, 


ponents was a gulf too wide to bridge. 


upon consultation, that two so opposite parties could 
not continue in the same body without apparent haz- 
ard of ruin to the whole, agreed to send away some of 
the principal.” 

And now the memorial from the Boston church, 
presented the day after the judgment of the General 
Court had declared the fast-day sermon seditious, 
was made to do yeoman’s service. It also was pro- 
nounced seditious. No less than sixty of the leading 
men of Boston had affixed their signatures to it. In 
doing so they now found that they had committed a po- 
litical offense, and might be visited with fine, imprison- 
ment, and exile. The new court had contained origi- 
nally three members, deputies from Boston, friendly to 
the Antinomians. ‘Two of these were incontinently 
expelled: one because his name was signed to the 
church memorial, the other because from his place in 
the court he justified it, though his name was not on 
it. The tribunal before which he was to be tried be- 
ing thus purged of all his friends, Coddington alone 
excepted, Wheelwright’s case was called. He ap- 
peared, and was asked if he was prepared to confess 
his errors and submit himself to the court. Protest- 
ing his innocence, he refused. Then followed a long 
and angry parliamentary struggle extending into a 
Every ill which had befallen the settle- 
To such an 


second day. 
ment was laid at Wheelwright’s door. 
indictment no defense was possible ; and so the court 
It was dis- 
franchisement and exile. 
half of November, and the winter had set in with un- 
usual severity, it was proposed that the time of the 
exile’s departure should be postponed until March ; 
He was again, 


As it was already the latter 


but meanwhile he was not to preach. 
this time in New England, to be a silenced minister, 
From this sentence Wheelwright, as he had before 








QUINCY. 


275 





said he should, took an appeal to the king. A 
night’s reflection probably satisfied him that he had 


nothing to hope for by pursuing this course, and ac- | 


cordingly the next day he withdrew his appeal, offer- 
ing to accept a sentence of simple banishment. It so 


stands recorded. Fourteen days only were allowed | 


him within which he was to settle his affairs and 
leave the jurisdiction. His parishioner, Atherton 
Hough, became bondsman for him. 

Unlike the other exiles of the Antinomian contro- 
versy, Wheelwright did not turn his steps to Rhode 
Island. 
well sermon to his little congregation, he started 
northward to New Hampshire. It was the end of 
November, and the deepening snow was thick on the 
ground. He went alone, carrying with him a sense 
of burning wrong and endless persecution ; nor did he 
Early in the 
following spring his wife and children followed him, 
and for atime the family found refuge in the aca- 
demic town of Exeter. The subsequent fortunes of 
Wheelwright are no part of the history of Quincy. 
It is sufficient to say that he survived his exile more 
than forty years, and when at last he died he, was the 
oldest minister in New England. But though he 
outlived every one of his contemporaries, and when 
he passed away the Antinomian controversy had be- 


ever again set foot in his old parish. 


memorial only as late as May, 1640. Since then his 
parish—both while it was the North Precinct of 
Braintree and afterwards as the town of Quincy— 
showed always a noticeable leaning towards a liberal 
theology. It was never orthodox. In this respect it 
was in sharp contrast with its sister church of the 
Middle Precinct, and the ministers of the two, never 
changing sides, more than once engaged in sharp 
doctrinal controversy. And so each successive pastor 
influenced the people, and the tendency of the people 


_ operated back in the selection of pastors, until the old 


On the contrary, after preaching one fare-_ 


come a meaningless thing of the past, his brethren — 


took at the time no notice of the patriarch’s death, 
and no monument now marks his grave. 

The first clergyman of the church which was after- 
wards incorporated as the town of Braintree, John 


Wheelwright was also its most distinguished clergy- 


man. <A Puritan, and a contentious one, he was 
essentially a man of force. Stiff-necked, unamiable, 
and far from lovable, his proper place was not the 
pulpit. He should have been a man of affairs, a law- 
. yer and a magistrate. There was about him scarcely 
a trace of the gentle spirit of Christ. Yet indica- 
tions have not been wanting that in more than one 
way the brief connection of John Wheelwright with 
the young settlement at Mount Wollaston affected its 
subsequent character as a community through a 
period of more than two centuries. 
negatively has already been pointed out. In conse- 
quence of the Antinomian controversy the formation 
of the town was delayed, and the material composing 
it made different from what it otherwise would have 
been. More than this, there can be no doubt that 
Wheelwright’s parishioners sympathized fully in his 
views. The first teacher of his church, when two 
years later it was formally gathered, was one of his 
supporters whose name was blotted from the famous 


That it did so_ 


order of things passed wholly away. It is, therefore, 
no improbable surmise that, a little leaven in this 
case also leavening the whole lump, the seed sown 
by Wheelwright in 1637 bore its fruit in the 
great New England protest of two centuries later, 
when, under the lead of Channing, the descendants 
in the seventh generation of those who had listened to 
the first pastor at the Mount broke away finally and 
forever from the religious tenets of the Puritans. 

But though the most prominent and distinctive, 
Wheelwright was not the only resident or land-owner 
at Mount Wollaston the course of whose future life 
was changed by reason of the Antinomian contro- 
versy. It will be remembered that, besides Codding- 
ton and Hough, the husband of Mrs. Hutchinson also 
had an allotment just south of the Neponset. The 
subsequent and most tragic record of the Hutchinson 
family is one of the familiar pages in New England 
history. It does not need to be rewritten here. It 
is sufficient to say that when at last, in the early days 
of April (March 28th, O. S.), 1638, Governor 
Winthrop ordered Anne Hutchinson to leave the 
Massachusetts jurisdiction, she went in a boat across 
the harbor to the Neponset, and there landed near 
her husband’s farm in what is now North Quincy. 
She had until the close of the month to leave the 
province. This was the first stage of her journey. 
Her plan was to join John Wheelwright’s family, 
who had not yet left their home, and go with them by 
water to Portsmouth. But her own husband had in 
the mean time found an abiding-place more to his 
liking in Rhode Island, where Newport now is; so, 
changing their plans, the wife and children journeyed 
by land to Providence, aud thence passed across to 
the island of Aquidneck. 

Thither she was shortly followed by William Cod- 
dington, the immediate-successor of Thomas Morton 


in the ownership of Mount Wollaston. And, sin- 


gularly enough, the record of every annual town- 


meeting in Quincy at the present time bears recur- 
Since 
the year 1640, a portion of Coddington’s grant has 


ring evidence to the fact of this succession. 





276 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





been public property, and is spoken of on the first 


page of the Braintree records as “the school lands.” © 


Each year by a formal vote—the reason of which has 
passed into a meaningless tradition—the town of 
Quincy, as a tenant of the land thus held, appropriates 
to school purposes a sum of money'as a nominal rent 
therefor. 


the district in which Mount Wollaston lies are taught, 
and also in the name of the street on which the school- 
house stands. 

Unlike Hutchinson and Wheelwright, Coddington 
was not banished. Angry with his former colleagues 


shown, he voluntarily shook the dust of Massachu- 
setts from his feet. Alone of the exiles he had stood 
high in the councils of the Massachusetts colony, for 
through years he had been its treasurer, and it was he 
who built the first brick house in Boston. He now 
went to Rhode Island, where, forty years later, he 
died full of honors. 
ton Hough, and the heirs of Edmund Quincy, alone 
among those to whom large allotments had originally 
been made at the Mount, remained in possession of 
them even as late as the incorporation of Braintree. 
The Antinomian controversy had unsettled every- 
thing. Of these three, Wilson was left victor in the 
theological arena; but, pastor of the church in Bos- 
ton all the remainder of his life, he gave small atten- 
tion to his farm in Braintree, nor was his name in 
Quincy 
died in 1637 without having taken part in the Anti- 


any way further associated with the town. 


nomian dispute. 
and the family, as will presently be seen, was from 
generation to generation closely associated with the 


The memory of Coddington is perpetuated | hiv di a 
in the name of the school in which the children of | CUS Y @isorsanizec. 





Thus the pastor Wilson, Ather- 


CHAP TWH XXxOver 


QUINCY —( Continued). 
OLD BRAINTREE. 


Tuus in November, 1637, the little settlement at 
the Mount, as it was still called, was once more thor- 
The place seemed to be under 
a sort of blight. First the magistrates had rooted out 
Morton and the Merrymount company, obliterating 
in so far as they could every trace of the earliest set- 
tlement; and now they had also sent into exile a 
pastor and his parishioners, who had not a thing in 


in office, and disgusted at the intolerance they had levcre rege with Morton, except that they had sat-down 


_in the place from which he had been dyiven. 


But it 
was not long before the scattered settlers again began 
They were 
poor people, for there is no reason to suppose that 


to show signs of continued existence. 


any one of note or substance, except Wheelwright, 
had yet actually made his home in this region. 
Quiney and Hough, like Coddington and Wilson, 
lived in Boston ; and in Boston the Mount was looked 
upon as a remote, outlying dependency, to be reached 


conveniently enough by boat across the bay in sum- 


mer, but in winter practically inaccessible. From 


| time to time large allotments were still made there to 


His allotment descended to his son, | 


towns into which the Mount was subsequently formed. | 


From one of those descendants, a great-grandson of 
the first Edmund, and in his day the successor of 
Morton and Coddington as the owner of Mount 
Wollaston, Quincy at a later period derived its name. 
Atherton Hough, like Coddington, was a warm sup- 
porter of Wheelwright; but, unlike him, he accepted 
defeat quietly, and made his peace with the dominant 
faction. He remained in quiet possession of his sea- 
shore allotment on Braintree Bay, and died in 1650, 
leaving sons and daughters. The name has since be- 
come extinct. 


leading Boston personages. Benjamin Keayne, for 
instance, son-in-law to Governor Dudley, had meted out 
to him on his marriage, in February, 1638, “a great lot 
of meadow and upland,” two hundred acres in extent, 
is now Braintree. Andrew Stoddard, a 
linen-draper, and at one time constable in Boston,’ 


in’ what 





1 There is in Winthrop an incident connected with this Stod- 
dard, and his performance of his duties as constable, singularly 
characteristic of early Massachusetts. The constables, being 
chosen by the General Court, were among the chief people in 
their several towns. In 1641, Francis Hutchinson, son of Mis- 
tress Anne, and a son-in-law of hers, one Collins, came to Bos- 
ton and “‘reviled the church.” ‘They were both committed to 
prison; and it fell out that one Stoddard, being then one of the 


constables of Boston, was required to take Francis Hutchinson 


| into his custody till the afternoon, and said withal to the gov- 


ernor, ‘Sir, I come to observe what you did, that if you should 


| proceed with a brother otherwise than you ought, I might deal 


| fore the church had proceeded with him. 


with youina church way.’ For this insolent behaviour he was 
committed; but being dealt with by the elders and others, he 
came to see his error, which was that he did conceive that the 
magistrate ought not to deal with a member of the church be- 
So the next Lord’s- 


day, in the open assembly, he did freely and very affectionately 


| confess his error and his contempt of authority, and being 
| bound to appear at the next court, he did the like there to the 


satisfaction of all. Yet for example’s sake he was fined twenty 


shillings, which, though some of the magistrates would have had 


it much less, or rather remitted, seeing his clear repentance and 
satisfaction in public left no poison or danger in his example, 
nor had the commonwealth or any person sustained danger by 
it.” Savage’s “ Winthrop,” ii.* 39-40. 





Ew eS 


QUINCY. 277 








in 1640 received one hundred acres; and in 1639, | 


Edward Tyng, one of the wealthiest inhabitants of 
But 


these were exceptional grants to non-residents,—con- 


Boston, received two hundred and fifty acres. 


stituting them a landed gentry of the province after | 


the English fashion,—and did not add greatly to the 


population or the prosperity of the region in which | 
the grants lay, though the grantees may have sent out | 


But 
large grants were not the rule. Another system was 
all this time being pursued towards “the common 


farmers or laborers to improve their lands. 


people,” as they were called, who were coming over to 
New England in crowds. The custom was to allot 
these four acres a head for each person they brought 
with them; and in the case of Boston the smaller 
allotments were made largely at the Mount. Twenty- 
six such are recorded in 1638, and fifteen more in 1639. 


Prior to the incorporation of Braintree one hundred 





and five such allotments in all had been parcelled out — 


to families numbering five hundred and sixty-five per- | 


sons, showing that the average family, including 
probably servants as well as children, was between 


five and six persons. But though these allotments 


are recorded, it cannot be inferred that all those to | 
whom they were made actually settled at the Mount. | 


On the contrary, the names of only a small portion of 
them are at a somewhat later period to be found in 
the town and parish records. 
many received their allotments in one place, and, in 
those days of abundant land, preferred to settle else- 
where. 

Nevertheless, a certain portion of these poorer peo- 
ple did go out and build dwellings south of the Ne- 
ponset, and at last a decisive movement was made 
towards the establishment of an independent church 
there. 


The inference is that | 


The chapel of ease arrangement, involving, as 


it did, dependency on a mother church, no longer | 


sufficed for the spiritual needs of a growing popula- 
tion. 
pied gap of heathendom long enough; for the Dor- 
chester society, to the north, went back to June, 
1630, while the societies of Weymouth and Hingham, 
on the south, dated respectively from July and Sep- 
tember, 1635. Without, therefore, waiting for a for- 
mal adjustment of all questions with Boston, on the 
16th of September, 1639, those dwelling at the Mount, 
in the words of Governor Winthrop, “ gathered a 


The region had also stood as a sort of unoccu- 


church after the usual manner, and chose one Mr. 


of the pastor and teacher. It was drawn up in the 
simple but not unimpressive form then in common 
use, and by virtue of it those entering into the com- 
pact— poor unworthy creatures, who have sometime 
lived without Christ and without God in the world” — 
promised thereafter “ to worship the Lord in spirit and 
truth, and to walk in brotherly love and the duties 
thereof according to the will of the gospel.” In wit- 
ness of which, they made public profession of faith in 
presence of those assembled, and gave to one another 
the right hand of fellowship. It was the fifteenth 
church which had been gathered in the province 
during the ten years of settlement. 

The incorporation of the town followed hard upon 
the gathering of the church, for, at the following ses- 
sion of the General Court, that of May, 1640, the 
“netition of the inbabitants of Mount Wollaston was 
acceded to, and it was granted them to be a town, to 
be called Braintree.” No satisfactory reason for the 
choice of this name has ever been given, nor is there 
any bond of connection apparent between the Suffolk 
Braintree, of New England, and the Essex Braintree, 
of Old England. The subject has more than once 
The 
more probable explanation is also the most natural. 
In 1632 a company of Essex people had come out 
with the Rev. Thomas Hooker, afterwards the re- 
nowned pastor of the church at Hartford. Winthrop 
refers to them as “the Braintree company.’ They 
first went across the Neponset, where they began a 


been discussed, but with no satisfactory result. 


settlement; and then, by order of the General Court, 


they moved over to Cambridge. When, therefore, 
eight years later, the place was incorporated as a town, 
a name was given to it, probably at Winthrop’s sug- 
gestion, connected with that “ Braintree company 
which had begun to sit down at Mount Wollaston.” 
But there is no reason to suppose that any of 


Hooker’s following had remained meantime on the 


| spot.” 


Tomson, a very gracious, sincere man, and Mr. Flynt, | 


a godly man also, their ministers.” In those primi- 


tive days the signing of a covenant was essential to a 


church gathering, and the Braintree covenant had ap- | 


pended to it the signatures of six persons besides those | 


The vote incorporating the town contained detailed 
reference to an agreement which had been effected 
between certain representatives of those dwelling at 
the Mount and the authorities of Boston. The vested 
interests of the latter place in the former had again 
been asserted, and the question thus raised proved 
one not easy to settle. There had evidently been 
much bickering. Appealing to the “ enlargement” 
vote of 1634, it was contended on the one side that 
Boston and Boston church were being shorn of their 


1 Savage’s “ Winthrop,” vol. i. pp. 87, 88. 
2 See “‘ Thayer Memorial,” pp. 39, 40; Lunt’s ‘‘ Bi-Centennial 
Discourse,” p. 66; Adams’ “ Braintree Address,” pp. 26-29. 


278 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





proportions; while on the other side a growing popu- 
lation asserted their natural rights. The result was 
a compromise, the terms of which are by no means 
free from ambiguity. 
new township seem to have been released from a lia- 


| 

7th day of the following October, William Cheesebor- 

ough and Stephen Kinsley appeared, and took their 
seats as the first representatives of Braintree. 


Under it all the lands in the | 


bility to taxation as a part of Boston, upon the pay- | 


ment to Boston of a trifle over a shilling an acre on 
the land “ formerly granted to divers men of Boston 
upon expectation they should have continued still 
with us,” and three shillings an acre for every acre 
that had been, or thereafter should be, granted to any 
others not inhabitants of Boston. In other words, 
the actual settlers in Braintree were to pay into the 
Boston treasury a sum of money on their holdings in 
commutation. At the same time further large allot- 
ments at the Mount were made, including five hun- 


dred acres “ for the use of the canoneere of Boston 


wheresoever he is, or shall be, in the service thereo, | 


from time to time,” and ‘‘two thousand acres to be 
? 


set apart for the use of (Boston) in the most conveni- | 


ent place unallotted.” 


This agreement was made on the 11th of January, | 


1639, some five months before the General Court 
acted on the petition to incorporate. 


inhabitants of the newly created town failed to fulfil 
the covenant they had entered into, it should be in 
the power of Boston to recover what was its due by 
action against the Braintree people, collectively or in- 


dividually. That the burden thus imposed on Brain- 


tree was an unusual and most oppressive one does not | 


need to be said. It was the case of a poor, struggling 


community being compelled to buy out alien vested | 


interests in the soil, which never ought to have ex- 
isted. 
ful source of heart-burnings and litigation. 


Accordingly, at a later time it proved a fruit- 
Never- 
theless the arrangement, favorable or otherwise, seems 


to have been the best that it was possible to effect, | 


and under it Braintree came into existence as an ip- 
dependent political community in May, 1640. 


at once that political privileges carried with them 
corresponding obligations, for by the same court they 
were assessed twenty-five pounds in a total levy of 


twelve hundred pounds. In payment of this levy 


silver plate was to be received at five shillings the | 


ounce, “ good old Indian corn, being clean and mer- 
chantable,” at five shillings the bushel, summer wheat 
at seven shillings, and rye at six shillings. In which 
of these several staples the whole or any portion of 
this earliest tax levy was paid nowhere appears. But 
that it was paid admits of no doubt; and at the next 
session of the General Court, held in Boston on the 


And when the 
court did act, it made a further proviso that, if the | 


Those | 
dwelling in the new town were also made to realize | 


CHA PTER: XSevVrr 


QUINCY— (Continued). 


THE NORTH PRECINCT CHURCH. 


THE original Braintree settlement was along the 
shore of the bay, and on the upland and in the val- 
leys adjacent thereto. Only by slow degrees did popu- 
lation work its way back among the hills and interior 
valleys. In 1708 the church of Braintree was di- 
vided, and the original settlement became the North 
Precinct. In 1792 this North Precinct was set off 
| from the rest of the town, and became Quincy. The 
| 


present town of Quincy, therefore, was the original 
Braintree; and subsequently, for more than eighty 

years, the history of the North Precinct of Braintree 
is the history of Quincy. 

The original Braintree church, then, until 1708 
was the one church of the town ; from 1708 to 1792 
'it was the North Precinct church; from 1792 to 
1820 it was the Quincy church. The revised Consti- 
tution of Massachusetts went into effect in 1820. 
Under its provisions a complete separation of church 
from state took place; but the habits of the people 
were fixed, and several years elapsed before this 





change in the organic law began to produce its full 


results.! At first people went on attending divine 


In 
Quincy it was ten years before another meeting-house 
was built. Accordingly, the sole church of the Brain- 
tree of 1639 was still the sole church of Quincy until 
1830. 

The society had then worshiped in four successive 


worship in the meeting-house of their fathers. 





buildings, the last of which was in 1830 almost new, 
having been finished only two years before. Built 
of stone, it was called a “temple,” and it replaced an 
old New England meeting-house which for ninety-six 
years had stood on the training-field in the centre of 


the town. Thus, when this meeting-house of 1732 


was removed in 1828, the visible emblem which con- 
nected the modern with the colonial town may be said 


1So fixed was the belief that obligatory support of a church 
was essential to its continued existence that the late Judge 
Story voiced a very common sentiment when, at the time the 
amended constitution took effect, he expressed the opinion that 
in twenty-five years there would not be a church open in Mas- 


sachusetts in which the old religious services would be held. 








QUINCY. 279 





to have disappeared. The connecting link between | 
two chains was broken. 
one hundred and eighty-nine years which elapsed after | 
the gathering of the First Church of Braintree, and | 
before the pulling down and moving away of the third | 


meeting-house in Quincy, must historically be consid- 


The period, therefore, of | 


ered by itself. It was not the less one and the same 
period because during it the colonies were severed 
from Great Britain, and Quincy was severed from | 
Braintree. So far as the people were concerned who | 
lived at what in 1635 was known as the Mount, these 
They hardly in any 
way affected the occupations of those people, or their 
modes of life and thought, or their social and material 


were both political changes. 


condition. ‘The real elements of change in all these 
respects were not political; nor had they begun to 
make their presence felt when the eighteenth century | 
came to its close. Thirty years later it was no longer 
so. The Granite Railway was built in Quincy in 
1826 ; the first Massachusetts railroad company was 
incorporated in 1830. These events marked epochs. | 
They from top to bottom altered that at the Mount, — 
which French and Indian wars, and wars of independ- | 
ence, and church and municipal divisions had scarcely | 
affected at all. 
The long period from 1640 to 1830 was therefore 
with the Massachusetts towns the primitive period,— 
that of formation. Though it led directly to the 
present, it had little in common with the present. 
Nevertheless, during that period five generations 


lived on the soil, and were buried in it. 


Concerning 
them, there was, as a rule, little more to record. A 
simple, laborious, unaggressive race, they were born 
and died; each following generation was much the 
same as the generation which preceded it. With — 
similar utensils, they cultivated the same fields. They 
dwelt in houses built on the same model, and _pre- 
Wealth 


and population increased slowly. ‘The outer world 


served the same domestic and social customs. 


made itself little felt in the remote village commu-— 
nity ; and the village community in no way influenced 
the outer world. Few elements of change existed, 
and accordingly little change took place. The Quincy | 
of 1820 was only the Braintree of 1640, a little more 
thickly peopled and a little more prosperous. 

The social and material conditions of the town 
during this period of one hundred and ninety years 
will be treated in another chapter. Meanwhile the 
year 1830 brought the early theological period to a_ 
close. Up to that time the history of the parish was | 
practically the history of the town, and until 1820 | 
town and parish were legally one. The history of | 


the church must, therefore, first be told. 


| God.” 


put 


In September, 1739, the Rev. John Hancock, 
father of the patriot and then the North Precinct 
minister, preached two century sermons in the meet- 
ing-house removed in 1828, but which then was new. 
In one of these sermons he said,—“ This is the third 
house, in which we are now worshipping, that we 
and our fathers have built for the public worship of 
There is reason to suppose that the second of 
these three houses was built in the year 1666, as the 
quaint old weather-vane which surmounted it is still 
Of the first Brain- 
tree meeting-house—that in which Fiske and Flynt, 


in existence, and bears that date. 


and, possibly, Wheelwright preached,—no record or 
Built before 1641, it is alluded 


to as a landmark on the second page of the Braintree 


description remains. 


records. It stood on a rising ground just south of 
the point where the road which connected Boston 
with Plymouth—the old 


colonial coast-road— 


crossed a brook, then and subsequently called the 


Town River. 

At the time this meeting-house was built the 
road could have been hardly more than a well-beaten 
trail, for it was not formally laid out until at 
least seven years later, in 1648. The brook, which 
for some distance higher up had forced its way 
through a well-nigh impenetrable tangle from which 
the larger forest animals had hardly vanished, and 
which yet swarmed with reptile life, here flowed over 
a hard gravel bottom between two converging bits of 
upland. It was a fording-place,—a natural point . 
of crossing. For that reason the meeting-house was 
there. It was a point convenient for those 
living on both sides of the water-course. 

The meeting-house stood in the open, and when the 
“country highway” from Weymouth to Dorchester 
was formally laid out, in 1648, it here diverged, 
passing the building at both its ends, for it faced 
The diverging ways then shortly 
At no great distance from 


east and west. 
turned and joined again. 
the front of the meeting-house, looking westward, lay 
the tangled bottom through which the Town River 
sluggishly crept. Beyond this, and halfa mile or so 
away, rose the rough, heavily-wooded granite hills. 


To the east there stretched a broad, and comparatively 


level, upland plain in the direction of Hingham and 
Weymouth. This also, at no great distance, was 
broken by the underlying syenite, which thrust itself 
boldly up in savin-covered heights. About a third 
of a mile further up the Town River stood the mill 
of Richard Wright, to whom a monopoly in grinding 
corn had been conceded; and from this mill, leaving 
the church on the left, there ran a way to the land- 


‘ ing-place on the Town River, near the sea-shore. 


280 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





3 ; 
Such in 1640 was the centre of the town, and these | land clergymen who had been educated in the English 


were the only thoroughfares in it. 

In the humble church edifice, which, nevertheless, 
was “as fair a meeting-house’ as that people could 
provide, William Tompson, ‘‘a very holy man, who 
had been an instrument of much good at Accomenti- 
cus,” was formally ordained as its first regular minis- 
ter. At that time the gathering of a new church was 
a great event in Massachusetts,—another candle was 
lighted in the tabernacle. Nor was it a thing of fre- 
quent occurrence. That at Braintree, it has been no- 


ticed, was only the fifteenth since the settlement, and, 


that at Concord, had been added to the number in 
1636; another, that at Dedham, in 1638; and none 
at all in 1637. 
a special occasion. 


The gathering at the Mount also was 
A true church—one in which 


none but orthodox doctrines were to be preached— | 


was to be established in the Antinomian hot-bed. 
The last vestiges of the banished Wheelwright’s teach- 


ings were to be eradicated. The event was one of 


exceptional interest. 

There is no record either of those who were present, 
or of those who took part in the services. 
would be not unsafe to surmise that Winthrop and 
Dudley, the Governor and Deputy-Governor of the 


universities and settled over English churches. A 
graduate of Oxford, Tompson had been the in- 
cumbent of a living in Lancashire, from whence he 
had came to New England, landing in Boston at 
about the time that the Antinomian Synod of 1637 
was sitting. Settled at Braintree in September, 1639, 
in the following March Henry Flynt was ordained as 
teacher of his church, which would seem to indicate 
that the pastor from the very beginning proved un- 
equal to the performance of all his duties; for the 


teacher in the early New England churches was 
while three had been gathered in 1635, one only, | 


Yet it | 


colony, were both there; for the former, though with- | 


out comment, made a note of the event in his diary. 
Undoubtedly, Peter Hobart, that “ bold man who 
would speak his mind,’ came over from Hingham ; 
also from Dorchester came Richard Mather, together 
with his young associate, John Wilson, son of the 
pastor of Boston, and himself just graduated from 
Cambridge. The Rev. John Allen may have found 


his way through the forest paths from Dedham, as 


Wilson and Cotton sailed across the bay from Boston. | 


Karnest, devout men, they gathered from far and 
near in the primitive wilderness meeting-house 
on that September day, and there extended the 
right hand of fellowship to the little congregation 


who now covenanted one with another “ to worship | 


the Lord in Spirit and Truth, and to walk in brotherly 
love.” The church then founded was destined to 
centuries of continued existence. 


The of William 


through a period of nineteen years. 


pastorate 


by the writers of his own time as having been “a 
and 


“abounding in zeal for the propagation of the gospel ;” 


very powerful and successful preacher,” one 


crazy body,” and his ministry at Braintree can be ac- 
counted successful neither for himself nor his people. 
He belonged to that earliest generation of New Eng- 


Tompson extended | 
He is represented | 


practically an associate pastor, and it is not likely that 
a poor community, such as Braintree then was, as- 
sumed without reason the support of two ministers. 
In any event the society seemed not unwilling to 
allow Mr. Tompson to seek other fields of usefulness, 
and in 1642 his brother ministers selected him with 
two others to go forth on a strange sort of missionary 
service among the Church of England heathen of Vir- 
ginia. A cry had come up from them for “ a supply 
of faithful ministers whom, upon experience of their 
gifts and godliness, they might call to office ;” and the 
choice fell upon the Braintree pastor, on the ground 


_ that he was one of those who “ might most easily be 


He and 
his associates accordingly set out for Virginia, duly 
commissioned by the General Court and Governor of 
Massachusetts. 


spared,” his church having two ministers. 


Their journey was over what is now a familiar 
route, for they went by way of Newport and New 
York, or Aquidneck and New Amsterdam as these 
places were then called. To reach their Virginia 
destination took them nearly three months; for at 
first they were wind-bound in Narragansett Bay, and 
then, in passing through Hell-Gate, their boat was 
swept upon the rocks and so damaged that they 
barely succeeded in reaching the neighboring shore. 
Cotton Mather, in the verses already quoted from, 
says of Tompson in this emergency,— 


“Upon a ledge of craggy rocks near stav’d 
t=} OMe ’ 


His Bible in his bosom thrusting, sav’d; 


The Bible, the best of cordial of his heart, 


‘Come floods, come flames,’ cry’d he, ‘ we’ll never part.’ ” 


The shipwrecked missionaries received “ slender 
entertainment” at the hands of Governor William 
Kieft, the Dutch commandant at New Amsterdam, 
who indeed had no fondness for New Englanders ; 


but Isaac Allerton, formerly of Plymouth though 
but he was likewise of a “melancholy temper and | 


then of New Haven, chanced to be there, and exerted 
himself greatly on behalf of his countrymen. Through 
his assistance another pinnace was procured, and in 


‘ the dead of winter the three ministers set sail for 





QUINCY. 


281 





Virginia. 
the difficulty and danger through which they reached 
their destination caused them to entertain grave 
‘question whether their call were of God or not.” 
Once in Virginia, they were “bestowed in several 


They encountered much foul weather, and — 


| preacher. 


places” where they “found loving and liberal enter-_ 
| remarkable, and nothing falling out but by divine providence, 


tainment ;” and the change to another and less rigor- 
ous climate seems to have proved most beneficial to 


Mr. Tompson, who wrote back to his friends that he | 


was better in health and spirits than at any time 
since he came over from England. 

But Virginia has never proved a fruitful field for 
New England workers, and the civil authorities there 
now looked askance at this earnest attempt at propa- 
gandism. Accordingly they soon put a stop to the 
public preaching of the new-comers, on the ground that 
they did not conform to the orders of the Church of 
England. Yet, if we can believe the report made on 
their return by the missionaries, the people, “ their 
hearts being much influenced with an earnest desire 


“Tt fell out about the midst of his sermon, there came a 
snake into the seat, where many of the elders sat behind the 
It came in at the door where people stood thick upon 
Divers of the elders shifted from it, but Mr. Tomp- 
son, one of the elders of Braintree (a man of much faith), trod 
upon the head of it, and so held it with his foot and staff with 
a small pair of grains,! until it was killed. 


the stairs. 


This being so 


itis out of doubt the Lord discovered somewhat of his mind 
init. The serpent is the devil; the synod, the representative 
the churches of Christ in New England. The devil had 
formerly and lately attempted their disturbance and dissolu- 


of 


| tion; but their faith in the seed of woman overcame him and 


crushed his head.” 


The mental and physical benefit which Tompson 


derived from his sojourn in Virginia was but tempo- 


after the gospel,” continued to resort to them in private | 


houses ; seeing which, the rulers “did in a sense drive 
them out, having made an order that all such as would 


not conform to the discipline of the English Church | 


should depart the country by such a day.” 


son and his associates back with their New England 
flocks ; nor can their Virginia labors have been ac- 
counted fruitful, inasmuch as they seem to have made 
but a single convert. 


He, Daniel Gookins by name, 
followed his teachers back. to Massachusetts, where at a 


rary, and as he advanced in years his infirmities 
grew upon him. He seems to have had a morbid tend- 
Cotton 
Mather’s explanation of this, and of the course of 


ency, which at times verged on insanity. 


treatment adopted for its cure, is curiously suggestive. 
There were then no insane asylums. 


“Satan, who had been after an extraordinary manner irri- 
tated by the evangelie labors of this holy man, obtained the 
liberty to sift him; and hence, after this worthy man had 
served the Lord Jesus Christ in the church of our New English 
Braintree, he fell into that Balneum diaboli, ‘ablack melan- 


| choly,’ which for divers years almost wholly disabled him for 


The summer of 1643 accordingly found Mr. Tomp- | 


later day he became a man of note; so that as Cotton | 


Mather tunefully expressed it, 
“by Tompson’s pains, 


Christ and New England a dear Gookins gains.” 


During his absence a severe bereavement had fallen 
on the unhappy Braintree clergyman. 
Cd 


| near unto him, with unutterable joy. 


He had left ° 


his wife, who is described as ‘‘a godly young woman | 


and a comfortable help to him,” in charge of a family 
She 
died ; and he returned to find his home broken up and 
his offspring scattered, though it is said they were 


of small children, with scanty means of support. 


“well disposed of among his godly friends.” 


Marry- 


ing again some years later, the next glimpse which is | 


obtained of Tompson is through Governor Winthrop’s 
diary, and it is singularly illustrative of the time. In 
1648 a synod met at Cambridge for the purpose of 
framing a code of church discipline. Before this 
representative gathering the Rev. John Allen, of 
Dedham, delivered a discourse which proved ‘“‘ a very 
godly, learned, and particular handling of near all the 


doctrines and applications” touching the matter in 
hand. 


the exercise of his ministry; but the end of this melancholy 
was not so tragical as it sometimes is with some, whom yet, be- 
cause of their exemplary lives, we dare not censure for their 


prodigious deaths. Accordingly, the pastors and the 


faithful of the churches in the neighborhood kept ‘ resisting of 
the devil’ in his cruel assaults upon Mr. Tompson, by continually 
‘drawing near to God,’ with ardent supplications on his behalf: 
and by praying always, without fainting, without ceasing, they 
saw the devil at length flee from him, and God himself draw 
The end of that man is 
peace.” 

The meaning of this is that Mr. Tompson did not 
commit suicide, and towards the close of his life the 
cloud lifted from him. He died on the 10th of De- 
cember, 1666, having resigned his pulpit some seven 
years before. Both he and his second wife would 
seem to have been lacking in the quality of thrift, and 
during the closing years of his life he was wretchedly 
poor,—so poor, indeed, that in March, 1665, a public 
collection was taken up for him in the Dorchester 
church, which amounted to £6 9s., “ besides notes for 
corn, and other things, above 30s.” In his own day 
he had the reputation of one ‘‘apt to forget himself 
in things that concerned his own good,” because of his 
exceeding zeal; and it was intimated that his parish - 
ioners made for their minister ‘‘ somewhat short allow- 
Yet this does not seem to have been the 
1657, an official inquiry showed that 


” 
ance. 
case; for, in 








1 A prong, or fork; obsolete. 


282 





allowed Messrs. Tompson and Flynt £55 each, 
“paid ordinarily yearly, or within the year, in such 
things as themselves take up and accept of from the 
inhabitants.” 
Old South congregation in Boston then paid its two 
ministers, and not an inadequate support for the 
time. Possibly payments were in arrears, for in 1661, 
during the incapacity of her husband, there was a 


hearing at Cambridge on questions at issue between | 
Mrs. Tompson and the deacons of the Braintree | 


church ; nor was the matter then disposed of, for in 
1668 the widow presented a petition to the General 
Court, complaining 
church to her late 


held. 


of the dead clergyman, when at last he had “ labored | 


into rest,” 


‘“ His inventory then, with John’s, was took ; 
A rough coat, girdle, with the sacred book.” 


The body of William Tompson lies in the old 
burying-ground of Quincy, and the original stone, 
bearing quaint witness to his learning, piety, and 
He left by 


his two marriages numerous descendants, both sons 


force as a divine, still marks the spot. 


and daughters, but there is no trace of his lineage 
now to be found in the town over which first he 
ministered. 


Teacher Henry Flynt, who became pastor on the 


resignation of Mr. Tompson in 1659, survived the | 


Braintree, then containing about eighty families, | 


These salaries were the same that the | 


of certain moneys due from the | 
husband which were then with- | 
Not without reason, therefore, Mather wrote | 


| vided she remained unmarried. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





mal ordination did not take place until March 17, 
1640, it has been confidently surmised that the post- 
ponement was in order to afford the distinguished 
Of 
But there is no reason 
to suppose that he imitated the discreditable zeal which 
Cotton had already shown in the work of hunting 
down his former associates; though it was asserted 


young divine ample opportunity for recantation. 
it he at last availed himself. 


that through the exertions of its new teacher Brain- 
tree was “ purged from the sour leaven of those sinful 
opinions that began to spread,” and if any such re- 
Of Mr. Flynt’s 
later doctrinal views nothing is known; it is simply 
recorded of him that in his day he bore ‘‘ the charac- 
ter of a gentleman remarkable for his piety, learning, 
Unlike Mr. 
Tompson, the Flynts, husband and wife, appear to 
have been thrifty people, and the teacher died in com- 
By his will he left the “ great 


mained there they were very covert. 


wisdom, and fidelity in his office.” 


fortable circumstances. 


lot” of eighty acres granted to him by the town of 
_ Boston in 1640 to one son, and his dwelling-house, with 
the two lots it stood upon, to another son, both be- 
| quests subject to a life-estate in their mother, pro- 


Then his will closed 


| with this quaint provision: “ For the present, | know 


not what portion of my estate to assign to my wife, 
in case God call her to marriage, otherwise than as 
the law of the country does provide in that case, 
accounting all that I have too little for her, if I had 
something else to bestow on my children.” Teacher 
Flynt’s wife, whose maiden name was Margery 


Hoar, had evidently been a good and useful help- 


27th of April, 1668. Born, it is supposed, in Der- | 
byshire, England, he landed in New England in Oc- 
tober, 1635, being then about twenty-nine years old. 


latter only one year and four months, dying on the | 
meet to him; and indeed it is recorded on the stone 
| 


which marks the spot in the old graveyard where 


side by side they are buried, that, like her husband, 


Coming over at the same time, if not in the same 


vesssel, with Vane, he seems to have been a political 
sympathizer of his, while theologically he was an 
ardent admirer of Cotton. Indeed, almost the only 


fact recorded of him by Mather in the ‘ Magnalia”’ 


is that having twin sons born to him in 1656, he | 
named them one John and the other Cotton, in mem- | 


ory of his revered mentor, who had then been four 
years dead. 
Flynt during the Antinomian controversy adhered 
staunchly to Wheelwright. 
name is appended as teacher to the Braintree 
church covenant of Sept. 16, 1639, and Winthrop 
speaks of him as “a godly man” then ordained, 


his submission to the General Court, acknowledg- 


ing his sin in subscribing his name to the church | 


of Boston memorial of March, 1637. 


As his for- 


Accordingly, though his | 


descended from an “ancient and good” English 
family, she was also ‘a gentlewoman of piety, pru- 
y) c Jv? 
dence, and peculiarly accomplished for instructing 
’ y gs 
young gentlewomen, many being sent to her from 
Mrs. Margery 
Flynt died in March, 1687, having survived her 


other towns, especially from Boston.” 


husband nearly twenty years. During that period 


‘God [did not again] call her to marriage.” 
It has already been mentioned that Mr. | 


Henry Flynt left a numerous family, though no 
descendants of his name now live in Quincey. It 
was a granddaughter of his, Dorothy, child of the 
Rey. Josiah 
Judge Kdmund Quincey, of Braintree, and became the 


Flynt, of Dorchester, who married 


stock from which sprang a progeny than which none in 
it was not until the succeeding May that he made | 


Massachusetts has been more distinguished. A daugh- 
ter of hers was that ‘‘ Dorothy Q.” whose name has 
been embalmed in the familiar verses written upon her 
portrait by one of her distinguished descendants in the 





QUINCY. 


283 





Holmes family. From her are descended the Wen- | 


dells, the Jacksons, the Lowells, and the Quincys; and 
it is from Josiah Flynt that the last-named family de- 
rives that given name which, handed down from gen- 
eration to generation, is in Massachusetts almost con- 
ceded to them as a peculiar patronymic. It was another 
Dorothy Quincy who in 1775 became the wife of 
John Hancock. The original Dorothy Flynt Quincy 
dwelt in the house which Col. Edmund Quincy built 
in Braintree in 1685, and which still remains one of 
the most interesting of all our colonial structures, 
quaintly typical of bygone times. 


In this house, still 


looking towards the brook, is the room in which | 


Judge Sewall slept one rainy night in March, 1712. 
Next to it is the room still known as Tutor Flynt’s 
chamber, for it was long occupied by Dorothy’s 
brother Henry, for more than half a century a tutor 
at Harvard College and a fellow of the corporation 


through sixty-five years. To this day, indeed, the 


name of the person favored by it nowhere appears ; 
unless, indeed, it was the Rev. Peter Bulkley, one 
of that family of divines which furnished its first 
minister to Concord. The contest was a heated 
one, in which 


passed about.” 


“many uncomfortable expressions 
In the course of it things occurred 
which led some to suspect that the “sinful opin- 
ions’ of John Wheelwright were perhaps not so 
That 
“sour leaven” may still have worked; for Mr. Josiah 


covert in Braintree as had been asserted. 


Flynt was openly charged with uttering “ divers dan- 
gerous heterodoxies, delivered, and that without cau- 
tion, in his public preaching.” In view of this 
dissension, more than one day was set apart by the 
church “to seek the Lord by fasting and prayer,” 


and at the frequent meetings there was much “ un- 


_ comfortable debate,’ 


grandson of the old Braintree teacher is a tradition | 


of the University. A genuine product of New Eng- 


land soil, his quaint manners and curt, dry sayings | 


are repeated ; nor are there many descriptions of Mas- 


sachusetts life and manners in the last century more hu- | 


morous and graphic than Judge David Sewall’s account 
of his journey with Father Flynt from Cambridge to 
Portsmouth in June, 1754.! The old man was then 
in his eightieth year, but he took his “nip of milk 
punch,” smoked his pipe, bore up when tumbled from 
his seat headlong into the road, and commented on 
men, women, and things in a way which showed that 
age had neither dimmed his faculties nor impaired 
He lived until 1760, and left behind 


him the reputation of ‘a man of sound learning, of 


his digestion. 


acute and discriminating intellect ; firm but moderate ; 
steadfast in opinion but without obstinacy; zealous 
and faithful in the discharge of his various duties.” 
He lies buried in the ancient graveyard close to the 
buildings of the college which he served so long. 
After the death of Teacher Flynt the church of 
Braintree, to use the language of a subsequent pastor, 
“fell into unhappy divisions, one being for Paul, and 
another for Apollos (as is too often the case in desti- 


’ 


and at one of them at least ‘“ an 
awful division.” A widespread scandal went abroad 
over these proceedings, and on the 25th of July, 
1669, ‘“ God sent a very solemn, awakening message 
to the church” by the mouth of Mr. Eliot, possibly 
But that did not pre- 
vent the church from meeting on the 21st of the fol- 


the son of the Indian apostle. 


lowing January, and acknowledging “several things 
Finally it 
was determined to call a council of sister churches, 


scandalous and offensive, one to another.” 


and even then a debate took place, “ wherein much 


| provocation to God and each other did appear.” 


| 


tute churches), and were without a settled ministry | 
_ obeyed this command in the true church militant 


No definite account of the cause 
One party, it 
is apparent, was anxious to invite young Josiah 
Flynt, son of the deceased teacher, who, having 


above four years.” 
of strife in this case has come down. 


graduated at Harvard a few years before, was now | 


a minister and a candidate for settlement. Another 


party was strong in opposition to this choice, but the 





1 Proceedings of Mass. Hist. Soc., vol. xvi. (1878) pp. 5-11. 


Wearied as well as distressed by the angry turmoil, 
Josiah Flynt at about this time received a call from 
the church at Dorchester, which he accepted; and 
there he remained until his premature death, in 1680. 
Meanwhile Braintree continued for nearly two years 
At last 
things came to such a pass that in November, 1671, 
the County Court interfered. Taking into consider- 
ation “the many means that have been used with the 


longer in a ‘destitute, divided state.” 


church of Braintree, and hitherto nothing done to 
effect, as to the obtaining the ordinances of Christ 
among them,’—taking this into consideration, the 
court ordered and desired Mr. Moses Fiske ‘‘to im- 
prove his labors in preaching the word at Braintree 
until the church there agree, and obtain supply for the 
work of the ministry.” Mr. Fiske seems to have 
spirit. For he says, ‘‘ Being ordered by the Court, 
and advised by the reverend Elders and other friends, 
I went up from the honored Mr. Edward Tyng’s, 
with two of the brethren of this church sent to ac- 
accompany me, being the Saturday, to preach God's 
word unto them.” The next day, Dec. 3, 1671, he 
took his place in the Braintree pulpit, and delivered 
his first discourse, not failing at the close of the after- 


284 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





But so 
well did he on this occasion ‘improve his labors’’ 
that the next day “about twenty of the brethren 
came to visit him, manifesting (in the name of the 


noon service to apologize as to his coming. 


church) their ready acceptance of what the learned | 


Court had done, and thanking him for his compliance 
therewith.” On the 24th of February, 1672, Mr. 
Fiske received a unanimous call from the weary 
church, and on the 11th of the following September 
he was formally ordained ; or, as he himself phrased 
it, that was “the day of my solemn espousals to this 
church and congregation.” 

At the time of his ordination Mr. Fiske was thirty 
years old ; and his pastorate lasted thirty-six years, until 
his death, in 1708. 
in the history of the town and church, for during it 


It was also an important period 


not only was the second parish organized, but a small 
Episcopal society, one of the earliest in New England, 
Of the Rev. Moses Fiske himself, his 
religious tenets or intellectual force, not much has been 
handed down. 


was formed. 


One only of his numerous discourses 
is now known to exist,—that which he preached be- 
fore the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, 


on June 4, 1694, the day of their annual election. | 


Even this sermon never reached the dignity of print, 
but, in the original handwriting of its author, rests 
undisturbed in the archives of the Massachusetts His- 
torical Society. 

The manner in which the New England clergy 
intermarried, continually, so to speak, breeding-in, has 
often been remarked upon. 
tive. 


It was certainly sugges- 
According to all known laws of generation 
and heredity, the result should have been of excep- 
tional interest. That it was not, is probably due to 
the necessary limitations of theological development. 
The Rey. Cotton Mather, perhaps, indicated the 
climax. Mr. Fiske was a case in point. 
daughters of clergymen ; three of his own daughters— 
Mary, Anne, and Margaret—married clergymen ; and 
two of his sons were clergymen. By his first wife. a 
daughter of Mr. Symmes, of Charlestown, Mr. Fiske 
had fourteen children. 


Through a period of nine- 


teen years the unfortunate woman gave birth to in- 


fants on an average of one to each seventeen months, | 


and two were born at separate births within a twelve- 
month. Naturally, several of them died in early 
infancy ; and at last the mother was herself released 
Such cases 
were not singular in early New England, and of Mrs. 
Sarah Symmes, the grandmother of Mrs. Fiske, it is 


by death from incessant child-bearing. 


recorded that “her courage exceeded her stature | 


and she raised up ten children to people this Amer- 


Himself | 


the son of a clergyman, he married successively two | 


She was the mother of thirteen. 
By his two marriages, Mr. Fiske had sixteen chil- 
dren. 


ican wilderness.” 


Yet his family was small compared with that 
of Samuel Bass, the senior elder of his church, who 
died in 1694, after having sat in the deacon’s seat for 
more than fifty years, and since the first organization 
of the church. At his death Deacon Bass num- 
bered in his living offspring one hundred and sixty- 
two souls; while among his contemporaries and the 
parishioners of Mr. Fiske, Henry Neal was the father 
of twenty-one children, and William Rawson had at 
one time twenty living sons and daughters, the fruit 
of his loins by a single wife. 


The simplicity of life and the severe economy 
habitual in those days is shown in the fact that Mr. 
Fiske brought up his family of sixteen children, 
sending three sons to college and marrying off his 
daughters, on a stipend which never exceeded ninety 
pounds a year, and which was usually sixty or eighty 
pounds, payable in part in corn and wood at stated 
valuations. Hven this small salary seems to have 
| been a source of contention, and in 1690 it was 


grudgingly paid upon the pastor’s receipt in full 





‘from the beginning of the world to this day.” Yet 
the parish had then increased greatly both in sub- 


stance and population. The original meeting-house 
had. long before given place to a new and larger one, 
built of stone and furnished with a bell; and in 1694 
the town made provisions for sweeping out the church 
and ringing the bell, appropriating twenty-five shil- 
lings to pay therefor, the bell, which weighed about 





two hundred pounds, being uncovered upon the roof 


until 1714, when a turret was built to shelter it. 
Until about the year 1700 there were no pews in the 
| meeting-house, the congregation sitting on benches, 
the men on one side and the women on the other. 
This thoroughly democratic system continued in use 


until about the year 1690, when, from habit or 
_ other cause, a sort of prescriptive right in particular 
Ac- 
| cordingly, in 1694 the town authorized the selectmen 


persons to certain seats had become recognized. 


to “‘seat the meeting-house.” The task, involving 





_as it did all sorts of questions of preference, must 


needs have been an ungrateful one, and nothing seems 
then to have been done ; but in March, 1698, a special 
committee of five, including the two deacons, was 
“They did the 
work,” though, as would naturally be supposed, “ not 
The first Sabbath in April 
| people took their places, as many as saw good so to 
do.” 


church into pews, each party who obtained a permit 


appointed to attend to the business. 


to general satisfaction, 


Then came by degrees the division of the 


| 
' fencing off at his own cost the seats assigned to him. 





QUINCY. 285 





After the year 1700 the pew permits seem to have 
been granted in constant succession. 

The parish then numbered about one hundred and 
forty families, representing an entire population of | 
not far from eight hundred souls; but those com- 


posing this population no longer dwelt together in the 
neighborhood of Mount Wollaston and about the 
stone meeting-house. 


They were scattered over a | 
wide extent of territory from the Dorchester line to | 
the present town of Randolph. This fact led to | 
those bitter contentions in the church which, recalling | 
the evil days preceding Mr. Fiske’s pastorate, sad- | 
dened its closing years. In point of fact, town and | 
parish were passing through a natural stage of | 
growth. That was being enacted on a small stage in | 
Braintree which, when enacted on the larger stage of 


nationality, forms the most interesting part of history. 


A process of differentiation was going on, and, be- 
fore it was complete, it called forth a great deal of | 
human nature. 

The struggle seems first to have assumed defi- 
nite shape about the year 1695. The old meeting-_ 
house was then pronounced inadequate to the grow- 
ing needs of the parish. It was small, inconveniently | 
situated, and out of repair. 


Those dwelling in the 
south part of the town complained that it was ‘“ very 
irksome, especially in winter, to come so far as most 
of them came to meeting, and through such bad ways, 
whereby the Lord’s day, which is a day of rest, was to 
them a day of labor rather.” Accordingly, the first 
proposition was that a new and larger church edifice, | 
sufficient for the whole town, should be built at a. 
more central point. This did not meet the views of | 
old Col. Edmund Quincy and others, who lived in the 
northern limits; consequently they went to work to 
prevent anything being done at all, and at a private | 
meeting held at Col. Quincy’s they “ did agree among 
themselves to shingle the old house, pretending to be 
at the whole charge themselves.” But, none the less, 
‘several pounds were afterwards gathered by a rate 
upon the whole town.” 

The project of a new and common meeting-house 
having been defeated by means such as this, the organ- 
This 
was opposed, for the reason that such a secession from 
the parish would throw the burden of the minister’s 
salary on a smaller number. Accordingly, in 1704-5 | 
party feeling ran high. Two church meetings were 
held in January, whereat there was “‘ much debate 
and some misapprehension about church discipline,” 
by reason whereof there was “‘ much sinful discourse” 
in the town. “Nine of the church withdrew from | 
the Lord’s table,” and one of Parson Fiske’s adhe- | 


ization of a separate church was next agitated. 


| salary. 


rents pathetically remarked, as he noted down these 
events, ‘ the disorders among us call for tears and 
lamentations rather than to be remembered.” 

Getting no satisfaction, but, on the contrary, being 
‘squib’d and floured by several of the other end of 
the town,” those of the south part in the winter of 
1705 began to talk “ very hotly of building a meeting- 
house by themselves ;” and on the 2d of May, 1706, 
the frame of the new edifice was raised. In the 
autumn of that year it was so far finished that they 
The matter had 
been “ hitherto carried on in a way of great conten- 
tion and disorder ;” but a final difficulty, and the most 
serious of all, now presented itself. The people of 


might comfortably meet therein. 


the south had organized themselves into a new church, 
but the people of the north wholly declined to release 
them from their share of the burden of supporting the 
minister of the old church. An angry town-meeting 


was held to consider this matter on Nov. 25, 1706, and 


_ the seceders certainly made what seems now a fair and 


even a liberal proposition. They offered to maintain 
their own church, and also to pay £20 of Mr. Fiske’s 
Even this was not satisfactory, and the town 
insisted that their “ south end neighbors and brethren 
should not be released from bearing their usual part of 
the charge for the support of the Rev. Moses Fiske, 
which they were forward in the day of it to vote for 
and agree to.” 

The matter was then carried before the General 
Court; but there no immediate action was taken, 
and in the spring of 1707 the contention and disorder 
were greater than ever. A council of churches was 
Ac- 
cordingly, on the 7th of May delegates from nine 


suggested, and agreed to on the 27th of April. 


neighboring parishes met in the Braintree meeting- 
Those 
composing this council do not seem to have succeeded 


house and heard the agerieved brethren. 


in pouring oil on the troubled waters; and, on the 
10th of the following September, the Rev. Hugh 
Adams was formally ordained as first pastor of the 
South Church, which forthwith petitioned the Gen- 
eral Court to be regularly set off as a distinct precinct. 
This prayer was dated in the true theological spirit of 
the time,—‘‘ From (Naphtali, if your honors please 
so to name our neighborhood, or) South Braintree ;” 
the significance of which grim Puritan jest is found 
in Genesis (xxx. 8) :—‘ And Rachel said, With great 
wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have 
prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.” Ney- 
ertheless, the dwellers in the south did not prevail ; 
on this oceasion, for five days later, after an oral 
hearing, the General Court voted that, during the 
exercise of his ministry by Mr. Fiske, “the whole 


286 





no = 5s 8 | 
town’ was obliged to raise annually whatever sum | 
was voted for his support. Meanwhile, steps were to | 
be taken towards forming a second precinct, the in- | 
habitants of which, during Mr. Fiske’s ministry, were 


“to take care by subscription to raise a maintenance 


for the minister there.” 
It is, of course, obvious now that the separation 


proposed was a mere question of time. Considering | 





how universal and even obligatory church attendance 


then was, the cause for present wonder is that through 
more than sixty years the people of so large a terri- 
tory were content to travel, summer and winter, such 
distances over their primitive roads to reach the com- 
mon mecting-house. It is doubtful whether even the 
intense religious sense of their time, backed though 
it was by both spirit and letter of law, would have 


But they came to gratify a 
social, as well as a spiritual craving. Outside of a | 
hard, secluded, week-day life the Sabbath and the 
In their widely-— 


induced them to do so. 


meeting-house were all they had. 
separated houses there were no newspapers, fewer | 


books, and fewer still strange faces; and so they 
eagerly went to church, not minding weather or dis- 
tance, because there they met friends and relatives, 
while between the services they heard the parish | 
news. Perhaps, too, whispers might reach them there | 
of events in that great outside world from which they 
in their homes were as much excluded as though they 
lived encircled by a Chinese wall. 

The separation of old Braintree into several church | 
precincts also foreshadowed a further political sepa- 
ration not less desirable. But the slow course of 
erowth and sequence of events in that period of 
New England life is strikingly shown by the fact that 
sixty years of development preceded the separation of 
the parishes, and nearly ninety years more had passed 
away before the original town was divided. And it | 
is a curious fact, as will presently be seen, that, while 
the North Precinct in 1706 offered such resistance as | 
it could to the earlier dismemberment, in 1792 it was 


the same North Precinct which demanded to be set 
off, and which, though itself the original town, left | 
name and records with its younger sister, so it might 
be at liberty to order its affairs in its own way. | 
Though foiled in its efforts for independence before 
the General Court of 1707, the South Precinct had | 
not long to wait. ‘The court had held it liable for its 
share of the support of the pastor of the old church 
Mr. Fiske’s 
second wife, Anna, died on the 24th of July, follow- | 


during the ministry of Mr. Fiske only. 
ing this decision. The widow of Daniel Quincy, a | 
peculiar interest attaches to Mrs. Fiske as the mother 
of that John Quincy, of Mount Wollaston, from 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


| which his mother’s death took place. 





whom the North Precinct subsequently took its 
A youth of eighteen, John Quincey 
graduated at Harvard College during the summer in 
Parson Fiske 
At the time of her 
death he seems to have been in feeble health, and a 
few days later he was stricken with “ a sore malignant 
fever, and on the 10th day, being Tuesday, about one 
of the o'clock, P.m., he died, willingly, patiently, 
DME 


was, with suitable solemnity and great lamentations 


name as a town. 


did not long survive his wife. 


blessed God, and forgave all his enemies. 


interred at Braintree in his own tomb the 12th day.” 
Of him an humble but devout parishioner wrote that 
he was “a diligent, faithful laborer in the harvest of 
Jesus Christ ; studious in the Holy Scriptures, having 
an extraordinary gift in prayer above many good 
men, and in preaching equal to the most, inferior to 
few ; zealously diligent for God and the good of men,— 
one who thought no labor, cost, or suffering too dear a 
a price for the good of his people.” 

It settled 
once for all the vexed question of parish division. 


His death was timely in one respect. 


On the 3d of November following a town and parish- 
meeting was held, at which it was voted that thence- 
forth “there should be two distinct precincts or so- 
cieties in this town, for the more regular and con- 


The ill 


venient upholding of the worship of God.” 


_ feeling which had existed between the sections grad- 


Yet, as late as 1710, the good 
offices of neighboring ministers seem to have been 


ually passed away. 


called for, and on the 19th of February their “ advice 


As 


usual in the Massachusetts of that time, a special 


for reconciliation” was read from the pulpit. 


fast was thereupon ordered ‘on account of the late 
disturbances ;” and then at last,on March 19th, the 
Sabbath, the reconciliation was made complete by the 
clergymen of the two precincts exchanging pulpits, 


and preaching each to the other’s congregation. 


The pulpit of the First Precinct was then filled by 
Rev. Joseph Marsh. His pastorate and that of the 
Rey. John Hancock covered, respectively, sixteen and 
eighteen years, and the two carried the history of the 
church into its second century. It was an uneventful 
period the world over; that of the two first Georges 
and Louis XV. The Massachusetts colony had 


now struggled through the more interesting early 
period, and was unconsciously preparing itself for the 


career which a century later was to open before it. 


Meanwhile the royal Governors—Shute and Dummer, 
Belcher and Burnet—ruled a community numbering 
about an hundred thousand souls, and squabbled in- 
cessantly over petty questions with intractable General 


Courts. Locally, it was the period in which Judge 





QUINCY. 


287 





Edmund Quincy and Col. John Quincy flourished in | 


Braintree, and largely directed the course of the town’s 


affairs; while of men destined to a later prominence, 
John Adams and John Hancock were born, the | 
former at the foot of Penn’s Hill, on Oct. 19, 1735, | 
and the latter on the 12th of January, 1737, in a_ 


house which stood on the lot which, now the site of 
an academy, still bears his name. The house is yet 
standing—an almost perfect specimen of the colonial 


dwelling—in which lived the Rev. Moses Fiske, after | 
whose death it was bought by the Rev. Joseph Marsh, | 


his son-in-law ; and in that house during the pastorate 


of John Hancock, John Adams and Josiah Quincy, | 
house of 1666. 

The Rev. Joseph Marsh himself was ordained as | 
pastor of the First Precinct on May 18,1709. A | 


Jr., went to school to the son of Mr. Marsh. 


graduate of the college in the class of 1705, during 


the winter of 1708-9 he was preaching, by request of © 
the General Court, at Tiverton, the inhabitants of | 


which place had failed to ‘comply with the law and 
provide themselves with a minister.” 


seems at once to have impressed himself on the peo- 
ple there as ‘“‘a person of singular accomplishments, 
both natural and acquired.” 
ber they gave him a call, and on the 16th of Decem- 


ber, after extensive preparations had been made to | 


properly receive him at his predecessor’s house, ‘‘ he 


came at night attended with the most of the inhabit- | 


ants of this precinct.’ His salary was fixed at sev- 
enty pounds a year, and one hundred pounds 
additional was voted to him on his settlement, ‘‘ and 
Then on the 4th 


of May a special fast was kept ‘‘in order to ordina- 


that to be paid for said settlement.” 
tion,’ which took place two weeks later. 


the daughter of his predecessor, and in April, 1710, 


he bought the Fiske homestead, where he lived until | 


his death, in March, 1726. 
first year. 


Again the pulpit was but a short time vacant, for, | 
on June 29th, John Hancock, the son of a father of | 


John Hancock, 
the father, was minister at Lexington, and so high 


the same name, was called to fill it. 


was his professional standing and so great his in- | 


fluence that he was commonly known as “ Bishop” 
Hancock. The son may have enjoyed a certain ad- 
vantage from the father’s fame, for when called to 
Braintree in 1726 he was but twenty-four, though he 


had graduated in 1719. The salary voted to him 


(one hundred and ten pounds) was larger than had | Adams Street, between the old Quincy and the old Adams 


been given to any of his predecessors, and he re- | 


He first | 
ministered in Braintree on Sunday, Oct. 31, 1708, | 
less than three months after Mr. Fiske’s death, and | 


Accordingly, in Novem- | 





On the | 
30th of the following June the young pastor married | 


He was then in his forty- 


ceived a further sum of two hundred pounds upon his 
settlement. But the vote giving these larger sums 
was expressed in ominous words, for it ran that the 
sums were payable “in good and lawful bills of publie¢ 
credit on this Province.’ The colony was embarked 
on that troubled sea of depreciated paper money 
which was destined to long outlast the Hancock 
pastorate. 

The ordination of Mr. Hancock took place on the 
2d of November, 1726, and was a great occasion, 
for the pastors of seven sister churches took part in 
it, while the elder Hancock preached the sermon. 
The ceremonies were held in the old stone meeting- 
It must even then have been in 
poor repair, for during the winter of 1730 “ cart- 
loads of snow” were blown into it, and had to be 
shoveled out. As usual, it was not difficult to get 
the parish to vote the building of a new meeting- 
house ; the trouble came in the choice of location. 
Two meetings barely sufficed for the discussion of the 
question. The site first proposed was “at Col. 
Quincy’s gate.””' This was rejected. The site of 
the old stone church was next proposed, and rejected. 
Finally it was decided by a majority vote that the 
new edifice should be ‘‘at the ten milestone, or 
near unto it;”’ and at the next meeting an exact 
site was fixed ‘‘ on the training-field,” a few hundred 
yards south of the tenth milestone from Boston. 
The new house, large and commodious for the time, 
was in point of fact a bald, oblong wooden structure, 
of the kind common to all New England towns. It 
was entered by doors at the two sides, and in front of 


_ it stood a tower, surmounted by an open cupola in 


which hung the bell, now increased in weight to two 
hundred and ninety pounds. This edifice was dedi- 
cated on the 8th of October, 1732, “in peaceable 
times ;’ but the old stone house, though then aban- 
doned, stood for sixteen years more, until in Febru- 
ary, 1748, it was sold at auction and removed. It 
brought £100 in money of the old tenor. Mean- 
16, 1739) 
‘being Lord’s day, the First Church of Braintree, 
both males and females, solemnly renewed the cove- 


while, nine years before, on Sept. 


nant of their fathers, immediately before the partici- 
pation of the Lord’s supper.” A century of church 
life was complete. 

On this occasion, in his discourse which is still 
extant, the pastor described himself as having been 
with his people almost thirteen years ‘in weakness, 





1 The point where the Old Colony railroad now passes under 


houses. 


288 





and in fear, and in much trembling.” He continued 
with them five years more. These were the years 
of “ the great awakening,” during which Whitefield, 
Tennent, and Davenport held forth continually to 
excited audiences, and New England was lashed into 
such a state of religious frenzy as was never known 
on the continent before or since. It is scarcely 
probable that Braintree wholly escaped the contagion 


of the craze; but when, shortly after reason had re- 


sumed its way, Hancock died, the brother clergyman 


who preached his funeral discourse spoke of him 
“as a wise and skillful pilot,’ who had steered “a 
right and safe course in the late troubled sea of eccle- 
siastical affairs; so that his people had ‘“ escaped 
the errors and enthusiasm which some, and the infi- 


delity and indifferency in matters of religion which | 


others had fallen into.” These words were in them- 
midst of his days and growing serviceableness.”’ 

It was in 1728, the third year of the Hancock pas- 
torate, that the first Episcopal church edifice in 


year services were performed in it. Dr. Ebenezer 


Miller, a Harvard graduate of 1722, was its rector, | 
and for a century and a half thereafter descendants of | 


his name continued to live in the town. Though it 
had no church of its own until 1728, this society had 
long been forming. Indeed, as early even as 1689 a 
little company of church-people held services in 
Quincy, and in one house, at least, prayers of the 


In 1701 the 


Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 


Church of England were daily read. 


Parts was formed in London, and, for some reason 


now unknown, Braintree was early selected as a 


promising field in which to labor. In 1702 one 


zealous in the cause wrote to a leading church digni- | 


tory: “ Braintrey should be included ; it is in the 


would do great good and encourage the other towns to 
desire the like. If the church can be settled in New 
England, it pulls up schisms in America by the roots, 
that being the fountain that supplies with infectious 
streams the rest of America.” Accordingly, “an 
annual encouragement of fifty pounds and a gratuity of 
twenty-five pounds for present occasions” was granted 


by the society to Mr. William Barclay, “‘ the minister 


of the Church of England at Braintree in New Eng- | 


At the same time a collection of books to 


land.” 


form the basis of a church library was sent out, the 


twenty volumes or so of which, bearing the quaint | 
seal of the mother-society, are still on the shelves of | 
Thus, in 1704, Christ’s Church | 
in Braintree was fully organized, several of the names | 


the Quincy rectory. 





_ ization of the church was maintained. 
Braintree was finished, and on Easter Monday of that | 





| with 


| me. 





found earliest in the town records, such as Veazie, 
Saunders, and Bass, being those of its wardens and 
vestrymen. 

The movement did not pass unnoticed. The 
time was gone by when it could be suppressed with a 


high hand, for not only had the rigor of the primitive 


church discipline relaxed, but under the royal Gover- 
nors the Episcopalian ritual had for years been familiar 
in Boston ; though on the 25th of December those of 
the antique faith still took occasion to “ dehort their 
families from Christmas keeping and charge them to 
forbear.” Accordingly, in Braintree, when it came to 
a question of increasing the minister’s salary to ninety 
pounds, Col. Edmund Quincy pressed hard the argu- 
ment that the churchmen were now “scheming to 


get a foot in the town,” but that they must “ pay 


_ their proportion,’ and now was the time to suppress 
selves no poor tribute to the preacher cut off “ in the | 


them. 

By 1704 Mr. Barclay had returned to England, 
and for several years thereafter only a skeleton organ- 
In 1713 the 
case was pronounced desperate by the Rev. Thomas 
Eager, who had apparently been sent out to look over 
the field, and who mentioned, as obstacles in the way 
of any growth of the church, that its members were 
taxed for the support of the regular precinct minister, 
and that they had no place of worship of their own. 


| They feared censure as conventiclers if they assembled 


Yet he claimed to 
have at times as many as thirty attendants at services, 
Mr. Hager 
seems to have remained in Braintree nearly two 
years, and the account he gave of the dwellers there 
“The people are very great 


for worship in a private house. 
twelve regular communicants. 
was not a flattering one. 


strangers to truth,” he wrote, “and I do really believe 
that I have not passed one day since my arrival with- 


| out one false report or other being raised upon me.” 
heart of New England, and a learned and sober man | 


He declared that the whole province had been much 


| disturbed on account of his coming, and people “ have 
not failed to affront and abuse me wherever they meet 


Atheist and papist are the best language I can 
On the other hand, Governor Dud- 
“ sorrowful account”’ of 


get from them.” 
ley gave the society a no less 
Mr. Eager, writing to it that “the church is greatly 
hurt by him. During the few months of his stay 
here he was frequently in quarrels and fightings, and 
sending challenges for duels, that at length the au- 
thorities at Brandry was quite ashamed and dis- 
couraged.” 

But there was ground for the complaint of Mr. 
Eager as to the taxing of his people for the support 
of the precinct ministers. The matter had already 
been before the Governor and Council on the com- 





QUINCY. 


9 


= 


89 





plaint of William Veazie, the churchwarden, who, in | 
1696, had been fined “for plowing on the day of | 
Thanksgiving.” 

“June 2 (1713), Mr. Veisy, of Braintry, and constable 


Owen are heard ; about his distraining for a rate of twenty-six 
shillings toward Mr. Marshes Salary, when the Governor and 


Council had ordered him to forbear till the General Court» | 
which order was sent by Veisy himself, who would not let | 


Owen take a copy of him, and provoked him; whereupon Owen 


took a cow of Veisy, prised at four pounds, offered Veisy the | 


overplus before witnesses, which Veisy refused. The Governor 


put the Vote whether the Cow should be returned, which passed | 


in the Negative. I! said, the Governor and Council had not 
Authority to rescind the Laws by nulling an execution. Mr. 
Secretary seconded me. Then the Governor put it whether he 
should be bound over to the Sessions, which was Voted. Goy- 
ernor directed fifty pounds. But “twas brought to ten pounds, 
and five pounds each Surety. 

“It was afterwards thought advisable to dismiss this Bond, 


_ with Hoop-poles, Hay, Wood, Xe. 


1727. Accordingly, Judge Sewall, in Boston, made 
the following entry in his journal: ‘“ Monday, Dee. 
25,1727. Shops open, and people come to Town 
Mr. Miller keeps 
the day in his New church at Braintey: people flock 
thither.” 

The vexed question of taxation was now at last set- 
tled. It had again been brought before the Governor 
and Council in the spring of 1727. Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor Dummer was then acting as Governor during the 
interim between the Shute and thé Burnet adminis- 


| trations, and in reference to this question he wrote a 


Chide him, and Jet him go, which was done next day, upon his | 


Submission and petition to be dismissed.” 


Mr. Eager was succeeded by the Rev. Henry Lucas, 
who, after a short rectorship, removed to Newbury, 
and for several years thereafter the organization lay 
dormant. It was not until 1726 that any steps were 
taken toward building a church edifice. Ebenezer 
Miller, son of Samuel Miller, of Milton Hiil, was 
then a recent graduate of the college, and student of 
divinity. 
leaning towards Episcopacy, being, it has been said, 
the first graduate of Harvard who took that turn. 


As such he early manifested a strong 





on 29th of the next month (May, 1 


sharp letter to Col. Edmund Quincy. In it he said 
that he was “surprised to find this matter driven to 
extremity, especially after the hopes you have raised 
in me that your people were thoroughly disposed to 
make those of the Church of England amongst you 
He further requested 
Col. Quincy to bring the matter before the parish 


” 


easy in all these matters. 


| committee, and personally to use his “ utmost in- 


fluence that those people may obtain the relief they 


_ look for, as I think common justice entitles them to.” 


Accordingly, at a meeting of the North Precinct held 
727), the Episco- 


(4 


palians appeared and presented their case. There is 


no record of what was said in debate, but the meeting 


| finally voted to remit future taxes, and also “ to reim- 


To him the members of the Braintree society went, | 
and settlement.” 


and two agreements were entered into,—one for 
the building a church edifice, the other for sending 
young Miller to England, there to receive orders. 
Both agreements were carried out, and in 1728 an 


unpretentious wooden building on the main street of | 


the town, a few hundred yards only south of the old 
stone meeting-house, was ready for occupancy. In 
course of years, after the old English custom, the 
ground about it became covered with stones marking 
the resting-place of some who had worshiped within 
those walls; and these stones still remain a memorial 
of the site upon which stood one of the earliest off- 


burse the petitioners whatever sums they might have 
been assessed for Mr. Hancock’s ordination charge 


A question which for twenty-five years had been a 
cause of hard feeling, and which had given rise to a 
bitter sense of oppression, was thus properly disposed 
of. It was not without ground of pride, therefore, that 
Mr. Hancock recorded “it was done before ever any 
That 
it was settled in a way so creditable seems to have 


act of this nature passed in the government.” 


been largely due to Mr. Hancock’s influence, who 
then gave evidence that he was possessor not only of 


/some Christian spirit but of much good judgment. 


shoots in Puritan Massachusetts of the established | 
_and Mr. Miller; and before Dr. Miller came the Pre- 


Church of England. 
Having been made Master of Arts by Oxford, and 


licensed to preach the gospel in July, 1627, Mr. | ; : : 
_ occasional communion with them, and allowed them 


Miller was the next month appointed minister to 
Braintree, in New England, and in September chap- 
lain to the Duke of Bolton. 


He thus came back to 


his people well recommended, and he arrived among 
them in time to open his mission on Christmas day, — 





1Chief Justice Sewall; Sewall Papers, V. Mass. Hist. Coll., 
vi. 386-87. 
19) 


He always cultivated friendly relations between the 
two societies, as well as personally between himself 


cinct church ‘‘ admitted to their communion all such 
members of the church of England as desired to have 


what posture of devotion they pleased; and they 
received the sacrament standing.” 

Through thirty-six years Dr. Miller remained the 
rector of Christ’s Church, devoted to his parish, and 
accounted one of the ablest defenders of Episcopacy 
in New England. At the close of his ministry the 


' society numbered fifty families and as many communi- 





290 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 
cants. Indeed, he and his immediate successor so | churchmen in Braintree were favorers of the Stamp 


raised the Braintree church that for a time it seems 
‘to have exercised a maternal care over those of the 
same communion in the vicinity who were weaker 
than itself.” Revisiting England in 1747, Mr. Miller 
was then made a Doctor of Divinity by Oxford. On 
the 11th of February, 1763, “to the very great loss 


Act. Ten years later they had not changed their 


_ views, and when the news of the Quebec Bill arrived 
| Mrs. Adams wrote that they “hung their heads,” 


of this church, his family and friends, he departed 


this life.” 
Not much more remains to be said of Christ Church 


during the period now under consideration,—that to_ 


1830. It had already seen its best days, for the 
Revolutionary troubles were at the time of its first 
rector’s death already impending. Indeed, a posthu- 
mous attack made on him just after his death, 


because of his connection with a project for establish- | 
_ to read the prayer for the king. 


ing an American bishopric, led to one of the angry 


paper controversies which paved the way to war. | 
The Rev. Edward Winslow, a Bostonian by birth and | 


a graduate of the college in the class of 1741, suc- 
ceeded Dr. Miller. 
in July, 1764, and his connection with the society 
lasted through thirteen troubled years, until 1777. 
He left behind him in Braintree the reputation of being 


He was inducted into the living | 


an earnest, faithful rector and an honest man; but | 
buried under the altar of St. George’s Church, in that 
| fo) ? 


he was in his ministry at a time of great political ex- 


And yet 


citement, and his was the vanquished side. 


it may fairly be inferred that, for a time at least, the | 


society did not languish under his charge, for the | 
z Oe | 


families belonging to it increased in number from fifty 


to sixty-eight, and in the year 1773 it was found | 


necessary to enlarge and remodel the church building. — 


During his ministry also a subscription was made “ to 


provide a decent glebe” for the rector, and with the | 


means thus obtained a piece of land was bought and 
a house built, the rent of which at a later period 
sufficed to keep the abandoned church in decent 
repair while the almost lifeless society awaited the 
return of better days. 

Episcopacy has ever been an exotic in Massachu- 
setts; and the cultivation of exotics is expensive 
for those engaged in it. 
was always most liberal in dealing with its sickly 
the 


Braintree offshoot, and, until evolutionary 


The mother English society | 


| 


troubles took the shape of actual war, it annually” 


sent over sixty pounds sterling for the support of the 
Naturally the society was inclined to a 
friendly feeling toward the hand which fed it. To 
it the Apthorps, the Borlands, the Cleverlys and 


minister. 


former from tumbling down. 


the Millers—indeed, all the gentry of the neighbor- | 


hood, with the exception of the Quincys—belonged. 
The gentry were apt to be Tories, and as early as 1765, 
John Adams noted in his diary that most of the 


| 


and, ‘“‘no matter how much provoked by those of the 
other side, they would not discuss politics.” Before 
that “parties ran very high, and very hard words and 
threats of blows upon both sides were given out.” A 
few days later there was something very like an actual 
outbreak in the town, the North Precinct of which 
had the reputation of being a nest of Tories. The 
stock of public powder was removed from it by an 
organized mob, and Mrs. Adams again wrote, “ The 
church parson thought they were coming after him, 
and ran up garret.”” The popular feeling was now 
so strong that it was no longer safe for Mr. Winslow 
Yet he seems to 
have struggled on, vainly hoping for better days, 
until his salary was stopped and many of his people 
had moved away. Then, taking very properly the 
eround that his ordination oath compelled him to 
conform literally to the Prayer-Book, he, ‘“ with sad 
and silent musings,” resigned his charge. Going to 
New York, which was in British occupation, he died 
there in 1780, before the close of the war. He was 


city. 

The English society had spent, it is said, over 
thirteen thousand dollars in the attempt to build up 
the Braintree church, and it was now less than ever 
able to stand alone. The ritual was again in as great 
public odium as it had been a whole century before. 
To a certain extent Mr. Joseph Cleverly faced the 
storm in Braintree, and filled, as best he could, the 
place which Mr. Winslow had left vacant. A native 
of the town, and coming of a family long resident 
there, he had graduated at Harvard College in 1733, 
and, though never in orders as an earnest Hpis- 


_ copalian, he now served Christ’s Church for several 


years, reading prayers and services, and being referred 
to in its records as the society’s teacher. He lived to 
extreme old age, dying in 1802. 


After Mr. Cleverly’s death the society for many 


"years continued in what might fairly be called a state 


of suspended animation. It did not wholly die, for the 
church edifice and the rectorship were there, and the 
rent collected from the latter sufficed to keep the 
The parish committee 
secured the assistance of clergymen and readers, so that 
from time to time church services were performed, 
and a few kindly-disposed ladies exerted themselves 
to keep up a Sunday-school, at which the children not 


only of that society but of the precinct were taught 





ae 


QUINCY. 


291 





; i Eien. | 
the catechism. But, as a religious force affecting | 


town life, Christ Church hardly made itself felt be- 
tween the close of the Revolution and the year 1825. 
It had lived on support from without, and that sup- 
port was withdrawn. Accordingly, with one period 
of faint revival between 1822 and 1827 under the 
fostering charge of a faithful and able rector, the Rev. 
B.C. Cutler, it continued to languish until long after 


1830. At last the increase of wealth and the change | 


in modes of life of the whole outside community 
brought in new and influential families, introducing 
elements in which the Episcopal form of worship 
found natural support. But the town had then lost 
its individuality. During the first hundred years of 
its existence the history of Christ Church in Brain- 
tree and Quincy is most interesting as showing 
how wholly alien Episcopacy was to the New Eng- 
land civilization; how practically impossible it was 
for it there to take root and to flourish ; and how, sup- 


ported for a time at great effort and cost from without, | 


when that support was withdrawn, it languished and 
died away, having, so far as could be seen, in no way 
influenced the growth of the native community. Like 
Catholicity, it was a wholly alien institution; and, 


shillings “old tenor” per ounce, instead of six shil- 
lings seven pence, as it should have been. In 1645 
there were in circulation bills of the “new tenor,” of 
the “ middle tenor,” and of the “old tenor.”’ Those of 
the two former, being of greater value than the latter, 
were hoarded. Apparently, in 1788, Mr. Briant’s 
salary of sixty pounds ‘“ new tenor’’ was equivalent to 
about fifty-four pounds in silver, or to six hundred 
pounds in ‘old tenor,” and in purchasing power was 
not less than what had been paid to his predecessor. 
A graduate of Harvard College in the class of 
1739, Mr. Briant, when he came to Braintree, was in 
His pastorate was brief, for 
he died before he was thirty-three ; but it was as 
troubled as it was short. 


his twenty-fourth year. 


Intellectually he was cer- 
tainly a remarkable man; there is reason to suppose 
An ad- 


vanced religious thinker and a born controversialist, 


also that he was a somewhat eccentric one. 


he seems to have paid little regard to conventionali- 
ties. Had he lived he might have held his ground, 
and succeeded in advancing by one long stride the 


_ tardy progress of liberal Christianity in Massachusetts ; 


again, like Catholicity, it got a secure hold on the soil | 


only when a new element was infused into the town’s 
blood. 

Returning to the history of the original pre- 
cinct church, around which the whole religious lite 
and mental activity of the town still centred, the 
Hancock pastorate, ending with premature death in 
May, 1744, was followed by an interim of a year and 


on the other hand, it is not improbable that he was 
too far in advance of his day, and that premature 
decline alone saved him from the loss of his pulpit, 
and theological ostracism. Yet his career, so far as 
it went, was indisputably an interesting one. 

In the year 1749, Mr. Briant published a sermon 
on moral virtue. He seems before to have preached it 
several times in different pulpits, and it had excited a 


good deal of remark. In his native town of Scituate, 


especially, it had produced so great an impression 
a half. During that period the church twice invited 


Mr. Benjamin Stevens to occupy the vacant pulpit, — 


but he declined todo so. At last, on the 16th of 
September, 1745, the Rev. Lemuel Briant, of Scit- 
uate, was unanimously chosen pastor, and on the 11th 
of the following December he was formally ordained. 
The salary of the new minister was fixed at “ fifty 
pounds per year in bills of credit on this province of 


that the minister of that place had felt moved to con- 
trovert its teachings. This he had essayed to do by 
means of a series of discourses, in regard to which it 
was at the time remarked the main difficulty was to 


_ discern the ‘‘ difference between his doctrine and that 


in the Briant sermon anything to excite remark. 


the last emission” during the first two years of his set- | 


tlement, to be thereafter increased by a further annual 
sum of “ twelve pounds and ten shillings in bills of the 
like emission.” This salary was considerably smaller 
than had been paid either to Mr. Hancock or to Mr. 
emission. How clergymen and the few others who, 
in Massachusetts, were dependent on fixed incomes 
contrived to live in those days must always remain a 
mystery. At the time of Mr. Hancock’s death, bills 
of the tenor in use when he was settled passed in cir- 


of Mr. Briant.” The progress of religious thought 
has since been so great, that it is not easy now to see 
In 
it moral and religious truisms seem to be set forth in 
plain, strong English, which at times rises into elo- 
quence; while it throughout possesses the better 
quality of plain speaking. The writer said what he 


_meant; and he said it in a way not to be misunder- 
Fiske, but it was payable in bills of credit of the last 


culation for about sixteen per cent. of their nominal | 


value; in other words, silver was worth nearly forty 


| 


{ 
| 
1 


stood. 
‘« All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags,”—and he 


He drew his text from Isaiah lxiv. 6,— 


proceeded to vigorously denounce the absurdities to 
which a lifeless, conventional religion had led. The 
distinctness with which he gave utterance to the truth 
that was in him startled those who had quietly settled 
down in the faith that Calvinism was not only the 
foundation of all things, but that it was a good founda- 


292 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. - 





tion. Once more accepted formulas had been chal- | Rev. Mr. Foxcroft, the colleague of Dr. Chauncey in 
the First Church of Boston, Mr. Briant had in his 


lenged, and declared to be pernicious cant. 
Formulas, and religious and educational formulas 


in particular, rarely lack defenders. Several of his 


brethren at once entered the lists against Mr. Briant, | 


and the theological rancor with which they did it was 
expressed on the title-pages, even, of the sermons in 
which they thought to confute him. The Rev. Mr. 
Niles, of the Middle Braintree Precinct, for instance, 
called his discourse a vindication of certain gospel 
doctrines and teachers “ against the injurious reflec- 
tions and misrepresentations” of the “ Rev. Mr. Lemuel 


merely Arminian, but Socinian even, 
d 


Briant ;’ and the Rev. John Porter, of Bridgewater, © 


improved on this by entitling a sermon “The ab- 


surdity and blasphemy of substituting the personal | 


righteousness of men in the room of the surety 
righteousness of Christ, in the important article of 
justification before God.” Mr. Briant was not a man to 
be summarily suppressed. He was young, it was true, 


but his church was with him, and he had a vigorous | 


pen. 





Accordingly, in 1750 he published, in the form | 


of a letter, some “ friendly remarks” on Mr. Porter's | 


effort, to which, in the printed form, had been appended — 


an “attestation,” as it was called, signed by five other | 


clergymen, in which they expressed their hearty con- 
currence with their brother, Porter, and dolefully la- 


| der of his life. 


mented the “‘ dreadful increase of Arminianism and | 


other errors in the land.” 


irritating to his opponents, for he met them in a way 
they could not understand. 


_and Company. 


letter referred to as ‘a verbose, dark, Jesuitical 
writer,’ and, accordingly, Mr. Foxcroft now returned 
the compliment by accusing Mr. Briant of being not 
To this contri- 
bution to theological debate Mr. Briant speedily re- 
plied in a piece dated April 15, 1751, which he 
entitled “‘ Some more friendly remarks on Mr. Porter 
In a second Letter to him and two 
of his abettors, namely, Mr. Cotton, appendix writer, 
and Mr. F—xcr—ft, marginal noter.” The title 
alone is sufficient. In pointed controversy his op- 
ponents were no match for Mr. Briant, and he now 
fairly convicted them of having brought serious 
charges against him on the strength only of conjecture 
and suspicion ; but the discussion had drifted away 
from great doctrinal issues to mere personalities, and 
it ceased to be of importance. 
Yet it did not end then. 
notes to Winthrop, to some forgotten controversy of 
earlier days, Mr. Savage has alluded to what he calls 
Mr. 


Briant seems to have stirred those waters to their 


Referring, in one of his 


“the exquisite rancor of theological hate.” 


depth, nor did they subside during the short remain- 
At the time of his second letter he 
was not yet thirty, but he was already drawing to- 


_ wards that decline which, only two years and a half 
This reply of Mr. Briant’s must have been very | 


They were narrow- | 


minded men of no great intellectual strength, and, after | 


the manner of such, they could not grasp a new idea 


even when it was plainly set before them. Because 


it was new, was with them sufficient proof that it must | 


be unimportant or erroneous. Nevertheless, they 


were men thoroughly in earnest and of implicit belief. 


Briant in his reply trifled with them. Hardly troub- 
ling himself to conceal his contempt, he permitted a 
vein of irony to run through his answer, which, while 
it must have bewildered as well as exasperated his 
opponents, was out of place. The subject-matter 
under discussion should at least have made the discus- 
sion serious. As it was, he very distinctly, to use a 
modern word, chaffed his reverend critics. 

Naturally they were not slow to respond, and, as is 
the custom of men of their calibre, they forthwith 
proceeded to identify themselves with the sacred 
cause of which they were the self-appointed and in- 


competent advocates. 


They accused Mr. Briant of | 


levity in the treatment of religious truths, and of pre- | 


varication; and they proceeded in their labored way | 


to show that he was an Arminian and unsound. The 


later, caused him to sever his connection with his 
parish. The closing months of his short pastorate 
must have been very trying to him. Among his 
brethren he was not without sympathizers, and he 
counted the celebrated Dr. Jonathan Mayhew, of the 
West Church in Boston, as his intimate friend; but 
his controversial methods must have startled even 
those who believed as he did, and prevented their 
rallying to his support. 
undivided. 


some were greatly disturbed by his liberal views. 


Nor were his own people 
The majority sustained their pastor, but 


Through their agency an Heclesiastical Council was 
called to consider the case of the Braintree church. 
Mr. Briant declined to acknowledge the authority of 
It ad- 


journed ; but met again in January, 1753, and, Mr. 


the Council, or to be present at its sessions. 


Briant still declining to appear, it proceeded to take 
cognizance of his case. Hight causes of complaint 
had been preferred. They related to all grades of 
offense from the sermon on moral virtue to whispers 
of “ scandalous immoralities.”’ 

In their findings the Council expressed its opinion 
that there did exist grounds of complaint against the 
pastor, but it added the belief that the “ aggrieved 


brethren,” as the minority of the society was termed, 





QUINCY. 293 





had gone too far in their charges. The members of 
the Council concluded its report by giving “ their best 
advices” to the two parties; thus, in the words of 
Mr. Briant’s most eminent successor, effecting “as 
much as Councils ever effect,—that is, nothing at all, 
except, it may be, to increase the difficulty in which 
they intermeddled.” 
sible tribunal could not be overlooked. 
they were referred to a committee of the North Pre- 
cinct church composed of its most respected mem- 
bers. At its head was John Quincy, then one of the 
most prominent men in the public affairs of the 
province, and others of its members bore names which 
had appeared on almost every page of the town 


But these findings of a respen- 


records since the records began. The report of this 
committee was dated April 14, 1753, and, breathing a 


Accordingly, | 


the theatre in which the debate went on; one pre- 
cinct was arrayed against the other. Under these 
circumstances young Adams could not but have taken 
a lively interest in it. More than sixty years then 
passed away, during forty of which the New Eng- 
land mind was wholly drawn off from problems of 
theology, and concentrated on questions of civil rights 
first and of government afterwards. Then, at last, 
during the earlier part of the present century, an 
established order of things was brought about, and 
Growth 


once more religious issues come to the front. 


_had meanwhile been going on, quietly, slowly, giving 


_no outward sign, and all at once it revealed itself in 


high order of the true Protestant spirit, it wholly | 


justified the pastor. As to the immoralities charged 
on Mr. Briant, the committee reported that they had 
_ “never been proved in any one instance.” 

Or the 22d of the following October a precinct- 
meeting was held to take action on the pastor’s re- 
quest for dismission. His health was failing. As 
was usual in the town- and precinct-meetings of that 
period, John Quincy served as moderator, and it was 
presently voted that the pastor’s request be granted, 
his parishioners apparently having considered that it 
was hopeless ‘‘ to wait patiently some time longer to 
see if it may not please God in his good Providence 
to restore our reverend pastor to his former state of 
health.” 
quite one year, dying at Hingham in the early au- 
tumn of 1754. At the time of his death he was but 
thirty-two, and of all those who have served as pas- 
tors of his church, his remains and those of his elo- 
quent successor a century later, William Parsons 
Lunt, alone do not moulder in the old First Precinet 
graveyard. 


Mr. Briant did not survive his dismissal 


Briant was buried in the neighboring 
town of Hingham in September, 1754, while Mr. 
Lunt, in March, 1857, a tired wayfarer, was laid, 
decently, reverently, beneath the sands of the Syrian 
desert, as he journeyed towards the Holy Land. A 
little heap of stones alone marked his resting-place. 
There is high authority to the fact that, in his re- 
ligious views, Lemuel Briant was a man half a cen- 
tury in advance of his time. During the controversy 
of 1749-53, John Adams was a growing lad, for he 
entered Harvard in 1751. It was an open question 
with him whether he would prepare himself for di- 
vinity or the law, and in the minds of the college 
students of those days theological disputes had all the 
active interest which new scientific or philosophical 


theories now have. His own town of Braintree was 


the Channing protest against Calvinism. New Eng- 
Then Dr. 
Morse, of Charlestown, sent a pamphlet setting forth 


the tenets of the new church to the ex-President, who 


land Unitarianism assumed its shape. 


was now verging on his eightieth year. 
Ome to} 


In reply he 


| wrote as follows, under date of March 4 and May 15, 


1815: 


“T thank you for your favor of the 10th, and the pamphlet 
enclosed, entitled ‘American Unitarianism.’ I have turned 
over its leaves and find nothing that was not familiarly known 
to me. In the preface Unitarianism is represented as only 
I can testify as a witness to 
its old age. Sixty-five years ago my own minister, the Rev. 
Lemuel Briant, Dr. Jonathan Mayhew, of the West Church in 
Boston, the Rev. Mr. Steele, of Hingham, the Rev. John 
Brown, of Cohasset, and perhaps equal to all, if not above all, 


thirty years old in New England. 


| the Rev. Mr. Gay, of Hingham, were Unitarians... . 


“Tn short, sir, I have been a reader of theological, philo- 


sophical, political, and personal disputes for more than sixty 


years, and now look at them with little more interest than at 
the flying clouds of the day.” 

Mr. Briant died in the autumn of 1754, and the 
last French war, that which resulted in the English 
At 


the time of his death Washington was reconnoitering 


conquest of Canada, had then already begun. 


on the Ohio, and Lord Monkton was preparing for 
Braddock’s defeat 
took place in the following July. The Revolutionary 
The 


the removal of the Acadians; 


struggle followed close on the French war. 
rapid sequence of great events outside materially 
affected even the First Precinct church of Braintree. 
A long period of doctrinal quiesence ensued, which 
amounted at last almost to torpidity. It was on the 
22d of October, 1753, that Mr. Briant was dis- 
missed, and just one year later, on the 8th of October, 
1754, the parish extended a call to the Mev. Anthony 
Wibird. 

Mr. Wibird, a graduate of Harvard in the class of 
1747, was at the time of this call in his twenty-eighth 
year. He at first declined, apparently on the ground 
that the salary voted would not suffice for his support. 
It was small, being but eighty pounds a year, with a 


294 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





further sum of one hundred and thirty-three pounds, 
six shillings, and eightpence, “lawful money,” for “a 
settlement.” This it will be noticed was not so 
much as Mr. Fiske had received nearly a century 
before. 


offering a salary of one hundred pounds a year, with 


Subsequently the parish modified its terms, 


no sum at settlement, and this proposition Mr. Wibird 
accepted. Accordingly, on the 5th of February, 
1755, he was ordained. His pastorate, the longest 
in the annals of the parish, covered forty-five years, 
outlasting the century. During it the colonies sepa- 
rated from the mother-country, and the North Pre- 
What 


with French and revolutionary wars and reigns of 


cinct of Braintree became the town of Quincy. 


terror, the downfall of the old and the upbuilding of 
the new, the world in those days moved rapidly ; but 
amid all the turmoil without,—stamp-acts, tea-riots, 
Bunker Hill fights, Declarations of Independence, 
and elections of Presidents,—the Rev. Mr. Wibird 
seems to have pursued the even tenor of his way, 
His colleague during the closing years of his minis- 
try wrote of him that “he was a learned man, though 
in his habits somewhat eccentric, and withal of great 
dignity, and beloved and respected by his people.” 
He was, as his name implies, a genuine New Eng- 
lander, also; and traditions still linger among the 
grandchildren of his parishioners touching the dry, 
quaint humor with which he observed on men and 
and things. He was never married, nor was anything 
bearing his name ever put in type, though he was 
once chosen to deliver the annual election sermon. 
He was about seven years older than John Adams, 
who saw a good deal of him during the years while 
the former was picking up a practice at Braintree, 
and in 1759 the active-minded young lawyer wrote 
of the divine that his soul was lost in “ dronish 
effeminacy,” though he had “ his mind stuffed with 
remarks and stories of human virtues and vices, wis- 
dom and folly, ete.” On yet another occasion he 
remarked upon Parson Wibird’s popularity, ‘ He 
plays with babies and young children that begin to 
prattle, and talks with their mothers, asks them 
familiar, pleasant questions about their affection to 
their children; he has a familiar, careless way of con- 
versing with people, men and women; he has wit and 
humor.” 

Before Mr. Wibird’s pastorate closed he was, 
through bodily infirmity, disabled from preaching, so 
that on Feb. 5, 1800, exactly four months before the 
pastor’s death, the Rev. Peter Whitney was ordained 





as his colleague. Like all his predecessors in that 
pulpit, except Tompson and Flynt, Mr. Whitney was 
a Harvard graduate, belonging to the class of 1791, 
and at the time of his ordination he was thirty-two. 
His pastorate lasted through forty-three years, and 
during it the separation of church and state took 
place in New England. Quincy town and precinet 
were divided. Intellectually, Mr. Whitney was in no 
way remarkable; a worthy, easy-going divine of lib- 
eral tendencies, while Dr. Storrs, of the Middle Pre- 
cinct, held his church and its people firmly to the 
strict faith of the fathers, the old North Precinet— 
the church of Wheelwright and Briant—was allowed 
to drift, as it was fit and proper that it should, quietly 
and easily in Channing’s wake. The change to Unita- 
rianism was then almost unnoticed, and in 1827 Mr. 
Whitney was able to record that “for the last thirty 
years this society has been more united, perhaps, than 
any other in our country. No ‘root of bitterness’ has 
in any measure sprung up to trouble them; none of 
that ill-will which sectarianism so often produces has 
been found among them; nor have any of those 
sources of division arisen which in so many of the 
towns of New England have cut the happiest societies 
asunder.” 

These words were written at the very time when 
the old epoch had come to a natural close, and the 
The silence of the West 
Quincy hills was now broken by the sharp ring of the 
sledge’ on the drill, and loud blasts told of quarries 
from which gangs of busy men were taking huge 


new one was about to begin. 


blocks of stone to be carried off on the newly-devised 
railway, which, opened only the year before, was daily 
examined by curious visitors from far and_ near. 
Forces destined in a few years to wholly revolutionize 
the town were thus already actively at work. Though 
the mass had not yet been celebrated in Quincy, and, 
indeed, no new religious society had been organized 
there for more than a century, the. church and the 
town were no longer one. The separation had taken 
Most significant of all, the 
old church edifice of 1732, in which three whole gen- 


place seven years before. 


erations of townspeople had worshiped together as 
one civil and religious family,—this plain, wooden 
meeting-house was even then being removed to give 
place to that more pretentious temple of stone which 
was in a few years to be known only as the church of 
one, and not the most numerous, of the half-dozen 
religious societies into which the people of the town 
had divided. 





QUINCY. 


295 





CHAPTER XXVIII 


QUINCY—( Continued). 


LIFE IN THE COLONIAL TOWN. 


In speaking of the town of Braintree, then newly 
incorporated, Capt. Edward Johnson, in his “ Wonder- 
working Providence,’ remarked: ‘Some of Boston 
retain their farms from being of their Town, yet do 
they lye within their bounds, and how it comes to pass 
I know not.” It will also be remembered that at the 
time of the incorporation two thousand acres had been 
“set apart at the Mount” for the use of Boston, “ in the 
most convenient place unallotted.” For several years 
thereafter Boston continued to make allotments in 
Braintree, until in January, 1644, a tract of three 
thousand acres was granted to John Winthrop, Jr., 
and others for the encouragement of some iron-works 


then projected. Thus a quarter of the entire town- 


ship, large as it was, had been either reserved to 


Boston, or set aside as common lands, or given away 
in large private allotments. It has already been 
remarked that the actual settlers in Braintree seem 
as a rule to have been poor persons who received 
small grants of land. On these fell the burden of 
the town’s charges. 

Those charges, it is true, were in the earlier period 
practically limited to the support of the clergyman ; 
but a contribution of £60 a year for that purpose 
was a heavy burden in itself, and naturally the exemp- 
tion of the Boston allotments from their share of 
the charge was from the beginning a source of conten- 
tion. The arrangement was one which could not pos- 
sibly last. Accordingly, an order was passed, as early 
as 1641, that no house or land in the town should 
be sold to any one not an inhabitant until it 
had first been offered to ‘the men appointed to dis- 
pose of town affairs,” and in case they did not see 
fit to purchase, it could then be sold “ only to such as 
the townsmen shall approve on.” Nor could any 
one not received as an inhabitant build within the 
town limits without permission. In the case of 
Braintree this rigorous restriction of non-resident 
ownership and new settlement had probably a four- 
fold object. In the first place, it was an outgrowth 
of the Antinomian excitement and its alien law. 
All elements of civil and religious discord were to be 
excluded. Above all things, the peace of the church 
was not to be disturbed. Church and town were 
one; and it was thus reserved for the members of the 
church to say who might be inhabitants of the town. 
So important was this exclusive power centred in 
church-government and church-membership, that it is 


- not too much to describe it as the corner-stone of the 


earliest Massachusetts polity. Its formal recognition 
on the first pages of the Braintree records was fit 
and proper. It hedged the Lord’s people securely 
in against intruders. 

The legal inhabitancy of the town, moreover, car- 
ried with it certain rights and privileges in the com- 
Further 
on these will be more particularly referred to. Then 
came in the question of the support of the poor and 
the helpless, under that system of English law and cus- 
tom which the settlers had brought over with them 
as their rule of conduct. Every one had a right to 


insist on being kept by some one from starving and 


mon lands, then supposed to be of value. 


freezing. That right was established by legal resi- 


dence. From the beginning, therefore, it has been 
matter of deep concern with all Massachusetts towns 
to prevent the poor and dependent from becoming 
legal inhabitants within their limits. This is still the 
The order of 1641 was intended to provide 


against this danger. 


case. 
Finally, it was also intended to 
meet in a certain degree the vexatious question pe- 


The 
people of the town wished to purchase among them- 


culiar to Braintree of non-resident ownership. 


selves all lands and tenements offered for sale, so that 
neither land nor tenement should in future be held by 
any one who did not actually live in Braintree and 
share in its parish burdens. 

The evil of non-residency could not be remedied 
in this way. Accordingly, in 1647 another attempt 
was made to correct it. Upon a commutation pay- 
ment of £50 in five equal annual instalments, “ to be 
made in merchantable corn, as wheat, rye, peas, and 
Indian, at fifty shillings in each of them,” Boston 
agreed that all land owned by its inhabitants in 
Braintree should, when laid out and improved, be 
accounted as Braintree lands, and as such be liable to 
all common town charges. 
failed to settle the question. 
unimproved lands next became the bone of contention. 


But this agreement, also, 
The unsurveyed and 


Inhabitants of Boston, going back to the loose grants 
A 


vexatious and endless litigation seemed imminent. 


freely made in earlier times, claimed ownership. 


On a greatly reduced scale, it was the question which 
during that century and the next involved England 
A wilder- 
ness was in dispute, with a paper title set up against 
Fortunately the parties to the con- 


and France and Spain in war upon war. 


actual occupancy. 
flict were not in a position to go to war; but in 
January, 1698, seventy freeholders of Braintree 
formally and in writing covenanted one with another 
“to defend our ancient rights, and oppose in a course 


- of law those and all those that shall by any means 


296 





disturb, molest, or endeavor to dispose” any of their 
number; and they promised to bear as a common 
burden all charges which might arise out of the law- 
suits expected to ensue. 

This determined front naturally brought about a 
compromise, and in the year 1700 a body of the Brain- 
tree freeholders agreed to purchase all the waste land 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





earls, a viscount, three barons, and nineteen knights 


within the town limits a title to which was claimed | 


by inhabitants of Boston, paying therefor £700. In 
order to effectually prevent a repetition of the non- 
resident experience, it was at the same time, and at a 
public meeting, further voted that no purchaser of 
these lands should make any conveyance of them to 
any outsiders, ‘“‘ thereby to let them have a foothold 
or interest in said purchase or any other way.” 
purchase-money was raised by voluntary subscription 
through the efforts of an association consisting of one 
hundred inhabitants of Braintree, and the Boston 


claims finally extinguished. It was noticeable, also, 


and characteristic of the time and of the people, that | 
the committee of the town of Boston appointed to | 


The | 





execute the deed for these lands, and to receive the 


purchase-money therefor, was further instructed to 
lay out “ the said money in some real estate for the 
use of the Public Latin School.” 

Thus ended a controversy the importance of which 
to Braintree cannot be exaggerated. It involved a 
vital question,—that of a fixed rent charge to be for- 
ever paid by the actual occupant of land to a technical 
owner. English and Irish experience had sought to 


repeat itself on new soil. From the time of King 


on that point. 


James’ grants to the Virginia companies in 1606 _ 


downwards, one grantee after another of large tracts of | 


American wilderness had thought to secure forever 
some annual return from them, just as English ad- 
venturers and court favorites had secured similar re- 
turns from the grants of William the Conqueror, 
Henry VIIL., and Elizabeth. 


plant the feudal system to America. 


The idea was to trans- 


increase, at least, in land value was to be appropriated. 


The future | 


A succession of organized efforts were made to bring | 


this about. These efforts also were authorized by 
the king, and the greatest names in England were 
associated with them. For instance, on Sunday, the 
29th of June, 1623, eleven men met together in a 
room at Greenwich, near London. King James was 
present with them. A small map of New Hngland 
was laid upon a table. On that map the whole coast 
from the St. Croix to Buzzard’s Bay had been divided 
The 


eleven men then drew two lots each, the lots repre- 


off by lines into forty parts not unequal in size. 


senting divisions on the map. 
out New England. 


They thus parceled 


ical significance. 


One duke, two marquises, six | 


were parties to the arrangement. King James drew 
the lot for Buckingham, who chanced not to be pres- 


ent. The region in which Braintree and Quincy lies 
fell to Lord Gorges. The Earl of Warwick drew 
Cape Ann. 


This and many other similar attempts were made 
to introduce into New England the system which 
Strongbow had introduced into Ireland four centuries 
and a half before. That these attempts failed was, it 
may safely be asserted, the making of the New Eng- 
land people. The occupants of the soil became the 
owners of it. Paying no rent, what they would under 
another system have been forced to pay as rent re- 
mained with them; and it represented that slow in- 
crease of substance which built up the community. 
The increased value which the laborer’s toil gave to the 
land belonged to the toiler, and not to his landlord. 

This is not the place to discuss in detail the cause 
of the failure of these attempts. That failure was 
probably due to natural economical influences ; for it 
clearly was not due to any prejudice against the sys- 
tem itself in the minds of the early settlers. The 
allotments at ‘the Mount” afford conclusive evidence 
Landlordism depends on a monopoly 
of land; and it was the abundance of cheap lands, 
combined with the want of accumulated capital, 
which made such a monopoly impossible in America. 
But while this is true of the country as a whole, it is 
The net of the law was 
thrown over the people there in 1637, when provision 


not true of Braintree. 


was first made for a church, and again in 1640, when 
From that net the people 
The agreement of Jan. 


a town was incorporated. 
had to extricate themselves. 
10, 1698, was accordingly their declaration of inde- 
pendence of landlordism. The contract of 26th Jan- 
uary, 1700, was the recognition of that independence, 
The long struggle between the paper claimants of 
the soil on the one side and its actual occupants on 
the other side runs through sixty years of the town 
records. It was only an episode in the history of an 
insignificant New Hngland village, and as such is be- 
neath the notice of history. Yet it had great histor- 
In a natural way, all unconsciously 
to those composing it, a single member in a community 
of towns was asserting itself in the line of common 
development. 

Meanwhile the freeholders had been called upon to 
pass through another experience in the same matter 
of title. 
no little alarm; but it reads now like a burlesque on 


At the time this seems to have occasioned 


those national claims then so freely asserted and 


bloodily argued. In August, 1665, certain inhabit- 





QUINCY. 


297 





ants of Quincy, on behalf of the whole, took of the 
Indian descendants of Chickatabut a deed of the 
Braintree township, duly signed and sealed, with de- 
livery “by turf and twig. 
in excess of caution, as a muniment of title in the 
Among the 


” 


controversy with Boston then going on. 
eight grantees was one Richard Thayer. By virtue 
of this Indian deed, Thayer, in 1682, laid claim for 
himself to the whole township, and actually petitioned 


hands. In his petition he claimed to have long en- 
joyed quiet possession by virtue of his Indian deed, 
but that more recently, ‘‘ under pretence of an imagin- 
ary line,’ the Massachusetts colony had usurped 
jurisdiction and dispossessed him. The General 
Court had then, he asserted, disallowed the deed, and 
refused to give him his appeal to the king. Accord- 
ingly, having now been driven from his property “ to 
his bitter Ruin,” he made his appeal in person. 

The Privy Council in due course referred the paper 
to the Committee of Trade and Plantations, and it 
was by them sent to Joseph Dudley and John Rich- 
ards, the agents of the colony in London, to report 
thereon. Massachusetts at this time was not in favor 
at court, and it was impossible to know what secret 
influences might be at work behind a distant and 
all-powerful tribunal like the Privy Council. The 
freeholders of the town seem, accordingly, to have 
been greatly stirred up when tidings reached them of 
this new assault. 
prepared and “subscribed by an hundred and thirty- 
four hands out of this small town, consisting of 
ninety or a hundred families at the most.” 
monstrance which accompanied this address seems to 
have been final, for, in January, 1683, Dudley and 
Richards filed their answer, in obedience to the order 


The re- | 


to this day. . . . His father’s shoppe, who was a cobler, would 
And of a 
mushrome hee’s swolne in conceipt to a Coloss, or giant of State, 


now hardly contain him with his arms a kembow. 


_ and dreams of a Dukedome or petty province, since at first 


It was probably done | 


essay hee hath gotten a Maister-shippe. The vast tract of 


| land he makes such a puther about is a mere Utopia, or, if 





more, a derne solitary desert, and his share therein can hardly 
reach the five hundredth part. . . . The body of the town are 
of one soule as to satisfaction with the present Government 
(that of Charles II.), and looke at themselves as basely tra- 


duced by Thayer’s reports. Whose cards, had they been good, 


| hee had the less need of cheating, fraud, and falsehood to helpe 


the Privy Council to have the property put in his — 


him out.” As to his complaint of the “utter ruin” brought on 
himself and family, the remonstrants asserted vigorously that 
he had brought it upon himself, ‘‘having expended that little 
estate he had in contention and litigation,” 
“one of the forlorn hope among men of desperate fortunes, .. . 
and can find nothing for his living but by this way of lying 


so making himself 


| and romancing about his vast dominions and territories of 


An address to the king was at once | 


of the Council, and it seems to have ended the Thayer | 


claim. 
characteristic document. It was not only illustrative 
of the people and times, but it is still entertaining 
reading. It was drawn up apparently by Col. Ed- 
mund Quincy, that “true New England man,’ who 
died Jan. 8, 1698. 


belongings are there described with much particularity. 


Thayer's history, character, and 


It is declared untrue that he 


“went into New England” in 1641; but it is agreed that “ his 
very poor father, with eight poor children, of which this Rich- 
ard was one, came two-and-forty years ago, in exceeding mean 
and low condition, and was suffered to sojourn, as a poor man 


But the remonstrance of the town wasa highly | 


lands, plantations, and towns to prosecute his fictitious claims, 
while his wife and family live in sordid poverty at home.” 


The town spoke in this way of Richard Thayer 
not without reason. The authorities had become ac- 
quainted with him and his ways during King Philip’s 
war, when, in company with several others, he was 
There was a sort of ad- 


vanced station, or picket-post, in Bridgewater, of 


impressed from Braintree. 


which Thayer had charge, and he soon proved him- 
self a timorous braggart. He evidently belonged to 
a class peculiar neither to that time nor to New Eng- 
land,—noisy, scheming men of great pretension and 
small performance. As a soldier, he kept the country 
in a state of continuous alarm, and was always scout- 
ing to no purpose. Nor did he forget at the end of 
the war to bring in what in those days was looked 


upon as an exorbitant bill for extra services, which the 


_ military committee of the town promptly disallowed. 


Returning to the question of the town lands, the 
matter of title being disposed of, it remains to speak 
of the commons. In the original Braintree there 
were three of these, comprising some fifteen hundred 
acres in all, and known as the South and North Com- 
mons and the ministerial lands. When it is said that 
the settlers of Massachusetts were as a body common 
people of the purest English blood, much naturally 
The English are a tenacious race, not easily 
They brought 


follows. 
adapting themselves to new conditions. 


| to New England, therefore, together with their lan- 
guage and families and household stuffs, a mass of 
customs and usages which dated back to the Saxon 
days of Kings Ceawlin and Ine, but were little ap- 


and stranger, in a remote and obscure part of the town untill he | 


adventured to purchase only four acres of land, which at that 
time and in that place might be bought for a very small mat- 
ter, yet more than the poor man was able or willing to pay. 
The grantor, yet living with us, now saith he is not paid for it 


plicable to the new surroundings. Of these usages 
and customs many yet remain in the more remote 
towns, strange relics of the almost forgotten communal 
system of early German life. Antiquarians from time 


to time come across them, and when they do so they 


298 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





are apt to expatiate, as if it were matter of surprise | him “a piece of land to puta house upon on the com- 
that the first settlers, in bringing with them their | 


Saxon tongue, also brought their Saxon village ways. | 


Yet such was the fact. 
ways, but, after their natures, they were slow to see 


They not only brought those | 


that in many respects such ways did not fit into their | 


new life. In the matter of town commons, for in- 
stance, the original settlers came from a country in 
which all the land was occupied to a country in which, 
except in choice localities, land hardly repaid the 
cost of fencing. The cultivator could certainly afford 
to pay no rent. 
mons, like those of most other towns, early proved a 
source of quarrel and vexation. 
taking stone, timber, and thatch off of those com- 
mons, as well as pasturing cows upon them, was long 
regarded as valuable. It was one of the advantages per- 
taining to legal inhabitancy. As early as 1646 a vote 
was passed, and now stands upon the record, author- 
izing legal inhabitants to take timber off the commons 
for any use in the town, but imposing a penalty of five 
shillings a ton on any sold out of the town. For years 
votes of a similar character were from time to time 
recorded, especially in regard to stone for building 
material. Then, not satisfied with the commons they 
had within their own limits, with genuine Anglo- 


Consequently the Braintree com-_ 


The privilege of | 





Saxon land-hunger, a number of the Braintree free- | 


holders petitioned the General Court in 1666 for a 
grant of six thousand acres elsewhere. The reason 


they assigned was that the town lands were worn out, 
it was, in fact, an outbreak of the general and indis- 


criminate land-appropriation fever which then and 
ever since has prevailed in America. 


century, when another generation had the curiosity 


to look the title up, and, finding it still good, they | 


got the grant located in Worcester County; and at 
last, but not until 1757, the town of New Braintree 
was organized from it. 

Meanwhile, year by year the townsmen were called 
upon to take actioneither to defend or to improve the 
town lands. In 1662 a part of them were fenced in, 
and litigation ensued. Then, in 1682, a committee 


was instructed to lease a portion to Benjamin Tomp- 





; | to the sale; the north parish was against it. 
and could not afford them a comfortable support; but | % 


v1: { * managed and re productive. 
The petition | better managed and more productive 


was granted, and the six thousand acres assigned. | 


Nothing more was then done in the matter for half a jots, to sell them by auction, and execute deeds of them in be- 


mon.” The lands were then leased to others, and the 


But this 
The lessees 
complained bitterly of trespasses and encroachments, 
finally throwing their lease up. 


rent applied to the support of the school. 
plan of improvement failed in its turn. 


In their memorial 
they particularly referred to one open way which had 
been recently laid out through these lands; and they 
add that, “although we repeatedly attempted to 
fence against the same by a sufficient stone wall, yet 
we were as often prevented by certain unknown eyvil- 
minded persons, who, as fast as we built up the wall 
by day, did in the night-time throw the same down 
again.” 

Under these circumstances both the lessees and the 
town were discouraged. However it might be in Eng- 
land, the remains of the communal land system, beyond 
the limits of a training-field and graveyard, were not 
productive of satisfactory results in Massachusetts. It 


| was accordingly proposed that the commons should be 


sold; and this question divided the town for years, 
just as it has since divided the Parliament of Great 
Britain and the Congress of the United States. The 
problem which Burke and Benton debated on a large 
scale was, on a smaller scale, and before they were 
born, discussed in the Braintree town-meetings. John 
Adams has told the rest of the story : 

“Tn 1763 or 1764 the town voted to sell their common lands. 
This had been a subject of contention for many years. The 
south parish was zealous, and the middle parish much inclined 
The lands in their 
common situation appeared to me of very little utility to the 
public or to individuals; under the care of proprietors where 
they should become private property, they would probably be 


My opinion was in favor 


of the sale. The town now adopted the measure, appointed Mr. 


Niles, Mr. Bass, and me to survey the lands, divide them into 


half of the town.” 


This was accordingly done, and an element of dis- 
cord and jobbery was once for all removed from town 


affairs. Perhaps the most singular circumstance con- 


nected with the subsequent fate of the North Com- 


mon was that a large portion of it, including that re- 


gion immemorially known as Mount Ararat, in which 


son, the schoolmaster, and son of the first minister, for | 


a term of twelve years. Then, in 1699, it was again 
voted that the town “ would stand by the persons 
who have the town Lands leased to them, in defend- 
ing them from Mr. Tompson, their late Schoolmaster, 
they paying rent of said Land to the Town Treasurer 


for the present school.” Tompson also had given to 


the leading stone-quarries have since been developed, 
was afterwards bought by John Adams himself. To- 
wards the end of his life he deeded it back to the town 
in endowment of an academy. It has always been 
locally known as ‘the common,” and the rents re- 
ceived from it for pasturage and rights of quarry 
have again in this way been appropriated to school 
purposes. 

Like most primitive settlements which are not 
themselves seminal,—like Boston, Salem, and Ply- 





QUINCY. 299 





| 
mouth,—Braintree grew up naturally at certain more | 


favored or fertile points on the line of a main | 
thoroughfare which connected places beyond its | 
limits. In this case the thoroughfare connected the > 
Massachusetts and the Plymouth colonies, and the 

line followed by it was dictated in advance by the lay | 
of the land, the points of ferriage or fording, and the 
course of the brooks. The construction of a great 
coast road from Newbury, on the Merrimac, to Hing- 
ham—the northern and southern limits of the Massa- | 


chusetts Bay colony—had been ordered by special 
vote of the General Court in November, 1639, two | 
months after the Braintree church was gathered. | 
Those deputed to lay out the new road were em- | 
powered to do so wherever it might ‘ bee most con- | 
venient, notwithstanding any man’s propriety, or any | 
corne ground, so as it occation not the puling downe | 
of any man’s house or laying open any garden or | 
orchard.” Its width was not specified, except in the | 
common lands or where the lands was wet and miry ; | 
it was there to be six, eight, and even ten rods wide. | 
At first designed to connect all the outlying coast 
towns of the Massachusetts Bay with Boston, it 
naturally was almost immediately continued along the 
shore to Plymouth. South of Boston it doubtless — 
followed almost exactly the old Indian trail, seeking | 
the fords, avoiding morasses, clinging to the uplands, 
This trail | 
in due course of time was succeeded by the blazed 


and skirting the rough, wooded heights. 


way, axe-marks on the bark of trees supplying for | 
the settler those more subtle indications which had | 
pointed out his path to the savage. 
Europeans, like Alderman, of Bear Cove, in 1634, | 
made their journeys on foot, and groped their way 
from tree to tree. The blazed trail was shortly suc- 

ceeded by the bridle-path, which was little more | 
than the blazed trail made passable to horsemen, so — 





The earliest 


that only at certain points was the rider forced to 
dismount and lead his steed over difficult ground. 
Natu- | 
rally, these incipient roads were far from straight, and | 
in following them many fences and gates had to be | 
passed. They were, in fact, little more than a suc- 


The highway was beginning to take shape. 


cession of farm lanes running through cleared and | 
fenced lands, and open only through the commons. | 
Gradually these farm lanes were fenced in and the 
bars and gates removed, until at last the lanes were | 


more or less straightened out, and made public ways. 

Such being the general process, the date of the | 
laying out of any particular street, or the fact that 
originally it passed the gate or house of Goodman 
This or Deacon That, is of interest only as affecting 
titles or to those dwelling upon it. 





Tn history it is 


_ than two centuries later. 


mere cumbersome detail. That only is of interest now 
which bears on the progress of early development ; 
and the genesis of the Massachusettss town roads can 
best be studied in the history of one of them. The 
main thoroughfare through Braintree, connecting it 
with Boston, is fairly typical. 

In a direct line the centre of the North Precinct 
was but little more than seven miles from Boston 
stone; and the devious character of the colonial 
ways is well illustrated by the fact that the great coast 
It 
followed in some degree the line of the bay shore in 
order to avoid the difficult Blue Hill formation, and 
yet it was forced to make a long detour to go around 


road of 1639 increased this seven miles to ten. 


the creeks and marshes which everywhere indent the 
coast. But the Neponset River was the great obstacle 
to be overcome; and for more than twenty years that 
puny stream seems to have defied every colonial 
effort at reliable crossing. Indeed, the futile attempts 
to effect one afford perhaps as clear an insight as can 
be obtained into the process through which the road 
development of New England was gradually worked 
out. 

The matter of a reliable public-way crossing of the 
Neponset first received the attention of the General 
Court in 1684, the year in which Boston had “ en- 
largement at Mount Woolliston.” Mr. Israel Stough- 
ton was then granted liberty to build a mill, weir, 
and bridge at the river’s lower falls. Five months 
later, at the next session of the court, an exclusive 
mill privilege on the Neponset was granted to 
Stoughton, who, on the other hand, agreed to “ make 
and keep in repair a sufficient horse-bridge over the 
The building of this bridge was an 
important event in the history of the colony,—as im- 
portant as was the building of the St. Louis bridge 
across the Missouri in the history of the nation more 
Indeed, the earlier effort at 


said river.” 


construction taxed much the more severely of the 
two the resources of the community which attempted 
it. 
whose name in connection with the quaint and ven- 


Father of a son more famous than himself, and 


erable hall which perpetuates his memory is a 
household word among the graduates of Harvard 
College, Israel Stoughton was a man of enterprise 
and substance. In the summer of 1634 he built on 
the Neponset the mill at which was ground the first 
bushel of corn ever ground by water-power in New 
England. This prototype of all the busy water- 


| wheels in New England stood at the foot of Milton 
| Hill, on the Dorchester side of the stream, in the 
| midst of a wilderness; for it was four miles from 


any settlement on the north, while to the southward 


300 








Wassagusset was the nearest inhabited place. There 
was no road to it, and in 1634 the bridge at Stough- 
ton’s mill was probably little more than a succession 
‘of logs thrown from rock to rock across the stream, 
In the 
autumn of that year the blazed trail seems to have 
been converted into a bridle-path ; for the town of 
Dorchester then ordered a road made to the mill, and 


affording passage to people on foot alone. 


voted the sum of five pounds with which to make it. 
This amounted to a little over one pound a mile for a 
road through a wilderness, and it was intended to 
make a trail passable for horses, so that those having 


corn to be ground could get access to the mill by | 


land as well as water. Such was the beginning of the 
Plymouth road through Dorchester. 
Mount Wollaston was now annexed to Boston, and 


a number of allotments made there. 


The need of a | 


land route between the two places began to make | 


itself felt. 
wealthy 


Accordingly, in 1635, John Holland, a 
and enterprising Dorchester man, was 
authorized to keep a ferry between what is now 





river, as no one could be induced to undertake the 
charge of one unless he was furnished with a house, 
land, and boat at the public cost. This method of over- 
coming the difficulty was not in accordance with the 
usages of the time; and so the Court, in apparent 
despair, referred the matter to Mr. John Glover, who 
lived on the south side of the river, in what was then 
a part of Dorchester. From the position of his farm 
Glover stood much in need of the ferry, and accord- 
ingly he kept up an agitation of the matter; so now 
the Court empowered him to grant the ferry to any one 
who could be induced to take it for a term of seven 
years, ‘or else to take it himself, and his heires, as his 
owne inheritence forever.” 

Four years more passed away, and the problem of 
crossing the Neponset was still unsolved. Mr. Glover 
did nothing. Yet the difficulty was one sure in 
time to force its own solution, for the river had to be 
crossed by every one journeying over the great coast 
Under the order of 1639 any town guilty 


road. 


of a default in the construction of so much of this 
Commercial Point and a creek on the opposite shore, | 


charging four pence for the carriage of each passen- | 


ger, or three pence each in case there was more than 
one passenger. 
to make the business of carrying them a paying one, 
The 


and this ferry was soon discontinued. next 


road as lay within its limits rendered itself liable to 


a fine of five pounds. In view of its long neglect to 


_ build a bridge, measures were taken to enforce this 


There were not passengers enough 


attempt was made at a point higher up the stream, | 


and by Bray Wilkins, who then dwelt on the Nepon- 
set, but subsequently moved to Salem, where he lived 
into the next century, dying at the age of ninety-two. 
Ten years before his death, Bray Wilkins, being then 


eighty-two, rode down to Boston, with his wife on | 


the pillion behind him, to pass election week. He 
then visited Dorchester, and had an experience which 


led to his afterwards playing a wretched part in the | 


hideous witchcraft mania. This was years later; and 
now, in 1638, at the age of twenty-eight, he was 


ambitious of being a ferryman. 


Accordingly, he | 


got permission to set up a house of entertainment and | 


to ply across the Neponset, between the landing at 
the head of what is now Granite Bridge, on the 
Dorchester side, and the tongue of upland which, 
under the name of “the ridge,’ makes out across 
the marshes to the river’s bank on the opposite shore. 
This, from the rate of fare established for it, was 
known as the “penny ferry.” It was intended for 
the conveyance of foot passengers, and, indeed, 
owing to the flats in the river’s bed, could have been 
Like its 
predecessor further down the stream, it soon proved a 
failure, and was discontinued. 


used only when the tide was partially up. 


penalty against Dorchester. ‘The town then petitioned 
the court fora remission of the fine. This was allowed 
in May, 1652, but only on condition that the bridge 
should be constructed according to law, within three 
months, “and, if not, the said fine to take place ac- 
cording to the court order, the making of such bridges 
over such rivers being no more than is usual in the 
like case.” 

Dorchester was stimulated by this pressure to 
some action, but it seems to have been very loth to 
go into bridge-building. Accordingly, the town be- 
thought itself’ of the clause in the exclusive grant to 
Israel Stoughton, in 1634, one condition of which was 
that the grantee should ‘ make and keep in repair a 
sufficient horse-bridge” over the river. Israel Stough- 
ton himself was now dead, but his widow owned and 
worked the mill; so proceedings were begun against 
her. She then, in her turn, had recourse to the General 


Court, and petitioned to be discharged from her lia- 


After this time there was no ferry at all across the | 


bility. 
which her request was granted in part; and, in view 


Some investigation was had, as a result of 
c ’ 


of the fact that near the mill there was a good fording- 
place with a gravel bottom, she was excused from 
building a horse-bridge on condition that she main- 
tained a good foot-bridge, with a sufficient hand-rail. 
Satisfied with this concession, the widow Stoughton 
seems to have adopted a policy of masterly inac- 
tivity, and the next spring the attention of the Court 
was called to the fact that, so far from a new foot- 





QUINCY. 


301 








bridge having been built, the old bridge during the | 


winter had been wholly ruined. Then at last the | 


matter was taken in hand energetically. 
also. Massachusetts now numbered a population of 
over twenty thousand, dwelling in more than a score of 
towns, while Plymouth had five thousand people in five 
towns; and a little river only seven miles from Boston, 
on the main road between the two colonies, was still 
unbridged, and in times of freshet must for days to- 
gether have been impassable. The construction of a 
cart-bridge ‘‘neere Mrs. Stoughton’s mill” was now, 
therefore, pronounced both a necessity and a county 
matter, and ordered to be undertaken at once. 
committee of six, among whom was Deacon Samuel 
Bass, of Braintree, was accordingly appointed, with 


full powers to locate a bridge and to contract for its | 


building, the cost of it to be duly apportioned among 


the several towns. The committee seem to have done 


It was time, | 


A | 


their work so effectually that nothing more was heard | 


of a bridge across the Neponset. Indeed, for a whole 
century and a half the travel between Boston and 


lat. 


the south shore followed the old Plymouth road | 


across Roxbury Neck through Dorchester, and over 
Milton Hill by the bridge at Stoughton’s mill. 

The first attempt to fix the line of road through 
Braintree was in 1641; but not until 1648 was the 
final location made. Running close at the base of 
the hills, crossing brooks at the points where up- 
lands were nearest each other, the coast thoroughfare 


divided when it came to the church. Meeting again 


beyond, it took the shortest line to the foot of the | 


hills, always avoiding the swamps. Then crossing 


a spur of the granite hills bya sharp ascent and de- 


cline, it approached the Monatiquot, which, like the | 


Neponset, proved an obstacle not easily overcome. 
As early as 1635 a ferry had been established across 
the Monatiquot between Mount Wollaston and Was- 
sagusset, the toll being one penny for each person and 


three pence for each horse. The ferryman was one 


Thomas Applegate, of whom not much is known, ex- | 


cept that he was married to a wife, Elizabeth, who 
would seem to have been an unamiable woman, inas- 
much as in 1636, “ for swearing, railing, and _ revil- 


ing,’ she was sentenced by the magistrates to stand — 


with her tongue in a cleft-stick. Applegate did not 


long have charge of the ferry, for, in March, 1636, 


six months only after he was licensed, Henry King- 
man, of Weymouth, was put in his place. A year 
later Kingham was authorized to keep a tavern 
in connection with his ferry, the toll on which was in 


March, 1638, raised to two pence a person. Mean- 


while Applegate would seem to have remained in | and a half before. 
Kingman’s employ, for this year in crossing the ferry | coming railroad era. 


he upset a canoe of which he had charge, and into 
which he had crowded nine persons, three of whom 
were drowned. For this misadventure he was sum- 
moned before the General Court, and Richard Wright, 
a prominent personage at “‘ the Mount,” was commis- 
sioned ‘“‘ to stave that canoe, out of which those per- 
sons were drowned.” The matter ended with the 
appearance of Applegate and five others before the 
March General Court of 1639, which discharged 
them with an admonition not in “future to ven- 
But in consequence of 
this mishap the use of canoes at ferries was inter- 
dicted. 

At its September session the General Court of 
1639 changed the location of the Kingman ferry, 


ture too many in any boat.” 


and at the same time reduced the toll to a penny. 
Two months later the act providing for the construc- 
tion of the coast road was passed, and, as the road was 
laid out in 1641, the ferry undoubtedly was a link in 
Subsequently John Winthrop, Jr., established his 
iron-works in that neighborhood, and a stone bridge 
was in 1644 built across the little river, twenty years 
before one was built at the Milton Falls. 

The section of the coast road within the limits of 
Braintree was about five miles in length, the church 
It was the backbone 
upon which the growing settlement formed itself. At 


being not far from midway. 


first it had but three lateral branches,—two to points 
upon the shore, Squantum and Hough’s Neck, and 
one to what subsequently became the Second Precinct 
of the town. Wright’s mill, upon the town brook, 
stood a short distance from it, and with this the way 
from Hough’s Neck connected, crossing the coast road. 
From this simple beginning the system of modern 
town-ways gradually developed, the lane and farm- 
way regularly, at the proper time, becoming the vil- 
age road and town street, fierce contests sometimes 
arising over questions of prescriptive right. But from 
1641 to 1803 the old coast road remained the single 
thoroughfare from Braintree, and Quincy, to Boston. 
Then, at last, the needs of an increasing community 
began to make themselves felt, and a bridge across 
the Neponset nearer its mouth was projected.  Char- 
tered in 1802 and located in 1803, the turnpike road 
of which this bridge was a part followed nearly a 
straight line from the point where it crossed the 
Neponset to the centre of the town. The way 
in which it was laid out and built—disregarding 
the lay of the land, crossing the marshes, cutting 
through hills, and filling the bog-holes—was in 
strong contrast with the method pursued a century 
It even dimly foreshadowed the 
Gates and bars and crooked 


302 





farm-ways disappeared before the “ pike,’ and the 
colonial lines of travel underwent a change which 
only prepared the way for the greater change brought 
about by the railroad only two-score years later. 
During Braintree’s first century it is very ques- 


tionable whether the roads were kept in any state of | 


systematic repair at all. That they were very bad, 
and at the season of the year when the frost comes 
out of the ground well-nigh impassable, may safely be 
inferred. There was no tax imposed for constructing 
or keeping them in order, and such work as was done 


upon them was done in kind. At certain seasons of 





the year every one was called upon to labor on the | 


roads, bringing with him his horse and his oxen, if he | 


had them, his cart and his tools. The principles of 


road construction were wholly unknown, and the labor 


The 
change to another system took place about the year 


and time expended were largely thrown away. 


1760, and John Adams was instrumental in bringing | 


it about. He afterwards recounted his experience in 
the matter. In March, 1761, being then a young 
lawyer in Braintree, he found himself suddenly chosen 
surveyor of highways. 
and remarked that ‘‘ they might as well have chosen 
any boy in school;” but after thinking the matter 
over, he concluded that it was best for him to accept 
the situation quietly, and at least give the town an 
energetic administration of the office. 

“ Accordingly, I went to ploughing and ditching and blowing 
rocks upon Penn’s Hill, and building an entire new bridge of 
stone below Dr. Miller’s and above Mr. Wibird’s. The best 
workmen in town were employed in laying the foundation and 


placing the bridge, but the next spring brought down a flood | 
_ termediate towns. 


that threw my bridge all into ruins. The materials remained, 


and were afterwards relaid in a more durable manner; and the 


I had executed my office with impartiality, diligence, and 
spirit.” 

Yet this not unusual outcome of amateur, though 
official, zeal seems to have set the Braintree road sur- 
veyor reflecting, for he goes on to say,— 

“There had been a controversy in town for many years con- 


cerning the mode of repairing the roads. A party had long 


struggled to obtain a vote that the highways should be repaired 
The 


roads were very bad and much neglected, and I thought a tax 


by a tax, but never had been able to carry their point. 


a more equitable method and more likely to be effectual, and, 
therefore, joined this party in a public speech, carried a vote by 
a large majority, and was appointed to prepare a by-law, to be 


enacted at the next meeting. 


bury and, after them, Weymouth had adopted this course. I | 


procured a copy of their law, and prepared a plan for Braintree, 
as nearly as possible conformable to their model, reported it to 
the town, and it was adopted by a great majority. Under this 
law the roads have been repaired to this day, and the effects of 


, 


it are visible to every eye.’ 


The closing words of this extract are perhaps the 


He was at first very indignant, | 


Upon inquiry I found that Rox- | 








HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





most suggestive portion of it. Some idea may be 
formed of what the condition of the roads must have 
been before 1760, when their condition prior to the 
year 1820 is confidently spoken of as a vast and indis- 
putable improvement. 


But during the whole colonial period down even to 


_the year 1850, the use the roads were put to in a 


country town was comparatively light. There was 
then no internal commerce worthy of the name. 
There were no lines of regular stages running through 
Quincy prior to the year 1800, and the pleasure 
travel over the roads amounted to nothing at all. 


In the 


winter-time, when the ground was hard with frost or 


Journeys were made chiefly on horseback. 


covered with snow, the clumsy carts and sleds, drawn 
mainly by oxen, were kept busy bringing loads of cord- 
wood down from the wood-lots, or carrying corn, 
potatoes, and other farm produce to market in Bos- 
ton. Manure was hauled only from the barn-yard to 
the neighboring field; lumber and material were 
carted only when some dwelling or out-building had 
to be raised. ‘The quarry teaming did not begin until 
after 1825, and the stage-coach period was wholly of 
The first of these coaches 
which ran from Boston was that to Providence in 
1767, making part of the inside line to New York; 
and the Massachusetts 


the present century. 


south-shore towns—Wey- 


| mouth, Hingham, Scituate, and Plymouth—had a 


packet or, later, a steamboat service until after the 
railroad was opened. As late as 1823 the stage- 
coach travel through Quincy was limited to some 
three trips a week to and from Plymouth and the in- 
Locally, when the Neponset turn- 


| pike was opened, Col. James Thayer began to run a 
blame fell upon the workmen, not upon me, for all agreed that 


baggage-wagon, in which he also carried passengers, 
Simon Gillett purchased the 
route in 1823, and shortly after put upon it a regular 
Hancock” by 
This was an epochal event, and the “ John 
Hancock” made four trips a week, carrying passengers 


from (Quincy to Boston. 


stage passenger-coach, the ‘ John 
name. 
inside and out. It left Quincy betimes in the morn- 
ing so as to reach Barnard’s, in Elm Street, at nine 
o'clock, from which place it started at four P.M. on its 
return trip. It was years later that daily trips were 
made; and, indeed, it was not until 1840 that the 
stage-coach movement began to tax the capacity of the 
highways. 

During the first hundred and seventy years of the 
settlement, therefore, the country roads in Braintree, 
however poorly made or kept in repair, were quite 


equal to the light work exacted of them. Of what 


that work was we get glimpses here and there in 


such records as that of Tutor Flynt’s journey to 


a 


QUINCY. 


303 





Portsmouth in 1755, and John Adams’ drive with 
his wife to Salem in 1766 to visit their ‘“ dear 
brother Cranch.” ‘There being then no stages at 
all in the colony, ‘a single horse and chair without 
a top was the usual mode of conveyance. 
chair, called a calash, was very seldom used.” In 
the case of Tutor Flynt, he and his companion, leaving 
Cambridge after breakfast, ‘‘oated” and had “a nip 


of milk punch” at Lynn, and then towards sunset 


“reached the dwelling of the Rev. Mr. Jewett, of | 


Rawley, and Mr. Flynt acquainted him he meant 
to tarry there that night.” They reached Ports- 


mouth the following evening. John Adams, some 


A covered | 





they came there. 


describes how, “ because of the Porrige of snow, the 
Bearers rid to the Grave, alighting a little before 
Mourners, Cous. Edward and his 
Sister rid first; then Mrs. Anna Quincy, widow, be- 
hind Mr. Allen; and cousin Ruth Hunt behind her 
Husband.” <A few years later, in 1712, Judge Sew- 
all also describes a journey he made from Plymouth, 
where he had been holding court, to Boston. It was 
early in March : 

“Rained hard quickly after setting out; went by Mattakeese 


Meeting-house, and forded over the North River. My Horse 
stumbled in the considerable body of water, but I made a shift, 


| by God’s Help, to set him, and he recovered and carried me 


ten years later, leaving Braintree in the morning, | 


dined in Boston and passed the night at Medford, 


getting to Salem at noon the following day. The | 


streets of Salem he found “broad and straight and 
pretty clean.” 
elegant and grand he had seen in “ any of the in- 
terior towns.” A few years later, while riding the 


circuit, he deseribed how he 


“Overtook Judge Cushing in his old ecurricle and two lean 
horses, and Dick, his negro, at his right hand, driving the 
curricle. This is the way of traveling in 1771,—a judge of the 


circuits, a judge of the superior court, a judge of the King’s 


with a pair of wretched old jades of horses in a wretched old 
dung-cart of a curricle, and a negro on the same seat with 
him driving.” 


The houses he thought the most | 





out. Rained very hard, that went into a Barn awhile. Baited 
Dryed my coat and hat at 
By that time got to Braintry, the day and I were 
in amanner spent, and I turned in to Cousin Quinsey. 


Lodged in the chamber next the Brooke.” 


at Bairsto’s. 
both places. 


Dined at Cushing’s. 


When Judge Sewall thus turned in at its gate on 
that rainy March day, the Quincy house had already 
been standing for twenty-seven years. It still remains, 
a noticeable specimen of the best domestic architec- 
ture of colonial times. Its comparatively broad hall 
in the centre of the house, the easy, winding staircase 
with carved balustrade, the low studded, but fairly 


large, rooms opening to the south and west, the 
“bench, common pleas, and exchequer for the Province, travels | 


An eye-witness gives a not dissimilar description | 


of Dr. Chauncey, pastor of the First Church in Bos- 
son, as he drove about the town making his parochial 
ln 
heavy, yellow-bodied chaise, with long shafts, a black 
boy perched on the horse’s tail, the old divine was 
seated, in his dignified clerical costume, with three- 


visits at a period about fifteen years later. 


cornered hat, gold cane, and laced wrists, bowing | 


gracefully to citizens as he passed. 
young driver in the meanwhile exchanged his com- 
pliments with young acquaintances of his own color 
by touching them up with his long whip from his 
safe perch.” 

This was after the Revolution, but the simple ways 
of the fathers were still in vogue. It has already 
been mentioned that when Bray Wilkins, in 1692, at 
the age of eighty-two, came from Salem to Boston to 
pass election week, his wife, scarcely younger than 
himself, rode on the pillion behind him. 
method of conveyance was not peculiar to those of 
Bray Wilkins’ condition in life. 
in November, 1700, the widow of Col. Edmund 
Quincy died. Judge Sewall went out to Braintree 
to her funeral from the old Quincy house, and he 


His grinning | 





But this | 


broken line of the floors and ceilings which tell the 
story of increased size, the little ship-like lockers and 
other like attempts to economize space while space is 
everywhere wasted,—all these things bespeak the 
dwelling-place of gentry. Time has only hardened 
into something very like iron the solid timbers of 
hewn oak still bearing upon them the marks of the 
axe; and one room yet has on its walls the quaint 
Chinese paper which tradition says was hung there 
in 1775 in honor of Deborah Quincy’s approaching 
marriage to Hancock. 

Nor in the last century was the Edmund Quincy 
house the only specimen of this order of dwelling in 
Braintree North Precinct. Col. John Quiney occu- 
pied another such house at Mount Wollaston, which 
he had built in 1716, and which stood there, though 
reduced to baser uses, until the year 1852. Here 
during his long public life he often entertained parties 
of ladies and gentlemen who came across the bay 
to visit him from Boston, and there are traditions 
of strawberry parties held on the Half-Moon before 
yet the upland top of that now submerged gravel 
ridge had been wholly washed away. The Vassall 


| house, sequestered as Tory property after the Revolu- 


A few years later, | 


tion and bought by John Adams in 1785, was another 
Built about 1715, as 
the summer resort of a West India planter, it still 


of these gentry residences. 


contains one room paneled from floor to ceiling in 


304 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





solid St. Domingo mahogany. Originally it was a | 
small dwelling, constructed on a plan not unusual in | 
the tropics, with kitchen and all domestic arrange- 


ments behind the house and in a separate building. | 
Tn itself it contained only parlors and sleeping-rooms ; | 


but gradually it was added to, until the original 
house is now lost in the wide front and deep gabled 
wings of the later structure. In this house John 
Adams died; and in the same room in it were cele- 
brated his own golden wedding, and the golden wed- 
dings of his son and his grandson. 

‘These houses and houses like these were the homes 
in Braintree of the landed gentry, during the long 
time in which there was in the community little 
property other than land. They were the manor 
houses of the period. 
the barn, the corn and wood and cart-sheds, the 
eider-mill, and all the other buildings belonging to 
the farm, which lay behind and around them. Nor 
were those farms merely the costly luxury of gentle- 
man-farmers. On the contrary, the owner of the 
house drew from the farm around it his chief sup- 
port. He lived upon its produce, for the more pro- 
lific soil of the West had not then beggared New 
England agriculture. From wood-lot to orchard the 
fruits of each acre were carefully gathered, and what 
was not sold was used in rude abundance at home. 
Yet the primitive simplicity of the life in those early 
homes can now hardly be realized. They had none 


of the modern appliances of luxury, and scarcely 


those now accounted essential to proper cleanliness or | 


even decency. As dwelling-places during the less 


inclement seasons of the year, these houses were well 


enough, though the life was simple and monotonous | 

to the last degree; but in winter there was little | 
: | 

John Adams during the 


comfort to be had in them. 
last years of his life used to wish that he could go to 


house, once the home of Parsons Fiske and Marsh. It 
was the simplest form of domestic architecture. A 
huge stack of brick chimney was the central idea 
It was one 
The 
front door opened on a narrow space, with rooms on 
either side, while directly opposite the door, and some 
four or five feet away, were the crooked stairs, sup- 
ported on the chimney. Behind this outer shell was 
a lean-to, the sloping roof of which, beginning at 


in it, and about this the house was built. 
room only in depth, and two stories in height. 


_the rear eaves of the house, descended to within a 


few feet of the ground. 


Close to them stood the stable, 





sleep in the autumn like a dormouse, and not wake | 


until spring. The cold of the sitting-rooms was tem- 
pered by huge wood fires, which roasted one-half the 
person while the other half was exposed to cold drafts. 
The women sat at table in shawls, and the men in 
overcoats. Water left in the unventilated bedrooms 
froze solid, and entries, which could not be heated, 
had the temperature of ice-houses. 

Such were what might be called the mansions of 
the colonial gentry, and such in Braintree they con- 
tinued to be until long after 1830. 
troduction of coal and new appliances for heating | 


The gradual in- 
then revolutionized modes of life. The dwellings of 
the farmers were of another class, excellent specimens 
of which still remain in Quincy in the old Adams | 
houses at Penns-hill, and in the so called Hardwick | 


| 


In this were the kitchen 
and wash-room, and here, on all ordinary ogcasions, 
the family took their meals and the household work 
was done. Of the front rooms, one was the ordinary 
sitting-room and the other the best parlor, which, 
formal, unventilated, and uncomfortable, was entered 
only upon the Sabbath or great occasions, such as a 
funeral or a wedding ora birth. About these houses, 
which stood as a rule facing towards the south and 
as near as might be to the road, though rarely square 
with it, were the out-houses, sheds and barns neces- 
sary for carrying on farm or household work. 

The wearing apparel and household furniture, as 
revealed through the Braintree inventories, speak 
also of a modest and almost Spartan simplicity. 
There seem to have been a few beds,—possibly one 
of feathers, but generally of wool or of corn-husks,— 
some bolsters, blankets, and coverlids; but, except in 
the cases of the more wealthy, there is no mention of 
Col. Edmund Quincy’s two carpets were 
There was a table, and pos- 


bed linen. 
appraised at one pound. 


| sibly two; a few chairs, perhaps half a dozen, and, in 


the case of the rich, a scattering of cushions and 
covers to chairs, but stools were chiefly in use. 
Knives and forks are not mentioned until a compar- 
atively recent time, but pewter and earthenware is 
generally valued at from a few shillings to as many 
pounds. ‘The kitchen 
sisted of a brass and iron pot or two and some pans. 
In the house there would be a Bible, and possibly a 
few other books; an old musket and sword ; a looking- 
glass now and then. The dress was of home-spun, 
and worn and reworn until there was nothing left of 
it. A hat would descend from father to son, and for 
fifty years make its regular appearance at meeting. 


utensils seem to have con- 


The wearing apparel of a whole family would thus 
be stored away for generations, fashions never chang- 
ing; and accordingly it is a noticeable fact that wear- 
ing apparel constitutes the first, and generally one of 
the largest items of the inventories. 

The food and drink in use in Braintree during the 
first century or two of town life were as simple as the 





re 


QUINCY. , 


305 





furniture. Indian corn-meal was the great standby; | 
and even as late as the earlier years of the present | 
century flour was bought by the pound, and used only | 
in the houses of the gentry. As bread made wholly | 
of meal soon became dry, rye was mixed with it; and | 
from long use rye was not uncommonly preferred to — 
wheat. Fresh meat was rarely seen, but the well- 
to-do in the autumn of each year were in the cus- | 
tom of salting down a hog or a quarter of beef, 
bits of which were boiled in the Indian porridge. 
Marshall notes in his diary that, in January, 1704, 
a hog weighing two hundred and sixty pounds 


cost him fifty shillings, and a quarter of beef, sev-_ 


enty-four pounds, cost him twelve shillings; and 
he at the same time mentions that provisions were — 
then “more plenty and cheap than is frequently | 
known, beef for six farthings per pound, pork at two | 
pence the most, the best two and a half pence, Indian 

[meal] two shillings per bushel, mault barly at two | 
shillings.” Naturally the constant use of salted meat | 
created thirst; and this thirst, the necessary conse-_ 
quence of what it is the custom to call a simple mode | 
of life, led to that intemperance which was the bane 
of New England. The use of tea and coffee as bev- | 
erages was not general until about the middle of the | 
last century, and prior to that time the people drank 
water, milk, beer, cider, and rum. 
use of the last, and its demoralizing consequences, | 


The excessive 


it will be necessary to speak of presently, and at | 
length. .Meanwhile it will be noticed that Marshall | 
in his short price-list mentions “mault barly” as the 
staple next in importance to corn-meal. A brewery | 
was one of the earliest Braintree institutions, second 
only to the mill. The first was established by Henry 
Adams, the town clerk, shortly after 1640, and was 
afterwards carried on by his son. Later, cider seems 
to have supplanted beer as the every-day and all- | 
day beverage, and the quantity of it drunk by all | 
classes down to a late period in this century was al- 
most incredible. 


do houses a cask of cider was always on tap, and 


In the cellars of the more well-to- 


pitchers of it were brought up at every meal, and in 
To the end of his life a | 
large tankard of hard cider was John Adams’ morn- 
ing draught before breakfast; and in sending direc- 
tions from Philadelphia to her agent at Quincy, in 
1799, Mrs. Adams takes care to mention that “ the 
President hopes you will not omit to have eight or 


the morning and evening. 


_nine barrels of good Jate-made cider put up in the | 
| from 500 to 2200, or a little more than fourfold; while 


cellar for his own particular use.” | 
There were no shops, in the modern sense of the | 
word, in Braintree or in Quincy prior to 1830. At | 
the village store the more usual and necessary dry and 
20 


West India goods, as the signs read, from a paper of 
pins to a glass of New England rum, could be ob- 
tained. For everything else people had to go to Bos- 
ton, which they did on foot, on horseback, in chairs 
or carts, and by water. Marshall in his diary speaks 
of going to Boston as no unusual occurrence. In 
October, 1705, his father died; in September, 1708, 
he lost an infant son; and in October, 1710, his 
mother. In each case he speaks of going to Boston 
the next day “to get things for the funeral.” He 
was himself a mason and plasterer, but like most men 
of his time he seems to have turned his hand to any- 


thing by which he could earn a few shillings, for he 


was a farmer, a carpenter, a tithingman, a constable, 


and a coroner. The boot-maker, the cobbler, the 
mason, and the carpenter were all recognized mechan- 
The usual 
wages of skilled labor were from sixty-five cents to a 


dollar a day. The busiest man in the town was the 


ics, and earned a living by their trades. 


blacksmith, for not only were all the horses and oxen 
shod at his forge, but he was the general wheelwright, 
and maker and repairer of farm tools. Everything 
made of iron soon or late passed through his hands, 
and his shop, standing on the main street, was a cen- 
For the rest, 
the peddler and the fishman were the chief purveyors 
both of news and of merchandise, and their horns 


were regularly heard on Braintree roads during the 


tral point in the movement of the town. 


first two centuries of town life. 

It has already been stated that at the time the orig- 
inal church was gathered the town numbered about 
eighty families, representing a population of not far 
from 500 souls, living mainly within the limits of 
what afterwards became the North Precinct. When 
Braintree was incorporated, in 1640, the English 
emigration had already ceased, and for many years 
hereafter the coming of new families into the town 
was systematically discouraged. In 1682 the popula- 
tion was limited to “about ninety or a hundred families 
at the most.” In 1707 there were seventy-two families 
in the North Precinct, and seventy-one in the rest of 
the town, or about 800 souls in all. During the next 
seventy years this population increased threefold, so 
that in 1776 the three precincts returned 2871 inhabi- 
tants. This was a stationary period, so that Quincy in 
1800 had increased its proportion of this number only 
to 1081; which figures were again barely doubled in 
1830, when they amounted to 2201. Thus in one hun- 
dred and ninety years the population increased only 


during the next half-century alone it was destined to 
multiply fivefold. As respects wealth, it appears to 
have been much the same; though the contrast be- 


306 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





tween the two periods was perhaps even more striking 
in wealth than in population. 

There are few data upon which to base an estimate 
of the accumulated wealth of Braintree prior to the 
division of the town, in 1792. According to the census 
of 1876 the population of Quincy the year previous | 
was 9135, and its valuation was in excess of seven | 
millions of dollars, showing an accumulation of $600 | 
to each inhabitant, irrespective of sex or age. It does 
not need to be said that these figures are very far from 





representing the real facts of the case. The appraisal 
was simply for purposes of taxation ; a sworn probate 
appraisal would have shown very different results. In | 
1830, with a population of 2200, the valuation was | 
$813,000, or about $370 per head. The figures of 
the earlier periods are of no value as a guide. Turn- 
ing now to the basis of the annual town levy, it is 
possible to make a comparison of periods. In 1876 
the total amount raised by taxation in Quincy was 

$116,000; in 1830 it was $4556.24. The increase | 
was twenty-fivefold in a period of forty-six years. 

In 1657 the amount paid to the two ministers 
was £110, and besides this there were other sums, of 
which no record remains, disbursed on account of the 
At the beginning of | 


poor, the sick, and the insane. 
the next century the salary of Mr. Fiske was £90 a 


year. After the two precincts were divided the salary 
of Mr. Marsh, of the First Precinct, was £70; but Mr. 
Hancock’s was £110. Then came the period of extreme | 
currency disturbance, and Mr. Briant was to receive | 
£62, which in the case of Mr. Wibird was, in 1755, | 
raised to £100. This was before the division of the 
town ; but, approximately, it may be said that the 
total North Precinct levy was in 1656 not far from | 
£100, and a century later it had not increased to over 
£150. 

In 1798 the question of a suitable salary for a col- 
league to Mr. Wibird was much discussed. A com- | 
mittee gave it ‘‘as their most mature judgment” 





that it would be best for the town to pay its minis- | 
ter annually such a sum “as will enable him to main- | 
tain himself and family comfortably and with such 
decency as will do honor to the society that supports | 
them.” And the opinion is then expressed that the 

sum of $500 will afford a minister and his family “a | 
decent support.’ Accordingly, in 1799, Mr. Whitney 
was settled in the town on a salary of $550. In the 
following year the entire amount raised for town and 
parish purposes was $3000. In 1810 it was $3200, 
and in 1820 it had increased to $4000. 
reveal most strikingly the stability and evenness of the 


These figures | 


scale of expense through the long period covered by | 
them. Between 1640 and 1820 the minister’s salary | 


increased from $300 to $750, and the total town and 
parish levy from $350 to $4000. The increase through 


| the first period of one hundred and eighty years was 


less than twelvefold; while in the second period of 
forty-six years, it has been seen, it was over twenty- 
fivefold. 

That, except during periods of war, the Braintree 


community increased its belongings steadily does not 


need to be said. Any community, every available 


'member of which is brought up to do something, 
| while its more active members work all day long 


every day in the week except Sunday, wasting nothing, 
utilizing everything, schooled from infancy in the 
severest economy and eternally striving to better its 
condition,—any community such as this, dwelling in 
a region not actually ice-bound or a desert, must 
accumulate from generation to generation. So the 
Braintree people accumulated. As each generation 
passed away it left more acres under cultivation, more 
houses, barns, and farm-buildings, more furniture and 
household comforts, more cattle, tools, and appliances. 
Yet this was all. Prior to 1830 there was no personal 
property in the modern sense of the word. Whatever 
the people had was in sight. There were no bonds or 
stocks locked away in safes. A few persons,—and 
they were very few,—having ready money amassed 
in trade, may have held some bank or turnpike 
shares; but the people of country towns had as yet 
scarcely begun to be educated in this respect, and 
their whole idea of property was the ownership of 
land and buildings. Money was made in trade; and 
the moneyed man was he who, having amassed some 
ready cash, put it into goods, or loaned it out to others 
on good security, usually bond and mortgage. 

Thus the whole accumulation of the hundred and 
ninety years from 1640 to 1830 in a community like 
that of Braintree and Quincy was at home and on 
the surface. It showed for all it was worth. <Ac- 
cordingly, when John Adams returned to Braintree in 
1788, after a ten years’ absence in Europe, he spoke 
of the increase of population as ‘ wonderful,” and 





_ was amazed at the plenty and cheapness of provisions ; 


but he added “the scarcity of money is certainly 
very great.” And again John Quincy Adams coming 
back to Quincy to his father’s funeral, after years of 


absence, spoke with deep feeling of the changes he 
noticed as he sat in his father’s place in the old church, 


but he added “it was a comforting reflection that 
the new race of men and women had the external 
marks of a condition much improved upon that of 
the former age.’’ Yet it may well admit of question 
whether the entire accumulation of that village com- 
munity in those two centuries, lacking only ten years, 





QUINCY. 


30T 





amounted to over a million and a half of dollars. Al- 


lowing for the goods and money which the original set- | 


tlers brought over with them, this estimate supposes 


an average annual accumulation in the case of Brain- | 


tree of only some $7000 a year. 
community of from 500 to 2000 souls this seems 
small. 
gregate it could have been larger. 
were not over 400 families in the town. 
valuation of their wealth, well understood to be an 
underestimate, exceeded $800,000. Supposing it was 
in reality $1,500,600, the amount above stated, each 


For an industrious | 





And yet it is difficult to see how in the ag- | 
In 1830 there | 
The official | 


Church.” In 1633, being then in his thirty-second 
year, Edmund Quincy came to New England, a com- 
panion of John Cotton, landing in Boston on the 4th 
of September. 
freeman, and his name is found afterwards not infre- 
quently in the records of Boston. He died in 1637, 
shortly after the allotment at the Mount had been 
He and Governor William Coddington 
were of nearly the same age, and the grant of land to 


He was almost immediately made a 


made to him. 


the two lay undivided for two years after Quincy’s 


family would on the average have had property of | 


some sort worth $3750. 
absolutely no one in Quincy was then more than well- 
to-do, and many families had nothing, living from 
hand to mouth, it does not seem possible that this 
average could have been exceeded. 

In referring to the Braintree community prior to 


In view of the fact that | 


1830, constant mention has been made of the class | 
of landed gentry, whose presence influenced in a> 


marked degree the character and development of the 


town. This class, it has been observed, was the legit- 


1628, unlike his father, lived to a full old age. 


imate offspring of the old English land-owners; and | 


in early Braintree there was one family more curiously 


typical of it than could elsewhere be found in New 
England. In fact, the record of the Quincy family is 
probably unique even in the larger field of American 


history. Dwelling at the close of two centuries and | 


a half on the same land which the original ancestor 
in this country bought of the Indian sachem who 
ruled over the Massachusetts Fields when Standish 
first landed at Squantum, the Quincys have in every 
generation maintained the same high public level. 
Never perhaps rising to the topmost prominence, 
either official or intellectual, the family record has yet 
in both respects been exceptionally uniform and sus- 
tained. That record is part of the history of the town 
which took its name from one member of the family. 


stock. The probability is that an ancestor came over 
with William the Conqueror and fought at Hastings; 


death. 
personal friends, and not impossibly it was Edmund 
Quincy’s premature death which alone, in the Anti- 
nomian frenzy, prevented his sharing Coddington’s 
troubles, and perhaps his exile. Though he died 
young, he left his name to a son and the name of his 
From a descendant of the latter 
sprang the Sewall family, and in her memory also the 


It may, therefore, be surmised that they were 


wife to a daughter. 


stormy, western cape of Narragansett Bay was called 
Point Judith. 

The second Edmund Quincy, born in England in 
He 
is the “ Unckle Quinsey” of Judge Sewall’s diary, 
whose death is recorded on the 8th of January, 1698, 
as that of “‘a true New England man, and one of our 
best Friends.” It was he who built the house at 
Braintree, and between the years 1670 and 1692 he 
repeatedly represented the town in the General Court. 
A magistrate and the lieutenant-colonel of the Suffolk 
regiment, he reproduced the type of the English 
country gentleman in New England; and just as the 
former had gone up to the Long Parliament ripe for 
rebellion against Charles I., and half a century later 
had joined William of Nassau in the overthrow of 
James II., so Edmund Quincy, when Andros was 


_ “bound in chains and cords, and put ina more secure 


| place,’ became naturally one of that Committee of 


Safety which carried on the government of the prov- 


ince until the charter of William and Mary was 
As their name implies, the Quincys were of Norman | 


and a century anda half later the signature of a “ Saer | 


de Quincy” was affixed to the great charter of King 


John. When in the early years of the seventeenth cen- | 
tury the Puritan movement spread through England, | 


Edmund Quincy and his wife, Judith, were living on 


an estate which the husband had inherited from his — 
father, another Edmund Quincy, and which was at | 


Achurch, near Wigsthorpe, in Northamptonshire. 


Himself a Puritan, when another Edmund Quincy | 


was born in 1627, the local record shows that the 


child was ‘‘ baptized elsewhere and not in our Parish | 


granted. 

This Edmund Quincey left two sons,—Daniel, the 
child of his first wife (Joanna Hoar), sister of the 
president of the college, and Edmund, whose mother 
(Elizabeth Gookin) was the widow of John Eliot, Jr. 
Daniel Quincy was the father of that John Quincy, of 
Mount Wollaston, in whose honor the town of Quincy 
subsequently received its name. Of him it will be 
proper, therefore, to presently speak at length. Ed- 
mund, his younger half-brother, inherited the father’s 
house and farm, and presently married Dorothy Flynt, 
already referred to as the common origin of that re- 
markable progeny, in which lawyers, statesmen, ora- 
tors, poets, story-tellers and philosophers seem to vie 


308 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





with each other in recognized eminence. More dis- 


tinguished than either his father or grandfather, the | 


third Edmund Quincy passed nearly his whole life in 
the public service. Graduating in 1699, in 1715-14 
he represented Braintree in the General Court, and 
became afterwards a member of the Council. 


| 


of the Revolution. With John Adams he defended 
Captain Preston after the so-called ‘“‘ Boston Mas- 


_sacre,” and in 1774, when scarcely thirty years of 


Colonel | 


of the Suffolk regiment, he was made one of the | 


judges of the Superior Court, and in 1737, at the 
age of fifty-six, he was selected as the agent of the 
province to represent it before the English govern- 
ment in the matter of the disputed New Hampshire 
boundary. 
following February he was a victim of prevention, 
for he died from inoculated smallpox. He was buried 
in the graveyard which held the dust of Milton and 
Bunyan. The General Court of Massachusetts caused 
a monument to be there erected to him as lasting 
evidence that he was “the delight of his own people, 
but of none more than of the Senate, who, as a testi- 
mony of their love and gratitude, have ordered this 
epitaph to be inscribed.” 

Judge Edmund Quincy had two sons, Edmund and 


Josiah. A portion of the land at Braintree came 


into the possession of Josiah, and it was he who per- | 
0 - | Brattle there for two. 
petuated the family, though the old mansion passed | 


into other hands. 


Reaching London in December, in the 


A Boston merchant and success- | Mother Hull, wife and self came in. 


age, he was the confidential agent in London of the 
patriot party. Dying on shipboard, almost in sight 
of his native New England coast, Josiah Quincy, Jr., 
left behind him an infant son, whose long and honor- 
able life, beginning before the Revolution, outlasted 
the war of the Rebellion. But President Josiah 
Quincy, of Harvard College, though he lived all his 
life on the family-place at Quincy, always identified 
himself with the city of Boston. His history and 


_ fame are not part of the record of the town which bore 


ful privateersman in his earlier life, the first Josiah | 


Quincy passed his later years at Braintree, dwelling 
for a time in a house which stood on the “ Hancock 
lot.’ This house was burned in May, 1759. In it 


John Adams, when a man of twenty-three, was wont — 


to spend many evenings, and it was by mere chance 
that he did not marry one of its daughters. The 
methods of passing the time there did not always 
commend themselves to him. 
whole evening. 
ment the young gentlemen take every evening in this 
town. 
smoking tobacco, and swearing. . 


Playing cards, drinking punch and wine, 
. . L know not how 
any young fellow can study in this town.” 

Tn his turn Josiah Quincey was colonel of the Suf- 
folk regiment, and he was also through many years 
a warm personal friend and correspondent of Dr. 
Franklin. A man of active, inquiring mind, his 
only experience in public life was in 1755, the year 
of Braddock’s defeat, when he served as a commis- 
sioner of the province in arranging joint military 
operations with the sister province of Pennsylvania. 
He left three sons, the youngest of whom, named 
after himself and known in history as Josiah Quincy, 
Jr., rose rapidly to distinction, and had he not died 
at the early age of thirty-one, could hardly have 
failed to be one of the prominent political characters 


“Playing cards the | 


This is the wise and salutary amuse- | like Persons put to flight in Battel.” 


| wards 


his family name. 

Recurring to the other seventeenth-century branch 
of the family, Daniel Quincy, the son of the second 
Edmund and father of John, on the 9th of Novem- 
ber, 1682, married Anna Shepard, the granddaughter 
of the Rev. Thomas Shepard, of Cambridge. The 
following quaint and striking account of her wedding 
is contained in the pages of Sewall : 


“Cousin Daniel Quinsey Marries Mrs. Anna Shepard Before 
John Hull, esq. Sam/’] Nowell, esq. and many Persons present, 
almost Captain Brattle’s great Hall full; Captain B. and Mrs. 
Mr. Willard began with prayer. Mr. 
Thomas Shepard concluded; as he was Praying, Cousin Savage, 
A good space after, when 
had eaten Cake and drunk Wine and Beer plentifully, we 
were called into the Hall again to Sing. In Singing Time Mrs. 
Brattle goes out, being ill; Most of the Company goe away, 
thinking it a qualm or some Fit; But she grows worse, speaks 
not a word, and so dyes away in her chair, I holding her feet 
(for she had slipt down). At length out of the Kitching we 
carry the chair, and Her in it, into the Wedding Hall; and 
after a while lay the Corps of the dead Aunt in the Bride-Bed: 
So that now the strangeness and horror of the thing filled the 
(just now) joyous House with Hjulation: The Bridegroom and 
Bride lye at Mr. Airs, son-in-law to the deceased, going away 


There were two children born of this marriage, a 
daughter, Ann, in 1685, and a son, John, in 1689. 
The year following Daniel Quincy died. He seems 
always to have lived in Boston, where he followed the 
trade of goldsmith, and in Boston his son was born; 
but circumstances seemed to draw the Quincys to- 
Braintree. When William Coddington left 
Massachusetts he gradually disposed of his property 
there, and in 1639 the greater part of his allotment 


"at Mount Wollaston passed into the hands of William 


Tyng, a Boston merchant. Thomas Shepard had 
married a daughter of this William Tyng, and the farm 


at Mount Wollaston, in 1661, passed by inheritance 


into Mrs. Shepard’s hands. In 1677, five years be- 
fore Anna Shepard married Daniel Quincy, her father, 
Thomas Shepard, had died, but her mother, William 
Tyng’s daughter and the owner of Mount Wollaston, 





QUINCY. 


309 








lived until August, 1709. Mrs. Daniel Quincy, it has 
already been seen, married the Rev. Moses Fiske in 
1701, and died in July, 1708 ; accordingly, Mrs. Shep- 
ard surviving her daughter, left the farm at Mount 


Wollaston to her grandson, John Quincy, who had | 


graduated from Harvard College one year before. 
Coming into possession of the property at this early 
age, young John Quincy, in 1715, married Elizabeth 
Norton, daughter of the Rev. John Norton, third pas- 
tor of the Hingham Church, and on Tuesday, Octo- 
ber 4th, of that year, Judge Sewall records that he 
gave him “a Psalm-book covered with Turky-Leather 
for his Mistress.” 
his house at Mount Wollaston, and went to Braintree 
to live, being then major of the Suffolk regiment. 


chairman of the committee which in 1753 


of every town-meeting. In the parish also he was 
the leading man. Not only, after the usage of the 
period, was he noted for “a strict observance of the 
Lord’s day, and a constant attendance upon the 
public ordinances of religion,’ but he presided at 
the parish meetings, and it was he who served as 
investi- 
John Adams 
describes him as ‘a man of letters, taste, and sense,” 


gated the charges against Mr. Briant. 


_ as well as “an experienced and venerated statesman ;” 


It was at this time that he built | 


Two years later, in 1717, he was first sent torepresent — 


the town in the General Court, and he continued to 
represent it at intervals through forty years, his last 
term of service being in 1757. From 1719 to 1741 
his service was consecutive, and from 1729 to 1739 
he was Speaker of the House. Paul Dudley was 
then chosen to the place, but Governor Shirley nega- 
tived him, and John Quincy was rechosen. In 1742 
he became a member of the Council, and again in 
1746, continuing in it until 1754. He then became 
again a delegate for three years. He was now sixty- 
eight years old, and seems to have retired from active 
life to pass the remainder of his days at Mount Wol- 
laston. We there get a glimpse of him through the 


memoranda of John Adams, who, on Christmas- 


day, 1765, says he “ drank tea at grandfather Quincy’s. | 
The old gentleman inquisitive about the hearing be- 


fore the Governor and Council ; about the Governor's | 


and Secretary’s looks and behavior, and about the 


final determination of the Board. The old lady as | 


merry and chatty as ever, with her stories out of the 


newspapers.” ‘The hearing here referred to which 


excited the ‘old councilor’s interest was that before | 


Governor Barnard on the memorial of the town of 
Boston, at the time of the Stamp Act riots, that the 
courts of law should be opened. + 


For a number of years John Quincy was colonel | 


of the Suffolk regiment, but in 1742 he lost that posi- 
tion through the intrigues of Joseph Gooch. John 
Adams has left a lively description of this affair, in 
which at the time he felt a boy’s keen interest ; for 
_his own father was in the regiment, and was offered a 
captain’s commission by Gooch,—an offer which “ he 


spurned with disdain ; would serve in the militia under | 


no colonel but Quincy.” 


Early appointed a magis-_ 


trate, for years and years the name of John Quincy > 
—or Col. John Quincy, Esq., as the form of those days | 
went—appears in the Braintree records as moderator ' filled almost every public office to which a native-born 


but it is a curious fact of one so prominent that 
not a letter or paper of his, or even a book known 
to have belonged to him, now remains in the posses- 
After his death and through 
a period of forty years his estate, and everything be- 
longing to him, fell into complete neglect. Yet if, as 
chairman of the committee, John Quincy wrote the 
report on the charges against Mr. Briant, that docu- 


sion of his descendants. 


ment alone, in its pure, simple language and broad, 
liberal tone, is evidence enough that John Adams’ 
tribute to him was not undeserved. 
it may serve as a sample of the whole, for it breathes 


One passage in 


the true spirit which inspires every large-minded 
searcher for truth; and it was a large-minded man who 
wrote it. Referring to the charge that Mr. Briant 
had at his ordination made a profession of faith, the 
committee in its report denies the fact; but then does 
not fear to add that, even “if he had made any such 
profession, it could not destroy his right of private 
judgment, nor be obligatory upon him any further 
than it continued to appear to him agreeable to reason 
and Scripture.” And, again, it had been charged 
that Mr. Briant had recommended a certain book doc- 
trinally unsound ‘“‘to the prayerful perusal of one or 
The committee replied 


that his so doing “‘ was worthy a Protestant minister ; 


more of his parishioners.” 


and we cannot but commend our pastor for the pains 
he takes to promote a free and impartial examination 
into all articles of our holy religion, so that all may 
judge, even of themselves, what is right.” A country 
parish in which such sentiments as these were off- 
cially set forth in the year 1753 was well advanced 
on the path which led to revolution, both political and 
religious. 

Among those of his own day John Quincy “ was 
as much esteemed and respected as any man in the 
province.” Enjoying what was then looked upon as 
an ample fortune, ‘‘ he devoted his time, his faculties, 
and his influence to the service of his country,” 
studiously avoiding “an ensnaring dependency on 
any man, and whatever should tend to lay him under 
any disadvantage in the discharge of his duty.” He 


310 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 











New Englander could in the colonial days aspire. | yet his name survives. When, in 1792, the orig- 


Colonel in the militia, Speaker of the House, member 


of the Council, he also negotiated Indian treaties, and | 


in 1727 the remnant of the Punkapog tribe, abused 
and defrauded, petitioned that he might be appointed 


their guardian. For nearly twenty years he held 


this trust, then resigning it “by reason of his dis- | 


tance’ from his wards. Finally, in all positions he 
approved himself “a true friend to the interest and 
prosperity of the province ; a zealous advocate for and 
vigorous defender of its liberties and privileges.” 
This detailed sketch of John Quincy is a necessary 
feature in the history of Old Braintree. 
He represented, perhaps more com- 


He was a 
typical man. 


| Adams. 


pletely than any other member even of the remark- | 
then the practice, the child was baptized, its grand- 


able family to which he belonged, a political and 
social element in New England life which has since 
disappeared. He belonged to the class which in 
England produced John Hampden,—the educated 
country gentlemen, the owners of the broad acres 
on which they dwelt. 
going up to Parliament year after year, they were 
the loyal, ingrained representatives of the communi- 
Of these men 
He represented 


Following no profession, but 


ties of which they were a_ part. 
Washington wasa Virginia offshoot. 
them in their highest phase of development under 
Southern surroundings,—plain, true, straightforward, 


self-respecting, gifted with that perfectly balanced 


fonb feat) 
common-sense which in its way is one sort of genius. 


inal town of Braintree was subdivided, the Rev. 
Anthony Wibird ‘“‘ was requested to give a name to 
the place. But he refusing, a similar request was 
made to the Hon. Richard Cranch, who recommended 
its being called Quincy, in honor of Col. John Quincy.” 
Nor was this the only form in which the name was 
perpetuated. Col. Quincy had two children, a son 
named Norton in honor of his mother’s family, and a 
daughter, who became in time the wife of William 
Smith, of Weymouth. Among the children of this 
couple was one who, in October, 1764, married John 
In July, 1767, as old John Quincy lay 
dying at Mount Wollaston, this granddaughter of his 
gave birth to a son, and when, the next day, as was 


mother, who was present at its birth, requested that it 
might be called after her father. Long afterwards 
the child thus named wrote of this incident: ‘It 
It was the 
name of one passing from earth to immortality. 


was filial tenderness that gave the name. 


These have been among the strongest links of my 
attachment to the name of Quincy, and have been to 


me through life a perpetual admonition to do nothing 


Favorable circumstances, always availed of, brought | 


Washington to the front, and have made of him an) 


American immortality. Yet in America at that time, 


as in the Stoke-Pogis churchyard, there were doubt- 


less many men who contained within themselves the 
possibilities of a Hampden, a Milton, or a Cromwell. 
That John Quincy did, cannot be asserted ; for of him 
now nothing remains except a name and a few dates. 


His grave, even, is not marked, nor its place known. | 


But he none the less was a good specimen of the | 


sturdy, common-sensed, high-toned class of English | 


gentlemen in the shape New England reproduced — 


them in colonial days. 
stances he might have proved, it would be idle to 
surmise. Born and dying a colonist in a small pro- 


vincial community thickly crusted over with theology, 


What under other circum- | 


and in freedom of thought and fancy hardly re- | 


moved from the childish stage, he and those of his 
time had scant room for development. The stage 
was small; and its atmosphere was icy. 

Yet in one respect John Quincy was singularly 
fortunate. Though not a line of his writing remains, 
though his public services are forgotten, though his 


grave is unknown and his only son died childless, 


unworthy of it.” 

In the year 1791, Miss Hannah Adams, the his- 
torian, in writing to John Adams, made reference to 
the “humble obscurity” of their common origin. 
Her correspondent, in reply, while acknowledging 
the kinship, went on to energetically remark that, 
could he ‘ever suppose that family pride were any 
way excusable, [he] should think a descent from a 
line of virtuous, independent New England farmers 
for a hundred and sixty years was a better founda- 
tion for it than a descent through royal or noble 
scoundrels ever since the flood.” 
independent New England farmers” here described 
were to the full as important a social and political 
They repre- 
sented the free yeomanry of England under the new 


The “ virtuous, 


element in colonial days as the gentry. 


conditions, just as the gentry represented the land- 
holders. But it has already been noticed that the 
New England farmer, as a rule, did not pay rent. 
He was the owner of the land on which he lived and 
a freeholder,—the equal of any one. This holding of 
He 
ceased to be the cultivator of another's ground, and 
himself had a stake in the country. Accordingly, 
he became an influence second to none other in the 

His in- 
Not quick 


of thought, he was the reverse of receptive of new 


the fee it was which gave him his individuality. 


shaping of New England development. 
fluence, too, was immensely conservative. 


ideas ; and, when money entered into the question, he 





QUINCY. 


311 





was mean. 
ence to extort everything he got from a niggard soil, 
he watched public expenditure with a cold, saving 
eye, and in town-meeting could be safely counted 
upon to raise his voice against anything which was 
likely to impose a burden on his farm. Subsequent 
history showed this clearly. Questions of taxation 
appealed to him at once, and a freedom from all im- 
posts not voted by himself most nearly embodied his 
idea of independence. In the sphere of his narrow 
village life, far removed from great cities, he saw 


Accustomed in his struggle for subsist-_ 


_ Braintree under twenty shillings.” 


around him but two classes of men to whom he in_ 
any way looked up; these were the clergy and the 


So far as means 
and mode of life were concerned, these were not very 
different from himself; they, as well as he, led simple 
lives. All mingled in the streets, at church and in 
town-meeting, with an equality which was not the 
less mutually respectful because it was real. 


gentry, the minister and the squire. 


In the | 


gentry and clergy, therefore, the farmer saw nothing | 


to which he might not aspire for hisown child. There 
was no privileged class, no suggestion of caste, or 
rank, or nobility. If the small farmer chose by dint 
of severe economy to send his son to college, that son 
would be a minister and might marry into the gentry. 
Accordingly, the farmer was very apt to send one son 
at least to college. 

As Edmund and John Quincy were in Braintree 
typical of the gentry, so Deacons Samuel Bass and John 
Adams were typical of the farmer class. Through 
the whole colonial period the deacon was held in high 
respect; on the Sabbath he sat on his own bench 
before the pulpit, and on the week-day he and the 
magistrate and the officers of the militia were the 


titled men of the village. Speaking of a kinsman 


nion service of the first church yet bears his name and 
title inscribed upon it as one of its givers. Active 
also in civil life, Deacon Bass represented the town in 
no less than twelve General Courts between 1641 
and 1664. In 1645 he was on the committee to see 
that the town-marsh should “ be improved to the 
Elders’ use,” and for several years he was one of three, 
empowered by the court to ‘end small cases in 
In 1653 he re- 
ceived fifteen votes out of a total of forty-one for the 
position of ruling elder in the church, and two years 
later he was one of the commission appointed by the 
General Court to build a cart-bridge over the Ne- 
pouset. Thus— 
“ His virtues walk’d their narrow round, 
Nor made a pause, nor left a void; 
And sure the eternal Master found 
His single talent well employ’d.”’ 

In 1657 a son of Deacon Bass, John by name, 
married Ruth Alden, the daughter of John and Pris- 
cilla Alden, of Plymouth and “ Mayflower’ fame. 
By her he had a daughter, Hannah, born in June, 
1667. This Hannah Bass presently married Joseph 
Adams, of Braintree, and on the 8th of February, 
1692, she gave birth to John Adams, afterwards in 
This 
John Adams, therefore, was the great-grandson of 
the original Deacon Bass, and one of the hundred and 
sixty-two descendants born to him before his death. 
John Adams was in his turn a typical New England 


his turn deacon of the First Precinct church. 


yeoman. He lived,on his farm, through which ran 
the main street of the town, dying in 1761, “ beloved, 


esteemed, and revered by all who knew him,” having 


had seven children, the eldest of whom, also named 


of his, Oxenbridge Thacher used to say, ‘Old Col. | 


Thacher, of Barnstable, was an excellent man; he 
was a very holy man; I used to love to hear him 
pray; he was a counselor and a deacon. I[ have 
heard him say that of all his titles, that of a deacon 
he thought the most honorable.” Braintree’s first 
deacon, Samuel Bass, has already been referred to as 
the progenitor of a numerous offspring, for at the 
time of his death he had seen one hundred 
and sixty-two descendants. Born in 1601, he 
came over to New England in 1632, and first 
settled at Roxbury; from whence, in 1640, he re- 
moved to Braintree, there purchasing lands which 
for over two centuries remained in the hands 
of his descendants. He was received into the com- 
munion of the church in July, 1640, and chosen dea- 


John, he had sent to college. The life of the elder 
John Adams well illustrates what has been called 
“the sturdy, unostentatious demeanor of those who 
filled the minor places of usefulness” in early New 
For nearly forty years his name regularly 
appears in the records of the town. He passed 


England. 


_ through all its grades of office; for in 1722, he being 


was chosen ‘sealer of leather.” 


con, which office he held until his death, in 1694. A | 
small two-handled cup of plain silver in the commv- | 


then by occupation a “ cordwainer,” or maker of shoes, 
In 172+ he was 
tythingman, and in 1727 constable, or collector of 
In 1734 he was an ensign in the militia, 
and also selectman; and a little later, having become 


taxes. 


lieutenant, he volunteered to take care of the town 
powder, providing a chest for it in his own house, 
which he thus converted into a magazine. Between 
1740 and 1749, being still Lieut. Adams, he is nine 
times selectman. It was in one of the earlier of these 
years that his military life came to an end as the result 


of Joseph Gooch’s intrigues to supersede Col. John 


9 


~_ 


31 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Quincy. Lieut. John Adams, it will be remembered, 
refused ‘‘ with disdain” the offer of a captaincy from 
Gooch. But in May, 1747, he had taken his place 
among the deacons on the bench before the pulpit, 
and in 1752 he reappears in the records among 
the Adams, and 
chosen through four successive years, and again in 
1758; fourteen years in all, did he fill the office, 
‘almost all the business of the town being managed 


by him.” 


selectmen as Deacon John is 


He was now in his sixty-seventh year, and 





“Five pounds for John Belcher’s widow’s mainten- 
ance; thirty shillings to Thomas Revell for keeping 
William Dimblebee.” But the unfortunate Dimble- 
bee had already gone to his rest, and this payment 
was for service performed, as a little further on seven 


shillings is appropriated “for Dimblebee’s coffin.” 


his name appears but once more in the records, and | 


then only in connection with a way through his land. 
Three years later he died in a season of epidemic. 
Long after, in referring to him, his son wrote that he 
could not adequately express the exalted opinions he 
had “ of his wisdom and virtue,” and that he was ‘a 
man of strict piety and great integrity ; much esteemed 
and beloved wherever he was known, which was not 
far, his sphere of life being not extensive.” 

While the 
sketched represented the gentry and yeomanry of the 


province, it must not be supposed that those classes 


made up the whole of that community. This was not 
the case. 
body of that community, like those of all commu- 


They were its distinctive types only. The 


nities, was composed of laboring people; and, while 
in Braintree the richest were poor, there is ample evi- 
dence that the poorest did not live in abundance. On 
the contrary, besides the ordinary laborer who simply 


individuals whose lives have been | 





made his living, there was a curious pauper class, traces | 


of which appear all through the records, who lived in 
hovels on the waste land, picking up a living in un- 
known 


yays. ‘They were the vicious, the shiftless, 


Before this entry of 1694 there is one other which 
throws a gleam of ghastly light on a subject which of 
It has been 
the fashion to assert that for certain reasons, traceable 


late years has been somewhat discussed. 


to local peculiarities of life or thought, insanity is in 
New England on the increase, and the census tables 
have been confidently appealed to in support of this 
theory. Those advocating the theory have seemed to 
forget that social statistics are of recent invention, and 
that the charitable systems of some communities are 
To compare the 


showing as respects insanity of a community which 


more perfect than those of others. 


now carefully gathers the demented together, and ten- 
derly cares for them in hospitals, with the showing of 
that same community before its demented were cared 
for at all, is sufficiently absurd: yet even this is far less 
absurd than it is to compare the record of such a com- 
munity with that of some other community which still 
leaves its insane tied in attics and cellars, or wandering 
in the streets; and then to argue that the first commu- 
nity, because it cares for the insane and numbers them, 
is afflicted with an epidemic of insanity from which the 
last community, because it neither cares for or numbers 
them, is exempt. It is a mistake to suppose that our 
age has been fruitful of new social or physical evils. 
There is a world of truth in Macaulay’s remark, 


_ when treating of these questions, that the social and 


and the intemperate. Left to take care of themselves, | 


the law of the survival of the fittest worked upon 
them slowly, perhaps, but in that rugged climate it 


worked with certainty. They died out. When Quincy | 


was set off, in 1792, one of the first things the select- 
men did was to warn fourteen adults, seven of whom 
had families, to ‘depart the limits of the town.” 
Throughout the records of the whole colonial period, 


down even to the year 1830, the heavy proportion | 


which the expense of maintaining the poor bears to 
all other public charges is most noticeable. It was 
far heavier than it now is, and it showed a continual 
tendency to disproportionate growth. And yet the 
charity of those days was cold. Indeed, anything 
colder could not well be conceived. 
in the poor and the unfortunate a right to live; and 


that was all. On this point the record is instructive. 


It acknowledged | 


It opens with the town-meeting of Dec. 24, 1694, 
when the earliest specific appropriation ever recorded 


in Braintree was made. 


The first item of it reads ' 


physical ills which so shock us now are, with scarcely 
an exception, old; ‘ that which is new is the intelli- 
gence which discerns and the humanity which reme- 
dies them.” 

Here is the first record relating to the treatment of 
the insane poor of Braintree town, under date of 


1689: 


“Tt was voted that Samuel Speer should build a little house, 
seven foot long and five foot wide, and set it by his house to se- 
cure his sisters, good wife Witty being distracted, and provide 
for her, and the town by vote agreed to see him well payed and 
satisfied which shall be thought reasonable.” 


The wretched maniac was chained like a dog ina 
oD 
Then 


again in 1699, in language hardly less significant of 


kennel which stood by her brother’s house. 


cold, merciless brutality, it was 

“Voted, That John Bagley, of Roxbury, should have four 
pounds for keeping Abigail Neal, Providing he give the Town 
no further trouble.” 

Poor Abigail Neal was not in this way to be gotten 
rid of ; and the next year Dr. Bayley had to be voted 


7 






QUINCY. 


313 





dition that he should “take up therewith and give 
the Town no Farther Trouble.” The year following 
Abigail cost the town thirty-eight shillings; and at 
last, in 1707, it was bargained with one ‘“ Samuel 
Bullard, of Dedham or Dorchester,’ that he should 
take the unfortunate creature and keep her for 
eighteen pence a week ; and if he cured her he should 
have ten pounds, but if he failed to cure ber, only 
twenty shillings. The records contain no further 
trace of Abigail Neal. But at the same time “‘ Eben- 


: ; Big ah | 
eight pounds more, accompanied again with the con- 





ezer Owen’s destracted daughter” had to be cared | 


for, and the selectmen accordingly in 1699 are in- | 


structed to treat with Josiah Owen ‘‘and give him 
Twenty pounds money provided he gives bond under 
his hand to cleare the Town forever of said girle.” 
Mary Owen was no more to be so disposed of than 
Abigail Neal, and in 1706 forty shillings a year was 
voted Josiah Owen for her care. 


Such in those days—‘ good old days’ —was the pro- | 


vision made for the insane,—eighteen pence a week 
for care, or twenty pounds provided bond was given 
“to clear the town forever of said girl.” 


The poor | 


were treated with consideration not much more ten- | 


der. In old Braintree there was no almshouse until 
shortly before the division of the town. One was 
finally built in the Middle Precinct in 1786, and 
Capt. Jonathan Thayer was chosen its first overseer, 
being allowed £3 12s. for a year’s services as such. 


Down to that time, therefore, providing for the 


needs of the poor at their homes had been one of the 


most important and irksome duties of the selectmen. | 


It was also a fruitful source of jobbery. John 
Adams describes how the moment a selectman was 
elected he was importuned for “ the privilege of sup- 
He 
then had to visit them; and, if he found they had a 


plying the poor with wood, corn, meat, ete.” 


legal residence in another town, return them to it. 
The amount spent for their care was not large, but it 
was enormous compared with what was spent for 
other town purposes. In 1770, for instance, it was 
£90 in a total town expenditure of £245. 


seems to have been the normal proportion. 


This also 
Nor did 
Quincy 
then adopted the practice of putting the care of its 
poor up at public auction, to be knocked down to those 
who would undertake it at the lowest price. In 1813 


it decrease after the division of the town. 


this price averaged “ $1.42 each per week, exclusive 
of sickness and funeral charges.” 
was voted that ‘the medical care of the poor be let 
out by the selectmen to the physician who will under- 
take that charge at the lowest price.” Naturally this 


method of dealing with pauperism put a premium on 


rate. 
yet to be made plain that the town-meeting 


_ scientific method. 


In 1806, also, it | 


its increase. Accordingly, during the six years be- 
tween 1808 and 1813, both inclusive, out of $18,200 
levied by taxation to meet necessary town and parish 
expenses, $6205, or more than one-third of the 
whole, went to the support of the poor. They cost 
more than the church or the schools. The mat- 
ter was then vigorously taken hold of, and reformed. 
Nevertheless, the evidence all points to the conclusion 
that, in proportion to the total of all expenses, the cost 
of maintaining the poor prior to 1820 was several 
times what it now is in any well-regulated town. In 
Quincy it amounted to nearly one-half of the town 
expenses, those of the parish being deducted. It 
Undoubtedly 


carelessness and want of system in extending relief 


now amounts to less than one-tenth. 


had much to do with this excess ; but, making all due 
allowance for this, it is difficult to avoid the inference 
that there is proportionally much less extreme pov- 
erty in the modern than there was in the colonial 
Pauperism has distinctly de- 
creased. This is not generally supposed to have been 


New England town. 


the case; should it prove to be so, a partial explana- 
tion, at least, of the fact will probably be found in the 
This subject 
Mean- 
while it is only necessary here to say that if rum, gin, 
and cider were now sold as publicly and used as freely 
in Quincy as they were there sold and used sixty years 
ago, the increase of pauperism and vice could doubt- 
less be studied clearly enough in the tax-rate and the 
returns of the almshouse. 

In Braintree and Quincy, as in all the other Mas- 
sachusetts towns, these social problems, of which pau- 


more temperate habits of the people. 
will have presently to be considered by itself. 


perism was one, were, until a comparatively recent 
date, disposed of in what is commonly known as the 
plain, practical, business-like way. Unfortunately the 
problems were complex ; so the plain, practical way 
of disposing of them proved not to be the right way. 
Insanity and pauperism could not be hustled out of 
sight by atown-meeting vote; nor could they be dis- 
posed of beyond the current year to those who would 
undertake the job of dealing with them at the lowest 
Though excellent for certain purposes, it had 
g was not 
adapted to every purpose, and least of all could it 
work to results through what is now known as a 
As a means for dealing with com- 
plex social problems it is, therefore, not a success. 
It can no more do that, than it could make discover- 
ies in chemistry or astronomy. But poverty, intem- 
perance, ignorance and vice are found everywhere. 
The town government is found only in New England ; 
and it is the object of a work like the present to deal 


314 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








rather with those institutions which are peculiar to 
New England than with the problems common to all 
mankind. 

When John Adams was minister of the federated 
States at the English Court, a certain Maj. Langbourne, 
of Virginia, one day dined with him, and in the 
course of their table-talk noticed, rightfully enough, 
the difference of character between Virginia and New 
England. 


“T offered to give him a receipt for making a New England 


John Adams then goes on: 


in Virginia. He desired it; and I recommended to him town- 
meetings, training-days, town schools and ministers, giving 
him a short explanation of each article. The meeting-house 
and school-house and training-field are the scenes where New 
England men are formed. The virtues and talents 
of the people are there formed; their temperance, patience, 
fortitude, prudence, and justice, as well as their sagacity, knowl- 
edge, judgment, taste, skill, ingenuity, dexterity, and in- 


dustry.” 


In saying this Mr. Adams spoke from actual ob- 
He, and his ancestors before him, had for 
a century and a half been a part of that which he 
described. He thoroughly understood New England. 
But there was one institution he did not mention, 
which, for good and ill, was hardly less influential an 
element in early New England life and action than 


servation. 


the most potent of those which he did mention. That 
omitted institution was the country tavern. 





| 





and debates which took place at them were sometimes 
long and exciting, while among those assembled there 


The Mid- 


dle Precinct meeting-house stood directly opposite 


was not a little disorder and drunkenness. 


the Eben Thayer tavern, where a sort of open-house 
was kept on all election and other public days, and 
in 1766, John Adams records that a certain candidate 
on the ticket with himself was defeated because ‘the 
north end people, his friends, after putting in their 
votes the first time, withdrew for refreshment.” Ac- 
cordingly, it is small matter of surprise that the record 
contains formal votes forbidding those attending the 
meetings from standing on the seats. 

The rude and almost stern equality which, as 


| matter of common usage, prevailed at those town- 


meetings was well illustrated by an incident which 
occurred in 1758. It was the duty of the annually 
elected town constable to collect all taxes. The 
office, therefore, was avoided; for not only did it en- 
tail much work, but there was a dangerous liability 
attached to it. Under the law as it then stood the 
constable had to account for all taxes included in the 
levy which he had failed to collect, as well as for 
those he actually received. Nor without reason, there- 
fore, was it argued in the town-meeting of 1766 that 


-“eollecting taxes had laid the foundation for the ruin 


Of the Braintree town-meetings and church-going | 


there is little that needs to be said. 


They were like | 


other Massachusetts town-meetings and church-goings, _ 


and these have been frequently described. During | 


the first twenty years after 1640 formal or stated 
meetings of all the freemen do not seem to have been 
held, or, if they were, no record of them was made; 
but from time to time a few of the more prominent 
church members met at the dwelling-place of one of 
their number and passed certain votes, some of which 
were recorded in a book. Not until 1673 was pro- 
vision made for holding general meetings at specified 
For over sixty years these were then held 
in the old stone church, but in 1736 it was voted to 
hold half of them in the North Precinct and the other 
The last- 


named edifice, therefore, served not only as a town- 


seasons. 


half in the Middle Precinct meeting-house. 


hall, but for a time at least as a magazine, for in 1746 
the selectmen were instructed to build a “ Closite on 
the Beams of the Middle Precinct meeting-house (if 
it be allowed of) as a suitable place to keep the pow- 
der.” There was nothing sacred about the early New 
England church building. That the meeting-house 
and the furniture in it underwent hard treatment at 
secular meetings scarcely needs to be said. Not only 
were those gatherings frequent, but the deliberations 





| of many families.” 


So much was the office avoided 
that as early as 1709, the church bell being cracked, 
one Daniel Legaree offered to mend it “ on condition 
of his being free from being chosen constable ;”’ and 
the town formally accepted the offer, providing further 
that “if anything should happen whereby [the bell] 
should be melted or broken, that [Legaree] will re- 
turn the same weight of the same metal that he re- 
ceives.” At the March town-meeting of 1761, John 
Adams says, ‘‘ when I had no suspicion, I heard my 
name pronounced in a nomination of surveyors of high- 
ways. I was very wroth, because I knew no better, 
but said nothing. My friend Dr. Savil came to me 
and told me that he had nominated me to prevent . 
‘For,’ said 


the doctor, ‘they make it a rule to compel every man 


me from being nominated as constable. 


to serve either as constable or surveyor, or to pay a 
fine.” 


well have failed to know it. 


This was quite true; nor could John Adams 
He had probably thought 
that, as a college graduate and student of law, he 
would be exempted from the common rule. If he 
did think so, he should have known better. There 
were no exemptions allowed; and, indeed, it was one 
of the rough town-meeting jokes to elect men consta- 
bles who had never served, and make them pay the 
fine. 
young man of twenty-five, was elected; and the 


For instance, in 1734, Josiah Quincy, then a 





QUINCY. 


315 





; : ; ; 
record reads “ Mr. Josiah Quincy refused to serve, Braintree the dogs even seem to have gone to church, 


and paid his fine down, being five pounds.” In 1728, | for in 1730, by a solemn town vote, Mr. Joseph Par- 


Moses Belcher was chosen; and he declaring ron- 


acceptance, William Fields was next chosen. Fields 


| 


also declaring his non-acceptance, “ John Adams __ 


being by a majority of votes chosen, he declared his | 


acceptance.” 


In 1735 no less than twenty-five | 


pounds were paid in as fines for non-acceptance, and | 


those fines were looked upon as a considerable source 
of revenue to the town. Col. John Quincy’s only 
son, Norton, graduated in 1736, and two years later, 


at the town-meeting of September 11th, he was | 


chosen constable. 
afterwards. 
seventy, and for almost fifty years he had been the 
He was 


Another meeting was held a week 


most prominent personage in the town. 


looked up to with that respect which, in the popular | 


mind, always accompanies advancing years associated 
with high public office. 
thought the choice of his son as town constable 
an act derogatory to him; so he went into the 
meeting, 
might be excused from serving constable.” Among 
those to whom he addressed his request there could 
not have been many who remembered a time when. 
he had not, as a matter of course, presided at town- 
meetings. They were not wanting in deference to years 
and standing; and, if they would defer to any one, 
they would surely defer to him. But, clearly, they 
thought that Col. Quiney was now demanding for him- 
self and his an exemption from public service which 
amounted to little less than a denial of equality. 
Such an assumption of superiority was inconsistent 
And so, the 
record proceeds, “after reasons offered,’ the re- 
quest to be excused was “ passed in the negative,” 
and the town treasurer was directed “to call on said 
Norton Quincy for his fine.’ Apparently the old 
man felt this slight, as he regarded it, deeply, for his 
name does not again appear in the town records, 
though it was nine years yet before he died. But 
young Norton Quincy accepted the rebuke in the 
true spirit. He paid his fine; and the next year 
when the town again chose him constable, he quietly 
accepted the office and performed its duties. Later 
he was chosen selectman, serving as such for many 


with the spirit of town government. 


years during the Revolutionary period. 

Once, when in Amsterdam, John Adams defined 
the New England man as a “ meeting-going animal ;” 
and again he derived his experience from Braintree, 
where, as he long subsequently wrote, it was notori- 
ous that he had himself “ been a church-going 
mal for seventy-six years, from the cradle.” 


ani- 


To 


Apparently the old man | 


menter, precinct clerk, was paid twenty shillings 
“ for taking pains in beating dogs and keeping them 
out of the meeting-house on Sabbath days.” But 
the Braintree church-going differed in no wise from 
the ordinary New England church-going, of which 
sufficient has been written and said.! For genera- 
tions all those dwelling in the town as regularly as the 
Sabbath day came gathered towards the plain, wooden 
structure, standing on the training-ground. Until 
the year 1827 the old horse block, for the conveni- 


ence of the pillion-riding good-wife, stood close to the 


Col. Quincy was then a man of nearly | 


main entrance. In the galleries sat the boys. Be- 
fore the altar were the deacons. And here doubtless 
in the early days not unfrequently in midwinter was 
it so cold that “the Sacramental Bread was frozen 
pretty hard, and rattled sadly as broken into the 
plates.” 


A glimpse of the interior of the church on a Sun- 


day is obtained through the memoirs of the wife of 


and, as the record says, ‘desired his son | 


President Quincy. She came to Quincy as asummer 
home in 1798, living in the house which Col. Josiah 
Quincy had built in 1770, and which still stands at 
the end of the long avenue of elms which her hus- 
band set out in 1790. She was wont to describe 
the Quincy of 1800 as being still a retired village, in 
which few changes had taken place since the Revo- 
lution. 


“There were only two churches, both ancient wooden edifi- 
ces,—the Episcopal and the Congregational. The pews in the 
centre of the latter, having been made out of long, open seats 
by successive votes of the town, were of different sizes, and 
had no regularity of arrangement, and several were entered by 
narrow passages, winding between those in their neighbor- 
hood. 
when the congregation stood during the prayer, and, at its con- 
clusion, thrown down with a momentum which, on her first at- 
tendance, alarmed Mrs. Quincy, who feared the church was 
The deacons were ranged under the pulpit, and beside 
its door the sexton was seated, while, from an aperture aloft in 
the wall, the bell-ringer looked in from the tower to mark tke 
The voices of the choir in the front 
gallery were assisted by a discordant assemblage of stringed 
and wind instruments. In 1806, when the increased population 
of the town required a larger edifice, the meeting-house was 
divided into two parts; the pulpit, and the pews in its vicinity, 
were moved to a convenient distance, and a new piece was 


The seats, being provided with hinges, were raised 


falling. 


arrival of the clergyman. 


| inserted between the fragments.” 


In mentioning the muster-field among the great 
formative influences of New England, it may well 
be questioned whether John Adams did not give to 


it an undue importance. Certainly there are in the 








1 See Mr. Young’s description in the volume of “ Commemo- 
rative Services of the First Parish in Hingham,” Aug. 8, 
1881. 


316 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Braintree records few traces of it as an active edu- 
cational force. Whatever else they were, the New 
Englanders were not a military race. On the ocean 
they were at home, and the hardy mariners who, as 
Burke expressed it, pursued their gigantic game 


“among the tumbling mountains of ice,” and “ drew 


\ 





Keayne in 1636, and which he had “cried divers 
times, and divers came to see it, but none made 
claim to it.’” Mrs. Sherman then appeared on the 


scene, and the quarrel ensued which by degrees en- 


the line and struck the harpoon on the coast of | 


Africa,’—these same men, skillful, alert, and 


venturesome upon their element, have never failed to 
assert a brilliant supremacy in maritime warfare. 


But, though repeatedly in the course of its history | 
engaged in conflicts the brunt of which was sturdily | 


assumed, New England proper has never yet pro- 
duced any considerable military genius. Church and 
Peperill, Putnam, Allen, Knox, Stark and Lincoln 
are names of only local note, while during the war of 
the Rebellion the great leaders from the New England 
stock were born and bred far in the interior of the 
continent. Not one New England soldier achieved 


renown. 


Asa people they do not take kindly to camp life. | 


When forced to it, they have always fought in a 
dogged, intelligent sort of way, just as they fought at 


Lexington and Bunker Hill; impelled, as it were, by | 


a consciousness that the situation was one of their own 
making, and they proposed to see the thing through. 
But to disband a New England army has never 
proved a difficult or delicate task. Once the work in 
hand was done, the camp quietly and joyously dis- 
solved of itself. An army of Yankee mercenaries 
sounds like a contradiction in terms. 
though the Suffolk regiment existed as a military or- 
ganization through a century of colonial life, and the 
Braintree companies were always a part of it, there is 
no reason to suppose that it was ever an effective 
force. Commissions in it were eagerly sought, and 
were intrigued for, and the titles of captain, lieuten- 
ant, and ensign are continually met with in the 
records ; but, except in time of military excitement, 
the training-days were few and far apart, and partook 
apparently more of the character of a rough country 
jollification than of war. Certainly, when Washing- 
ton took command of the provincial army at Cam- 
bridge, neither its discipline nor its equipment be- 
spoke a martial race. It was little more than a mob 
of intelligent men, organized by localities, and, as 
sportsmen, accustomed from youth up to the handling 
of guns. 

The first commander of the Braintree company 
was Capt. Robert Keayne, whose name is more fa- 
miliarly connected with a great litigation carried on be- 
tween him and * one Sherman’s wife,” springing out of 


Accordingly, | 








| 
| 


listed the sympathies of the whole community on one 
side and the other, resulting finally in the separation 
of the Massachuseets Legislature into two bodies, and 
the introduction of the Senate asa feature in Ameri- 
can polity. Capt. Keayne was presently succeeded in 
the command of the Braintree company by William 
Tyne, the Boston merchant who bought Mount Wol- 
laston of Coddington. Capt. Tyng represented Brain- 
tree in the General Court, and died in 1654 the richest 
man in the province. To him succeeded Capt. Richard 
Brackett, who was deacon and town clerk as well, hold- 
ing his military commission until he reached the ripe 
He resigned in 1684; and to 
trace his successors thereafter is matter of hardly 
local interest, even though shortly after 1700 the 
town had so increased that it had two companies, one 


age of seventy-three. 


containing seventy-two families and the other seventy- 
one, “‘ both enumerated by exact computation.” 

The training-field may have been overestimated as 
a factor in the making of New England, but to over- 
estimate the influence of the school in that making 
would be difficult. 
in the earlier period, and above it in the more recent. 
Prior to 1830 it was below it. 
the Braintree records which indicate that a public 


It stands next below the church 
There are entries in 


Latin school was established in the town at a very 
early period, though the exact date cannot be ascer- 


tained. It was probably designed to prepare youths 


_ for college in the days when any might be admitted 
| who were “able to read Tully, or such like classical 


author, extempore and decline perfectly the 
paradigms of nouns and verbs in the Greek tongue.” 
Yet this Latin school could hardly have been a public 
school in the modern sense of the term, and was prob- 
ably only Teacher Flynt’s side of his wife Margery’s 
institution for “instructing young gentlewomen.” 
If this was so, he in it fitted for Harvard not only his 
own son Henry, but also Benjamin Tompson, the son 
of his colleague, afterwards the first regular school- 
master of the town. The school-house, which must 
have been a structure of the humblest possible 
description, stood at the side of the main street and 
Nor does it 
seem to have been built until the year 1680, so that 


almost under the eaves of the church. 


for forty years prior to that time all the teaching the 
children got must have been at home, or in the house 
At last, in 
1679, the town agreed with Benjamin Tompson that 


where the temporary teacher lodged. 


a quarrel over “a stray sow,” which was brought to ' he should be schoolmaster, receiving for his services 





QUINCY. 


317 





“the rent of the town’s land, made up to thirty | 
pounds.” ‘Tompson had graduated at Harvard eight | 
years before, and was seeking to make his way as a_ 
That calling afforded him a scanty sup-— 
Yet | 


even this school was not wholly free, for part of the 


physician. 
port, and so he eked out a living by teaching. 


agreement between the town and Tompson was that 
every child should carry in to him half a cord of 
wood, besides the quarter money, every year. From 
a subsequent vote, in 1700, it would seem that this 


“quarter money” was a shilling, which was accounted 


for by the schoolmaster to the selectmen as part of 
his salary. In 1701 the fee for tuition was fixed at 
“five shillings a year, and proportionably for any part 
of it.” 
master, or guardian of a school child should, on that | 


Again, in 1715, it.was voted that each parent, | 


child’s next appearance at school, deliver to the mas- 
ter three feet of wood for the use of the school. 

But in 1715, Mr. Tompson had ceased from teach- 
He died at Roxbury in 1714, leaving “ behind | 
him an uneasy world, eight children, and twenty- 


ing. 
eight grandchildren ;” and on his tombstone he is 
referred to as “ye Renowned Poet of N. Engl.” In 
Braintree he had served as town clerk, as well as 
physician and school-teacher; and, after being en-_ 
gaged with it in a long controversy, which in 1700 he 
compromised on payment of five pounds, he seems to 
The building in 
which he taught is said to have measured some 


have moved away about 1710. 


twenty feet by sixteen, and that which elsewhere re- 
placed it in 1715 was of the same dimensions. The old | 
school-house was then sold “for three pounds paid 
into the treasury.” The new building sufficed for the | 
needs of the North Precinct until as late as 1763. 
The history of the Braintree schools, no less than 
that of the church, shows in a striking way how the 
chrysalis stage of development lasted to the year 1830. 
During all that long period the same identical system | 
was pursued, the difference being only in degree. 
The precinct grew and became a town, and the town | 
increased in population ; but not until 1830 was the 
strain from within sufficiently strong to rend the in- 
tegument. About the year 1720 the practice of ex- 
acting payment for each child taught was abandoned, 
and the whole expense became a charge on the town. 
The master was then paid thirty-four pounds a year, | 
and the town was noted for the excellence of its | 
school in which boys were fitted for Harvard, no 
less than forty-seven having gone there from the First 
Precinct before the year 1740. In 1792 this school | 
certainly had not improved on its earlier record, and 
the sum of seventy-five pounds was appropriated for | 
its support. In 1793 a new school-house was built | 


had to find their own way to the centre. 


_and a female teacher, was but $692. 


‘Con the training-field” and opposite the church, the 
cost of which was estimated at ninety pounds. The 
school-room was twenty-eight feet long by twenty 
wide. In 1815 this building was burned, and in 
1817 another was constructed, to serve both as town- 
hall and school-house, which cost a little over $2000, 
and measured fifty-five feet by thirty. Up to 1800 
all children whose parents desired them to be taught 
In a town 
the size of Quincy their so doing implied a daily walk 
measured in many cases by miles. For the smaller 
children this was generally found to be too severe, and 
provision was made for local or ‘“‘ dame” schools, for 
which specific sums varying from $+ to $40 were annu- 
Yet in the year 1820 the whole 
amount voted for the support of the centre school, “ in- 


ally appropriated. 


cluding ink and fuel,” as well as the pay of both a male 
It is now, there- 
fore, small matter for surprise that a committee then 
reported the school-room so crowded that the scholars, 
204 in number, “ were obliged to wait one for the other 
for seats, notwithstanding the master gave up his desk, 
and used every other means in his power to accom- 
Still the town had not yet reached 
the stage of differentiation. 


modate them.” 
With the innate conser- 
vatism of a community accustomed to majority gov- 
ernment, it clung to the primitive customs; and the 


' committee went on to submit a plan for certain altera- 


tions, at an estimated cost of $200, by which 250 
scholars were to be brought together in one room and 
under one master, “‘ with an assistant when necessary.” 
Then in 1825 the master was censured for not attend- 
ing more faithfully to his duties ; whereupon he replied 
that he was not paid enough ($450 per annum) to sup- 
port him, but if the town would increase his salary to 
$500 he would devote all his time to the school. This 
increased the appropriation to $745, leaving $245 with 
which to pay the female assistant and defray all other 
At last, in 1829, the condition of af- 
fairs had become intolerable, and provision was made 


school charges. 
for the district system. The chrysalis stage was 
over. 

Of the old town school of Braintree, and the system 
of instruction pursued in it, it is needless to speak at 
length. Both have often been described. They were 
wholly primitive. No print, or black-board, or map, 
or motto adorned the grimy, blackened walls within 


the narrow limits of which were crowded scores of 


children of both sexes and of everyage. They sat in 
twos and threes on benches behind rude rows of desks 
cut and hacked and mutilated by the jackknives of 
successive generations. ‘The larger scholars, among 


whom were full-grown young men and women, sat at 


318 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





the rear, the sexes on opposite sides, while the smallest 
of the little children occupied low benches close to the 
teacher’s chair. Great logs of wood blazed in the fire- 
place, or later in stoves one of which was at each end 
of the room, and before these they read and ciphered 
and wrote. The period was one neither of refinement 
or sentiment, and both at home and in the school the 
rod was freely used. The children were neither 
taught much nor were they well taught; for through 


life the mass of them could never read with real ease 





and rapidity, nor could they write a legible hand. | 


But, after a fashion, they could read and they could 
In itself 
the standard was not high, but it was the highest of 


write, and for those days that was much. 


its time. 
things to talk of the good old times, and of the thor- 
oughness of its simple methods; but examination only 
that the times have changed. Brutality, ignorance, 
and coarseness have not yet vanished from the world, 
nor are they soon likely to vanish from it: but it is 
safe to say that if the Braintree village school of 1790 
should for a single fortnight be brought back to the 


Quincy of 1880, parents would in horror and astonish- 
ment keep their children at home until a town-meet- | 


ing, called at the shortest possible legal notice, had 
been held; and this meeting would probably culmi- 
nate in a riot, in the course of which school-houses 
as well as school would be summarily abated as a dis- 
grace and a nuisance. 

But if in the matter of schools constant effort has 
in the lapse of time worked a vast improvement in 
Quincy, the improvement as respects the tavern has 
been yet more marked. None the less during the 
colonial period the tavern, and the tavern-going habits 
of the people also, were a marked feature in New 
England life, and exerted a powerful political and 
educational influence. In the days before railroads, 
mails, and newspapers the tavern was the common 
gathering-place of the town, where the news was cir- 
culated and the events of the day discussed. The 
modern caucus is a substitute for it. Here the poli- 
tics of the village were arranged, and here the ques- 
tions at issue between the colonies and the mother- 
From his early life John 
He declared that 


country were debated. 
Adams detested the public houses. 


It is well in matters of teaching as in other | 





“Within the course of the year before the meeting of Con- 
gress, in 1774, on a journey to some of our circuit courts in 
Massachusetts, I stopped one night at a tavern in Shrewsbury, 
about forty miles from Boston, and as I was cold and wet, I sat 
down at a good fire in the bar-room to dry my great coat and 
saddle bags till a fire could be made in my chamber. There 
presently came in, one after another, half a dozen, or half a 
score, substantial yeomen of the neighborhood, who, sitting 
down to the fire after lighting their pipes, began a lively con- 
As I believed I was unknown to all 
One said, ‘The 
Another answered, ‘No 
wonder the people of Boston are distracted. Oppression will 
A third said, ‘What would you say if 
a fellow should come to your house and tell you he was come to 
take a list of your cattle, that Parliament might tax you for 
them at so much a head 7 


versation upon politics. 
of them, I sat in total silence to hear them. 
people of Boston are distracted.’ 


make wise men mad.’ 


And how should you feel if he was to 
go and break open your barn, to take down your oxen, cows, 
horses, and sheep?’ ‘ What should I say?” replied the first; 
*‘T would knock him in the head.’ ‘Well,’ said a fourth, 


‘if Parliament can take away Mr. Hancock’s wharf and Mr. 


ake . re? . » a ake aw: y . ; , 
serves to make those living in the present thankful | Rowe’s wharf, they can take away your barn and my house, 


After much more reasoning in this style, a fifth, who had as yet 
been silent, broke out, ‘ Well, it is high time for us to rebel; we 
must rebel some time or other, and we had better rebel now than 


at any time to come. If we put it off for ten or twenty years, 


| and let them go on as they have begun, they will get a strong 





in them “the time, the money, the health, and the 


modesty of most that were young and many old were | 


wasted ; here diseases, vicious habits, bastards, and 
legislators were frequently begotten.” 
potency as a political educator and influence he was a 
living witness. 
thus described one of these colonial tavern debates : 


Yet of their | 


party among us, and plague usa great deal more than they can 
now. Asyet, they have but a small party on their side.’ . 

I mention this anecdote to show that the idea of independence 
was familiar even among the common people much earlier than 


some persons pretend.” 
This is a reminiscence long after the event; but it 
only confirms what he wrote in 1761, describing what 


he then daily saw going on before his eyes: 


“Tf you ride over this whole province you will find that 
taverns are generally too numerous. In most country 
towns in this country you will find almost every other house 
If you call, you will 
find dirt enough, very miserable accommodations of provision 
Yet, if you sit the 
evening, you will find the house full of people drinking drams, 
flip, toddy, carousing, swearing; but especially plotting with 
the landlord, to get him at the next town-meeting an election 


witha sign of entertainment before it. 


and lodging for yourself and your horse. 


either for selectman or representative.” 

Later in life Mr. Adams was wont often to say 
that it was in silently listening to these tavern talks 
among farmers as he rode the circuits that he first 
came to realize that American independence was both 
inevitable and close at hand. But the school, though 
effective, was dangerous. The intemperance of the 
colonial period is a thing now difficult to realize ; 
and it seems to have pervaded all classes from the 
clergy to the pauper. Cider was the beverage of the 
soil; but the people of New England had inherited 
a love of strong drink direct from their Saxon ances- 
try, and cider failed to satisfy it. They craved some- 
thing more potent. Their West India trade soon 


supplied it. Here is an extract from a sermon of 


More than thirty years afterwards he | Increase Mather’s delivered in March, 1686, before a 


criminal awaiting execution for murder : 





QUINCY. 


olg 





“Tt isan unhappy thing that later years a kind of strong 
Drink called Rum has been common amongst us, which the 
poorer sort of People, both in Town and Country, can make 
themselves drunk with. They that are poor and wicked too, 
can for a penny or two pence make themselves drunk. I wish 
to the Lord some Remedy may be thought of for the prevention 
of this evil.” 


One hundred and ten years later, speaking of the 


how one of the hands got drinking, and he adds: 


“A terrible drunken distracted week he has made of the last. | 


A beast associating with the worst beasts in the neighborhood, 
running to all the shops and private houses, swilling brandy, 
If the 
ancients drank wine and rum as our people drink rum and cider, 


wine and cider in quantities enough to destroy him. 


it is no wonder we read of so many possessed with devils.’’ 


Not until after 1830 did the great temperance 
movement make its influence felt, and for a century 
and a half, therefore, it is not too much to say that 
rum was the bane of New England. Braintree seems 
to have been scourged by it, even more than most of 
her sister towns. . At the very time the town was in- 
corporated, at the May General Court of 1640, Mar- 
tin Sanders, who a year before had been ‘‘ alowed to 
keepe a house of intertainment”’ at the Mount, and 
whose name was one of the eight subscribed to the 
church covenant there, was ‘‘ alowed to draw wine at 
Braintree.” 
and the North Precinct records state that “ after con- 
siderable debate at the meeting, concerning the raising 
of the new meeting-house, the question was put 
whether the committee should purchase Bread, Cheese, 
Sugar, Rum, Sider and Beer at the cost of the pre- 
cinct, and it passed in the affirmative.” 
Tutor Flynt made his journey to Portsmouth. He 
was seventy-eight years old, an instructor in the col- 
lege, and he had for his companion an undergraduate 
of twenty. At every public house at which they 


punch ; and when, “in full view of Clark’s Tavern’’ 


near Portsmouth, the old gentleman was tumbled | 
headlong out of the chaise, nearly breaking his neck, | 


he was revived by ‘two or three bowls of lemon 
punch, made pretty sweet,” which, as they ‘“ were 
pretty well charged with good old spirit,” 
‘very pleasant and sociable.’ In 1758, Samuel 
Quincy and John Adams were admitted to the prov- 
ince bar. After the oath had been administered on 
motion of Gridley and Pratt, the leading lawyers of 
their day, the two young men “ shook hands with the 
bar, and received their congratulations, and invited 
them over to Stone’s to drink some punch, where the 
most of us resorted, and had a very cheerful chat.” It 
is not easy to imagine leading counsel of to-day drink- 


In 1754, | 


ing with students in a tap-room. Again, in 1778 
Count d’Estaing came to Boston with the French 
fleet. Mrs. Adams visited it and could not sufficiently 
express her admiration of the bearing of officers and 
men, which she said ought to make Americans *‘ blush 
What de- 
lighted her most was, that “‘ not one officer has been 


at their own degeneracy of manners.” 


work on his farm in Quincy, John Adams describes | seen the least disguised with liquor since their arrival.” 


So bad had the condition of affairs grown about 
the year 1750 that John Adams declared that several 
towns within his knowledge had “at least a dozen 
Suffolk County he asserted 


was worse than any other, and in Braintree within a 


taverns and retailers.” 


| circuit of three miles there were “eight public 


houses, besides one in the centre.” Within three- 


| quarters of a mile on the main road there were three 


In 1731 the third church was ‘“ raised,” | 


taverns, besides retailers, or those who supplied the 
small 
These houses, 


‘neighborhood with necessary liquors in 
quantities and at the cheapest rates.” 
frequented as they were by a “tippling, nasty, 
vicious crew,’ had become “the nurseries of our 
legislators,’ for there were many who could “be in- 


_ duced by flip and rum to vote for any man whatever.” 


Aroused to the necessity of doing something to re- 
strain this growing evil, the young village lawyer had 
an article looking to some reduction of the number 
of licensed houses inserted in the warrant for the 
May town-meeting of 1761. A full debate was had 
upon it and a vote passed, which is chiefly curious 
now as indicating what that condition of affairs was 


_ for which this measure was regarded as one of reform. 


| The vote reads as follows: 


} 


made him | 


“ Voted, That, although Licensed Houses, so far as they are 
couveniently situated, well accommodated, and under due Regu- 
lation for the Relief and Entertainment of Travellers and 
Strangers, may be a useful Institution, yet there is Reason to 
apprehend that the present prevailing Depravity of Manners, 


stopped this venerable preceptor took a “ nip” of | through the Land in General, and in this Town in particular, 


and the shameful neglect of Religious and Civil Duties, so 
highly offensive in the sight of God, and injurious to the peace 
and Welfare of Society, are ina great measure owing to ile 
unnecessary increase of Licensed Houses. 

“ Voted, That for the future, there be no Persons in this 
Town Licensed for retailing spirituous Liquors, and that there 
be three persons only approbated by the Selectmen as Inn- 
holders, suitably situated, one in each Precinct. 

“* Voted, That the Persons who are approbated as Innholders 
for the coming year, oblidge themselves by written Instru- 
ments, under their Hands and Seals, to retail spirituous Liquors 
to the Town Inhabitants, as they shall have occasion therefor, at 
the same price by the Gallon or smaller Quantity, as the same 
are usually sold, by Retail, in the Town of Boston, and upon 
the performance of the above condition there be no Person or 
Persons approbated by the Selectmen as Retailers.” 


It hardly needs to be said that these measures of 


reform produced no result. The Revolutionary 


320 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





troubles then shortly ensued, and John Adams was 
called away to larger fields of usefulness. Long 
afterwards, referring to this experience, he wrote : 


“Fifty-three years ago I was fired with a zeal, amounting to 


enthusiasm, against ardent spirits, the multiplication of taverns, 
retailers, and dram-shops and tippling-houses. Grieved to the 
heart to see the number of idlers, thieves, sots, and consump- 
tive patients made for the use of physicians, in those infamous 
seminaries, I applied to the Court of Sessions, procured a com- 
mittee of inspection and inquiry, reduced the number of 
But I only acquired the reputation of 
The number 


licensed houses, ete. 
a hypocrite and an ambitious demagogue by it. 
of licensed houses was soon reinstated, drams, grog, and sotting 
were not diminished, and remain to this day as deplorable as 


eyer. You may as well preach to the Indians against rum as to 


our people.” 

When John Adams made his futile attempt at tem- 
perance reform, and for seventy years thereafter, the 
town in which he lived was as respects intemperance no 
better and no worse than her sister towns. In every 
store in which West India goods were sold, and there 
were no others, behind the counter stood the casks of 
Jamaica and New England rum, of gin and brandy. 
Their contents were sold by the gallon, the bottle, or 
the glass. 


spot. It was a regular, recognized branch of trade; 





/ was due to drink. 





They were carried away, or drunk on the | 


and when during the Revolution Mrs. Adams sent | 
_ townspeople and of their families with a Massachu- 


a list of current prices to her husband she always in- 
cluded rum, looking upon it as just as important a farm 
Three shillings 
a gallon, or ninepence a quart was a high price; 
and John Adams wrote back to her from Philadel- 
phia, “‘ Whisky is used here instead of rum, and I 
don’t see but it is just as good.” 

Aum or whisky for home and farm consumption 


staple as meat, or corn, or molasses. 





stories high, they faced the road, and before them was 
the hitching-rail ; while stables and covered standing- 
sheds stretched away on either side or to the rear. A 
piazza or gallery ran along the front, on which sat in 
summer those who most frequented the house ; while 
in winter they gathered around the bar-room fires. 
The village topers were as much recognized characters 
as the minister and the magistrate. They remained 
so in Quincy down to the beginning of the railroad 
period. he children all knew them, nor as they 
reeled through the streets did they attract more than 
a passing glance. Prematurely old, they drank them- 
selves into their graves, and another generation of the 
same sort succeeded them. 

At a later period great numbers of the more ener- 
getic youth of the town went out to California and 
the West, a portion of the New England migration. 
It was astonishing and Jamentable to note the destrue- 
tion then wrought by this inherited vice. Failure was 
the rule; and in the majority of cases the failure 
In this matter it is easy to charge 
exaggeration, and neither the gravestone nor the reg- 
istry bear witness to the facts. Those who remember 
the old condition of affairs also are fast passing away. 
Yet any man of middle life who has talked of his 


setts man or woman born near the close of the last 
century, has been exceptionally placed if he has not 
heard the same old tale of lamentation. As the name 
of one after another is recalled, the words “ He 
drank himself to death” seem so often repeated, that 


they sound at last not like the exception but the rule. 
It was certainly so with Braintree and Quincy. 


were here spoken of; for among laboring men rum 


was served out as a regular ration, and during the | 
| where there is no intemperance crime is unknown. 


early years of the present century a gallon of it a 


hand. It was used especially during the haying season 


and at hog-killing; for the latter it was mixed with | 
the enforced industry, the religious training, and the 


molasses and known as “black-strap,” while, com- 


Where there is drunkenness there is vice and crime. 
It of course does not follow that in communities 


month was considered a fair allowance for each field | The experience of all ages and many countries dem- 


_ onstrates the falsity of this proposition ; but none the 


pounded for the former with cider, the result was | 


ealled ‘“stone-wall.” Even as late as 1838 it was 
voted in Quincy town-meeting that ‘the paupers be 
allowed a temperate use of ardent spirits when they 
work on the road or farm.” 

For consumption at home and on the farm, rum was 


bought from the retailers, and they thus constituted one | 
Consequently, a Donnybrook fair was in Yankee in- 


distinct class of licensed sellers. The inn-holders were 


another class; and upon the main street of the North 


Precinct, in its most thickly settled part, there were | 


They 


three taverns standing at convenient points. 


more remote and older New England towns. Two 


less the other proposition is true. In New England 
law-abiding habits of the people during the colonial 
period modified to some extent the evils of intemper- 
ance. The New Englander was neither an Irishman 
nor an Indian; and so he did not in his cups become 
fighting drunk like the first, or sodden drunk like the 
last. The habits and traditions and inground train- 
ing of a race assert themselves even through liquor. 


ebriety as unknown a feature as a Mohawk war-dance. 
When they were sober the people were not quarrel- 
some or lawless or shiftless; and consequently when 


were buildings of a type still not uncommon in the | they were drunk they did not asa rule fight or ravish 


or murder. But that the earlier generations in Mas- 































































































2 a ; ; TORE LE APM a ee Sy yegrorass i 





QUINCY. 321 








sachusetts were either more law-abiding, or more self- 
restrained than the latter, is a proposition which 
accords neither with tradition nor with the reason of 
things. The habits of those days were simpler than 
those of the present ; they were also essentially grosser. 
The community was small; and it hardly needs to be 
said that where the eyes of all are upon each, the 
general scrutiny is a safeguard to morals. It is in 
cities, not in villages, that laxity is to be looked for. 
Of course, it hardly needs to be said that in old 
Braintree and early Quincy the thought of robbery or 
violence scarcely entered into the heads of the people. 
They did not require bolts to their doors nor bars to 


their windows; neither, under similar circumstances, | 
do they require them to-day. On the other hand, 


now and again, especially in the relations between the 
sexes, we get glimpses of incidents in the dim past 
which are as dark as they are suggestive. 
are connected with Quincy,—incidents which for long 


years have caused houses to be looked upon as_ 


haunted, and have given to old and once honored 
names a weird-like, uncanny sound. The illegitimate 
child was more commonly met with in the last than in 
the present century, and bastardy cases furnished a 
class of business with which country lawyers seem to 


have been as familiar then as they are with liquor | 


cases now. 


Nor was the physical health of the people what it 


has since become. People did not live so long. This 
is opposed to the common belief, because exceptional 
cases of old age in each family are always remem- 
bered, while the average death is ignored. Some 


grandparent, uncle or aunt, who nearly completed a _ 


century, will cause a whole race to be reputed long- 
lived, though haif those belonging to it died before 
forty. As might have been expected, the drinking 
habits of the last century generated a class of dis- 
eases of their own, besides delirium tremens. Men 
broke down in middle life, dying of kidney and blad- 
der troubles, or living with running sores which could 
not be closed. It is singular to find how common it 
was for fathers to die at an age between forty and 
fifty. Rheumatism was more prevalent then than 
now. <A closer and more scientific observation has 
given new names to old ills, tracing them back to 
their sources; but, referring to the frequent cases of 


Bright's disease brought to his notice during the latter | 


part of his life, the last and shrewdest medical prac- 
titioner in Quincy of the old, country-doctor school 
was wont to remark that he had known the new dis- 
ease for fifty years, but they “used to call it dropsy, 
and the patients died.” 
the smallpox periodical, but in 1735 the diphtheria 


21 


raged fearfully, and again in 1751. 


Some such | 


Not only were visitations of | 
‘no newspapers, no mails, no travelers, few books, 





Indeed, in this 
latter year more than a hundred and twenty died 
of it in the neighboring town of Weymouth out 
of a population of only twelve hundred. In 1761 
an epidemic raged among the old people of Brain- 
tree, carrying off seventeen in one neighborhood. 
In 1775, during the excitement of the siege of 
Boston, a chronic dysentery prevailed to such an 
extent that three, four, and even five children were 
lost in single families, and Mrs. John Adams, writing 
from amid the general distress, could only say, ‘‘ The 
dread upon the minds of the people of catching the 
distemper is almost as great as if it were the small- 
pox.” 

Notwithstanding such facts as these, it ever has 
been, and probably always will be, the custom to look 
back upon the past as a simpler, a purer, and a better 
time than the present; it seems more Arcadian and 
natural, sterner and stronger, less selfish and more 
heroic. As respects New England and Massachu- 
setts, this idea is especially prevalent among those of 
the later generations, and, indeed, has been almost 
The 
crowing laxity of morals, the decay of public spirit, 


sedulously inculeated as an article of faith. 


the vulgarity of manners and the general tendency 
of the age to deteriorate, have from the very beginning 
of New England been matters of common observation. 
Each generation has observed these symptoms with 
alarm ; and each generation has in turn held up its 
fathers and mothers before its children as models, the 
classic severity and homely, simple virtues of which 
they might well imitate, but could scarcely hope to 
equal. Those fathers and those mothers were not for 
days like these. 

Yet a careful study of the past reveals nothing 
more substantial than filial piety upon which to base 
this grateful fiction. The earlier times in New Eng- 
land were not pleasant times in which to live; the 
earlier generations were not pleasant generations to 
live with. One accustomed to the variety, luxury, 
and refinement of modern life, if carried suddenly 
back into the admired existence of the past would, 
the moment his surprise and amusement had passed 
away, experience an acute and lasting attack of home- 
sickness and disgust. The sense of loneliness incident 
to utter separation from the great outside world, the 
absence of those comforts of life which long habit has 
converted into its necessities, the stern conventionali- 
ties and narrow modes of thought, the coarse, hard, 
monotonous existence of the old country town would, 
to one accustomed to the world of to-day, not only 


seem intolerable, but actually be so. He would find 


322 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





and those to him wholly unreadable, Sunday the sole | 
holiday, and the church, the tavern, and the village | 
store the only places of resort. Last week’s politics | 
at home and last month’s abroad, the weather, the crops, | 
the births, the deaths, and the Sunday sermon would | 
be the subjects of droning talk. Braintree had been 
settled more than a century anda half, and the town of | 
Quincy had for three years been set off from it before 
a post-office was established in the North Precinct. | 
That it was established here even then was probably | 
due to the fact that John Adams was Vice-President. 
The 


postage on a letter from Quincy to Boston was then 





His brother-in-law was appointed postmaster. 


six cents; to Springfield, it was ten; to New York, 
fifteen. 
paper found its way regularly to Quincy. As regards 


Before 1830 not a single copy of a daily 
books the case was not much better. A library, in | 
the sense in which the word is now used, was a thing | 
unknown. Harvard College possessed one, it is true, | 
and by 1830 the Boston Athenzeum had reached a | 
certain degree of growth; but in Quincy, only after 
1800 was there even a poor collection of ordinary | 
standard books of the day, which, owned by a social | 
club, were allowed sluggishly to circulate among its 
After 1788, John Adams had a valuable | 
private collection, which he subsequently left to the 
town; but the works in it were little adapted for gen- 
eral reading, and the restrictions put upon its use 


members. 


were such as made it available only to scholars. Had | 
it been otherwise, it would have made no difference. 

Before 1830 the people of the town, as a whole, never | 
having been accustomed to books and reading, did | 
not really know what a library was or how to use it. | 


Two generations of newspapers, railroads, and book- 
stores were needed to convert the New Englanders of | 
the interior into a really reading race. | 

Going back to the earlier period, the Bible, and | 
that alone, seems to have been found everywhere; | 
while in the houses of the gentry might be seen | 
copies of Shakespeare and Milton, a few volumes of | 
the classics, the “Spectator” and the “ Tatler,” the | 
philosophical works of Locke and of Bolingbroke, a 
number of sermons and theological works now wholly 
forgotten, and, if the owner was a lawyer, a doctor or | 
a minister, a few professional books. As a young | 
man, on a Sunday, John Adams, in the old house at | 
the foot of Penn’s Hill, read Baxter’s “* Enquiry into | 
the Nature of the Human Soul,” and, for amusement, | 
“ Ovid's ‘ Art of Love’ to Mrs. Savil.” 

The sensations of John Adams when he came back 
to this vegetating existence after having for thirty | 
years been part of great events have already been 


alluded to. 


He longed to hibernate as a dormouse. 


Yet he at least knew what he went back to, and ex- 
pected nothing else. It would be otherwise with a 
visitor bred to modern usages. In his ease an illu- 
sion would be dispelled. If his experience chanced to 
fall on a Sabbath, he would pass a day of veritable 
torture. Were the period during the last century, 
in order to escape the tedium of the dwelling, if for 
no other reason, he would be forced to spend weary 
hours in a building scarcely as weather-proof and far 
less comfortable than a modern barn, in which the 
only suggestion of warmth was in that promise of an 
hereafter which was wont to emanate from the ortho- 
dox pulpit. The remaining hours of the dreary 
day he would pass seated in a wooden, straight- 
backed chair, roasting one-half of his person before a 
fire of blazing wood, while the other half shivered 
under the weight of an overcoat. In his bedroom 
he would find no water for washing; for if exposed 


If 


among personal virtues cleanliness be indeed that 


overnight, it would be solid ice in the morning. 


which ranks closest to godliness, then, judged by 
nineteenth century standards, it is well that those who 
lived in the eighteenth century had a sufficiency of 
the latter quality to make good what they lacked of 
the former. 
bath-room in the town of Quincy, and it is very 
questionable whether there was any utensil then made 


Prior to 1830 there certainly was not a 


for bathing the person larger than a crockery hand- 
bowl. 


nor was the ordinary laundry wash-tub, of which it is 


The bath-room is a very modern institution ; 


an outgrowth, by any means in family requisition each 
In 1650 it is recorded that those 
dwelling in certain portions of the British Isles did 


Saturday night. 


“not wash their linen above once a month, nor their 


hands and faces above once a year.” As compared 


_ with these the New Englander was cleanly, but even 


his ewers and basins were strictly in keeping with a 
limited water supply. 

When the temperature of a bedroom ranges far , 
below the freezing-point, there is small inducement 
for the person who has slept therein to waste any 
So when 
Monday morning came, the visitor of the good old 


unnecessary time in washing or dressing. 


days would huddle on his clothes and go down, blue 
and shivering with cold, to the sitting- and breakfast- 
room, in which he would find a table spread with a 
sufficiency of food, neither well cooked nor well served. 
The salted meat and heavy bread made of Indian 


meal and rye he would wash down with draughts 
_of milk or hard cider, though in a few houses tea 


might be offered him. All day he would look in 
vain for a newspaper, or a letter, or even a distant 
echo from the outside world.. Weary with the 





QUINCY. 





monotony of in-door life, the visitor might wander 


forth and watch for a time the hands on the farm as | 


they hauled and split wood, husked corn, or tended 
the stock. Then he would find his way through the 
village. On the bare and dreary road he would meet 
only an occasional chaise or traveler on horseback, 


and an ox-cart or two loaded with cordwood or pro- 


few, and those few belong to general history. 


| 


duce; a few children might be on their way to or | 


from the half-warmed school-house in which they 
huddled together on the long, hard benches, shivering 
for hours. 
into it in search of warmth and comfort, he would 


Coming at last to the tavern, and driven 


understand at a glance why the New Englander was 
intemperate. There, gathered around the great fire 
in the bar-room, would be a half-dozen or more 
rough, sinewy Yankees smoking their pipes, drinking 


flip, and talking politics. The room might be dirty, 


_ remarkable system. 


the language coarse, the air foul with tobacco, and 


scenes of drunkenness might occur, but here was an 
escape from tedium, and a natural craving for society 
and excitement was gratified. It was the one form 
of sociability open to the average New Englander 
through the lon 


forced idleness. 


g, comfortless winter hours of en- 

With the tavern the circle would be complete, un- 
less the stranger also stopped at the village store. 
There again he would find the occupationless lounger 
seated on the stools or leaning against the counter ; 
and there also rum would be on sale, drawn by the 
glass or by the bottle from the barrels on tap at the 
rear of the room. 
now be exhausted. It would only remain to return 
to the point of commencement, and, seated in the 
wooden chair, resume “ Baxter on the Soul” or the 
“Tatler,” or “ Paradise Lost,” before the great wood 
fire. 
tion across the little stage. 


And so it went on as generation followed genera- 


change either expected or desired. To use Burke’s 
supremely happy phrase, it was the existence of a 


people “still, as it were, in the gristle, and not yet | 


hardened into the bone.” 


CHAPTER X XIX. 


QUINCY—( Continued). 


THE NORTH PRECINCT ANNALS. 


As generally understood, the political record of an 
old New England town is the narrative of the connec- 
tiou of that town with the great current of external 
events. Yet, when so treated, it cannot but lose in 


The resources of the town would | 


No change came; nor was | 


323 
great degree both its individuality and its significance. 
The events of large historical moment which have oc- 
curred within the limits of any town are necessarily 
In 
most cases they are already familiar, and to go over 
them in a purely local connection is but to repeat a 
story which has been sufficiently told. This is not 
the function of the town historian. His function is 
to develop, in so far as he can, whatever of individ- 
uality there may have been in a particular unit of a 
Having a general family resem- 
blance, just as the individuals composing a commun- 
ity resemble each other generally, each of the Massa- 
chusetts towns in the early days had also characteris- 
tics and peculiarities of itsown. In making a portrait 
of the individual, the attempt of the artist should be 
to impress on his canvas the traits peculiar to that in- 
dividual,—not those which he had in common with 
all his neighbors. So in dealing with the New Eng- 
land town, its historian should cut loose as far as pos- 


' sible from the general current of political events, and 


labor to bring into prominence that which made the 


| town as a unit not altogether like its fellow units. 


That which lends an especial interest to these 


_ towns was the complete freedom of their growth from 





For them there was 
no prophet, no chief, no lord, no bishop, no king. 
As 
such, they were neither guided nor protected from 
above. They stood on their own legs, such as they 
were; and there was no one to hold them up. Ac- 
cordingly, each town as an organized political body 
worked out its problems in its own way. Neither 
were those problems simple. On the contrary, it 
has already been seen that in the course of the first 
hundred and ninety years of muncipal life Braintree 
and Quincy had to deal in a practical way with 
almost every one of those questions which are wont 
to perplex statesmen. Religious heresies, land-titles, 
internal improvements and means of communication ; 
education, temperance, pauperism, and the care of the 
insane ; public lands, currency, taxation, and municipal 
debt,—all these presented themselves, and the people 
assembled in town-meeting had to, and did, in some 
fashion work out a solution of them. 
wholly unaided, did they fail to do so. There was 
fortunately no inspiration in New England, nor did 
any saviours of society appear. It is needless to say 
that the solutions worked out were often rough, and 
superficial, and wrong. None the less they were the 
best of which those people were capable, and so best 
for them. They were working out their destiny in 
their own way, and paying for their experience as they 


all paternal or fostering care. 


Those dwelling in them were all plain people. 


Nor, being 


324 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





went along. Their so doing marked an epoch in his- 
tory. 


Tt is in the towns and town records of Massachu- 


| 
| 
| 
| 
| 


setts, therefore, that the historical unit of America _ 


is to be sought. The political philosopher can there 
study the slow development of a system as it grew 
from the germ up. The details are trivial, monoto- 
nous, and not easy to clothe with interest. Yet the 
volumes which contain them are the most precious of 
archives. 
the hardly legible letters of the ill-spelled words are 
written in ink grown pale with age, but they are all 
we have left to tell us of the first stages of a politi- 


Upon their tattered pages, yellow with age, | 


_ as the townsmen shall approve on.” 


house or cottage ‘‘ within the libertys’ of Braintree 
without the consent of those ‘chosen to dispose of 


’ 


the towne’s affairs; and a heavy money penalty is 
imposed on every sale of lands to any except ‘“ such 
Next, though an 
interval of more than two months intervenes between it 
and the last order, is a regulation which foreshadows 


all future municipal ordinances in relation to fire de- 


| partments; every house-owner is ordered “‘ to have a 


cal growth which has since ripened into the dominant 


influence of the new world. 
imagine that when the idea of full human self-gov- 
ernment, first slowly hammered into practical shape 
in the New England towns, and as yet far from per- 
fected, shall have permeated the civilized world and 
assumed final shape, then these town records will be 


Nor is it too much to | 


ladder to stand up against his Chimney”’ as a security 
against fire. 

But it has already been mentioned that in the 
earliest colonial period town-meetings in the modern 
sense of the word were not regularly held, and no 
record was made of the action taken by the selectmen, 


_who seem to have been agreed on in some informal 


accepted as second in historical importance to no 


other form of archives. 

The first page of the first town book of Braintree 
bears the date of 1640. 
for, as was naturally to be expected, it is worn and 


It is only legible in part, 


mutilated by rough handling through two hundred — 


Yet there is a singular fitness in the 
opening heading. It is in these words, “The Schoole 
and. nen follows the memorandu conveyance 
Land.” Then foll th morandum ofa conve e 


and fifty years. 


_ and only under the pressure of actual need. 


that year made, under which a portion of the tract origi- | 
years more, no record of these meetings was kept, 


nally allotted at “ the Mount” to William Coddington 
passed into the hands of the town as common lands, 
and was by it devoted to be the support of a school. 
The first recorded act of Braintree, therefore, was to 
make a provision for common-school teaching ; nor is 
the fact already alluded to unworthy of second men- 
tion, that the land thus set apart has even to the pres- 
ent time paidan annual rent for the purposes to which 
it was then dedicated. ‘he second entry, made in 
the following year, is for the encouragement and pro- 
tection of home enterprise. A monopoly in grinding 
corn is secured to Richard Wright so long as the mill 
he had built remains in the hands of him and his 


heirs, “‘ unlesss it evidently appear that the said mill 


will not serve the plantation, and that he or they will 
not build another in convenient time.” 
this mill, and the stones which went into its founda- 
tion walls, are still pointed out. 


is recorded. 


cedent for all that legislation against aliens coming in | 


to the land which has from time to time found a place 
upon the American statute book. This has been 


already referred to. Strangers are forbidden to build 


The site of | 


Next a right of way | 
Then follows a provision setting a pre-_ 


_ plete. 





way. Acknowledgments, transfers of land, and per- 
mits to take stone and timber from the commons 
were entered of record in the town book; and yet a 
dozen pages of it were not filled in as many years. 
The machinery of government was organized slowly, 
Nothing 
was done that did not have to be done. But at last, 
in March, 1673, when the town was already a third 
of a century old, it was voted that thenceforth on the 
first Tuesday of March and the last Tuesday of 
October there should be general meetings of “ the 
whole inhabitants” to make choice of their town 
officers and to agree upon all things that might con- 
cern the common welfare. Even then, for twenty 
nor were the names of the town officers entered in 
the book. 
matter of common knowledge, and they met at each 


Their election seems to have been held 


other’s houses. This continued to be the case until 
after the Revolution of 1688, during which Brain- 
tree heartily sympathized in the movement which 
overthrew Andros. It was in 1693 that the list of 
town officers first appears, and from this time for- 
ward the machinery of town government was com- 
The officers chosen were five selectmen, a 
town clerk and a commissioner, two constables, five 
The next 
year surveyors of highways and field-viewers were 


tithingmen, and eight viewers of fences. 


also chosen, and the first specific appropriation was 
made. 
the pound being $3.33, and it is instructive in its 
details. 

“five pounds to John Belcher’s widow’s maintenance, and 


thirty shilings to Thomas Revill for keeping William Dimble- 
bee, and twenty-five shilings for the ringing of the bel and 


It amounted to £9 13s. in colonial money, 


It reads as follows: 


sweping the meeting-hous in the year 1694, and eight shilings 
for mending the pound, seven shilings to William Savill for 
dimblebe’s cofin, and eight shilings to constables for warning 





QUINCY. 


325 





the Town, and five shilings for the exchang of a Town cow to 
Samuel Speer, and ten shilings to Thomas Bas for dept for 
ringing the bell formerly, this to be raised by rate.” 


| 


In a general sketch such as the present it would | 


not be profitable to enter into the petty details of 
legislation through monotonous years. They repeated 
each other. 


Regular votes were passed in relation to | 


the church, the commons, the school ; and at times the | 


dissent of certain freemen from the action had was 


noted. One Samuel Tompson especially seems to have | 


Cer- 


opposed all outlays of an educational character. 


tain large issues always loomed up as the engrossing | 


questions of the time, upon the solution of which 


the common mind was fixed. Now it would be the 
matter of title and determined resistance to the pre-_ 


tensions of Boston land claimants; then the division 
front. The village theatre of 1700 was in fact ex- 
actly like the national theatre of 1850, excepting 
only that it was not so large. As the tariff and 
bank issues in the latter were succeeded by the dis- 
union issue, so in the former the question of title was 
The 
title question has already been sufficiently referred 
to, but a few words more may be given to the division 


followed by the demand for parochial division. 


a suitable and reasonable line of division, distinction, 
or limitation. . . . That said line be lovingly agreed 
upon and settled (if it may be).” Edmund Quincy 
was chosen moderator, and then ensued an angry and 
exciting debate, for the record reads that “ after the 
warrants were read there were some immediately that 
did declare against the dividing of the town, and 
that they did refuse to Joyne with said Inhabitants in 
that affair, and requested that it might be entered 
The names 
were then recorded ; and it is a significant fact that 


with their names in the Town Book.” 


three at least of those names belonged to persons then 
They ap- 
parently desired no settlement of religious disputes 


active in organizing the Episcopal church. 


which did not cover their own case. But the division 


_of the town into separate parishes was none the less 
of the town into precincts would force itself to the 


of the town into precincts as illustrating the methods | 


of the time. 
freemen of the two sections were so wrought up over 
this issue that they by no means abstained from angry 


words, and almost came to blows. Fora time the 


It has already been stated that the | 


battle raged over the amount of the minister’s salary. | 


i 
Then an overt act was resolved upon, and the frame of © 


a new meeting-house was raised. 


Finally a joint 


the two precincts, was sent to “discourse with Mr. 
Fiske one with another, and bring report to the town 


effected, and this absorbing issue was disposed of. 
Town government was now thoroughly organized 
in Braintree; and, for purpose of illustration, the 
record of a single year will not be uninstructive. 
Take, for instance, that of 1710-11. During those 
twelve months, from March to March, three town- 
meetings were held, one in March, one in May, and 
one in November. At the March meeting town offi- 
cers were chosen, and a special committee was ap- 
pointed “ to go and search the records at Boston with 
reference to the grant of the six thousand acres of 
land by the General Court to the town of Braintree.” 
Twenty shillings were also voted to Joseph Bass as a 
suitable compensation for two years’ service as town 
At the May meeting the delegate to the 
General Court was chosen, and also a sealer of leather. 


treasurer. 


_ At the November meeting a levy of thirty pounds was 
committee of eight, four being selected from each of | 


whether there can be any proposals made that may | 


and shall be complied with on either side that may 
be for the peace and satisfaction of both parts of the 
town.” It was a committee of representative men, for 


like ring. Upon it were a lieutenant-colonel, two cap- 
tains, one cornet, two sergeants, besides “ Lieut. Deacon 
Savel.” One only bore no military designation, plain 
‘“ John Ruggles, senior.” This was in March, 1708. 

Apparently the committee did not ‘“ discourse” in 
vain, or perhaps the Rev. Mr. Fiske proved a suc- 
cessful peacemaker ; for steps were soon taken towards 
effecting a peaceful division. By December matters 
had been so far advanced that a special town-meeting 
was called, as the warrant ran, “then and there to 


ordered to defray the town charges for the current 
year. Provision was then made for the increase of 
the town herds, and an appropriation of six pounds 
The schoolmaster, ‘ Mr. Adams,” 
was then “ impowered to demand a Load of wood of 


From 


was made therefor. 


each boy that comes to school this winter.” 


this impost it will be noticed that girls were ex- 
Edmund Quincy served upon it, and it went on an | 
errand of peace; but, as registered, it has now a war- | 


empted. It was then further voted that “twelve 
pounds be raised for John Penniman, of Swansey, 


_ provided that the Town be forever cleared of him.” 
Finally, a further order was passed by the North 


consult and consider about, and if possible to fix upon — 


Precinct freeholders that Mr. William Rawson should 
have “liberty to build a Pew for himselfe and Family 
where the three short seats of the women’s be, and 
so to joyn home to the foreseat of the women’s in the 
old Meeting-house at the southwest end.” To this 
same Mr. Rawson, it may be added, there had ten 
years before been conceded “ the privilege of making 
a seat for his family between or upon the two beams 
over the pulpit, not darkening the pulpit.” 


326 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





It is a noticeable fact that there is no trace what- 


| 
| 
} 
| 
| 


ever of the Indian wars to be found in the Braintree | 


records. 
year 1710. 
the questions which occupied the public mind were 
It-does not need to 


The Indian wars were then over, and 


those usual to periods of peace. 
be said that Braintree could not have escaped its 
share of the burdens of that severest New England 
trial when, and when only in its whole history, the 
The long struggle 
So 


far as Massachusetts was concerned, it entailed heavy 


enemy was at almost every door. 
with the French was carried on at a distance. 


The entries just referred to were of the | 


cause. Simon 
Willard, of Concord, was in command, and he 
mustered his force at Dedham on the 9th of October, 


Braintree’s quota was four men. 


1655, and led it off through Providence to the shores 


drafts for men and money; but no camp-fire smoke | 


was seen or hostile shot heard within the colony’s 
limits. The forays of the Revolution were limited to 
The war 


of 1812 caused for Massachusetts nothing more than 


the coast and one short march to Concord. 


needless alarms along the sea-coast. 
Not so the In- 
The struggle then, where it was not 


Rebellion was fought at a distance. 
dian wars. 


The war of the | 





actually over the hearthstone, was at the threshold. 


Braintree was one of the more fortunate towns. 
Though a few wretched Indians lingered within its 
limits down even to the middle of the next century, 
the great plague of 1616 had within Braintree limits 
done its work thoroughly. Rum and smallpox fin- 
ished the little it had left. 


was never called upon, even in King Philip’s war, 


Accordingly, Braintree 


for anything more than men and money. 
The first draft of this kind was in August, 1645. 


of Long Island Sound. 
at Dedham, having accomplished a military prome- 


In fifteen days he was back 


nade. 

Twenty years later came King Philip’s war, and 
Braintree is said now to have received a scratch from 
An insignificant Indian raid 
occurred, and four persons were killed,—*‘ three men 


the wildcat’s claw. 
and a woman. ‘The woman they carried about six or 
seven miles, and then killed her and hung her up in 
an unseemly and barbarous manner by the wayside 
In conse- 
quence of the alarm occasioned by this raid a sort of 
frontier post was established on the Bridgewater road, 
and Richard Thayer, who had been ‘“ impressed” as 
one of the Braintree contingent, was put in charge of 
it. 
claimant of Braintree lands under an alleged Indian 


leading from Braintree to Bridgewater.” 


This individual has already been mentioned as a 
grant. It has also been stated that as a military 
commander Richard Thayer seems to have been in- 


He 


claimed the credit of capturing one John Indian, who 


strumental in spreading many false alarms. 


was ‘so feeble and weake that he came creeping 


A war with Passacus and the Narragansetts was then | 


threatening, and Maj.-Gen. Gibbons, he who had 


been a companion of Morton’s at the Mount Wollas- | 


ton of the old Maypole days, was sent out in com- 


mand of a force of two hundred men. Braintree, 


Weymouth, and Dorchester were ordered to furnish | 


three horses, with saddles and bridles, ‘to be at 
Boston by seven o’clock in the morning, the 18th of 
this 6th month,” to accompany Gen. Gibbons ; and it 
was Mr. Tompson, of the Braintree church, who was 
selected “ to sound the silver trumpet along with his 
army.’ Among the commissary stores of this ex- 
pedition,—* Bread, tenn thousand; beif, six hogs- 
heads; fish, tenn kintalls,” ete.,—‘‘ strong water, one 
hogshead ; wine at your pleasure; beere, one tunn.” 
These preparations proved too much for the savages. 
They succumbed before a blow was struck. 

Again in 1653, the commissioners of the confed- 
eracy of New England colonies “conceived them- 
selves called by God to make a present war against 
Ninigret, the Niantic sachem,” and the next year it 
fell to Massachusetts to raise one hundred and eighty- 
three soldiers, foot and horse, to go forth in that 


fate of these men was hard, 


under the fences, and not able for any action, being 
But his participation in this last 
exploit was by others denied. Nevertheless he after- 
wards brought in that bill for services and disburse- 
ments at this time, amounting to thirteen pounds, 


without arms.” 


which has already been mentioned, and which the 
In 


1675 the town was called upon to furnish nineteen 


‘Military Committee of Braintree” disallowed. 


men for active duty, seven of them mounted. These 
figures now have an inconsiderable sound, and con- 
vey but a slight idea of the stress of war. Yet a call 
for nineteen men was to Braintree of 1675, with its 
eighty families, as heavy a draft as a call for 325 
men from Quincy in the Rebellion of two centuries 
later. The largest number who went out from the 
town in any one year of that Rebellion was 304 in 
1861. 

In 1690 came the French war, and Braintree was 
called upon to furnish thirteen men for the ill-fated 
Quebec expedition under Sir William Phipps. The 
The town records tell 
it in a way not to be improved upon : 


“The 9th of August there went soldiers to Canada, in the 
year 1690, and the smallpox was abord, and they died six of it; 
four thrown overboard at Cape Ann, Corporal John Parmenter, 
Isaak Thayer, Ephraim Copeland and Ebenezer Owen, they ; 
and Samuel Bas and John Cheny was thrown overboard at 
Nantaskett.” 








QUINCY. 


327 











Two more of the thirteen, making eight in all, died 
shortly after reaching home. Yet, according to the 
Rev. Cotton Mather, “during the absence of the 
forces the wheels of prayer in New England had 
been continually going round.” From the beginning 
this expedition had not been popular in Braintree. 
The young men had refused to be impressed, and Col. 
Edmund Quincy, on whom had fallen the duty of 
supplying the contingent called for, had been forced 
to write toold Governor Bradstreet, then the head of 
the provisional government, that there were among 
those impressed in Braintree ‘“‘ but two or three who 
will go. I can dono more, without there be some 
sent for, and made example to the rest. To behold 
such aspirit is of an awful consideration.” 


The French and Indian war was followed by a long 


| 
| 


| 
| 
| 
| 


| 


period of quiet ; and after the division of the Brain- | 


tree church had been effected there was little for the 
town to agitate itself over. Accordingly for many 
years the records contain not much that is noticeable. 
The town organization, so far as offices were concerned, 
was complete after 1700, and an amount was annually 
appropriated to meet necessary expenses. This sum 
steadily increased, though its increase was caused 
probably as much by the fluctuating value of colonia] 
paper money as by the needs of a wealthier commun- 
ity. In 1701, for instance, the rate was forty pounds; 


about 1725 it averaged year by year over ninety 


motion was rejected. The warrant for the next town- 
meeting contained an article for the townsmen “ to 
consider of, debate upon and agree about an answer 
to the petition of Edmund Quincy, Esq.,” relating to 
a driftway through his land. And now a committee 
was appointed. Six months later, at a meeting held 
on the 28th December, Col. Quiney was chosen 
moderator, and this committee made its report. 
brief, but significant. They “were of opinion That 
the Records on the Town’s Book Relating to an high- 
way or Town driftway through the Lands of the said 
Quincy, etc., as may appear on Record baring Date 
February the 15th, 1714-15 be erased, made void, 
and be as tho’ it had never been. 


It was 


And it was then 
voted that the report of said Committee should be 
accepted with the Town.” Subsequently, March 17, 
1731, this way was regularly laid out and accepted. 
Other questions, which through this period contin- 
ually occupied the attention of the town in a mild 
way, related to the six thousand acre grant, the unau- 
thorized taking of stone from the commons, the 


_ growth of the timber upon them, a political division 


pounds ; in 1750 it was in the neighborhood of one | 


hundred and sixty pounds; and when the Revolution- 
ary troubles began it had grown to two hundred and 
fifty pounds. The minister’s salary was not in- 
cluded in any of these levies, as after an early period 
the precinct rate was kept separate from the town 
rate. Townways were now laid out more frequently. 


The old coast road of 1639 was still the sole land | 


route to Boston, but in February, 1715, “a Town 
Driftway (not to by open) one rod and halfe wide” 
was laid through Col. Edmund Quincy’s farm, on the 


line of what nearly a century later became the direct | 


This action of the 
selectmen, though requested by Col. Quincy, seems 
to have led: to a question between him and the town. 
He was then the leading inhabitant of Braintree, 
serving as delegate to the General Court, acting as 
moderator of the town-meetings, and referred to in 


turnpike road across the Neponset. 


of the town, and, above all, the obstruction caused to 
the passage of alewives up into the Braintree ponds 
by the dam in the Monatiquot at the old iron-works. 
The freemen seem never to have been able to agree 
as to what should be done with the land grant, so they 
wrangled and debated over it, never reaching any 
definite conclusion. It was their land question of the 
day ; but, like most such questions, it is devoid of in- 
terest now. As respects the stone on the commons, 
there is an entry in the record of a special town- 
meeting held to consider the subject, on the 30th De- 
cember, 1728, which is characteristic, and has in it a 
touch almost of humor. The meeting came together 
and chose a moderator. The record then proceeds as 
follows : 


“ After which they proceeded to act upon the first article or 
clause in the warrant, and after sundry votes were passed Pre- 
liminary or Introductory to an order or by-law concerning the 
stones, which seemed by those votes to be the thing designed, a 
vote for confirmation of what had passed was called for; but it 
passed in the negative, and so the whole affair was brought to a 
non pluss. The other articles in the warrant were discoursed on 


but no vote passed thereon. After which some persons declar- 


| ing their judgment that it was improper or at least unneces- 


the records as the Hon. Col. Edmund Quincy, Esq. | 


He now made a claim against the town, and at a meet- 
ing held on the 25d of March, 1719, it was “ pro- 
pounded by the moderator whether the town would 
choose a committee to treat” with him as to compen- 
sation for any damage he might have sustained on 
account of the way laid out through his lands. 


The ! 


sary to Record the votes that had passed, seeing the things 
could not be effected ; a vote was asked whether the votes that 
had passed should be put on record, and it passed in the nega- 
tive.” 

One Capt. Peter Adams had acted as moderator of 
this meeting in the absence of Major John Quincy, 
and it is apparent that he had not proved equal to the 
position. At the next town-meeting, held a month 
later, the question of dividing the town was brought 


328 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





up. It was voted to appoint a committee of eight to 
consider the subject, and to report at an adjourned 
meeting. Of this committee Major John Quincy was 
chairman, and upon it were several other prominent 
They presented their report on the 25th 
It was unanimous and consisted 


men. 
February following. 
of eight articles, looking apparently towards the pro- 
posed division. The reception it received was, con- 
sidering the names that were attached to it, quite 
singular. 


The townsmen had evidently come to the | 


meeting prepared to take the matter into their own | 


hands. 


meeting, the record proceeds as follows : 


The report having been read before the 


“After which, upon a motion made, the question was put 
whether the agreement of the committee should be voted arti- 
cle by article, and it passed in the negative. 

“The question was then put whether all the articles thereof 
should be voted upon at once; it passed again in the negative. 


Col. John Quincy at this time became Speaker of 
the provincial House of Representatives, which was 
engaged in its long and tedious dispute with Governor 


_ Belcher over its right to audit public charges before 


money which had been appropriated should be paid 
out of the treasury. That Braintree fully sympathized 
in the stand taken by the representatives on this sub- 
ject became manifest the following year, when the 
advice and direction of the several towns to their 
members was desired. At a special town-meeting 
held on the 27th of September, 1731, it was 


“Then Voted, that the thanks of this meeting be Returned 


| to the honorable House of Representatives for their faithful 
| service in asserting and defending the Just Liberties of this 


“ The question was then again put whether they would ac- | 


cept of the Report of the said Committee. It passed again in 


the negative. 

“After this, upon a motion made, the Question was put 
whether they would Reconsider their last vote, viz., of non- 
acceptance, and it was voted in the affirmative. 

“Then again the Question was put whether they would 
accept of the Report of the Committee, and it passed in the 
negative. 

“Upon which, the meeting was dismissed.”’ 

At another town-meeting held in the following 
May the report was again brought up, and the ques- 
tion was put whether the town would reconsider its 
former action; and again it passed in the negative. 
It is almost needless to add that nothing more was 
heard on the subject of dividing the town. 
people had emphatically shown that they were not 
ready for it, and the leaders, who seem to have worked 
the plan up, were obliged to abandon it. It was more 
than sixty years before the project was revived in a 
In 


an article to see whether the town would “ comply 


practical form. 
with a motion or desire of the House of Represent- 
atives (Recommended to all such as have a Regard 
to New England’s welfare) to raise money for the 


The | 


this committee, its chairman, Lieut. Joseph Crosby, 





1730 the warrant contained | 


| ever. 


supply of Francis Wilks and Jonathan Belcher, | 


Ksqrs., agents for the said house in the Court of 
Great Britain; to enable them to sollicite the affair 
and perpetuate the peace and tranquility of this 


country and prevent the mischief that is likely to— 


ensue on the want thereof.” The action of the town 
upon this matter showed that the leaders of public 
opinion bad not lost their heads. The article was 
“ discoursed upon and the meeting being sensible that 
they could not (as a town) Raise money upon that 
Head the thing was Dismissed and the Inhabitants 


left to subscribe as they pleased.” 


Province (as we esteem they have hither done and which we 
highly approve) and Desire that they would continue strenu- 
ously to endeavour the maintaining and defending the same.’’ 


But the matter which alone during this period 
seems to have stirred the town to its lowest depths 
was a controversy with Mr. Thomas Vinton, who in 
1720 had purchased the land on which the Monato- 
The attempt to manufacture 
there had some time before been finally 
The dam which fur- 
nished water-power was still standing, and it seems 
now to have obstructed for no sufficient cause the 
passage of fish up the river during the spawning 
season. At the May town-meeting of 1736 the sub- 
ject was brought up, and, aftera warm debate, a com- 


quit Iron-works stood. 
iron 
abandoned as unprofitable. 


mittee was appointed to treat with Mr. Vinton for the 


surrender of his rights in the river. At a_ special 


meeting called a month later to receive the report of 


stated verbally 


“That they had been with Mr. Thomas Vinton and had 
asked of him on what terms he would quit his Claim to the 
River aforesaid; To which (they said) he made no answer. 
And Mr. Vinton being present at the meeting the moderator 
[Benjamin Neal] put the Question to him whether he would 
part with his Right in the River. To which he made answer 
that he would not sell his Right therein on any tearms what- 
The moderator then put the Question to the meeting 
whether they would defend their Rights in said River against 
It passed in the affirm- 
ative; against which John Hunt entered dissent. Then the 
Question was put whether they would raise money to defray 
It passed 


the claims of all persons whatsoever. 


the charge that may arise in defending their Rights. 
in the affirmative; against which Ensign John Hunt and 
Benjamin Ludden dissented. 

“Then voted that One Hundred Pounds shall be assessed on 
the Town (if need be) to defray the charge of defending their 
Rights abovesaid. 

“Then the Question was put whether they would chuse a 
Committee to Take care that the River be kept clear of all 
obstructions to the passage of the Fish and to prosecute in the 
Law all such as shall hinder or obstruct their passage in said 


River. It passed in the affirmative.” 








QUINCY. 


329 





The committee now appointed was especially au- 
thorized to submit the whole matter in dispute to a 
reference of ‘indifferent men,” if Vinton would con- 
sent to so doing. He would come to no terms; and 


apparently the committee was afraid to do anything. 


1 
! 
| 
| 
| 


In any event, their action certainly was not energetic | 


enough to meet the views of the townsmen, and 


another meeting was held on the 23d of August. A 
vote was then passed that ‘all such things as obstruct 


the Passage in Monaticut in any part thereof be re- 
moved.” 
former committee, nor to add to it other ‘meet per- 
sons,’ but a wholly new committee was chosen, at the 


Tt was further voted not to continue the | 


head of which was “The Honble. Leonard Vassal, | 


Esq.” 


at once to high-handed measures. 


This committee appears to have had recourse 


dam down. 


In consequence of this action another 


They pulled the | 


meeting was held on the 14th of September, at which | 
Mr. Benjamin Neal, a member of the committee, was — 


chosen moderator. 


It was then voted that the com- | 


mittee should be empowered to defend all individuals | 
against any action which Mr. Vinton might bring, | 


“excepting any charg Mr. Vinton shall or may re- | 


cover of any person or persons by making out a Riot.” 


Three weeks later still another special meeting was — 


called, and a vote was passed offering Vinton three | 


hundred pounds in bills of credit if he would quit- 
claim to the town all his right in the river, and dis- 


continue legal proceedings against those who had been | 


concerned in the pulling down of the dam. “ Mr. 
Vinton being present, declared his acceptance of the 
Town’s offer, and promised to comply with their de- 


mands concerning a Deed of his Right in said | 


River.”’ It was then voted that, after the committee 
had done what they should see cause to do about 
clearing the river, Mr. Vinton should be at “liberty” 
to take away the remainder of the stuff at any time at 
his leisure. 

Yet another meeting was held before this matter 
was fully disposed of. 
strong feeling that the town had dealt too liberally 
with Vinton. 
come to order and chosen its moderator when ‘“ Peter 


There seems to have been a 


Marquand appeared and declared that he had no 
warning to the meeting, and therefore desired his 
desent might be entered against the meeting and all 
that might be therein transacted.”” Nevertheless, the 
town proceeded to tax itself to the amount of the 
three hundred pounds which it had agreed to pay Mr. 
Vinton. But its action did not pass without a 
strong protest from the minority. No less than 
twenty-four persons insisted upon having their names 
recorded in opposition. 


Not content with thus removing obstacles in the way 
of the passage of fish, the town a few years later tried 
its hand at the artificial development of an infant in- 
dustry, thus foreshadowing the national protective 
policy of a century later. At the March meeting of 
1755 a formal vote was passed for the encouragement 
of the ‘‘ Bank Codfishery to be sett up and carried on 
Those concerned in this business, 
whether inhabitants of Braintree or elsewhere, were 
to have their poll-taxes remitted to them for the space 
of three years. A proviso was added that all such 
persons from other places should be subject to the 


within this town.”’ 


approval of the selectmen; and, if not approved by 
them, might be “ warned out of Town according to 
Law.” 
offered does not seem to have been sufficient to build 
up an artificial industry. Accordingly, as the years 
went by, the people were not drawn on from point to 
point in the singular process of taxing profitable indus- 
try to keep alive some industry which is not profitable. 

In the record for the year 1757 there is a passage 
which shows in a curious way how thoroughly the 


Fortunately for the town, the bounty thus 


parliamentary system had become a part of political 
habit. 
much respect for precedent as was shown at West- 


In the rough town-meeting they evinced as 


minster. They had their customs, with all the force 
of law. The question was on the election of select- 
men. ‘The record is as follows: 


‘The votes being called for, brot in and examined, it appeared 
that Col. Josiah Quincy, Mr. Jonathan Allen, Mr. Benjamin 
Porter were chosen by a majority of votes. Capt. Richard 
Brackett and Capt. Eben Thayer, Junr., were chosen according 
to the usual custom of said Town as having more votes than 
any others, and were Declared Selectmen by the Moderator 
according to the custom of said Town. Upon which and much 
Dispute Respecting the Legality of the aforesaid choice, Messrs. 
William Penniman, Samuel Bass, Peter Adams, Jonathan Raw- 


| son, Ebenezer Adams, John Adams, John Hunt, Samuel Bass, 
| Junr., Josiah Capen, and John Clark entered their Dissent 


Accordingly, the meeting had hardly | 


against the proceedings of the said meeting. After much De- 
bate Respecting the Legality of Capt. Brackett and Capt. 
Thayer’s choice as selectmen, the Question was put by—the 
Modr. 
Voted and passed in the affirmative.” 


whether the Town would then confirm said choice. 


The last struggle with the French and Indians was 
at this time already two years old. Braddock had 
been defeated before Fort Duquesne in July, 1755, 
and in May, 1756, war between Great Britain and 
France had been formally declared. Pitt was in 
office. The massacre at Fort George occurred in 

757; in 1758 Cape Breton was captured by the Eng- 
lish, and on the 17th of September, 1759, Wolfe and 
Montcalm both fell on the Heights of Abrabam. The 
next year the conquest of Canada by the English was 


complete. John Adams was then a young man, keep- 


330 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





ing school at Worcester. He describes how Amherst | 
with his little army of four thousand men passed | 
through the town on his way from Louisburg to | 
Crown Point. ‘‘ The officers were very social, spent | 
their evenings and took their suppers with such of the | 


inhabitants as were able to invite them, and entertained 


us with their music and their dances. Many of them | 
were Scotchmen in their plaids, and their music was 
delightful ; even the bag-pipe was not disagreeable.” | 
Then came the siege of Fort William Henry, during | 
which almost every day couriers came down from the — 
frontier bearing earnest appeals for men and supplies. 

While the colony thus resounded with warlike 
preparations, Braintree pursued the absolutely even 
In the records of the town | 
The usual | 


town-meetings were held, but even less than the usual 


tenor of its ancient ways. 
there is no trace of these great events. 
interest attached to them. (Questions of commons and | 
ways were discussed, fines were imposed or remitted, 
schools were provided for, and from £60 to £150 was 
annually ordered to be levied to meet the current ex- 


penses of the town. Butof the stress of war in the 

form of calls for men, supplies, and money there is no 
b] p) 

indication. Yet these 


felt, and that severely. 





must have come and been | 

A partial examination of | 
the provincial muster-rolls has shown that between | 
1756 and 1760 more than two hundred Braintree 
men did military service. Some were impressed; the 


greater number volunteered. 


Twenty-eight took part 
in the unfortunate Crown Point expedition of 1756, 
serving during that season only. Hutchinson says 
that “when the main body of the enemy went back 
to Canada, the provincial army broke up and returned 
to the government in which it had been raised. 


Many had deserted and more had died while they lay 





encamped. Many died upon the road, and many died 
of the camp distemper after they were at home.” 
Upon the rolls Joseph Blanchard, of Braintree, ap- | 
pears as a deserter. | 
The next year the capitulation of Fort William | 
Henry spread a panic all through New England. | 
Those living west of the Connecticut were ordered to | 
destroy their wheel carriages and to drive in their | 
eattle. The authorities hoped to hold the line of the 
Nearly the whole military force of the colony 
was called to arms. From Braintree, Capt. Peter | 
Thayer’s company was marched as far as Roxbury. 
They lay there in camp for some days, and then, the 
alarm having subsided, returned home. 


river. 





Some seven | 
or eight Braintree men are known to have been in | 
the garrison at Fort William Henry at the time of the | 
surrender. 


The next year, in response to the strong, personal | 


| and restrict their number. 


appeal of Pitt, Massachusetts put forth what she then 
supposed to be her utmost efforts. A levy of seven 
thousand men was ordered. Forty-five hundred only 
could be raised by voluntary enlistment, and the re- 
mainder had to be drafted. They composed part of 
the force which operated against Ticonderoga, and 
at their head Lord Howe was killed. Among them 
were at least thirty men from Braintree ; and during 
the same season twelve more enlisted on the ship of 
war “ King George.” The next year (1759) witnessed 
the fall of Quebec, and brought the war to a practical 
close. While Wolfe, with his regulars, moved against 
Quebec, the provincial levies relieved the garrisons 
of Nova Scotia. To this foree Braintree contributed 
a quota of some forty men, while more took part in 
the operations under Amherst which resulted in the 


_ fall of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 


The terms of enlistment during this war were short, 
and the name of the same man often appears more 
than once on the rolls. But during these three years 
it is probably safe to say that Braintree furnished, 
apart from the promenade of Capt. Thayer's com- 
pany in August, 1757, one hundred different men for 
actual service. The population of the town was then 
about two thousand, of whom some five hundred were 
males above sixteen. From this it would appear that 
at least one man in each three capable of bearing arms 
was put into the field. 

With the close of the French war a new generation 
came on the Braintree stage. The last recorded ap- 
pearance of John Quincy at the town meetings was in 


September, 1758. The rebuff he then met with at 


the hands of his fellow-townsmen has already been 


noticed. Deacon John Adams, though a selectman 
in 1758, was not again chosen to that office, and he 
died two years later. But this year, though his name 
does not appear on the records, the younger John 
Adams has asserted that he was chosen surveyor of 
highways. From this time forward his presence in 


Upon the 


the town made itself most distinctly felt. 


_ smaller stage it was just as it was on the larger one a 


little later. 
impelled by all the nervous energy of youth. 


The active, inquiring mind was at work 
Ac- 
cordingly, in the town-meeting of May, 1761, we find 
him engaged in his crusade against intemperance, 
persuading the town to regulate its licensed houses 
Then in 1765 he induced 
it to abandon the old system of repairing highways, 
A committee, of 
which he was a member, made a report outlining the 


and to do it by means of a tax. 
new system. The old question about the commons 
is still undecided, and comes up in dreary shape 


before each succeeding town-meeting. A few years 








QUINCY. 


331 





later he takes hold of it, and then at last the matter | 
An apparently interminable discus- | 


is disposed of. 
sion is brought to an end, and all the commons are 
sold. 

Meanwhile a new set of questions begins to loom 
up. The report in favor of selling the north commons 
was presented at the town-meeting of April 1, 1765, 





just ten days before Parliament passed the Stamp Act. © 


When the news reached New England it caused pro- 
digious excitement everywhere. In Braintree John 
Adams took the matter up at once. He says,— 


“T drew up a petition to the selectmen of Braintree, and 
procured it to be signed by a number of the respectable inhabi- 


tants, to call a meeting of the town to instruct their representa- | render us the most sordid and forlorn of slaves? 


’ 


tive in relation to the stamps.’ 


Magna Charta, laying down the principle as “ grand 
and fundamental,” that ‘‘no freeman should be sub- 
ject to any tax to which he has not given his own 


consent in person or by proxy.” The courts of admi- 


ralty were then arraigned : 


“In these courts one judge presides alone! No juries have 


any concern there! ... What Justice and Impartiality are we 
at Three thousand miles distance from the fountain to expect 
from such a Judge of Admiralty. We all along thought the 
Acts of Trade in this Respects a grievance. But the Stamp 


Act has erected a vast number of sources of New crimes which 


| may be committed by any man and cannot but be committed 


| by multitudes and Prodigious Penalties all annexed and all these 


What can be 
wanting after this but a weak or wicked man for a Judge to 


to be tryed by such a Judge of such a Court. 


We mean the 


slaves of a slave of the Servants of a Minister of State.” 


The town met in the Middle Precinct meeting- | 


house on the 24th of September. Norton Quincy 


was chosen moderator. Mr. Adams then goes on,— 


“T prepared a draught of instructions at home and carried 
them with me. The cause of the meeting was explained at some 
length, and the state and danger of the country pointed out; a 
committee was appointed to prepare instructions, of which I was 
nominated as one. We retiredto Mr. Niles’ house; my draught 
was produced, and unanimously adopted without amendment, 
reported to the town, and accepted without a dissenting voice. 





These were published in Draper’s paper, as that printer first ap- | 


plied to me for a copy. They were decided and spirited enough. | 


5D ” 
They rang through the State and were adopted in so many | hearing. 


words, as I was informed by the representatives of that year, 
by forty towns, as instructions to their representatives.” 


These instructions were printed in the Boston Ga-— 
zette of October 14,1765, and in comparing them | 


with some of an opposite nature coming at the same 
time from the town of Marblehead, a correspondent 
of the Hvening Post picked out at the time one para- 
graph as ‘“ worthy to be wrote in lettersof gold.” It 
was the following : 

“We further Recommend the most Clear and explicit assertion 
and vindication of our Rights and Liberties to be entered on 
the Public Records that the world may know in the present and 
all future Generations, that we have a clear knowledge and a 
just sense of those Rights and Liberties and that with submission 
to divine Providence, we never can be slaves.” 

Accordingly, these instructions are spread upon 
the Braintree records. 
it is unnecessary to repeat them here, though the 


As they have been reprinted 


form in which they appear in the works of John 
Adams! is quite inaccurate when compared with the 
original. 

It was certainly a vigorous, stirring production, 


well calculated to attract the public eye. There was 


The authorship of this paper brought the young 
Braintree lawyer into great popular prominence. 
Accordingly, it was upon the 18th of the following 
December that the town of Boston retained him to 
appear with Gridley and Otis before the Governor 
and Council in support of the memorial praying that 
the courts of law might be opened. It was a week 
later, on Christmas day, that he and his wife “ drank 
tea at Grandfather Quincy’s” at Mount Wollaston, 
and found the “old gentleman inquisitive about the 
A few days after, referring to the dangers 
of the times, he wrote in his diary, ‘‘ Let the towns 


'and the representatives renounce every stamp man 


and every trimmer next May!” He probably felt 
some anxiety at the time in regard to the action of 


(S 


Braintree. The North Precinct, he afterwards de- 


_clared in a letter which has been printed, was at that 


time ‘a very focus of Episcopal bigotry, intrigue, 


intolerance, and persecution.” The church influence 


there was certainly very great, and one of its promi- 


'nent members was onthe board of selectmen. 


So 
intense was the popular feeling, that politics had now 
fairly taken possession of the pulpit. For instance, 
the Rev. Ebenezer Gay, of Hingham, had preached 


_a Thanksgiving sermon in which he inculcated-dis- 


in it an easy reference to the principles of English | 


constitutional law which showed that the man who 





tinctly submission to authority and a recourse to 
“prayers and tears, not clubs.” This discourse 
greatly disturbed the Hingham people, who got so 
far as to believe that their worthy pastor had the 
stamps in his house, and they even threatened to go 
and search it for them. This feeling was not allayed 
when, the next Sabbath, Parson Smith, of Wey- 
mouth, preached a sermon in the Hingham pulpit in 
which he recommended obedience to good rules and 
a spirited opposition to bad ones, interspersed with a 


good deal of animated declamation upon liberty and 


| the times. 


A month later Parson Wybird alarmed 
his parishioners by announcing the following as the 


332 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





text of his discourse : 
ear, O earth! 
children, and they have rebelled against me.” 


I have nourished and brought up 


Adams goes on : 


“T began to suspect a Tory sermon on the times from this 
But, I 
expect, if the tories should become the strongest, we shall hear 


text, but the preacher confined himself to spirituals. 


many sermons against the ingratitude, injustice, disloyalty, 
treason, rebellion, impiety, and ill policy of refusing obedience 
to the Stamp Act. 
eloquent. 


The church clergy, to be sure, will be very 
The church people, are, many of them, favorers of 
the Stamp Act at present. Major Miller, forsooth, is very fear- 
ful that they will be stomach/ful at home (England), and angry 
and resentful. Mr. Veasey insists upon it that we ought to 
pay our proportion of the public burdens. 
fully convinced that they, that is the Parliament, have a right 
to tax us; he thinks it is wrong to goon with business; we 
had better stop and wait till Spring, till we hear from home. 
o« . Litter 


equally so. 


is another of the poisonous talkers, 
Cleverly and Veasey are slaves in principle; they 
are devout, religious slaves, and a religious bigot is the worst 


of men.” 


Major Miller was then one of the board of select- | 


men. 
nent churchmen, and their names will presently be 
found as those of political ‘suspects’ in the town 
records. 


As the day in March approached when town officers _ 


were to be elected, Braintree was alive with excite- 
ment and intrigue. The church party was anxious 
not to lose the degree of influence it still had, and its 
members accordingly professed to have seen new light. 
Mr. Cleverly, for instance, was not so clear as he had 
been that Parliament had a right to tax the colonies ; 
indeed, he was inclined to think it had not. For 
selectmen he proposed a combination ticket,—Col. 
Josiah Quincy and Major Ebenezer Miller, the 
former being a stanch patriot. At last the day for 
the town-meeting came, and John Adams, who long 
afterwards spoke of it as “the first popular struggle 


“ Hear, O heavens, and give | 


but not | 


He and all the others mentioned were promi- | 


| 


Mr. Cleverly is | 


This was the meeting at which the popular party 


_ achieved only a partial victory, owing to the fact that 
John | 


‘the north end people,” after voting for ‘ Cornet 
Bass” once, “withdrew for refreshment,” and during 
their absence in the bar of Ebenezer Thayer’s tavern, 
just across the road, another vote was taken and their 
candidate defeated. A fortnight later, on the 18th of 
March, the newly chosen selectman met Major Miller, 
who, though a Tory then and afterwards, was a worthy 
man and useful member of his church and town. The 
successful candidate gave this account of the inter- 
view : 
“Went to Weymouth; 

Mr. Jo. Bass’s for the papers. 


centre of the North Precinct.] 
came in, and he and I looked on each 


- on my return 


[This 
Major 


stopped at 
was the tavern at the 
Miller soon afterwards 
other without wrath or 
great degree of either, 
though I must own I did not feel exactly as I used to in his 
company,and I am sure by his face and eyes that he did not in 
mine. 


shame or guilt, at least without any 


We were very social, ete.” 
Six weeks later Mr. Adams wrote: 
“May 4. 


Sunday. Returning from meeting this morning, 


| I saw for the first time a likely young buttonwood tree, lately 


planted on the triangle made by the three roads, by the house 
of Mr. James Bracket. 
has on it an inscription, ‘The Tree of Liberty, and cursed is 
... I never heard a hint of it till 
T saw it, but I hear that some persons grumble, and threaten to 


The tree is well set, well guarded, and 


he who cuts this tree!’ 


| girdle it.”! 


On the 16th of May, 1766, news of the repeal of 
the Stamp Act reached Boston and was the cause of 
general rejoicing. For some reason the event was 
not noticed in Braintree, which John Adams pro- 
nounced “insensible to the common joy,” declaring 


that a duller day he did not remember to have passed. 


Yet there was a town-meeting held, and Ebenezer 


of the Revolution in the town of Braintree,” thus at | 


the moment described what took place : 


““My brother Peter, Mr. Etter, and Mr. Field, having a 
number of votes prepared for Mr. Quiney and me, set them- 
selves to scatter them. The town had been very silent and still, 


my name had never been mentioned, nor had our friends ever 


talked of any new selectmen at all, excepting in the South Pre- | 
cinct; but as soon as they found there was an attempt to be | 


made they fell in and assisted, and although there were six dif- 
ferent hats with votes for as many different persons, besides a 
considerable number of scattering votes, [ had the major vote 
of the assembly the first time. Mr. Quincy had more than one 
hundred and sixty votes. I had but one vote more than 
half. .. . Etter and my brother took a skillful method... . 
Many persons, I hear, acted slyly and deceitfully ; this is always 
the case... . Mr. Jo. Bass was extremely sorry for the loss 
of Major Miller; he would never come to another meeting. 
Mr. Jo. Cleverly could not account for many things done at 


town-meetings.” 


| 


Two more town- 
meetings were held that year, at each of which the 


Thayer was chosen representative. 


question of granting compensation from the treasury 
of the province to the sufferers by the August riots 
Like 


many other towns, Weymouth for instance, Braintree 


of 1765 in Boston came up for discussion. 


at first instructed its representative to vote against 
the proposed indemnity. The inhabitants desired ‘“ at 
all times to bear their testimony against such unlaw- 
ful and abusive practices, but as they were in no wise 
accessory to the mischief committed they did not 
judge that they could be justly charged with the 
damages.” At another meeting, held in December, 
Mr. Thayer was instructed to vote for indemnity. The 


1 Apparently this tree was planted in a vacant grass-plot 
which then stood where the roads united diagonally opposite to 
where the Episcopal Church now is. Dr. Pattee (p. 378) says 
that it died a natural death eight years later. 








QUINCY. 


333 





{ 
record of this meeting would also seem to indicate diers were to be brought from Halifax and Ireland to 


that the new method of repairing the ways by tax had 
not yet worked a full measure of reform; for the 


! 


town petitioned to be relieved from a fine of ten — 


pounds imposed upon it by the Superior Court “ for 
not keeping their roads in repair.” 

In the following March, Norton Quincy and John 
Adams were again elected selectmen, and Major Miller 
appears at the head of the fence-viewers and surveyors 
of highways; but the next year John Adams, who 
was then in active law practice in Boston, asked to 
be excused from further service. Not only did the 
town excuse him, but it passed a formal vote thank- 
ing him “for his services as selectman for two 
years past.’” There is no other case of such a vote 
of thanks, and the occasion for it does not appear. 
Mr. Adams may have declined to receive pay for his 
services, but if he did, the fact was not stated. 
Though fast rising into professional eminence, he was 
at the time a man of only thirty, and there seems no 
reason why a town which for generations had seen 
colonels and judges and counselors serving it as 
selectmen should have been especially grateful to the 
son of Deacon Adams because he filled for a brief 
period the office to which his father had been thirteen 
times elected. It would seem probable, therefore, 
that, for reasons which do not now appear, his ser- 
vices were known to have been of peculiar value. 

After the repeal of the Stamp Act there was a lull 
in the agitation. Yet the troubled waters did not 
grow wholly calm before, in 1767, Parliament passed 
the Import Act. The popular alarm over that 
measure is next reflected in the record of town-meet- 


ings. The warrant, for instance, for that in Braintree at | 


which John Adams declined re-election as selectman, 
contained an article for the town to agree upon “‘ some 
effectual Method to promote Economy, Industry, and 
Manufactures, thereby to prevent the unnecessary im- 
portation of European commodities, which threaten 
the country with poverty and Ruin.” This article of 
the warrant was referred to a committee which reported 
at once that, in view of the decay of trade, the scarcity 
of money, and the heavy public debt, the town should 
use its utmost endeavors towards the suppression of 
extravagance, idleness and vice, and to promote indus- 
try, economy and good morals. 


“And in order to prevent the unnecessary exportation of 
money, of which this Province has of late been so much 
drained, it is further voted, that this Town will, by all prudent 


overawe the Massachusetts Colony. Boston again 
took the lead in agitation, and a formal committee from 
its town-meeting waited on Governor Barnard, asking, 
in view of the well-authenticated character of the 
rumor, that the General Court shouid be called to- 
gether. It was not supposed that this request would 
be complied with ; but the refusal to comply with it 
gave the popular leaders a pretext for taking the next 
step to which they now saw their way. The town of 
Boston by circular letters invited all the other towns 
As Hutchinson 
said, this act “ had a greater tendency towards a revo- 
lution in government than any preceding measure in 
The inhabitants of one town 
alone took upon them to convene an assembly from 


to choose delegates to a convention. 


any of the colonies. 


all the towns, that, in everything but in name, would 
This was the exact 
The appeal was direct to the New 
England town system. In that system, acting through 
town-meetings called in a perfectly legal way, the 


be a house of representatives.” 
state of the case. 


popular leaders saw the material for perfect political 
organization. The units being of one mind, the way 
The slow 


growth of a hundred and thirty years was now to 


Was open to a reorganization of the whole. 
produce its results. Without having recourse to any 
suddenly improvised political machinery, with no noise 
or confusion, but acting quietly through their accus- 
tomed local organizations, the people of Massachu- 
setts were in the most natural manner conceivable 
about to take the management of their affairs into 
their own hands. 

In this work Braintree only did its share. John 
Adams had removed to Boston, and was now busy 
with his law books. Yet both this year and the 
year after he drew up the Boston instructions to its 
representatives. When the Braintree town-meeting 
was held, on the 26th of September, Col. Josiah 
Quincy and Ebenezer Thayer were chosen to repre- 
A_letter 
of instructions to them was at the same meeting read 
and approved and ordered to be spread on the rec- 


sent the town in the proposed convention. 


ords, two pages of which are covered by it. 


means, discontinue the use of foreign Superfluities, and encour- | 
age the Manufactures of this Province, and particularly of this 


Town.” 


This was in March, 1768, and a few months later _ 
the rumor crept abroad that regiments of British sol- - 


These instructions 





and during this period many 
of them are to be found in the records of the towns 
—are no longer interesting reading. They relate 
to issues long since decided, and set forth princi- 
ples which few now care to dispute ; but historically, 
they are of the utmost value. Generally well written, 
though in the somewhat turgid style of the day, they 
almost always show a clear idea both of what was 
wanted and of the means through which it was pro- 


posed to get it. That such papers should have ema- 


334 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





nated at once from so many towns in the province | 


shows more clearly than anything else the generally 
high standard of political thought which then pre- 
vailed. Nor were these papers the work of a few 
leaders in advance of the people. The whole popular 


column was moving together. The instructions, pre- 


passed more than two years before the fight at Con- 


cord bridge. They were in these words: 

“We, your Committee, &e., report,— 

“Ist. That we apprehend the state of the rights of the colo- 
nists, and of this Province in particular, together with a list of 
the infringements and violations of those rights, as stated in the 


| Pamphlets committed to us, are in general fairly represented, 


pared by committees, were read and understood in | 


town-meeting. 
same mould as those of Braintree. It was one voice, 
It was the voice 
of an intelligent people moving by an accustomed 
path towards a given end which they distinctly saw. 
Hence there was nothing strange, irregular, or mob- 
like in their action. Even when engaged in a revo- 
lution they elaborately argued every measure, and 


and it emitted no uncertain sound. 


and precedent. 


Between September, 1765, and September, 1776, | 


| ever nation or government the one is crushed the other seldom 


there are seven of these state papers, as they may 
properly be called, entered at length on the Braintree 


records, filling eighteen closely-written folio pages. | 


First are the town instructions to its representative 
in relation to the Stamp Act; last is the Declaration 
of Independence. 
tions to Col. Quincy and Ebenezer Thayer, delegates 


Between these come the instruc- 


to the Boston convention of September, 1768; the | 


resolutions of March 1, 1773, in response to the cir- 
cular report of the committee of correspondence of 
mmo. 


the Boston town-meeting of Oct. 28, 1772; 
port and resolves on taxation without representation 


the re- 


and that the town of Boston be hereby thanked for this instance 


z | — 4 0 - x : fs 
Those of Weymouth were cast in the ! of their extraordinary care of the public welfare. 


“2d. That all taxations, by what name soever called, im- 
posed upon us without our consent by any earthly power, are 
unconstitutional, oppressive, and tend to enslave us. 

“3d. That as our Fathers left their native Country and Friends 
in order that they and their Posterity might enjoy that civil and 
religious Liberty here which they could not enjoy there, we, their 
descendants, are determined by the grace of God that our con- 
sciences shall not accuse us with having acted unworthy such 
pious and venerable Heroes, and that we will, by all Lawful 


took each new step in careful conformity with law | ways and means, preserve at all events all our civil and relig- 


ious rights and priviledges. 

“Ath. That by the divine constitution of things there is such 
a connection between civil and religious Liberty, that in what- 
or ever survives long after. Of this History furnishes abundant 
evidence. 

“Sth. That all Civil officers are, or ought to be, Servants to 
the people, and dependent upon them for their official support; 
and every instance to the contrary, from the Governor down- 
ward, tends to crush and destroy civil liberty. 

“6th. That we bear true loyalty to our Lawful king, George 
the 3d, and unfeigned affection to our Brethren in Great Brittain 
and Ireland, and to all our Sister Colonies, and so long as our 
mother-country protects us in our Charter rights and privileges, 


| so long will we, by divine assistance, exert our utmost to pro- 


of March 11, 1774; the brief instructions of Jan. 


23, 1775, to Deacon Joseph Palmer, town delegate 
to the Provincial Congress held at Cambridge ; and, 
March 15th, the full covenant for non-importation, 
non-consumption, and non-exportation then recom- 
mended by the Continental Congress. 

Of these several papers, the resolves of March 1, 
1773, are the most noticeable. 
been drawn by Gen. and Deacon Palmer, an active 


They appear to have 


freeman of the town, who then and for several years | 


after was prominent in the North Precinct. Though 


born in England, and emigrating at thirty years of 


age, Gen. Palmer was an ardent patriot, and in 
1774 represented Braintree in the Provincial Con- 
gress. 
which the Boston report was referred. 
says that the responses of “some of the towns were 


Hutchinson 


very high and inflammatory.” Perhaps he so classed 
those of Braintree. 
ured way, they were certainly explicit, and clearly re- 
vealed the advance of public opinion. 
a declaration of political independence was but one 
step, and not along one. Yet these resolves were 


Though they began in a meas- 


He was at the head of the committee to | 


From them to_ body of six, at the head of which was Norton Quincy, 


mote the welfare of the whole British Empire, which we earn- 
estly pray may flourish uninterruptedly in the paths of right- 
eousness till time shall be no more. 

“7th. That Mr. Thayer, our Representative, be directed, and 
he hereby is directed, to use his utmost endeavors that a Day of 
Fasting and Prayer be appointed throughout the Province for 


| humbling ourselves before God in this day of darkness, and 





imploring divine direction and assistance.” 

Events now moved rapidly. On the 18th of De- 
cember of this year (1773) the tea was thrown into 
Boston Harbor, Deacon Palmer’s son from Braintree 
aiding in the work. On the Ist of the following 
June, Governor Hutchinson sailed away from Boston 
into his life-long exile, and the same day the Port 
Bill went into effect. During June also the General 
Court appointed five delegates to represent the prov- 
ince in the first Continental Congress; and August 
10th, John Adams set off with his colleagues for 
Philadelphia, having previously moved his wife and 


family back to Braintree from their home in Queen 


Street, Boston. On the 22d of August Braintree 
appointed Deacon Palmer, Col. Thayer, and Capt. 


- Penniman its delegates to the county convention, and 


likewise its committee of correspondence; a larger 


' was likewise instructed to act as a sort of committee 


of public safety. 





QUINCY. 





For this latter committee there was then supposed 
to be special need in Braintree. The town powder 
was stored in a small building on the common in the 
North Precinct, and some anxiety was felt as to its 
safety. Owing to the presence of the Church of Eng- 
land people, the North Precinct was looked upon as 
a Tory hot-bed. Party feeling there certainly ran 
high, ‘(and very hard words and threats of blows 
upon both sides were given out.” In the course of the 
month of September, Gen. Gage sent two companies of 
soldiers over to Charlestown, and secured some ammu- 
nition stored there. 
ering next day at Cambridge, and the excitement soon 
spread through the neighboring towns. Mrs. John 
Adams then tells the story of what occurred in Brain- 
tree: 


This led to a tumultuous gath- 


“The report took here on Friday, and on Sunday a soldier 
was seen lurking about the Common, supposed to be a spy, but 
most likely a deserter. However, intelligence of it was com- 
municated to the other parishes, and about eight o’clock Sunday 
evening there passed by here about two hundred men, preceded 
by a horse-cart, and marched down to the powder-house, from 
whence they took the powder, and carried it into the other 
parish, and there secreted it. JI opened the window upon their 
return. They passed without any noise, not a word among 
them until they came against this house, when some of them, 
perceiving me, asked me if I wanted any powder. I replied, 
‘No, since it is in such good hands.’ The reason they gave for 
taking it was that we had so many Tories here they dared not 
trust us with it; they had taken Vinton! in their train, and 
upon their return they stopped between Cleverly’s and Etter’s 
Upon his 
producing them, they put it to vote whether they should burn 


and called upon him to deliver two warrants. 


them, and it passed in theaffirmative. They then made a circle 
and burntthem. They then called a vote whether they should 
huzza, but, it being Sunday evening, it passed in the negative. 
They called upon Vinton to swear that he would never be in- 
strumental in carrying into execution any of these new acts. 


I 


They were not satisfied with his answers; however, they let him | 


rest. A few days afterwards, upon his making some foolish 
speeches, they assembled to the amount of two or three hundred, 
and swore vengeance upon him unless he took a solemn oath. 
Accordingly, they chose a committee and sent it with him to 
Major Miller’s to see that he complied; and they waited his 
return, which, proving satisfactory, they dispersed. 
appears as high as you can well imagine, and, if necessary, 


would soon be in arms. Nota Tory but hides his head. The 





1 The Vinton here mentioned was Capt. John Vinton, of 
Braintree Middle Precinct. He was then deputy sheriff, and 
as such had in his hands a number of the newly-issued war- 
rants for summoning juries, in pursuance of the act of Parlia- 


ment for new modeling the government of Massachusetts. 


This town | 


Though an official under the colonial government, John Vinton | 


was at a later time an earnest patriot, and held a commission in 
the Revolutionary army. (Vinton 
Joseph Cleverly and Peter Etter were both members of the 
Braintree Episcopal church, and they lived on the old Plymouth 
road, near Penn’s Hill, and were accordingly neighbors of Mrs. 
Adams. It has already been seen (ante, p. 332) that Etter was 
a warm political friend of John Adams. 


Memorial, 


pp. 57-61.) | 


Church parson thought they were coming after him, and ran up 
garret; they say another jumped out of his window and hid 
among the corn, whilst a third crept under a board fence and 
told his beads.” 


The powder was removed on Sunday, September 
4th, and the alarm caused among the church people 
by such proceedings was naturally great. Their sym- 
pathizers were almost wholly confined to Boston, and 
accordingly exaggerated rumors soon began to get 
currency there of the dangers to which Mr. Winslow 
and the members of his society were exposed. Lex- 
ington and Concord were still six months in the future, 
and public feeling had not yet reached the pitch of 
These 
rumors accordingly scandalized the law-abiding senti- 
ment of Braintree, and early in October the matter 
was brought to the notice of an adjourned town- 
meeting. The following preamble and vote were then 
passed : 


intolerance to which it subsequently rose. 


“WHEREAS, a report has been spread in the Town of Boston 
and other places that a considerable Number of People in this 
Town had entered intoa combination to Disturb and harrass the 
Reverend Mr. Winslow and other members of the church of 
England, with a letter to oblidge them to leavethe Town. And 
no evidence appearing to support the charge, Therefore 

“Voted, That said report is Malicious, false and injurious, and 
calculated to defame this Town, and that we protest against all 
such combinations as being subversive of good Government. 
We being as ready to allow that right of private judgment to 
others which we claim for ourselves. 

“Voted, The relation Mr. Peter Etter made respecting his 
conduct is satisfactory to the Town.” 

Peter Etter was a German by extraction, and one 
of the company that undertook the development of 
glass-works in Braintree in 1752. He continued to 
be an inhabitant of the town after that enterprise 
failed, and took an active part in public affairs. 
Though apparently a churchman, he seems to have 
been on excellent social and political terms with John 
Adams, who used, with his wife, to take tea with him ; 
and apparently it was well known in the town that on 
public issues he did not sympathize with his rector. 
It was not so with all. Major Miller evidently stood 
He had served acceptably 
in many offices, and was on the board of selectmen as 
late as 1772. But he belonged to the church and 
the gentry,—the class of the Apthorps, Borlands, 
and Vassalls,—and at the very meeting which passed 
the votes just quoted all persons in the town who 
felt “ aggrieved by the conduct of others respecting 


well with his townsmen. 


our public affairs’ were enjoined to go to a com- 
mittee of observation, then appointed, who were “ de- 
sired, if possible, to remove the grounds of uneasiness 
(if real), and direct all inquiries.” 

Three years passed away before the persecution of 


336 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





the Tories in Braintree became open and pronounced. 


Meanwhile they were certainly treated with no little | 
the old Vassall house, in which he passed the last 


forbearance. Even after the Declaration of Inde- 


pendence had been read from the North Precinct | 


pulpit and entered in the records of the town, Mrs. 
Adams, on the 29th of September, 1776, wrote to 
her husband: “The church is opened here every 
Sunday, and the king prayed for, as usual, in open 
defiance of Congress.” 
surprise at ‘‘ prayers in public for an abdicated king,” 
and declared that nothing of the kind was heard any- 
where in the country except New York and Brain- 


In reply, he expressed his 


tree. 
the State, and cannot be long tolerated.” 
and in other respects, Mr. Winslow was probably 
more discreet, but it has already been observed that 
he felt bound by his ordination oath to conform 
literally to the ritual, and he did so until at last the 
long-suppressed popular feeling found open expression. 


‘This practice,” he added, “is treason against 


purpose of agreeing upon a list of those persons 


| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 


Outwardly, © 


ship, but it belonged chiefly to non-residents. In conse- 


quence of one of these seizures John Adams bought 


twenty-five years of his life, and from which both he 


and his wife were buried. But the Tory persecution in 


Braintree, though it doubtless made the lives of those 
suspected miserable enough at the time, seems, so far 
us actual residents in the town were concerned, to 
have resulted only in the expatriation of Samuel 
Quincy, the Borlands, and the Rev. Edward Winslow. 
The other suspects quietly accepted the situation. 
Returning to the autumn of 1774, after the seizure 
of the powder on the 4th of September Braintree 
Re- 


turning from a visit to Salem, Mrs. Adams stopped at 


was alive with rumors and military preparation. 


ber house in Boston, and thence wrote to her husband 


on September 24th : 


dwelling in Braintree who were “esteemed inimical” | 


The selectmen presented the 
Edward Winslow, Maj. 


to the popular cause. 
Rev. 


following names: 


Oliver Gay, and Nedabiah Bent. The following 
names were then added: Joseph Cleverly (second), 
William Veazie, Jr., Henry Cleverly, and Thomas 
Brackett. All of these persons it was then voted 


were ‘esteemed inimical,” and William Penniman | 


was chosen to procure evidence of their disloyalty and 
lay it before the court. 
The coming event had cast its shadow before, and 


“The 


Church doors were shut up last Sunday in consequence 


on the 2d of April, Mrs. Adams wrote: 


of a presentiment; a farewell sermon preached and 
much weeping and wailing; persecuted, be sure, but 
sake.’ The 


town two months later was in the nature of a formal 


not for righteousness’ action of the 
indictment of the whole society, for among the names 
of those recorded as “ inimical” were its rector, its 
Yet Mr. 
alone would seem to have left the town, 


wardens, and all its leading members. 
Winslow 
following the British army to New York. 


In any 
event his occupation in Braintree was gone. Against 
the other members of the society proceedings do not 
seem to have been pressed, and afterwards they all 
of them become good citizens of the United States, 
their names again appearing in the Braintree and 
Quincy records, and, at last, on the stones in the 
graveyard. Later a certain amount of property in 
Braintree was seized and sold because of Tory owner- 





“Tn time of peace prepare for war’ (if this may be called a 
time of peace) resounds throughout the country. Next Tuesday 


im June, 1777, a town-meeting was called for the | they are warned at Braintree, all above fifteen and under sixty, 


to attend with their arms; and to train once a fortnight from 
that time is a scheme which lies much at heart with many.” 


She then goes on to speak of a conspiracy among 


the negroes in Boston, which, it was supposed, had 


Ebenezer Miller, John Cheesman, Joseph Cleverly, eee been’discovered;, andi she adds 


James Apthorp, William Veazie, Benjamin Cleverly, | 


“There is but little said, and what steps they will take in 


consequence of it I know not. I wish most sincerely there was 


not a slave in the province; it always appeared a most iniqui- 
tous scheme to me to fight ourselves for what we are daily rob- 
bing and plundering from those who have as good a right to 


freedom as we have. You know my mind on this subject.” 


Inthe form of covenant “ very unanimously” adopted 
in the Braintree town-meeting of 15th March follow- 
ing the date of this letter there appears this clause,— 

“We will neither import, or purchase any slave imported 
since the first day of December last, and will wholly discon- 
tinue the slave trade; and will neither be concerned in it our- 
selves, nor will we hire our vessels, nor sell our commodities or 
manufactures to those who are concerned in it.” 

The two utterances taken together are significant, 
for Mr. Adams had returned from Philadelphia in 
October, 1774, it was he, doubtless, who 
draughted the covenant. Immediately on his getting 
back to Braintree the town had chosen him as an ad- 
ditional delegate to the Provincial Congress, Messrs. 
Thayer and Palmer having been previously elected. 
He had passed the winter at home, and as soon as the 
covenant was adopted he came forward with another 
report as chairman of a committee on minute-men. 
It was voted to raise three companies, one in each 
precinet, to be composed of forty-one men each, includ- 
ing officers. Provision had already been made in 
January for military drill, and payment for attendance 
thereat ; and now the minute-men in prompt attend- 


and 





QUINCY. 


337 





ance were to receive “one shilling and four pence per 
day for one day in every week, and the selectmen 


| 


were directed to supply the officers of the three com-_ 
panies with money to pay off said men day by day ;’ | 


and if there were no funds in the treasury they were 
to borrow on the town’s credit. On the 19th of April 
occurred the affair of Lexington and Concord, and on 


the 24th the adjourned town-meeting directed the se- 


lectmen to “dismiss Mr. Rice, their Grammar School 
master as soon as their present engagements are ex- 
pired.” It was evidently thought that there was no 


money for anything but men and munitions; and ten 


flocking over the Plymouth road and down Penn’s 
Hill to Braintree. The wildest rumors were cir- 
culated. Three hundred men had been landed! 
They were marching into Weymouth village! They 
Meanwhile the com- 
panies of minute-men came rapidly in, showing sufh- 


ciently well what a hornet’s nest the region was. 


were coming to Germantown ! 


They came from distances of twenty miles and more. 
Those from Braintree were naturally among the first 
on the ground. Young Elihu Adams, also a son of 


Deacon John Adams, and who afterwards died of 


days later Mrs. Adams wrote to her husband: “ Mr. | 
Rice is going into the army as captain of a company. | 


We have noschool. I know not what to do with John.” 
This John was her oldest son, John Quincy, then a 
boy of seven, who, eighteen months later, she again 


refers to as having ‘“‘ become post-rider from Boston | 


to Braintree.” 


It was the general belief, after the affair of Lexing- | 
ton and Concord had tightened the lines around 


Boston, that the need of supplies would oblige Gen. 
Gage to send out parties along the shore. 
the salt-water neighborhoods, the North Precinct was 
accordingly in great and perpetual terror of forays. 
On the 4th of May, Mrs. Adams wrote: ‘“ There 
has been no descent upon the sea-coast. 
regularly kept.” 


Guards are 


who had died only a few weeks before, was then at the 
house of her father-in-law in the North Precinet,—the 
house, already referred to, in which President Josiah 
Quincy, of Harvard College, subsequently lived and 
died. 
to see her there, “ and in the afternoon, from an alarm 
they had she and her sister with three others of the 
family, took refuge with [Mrs. Adams] and tarried 
all night.” 
Deacon Holbrook, of the Middle Precinct, for a place 
of retreat, if he needed one; and Mr. Cranch, who 
lived at Germantown, did the same with Maj. Bass. 


As one of | 


The widow of Josiah Quincy, Jr., | 


On Saturday, April 29th, Mrs. Adams went | 


A little later Col. Quincey arranged with | 


dysentery contracted in camp during the siege of 
Boston, was in command of the Braintree company, 
and also one of the party which went out to drive the 
marauders away from Sheep Island, where they were 
foraging. This they succeeded in doing without loss 
to themselves. 

Through all these events Mrs. Adams wrote that 
her house, being on the main road, was a scene of 
lasting confusion. ‘‘ Soldiers coming in fora lodging, 
for breakfast, for supper, for drink, etc. Sometimes 
refugees from Boston, tired and fatigued, seek an 
asylum for a day, a night, a week.’ Meanwhile her 
husband was writing: ‘“ Let me caution you, my dear, 
to be upon your guard against the multitude of 
affrights and alarms which, I fear, will surround 
you;” but a little later he exclaims, ‘ Oh, that I were 


a soldier! I will be! I am reading military books. 


| Everybody must, and will, and shall be a soldier !” 


All this was in May. At last, on the morning of 
Saturday, June 17th, a heavy cannonading to the 
The 
British ships of war in Boston Harbor were firing at 
the breastwork which had been thrown up the night 
before on the crest of Bunker’s Hill. The only records 
which have come down to us showing how that day 
was passed by those dwelling in Braintree are found 


northward awoke the town at early dawn. 


ina letter from Mrs. Adams to her husband and in 


Mrs. Adams herself secured a refuge at the house of | 


her husband’s brother. 


So things went on from day to day, the now inev- | 


itable conflict drawing always nearer. At last, on 
Sunday morning, May 21st, Braintree had a veritable 
alarm,—the enemy was actually at its door. Three 
sloops and a cutter had come out from Boston Harbor 
and dropped anchor in Weymouth fore-river, not far 
from Germantown. Before six o'clock alarm-guns 
were heard, and shortly after the bells began to ring. 
Then the minute-men fell in at tap of drum on the 


training-field. The panic was great, especially in 


Restless with ex- 
citement and suspense, unable to shut out the noise of 


the later recollections of her son. 


the distant cannon, the mother, then a woman of a 
little more than thirty, taking with her the child of 
eight, went out to the neighboring Penn’s Hill, and, 
climbing to its summit, looked towards Boston. It 
was a clear June day of intense heat, and across the 
blue bay they saw, against the horizon, the dense 
black volume of smoke which rolled away from the 
burning houses of Charlestown. Over the crest of the 
distant hill hung the white clouds which told of the 


_ battle going on beneath the smoke. There was withal 


Weymouth, and men, women, and children came 


22 


| something quite dramatic in the scene; for, as the 


two sat there silent and trembling, the child’s hand 
clasped in that of the mother, thinking now of what 


338 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





was taking place before their eyes, and now of the 
husband and father so far away at the Congress, they 
dreamed not at all of the great future for him and for 
the boy to be surely worked out in that conflict, the 
first pitched battle of which was then being fought 
before them. 

The next day the mother wrote,— 


“The battle began upon our intrenchments upon Bunker’s 
Hill Saturday morning, about three o’clock, and has not ceased 
yet, and it is now three o’clock Sabbath afternoon. Charles- 
town is laid in ashes. It is expected they will come out over 
the Neck to-night, and adreadful battle must ensue. Almighty 
God, cover the heads of our countrymen, and be a shield to our 
dear friends! How many have fallen we know not. Thecon- 
stant roar of the cannon is so distressing that we cannot eat, 
drink, or sleep. My bursting heart must find vent at my pen. 
‘The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong ; but the 
God of Israel is He that giveth strength and power unto his 
people. 
hearts before him; God is a refuge for us.’ ”’ 


There were no services held that Sunday in the | 


North Precinct church, nor had there been on the 
Sunday before. “They delight in molesting us on 
the Sabbath,” wrote Mrs. Adams. But at last, on the 
25th of June, “we have sat under our own vine in 
The good man was 
earnest and pathetic; I could forgive his weakness for 
the sake of his sincerity.” Nor did her own pastor 
fully meet the spiritual needs of this lady, for pres- 
ently she speaks of him as “ our inanimate old bache- 


quietness; have heard Mr. Taft. 


lor,’ whom she “ could not bear to hear ;”’ and then 
says that he ‘made the best oration (he never prays, 
you know) I ever heard from him.” Two companies 
of soldiers were now stationed in the town,—that 
of Capt. Turner, at Germantown, and that of Capt. 
Vinton, at Squantum. Presently they were engaged 
in small affairs in the harbor; but, before this, their 
presence led to a town-meeting episode which showed 


how the lessons of history were ingrained in the peo- | 


ple. The descendants of the Puritans bore freshly in 
memory the fact that Cromwell had with his soldiery 
dispersed the Long Parliament. The town was to 


Col. 


Thayer, dwelling in different precincts, were opposing 


choose a_ representative. Palmer 


candidates, and Captain Vinton’s company was largely 


composed of men from Mr. Thayer’s precinct. The 


Trust in him at all times, ye people, pour out your | 


and Mr. | 


| 





meeting was held on the 12th of July, and again Mrs. | 


Adams tells what took place: 


“There was a considerable muster upon Thayer’s side, and | 


Vinton’s company marched up in order to assist, but got sadly 
disappointed. 
vote who was in the army. He had no notion of being under 


the military power; said we might be so situated as to have the 


Newcomb insisted upon it that no man should | 


' of terrible trial. 


greater part of the people engaged in the military, and then all | 


power would be wrested out of the hands of the civil magistrate. 
He insisted upon its being put to vote, and carried his point 
immediately.” 


During the night of the 9th of July a body of 
three hundred volunteers put out in whale-boats from 
Germantown, and crossed over to Long Island, where 
they seized some cattle, sheep, and prisoners, and 
brought them off without being discovered from the 
vessels lying near. Their emulation being fired by 
this achievement, a few days later another party put 
off from the Moon Island, opposite Squantum, in 
open day, and fired the house and barn which the 
previous party had spared. Though exposed to a 
sharp fire from the enemy’s ships, the whole force re- 
turned in safety, and only one of the,covering party on 
the Moon was killed. Then all the companies guard- 
ing the south side of the bay were ordered to go to 
Nantasket, and cut and bring away the ripened grain. 
While there, and under the eyes of several men-of- 
war, they crossed over in their whale-boats and set fire 
to the light-house. Returning, they were fired upon 
and pursued, but got back without loss. Gen. 
Gage thereupon sent a force of carpenters, under 


_ guard of thirty marines, down to repair the building, 


and caused a new lamp to beset up. In consequence 
of this, on Sunday evening, the 29th, a body of men 
went off from Squantum in the whale-boats, surprised 
and overcame the guard, killing the lieutenant in 
command and one man, and completely destroyed the 


buildings. Returning with their prisoners they were 


_ hotly pursued, but escaped with the loss of one man 


killed. Two days after he was buried from German- 
town. These were the only military operations un- 
dertaken during the siege of Boston from Quincy Bay ; 
and though, as Mrs. Adams wrote, they were in 
themselves but trifling affairs, yet they served “to 
inure our men and harden them to danger.” 

The summer was hot and dry. There was meat 
to be had in abundance, but at one time it seemed 
probable that the corn crop would prove a failure, and 
famine might thus be added to war. Tea, coffee, 
and sugar became very scarce, but ‘‘ whortleberries 
and milk we are not obliged to commerce for.” The 
camps about Boston, swarming with raw, untrained 
levies, were not properly policed, nor were the food and 
mode of life such as the men were accustomed to. As 
a matter of course sickness ensued. The state of con- 
tinual excitement and alarm in which the people of 
the neighboring towns had long been living naturally 
predisposed them to disease, and when the camp sick- 
ness took the form of dysentery it soon became epi- 
demic and spread rapidly. Then followed some weeks 
It was a time of pestilence. In 
Braintree Mr. Wibird was stricken down, and all 
through August and September the Sabbath services 


were not observed. There was almost no house 








QUINCY. 


339 








which did not count some dead, and two, three, and 
even four funerals would take place in a day. 


‘The small-pox in the natural way was not more mortal than 
this distemper has proved in this and many neighboring towns. 
.. Mrs. Randall has lost her daughter. Mrs. Bracket 
hers. Mr. Thomas Thayer his wife. I know of eight this week 
who have been buriedin this town. 
count five of my near connections laid in the grave... 


| 
| 
| 
| 


. - - In six weeks [I | 


And such is the distress of the neighborhood that I can scarcely | 


find a well person to assist in looking after the sick. 
bird lies bad, Major Miller is dangerous, and Mr. Gay is not 
expected to live. ... We have fevers of various kinds, the 
throat distemper, as well as the dysentery prevailing in this and 
the neighboring towns. 


most every family. I have no more shocking and terrible idea 


of any distemper, except the plague, than this. . . So 
mortal a time the oldest man does not remember.” 
So wrote Mrs. Adamsto her husband. His brother 


Elihu, who had just taken a commission in the army, 
was among the earliest victims. Returning home at 
that time, John Adams had started back to Philadel- 
phia on the 26th of August, and between that day 
and the 8th of September there were eighteen per- 
sons buried in the Middle Precinct alone. The disease 
was supposed to be contagious, so that watchers and 
nurses could be obtained only with difficulty, and the 


sustained physical strain upon the well soon made | 
them sick. Mrs. Adams’ own house was a hospital. | 


A servant was first taken down; she herself was 
then seized; another servant followed, and then one 
of her children; a third servant fell sick, and had to 
be moved to Weymouth, where she afterwards died. 


Mr. Wi- | 


... Sickness and death are in al- | 








Thither Mrs. Adams followed her to be by the bed- | 


side of her own mother, and from thence, on October | 


1st, she wrote, in an agony of grief, to her husband,— 


“Have pity upon me! have pity upon me, O thou my be- | 
Yet will I be | 


loved, for the hand of God presseth me sore. 
dumb and silent, and not open my mouth, because Thou, O Lord, 
hast done it. 


my dear mother has left me! After sustaining sixteen days’ 


severe conflict, nature fainted, and she fell asleep. At times I | 


was almost ready to faint under this severe and heavy stroke, 
separated from thee, who used to be a comforter to me in afilic- 
tion; but, blessed be God! his earis not heavy that He cannot 
hear, but He has bid us call upon Him in time of trouble.” 


Ten days after this letter was written Col. Josiah | 


Quincy watched, from an upper window of his house, 
the ship that bore Gen. Gage down the harbor on his 
way home to England. The pane of glass is still 
preserved on which he then scratched a record of 
the incident. But six months more were to pass 
before the evacuation of Boston. 
the apprehension of attack along the Braintree shore 
was continual; but those dwelling there had become 
accustomed to it, and took the alarms more quietly. 
Col. Quincey wrote,— 


How can I tell you (O my bursting heart!) that | 


During that time | 








“ Although we have five companies stationed near us, yet the 
shells thrown from the floating batteries and the flat-bottomed 
boats which row with twenty oars, carry fifty men each, and 
are defended with cannon and swivels, keep us under perpetual 
apprehension of being attacked whenever we shall become an 
object of sufficient magnitude to excite the attention of our en- 
emies. Our circumstances are truly melancholy, and grow 
rather worse than better.” 


Towards the end of October the sickness abated, 
and as the winter came on the situation became in 
every way more endurable. Money, it was true, had 
already become scarce. Paper currency was at a 
discount of ten per cent., and a silver dollar was a 
great rarity. Prices had begun to rise. Those of 
foreign goods had doubled. Molasses was an article 
in common household use; its ordinary price had 
risen from twenty-five cents a gallon to forty. Of 
the domestic products, corn was sixty-five cents a 
bushel, rye eighty, hay twenty dollars a ton, and 
wood three dollars and a half a cord. 
abundant. 


Meat was 
The condition of the people was, there- 


_ fore, in no way unbearable, and though Boston was in 


a state of siege only ten miles away, with the exception 
that the greater part of the able-bodied men were away 
in camp, life went on in Braintree much as usual. 
This continued until March, the war and its 
incidents being, meanwhile, the great subject of dis- 
cussion. Rumors of what was going on in camp 
and in Congress were abundant. Among others, 
there came a story, which was industriously briited 
about, that Hancock and John Adams had both left 
Philadelphia, and sailed for England from New York 
on board an English man-of-war. In other words, 
In the morbid condition 
of the public mind, even this absurd story gained 
credence. Angry disputes took place in Braintree 
taverns, and ‘some men were collared and dragged 
out of the shop with great threats for reporting such 
scandalous lies.” Norton Quincy, then one of the 
selectmen, seems to have been especially excited over 


they had proved traitors. 


the calumny. Though a man of indolent temper, he 
went so far as to offer his own life as a forfeit for 
that of the husband of his niece, should the report 
prove true. But, a mere war rumor, it was soon 
forgotten. Indeed, the beginning of new military 
operations soon drove all such wild ideas out of the 
people’s heads. . 

On the 3d of March the sound of heavy cannon- 
ading from the direction of Boston warned the peo- 
ple of Braintree that new movements were going on. 
The militia were all mustered, and marched away 
with three days’ rations. Scarcely a man was left 
in town, and the place of those serving as sea-coast 


guards was filled by others from the interior. 


340 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





“T have just returned,” wrote Mrs. Adams, “ from Penn’s 
Hill, where I have been sitting to hear the amazing roar of 
cannon, and from whence I could see every shell which was 
thrown. I went to bed about twelve, and rose again 
a little after one. 
the engagement; the rattling of the windows, the jar of the 
house, the continual roar of twenty-four pounders, and the 
About six this morning there was quiet. I 
I hear we got possession of 


I could no more sleep than if I had been in 


bursting of shells. 
rejoiced in a few hours’ calm. 
Dorchester Hill last night.” 


Three days later, she speaks of the militia as all | 
returning, and of her great disappointment that noth- | 


ing more was effected than the occupation of Dor- 
chester Heights. ‘I hoped and expected more im- 
portant and decisive scenes. I 
suffered all I have for two such hills.” A fortnight 
later the evacuation of Boston had been decided 
upon. ‘Between seventy and eighty vessels of 
various sizes are gone down and lie in a row in fair 
sight of this place, all of which appear to be loaded.” 
The fear of marauding parties was so great at this 


time that the shores had to be guarded nightly. 


Under date of the 18th of March, when an adjourned | 


town-meeting was to have been held, the following 
entry appears in the records: 


“The inhabitants being obliged to guard the shores to pre- 
vent the threatened damages from the ships which lay in the 


harbor with the troops aboard, the meeting was adjourned to | 


25th instant, at one o’clock P.M.” 


Three days later, Col. Quincy reported as follows 
to Gen. Washington : 


“ Since the ships and troops fell down below, we have been 


would not have | 


| 





| three hundred fire-rafts prepared. 


think of nothing but fortifying Boston Harbor. I want more 
cannon than are to be had. I want a fortification upon Point 
Alderton, one upon Lovell’s Island, one upon George’s Island, 
several upon Long Island, one upon the Moon, one upon Squan- 
I want to hear of half a dozen fire-ships, and two or 
I want to hear of row-gal- 
leys, floating batteries built, and booms laid across the channel 
I wish to 


tum. 


in the narrows, and Vaisseaux de Frise sunk in it. 


| hear that you are translating Braintree commons into the 
| channel.” 


Though the body of the English fleet took its de- 
parture for Halifax during the month of March, a 


| few vessels lay at anchor in the outer harbor or 


cruised about the bay for several weeks longer. They 
seemed reluctant to give up all pretence of maintain- 
ing a hold on Boston. At the end of May, Mrs. 
Adams wrote: ‘“ We have now in fair sight of my 
uncle’s [ Norton Quincy’s house, at Mount Wollaston] 
the ‘ Commodore, a thirty-six gun frigate, another large 
vessel, and six small eraft.” At last military move- 
ments were made under orders from the patriot au- 
thorities looking to the occupation of the islands. In 
consequence of these the last remnant of the fleet, 
““¢ Commodore’ and all,’’ put to sea upon the 14th of 
June, and ‘‘ not a transport, a ship, or a tender [was 
next day] to be seen.” Braintree, in common with 
her sister-towns on Boston Bay, was thereafter allowed 
to rest in peace. 

So far as Massachusetts was concerned, the war of 


independence now entered upon a new stage. Neither 


_ any longer was the enemy on the hearth-stone, nor 


apprehensive of an attack from their boats, in pursuit of live | 


stock; but yesterday, in the afternoon we were happily relieved 
by the appearance of a number of whale-boats, stretching 
across our bay, under the command (as I have since learned) 


of the brave Lieut.-Col. Tupper, who in the forenoon had been | 


cannonading the ships, with one or more field-pieces, from the 
east head of Thompson’s Island, and I suppose last night can- 
nonaded them from the same place, or from Spectacle Island. 
This judicious manceuvre had its genuine effect ; for, this morn- 
ing, the Admiral and all the rest of the ships, except one of the 
line, came to sail, and fell down to Nantasket Road, where a 
countless number is now collected.” 


At the same time Mrs. Adams wrote,— 


“From Penn’s Hill we have a view of the largest fleet ever 
seen in America. You may count upwards of a hundred and 
seventy sail. They look like a forest. ... To what quar- 
ter of the world they are bound is wholly unknown; but it is 
generally thought to New York. Many people are elated with 
their quitting Boston. I confess I do not feel so. ’Tis only 
lifting a burden from one shoulder to the other, which is per- 
haps less able or less willing to support it... . Every foot 
of ground which they obtain now they must fight for, and may 


they purchase it at a Bunker Hill price.” 


And in reply, John Adams exclaimed,— 


“We are taking precautions to defend every place that is in 


danger, the Carolinas, Virginia, New York, Canada. I can 


| 
| 
| 
| 
| 


| presence of trial assumed an unknown charm. 


was the struggle a novelty. The glow of excitement 
which stimulated and made easy the first patriotic 
movement had passed away. In its place came a con- 
sciousness of the drag and drain of aseemingly endless 
war. In this respect the experience of one genera- 
tion is but a repetition of that of another. The 
ugly details of the past are forgotten, while whatever 
there was of heroic about it stands out clean cut and 
prominent. On the other hand, the selfish, venal spirit 
of the present makes itself painfully apparent, and is 
supposed always to be of recent development,—one of 
the characteristics of a race degenerate. <A careful 
examination of the record reveals a different story. 
The years between 1860 and 1865 will lose nothing 
by contrast with those between 1776 and 1782. In 
each case the conflict opened on a people wild with 
All were burning to do something ; 
many could not do too much. Money was poured out 
like water; regiments formed as if by magic. Self- 
sacrifice was the order of the day, and life in the 
For 
the time being a whole people had become heroic. 
Then came the reaction. The realities of war be- 


patriotic ardor. 


QUINCY. 341 








gan to be felt. nlistments fell off in 1776, as they 
did in 1862. 
proportion to the more pressing need of men. Values 
were unsettled. Prices rose. The poorer and more 
selfish natures began to show the baseness of which 


they were capable. 


It grew harder to procure men just in | 


Those above forty years of age, and the halt, the lame, 
and the blind must be exempted. During the years 
1776 to 1782, therefore, the whole arms-bearing popu- 


lation of Braintree did not exceed 475 at the outside. 


The voice of the croaker was loud | 


in the land. The contractor grew rich; the patriot | 


poor. It seemed as though the war would never end; 
not a few were forward to express the wish that it had 
never begun. 
longed for quiet and the flesh-pots. 


The weak, the craven, and the mean | 


Even while the town clerk of Braintree, in obe- | 


dience to the mandate of the Provincial Council, was 


| 


entering the Declaration of Independence on the | 


records, “there to remain as a perpetual memorial,” — 
only three months after the last British ship had been 


' some furniture. 


| 


driven from Boston Harbor,—even thus early Mrs. 


Adams wrote as follows to her husband: 


“T am sorry to see a spirit so venal prevailing everywhere. 


_town like Braintree a few exceptions. 


When our men were drawn out for Canada, a very large bounty | 


was given them; and now another call is made upon us. 
one will go without a large bounty, though only for two months, 
and each town seems to think its honor engaged in outbidding 
the others. In addition 
to that, this town voted to make it up six pounds. They then 
drew out the persons most unlikely to go, and they are obliged 
to give three pounds to hirea man. Some pay the whole fine, 
—ten pounds. Forty men are now drafted from this town. 
More than one-half, from sixteen to fifty, are now in the ser- 


The province pay is forty shillings. 


vice. This method of conducting will create a general uneasi- 


ness in the Continental army.” 


She then goes on to speak of the rage for privateer- 


No | ception to it. 


It probably fell considerably short of that number. 
As respects available wealth, it is far more difficult 
to fix on any safe basis for estimate. This subject 
has already been considered. It has been stated that 
the Braintree people during the colonial period had 
substance, but very little of what would now be called 
quick capital. In other words, they had nothing 
which could readily be turned into money. They 
owned the houses in which they lived, their farms, 
farm buildings, and stock. They had clothes and 
A few had money out at interest ; 
and others were in debt. To this general rule of 
no available means there were, of course, in an old 
Such were 
Col. Quincy, Major Miller, Gen. Palmer, and, possi- 
bly, Mr. Thayer. John Adams was not an ex- 
He had nothing except his house in 


' Queen Street, Boston, and the farm at Penn’s Hill. 


The farm his wife tried to manage. Hew men were 
more capable, and yet in September, 1777, she wrote 
to him, “ Unless you return, what little property you 
possess will be lost. . . . As to what is here under 
my immediate inspection, I do the best I can with 
it. But it will not, at the high price labor is, pay 


its way.’ This was the common experience. The 


-Penn’s Hill farm also affords a basis on which to 


ing which prevailed, and adds that ‘‘ vast numbers” | 


_ were employed in that way. Before entering further 
into the burden which the war then imposed on 


Braintree, it will be well to try to form some idea of | 


the strength which was there to bear the burden. | 


What was the population of the town during the 
Revolution ?—and what was its wealth ? 
of 1765 gives the population at 2433, that of 1776 
at 2871, and that of 1790 at 2771. During the war, 
therefore, taken as one period, Braintree must have 
numbered a population of close upon 2800 souls. Of 


| was £440, or $1465. 
The census | 


these, 700 would have been males above sixteen years | 


of age; for the war lasted eight years, and in the 


course of it a new arms-bearing generation grew up. 


Experience has always shown that, for the practical 


purposes of war, men above forty years of age are | 
_ mulated wealth of Braintree in 1776. 


useless. As members of a home-guard and during 
short periods of service, they can be made more or less 
effective. But the bivouac, long marches, and unac- 
customed fare break them down. 


to campaign exposure. 


They are not equal 
Consequently not more than 


make an approximate estimate of the wealth of the 
town. One part of that farm consisted of thirty-five 
acres of arable land, with a house, barn, and other 

With this part went eighteen acres of 
Bought in 1774, the cost of the property 
In 1765 there were 327 
houses in Braintree, occupied by 357 families. At 
the time of the war the number of houses may have 
increased to 400. That bought by John Adams 
was one of the better sort. Judging by the sum 
paid for it, an estimate of $300 to a house and a 
family would seem to be liberal, for in the town there 
were some paupers aud many poor people, who, living 
The owners of 

The sum of 


buildings. 
pasture. 


only, never accumulated anything. 
farms were accounted the rich men. 
$400,000 would thus represent the aggregate accu- 


Such being the strength,—450 men capable of 
bearing arms, with an accumulation of $400,000 be- 
hind them,—it remains to consider the burden. This 
is no less difficult correctly to estimate than the other. 


two-thirds at most of the men above sixteen in any | The rolls show, for instance, that Braintree furnished 


community are properly capable of bearing arms. 


1600 men for military duty in the course of the war, 


342 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





i : | ‘ : 
besides a large number (of which there is no record) | But the figures are apt to be expressed in Continental 


who served on the water. 
year (1781) it assessed itself $600,000 to buy beef 


for the army and pay the town expenses. But the 


And, again, in one single | 


$600,000 were paid in paper currency, and the term | 


of service of the men was apt not to exceed three days. 


Such figures only serve to falsify. During the Revo- | 


lution Braintree did not contribute either 1600 men 


or a million dollars, for the simple reason that her in- | 


habitants did not number the one or have the other. 


The drain was doubtless heavy enough, but it was at | 


least limited by the total resources. 
In considering, then, the Braintree enlistments, 
those for short periods must be left out of the ac- 


count. <A service of one or two days in guarding 


currency. There was no financial, as there was no 
military, folly which the New England people did not 
commit during the Revolution. Throughout they 
showed that the town-meeting is ill adapted to war. 
They tried to make patriotism a substitute for the 
provost-guard. They issued false money. They 
They mobbed those who preferred 
not to exchange good merchandise for worthless 
paper. It was not in them to do what Frederick IT. 
did in Prussia,—take the men they needed and the 


regulated prices. 





supplies they needed and finish up the work in hand. 


the shore may have been a summer picnic, with an | 


agreeable spice of danger, but in no sense was it 
war. The men engaged in that service were not 
soldiers. 
itatus. The shorter enlistments also were of not much 


more value. Indeed, experience has shown that in 


They were mere members of a posse com- | 


actual war there is no more cruel way of wasting | 


blood and treasure than sending to the field men en- 
listed for a few weeks or months. Almost never are 
they of any real service. ; 

A Mr. Partridge, of Duxbury, one of a committee 
who waited on Washington in October, 1776, asked 
him whether enlistments for one year would not suf- 


fice. He exclaimed in reply, ‘“ Good God! gentle- 


men, our cause is ruined if you engage men for only | 


a year. You must not think of it. If we hope for 
success we must have men enlisted for the whole 
term of the war.” This course was too Spartan; 
the weaker, the more wasteful, and more murderous 
one of short enlistments was pursued. 


Accordingly, 


That would have been war. What they did was to 
campaign interminably under town-meeting inspira- 
tion. / 

As regards the actual money contributions of 
Braintree to the war of independence, the records are 
suggestive, but exasperatingly vague. They are full of 
votes alluding to reports and statements at the time 
made, but since lost. There are almost no exact fig- 
ures. Even when supplemented by the State archives 
they fail to piece out the story. One thing is appa- 
rent: the zeal of the early 1775 soon vanished. Not 
only in the years which followed could few recruits 
be obtained from among the townsmen, but they 
would not submit to a draft. In September, 1777, 
and again in June, 1780, the Braintree town-meeting 
formally voted to indemnify the militia officers for 
any fine they might incur by omitting to draft men 
when required so to do by the General Court. Commit- 


| tee after committee was then appointed to fill up the 
quota by going out to hunt up men in other towns. 


The inhabitants were finally divided into classes, and 


_each class was called upon to somewhere secure its 


men were enlisted in Braintree for the Canada expe- | 


dition in 1776, for the Rhode Island expeditions in 
1777 and 1778, and for the Penobscot expedition of 
1779; others went down to garrison the castle in the 
harbor. Furnishing and equipping these men went far 
toward exhausting the town ; but it was playing at war. 
It was the three-year Continentals who did the work. 
They were at Long Island, and they were at Stony 
Point ; they forced Burgoyne’s intrenchments, and 
captured Rahl’s Hessians; they bore the heat of 
Monmouth, and stormed the redoubt at Yorktown. 
This was war. The question is always,—How many 
of these men did the town put into the field? Pic- 
nics and summer promenades do not count. 

That the 
stress on the towns during the Revolution was great 
is indisputable. 


So also as regards taxes and supplies. 


They were called on for money and 
they were called on for men, for clothes, and for meat. 


recruits. The poorest and worst material in the com- 
munity was thus collected together and swept into 
the ranks. A large portion of the heroes of 76 were 
men of this stamp. In 1781, for instance, Capt. 
Joseph Baxter, one of the town recruiting committee, 
had a long wrangle with the selectmen of Boston over 


Both 


parties claimed him as one of their quota. The Bos- 


a wretched bounty-jumper named Williams. 


ton agents had given him fifteen guineas, and Capt. 
Baxter ‘‘ was drove to the utmost extremity to prove 
the justness of his claim to said Williams, but finally 
obtained him.” The records of the year 1780 indicate 
the most severe stress. They read as follows, the 
meeting being held in the Middle Precinct meeting- 


house on the 27th of June. The motion was 


“To make an offer to such persons as will engage to go into 
the service. 


“ After a considerable debate on the matter, it was 
“Voted, To give each man One Thousand Dollars as a 








QUINCY. 


343 





Bounty, also Half a Bushel of Corn for Every Day from the 
Time they march to the time they are discharged or leave the 
army; and also half a bushel of Corn for every Twenty miles 
they shall be from home when discharged ; and also 


“ Voted, That the town will pay them the forty shillings per | 


month promised by the State, in hard money, if the soldiers en- 
able the town to Receive the said 40/ from the State. Unless it 
will best sute the soldiers to Receive it from the State them- 
selves. 

“Voted, The Selectmen should give Security to the persons 
that shall engage pursuant to the foregoing vote; and also the 
Selectmen Procure the Corn at Harvest, and Store it for the 
men until they return. 

“ General Palmer generously gave into the hands of the mod- 
erator One Thousand and Eighty Dollars, to be equally divided 
among the thirty-six men that shall first engage in the six 
months’ service as a Reinforcement to the Continental Army. 
For which the thanks of the Town were voted him. 

“The Familys of such men as shall engage for the Term of 
six months shall be supply’d by the Selectmen with Corn, 
wood, or such other articles as they stand in need of, which is 
to be charged and Reducted from the wages of that person, 
which is to be paid him in Corn upon his Returning home.” 


At an adjourned meeting held the next day it was 
further voted to exempt from tax all notes issued by 
the town for money loaned it to procure men. Two 


days later the town again met, and then 


“The Committee Reported that they had Inlisted thirty-one 
men, and that there was a prospect of Inlisting the other five 
men which is wanting to complete the first 36 men called for, 
and likewise a part or all the nine men Required. 

“General Palmer generously made the same offer to the nine 


for which the Thanks of the Town was again Voted him.” 


At an adjourned meeting, held on the 5th of July, 
it was, 


“after a Long Debate, Voted that the officers’ pay, including 
the State’s pay, be made equal to a Private.” 


At another adjourned meeting on the 10th, 


“the Votes that was past on that day (5th) Concerning the 


officers’ pay being all disannul’d and void, Voted, To give | 


each officer that shall go from this Town for the three months’ 
service Four Hundred Dollars, being the same sum as was 
voted the soldiers as a Bounty; also Voted the officers the same 
pay from the town, Exclusive of their other pay, as the Soldiers 
receive. Cap. Newcomb appeared to go upon the encourage- 
ment.” 


The calls for men were incessant until 1782. A 
new crop of fighting material had then matured, for 
the boy not yet twelve when the skirmish at Concord 
bridge took place was eighteen at the surrender of 
Yorktown. Between 1775 and 1782, as nearly as 
can now be estimated, Braintree sent into the field 
about 550 men, enlisted for periods of six months or 


over. The number of men, as well as the length of 


enlistment, varied with the different years. In 1775, | 





in this same way. 


town sent not less than 150 men, enlisted to the close 
of the year, into Washington’s army about Boston. In 
1776 about 120 men were furnished. In 1777 some 
seventy were enlisted for three years. In no year were 
less than forty sent, except in 1781, when the enlist- 
ment appears to have been for four months only. Under 
this system the same men in the course of a seven- 
years’ war may have enlisted several times. It is im- 


_ possible, therefore, to even estimate the portion of 
| Braintree’s 650 arms-bearing men who actually served 


in the Continental army, though it is probably safe to 
say that the number did not fall below 300. For 
shorter terms and in the militia every man in town 
capable of bearing them bore arms. The average 
force of Continentals which the town kept in the 
field would seem to have been about seventy men. 
There is no record of the number of those who 
were wounded, or who died in battle or in camp. 
Neither do the figures which have been given 
Indeed, it 
is only through incidental mention in the letters of 
Mrs. Adams that we even know that privateering 
was all the rage among the young men of Braintree. 
Yet not only did she so describe it in 1776, but five 
years later, in December, 1781, she sent to her hus- 
band at the Hague the names of no less than twelve 


include those who served on the ‘sea. 


| Braintree boys captured in the British Channel on 


§ ; | the privateer ‘“‘ Essex,” from Salem, and then con- 
men as he did to the 36 men,—that was thirty dollars each; | 


| fined in Plymouth jail. 


“Ned Savil,” “Job Field,” 
and ‘“‘ Josiah Bass” were unmistakable North Precinct 
names, and doubtless many score of others saw service 
Nor was it a service lightly to be 
spoken of. The supplies and munitions of war picked 


up by the Yankee privateers went far toward keep- 
_ing Washington’s army in the field. 


So far, therefore, as men were concerned, it seems 
probable that the Revolutionary land and sea service 
combined kept at least a fourth part of the effective 
arms-bearing force of Braintree continually employed 
from 1775 to 1782. They were drawn away from all 
peaceful occupations, and, in place of being producers, 
they became consumers. What the consumption of 
the war amounted to now remains to be considered. 
During the three years prior to Lexington and Con- 
cord—that is, between 1772 and 1774—Braintree 


raised annually by taxation the sum of £150 pro- 


for instance, besides militia to guard the coast, the | 


vincial money, or $500, to meet current town ex- 
penses ; the precinct or church levy being a distinct 
In 1776 the sum of £1176 was raised under 
This, too, was in hard money, 


charge. 
three separate votes. 
for even as late as December of that year silver was 
but ten per cent. premium. The next year the 


amount raised was £1500. Indian corn was still 


344 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





only five shillings a bushel, its ordinary price being 
four shillings ; but rye had doubled, selling for twelve 
shillings, while ram had gone up from three to eight 
shillings, and molasses was not to be had. 
1778, the sum of £4000 was ordered to be assessed 
immediately, for in April a requisition in kind of 
shirts, shoes, and stockings had been made on the 
town. <A similar requisition for blankets had been 
made in January, 1777. 
requisition of shirts, shoes, and stockings was made, 
the town to furnish “a number of these articles 
equal to one-seventh Part of the Male Inhabitants 


above the Age of sixteen years;” from which pos- 


sibly it might be inferred that Braintree then had — 


some ninety men in service. In January the select- 


men had been ordered to procure one thousand 


= : | 
bushels of grain for the town, and in November a_ 


levy of £6000 was voted “toward defraying the 
charges of the same.” The currency was now fast 
losing its value,—how fast may be inferred from the 
fact that in place of the former allowance of two 
pence a head for killing old blackbirds, in May, 
1780, the sum of thirty shillings was voted, while 
the three shillings a day for labor on the highways 

Indeed, there 
Calico was from 
thirty to forty dollars per yard, molasses twenty dol- 
In May, 


1780, the selectmen were ordered to secure corn, 


became seven pounds ten shillings. 
were no longer any quotable prices. 


lars a gallon, sugar four dollars a pound. 


so as to be prepared to give those who enlisted half 
In July a 
requisition came for shirts, shoes, stockings, and blan- 
kets, and another for horses; in September a third 
for 23,400 pounds of beef, and in December yet a 
fourth for 44,933 additional pounds of. beef. 


a bushel of it a day instead of money. 


In June, 1779, another | 
The cases of individual hardship must have been 


| 
| 


In May, | 





| Many. 


In view of these requisitions in kind, and the 
utter confusion of the currency, it is impossible to 
say what the real money cost of the Revolution was. 
When peace at last came Braintree was heavily in 
debt. But its notes had shared the fate of the paper 
currencies in which they were payable. Some of 
them were paid; some were compromised; some 
were repudiated. The annual tax levy, which be- 
fore the war was only £150, after it became £1000. 


Fortunately there were in those days few 
who lived on fixed incomes. Indeed, the minister 
was almost the only such person who could be sug- 
All others were dependent on their labor 
Taxes and the in- 
creased price of labor more than used up the whole 
During the entire Revolutionary 
period the people were eating into their accumulated 
substance. Braintree, it has been seen, kept an 
average of seventy men in the Continental army, 
besides militia, and practically, of course, had to 
pay and supply them. This could not have been 
done at less than three shillings per day for each 
Consequently, at the lowest computation, the 
war of independence could not have cost the in- 
habitants of Braintree less than $100,000 in money. 


gested. 
or the produce of their fields. 


profits of industry. 


man. 


It has been seen that $100,000 was probably equiva- 


lent to at least one-fourth part of the entire accumu- 
lation since the settlement of the town. That one- 
fourth part of the whole substance of the community 
should have been thus consumed in distant military 


operations seems incredible; and the statement of 


In> 


August it was voted to raise £120,000, and in Octo- | 


ber £60,000 more. At the same time the selectmen 


were directed to “wait on Col. Quincy and know of him | 


whether he will lend the Town a sum of hard money.” 
He apparently did so; though exactly how it was 
used or what became of it was subsequently a matter 
of curious inquiry and repeated investigation. 

But the paper money delusion was now over. 
The issues were discredited, and but half of the 


£200,000 assessment of 1780 was ever collected. | 


In 1781 the sum of £1400 in specie was raised, 
and the town as usual was called on for beef and 
clothing in kind. 
but the requisitions for men and supplies still came 
In March, 1783, the old record-book, which had 
served for fifty-two years, was full, and when he 


In 1782 only £700 were raised, 
in. 


bought a new one the town clerk noted on its first 
page that its price was “ Five Silver Dollars.”’ 


the fact should cause in subsequent generations a 
realizing sense of the obstinate spirit of independence 

In 1786 the popula- 
it had been ten years 
period of terrible de- 
of peace. The stress 


which nerved the patriot side. 
tion was not yet so large as 
before, in 1776, 
pression followed the return 
had indeed been great and the loss of men and 
means oppressive; but none the less Braintree had 


and a long 


been fortunate,—the war had never once crossed the 
boundary of the town. 

The military contribution of Braintree to the war 
of independence was limited to men and supplies. 
She furnished no officer who rose to high command, 
or evinced marked soldierly qualities. Deacon 
Joseph Palmer was commissioned brigadier-general, 
but, though a man of active nature and full of enter- 
prise of a certain sort, Palmer was then sixty years 
of age. His campaigning days were past. Full of 
zeal, he was at Bunker Hill, and subsequently very 
active during the siege of Boston, but his largest 


experience was as commander of the Massachusetts 





QUINCY. 


345 





contingent in the unfortunate “ secret expedition” of 
September, 1777, planned to drive the British from 
Rhode Island. It is claimed that the wretched failure | 
of the expedition was not to be laid at Gen. Palmer’s 
door; but Mrs. Adams could not refrain from saying 
in a letter to her husband,—“‘I know you will be 
mortified, but if you want your arms crowned with 
victory, you should not appoint what Gen. Gates | 
calls dreaming deacons to conduct them.” | 





During the later years of the struggle John 
Adams was absent from the country. In November, 
1777, he had come home and then, while still at | 
Braintree, been selected to represent the Congress in 
Europe. 
frigate ‘“‘ Boston” reported in Boston Harbor to carry | 

| 


All arrangements having been made, the | 


him abroad, and in February it lay at anchor in 

Nantasket Roads. On the morning of the 13th, Mr. | 
Adams left bis house at Penn’s Hill, and accom- | 
panied by his son John Quincy, now a boy of ten, 
drove down to Norton Quincy’s, at Mount Wol- 
His wife did | 
not accompany him; most probably she did not feel 

equal to so doing. Hardly had he got to Norton | 
Quincy’s when a boat from the frigate pulled up 

to the beach. In it was Captain Tucker, of the | 
“ Boston.” Coming up to the house he joined Mr. 
Adams, who, after writing a few hurried lines to his 
wife, walked down to the shore, and, bidding good-by 
to Norton Quincy, the party was rowed across the 


laston, on the Germantown road. 





bay to the frigate. As the father and the young lad 


drew away from the familiar land, they could not but 


have cast homesick glances back to it; for it was mid- 


winter, and the British were masters of the sea. But | 
“ Johnny,” his father wrote, behaved ‘like a man.” | 
Mr. Adams returned home the next year, reaching | 
Braintree on the 2d of September. <A week later a 
town-meeting was held for the purpose, among other 
things, of choosing delegates to the convention which | 


was to meet at Cambridge, on the 1st of September, for 
the purpose of framing a State Constitution. It was 

voted to send only one delegate, and ‘the Honble. | 
John Adams, Esq., was chosen for that purpose.” | 


While yet engaged in the work of drafting the Con- 


stitution Mr. Adams was again sent abroad, and left 
Braintree on the 13th of November. On the 22d of | 
the following May “ the freeholders and other inhab- 

itants of Braintree qualified to vote in the choice 

of a Representative’—so the record ran—met in | 
the Middle Precinct meeting-house and made choice 
of Richard Cranch to the General Court ; at the same 
time “the male Inhabitants of said Town of the age 


of Twenty-one Years and upwards” were assembled 
to consider of the form of government agreed on by | 


| ject. 


the convention. ‘‘ The Form being Read, The Town 
thought proper to choose a Committee to take the 
same under consideration and Report upon the ad- 
journment.”’ A committee of fifteen was accordingly 
selected, with Gen. Palmer at its head. This was by 
no means the first time in recent years that the in- 
habitants of Braintree had met to consider questions 


of fundamental law. And, indeed, nothing could be 


/ more characteristic than the formal and deliberate 


manner in which they uniformly approached the sub- 
They seemed fully impressed with its import- 
ance. In February, 1778, the Articles of Confedera- 
tion and Perpetual Union then drawn up by the 
Continental Congress had been submitted. The 
Braintree record states that in the town-meeting these 


‘articles were “distinctly and Repeatedly read and 


maturely considered.” They were approved except in 


one point. The action of the town upon this was 


significant, as showing how jealous the ordinary New 


Englander was of his local independence, and what a 
vast educational work then remained to be done be- 


| fore a stable Federal Constitution had any chance of 


adoption. It was provided in the Articles of Con- 
federation that Congress should “have the sole and 
exclusive right and power of determining on peace or 
war.” For this necessary provision the town of Brain- 
tree formally submitted the following absurd substi- 
tute: “The United States in Congress Assembled 


shall first obtain the approbation of the Legislative 


Body of each of the United States, or the major part 
of them, before they shall determine on peace or 


war. 

At this same time the General Court submitted a 
draft of a State Constitution which had been prepared 
by it for approval by the people. It was considered 
in a Braintree town-meeting held on the 135th of 
April. Having been read, it was referred to a com- 
mittee of fifteen to take the same “ under Consider- 
ation and Report upon the adjournment.” — Capt. 
Peter B. Adams, a younger brother of John, was 
chairman of this committee. A month later it re- 
ported that those composing it “did not approve” of 
the proposed government, and “it being put to the 
members present, thirteen was in favor of the form, 
seventy-four against it.” 

Gen. Palmer’s committee had the Constitution of 
1780 under consideration for two weeks. It then re- 
ported “sum alterations and amendments, which being 
read to the Town was Voted and axcepted.” Gen. 
Palmer was then chosen a delegate, in place of John 
Adams, to attend the convention which was to perfect 
the draft. The first election under the Constitution 
was held on the 4th of the following September, and 


346 








] 


1 a , | 
in Braintree 106 votes were cast for Governor, of 


which John Hancock received 95, and James Bow- | 
doin 11. 


the first representative. 


Richard Cranch was four weeks later chosen 


The following year only 62 
In the last- 
named year the vote between Hancock and Bowdoin | 


votes were cast, and in 1782 only 94. 


was a tie; but in 1783, Benjamin Lincoln received 
87 votes to 14 cast for Hancock. 
over, and the people of Braintree, in common with the 


The war was now | 


rest of the State, were feeling the full effects of the | 
reaction which followed it. There had been a com- | 


plete financial collapse ; business and enterprise were 


dead, and labor was in comparatively little demand. 


The utmost discontent prevailed, and an inferior set 
of political leaders made their appearance. It was the 
Yet, so 
far as the record shows, the town of Braintree had 
The 
regular town-meeting was held, and the usual action | 
taken at it. The great question of the day related to 
finances. The 
valuation for work done on the highways had fallen 
from £7 10s. a day in 1780 to three shillings now, 
and in the collection of taxes a dollar in silver was 
ordered to be accepted in lieu of $120 in Continental | 
currency. 


time which preceded Shay’s insurrection. 





now fallen back into the old accustomed ways. 


They were in extreme confusion. 


The schools had been reopened, and 
though the Committee of Safety was still in existence, — 
its work had ceased. But there was one subject, be- | 
sides the town debts and the badness of the times, 
The General Court | 
had passed an act determining the legal limits of the | 
Sabbath. Accordingly the warrant for the March 
meeting of 1783 contained an article “ that the town 
may advise thereon and act as they shall think most 
agreeable to the Sacred Law of God.” When the 
meeting had assembled, Deacon Holbrook, of the Mid- 
dle Precinct, was chosen moderator, and a vote was 
passed “ that it should be deemed a disorder for any 
person to go upon the seats in the meeting-house with 
their feet.” 
Day was referred to a committee of seven, of which 


which now worried Braintree. 





Finally the article relating to the Lord’s | 





Joshua Hayward was chairman. The report of this 


committee was presented at an adjourned meeting, and, 
No | 


As the criticism of a 


after two readings, was accepted and approved. 
extract can do justice to it. 
town-meeting upon a solemn legislative act, it is | 
unique and characteristic : 


“That it is the humble opinion of your Committee that a | 
strict and religious observation of the Lord’s day is one of the 


greatest caracteristicks of a Christian People, that the supreme 
monarch of the Universe hath an indisputable Right to ordain 


Laws binding all his rational beings in an absolute Sovereign 
manner, that this Great Governor of the world hath revealed to 


man, that he hath made a special Reservation of one whole 


natural day out of seven for himself, which (according to the 
sacred Scriptures and the confesion of the most Learned part of 
the world) consists of twenty-four hours, wherein all our secu- 
lar consearns ought in the most desent and devout manner be 
folded up to give way to the more important service of divine 
worship and adoration, and all our Laws and conceits of things 
ought to be regulated by scripture and not according to the Phil- 


| osiphy of the heathen or the supersticious opinions or traditions 


of man, and when the Laws of any Kingdom or State co-operate 
with and areagreeable to the Commands of the great Law giver, 
then and only then may such communetees expect to enjoy di- 
vine favours and blessings, prosperity in this and eternal hap- 
piness in a future state of existance; your Committee acknowl- 
edge it was surprizeing to them that our honourable Court should 
at this day when we are just amerging from the horrors of a most 
barbarous and unparraled war curtail a part of the forth Com- 
mendment by tolerating secular concerns or servile Labour to 
be carried on six hours of the same to the great disturbance of 
every sober and Consciencious Person in this State for no other 
Reasons saith the Honourable Court than that because their 
are defirant opinions among the sober and Consciencious Per- 
sons of the same Concerning the commencement of the sabath 
and lest they should be thought to lay unnecessary restrictions 
on the subject. 

‘A very slender excuse indeed to whom ought we to hearken 
to the Great Governor of the world or to the Voice of the sober 
and consciencious People, a semmilar excuse once was given by 
a King of Gods antient People for his disobedience of a special 
command because he feared the people but the inspired Profits 
Introgative was hath the Lord as great dilght in burn offerings 
and sacrifice as in obeying the Voice of the Lord behold to obey 
it better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of Rambs. 
We cannot conceive that the diference of opinion or the fear of 
the People ought to cause an abolition of that sacred command 
ye fourth Commandment but that it ought to have it due extent 
at one end or the other, perhaps in some future day this sober 
and Consciencious party may request an other part of six hours 
more to be abolished and so on, untill that Great and most In- 


| teresting command becomes null and void, not by the traditions 


of men, but by the Law of the State, to draw to a close in as con- 
cise a manner as a thing of so great weight and Importance will 
admit of your Committee are of opinion that a Remonstrance be 
preferred to the aforesaid honourable Court when assembled 
that there may bea revision of and amendment of the above 
cited Law that their be no part of the fourth Commandment 
abolished by Law but that it may have its full extent as re- 
vealed to us in the Sacred Scriptures that thereby the Blessings 
of him who hath ever held an holy jealousy over his Sabath 
may decend on this Continent and on every State of the same 
is the sincere wish of your Committee.” 


The next formal instructions approved by the town 
were three years later, when, in the summer of 1786, 
the State was seething with that spirit of discontent 
which a few months afterwards culminated in Shay’s 
rebellion. 

There can be no question that individually the 
Those who 
could had borrowed at usurious interest to pay taxes, 


people of Braintree then felt very poor. 


_and now no one had any ready money. The town 


debt apparently was not large. A few thousand 


dollars in hard money would have discharged the 


whole of it. There was, for instance, an amount of 





QUINCY. 


347 








£150 due to the estate of Col. Quincy, which ran | 
along for sixteen years, from 1775 to 1791. There 
was another of £84 due to Capt. John Vinton, 
which was adjusted, in 1786, only after 
ordinary trouble and expense.” Another 
£84 was in the hands of Deacon Moses French. 
In 1791 the treasurer was authorized to borrow a 
sum not exceeding two hundred pounds for the pur- 
pose of discharging the town debts. Each of these | 
settlements was attended with much vexatious liti- 
gation. The lenders had first taken the select- 
men’s security for the repayment of their loans, and 
afterwards time-notes of the town treasurer. The 
currency had then depreciated. The collectors had 
been unable to get the taxes in, and had defaulted. 
One owed the town a balance of nearly two hundred 
and fifty pounds. This was in 1785. Again, in | 
1791, John Vinton, as one of the bondsmen of Gaius 
Thayer, then collector, came forward in town-meeting 


“ extra- 
note of | 





and announced that Thayer was likely to fall short in 
his payments, and he was then in the hands of an 
officer on two executions issued by the town treas- 
urer ; and the town thereupon voted that the assessors 


should ‘‘ consult any gentleman learned in the law 
respecting the aforesaid difficulty.” Under these 
circumstances Braintree seems to have shared to the 
full in the general discontent, and in May, 1786, 
after choosing its representative, a committee of nine 
This 
committee was further directed to present these in- 
structions to the town “for their approbation pre- 
vious to their being delivered to the representative.” 
Accordingly, at the adjourned meeting three weeks 
later the instructions were submitted, and, in the 
words of the record, ‘“‘were debated upon untill it 
was dark in the house, and the inhabitants Dispersed 
without passing any Vote whatever.” 


was appointed to prepare instructions for him. 


Ten days | 
later a special town-meeting was summoned to further 
consider the instructions, and a new committee of 
five was appointed. The town was now clearly bent 
on action, for it gave its committee thirty minutes 
only in which to consider the subject. At the end 
of that time the moderator called the meeting to 
order, and the committee submitted its report. The | 
town’s representative was thereupon instructed to use 
his efforts to secure the following results : 


Ist. To remove the Court from Boston. 
2dly. To Tax all Public Securities. | 
3dly. To Tax money on hand and on Interest. 
4thly. To Lower the Sallery of place men. 

5thly. Make Land a Tender for all debts at the Price it | 


stood at when the debts were contracted. 
6thly. To take some measure to prevent the growing Power | 
of attorneys or Barristers at Law. ; 


| out. 


This was in July. In September following, three 
months before Shay’s outbreak, these instructions 
were more fully matured at another town-meeting. 
In their final shape they breathed the full commun- 
istic spirit of the time, and contrast singularly with 
the better papers of ten years before. A new set of 
men had come forward in town affairs who could 
neither write English nor grasp principles of political 
action. They accordingly now indulged in the fol- 
lowing rhetorical bombast : 

“The clouds are gathering over our heads pregnant with the 


most gloomy aspects, we abhor and detest violent measures. 
To fly to Clubs or Armes, to divert the impending Ruin the 


| consequences of which would render us easy victims to foreign 


and inveterate foes. Noas Loyal Subjects and Cytizens inflamed 
with true Patriotism we feel ourselves chearfully willing to 
lend our aid at all times in supporting the dignity of Govern- 
ment, but in as much as there are numerous Grievances or in- 
tolerable Burthens by some means or other lying on the Good 
Subjects of this republic. Our Eyes under Heaven are upon 
the Legislature of this Commonwealth and their names will 
shine Brighter in the American annals by preserving the in- 
valuable Liberties of their own People than if they ware to 


Cary the Terror of their Armes as far as Gibralter.”’ 


Then followed in ten specifications a statement of 
the grievances complained of, and the remedies sug- 
gested therefor. ‘These it is needless to repeat. 
What the people peculiarly objected to was paying 
their debts. 
were collected was consequently peculiarly obnoxious 


to them. 


The machinery through which debts 


In regard to it they expressed themselves 


_ as follows: 


“9dly. That the Court of Common Pleas and the General 
sessions of the Peace be removed in perpetuam rei Memoriam. 

“6thly. We humbly request that there may be such Laws 
compiled as may crush or at least put a proper check or restraint 


_ on that order of Gentlemen denominated Lawyers, the comple- 


tion of whos modern conduct appears to us to tend rather to the 
distruction than the preservation of this Commonwealth.” 


Yet in this matter, also, the town-meeting would 
The dis- 
content, for which some ground did exist, there 
found expression, and the people felt better for it. 
The spirit of dissatisfaction at least had its say. 


seem to have served as a safety-valve. 


_ Afterwards, when the time for decisive action came, 


In Decem- 
ber came news of the disturbances in the western 


the town arrayed itself on the right side. 


counties and the adjournment of courts confronted by 
bayonets and hickory clubs. On the 12th of Jan- 
uary Governor Bowdoin’s appeal to law-abiding citi- 
zens was issued, and the Suffolk militia were called 
In a few hours a company was organized at 


| Brackett’s Corner, in Braintree North Precinct, and 


on the 19th of January it marched away, as part of 
Col. Badlam’s regiment, towards the Connecticut. 


348 








HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, 


MASSACHUSETTS. 





It was Pr roned of eee gehen men tonnes the oft | 
cers, and upon the roll are fourld all the old Braintree 
names. On the 22d of the following February these 
men were disbanded at Northampton, and the expense 
incurred by the State on their account was £154 
9s. 4d. 

The vigorous action of the authorities had put down 
the rioters; but the depth of discontent may be in- 
ferred from the popular odium which seems to have 
Take Brain- 
In April, 1786, Governor Bowdoin 
had received there 41 votes,—all that were cast. One 
year later, having in the mean time actually saved civil 
government to the State, he received 40 votes, and 
Gen. 
suppression, 3, while his opponent, Hancock, had 181. 
Yet time, in which to let matters adjust themselves, 
was all that now was needed. 


attached to the authorities for so doing. 
tree, for instance. 


Lincoln, his military agent in the work of 


Twelve months later, 
when John Adams returned from England, after nine 
years of absence, he spoke of the increase of population 
as “wonderful.” As compared with what he had seen 
in Europe, he was amazed at the plenty and cheapness 
of provisions, though the scarcity of money was cer- 
tainly very great. The industries of the country he 
found in a much better condition than he expected. 
Politically the state of affairs was less to his taste, and 
he wrote that ‘‘ the people in a course of annual elec- 
tions had discarded from their confidence almost all 
‘the old, staunch, firm patriots who conducted the 
Revolution, and had called to the helm pilots much 
more selfish and much less skillful.” The Braintree 
records bear testimony to the correctness of his judg- 
ment. 

For the next few years no matters of considerable 
importance would seem to have engaged the atten- 
tion of the town. The people were hard at work 


repairing the losses of war. The question of the 


hen of the town were there present. This was a new 


_ principle introduced into the conduct of town business. 


No such restriction on the power of a town-meeting 
had ever been attempted before, and it is a matter of 
surprise that no one recorded his dissent to it now. 
But under this vote the almshouse was built and 
the town poor moved into it, the overseer receiving 
£3 10s. for his services the first year, and his sue- 
cessor £6 for the second year. 

The need of a reorganization of the schools ae 
began to make itself felt. In 1790 an attempt was 
made to divide the town into districts. A committee 
was appointed to consider the matter, but its re- 
port, when it made one, was rejected, and the town 
decided to go on in the old way. It accordingly ap- 
propriated £150 for “ schooling” during that year, and 
ordered 


“that there be a Gramer School keept nine months, three in 
each precienct beginning in the North and so on to the Middle 
and South, which will include all the time to next march, such 
a Master to be agreed with as will be willing to Teach english 
as well as Latten, and also to teach wrighting and Cypering.” 


That at this time the town felt unusually poor may 
be inferred from the fact that the warrant for the 


| March meeting of the following year contained an 


annexation of Squantum and that portion of Dor- | 


The 
division of Suffolk County was agitated. How best 
to take care of the poor was a standing subject 
for debate. One party wished to build a poor-house 
and provide for them in it. 


chester south of the Neponset again came up. 


In 1785 this party car- 
ried their point, and the town ordered that an alms- 
house should be built “in the form of a Barrack, to 
be thirty-three feet in length and sixteen feet wide.” 
But the other party succeeded in having this vote 
reconsidered at another meeting, held during the 
same month. 


found themselves again a majority, and they not only 


/and this was what the vote really meant. 


The next spring, the almshouse people | 


voted the building but clinched the matter by adding | 
that this vote should not be reconsidered at any future | 
meeting unless one hundred and seventy-three mem- : 


article ‘‘to see if it be the minds of the Town that 
all Town Officers that may be chosen this year serve 
Though the tenth 
and last article in the warrant, this was first taken 
up, and, ‘after a considerable debate,” 
called for. Whereupon, the record says, “ the House 
divided. 98 against paying and 99 for paying; so it 


without any pay from the Town.” 


a division was 


85 


_ was Voted that the Town officers should be paid.” 


The action of April, 1790, adverse to the division 
of the town into school districts, seems to have caused 
Those living 
there felt that they were numerous enough and sufh- 


great discontent in the North Precinct. 


ciently prosperous to have a school of their own. 
They naturally did not like sending their children, 
during three of the nine months’ yearly schooling, 
two miles away to the Middle Precinct, and, during 
another three months, four miles away to the South 
Precinct. Yet the only alternative to so doing, under 
the arrangement which the town had voted, was to 
give the children but three months’ schooling a year ; 
Accord- 
ingly, the question of political separation, first agi- 
tated eighty years before and which had now slept 
There 
was an article relating to it in the town warrant for 
May 10, 1790. After considerable debate, it was 
then dismissed. In the latter part of that year one 
hundred and twenty inhabitants of the North Pre- 


for over thirty years, was again discussed. 





QUINCY. 


349 





cinct, and fifteen inhabitants of that portion of Dor- 
chester and Milton lying immediately south of the | 
Neponset, joined in a petition to the General Court | 
that the regions in which they lived might be incor- | 
porated together as a distinct town. The petition © 
came before the Senate for its action in January, 
1791. While it was still pending a Braintree town- 
meeting was called to consider it. 

The struggle between the precincts took place over 
the choice of moderator, and the record says that 
“after a long dispute it was finally voted to chuse the 
moderator by ballot and Maj. Stephen Penniman was 
chosen by 93 votes out of 152.” In other words, 
the Middle and South precincts were united against the | 
North, and outnumbered it. A committee of six was 
then chosen to appear before the Legislature by | 
counsel to oppose the division of the town, and its | 
representative was instructed to use his influence to 
the same end. Nor did the other precincts desist | 
from their opposition to the inevitable so long as 
opposition to it could be made. The dislike to any- | 
thing which looks like political dismemberment seems 
ingrained. In the case of New England it is diff- 
cult to say which the people most objected to—the | 
surrender of local independence through consolidation | 


or the supposed loss of local influence through sepa- 
ration. Action towards either has never failed to 
awaken a conservative feeling, which saw nothing but 
political disaster in not keeping things exactly as they 
then were. This was the experience of Braintree in 
1791; and in September of that year another town- 
meeting was heid which voted to put forth one last 
effort before the legislative committee in behalf of 
On the 22d | 
of February, 1792, one hundred and fifty-two years 
lacking only three months, after its original incorpo- 
ration as Braintree, the North Precinct was set off, 
and ordered to be called by the name of Quincy. The 
act, also, was signed, as Governor of the State, by 
John Hancock, who had himself been born, brought 
up, and married in the territory thus made a town. 
It has already been explained how the name of 
Quincy chanced to be selected. At the time the | 
choice was not wholly satisfactory. Governor Hancock 
was then at the height of that personal popularity | 
which he enjoyed in Massachusetts to a degree which 
no other public man has since equaled, and there 
were those who did not forget that he was a native of 
the North Precinct. They wanted the new town to 
be named after him. Richard Cranch, who, it will | 
be remembered, had selected the name of Quincy, was | 
at this time, and in the absence of John Adams, the | 


the ancient limits. It was unavailing. 





leading citizen of the town, for Gen. Palmer had been » 


overtaken by financial disaster, and was now dead. 
Born in England in 1726, Mr. Cranch came to Mas- 
sachusetts before he had yet attained his majority. 
In 1851 he became interested in the Germantown 
land speculation, and nine years later he married 


the eldest daughter of Parson Smith, of Weymouth, 


whose sister, Abigail, two years later, in 1764, be- 
came the wife of John Adams. Consequently, Mr. 
Cranch and John Adams were brothers-in-law, and 
their wives were granddaughters of Col. John 
Quincy. Hence, probably, the selection of the 
name. Mr. Cranch, after representing Braintree 
repeatedly in the General Court, had been in the 
State Senate. Subsequently he was a judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas, as well as Quincy’s first post- 
master ; but his name is now chiefly remembered 
through his son and among lawyers, in connection 


_with that series of reports which contain the early 


decisions of Marshall. 

Mr. Cranch was the justice of the peace designated 
by name in the act incorporating the new town to 
It was held on the 8th 
of March, 1792, and the usual officers were chosen. 
Maj. Ebenezer Miller was put at the head of the board 
of selectmen, showing that his former Church and 
Tory proclivities were not remembered against him. At 
the meeting in May for the choice of a representative 


warn its first town-meeting. 


the question of the town name was brought up, and 
After 
what is reported to have been a long and somewhat 


a strong effort made to have it changed. 


_ heated discussion, it was voted by a narrow majority 


not to take up the article in the warrant relating 
This settled the question; and the 
name of Quincy, thus preserved, has since been multi- 


to that matter. 


plied and made familiar in connection with other and 
larger towns in regions which had then been hardly 
explored. 

The political history of Quincy as recorded in the 
town-books during the thirty-eight years which next 
lt 


The people had ina great degree 


waa 
wus 


ensued shows few points of general interest. 
a period of peace. 
made good the losses of the war, and they were in- 
tent on bettering their condition. Year after year 
the town offices were filled, the regular appropriations 
made, new roads laid out, and local questions dis- 
cussed. One generation went off the stage; another 


came upon it. Richard Cranch and Ebenezer Miller 


| gave place to Benjamin Beale and Thomas Greenleaf. 
_ An almshouse was built on the old Coddington farm 


in 1815 at a cost of $1973.18; and when in the 
same year the town hall and school-house was burnt 
down, it was presently rebuilt at a cost of $2100. 
Through long years the question of where the new 





350 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





building should stand—whether “ adjoining the bury- 
ing-ground,” or “adjoining Mr. Quincy’s sheds,” or 
“north of Mr. Burrell’s house,” or “ opposite the en- 
gine-house’”—was earnestly discussed. Finally it was 
It was then only 
In it lay 


placed next the burying-ground. 
eight years since this had been inclosed. 


the bones and dust of four generations that had lived | 


and died in the North Precinct. It stood by the side 
of the Plymouth road, an open and uncared for com- 
mon, in which the swine ran at large and cattle grazed. 
Nor was there in this apparent desecration anything 
offensive to New England eyes. The gravestones 
were rooted up by hogs and trodden down by cows; 
the children played among them: but it had been so 
from the beginning, and that it should be so now 
On points such 
as these the fathers were the reverse of refined, and 
another generation had to grow up with a nicer sense 
At 
last, in 1809, a number of the inhabitants bought up 
the rights of passage, herbage, and pasturage on the bit 


wronged no one’s sense of fitness. 


of decency before the graveyard was fenced in. 


of ground in which their ancestors lay, and, through | 


John Quincy Adams and Josiah Quincy, deeded it to 
the town to be thereafter “set aside as exclusively a 
place of human burial.” 

But incidentally the records of eighty and ninety 
years ago are apt to be suggestive. They reveal con- 
ditions which seem to have a middle-age flavor. For 
instance, in 1792 it was voted “ to have Hospitals in 
town for the purpose or benefit of those who chuse 
to have the smallpox.” And again, in 1809, at a 
special town-meeting, the subject of vaccination was 
discussed, and, after prolonged debate, the majority 
decided against it. Piracy, or, as it was more deli- 
cately called, privateering, had strong attractions then 
for the more adventurous spirits. The United States 
was at peace with the world, but England and France 
were at war; accordingly, on August 12, 1793, just 
as the French reign of terror began, Benjamin Beale, 
Richard Cranch, and Moses Black were made a stand- 
ing committee “ to see that there be not any privateers 
fitted out from this place by any of the Citizens of 
the United States or others against any of the belig- 
erent powers, in order that a strict neutrality be kept 


between us and them.” Having thus disposed of 





international questions, local affairs next occupied the | 


attention of the town, and the hours were fixed at 
which “for the future the Bell tole on Sunday for 


beginning divine service.” A few years later, in 1804, | 


the singers are granted twenty-five dollars “to pro- 


cure a bass viol for the use of the congregation ;” and | 


in 1818, Mr. Daniel Hobart is “ authorized and di- 
rected to keep the boys in order in the meeting-house 


on Sundays.” All, be it remembered, by formal votes 
of the town-meeting. 

The separation of the precincts had thus once more 
united town and parish, and the political and religious 
organization fell naturally back to just what it was 
a whole century before. The town again regulated 
every detail of church management. In 1810 the se- 
lectmen were “ authorized to appoint a sexton and to 
mark out his duty ;” and two years later it was made 
a part of the sexton’s duty “ to ring the bell at twelve 
o'clock at noon and nine o’clock at night.” The bell, 
by the way, gave the town a great deal of trouble, and 
was long a matter for town-meeting debate and inves- 
tigation. In 1810 the old bell was discarded, and a 
new one ordered of Col. Paul Revere. The result was 
not satisfactory, and in August a town-meeting was 
warned to consider the matter. A committee of three 
was then appointed “for the purpose of examining 
the new bell to see if they can find out where the 
fault is in it respecting the sound.” Another and 
larger bell was then ordered; but when it was cast its 
weight became a matter of grave alarm, and yet an- 


| other committee had to be appointed to ascertain if 


the belfry was strong enough to support it. Not until 


| 1817 was the subject finally disposed of. 


The church singing was also matter of grave dis- 
cussion. The introduction of ‘“ the bass viol” in 1804 
had only led to new demands from the choir, and in 
1821 the question was agitated whether it would not 
be well to have the selectmen hire a “ professed Mas- 
ter of Sacred Musick.” A committee was appointed 
to consider the subject, at the head of which was 
T. B. Adams, son of John Adams, then a man of fifty 
and a judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Presently 
this committee made a report, in which occurs the fol- 
lowing quaint and suggestive passage : 

“The Association [of singers] is voluntary and not exclusive 
of any who belong to the Town, and no one has authority 
to select and discriminate between the qualified, or such as by 
instruction might become so, and such as have neither capacity 
This is ad- 
mitted to be an embarrassment and an obstacle to the advance- 
ment of the Singing Society in improvement, which they all feel, 
without being able to apply the needful remedy; and as that por- 
tion of the services and solemnities of the Sanctuary which de- 
pends on their performance is considered by many not merely an 
act of devotion which may be done indifferently or any how so that 
the Psalm be sung, but as a very delightful exercise, calculated 
to impose solemnity, and to excite or inspire sentiments becom- 


to learn or voice to execute in a choir of singers. 


ing the temple of worship, they are peculiarly desirous that an 
opportunity be given of calling to their aid the talent and abili- 
ties which are liberally possessed by the youth of both sexes in 
our Congregation.” 

This presentation of the case seems to have been 
decisive. The town accepted the report, and voted 
two hundred dollars for the purpose in question, the 





QUINCY. 


301 





same to be expended by a special committee composed | 
of the selectmen and ‘“ Capt. Josiah Bass, Thomas B. 
Adams, Esq., and Edward Miller, Esq.” Edward | 
Miller was the son of Maj. Ebenezer Miller, and the 
family had for the time being, under pressure of the 

“suspect” vote of 1777, abandoned the ancestral | 
place of worship, wisely identifying itself with the 


people among whom its lot was cast. 

The salary of the minister also engaged the atten- | 
tion of the town hardly less during this period than 
it had a century and a half before, in the days 
of Parson Tompson. Mr. Whitney had always re- 
ceived five hundred dollars a year, to which the town | 
by annual vote had been in the custom of adding a _ 
In 1808 | 
Mr. Whitney asked to have his salary increased to 





further sum of one or two hundred dollars. 


eight hundred dollars, but the request was not com- 
plied with. In April, 1811, he addressed another 
letter to his parishioners on the subject, which is in- | 


teresting in several ways. It will be remembered that | 
in 1657 a committee appointed to inquire concerning 
the maintenance of ministers in the towns near Bos- 
ton had reported that in Dorchester Mr. Mather was 
allowed one hundred pounds per annum; in Dedham, 


Mr. Allen was allowed sixty pounds; in Roxbury, | 


Mr. Elliot and Mr. Danforth were each allowed sixty 


pounds; and in Braintree, Mr. Flynt and Mr. Tompson 


each fifty-five pounds. There were then eighty fami- 


hes in Braintree. In 1811, one hundred and fifty-four | 
years later, Quincy numbered about two hundred and 
fifty families. Mr. Whitney then wrote to them as 
follows : 


“Taking the two parishes in Dorchester, one in Dedham, the 
Town of Milton, two parishes in Hingham, and the offer they 
have made in Braintree, the average amount of the sallaries 
they give is nine hundred and twenty-seven dollars per annum. | 
... The sum [ propose is eight hundred and sixty dollars | 
paid punctually at the end of every quarter; or eight hundred 
and eighty dollars at the close of the year. It will be recol- | 
lected that the proposition I made to the town three years | 
since was only eight hundred dollars. In exceeding that sum } 
at the present time I have been influenced by two considera- 


tions. One is, as has been already observed, the information I 


have received from some of my brethren, whose salary is nine 
or ten hundred dollars per annum, that they can but barely live 
on their annual income. The other is that you may have an 
opportunity of exceeding Braintree in the salary you give your | 
minister; for I think no inhabitant of Quincy would deem it | 
respectable to be surpassed in this respect by that town.” 





The last argument was ingenious, but the town 
failed to respond. The committee to which Mr. | 


Whitney’s letter was referred reported in most affec- 


tionate language that the pastor’s request was wholly | 
reasonable, and that his “ sallary was inadequate to 


his suitable maintenance ;”’ but in view of “ the uncer- 
tain and fluctuating state of our public affairs, the | 


great embarrassment, under which we at present suffer, 
and the threatening prospect of still greater,’ a 
postponement of the question was recommended. A 
vote of three hundred dollars additional salary for the 
current year was then passed. 

The ‘threatening prospect’’ in public affairs here 
alluded to was the impending war with Great Britain 
of 1812-14. Quincy was a Federalist town. John 
Adams, true to his old patriotic and Revolutionary 
instincts, was an earnest supporter of the Madison 
administration, which his son, John Quincy, was then 
representing at St. Petersburg; but his townsmen 
were on the other side. Warm passages used to 
occur. Nearly seventy years afterwards a Quincy boy 
of that time gave the following entertaining account 
of one such passage. Jt is merely necessary to premise 
that the gentleman referred to in it was a near neigh- 
bor of Mr. Adams’, and in his time the most useful 
citizen of (Quincy. Of him more will be said 
presently : 

“T remember very well at a social dinner-party in time of the 
war, when the political element ran perhaps as high as ever it 
did, that I had the honor as well as pleasure to stand behind 
the President’s chair as waiter. Directly on his left was seated 
Thomas Greenleaf, a violent Federalist, who was bearing down 
The 
President bore it as long as he could, when he raised his left hand 


upon the old gentleman with more zeal than discretion. 


and, instead of bringing it down on Mr. Greenleaf’s head, which 
he might perhaps have done with as much propriety, he brought 
it down upon the table near him with a force that made the 
plates and glasses rattle, and exclaimed in a voice that could 
not be misunderstood, ‘Tom Greenleaf, hold your tongue! you 
The 
scene which followed reminds me of that passage which says, 


are always down on me when there is no occasion for it.’ 


a9 


‘There was silence in Heaven for half an hour. 


But at this time Mr. Greenleaf represented much 
more nearly than the old ex-President what was the 


| prevailing political sentiment in Quincy. At every 


annual election from 1812 to 1815, Governor Strong 
His 
smallest majority was in 1812, when he had one hun- 


polled nearly three votes to his opponent’s one. 


dred and twenty-seven votes to fifty-nine cast for 
Elbridge Gerry. 


The second war with Great Britain 


_ accordingly left no more marks than the old French 


wars on the town record-book ; and, indeed, owing to 


_ the disloyal and almost treasonable action of the State 
| government, the local militia were called out but twice, 


marching once to South Boston and once to Cohasset. 
An absurdly large town bounty, in addition to the 
State pay, was voted to those called into service in 
June, 1814; but one short experience sufficed, and in 
December this vote was ‘‘so far repealed as not to 
Yet at this time the uneasiness 


The British ships 


operate in future.” 
was great in the seaport towns. 
of war were always hovering on the coast, and in the 


352 





autumn a flotilla ascended the Connecticut, destroying 
more than ascore of vessels. Edmund Quincy, in his 
life of his father, has vividly reproduced the sensa- 
tions in those days of the dwellers on Quincy Bay : 


“A general sense of personal insecurity prevailed all along 
the sea-board. . . . In these apprehensions the family at Quincy 
For the estate bounds on the 
ocean, and the fears of boat attacks and foraging parties which 
had haunted the roof thirty years before returned again to dis- 


had good reason to share. 


turb its repose. Every ship enters and leaves the port of Bos- 


he was elected captain. ; 


ton in full view of the windows of the house, and it may well be | 


helieved that a sharp lookout was kept up in the direction of 
the light-house. ‘The first naval spectacle discerned from that 
post of observation, however, was a memorable and an auspi- 
cious one. It was the entrance of the ‘Constitution’ into the 
harbor, on the 29th of August, 1812, after the capture of the 
‘ Guerriere.’ . . . Toward evening the frigate (recognized as the 


‘ Constitution’) came in under full sail, and dropped her anchor 


beside Rainsford Islund,—then the Quarantine Ground. The | 


next morning a fleet of armed ships appeared off Point Alder- 
ton. As they rapidly approached, the ‘Constitution’ was ob- 
served to raise her anchor and sails, and go boldly forth to meet 
the apparent enemy; but, as the frigate passed the leader of the 
fleet, a friendly recognition was exchanged, instead of the ex- 
pected broadside. 


led the way to Boston. It was the squadron of United States 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





escape from the assaults of their enemies; though it may have 
been after some more real and nearer danger. But the cireum- 
stance made a deep impression on my young mind by the de- 
lightful variety it gave to the usual monotony of Sunday. 

“My father, too, opposed as he was to the war, yielded to no 
one in determination to defend the soil of Massachusetts should 
it be invaded by an enemy. He assisted in the formation of a 
fine troop of volunteer cavalry, called the Boston Hussars, con- 
sisting chiefly, if not entirely, of Federal gentlemen, of which 
. . He used to be concerned lest 
the enemy might land between Quincy and Boston, and thus 
cut him off from his command.” 


It was at this time that the town appointed a com- 
mittee to confer with similar committees of the towns 
of Hingham and Weymouth, to devise “some meas- 
ures for the safety and protection of this and those 
But the 
enemy did not come, and the actual contribution of 
Quincy to the burden of the war of 1812 was prac- 
tically limited to the sum paid in bounties and a spe- 
One coasting 


towns against the assaults of the enemy.” 


cial State tax of nine hundred dollars, 


_ schooner also, owned in the town, while on her way 


They joined company, and the ‘Constitution’ | 


ships, then commanded by Commodore Rodgers, unexpectedly | 


returning from a long cruise. 
“A few daysafterwards, Hull, who had just taken the * Guer- 


riere,’ came with Decatur to breakfast at Quincy. . .. This | 


breakfast is one of the earliest of my own recollections. 
a very little child, but I remember perfectly well sitting on 
Decatur’s knee, playing with his dirk, and looking up at his 
handsome face, the beauty of which struck even my childish 
eyes, and which [I still seem to see looking at me from out the 
far past... . There was a current belief that the British, 
should they propose making an attack on Boston, would land 
on my father’s estate or thereabouts, and so take the town in 
flank. . . . The opinion was sufliciently prevalent with the au- 


IT was 


from the Penobscot to Quincey, was boarded off Glou- 
cester from an ambitious privateer out of that port, 
and, after some “ ferocious conduct” on the part of 
the captors, was carried into Marblehead. | What indi- 
viduals from among the youth of Quincy may have 
served on the Niagara frontier or fought in the naval 
battles of Hull, Decatur and Bainbridge nowhere 
appears. The official record of the town in this war 
is unpleasantly meagre. : 
The sum raised by taxation for town expenses in 


1815 was $4000, and this included the expenses of 


thorities to induce them to station a body of militia on the Jeft | 


bank of the river Neponset, separating Quincy from Dorches- | 


ter, which was selected as the first point of defence should such 
an invasion be attempted. This circumstance materially in- 
creased the uneasiness inseparable from the exposed situation 
of the family at Quiney. As I have already related, every ship 
that enters or leaves the harbor can be seen from the windows 
of the house. Andas the triumphant entry of Hull in the ‘Con- 
cerned from that post of observation, so was the departure of 
Lawrence in the ‘Chesapeake’ on his fatal quest of the ‘Shan- 
non,’—doomed to ‘ give up the ship,’ but only with his life; and 


with the telescope ‘the meteor-flag of England’ could be seen 
I g g 


from time to time flying at the masthead of men-of-war that | 


prowled about the mouth of the harbor, so that it was no idle 
fear which suggested the probability of 1 midnight visit from a 
party of foragers or pillagers to that solitary shore. 

“One Sunday there was an alarm that the enemy had landed 
at Scituate, a dozen miles away. The news was announced in 
the meeting-house during Divine service. The congregation 
was dismissed at once, and the village was all astir with excite- 
ment. 
teer companies marched to meet the enemy. 
to say that they did not find him. . 


the Sunday following this false alarm that the militia com- 


. . L suppose it was on 


panies, in uniform, attended service to return thanks for their 


The bell rang, the drums beat to arms, and the volun- | 
It is unnecessary | 


| $3300 in 1810. 


stitution,’ after his victory over the ‘Guerriere,’ had been dis- | 





the church. The growth of the appropriation was 
very slow. In 1792 it had been £350, or $1160, 
of which £75 had been on account of the schools. 
Of these there was now one,—the grammar school at 
the centre, 





while the germs only of outlying district 
schools were to be found. By 1800 the annual ap- 
propriations had increased to $2100, and thence to 
In 1820 they were $4000. Four 
years later the town was separated from the parish, 
and accordingly the appropriation for that year fell to 
$2800. In 1829 it was $3500. Perhaps a fourfold 
increase in forty years. 

Up to 1824 the great items of expense were the 


church, the schools, and the town poor; after 1824 


they were the schools and the poor. These have both 
It has been seen that 
the cost of maintaining the town poor then was out 
of all proportion to what it has been since. In 1812, 
for instance, $1000 was raised for that purpose, while 
only $785 was raised for the schools and $800 for 
the church. In 1813 the poor cost $1665, or as 
much as both the schools ($800) and the church 


been elsewhere referred to. 





QUINCY. \ 


353 





($850) combined. A reform was then instituted, 

and in 1819 the schools cost $1000, while the church 
cost $850, and the poor had been reduced to $770. 
In 1824 their cost had been still further reduced to | 


$628, while that of the schools had risen to $1150; | 


but the poor yet occasioned one quarter part of the 
whole tax levy. Meanwhile the highway tax did not 





appear in the estimates at all, for it was still, as in 
1766, paid in kind, or, as the vote of April, 1825, 
read, For each Day’s work one Dollar, for each 


2200 in 1830. 


yoke of oxen one dollar per Day, for each Horse and | 
Cart one dollar per Day, for each plow fifty cents per | 
Day, and for each ox-Cart twenty-five cents per day.” | 


In 1829 the total assessment was $3668. Of this, 


$1563 was on account of the schools, the master at the | 


centre grammar school receiving $500, for which sum 


regularly paid he had, it has already been seen, agreed | 


four years previously to “ give up all other business and — 


devote his whole time to the school.” The school com- 
mittee was further allowed $5 for “ink and brooms,” 
which were all the “ incidentals” then recognized, and 
$60 for fuel. The district schools were allowed from 


$30 to $120 each. 


assessors, and overseers of the poor, Messrs. Souther, | 


For their services as selectmen, | 


| 


Wood, and Taylor received respectively $70.28, | 


$30.14, and $25.68. For the repair of highways 
$600 was deemed sufficient. 
or nearly a fourth part of the whole, was appropriated 
to the support of the poor. 

Such were the simplicity and economy of a town 


One thousand dollars, 


which now counted a population of 2200 souls, and 
which was at last rapidly growing in wealth, for its 
assessed valuation in 1830 exceeded $800,000. The 
burden of taxation, when compared either with popu- 
lation or wealth, was scarcely a sixth part of what 


it afterwards became, and the amount appropriated | 


for the education of each child in the public schools, 
which half a century later was sixteen dollars a 
year, was then but three. 
apy comparison of the schools or the roads of 1830 
with those of 1880, it may confidently be asserted 


Without entering into 


the people were the children of the soil. They still 
followed the old, simple vocations. They were either 
the tillers of the soil, or the citizens and tradespeople 
who did the work and supplied the wants of those 
who tilled the soil. 


ciety, and worshiped in one meeting-house. 


They were a single religious so- 
Kach 
knew the others ; they were almost members of the same 
family. The political family had not become too nu- 
merous. It numbered about 1300 in 1810, and about 
As respects worldly condition those 
composing it were not far separated. No one was rich, 
and most of those who took any part in town affairs 
were well to do. There was no alien element ; that is, 
no one lived in the town and had interests outside of it. 
The town partook also of the spirit of that era of good 
feeling which followed on the war of 1812. The old 
Federal party was then absorbed in the party which 
supported the administration of Monroe, until at last 
during the six years 1825-30 the opposition in Quincy 
never threw more than nine votes on election day, and 
in 1828-29 it was limited to a single vote. The largest 
vote the town ever threw before 1831 was 217 in 1824, 
when Governor Eustis was chosen. It then gave a 
heavy majority to the defeated Federalist candidate ; 
a parting salute, as it were, fired over the grave of 
Then followed the Presidential 
election of 1825, and every vote cast (140) was for 
the Adams electoral ticket. Nor did the Jackson De- 


that political party. 


_mocracy obtain any foothold in the town during the 


| 


that the years between 1810 and 1830 were in | 


Quincey the golden period of the old Massachusetts 
town government. Never before 


had it been so. 


strong, so pure, and so systematic as then; never had | 


it done its work so well. It was, in fact, an absolutely | 


model government ‘of the people, by the people, for 
the people.” 


of the town itself, and partly to the influence of one 
man. In 1810 the population of Quincy was still 
thoroughly homogeneous ; and it had not ceased to be 


next four years, for in November, 1828, the electoral 
ticket defeated in the country at large had 140 votes 
in Quincy out of a total of 143, and in the following 
April, Governor Lincoln had 142 votes to one solitary 
ballot cast for Marcus Morton. 

These circumstances were all favorable to a good 
administration of affairs. The people were well to 
do; but they looked closely to their taxes, and they 
had a traditional horror of waste. Corruption in 

The scale of 
town expenses was so limited that no item was-too 
The sum of five dollars un- 
necessarily spent, or spent for an unaccustomed pur- 


public office was practically unknown. 
small to escape notice. 


pose, might lead to a town-meeting discussion. Prior 
to 1810 all business had been done in a loose, unsys- 
tematic way. The annual appropriations were made 
by viva voce vote; the treasurer received the money 
which the constable collected ; and the selectmen drew 


it out and paid it over to the minister, the schoolmas- 
That this was so was due in part to the condition | 


| on file. 


ter, and those who acted for the town’s poor. No re- 
ports or estimates were made; no papers were placed 
Everything was done on a general under- 


standing. A cruder, less organized system could not 


so in 1830. It was the original Massachusetts stock ; | be imagined. All that could be said was that it was 


23 


B54 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





natural, and, like most natural things, it worked well | 


under the circumstances. As the town increased 
some one was needed to organize such a degree of 
system as the new condition demanded. That some 
one appeared in Thomas Greenleaf. 

Mr. Greenleaf was Boston born, and graduated at 
Harvard in 1790 ; he came to Quincy to live in 1803, 
and remained there until his death in 1854. He speed- 
ily began to take an active interest in town affairs, and 
he showed how useful in a local way a man of charac- 
ter, fair parts, and good business capacity can always be. 
He belonged to the class of colonial country gentry ; 
and, indeed, he and his neighbor, George W. Beale, 
both dying at much the same time, were the last 
representatives of that class in Quincy. Mr. Green- 
leaf was a man of property, and, it has already been 
seen, a strong Federalist. In 1808, and for thirteen 
consecutive years thereafter, he was chosen to repre- 
sent the town in the General Court. He then became a 





leading man in Quincy, and so continued until towards | 
1840, when the growth of the Democratic element 


superseded him. 
business, and he did it admirably. Everything was 
systematized. The change began about 1812. The 
charge of the town poor had then grown to be a scan- 
dal. Mr. Greenleaf took hold of the matter, and 
caused an almshouse to be built. He was chairman 
of the building committee. The sum of $2000 was 
appropriated for the purpose, and when the building 
was completed Mr. Greenleaf reported, with a pride 
which he did not attempt to conceal, that though no 


In his day he organized the town’s | 
found to be necessary as the work went on, and that 





allowance had been made for omissions in the estimates | 


and much extra work had been done,—amounting to 


twenty per cent.,—yet, notwithstanding this, the new | 
almshouse was completed, and every bill paid, with | 
tree farm-house had died in 1818; and the son who 


$84.48 of the appropriation still unexpended. Under 
his close business management the cost of maintaining 
the poor was then reduced by more than one-half, and 
his reports on the subject are as interesting to-day in 
presence of that still unsolved problem of pauperism 
as they were seventy years ago. 

Having reduced the care of the poor to a system, 
Mr. Greenleaf turned his attention to other matters. 
Insensibly, but steadily, the method of conducting 
the town business in all its branches was brought into 





_ Adams was then closing his long life. 


were in writing, and entered into every detail. They 
were all spread on the record. Another adjournment 
was then had, and in May the appropriations were 
voted. Kverything was thus made public and of 
record ; and everything was open to criticism and de- 
bate. As a system, under the conditions then exist- 
ing, it did not admit of improvement. The so-called 
democratic system which later succeeded it was a 
degradation of government. 

It is needless to say that under the regime which 
has been described the town prospered greatly. <A 


| debt of some $2000 was incurred on account of the 
_war of 1812 and for building the almshouse in 1814, 


but it was speedily paid off out of the surplus which 
a better management saved from the regular appro- 
priations for the care of the poor. 
town hall and school-house was burned down. The 
amount appropriated for a new building was $2400. 
Mr. Greenleaf was chairman of the building com- 
mittee; and again be in due time reported, with over- 
flowing pride, that the work was done, all the bills 
paid, whether included in the original estimate or 


an unexpended balance of $362.61 remained in the 
hands of the treasurer. In doing this work a new 
town debt had been incurred; but good financial 


| management soon paid it off without increase of tax- 


ation. 
Thus, as the end of the provincial period drew near, 


there was in Quincy a condition of general good feel- 


ing and prosperity such as the town had not before 
It showed itself in various ways. John 
The wife who 
had watched the smoke of Bunker's Hill from the 
heights on the Plymouth road beyond the old Brain- 


known. 


then stood, alittle boy, by her side was at the head of 
the national cabinet and soon to be chosen President. 
The meeting-house of 1732 still stood on the train- 
ing-field; but it was old and out of repair. The 
townspeople began to talk of a new church edifice 


'more in keeping with their increased numbers and 


wealth. Under these circumstances, John Adams, in 


_ June, 1822, moved, as he expressed it, ‘ by the ven- 
eration he felt for the residence of his ancestors and 


order. In March the annual town-meeting took 
place. Over this Mr. Greenleaf presided as modera- | 
tor. The full list of town officers was then chosen, 


and the various articles in the warrant were referred 
to special committees. ‘The meeting then adjourned. 
In April another meeting was held, and the commit- 
tees on the almshouse, the schools, the town lands 


and the town finances presented their reports, which 


the place of his nativity, and the habitual affection 
he bore to the inhabitants with whom he had so 
happily lived for more than eighty-six years,” — 
thus moved, he deeded to the people of the town a 
tract of quarry-land, from which the material for 
the building they wished might in part be derived. 
A special town-meeting was called in July to take 


action on this matter, and a committee was appointed 


In 1816 the 


ee a oe 











J. 2. Adarns. 





ry 


QUINCY. 


355 








to wait on the ex-President and express to him the 
gratitude with which his townsmen received his gift. 
They were instructed to say that, highly as the inhab- 
itants of Quincy estimated the advantages that would 
result from the gift itself, they valued it more as 
coming from one who by his patriotism had shed 
honor on his native place, and “ to whom, under the 
smiles of Providence, we are so largely indebted for 


our independence and prosperity as a nation.” So 
gratified was the old man by this cordial expression 
of kind feeling that he at once added to his former 
gift not only a deed of further lands, but the whole 
of his private library, consisting of some three thou- 


sand volumes. Again the town met and spread upon 


its records further and even warmer expressions of | 
| hairs and furrowed cheeks, two or three of them with families of 





gratitude and veneration. 
Immediate steps were taken towards building the 
new church, but not until April, 1826, were arrange- 


appointed. Thomas Greenleaf wasits chairman. But 


during that summer, and before any work of con- | 


He was | 
over ninety, and his life thus covered one-half of the | 
whole settlement of the town, lacking only two years. | 
The old order of things, like the old church which 
was symbolical of it, was about to passaway. A new 


struction was begun, John Adams died. 


generation, with other customs and modes of thought, 





was fast coming to the front, and it was fit and proper | 
that the transition should be strongly marked. It was _ 
strongly marked. On the 4th of July, 1826, the | 
town celebrated with special rejoicings the fiftieth an- 
niversary of independence. It was celebrated, as its | 
sturdiest supporter had fifty years before predicted it 
would be, as “‘a day of deliverance, with pomp and 
parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bon- 
fires, and illuminations.” On that fair, glad day— 
in the midst of peace and prosperity and political kind 
feeling, with the sound of joyous bells and boom- 
ing guns ringing in his ears, with his own toast of 
‘* Independence forever” still lingering on the lips of 
his townsmen—the spirit of the old patriot passed 
away. But he had lived to see with his own eyes | 
that “ravishing light and glory” the distant rays of | 
which had reached him in 1776, and he had found | 
that the end was indeed “ more than worth all the 
means.” | 


Warned of the approaching event, President John 
Quincy Adams had left Washington on the morning — 
of the 4th of July, and at Baltimore he received word | 
of his father’s death. He reached Quincy on the | 
morning of the 13th, the funeral having taken place 
on the 7th, in the presence of a great concourse of | 


people. The following Sunday when the church bell | 


| a succeeding generation around them. 


| the year 1830. 


rang he went to the old North Precinct meeting-house, 
and a few hours later he thus recorded his feelings : 
““T have at no time felt more deeply affected by [my father’s 
death] than on entering the meeting-house and taking in his 
pew the seat which he used to occupy, having directly before me 
the pew at the left of the pulpit which was his father’s, and 


| where the earliest devotions of my childhood were performed. 
| The memory of my father and mother, of their tender and af- 


fectionate care, of the times of peril in which we then lived, and 
of the hopes and fears which left their impressions upon my 
mind, came over me, till involuntary tears started from my 
eyes. I looked around the house with inquiring thoughts. 
Where were those I was then wont to meet in this house? The 
aged of that time, the pastor by whom I had been baptized, the 
deacons who sat before the communion table, have all long since 
departed. Those then in the meridian of life have all followed 
them. Five or six persons, then children like myself, under 
the period of youth, were all that I could discern, with gray 


The house was not 
crowded, but well filled, though with almost another race of men 


| 
| and women.” 
ments so far perfected that a building committee was | 





CHAP MER XxX X. 


QUINCY—( Continued). 
MODERN QUINCY. 


THE original migration from Old to New England 
ceased before 1840. 
of population across the Atlantic again set in until 


No steady westward movement 


the beginning of the present century, nor, even when 
it did set in, did it gain any great volume until after 
It was accordingly remarked by Pal- 
frey in his ‘‘ History of New England” that probably 
there was no county in England where in 1825 the 
strain of English blood was so free from all foreign 
admixture as it was among the people of Cape Cod. 
Up to the year 1800 the same thing might have been 
said of Quincy. The original settlers bore all of 
them English names. There were scarcely any ex- 
ceptions to this rule, and such exceptions as there 
were—some eight or ten in two hundred and forty 
—indicated a French and possibly a Norman origin. 
Such were Decrow, Durant, Despard, and Deza; 
Lamont and Lagaree; Marquand and Quincy.. All 
A few 
Scotchmen, the prisoners of Dunbar, may have been 
landed in Boston in 1651, and been sent out to the 
iron-works; but, if such was the case, they did not 


of these names are recorded before 1728. 


leave a single “ Mac” behind them in Braintree. In 
1752 there was a small infusion of German blood,— 
‘poor, suffering Palatines.’”’ But these people 
mostly went away ten years later to join more pros- 


perous communities of their own race at the eastward, 


356 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





and the Hardwicks (Hardwig), Brieslers (Briesner), 
and a few more only remained to perpetuate the 
German face under Anglicized names. ‘There were a 
certain number of negroes in the town,—sixty-six, 
according to the census of 1765,—the descendants of 
slaves owned by the Quincys, Vassals, Apthorps, 
and Borlands; and in 1800 the vacant space made by 


the removal of an old stairway in the church was: 


by vote “appropriated for the use of the black 
people to sit in.” In a few years more they had 
wholly disappeared. When, in 1792, the North 
Precinct of Braintree was set off as Quincy, the 
names appended to the petition were all English 





names,—names, nearly every one of which have ap- 
peared in the town-book for a century,—Cleverly, 
Newcomb, Brackett, Adams, Crane, Vesey, Spear, 
Savill, Bicknell, Quincy, Marsh, Beale, Glover, Crosby, 
Baxter, Sanders, Field, Faxon, Hayden, Bass, Tirrell, 
and Nightingale. They were Johns, Samuels, Ben- 
jamins, Fredericks, Daniels, and Ebenezers. 
wives were Marys, Anns, Elizas, with here and there 
a Mehitabel, a Patience, and an Abigail. Old, fa- 
miliar English patronymics all. An Irishman or an 
Irish name was as strange and as much a matter of 
wonderment as a Frenchman or a German, and more 
than an African or Indian. No mass was ever cele- 
brated in Old Braintree; and it may well be ques- 
tioned whether from the day when Sir Christopher 


Gardiner took flight in March, 1631, down to the 


year 1800 a single Roman Catholic ever dwelt in the | 


town. Indeed, when John Adams was writing his 


‘‘ Dissertation on the Canon and the Feudal Law in | 


Their | 


{ 
| 





Braintree” in 1765, he referred to a certain thing as | 


being “as rare an appearance as a Roman Catholic, 
—that is, as rare as a comet or an earthquake.” 


Nor had there as yet been anything to cause the | 


influx of a new population. Even down to 1825 the 
industries of the town had not multiplied. It was 


still the old farming community already described, | 


—a community made up of those who tilled the 
soil, and those who supplied the tillers’ wants. 
than a century and a half before an iron foundry 
had been established in ‘‘ the Woods,” 
now West Quincy was called, but it had soon col- 


as what is 


More 


| 
| 





| Bunker Hill Quarry. 


then there was but small demand; and this attempt 
soon shared the fate of the iron-works. The little 
capital ventured in it was lost. 

But these were premature attempts at the intro- 
duction of strange industries. It was not so with 
ship-building. The dwellers along Quincy Bay, in 
common with all other sea-board Yankees, took nat- 
urally and kindly to the water, and from an early 
day the ship-yards throve at Braintree. In 1696 
the ‘“ Unity” was launched at what is now Quincy 
Neck, and later the Haydens, Southers, and Josselyns 
were noted shipwrights. Their yards were at Bent’s 
(now Quincy) Point, and there, in September, 1789, 
was launched the ‘‘ Massachusetts,” pierced for thirty- 
six guns, and intended for the Canton trade. This was 
supposed to be the largest ship, up to that time, built 
in the State. Her company for her first and only 
voyage from Quincy numbered seventy hands all 
told, forty-two of whom were seamen ; but her voyage 
was not a success, and she was sold in China to go 
under the Danish flag. But none the less, the Bent’s 
Point yards in 1825 were prospering, and they con- 
tinued to prosper down to the days of Deacon George 
Thomas, who built clippers the names of which were 
Indeed, 
from force of habit apparently, Deacon Thomas went 


famous in the California and China trade. 


on building great wooden ships until he was more 
than fourscore years of age, and his country had 
ceased to boast a commercial marine. 

The stone deposits of the town had, up to 1825, 
not been developed at all; but from that year the 
On behalf of the Bunker Hill Monu- 
ment Association, Gridley Bryant, of Scituate, then 


change dates. 


bought a quarry in West Quincy, the stone of which 
had already been examined and approved by Solomon 
Willard, and which has since been known as the 
The fame of Quincy granite 
Not that the exist- 
ence and durable character of the stone had not long 


was now to spread far and wide. 


been known; but up to this time it had only been 


worked on the surface. The coarse, rough, glacier- 


' tumbled boulders which lay scattered over the north 


and south commons had alone been used. 


lapsed, and only beds of cinders and slag and old | 


bits of petrified foundation on the banks of Furnace | 


Brook marked where the experiment had failed. 
Even the tradition of it had died away, and as late 
as 1710 the region thereabout was the haunt of deer 
and the bear. Again, shortly after 1750, the poor 
refugees who settled at Germantown had sought to 
gain a living by making glass. But such glass as they 
made was of the coarsest description, for which even 


King’s 
Chapel was built of this material between 1749 and 
1752, and later the famous old Hancock mansion on 
Beacon Hill. At that time they had so little con- 
ception of the extent of this syenite formation, 
that in Braintree much alarm was felt lest the use 
of the stone for buildings in other towns would 
For years the subject was 
discussed at each town-meeting, and new measures 


exhaust the supply. 


of ever-increasing stringency were devised to avert 
the threatened dearth. In 1753, immediately after 





QUINCY. 


357 





King’s Chapel was finished, a vote was passed for- | 


bidding the removal of any more stones at all from 
the commons until otherwise ordered. If the drain | 
went on unchecked there would not be encugh stone 
in Braintree for the township’s own use! The | 
difficulty seems to have been that, with the tools 
then in use, they were unable to work into the 
rock. The King’s Chapel stone, it is said, was 
broken into a degree of shape by letting large iron 
balls fall upon the heated blocks. At last, upon one 
memorable Sunday in 1803, there appeared at New- 
comb’s Tavern, in the centre of the North Precinct, 
three men, who called for a dinner with which to 
properly celebrate a feat they had just successfully 
performed. The fear of the tithingman had not re- | 
strained them, and they had split a large stone by 
the use of iron wedges. Their names were Josiah | 
Bemis, George Stearns, and Michael Wild. It was 
indeed a notable event, for the crust of the syenite 
hills was broken. 

Quarries were then opened, but at first only slowly 
and in a small way. 





The men did not yet know how | 
to work the rock, nor had they the necessary tools and | 
appliances. | 
dressed for use as door-steps, foundations, and gable | 
walls. There were two problems still unsolved: one 
related to handling and dressing the rock, the other | 
to its carriage. Both of these problems Willard and | 
Bryant solved. Neither of these two remarkable men 
were Quincy born. Willard came of Maine stock 
transplanted to Petersham, in Worcester County ; 
and Bryant was of that Scituate family which seventy- 
five years before had furnished Braintree its active- 
minded minister. While Willard laid open the quarry 
and devised the drills, the derricks, and the shops, 
Bryant was building a railway. 


Such stone as was taken out was roughly 





This famous structure was an event not only in the | 
history of Quincy, but in that of the United States, | 
and in every school history it is mentioned as the | 
most noticeable incident in the administration of the | 
younger Adams. In Braintree a feebler effort in a | 
similar direction had already been made, but without 
success; for in 1824, Joshua Torry, an enterprising | 
citizen of the town, had planned a canal from the 
neighboring tidal basin nearly to the centre of the | 
town. A committee reported strongly in its favor, 
and work was even begun upon it; but it proved too | 
expensive an enterprise for that time, and had to be | 
abandoned. Still the idea bore fruit; for the next 
spring another and more feasible project was devised | 
of converting the old Town River, as it was called, 
into a canal up to the point where John Adams, as 
surveyor of highways, had, in 1760, built across it | 





| cation was decided upon. 





his historical bridge. It was an attempt at slack-water 
navigation. <A charter fora joint-stock company was 
secured, and the people went into the project with 
spirit. In 1826 the work was finished at an outlay of 
ten thousand dollars. The scheme did not prove a 
success. The canal, it is true, was used ; but the busi- 
ness afforded no profit, and years afterwards the affairs 


of the company were wound up with a total loss of 


| its capital. 


The Granite Railway was both a more famous and 
a more successful scheme. Its projector, Gridley 
Bryant, has given his account of how he came to 


construct it and of the obstacles he had to over- 
come: 


“JT had, previous to [the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker 
Hill Monument] purchased a stone-quarry (the funds being 
furnished by Dr. John C. Warren) for the express purpose of 
This 
quarry was in Quincy, nearly four miles from water-carriage. 
This suggested to me the idea of a railroad (the Manchester and 
Liverpool Railroad being in contemplation at this time, but was 


procuring the granite for constructing this monument. 


not begun until the spring following) ; accordingly, in the fall 


| of 1825 I consulted Thomas H. Perkins, William Sullivan, Amos 


Lawrence, Isaac P. Davis, and David Moody, all of Boston, in 
reference to it. These gentlemen thought the project visionary 
and chimerical; but, being anxious to aid the Bunker Hill 
Monument, consented that I might see what could be done. I 
awaited the meeting of our Legislature in the winter of 1825-26, 
and after every delay and obstruction that could be thrown in 
the way, I finally obtained a charter, although there was great 
opposition in the House. The questions were asked, ‘ What do 
we know about railroads? Who ever heard of such a thing? 
Is it right to take people’s land for a project that no one knows 
anything about ? We have corporations enough already !’ Such 
and similar objections were made, and various restrictions were 
imposed ; but it finally passed by a small majority only. Un- 
favorable as the charter was, it was admitted that it was ob- 
tained by my exertions; but it was owing to the munificence 
and public spirit of Colonel T. H. Perkins that we were in- 
None of the first-named gen- 
tlemen ever paid any assessments, and the whole stock finally 
fell into the hands of Colonel Perkins. . . 
routes from the quarry purchased (called the Bunker Hill 
Quarry) to the nearest tide-water, and finally the present lo- 


debted for the whole enterprise. 


. [surveyed several 


I commenced the work on the first 
day of April, 1826, and on the seventh day of October foliuw- 
ing the first train of cars passed over the whole length of the 
road.” 

At the time Bryant’s work excited an almost un- 
equaled interest throughout the country. It was, in 
fact, a pioneer American undertaking, the originator 
of which had closely studied that English railway 
literature which was then coming into existence. 
Although Stephenson had already, in a rude way, in- 
troduced locomotive steam-power on the Stockton and 
Darlington road, Bryant made no attempt at anything 
of that sort. Indeed, had he done so he would have 
ruined his enterprise. His views were confined to 
horse-power, and he built an improved tramway rather 


358 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





than a modern railroad. The really memorable thing 
about it was his ingenuity in devising the appliances 
These were 


very remarkable, including as they did the switch, 


necessary to its successful operation. 


the portable derrick, the turn-table, and the movable 
All these 


contrivances subsequently passed into general use ; 


truck for the eight-wheel railroad car. 


and the movable truck having six years later (in 
1834) been patented by other parties, became the 
subject of a litigation which occupied the courts for 
five years and cost, it is said, some $250,000. Though 


the claim of Bryant as its inventor was sustained, | 
he had no legal right to royalty on its use, nor did he | 


ever receive anything from it. 
in 1867. 

The Granite Railway, including its branches, was 
four miles in length, and cost fifty thousand dollars. 
It began at the quarry end with an inclined plane, by 
means of which eighty-four feet vertical fall was here 


accomplished in three hundred and fifteen feet of | 


gradual descent. The road then dropped gently down 
to tide-water level by grades of sixty-six, thirteen, 
and twenty-six feet to the mile. As the traffic was 
all in the direction of these grades, single horses could 


of course move with ease just as heavy loads as the 


structure would bear; the only difficulties being to | 
retard the loaded cars going down and to draw the 


unloaded cars back. The road was constructed of 
stone sleepers, or ties, eight feet apart, upon which 
were laid longitudinal wooden rails, protected by 
strap-iron plates three inches wide and one-fourth of 
an inch thick. The wooden rails were subsequently 
replaced by stone. 
At last, it 
having then been for a time in disuse, its franchise 


by horse-power, for about forty years. 


was purchased by the Old Colony Railroad Company. | 


The ancient structure was completely demolished and 


a modern railroad was built on the right of way. | 


This was formally opened for trafic on Oct. 9, 1871, 
forty-five years and two days after the original open- 
ing in 1826. ‘There is a certain historical fitness in 
the fact that, through the incorporation of the Gran- 
ite Railway into the Old Colony Railroad, the line 
which connects Plymouth with Boston has become the 
original railroad line in America. 

After 1825 the granite business of Quincy devel- 
oped rapidly. Three years later the old 1732 meeting- 
house in Quincy gave place to that more modern struc- 
ture which is still the central building in the town, 
the large monolith columns of which mark the ad- 
vance which the Quincy stone-cutters had then al- 
ready made. In the same year the Tremont House 
in Boston was built ; the present United States Court- 


He died quite poor | 


This railway was operated, always | 


House, then the Masonic Temple, followed in 1831, 
and the Court Street Court-House four years later ; 
then came the Boston Custom-House, begun in 1837 
and completed in 1849, with its thirty monolith col- 
umns, each forty-two tons in weight. As they were 
finished these were carried to Bosten over the Plym- 


_ outh road, for the turnpike bridges would not support 





the weight ; and as the carts made specially to carry 
_them, drawn by a long train of oxen and _ horses, 
_ passed slowly through the town, they were for years 
objects of deep popular interest and local pride. 

It is needless to go on enumerating the buildings 
thereafter constructed of Quincy granite. For years 
it was regarded as the best known material for con- 
struction, and it was chiseled into the most delicate 
shapes. A new school of taste then grew up which 
saw that the stone was not only hard and cold, as well 
as durable, but that it was wont to outlive its useful- 
The great Boston fire of 1872 showed also 
that, growing brittle when exposed to heat, it would 
shatter under streams of water. 


ness. 


A change accord- 
The stone passed out of use for 
architectural display, and was adopted in monumental 
work. 


ingly came about. 


At the present time nearly three-quarters of 
the Quincy granite dressed is used in cemeteries ; and 
there is something about it, whether it be harduess or 
durability or its coldness of color, which seems to make 
it specially appropriate for these modern cities of the 
dead. 

Meanwhile, the quarry business speedily revolu- 
_tionized the town. Its influence was everywhere 
| felt,—in habits, and modes of life and thought, and 
One by one the old traditions gave way. 
Business was no longer done as formerly. Firms 


in polities. 


| grew up possessing large means and employing many 
laborers, and a steady tide both of wealth and popula- 
‘tion set in. As compared with the figures of similar 
growth which has gone on during the same time at 
the great commercial centres of the country, the fig- 
ures representing the growth of the Quincy granite 
business are not large. Boston and St. Louis, New 
York, Chicago, and San Francisco have accustomed 





the minds and eyes of modern Americans to indus- 
trial strides of a wholly different scale. These cities 
| deal in workmen by the thousand and in products by 

the million. Against such exhibits no New England 

town can have anything to show which would cause 
_ surprise. The figures amount at most to the modest 
It is so with Quincy 


In the hard, slow work of producing it no 


statistics of a prosperous trade. 
oranite. 
large fortunes have been made, no crowded commu- 
nities have grown up. On the eastern slope of the 
' Blue Hill range, where in 1825 the Milton and 





QUINCY. 


359 





Quincy woods still stood, there is now a village con- 


| four hundred hands. 


taining a population larger than was the population of | 


Quincey then. The creaking of the derrick, the blows 
of the sledge, and the click of the hammer are every- 
where heard from the week-day morning to its night ; 
and from year’s end to year’s end the blocks of split and 
chiseled syenite pass out in a steady stream. Yet in 
the great aggregates of modern life it all represents 
but the labor of a few hundred men, and the well- 
earned return on the not large capital of a dozen en- 
terprising firms.’ 

But stone working was not the only new industry 
which about 1830 began to make its influence felt in 
Quincy. For more than a century and a quarter 
there had then been one tannery in the town, and at 
The earlier tanneries 
The vats 
were oblong boxes sunk in the ground close to the 


a later day there were several. 
were strange, primitive establishments. 


edge of the town brook at the point where it crossed 
the main street. They were without either covers or 
outlets. 
which old, worn-out horses circled round while the 
bark was crushed at the rate of half a cord or so a 
day by alternate wooden and stone wheels, moving in 


In the 
early years of the last century the prices were as 


a circular trough fifteen feet in diameter. 


primitive as the methods; for while green hides sold 
for three pence and dry hides for sixpence, the man- 
ufactured article brought but twelve pence. Then 
and long afterwards the dress, especially of the work- 
ing classes, was largely composed of leather, out of 
which as a material leggings and breeches, coats and 
shirts, were made, as well as shoes and gloves. 
Working in leather was therefore one of the common 
vocations in all New England towns. 

Consequently, as markets and means of communica- 
tion developed, it was natural that the Quincy people 
They did so as mat- 
ter of course, and as early as 1795 the business had 
taken root. 


should drift into shoemwaking. 


For a time it seemed not im- 
probable that Quincy might vie with Brockton, Lynn, 
or Marlborough as a great centre of this industry ; 
but the war of the Rebellion dealt a heavy blow to its 
trade, and the rapid development elsewhere of ma- 
chine-made work left the old-fashioned Quincy meth- 
ods far behind. Accordingly, after 1860 the business 


as a whole did not grow in Quincy as it grew else- 


where. 
Nevertheless, the presence in the town of this in- 


dustry, together with that of stone-cutting, greatly 


a radical change. 


The beam-house was an open shed, within | 


| Episcopals in 1838. 


Noah Curtis was its founder, and in that © 


year he made nine hundred and fifty-one pair of shoes, | 
paying for such as were hand-sewed two dollars a 


dozen pair. Not until 1822 was the Southern trade 
opened. By 1830 the Curtises had built up a large 
and profitable business, and the census of seven years 
later showed that in 1837 no less than forty-six 
thousand pair of boots and shoes were manufactured 
in the town. In 1856 the Curtises alone made forty- 
eight thousand pair of boots, giving employment to 





1 By the State census of 1875 there appeared to be thirty- 
seven establishments in Quincy in the granite business in all 
its branches. They represented a capital of $588,200, a yearly 


product valued at $775,884, and employed 617 men. 


influenced its character. The population underwent 
A new race, of different blood and 
religion, had come in. The native New Englander 
seemed to pass out of the fields into the shops, and 
men of foreign blood took his place. In 1830 the 
Congregational meeting-house, though then called 
“the Stone Temple,” and the Episcopal Church were 
still the only buiidings in the town in which religious 
Mass had once or twice been 
observed in dwelling-houses. In 1831 a Universalist 
society was organized, and in 1832 they built a church, 
In 1834 another church was built by an Evangelical 
Congregational society ; and a third by the Methodist 
The Roman Catholics were still 
without a building. There were now many of that faith 
in Quincy, but they were emigrants and they were poor; 
the narrow but traditional prejudice against them and 
their faith, also, was strong and hard to be outgrown. 
About the year 1839 an occasional Mass was cele- 
brated in the small West Quincy school-house; but 
those were the years when, under the combined Native 
American and anti-Catholic feeling, Massachusetts 
was in a dangerous mood. The Mount Benedict 
Monastery in Charlestown had not very long before 
been destroyed by a mob; and now in West Quincy 
those of the district who held other religious views 
expelled the Catholics from the school-house. For- 
tunately, better counsels and a kinder feeling prevailed, 


, 


services were held. 


and after a short time the services were renewed 
there; nor were they again disturbed. In the autumn 
of 1842 St. Mary’s Church in West Quincy was con- 
secrated, and eleven years later, in 1853, St. John’s 
Church was finished, standing almost on the spot 
where the Episcopal Church, removed twenty-one 
years before, had stood for a century. Another 
Catholic chapel was erected in the North District 
of the town in 1874. In 1842 there were about 
one hundred Catholics in Quincey; in 1884 there 
were more worshipers in the three Catholic churches 
than in all the other eight churches of the town com- 
bined. 

If the multiplication of sects and churches after 


360 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





1830 was considerable, that of schools was still more 
so. Inthe matter of education the state of things 
had, indeed, then become such that it was obvious a 
change of system must be made. The old centre 
grammar school could no longer be made to suffice. 
Its condition and methods have already been de- 


| ve 
school-houses. The neighborhood school system was 


scribed, and in 1827 the school committee, of which | 
Thomas Greenleaf was then chairman, reported the | 


whole number of children in all the schools as four 
hundred and sixty-one. 


Of these, twenty-five only— | 


nineteen boys and six girls—were over fourteen years | 


of age, so early even at that late period did the 
schooling stop. 


In order to relieve the centre of an 


excessive attendance, two winter schools under mas- | 


ters—called in the reports ‘men’s schools,” to  dis- 
tinguish them from the old dames’ schools for chil- 





dren 
the South District, the other at Bent’s Point, or the 
Oldfields District. This measure had failed to bring 
the wished-for relief. The increase of scholars from 
the other districts was such that the centre school 


| 
had been opened, the one at Penn’s Hill, or | 


| 
| 





| 
{ 
| 


throughout the winter had an average attendance of | 


one hundred and forty. Crowded into a single school- 


room, these seven-score children of all ages were | 


taught by one master, who was paid five hundred 
dollars a year, aided by one female assistant, who was 
Under these 
circumstances the committee of 1827 suggested, not 
‘for immediate adoption, but for deliberate consid- 


paid one hundred and twenty dollars. 


eration,’ the idea of building a second school-house. | 


That, it stated, would “afford an immediate and ef- 
fectual relief for many years.” 
two years of ‘ deliberate consideration,’ the town, in 
1829, voted to build three new school-houses, one at 
the North, or Farms District, one at the East, or 
Oldfields District, and one at the South, or Penn’s 
Hill and Woods District ; the last, being a combined 
arrangement, was to be of stone and cost as much as 
the other two together. In the spring of 1830 the 
new buildings were finished, and the committee re- 
ported that, including the land on which they stood, 


Accordingly, after | 


they had cost respectively $1142.59 for that of stone, | 


and $523 and $422.02 for the others of wood. This 
failed to satisfy the town. A pernicious idea had 
gained footing that it was desirable “to bring the 


school to every man’s door;” and instead of concen- 


- schooling 


trating children so that they might be divided ac- 


cording to age and taught by several teachers in 


graded schools, the mistaken policy of neighborhood | 


schools of all ages under one teacher was adopted. 
Accordingly, the next year, after a sharp struggle, 
in which the town divided by a vote of eighty-four 


thus definitely fixed upon. 

That this should have been so was in some respects 
unfortunate, but it was probably necessary. It was 
a mistake naturally incident to government through 
town-meeting. Town-meetings are not inspired. 
Having fortunately no infinite wisdom to guide and 
dwarf them, they go stolidly on, working their way 
in perfectly human and commonplace fashion through 
almost infinite waste and failure to a certain degree ot 
Ac- 
cordingly, the policy as respects its schools fixed on 
by Quincy in the town-meeting of March 8, 1831, 
From an 
educational point of view it was altogether wrong. 
The school was near the child’s home, but at the 
school the child learned the least possible. The 
erading of scholars was out of the question, and in- 


success. The process is slow and expensive. 


remained its policy for over forty years. 


competent teachers wasted their time trying to im- 


part a little knowledge to many children of various 


A more wasteful system could hardly have 
From the money point of view it did 
the annual appropria- 


ages. 
been devised. 
not cost much, for in 1827 
tion was $3 for each scholar, and the neighborhood 
system only increased it in 1831 to $3.67. In 1840 
it had fallen to $2.89, and it was only $3.81 in 1850. 
Not until 1868 did the annual cost per scholar in- 
crease to over $10. The town had then grown up 
to the neighborhood system, for its population was 
about 7000, and there were 1534 children in the 
schools. They had for years been more or less 
graded, and a somewhat better instruction was pos- 
sible. 

Yet even then the teaching in the public schools 
It was almost wholly con- 


fined to verbal memorizing, and that singular mental 


had little to commend it. 


exercise known as parsing, or the mechanical applica- 
tion of certain rules of grammar to words and sen- 
tences. 
scholars, nor did the knowing how to parse in any 


These rules never had any meaning to the 


way affect the scholar’s mode of speaking or writing 
his mother-tongue. It was the same with arithmetic. 
It was taught by rule. This was that old-fashioned 

g, so called, which is still commonly supposed 
to have been simple, but, in some unexplained way, 
peculiarly thorough. Accordingly there are not a few 
who lose no opportunity to refer to it with respectful 
In point of fact, in no true sense of the 
By force of 


regret. 
word was it either simple or thorough. 


constant iteration, emphasized by occasional whippings, 


to seventy-eight, it was decided to build two more ' 


the child did indeed have certain rules and formulas 
so impressed on the memory that they never afterwards 
faded from it; but so did the horse, thejdog, and the 


QUINCY. 


361 





parrot. One and the same method of instruction was _ 
_ applied to all, human and brute. It was purely a_ 
matter of memorizing and imitation ; the observing 

and reasoning faculties, it was supposed,—if, indeed, 

any thought was given to them,—would develop — 
themselves. Since the days of the ‘‘ Learned School- | 
master,’ Benjamin Tompson, school methods in 
Quincy had become more elaborate and far more ex- 
pensive; the child learned more, such as it was, be- 
cause it went to school more hours, and there were 
more teachers and better text-books. But, so far as 
intelligence of method and system was concerned, 


there had been little change and no considerable im- 


provement. Nor were the results anything to be 


proud of. The average graduate of the grammar | 


school could not read with ease, nor could he write an 
ordinary letter in a legible hand and with words cor- 
rectly spelled. 

Nor in these respects were the schools of Quincy 
worse than those of its sister-towns. This was at one 


time confidently asserted, and the friends of every 


system which breaks down under investigation always | 


assert that such system was notoriously defective at the 
precise point where the investigation took place. In 
the case of the Quincy schools it was nothing of the 
sort. They were quite as good as the average of 
Massachusetts town schools. 
clearly as the result of careful inquiries made by | 
agents of the State Board of Education in 1879. | 
It was then found that in a very large proportion of 

the towns in Norfolk County the educational methods 

in use in the schools were the same that had been 

immemorially in use. They were quaintly primitive. 
Children were still taught to spell orally and in 
classes, and the writing was limited to what was done 


in the copy-books. Accordingly, when told to write 


a letter of a few lines, many pupils showed at once | 


that they had never been taught even the mechanical 
part of a written exercise, while certain of the | 
teachers actually would not permit their schools to be 
subjected to so unheard-of a test. 
were taught to parse, and say the multiplication table. 
Out of 


eleven hundred scholars in two hundred and twelve 


Their scholars 
Writing letters was no part of school work. 


schools who used in composition the adverb “too,” 
no less than eight hundred and fifty-nine spelt 
the word incorrectly. The three words ‘“ whose,” 
“which,” and ‘“ scholar” were given out for written 
spelling, and while there were fifty-eight different 

wrong spellings of ‘“ which,” there were one hundred | 
and eight of ‘“‘ whose,” and two hundred and twenty- 

one of “scholar.” 


these examinations were probably never surpassed. — 


For thoroughness and magnitude 


| then composing the Quincy school committee. 


_ provement in its quality. 
| schools had been humanized. 


This appeared very | 





They included the schools of twenty-four towns, re- 
turning five thousand scholars. The tests, of the 
simplest and most ordinary description, were confined 
to showing the results actually obtained in reading, 
writing, and ciphering. There was no escape from 
the conclusions reached, for the fac-similes of the ex- 
amination papers spoke for themselves.’ 

In 1873 doubts as to the value of the results ob- 


tained through the methods then in use had for some 


_ time been forcing themselves on the minds of those 


They 
referred in their reports to the condition of “immo- 
bility’ which seemed to prevail. There were now 
twenty-seven schools in the town, in which thirty-two 
teachers were at work on twelve hundred scholars. 
The annual cost of teaching each scholar exceeded 
fourteen dollars. Since 1830 the number of those 
taught had thus increased much less than three-fold, 
while the cost of teaching them had increased over 


fifteen-fold. 


vious that a great waste of public money was steadily 


Under these circumstances it was ob- 
going on. ‘The cost of the article purchased had been 
immensely increased, without any corresponding im- 
It was perfectly true the 
Boys were no longer 
forced as a punishment to clasp hands across the top 
of an over-heated stove until holes burned in their 
clothes ; nor were they made to whip each other, 
while the master stood over them and himself whipped 
that one who seemed to slacken in his blows.’ Scenes 
like these, worthy of Dotheboys Hall, were remi- 
niscences of the past. But there was no reason 
to suppose that the children when they left school 
read more fluently, or wrote more legibly, or computed 
with more facility than had their fathers and mothers 
before them. Under these circumstances the com- 
mittee came to the conclusion that if the town was not 
spending an undue amount on its schools, yet certainly 
not more than fifty per cent. of what it did spend was 
spent effectively. The whole thing needed to be re- 
formed; but the members of the committee did not 
feel themselves qualified to reform it. They therefore 
stated the case to the town, and asked for authority to 
employ a specialist as a superintendent. 

In the spring of 1875 the desired authority was 
given. The result was that reform in school methods 
which, known as the “Quincy system,” within the 


_ next few years excited far and wide an almost unpre- 


cedented interest and discussion. It was the work of 


1 See Report of Examination of Scholars in Norfolk County, 
in the Forty-third Annual Report (1880) of the Massachusetts 
Board of Education. 

2Quincy Patriot, Feb. 21, 1874. 


362 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





the superintendent then employed, F. W. Parker. 
Mr. Parker was by birth a New Hampshire man, who 
had taught school in Ohio before the war of the Re- 
bellion, and during it served in the army, attaining 
the rank of colonel. He had then gone to Germany 
in order to study the most improved educational 
methods. Returning to America, he fell in with 
James H. Slade, then one of the Quincey school com- 
mittee, and was by him suggested as superintendent. 
The choice was a most fortunate one. There were 
many qualifications of a superintendent which Mr. 
Parker did not possess. He lacked business method. 
He could not always accommodate himself to cireum- 
stances in dealing with men. 
He was apt to try to do the right 


thing at the wrong time. 


His practical judgment 
was often bad. 
He was impatient of oppo- 


sition. But, on the other hand, he was possessed 


with an idea, and he was indefatigable in his efforts | 


to put it in practice. He knew how to infuse his own 


spirit into his teachers, and he possessed in a marked 


degree the indescribable quality of attracting public | 


notice to what he was doing. ‘The essence of his sys- 


It 


tem was simple, nor was it in any respect new. 





was a protest against the old mechanical methods. | 


There was to be something in the schools besides 
The 
child was no longer to be taught on the same princi- 


memorizing and the application of formulas. 
ples that dogs and parrots were taught. The reason- 
ing and observing faculties were to be appealed to. 
The object always to be kept in view was a practical 


one. <A race of men and women were to be produced 


who might indeed not be able readily to commit 
_ building was placed, as the founder directed it should 


things to memory or to repeat rules out of a grammar ; 
they would not be disciplined in the ancient way, but 
they would be accustomed to observe and think for 
themselves, and at least to read and write English 
with ease and decently.’ 

Mr. Parker’s labors attracted almost at once the 


notice of educators. He was, of course, severely 


criticised by the adherents of the old system, who — 


vigorously asserted that what was good in his | 


methods was not new, and that what was new was 
not good. The assertion that the results produced 
by the old system were not satisfactory was angrily 
denounced as a slur on the well-earned fame of Mas- 
sachusetts, 
said, they ought not to be published to the world, for 
they gave comfort to the enemies of common schools. 


| The leading features of the so-called Quincy system were 


set forth at the time in a paper entitled “‘The New Departure 
in the Common Schools of Quincy,’ which was printed in 
pamphlet form, and passed rapidly through six editions, ex- 


citing much public discussion. 


The educational journals referred to the arguments 
of Mr. Parker’s friends as “monumental displays 
of ignorance,’ and it required the unanswerable 
facts of the Norfolk County investigation to  sat- 
isfy them that the earlier condition of affairs in 
the Quincy schools was both correctly stated and not 
exceptional. All this noisy discussion did but spread 
far and wide the fame of Mr. Parker’s efforts, and 
strangers soon began to come to Quincy to see what 
the thing amounted to. ‘hen they came to study it. 
Finally, the town schools became an educational cu- 
riosity for the display to the world of the new system. 
Visitors trooped to Quincy by hundreds, and at times 
It became, indeed, a 
serious hindrance to instruction, and had to be regu- 


they crowded the school-rooms. 


lated by the committee. 

For five years Mr. Parker held the position of super- 
intendent. In the spring of 1880 he was chosen one 
of the school supervisors of Boston, and subsequently 
he became the head of the Cook County Normal 
School of Lllinois. But he did not leave Quincy 
until the reforms he had instituted there had become 
He was succeeded by one of 
the grammar-school teachers whom he had himself 
educated in his system. ‘The schools of Quincy were 
then full of life and promise, and the educational ad- 
vantages of the town were considerable. A high 
school had been established in 1852, and the Adams 
Academy had been opened in 1872. The last was 
the institution endowed by John Adams half a cen- 
tury before. During the intermediate time funds 
had been slowly accumulating, and the academy 


firmly established. 


be, on the exact site of the house in which John 
Hancock was born. 

Nor were the means of acquiring a higher education 
in Quincy now limited to its schools and academies. 
The way to self-culture had been thrown wide open to 
every one who wished to tread it, for a free access 
to books was no longer the exclusive privilege of 
the rich or the educated. In 1871 the sum of two 
thousand five hundred dollars was voted towards the 


establishment of a free public library, provided an 


Even if such things were true, it was 


equal sum could be raised by private subscription. 
At that time the town practically had no collection 
The Quincy 


of books in it which was open to all. 


_ Lyceum, which dated from 1829, and after it the 


Adams Literary Association, had, to a limited extent, 
supplied the need; but their means were small and 


their organization incomplete. Accordingly, as it 


had been in the beginning so it remained down to 


the year 1846, when, for those who could afford to 
buy, the railroad made the bookstores of the city 





QUINCY. 


, 


303 





accessible. But, so far as the bulk of shaban 
were concerned, they neither had any books within | 
their reach, nor did they know how to use them. 
The purpose of John Adams in giving his library 
to the town had wholly failed of accomplishment. 
When he did it he had his own youth in mind. He 
had been brought up in the Braintree of former days, 


| 
| 
| 


a country lad wholly cut off from the means of a | 


larger education. 
break out his own way to success, and his wish in old 
age was to remove the obstacles which had impeded him 
from the path of future generations of his townsmen. 
Out of narrow means he accordingly endowed an 


He had thus been compelled to | 


academy, and he gave to it his own library, the col-_ 


lection of a lifetime. His motives were generous, 
but he could not foresee the changes of the future. 
The books were, many of them, most rare and valu- 
able ; 
they wanted more easily elsewhere. For popular use 
the collection was almost ludicrously inappropriate. 
The scholar and the public man would feel at home 
in it, but to the average frequenter of the modern 
public library it was much what a rare edition of 
Shakespeare or of Milton is to one as yet untaught to 


read. 


This the town did not realize at the time the gift | 


but students were few, and they found what 


was made, and votes were passed for the appointment 


of a librarian, and the arrangement of the books so 
that all who wished so to do might consult them. 
The collection then remained uncared for, and accessi- 
ble to every one for nearly thirty years. 
time it suffered irreparable injury. Not only were 
many volumes taken from it and never returned, but 
it was freely robbed of the autographs which gave a 


peculiar value to it. Whole title-pages were torn out ; 


and that copies of some of the choicest works ever | 


issued from the press remained unmutilated was pure 
good fortune only. 

Such was the situation in 1871 when the move in 
behalf of a modern public library was made. The 
two thousand five hundred dollars from private sub- 


Academy, but in 1874 the rapid growth of the 
school under Dr. 
removal necessary. 


Dimmock’s management made a 
The Second Congregational so- 
ciety had some years before outgrown that first 
church building of theirs which stood close to the site 
of the original stone meeting-house of 1666, and 
To it 


the library was removed, and there it remained until 


being vacant it was now leased by the town. 


the Crane Memorial Hall was ready to receive it in 
1882. 

The gift of this building to Quincy was one of 
those incidents, both interesting and peculiar, which 
It 


In one of their 


are somewhat characteristic of New England. 
came in a wholly unexpected way. 
annual reports the Library trustees had called atten- 
tion to the fact that of the several modern divisions 
of the original town, Holbrook, Randolph, and Brain- 
tree each had buildings for their libraries given to 
them as memorials, and a hope was expressed that 
sooner or later “ private munificence may supply a 
public need,” and Quincy would enjoy the same good 
This was in February, 1879, and there was 
then no reason to look for such a gift either imme- 
diately, or, indeed, from any particular quarter. No 
one had intimated a disposition to do anything of the 
kind. 


A few months later, but within the year, a gentle- 


fortune. 


man with whom he then had no acquaintance came 


_ into the Boston office of the chairman of the trustees, 


During that | 


_moved away from Massachusetts. 


and, after introducing himself, opened the conversa- 
tion by asking if Quiney would like to have a public 
library building. 
turned to his visitor and asked if any one thought of 
The other replied 
that he was not authorized to say who he represented, 


Very much surprised, the chairman 
giving the town such a building. 


further than that it was the family of one Quincy 
born, but now dead, who many years before had 
Nothing further 
was then said, nor was anything more heard of the 


matter for several months. Meanwhile some reports 


_ of the Library and its catalogue were sent to the repre- 


scription necessary to secure the town endowment was | 
soon raised, and in the autumn of 1871 there was 
opened in Quincy one of those institutions, undreamed — 


of in former times, which may without exaggeration 


be called the universities of the poor. The crying 


need which existed for something of the kind at once | 


became apparent. The public library was thronged 


with young people, and during the next twelve months | 


nearly forty-five thousand volumes were borrowed. 
Accordingly, it at once assumed a foremost place among 
the educational influences of the town. For over 
two years a room was provided for it in the Adams 


sentative of the unknown family, and early in the 


following winter he again came to the office of the 
chairman of the trustees. He now said that the fam- 
ily in question lived in New York, but that they dis- 
liked to have the matter discussed, or to be mentioned 
in connection with it, until their minds were fully 
made up as to what they proposed to do. In reply 
Mr. Otis, the gentleman who appeared for them, was 
assured that the matter should not be mentioned, but 
the chairman, Mr. Adams, said that business often 
called him to New York, and he would be glad to 


meet there the parties in question, if they cared to see 


364 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





February, 1880, a gentleman called on Mr. Adams in 
New York, and, giving his name as Crane, said that 


| 
| 
| 
| 
| 


he had come to see him in relation to the proposed | 


memorial building in Quincy. He then explained 
the connection of his father’s family with Quincy, and 
the desire his widow and children had, though they 
had never lived in the town, to there erect some last- 
ing memorial to him. The result of the interview 
was that Mr. Adams the next day carried back to 
Quincy the formal offer of a memorial library hall, 
which a fortnight later was acted upon and accepted 
at the annual town-meeting. 

Steps were at once taken to secure as a site for the 
proposed building that lot of ground which Mr. 
Crane had pointed out as in his opinion best adapted 
for it. 
matured, and the corner-stone of the new edifice was 
laid on the 22d of February, 1881. 
dedicated on the 30th of May, 1882. 


During the following summer plans were 


It was formally 
It commemo- 





rates in a typical way a man who was himself singularly | 


typical of New England and of Quincy. Born of 
old Braintree stock, Thomas Crane had gone to the 


centre grammar school, and worshiped in the old | 


North Precinct meeting-house until he became a man. 
He had then in the year 1827 gone away, as so many 
A 
stone-cutter by trade, he settled in New York City, 
and there married and had children. A plain, straight- 
forward, energetic man, he gradually amassed a for- 


others went then and later, seeking his fortune. 


him. No name had yet been given. At length, in- 





There is a degree of individuality in the business 
history of Quincy since the year 1830, and conse- 
quently a certain interest attaches to it, owing to the 
fact that it centred mainly in that granite which un- 
derlaid the soil. The town dealt in its native stone. 
The religious development had also a certain char- 
acter of its own. It was liberal. Indeed, the utter 
absence of Calvinism, or strong orthodoxy, in the 
tenets of those inhabiting the North Precinct and 
Quincy is so marked, and so unusual for a Massachu- 
setts community, that it cannot escape notice. When 
the Unitarian movement took place under Channing’s 
lead, it has already been seen that it excited no sur- 
prise among those who recalled the teachings of Lem- 
uel Briant. On the contrary, the tendency in Quincy 
then was towards Universalism. Thomas Crane, for 
instance, feeling a strong religious craving which the 
teachings of Mr. Whitney did not satisfy, found what 
he needed, not in the Braintree church, where Dr. 
Storrs still held up the rigid belief of the fathers, but 
in the broader Christianity of ‘“ Father” Hosea Bal- 
lou. The young stone-cutter would walk twenty miles . 
No 


orthodox church ever struck root in Quincy. In mat- 


of a Sunday to listen to his favorite preacher. 


ters of education the individuality of the town was 


less marked. 


tune, and at last died in New York, April 1, 1875, | 


in his seventy-second year. Though he often came 


back to Quincy as a visitor, he never was an inhabi- | 


tant of the town from the time he left it in 1827. 


The members of his family had few associations with | 


it. 
thoughts turned. to Quincy as the place where he 


Of 


all the many young men who early and late had gone 


It seemed proper also that it should stand there. 


successful. Dealing all his life in the granite which 
underlaid Quincy, his success had been due to the pos- 
session of those qualities which made New England. 
He was honest, he was religious, he was energetic and 
enterprising and patient. His life was wholly unas- 
suming, and when he died few in Quincy remembered 
that such an one had ever lived there. His name 
is now and will long be a household word in the place 
where he passed his youth, and from which he went 
forth ; nor could a better example of native strength 
and homely virtues be held up before its children for 


imitation. 


Yet when the husband and father died, their | 


The schools were much like the schools 
elsewhere, and the sudden development of the 
“Quincy system’’ came from without, and was largely 
a matter of chance. None the less, it was something 
that such a movement was possible. It showed a men- 
tal receptiveness, a faculty of accepting new ideas and 
responding to them, which was in keeping with the 
whole religious and political record of the community 
which John Wheelwright had first taught. The soil 
was kindly to the reformer, and his labors brought 


forth speedy fruits. Politically, also, the later history 


_of Quincy was not without its individuality and sig- 
would most have desired to have his memorial stand. | 


nificance. The old and new elements were always at 


work in it. Sometimes the one would attain a mas- 


_ tery, and its influence would forthwith appear unmis- 
out from the town, Thomas Crane had been the most | 


takably in town-meeting, and stamp itself on the rec- 
ords ; then the other would by degrees assert itself, 
and the ancient order of things would, to a certain 
The old political habits and 
traditions could not be destroyed; and yet the rapid 


extent, be restored. 


infusion of foreign elements would through long 


| 


| 


periods of time seem to obliterate them. Absorption 
and education went on continually; the new affected 
the old, and the old gradually influenced the new. In- 
deed, the process which upon the large scale was 
working itself out all over the continent, might in 
Here was one of the in- 
dividual units of which the other was the aggregate. 


Quincy be studied in detail. 


QUINCY. 


365 








After the formation of the United States govern- 


| 


ment, all through the administrations of Jefferson — 


and Madison, including the war of 1812, it has been 
seen that Quincy politically was a strong Federalist 
town. Down even to the year 1824 it stood firmly 
out. In 1823, Dr. Eustis was elected Governor over 
Harrison Gray Otis, the candidate of the old Feder- 
alists ; but Quincy none the less gave Mr. Otis a ma- 
jority of sixty-six in a total vote of two hundred and 
four. Nor did it change under defeat, for the next 
year it gave sixty-three majority against Governor 
Eustis, though his election in the State was a fore- 
gone conclusion. Then came the Presidential cam- 
paign of 1825, and the Federal party disappeared for- 
ever. In Quincy all were Adams men, and they so re- 
mained until long after the election of Gen. Jackson. 
Then the Jackson democracy began to make its pres- 
ence felt. Its growth at first was very slow. In 
November, 1830, ex-President J. Q. Adams was 
brought forward as a candidate for Congress in the 
Plymouth district to succeed Mr. Richardson, of Hing- 
ham, who declined re-election. In Quincy Mr. Adams 
received seventy-six votes to ten cast for the Jackson 
candidate. At the next State election Marcus Morton, 
the Democratic candidate for Governor, had fourteen 
votes, while Governor Lincoln received two hundred 
A new 
The old 
agricultural interest was no longer the only interest. 
In 1837 more than five hundred hands were em- 
ployed in the quarries. 


and eleven. Then gradually a change came. 
element had found its way into the town. 


The greater portion of these 
were not Quincy born. Many of them were foreign- 
ers, especially Irish, and Catholics. 


Americans, from New Hampshire. 


More yet were 
These last were 
a sturdy, rough, floating population, with no knowl- 
edge of town traditions, and a strong general disposi- 
tion to vote the Democratic ticket. They did not live 
in Quincy, but came down from the North in the 


spring to get a summer’s work; and at the season of | 


their coming stage-coach after stage-coach from Boston 
would be loaded down with them and their baggage. 
In March they voted for Isaae Hill, or his Democratic 
nominee, in New Hampshire, and in November they 
voted for Marcus Morton in Quincy. They were a 
foreign voting element; but there was also a new 
domestic voting element which had now to be taken 
into account. The shoemaking population had 
greatly increased. This was of a wholly different type 
from the stone-working population. The day of 
great shoe-factories and machine-made work was yet 
distant. The men and women who made shoes as a 


trade worked mainly at their homes. As an occupa- 


tion this lacked the manliness and robust, out-door - 


vigor of stone-cutting. The shoemaker worked day 
in and day out in the little ill-ventilated cobbler’s 
room attached to the dwelling, which in winter was 
heated by a stove and smelt of burnt leather. He 
stuck to his last ; and, in doing so, he talked a great 
deal of politics and political issues, thoroughly can- 
vassing all men in public life from President Jackson 
down to Mr. Greenleaf, the traditional moderator at 
town-meeting. ‘The shoemaker was, as a rule, not a 
Federalist ; but he did not vote the Democratic ticket 
in the same way the quarryman voted it. His was not 
that rough and somewhat turbulent independence. 
Intellectually he was of a finer, keener type; physi- 
cally he did not sustain the comparison well. He 
was apt to be round-shouldered and hollow-chested, 
thin and long-limbed. He lacked the muscle of the 
stone-cutter. In politics he was inclined to admire 
what he called “smartness” rather than grasp, and 
though he would not vote for a convicted knave, he 
felt a good deal of inner kindness for the successful 
rascal, and an absolute contempt for the well-inten- 
tioned dolt. 
nation, and could be depended upon by the wire- 


He loved political intrigue and combi- 


puller; though he soon saw through the merely 
loud-voiced demagogue. 

Such were the political elements which between 
1830 and 1840 began to mingle and contend for mas- 
tery in the Quincy town-meeting. First were the old 
colonial, native stock, living by agriculture, slow, con- 
servative, and generally disposed to show much defer- 
Next came the 
quarry-men, composed of noisy, muscular, hard-living 
Then the 
foreign-born Catholics who instinctively sided against 


ence to the opinions of the gentry. 
native Americans, with small reverence. 
all settled political traditions. Lustly, the shoemakers, 
mainly Americans, but disinclined to the old ways 
and the old leaders, and disposed to manage things 
by intrigue and combination without much regard 
to precedent. 


presence of such elements as these the downfall of the 
local gentry influence was a mere question of time. 


It is almost needless to say that in the 


The spirit of democracy was afloat in the land, and 
the movement which had carried Jackson into the 
Presidency on the larger theatre, on the smaller was 
destined soon to drive Thomas Greenleaf out of the 
management of town affairs. The growth year by 
year of the vote cast for Marcus Morton marks the 
advance of the tide. In 1829 he received one ballot 
only, and in 1832 he had but twenty. In 1835 he 
had got up to forty-two, and the next year to one 
hundred and forty-eight. Two years later the revo- 
lution in public opinion was complete, and Marcus 
Morton polled two hundred and sixty votes to one 





366 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





hundred and seventy-two for Governor Everett. The 
size of the vote showed also the rapid increase of the 
population under the new business development. In 
1830 only one hundred and thirty-six ballots were 
cast in the election for Governor; in 1840 the num- 
ber had inereased more than five-fold, aggregating 


seven hundred. ‘This, it is true, was a Presidential 


election, and a very exciting one,—the famous hard- | 


But the Presi- 
dential election of 1828 was also an exciting one, in 
Yet in 1828 
only one hundred and twenty-three votes were cast, 


cider and log-cabin campaign. 
which a Quincy man was a candidate. 


or scarcely a sixth part of those cast in 1840. 

In the town, as in the nation, the process of absorp- 
tion and amalgamation were now to be gone through 
with. 
rapid. 
it soon stop. 
the farm-hands—had been mainly Americans. 


The inrush of foreign elements had been too 
Nor did 
Up to this time the agriculturalists— 


The 
Trish now began to take the place of these men in the 


It tended to unsettle everything. 


fields, while the new generation of Americans either | 


found employment in shops and mechanical pursuits 
or became shoemakers. The more adventurous and 
enterprising went to the cities, or sought their for- 
tunes in the West. 
complete change in the character of the town. 


was a change also for the worse. The old order of 








But the result of it all was a | 


It | 


_ the worse is reflected in the reports of the school com- 


things was doubtless slow, conservative, traditional, | 
but it was economical, simple, and_ business-like. | 


The new order of things was in all respects the re- 
verse of this. 
on their enterprise, their lack of reverence for tra- 
dition, their confidence in themselves; but they were 
noisy, unmethodical, in reality incompetent, and 
altogether too often intemperate. 

Accordingly, neither the business record nor the 


moral record of the town were now creditable. There 


tive. 
The leaders in it prided themselves | 


was, as respects the first, no absolute corruption; the — 


The 


It was a small affair, 


method of doing business was simply loose. 
town debt was an illustration. 
amounting to only a few thousand dollars, when, in 
1837, Congress passed an act for the distribution of 
the surplus national revenue. Under the operation 
of this act no less a sum than $5148 fell to the share 
of Quincy, and was regularly appropriated to the 
payment of the town debt. 
to extinguish it; yet the very next year the debt was 
larger than ever. 


It should have sufficed | 


The surplus was muddled away. | 


The expenses exceeded the appropriations; the de- | 


ficiencies were not provided for, the treasury was 
falling into a system of yearly arrears, So also as 
In 1835, and again 


in 1836, a movement was made in the direction of 


respects the moral question. 


There was an article in the 
warrant of each of those years to see if the town 
would instruct the selectmen not to license places for 
the sale ‘of Rum, Brandy, Gin, or other Spirituous 
liquors.” 


temperance reform. 


There was a sharp struggle, and the prop- 
osition was rejected by a majority of two only in a 
total vote of 158. At the election of that year 
138 votes were thrown for Governor Everett to 42 
for Marcus Morton. The next year Morton’s vote 
increased to 148, and the proposal not to license was 
defeated by 32 majority; nor was it again renewed. 
The growth of sentiment, on the contrary, was dis- 
tinctly in the other direction, Three years later, in 
1839, Morton received 326 votes to 231 cast for 
Everett ; the Jackson Democracy were in full ascen- 
dancy. And now the seventeenth article in the 
warrant for the annual meeting was “to know if 


| the Town will allow a temperate use of ardent spirits 


to the Paupers when they work on the road or farm,” 
and by a vote of 86 to 76 it was so ordered. The 
same year the mysterious disappearance of the con- 
tents of a cask of rum stored at the almshouse was 
made the subject of a jocose paragraph in a formal 
report made to the town by one of its committees. 

The schools also felt this influence. A change for 
mittee. This committee dates from 1827, when the 
law passed the year before took effect, and from that 
time to the present the annual reports are consecu- 
The first was signed by Mr. Greenleaf, as 
chairman, and was a well-expressed, sensible paper. 
The following is an extract from a report made 
some ten years later : 

“The school in the Centre District has been less satisfactory. 
The Committee think well of the literary qualifications of the 
Master, and were satisfied with the course of instruction pur- 
sued in the School and believe that a large portion of the 
Scholars have made improvement, but the behaviour of a part 


of the School very 
About half a dozen of the largest Boys distinguished them- 


at the examination was unbecoming. 


selves not for their good behaviour, but for their bad behaviour, 
for which conduct they received the unqualified censure and 
disapprobation of the Committee.” 


But the slow phase of transition through which 
Quincy was now passing is marked more distinctly on 
the record in the support it accorded to John Quincy 
It is hardly 


necessary to repeat that the phase referred to was not 


Adams than in any other one thing. 
peculiar to Quincy. It was a popular movement 
which originated in the West, and spread all over the 
country. Andrew Jackson was its political exponent. 
His methods were its methods. ‘The nation was its 
field, therefore ; but its spirit and peculiarities can be 


most closely studied in the town. It is needless to 





QUINCY. 


367 





say, also, that J. Q. Adams was no less obnoxious to 
the new spirit than the new spirit was to him. He 


| 


had met it before in the country at large, and been — 


forced to succumb to it. He was now to meet it in 
his own town. Unlike his father, Mr. Adams had 
never been closely identified with his birthplace. In- 
deed, from the time he sailed to Europe, in Novem- 
ber, 1779, to the time when, in 1829, he came home 
a defeated President,—a period of half a century, 
—he was an almost complete stranger in Quincy. 
Yet he had a strong hold on the old native population. 
They saw in him one of themselves. Accordingly, 
in 1825 the town gave the Adams electoral ticket a 
unanimous vote, and in the campaign of four years 
later his victorious opponent received only three bal- 
lots in Quincy. Between 1830 and 1836, Mr. Adams 


Democrats maintained their ascendancy, though “ con- 
sisting,’ as Mr. Adams wrote, “of transient stone- 
Mr. Bancroft re- 


But 
this time Mr. Adams had the satisfaction of running 


cutters from New Hampshire.” 
ceived eight votes more than Governor Briggs. 


considerably ahead of the Presidential ticket, receiv- 
ing 345 votes to 312 cast for Isaac Hull Wright, his 
Democratic opponent. The election of 1846 was the 
last in which Mr. Adams was concerned. That was 
a year of Whig triumph, and even in Quincy the 


Whig candidate had a large majority. As for Mr. 


Adams, he seemed to have outlived the opposition to 
him, and his parting majority from Quincy was a 


eratifying one. It spoke of earlier times. He re- 


ceived 232 votes to 213 cast for five different oppo- 


was four times elected to Congress from the Plymouth | 


At each 
election he had almost the entire vote of the town.! 


district, of which Quincy was then a part. 


In 1833 he was the candidate of the Anti-Masonic | 


party for Governor, and in Quincy he had 149 votes 
to 97 for the two other candidates. 
change began, and two years later Morton, for Gov- 
ernor, had 98 majority over Everett in a vote of 432. 
Notwithstanding this, Mr. Adams still held the town, 


In 1836 the | 


receiving 183 votes to 76 cast for three other candi- | 
oO 


dates. Two years later, in the Harrison campaign, 
Quincey was closely contested. Mr. Adams, owing to 
his anti-slavery course in Congress, was peculiarly ob- 
noxious to the Democrats. The Harrison ticket had 
a majority of five votes in the town out of a total of 


695, but Marcus Morton for Governor ran 48 votes | 


ahead of John Davis. Mr. Adams, though receiving 
more votes than Governor Davis, yet fell three behind 
his own opponent, William M. Jackson, who had 349 
votes. In 1842 there was a general collapse of the 
Whig party. John Tyler was President, and the De- 
mocracy were altogether in the ascendant. In Quincy 
Morton had a majority of 29, and Mr. Adams was 
again beaten, Ezra Wilkinson receiving 289 votes, or 
four more than he Philosophizing over this result in 
his diary, he remarked that ‘ the people are a wayward 
master.’ In 1844 took place the exciting struggle 
which preceded the Mexican war, and Polk was 
elected over Clay. 
two opponents, and as the election drew near he looked 
forward “ with scarcely doubting anticipation” to his 
own defeat. In Quincy the vote was close, but the 





1 The exact votes at each election were as follows: Nov. 1 
1830. Adams, 76; Baylies, 2; Thompson, 10. 
Adams, 164; Lincoln, 39; Doan, 11. 
125; Brewer, 1. Nov. 14, 1836. 
Burrell, 1. 


April 1, 1833. 
Noy. 10, 1834. Adams, 
Adams, 175; Lincoln, 9: 


ulated. 


In his district Mr. Adams had | 


nents. 

Like the others, this last vote in Quincy was sig- 
nificant. To a certain degree only was it personal. 
The town was entering upon a new and distinct phase 
of transition which already began to show itself in the 
In November, 1845, the Old Col- 


ony railroad was opened to travel, and from that time 


election returns. 
Quincy became a suburb of Boston. Not, of course, 
that the change made itself felt at once. The people 
went on in their accustomed ways; but none the less, 
from the beginning of 1846 the country village (for 
it still was a country village then) and the city were 
in quick and easy connection. ‘The rest was a mere 
question of time; and, indeed, it was twenty-five 
years before the transition was complete. The suc- 
cessful organization of a suburban land company in 
the northern part of the town in 1870 marked the 
event. Boston had again, just two hundred and 
forty-five years later, had enlargement at Mount 
Wollaston, and Quincy became a species of sleeping 
apartment conveniently near to the great city count- 
ing-room. 

In 1875 the population was returned at 9155, or 
a little more than fourfold what it was (2201) in 
1830, and the order of change from the agricultural 
village to the suburban town can be briefly recapit- 
Upon the original yeoman and farm-hand 
basis the quarry-men had first: came in from outside ; 
while at the same time the young townsmen had 
gone out of the fields into the shop, abandoning the 
Then 


came the Irish laborer, working in the quarries, on 


plow and the scythe for the awl and the last. 


the roads and as farm-hand, bringing with him the 
Catholic Church, and combining with the stone-cutter 


Last of all appeared 


to vote the Democratic ticket. 


| the dweller near the city, having store, office, or 


counting-room in Boston, and regarding Quiney sim- 
ply as a place convenient, at which his family lived 


368 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





and he slept. This last class to a very great degree 
absorbed the descendants of the original settlers, and 
the whole mass gradually resolved itself into the 
modern town community. 
from Parson Tompson and teacher Flynt and Judge 
Quincy and Deacon Bass to the modern stone-cutter, 
clerk, and merchant was noticeable. Nor as an his- 
torical study were the characters of the several periods 


devoid of interest, though the stage was small. 


The final change in the character of the town thus 


began with 1846. 


Quincey Adams died. The annexation of Texas had 


| 


while the Democratic, except in its foreign vote, was 
honey-combed with The 


anti-slavery sentiment. 


_ Free-Soilers, as they were called, held the balance of 


But certainly the change | 


Less than two years later John | 


then been effected, and the war with Mexico was _ 


over. A new political question had forced its way to 
the front, and slavery was the impending issue. 
Quincy was never a pro-slavery town. The quarry- 
men and the Irish voted the Democratic ticket ; but 
the old native element had always sympathized with 


Mr. Adams during his long struggle in Congress, and 


among his townsmen his teachings had not been lost. | 


Many of them were Democrats ; but they were the 
old Jackson Democrats, who had grown up opposed to 
the local Federalist and gentry rule of men of the 
Thomas Greenleaf type, and once they were satisfied 


power. So things went on until 1854. Then the 
general collapse came, and in Quincy it was complete. 
As usual, the result of political disintegration was at 
first in no way what those who had been engaged in 
bringing it about either anticipated or desired. For 
more than a dozen years they had been working to 
break up the old parties, reither of which could in 
the least be depended on when any question of slavery 
Both were afraid of it, and the Demoe- 
To break up the 
old organizations and form a new one on an anti-slavery 
basis was the darling wish of the agitators. Promi- 


was at issue. 
racy were at heart false upon it. 


_nent among these was Charles Francis Adams, who, 


that Democracy meant the spread of African slavery, | 


But they 


their revolt was a foregone conclusion. 


were slow in coming to that conviction, for these men | 
were closely identified with the leather interests, and _ 


the Quincy boot-makers dealt largely with the South. | 


The break came in 1848. The conscience Whigs of | 
Massachusetts then refused to vote for Gen. Taylor, | 
and the Barn-burners of New York refused to vote | 


for Lewis Cass. The two factions met at Buffalo in 
August of that year,and nominated a separate ticket 
with Martin Van Buren at its head. The political 


effect of this in Quincy was singular, and showed how 


the Congressional action of J. Q. Adams had sunk — 
into the minds of the people there, though the major- | 


ity of them had twice voted against him. In Novem- | 


ber, 1848, the Democratic party practically disappeared 
in the town. The Whig party, which had always sup- 


ported and elected ex-President Adams, for the time | 


being retained its strength. It cast 246 votes for 
Gen. Taylor, having cast 314 for Mr. Clay four years 


before. But the Democratic strength fell from 324 


to 212, while the new liberty party rose from 68 to _ 


170. Horace Mann, Mr. Adams’ successor in Con- 


gress, received a majority of 458, in a total vote of | 


558. 
Democratic vote fell to 34, while the Free-Soil ran up 
to 250, just failing of a plurality. 

The work of political disintegration had now fairly 


A week later came the State election, and the 


begun. The Whig organization was crumbling away, 


| 
} 
} 
) 


all his earlier life a resident in Boston and one of its 
representatives in the Legislature, had upon his 
Mr. 
Adams _ in 1848 broke away from the Whig party, and 
was a candidate for the Vice- Presidency on the ticket 


father’s death become a citizen of Quincy. 


with Van Buren. He was now laboring to build up 
the Free-Soil party, and in 1853 he had in Quincy 
been made the victim of a wretched political in- 
trigue among the foreign Democratic voters of the 
town. 

A convention was then to be held to revise the 
Constitution of the State. Quincy was entitled to 
two representatives, and it was understood in the 
would 
The Free- 
Soilers were true to their part of the agreement, and 
on the first ballot a Democrat was chosen. Mr. Adams 
was the candidate of the Free-Soilers; but the Irish 
faction had been worked upon by certain utterly false 


town that the Democrats and Free-Soilers 


unite, each party naming one delegate. 


stories as to his course in the Legislature, and they 
refused to vote for him. It was simply a case of bad 
faith and village intrigue. Mr. Adams was accord- 
But in the town this act of the 


foreign voters excited deep feeling; nor was it for- 


ingly defeated. 


gotten. 

The incident occurred in March, 1853. The fol- 
lowing November the proposed revision of the Consti- 
tution was rejected in Quincey by an overwhelming 
majority, and eighteen months later the town was 
swept from its moorings by the Native American up- 
rising of the year 1854. The old party lines disap- 
peared. In Quincy the Know-Nothing (as it was 
called) candidate for Governor, a man never before 
heard of in politics, received 549 votes to 130 for 
three other candidates. The foreign vote stood help- 
less and alone. The old party leaders were not so 
much sent to the rear, as they were left out of sight 





QUINCY. 


369 





and mind in the senseless rush. The slavery issue 
was forgotten in the presence of race prejudice. It 
was but one phase of political disintegration. The old 
collapsed ; the new crystallized. But for the moment 
it seemed to the anti-slavery workers as if their labors 
had resulted in chaos; they had endeavored to inspire 
the popular mind with the spirit of liberty, and instead 
they had evoked a demon of hate. 

Nowhere did this spirit of intolerance rage more 
strongly than in Quincey. It required four whole 
years to allay it, and now in 1857, when the Know- 
Nothing candidate for Governor was overwhelmingly 
defeated in the State at large, in Quincy he had more 
than one hundred plurality. The quarrymen and 
the shoemakers were united against the Irishmen. 


At last, in 1858, the anti-slavery issue asserted its su- | 


premacy. 
ilated constituency, came but slowly back to its moor- 
ings. The foreign, as distinguished from the local 
element, still preponderated, though they could not 
act together. Accordingly, in the great Lincoln 


campaign of 1860, when the Republican ticket re- 


Even then Quincy, reflecting its unassim- | 


_bellion was in no way remarkable. 





ceived a majority of forty-four thousand in the State, | 


in Quincy it had only a plurality. Again in 1862, 
the year of deepest discouragement during the war, 
Quincy was one of those towns in which Governor 


Andrew fell behind, his Whig and Democratic op- 


ponent receiving eighty-four more votes than he. Yet | 
in the State Andrew had over twenty-eight thousand | 


majority. This did not happen again, and in the cru- 
cial election of 1864 Quincy at last squarely ranged 
itself on the loyal side, the Lincoln ticket receiving a 
majority of two hundred and thirty-four in a total 
Indeed, all the other 
elements were then united against the foreign vote 


vote of less than a thousand. 


and that large faction, composed of the croakers, the | 


fault-finding and the otherwise-minded, which never 


fails to make its presence felt under the wearisome | 


pressure of war. 


of educating New England and the North up to the 
It 


point of facing and overcoming the Rebellion. 
also was not wanting later. 


re-elected on the Lincoln ticket... In March, 1861, 
his first Congressional term was just completed. He 
was then nominated by Mr. Lincoln as minister to 
Great Britain. In May he left the country, and he 
remained abroad until the summer of 1868. His ser- 
vices in London are part of the Quincy war record, 
but they do not belong to local history. 

In other respects the record of Quincy in the Re- 
The town did 
It freely contributed money and supplies, 
and it sent out men. But of the men it sent out, 
whether to the army or the navy, there were none who 
At the close of the Rebellion as 
before it, Deacon Joseph Palmer, the Revolutionary 


its share. 


rose to distinction. 


brigadier-general, was still Quincy’s ranking officer.” 
During the war, that is, between the years 1861 and 
1865, the population of the town was about 6750, 
while its valuation was returned at a little less than 
It could number probably 
First and last it 
sent into the field almost one entire regiment, or 954 
men, 757 of whom enlisted for the full term of three 
years. Of the whole number, 39 were killed in battle 
and 18 died in rebel prisons. 


four millions of dollars. 
2200 men capable of bearing arms. 


In all 105, or one in 
every nine who went out, lost their lives. Still others 
were maimed. But a Quincy lad, a member of one of 
the families the name of which is wost often found in 
the more recent records of the town, fell in the very 
first action of the war. On the 10th of June, 1861, 
occurred the affair at Big Bethel, Va., and young 
Theodore Winthrop was killed. For days after the 
country rang with his name; nor is it yet forgotten. 
At the same time Francis L. Souther, of Quincy, was 
mortally wounded. A mere boy, he was a member 
of the Hancock Light Guard, as the Quincy company 
was called, and had gone with it when the Fourth 
Regiment of Massachusetts militia was rushed off to 


Fortress Monroe. His companions presently sent his 


_ body home, and it was buried in his native town. 
First and last Quincy did its full share in the work | 


Yet, as in the war of | 


independence so now, the largest contribution of the | 


town was neither in men nor in money, though as re- | 


spects both the calls were honored. As John Adams 
was the great contribution of Braintree North Pre- 
cinct to the Revolution, so his grandson, Charles 
Francis Adams, was the great contribution of Quincy 
in the Rebellion. When the war broke out Mr. 
Adams represented the Quincy district in Congress. 
He had been elected in 1858, on the final subsidence 


of the Native American flood, and in 1860 he was 
24 


Afterwards many others were killed or died, and war’s 
But it was the 
sudden tidings of young Souther’s death, coming in 


mortality became a thing of course. 





1Tn neither of these elections did Mr. Adams receive a ma- 
jority vote in Quincey. In both he received more votes than 
any one else on the ticket with him, but while in the election of 
1858 he had a plurality of fifty-nine votes, in that of 1860 his 
opponent, Leverett Saltonstall, had seventeen votes more than 


| he, 465 to 448, with 7 scattering. 


2 The highest commission issued to a Quincy man in the Re- 
bellion was that of colonel. There were three colonels, Packard, 
Walker, and Adams, the two former of infantry and the last 
of cavalry. The service of Col. Adams was the longest, covering 
three years and a half. At the close of the war he was among 


the large number who received the brevet of brigadier-general. 


370 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





those early days of June, 1861, which first caused the — 
people of Quincy to realize that their young men had 
gone out to actual battle. 

The money cost of the Rebellion to the towns of 
Massachusetts, apart from what their inhabitants 
then or later contributed in national taxes, was not | 
large. In the case of Quincy it amounted to less 
than $50,000, including the subscriptions of citizens 
to bounty funds. In 1861 the town owed $35,000; | 
in 1865 it owed $57,000. The whole increase of | 
debt due to the war was not equal to one per cent. of 
the valuation. Neither was the rate of taxation be- 
tween 1861 and 1865 peculiarly high, or the increase 
of it rapid. Indeed, the era of extravagance and | 
heavy expenditure followed the Rebellion rather | 
Nor was the excessive 





than marked its progress. 
taxation subsequently imposed the result of an effort 
to clear off burdens due to the war. On the contrary, 
the debt yearly grew larger, so that while between 
1861 and 1865, the war period, the rate of taxation | 
increased but one-third, and the debt but $35,600, | 
in the four years of peace which followed the rate — 


of taxation increased eighty per cent., while the debt 
was $16,000 larger in 1869 than it had been in 1865. 
Indeed, compared with that of the Revolution, the 
burden of the Rebellion, whether in men or in money, 
was for Quincy light and easy to be borne. In the 
Revolution there was no general government or system 
of national taxation to fall back upon. The States had 
to meet the requisitions directly ; and the States made 
their calls upon the towns. Accordingly, it has been 
already seen that Braintree then sent into the field | 
first and last two men out of every three capable of 
bearing arms, while a fourth part of the whole wealth 
accumulated through a century and a half was con- 
sumed in the struggle. During the Rebellion not 
two men in five did military duty, nor was the ac- 
cumulated wealth diminished at all. On the contrary, 
even allowing for an altered standard of value, in 
1865 the town was unquestionably richer than it was 
in 1860. 

The close of the Rebellion left Quincy a town of | 
nearly 7000 population, and from that time forward 
the increase both and in wealth was 
The last vestiges of village life now passed 
This 
change could not take place without bringing up new 
The first and most important 
It was 


in numbers 
rapid. 


away, and the suburban town assumed shape. 


problems for solution. 
of these related to municipal government. 
one thing to manage the affairs of a small village 
community through the machinery of town-meetings ; 
it was quite another to manage those of a place num- | 


bering a population of 12,000. In 1830 the annual | 


simplicity had become a tradition. 
' contained the names of more than two thousand 


appropriation for necessary town expenses was $4500. 
It has been seen how this sum was voted by a small 


body of men, all knowing each other well, having a 


community of interest, and acting under a usage 
which had the force of law. Forty-five years later, 
in 1876, the annual appropriation was $116,000, 
and the articles in the warrant had swollen from 


half a dozen in number to nearly forty. The char- 


acter of the town-meeting also had changed. In place 
of the few score rustics following the accustomed 
lead of the parson and squire, and asserting them- 
selves only when they thought that their traditions or 
equality were ignored,—in place of this small, easily- 
managed body, there was met a heterogeneous mass 
of men numbering hundreds, jealous, unacquainted, 
and often in part bent on carrying out some secret 
arrangement in which private interest overrode all 


sense of public welfare. To maintain in these meet- 


ings that degree of order which is necessary for trans- 


acting business in a methodical way was not easy. 
The multifarious affairs of a year were to be at- 
tended to in a single day. Town officers were to be 
elected ; the appropriations were to be considered and 
voted; the policy of the town on all disputed points 
was to be decided. These points also included every- 
thing,—education, roads, health, temperance; for in 
the course of growth the functions of municipal 
government had expanded and branched out until 
The poll-lists 


voters. For these to come together as one legislative 
body and pass upon numerous and difficult questions 
in a few hours would at first seem impossible. The 


suggestion of such a scheme of municipal government 


as a new idea of his own would cause any political 
thinker to be looked upon as a foolish theorist. The 
thing is deemed practical simply because it is habit- 
ually done. But to adapt the old village system to the 
new town conditions was the problem which Quincy, in 
common with many other Massachusetts towns still 
clinging to the ancient ways, found forced upon it. Nor 
is the town-meeting in its actual working fully under- 
stood. Since De Tocqueville fifty years ago made it the 
fashion, much has been written and said of this New 
England institution. It has been often described and 
infinitely lauded ; but it may well be doubted whether 
one in ten of those who have philosophized over town- 
meetings ever attended one, much more ever took part 
in one. Yet without having done so itis as difficult 
to understand the practical working of the system as 
it is to describe war without ever having served in 
an army or seen a battle. The ideal town-meeting 
is one thing; the actual town-meeting is apt to be a 





as. an a 


QUINCY. 


371 





very different thing. 


rude dispelling of a fanciful delusion. He would 
come away from it rather amazed that civilized gov- 
ernment was possible through such a system than 
understanding how New England was built up by it. 


That the town-meeting, asa practical method of con- 


ducting municipal affairs, should break down under 
the stress to which a dense city population must sub- 
ject it, isa matter of course. It did so in Athens 
and in Rome before it did so in Boston; for Demos- 
thenes and Cicero as well as James Otis and Josiah 
Quincy were town-meeting orators. Just in the de- 


at last it has to be laid aside as something which the 
community has outgrown. It becomes a relic, though 
always an interesting one, of a simpler, and possibly 
better past. Moreover, the indications that the system 
is breaking down are always the same. The meet- 
ings become numerous, noisy, and unable to dispose 
of business. Disputed questions cannot be decided ; 
demagogues obtain control; the more intelligent 
cease to attend. In all these respects, the experience 
of Quincy has afforded interesting matter for study. 
Between the years 1840 and 1872 the town-meet- 
ing there fell to its lowest point of usefulness. It 
has already been said that prior to 1840 it might 
have been seen in its most perfect form. But during 
the later Jacksonian period Thomas Greenleaf, and 
the class of men of which he was a type, lost their 
hold. They were supplanted by others altogether 
inferior. The business of the town had then for 
years been done in an orderly and intelligent way. 
Everything of importance was at the annual meeting 
referred to committees for consideration; and these 
committees made reports upon which the town acted 
at its adjourned meetings. No. method of govern- 
ment could have worked better, for the townsmen 
were accustomed to it. This it was which De 
Tocqueville lauded so highly. But there was an- 
other and far from uncommon phase of the system 
which might at any time have been studied in 
Quincy during the score of years between 1850 and 
1870. Had De Tocqueville then visited the place 
on a town-meeting day he would have gone into a 
large hall the floor of which, sprinkled with sawdust 
and foul with tobacco-juice, was thronged by a mass 
of noisy men, standing in groups or moving inces- 
santly to and fro, and in and out. There were no 
rows of seats in the room, and but one bench, which 
ran along its sides. The men al! wore their hats, 
and many of them had pipes or cigars in their 


To the historical theorist who 
should attend one, it would not improbably be the smoke being among the least objectionable. 





mouths; while the air reeked with odors, tobacco- 
Quite 
a number of those present had plainly been drinking. 
On a platform at the further end of the hall was a 
desk, behind which were the moderator and the clerk. 
The town business for the whole year was being dis- 
posed of and the appropriations voted. Amid a con- 
tinuous sound of voices and moving feet the moderator 
would bring up in succession the articles in the war- 
rant. The custom of referring them to committees 


_had fallen into disuse, and been abandoned in 1852. 


_ day and on the spot. 
gree in which civic population increases, therefore, the 
town-meeting becomes unwieldy and unreliable, until | 


After that year everything was disposed of in a single 
It was supposed to be a more 
prompt, more energetic, more popular way of deal- 
ing with business. Accordingly, the disposition which 
might be made of any subject was very much matter of 
chance. Certain questions the town, or individuals 
These 
had been discussed outside, and were or were not to 
pass unchallenged. But orderly debate was impos- 
sible. Now and again some one would uncover and 
address the moderator. 
be silence. 


in the meeting, might be on the watch for. 


For an instant there would 
If the speaker then knew what he 
wanted to say and how to say it, he would be lis- 
tened to, always provided he spoke briefly and to the 
point. If he told a funny story or made a broad 
joke he would be uproariously applauded. The 
comic performer was a dangerous antagonist in town- 
meeting. If, on the other hand, the speaker was 
long, or dull, or pointless, his voice was soon lost in 
the hubbub of those moving and talking about him. 
For the moderator to preserve order and quiet was 
simply impossible. The audience was numerous, 
and almost no one was seated. Tired and restless, 
those composing it were also excited and noisy. 
Many of them wanted what they called “fun,” and 
The 
Dutch auction in the choice of tax-collector was in 
this respect the episode of the occasion. The office 
Was put up to the lowest bidder. Some one would 
offer to make the collections for five cents on the 
dollar, and then would follow bid upon bid, each 
lower than the other, until at last, amid shouts of 
laughter and applause, the prize would be struck off 
at three mills on the dollar or less. 


there was a great deal of horse-play going on. 


Finally the war- 
rant would be disposed of, the appropriations voted, 
and the meeting stand adjourned. Then at last the 
moderator and the clerk would get together, and 
from their notes and memories manufacture a record. 
A few days later the town would for the first time 
know what it had done at its annual meeting. 

Such a meeting as that described would also be 
looked upon as a usual and orderly one. The busi- 


372 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





ness would have been transacted in a regular way. 
All meetings were not so. Occasionally there would 
be an organized faction there bent on putting through 
some job. For instance, in 1844 the town was pro- 
foundly agitated over the great question of where the 
new town hall should stand. Should it, moreover, be 
built of wood or of Quincy granite? After numerous 
town-meetings and many reconsiderations, the party 
in the Centre came to a quiet understanding with the 
quarrymen that, if the site of the hall was fixed in the 
Centre, the building should be of stone. The quarry- 
men would have the contract. Accordingly a town- 
meeting was held on the 18th of April, and this pro- 
All previous action was 
29.9 — 


rs 


gramme was carried out. 
reconsidered, and then by a vote of 325 to 
the questions of site and 





numbers unprecedented 
material were decided. The wrath of the Point and 
the South at this political bargain and sale was in- 
tense; nor did it fail to find speedy expression. Two 
days later another town-meeting was called. And 
now the Point, the South, and the West combined 
in revenge against the Centre and the North, and 
voted themselves three fire-engines, with hose com- 
plete, and directed the town treasurer to borrow 
money to pay for the same. <A debt of forty years’ 
duration was due to that town-meeting episode. 
When the affairs of any community are managed 
in this way, it scarcely needs to be said that they soon 
fall into confusion. Want of method may be demo- 
cratic, but it is not business-like. 
In 1879 government by town- 


Quincy proved no 
exception to the rule. 
meeting was there plainly breaking down. 
laxity in ways of doing public business had crept into 
all the departments. The school committee, the sur- 
veyors of highways, the overseers of the poor, the en- 
gineers of the fire department were in the custom of 
asking for such appropriations as they thought suffi- 
cient. 
were voted, it was well and good. ‘Those who had 
the disbursements to make would then keep within 
the sum allotted them, provided they were under no 
special temptation to exceed it. If the whole amount 
asked for was not voted, it would be spent all the 
same; and the town found itself liable for the bills its 
agents had contracted. 
of jobbery and scarcely any corruption, except in the 
small and more contemptible way; but the soil was 
being rapidly prepared both for jobbery and corrup- 
tion. The growth of a municipal “ring,” the mem- 
bers of which would live on taxpayers just as par- 


asites live on dogs, was a mere question of time. 


A general | 


There was no great amount | 





man who supplied the pensioned poor, all began to 
feel a direct interest in the growth of bad govern- 
ment. As yet the evil had made no great headway, 
but the sense of official responsibility and obedience 
Officers were 
disposed to do what seemed in their own eyes “ about 
right,” regardless of rule; and the town good-na- 
The result was that 
Every year a liberal 
appropriation would be made to reduce the town 
debt, but each year saw that debt grow larger. It 
rose in this way from $8000 in 1844 to $112,000 in 


1874, and a committee then reported that it repre- 


to instructions was already relaxed. 


turedly condoned the offense. 
the finances fell into confusion. 


sented an outlay incurred neither for educational 
It was a pure de- 
The money time and again raised to 


or war or other special purposes. 
ficiency debt. 
pay it off had been regularly diverted, and applied to 
those ordinary purposes, the amount spent on account 
of which regularly exceeded the sums appropriated 
by the town. 

Such were the facts. 
edy. This remedy was found not in a representative 
city government, but in a return to the old and cor- 


It remained to find a rem- 


rect town-meeting methods; and in this matter the 
experience of Quincy might be of value to her sister- 
towns, for many of them have already found them- 
selves, and others yet will find themselves, in the same 
position. The younger John Quincy Adams had 
then for years been chosen by common consent as 
the moderator of all town-meetings at which he 
was present. Mortified at the way in which busi- 
ness was done and at his own inability to preserve 
In 1870, when the 
town came together at the annual meeting, after the 
polls for the choice of officers were closed the hall 
was ordered to be cleared and seats brought in. Then, 


order, he announced a reform. 


_ after the vote was declared, the articles in the warrant 
If in the hurly-burly of town-meeting these | 


were taken up, but not until every voter was uncov- 
ered and seated, and pipes and cigars extinguished. 
Order was thus established, and deliberation became 
possible. This wasa great step gained ; but more was 
necessary. ‘The warrant had now grown to thirty, and 
even forty articles, all of which were acted upon in the 


single evening of a day which had been occupied with 


voting. The townsmen were tired, excited, noisy, 
and in no mood to do business. Accordingly, in 


1874 a new step was taken, and the town went fairly 


_ back to that old system which had been abandoned 


The | 


laborer who worked on the roads, the pauper who | 


lived at home while the town paid his rent, the trades- 


more than twenty years before. When at the annual 
meeting officers were elected, it was also voted to refer 
all the business articles in the warrant to a large com- 
mittee, which was to subdivide itself, investigate 
everything, and at au adjourned meeting report its 





QUINCY. 


373 





« conclusions in the form of votes properly drawn up. 
These the town would then consider. 


The result of this return to business-like methods — 


was remarkable. The town-meeting at once showed 
After 1874 every ques- 
tion was again fairly considered and acted upon intel- 
ligently, with full opportunity for debate ; the appro- 


priations were carefully made, and all officers required 


itself equal to the occasion. 


to keep the expenses within them; a responsible gov- 


_ Republican ticket. 


ernment was established. Then, as if by magic, the | 


finances assumed shape. 


The debt which for nearly | 


half a century had defied every effort to extinguish © 


it, now fell in nine years from $112,000 to $19,000, 
and then shortly disappeared. Deficiencies were met 
by special appropriations ; exceptional outlays were 
distributed over a series of years ; rigid accountability 
was established. This was done through an intelli- 


gent development of the ancient village system; and 


it is probably safe to assert that never in the two- 


centuries and a half of town history had that system 
worked so well, or to such general satisfaction, as 
during these years when Quincy had grown in wealth 
and population to city limits. 

Nor did the reform in town methods stop here. It 
extended itself into other fields. The work done at 
this time in the schools has already been described. 


But while Mr. Parker was busy in one way there, an- | 


. . | 
other man was busy in a very different way elsewhere. 


In the days of John Adams it has been seen that 
Braintree did not enjoy a reputation for temper- 
His labors in that field of reform, and the 
poor results derived from them, have been referred to. 
As time passed on the state of things hardly seems to 


ance. 


have improved; and the large foreign element which 
the working of syenite brought into the town tended 
The Washingtonian 
movement made some headway before 1840; but, 
even then, when a temperance convention was to be 
held in Quincy, the use of the stone church was re- 
fused it. 
dress before that convention, accepted; and then, to 
their dismay, the parish authorities found that they 
had shut the ex-President out of his own church. 
It was too late to retract, and the address on tem- 
perance was delivered elsewhere. It was at this time 
that the town voted (117 to 81) ‘to discontinue the 
use of ardent spirits at the almshouse ;” but still, and for 
several years to come, the post-office was in the bar- 
room of the principal tavern, and thither, among drink- 


to make it distinctly worse. 


Mr. Adams being invited to deliver an ad- 


ing men, daily went women and little girls and boys to 
have letters and papers handed to them across a coun- 
ter which reeked of rum. Then came the period of 


anti-slavery education, and the minds and thoughts of 


At last, when the Rebellion 
was suppressed, it is not too much to say that, through 


all were absorbed in that. 


its peculiarities of position, population and labor, 
In- 
deed, peace was scarcely established, and the wave of 


Quincy was a stronghold of the liquor interest. 


sectional feeling had not yet begun to subside, before 
the town was again Democratic. In 1867 it gave 
J. Q. Adams 650 votes, to 348 which it cast for the 
For a town to be Democratic on 
State issues and Republican on national issues—and 
that was the position of Quincy—meant then but one 
thing. It meant intemperance. The foreign vote 
combined with the Democratic vote, and, having the 
ascendency, decreed that unrestrained sale of spirits 
against which John Adams had so manfully contended. 

Where such an evil exists, some man is very sure 
In Quincy 
that man appeared in the person of one descended 
from the oldest of North Precinct stock, for the name 


of Faxon is met with on many pages of the town 


soon to rise up and protest against it. 


records, and can be found on not a few head-stones 
in the old graveyard. Henry H. Faxon was a man 
of many peculiarities. Into these it is not necessary 
It is sufficient here to say that he became 


Per- 


haps it would be more correct to say in the cause of 


to enter. 
deeply interested in the cause of temperance. 


total abstinence; for in the virtue of temperance, 
whether in drink or speech, he had but limited faith. 
Very imperfectly educated, Mr. Faxon was not con- 
spicuous for dignity of bearing; and as a public 
speaker his deliverances were more noted for direct- 
ness and frequency than for eloquence or correctness of 
speech. He was known to address the audience forty 
times at a single annual town-meeting, and hardly 
once in those forty times did his remarks fail to elicit 
laughter, cheers, or hisses. That he was deficient in 
judgment it is hardly necessary to say. Yet, though 
often exciting unnecessary opposition and ridicule by 
his methods and the way with which in place and out 
of place he advocated the reform he had come to have 
at heart, he clung to it with a tenacity sure to produce 
results. Many at first doubted his sincerity, but he 
showed that he was in earnest by the freedom with 
which he contributed his labor, bis time, and his 
money. His attacks on individuals were so open, 
public, and fearless that from the mouth of any one 
else they would have been sure to lead to blows. 
Once they did so in his case ; and he was often threat- 
Much of his security lay probably in the fact 
that he was not malignant. Indeed, he was good- 
natured in his enmities. He did not lose his temper, 
and become ugly and bitter under defeat ; nor did he 
follow up wrongs or slights in any spirit of revenge. 


ened. 


374 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





He had apparently none of that brooding desire to 
‘“oet even,’ as it is expressed, with a successful op- 


ponent, which is always the characteristic of small, | 
Under these cir- | 


vindictive, and sour-tempered men. 
cumstances, while in town-meeting, and not without 
cause, his opponents laughed and jeered at him and 
hustled him, yet he laughed and jeeredin return. So 
Yankee met Yankee; but his work went on. It was 
a long, hard fight. Not only was a sentiment of re- 
form to be roused, but a strong business and political 
combination had to be broken down. The town had 
become in a certain way a liquor-selling centre, and, 
as usual, the thing had worked its way into local poli- 
Jobn 
Adams noted down in 1760 that to be “as litigious 


tics. The reputation of the place suffered. 


as Braintree’ had become a common expression ; so | 


now it was said that other towns were ‘as intemper- 
ate as Quincy.” It was spoken of as “a hard place,” 
and the stone-cutting population was held accountable 
for it. 


in many households. 


The evils of the thing also were keenly felt 
Mothers and fathers saw their 
young sons falling into drunken ways. 
always been so, and the political combination which 
favored the continuance of the system was very strong. 


The Democratic leaders controlled the foreign vote, | 


and the liquor interest had a complete understanding 
with the Democratic leaders. The foreign vote was 
thus juggled into perpetuating a system under which 
those whom it represented suffered more than any 
others in the community. 

So things went on year after year. But as wealth 
and population increased it grew plain that it was not 
only a question of temperance. The cause of good 
and honest municipal government was also involved. 
The condition of affairs in this respect already de- 
No 
reform in town-meeting methods would suffice unless 
Then 
Mr. Faxon found new and potent allies, and suddenly 
the town In March, 1881, a 


Democratic and liquor licensing board of selectmen 


scribed was rapidly growing from bad to worse. 
the dominant combination was broken down. 
was revolutionized. 


was, as usual, chosen. That same year, largely 
through the efforts of Mr. Faxon, the law of the State 


was changed so that the question whether “licenses 


be granted for the sale of intoxicating liquors in this | and Randolph now? 


The 
result was astonishing. In 1882 there were 1057 
who voted “ No,” to 475 who voted “ Yes.” When 
the thing was presented in this plain way the issue 


town” was presented squarely to the voters. 


was understood, and the foreign vote broke from 
Democratic control. At the same time the friends of 
good government and temperance came together. The 


town-mecting had been reformed, and now the bar- 


But it had | 





room was closed. But the length of the struggle 
against the last is worthy of record. It largely ex- 
ceeded a century ; for in 1760, John Adams described 
himself, to use his own words, as discharging his 
venom “against the multitude, poverty, ill govern- 
ment, and ill effects of licensed houses, and the tim- 
orous temper, as well as criminal design of the select- 
men” who licensed them; but not until 1882, one 
hundred and twenty-two years later, did his local 
successor in that crusade close, at least for the time 


being, the last of those houses in Quincy. 


In the “ Memoirs of John Quincy Adams” there 
is a striking passage wherein he records his boding 
thoughts as he wandered about his native town one 
day near the close of October in the year 1844. He 
was then an old man, for it was hard upon seventy 
years since he had, as a boy, served as_post-rider 
between Braintree and Boston. Anxious, despond- 
ent, overworked, he at this time had just received 
the tidings of those earlier elections which indicated 
the choice of Polk as President, foreshadowing the 
He; 


looked upon his own re-election to Congress as im- 


annexation of Texas and the spread of slavery. 
probable. Engaged in bitter political controversy, 
nearing his own end, he foresaw more clearly than 
others the terrible trials which did indeed then re- 
motely impend over the country. It was the month 
of October, and the time and the solitude quickened 


his feelings. He thus described them: 


“T took a walk round the garden, nursery, and orchard. The 
desolation of the season cast a gloom on my spirits. The fruit 


The ground is strewn 
with sere red and yellow leaves; it is wet and gathered in clods. 


has been gathered from all the trees. 


Most of the large trees are mere stems, stripped of all their 


leaves. I hastened in from this prospect. Again, as the sun 
went down, I,walked up the hill to Charles’ house,! to see the 
sunset. But, although it was not quite five o’clock, the sun 
was already behind Mount Ararat. I went further over the 
hill, and surveyed the village, the surrounding country, the 
harbor and bay of Boston, the State-House of Boston itself, 


and the shaft of Bunker Hill Monument; and memory re- 


| turned to the fact that this day eighty years ago? my father 


| and mother were united in marriage. 


| 


What an ordo sxcu- 
What was then the 
condition of the people who constituted the town of Braintree ? 


Jorum commenced for me from that day! 


What is the condition of the three towns of Quincy, Braintree, 
And what will be the condition of the 
occupiers of the soil of these three towns in eighty years from 


this day? The recollection of the past is pleasing and melan- 





1 This was the house, still standing, on President’s Hill, 
built in 1841 by Charles Francis Adams, and in which he lived 
It was the custom of President Adams 
when at Quiney to watch the sun rise and set from the piazza 


for several summers. 


of this house every fine day; but when he wrote it was vacant, 
his son having moved to his winter residence in Boston. 
2 Oct. 25, 1764. 











QUINCY. 





choly; the prospect of the future—oh, how gloomy it is! 
Not a soul now lives who was then in the bloom of life. Not 
a soul now living will be here in 1924. My own term—how 
soon it will close! And to whom will all this belong in eighty 
years from this day? 


branches and shoots from my father’s stock ?” 


One-half of the allotted period thus sadly forecast 
is already gone. Nor was it without reason, in the 


autumn of 1844, that to the trained eye of the old _ 


statesman the future seemed gloomy, for over it 
clouds both thick and black were then already 
gathering. His were no idle forebodings, for better 
than any one else he realized what those clouds por- 
tended. What he feared came about. At last that 
slavery question on which his whole mind was 
intent ripened into war,—a civil war which involved 


his native place and his family, even as it and he had | 


been involved in his own early youth. But all in 


good time each new danger was met and overcome | 


by those who succeeded him, just as he and his had 
And 


met and overcome their dangers in the past. 


now that forty years have elapsed, it may fairly and | 
truthfully be said that Quincy has not before met | 
There is also a stability and perma- | 


nence in the town which in America is not always 
The inhab- | 


better days. 
seen. It adheres to the ancient ways. 
itants yet meet in their own hall and manage their 
own affairs as did their fathers for generations before. 
And just as, a century and a half ago, John Quincy 
by common consent presided over each town-meeting 
that was held, so now does a descendant five gener- 
ations removed, but still bearing his name. Never 
in the history of the town were those meetings more 
orderly, more intelligent, or more prone to do right. 
Never was the town so populous, so rich, or so tem- 


perate. It is now more than two hundred and sixty 


years since Miles Standish first set foot on the Squan- | 


tum beach, and six years only are wanting to com- 
plete a quarter of a millennium of continuous munici- 
pal life. 
of recorded history, and there are few forms of human 
government to which a longer existence is given. It 
is hardly to be expected that the old simple village 
system, even in its most developed shape, can in 
Quincy long outlast that period. But none the less, 
whatever the future may have in store, it may fairly 
be said that never did the town contain within its 
limits so many prosperous, well-to-do, contented, self- 
governed, and well-governed human beings as are con- 
tained within them to-day. Never was the standard 
of virtue, temperance, education, and public spirit so 
high. Never did Quincy face the coming years with 
such confidence in its own ability to master each new 


Will prayer to God preserve the | 


Two centuries and a half is no small portion 


375 





_ difficulty as it shall arise. As in 1844, “the recol- 
lection of the past is pleasing ;” but in 1884 “the 
prospect of the future” cannot be said to be “ gloomy.” 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 





THOMAS ADAMS. 


Thomas Adams, for many years sheriff of Norfolk 
County, was born in Quincey (then Braintree), April 
19,1804. He had but the educational advantages of 
the farmers’ boys of the period of his youth, but what 
they supplied him was retained and used with profit 
during his life. He married Mehetabel, daughter of 
| Joseph and Relief (Baxter) Field, April 4, 1826. 
(She was born Jan. 3, 1804.) He early became 
identified as a political worker with the Whig party, 
and received the appointment of deputy-sheriff, for 
which office he possessed great qualifications, and 
whose duties he discharged to the perfect satisfaction 
of the people. He was continued a long time as 
deputy, and so much were his services demanded, that 
he relinquished all other business, removed from 
Quincy to Roxbury in 1842, and was prominent in 
official relations. Marked and decided in his char- 
acter, positive and energetic in his nature, he showed 
such adaptability to the duties devolving upon him, 
that when placed in nomination for high sheriff he 
was elected by a very flattering vote, which also con- 
tinued him for many years in this office. Probably 
no resident of the county was better fitted for this 
"position than Mr. Adams. He was popular, quite 
| humorous, could both tell and enjoy a good story, had 
a large circle of friends among the best men of both 
_ political creeds, and united with a gentlemanly bearing 
and fine personal presence undaunted courage and 
rapidity of execution. He felt all the dignity of his 
office and sustained it well, but ever softened the 
sharp edges of his duty by his kindness and human- 
ity toward those upon whom he was forced to execute 
_his power. To this end he often took responsibilities 
' from which weaker men would have shrunk. Ex- 
_ Governor Gaston relates the following instance of his 

kindness of heart: ‘‘ One Saturday a man was re- 
_manded to his custody until Monday. Mr. Adams 
_ turning to him, asked, ‘Do you want to be with your 
| family over Sunday?’ The man answered ‘ Yes.’ 
© Go home, then, and be here when court opens,’ said 
| Mr. Adams. The man went joyfully, and was prompt 
in his attendance at the opening of court on Monday.” 





| 


376 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Such characteristics as these did not fail to give him 
a large personal following of friends. 
official duties, he was an able business man, a valued 


member of the Sagamore Club, an excellent citizen, | 


and acquired wealth. He was very hospitable, and 
was noted for his kindness in aiding young men both 


by his counsels and monetary assistance. 


Outside of his | 





During the | 


Rebellion he filled numerous contracts for horses for | 


the government. For this he was well qualified, as 
he had a great love for and skill in selecting fine 


horses. He was the original inceptor, and became 


one of the incorporators and directors of the Rock- | 


land Bank, now Rockland National Bank, Roxbury, 
with which he was identified until his death, which 
occurred Jan. 2, 1869. 
him, is an amiable lady of gentle and unassuming man- 
ners, possessing the same kindness of heart toward the 
poor and unfortunate as Mr. Adams, and is noted for 
her benevolence and charity. 


JAMES A. STETSON, M.D. 


Mrs. Adams, who survives | 


Politically Dr. Stetson was a Democrat, and at one 
time he was elected to represent the town in the Gen- 
eral Court, but aside from that, we believe held no 
public office. 


Unitarians. 


His religious belief was that of the 
As a physician, citizen, and friend, Dr. 
Stetson won all hearts by his unpretentious goodness, 
unassuming manners, fidelity, and probity. Probably 
no man ever lived in Quincy who had a larger circle 
of strong personal friends. He was a highly respected 
member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, and 
kept himself well versed in everything pertaining to 
He was 
well read in the current literature of the day, and 


the advancement of his chosen profession. 


_always deeply interested in the progress of art and 





James A. Stetson, M.D., son of Maj. Amos Stetson, | 


was born in Braintree, Dec. 28, 1806. He acquired 
a classical education and was graduated at Columbia 
College, New York, and afterwards studied medicine 
at the Harvard Medical School. He came to Quincy 
about 1830, not long after his graduation, and estab- 
lished himself as a physician. His agreeable manners 
and well-founded medical knowledge soon made him 
popular among all classes, and at the time of his mar- 
riage he had built up a fine practice. 
Nov. 10, 1842, Abigail F., oldest daughter of Josiah 


Brigham, of Quincy. 


He married, | 


| 





Their children are Josiah B. | 


and James H. Josiah B. is a teacher of vocal and | 


instrumental music in Boston. 


man and commercial traveler, and is in the employ of | 


a Boston wholesale firm. 


As a physician Dr. Stetson was skillful and suc- | 


cessful, possessing great judgment and decision which 
always inspired confidence in him ; kind, charitable, 


James H. is a sales- 


and faithful, he was ever ready to attend the calls of | 


the poor, and never required a fee if he thought they 
were unable to pay for his services. 


15, 1880, he was the oldest practicing physician in 


His 


vision gave strength to all his convictions. 


clearness of mental 
His 


opinions were not hastily formed, but were tena- 


discoveries of science. 


ciously held, and, when occasion offered, fearlessly 
expressed, whether upon social, political, or religious 


subjects. If his prejudices were sometimes strong, 


they were not invincible, for he was open to argu- 


ment, and candid in weighing the reasons of his 
opponents. 
superior to the love of popularity and to the pursuit 
of it, and kept him through life (with one exception) 
from taking public place or official position. 


His independence of nature made him 


He was 
impatient of all that was vulgar and pretentious, in- 
tolerant of deception, prevarication, and meanness. 
His dislike of ostentation led him to veil beneath a 
somewhat cold exterior a generosity of character and 
a tenderness of feeling which were among his most 
striking traits, and which will be borne witness to by 
all who were admitted to the intimacy of his friend- 
ship. He was a sincere Christian, one of the firmest 
of friends, and one of the most thoroughly honest 
and upright of men. 


HENRY HARDWICK FAXON. 


Henry Hardwick Faxon, son of Job and Judith 
B. (Hardwick) Faxon, was born in Quincy, Mass., 
Sept. 28, 1823. He is a descendant in the eighth 
generation of Thomas Faxon, who came, with his 


wife, daughter, and two sons, from England to 
At the time of his decease, which occurred March | 


Norfolk County, having been the representative phy- | 


sician of Quincy for about half a century. He had a 
very extensive practice, and not until failing health, 
some ten years before his death, warned him that his 
labors were too engrossing and fatiguing, did he com- 
mence to relinquish his work to younger physicians. 


America previous to 1647, and settled in that part 
of Braintree now Quincy. He consequently repre- 
sents one of the oldest New England families in this 
section. 

Job Faxon was quite an extensive farmer, owning 
and managing, in connection with his farm, a stall in 


Quincy Market, Boston, for many years, and leaving 


‘at his death an estate of forty thousand dollars. 


a 


YY yf 




















QUINCY. 


377 








Henry passed his youth on the farm, with merely 
commonschool advantages for education. He was 
apprenticed to learn the shoemaker’s trade when 


Mr. Faxon was chosen to represent Quincy in the 


State Legislature, as a Republican, in 1864 and 1871. 


about sixteen, and during his five years’ experience 


became thoroughly conversant with the manufacture 
of all parts of a boot and shoe. In 1843, in company 
with his brother John, he began manufacturing boots 


and shoes principally for the Boston and Baltimore | 


markets. About 1846 he changed his business, 
opening a retail grocery and provision store in 


Quincy, which he conducted for about seven years. | 
During the last three years of that time he carried — 


on a bakery, and also was a real-estate and merchan- 
dise auctioneer. His temperament was too active, 
however, to be confined within the comparatively 
narrow limits of country trade, and he became a re- 
tail grocer at the corner of South and Beach Streets, 
Boston, the firm-name being “ Faxon, Wood & Co.” 
Two years later he, with his brothers, moved to Com- 


mercial Street, changing the title of the firm to | 


“ Faxon Brothers & Co.,’ and the business to whole- 
sale transactions exclusively. In 1861, retiring from 
the firm, Mr. Faxon went to New Orleans and made 


large purchases of molasses, shipping it to his former — 


partners. Returning to Boston the next year, he 
engaged in speculating on Chatham Street, and subse- 
quently located on India Wharf. Here he operated 
largely in chicory, kerosene oil, raisins, spices, and 
everything in the way of staple merchandise upon which 
At this time Mr. Faxon had 


given no special thought to temperance matters, and 


he could realize a profit. 
was not himself a “total abstainer.” Anticipating 
the rise in the price of liquors on account of an in- 
crease of duty, he purchased several hundred barrels 
of whiskey and rum, and held them for the expected 
advance. The result proved the accuracy of his 

This is the transaction upon which Mr. 
Faxon’s bibulous opponents have founded the essen- 


judgment. 


; tially false charge, so often heard, that he ‘“‘ made his 


money selling rum,’ the intention being to convey 
the impression that the temperance campaigner was 
at one time in his life distinctively a liquor-seller. 
Relinquishing speculation, he dealt in real estate 
on a large scale, and it was in this that he made the 
bulk of his fortune. 
at auction, and through careful management cleared 
great amounts of money. He is now the largest 
real-estate owner in Quincy, where he has about one 
hundred tenants, besides having nearly the same 
number in Boston and Chelsea. He married, Nov. 


He purchased for the most part | 


18, 1852, Mary B., daughter of Israel W. and Pris- | 


cilla L. (Burbank) Munroe. They have one child, 
Henry Munroe, born May 22, 1864. 


With these exceptions, Mr. Faxon has never held 
public office, save his present peculiar one of ‘ Special 
Police,” to enforce the laws relative to the sale of in- 
toxicating liquors in Quincy. A man of rare judg- 
ment, of irrepressible energy, he has “‘ hewed to the 
His life is of a type 


rarely found elsewhere than in America—a_ note- 


line” of an unshaken purpose. 


worthy manifestation of that tireless, ceaseless, sleep- 
less effort, ending only at death, which seems to 
characterize our people, and which strikes thoughtful 
foreigners with astonishment. As a business man, 
Mr. Faxon seemed to know intuitively the state of 
future as well as current markets; and the boldness 
of his operations, and the manner of his purchases, 
though unerringly clear to himself, seemed to others 
audacious, even wild and reckless, and astounded his 
associates by their successful issues. As a legislator, 
Mr. Faxon looked keenly to the best interests of his 
constituents. His attention was first attracted to the 
temperance question while a member of the Legisla- 
He voted for all measures tending to restrict 
the sale of intoxicating liquors. 

This action on his part was met with fierce denun- 


ture. 


ciation by the advocates of license, which caused Mr. 
Faxon to thoroughly investigate the liquor traffic in 
all its phases. 
and its destructive effects upon society. 
diately adopted the principles of prohibition, and has 
since devoted himself untiringly to the temperance 


He soon saw the enormity of the evil, 
He imme- 


cause. It is in connection with this movement that 
he has become so widely and prominently known. 
He became at once one of the acknowledged leaders 
of the temperance forces of Massachusetts, and in- 
augurated a bold, aggressive policy of active and 
vigorous war on intemperance wherever intrenched. 
“Through the pulpit, the Sunday-schools, the press, 
the conventions, the polls, he has assailed the traffic 
in intoxicating liquors with an uncompromising spirit. 
He has treated with defiant scorn that political policy 
which has so often betrayed the friends of prohibitory 
legislation. Consequently he has encountered much 
opposition, personal abuse, and misrepresentation of 
motives ; but his courage, consistency, and persever- 
ance are unyielding. His entire freedom from sec- 
tarian bigotry, and his Christian integrity, place the 
purity of his motives beyond question, and render in- 
effectual the attacks of those who find his sincerity 
unsuited to their political purposes.” 

Mr. Faxon has applied the same methods to his 
temperance work that were so successful in his busi- 


ness career. He has never attempted to use his 


378 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





principles as levers to elevate himself to office, but has | 


persistently refused to be a candidate for any position. 


He has no 
affiliation with any third-party movement, holding the 


ing what I consider my political duty.” 


Republican party as the most reliable medium for re- 
form, and constantly endeavoring, through it, to ac- 


complish the reforms so imperatively demanded by | 


the interests of society ; but he has often been severely 
He 


says, ‘‘I do not care for parties, but only for the 


censured by its leaders for ignoring party lines. 


principles which govern them; and [ have been free 
in the past to condemn the action of the party to 


which I am allied, and to bolt nominations, and defeat | 


its candidates, when the good of the people demanded 
it. I am content to stand between the two great 
political parties, with my prohibition club, and, in 
case of an emergency, knock the life out of one or 
both, unless they accept the issue.” 

Mr. Faxon has used his wealth without stint in 
aiding the temperance cause, and this has sustained 
the Reform Clubs in various parts of Massachusetts. 
During the year when the Reform Club movement 
was at its height his gifts averaged fifty dollars per 
day. In Quincy, his home, he has done a noble work. 
Faxon Hall, a permanent memorial to his name, was 
erected in 1876, for the Reform Club of Quincy. 
This, with its furniture, cost eleven thousand dollars, 
of which he paid more than four-fifths. His zeal and 
independent political ability have placed him at the 
head of the prohibitory forces of Massachusetts, and 


A 


made him a prominent factor in State politics. 


State Republican Convention without him and his | 


prohibitory resolutions would be a grateful surprise to 
politicians. He keeps a keen eye on the legislative pro- 
ceedings, and is personally in attendance at nearly every 
day’s session, working with unremitting zeal to advance 
He is the béte noire of the 
politicians of both political parties, who have pretty 


temperance legislation. 


“Nay” votes (which form the basis of the report) 


_ taken during the legislative session of 1883, My. Faxon 
To use his own words, “I want it distinetly under- | 
stood that it is not for office or honor that I take so | 
active a part in politics, but for the satisfaction of do- 


was forced to suspend its issue. 
Mr. Faxon has formulated his political creed in 
the following : 


“Tt may appear presumptuous in the writer to dictate, as 


| some express it, to the great party of the State and Nation; 





well settled it that Mr. Faxon is a disturber of the | 
peace, often upsetting the calculations of machine | 


politicians. 
ever dropped in their ranks was the tabulated position 
of each member of the State Senate and House of 
Representatives on the temperance question, which 


was published by him first in 1880, in the Boston | 


Herald, and in numberless pamphlets, as a guide for 
temperance voters. This was a keen stroke of policy, 


and resulted so well that it was continued, with the 


regularity of an almanac, for three years, when, in | 


consequence of the small number of ‘“ Yea’ and 





Probably the most effective bombshell | te Republican party. 


| but if the Republican party hopes for success in the future, it 


has got to adopt certain principles, and carry them out without 
fear or favor. 

“Ist. The colored voter in the Southern States must be pro- 
tected. For every negro hung, shot, or deprived of his rights, 
hang or shoot the white rebel guilty of depriving him of such 
rights. 

“ Having given the negroes the right of suffrage, it is the im- 
perative duty of the government to see that they are defended, 
if it takes astanding army to do it. 

‘““T do not believe that any person, with very rare exceptions, 
should have the right to wield the ballot until he or she can read 
it, and understand its importance. 

“Thousands of politicians in the country admit this fact, but 
they dare not express it from the platform or over their signa- 
tures, for fear it will hurt their political futures. 

“2d. The naturalization laws must be enforced and obeyed, 


| so that the rights of native-born and honest naturalized citizens 


shall not be trodden upon by foreign-born tramps and criminals, 
who have cast odium and reproach upon those who are up- 
right. 

“Tf I understand it correctly, there are many foreigners 
made voters through the instrumentalities of false oaths, and 
other devices, who have not the requisite qualifications entitling 
them to the right of citizenship. The laws, if enforced, will 
protect the honestly-naturalized equally with the native-born 
citizen. No man can find fault with that doctrine. 
“3d. The payment of poll taxes. The power to procure by 
purchase the votes of a low class of bummers and drunkards, 
ought to be stopped by legal enactments. 

“Tt is dangerous for the welfare of any community to be 
controlled by a class of voters who have not ambition enough 
I will venture to make the asser- 
tion that nine-tenths of those whose poll taxes are paid by 
charity spend yearly for rwn and tobacco thirty times as much 
as their taxes amount to. 


to pay their own poll taxes. 


“Ath. The Republican party must adopt the principles of 
There 
are more than seventy thousand voters in this Commonwealth | 


temperance, however heavy the burden may be to bear. 


who are in sympathy with the cause, and are determined to 
press it, in some form or another, into their political creed ; 
and there is a proportionate number in many other States in 
the Union. 

“5th. Women must have the power to wield the ballot; and 
that privilege will have to be advanced and obtained through 
The mothers and daughters of Massa- 
chusetts have the undeniable right to a voice in this matter, 
and it will be an honor to any organization or party that shall 


| aid women in their desire to help control the affairs of gov- 


ernment.” 

Mr. Faxon considers the press a powerful agent in 
temperance work. In the campaigns of the past three 
years he has sent out an average, for each working- 
day, of over one thousand printed documents contain- 
ing facts, statements, and appeals to temperance voters. 
He has compiled, and scattered broadcast, many copies 








QUINCY. 


379 





of a volume which has cost him much labor, entitled | 


“Extracts from the Public Statutes: containing all 
legislation relating to the liquor traffic, with a digest 
of the decisions of the Supreme Court bearing upon 
these matters, with full table of contents and indexes.” 
This is a most valuable work. He uses the columns 
of newspapers unsparingly, and often occupies the 


ance broadsides.” His headquarters for “Temperance 
Republican” work is at No. 36 Bromfield Street, Bos- 
ton. He receives far more editorial attention than 
any other temperance reformer,—bitter denunciations, 
slurs, misrepresentations, as well as commendations 
and approvals,—and he is probably more hated and 
feared by professed politicians than any other man in 
the political arena. Their attacks never disconcert 
him, however, but are received with perfect good na- 
ture and unruffled temper. He keeps a number of 
serap-books, in which he methodically and carefully 
preserves all criticisms pro and con, all sorts of infor- 
mation concerning politics and politicians, proceedings 
of conventions and legislative bodies, and other arti- 
cles, from which to draw ammunition in the future. 
As a speaker, Mr. Faxon is ready, outspoken, and 
blunt, never falling in line with any “ cut-and-dried” 


policy or plan, but speaking freely, and directly to the - 


point, under all circumstances, even when silence 
It has 
been said frequently by his political enemies, as well 


would seem to others the more advantageous. 


as friends, “If Faxon only knew better when to talk 





business.” “In turning the thumb-screw of political 
sentiment, great care should be exercised in applying 
the power.” ‘‘ Place very little faith in the thief who 
steals your watch, and says he has repented, unless he 
returus the watch.” ‘Out of the grog-shops come 


misery, woe, poverty, and death.” ‘“ The power that 


_ commands votes is the power which politicians re- 
supplement to the Boston Herald with his “temper- 


and when to hold his tongue, with his ability as a_ 


peep alent, backed by his wealth, he might easily | dispensers of the ardent were selling in defiance of the law. By 


ask and receive from the Republican party of Massa- 


chusetts any office in its gift—even that of Governor.” | 


He 
says, ‘I don’t care a straw for any office; I won't 
take one. It would tie my hands to be an office- 
holder, and I want to be left free. As for talking, I 
propose to speak my mind when and where I please, 


Mr. Faxon, however, prefers his independence. 


and if any one doesn’t like it, he needn’t stop to 
listen.” 

As a writer, Mr. Faxon has an earnest, direct 
style. He keeps his object well in view, and never 


digresses except to add precept to precept, and to 


spect.” ‘* Laws are never enforced by those who 
break them.” “If you want political purity to pre- 
vail, prayers and teaching must be the rifles, and un- 
remitting work the ammunition, handled by men of 
unflinching integrity, who will fire into political sin at 
short range.” ‘ The grog-shops make bad voters, as 
“ Catering 


to a mob never advanced the interests of any class or 


surely as the churches make good ones.” 


institution inaugurated to benefit the community.” 

Mr. Faxon’s benefactions are by no means confined 
to the State Temperance Alliance, Reform Clubs, 
and other temperance organizations. 

A few words must be said about the much-talked- 
of “ Quincy system” of dealing with liquor selling, 
and Mr. Faxon’s connection therewith, as its author 
In March, 1881, Mr. 
Faxon caused this article to be inserted in the war- 
“To see if 


the town will appoint, or instruct the selectmen to 


and ‘ policeman” under it. 
rant calling the annual town-meeting: 


appoint, special police officers to enforce all laws 
bearing upon the sale of intoxicating liquors, and ap- 


propriate money therefor.” This was adopted by the 


town, and we continue in Mr. Faxon’s language: 


“Tn 1881 there were forty-two licenses granted, while several 


a nearly unanimous vote at the adjourned meeting, held in 
April, the selectmen were instructed to appoint the writer, asa 
policeman, to enforce all laws pertaining to the sale of intoxica- 
ting liquors. The appointment was made after some delay, and 
the arduous duties of the ‘rural policeman’ commenced. I 
was appointed, as I supposed, to do my duty; but soon found 
that the honorable board which made the appointment thought 
IT was doing too much duty, and I was accordingly displaced. 


| At the next March election the board of selectmen was voted 


In May, 1882, 
I was reappointed by the newly-elected selectmen, and com- 
I knew that it would be an ardu- 


out of office, and an entire new board elected. 


menced my duties at once. 


| ous task; but having ‘put my hand to the plow,’ I had no 


more completely and forcibly round out his argument. | 


Many of his expressions are epigrammatic combina- | 


tions of strength, terseness, and philosophy. We 


extract a few, at random, from various published ar- | 


ticles: ‘‘ A man cannot override instinct.” ‘ Human 
nature will stick out strongest wherever the dollars 
are the thickest.” “ Prayers avail bnt little in con- 


verting rum-sellers, but the law-gun, fully charged, 


put in the hands of honest officials, will do effective | 


intention of ‘looking back.’” 


The obstacles thrown in his way by his opponents 
were numberless. Everything was done to evade the 
law. False swearing was resorted to in the courts, 
and Mr. Faxon was arrested for assault and battery ; 
but, with his great personal courage and untiring 
energy, these actions only infused greater zeal into 
his operations. He made a vigorous fight, employed 
detectives, spared neither pains nor money, made mid- 
night raids on suspected places, fearlessly discharging 


380 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





his sworn, and to him sacred, duty, and pursued all 
illegal dealers with a rod of iron. 
eminently satisfactory. 
been complained of and prosecuted, each case being 
carefully worked up by having the testimony of wit- 
nesses taken at the trial in the lower court, and re- 
corded, with all attendant circumstances, for use in 
the upper court in case of need. Owing to the per- 
fect system adopted in their management, Mr. Faxon 
is very successful in securing convictions. Quincy is 
not now a wholesome place for rum-sellers, and shows, 
by its vastly improved condition, the value of Mr. 
Faxon’s services as a police officer, in which position 
he is still continued. It is generally admitted that 


very little intoxicating liquor is now being sold in the | 


town, while the traffic is surrounded with great dangers 
and difficulties. During the time that Mr. Henry 
H. Faxon has served the town of Quincy as a special 


been many inquiries made as to whether he was in- 
tending at any time to charge the town for his ser- 


vices. To set the matter at rest Mr. Faxon has sent 


the following letter to the selectmen : 


“To tHE HonoraBLE Boarp or SELECTMEN : 

“* Gentlemen,—For several years I have served the town as 
policeman, specially appointed to enforce the laws relating to 
the sale of intoxicating liquors. 
made each year to pay for such duties. In order to relieve the 
town of any embarrassment as regards my compensation, I will 
state that I have made no charge whatever. I did not accept 
the position, with its many perplexities, for a money consider- 
ation, but for a higher reward—that of benefiting the citizens 
IT have also derived the 
satisfaction of knowing that the laws of prohibition ean be car- 


ried out if officials are honest and earnest. 


in their business and social relations. 


fellow-townsmen have fully realized the blessings resulting from 
the enforcement of the law, I trust that in the coming cam- 
paign they will not be indifferent in advancing every principle 
which pertains to good government. Yours truly, 

“Henry H. Faxon. 
“ Quincy, Jan. 28, 1884.” 


Mr. Faxon has contributed to the cause of prose- 
euting illegal liquor selling in Quincy about five thou- 
sand dollars in money, in addition to unremitting toil 


He has 


and attention to the prosecution of cases. 


The results were | 
Many violators of law have | 


Appropriations have been | 





keeps in good health, and will doubtless continue to 
be a potent factor in the temperance politics of Massa- 


chusetts for many years. With his positive nature, he 


has strong friends as well as bitter enemies. The 
Boston Herald editorially says this of him: 


“There is no denying that Mr. Faxon is a very live man. 
We have frequently had occasion to class him with the political 
humorists; for when he is not stirring up the wicked Demo- 
crats he is pretty likely to be making himself troublesome to the 
Republican machine politicians. As an independent political 


campaigner, the gentleman from Quincy is a success. He has 


| a party of his own, is hampered by no committee, and when in 





Confident that my | 


police officer to enforce the liquor laws, there have | °¢ bas found it. 


need of the sinews of war he can draw on a bank which had not 
failed up to latest advices. We have had occasion to approve 
Mr. Faxon’s persistency in urging upon citizens of every party 
the need of diligently attending the primary meetings, if they 
wish to defeat incompetent and corrupt candidates for office. In 
one respect the Bromfield Street campaigner is phenomenal 
among politicians: he wants no office, and seems actuated by 
no hope of reward except that satisfaction which comes from a 
conscientious endeavor to make the world a little better than 
Mr. Faxon backs up his talk by his money, 
and is liberal where many of the extreme prohibitionists are 
penurious. .. . Mr. Faxon makes a very keen point when he 
says that ‘a good record never sends a man into oblivion, but 
hundreds haye been buried beyond hope for want of one;’ and, 


further, ‘the obituaries of dishonest men need a liberal amount 


of whitewash.’ There is a pithiness about a genuine Faxonian 
sentence that appeals to the ‘plain people’ to whom the saga- 
cious campaigner addresses his many circulars and documents. 
He never loses an opportunity to fire into the ‘wicked Demo- 
crats,’ and the readiness with which he goes for an opponent’s 
scalp is in refreshing contrast to the timidity of most politicians. 
A few more such independent, aggressive, caucus-attending 
politicians scattered through the State would do much to break 
up the rule of the machines. Faxon is right in continually re- 
minding the voters that they have a duty to perform, as citi- 
zens of a self-governing community, in attending the primary 
meetings, where selfish but practical politicians are always to 
be found. That is where he isa genuine civil service reformer. 
Campaigner Faxon’s documents are compiled with remarkable 
accuracy. His sincerity is shown by the fact that, although 
doing much for the political advancement of other men, he 
never asks of his beneficiaries offices for himself or ‘soft’ places 
for his friends. To politicians who have weak spots in their 
records which they wish to conceal, Faxon is as annoying as an 
Taken altogether, Faxon is an in- 


dependent, energetic, go-it-alone politician, who will leave no 


electric light is to a burglar. 


| successor to carry on his peculiarly successful methods of cam- 


paid all his own counsel fees, and, whenever he has | 


been assisted by brother officers, has invariably com- 
pensated them for special duties performed. 

Mr. Faxon is never idle. He keeps his own books, 
looks after his large real-estate holdings, has a very 


extensive correspondence, and drafts, and often en- 


paigning. There is but one Massachusetts and but one 


Faxon.” 


AMOS CHURCHILL. 


Amos Churchill was born at West Bolton, Canada, 


Dec. 31, 1816, of American parents temporarily re- 


tirely prepares, his temperance articles; yet such is | 


his system and method that there is no delay, but 


siding there. His father, Amos Churchill, was born 
in Connecticut, Oct. 19, 1770. He came of an old 
family of high repute across the Atlantic, the English 


. e : ~ | ? 3 6 . 
everything receives prompt attention. Not of a very | Churchills, who have often stood high in the councils 
strong physique, by his care in avoiding excesses he | of royalty, and various members of which have been 























QUINCY. 


381 





knighted for deeds of valor. He was a tanner by 
trade, married Deborah Thornton, a native of Rhode 
Island, and settled first in Fairfax, Vt., afterwards in 
Canada, where he resided some years engaged in farm- 
ing and shoe manufacturing. He returned to Fairfax, 
where he died at the age of eighty-six. He had ten 
children, of whom Amos was the youngest. He was 
a hard-working man, honest, industrious, and a worthy 
member of society. Amos, his son, had but limited 
educational advantages, such as were given to farmers’ 


sons in the early part of the century, but faithfully | 


and dutifully he remained at home working on the 
farm until he was of age. He then went to Medford, 
Mass., and learned the trade of stone-cutting, pur- 
suing it as a journeyman for three years in Medford. 


He married Sept. 27, 1842, Lucretia, daughter of | 


Alexander and Sally (Bean) Rowe, of Camptown, 
N. H. (Alexander Rowe was born in Moulton- 
borough, N. H., Feb. 17, 1780, and attained the age 
of eighty years. His wife, Sally Bean, was born in 
Sandwich, April 9, 1787, married Mr. Rowe in 


1805, and died at Camptown, July 28,1840. Lu- 


cretia was born Jan. 4, 1824, being their youngest 


daughter and seventh child.) 
commenced housekeeping in Westford, Vt., where 


The young couple | 


they resided for two years engaged in farming. | 


About 1845 they came to Quincy, Mass., and for 
twenty years consecutively Mr. Churchill worked at 
his trade of stone-cutting in the employ of others, 
being for the last few of these years in charge of 
Williams & Spellman’s Granite-Works. He was 
industrious and prudent, and saved money. About 
1865 he formed a partnership with Charles R. 
Mitchell, to quarry and manufacture granite, under 
the firm-title of ‘ Mitchell Granite-Works.” 
partnership continued four years, when Mr. Churchill 
purchased the whole interest of the firm in the quar- 
rying, cutting, and polishing departments, which he 
has continued to carry on, either alone or in partner- 
ship with others, until the present. His productions, 
whether in the rough or finished work, stand high in 
the esteem of dealers, and are to be found in all sec- 
tions of the country ; but they principally go to New 
York, some shipments, however, having been made to 
England. 
to the diversified and expensive machinery now used, 
Mr. Churchill has been prompt to avail himself of 
every mechanical and other appliance as auxiliaries to 
improve the quality or expedite the labor, and steam- 


In the gradual advance from hand labor 


engines, hoisting-engines, lifting-jacks, polishing ma- 
chines, bush-hammers, ete., have been purchased, 
together with all kinds of machinery required in his 


trade. By diligence and steady devotion to business, 


This | 


applying himself to labor from early morning to long 
after the close of the day, through a succession of 
years, Mr. Churchill has been the architect of his 
own fortune. He has loved his chosen field of labor, 
and he still may be found attending to all details of 
his extensive business, which has far outgrown the 
expectations if not the ambitions of bis early man- 
hood. He stands high in public esteem ; his word is 
unquestioned in all business transactions; he owes 
nothing of his wealth, position, or business standing 
to extraneous causes or hereditary possessions. It 
has been the work of his own hands, of his industry, 
energy, and frugality, and his life is an example to 
the rising generation of what may be accomplished 
by them if they give the same determination, energy, 
and labor to accomplish success. 

Mr. Churchill is a social companion, does his part 
in all matters of public improvement, is Republican 
in politics, is a member of Rural Lodge, F. and A. 
M., of Quincy, and of South Shore Commandery, of 
Kast Weymouth, and is to-day one of Quincy’s 
highly valued and representative citizens. He has 
one child, Ellen B. (Mrs. J. H. Emery), who resides 
in Quincy and has two children, Alice J. and Flor- 
ence R. 


WILLIAM FIELD. 


William Field, son of Guilford and Nancy (Howard) 
Field, was born on Common Street, Quincy, Mass., 
July 11,1807. The Field family is an early colonial 
one of well-established standing in old New England 
days. The various branches of this family are occu- 
pying positions of responsibility, trust, and honor in 
many localities at the present day. Guilford Field, 
born probably in Quincy, died suddenly in August, 
1819, when William was but twelve years old. He 
married Nancy Howard, of Braintree, whose parents 
died when she was young, leaving her to be brought 
up by her grandparents. On her mother’s side she was 
descended from Nathaniel Wales, who settled in Dor- 
chester in 1635 (see biography of Hon. Nathaniel 
Wales, Stoughton). 
her a bag of gold if she would lift it, which she could 


Her grandfather once offered 


not do. She died, at the advanced age of eighty-two, 
Nov. 3, 1853. 
his parents being poor, and used to work at a very 
After 
his father’s death he lived with Jonathan Beals, on 


William was early inured to labor, 
early age, “doing chores” at different places 
Adams Street, for one year; then in 1821 he began 


to work in the granite quarries, then commencing to 
attract attention, and has from that time until the 


382 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





present been identified with every step of the devel- 
opment and growth of this truly gigantic industry. 
For over sixty years has Mr. Field been connected 
with the ledges, the men, the machinery, the labors, 
and the successes of the granite industry. He has 
seen the associates of his early toil fall one by one 





into the long sleep of death, and is to-day, hale and | 


vigorous despite his years, the oldest granite man in 
Quincy, the sole survivor of the pioneer quarrymen. 
He learned stone-cutting, which he followed for eight 
years, working during this period on stone for the 
Bunker Hill Monument, New York Exchange (from 
“ Wigwam quarry”), and for various other places and 
works of note. The last seven years of this time he 
was engaged as foreman in the cutting and quarry de- 
partments for William Packard, and was also his 
paymaster. Having a thorough familiarity with all 
departments of the granite business and having accu- 
mulated some property, in 1839 he, with others, 
formed the “ Franklin Granite Company,” he to su- 
perintend the work which was done in Quincy and 
send it to their yard, which was in New York City. 
After eighteen months Mr. Field formed a partner- 
ship with Eleazer Frederick (the company ceasing to 
do business), and purchased its Quincy works, and 
has ever since conducted business on his own ac- 
count. He did a large amount of building in Boston 
for fifteen or twenty years, and afterward made a spe- 
cialty of monumental work. This partnership con- 
tinued until the death of Mr. Frederick in 1879. 
The firm has always been and now is “ Frederick & 
Field,’ the present members being William Field, 


Mrs. Frederick, E. Frederick Carr, and William | Henry, married Mary J. Emerson ; resides in Quincy, 


A. Field. 


hundred workmen, and from small beginnings and | 


work done by hand the business has now attained large 
proportions, amounting to from seventy-five thousand 


labor-saving machinery, run by steam-engines of ex- 
pensive character, for hoisting, polishing, cutting, 
drilling, ete. 
note that they furnished material for the New Or- 
leans Custom-House, the foundation of Plymouth 
memorial monument, the canopy over Plymouth 
Rock, basement of Custom-House, San Francisco, Cal., 
which was freighted around Cape Horn, soldiers’ mon- 
uments at Holyoke, Mass., monument for the great 
wine merchant, Nicholas Longworth, Cincinnati, Ohio, 
and are now constructing the monument on the site 
of the battle of Monmouth, Freehold, N. J., soldiers’ 


They employ from seventy-five to one | 











| Daniel T. and Rebecca (Smith) Dickerman. 
| born in Easton, Mass., Oct. 27, 1811. 


the esteem of those who know him best. 


tery), and many other large family monuments and 
vaults. 

Mr. Field's business career has been very success- 
ful, and justly so. He has spared no pains to pre- 
serve the reputation, so long ago acquired by him, of 
furnishing honest material and excellent and artistic 
workmanship. He has been president of the Quincy | 
Contractors’ Association since its organization, Mr. 
Field married (Feb. 15, 1829) Louisa, daughter of 

She was 
For more 
than half a century have they walked life's pathway 
hand in hand, and lived to see generation after gen- 
eration of descendants rise up to do them honor, and 
reflecting credit upon the instructions and pleasant 
life of Mr. Field’s home. Their children were Wil- 
liam Q., died in infancy. Louisa R., married, first, 
William Carver, who became sergeant in Company 
K, Eighteenth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer 
Infantry, and was shot through the body, living ten 
weeks after being wounded, in November, 1862, while 
crossing the Potomac River; they had two children, 


| William Oscar and Maria L. (Mrs. William Ross, of 


Braintree) ; second, Charles A. French, and resides in 


| Brockton. William H. died, aged two years. William 


Augustus, now in business with his father, married 
Electa EK. Burnham, and has two children, Ida Bell and 
Maria Louise Field. Elizabeth Ann, married Daniel 
Vining, of North Weymouth, and has one son, Elmer 
E. Vining. Harriet Amanda, married Henry Arnold ; 
has one child, Harry Field Arnold. Daniel Howard, 
deceased. Emma Helen, died unmarried. Charles 
and has one child, Edgar Howard Field. Arthur 
Kingsbury, deceased. 

Mr. Field is Republican in politics, but is content 


to remain outside of official honors and preferment. 
to one hundred thousand dollars per annum, and using 


He is of sanguine temperament, and is honored by 
Having 


- amassed sufficient wealth for his old age, he is pass- 


We mention as worthy of special | 


monuments in Manchester, N. H., Lawrence, Mass., | 


vault for late John Anderson, the great tobacconist, 
of New York (said vault is in Greenwood Ceme- 


ing on towards the “twilight” in a home cheered by 
an intelligent and agreeable wife and the ministration 
of devoted children. 


ELEAZER FREDERICK. 

Eleazer Frederick was born in Tyngsborough, 
Mass., April 9, 1806, the tenth child of George and 
Rhoda (Reed) Frederick, the parents of twelve 
children. 
tanic, and educational advantages those of a district 
school, the boys working on the farm between school 


Their early training was rigid and puri- 











ST 






QUINCY. 


383 








terms. His father was a man of sterling integrity 
and great perseverance, whose life was passed quietly 
on the farm, with the exception of enlisting in the 
war of 1812, when he walked from Tyngsborough to 
Boston. 

The subject of this memoir learned his trade of 





stone-cutting in his native town, which he left at his 
majority, walking to Charlestown to work on Bunker 
Hill Monument, and paying the requisite sum to be- 
come a member of that association. He afterwards | 
worked in Boston and Quincy. Having mastered his | 


calling of journeyman, he began to look for a broader 


field in which to work, taking charge of stone-yards 
in Norfolk, Va., Baltimore, Md., South Boston, 
Mass., and other places. 

He settled in Quincy, Feb. 1, 1838, and with 
Horace Beals, William Field, and others formed the | 
Franklin Granite Compavy, Mr. Frederick investing 





one thousand dollars, part of what he had saved by 
the exercise of the most rigid economy. 

This company had two yards, one in New York, 
and one in Quincey. Horace Beals managed the New 
York, and Mr. Frederick the Quincy business. 
Owing to various causes the business did not prove a 
success, and the company dissolved in eighteen 
months, Mr. Frederick and the others losing the — 
capital invested. 

Undaunted by this reverse, in 1839 he started | 
business again, taking William Field as partner, he 
being a superior quarryman and having charge of 
that part of the work. 
Mr. Thomas Greenleaf, which was worked a number 
of years. 


The first quarry was hired of 


The second (being the present quarry 
owned and worked by the firm) was hired of Capt. | 
Josiah Bass, and purchased from his heirs in 1854. 
The partnership thus formed, under the name of 
Frederick & Field, continued nearly forty years. Mr. | 
Frederick brought to bear on the business the 
qualities which, sooner or later, command success, | 


namely, a clear mind, indomitable courage, and prac- 
tical knowledge of all departments of his business. 

His contracts, financial management, and personal 

supervision formed much of the basis on which the 

firm built its prosperity. His early training and 
strong constitution stood him in good stead in the 
arduous duties to which he was called, as press of | 
business in the daytime and frequent absences from | 
home, traveling for the firm, compelled him often to 
work far into the night writing and estimating. He 
supplied his early lack of advantages by making him- | 
self educated in his special calling. Ably seconded | 
by Mr. Field, Frederick & Field’s small business of | 


1839 grew in size and importance. 


Machinery of all ' 


kinds was added to facilitate the working and hand- 
ling of stone, abler artists and artisans employed, the 
granite of other States purchased and worked, 
Scotch granite, marble, and bronze figures furnished 
when required by contracts, till at the time of Mr. 


_ Frederick’s death, Sept. 12, 1878, their work had 


found its way into most of the States of the Union. 

Mr. Frederick always kept in the van of the march 
of improvement in tools and machinery used in the 
business, and was always among the first to adopt any 
such, though not prone to waste time and money on 
He always kept abreast of the 
times in which he lived, and though in the course of 
his long career the methods of doing business, tools, 


useless inventions. 


_ machinery, etc., used changed greatly, he never al- 


lowed himself to cling to old methods and appliances 
which he had become accustomed to when his judg- 
ment showed him that the new methods and appliances 
of to-day were better. 

His death was not only a great blow to his family, 
but a heavy loss to the firm and business, which owed 
so much of its financial success and high reputation 
to his persevering industry and ability. 

The business, consisting at first of building work 
only, gradually changed its character, till now monu- 
mental work forms a chief part of it. 

Among the buildings now standing we mention C.. 
F. Hovey & Co.’s store, part of State Street Block, 
Boston, part of stone for San Francisco Custom- 
House, and basement of Zribune Building, New York. 
Many granite fronts furnished by the firm went down 
in the Boston fire, and many more are now standing 
we have not space to mention. Among the monu- 
mental and other work furnished by the firm we may 
remark the entrance posts, ete., and curbing around the 
pond, Public Garden, Boston, soldiers’ monuments at 
Leominster and Holyoke, Mass., Springfield, Ohio, 
and Manchester, N. H. (which latter was the last 
contract of note entered into in Mr. Frederick's life- 
time, and which he did not live to see completed), 
and private and public vaults and monuments in 
great number. The Lovejoy monument is worthy of 
note as being the largest all-polished monument ever 
furnished in Quincy. 

Since the death of Mr. Frederick the business has 
been continued by William Field, E. F. Carr, W. A. 
Field, and Mrs. E. Frederick, under the old firm-name 
of Frederick & Field. 

Eleazer Frederick married, Oct. 25, 1825, Mary 
Gould, of Tyngsborough, Mass., and had two daugh- 
ters,—Mary Maria, born Jan. 15, 1827, and Sarah 
Jane, born Oct. 26, 1828. 

Mary Maria Frederick married Horace Baxter 


384 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Spear, the present cashier of the National Mount 


Wollaston Bank of Quincy, and has three children,— | 
Horace Frederick, born Jan. 20,1863; Lucy Maria, | 


born Sept. 7, 1864; Joseph Gould, born March 8, 
1867. 

Sarah Jane Frederick married Joseph Carr, dry- 
goods merchant, and has had four children,—Mary 
Jane, born Dec. 22,1850; Alice Maria, born Jan. 26, 
1853; Eleazer Frederick, born Aug. 8, 1855 (nowa 
member of the firm of Frederick & Field) ; Joseph 
Gould, born July 26, 1860, died March 7, 1861. 





| 


Mary Jane Carr married John Lyman Faxon, arch- | 


itect, Nov. 9, 1882, and has one child. 


Oct. 22, 1879, and has had three children, two now 
living. 

In politics, Mr. Frederick was a Democrat. He 
was a public-spirited citizen; every enterprise for 


PATRICK McDONNELL. 

It is surely well to record for the encouragement of 
others a brief synopsis of the life of one who, a for- 
eigner, far from the land of his nativity, constantly 
surrounded by more than ordinary temptations, has 


_ resisted them successfully, accumulated wealth, a firm 
| position in society, and who may be justly considered 


one of the best representatives of the land of his 
birth. 

Patrick McDonnell, son of Thomas and Mary 
(Cunniff) McDonnell, was born at Loobanroe, County 
Roscommon, Ireland, June 10,1817. His father, a 


farmer in comfortable circumstances, died when Pat- 


E. Frederick Carr married Alice Maria Taylor, | 


the public good found in him an earnest and liberal | 


support. In 1860 he was one of three who ap- 
plied to the Legislature for an act of incorporation for 
the introduction of gas into Quincy, to be known as 


rick was six years old, and Patrick remained with his 
Then, after a year’s 
visit to a sister in Birmingham, England, he was 


mother until he was eighteen. 


apprenticed by his mother to her brother, Patrick 
Cunniff, to learn the carpenter’s trade, she paying 


seven pounds for five years’ service. This service was 


not given, however, for in a few months Mr. Cunniff 


the Citizens’ Gas-Light Company, of which he acted | 


as president and treasurer for several years. Soon 
after the Mount Wollaston Bank was established, Mr. 
Frederick was chosen one of the directors, and con- 
tinued a member of that board till his death. 
was a Mason of high standing, belonging to Rural 


concluded to emigrate to America, and Patrick told 
him, ‘Give me the money my mother gave you and 
I will go with you.” Mr. Cunniffdid this, and June 
10, 1835, they landed at Perth Amboy, and came to 
New York City. Seeing a kindly looking old gentle- 


_man on the street, young Patrick asked him, ‘‘ What 


He | 


exile from Erin,’ do the best in?” 


Lodge, Quincy, and Boston Commandery, Knights | 


Templar. He also belonged to the Ancient and 


member of the Odd-Fellows. 
He was of a genial, social temperament, and retained 
the happy faculty of entering into the spirit of the 


part of the country could a poor emigrant boy, ‘an 
The old man an- 
swered, “If he was industrious, and careful, and 


temperate, there was no doubt that Massachusetts 
Honorable Artillery Company, the National Lancers, | 
and Mechanics’ Association, and was at one time a_ 


young, with whom he, always delighted to mingle even | 


to his last illness.. His scope of interest was large, 
allowing him keen enjoyment with the merrymakings 
of young and old. He always took great interest in 
his employés, some of whom were with him over 
thirty years. 

He was an indulgent, affectionate husband and 
father, and his loving devotion to his grandchildren 
was remarkable. 

The most fitting memorials to his worth and ability 
are the respect and affection with which his memory 
is cherished by those he left behind him, and the 
business which his efforts did so much to raise from 
obscurity to prosperity and success. 


presented one of the best places for success.” Pat- 
rick started for Massachusetts, taking packet for Al- 
bany, where he arrived with one pound in gold in his 
possession. While walking along he met a gentle- 
man who said, ‘ Halloo! young man, do you want to 
Patrick was soon engaged at 
He worked one month, be- 


work?" 1" Ves" ‘sir:7 
ten dollars per month. 
came lonesome and started for Boston, where some of 


his native townsmen were resident. After crossing 


the ferry he walked to Hartford, looking steadily for 


work on the way in vain. From Hartford he reached 
Worcester by walking and short rides on the stages. 
There was a railroad from Worcester to Boston, and 
he availed himself of it, and on reaching Boston was 
welcomed heartily by a friend. For nine days he 
made his stopping-place with this friend, while he 
diligently canvassed the adjacent towns for employ- 
ment. He went on the first day to Dorchester, and 
was told by Capt. William Clapp, a large tanner and 


farmer, that if a young lad who had been at work for 


him and had gone away did not return in ten days, 


he would employ him. When the nine days’ search 


~1In Roxbury, Quincy, ete., was of no avail, he returned 








=) 


Tory RS wre 





QUINCY. 


385 





to Capt. Clapp, who said he would take him on trial, 
and pay him what he was worth. At the expiration 
of the month, Capt. Clapp engaged him for five years 
at twelve dollars per month. At the end of his first 
year’s service Capt. Clapp invited him to his parlor, 


and presented him with a Bible, which Mr. McDonnell | 


still preserves with care, and at various times thereafter 
he received tokens of his regard. The five years 
passed in this good Christian family, which gave him 
truly a home, impressed the teachings of morality and 
temperance indelibly on the young man’s mind. He 
attended faithfully to his religious duties at St. Pat- 
rick’s Church at Roxbury, and was during these five 
years a teacher in the Sunday-school. 

In 1841, Mr. McDonnell came to Quincy, where he 
has since made his residence, and worked two years for 
John Mulford in his tan-yard; then he learned the 
stone-cutter’s trade, working for various persons. 
After finishing his trade he began work for New- 
comb & Chapin, Quincy Point, cutting stone, receiv- 


ing a dollar and a quarter per day for four months, | 


and ten shillings sixpence per day for eight months 
(the highest price then paid). He was industrious 
and temperate, did his work well, remained with them 
eleven years, walking three miles every day to and from 
work, carryiug his dinner, and saved about five thou- 
sand dollars which he, as it accumulated, invested in 
village lots and erected tenements thereon. He then 
went to work for Thomas Drake, with whom he had 


| 








finished his trade, but in three months entered into | 


partnership with him. 


This partnership continued | 


about a year, when, in 1857, Mr. McDonnell went into | 
business in a small way, with only one apprentice, in | 


a little shed on the common near where his sons are 
now established. 
he leased the ground now occupied by his sons for 


Here he remained six years, when 


twenty years from the town of Quincy and increased | 


his business rapidly, so that when he retired in 1881 
he employed seventy hands and probably did a more 


thoroughly in stone-cutting. Thomas H. and James 
S. are graduates of Commercial College, Boston. 
Ellen G. attended the normal school at Bridgewater for 
two years, became quite proficient in music, attending 
the Boston Conservatory of Music, and for the past 
three or four years has been organist in St. John’s 
Church, Quincey. She is a young lady of superior tal- 
ent and ability, and has decided to enter upon a relig- 
ious life. She is to take the veilin Europe. Margaret 
F. attended Notre Dame Academy, Boston, for two 
years. When Thomas and John Q. were of age they 
were admitted partners with their father, and the firm 


became McDonnell & Sons, in 1871. In December, 


| 1883, they established a branch of their business in Buf- 


falo, N. Y. They are enterprising men, and are doing 
well. Asan illustration, we quote from the New York 
Scientific Times and Mercantile 
1883: “ Quincy leads any town or city in the country 


vegister of May, 


in the quarrying and working of granite, and pro- 
duces an article of a nature that is unequaled by any 
in the world. There are many large concerns in this 
town engaged in quarrying, but none are more worthy 
of selection as a representative house than McDonnell 
& Sons. This house was established in 1857, and its 
present members are T. H. McDonnell and J. Q. 
McDonnell. 


quarries in the place, and are wholesale dealers in 


They own and work one of the largest 
Quincy granite. Their operations include every 
branch of the granite-working trade, including the 
manufacture of monuments, curb-lots, posts, ete. 
Polishing is also an important part of their business, 
Tn all, 


they give employment to a hundred men and over, 


and their work of this character is very fine. 


many of whom are as well-skilled workmen as money 
The work done by this house bears 
the highest reputation everywhere, and in many quar- 
Their 


can procure. 


ters gives them the preference over all others. 


| cemetery work is of unusual excellence, and your cor- 


profitable business than any other man in his line in | 
Quincy. His economy, incessant devotion to busi- | 


ness, and strict business habits have secured him a_ 
handsome property. He owns and rents twenty tene- | 
He married, June 1, | 


ments in Quincy and Milton. 
1843, Mary Hughes, who attended school with him 
in Ireland. Their children are Emily EK. (Mrs. Wm. 
Garbarino), Thomas, John Q., Mary A., James S., 
Ellen G., and Margaret F. 

Mr. McDonnell has taken great pains in the educa- 
tion of his children. 
school for three years, and his father wished him to 
go to college, but as he had not that inclination, Mr. 


McDonnell took him into his yard and instructed him 
25 


respondent was shown a specimen of it in the lot of the 
McDonnell family, at the St. Mary’s Catholic Ceme- 
tery, that would not be out of place in the best art 
museum in the land. This is a monument of dark 
blue Quincy granite, surmounted by a statue of the 
Virgin Mary, of Westerly granite. The whole is in 
the purest Corinthian style, and about forty feet in 


height. The bas-relief of the statue is a full Corinth- 


/ian cap of intricate design, and elegantly carved, 
| while the statue itself is beautiful in expression, exe- 


cution, and design. 


John Q. attended Quincy high | 


The attitude is a peculiarly 
graceful and devotional one, and would excite admi- 
ration anywhere. The entire monument is without 
blemish, and its finish and polish of a most artistic na- 


ture. It is acknowledged by all to be the best piece 


386 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





of work ever done in Quincy, and were it located in 
Mount Auburn or Greenwood it would attract uni- 


versal attention.”” This monument was designed and 


executed by Mr. McDonnell before his connection with — 


the firm ceased, and is well worthy of the praise be- 
stowed upon it. We mention some other especially 
fine works of this firm. During 1857, his first year 
in business, they furnished one front of State Street 
Block, Long Wharf, Boston. In 1858, the coping 
for the cemetery lot of Dr. Bigelow (president of 
Mount Auburn Cemetery Corporation); since then 
they have furnished the monument for Mr. Jared 
Sparks, at Mount Auburn ; the Birchard monument, 
erected by ex-President Hayes, Fremont, Ohio; 
monument and coping for T. W. Parks, Greenwood 
Cemetery, Brooklyn, N. ¥.; coping for Marshall O. 
Roberts, Woodlawn Cemetery, New York; monu- 
ment for the Seventy-seventh New York Regiment, 
in square opposite Congress Park, Saratoga Springs ; 
vault for J. C. Buckman, Mount Auburn; Bates 
monument, Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati; and 
the largest monumental cross ever made in the United 
States (weight twenty-five tons), for R. M. Shoe- 
maker, also in Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati. 

Mr. McDonnell began housekeeping in Quincy in 
a small house, for which he paid six hundred dollars 
out of the savings of his Dorchester life. 
years since he purchased the lot and dwelling where 
he now resides, and has expended several thousand 
dollars in reconstructing it, and to-day has one of 
(Juincy’s most attractive residences, with spacious sur- 
roundings and costly appurtenances, which affords 
him a pleasant home. 

Mr. McDonnell was a Democrat in politics until six 
or eight years ago, when his devotion to temperance 
drove him from that party, and he is now an inde- 
pendent voter. 
ners, Mr. McDonnell is popular with all classes. 
true son of [reland, he has never forgotten the fact, 
as is manifested in the attachment felt for him by his 
fellow-countrymen, to many of whom he is adviser 


and friend. 


identified in sympathy and principle with the land of | 


his adoption. 
cerity of character is exhibited in his support of the 
religious principles of his fathers and his strict ad- 
herence to the Roman Catholic Church. 


ing received at Capt. Clapp’s, his strictly temperance 


habits (never allowing himself to go to a rum shop, | 
or to keep liquor in the house), and the influence of 


his religion. 


Some | 


Through his frank and affable man- | 
} 
A 


Yet he is an American, and thoroughly | 


While tolerant in his views, his sin- 
>) | 


He attrib- | 


utes his success to the good lessons and moral train- 


in Ireland in 1870, and since then California, 
Canada, and other parts of America. Everywhere 
and in all places he has put himself on the strong 
temperance platform, and by voice, example, and pub- 
lished newspaper articles he has warned his country- 
men against the use of liquor as their most terrible 
enemy. 

While in Europe Mr. McDonnell made a three 
months’ tour through England, Ireland, and Scotland. 
His townsman, Charles Francis Adams, gave him a 
personal letter to Mr. Motley, then minister to Eng- 
land, which caused him to take much interest in Mr. 
McDonnell, to whom he extended many courtesies, 
but would not allow him to go to Rome or Paris on 
account of the war then raging in France. 

Mr. McDonnell ascribes his success in life largely 
to the fact that he never incurred debt of any kind, 
being always prepared to cancel all liabilities. 





WILLIAM ALLEN HODGES. 


William Allen Hodges is of good Puritan stock, 
both parents descending from old Plymouth Colony 
families, his paternal ancestor, William Hodges, set- 
tling in what is now Taunton about 1640, and enrolled 
among the inhabitants subject to military duty there 
in 1643. He was a land proprietor and prominent in 
local affairs. He died April 2, 1654, leaving two sons, 
John? and Henry. Both of them are mentioned 
as proprietors of land in Taunton in 1675 (see his- 
_tory of Hodges family elsewhere in this volume). 
This John’ married Elizabeth Macy, May 15, 1672. 
| Of their numerous children, John’*, the oldest, was 

born April 5, 1673. He married and became a resident 
His son Hdmund* married and had thir- 
teen children. He always resided in Norton, where 
his wife, Mary, who survived him, died April 30,1800. 
Their son, Tisdale’, was born in Norton, Mass., Dec. 
7, 1753. He was a man of well-to-do circumstances, 
was a captain of “ Troopers,” and during his latter 
years moved to Petersham, Worcester Co., where 
he died. He married Naomi, daughter of Capt. Jos. 
Hodges, of Norton (who was killed in an Indian 
| fight near Fort Schuyler, in the old French war). 
Capt. Tisdale Hodges was a man of advanced opin- 
ious and liberal ideas. He had seven sons, to whom 
he gave a better education than was usual in those 
days, sending some to college. Jerry®, son of Capt. 
Tisdale and Naomi Hodges, was born in Norton in 
1787. He received a good education, both literary and 
| medical; held a commission as surgeon’s mate in 


of Norton. 





He has been quite a traveler, visiting his old home | the United States army, and was a man of marked 














Samuel Tucker, was one of the first settlers of Milton, 
an energetic man, of great courage, quiet and unos- 
tentatious in his ways, and who served his day and 
generation well.) They had eleven children. Dr. 
Hodges died in March, 1858. His widow, born in 
1793, resides in Petersham, being now over ninety 
years old. 

William A. Hodges’, son of Dr. Jerry and Mary 
(Tucker) Hodges, was tenth in a family of eleven 
children, and born at Petersham, Mass., May 15, 
1834. His youth, until fourteen, was passed with 
his parents, with common-school advantages. In 
February, 1848, he commenced life for himself, going 
first to Boston, and afterwards to Milton, where he 


has always followed, that of a baker. After his appren- 
ticeship he worked as journeyman at Milton, Rox- 
bury, and elsewhere until 1858. In that year he 
went to California, where he remained two years, en- 
gaged in mining and baking. Returning to Massa- 
chusetts, he again engaged with his former employers 
at Roxbury, continuing with them until 1862, when 
he took a trip to the West in search of a location 


wherein to establish himself. He remained in Mc- 


and his former employers. 


served au appenticeship of three years at the trade he | 


QUINCY. 


ability. He married Mary Tucker. (Her grandfather, | 








to Quincy, and purchased an interest in the business | 


of a baker, which was carried on in the shop which 
he now occupies. 


After eighteen months he became | 


sole proprietor, and by energy, attention to business, | 


and care in producing good articles he has much in- 
creased it, enlarged the buildings and capacity of pro- 
duction, and made money. As a citizen, Mr. Hodges 
is enterprising and public-spirited ; as a friend, strong, 
warm, and faithful; as a man, he is held in the high- 
est esteem. Believing in the principles of his fathers, 
and which were given by Thomas Jefferson and enun- 
ciated in the Constitution of the United States, Mr. 
Hodges has been a Democrat of the most unswerving 
order. His devotion to principle, coupled with his 
personal popularity, has brought him into prominence 
in local politics. In this field he is a sharp fighter, 


’ 


“takes off his gloves,’ and gives as hard blows as he 
In every year since 1872 he has been 
nominated for some official position, and has nearly 
always obtained an election. In 1872 he was elected 
selectman of Quincy. In 1873 he was chairman of 
the board. In 1874 again elected selectman (with- 
out opposition). He resigned his office six weeks 
after his election, with the full determination of devot- 


ing himself entirely to business, but in the fall (1874) 


receives. 


387 





represent Quincy in the State Legislature, and was 
elected. The next spring (1875) he was elected 
selectman. In 1876 he was “alternate” to the Dem- 
ocratic National Convention at St. Louis which nomi- 
nated Tilden for President. In the fall of 1876 he 
was nominated by the Democratic Senatorial Conven- 
tion of the First Norfolk District as its candidate 


_ for senator, and was the first candidate placed in the 
_ field after the State had been redistricted. 


The dis- 
trict was so strongly Republican that the nomination 
was merely complimentary, no Democrat having a 
possible chance ofan election. In 1877 he was elected 
selectman by a very large majority, and became chair- 
man. In 1878 he was again elected selectman, and 
was chairmap. The death of Mr. Barker, senator 
elect, caused a new election for senator. In this con- 
test Mr. Hodges was the Democratic nominee, and 
was elected (April, 1878) to fill the vacancy. In 
1879 he was not in candidacy for selectman, but in 
the fall of that year was nominated by the Democrats 
of the Second District as their candidate for coun- 
cilor. This was also a complimentary nomination. In 
the spring of 1880 he was again elected selectman 
and chairman. In the fall of 1880 he received the 


_complimentary nomination of county commissioner 
Gregor, Lowa, five months, then returned to Roxbury | 


In May, 1866, he came | 


from his party. In the spring of 1881 he was again 
In the fall of 
1881 the Democratic State Convention made him its 
candidate for State treasurer. In 1882 he was again 
nominated for State treasurer. In 1883, under the 
bright outlook for Democracy, Democratic political 
managers were looking for a man strong enough by 
force of character, experience in office, and personal 
popularity to make a successful campaign in this 
senatorial district, and Mr. Hodges was the one de- 


re-elected selectman, and was chairman. 


_clared to be the most advisable to select, and he was 


he was placed in nomination by the Democrats to | 


placed in nomination by the Senatorial Convention 
and elected. 

Mr. Hodges married, Sept. 15, 1868, Anrie M., 
daughter of George F. and Maria (Stetson) Wiison, 
of Quincy. They have three surviving children,— 
Francis Mason, Mabel Stetson, and Edward Tisdale 
Quincy. 

Mr. Hodges is a member of Rural Lodge, F. and 
A. M., of Quincy, St. Stephen’s Lodge of Royal 
Arch Masons, and a life member of the Boston Com- 
mandery. In all official relations he has discharged 
his duties fearlessly and to the best interests of his 
constituents according to his best judgment. 


385 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





DANIEL BAXTER. 


comb) Baxter, was born in Quincy, Mass., Jan. 24, 
1803, and on his eighty-first birthday slept within 
twenty feet of the spot where he was born. 
place where he now lives was formerly owned by his 
father, a native of Quincy, who was a butcher, store- 
keeper, etc. William Baxter moved from Quincy to 
Paddock’s Island, Boston Harbor, about the Ist of 
May, 1809, and remained there until the fall of 1812, 
when he removed to Quincy, and continued his busi- 
ness as a butcher. 


| 


| Spent. 


He married, Jan. 22, 1829, Abigail, daughter 


| of Noah Curtis, and has had fourteen children, the 
Daniel Baxter, son of William and Abigail (New- | 
lain, resides in Quincy), Daniel W., Ann W. (Mrs. 


The | 


following now living: Abigail (Mrs. John Chamber- 


John Wood, lives in Quincy), Caroline (Mrs. George 
H. Tobey, lives in Chicago), Elizabeth (Mrs. Charles 
A. Follet, resides with her father), Wm. Henry, 
Mary F. (Mrs. Parker Hayward, lives in Braintree), 
Adeline W. (Mrs. Frank C. Waterhouse, lives in 
Wollaston). Mrs. Abigail C. Baxter died July 3, 


| 1879. ‘ 


While on the island Mr. Baxter | 


engaged in butchering, ran a sloop in the coasting 


He died in 
Quincy, June 8, 1829, at the age of sixty-one years. 
Mrs. Abigail Baxter died July 4, 1819, aged forty- 


seven years. 


trade, and was an active, energetic man. 


Daniel’s education was confined to 
very limited attendance at the schools of that early 
period, boarding at Hull for three winters and attend- 


ing school, and he tells interesting stories of the dan- 


Mr. Baxter commenced housekeeping at Quincy 
Point, and lived there six years, when his desire 
to occupy the old home of his father in Quincy in- 
duced him to remove thither, and he built the house 
where he now resides in 1858. Mr. Baxter has filled 


_many positions of public trust ; was for fourteen years 


gers he and his sister experienced in crossing from and 


When 


he was sixteen he carried the meat which his father 


to the island in the inclement winter weather. 


had butchered to Weymouth, Hingham, Cohasset, and 


Scituate to sell. He remained with his father until 


he was twenty-one, when he commenced business for 


himself, going to Brighton market, purchasing cattle 
and butchering them, and for nearly forty years 
continued this and the sale of the meat on the same 
route in Weymouth, Hingham, etc., that he had sold 
for his father. 
prudent, and a hard worker. 


Mr. Baxter has been economical, 
He laid up money 
which he carefully invested in land and other good 
investments, and to-day is one of the large real-estate 
owners in Quincy, and the only capital he has ever in- 
herited was seven hundred and fourteen dollars left 
him by his father. He early in life showed his aptitude 
for trade, when but a lad of twelve years, by buying 
a quart of molasses, making candy and peddling it, 
making a profit of seventeen cents, which was not ill 





selectman, and chairman over half of the time; has 
served on school committees, as assessor, surveyor of 
highways, and overseer of the poor. When the 
Quincy Stone Bank was organized he was the young- 
est one of the incorporators and directors. He was a 
director for over forty years, and is now the only sur- 
viving member of the original board. He has been 
connected with the Quincy Savings Bank as director 
for more than a quarter of a century, and is a stock- 
holder in various corporations. He has always been 
conservative, believing in conducting public affairs as 
he would his own business, owing no man anything ; 
in all positions he has been careful, prudent, and 
saving, and has so managed his means that in his old 
age he has a handsome competency, and the satisfac- 
tion of having discharged all duties, public and pri- 
vate, to the best of his ability and with honest intent. 
He has been a busy man all his life. He is an ex- 
ample of what industry, common sense, and care will 
do for any one in the battle of life. He has just 
passed his eighty-first birthday, and it is well to note 
in connection therewith, that his youngest sister and 
her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Wild, celebrated the 


sixty-first anniversary of their marriage in. 1883. 




















STOUGHTON. 


389 





CHAPTER XXX 1 
STOUGHTON. 


Stoughton—Named in Honor of Governor William Stoughton— 
Territory allotted to Dorchester in 1637—Known as the “‘ New 
Grant’’—Dorchester South Precinct—A Part set off to Wren- 
tham in 1724—Incorporation of Stoughton—Original Terri- 
tory—Second Precinct set off in 1740—Incorporation of Third 
Precinet in 1743—The First Town-Meeting—Incorporation 
of Stoughtonham—The Revolution—Votes of the Town in 
1723, 1724, 1725, 1726—Committee of Correspondence—Rey- 
olutionary Bounties, etc. 


Amrpst the pealing of bells, the roll of drums, the 
thunder of cannon, and the inspiring strains of mar- 
tial music the one hundredth anniversary of Ameri- 
can independence is ushered in, the most memorable 
day of the nineteenth century. A whole country 
from the rugged shores of Maine to the golden sands 
of California, multitudinous cities born since the 


day we celebrate the centennial of the Republic you 
can also pause midway between the first and second 


centennial of your town to commemorate its history 


and dwell upon its associations. Taking its name 
from Governor William Stoughton, it included origin- 


ally a much larger section than it at present com- 


prises. The territory embraced at the time of incor- 


poration, together with a part of Wrentham, had in 


the year 1637 been allotted to Dorchester, and was 


| known as the ‘‘ New Grant’’ from that time until Dee. 


event they to-day celebrate, prosperous towns created | 


with astonishing celerity, small villages remote from 
the whirl and excitement of business, all join in 
celebrating the occasion. The anthem of liberty 
wakes echoes in the hut of the squatter in Western 
wilds not less than in the luxurious homes of crowded 
cities. 

This universal commemoration is not solely because 
the Revolutionary fathers by their immortal declara- 
tion just one hundred years ago trampled the British 
yoke beneath their feet, not alone because the heroic 
struggle they carried on against fearful and almost 
hopeless odds was finally crowned with success, but 
for the reason that the Union has survived until all its 
founders have mingled their dust with the soil many 
of them had stained with their blood; because the 
country has grown and prospered year after year as no 
other country has ever grown and prospered ; because 


15; 1715. 

From that date until December, 1726, it was called 
the Dorchester South Precinct, a part having been set 
off to Wrentham in the year 1724. The town of 
Stoughton was incorporated on the 22d day of Decem- 
ber, 1726. 
of the Revolution, was four years old, and John 
It included 
the present towns of Canton, Sharon, and Stoughton, 


At that time Samuel Adams, the pioneer 
Adams was not born till nine years later. 


and nearly if not quite all of Foxborough and about 
one-quarter of Dedham. In those days the law of 
subtraction rather than annexation prevailed. The 
act of incorporation is entitled an “‘ Act for dividing 


the towns of Dorchester and erecting a new town 


there by the name of Stoughton.” The preamble sets 
forth that “ The town of Dorchester within the county 
of Suffolk is of great extent in length, and lies com- 
modious for two townships, and the South Precinct 
within the bounds of Dorchester is competently filled 


with inhabitants who have made their application to 


_ the said town and also addressed this Court that the 


_ ship.” 


said lands may be made a distinct and separate town- 
Then follows the act of incorporation, to 
which is attached a condition, making it incumbent 


upon the inhabitants to procure within the space of 


it has withstood and risen triumphantly from that su- | 
preme shock and trial of nations, a desperate civil war, | 


in which the sons of those sires who, then united, 
hurled the British invader from our shores, now, ar- 
rayed against each other, fought the one side to de- 


valor, for when Greek meets Greek then comes the 
tug of war. 

Fifty years before the birth of the nation the Great 
and General Court of the Colony of Massachusetts 
Bay enacted a law for the incorporation of the town 
of Stoughton. It is, therefore, felicitous that on the 





1 The following chapter was contributed by the Hon. Halsey 
J. Boardman, of Boston, being an address delivered by him at 
Stoughton, July 4, 1876. It is an invaluable contribution, and 
fittingly forms the first chapter in the history of the town.— 
Epiror. 


twelve months from the publication of the act a 
learned orthodox minister of good conversation, and 
make provision for his comfortable and honorable 
support, and likewise to provide a schoolmaster to 


instruct their youth in writing and reading. And it 


_is further enacted that they shall pay such taxes as are 


stroy, the other to uphold the old flag with ancestral | assessed to Dorchester which properly belong to the 


/ new town. 


The Second Precinct, constituting what is 
now Sharon and Foxborough, was incorporated July 


2, 1740, leaving what is now Canton and Stoughton, 


the Old Dorchester South Precinct, or First Parish. 
The Third Precinct, or Parish, represents what is 
now Stoughton, and was incorporated Nov. 9, 1743. 


| The chief reason set forth in the petition for an act of 


incorporation is the remoteness of a place of worship, 
it being nearly seven miles. The first town-meeting 
was held in Stoughton, Jan. 2, 1727, to choose town 


officers, and I notice that George Talbot was chosen 


390 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





one of the selectmen and assessors. 
June, 1765, the present towns of Sharon and Foxbor- 
ough were incorporated under the name of Stough- 
tonham. The town of Canton was incorporated by 
an act passed Feb. 23, 1797, which contained among 
other provisions that, whereas in consequence of the 
division only one selectman will remain in said 
Stoughton, “ Be it enacted that Jabez Talbot, the 
selectman remaining within said town be, and he is 
thereby invested with all the powers which a majority 
of said selectmen would have had so far as relates to 
certain purposes specified.” I doubt not the trusts 
confided to Jabez Talbot were well administered, as 
a thorough knowledge of administration affairs has 
been conspicuous in this family. 

A classified list of the persons taxed in the an- 
cient town of Stoughton for the year 1776 shows 
that one hundred and forty-two lived in what is now 
called* Stoughton. Samuel Capen, Samuel Paul, 
Robert Swan, and Nathaniel Wales are familiar names 
in the list. 

In the year 1773 the dawning of the spirit of in- 
dependence became manifest. The custom prevailed 
of having the wishes of the people expressed at the 
town-meetings recorded by the town clerks and trans- 
mitted to the General Court or Continental Congress. 
At atown-meeting March 1, 1773, a letter from the 
Boston Committee of Correspondence sent to the 
town was received and read, and the town sent in re- 
ply a lengthy communication, setting forth that in 
their judgment their rights as men, as Christians, 
and as British subjects have been greatly infringed 


upon and violated by arbitrary will and power, and | 


they are apprehensive that in future time this may 


prove fatal to them and their posterity, and to all | 


that is dear to them, reducing them not only to pov- 
erty but slavery. They remonstrate against it, and 
propose to unite in all constitutional methods to re- 
gain the rights that have been ravished from them. 


They further instruct their representative to exert 


On the 20th of | 





himself for these ends, and that a petition be pre- | 


sented to the king for redress, at the same time ex- 
pressing unswerving loyalty to him and invoking the 
Divine blessing upon him. 

At a town-meeting on the 26th of September, 1774, 
choice was made of Thomas Crane for representative 
to the Great and General Court to be holden at 
Salem. He was instructed by vote to adhere firmly 
to the charter of the province as granted by their Ma- 
jesties William and Mary, and to do no act acknowl- 
edging the validity of the act of the British Parlia- 
ment for altering the government of Massachusetts 


Bay. 


They then state that, as they have reason to 


I 


believe a conscientious discharge of his duty will pro- 
duce a dissolution of the House of Representatives, 
they therefore instruct him to meet with other mem- 
bers in a General Provincial Congress, to act upon 
such matters as come before them in a manner most 
conducive to the true interests of the town and prov- 
ince, and most likely to preserve the liberties of all 
North America. 

At a town-meeting, Jan. 9, 1775, the town made 
choice of Thomas Crane to represent them in a Pro- 
vincial Congress to be held at Cambridge the 1st of 
the February following. At the same meeting the 
town voted not to lend their town moneys to Henry 
Gardner, of Stowe; but at an adjourned meeting, Jan, 
16th, same year, their patriotism increased to such a 
degree that they reconsidered their former vote and 
voted to lend all their province money to Henry 
Gardner, of Stowe, as is recommended by the Pro- 
Among other votes passed at this 
meeting was one to the effect that they approved of 
the resolves of the Continental Congress and their as- 
sociation ; another to appoint a committee of inspec- 


vincial Congress. 


tion of nineteen persons, and that this committee use 
their interest that the resolves and the association of 
the Continental Congress be closely adhered to. At 
town-meeting, May 25, 1775, the town voted that 
Messrs, Peter Talbot, Christopher Wadsworth, and 
Benjamin Gill be a committee of correspondence, to 
correspond with the several towns in this province, 
the six following months. 

It is evident by the frequency of the meetings and 
the vigor of the proceedings during the years 1775-76 
that they fully believed the “price of liberty was 
eternal vigilance.” They even foreshadowed the 
Declaration of Independence and promised in advance 
their co-operation, for at a meeting on the 22d of 
May, 1776, forty-two days before the Declaration of 
Independence was proclaimed, they voted “ that if the 
Honorable Continental Congress should for the safety 
of this Colony declare us independent of the Kingdom 
of Great Britain, we, the said inhabitants, will sol- 
emnly engage with our lives and fortunes to support 
them in the measure ;” and believing that faith should 
be accompanied by works, they voted on the 8th of 
July following to raise a sum of money to be levied 
upon polls and estates to give to each man, to the 
number of thirty-eight, that shall enlist in the service 
of the northern department against Quebec, “ the sum 
of six pounds, six shillings, eightpence, as an addi- 
tion to their bounty,” or what we called in the late 
war a town bounty. Col. Gill, Capt. Endicott, Sam- 
uel Tucker, Ezekiel Fisher, Capt. Billings, Aaron 
Wentworth, Esquire Crane, Dr. Holmes, John Hart- 





STOUGHTON. 


391 








well, John Withington, Capt. Swan, William Shaller, 
Wm. Capen, and Lieut. Johnson each offered to pay the 
poll-tax for two men that would enter the service as 
aforesaid. July 22, 1776, it was voted to assess six 
pounds, six shillings, eightpence for each non-com- 
missioned officer and soldier that shall enlist and 
march to join the army against Canada; but if they 
render service at or near Boston, then they are not to 
have said sum or any part thereof. 


On the 30th of September, 1778, action was taken | 
relating to the formation of a new Constitution of the | 


State. A resolution was passed sturdily declining to 
empower the House of Representatives to enact a 


plan of government, alleging as reasons that they were | 


totally unacquainted with the capacities and patriot- 
ism and character of the members that compose the 
said House and Council, excepting our own member ; 


also because they were not elected for that purpose, 





and the present embarrassed state of public affairs calls 


for the steady attention of every member of said 
House. 


They resolved to choose one or more mem- | 


bers to unite with representatives from other towns | 


for the sole purpose of adopting a plan of government. 
They further resolved that it appeared to them abso- 
lutely necessary for the liberty and safety of this 


published, should not be established till the people of 
this State have time and opportunity to thoroughly 
examine the same, and shall consent that it be estab- 
lished by the said State Convention. 

On the 18th of February, 1777, it was voted to 
give fourteen pounds to each soldier enlisting for 
three years or the war. 
held during this and the following year. 
of May, 1778, most elaborate instructions were given 


| 


The history of nations shows that republics are a 
short-lived family. The republics of Greece and 
Rome, of Holland and France, of South America and 
Mexico, have chiefly been conspicuous in their failure. 
Our country is so large that, whatever superiority of 
race on the part of early Anglo-Saxon settlers there 


. may be, the rapid immigration invited from all parts 


In the face 
of the long list of failures, so unvarying that they 


of the world would largely neutralize it. 


seemed inevitable, what gave the founders of this re- 
public courage to make another experiment ? Liberty 
is seductive ; but liberty without law is merely license ; 
the result is chaos ; and any attempt at self-government 
ignobly fails when laws are not strictly enforced. A 
small population in a compact territory affords the 
most favorable chance for self-government ; but how 
difficult to govern in the same way is a mighty nation, 
extending over a large territory, pursuits divers, in- 
terests conflicting, no intimate interchange of senti- 
But even the small 
population in a compact territory has failed to per- 


ment one section with another. 


petuate a republican form of government; how much 
less likely to succeed would the large nation be. 
Granted that the framers of the Constitution were 


| wise, that they gave most careful research and study 
State that the plan of government, when formed and | 


to the great problem before them; granted that their 
work was as admirable as human skill could make it, 
still that would not have insured success. The reason 
must be found elsewhere, and is this: that the de- 


_ velopment of the people has kept pace with the foresee- 


Numerous meetings were | 


On the 28th | 


to Thomas Crane, their representative, but as the cry | 


among the ancient Romans was that Carthage must — 


be destroyed, so the central purpose in all their in- 
structions was a vigorous prosecution of the war. Es- 
quire Crane was also directed to oppose the Constitu- 
tion then offered, because it had no bill of rights for 
its foundation, and was therefore inconsistent with the 
happiness and safety of the public. The citations I 
have made give but a very imperfect idea of the spirit 
of patriotism and of self-sacrifice that is so conspicu- 
ous in your town records of the Revolutionary period. 


The intelligent comprehension of the principle of gov- 


ernment, the jealous guardianship of liberty, their 
self-reliance, the stern determination to resist oppres- 
sion on the one hand and to secure and enforce all 
proper restraints on the other, are remarkable. Stead- 
fast purpose and unfaltering will breathe forth upon 
every page. 


ing wisdom of the fathers. This country has existed 
as a republic largely because of the general diffusion 
of education, the enlightenment of the masses, and 
the circulation of the press; so that it is possible for 
every citizen to become acquainted with current 
events, and daily watch the progress of national 
affairs. He is enabled to take a comprehensive view 
of public questions, and thus overcome tendencies to 
bigotry and prejudice. In this way the grard con- 
summation has been reached, and in the words of ihe 
martyr Lincoln, “a government by the people and for 
the people” has become possible. It has been de- 
monstrated that it can endure the trying ordeal of 
success and prosperity. It has successfully encoun- 
tered the enervating tendencies of wealth and luxury. 
It has resisted effectually the disintegrating influ- 
ences of conflicting interests, showing a cohesive 
power without a parallel ; and in our late civil war, a 
devotion hitherto apparently dormant, and therefore 
unsuspected, was displayed pre-eminently; bravery 
and self-sacrifice in the field, courage on the toilsome 
and weary march, and heroic endurance in rebel 


| prisons. How fully were realized and exemplified the 


392 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





memorable words of Sir Philip Sidney, “ glorious is it 
in a noble cause to bear its suffering and misery.” 
And the bones of Northern men that have whitened 
on battle-fields along the Mississippi, upon lonely 
mountain sides on the low lands where the magnolia 
blooms, “grieving if aught inanimate ever grieves 


wT 


over the unreturning brave,” and in the gloom of the | 


wilderness where thousands, like the “ Light Brigade 
at Balaklava,’ rushed into the very jaws of death, 
bear testimony to the priceless value of our national 


life. 


One grand element that has contributed to the ex- 


ample of self-government we present is the race to 
which we belong. 
come, and still are coming, from across the ocean 
through our open gates constitute no small part of 


I confess the multitudes that have — 


the forty-four millions that to-day live under the na- | 


tional flag. Yet Plymouth Rock receives homage 
from every State, and the nucleus there formed has 
assimilated in no small degree to itself the foreign 


elements that have clustered around it. The Puritans, 


of whom so many of you are lineal descendants, had — 


ingrafted upon their robust natures and strong wills | 


a love of liberty, and what they esteemed a pure re- 
ligion, that no danger could appall nor sufferings 
lessen. With rare fortitude they endured hardships 
cheerfully that lay in the pathway of achievement. 
I have too much respect for their judgment to sup- 
pose that they courted hardships. I do not for a 
moment presume they voluntarily chose the sterile 
They 


showed the good sense to elect the fertile valleys of 


lands of Cape Cod for agricultural purposes. 


the Hudson ; but a chance breeze and a bribed cap- 
tain landed them on the icy shore of Plymouth. 
Grim winter extended its cold arms to receive them ; 


thirty savage tribes and an unbroken wilderness | 


offered an impassable barrier to any overland route to 
their place of destination ; but their courage never 
faltered, for 
“Amid the storms they rang, 
And the stars heard, and the sea; 
And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang 
To the anthem of the free.’ 
And their religious enthusiasm inspired them in dan- 
gers, in disease and death. How marvelous was the 
courage of the early reformers ! 
When Martin Luther was summoned before the 
Diet of Worms, and friends told him—what he well 
knew—that if he went, it would be at the peril of his 


gaged. 


to the immortal words that rather than suffer it they 
would tear up the dikes and give Holland back to the 
ocean. Theodore Parker will not be suspected of 
fondness for Calvinism; yet he declared that out of 
the rugged doctrine of John Calvin had developed the 
And what sol- 
I claim that the army of 
Oliver Cromwell was the finest the world ever saw; 
an army that was always successful, so that upon sight 
of the enemy they raised a shout of joy, for battle 
to them meant victory. 


grandest virtue of the human race. 
diers its disciples made! 


Uniting perfect discipline 
with religious zeal, they fought under a firm convic- 
tion of duty. 
of a true soldier when he learned that it was the 


Marshal Turenne expressed the delight 


fashion of Cromwell’s pikemen to rejoice greatly when 
they beheld the enemy; and the banished cavaliers 
could not repress an emotion of national pride when 
they saw a brigade of their roundhead countrymen, 


_ outnumbered by foes and abandoned by allies, drive 


before it in headlong rout the finest infantry of Spain, 
and force a passage into fortifications pronounced im- 
pregnable by the ablest marshal of France,—snatch- 
ing victory from the very jaws of defeat. To such 
men liberty to act according to their own conscience 
was dearer than life; and the qualities that made them 
eminent in war also made them conspicuous in peace. 
According to Macaulay, when they were disbanded, 
the royalists’ confessed that in every department of 
honest industry these warriors prospered beyond other 
men ; that none was charged with theft, that none 
was heard to ask an alms, and that if a baker, a ma- 
son, or a wagoner attracted notice by his diligence and 
sobriety, he was in all probability one of Cromwell’s 
old soldiers. 

War is demoralizing, and in no respect more 
strikingly than in its effect upon the soldiers en- 
Moral firmness alone can transform the in- 


mates of camps and the veterans of battle-fields into 


the peaceful and industrious citizen, and our own 
soldiers, both in the Revolution and the late war, 
clearly betrayed their ancestral traits in their return 
to the vocations of daily life. 

The Puritans and their descendants, by virtue of 
this quality of courage, of fortitude, of intelligent in- 


dustry, prospered in spite of sterility of soil. Their 
thrift prevailed over natural disadvantages. They 


_ grappled with the forests, and with brawny arms 


life, he answered, “Were there as many devils as | 


And when 


Catholicism combined to crush out Protestantism from 


tiles upon the housetops, I would go.” 


the Netherlands, William of Orange gave utterance © 


overthrew them, and such was their persuasive en- 
ergy that they converted sand and rock into fertility. 
And when the West disclosed its vast superiority of 
soil, instead of deserting the homes of their fathers 
for the fairer promise towards the setting sun, they 
supplemented the sinewy arm by the active and in- 





er SN ef Se 


oe: 








STOUGHTON. 


393 





' 


ventive brain, and manufactories sprang up filled 
with cunning machinery, so that the hum of indus- 
try filled the land. 
nodded in the wind and the wild fox dug his hole 
unscared,” evidences of civilization appear on every 
side. 

While race has contributed to the permanence of 
our institutions, education, as I have before indicated, 
in the broadest sense is the great bulwark. 
the primeval rocks to the sea, it underlies and over- 
tops them. By it the experience of the past has been 


‘Where once the rank thistle | 


| 
| 


floated again and again upon a sea of blood. We 
remember with sorrow the misfortunes of Lafayette, 
Kosciusko, and Kossuth ; we admire individual gal- 
lantry like that of Arnold von Winkelreid, of glorious 
memory, who threw himself on the spears of his 


_ country’s enemies,— 


Like | 


fully utilized and an approximation to the true stand- 


ard of self-government been reached, for, as it means 


a government by the people, therefore whatever | 


broadens their knowledge increases their capacity 
for statesmanship. 
come to us in life take deeper root; they widen 
We learn to use that which 
otherwise would be valueless, as the best appliances in 


By education all things that 
their significance. 


tools and machinery are valueless without the skill 
to detect and employ them. Instances are recorded 
of self-taught men who have, unaided, forced their 
way into the laboratory of nature, who read the un- 


written language of things, who discover truths in > 


the melody of birds, in the sighing winds, who read 
it in the beauty that trails along the tall grass, and is 
radiant in leaf and flower; men who go beyond the 
surface of things, beyond the defined limits of human 
knowledge into untrodden space, and, as has been 
said, sharpen their eyes until they see into the earth 
and lengthen their arms until they reach the stars. 
But these exceptions are rare; few of us have time 
or inclination to investigate. We act upon what is 
told us, what we read, what we learn. The tables of 
education must be spread for us, or we are likely to 
lose our intellectual nourishment. Our fathers rec- 
ognized its importance. After providing for their 
spiritual welfare by securing a good orthodox minis- 
ter, they gave next their attention to the schoolmas- 
ter, and the modest school-house found place wherever 
the early settlers dwelt. 

The third element that secures to us a republican 
form of government is a love of liberty, freedom to 
manage our national affairs whether they relate to 
civil or religious questions, and by common consent, 
since our fathers recovered from the mania of hang- 
ing Quakers and drowning witches, religious toleration 
has prevailed. 
the spirit is to the body, animating and inspiring it. 
Not stronger among Americans than among othe: 
races. We cannot forget the frantic struggle of 
Poland and Hungary to be free. We cannot forget 
how France in her ill-fated but heroic efforts has 


Love of liberty is to the republic what | 


“Make way for liberty !’ he cried; 
“Make way for liberty !’ and died.”’ 
And we are inspired by the burning words of Roger 
De Lisle,— 
“Oh, liberty, can man resign thee, 
Once having felt thy glorious flame ; 


Can tyrants’ laws or bolts confine thee, 
And thus thy noble spirit tame 7” 


words which not only kindled the torch of freedom 
in France, but wherever the spirit of independence 
dwelt. 
or literature have created the sensation that other 
races have, yet they have been eminently practical ; 
their success has been due to the fact that they have 


But while Americans may not either in deeds 


never lost their head in their struggles for liberty. 
Victories did not unreasonably elate nor defeat unduly 
depress. ' 

I am mindful that your anniversary and the 
nation’s anniversary occur at a season of depression 
and want; that while commercial gloom settles over 
our large cities, in the country villages the wheels of 
manufactories are stopped and labor begs in vain for 
employment, but we realize to-day how much greater 
trials our fathers endured and how bravely they en- 
dured them, and we know that they received their re- 
ward in blessings that crowned their days. We know 
that behind the black cloud that overhangs us the 
imperial sun walks in splendor, and we know that we 
dwell in a country that has all the elements of success 
and prosperity, and therefore the future must be se- 
cure. And over your past it is fitting that you should 
rejoice; that you should have accomplished so much ; 
that such energy has been displayed; that religion 
and education should have received such generous 
support from your hands. Splendid promise so often 
results in splendid failure, that when a great work or 
a good work is fairly accomplished congratulation is 
in order, and not tillthen. And it is said the ancients 
wisely praised not that ship that started with flying 
colors from port, but only that brave sailor that came 
back with torn sheets and battered sides, stripped of 
her banners, but having outridden the storm. Doubt 
not that in days of disaster relief is at hand. Judge 
the future by the past. Distrust not humanity be- 
cause man is false and shouts for reform while he 
practices knavery, for if the heart of the people was 
not right and honest, professions of virtue would not 


394 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








be necessary and successful in securing trusts only to 
betray them. 

The season is auspicious for your festivities. The 
benediction of a summer sky bends above our heads, 
and the perfection of midsummer splendor lies at our 


feet. All nature is in harmony with the occasion. 


Her deep green and rich bloom lend us the choicest | 


decorations. 
we believe that our national life is but just begun ; 


Though one hundred years have gone, 


that the republic shall endure when the very stones 
over our graves have crumbled to dust; that the flag 
that waves above us to-day shall float as long as the 
earth bears a plant or the sea rolls a wave; and when 
a century hence the people of this ancient town meet 
to celebrate their own anniversary, the second centen- 
nial of the republic, while they proclaim the valor and 
the patriotism of the fathers of freedom in this land, 
they will also remember with pride this generation, 
and your children’s children will be cheered and in- 
spired by your deeds and your memories ‘as after 
sunset the dew revives the world.” 





OR APT ER XX XOLT 
STOUGHTON—( Continued). 


Ecclesiastical History—Universalist Church—Congregational 
Church—Methodist Episcopal Church—Roman _ Catholic 
Church—Methodist Episcopal Church, North Stoughton— 
Baptist Church, East Stoughton. 


Universalist Church.'—There are tablets in the 
church belonging to the parish in Stoughton, one on 
either side of the pulpit, which present its history in 
brief. Perhaps these tablets may be a sufficient his- 
tory for some; they at least suggest all that need be 
said in a more extended account as may properly be 
presented at the beginning of this article. The one 
on the right of the pulpit reads as follows: 

“ Virst Parish. 
Church organized Aug. 10, a.p. 1744. 
First Church, completed May 23, a.p. 1745. 
Second Church, dedicated June 2, a.p. 1808. 


Altered a.p. 1848. 
Xemodeled and enlarged a.p. 1870.” 


On the left of the pulpit appears the ministerial 
succession of the church: 


** Pastors. 
Rey. Jedediah Adams. 
Ordained Feb. 19, a.p. 1746. 
Died Feb. 25, a.p. 1799. 


1 By Rey. C. R. Tenney. 





Rey. Edward Richmond, D.D. 
Ordained Dee. 5, A.p. 1792. 
Resigned Jan. 15, a.p. 1817. 

Rev. Ebenezer Gay. 

Ordained Jan. 7, A.p. 1818. 
Resigned Julv 9, a.p. 1822. 

Rev. William L. Stearns. 
Ordained Noy. 21, a.p. 1827. 
Resigned March 30, A.p. 1831. 

Rey. M. B. Ballou. 

Settled April 17, a.p. 1831. 
Resigned April 1, A.p. 1853. 

Rey. James W. Dennis. 
Settled April 1, a.p. 1854. 
Died Dec. 12, a.p. 1863. 

Rey. A. St. John Chambré. 
Installed April 1, a.p. 1864. 
Resigned April 1, A.p. 1872. 

Rey. Joseph K. Mason. 
Ordained Dee. 10, A.p. 1873. 
Resigned Dee. 25, a.p. 1875.” 2 

Rev. H. B. Smith. 

Settled April 24, a.p. 1876. 
Resigned Nov. 30, a.p. 1879. 

Rev. C. R. Tenney. 

Settled Sept. 1, a.p. 1882. 


The history of the parish antedates that of the 
church. It begins Nov. 9, 1743, with a petition to 
“his Excellency, William Shirley, Esq., Capt"-Gen- 
eral and Governour-in-Chief in and over his Majesty’s 
Province, to the Honorables, his Majesty’s Council 


_and Representatives, in General Court assembled,” 


for a division of the First Precinct of the town of 
Stoughton. This petition was urged by George 
Talbot, Simon Stearns, and Ralf Pope, the reason 
for it being, as set forth by the petitioners, “the vast 
difficulties both with regard to the public worship of 
God and the management of the affairs of the Precinct 
to which we belong, on account of the great distance 


_ many of us live from the place of public worship, it 


being almost seven miles.” The “place of public 
worship” here referred to was what is now the Uni- 
tarian Church at Canton Corner. 


petitioners was granted on the day on which it was 


The prayer of the 


_ preferred, and thus—what is now Canton being the 
first, and what is now Sharon being the second—was 
the Third Precinct in Stoughton incorporated. The 
| first meeting of the new precinct was held Dee. 12, 
1843, at the house of Capt. George Talbot. 
| George Talbot was elected clerk, and he, with Simon 


Capt. 


Stearns and Ralf Pope, constituted the first prudential 
committee. At this meeting a vote was passed to 
raise forty pounds for preaching ‘the present year 
and the year ensuing as far as it will go.” Ata 
meeting held December 26th it was voted to build a 


2 The tablet is not lettered from this point. When complete 


' what follows will be the history. 





STOUGHTON. 


395 





meeting-house, forty-five by thirty-five, on land given 
for the purpose by Daniel Talbot. The church was 
incorporated Aug. 10,1744. About a month later 
a call was extended to Mr. Thomas Jones to become 
pastor. The precinct seems to have concurred with 
the church only so far as to hire Mr. Jones for three 
months. When the church was completed does not 
appear, but it was ready for a service of baptism May 
23,1745. On the 6th day of September following it 
was unanimously voted to call Mr. Jedediah Adams, 
of Braintree (now Quincy), to the pastorate of the 
church, three hundred pounds old tenor being al- 
lowed “for his settling with us, as also for a salary, 
yearly, of one hundred and eighty pounds.” Later 
twenty cords of wood per year were added to the 
salary, and it was voted that the pay should vary 
with variances in the price of corn and meat in the 
Boston market. Mr. Adams’ pastorate began Jan. 
5, 1746, though the ordination did not take place 
until February 19th. 


There is not very much to be noted during the pas- | 


torate of Mr. Adams except the general and very 


even prosperity of the precinct. In 1765 the Third 


Precinct became the Second, the Second having be- | 


come a separate town—Sharon. At a meeting held 
April 10, 1782, move was made for another division 
of the town, and Thomas Crane, Maj. Robert Sevan, 


Capt. Jedediah Southworth, Capt. Peter Talbot, and | 


Capt. James Pope were appointed a committee to 
consult as to the necessary measures to be taken. By 
their recommendations petitions were presented to the 
town and to the General Court, but were refused. At 
the same meeting a committee was appointed to “ in- 
spect y° conduct of y° people on y* Lord’s days, and 
call those by name in time of divine service, that pro- 
fane the Lord’s day.” If the precinct could manage the 
Court it could manage its own members. The money 
with which the people now had to deal was perplexing 
to them ; one treasurer's report they were not able to 
understand until it was translated into silver currency. 
Then a balance of over twenty-four hundred pounds 


became only thirty-two pounds, one silver dollar being | 
| chosen deacons of the church. 


worth seventy-five of those in circulation. In 1785 the 


precinct received a bequest of land, enlarging the 


church lot from Christopher Wadsworth. At about 


this time a committee, consisting of Samuel Talbot, | 
Jedediah Southworth, and Joshua Morse, recom- | 


mended that for the future the town raise all the | 
ance upon divine service. Now denominational difficul- 


money for the purpose of schooling and that none be 
raised by the precinct. 
Adams’ health began to fail, for it was voted at the 


March meeting of the precinct ‘to be in a way to_ 
On May 28th it was voted to give | buttonwood-trees still standing on the chureh green. 


settle a minister.” 


: | 
It seems that in 1792 Mr. 





' ments and feeble health. 


Mr. Edward Richmond a call to the work of the 
gospel ministry. Mr. Richmond’s letter of accept- 
ance shows him to have been a man of pious senti- 
He invokes the blessing of 
God upon himself and people, and the indulgence of 
frequent exchanges in his ministry. The ordination 
was appointed to take place on the 28th of November. 
Thanksgiving being appointed on the next day, the 
ordination was postponed until December 5th, when 
Rev. Edward Richmond became the colleague of the 
aged Mr. Adams. Final settlement was not made 
with Mr. Adams until 1795, when forty pounds were 
offered him for a discharge in full for his services as 
a minister. 
more than this, yet, “‘ consulting ye best interest of ye 
parish, and wishing to have them in peace and har- 
mony,” he satisfied himself with the offer. Mr. Adams 
lived, and was practically senior pastor of the parish, 
until Feb. 25, 1799. Then, in his eighty-ninth year, 
and the fifty-third of his pastorate, occurred his death. 
Having received the honors of Harvard University in 
1733, and having constantly added by “ natural inquis- 
itiveness”’ to his store, he must have served his charge 


Though the amount due him was much 


with a large knowledge, as well as with a pure char- 
acter. 
death, ‘‘ Constitutionally mild and benevolent, he was 
easily formed to a candid and liberal mode of think- 


His colleague wrote of him at the time of his 


ing. His manners soft, modest, and unassuming, re- 


ceived the finishing touch of genuine politeness. It 
may be truly said of him that he was learned without 


pedantry, polite without affectation, moral without 


austerity, pious without superstition, and devout with- 
out enthusiasm.” 

It is a pity that during the pastorate of Mr. Adams 
no church record was kept so as to be now available ; 
only the incorporation of the church, and the first 
church covenant, the covenant of the Congregational 
Churches in general, with the names of twenty-four 
signers, are in the old church book. The church 
record, as preserved, really begins with the call o 
Rev. Mr. Richmond, dated May 28,1792. In 1795 
Lieut. Roger Sumner and Lieut. John Holmes were 
In 1799, probably on 
the incorporation of Canton, the second precinct be- 
came the parish in Stoughton. In 1797 the treas- 
urer’s report is for the first time in dollars and cents. 
The church is looking after absentees, and clothing 
those unable suitably to clothe themselves for attend- 


ties begin to arise, the Methodists claiming the money 
of some taxables in the regular precinct church. A 
movement is made for the protection of the ancient 


396 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Thus early the spirit of the “ Improvement Society” | 1808, Rev. Nehemiah Coye (Methodist) demanded the 


appears. A church member, Jeremiah Vose, is dealt 
with mercifully for intoxication and profanity. At 
the parish meeting a man is chosen “ to see that the 
women stow clost in the seats in the meeting-house on 
Sunday.” 

In 1798 and 1799 resort was had to law by other 
denominations, Methodists and Baptists, to secure the 
money of some taxes in the parish church. Dr. 
Peter Adams, Capt. Samuel Talbot, Capt. John 
Pope, Mr. Shephard, and Lieut. 
Atherton were chosen to defend the parish. 
defense seems to have been successful, only as 


Samuel 
Their 


much 


taxes of members of the parish. It was finally voted 
that the taxes of Stephen Briggs and Jacob Monk be 
paid over to said Coye, and that the taxes of these 
gentlemen be remitted, and they be left out of the 
parish bills in the future so long as they remain steady 
members of the Methodist society, and help support 
aregular Methodist minister. In this year the church 
passed a vote inviting the sisters to stop when any 


_ business was to be transacted after divine service. 


John | 


! 


being allowed these other denominations as the com- 


mittee on public worship was willing to allow. In 
1800, Mr. Richmond, reminding the parish of the de- 


preciation in the value of money since his settlement, | 


asks with manliness and modesty for an increase in | 


his salary. 
not permanently advanced until 1816, though from 
year to year money was voted him in addition to it. 


about. It was difficult for the parish to agree as to 


In spite of this request the salary was 


This courtesy seems almost to have been induced by 
service rendered. The ladies had made a generous 
contribution toward furnishing and trimming the new 
pulpit. The church was formally accepted by the 
parish May 23d, and dedicated June 2d. Before the 
dedication it was desirable that the green should re- 
ceive attention. It was voted that the people be 
notified when to work, that the work be done gratis, 


and ‘that the parish be at the cost of their grog. 
About this time it was voted ‘to give up the pews 


_ over the westerly stairs to the blacks or people of 
In 1801 a new meeting-house began to be talked | 


the house, and before 1805, when the job was given | 
into the hands of Mr. Richmond, builder, of Middle- | 


borough, the pews were sold three times. The fourth 
sale stood, and plans were made for a house fifty- 
eight by fifty-eight feet, to be built at a cost of seven 
thousand five hundred dollars. A quarter of an 
acre of land was now given the parish by Mrs. 
Abigail, widow of Lemuel Drake. 
main body of the church now stands, the most 
of the former bequest by Lieut. Daniel Talbot 
being included in the yard in front of the church. 
The church lot, containing one acre and twenty- 
In 1802 the sing- 
ing of the psalm. or hymn, “in separate parts,” 


three rods, was now complete. 


continued, and the regular singers—the present 
musical society—were invited to assist at such service. 


and received from Mr. Ephraim Copeland, of Boston, 
“an elegant quarto Bible for the use of the sanctuary. 
It was then voted that in future a portion of sacred 
Seripture be read as a book of publick worship.” In 
Lemuel Drake. This property is still held by the 
In 1806, 
July 2d, 3d, and 4th, the meeting-house was raised. 
In 1807 the bell and clock were placed, and it was 
voted that the bell should be rung, as now, at nine 


society, and is known as the Chemung lot. 


o clock Sunday mornings for regular church services, 
and tolled on the death of members of the parish. In 


color until March.” For several years, now, things 
go on pleasantly and prosperously. In 1813 a sermon 
of Mr. Richmond’s was asked for publication, and a 


committee was appointed to ask him not to preach 


politics in the pulpit either on Sundays or days of 


_ thanksgiving or fasting. 


In 1815 Watts’ Hymn- 
Book was displaced by Belknap’s. In 1816 the 


| society seems, for the first time, to have a stove for 


_the church,—a present from William Austin. 
Upon this the 


In 
December, 1816, difficulties growing beyond hope of 
adjustment, Mr. Richmond sent in his letter of resig- 
nation. The reason for this action was, he said, that 
it had “long been evident that the labors of others 


were more acceptable.” It is doubtless true that some 


_of his parishioners desired a change in the pastorate, 


_ yet this desire cannot have been as general as he 
by the deacon at the service of communion was dis- 


imagined. Buta short time before twenty pounds had 
been permanently added to his salary, and now his 


_ resignation was accepted reluctantly,—at the first vote 
In 1803 the church stopped after sacramental lecture, — 


it was not accepted. Finally a committee, appointed 


to consult with Mr. Richmond, “ with great reluct- 


_ance’’ advised the acceptance of his resignation, and 


_ he was dismissed. 


The council which was called to 


ratify his dismission, expressions. of the society re- 
1805 the parish received a farm, the bequest of | 


corded and traditionary, together with such works of 
his as are now available, bear testimony that he was a 
Whatever dissatis- 
faction existed was not on account of these things. 
Neither was it on account of Mr. Richmond’s the- 
ology, though in the unsettled condition of opinion 
in those times there may have been some who objected 
to him on this score. 


man of character and ability. 


The opposition was chiefly 





eee es 


STOUGHTON. 


397 





political, without doubt, and had been growing since present Congregationalist society in this town. Mr. 
the time when he was asked not to preach politics. | Gay carried the church records with him to his new 


January 15th Mr. Richmond’s pastorate came to an 
end. In September of the same year, Mr. Ebenezer 
Gay, of Walpole, was called; after some discussion 
and variation of the conditions of the case, Mr. Gay 
accepted it, and was ordained Jan. 7, 1818. The 
church voted that strangers of regular standing in 
any denomination be invited to stay to communion. 
In May, 1819, the church voted it ‘‘ inexpedient any 
longer to require of candidates for admission a par- 
There 
was an article in the warrant this year to “see if it 
is the will of the parish that Mr. Thaddeus Pomroy be 
debarred from preaching again in the meeting-house 
in Stoughton until he makes acknowledgment for 
once and again insulting and disturbing the society in 
said house.” 

In 1820 dissatisfaction with Rev. Mr. Gay begins 
to appear. Repeated endeavors were made to have 
him dismissed until 1822, when conditions were made 
with him and his pastorate immediately terminated. 


ticular confession of antecedent immoralities.”’ 


The reason for dissatisfaction was his strict Calvinism. 
Opposition to liberal views was carried so far under 
him that formal complaints were made against those 
who revealed sympathies for Methodism, and a Uni- 
versalist, Mr. Samuel Bird, was excommunicated. 
The church was not used to such severe interpreta- 
tions and applications of theology. According to 
those whose opinion is of worth in the matter, it had 
inherited no such theology from the mother church, 
now the Unitarian in Canton. The first pastor, a 
member of the liberal Adams family in Quincy, and 
predisposed, as Dr. Richmond has shown us from his 
very make up, ‘to a candid and liberal mode of 
thinking,” did not certainly cultivate in the church 
any such views. And Dr. Richmond himself was 
liberal, becoming afterwards, if he was not now, a pro- 
fessed Unitarian. The church had not been used to 
such theology as that presented by Mr. Gay. That 
was the reason, doubtless, why he was dropped so 
quickly. And that he was thus dropped is another 
evidence that the church had not been schooled to 


such views. In 1821 seventy-eight members were 


reported as in good and regular standing in the church. — 


On July 3, 1822, nine of these were present at a 


meeting at which a majority of seven voted to sepa-— 


rate themselves “and hold public worship in such 


places as Providence may from time to time direct.” | 


These, with others who were gathered to them, and 
led by Rev. Mr. Gay, first held their services in a hall 
over what is now Swan’s store, corner of Washington 
and Wyman Streets, and were the beginning of the 


movement. ‘They were recovered some years after- 
wards by the First Church. It was some time after the 
separation before the parish settled upon a pastor. 
There seems to have been a short pastorate, beginning 
in 1824 and continuing a little past the annual parish 
meeting, in 1825, which bas found no mention on 
our tablet. The minister was Mr. Ephraim Randall. 
During this time some who had gone away showed a 
disposition to return, and a committee was chosen to 
confer with them. A vote was passed in 1825 to 
raise three hundred dollars for the ensuing year, three- 
fourths to be for Unitarian and one-fourth for Univer- 
salist preaching. In 1826 it was voted to have eight 
Unitarian and four months Universalist 
In 1827 it was voted to inform the Uni- 
tarian association of ‘ the penniless condition of the 
church,” and ask for help. October 8th, Mr. Wm. 
L. Stearns was invited to settle over the parish for 
five years, at four hundred and fifty dollars per year. 
Mr. Stearns accepted the call, and was ordained No- 
vember 21st. The next year the parish received help 
to the amount of one hundred and fifty dollars from 
the Evangelical Missionary Society. For the first 
time apparently the church was insured this year,— 
amount, three thousand dollars. On Dee. 13, 1830, 
a vote was passed to dismiss Rev. Mr. Stearns from 
the pastorate, ‘‘ his religious sentiments not agreeing 
with the majority of the society.” 


months 
preaching. 


Mr. Stearns was 
Unitarian, the prevailing sentiment was Universalist, 
and Rey. Massena B. Ballou, who still lives in town, 
and who had been invited to the pastorate before Mr. 
Stearns’ settlement, was again called, and immediately 
became pastor. The Unitarians now separated them- 
selves from the parish, and started a society of their 
own. It was not long, however, before they were 
back in the old church. The history of the parish 
under Mr. Ballou’s administration shows steady pros- 
perity. In 1832 a new bell was purchased, Lemuei 
Gay, Jonathan Linfield, and Wm. 8. Belcher being 
In 1834, voted that the 
inhabitants of East Stoughton have their proportion 
of the preaching. April 23, 1835, a new and dis- 
tinctively Universalist covenant, or ‘“‘ church agree- 
ment,” was adopted, and shortly after a constitution 
for the government of the church. Brother Robert 
Porter, Jr., and Brother Albert Johnson were elected 
deacons. 

In 1830 the church devotes the interest of its 
funds to the purchase of a Sunday-school library. At 
this time fifty-three members had joined the church 
In 1840 the church gave 


the committee to obtain it. 


and signed the covenant. 


398 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





its fund of two hundred and forty-four dollars to help 
pay a little parish debt. 


Capen was elected in his place. 
motion of Amasa Southworth, a vote was passed open- 
ing the house to temperance meetings when it should 
be sought for them. 
to General Convention, and the church began to feel 


the strength of membership in a larger organization. | 
In 1848 the parish found itself strong enough to re-_ 
model the church, at an expense of fifteen hundred | 


dollars. 


meetings in, and the vestry, called from that time | 
This year the pews be- | 


Chemung Hall, was created. 
gan to be let at auction. In 1853, as he writes at 
the time, “after an agreeable and happy connection 


of twenty-two years,’ Mr. Ballou closed his pastorate | 
The reason for his withdrawal was | 


with the parish. 


poor health. The committee appointed to draw up 


resolutions in view of Mr. Ballou’s resignation bore | 
unqualified testimony to his usefulness in the minis- | 


try, and his manly, Christian conduct everywhere. 
In their loss of a pastor, they had the best comfort 
possible to them, in the fact that the friend would re- 
main with them,—their neighbor still and fellow- 
worker. LHighty-four years old, Mr. Ballou is still a 
valued member of the parish, interested as ever in its 
work, and comforted by its faith. 


W. Dennis was called to the pastorate. Brother Al- 


bert Johnson was chosen deacon, and it was voted to | 

celebrate communion the first Sunday in each month. | 
: 

In 1855, Mr. Dennis seems to have been kept from 


his pulpit by sickness. A record in the parish book 
is something of an index to the feeling which existed 
toward him at the time. 
rant “‘to see if the parish will authorize their treas- 
urer to pay Rev. J. W. Dennis his salary for the quar- 
ter ending June 30th. Voted ‘yes’ unanimously.” 


In 1856 movement was first made for an organ. 


The organ was not procured until the next year, and 
the final report of the committee, rejoicing in the 


liberality of the parish and exulting chiefly in the fact | 
“that now the organ speaks for itself,’’ was not made | 


until 1858. 
rially, nothing of particular note took place until 1863, 


Steadily gaining, spiritually and mate- 


when Mr. Dennis, on account of sickness, banded in 
his resignation. Though willing to grant all neces- 
sary time for the treatment of his troubles, the parish 


was not willing to accept his resignation. 


In 1841 Deacon Johnson | 
requested dismission from the deaconate, and Thomas | 
In the next year, on | 


In 1843 candidates were elected | 





The upper part was finished off to hold | 


In 1854, Rev. J. | 





An article was in the war- | 


On | 
the committee appointed over this business were | 
Jesse Holmes, James Hill, Jr., Alanson Belcher, | 
James Atherton, Luther Leach, James Swan, Albert | 


Dickerman, S. W. Hayden, and Wm. 8S. Belcher. | 





They did | 


not accept it. Hven though they buried him before 
the end of the year, they never accepted his resigna- 
tion. They hold him among them now, and he works 
for them, making them better when they think of 
him. In 1864 Rey. A. St. John Chambré became 
pastor. In 1865 the afternoon service was dropped 
and the Sunday-school was held at the hour devoted 
to it. The success of Mr. Chambré’s pastorate at this 
stage appears in the improved state of the finances of 
the parish. From twelve hundred dollars the first 
year the minister's salary was easily advanced to two 
thousand the third, and in the sixth (1870) the par- 
ish was able to remodel its church at a cost of over 
This amount was paid 
within a little over two thousand dollars when the 
work was done, and the parish found itself in posses- 
sion of a most comfortable, appropriate, and beautiful 
The committee who had this 
work in charge were composed of the following gen- 
tlemen: Luther 8. Leach, Horace N. Tucker, Robert 
Porter, Jr., James Atherton, J. F. Ellis, Henry 
Ward, Rev. Mr. Chambré. In 1872, by the death 
of the clerk, the parish lost its organization, and ap- 


eleven thousand dollars. 


temple of worship. 


peal had to be made to a justice before a meeting 
could be called. 
April 1st of this year, after nine years of able and suc- 


Mr. Chambré resigned his pastorate 
cessful service. In highly eulogistic resolutions the 
parish has put on record its appreciation of him and 
In 1873 Joseph K. Masson, while yeta 
No event of par- 
ticular moment marks the period of his stay. Young, 


his service. 
student, was called to the pastorate. 


inexperienced as the new minister was, his ability was 
yet equal to holding the society up to the high stan- 
dard to which it had been raised, until, in 1875, he 
was reluctantly surrendered to a persistent society in 
In April following Rev. H. B. Smith 
With 
good ability and the hearty co-operation of the people, 


Connecticut. 
was unanimously invited to the pastorate. 


the promise of Mr. Smith’s success seemed bright. 
By his efforts, apparently, the parish membership was 
He rendered the society 
good service in raising the debt of about three thou- 
sand dollars in 1879. On account of domestic trouble, 
however, he was obliged to resign in November of this 
year. ‘he troubles of the minister were the misfor- 
tune of the society as well, and this, with two years 


considerably increased. 


of candidating and the loss of a few strong men by 
With good 
congregations and a large Sunday-school, it is yet 
strong, however, and hopes for further growth. The 
pastor is Rev. C. R. Tenney, settled Sept. 1, 1882. 
Among names prominent through all the history of 


death, materially depleted its strength. 


the society, and still connected with it, are Atherton, 





resort 


STOUGHTON. 


399 











Monk, and Talbot. The first clerk of church and | 
parish was a Talbot. The present clerk of the parish, — 
who has held the office with one short break since | 
1845, is Jabez Talbot, of the same family. Very | 
early other names appear, among which are Capen, | 
Southworth, Gay, Bird, Drake, Swan, Johnson, Wales, © 


Belcher, Holmes, Crane, and Paul. These names have 


given the parish its prosperity. It surely shall not | 


want prosperity while they remain. 


The records of the parish are the main source of | 


this sketch. These records have been remarkably 
well kept by the following list of clerks: George Tal- 
bot, succeeded in 1746 by Capt. Preserved Capen ; 
succeeded in 1758 by David Capen; succeeded in 
1769 by Benjamin Bird; succeeded in 1770 by 
Robert Capen ; succeeded in 1771 by David Capen ; 
succeeded in 1790 by Andrew Capen; succeeded in 
1793 by Peter Adams; succeeded in 1797 by Seth 
Morton; succeeded in 1800 by Abram Capen; suc- 
ceeded in 1805 by Jedediah Atherton; succeeded 
the same year by Seth Morton; succeeded in 1807 
by George Monk; succeeded in 1808 by Richard 
Talbot; succeeded in 1810 by Jonathan Battles ; 
succeeded in 1812 by Solomon Talbot; succeeded in 
1814 by John Toy; succeeded in 1816 by Elijah 
Atherton ; succeeded in 1818 by Abner Drake; suc- 
ceeded in 1821 by Jeremiah Capen; succeeded in 


1822 by Israel Guild; succeeded in 1823 by Elijah | 


Atherton ; succeeded in 1826 by James Swan; suc- 
ceeded in 1830 by Ahira Porter; succeeded in 1831 
by Enos Talbot; succeeded in 1845 by Jabez Talbot, 
Jr.; succeeded in 1867 by F. B. Upham; succeeded 
in 1871 by Luther Leach ; succeeded in 1875 by Jabez 
Talbot, Jr. 

Congregational Church.'—The present church 
organization is the result of a division in the old 
church, which occurred in 1822. At this time a 
majority of the society and a minority of the church 


became interested in Unitarian and Universalist doc- | 


trines. The majority of the church holding to the 
orthodox faith withdrew, and thus left the property 
We find the 
early records filled with the account of this separation 
This, 
however, is now only a matter of historical interest to 
either society, and they exist side by side with the 
utmost good feeling. 

The following is a list of pastors of the old church 
before the separation in 1822: 

Rev. Thomas Jones, of Dorchester, was called to 
the pastorate Sept. 1, 1744. 


in the possession of the other party. 


and the controversies that grew out of it. 


His stay could not have 





1 By Rev. C. L. Rotch. 


been over one year, and it does not appear that he was 
ever installed. 

Rev. Jedediah Adams was called to the pastorate 
Sept. 6, 1745, and installed Jan. 31, 1746. 

Rev. Edward Richmond was called to the pastorate 
May 28, 1792, installed Dec. 5, 1792, and was dis- 
missed, at his request, Jan. 5, 1817. 

Rev. Ebenezer Gay was called to the pastorate 
Sept. 21, 1817, installed Jan. 7, 1818, continued in 
office until the separation, in 1822, when he was regu- 
larly dismissed, and then ministered to the orthodox 
party for some time. 

There were seventy-eight members of the church 
in 1821, one year before the separation, twenty-seven 
males and fifty-one females. 

Nathan Drake and Samuel Tolman were deacons of 
the church, and remained with the orthodox party 
after the separation. 

The church met July 1, 1822, and appointed a day 
of “ fasting, humiliation, and prayer” on account of the 
difficulties of their situation. It was also voted at 
this time to call a council to advise in regard to the 
dismission of the pastor and the settlement of the diffi- 
culties which threatened such evil to the church. At 
the close of the public religious services of this day 
of fasting, a meeting of the church was called at the 
house of the pastor, at which the following motion, 
brought forward by Deacon Drake and laid upon the 
table at a former meeting, was passed, seven voting 
in the affirmative and two in the negative: 

‘“* In consequence of the exertions which have been 
made of late, by certain persons in this place, to de- 
prive us of the enjoyment of gospel privileges and the 
dispensation of those doctrines which are according 
to our belief and profession, in separating from us our 
present pastor; and this with the proposed design to 
substitute in the room thereof a more liberal and 
loose kind of preaching! Be it voted by this church 
that it is expedient for us to associate and form our- 
selves into a religious society, with certain other per- 
sons in this place who may be disposed to unite with 
us for the purpose of maintaining the gospel accord- 
ing to the principles and practices of our forefathers, 
who came to this country for the sake of establishing 
a church founded upon Christ and Him crucitied ; 
and of maintaining and defending the doctrine of 
grace, and that we henceforth hold public worship in 
such places as Providence may from time to time 
direct.” A council was called which approved the 
action of the church, while regretting that difficulties 
had arisen rendering the division necessary. We 
find at this time that Dr. ‘* Watts’ Psalm and Hymns” 


| were reintroduced. 


400 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The church first met for worship at the house | 


of Mr. Daniel Hayward, now Mr. Swan’s store. 


‘There in an upper room the church held their first | 


communion after the separation, and there their be- 
loved pastor preached to them his farewell sermon 
from Acts xx. 25.” 
worship in “a commodious hall” in the store belong- 
ing to Mr. William Holbrook. Here they continued 
until their new church was built and dedicated June 


1, 1825. 


After a few months they met for 


and spiritual, we do as a church hereby solemnly re- 
solve that we will abstain wholly from the use of 
them, except as a medicine; that we will not provide 
them either for company, or for those who may be 
engaged in our employment, and that we will make 
exertions to suppress both the use and the traffic of 
them throughout the community.” 

Dr. Park resigned the pastoral office May 24, 1840, 


but at the request of the church he continued with 


The dedicatory sermon was preached by 


Rev. Ebenezer Gay, the church never having been in | 


a condition to settle a new pastor. 


The church re- | 


cord their gratitude to the neighboring ministers and | 


churches, and also to the Domestic Missionary Society 
for financial aid. They were blessed with the labors 
of a number of devoted ministers. Among these was 
Mr. Job Cushman, during whose labors the church 
was blessed with ‘a small revival, but however small, 
a greater one than was ever known in the town be- 


? 


fore.’ 


| to the pastor. 


Rev. Calvin Park, D.D., was invited to supply the | 


pulpit in May, 1825, and in October of the same year 
was called to the pastorate, which invitation he ac- 
cepted. A council was called for his installation, and 


convened Dec. 13, 1826. This was an exceedingly 


large and able council, consisting of eighteen churches. | 


In this installation Rev. John Ferguson, of Eust At- 


ard S. Storrs, of Braintree, made the installing prayer ; 
Rey. Elisha Fish, of Wrentham, gave the charge to 
the pastor ; Rev. Ebenezer Burgess, of Dedham, gave 
the right hand of fellowship, and Rev. William Cogs- 
well made the address to the people. 





The weekly prayer-meeting, to be held in different | 


parts of the society, was instituted by vote of the 
church March 25,.1827. On May 13th of the same 
year the Sabbath-school was opened and Mr. Samuel 
He hay- 


Tolman chosen as the first superintendent. 


ing declined to serve, the pastor was elected Oct. 15, | 


1829. The church adopted the articles of faith and 
covenant of the church of Dedham instead of that 
under which they were originally organized. 


The church voted, Nov. 20, 1831, to hold a pro- | 


tracted meeting. Those mectings were well attended, 
and resulted in great good. ‘Thirty persons seem to 
have united with the church as the result of those 
meetings. The church took the following action on 
temperance July 19,1832: “ As the friends of God 


are at the present time making great efforts to pre- 


them until his successor was chosen. 

At a council held Nov. 4, 1840, Dr. Park was dis- 
missed, and Rev. Henry Eddy, who had been called 
by the church, was installed. Seven churches united 
in this council. In the installing services, Rev. Paul 
Couch, of North Bridgewater, made the introductory 
prayer. Rev. R. 8S. Storrs, D.D., of Braintree, 
preached the sermon. Rey. Calvin Hitchcock, D.D., 
of Randolph, made the installing prayer. Rev. Eb- 
enezer Burgess, D.D., of Dedham, gave the charge 
Rey. Edward Cleveland, of Stoneham, 
gave the right hand of fellowship, and Rev. D. A. 
Grosvener made a concluding prayer. Friday, Jan. 1, 
1841, was observed as a day of fasting, on account of 
the low state of religion. These days of fasting were 
often appointed by the church. 

Some difficulty having arisen in regard to Rev. 


| Henry Eddy’s dismission, he requested the church to 
tleboro’, made the introductory prayer; Rev. Dr. Em- | 
mond, of Franklin, preached the sermon ; Rev. Rich- | 


These 
matters were afterwards satisfactorily adjusted, and 
he was regularly dismissed by a council held Aug. 


unite with him in calling a mutual council. 


| 13, 1844. 


At a meeting of the church held June 11, 1846, 
Rev. Wm. W. Cornwell was called to minister to 
them as acting pastor, and he seems to have served 
the church for at least one year. 

The Monthly Foreign Missionary Concert was insti- 
tuted June 11, 1846. 

The church met Sept. 26, 1850, and voted unani- 
mously to call the Rev. Albert Perry, of New Ipswich, 
to become their pastor. 

The council called for the installation of the Rev. 
Albert Perry, consisting of eleven churches, met Jan. 
8, 1851. 


The following persons participated: Invocation 


| and reading of the Scriptures by Rey. L. R. Phillips, 


of Sharon ; introductory prayer by Rev. Paul Couch, 


_ of North Bridgewater; sermon by Professor Edwards 


vent the use of distilled liquors, and believing the use | 


of them as a drink is a sin against God and essentially 


hurtful to the best interests of man, both temporal | 


A. Park, D.D., of Andover Theological Seminary ; 
charge to the pastor by Rev. Samuel Lee, of New Ips- 
wich ; right hand of fellowship by Rev. Horace James 
Wrentham ; charge to the people by Rev. D. Hunt- 
ington, of North Bridgewater. Concluding prayer by 
Rev. Luther Sheldon, of Easton. 





STOUGHTON. 


401 





The new church was dedicated Wednesday, June bers received from other churches shall publicly as- 


28, 1852, a large number being present. The fol- 
lowing were the principal participants in the services: 
Invocation and reading of Scriptures by Rev. L. R. 
Phillips, of Sharon, Mass.; introductory prayer by 
Rey. S. R. Eastman, Berkley, Mass.; sermon by Rev- — 
Albert Perry, pastor, text 1 Thess. v. 21; dedicatory — 
prayer by Rev. Luther Sheldon, D.D., of Easton ; 
closing prayer by Rev. D. Huntington, of North 
Bridgewater. 

The church, fifty-eight by seventy-five feet, will 
seat five hundred people, and cost about twelve thou- 
sand dollars. 


sent to the covenant of this church. 


At a meeting of the church, held on fast day, | 


April 8, 1852, it was voted to hold the annual meet- 
ings on such day as the pastor might designate. Their 
custom had been heretofore to hold such meetings on 
the day of public fast. 


12, 1854, it seems that the church was then using 
unfermented wine at the communion. 
On account of failing health the Rev. Albert Perry 


resigned his pastorate June 21, 1856. The church, 


with much regret, felt compelled to accept his resig- | 


nation. The following is found among the resolu- | 
tions passed at the time: 

“ Resolved, That an acquaintance of five years has | 
added to our respect for his superior intellectual en- 
dowments, a strong love for the peculiar sympathy, 
kindness, and Christian charity of his heart, and that 
as it is our earnest wish, so it shall be our fervent 


prayer, that a gracious Providence may yet. restore 
him to health, and spare him for much useful service 
to the church.” 

At a meeting of the church, held Feb. 17, 1856, | 
Rev. Thomas Wilson was called to the pastorate of | 
the church. He having accepted the invitation of | 
-the church, a council was called which should act in | 
the dismission of Rev. Albert Perry and in the in- 
stallation of his successor. ‘The council, which met | 
March 13, 1856, represented eleven churches. 

The installation services were as follows: Invoca- 
tion and Scriptural reading, Rev. Lyman White, of | 
Easton; sermon by Rey. Leonard Swain; installing 
prayer by Rev. L. R. Phillips, of Sharon; charge 
to the pastor by Rev. Amos Blanchard, D.D., of | 
Lowell; right hand of fellowship by Rev. James H. | 
Means, of Dorchester; address to the people by Rev. | 


Charles L. Mills, of North Bridgewater; concluding | 


| 





_ ballot. 
| 1, 1871, it was voted to substitute, on trial for six 


The “ penny 
contribution” in the Sabbath-school was inaugurated 
at the annual meeting April 16, 1857. By vote of 
the annual meeting, April 15, 1858, the time of such 
meeting was fixed at the close of the preparatory lecture 
before the January communion. 

A communication was received from the Methodist 
Episcopal Church at Stoughton, at the annual meet- 
ing in 1866, returning thanks for providing them 
with a place of worship for some months while they 
were “houseless,’ and praying that the blessing of 
God might rest upon both societies in their individ- 
ual labors and common sympathies and interests. 

The week of prayer was first observed by the church 
in 1868 by vote of the annual meeting. By vote of 
the church, at a meeting held after communion ser- 


_ vice, March 7, 1869, it was voted to introduce “Songs 
By a motion and discussion in a meeting held Oct. | 


of the Sanctuary” instead of the ‘Church Psalmody,” 
that congregational singing might be cultivated 
thereby. By a vote of the church, May 26, 1870, 


| the use of the church was granted to the Universal- 


ist society while they were remodeling their house. 
It was voted by the church that fellowship meet- 
ing be held at the the close of preparatory lectures as 
recommended by the Norfolk Conference of churches, 
Noy. 13, 1870. The church received a communica- 


_tion from the Universalist society, returning thanks 


for the use of the church during the previous six 
months. This letter was most kindly written. 

At the annual meeting held Dee. 30, 1870, it was 
voted that the officers of the church be chosen by 
At a meeting held after the communion, Jan. 


months, a “‘ Bible Service,” instead of the afternoon 
preaching,—yeas 23, nays 6. At this time the pas- 
tor was chosen superintendent of the Sabbath-school 
upon the resignation of A. H. Drake. The church 
voted April 30, 1871, to observe the communion at 


the close of the morning service. It was voted May 


| 5, 1872, to continue permanently the “ Bible Service.” 
) ) p y 


By vote of the annual meeting, Jan. 9, 1873, the 
pastor was authorized to issue a pastoral letter to each 
member of the church as recommended by the several 
conferences. 

Feb. 15, 1874, the church voted Monday, the 
16th inst., as a day of fasting and prayer for the pres- 
ence of the Holy Spirit in His converting and sane- 


tifying power. A petition was also drawn up, and 


prayer by Rev. Paul Couch, of North Bridgewater. | signed by all persons present, requesting Rey. A. B. 
At the annual meeting of the church, held April | Earle to come and hold a series of meetings in union 


10, 1856, the “ prudential committee of the church” 
was first instituted. It was also voted that all mem- 
26 


with the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
July 3, 1874, the church voted that the pastor and 


402 





deacons take what measures they may think advisable 
towards obtaining unfermented “fruit of the vine” 
for use at the communion. Oct. 31, 1875, Rey. 
Thomas Wilson resigned his pastoral relation over the 
church, to take effect March 13, 1876, the completion 
of the twentieth year of his ministry to the church. 

Noy. 11, 1875, the church invited the B. B. M. 
©. Association to hold a series of meetings in connec- 
tion with the church. : 

On Feb. 11, 1876, the church accepted the resig- 
nation of their pastor. We find this among the reso- 
lutions passed at the time: “ Fesolved, That we rec- 
ognize in him a faithful disciple of the Master 
whose gospel he has so long preached among us; a 
man zealous in the discharge of the duties of his 
sacred office, firm in his convictions of right, quick 
and constant in his sympathies with those who suffer 
in body or in mind; a safe counselor and a true 
friend, an open and decided enemy of wickedness in 
places high as well as low; and while preaching in 
all purity the doctrine of salvation through repent- 
ance and faith in God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, 
exemplifying the power and excellence of that faith in 
his own daily walk and godly conversations before 
men.” 

A council met by call of the church March 7, 
1876, and in a regular manner approved of the action 
of the church in accepting the resignation of their 
pastor and most cordially recommended him to the 
churches. 

The church received, June 1, 1876, the revision 
of their committee on revision of constitution, ar- 
ticles of faith, etc.; this report was finally com- 
pleted and accepted June 22d of the same year. 
was voted at a meeting of the church, held June 22, 
1876, to call Mr. John Herbert, of Peacham, Vt., to 
become their minister,—this was unanimous. 

At a meeting of the church, Feb. 14, 1877, it was 
voted to receive members from other churches upon 





vote of the church. 
Ata meeting held March 14, 1877, a new creed 
and covenant, reported from a committee previously 


appointed, were adopted, and with slight alterations | 


have been used by the church since. 

At the annual meeting, 1878, committees were 
chosen for the following purposes: Visiting the sick, 
on charity, and on spiritual condition of the people. 
At a meeting held soon after this a committee on 
singing was appointed. They reported a diversity of 
opinion. It was finally voted to have congregational 
singing, led by a choir of young people. 
mittee on calling was raised at a meeting held March 


27, 1878. 


Ee: 


A com- | 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





. Ata meeting held Jan. 9, 1879, L. M. Flint was 
made a committee to invite the B. B. M. C. Associa- 
tion to labor with the church, and Deacon Clapp a 
committee to invite the Methodist Episcopal Church 
to unite in this work. 

The pastor resigned on account of trouble with his 
throat. At a council called to advise in regard to 
Rev. Z. Herbert’s dismission, the action of the church 
was approved, and the following resolution was passed : 
‘We find Brother Herbert to be a wise counselor, a 
faithful and efficient pastor, and a sincere and earnest 
Christian.” 

At a meeting of the church held Dee. 18, 1879, it 
was unanimously voted to extend a call to Rev. D. O. 
Clark, who had supplied the pulpit for three months. 
This call was not accepted, but Rev. D. O. Clark con- 
tinued to act as pastor for two years longer. Ata 
meeting held Jan. 8, 1880, the deacons and pruden- 
tial committee were instructed to meet with the pastor 
the first Monday of each month, to attend to any busi- 
ness which may come before them. 

At the annual meeting, 1881, it was voted to in- 
crease the number of deacons to three, and that they 
should be so elected that one should retire each year. 
The church renewed their call to Rev. D. O. Clark 
to become their pastor ; but he was still unwilling to 
accept. Jan. 19, 1882, the church, by unanimous 
vote, extended a call to Rev. P. B. Wing to become 
their pastor. 

At a meeting of the church held April 27, 1882, 
it was voted to call Rev. C. L. Rotch, of New Sharon, 
Me., to become their pastor. This call was accepted, 
and he has continued in office since, being installed by 
council the following October. 

The following is a list of deacons, and when elected, 
so far as appears on the records: Nathan Drake, Sam- 
uel Tolman, in office at the time of separation, 1822 ; 
Ebenezer Drake, Dec. 25, 1832; Fisher Gay, Jan. 4, 
1833; Benjamin Clapp, Feb. 1, 1854; Ezekiel Dick- 
erman, Sept. 1, 1865; Nathaniel Gay, 1873 ; Samuel 
Clapp, 1878; HE. M. Norton, Jan. 19, 1881; Nathaniel 
Gay, Jan. 19, 1882, re-election; Samuel Clapp, Jan. 
19, 1883, re-election. 

The Sunday-school superintendents, so far as they 


appear on the records, and time of election, have been 
as follows: Deacon Samuel Tolman, 1827; Rev. 
Calvin Park, D.D., 1827; Mr. Edwards A. Park, 
1828; Mr. Stilman Drake, 1829; Mr. Joseph Gates, 
1829; Mr. Fisher Gay, 1830; Mr. Francis Sumner, 
| 1832; Mr. D. Hayward; Deacon Ebenezer Drake, 
1839; Dr. Cyrus S. Mann, 1852; Mr. S. Gardner 
| Pettee, 1861; Mr. Albert H. Drake, 1870; Rev. 
| Thomas Wilson, 1872; Mr. Levi M. Flint, 1876; 








STOUGHTON. 





403 





Rev. John Herbert, 1877; Mr. L. M. Flint, 1878; 
Mr. E. M. Norton, 1880; Mr. L. M. Flint, 1880; 
Rey. D. O. Clark, 1881 ; Deacon E. M. Norton, 1882. 

Methodist Episcopal Church.'—Methodism in 
Stoughton dates back to 1810. Occasional services 
were held about that time by Rev. John Tinkham, a 
local preacher, resident in Haston. Mr. Tinkham 
made frequent visits to the sick in this vicinity, and 
his labors in this direction were so appreciated that 
he was invited to hold regular preaching services at 
the house of Mr. Hezekiah Gay. 

The first Methodist class was formed Jan. 30, 
1812, by Rev. Artemas Stebbins, preacher in charge 
of the Mansfield and Easton Circuit. The class con- 
sisted of five members, viz.: Atherton Belcher, James 
Smith, Rebecca Gay, Deborah Leonard, and William 
Smith. With the organization of this class, Stough- 
ton (Factory Village) was added to the list of appoint- 
ments on the Mansfield and Easton Circuit. In 1818 
the membership had increased to forty, and a church 
building was erected at Factory Village (now West 
Stoughton) at a cost of about seven hundred dollars. 

In 1827 another class was formed at North Stough- 
ton. In 1834, Stoughton became a station by itself, 
but was united to North Stoughton in the list of ap- 
pointments, and one preacher supplied both places. 
The preaching services at North Stoughton were 
usually held at the house of Mr. Elijah Gill. 

In 1835 it was decided to build a new church at 
the centre of the town. Some of the North Stoughton 
society did not concur, and the result was the erection 
of a new church building in each place. The church 
at the centre cost about two thousand two hundred 
dollars, and was dedicated Sept. 16,1835. The North 
Stoughton society failed to receive a preacher from 
Conference the following year, and became a Protes- 
tant Methodist Church. 

In 1866 the present church-edifice was erected. 
It is finely located on one of the principal streets, 
and is every way suited to the uses of the society. 
A parsonage is also owned by the church, subject to 
a small annuity during the lifetime of the donor, and 
otherwise both church and parsonage are free from 
debt. 

There is alsoa Roman Catholic Church in Stough- 
ton, a Methodist Church at North Stoughton, and a 
Baptist Church at East Stoughton, but we have been 
unable to secure any information concerning them. 





1 By Rev. C. H. Ewer. 











Cie Ase keke CE 
STOUGHTON—( Continued), 


The Press—The Stoughton Sentinel—Masonic—Rising Star 
Lodge, F. and A. M.—Mount Zion Royal Arch Chapter— 
Stoughton Lodge, No. 72, I. O. O. F.—The Boot and Shoe 
Interest—Civil History—Representatives and Town Clerks 
from 1731 to 1884—Military Record—Number of Men Furn- 
ished—Amount of Money Expended for War Purposes. 


SATURDAY morning, Nov. 10, 1860, there ap- 
peared the initial number of a newspaper, published 
and edited by William H. Jewell, and called The 
Stoughton Sentinel. This issue was printed in the 
neighboring town of Canton. It was quite an ambi- 
tious start, and its first numbers indicated interest and 
Born in times of great national troubles, 
The editor be- 
lieved in the right of secession, and this fact doubt- 
less had much to do with the early demise of the en- 
terprise. Saturday morning, Nov. 7, 1863, Messrs. 
William W. and C. A. Wood, again taking the name 
of Sentinel, issued a bright, entertaining sheet, its ob- 
ject ‘to entertain, to instruct and improve.” This 
enterprise continued until the 15th of October, 1864, 
when the paper appeared as a half sheet, with the fol- 
lowing notice at the editorial head: “ Both of the 
editors of the Stoughton Sentinel having gone to war 
for 100 days, the paper will be published in its pres- 
ent shape during their absence.’ The paper ap- 
peared until Sept. 9, 1865, when it yielded to death’s 
call, not being sufficiently supported to pay. Messrs. 
Pratt & Hasty, of Randolph, again took up the 
broken thread in 1870, and printed it in Randolph. 
Mr. H. E. Wilkins was identified with this move- 
ment and lent it substantial aid. Soon Mr. Hasty, 
becoming alarmed for his precedence with outsiders, 
removed to Stoughton. Mr. Hasty continued the 
paper until 1877, when he died. Mr. A. P. Smith 
then became editor and proprietor, and couatinued 
until August, 1883. In September, 1882, Mr. L. W. 
Standish, a Stoughton boy, came from. Wakefield, 
where he had served apprenticeship as a printer, and 
where he had evinced ability as a writer, and took 
Under his 
well-directed efforts the circulation of the paper was 


enterprise. 
their echo is seen in its columns. 


charge of the editorial work of the paper. 


doubled in a few months, and it soon became well 
known and quoted in these parts. In August, 1883, 
Mr. Standish purchased the paper and office of Mr. 
Smith, and is now at its head. The paper has about 
one thousand circulation weekly and a large advertis- 
ing patronage. The Sentinel is now known as hay- 
ing an opinion on all matters relating to Stoughton’s 


welfare, and its position carries weight. It occupies 


404 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





a high place among the list of country papers, and is | 


widely quoted. 

Rising Star Lodge’ was instituted Dec. 10,1799, 
with the following charter members: Peter Adams, 
Benjamin Capen, Joseph Richards, Nathan Guill, 
Abraham Capen, David Wadsworth, William Capen, 
Amos Upham, John Atherton, Jr., and Consider 
Southworth. 


The first regular meeting after the charter was | 


obtained was held at the house of Lemuel Drake, in 


| 
| 


Stoughton, on the eve of the 9th of January, | 
| Leonard A. Thayer, Sec. ; Henry A. Standish, Chap. ; 


1800, and the following officers were chosen: Peter 
Adams, M.; Benjamin Capen, S. W.; Joseph 
Richards, J. W.; Nathan Gill, Treas.; Abraham 
Capen, See.; David Wadsworth, Sr. D.; William 


Capen, Jr. D.; Amos Upham, First Steward; John — 
| Present membership, eighty-two. 


Atherton, Jr., Second Steward. 


Permission was given by the Grand Lodge to re- | 


move the lodge to Canton, March 15, 1810. It was 





thence removed from Canton to Sharon, June 13, | 


1814, and then back to Stoughton Dec. 27, 1817. 


The first time the lodge appeared in public was on | 


the 22d of February, 1800, on which occasion they 
joined a procession composed of militia, visitors, and 
school-boys, ‘‘to pay funeral honors to their late 
brother, George Washington, late general of the 
armies of America.” 


The procession moved to the | 


burying-place in this town, then back to the meeting- | 


house, where an oration was delivered by the Rey. 
Edward Richmond, D.D., suitable to the occasion. 

It has always been said with pride by the old 
members that while many lodges surrendered their 
charters during the Anti-Masonic excitement of 1831, 
this lodge never missed a meeting, as the records will 
show. 

The Masters of Rising Star Lodge of Free and 
Accepted Masons from its organization to the present 
follows: Peter Adams, 1800 
Capen, 1805-6; Amos Upham, 

Crane, 1809-11; Thomas Kol- 
Consider Southworth, 


time have been as 
—5; Benjamin 
1807-8 ; Elijah 
lock, 1812-13; 


1814-15; | 


William Dunbar, 1816; Elijah Atherton, 1817-20; 


Willard Gould, 1821; Joel Talbot, 1822; Thomas 
Crane, 1823; Lemuel Gay, 1824-25, 1852; Jon- 
athan Reynolds, 1826-27 ; Nathaniel Blake, 1828- 
1830-31, 1851; Azel 
1832-34, 1850; Ansel Capen, 1835-36; Samuel 
Chandler, 1837-39; Consider A. Southworth, 
1840-41; John H. Wales, 1842-43; Simeon T. 
Drake, 1844-46; Ebenezer W. Tolman, 1847-48 ; 
Rey. Benjamin Huntoon, 1849; George Talbot, 


29; James Swan, Capen, 


1 Contributed by Mr. Leonard A. Thayer. 


1853-57; Enos Talbot, 1858-60; George B. 
Blake, 1861-62; Jonathan R. Gay, 1863-64, 


1868; Benjamin Ward, 1865-66 ; Bradford Kinsley, 


1867 ; George F. Walker, 1869-70, 1874; Joshua 
Britton, 1871-73; Leander G. Britton, 1875-76 ; 
Elmer W. Walker, 1877-78 ; James H. May, 1879- 
80; Robert Jackson, 1881-82; Albert E. Standish, 
1883. 

The following are the officers for 1884: Albert 
K. Standish, M.; Ewen Boyden, Jr.,S. W.; Gurdon 
Southworth, J. W.; Washington Tower, Treas. ; 


George F. Walker, M.; Ira F. Burnham, S. D.; 
George O. Wentworth, J. D.; H. Augustus Monk, 
Sr. Steward; William Curtis, Jr. Steward; William 
Atherton, Organist; James W. Richardson, Tyler. 


Mount Zion Royal Arch Chapter, F.and A. M.’— 
The membership of Rising Star Lodge of Freemasons 
in Stoughton comprised very many of the leading men 
in the vicinity, and its reputation for good Masonic 
work was well known. Many of its leading members 
had become Royal Arch Masons, and their love of 
the craft culminated in a meeting at the Masonic 
Hall in Stoughton on Oct. 12, 1820. The meeting 
was opened, as all great and good undertakings 
should be, by first invoking the divine blessing. This 
was done by Rev. Thomas Rich. The petition 
for the charter was then read, and it was decided to 
present the same tc the Grand Chapter in December. 
The following were selected as officers: H. P., 
John Edson ; K., Elijah Atherton ; 8., Thomas Tol- 
man; ©. of H., David Manley; P. S., Timothy 
Dorman; R. A. C., Jonathan Reynolds; Treas., 
Royal Turner; Sec., Arternas Kennedy; M. 3d 
Veil, Joel Talbot; M. 2d Veil, Consider South- 
worth; M. 1st Veil, Luther M. Harris; Ist 
Steward, Leonard Kinsley; 2d Steward, Leonard 
Alden; Chap., Rev. Thomas Rich. No Tyler was 
selected. Among the petitioners were also Abram 
Capen and Benjamin Capen, of Stoughton, and Wm. 
Dunbar, of Canton. 
a committee to get the approbation of Adoniram 


Consider Southworth was chosen 


Chapter, and Thomas Tolman to obtain the approba- 
tion of St. Andrew’s and St. Paul’s Chapters, and 
John Edson, Elijah Atherton, and Thomas Tolman 
were appointed to present the petition to the Grand 
Chapter, and the same were appointed to call the first 
meeting, if the petition was granted. 

The dispensation was issued Dec. 13, 1820, and was 
signed by Jonathan Gage, Grand High Priest, John 





2 By Samuel Wales Hodges. 





STOUGHTON. 


405 





J. Loring, Grand Secretary. The chapter immedi- | which was judiciously selected, and well adapted to 


ately went to work with the officers as named above, 
and its first candidate was Maj. Lemuel Gay, for many 
years postmaster, and a leading citizen of the town; 


closely followed by Nathaniel Blake, the leading | 


owner in the stage line from Taunton (through 
Stoughton) to Boston; Richard Talbot and Mather 
Holmes, whose names frequently occur on the town 
records; Abel Wentworth, of Canton; Robert L. 
Killan, of Hanson; and others from Bridgewater, 
Randolph, and other towns in the vicinity. Among 
the first officers were John Edson, a man of charac- 
ter; Elijah Atherton, for many years the leading trial 
justice of the vicinity: Thomas Tolman, a lawyer, for 
a long period treasurer of the Grand Lodge F. and A. 
M. of Massachusetts ; Timothy Dorman, of Randolph, 
whose initials, T. D., will be long remembered in con- 
nection with the old-fashioned clay tobacco-pipes; 
Royal Turner, of Randolph, many years president of 
Randolph Bank ; Consider Southworth, the pioneer 


manufacturer of Southworth sewing-cotton and loom- | 


harness twine; Capt. Jonathan Reynolds; and Joel 
Talbot, ever to be remembered as good citizens and 
active townsmen ; and Benjamin Capen and his brother 
Deacon Abram Capen, the owner of the hotel, and 
who furnished the hall for the Masonic fraternity. 

The work of the chapter was continued with “ fer- 
vency and zeal,’ so that about twenty were added 
during the following six months, rendering the suc- 
cess of the chapter beyond question. 

On the 


Grand Chapter of Massachusetts. 
day for the craft, and the citizens of the town. 


This was a gala 


The 


record says, ‘“ The officers of the Grand Chapter were | 
received by the committee of the chapter, at the | 


,house of Rev. Mr. Gay, resident clergyman, and es- 


corted to the Masonic Hall. - A procession, consisting | 
of nearly four hundred members of the order, and a | 


large number of ladies, was formed, and all marched 


to the meeting-house of Rev. Mr. Gay, where the | 
ceremonies of consecration and installation were per- | 
formed, agreeably to the ancient forms and usages of | 


Freemasonry. 
Companion Joseph Richardson; prayer was offered 
by Richard Carraque ; music by the Stoughton choir, ' 





1 This Stoughton choir was the “ Musical Society in Stough- 
ton,’ organized about 1762 to furnish music for church service, 
in which they were remarkably successful. 
existence to-day, and in a very flourishing condition. 
and is confined to citizens of Stoughton. In about 1786 another 
society was formed out of this, called the ‘ Stoughton Musical 


The society is in 
It was 


An address was delivered by Rev. | 


the occasion. After the close of the services in the 
meeting-house, the procession was reformed, and they 
proceeded to the bower, and partook of a dinner pre- 
pared by Companion Abram Capen. The total ex- 
penses of the occasion, except the dinner, were twenty- 
eight dollars and fifty-five cents. 

The first death of a member was that of Leonard 
Alden, of Randolph, in August, 1822, and Royal 
Turner, of Randolph, was elected to prepare and deliver 
the eulogy. This was subsequently carried out at the 
meeting-house. Prayer was offered by Rev. Benja- 
min Hunton, of Canton, and the singing was by 
the Stoughton choir, who were thanked for their 
services. 

On the 24th of June, 1825, the chapter partici- 
pated in the ceremonies of laying the corner-stone of 
the new court-house in Dedham. Nov. 8, 1824, the 
chapter gave its consent to the formation of a new 


| chapter in Medway; Nov. 17, 1828, for a new chap- 





22d of August, 1821, a charter having | 
been granted, Mount Zion Royal Arch Chapter was | 
duly consecrated at Stoughton by the officers of the | 


i} 





ter in Dedham; May 4, 1860, for a new chapter at 
Foxboro’ ; Oct. 18, 1861, for a new chapter in Bridge- 
water; Feb. 25, 1870, for a new chapter in Hyde Park. 
The charter members of the above new chapters were 
largely from Mount Zion Chapter. 

One episode of the old Anti-Masonic political times 
may be recorded. During the great excitement, in 
1831, feeling ran high in Stoughton, and Anti-Ma- 
sonry was triumphant. At a town-meeting held in 
Stoughton April 4, 1831, the selectmen presented a 

This list was referred 
A second list was dis- 
posed of in the same way, when the third revise was 
presented to the town. They voted to accept it after 
striking off the names of Leonard Hodges, Elijah 
Atherton, Jonathan Reynolds, and Benjamin Capen, 
and substituting therefor Ruel Packard, Thomas 
Capen, Daniel Hayward, and Eliphalet Gay. Al- 
though nothing is said in the record of the question 
of Masonry, the people of the town and the Masons 
understood that these names were stricken off because 
they were Masons, and the substitutes were elected 
because they were Anti-Masons. In the light and 
intelligence of the present age it seems impossible 
that such a thing could have occurred. At the next 
meeting of the chapter, held April 25, 1831, three 
applications for the degrees conferred by the chapter 
were received. 

June 21, 1831, the chapter voted a donation to 
the Seamen’s Friend Society of Boston. This is but 


list of persons to act as jurors. 
back to them for revision. 








Society,” which drew membership from the surrounding towns 
These two are supposed to be the oldest musical so- 
(See page 4 of this work.) 


as well. 
cieties in this country. 


406 


one of a series of donations to charitable objects by 
the chapter, they having cheerfully accepted and 
honestly carried out the benevolent instructions of 
Masonry. 

Mount Zion Chapter has, during more than sixty 


years of life, contained within its membership some > 


of the brightest lights of Freemasonry, and its own 
star has never been dimmed during any of the years 
of the crusade against the craft. Its roll of member- 
ship contains the names of those who have been the 
most active in their localities in all good works, and 


its own large charities have been administered with- 


out ostentation. No stain has marred the purity of 
the banner it threw to the breeze at its birth, and no 
doubt its future life will be a repetition of its past 
with the good even more abundant. 

Stoughton Lodge, No. 72, I. 0. 0. F.,! was insti- 
tuted May 5, 1845, with the following charter mem- 
bers: Elisha Page, Elbridge Jones, Ezra Stearns, 
Williams W. Hawes, Luther Hayden, Josiah Adkins, 
William Hayden, John F. Craig, Hosea Osgood, Jr. 

The following are the names of the Past Grands 
who are members of this lodge at the present time: 
R. Warren Jones, George W. Hussey, Samuel Capen, 


) 


Francis M. Ellms, Warren P. Bird, Henry W. Dar- | 


ling, Robert Burnham, Henry W. Mead, Henry 
Drake, Thomas W. Bright, Joseph D. Jones, Charies 
H. Drake, Jr., Chester Clark, Philip B. Whiting, 
Abraham F. Lunt, Wilbur F. Fuller, Daniel P. Gray, 
A. St. John Chambré, Lysander Wood, Edward W. 
Stevens, Nathan R. Lothrop, Newell S. Atwood, W. 
Holmes, Clarence W. Mead, Albert E. Standish, 
Henry H. Waugh, Hiram Smith, Melvin O. Walker, 
F. Walker, Albert H. Whiting, Charles Tenny, Oscar 
A. Marden, J. W. Richardson, Edwin M. Norton, 
Benjamin F. Pierce, Henry A. Standish, Charles S. 
Young. 

The present officers are: N. G., H. I. Wood; V. 
G., Frank F. Smith; Rec. Sec., Wilbur F. Fuller; 
Per. Sec., James W. Richardson ; Treas., Charles R. 
Seaver; Trustees, N. S. Atwood, Charles Tenney, 
Abram F. Lunt. 

Number of members at present time, one hundred 
and twenty-eight. 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





1848.—Jan. 3, Hosea Osgood, Jr.; July 3, Ahira Porter. 
1849.—Jan. 1, Jedediah Tucker; July 2, William Tozer. 
1850.—Jan. 7, Elihu Withington; July 1, Obadiah Jenkins. 
1851.—Jan. 6, George W. Hayden; July 7, Jeremiah L. Capen. 
1852.—Jan. 5, James Ingham; July 19, N. Withington, Jr. 
1853.—July 7, George Marden. 

1854.--Jan. 5, Samuel W. Hodges; July 6, George W. Hayden. 
1855.—Jan. 1, William H. Hardin; July 5, Abraham F, Lunt. 
1856.—Jan. 7, E. 8. Anderson; July 1, W. H. Anderson. 
1857.—Jan., Charles R. Hill; July, Henry Drake. 
1858.—Jan., Henry W. Mead; July, R. Warren Jones. 
1859.—Jan., Joseph A. Foster; July, A. E. Richardson, 
1860.—Jan., Leonard Drake; July, Wilbur F. Fuller. 
1861.—Jan., George B. Blake; July, Samuel Capen. 
1862.—Jan., George W. Hussey; July, Ezra T. Upham. 
1863.—Jan., William H. Hardin; July, Samuel Capen. 
1864.—Jan., E. S. Anderson; July, Thomas W. Bright. 
1865.—Jan., Joseph D. Jones; July, J. M. Bird. 

1866.—Jan., Henry W. Mead; July, A. St. John Chambré. 
1867.—Jan., F. A. Stevens; July, A.St. John Chambré. 
1868.—Jan., Warren P. Bird; July, Charles H. Drake, Jr. 
1869.—Jan., Frank M. Ellms; July, Henry H. Bromade. 
1870.—Jan., Henry W. Darling; July, M. A. Linfield. 
1871.—Jan., Daniel P. Grey; July, N. R. Lothrop. 
1872.—Jan., Chester Clark; July, Lysander Wood. 
1873.—Jan., Edward W. Stevens; July, James W. Richardson. 
1874.—Jan., N.S. Atwood; July, C. Farrell. 

1875.—Jan., Philip B. Whiting; July, Charles Tenney. 
1876.—Jan., James H. May; July, Melvin O. Walker. 
1877.—Jan., Wadsworth Holmes; July, Benjamin F. Pierce. 
1878.—Jan., Albert E. Standish; July, Albert H. Whiting. 
1879.—Jan., George F. Walker; July, E. M. Norton. 
1880,—Jan., Clarence W. Mead; July, Henry H. Waugh. 
1881.—Jan., Oscar A. Marden; July, Charles S. Young. 
1882.—Jan., Henry A. Standish; July, Hiram Smith. 
1883.—Jan., Robert Burnham; July, H. I. Wood, 
1884.—Jan., Frank F. Smith, the present Noble Grand. 

Past Grand Samuel W. Hodges is Past Grand Master of the 
Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and Past Grand George W. Hay- 
den is the present Grand Herald of the Grand Lodge of Massa- 
chusetts. 


The Boot and Shoe Interest.’"—The principal in- 
dustry of Stoughton, for the past fifty years or more, 
has been the manufacture of boots and shoes. 

The business was begun by John Linfield in 1816, 
who started the manufacture of shoes in the building 
afterwards owned and occupied by Robert Porter, and 
which was removed, in 1880, to make room for the 
erection of the town-house. A somewhat remarkable 
incident in connection with this fact is, that Jesse 
Holmes, the present postmaster of this village, worked 
at stitching shoes for Mr. Linfield more than sixty 


The following is a list of the Past Grands of | years ago, on the same site where he now daily dis- 


Stoughton Lodge, No. 72, I. O. O. F., with the date 
of their installation as Noble Grands: 


1845.—May 5, Elisha Page; July 7, Elbridge Jones; Oct. 6, | 


Ezra Stearns. 
1846.—Jan. 2, W. W. Hawes; April 5, Luther Hayden; July 6, 

Ezra Stearns; Oct. 5, William Page. 
1847.—Jan. 4, Jefferson Fitts; July 6, Eliab Pratt. 





tributes the mails. 
In 1821, Isaac Beals moved from the east part of 
the town to the centre, and commenced the manufac- 


ture of boots. The building in which he began was 


| afterwards occupied as a dwelling by Luther and Rob- 


ert Swan, and was destroyed by the fire of 1880, 





1By Wilbur F. Fuller. 





2 By C. Farrell. 








STOUGHTON. 


407 





which consumed nearly half of the business centre 
of the village. Mr. Beals remained but a few years 
in the business, during which time there was associ- 


ated with him Simeon Drake, who afterwards became | 


a prominent manufacturer. 

The apparent success of this firm encouraged many 
of the young and enterprising men of that day to 
embark in the same enterprise, nearly all of whom 
Among the most 
prominent of these were Nathaniel Morton, Martin 


became successful business men. 


Wales, L. & W. Belcher, Beals & Holmes, Hill & | 


Drake, George R. Monk, and James Littlefield & Co. 
To these men is due not only the credit of estab- 


lishing the business as a permanent industry, and the | 
building up of the town, but also the acquiring of | 


that reputation for the superior quality of boots and 
shoes which Stoughton has for so many years justly 
enjoyed. 

Up to 1860 the largest demand for fine goods was 
from the South, consequently the manufacturers of 
Stoughton bent their energies principally towards the 
Southern trade. It was owing to this fact that the 
late civil war was peculiarly disastrous to the greater 
number of these manufacturers, some of them never 
recovering from the effects of their heavy losses. 

The men doing the largest amount of business at 
the beginning of the war were Atherton, Stetson & 


Co., James Hill, G. & S. Wales, S. Pettee & Son, N. | 


Morton, Bradford Kinsley, Monk & Reynolds, L. & 
W. Belcher, Samuel Savels, J. W. Jones & Co., J. 
Swan & Co., J. & D. French, J. E. Drake, F. N. 
Littlefield, and E. Tucker. The amount of business 
done in 1860 by the above-named firms was about 


one million three hundred thousand dollars, and they | 
employed very nearly twelve hundred hands, many of | 


those employed coming from surrounding towns. 
Previous to 1860 no shoes of any amount had been 
made here, but after the loss of the Southern trade, 
the manufacturers, being obliged to find a new market 
for their goods, turned their attention more fully to 
this branch of the industry, in order to supply the 
local trade, and for some years after the war Stough- 
ton’s principal market was the New England States. 
In 1872 a corporation was formed, to be known as 
the Stoughton Boot and Shoe Company, with a capi- 
tal stock of thirty-five thousand dollars. This cor- 
poration for eight years did a large business in the 
manufacture of boots and shoes, employing about one 
hundred and fifty hands, and doing a business of two 
hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars annually 
during the best years of its existence. 
the first manufacturers to introduce steam into the 
shoe-factories of the centre of the town. 


They were | 


| Jesse Pierce, 1833. 





There are now (December, 1883) engaged in the 
manufacture of boots and shoes in Stoughton the fol- 
lowing firms, doing a business annually of about nine 
hundred thousand dollars, and employing about seven 
hundred hands: D. French & Son, J. & H. Fitzpat- 
rick, Henry Tucker, E. Littlefield, Upham, Brothers 
& Co., Farrell & Marston, Charles Tenney, J. H. May 


| & Co., F. Capen & Co., Reynolds Brothers, Alanson 


Belcher, Samuel Savels, and H. Folsom & Co. The 
business is annually increasing, and the most of it is 
in the hands of young and enterprising men, who are 
trying to make the annual product more than it was 
in the palmiest days before the war. 

Civil History.—The following is a list of repre- 
sentatives from Stoughton, taken from the town 
records by Henry C. Kimball, Esq. The omissions 
in certain years indicate that the town voted “not to 
send,” either from motives of economy,—the pay of 
the representatives being formerly defrayed by the 
town,—or from the difficulty of obtaining a majority 
vote for any candidate, the town having in one in- 
stance voted eighteen times unsuccessfully, on suc- 
cessive days: 

Moses Gill, 1731-33, 1737. 
William Royall, 1784-36, 1738. 
William Crane, 1739. 

Ralph Pope, 1740-41. 

John Shepard, 1742-48, 1750-— 


Jesse Pierce and Martin Wales, 
1835-36. 

Martin Wales and Massena B. 
Ballou, 1837. 

Jesse Pierce and Consider 


51, 1754. Southworth, 1840. 
Joseph Hewins, Jr., 1749, | James Swan, 1841. 
1753. Enos Talbot, 1842-43. 


Joseph Hewins, 1754 to com- 
plete term, 1761-63. 
Richard Baily, 1755-60. 
Daniel Richards, 1764-65. 
Hezekiah Gay, 1766-74. 
Thomas Crane, 1775, 1777-78, | 


Nathan Drake, Jr., 1844. 
Charles A. French, 1846. 
Albert Johnson, 1849, 1851. 
Isaac Smith, 1850. 

Samuel W. Curtis, 1852. 
Charles S. Richardson, 1853. 


1780-81. | Abel T. Upham, 1855. 
Thomas Crane and Benjamin | Charles A. French, 1856. 
Gill, 1776. Elisha C. Monk, 1857. 

Elijah Dunbar, 1779, 1782,! Cyrus S. Mann, 1858. 
1793. William H. Tucker, 1859. 


Elijah Dunbar and Frederick 
Pope, 1787. 

John Kenny, 1783. 

James Endicott, 1784-86, 1790. | 

Frederick Pope, 1788-89, | 
1791-92, 1794-96. 

Elijah Crane, 1795. 

Jonah Dean, 1799. 


Elmer H. Capen, 1860. 
Frederick Capen, 1861. 
Jesse Holmes, 1862-63. 
Albert Dickerman, 1864. 
Nathan Tucker, Jr., 1865. 
Jonathan R. Gay, 1866. 

| Thomas Wilson, 1867. 

| Orlando B. Crane, 1868. 


Lemuel Gay, 1800-1, 1803-| Henri L. Johnson, 1869. 
9. | George H. Goward, 1870. 
Samuel Talbot, 1810-12, 1815— | Samuel L. Crane, 1871. 


16. | Henry Jones, 1872. 
Benjamin Richards, 1813-14. | Adam Capen, Jr., 1873. 
John Drake, 1821, 1825. | Ezra Stearns, 1874. 
Abner Drake, 1828-31. Leonard A. Thayer, 1875. 
Warren P, Bird, 1876. 


Jesse Pierce and Jabez Talbot, 
1834. 





a 


408 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








in 1876, Stoughton, Randolph, Sharon, and Wal- 
pole were combined to form Representative District 
No. 7, of Norfolk County, and since that time Stough- 
ton has had only the following representatives : 


Newell 8. Atwood, 1880-81. | David H. Blanchard, 1882. 


The town clerks of Stoughton from its incorpora- 
tion in 1726 to 1884 have been as follows: 
Joseph Tucker, 1726-28, 1733. 
Joseph Hewins, 1729. 
William Crane, 1730-32, 1734- 
37, 1739. 


Seth Morton, 1807-11. 
Abner Drake, 1830-32. 
James Swan, 1832-33, 1838- 


Benjamin Savell, 1738. 40. 
Joseph Hewins, Jr., 1740-43. | Martin Wales, 1834-37, 1841- 
William Royall, 1744-59,1766.) 45. 


Nathaniel May, 1760-65. Jabez Talbot, Jr., 1845-55. 


George Crosman, 1767-87,| Charles Upham (2), 1855-66. 
1789. | Luther §S. Leach, 1866-68, 
Joseph Smith (4), 1787-88. 1872-75. 


Elijah Crane, 1790-94. 
Peter Adams, 1795-96. 
John Atherton, Jr., 
1804. | 
Jedediah Atherton and Rich- 
ard Talbot, 1805. 


| Augustus A. Leach, 1869. 
Mark 0. Wheaton, 1870-71. 
Henry C. Kimball, 1875, pres- 

ent incumbent. 


1797, | 


Military History.—Stoughton furnished five hun- 
dred and twenty-two men for the war, fifteen of whom 
were commissioned officers. 
money expended by the town, exclusive of State aid, 
was seventy-nine thousand eight hundred and seventy- 
two dollars and fifty-five cents. 
pended thirty-nine thousand six hundred and fifty-two 
dollars and twelve cents, which was repaid by the 


The town also ex- 


State, for aid to soldiers’ families. 

The selectmen during the war were as follows: 
1861-63, Jedediah Adams, Samuel Capen (2), Clif- 
ford Keith; 1864, Jedediah Adams, Clifford Keith, 
William H. Tucker (2); 1865, Jedediah Adams, 
Clifford Keith, Samuel Capen (2). 

The military record of Stoughton during the war 
of the Rebellion, embracing a list of soldiers’ names, 
etc., was destroyed by fire a few years since. 





DhUGnat nT OAL SKETCHES, 
THE PIERCE FAMILY. 

The first 

American ancestor of the Stoughton branch was John 


The name Pierce is variously spelled. 


Pers, a man of good estate in England, and who came 
from Norwich, County Norfolk, to America, and settled 
in Watertown, Mass., about 1637, where his son An- 
thony had previously become a resident. The heraldic 
description of the coat of arms borne by this family 


Richard Talbot, 1806, 1812-29. | 


in England is “ Three Ravens rising sable. 
hummette. Motto, Dixit et Fecit. 
olive branch in beak.” 

Anthony (2) was a large landholder in Water- 
town in 1630, and is the ancestor of nearly all the 
families bearing the name of Pierce in Watertown, 
Waltham, Weston, Lincoln, Lexington, and Concord. 
His estate inventoried over three hundred pounds. 
Joseph (3) was also a resident of Watertown, where 
he was admitted a freeman April 18, 1690. He had 
numerous children, and left an estate inventoried at 
three hundred and sixteen pounds, ten shillings. 
John (4) was also a resident of Waltham ; his oldest 
son, John (5), born Sept. 1, 1703, married Rebecca 
Fenno, daughter of John Fenno, of Stoughton. He 
He purchased twenty-seven acres of 


Fesse, 
Crest, dove, with 


was a weaver. 
land in Stoughton for seventy-five pounds, whither he 
removed about 1751. This land is within the present 
limits of Canton, and it passed to his son Seth, then 
to his grandson, Jesse, great-grandson, Col. Jesse, 


| great-great-grandsons, Hon. Edward L. and Hon. 


The whole amount of | 


Henry L. Seth (6) was always a resident of Stough- 
ton ; Their second child, 
Jesse (7), married Catherine Smith, had twelve chil- 
dren, resided on the old homestead in Stoughton, and 
died March 5, 1832. 

Cou. JESSE PIERCE (8),—Jesse (7), Seth (6), John 
(5), John (4), Joseph (3), Anthony (2), John (1),— 
born Nov. 7, 1788; married, Sept. 9, 1824, Elizabeth 
8. Lillie, born July 30, 1786, died Nov. 1, 1871. 
He died Feb. 3, 1856. 

Col. Jesse Pierce was born in Stoughton, Nov. 7, 
1788. 
which a few years later was incorporated as Canton, 


married Angelette Clark. 


His birthplace was in that part of the town 


his father’s home being then in what is now South 
Canton. From the age of seven to twenty-one he 
lived with his maternal uncle, Lemuel Smith, a Rev- 
olutionary soldier, upon a farm on the Bay road, in the 


western part of Stoughton. In youth he showed an 


earnest purpose to gain knowledge, and having learned 


all that could be taught him in the public school of 
his district, he took in 1807, while yet a minor, the 
charge of a school, and from that year to 1814 served 
as the teacher of public schools in Stoughton and 
South Dedham (now Norwood), teaching during the 
winter and working on his uncle’s farm at other sea- 
sons. Tor the purpose of learning better modes of in- 
struction, he attended for a short time Taunton 
Academy, then under the charge of Simeon Doggett. 
From 1814 to 1819 he taught public schools in Mil- 
ton,—one at Brush Hill, and another at Milton Hill. 
He was the first to establish a Sunday-school in 
Dorchester, which he opened in the winter of 1817- 





/. Cc LED CO 








STOUGHTON. 


409 





18, at Mattapan, in the school-house (where his brother 
John was then the teacher) situated near the home 
of Edmund Tileston. The school was intended par- 
ticularly for the children of persons working in the 
factory of Smith Boies. One of the pupils was 
Newell A. Thompson, afterwards prominent in the 


business and municipal affairs of Boston. Col. Pierce 





continued his connection with Sunday-schools after 


his removal to Stoughton, both in that town and at 
the Methodist Church at North Easton, where he 
worshiped for many years. 

In 1819 he opened a private school at Milton Hill, 
which he kept for five years. Some who attended it 


have become well-known citizens, among whom were | 


Robert B. and John M. Forbes and Fletcher Web- 
ster. At this period he took an active part in the 
militia, serving in the Second Regiment, Second Bri- 
gade and First Division, and was commissioned as an 


ensign in 1810, captain and major in 1813, lieuten-— 


ant-colonel in 1815, and colonel in 1816. This last 
commission he resigned in 1818. Traditions of his 


fidelity and success in the instruction and drill of the | 


officers and men under his command are still pre- 
served. Marrying, in 1824, Eliza S., daughter of 
Capt. John Lillie, who was the aid of Maj.-Gen. 
Knox in the Revolutionary war, he returned to 
Stoughton and became the owner of his uncle’s farm, 
on which he had been brought up.' He opened at 


once at his house a private boarding-school for boys, | 


chiefly of Boston families, and receiving also day 
scholars from the neighborhood. 
made a lasting impression on his pupils for his earn- 
estness, thoroughness, and fidelity, and particularly 


As a teacher he | 


his patience in teaching those who. had less than the | 


average gift for acquiring knowledge. He had a gen- 
uine sympathy with the young, which he kept fresh 
In 1829 he gave up the occupation of 
teacher, which he had followed for twenty years, and 


from that time was occupied with the care of his 


through life. 


farm and miscellaneous work, such as conveyancing, 
the settlement of estates, the administration of town 
offices, and the education of his two sons, which he 
personally directed for some years. His advice was 
often sought in a community where his good sense 
He 
represented his town in the Legislature for six years, 
viz., 1832-36 and 1840, serving also the last-named 
year on the State valuation committee. 


and practical knowledge were highly valued. 


He was a 


sheriff for Norfolk County, which he declined. 


candidate for the latter office in 1848. Governor 
Morton offered him (in 1843) the appointment of 
In 
the Legislature he engaged in debates upon important 
questions, and his remarks were in some instances re- 
ported at length in the public journals. He spoke in 
favor of restricting the sale of spirituous liquors, and 
upon the appointment of representatives, favoring 
a reduction in the number, and a town rather than a 
district system. His most elaborate speech was made 
Feb. 26, 1840, upon the militia system, which, as then 
existing, he thought injurious to public morals and of 
He urged a reduction of the 
force, a better discipline, and the discontinuance of 


no public advantage. 
encampments.” He was, as legislator and citizen, a 
strenuous supporter of the causes of education and 
temperance. 

Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, who was Speaker 
in 1840, wrote in 1876: “Col. Jesse Pierce, of 
Stoughton, comes back vividly to my remembrance as 
one of the five or six hundred over whom I was 
privileged to preside nearly forty years ago. He was 
a most intelligent and estimable person, whom I was’ 
glad to count among my friends. At the period of 
1835-40 he became much interested in the anti- 
slavery cause. He voted for James G. Birney in 
1844, although sustaining at that election the State 
nominations of the Democratic party, and joined four 
years later the Free-Soil party, then first organized. 
He was in sympathy with the anti-slavery secession 
from the Methodist Church which took place in 1840. 
He was an active member of that church for many 
years, Joining it while a teacher in Milton, but during 
the later years of his life he attended the services of 


an orthodox Congregational Church. He was a de- 


_ vout person, and his reading was largely in religious 


books, as Clarke’s and Scott’s Commentaries. He was 


_ often sought to perform the services which peculiarly 


_ the chambers of the sick. 


Democratic candidate for Presidential elector in 1840 | 


and for State senator in 1844, and also a Free-Soil 








1 See Drake’s “ Memorials of the Mass. Society of the Cincin- 


belong to clergymen at funerals and weddings, and in 
He took a deep interest in 


the religious instruction of the young, and while a 


3) 
teacher gathered children for this purpose in his 
school-house on Sunday.” 

Col. Pierce was a person of average height, five 
feet and eight or nine inches. He had no self-asser- 
tion, but while gentle in manner was firm in purpose, 
particularly where a question involved any moral 


element. In conversation, while very genial, he 


weighed well his words, and was in a marked degree 
considerate of the feelings and reputations of others. 


| His tenderness to neighbors who were in grief, his 


nati,” and “ Bradford’s New England Biography,” for sketches 


of Capt. Lillie. 





2 See Norfolk Democrat, March 28, 1840. 


410 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





-- 


kindness to the young, to domestics of his household, 
and laborers on his farm, and to all less fortunate in 
life than himself, are still freshly remembered. He 
was widely known, and bore through life with all who 
knew him the character of a thoroughly upright and 
just man. 


Removing in 1849 from Stoughton to the Lower | 


Mills Village, or Dorchester (now Boston), he passed 
the rest of his life among those who had known him 
in his youth as a teacher, occupying the house which 
is now the residence of his eldest son. The news- 
paper of his county noting his death, which took 


place Feb. 3, 1856, wrote of him, “ He was for 


many years a distinguished teacher, and numbers 


among his pupils many men who now occupy promi- 
nent positions in public life. He was a man of strict 
integrity, high-minded and honorable, and universally 
beloved and respected in all the various relations of 
life.’ Children,—Hon. Henry Lillie, born Aug. 23, 
1825; George S., born June 20, 1827, died Sept. 
28, 1827; Hon. Edward Lillie, born May 29, 1829, 
married Elizabeth H. Kingsbury. 

Hon. Henry Livuie Pierce (8) was born in 
Stoughton, Mass., on Aug. 23, 1825. He received 
a good English education at the public schools of that 
town, and at the State Normal School in Bridgewater. 
Ill health made it necessary for him to leave school 
much sooner than his inclination would have prompted; 
but the condition of health which obliged him to cut 
short his studies, and to abstain for some years from 
all manual labor, developed in him a taste for reading, 
and gave to his mind a thoughtful cast which has had 
a most important influence upon his later life. In 
1849 the family removed to a house in Dorchester, 
near Milton Lower Mills, and there the subject of 
this sketch has ever since resided. In 1850 he en- 
tered the chocolate manufactory of Walter Baker & 
Co., which was established on the Neponset River, 
near his home. After serving in a subordinate po- 
sition for a number of years and seeing no prospect 
of advancement, he determined to try his fortunes in 


the new country atthe West. He spent some months 





in traveling through that region, and although he | 


failed to obtain that for which he sought, namely, a | 
more remunerative employment, he returned with | 


greatly improved health, and with enlarged ideas as 
to the extent and resources of his country. He again 
entered Mr. Baker’s establishment, on an improved 


footing, and on the death of the owner, in 1854, he 


took charge of the business, and from that time to | 


this has been the sole manager. At an early age he 


took a lively interest in public affairs, and while still | 


a school-boy he contributed articles for some of the 


country papers. His father being a Democrat, and 
of the Jefferson and Jackson school, he imbibed the 
same political ideas and continued to hold them until 
the nomination of Martin Van Buren, in 1848, gave 
to the Free-Soil party a national candidate and a na- 
tional platform. He joined with enthusiasm in the 
new movement for equal rights; and through good 


| report and evil report he stood by the anti-slavery 


party—aiding it by his voice, his pen, and his money 
—until the purpose for which it had been organized 
was triumphantly established. 

In 1859, when the general statutes of the State 
were revised, the action of the General Court in strik- 
ing out the word “ white’ wherever it occurred in 
the laws authorizing the organization of the militia 
was defeated by the exercise of the veto power by the 
Governor. Mr. Pierce was elected a member of the 
House the following year (1860), and was instru- 
mertal in getting the two branches of the Legislature 
to pass another bill striking the word from the militia 
laws. But the act was again defeated by the Gov- 
ernor’s veto; and it was not until the year 1864 that 
success attended the efforts of those who wished to 
have this obnoxious discrimination on account of race 
removed from the statute-book. Being elected to the 
session for the following year, Mr. Pierce inaugurated 
the movement, in which he was sustained by a ma- 
jority of the House, for cnstructing our senators, and 
recommending our representatives in Congress, to 
favor such a change in the national laws as would 
authorize the enlistment of colored men into the 


| United States army. Re-elected again in 1862, Mr. 


Pierce was appointed chairman of the committee on 
finance, and in that capacity reported and carried 


_ through the House two measures of great importance, 


namely, the act providing for the payment of the 
State bonds in gold (this was after the legal tender 
act had been passed by Congress), and the act taxing 
At the end 
Mr. Pierce withdrew from the 
He does not 
appear as the special champion of any important meas- 


savings-banks and insurance companies. 
of his third term 
House, but was chosen again in 1866. 


ure during that session. 

In 1867 he visited Europe, passing several months 
in traveling through France, Italy, and Germany. 
On the annexation of Dorchester to the city of Bos- 
ton, in 1869, he was elected to represent that section 
of the city in the Board of Aldermen. 
ing two years (1870-71) he declined a re election, 
and in the following year visited Europe again, partly 


After serv- 


for business and partly for purposes of recreation. In 
the latter part of that year he was nominated as a non- 
partisan candidate for the office of mayor. The lack of 














ee ged 





STOUGHTON. 


411 





efficiency which had been exhibited by the executive 
departments of the government during the great fire 
of the 9th of November, and the neglect to take any 
effective measures for the suppression of the small- 
pox, which was then spreading through the city with 
alarming rapidity, caused great dissatisfaction, espe- 
cially among business men. On the other hand, the 
personal honesty and good intentions of the mayor 
then in office, his high standing in the Democratic 
party, and his earnest desire to secure an indorsement, 
gave him a large if not an enthusiastic support, and 
the contest, although conducted with great courtesy 
on both sides, was unusually close and exciting. It 
resulted in the election of Mr. Pierce by a very small 
majority. His address at the organization of the new 
government was calculated to inspire confidence in his 
To improve the effi- 
ciency of the government radical changes were needed 


abilities as an executive officer. 


in some of the departments, and such changes he not | 


only recommended, but proceeded resolutely to carry 
out. He reorganized the health department by ap- 
pointing a new Board of Health, and took measures 
for the suppression of the smallpox, which were im- 
mediately attended with the most gratifying results. 
He also succeeded, against strong opposition, in se- 
curing the reorganization of the fire department by 
removing it from the personal and partisan influences 
to which it had long been subjected, and placing it 
upon a business basis. In October of that year he 
received the Republican nomination for representa- 
tive in Congress from the Third Massachusetts Dis- 
trict, to fill the vacancy in the Forty-third Congress 


occasioned by the death of Hon. William Whiting. | 


The success of his municipal administration is shown 


in the fact that the Democrats failed to nominate any | 


candidate to oppose him, and his election was substan- 
In order to take his seat at the 
beginning of the session, in December, he retired 


tially unanimous. 


from the mayor’s office a month before the expiration | 
Having been for many years on terms | 
of personal friendship with Charles Sumner, and | 


of his term. 


having a large acquaintance with the public men of 
the day, he was from the start in a position to exert a 
powerful influence upon the councils of the govern- 
ment. Imbued with the same spirit which led Sum- 
ner and Andrew and Wilson to favor a conciliatory 
policy towards the South in the legislation which fol- 
lowed the war, he threw his influence against the 
harsh and unconstitutional measures by which a por- 
tion of the leaders of the party to which he belonged 
sought to perpetuate their political ascendency over 
the States lately in rebellion. He was thus placed in 
the unpleasant position of being obliged to oppose 








many of the measures which were openly or secretly 
favored by President Grant’s administration. But it 
is evident that his course was in accordance with the 
sentiments of the people of Massachusetts, from the 
fact that in the elections to the Forty-fourth Con- 
gress, which occurred in the autumn of 1874, he was 
re-elected by a handsome majority, while in six out 
of the ten other districts in the State the regular 
Republican candidates were defeated for the first time 
since the beginning of the war. Near the close of 
the second session of the Forty-third Congress (Feb- 
ruary, 1875) the “force bill,” so called, giving the 
President extraordinary powers to interfere in the 
internal affairs of the States, and in his discretion to 
suspend the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus, 
was introduced into the House, and an attempt made 
by the administration leaders to force it through with- 
out giving sufficient opportunity for discussion. The 
Republicans had control of the House by a large ma- 
jority, and as a political measure intended, as many 
of them avowed, to give their party an advantage in 
the Presidential election to occur in the following 
year, they were substantially unanimous in its sup- 
port. 

On the 27th of February, Mr. Pierce made a short 
speech in opposition to the bill, which was highly 
commended by all the leading newspapers through- 
The conclusion is worthy of being 
“Tn opposing this bill,” he said, 


out the country. 
transcribed here. 
“JT am in strict accordance with all my past political 
action. Local self-government and the equality of 
all men before the law are the cardinal principles of 
my political faith. By these principles I stand or 
fall. I resisted the fugitive slave bill because it 
trampled upon the principles of civil liberty and the 
rights of human nature. The bill now under consid- 
eration is permeated with the spirit which gave life 
Of the supporters 
of the fugitive slave bill the: most conspicuous were 
Jefferson Davis and John C. Breckinridge. ‘ ‘The 
whirligig of time’ presents to us to-day a most re- 
markable spectacle. Some of the most blatant and 
pretentious supporters of Jefferson Davis and Jobn 
C. Breckinridge in conventions and before the people 
are here to-day the especial champions of this bill. I 
shall be the last man in the world to question their 
consistency or dispute their motives. Mr. Speaker, 
I know Massachusetts, and I have spoken her senti- 
ments here to-day. She has always interposed a firm 
resistance to the approach of arbitrary power. She re- 
sisted unto blood the stamp act, writs of assistance, and 
all the force bills which were enacted by Parliament 
to compel her submission to the British crown. She 


and vigor to that odious measure. 


412 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





will be true to her traditions and to her history, and 


will resist by all constitutional means every attempt, | 


by whomsoever made, to impose similar measures 
upon any portion of the people of our common 
country.” At the close of the Forty-third Congress 
(March, 1875), Mr. Pierce visited Europe for the 
third time, spending some six months in traveling 
with friends through England, Scotland, and on the 
continent. 

During the session of the Forty-fourth Congress 
Mr. Pierce was at the head of the Republican mem- 
bers of the Committee on Commerce. He made an 
elaborate report on the subject of relieving vessels 
engaged in the coasting trade from the unjust and 
discriminating legislation of some of the States with 
regard to pilotage fees, and he made speeches on the 
proposition to amend the Constitution so as to limit 
the term of office of the President, on reciprocity with 
Canada, and on counting the electoral vote of Louisi- 
On the last question Mr. Pierce and President 
Seelye (then representative from the Tenth Massa- 
chusetts District) stood alone among the Republicans 
in opposing the counting of the electoral vote of 
Louisiana for either candidate, on the ground of 
The London Times 
published Mr. Pierce’s speech at length, and referred 
to it as a ‘very able” one. 


ana. 


fraud in making up the returns. 


Some time previous to the elections for the Forty- 
fifth Congress, Mr. Pierce announced to the electors of 
the Third District, through the public press, his de- 
termination to retire from public life at the expira- 
tion of the term for which he then held office. This 
decision was made after due deliberation, and with the 


firm determination of adhering to it. It was with 


The call for his services was signed by some two 
thousand five hundred tax-paying citizens, represent- 
ing all classes and all parties. 
against the administration then in power was its par- 
tisanship in the interest of the Democratic party and 
its inefficiency. The contest which followed was the 
The 


number of votes cast largely exceeded those at any 


most remarkable in the annals of the city. 


previous election, municipal, State, or national, and 


The charges made | 


| 








resulted in the election of Mr. Pierce by about two | 


thousand three hundred majority. In his inaugural 
address, Mr. Pierce dwelt at some length upon the 
powers and purposes of municipal corporations, taking 
the ground that “they are created and exist for the 
public advantage and not for the benefit of their offi- 


cers or of particular individuals or classes.” 


He also | 


considered some of the schemes which had been de- 
vised for improving our local governments, and denied 
the propriety or expediency of attempting to raise 
the standard of municipal government by a limitation 
of the suffrage, or by giving up to the State powers 
which from time immemorial have been exercised by 
the cities and towns. His clear and business-like 
exposition of the true theory upon which local gov- 
ernments are founded and maintained in this country 
was referred to in high commendation by the leading 
newspapers of the day. 

The most important act of his second administra- 
tion was the reorganization of the police department, 
which had become ill-disciplined and inefficient under 
the old system of appointment and management by 
the mayor and aldermen. Through his efforts an act 
was passed by the General Court, authorizing the ap- 
pointment of commissioners, for a term of years, to 
take charge of the department, and also to execute 
the laws concerning the sale of intoxicating liquors. 
During the year a reduction of nearly nine hundred 
thousand dollars was made in the tax levy, and a more 
rigid system of accountability was established in the 
several departments of the city government. 

At the conclusion of his term, Mr. Pierce declined 
a re-election, and has since given his attention mainly 
to the management of his large manufacturing busi- 
ness. During his absence in Europe, in the summer 
of 1885, there was a very general demand from those 
opposed to Butlerism for the use of his name as can- 
didate for Governor, and a large majority of the dele- 


_ gates elected to the Republican convention were un- 


doubtedly in favor of his nomination. But, adhering 


_to a determination formed some time before, he de- 
extreme reluctance, therefore, that he consented, in | 
the autumn of 1877, to allow his name to be used as | 
a citizens’ candidate for the office of mayor of Boston. | 


clined the use of his name, and strongly urged the 
nomination of Mr. Robinson as the candidate upon 
whom the opponents of the then administration could 
best unite,—with what result is too well known to need 
comment here. 


HON. NATHANIEL WALES. 


Among the families that for generations have given 
the impress of strong, steady character to this section 
Nathaniel (1), 
the immigrant, came from England with Rev. Richard 
Mather, in the ship “ James,” from Bristol, in 1635, 
and settled in Dorchester, where he was made a freeman 
Noy. 2, 1637. His wife, Isabel, daughter of Humph- 


must be mentioned the Wales family. 


_rey Atherton and Mary Wales,’ outlived him but 


| 


two weeks. He had children,—Timothy, John, and 








1 See Atherton family. 














STOUGHTON. 


413 








having removed thither in 1654. Nathaniel (2), born 
in England, was a ship-carpenter, settled in Boston, 
where he died May 20, 1662, leaving Nathaniel (3), 
Samuel, Mary, and Jonathan. Nathaniel (3), born 
1659, settled in Braintree with his wife, Joanna, about 
1675, and had fifteen children, of whom Thomas was 
one. Mr. Wales was a deacon in the church at 
Braintree, and ordained ruling elder Feb. 27, 1700. 
He died March 23,1718. His wife died May 11, 
1704. Thomas Wales (4th gen.), born April 19, 


1695, was a deacon in the church, a man of good re- 


pute, married Mary Belcher, Jan. 13, 1719, and lived — 


in the South Precinct of Braintree (now Randolph), 
where he died in 1775. They had twelve children, 


Nathaniel being seventh. Mrs. Wales died Jan. 30, _ 


q 1741. Mr. Wales married, second, Sarah (widow of 
Samuel) Belcher, Dec. 7,1742. By her he had three 
children. Nathaniel Wales (5th gen.), born Oct. 26, 
1729, married Sarah , settled in Stoughton, and, 
like his father, was a deacon in the church. He was 
a farmer, and had eleven children. He lived a quiet 





and useful life, and died, esteemed, at a good old age. | 


His son, Joshua (6th gen.), was born Feb. 21, 1752, 
in Stoughton, where he always resided. He was a 
marketman and farmer, was three times married, was 
an active, energetic man, marked for his sound sense 
and sterling honesty, and closed a long life in the full- 
ness of years, leaving a large family of children. By 
his first wife (a Porter) he had five children, the old- 
est being Nathaniel (7th gen.). 

This Nathaniel, born Sept. 11, 1788, in Stoughton, 
married, Jan. 1, 1815, Phebe, daughter of Capt. Wil- 
liam French and Mary Perkins, his wife. (Capt. 
French was a descendant in direct line from John 
French, the emigrant, who came from England to 
Dorchester, where he was admitted freeman in 1639. 
He was a well-to-do farmer of East Stoughton, and 
died about 1820, leaving one son, Alpha, and several 
daughters.) She was born Jan. 30, 1789. Mr. 
Wales was a manufacturer of shoes and lasts, and, in 
connection with that business, kept a grocery. Active 
in militia service, immediately after the war of 1812 
he served in the various grades to captain with accept- 
ability and credit, and resigned his commission as 
captain April 28, 1820. He was one of the first in 
this section to adopt the religious doctrines of Eman- 
uel Swedenborg and enter the “ New Church.” 
moved from Stoughton to North Bridgewater in 1817, 
where he died of consumption Feb. 8, 1826. He left 
two children who attained maturity,—Harriet G. and 
Nathaniel (8th gen.),—and a business fairly success- 


ful. 


He | 


His wife was a woman of great strength of | 


Nathaniel (2),—and died at Boston Dec. 4, 1661, | character, quiet dignity, and practical judgment, and 


added to the property left by her husband, and 
brought up her young children (Nathaniel being but 
six years old at his father’s death) with great credit 
to herself. She died Dec. 25, 1855. From the ele- 
gant “Souvenir” of “ The Government of the Com- 
monwealth of Massachusetts,’ published in 1880, we 
extract this graphic sketch of Nathaniel (8th gen.) : 

“Hon. Nathaniel Wales, of Stoughton, represents 
the First Norfolk Senatorial District. He was born 
in North Bridgewater (now Brockton) Nov. 25,1819, 
and received his education at the public academic and 
When 
quite a young man he engaged successfully in teach- 


normal schools of that town and Bridgewater. 


ing in his native town and in other towns in that vicin- 
ity. He afterwards taught as principal in the high 
school in Pawtucket, R. I. As a young man he 
showed great enterprise and energy. Being the only 
son of a widow, he was in early life solely dependent 
In 1845 he en- 
gaged in trade in Stoughton, resigning his position in 
Pawtucket for this purpose, and continued in mercan- 
tile business, with others or by himself, for a period of 
twenty-eight years. During this time he was post- 
master at Stoughton from 1860 to 1867, when he re- 
signed, being then appointed United States Assessor 


on his own efforts for advancement. 


of Second District of Internal Revenue, the duties of 
which office he discharged acceptably till its discon- 
tinuance. He also held commissions of more or less 
importance under Governors Banks, Andrew, Wash- 
burn, and Bullock. He was appointed commissioner 
to superintend the drafting of militia for Norfolk 
County by Governor Andrew in 1862, and afterwards 
was appointed by President Lincoln United States 
commissioner of the Board of Enrollment for the 
Second District of Massachusetts from 1863 to 1865. 
Since 1872 he has been associated with the Stough- 
ton Boot and Shoe Company as treasurer, and has 
held several other positions of public and private 
trust.” 

He was a member of the Massachusetts Senate of 
1879, and served on the Committees on Towns, 
Labor, and Prisons; also in 1880, when he was 
chairman of the Committee on Roads and Bridges, 
and also a member of Committee on Military Affairs 
and State-House. 

Always interested and active in politics, he has 
been a member of the Republican party from its 
commencement, and it is not too much to say that 
during the entire period the party has had, in his 
section of the State, no more zealous and efficient 
supporter than he. The natural bias of his mind has 
always kept him familiar with the legal questions and 


414 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





decisions of the day, and developed in him habits of 
thought and judgment that would not disgrace the 
legal profession, and f{eaused his opinion and advice 
to be much sought after in those controversies and 
knotty questions usually referred to members of the 
bar. His religious. views are those of the “ New 
Church.” 

In 1881, Mr. Wales was elected member of the 
Executive Council from the Second District of Mas- 
sachusetts, which position he now holds. He has 
been twice married, first to J. Montgomery, daughter 


of Newton and Jane (Montgomery) Shaw, of North | 


Bridgewater, June 4, 1848. They had one son, Na- 
thaniel S. Wales, now a resident of Des Moines, Lowa. 
Mrs. Wales died May 3, 1849. Mr. Wales married, 
second, in 1851, Susan Kingsbury Reed, daughter of 
Timothy and Susan P. (Kingsbury) Reed, of Barn- 
stable. (He was a lawyer, and for a long time regis- 
ter of deeds and clerk of the court for Barnstable 
County. He held both offices at the time of his 
death. This Reed family is not only an old New Eng- 
land family, but can be traced back to Saxon England 
over a century before the Norman conquest. Every 
generation in Hngland has held responsible and prom- 
inent official positions. ) 

The children of this truly fortunate union were 
Susan R. (born in 1853, married W. O. Faxon, M.D., 
resides in Stoughton, and has one child, Nathaniel 
Wales) and Timothy Reed (born 1856). 
an active and promising youth, but met an untimely 
death by drowning while striving to rescue some com- 
panions who were capsized with him in a sailboat at 
Martha’s Vineyard, in 1870. 

Mrs. Wales died Jan. 31, 1882. 


tellectual and highly educated woman, of rare accom- 


He was 


She was an in- 
plishments and culture. An indefatigable and accu- 
rate genealogist, she expended months in tracing the 
Reed, Wales, and other families in which she was 
interested, and her work is a marvel of neatness, 
system, and convenience. She gave freely of her 
time and means to relieve suffering, was beloved by 
all, and left to her family the recollections of a model 
wife and mother. 


Mr. Wales is a genial companion, a kind neighbor, | 
Casting his lot with those who | 


and a strong friend. 
advocate the higher education and progress of human- 
ity, he has never swerved from action in accordance 
with his belief. 
ranks among the representative men of this section of 





_ marked love of justice. 


A good citizen, he is justly popular, | 


Massachusetts, and enjoys a handsome property, the | 


result of his financial ability and business acumen. 


MARTIN WALES. 

Among the men of strong character, who stood 
high in the esteem of the people of Stoughton, and 
was by virtue of his originality and the wishes of the 
people a truly representative man in many ways, 
must not fail to mention Martin Wales, son of Joshua 
Wales. He was born in Hast Stoughton, Feb. 22, 
1802, and died March 6, 1874, aged seventy-two years. 
His childhood was passed on his father’s farm. He 
had the opportunities for education given by the 
public schools of that period, and at an early age 
began to show the independence and industry so 
marked in his whole life by learning to make shoes. 
After a time he was hired by his father to butcher 
animals for the Boston market, receiving for his labor 
one dollar per day. He was about eighteen, and after 
two years’ service here, he engaged with Oliver Bel- 
cher, of Stoughton, as butchers of beef cattle. From 
this time (1822) he was connected with Stoughton, 
After a few months passed in working for others, he 
engaged in the same business for himself. | Continu- 
ing this a few years, he found much of his capital 
absorbed in debts due him, and he began to manufac- 
ture shoes in the upper part of Holbrook’s (now 
Swan’s) store. This was in a small way, and intended 


only to help him out in collecting his meat bills, but 


the business proving profitable, and there being a good 
demand for his goods, he entered into co-partnership 
with Ira Linfield, and added bootmaking to that of 
This partnership did not last long, each con- 
tinuing to manufacture. Mr. Wales’ business in- 
creased, and became very large for those days, reach- 
ing to the Southern and Middle and Western States. 
For many years he continued manufacturing alone, 


shoes. 


and, in company with others, accumulated wealth. In 
connection therewith he conducted a mercantile busi- 
ness from about 1840 to 1852, when he disposed of 
his stock to his nephew, Nathaniel Wales, whose 
biography is on another page. In financial matters 
Mr. Wales was shrewd, cautious, and conservative, 
and was a valuable counselor, whose advice was often 
sought. He was president of the Stoughton Boot 
and Shoe Company during its existence, and director 
and president of the North Bridgewater Bank from 
its organization until it ceased to do business. One 
of the strong characteristics of Mr. Wales was his 
A prominent business man 
of Stoughton, who knew him well, says, ‘‘ When he 
promised to do anything he would do it. His word 
was as good as his bond.” He never sued a man 
during his long business life, and never wanted any 
trouble with any one. He was a strong Anti-Mason 


in the days when Masonry was a political issue, and 














_umeren se 








es ae a ee 





Le 





STOUGHTON. 415 





as the leader of that principle, was elected twice 
representative from Stoughton in the General Court, 
and to all the prominent public offices of the town. 
At one time he held nearly every office of importance 
in the town. He was chairman of selectmen many 
years, town clerk many years, treasurer several years, © 
to say nothing of minor trusts. With all this, he was 
a modest, unpretentious man, caring nothing for offi- 
cial honors and only accepting them as the representa- 
tive of a principle. He wasa kind and accommo- 
dating neighbor, a good citizen, a loving husband and 
father, and had a large circle of acquaintances in sur- 
rounding towns and in Boston, who enjoyed his quaint 
and original conversation. He married Rebekah 
Parker, daughter of Elisha and Jerusha (Wentworth) 
Parker, who was born Sept. 18,1807. Their chil- 
dren were Mary R. (Mrs. Caleb H. Packard), Martin 
(deceased), Lucy M. (Mrs. Fisher Copeland), George, 
Seth, and Adelaide F., a young lady of great amia- 
bility, who married William Neale, and died Dee. 
31, 1882. Her death was deeply felt by the entire | 
community. Mr. Wales was an earnest and liberal 
Christian. He was in full harmony with the doctrines | 
of the ‘‘ New Church,” and a large contributor to its 
enterprises. He gave two thousand dollars towards 
the erection of the church of that society in Brock- 
ton, where he held a membership, and left a legacy in | 
its behalf of five thousand dollars. He was always 
ready to do his part in all matters of public interest, 
and was sincerely mourned by a large circle of 
friends. 

Mrs. Wales was a worthy companion for Mr. 
Wales, and in advanced years, holds much of the 
vivacity of early life, enjoys the esteem of the best 
portion of the community, is endeavoring to carry 
out the wishes of her husband in all things, and is 
passing on to the twilight of life with a sincere trust 
in rejoining her companion of so many years on the | 
“‘ other side.” 


JAMES ATHERTON. 


One of the wealthiest portions of Lancashire is 
confined in the area bounded thus: Beginning at 
Liverpool, the southwest boundary of Lancashire, 
and following the coast line of the Irish Sea twenty 
miles north, we reach the river Ribble; 
there going eastward fifteen miles, thence south to 
Manchester and down the river to Liverpool. This | 
section is rich in coal-mines, quarries of useful stones, | 


| 
iron-works, and is the wealthiest cotton-manufacturing | 


} 


district in the world. Through the centre of this | 
territory the Athertons for nearly one thousand years ’ 


from 





| of John, Lord Conyers, of Hornby Castle. 





have had immense possessions, which were increased 
by marrying heiresses, until it became one of the 
richest families of the great commoners of England. 
In their manorial estate the town of Atherton lies ten 
miles northwest of Manchester ; here the family origi- 
nated, and Robert de Atherton (1) lived (1199-1216) 
as the shreve (high sheriff) of the county under 
King John, and held the manor of Atherton of the 
barons of Warrington. William de Atherton, his son, 
held the manors of Atherton and Pennington (1251). 
(By intermarriage with the Derby family the title is 
now vested in that line.) William Atherton (3), of 
Atherton (1312), had wife Agnes (1339), whose son 
Henry Atherton (4), of Atherton (1316-30), married 
Agnes (1387), and had for second son Sir William 
Atherton (5), of Atherton (1351), knight. He mar- 
ried, first, Jane, daughter of William and sister of Sir 
Ralphe, Woberly, knight; married, second, Margerie, 
a widow (1396). In the private chapel of the Ather- 
tons, in the parish church of Leigh, is a family vault, 
and the arms of the family hang there. As entered 
in the Visitation of Sir William Dugdale Norrey, 
King of Arms (1664-65), they are: Gules, three spar- 
rowhawks, argent crest ; a swan, argent, another crest ; 
on a perch a hawk billed, proper. By first wife, 
William (5) had Sir William Atherton (6), knight ; 
born 1381; died 1416; his wife was Agnes, sole 
daughter and heiress of Ralphe Vernon, Baron of 
Shipbroke. Their third child, Sir William Atherton 
(7), knight, married, first, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir 


| John Pilkinton, knight; by her had Margaret and 
| Sir William Atherton (8), who married Margaret, 


daughter of Sir John Byron, knight, and died in 1441. 


| Among their children was John Atherton (9), whose 
_son George (10), born 1487, by first wife, Anne 


Ashton, had Sir John Atherton (11), knight, born 
1514; died 1513; married, first, Elizabeth, daugh- 
ter of Sir Alexander Ratcliffe, knight. his marriage 
was recorded in the Visitation of 1533, where the 
arms were also entered; he married, second, Marga- 
ret, daughter of Thomas Caterall. He was high 
sheriff under three sovereigns, in 1551, 1555, and 
1561, and commander of the Military Hundred in 
1553. Among his children was John (12), Esq., 
born 1556; high sheriff 1585, who was*twice mar- 
ried ; first, to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Byron, 
knight ; second, to Katherine, daughter and co-heiress 
By each 
wife he had ason John ; the first John Atherton (13), 
of Atherton, who had John (14), died in 1646 ; mar- 
ried Kleanor, daughter of Sir Thomas Ireland, of 
Beansey, knight. They had numerous children ; one 
John (15), high sheriff, died in 1655; the second, 


416 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





John Atherton, of Skelton, was heir to his mother’s | 
large estate and title. We have thus far followed the 
line of heirship, the scions, all worthy representatives 
of the name, being found in different parts of the 
country. As the American branch deflected at this 
period, we have no need of further tracing the English 





family. 
In 1613, Edmund Atherton did in Wigan, Lanca- | 
shire, his son and next heir, Humphrey, being at this 


time four years old, thus giving his birth in 1608. | 
_ whose son John (5), married Mary, daughter of Rev. 


This Humphrey is referred to by Mr. Brown in an 


article on ‘“‘the Atherton family in England,” “‘ New | 


England Historical and Genealogical Register,” Jan- 
uary, 1881, as perhaps being the identical Humphrey | 
Atherton, major-general of Dorchester, progenitor of 


the American line. That they are different persons is | 
Nathan. Samuel (6), born Sept. 19, 1784, was a man 


clearly shown by the fact that Gen. Atherton was killed 
in 1661, when only thirty-six years old. The other | 
Humphrey would have been fifty-three years old at 
this time. Humphrey Atherton, born in Lancashire, 
perhaps son of above, married Mary Wales, probably 
daughter of John Wales, of Idle, England, and, with 
three children, Jonathan, Isabel (married Nathaniel 
Wales, Jr.), and Elizabeth came in the ship “ James” 
from Bristol to America in 1€35. Rev. 
Mather, in his journal of the voyage, names but few 
of the one hundred passengers, among them Nathan- 
iel Wales, whose will was witnessed by Humphrey 


Atherton, who was styled in it “loving brother-in- | 
| kindness and benevolence), Col. Frederick (5) (he 


His first child was born | 
/ ment on the Canada frontier in the French and In- 


” 


law.” They settled in Dorchester. Humphrey was 
married when an infant. 
when he was fourteen years old, and his wife thirteen. 
They had twelve children, those mentioned above and 


the following nine born in Dorchester: 


Richard | 


Consider, | 
Mary, Margaret, Rest, Increase, Thankful, Hope, | 





Watching, and Patience. Appleton’s ‘ American En- 
cyclopeedia” says this of him, ‘“‘ Atherton, Humphrey, 
a military officer whose name is mentioned with much 
honor in the early annals of Massachusetts. 
came from England about 1636, when he signed the 
covenant of the church of Dorchester. He was ad- 
mitted as a freeman in 1638, and was deputy in the 


He | 





“ Here lies our Captain & Major of Suffolk was withall ; 

A godly magistrate was he, and Major General ; 

Two troop horse with him here comes, such worth his love 
did crave. 

Ten companies of foot also mourning march to his grave, 

Let all that read be sure to keep the faith as he has done 

With Christ he lives now around his name was Humphrey 
Atherton.” 


Consider (2 American gen.), son of Humphrey, mar- 


_ried Anne Annably, Dec. 14,1671. Hisson Humphrey 


(3), had a son John (4), who became “deacon,” and 


Jedediah Adams, the first settled pastor of Stough- 
ton, where he ministered with great acceptability for 
many years (see ‘‘ History of First Parish,” on another 
page). They had nine children, John, Jedediah, 
Humphrey, Mary, Rachel, Elijah, Samuel, Mary, and 


much esteemed, possessing good sterling qualities. 
He was a farmer, owning about eighty acres of the 


_ homestead of his father near Stoughton Centre, on 
_ which he was born and lived his long life of over 


He married Feb. 28, 1811, Abi- 
gail, daughter of Ralph and Abigail (Soran) Pope, of 
Stoughton. She came of an old New England family 
of repute, the first American ancestor, John Pope, 
coming about 1653 from the neighborhood of London, 
England, and settling in 1640 in “ Dorchester New 
Grant,” now Stoughton, the line being John (1), 
John (2), Ralph (3), Ralph (4) (a physician of great 


ninety-two years. 


was a justice, colonel, serving in 1756 with his regi- 


dian war; was State representative .from Stoughton. 
In the Revolution, when the summons came to take 
the field he was plowing. Taking the harness from his 


_ horse he at once made ready, and with his two eldest 


sons, Ralph and Samuel Ward, joined the army. He 
served in several campaigns, his sons acting as his 


aids. His third son, Alexander, then but sixteen, 


fulfilled faithfully the task of carrying on the farm 


General Court from Dorchester for that year, and also | 


in 1639-41, and in 1853, from Springfield, when he 
was chosen Speaker. 


The next year he was chosen | 


assistant and soon after Major-General. He was much | 


employed in negotiations with the Indians, and made 
use of his influence with them in a great purchase in 
the colony of Rhode Island. He died by a fall from | 
his house, at Boston, Sept. 17, 1661. The manner 
of his death is made matter of comment by Hubbard 
as oneof the judgments of God.” His wife died in 
1672. In the old Dorchester cemetery is this epitaph : 


| fun. 


and supporting the family), Ralph (6) (he was born 
in Stoughton, 1759, and died 1797. He served 
through the Revolution; married Abigail, daughter 
of Maj. Robert and Rachel (Draper) Swan, born 1761, 
died 1852, aged ninety-one. 
(7), who married Samuel Atherton, was born in 
Stoughton, Mass., Dec. 5, 1785, dying March 19, 
1868, aged eighty-two years, three and a half months). 


Their daughter, Abigail 


Samuel Atherton was of energetic temperament, cheer- 
ful disposition, eminently social, enjoying humor, and 
always ready with some bright remark, pointed with 
He was honest, straightforward, prudent, sav- 
ing, and perfectly just in all the relations of life. He 














STOUGHTON. 


417 





had musical tastes, was a great singer, and when pre- 
vented sometimes from talking by an impediment (stam- 
mering) which afflicted him, he would sing clearly 
the words he wished to speak. He and his brother 
Nathan were among the originators of the “ Stoughton 
Musical Society.” 
days, and held other positions of trust. 


He was selectman in his younger 
Although a 
great sufferer from rheumatism in his later years, he 
continued cheerful even to the time of his death. He 
was very fond of his brother, Nathan, four years his 
junior ; they lived all their lives a few rods apart; 


both attained great age, and died within three months _ 


of each other; Nathan’s death occurring Nov. 13, 
1876, at eighty-eight. A short time previous to his 
death, Nathan walked to and from church for morn- 
ing service, a distance of two and a quarter miles. 


the largest land-holder in town. 


cast for the Hayes electoral ticket. 
Samuel and Abigail Atherton were six,—Mary (Mrs. 
William Belcher), Vashti (Mrs. James Swan), Sam- 
uel, Abigail (Mrs. Joseph Swan), James, and Wil- 
liam. James Atherton (7)—(Humphrey (1), Con- 
sider (2), Humphrey (3), John (4), John (5), Sam- 
uel (6)—was born on the homestead mentioned 
above May 6, 1819. He had common-school and 
academic education; remained with his father on 


several terms of winter schools. 
May 5, 1853, Phebe, daughter of John and Phebe 
Reed, born in Boston, Feb. 9, 1831, died March 
11, 1868. Her father was a civil officer of Bos- 
ton for many years, and was strong, fearless, and 
uncompromising in the discharge of duty. His an- 
cestors trace their origin through early New England 


from a period anteceding the Norman conquest by 
over a century, and which has, in each successive 
generation, held places high in the counsels of royalty. 


He voted at every | 
election from 1805 till 1876, when his last vote was | 
The children of | 


all by his first wife, are James (8), born July 26, 
1854; William (8), April 30, 1859; and Walter (8), 
March 18, 1863. Mr. Atherton married, second, 
Mary B. Marshall, of Boston, June 1, 1869. She 
died Feb. 5, 1880. Always in delicate health, Mr. 
Atherton was a man of energy, and accomplished 
much. In early life he was fond of discussions, and 
took an active part in debating societies. He was a 
quick and ready speaker, a clear logician, and there 
showed the sound judgment which distinguished him 
in later life. He was a great reader, and kept abreast 
of the current of the world’s affairs, and always liked 
to discuss matters of thought and moment. He en- 
gaged but little in public life, devoted himself wholly 
to his business, which rewarded his attention with a 


| liberal competency. This was not obtained by any of 
Samuel was a successful farmer, and at one time | 


the fraudulent devices so common in business life, but 
the motto, dated 1855, which, worn by long use, was 
found in his pocket-book after his death, furnishes the 
motive which actuated him through all life’s changes, 
and is a better delineation of his character than any 


_words of ours: “Do unto others as you would that 


others should do to you under like circumstances.” 
He sympathized with the Universalist creed, attended 
its services, and was active and liberal in all church 
matters. 
A good citizen, aiding much in building up the inter- 


He was systematic and orderly in all things. 


ests of Stoughton, his counsel was often sought in 
the farm until he was of age, teaching, however, | 


He married, first, | 


critical and important affairs. He was Whig and 


Republican in politics. 


SAMUEL ATHERTON. 
Samuel Atherton (7), son of Samuel and Abigail 


_ Atherton, was born Jan. 26, 1815, in Stoughton; 
to one of England’s most honored families, dating | 


| the 


After marriage, Mr. Atherton continued on the old — 
place, and there began the manufacture of boots with | 
his brother William, under the firm-title of J. & W.. 


Atherton. This firm continued in business some 
years, and was prosperous. It was finally merged 
with the firm of Atherton, Stetson & Co., a solid 
Boston house, the Athertons being Samuel, James, 
and William. James’ health not being robust, after 
his business energies had been rewarded with a suffi- 
cient competency, he retired from active labor. This 


was in 1867, his connection with Atherton, Stetson & | 


Co. ceasing in 1861. 


the house now occupied by his sons. 
27 


His children, 


About 1838 he removed to | 


was educated at the common schools; passed the 
early part of his life (until twenty years of age) on 
homestead farm. He then went to Boston 
(1835) as clerk for William Capen, shoe and leather 
dealer, and remained with him about two years. 
Then taking a position as book-keeper with the 
firm of Prouty & Co., Commercial Street, wholesale 
hardware, he stayed with them for one year. He 
next established himself in business, as a retail boot 
and shoe dealer, on Washington Street, in company 
with Edwin Battles, under the firm-name of Battles 
& Atherton. After one year the connection with 
Mr. Battles was dissolved, and Mr. Atherton was 
employed by Caleb Stetson, wholesale shoe and 
leather dealer, corner of Broad and Central Streets, 
whom he served as clerk until Jan. 1, 1842, when he 


' became partner, the new firm being C. Stetson & Co. 


418 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





This partnership lasted about three years. Then | 


Mr. Stetson retired from active business, remaining, © 


however, special partner, but the business was con- 
ducted as “Samuel Atherton.” This relation con- 
tinued three years, when Mr. Stetson again resumed 
active connection, and the firm-name became 8. Ather- 
ton & Co., to be changed two years later to Atherton, 
Stetson & Co., on the admission as member of A. W. 
Stetson, now president of the State Bank. From 
that time to 1861 the firm-name was unchanged. 
On the retirement of Caleb Stetson, in 1852, James 
and William Atherton were admitted as partners, and 
they continued the Stoughton manufactory as their 
portion of the firm work. In 1861, Samuel and 
James Atherton withdrew from the firm, it, however, 


retaining the old name of Atherton, Stetson & Co. 


Soon after George E. Atherton, son of Samuel, was 


admitted as partner. This business was one of the 





most successful in this department of trade in Boston, © 


five or six of the partners retiring in succession with | 


wealth. 


Mr. Atherton married, Sept. 16, 1841, Tempie H., | 
daughter of Col. Joseph and Mary (Rich) Holbrook, | 


of Boston. Their children were George Edward, 
Charles Francis, and Sarah Ann, who married George 
P. Sewal, of Boston. 
were Atherton and Mabel A. Mrs. Tempie Ather- 
ton died Feb. 24, 1849. 


The children of this marriage » 


Mr. Atherton married, July 


31856, Susan B., daughter of Capt. Richard and | 


Jerusha (Rich) Baker. Their children were Helen 


L. (married Edward H. Hawes, of Boston) and | 


Susan M. (married W. Morton Robinson, of Lynn). 
Mrs. Susan Atherton died May 18,1858. Mr. Ath- 
erton married, Oct. 6, 1869, Mrs. Susan M. Holton, 
daughter of Joseph Bassett and Margaret Richardson. 
Mr. Atherton passed some years of his married life 
in Charlestown. He purchased the beautiful place in 
Dorchester where he now resides in May, 1856, and 
has made his home there ever since. 
is a director in the New England Bank, Prescott In- 
surance Company, Massachusetts Loan and Trust 
Company, president of the Dorchester Gas-Light Com- 
pany, and connected with various other corporations. 
He is a man of great executive ability, clear intellect, 
By his 


enterprise, sagacity, and integrity he won the confi- 


sound practical sense, and force of character. 


dence and esteem of the leading business men of 


Boston, and has a high rank in financial circles. 


Whig and Republican in political belief, he took hold 


way, the weaving being done by hand. 


Mr. Atherton | 


| 


of politics with the same enthusiasm and energy | 


which characterized him in business life, and has 
He 
could have won political honors, and worn them grace- 


always taken an active part in the “ primaries.” 


fully and with distinction, but, aside from represent- 
ing Dorchester in the State Legislatures of 1867, 
1870, and 1877, he has not accepted political position. 
In private life Mr. Atherton is marked for his emi- 
nently social qualities, his courtesy to all, his warm 
and strong friendships, kindness, and liberality to the 
unfortunate and to charitable objects. He is Unitarian 
in religious belief. 


LEONARD HODGES. 


Leonard Hodges, for so many yearsone of Stough- 
ton’s leading manufacturers, was born in Taunton, 
Mass., July 8, 1794. His father, Samuel Hodges, 
was a man of solidity and good repute, and for many 
years an “innkeeper” (a position of consequence in 
those days) in Taunton and Easton. He married 
Lucinda Austin, of Dighton, and had several children, 
among whom were Samuel, Lucinda, and Leonard. 


| Samuel was one of the incorporators of the Gay Cot- 


ton Manufacturing Company, established in Stough- 
ton in 1813, on the site where afterward stood Leonard 
Hodges’ Satinet Mills. In the war of 1812 he 
rendered distinguished services as an officer in the 
army, and in 1819 was appointed United States con- 
sul at the Cape Verde Islands, where he died about 
1825, aged thirty-four. Lucinda married Rev. Cal- 
vin Park, a Congregational clergyman of reputation, 
who was at that time pastor of the church in Stough- 
ton. 

Leonard Hodges lived in Taunton till 1820, when 
he removed to Stoughton, and established himself as 
a working jeweler and merchant of jewelry. About 
1822 he began the manufacture of satinets in a small 
This busi- 
ness, conducted with care, diligence, and unswerving 
industry, grew steadily in importance, and after a few 
years, with new and improved machinery, he began 
to make hosiery-yarn, employing at first about twenty- 
five hands. Under his shrewd management the busi- 
ness assumed large proportions, and in 1851, after 
accumulating a large property, he retired from active 
labor, letting his mills to his nephew, Samuel W. 
Hodges, who, with Calvin Tuck, founded the firm of 
Tuck & Hodges. After five years Mr. Tuck retired, 
and in 1857, Mr. L. Hodges sold the mill to Charles 
H. French, of Canton, thus closing his connection 
with manufacturing. 

Mr. Hodges married, Jan. 12, 1848, Jane, daughter 
of Elijah and Ruth (Tisdale) Atherton, of Stoughton, 
Their children are Anna A., born Aug. 20, 1855, 
married Claude Wilson, M.D., of Waterville, N. Y.; 
































STOUGHTON. 


419 





and William L., born July 13, 1858, inherited the 
old homestead in Stoughton, and married May 10, 
1883, Lillie Gray, daughter of David M. and Lydia 
A. Simmonds, of Boston. 

Mr. Hodges was a diligent, hard-working man, not 
given to boasting nor display ; but by patient industry 
was truly the architect of his own fortune, attending 
closely to business and caring not for public honor or 
office. He was a careful counselor in all practical 
matters; for many years a director of the Neponset 
Bank of Canton, and possessed great strength of char- 
acter and steadfastness of purpose. While quiet and 
reserved in his intercourse with others, he had a large 
circle of attached friends, and was considered one of 
Stoughton’s representative men, and when he died, 
March 1, 1871, in the fullness of nearly seventy-seven 
years, the community lost a valuable member, and 
business circles an honest man. 


ASAHEL SOUTHWORTH. 


Asahel Southworth—Constant (1), Nathaniel (2), 
Edward (3), Constant (4), Jedediah (5), Con- 
sider (6), Asahel (7)—was born in Stoughton, July 
17, 1814; he was the youngest child of his parents, 
and received the education imparted at the common 
schools of those days. One of the features of his at- 
tending winter schools was to start with a fire-brand in 


the morning and go to the school-house, a distance of | 


a mile, and with this brand kindle the fire. He, like 


all his father’s family, was early taught the value | 


and necessity of labor. When he was twenty years 


old (1835) he, with his brother Jedediah, hired the | 


mill of his father, which in 1837 they bought ; built 
a new dam on the site of the present one. The same 
year they added fourteen feet to the length of the 
factory and constructed a water-wheel. Their busi- 
ness increased until their water-supply was unable to 
furnish them with sufficient power. So in August, 
1847, they moved to the mill in Canton, since occu- 
pied by the Net and Twine Company, where they 
Mr. Jedediah South- 
worth suddenly dying, Asahel, who while doing busi- 
ness in Canton had suffered extreme ill health from 
neuralgia, sold all the machinery of the business ex- 
cept that for making cords, with which he returned 
to Stoughton. 


machinery was put into the factory by Mr. South- 


manufactured for two years. 


In the spring of 1858 a set of woolen | 


worth and B. L. Morrison, they commencing business | 


under the name of Morrison & Southworth. 
this partnership was formed, it was a condition that 
when Consider Southworth, Asahel’s son, should be- 


When | 





come of age, and understand the business, he should 
take his father’s place. This partnership continued 
until 1861. Feb. 1, 1861, from some unknown cause, 
the dam gave way, leaving a hole forty feet wide and 
fourteen feet deep, and shortly after this firm was dis- 
solved. In the spring of 1861 the dam was rebuilt, 
a new and larger water-wheel put in, and fifteen feet 
added to the width of the mill, in which business was 
resumed by Asahel and Consider Southworth under 
the firm-name of A. Southworth & Son. The pro- 
duct of the new mill was about seventy-five pounds 
of yarn per day. In 1866 a brick stack was built, a 
boiler and engine put in, and the factory enlarged. 
The building is now two stories in height, with French 
roof, and thirty-nine by fifty-four feet on the ground ; 
the basement and floors affording about eight thou- 
In 1868, the 
old machinery was sold, and new of the most approved 
kind substituted. In 1867, printed or chinchilla 
yarns came into use, and the new machinery that is 
necessary to make this kind of goods was added. In 
1872, when chinchilla yarn was most demanded, they 
manufactured over one hundred and thirty thousand 
In 1875, Mr. Asahel Southworth retired 
from the business. He was thrice married, first, to 
Harriot, daughter of Ebenezer and Mary (Wild) 


sand five hundred feet of floor surface. 


pounds. 


| Kinsley, of Easton; she was born Nov. 27, 1813; 


died Oct. 9, 1853. Their children were Consider, 
Mary H. (died young), Mary KE. (Mrs. J. D. Taber, 
of Quincy), and Harriot E. (Mrs. W. R. Blake, of 
Stoughton). Mr. Southworth married, second, Mrs. 
Sarah D. Fellows, née Rowe, of Rockport; they had 
one child, Elmer Kinsley ; third, to Mrs. Lydia Swift. 
Mr. Southworth devoted himself to business, refusing 
office, only accepting those of school committee and 
road surveyor. He was a successful and prosperous 
man. He was energetic, of nervous temperament, 
active, and cautious, social, yet unassuming, and fond 
of home. His moral qualities placed him ia accord 
with the highest society, and he was universally es- 
teemed. With the exception of his two years’ resi- 
dence in Canton, he lived all his life on the home- 
stead of his father, in Stoughton. He was a member 
of the Universalist Society and of the Independent 
Order of Odd-Fellows. He was the first to build an 
ice-house and start the ice business in Stoughton. 
His death occurred Sept. 26, 1880. 

ConsIDER SouTHWORTH (eighth generation), son 
of Asahel and Harriet (Kinsley) Southworth, born in 
Stoughton, March 7, 1840. Like many of New Eng- 
land’s successful men, he had but common-school ad- 
vantages of education, yet this was supplemented by a 
thorough practical knowledge of his father’s manufac- 


420 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





He married, March 7, 1861, Anne J., daugh- 


turing. 


ter of Pelatiah and Myra (Wales) Stevens, of Stough- | 


ton. 


in 1865, Mr. Southworth formed a partnership with 
George A. Cooper to manufacture bonnet wire, and 
since 1870 has supplied the inhabitants of Stoughton 
with ice. From the retirement of his father from 
the business of A. Southworth & Son, in 1875, Mr. 
Southworth continued it until Jan. 1, 1880, when 
his brother, E. Kinsley Southworth, became his 
partner, and is now associated with him. They 
built soon after a “ picker’-house, thirty by thirty 
feet, and put in They could 
then make about three hundred and fifty pounds of 
yarn per day, of which one hundred was printed. In 
the spring of 1882 a brick addition was made to the 
mill, an eighty-horse steam-boiler put in, and also an 
additional engine, A disastrous flood in the fall of 
1882 carried away a portion of the dam and injured 
the foundation of the mill. Owing to the general 
stagnation of the woolen interest, no improvements 
have since been made except to repair the damage of 
the flood. The specialties they manufacture are such 
yarns as are used for Cardigan jackets and by fancy- 
goods knitters. In about three months after marriage 
Mr. and Mrs. Southworth commenced housekeeping 
in part of the homestead dwelling of his grandfather, 
Col. Consider Southworth, where they resided until 
they removed, in 1878, to the pleasant residence now 
In politics Mr. Southworth is a 


a small steam-engine. 


occupied by them. 
temperance Republican. 


ous. 
ceived largely of his time and attention during its 
construction, and every bill connected therewith was 
examined and audited by him. As an evidence of 


He has been elected three | 
years successively selectman and chairman of the — 
board, and during his administration the duties of | 
the office have been extremely responsible and ardu- | 
The elaborate and beautiful town hall has re- | 


| 
| 


Their surviving children are Harvey K. (born | 
Jan. J6, 1867) and Martin O. (born Nov. 14, 1869). | 
In addition to the firm of A. Southworth & Son, | 
"quiet and simple, and he much prefers the society of 





the estimation in which he is held by the citizens of | 
ton, of Newton, Walton Lane: children,—Sir Thomas, 


Christian, and Richard Southworth.’ 


Stoughton, and his business ability, we give the lan- 
guage of one of its substantial farmers: “ The town 
hall would have cost ten thousand dollars more had 
it not been for Mr. Southworth.” He has only been 
identified with town affairs during the last ten years, 
previously devoting himself to his business, in which 
he has been fairly successful. He is Universalist in 
his belief, and was parish treasurer for several years, 
until increasing cares caused him to decline serving 


longer. He joined the Sons of Temperance when 
fourteen years of age, and has never violated his ob- 


ligations or broken the pledge he then took. He is 


| Mynne, of Norfolk. 





a man of positive character and convictions, yet un- 
obtrusive and unostentatious. He seeks no public 
duties, but when called to perform them is faithful 
to the command,—‘ Whatsoever thy hand findeth to 
do, do it with thy might.” His manner of life is 


his home and family to parties or clubs, and enters 
with reluctance public gatherings. Enjoying rural 


_ life, he takes pleasure in cultivation of the soil and 


horticulture, and has a fine orchard of five hundred 
trees. Perhaps no man in Stoughton has been more 
earnestly devoted to its welfare than he, and surely 
none holds a higher place in the regards of its people. 


COL. CONSIDER SOUTHWORTH (1). 


The romantic history of Lady Alice Southworth, 
who married Governor William Bradford for her second 
husband in the infant Plymouth Colony, has been told 
over and over again during the last two hundred and 
fifty years, and of equally proud and noble descent as 
any of the English peerage is the Southworth family. 
Its transatlantic genealogy is thus given in Winsor’s 
“ History of Duxbury:” ‘It was procured by Mr. 
H. B. Somerby, from the Herald’s college, London, 
for Nathan Southworth, Esq., of Boston. It is not 
known whether the first named are to be understood 
as in regular lines of descent, or collateral branches 
of the family. [It is evidently direct line of descent. ] 
Sir Gilbert Southworth, of Southworth Hall, Lancas- 
ter, Knt., married Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas 
Dayes, of Salmsbury, in Lancashire. Sir John South- 
worth, of Southworth Hall, married Jane, daughter 
of John Booth, of Barton, Esq. Richard South- 
worth, of Salmsbury, Esq., married Klizabeth, daugh- 
ter of Edward Molineaux, Esq., of Segton, in Lan- 
eashire. Sir Christopher Southworth, of Southworth 
Hall, married Isabel, daughter of John Dutton, of 
County Chester. Sir John Southworth, of Salms- 
bury, Knt., married Ellen, daughter of Richard Lang- 


Richard Southworth, of London, merchant, mar- 
ried Jane, daughter of Edward Lloyd, of Shropshire : 
children,—Henry, of Somersetshire, married Eliza- 
beth, daughter of John Pillsant, of London, merchant; 
and Thomas, who married Jane, daughter of Nicholas 
Constant Southworth (if Lou- 


| berly’s table is understood correctly), who married 
_ Alice Carpenter, afterwards Mrs. Governor William 
| Bradford, of Plymouth Colony, New England, was son 


of Thomas and Jane (Mynne) Southworth. Their 














(he 


o 





Witte 7 





STOUGHTON. 


421 








children were Thomas M., Elizabeth Rayner, and Con- | 
stant, who married Elizabeth Collier. According to the — 


“ Pilgrim Memorials,” Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, stands 
on “a part of the extensive estate of Mr. Thomas 
Southworth, in 1668, and is probably comprised within 


the four acres given bim by his mother, Mrs. Alice | 


Bradford, relict of Gov. Bradford.” Thomas South- 
worth, ‘“‘a magistrate and good benefactor to both 
church and commonwealth,” died in 1669. 


According to old colonial records, ‘‘ on the 26th day — 


of March, 1670, Mistress Alice Bradford, senior, 
changed this life for a better, having attained to four- 
score years of age, or thereabouts. 


She was a godly > 


matron, and much loved while she lived, and lamented, | 


though aged, when she died, and was honorably in- 
terred, on the 29th of the month aforesaid, at New 
Plimouth.” 
her sons Thomas and Constant some time later, in 
1628. 

Constant Southworth had by his wife, Elizabeth 
Collier, Edward, Nathaniel, Mercy (married S. Free- 
man), Alice (married Col. Benjamin Clark), Mary 


Alice came over in the ship “‘ Anne,” | 


| for traitors. 


(married David Alden), Elizabeth (married William | 
Fobes, of Little Compton), Priscilla, and William. | 
Nathaniel, born at Plymouth, 1648, married Desire, | 
daughter of Edward Gray, in 1672; had Constant, | 
born 1674; Mary, born 1676; Ichabod, born 1678 ; — 


Elizabeth, married James Sproat; Nathaniel, born 
1684; and Edward, who settled in Middleborough 
and married Bridget Bosworth, of Hull, in 1711, and 


riod, and, it is said, bought the right to peg shoes 
(then a new invention) in the town of Stoughton. 
He was prominently connected with the interests of 
Stoughton. As colonel of the militia, he was called 
into active service with his regiment in the war of 
1812, but was not called into action. He held a 
high position in the Masonic fraternity ; was a member 
of the First Parish Church ; was well developed phys- 
ically, of strong positive character, lived in the west- 
ern part of Stoughton, and was especially fond of good 
horses, always owning one or two fine specimens. He 
was a valuable citizen, generous and hospitable in all 
the relations of life, and made a strong impress on 
the local history of his day. He was a life-long Dem- 
ocrat, a true patriot, and while he deprecated the agi- 
tation that led to the Rebellion, had it not been for 
his fourscore years he would have been found at the 
front battling for the Union. He had no sympathy 
Up to the time of the free-soil agita- 
tion his sons were in political accord with him, when 


Asahel became an active worker in that cause. He 
died June 6,1863, much lamented. His wife was 
born July 22,1777, and died Dec. 6, 1856. Col. 


Southworth commenced in 1823 a cotton-thread fac- 
tory, which was finished in 1824, and was a wooden 
building twenty-four by thirty-eight feet, with eight 


feet posts and a stone basement story. His son, 


| Consider A., who had learned the business in Paw- 


died in 1749, leaving four sons, Constant, Edward, | 
Lemuel, and Benjamin, who, as stated by Judge | 


Michell, all settled in North Bridgewater. 


Constant | 


married Martha, daughter of Joseph Keith, in 1734; | 


to them were born Betsey, in 1735; Nathaniel, in 
1737; Ezekiel, 1739; Martha and Mary, 1741; 
Desire, 1742; Jedediah, 1745; Constant, 1747; 
Sarah, 1749, and Isabel, 1751. 
North Bridgewater, married Mary, daughter of Capt. 
Consider Atherton (see biography of James Ather- 
ton). She was born in Stoughton, where they set- 
tled and had children,—Jedediah, Consider, Polly, 
Betsey, and Constant. 

Consider Southworth was known as colonel, and 
married Mary Hixon, Jan. 24, 1799, and had nine 
children,—Lyman, born June 6, 1800; Jarvis, born 
Aug. 20,1801; Lemuel D., born Sept. 7, 1802, 
Consider A., born May 14, 1805; Amasa ; Mira, born 
Nov. 3, 1810, married Alva Morrison, of Braintree ; 


Jedediah, born April 27, 1812; Asahel, Paul D., | 


born May 27, 1820. Col. Consider Southworth was 
born April 8, 1775, probably in Stoughton. He was 
one of the primitive shoe manufacturers of that pe- 


Jedediah, born in| 


tucket, R. L., took charge of the manufacturing depart- 
ment for some time, being succeeded by his brother 
Amasa. Work was begun on this mill July 15, 
1824, and forty-five pounds of thread were spun by 
August Ist. In August ninety-eight and a half pounds 
were spun ; in September one hundred and ten pounds. 
The total product to Jan. 1, 1825, was eight hundred 
and fifty-three pounds. In 1825 two thousand four 
hundred and fifty-three and a half pounds were _pro- 
duced. About 1826 Consider A. Southworth built a 
cord-twister, and he began to make cotton cord of 
various colors, used at that time to finish the tops of 
boots and shoes. These colored cords were made in 
the Southworth family until the advent of the sewing- 
machine changed the style of finishing, and the man- 


‘ufacturing of cording was given up in 1857, as there 


was no demand for the goods. ‘‘The Southworths 
made the first cotton cord ever manufactured in Mas- 
sachusetts by water-power.” 

Amasa Southworth (2) was born March 4, 1807, 
in Stoughton; had a meagre, common-school edu- 
cation; was early inured to labor, and for most of 
his life worked diligently with both head and hands, 
His youth was passed assisting his father in farming 


and in the mill. On becoming of age, in 1828, with 


422 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





his brother, Consider A., he formed the manufacturing | 
Lydia (Keene) Dorman, of Rockport, Mass., Dee. 


copartnership of C. A. & A. Southworth. Their mill 


was built on the site now occupied (1883) by the mill — 
About 1829 | 
they added a mill on the site of the present mill of | 
In 1857, | 
Amasa purchased the interest of his brother in this | 


of Consider Southworth & Brother. 
A. Southworth & Co., West Stoughton. 


mill, and took as partners his son, Massena B., and 
son-in-law, Edwin 8S. Henry, forming the firm of A. 


Southworth & Co., under which name business is still | 


conducted, and manufactures Sea Island and fancy cot- | 
In 1859, | 


ton, harness twine, line twine, threads, ete. 
Mr. Southworth sold his interest to his son, William S8., 
who then became of age. 


Mr. Southworth married, | 








March 4, 1829, Abigail, daughter of Asa and Polly | 


(Kent) Sherman, of Marshfield. From Marcia A. 
Thomas’ “ Memorials of Marshfield,’ we copy this: 
“ William Sherman had a garden place at Duxbury, 
1637, and lands towards Green Harbor, 1640. He 


early settled on the north side of the highlands, called | 
_man, whose promises are kept and whose credit is 


on early records, White’s Hill, near Peregrine White’s. 
He had John (born 1646), William, and perhaps 


others.” From its location and the family name, 
y 


this was written of Mrs. Southworth’s ancestors, as | 


Her | 


this describes the old homestead of her birth. 
father, Asa Sherman, born April 12, 1773, was a 
farmer of Marshfield, and owned and commanded a 
coasting vessel. He was a militia captain, an active 
and energetic man, well acquainted with many people, 
and held in high repute by his townsmen. He mar- 
ried Polly Kent, and had Polly, born Sept. 15, 1799; 
Asa, born Feb. 28, 1801; Wealthy, born Feb. 22, 
1803; Abigail, born Aug. 15, 1806; Alice W., born 
Feb. 24, 1810; and William, born May 25, 1813. 
Social, honest, patriotic, and upright, he died April 
26, 1870, aged ninety-seven. His wife, born Dec. 
28,1775, died Jan. 10, 1878, aged one hundred and 
two years and thirteen days. She was a lady of the 
old school, of sweet disposition and courteous man- 
ners, and much beloved. The children of Amasa 
and Abigail Southworth are A. Malvina, born Dee. 


10, 1830, married E. 8. Henry, has three living 


children; Walter E., born July 16, 1864; Alice S., | 


born June 29, 1867; and Ella S., born Jan. 14, 1871. 


Massena B., born Jan. 7, 1834, married Ellen K., 


daughter of Albert G. and Hannah Vose (Gay) Eaton, | 


March 12, 1866. 
April 2, 1871; Fred. W., born Sept. 25, 1874; and 
Inez M., born Feb. 26,1880. William I., born June 


| 





Their children are Grace K., born | 


9, 1839, married Martha E., daughter of Orin and | 


Polly (Hayden) Belcher, Jan. 6, 1861. 
dren are Edith G., born Sept. 26, 1869, and William 
B., born Nov. 9, 1871. Amasa E., born March 9, 


Their chil- | 


| 


| 


1844, married Abbie M., daughter of Charles and 


25, 1866. Their children are Edwin W., born Sept. 
22, 1867; Abbie D., born Feb. 10, 1877; and 
Chester Dean, born March 5, 1882. Amasa HE. re- 
sides in Kast Somerville, and is a member of the firm 
of Hyde & Southworth, wholesale grocers, Boston, 
Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Amasa Southworth commenced 
housekeeping in a small house near the present mill 
of A. Southworth & Co., and, after several removals, 
they finally occupied, in 1836, the house which was 
Mr. Southworth’s home till death, and now the resi- 
dence of his widow. This house was separated by a 
driveway from one built exactly like it by his brother, 
Consider A., which has been destroyed by fire. 
Amasa Southworth was liberal in all things of a 
social nature, fond of home and domestic circle, of 
good judgment, strong character, firm principle, suc- 
cessful in business ; in politics a Democrat, and in re- 
ligion a Universalist. The life of a private business 
good, is apt to be uneventful, as far as the purposes 
Such a life is 


so because good credit accompanies or follows correct 


of a biographical sketch is concerned. 


business habits, and such habits mean the smooth 
running of affairs, when each day, though it brings its 
work and obligations, leaves its obligations complied 
with and its labor performed. Such lives are the 
foundation and superstructure of society, and such a 
life was Amasa Southworth’s. The famous and 
eventful lives may well be considered the architectural 
embellishments, but they must have the solid strue- 
Life is not a dream 
is the assertion of more than one experience, and the 


ture to form themselves upon. 


lives of great events are rendered possible only by 
Mrs. South- 


worth, his companion of many years, with unusual 


just such lives as the one in question. 


activity of mind and body, surrounded by her chil- 
dren, is “only waiting” for the coming of the “ twi- 
li 


ht” to join her beloved husband. 


oO 
5 


HON. ELISHA C. MONK. 


Hon. Elisha Capen Monk, son of George R. and 
Sarah (Capen) Monk, was born in Stoughton, Mass., 
April 25, 1828. From Hon. Ellis Ames, of Canton, 
the noted genealogist, we gather the following infor- 
mation: “The ancestor who came to this country 
was probably Christopher Monk. In past generations 
there have been several Christopher Monks in Boston, 
and several of the same name in Stoughton, one of 
whom was born Jan. 14, 1733, anotherin 1757. At 























STOUGHTON. 





the ‘Massacre’ (so called), March 5, 1770, when 
the British troops fired upon the inhabitants of 
Boston, one Christopher Monk, of Boston, an ap- 
prentice, seventeen years old, stood next to Gen. 
Joseph Warren, and was shot down by a bullet 
through one of his lungs. Gen. Warren, who 


was a skillful physician and surgeon, attended him — 


every day for several years, without fee, until he 
finaily recovered. What relation 
Monks, of Stoughton, is not now known. George 
Monk kept a‘ famous tavern’ on what is now Park 
Street, in Boston, in 1686. Another George Monk 
had his will proven Oct. 10, 1740. He was a shop- 
keeper in Boston. There were four Elias Monks, one 
of whom, great-great-grandfather to Elisha C., came 
to Stoughton about 1720, and since then the family 
has been quite numerous there. He settled in the 
southeastern part of Stoughton, was a farmer, and 
died in 1750. He left at least two sons,—George and 
William. William was a soldier in both the French 
and Indian wars of 1756, and the Revolution, and 
was at the battle of the Plains of Abrabam, at the 
taking of Quebec, under Gen. Wolfe. George was 
born Feb. 10, 1734, in Stoughton, and died about 
1814. He was a farmer. 
His son Jacob was a farmer also. 
father to Elisha Capen Monk.” 
George, father of Jacob, was a volunteer in the 
Revolution, receiving a bounty from the town, and 
Jacob married Milly Ran- 


I knew him very well. 
He was grand- 


served through the war. 
dall, of Easton, whose mother lived to the advanced 
age of one hundred and four years. Their children 
were Nathan, George R. Stillman, Jacob, Almira 
(married Isaac Blanchard), Eliza (died single), and 
Caroline (married Charles Stone, of North Bridge- 
water). 

The Stoughton home of the family was in the 
south part of the town, near the “ Old Colony” line, 
and has been held by the family from the first occu- 
pant until now. Jacob Monk was a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, a large man of fine 
presence, quiet and unostentatious, and although very 
modest, was of sterling worth. He lived to be sixty- 
George Randall Monk, son of Jacob, born 
about 1799, had the educational advantages of the 
public schools of his day, became a manufacturer of 
boots and shoes in Stoughton about 1825, and con- 
tinued about ten years in that business, when he re- 
moved to West Troy, N. Y., and established himself 


in manufacturing, but after a four-years’ stay he gave 


seven. 


up business in consequence of a fall which produced 
paralysis of both legs. He then returned to Stough- 
ton, where he died Oct. 9, 1843, aged forty-four years. 


he was to the. 


He married Sarah, daughter of Deacon Elisha and 


Milly (Gay) Capen. (Milly Gay, previous to her 
marriage, spun and wove cloth from flax raised on her 
father’s farm at Dry Pond, and herself carried it to 
Boston, and sold it for money to purchase her wedding- 
dress. Her father, Timothy Gay, was a minute-man in 
the Revolution, and was called out to aid in the defense 
of Roxbury. She wasa woman of remarkable strength 
of character and physical endurance, and taught 
school before her marriage. She lived to be ninety- 
seven years of age.) They had five children who 
attained mature years,—George H., Elisha C., Harriet 
(deceased; married Ephraim W. Littlefield, of Hast 
Stoughton, and left three children), Adelia A. 


(married, first, William H. Curtis, had one child ; sec- 


ond, A. A. Lamb; they have had two children, and 
now live in Stoughton), Eliza F. (married D. 8. Tol- 
man, lives in Brockton, and has two children). 
Elisha C. Monk was fifteen years old at his father’s 
death. He had a good common-school education, 


_ supplemented by the private teaching of Rev. Wil- 


_make a good boot when eighteen. 


liam Cornell (a successful teacher and pastor of the 
Congregational Church in Stoughton) in Latin, rhet- 
He learned the bootmaker’s trade, and could 
He continued at 
the trade ten years, and alone and with others con- 
ducted manufacturing of boots for twelve years, and 
was fairly successful financially. He became one of 
the incorporators, in 1872, of the Stoughton Boot 
and Shoe Company, and was its agent. This con- 
tinued eight years, doing an annual business of nearly 


oric, ete. 


a quarter of a million dollars, and although not a 
financial success, sti]l it gave much employment to 
residents of the town, distributing large amounts of 
money, and benefiting the community by the conse- 
quent increase of its business. In 1870, Mr. Monk 
went West as one of the original corporation (‘* Union 
Colony”) which established the town of Greeley, Col. 
He was one of the trustees the first year of the 
colony, and erected the first building in the new town. 
This colony was one of the most successful ever un- 
dertaken, and will ever be historic from the sagacity 
and shrewd wisdom of its founders. Mr. Monk has 
been financially interested in Greeley until the present 
year. For the last ten years, and until within a few 
months, he has been the senior member of the firm of 
Monk & Ingalsbe, transacting a mercantile business 
in Greeley and at Colorado Springs. 

Mr. Monk has ever been in the foremost file of 
political progress. He was a member of the organiza- 
tion of Sons of Temperance in Stoughton for twenty 
years, and until the dissolution of the lodge. He 
early became connected with the Free-Soil movement, 


424 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





: 4 | 
and was elected on that issue and ticket to represent — 


Stoughton in the Massachusetts Legislature in 1856. 


As this movement gathered strength, and the great 


civil war was forced upon the country, Mr. Monk 


chusetts Colonies, he was representative to the General 
Court of Massachusetts fourteen years. In many 
other and important ways, he served his town and 


_ colony with zeal and fidelity, and died at an advanced 


gave his heartiest efforts to the maintenance of the | 


He 
gave much of his time in filling the quota of Stough- 


Union and the success of the Republican party. 


ton in the numerous drafts made upon her for soldiers 


in the field, and the promptitude with which she re-_ 


sponded to them was largely due to his exertions. 
As a Republican he represented his district in the 
Senate of Massachusetts in 1866—67, and served with 
credit on important committees. 
he is a Universalist. 


In religious belief 


Mr. Monk married, Jan, 15,1851, Sally B., daugh- | 


ter of Ethan and Sarah (Wentworth) French. She 
was born in Stoughton, Aug. 23, 1835. Their chil- 
dren are Bertha L., George, and Eunice ©. Bertha 


turing house of Farrell & Marston, Stoughton, and 
has one child,—Isaac Bertram. 


worthily proud. Conservative, yet actuated by con- 
victions, he has never been a hindrance to true prog- 
Pleasant 
and unrestrained in social intercourse, faithful in all 
the relations of life, those who have known him 


ress, but one of its most earnest assistants. 


longest are his strongest friends. 


LUCIUS CLAPP. 


Thomas Clapp (1), the first American ancestor 
of Lucius Clapp, was born in Dorchester, England, in 
1597, and came of an old Devonshire family of Danish 
extraction. He came to this country probably in 
1633, as in 1634 his name appears on the town 
records of Dorchester, in which town he was admitted 


a freeman in 1638. 


Mr. Monk ranks © 
among the successful men of whom Stoughton is | 


age. He had ten children, of whom Joseph (3) was 
second, and was born Dec. 14, 1668. He married 
and lived all his days in Scituate, where he owned 
land. He had twelve children. His son Joseph (4), 
born July 15, 1701, was deacon, inherited his father’s 
estate ; married, first, Hannah Briggs; second, Sarah 
Perkins, and reared a family of fifteen children. His 


eldest son, Joseph (5), born in Scituate, Feb. 21, 


(7) and Lydia (married Daniel Holbrook). 
married Isaac V. Marston, a member of the manufac- | 











| tled in North Easton as a farmer. 


1734-35, married there Eliza Turner, and spent the 
latter portion of his life elsewhere. He had six chil- 
dren, one of whom, Barnard (6), born in Scituate, 
married Lydia Packard and settled in Braintree, 
where he died in 1803, leaving two children,—Charles 
Charles, 
born in Braintree, Jan. 10, 1795, was early an orphan, 
his mother dying when he was scarcely two years 
old, and his father when he was about eight. He was 
taken by his uncle, Nathan Packard, a farmer of 
North Bridgewater, with whom he remained until his 
majority. He acquired sufficient education to enable 
him to teach several terms of school in early life, and 
He married 
Sally, daughter of Nathaniel and Betsey Manley, who 
was born in North Bridgewater, and shortly after set- 
In 1821, he came 


to Stoughton, purchased seventy-five acres of land, 


in which he gave great satisfaction. 


which, with additions, now is the farm occupied by 
his son Lucius, and was ever after a resident there. 
He died Jan. 16, 1838, a quiet, unostentatious man, of 
good repute. He held the various town offices of im- 
portance with credit, and was called out to defend the 
coast in the war of 1812. His children were Lucius 


| (8), and Charles, who died, aged nineteen, in 1846. 


He afterwards removed to Wey- | 


mouth, next to Scituate, where he was deacon of the 


church in 1647. 
and useful man; was deputy in 1649, and overseer 


He was an enterprising, energetic, 


of the poor in 1667, serving the first term of the ex- 
He married 
, had nine children, and died April 20, 
His third child, Samuel (2), 
married June 14, 1666, Hannah, daughter of Thomas 
Gill, of Hingham. 
dence ; was a distinguished man, and notably so in 


istence of those offices in the town. 
Abigail 
1684, greatly respected. 





He inherited his father’s resi- 


Scituate, his native town, which speaks well for his 
ability, as it then contained some of the ablest men in 
the colony. He was eight years deputy of Plymouth 


Colony. 


After the union of Plymouth and Massa- - 


He was a young man of more than ordinary ability, 
quiet and unassuming in his manners, honorable and 
upright in his life, making friends of all who came in 
contact with him. He was a good scholar, having, 
beside his common-school education, studied several 
terms at an academy, and was engaged in a course of 
studies at the normal school in Bridgewater, prepar- 
ing himself for future usefulness, of which he gave 
ereat promise, when he was prostrated by consump- 
tion. 

Lucius Clapp is the eighth in direct descent from 
Thomas, the emigrant, and was born in North Bridge- 
He was educated at 
commov and private schools; was reared a farmer ; 


water (now Brockton), Mass. 


took pride in agriculture, and has always followed 
that avocation, and is to-day one of the representative 























ELE 
aie eee a Ze 














Bie sep? oe z 








\ 
\t 
\ 


\ 





STOUGHTON. 425 








farmers of this progressive age. He has always re- 





sided on his father’s homestead ; has been successful | 


in business, and has used the funds Providence has 
given into his care wisely, and done much to make 
him remembered as a liberal and kind-hearted man- 
He married Emily, daughter of Lewis Waters, July 
14, 1847. Formerly a Whig, Mr. Clapp has been 
identified with the most progressive political creeds. 
He was one of the original Free-Soilers, and chairman 


we write, is Richard (1), John (2), Samuel (3), 
Samuel (4), Joseph (5), Robert (6), Robert (7), 
Robert (8). John Porter (2) is mentioned in the 
Porter genealogy as one of the most enterprising men 
of his time. He had many land grants, and was a 
large purchaser of lands in ancient Bridgewater. In 


1693 he built the first saw-mill in what is now South 


| Abington, at ‘ Little Comfort,” and was a useful, 


of the first Free-Soil meeting held in Stoughton. | 
Since its organization he has supported the Republi- 


can party. 
tees several years, and selectman of Stoughton seven 
years, and now (1883) holds that position. 
always been pronounced in advocacy of temperance, 


He has been member of school commit-— 


honored citizen, holding all the various town offices 
Joseph (3), born June 10,1730, 
lived in Bridgewater and Stoughton, moving from 
Bridgewater to Stoughton in 1777. He and his wife 


at different times. 


| were admitted to the North Bridgewater Church, of 


He has | 
1780. 


and has been connected with every movement for the | 


He 


betterment and advancement of his native town. 


is an attendant and supporter of the Methodist Epis-_ 


copal Church. 

We might write much of the esteem in which he 
is held by the better element of the community in 
which he has passed his entire life, but we forbear, 
fearing that we might wound a modest, retiring na- 
ture, when we only sought to do justice. We must, 
however, give the remark made by a prominent citi- 
zen concerning him, “ He is a se/ectman in the fullest 
and highest sense of the term, an able man, and 
honest and faithful as able.” 


ROBERT PORTER. 


Robert Porter is (eighth) in direct descent from | 


Richard Porter, who with others came over from 
Weymouth, England, in 1635, and settled at Wey- 
mouth, Mass. In the years 1648, 1654, 1663, and 
1668 grants of land were made to Richard Porter. 


He was continually in office as selectman, constable, 


and upon committees ; was a member of the original 
church,— Brother Richard Porter” often occurs on 
the old records. 
Ruth, and he was doubtless married after arriving in 


He died between Dec. 25, 1688, the 


The name of his wife was probably 


this country. 


| Ch): 





date of his will, and March 6, 1689, the date of the | 


inventory of his estate. The commencement of this 
will is quaint, and worthy a place in this history. 
“‘T, Richard Porter, of Weymouth, in New England, 
being apprehensive of my near approaching departure 
out of this world, and being through the mercy of 


which his uncle, John Porter, was the minister in 
He was a lieutenant in the militia in the time 
of the Revolutionary war. Robert Porter (6), son of 
Joseph and Elizabeth (Burrill) Porter, born in 
Bridgewater, March 30, 1762, was a farmer, and re- 
sided in Stoughton ; married Elizabeth Gay, June 5, 
1794; he had several children, among them Robert 
Mr. Porter was an active, energetic man, was 
captain of militia, and served his day and generation 
He died Aug. 18, 1835. 
Robert, father of the present Robert Porter. He was 
born in Stoughton, Dec. 19, 1798; married first, 
Fannie B., daughter of Uriah Capen, of Stoughton, 
Aug. 20, 1822 ; second, Eunice Freeman, of Orleans, 
June 24, 1832; third, Mrs. Caroline P. Ames, of 
Milton, June 5, 1875. His children numbered thir- 
teen, Robert being the oldest. He died Nov. 9, 
1876, aged seventy-eight. He was a farmer and large 


well. We come now to 


real-estate owner, and for more than fifty years owned 
and lived upon the land where the town hall now 
stands. He laid out and built Porter and Canton 
Streets as far as the Catholic Church, also School 
Street from Pearl to same point, thence westerly over 
his land nearly to Water Street. He also extended 
Canton Street to the line between him and his son 
Robert (8), being nearly a mile in the whole, selling 
the lots to the first builders and dwellers thereon. He 
was a “road-builder’” from his early days, having 
built the road through Ames’ Pond about 1830, also 
the road through the old mill-pond at the head of the 
present Brockton reservoir, in 1838. In the latter he 
had a partner, Mr. Samuel Capen. His trade was that 
of stone-masonry, and he used to say that he ‘“ had 


He 


stoned wells enough to measure three miles.”’ 


got out hardwood timber, and inaugurated the wood 


God of a short memory and disposing mind; trust-_ 
ing in the mercy of God through ye Lord Jesus Christ | 
for eternal life: Do make this my last will & testa- | 
' with the Congregationalists. 


ment.” The line from Richard to Robert, of whom 


and lumber business now carried on by his son 
Robert. He held several town offices, such as col- 
lector, constable, etc., was at one time deacon of the 
Universalist Church, but afterwards connected himself 


426 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Ropert Porrer (8) was born in Stoughton, on 
the Uriah Capen (his grandfather’s) place on Pleasant 
Street, Dee. 6, 1823, married Mary Holmes Drake, 
daughter of Luther Drake and Catherine (Pope) 
Holmes, his wife, Nov. 16, 1848. 
born in Sandwich. 
(1), died young; Mary Emma (2), born Dec. 26, 
1850, died Dec. 25, 1877; Theresa Jane, born 
March 17, 1853; Robert D., born July 29, 1855; 
Ellis B., born April 28, 1860; and A. St. John 
Chambré, born Sept. 27, 1867. 

Mr. Porter had only the advantages of the common 
schools, and as he was early put to labor, his oppor- 
When four 


Mrs. Porter was 


tunities for education were very limited. 


years old, in the summer of 1828, he rode and drove | 


horse to plow, continuing this for his father and 
others until his next younger brother was old enough 
to supersede him. When about eight years of age 


he began to accompany his father on his trips to 


Boston and drive team, and from that time to the | 


present has been an active laborer in various depart- 
ments of business. As soon as he was old enough to 
ride, he was set to ride horse in plowing out corn, and 
when nine years old “held plow and drove for him- 
self.” He remained with his father on the farm and 
doing stone-mason work until he was twenty-one. 
He established himself in business in 1845, by pur- 
chasing a timber lot in Kaston, from which he removed 
He 
has dealt in wood and timber ever since, about forty 
years. 


the timber and wood and also made charcoal. 


He did everything that came in his way to 
make an honest day’s work, drove team, stoned cel- 
lars, dug wells, laid stone walls, and has always been 
proficient. Among other things, selling and carting 
(with some aid in loading) fifty cords merchantable 


Their children are Mary Emma | 


_ dreds of rods of drainage, open, stone, and tile. 





_ sixty cents on the dollar. 


oak and chestnut wood four miles, on twelve and one- | 


half consecutive days, the loads, many of them, being 
This was 
hauled on an eight-foot wagon, and one load of heavy 


divided between three and four purchasers. 


oak contained nineteen and _ five-twelfths cord feet, 
and was so high that sometimes a hind wheel would 
rise upon the road. This was in 1847 or 1848, and 
when fifty years of age cut seven cords of pine wood 


in one day; at another time, one and three-eighths | 


cords in seventy-four minutes, of which witnesses are 
now living. When thirtcen years old he practiced 
tending windlass for well-digging, and lowered tubs 
of stone into wells for his father to lay. 
when near the bottom, the tub got the start, overbal- 
ancing him, as he weighed less than one hundred 


He shrunk 


pounds, throwing him over the windlass. 


At one time, | 


from no productive employment, but never strove to | 


make a dollar dishonestly. 


He purchased the place | 


where he now lives June 15, 1852. This was origi- 
nally forty-five acres, and to this he has added by pur- 
chase until he now has in this place one hundred and 
two acres, and altogether about three hundred acres. 
When Mr. Porter purchased this place it was much 
run down, having scarcely a rod of good fence and a 
few ‘“tumble-down” walls, and he could only cut three 
tons of English hay on the entire place. From this 


_unpromising beginning, Mr. Porter, by expenditure 


of great time and labor, has changed it from a barren 
waste to a rich, productive farm. It has been said 
that ‘““he who made two blades of grass grow where 
only one grew before, was a public benefactor.” How 
much more applicable is this term to Mr. Porter. 
The farm was almost covered with wood, through 
which one could scarcely see a house. He cleared 
off the wood, extirpated the stumps, and laid out a 
private road across his farm, along which and the 
public highway he has set out fine shade-trees, being 
He has constructed hun- 
One 
drain, a rod in width, is over eighty rods in length. 
Also stone walls of great beauty and solidity, and 
developed a charming scene of pastoral beauty from 
the primitive wilderness by his energy and taste. 
Mr. Porter is a model farmer, cuts more than sixty 


about a mile of distance. 


tons of fodder, follows no specialty, but engages in all 
departments of agriculture applicable to this section. 
He was the first to establish the coal business in 
Stoughton, which he has carried on for more than a 
quarter of a century. In this he disposes of from 
By the 
stringency of the panic times, in 1877, Mr. Porter 
was compelled to compromise with his creditors at 


three to four thousand tons per annum. 


That his honesty and in- 
tegrity was not impeached by this is evidenced by 
the fact that, immediately after settlement, his cred- 
itors offered to advance him funds to continue his 
In public and private life Mr. Porter 
takes a high moral and religious stand, and holds the 


His political life has had 


three stages, Free-Soil, Republican, and Prohibition. 


business. 
most advanced positions. 


Having no aspiration for office, he has only accepted 
that of chairman of selectmen, one term (1854). 
He has, however, allowed his name to run in connec- 
tion with senatorial and other offices on Prohibition 
tickets, merely as the representative of a principle, 
and enjoyed the satisfaction of running ahead of his 
ticket. 
and enjoys the esteem of the community. 


He is an industrious, hard-working citizen, 





HOLBROOK. 


427 





CHAPTER XX xX<TYV. 


HOLBROOK, 





BY A. E. SPROUL. 


ELSEWHERE in this volume Holbrook is alluded 
to as the daughter of Randolph. Technically, this is 
correct enough ; practically, however, the distinction 
between the West and East villages of the present 
town—now respectively the towns of Randolph and 
Holbrook—was as marked for many years previous to 
the division as it has ever been since. 


although there was a well-built highway extending al- 
most ina straight line between them, the communities 
did not grow together, and to this day the street al- 


luded to is but scantily settled for the greater part of its | 


length. 

General History.—The division of the town of 
Randolph, by a line running in the vicinity of the 
Cochato River, had been a topic of conversation, es- 
pecially in East Randolph, for many years previous to 
the autumn of 1871, when the first really decisive 
steps were taken. 
to consider the subject were held, at which it was 


evident that a majority of the citizens of Kast Ran- | 
| immediately voted that the Legislature be petitioned 


dolph were in favor of the formation of a new town 
east of the Old Colony Railroad line ; but there was 
not the harmony and unanimity which seemed desir- 


able, and the matter was dropped. Early in the au- 


tumn of 1871, however, it seemed to some that the | 


time fora successful effort in that direction had come, 
and preliminary work was begun, culminating in a citi- 


The centres | 
of the two villages were nearly two miles apart, and | 


In January, 1867, two meetings | 
' with which they were for so many years identified. 


meeting, held on Saturday evening, December 9th, was 
made noteworthy by reason of the proposal by Mr. 
K. N. Holbrook, there advanced, to give to the new 
town, in the event of its incorporation, the sum of 
fifty thousand dollars—of which twenty-five thousand 
dollars were to be expended for a town hall and library 
building, ten thousand dollars fora public library, and 
the remaining fifteen thousand dollars for the pay- 
The 


idea which still remains current to a considerable ex- 


ment of the town debt, or some kindred object. 


tent, more particularly outside the borders of the 
present town, that Mr. Holbrook made his munificent 
gift conditional upon the proposed town being named 
for him, deserves emphatic contradiction at the hands 
of the present writer, based upon the most reliable 
At the meeting where the 
generous proposal was made, the citizens assembled at 
once brought forward the name “ Holbrook” for the 
new town, and it received almost unanimous approval 
by the townspeople. The name was adopted not so 


contemporary testimony. 


/ much in honor of any one man, as in recognition of a 


family of old residents, who had become wealthy in 


_the prosecution of legitimate business, and who had 


| 





zens’ meeting held on the evening of Tuesday, Decem- | 


ber 5th. This meeting was largely attended, and great | 


enthusiasm prevailed. It was called to order by Mr. 


William Gray, and organized by the choice of Mr. L. | 


S. Whitcomb as chairman, and Mr. KE. Frank Lincoln, 
secretary. The following resolve, offered by Mr. Frank 
W. Lewis, was, after a full discussion by several of 
the most prominent citizens, accepted and adopted by 
a rising vote, only one negative vote being recorded: 


“ Resolved, That it is the sense of this meeting that it is ex- | ; . k 
| town, and to instruct the representative to the Legis- 


pedient that the portion of Randolph lying east of the Old Col- 
ony and Newport Railroad be set off from the main town and 
incorporated as a new town.” 


always shown themselves enterprising and_public- 
spirited, and alive to the interests of the community 


At the meeting of December 9th, therefore, it was 


to name the new town Holbrook, if incorporated, and 
three cheers were given for the name, and three more 
and a vote of thanks for Mr.. Holbrook. Petitions 
and subscription papers were actively circulated, fre- 
quent meetings of the executive committee were 
held, and the Hon. E. W. Morton, of Boston, was en- 
gaged to act as counsel for the advocates of’ division. 
About Jan. 8, 1872, 
sented to the Senate by Senator Carpenter, of Fox- 
boro’. Upto this time the project had been regarded 
by the citizens of West Randolph as visionary ; but 


the first petition was pre- 


they now saw that it must be met in a serious spirit. 
On January 18th a town-meeting was held in Stetson 
Hall, West Randolph, ‘‘ to take action on the petition 
of E. N. Holbrook and others,” at which it was voted 
to appoint a committee to oppose the division of the 


lature, Mr. Ludovicus F. Wild, of Hast Randolph, to 


_ carry out the expressed wish of the town, or resign. 


Executive and other committees were chosen and set | 


towork. On the following day (December 6th) a formal 
petition was signed by Mr. E. N. Holbrook and thir- 


teen others and recorded in the office of the Secretary | 
of State, and on the 8th it was served upon the town | 
' for the petitioners, and the Hon. B. W. Harris (now 


of Randolph by a deputy-sheriff. A second citizens’ 


All this was done in the face of the vigorous opposi- 
tion of the citizens of East Randolph, but they were 
outvoted, as often before. The hearings before the 
legislative Committee on Towns were begun on Janu- 


ary 24th, Mr. Morton, as previously stated, appearing 


428 





of East Bridgewater) for the remonstrants. Before | 


! 
| 


their close an event occurred which filled the hearts | 


of the people of East Randolph with profound sad- 
ness. This was the sudden death, on Feb. 5, 1872, 
of Mr. Elisha Niles Holbrook, the benefactor of the 
future town. Though a digression from the subject 
immediately in hand, perhaps no more appropriate 
place than the present may be found in which to 
allude to Mr. Holbrook’s career. 

He was born in East Randolph, Oct. 31, 1800, and 
was the second son and fifth child of Deacon Elisha 
and Anna Holbrook, of Randolph. His opportunities 
for an early education were not limited, judged by the 


standard in vogue at the period of his birth. For 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





was a liberal supporter of religious institutions. . . . 
When a friend or a neighbor was known to succeed 
and prosper, he was pleased, and never withheld the 
expression of his satisfaction. No bitter sarcasm ever 
fell from his lips against a neighbor or an acquaint- 
ance, or anything that wore the aspect of a calumny 
or slander. . . He was courteous, refined in his 
tastes, modest, unassuming. and never obtrusive in the 
statement or defense of his opinions. . . . Nature had 


gifted him with an elegant person, with a pleasing 


some time he was a pupil of the Rey. Dr. Strong, his | 
first pastor, who, besides the labors of the pulpit and | 


the parish, conducted the studies of many of his | 


youthful parishioners, and fitted numerous young men 
for college. 
elsewhere. At the age of twenty he entered upon a 
business career, as a partner in a boot and shoe man- 
ufacturing firm, with a capital of one thousand dol- 
He soon left 
the firm and conducted business alone, and in his own 
way. 
than fifty years, to the last four days of his life. 
With scarcely an exception, every day’s toil in that 
life of fifty years was a success. He gave ten thou- 
sand dollars toward the Winthrop church edifice (the 
original building), from whose Sabbath services he 
was absent but one day during the last fifteen years 
of his life. 


lars, and with the world before him. 


For defraying the current expenses of 


thirteen hundred dollars, and during the fifteen years 
immediately preceding his death he gave away the 
sum of eighty-five thousand dollars. He intimated a 
wish to do more, and named the objects on which he 
expressed a willingness to bestow his benefactions. 
Had his life been longer spared, or the premonitions 
of its sudden close been earlier given, unquestionably 
more would have been done in the execution of pur- 
poses which he cherished. His generous gift of fifty 
- thousand dollars to the new town has been already 
alluded to. The Rev. Ezekiel Russell, D.D., in an 


appreciative sketch of Mr. Holbrook, says of him, 


presence, a genial countenance, a black and sparkling 
eye. . . . He was the faithful, the affectionate hus- 
band, the kind, the tender father, the loving grand- 
parent, and the sympathizing brother. . . . He was 
a firm believer in the Christian Scriptures as the in- 
spired Word of God, and in all the fundamental doc- 
trines of the living oracles. He kept a copy of them 


in his counting-room and on his centre-table, and few 


He was also a pupil in an academy | 


This he did in one form or another for more 
town were in no respect suffered to abate. 


_ mittee alone dissenting. 


were the days that were allowed to pass without his 
perusal of them, either at his fireside or at his place 
of business.” 

Though the death of Mr. Holbrook came with a 
sudden shock to his fellow-townsmen, it was no time 
for faltering in the prosecution of the work in hand, 
and the efforts of the advocates of a division of the 
On Feb- 
ruary 8th the Committee on Towns reported in the 
Senate a bill for the incorporation of the town of 
Holbrook, two of the House members of the com- 
On the following day the 


_ bill passed to its second reading, and on the 13th it 
passed the Senate by a vote of twenty-five to ten. 
the society he paid annually from one thousand to 


“There was no taint of sloth in his composition. | 


Ltaca. Lites 
conceded that he never failed to fulfill a promise or 


Action, industry, enterprise were his life. 


redeem a pledge, and that he never resorted to un- 
lawful expedients or doubtful methods for the purpose 
of adding to his wealth. On the contrary, his career 
-was ever one of stainless rectitude and honor... . 
Like his honored father, Deacon Elisha Holbrook, he 


But the decisive battle was to be fought in the House ; 
and from that time until the bill reached its debatable 
stage, on February 19th, both petitioners and remon- 
strants were unremitting in their efforts to secure leg- 
On the last-mentioned date a 
debate of six or seven hours, lasting through that day 
and the next, resulted in a vote of one hundred and 
Another contest 
was waged upon the engrossment of the bill, but an 
engrossment was ordered on February 24th by eighty- 
six to seventy-one. 


islative supporters. 
thirteen to ninety-one for the bill. 


Then the sturdy remonstrants 
attempted to secure a reconsideration, but in this en- 
deavor they were unsuccessful, and after passing the 
several remaining stages the bill received the Gov- 
ernor’s signature on February 29th, and the town of 
Holbrook became an accomplished fact. Following is 
a copy of the more important portions of the act of 
incorporation : 
“ Be it enacted, ete., as follows: 


“Sper. 1. All the territory now within the town of Randolph, 
in the county of Norfolk, comprised within the following limits, 





ar a a oe ae 





HOLBROOK. 


429 





that is to say: beginning at the stone monument in the line be- 
tween said Randolph and the town of Braintree, on the easterly 
side of Tumbling Brook; thence taking a southwesterly course, 
in a straight line to a point six feet westerly from the north- 
westerly corner in range of the northerly side of the so-called 
East Randolph station-house of the Old Colony and Newport 
Railroad Company; thence the same or other southwesterly 


‘course to a point on the town line dividing Randolph and 


Stoughton, one hundred and fourteen rods southeasterly from 


| 


| 


the town stone monument in said last-mentioned dividing line, | 


at the southerly terminus of Main Street in said Randolph; 
thence southeasterly, northeasterly, northerly, and westerly as 
the present dividing line between said Randolph and Stough- 
ton, North Bridgewater, Abington, Weymouth, and Braintree 
runs, to the first-mentioned bound, is hereby incorporated into 
a town by the name of Holbrook; and said town of Holbrook is 
hereby invested with all the powers, privileges, rights, and im- 
munities, and is subject to all the duties and requisitions to 
which other towns are entitled and subjected by the Constitu- 
tion and laws of this Commonwealth. 

“Secr. 2. The inhabitants of said town of Holbrook shall be 
holden to pay all arrears of taxes which have been legally as- 
sessed upon them by the town of Randq@ph, and all taxes here- 
tofore assessed and not collected shall be collected and paid to 
the treasurer of the town of Randolph in the same manner as 
if this act had not been passed; and also their proportion of 
all county and State taxes that may be assessed upon them pre~- 
viously to the taking of the next State valuation, said propor- 
tion to be ascertained and determined by the last valuation in 
the said Randolph. 

“Sect. 3. Said towns of Randolph and Holbrook shall be re- 
spectively liable for the support of all persons who now do or 
shall hereafter stand in need of relief as paupers, whose settle- 
ment was gained by or derived from a settlement gained or 
derived within their respective limits; and the town of Hol- 
brook shall also pay annually to the town of Randolph one- 
third part of all costs of the support or relief of those persons 
who now do or shall hereafter stand in need of relief or support 
as paupers, and have gained a settlement in said town of Ran- 
dolpb in consequence of the military services of themselves or 
those through whom they derive their settlement. 

“Srcr. 4. The corporate property belonging to the town of 
Randolph at the date of this act, and the public debt of the said 
town existing at said date, shall be divided between the towns 
of Randolph and Holbrook according to the valuation of the 
property within their respective limits as assessed May first, in 
the year eighteen hundred and seventy-one; and said town of 
Holbrook shall receive from said town of Randolph a propor- 





same year, various appropriations for town purposes 
were made, by-laws adopted, ete. 

One of the earliest business transactions to demand 
attention from the officers of the new town was the 
division of town property. For this purpose the se- 
lectmen of both Randolph and Holbrook were ap- 
pointed committees with full powers by their respect- 
ive towns; and according to a document dated 
“ Randolph, March 19, 1873,” and signed by both 
boards, it was agreed and certified “that there has 
been paid by the town of Holbrook to the town of 
Randolph the balance of indebtedness as within 
stated, amounting to $14,988.94, and interest on the 
same from Feb. 1 to March 1, 1873, of $74.94, 
making $15,063.88,” etc. In 1873 a town hall was 
built only a few feet south of the Winthrop Church, 
on Franklin Street, at an expense of about $35,000. 
It was of wood, two stories high, with French roof 
and brick basement, and was ninety by forty-eight 
feet in dimensions. The public library occupied 
rooms on the first floor. Early on Christmas morn- 
ing, 1877, fire broke out in the town hall building, 
and both it and the church were wholly consumed. 
After the fire the citizens held their town-meetings in 
Library Hall, in the rear of the burned structure; but 
early in 1879 a new brick town hall, with stone trim- 
mings, was completed on the site of the former one, 
and was dedicated on the evening of March 26th of 
that year. 

The building is in plan a parallelogram, measuring 


_ fifty-three by one hundred feet, with projections forty- 


tionate part of whatever amount may hereafter be refunded to | 


_ by fifty feet and twenty-five feet in height, and with 


said town of Randolph from the State or United States to re- 
imburse said town of Randolph for bounties to soldiers, or State 
aid paid to soldiers’ families after deducting all reasonable ex- 
penses; and said town of Holbrook shall bear the expense of 
making the survey and establishing the line between said towns 
of Randolph and Holbrook.” 


[Sections 5, 6, and 7 have no present interest. | 

The first town-meeting in Holbrook was held 
March 11, 1872, ‘‘in the East Parish meeting- 
house.”’ 
French, and after prayer by the Rev. Ezekiel Russell, 
D.D., Mr. Lemuel Whitcomb was elected moderator, 
and the meeting proceeded to the election of town 
officers. 


It was called to order by the Hon. Zenas | 


At another meeting, held March 21st of the | 


four feet wide on front and rear, flanked at the corners 
on the front with projections thirteen feet wide. It 
contains four stories—basement, street floor, public 
hall, and roof story. The former contains the steam 
and gas apparatus. The street story is thirteen feet 
in height, containing two stores, apartments for town 
officers, and commodious quarters for the public 
library. The main hall, on the second story, is ninety 


its paneled walls and ceilings, long arched windows, 
and tasteful frescoing forms one of the most striking 
interiors of the kind in the State. It will seat, in- 
cluding the gallery at the northerly end, nine hundred 
persons. 
dressing-rooms adjacent. 


There is a large stage, with commodious 
A stone tablet set {in the 
front of the edifice bears this inscription : 


“€ Holbrook 
Town Hall. 
Erected 
1878. 
The Gift of ° 
E. N. Holbrook.” 


4350 





The total cost, including furniture, fixtures, etc., 
was nearly twenty-eight thousand five hundred dol- 
lars. On the left of the stage, in the hall, is a finely 
executed portrait of the late donor of the building; 
and in a corresponding position on the right of the 
platform is a marble slab inscribed as follows : 


“Holbrook Town Hall. 
Erected 1873. 
Destroyed by Fire 
Dec. 25, 1877. 
Rebuilt, 1878.” 


The dedicatory exercises consisted of prayer by 
Rev. Z. T. Sullivan, of Brockton ; song by the Mozart 
Quartette (male); address by Prof. J. B. Sewall, prin- 
cipal of Thayer Academy, South Braintree ; presenta- 
tion of the keys of the building by Mr. J. T. South- 
worth, chairman of the building committee, to Mr. 
Henry Newcomb, chairman of the board of selectmen, 
who responded appropriately ; song by the quartette ; 
remarks by Hon. Seth Turner, of Randolph; reading 
of letters, and brief speeches by invited guests from — 
Dancing closed the festivities of 


neighboring towns. 
the occasion. 
In view of prevalent incendiarism, the following 


significant vote was passed at a special town-meeting 
held Nov. 5, 1881: 

“Voted, That the selectmen offer $500 reward 
each for the arrest and conviction of the party or par- | 
ties who set fire to the barn of 8. L. White, house of 
the late Ebenezer Alden, barn of James Holbrook, 
barn of Mrs. Prudence D. Holbrook, and $1500 for 
the arrest and conviction of the party or parties who 
set fire to the house of the late C. 8S. Holbrook; and 
in no case shall a double reward be paid for the arrest 


and conviction of any one party.” 

Ecclesiastical History,— Up to the year 1818 the | 
residents of both the Hast and West villages of Ran- | 
dolph worshiped in the First Church, which was located | 
In this | 
year, however, the question of repairing the old house 


in the latter village, and formed one society. 
or building a new one was raised. The church edifice 
was then fifty-four years old, it being the second 
building erected by the society. It having been voted 
to build rather than repair, most of the residents liv- 
ing east of the Cochato River petitioned to the Gen- 
This | 


movement on the part of the citizens of Kast Ran- 





eral Court to be set off as a separate parish. 


dolph excited an opposition which was fully on a par 
with that created by the proposition to divide the town, | 
made more than half a century later. The petition | 
was granted, however, and the “Second Church in | 
Randolph”’ was organized Dec. 15, 1818. [It may 
here be remarked that the action of the Legislature in | 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





dividing the parish put a quietus for several years 
upon the project of rebuilding the edifice occupied by 
the First Church in West Randolph, and it was not 


_ until Nov. 2, 1825, that the third meeting-house of 


that parish was dedicated. | 
The original members of the Second Church were 
as follows : 


Deacon William Linfield. 
Deacon Elisha Holbrook. 
Bailey White. 

Josoph Holbrook. 

Jacob Whitcomb, Jr. 
Samuel Whitcomb. 
Abner W. Paine. 
Benjamin Paine. 

Tsaac Whitcomb. 

Deacon Silas Paine. 
Caleb White. 

Col. Simeon White. 
Daniel Faxon. 

David White. ’ 
Silas Paine, Jr. 

Lucius Paine. 

Otis Thayer (2d). 

Isaac White. 

Nathaniel Belcher. 


Hannah Linfield. 
Cassandana White. 
Rachel Wild. 
Sarah Belcher. 
Lydia Whitcomb. 
Phebe Whitcomb. 
Zerniah Faxon. 
Hannah Hobert. 
Sally Whitcomb. 
Mary Paine. 
Sarah Holbrook. 
Relief White. 
Alse White. 

Abi Newcomb. 
Hannah Hunt. 
Alse Thayer. 
Mary White. 
Mary Whitcomb. 
Sarah White. 
Lucinda Whitcomb. 


A meeting-house for the Second Church was built 


_ immediately after the organization of the parish, and 


the first pastor, the Rev. David Brigham, was ordained 
Dee. 29,1819. He was dismissed Nov. 22, 1836, 
and was succeeded by the Rev. Dennis Powers, on 
Dec. 5, 1838. The latter clergyman remained only 
until April 15, 1841, his successor being the Rev. 
Wiiliam A. Peabody, who was settled March 2, 1843, 
and was dismissed Oct. 2, 1849. The Rev. Ezekiel 
Russell, D.D., became pastor on May 8, 1850. Six 


| years later dissensions arose in the church, and a 


division of the society occurred, resulting in the 
organization, on Dee. 30, 1856, of the Winthrop 
Church, named in honor of Governor John Winthrop 
of colonial fame. The circumstances immediately 
attending the formation of this society were these: 
Deacon Elisha Holbrook and fifty-eight others— 
members of the Second Congregational Church in 
Randolph—presented a request to the church, at its 
stated and regular meeting, Dec. 5, 1856, for letters 
of dismission and recommendation to such ecclesiasti- 
cal council of sister churches as might be called for 
the purpose of organizing them into a separate and 
independent church of Christ. The petition sub- 
mitted was as follows : 

“ To the Second Congregational Church in Randolph : 


“The undersigned, members of said Second Church, having 
become unalterably convinced, by a train of circumstances now 





1 The only living member. 





HOLBROOK. 


431 





of long continuance and known to all, that our peace and har- 
mony as members of the church of Christ require an entire 
change of our relations, and a new organization into a distinct 
and separate church, do, therefore, request letters of dismission 
and recommendation from the said Second Church in Ran- 
dolph, to such ecclesiastical council from sister churches as 
may be called to act on their request. 

“East RanpotpH, Nov. 28, 1856.” 

It having been moved and seconded that the above 
request be granted, the motion was carried by a ma- 
jority of ten votes. There were five negative votes 


cast, and five persons did not vote. Letters of dis- 





mission and recommendation were immediately placed | 


in the hands of the petitioners, signed in due form by 
the pastor and clerk of the Second Church in Ran- 
dolph. The persons who had thus been dismissed 


met Dec. 18, 1856, in the hall of E. N. Holbrook, | 


Esq., and voted, unanimously, to call a council to act 
on their request for organization, and adopted, also, a 
confession of faith and covenant, to be submitted to 
the council for its approval. The council thus in- 
vited to convene assembled in conformity with the 
invitation, and left behind the following record of its 
doings : 
“ RanpoupH, Dee. 30, 1856. 

“Pursuant to Letters Missive from Deacon Elisha Holbrook 
and sixteen others, holding letters of dismission and recommen- 
dation from the Second Congregational Church in Randolph, 


and from other churches, to such ecclesiastical council of sister | years, in connection with the Second Church in Ran- 


voted to be by themselves. It was then moved that the prayer 
of the petitioners be granted, and that we proceed to organize 
a distinct and separate church of Christ, under the name of the 
Winthrop Church of Randolph. This motion, after full and 
free discussion, was unanimously adopted. Arrangements were 
then made for the public services of the occasion, as follows : 
“1, Sermon, with the Introductory Prayer, Rev. David 
Brigham. 
“2. Reading the Confession of Faith and Covenant, with the 
Consecrating Prayer, Rey. Jonas Perkins. 
«3. Charge to the Church, Rey. Paul Couch. 
“4, Right Hand of Fellowship, with Concluding Prayer, 
Rev. R. 8S. Storrs, D.D. 
** After attending public services as above arranged, council 
dissolved. 
“R.S. Srorrs, Moderator. 
‘‘Davip BrigHam, Scribe. 
“A true copy of the doings and result of council. 
“ Attest : “D. BrigHam, Scribe.” 


The whole number of members composing the 
Winthrop Church on the day of its organization was 
sixty—males, 17 ; females, 43. On the evening of 
the same day a society in the same place was organ- 
ized in connection with the church, the legal steps 
for this purpose having been previously taken. The 


church, January 8th, and society, Jan. 20, 1857, 
| with entire unanimity, extended an invitation to the 


Rey. E. Russell to become their pastor, he having 


already sustained to them this relation nearly seven 


churches as may be called for the purpose of organizing them | 


into a distinct and separate church of Christ, an ecclesiastical 
council assembled this day in the hall of E. N. Holbrook. The 
following-named churches were present by their pastors and 
delegates, viz.: 

First Church in Braintree, Rev. R. S. Storrs, D.D., pastor ; 
Deacon David Hollis, delegate. 

Union Church of Braintree and Weymouth, Rey. J. Perkins, 
pastor; Deacon J. P. Nash, delegate. 

First Church, North Bridgewater, Rev. Paul Couch, pastor ; 
Brother J. Kingman, delegate. 

Trinitarian Congregational Church, Bridgewater, Rev. David 
Brigham, pastor; Deacon G. N. Holmes, delegate. 

“The council was organized by the choice of Rev. R.S. Storrs, 
D.D., as moderator, and Rev. David Brigham, scribe. After 
prayer to God for divine wisdom and direction in the business 
before them, in which the council was led by the moderator, a 
document, properly authenticated, was laid before them, show- 
ing that the petitioners referred to in the letters missive had 
been regularly dismissed and recommended, as therein stated. 


dolph. To this invitation a favorable response was 
promptly made, and the clergyman was dismissed 
from the Second Church on Feb. 3, 1857, and on the 
same day he was installed over the Winthrop Church, 
the sermon on that occasion being preached by the 
Rey. Dr. Storrs. 

The church and society met for the first time for 
public worship in the hall of E. N. Holbrook, Esq., 
on the first Sabbath in the year 1857. Here all the 
assemblies for public and social worship were held 


till the 17th of January, 1858. The new house of 


The moderator here inquired if any persons present had objec- | 
tions against the petitioners being formed, according to their | 


request, into a distinct and separate church of Christ. As no one 
appeared to offer objections, the council now listened to the 
confession of faith and covenant adopted by the petitioners, 
with which they voted entire satisfaction. The petitioners at 
this point, by request of the council, presented their reasons for 
withdrawing from the churches with which they had hitherto 
been connected, and for wishing to be organized into a separate 
church. After attending to these reasons, the moderator again 
inquired if any persons present had objections to make, or re- 
marks to offer upon the document now presented to the council 


by the petitioners. No one appearing to respond, the council 


worship being then complete, it was dedicated with 
the usual solemnities on the 20th, and opened for the 
first time for public worship on the Sabbath, the 24th 
of January, 1858. It was of the Romanesque style 
of architecture, eighty-four feet in length by fifty- 
three in breadth, and with a spire one hundred and 
forty-seven feet in height. It contained a bell and an 
organ, and its interior was tastefully frescoed. The 
cost of the edifice, including the land, was twenty-two 


_ thousand dollars, and its bills were all canceled on the 


day of its dedication. The names of the twenty-three 
persons who originally contributed to its erection are 
as follows: Elisha Holbrook, E. N. Holbrook, C. 8S. 


Holbrook, Lewis Whitcomb, Elijah Howard, John 


' Holbrook, Calvin French, Erastus Wales, Apollos 


432 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








Wales, Newton White, Edmund White, Simeon 
Whitcomb, Daniel Faxon, Theophilus Wood, M.D., 
William W. Linfield, Samuel Baker, Charles French 
(2d), Zenas French, Stephen Chesman, Nathaniel B. 


Thayer, David White, Caleb Harris, William EK. | 
_ditorium and vestry by Mrs. C. V. Spear, and silver- 


Linfield. 

After the separation of the churches the Second 
Church had no settled pastor, and relinquished the 
The 
church building ultimately became a shoe-factory, for 


holding of public services in April, 1864. 


Meanwhile, how- 
The Rev. Dr. 
Russell was dismissed from the pastorate on May 14, 


which purpose it is now occupied. 
ever, the Winthrop society prospered. 


to $200 each. The family of the late C.S. Holbrook 
gave a piano for the vestry ; a bequest of $330 from 
the late E. N. Holbrook was employed in the purchase 
of pulpit furniture, etc.; the tower-clock was given 
by Mrs. Mary W. Holbrook, clocks in the main au- 


ware by Mrs. EH. Everett Holbrook, who also gave 


| $200 to the Ladies’ Sewing Circle. 


1872, and on Jan. 29, 1874, there was a merging of | 


the old Second society with the Winthrop Church 


under the name of the Winthrop Congregational | 


Church of Holbrook. 


1877, occurred the disastrous conflagration which — 


destroyed both the new town hall and the Winthrop 
Church. 
ciently near together for the flames, which originated 
in the town hall building, to communicate to and en- 


velop the church. The latter had been extensively 


repaired, not long previous to its destruction, at an — 


| W. Thayer. 


expense of several thousand dollars. 

Immediately after the fire the members and friends 
of the Winthrop society took the initiatory steps 
looking to a rebuilding of the edifice. Their efforts 
were crowned with abundant success, and on the 
evening of Wednesday, Feb. 25, 1880, a commodious 
and handsomely finished new church was dedicated in 


the presence of a large congregation. The invocation 


prayer by Rev. P. B. Davis, of Hyde Park ; sermon 
by Rev. L. H. Angier, acting pastor of the Winthrop 
Church, who took his text from Exodus xiv. 14 and 
15; dedicatory prayer by Rev. George W. Blagden, 
D.D., of Boston. 


Early on Christmas morning, | 


The edifices stood side by side, and sufh- | 


| 
| 
| 
| 
| 








At the conclusion of the ceremo- — 


nies an opportunity to inspect the new structure was | 


afforded to those in attendance, which was embraced | 


very generally. The total cost of the edifice was 
$28,327, of which $15,790 was subscribed by citizens, 
and the church was substantially free from debt when 
dedicated. ‘The more important subscriptions were: 
Ladies’ Sewing Circle, $1000; George N. Spear, 
$1000; E. Everett Holbrook, $1000; Hdmund 
White, $750 ; Sabbath-school, $600 ; Thomas White, 
$500; Mrs. EK. N. Holbrook, $500; HE. Newton 
Thayer, $500; George T. Wilde, $300; J.'T. South- 
worth, $300; Charles H. Paine, $300; Seth C. 
Sawyer, $300; Charles V. Spear, $250. One hun- 


dred and seventy-four other persons donated from $5 | 


There was no pastor settled over the church after 
the discharge of the Rev. Dr. Russell, until May 10, 
1881, when the Rev. Herbert A. Loring was settled. 
During the interim the pulpit was occupied succes- 
sively by Revs. S. C. Kendall, Albert Bryant, H. C. 
Crane, George W. Blagden, D.D., D. W. Kilbourn, 
William Adams, L. H. Angier, and George C. Gor- 
don. The Rev. Mr. Loring was dismissed Nov. 23, 
1882, and on June 19, 1883, the Rev. Oliver 8S. 
Dean, the present pastor, was settled. 

Methodist Episcopal Church.'—An informal meet- 
ing of a few persons interested in the formation of a 
Methodist class was held Friday evening, July 26, 
1878, when it was decided to organize a weekly class, 


_ which should meet for the first time the next Wednes- 


day evening, July 31st, at the residence of Mr. Jos. 
On that evening, July 31, 1878, the 
first class-meeting was held, twelve persons being 
present. The Rev. Joshua Monroe, of West Abington, 
acted as leader. On the following Wednesday eve- 
ning the class met at the residence of Lewis Alden, 
who was chosen as the regular class-leader. 

Three months afterwards it was thought wise to 


hold a prayer-meeting on one evening of the week. 
was by Rev. J. C. Labaree, of Randolph; reading of | 
the Scriptures by Rev. Z. T. Sullivan, of Brockton ; | 
| twenty-five. 


Such a meeting was held for the first time at Joseph 
W. Thayer’s residence, with an attendance of about 
These prayer-meetings, held regularly on 
Monday evenings during the autumn and winter, had 
an increasing attendance, until on one occasion 
More than half of these, 
however, were from the Winthrop Congregational 


seventy-two were present. 


Charch, and others still were from out of town— 
South Braintree, West Abington, Brockton, ete. 
Thus these meetings from house to house were kept 
up under the lead of a few persons of the Methodist 
persuasion and preference, until a strong desire was 
felt that, in order to make the movement already be- 
gun a more permanent one, there ought to be a formal 
organization of a society under the discipline of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. The preliminary steps 
having been taken, and the necessary arrangements 


made, on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 1879, Rev. D. A. Whe- 


don, D.D., presiding elder of the Providence District, 





1 By Rev. Howard E. Cook. 


HOLBROOK. 


433 





Providence (now N. E. Southern) Conference, visited 
the town and formally organized the Holbrook Meth- 


odist Episcopal Church, with seven members and two | 


probationers. Truly a very small beginning! These 


original members were Lewis Alden, Mrs. Hattie | 


S. Alden, Elmer F. Reynolds, Mrs. Georgiana Rey- 


nolds, Mrs. Emma OQ. Thayer, Mrs. Naney A. Nick- | 


erson, and Edward Brewer. Probationers: Mrs. 
Abbie C. Hollis and Sarah W. Bates. 

A desire for preaching services on the Lord’s day 
soon prevailed, and on April 27, 1879, under the di- 


rection of the presiding elder, Rey. C. M. Comstock 


came to Holbrook and preached to the first congrega- 


tion ever assembled in the town under the auspices of 
a Methodist Episcopal Church. Library Hall had 
been engaged, and the services were held therein. 


Highty were present at this first preaching service. | 


The Rev. B. L. Duckwall preached May 4th and 11th, 
after whom the Rev. D. C. Stevenson acted as preacher 
and pastor from May 18th to August 2d. In this brief 
time he made many friends in Holbrook, who were 
sadly pained, the past year, at the news of his death 


in the South. The pulpit was supplied August 9th and | 


16th by the Rev. A. M. Osgood, and the 23d and 30th 
by the Rev. W. C. Helt. Next came the pastorate 
of the Rev. Nelson Edwards, for six months—Sep- 
tember 7th to March 7, 1880. During this time an 
attempt was made toward building a church. The 
Rev. Mr. Edwards succeeded in getting about six 
hundred dollars pledged, and sufficient collected to buy 


| 





a lot for four hundred and fifty dollars, located on Ply- | 


mouth Street, also to pay for the laying of a trench- 
work foundation for a church, thirty-one by forty. 
Here the work stopped. The first regularly-appointed 
preacher sent by the bishop was the Rev. E. M. Dun- 
ham, April 13, 1880. 


Hall was burned. Severe illness of his wife compelled 
him to resign his work in September, 1880, and the 


On the Saturday night on | 
which he arrived in town, April 17, 1880, Library | 


Rey. W. C. Endly was sent to fill out the remainder | 


The Rev. F. J. Ward was 


of the Conference year. 


sent as the supply in 1881, and remained until ill | 


health compelled him to resign in August ensuing. 
The Rev. Howard E. Cook, of Boston University 


School of Theology, succeeded to the vacancy. Unit-_ 


ing with the N. EK. Southern Conference as a pro- 
bationer in April, 1882, he was sent by the bishop as 


Methodist Episcopal Church. 
he was reappointed to a third year’s pastorate. 
The membership of the church has been increased 


as follows: The Rev. Mr. Edwards received two “ by | 
letter,’ the Rev. Mr. Dunham one “ from probation,” : 


28 


' months the house was ready for dedication. 
the second regularly-appointed pastor of the Holbrook | 
Again in April, 1883, | 





| ten members on probation. 


| move all debt. 


the Rev. Mr. Ward one “by letter” and one ‘“ from 
probation,” and the Rey. Mr. Cook twenty-six “ from 
probation” and nine “by letter.” Thus the total 
One, Otis Thayer, 
aged eighty-seven, is deceased; two have removed to 
Hopkinton without letter, one has been dismissed by 
letter to the South Braintree Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and one has been excluded for flagrant neg- 
lect of the means of grace. 


number received is forty-seven. 


The present nominal 
membership is therefore forty-five. There are, besides, 
Other Christians not for- 
mally united with the church are regularly associated 
with these in the religious work. 

After Library Hall was burned, preaching services 
and other services on the Lord’s day were held in the 
committee-room in the town hall building. Week- 
day services were continued from house to house. 
The loss by fire was considerable for this young, weak, 
There was no insurance. 
All was lost except the contribution-boxes and 
hymnals, which were found among the ruins, and 
such Sabbath-school books as were in the hands of 
scholars. 


and struggling church. 


A few weeks after the present pastorate 
began, the pastor initiated a movement towards build- 
ing achurch. He called a meeting of the stewards 
and trustees, and moved that the board of stewards 
This 
was carried, and the committee consisted of Lewis 
Alden, Wm. B. Crocker, and Edward Brewer. The 


preparations for building were then at once begun, 


and trustees serve as a building committee. 


and a subscription-book was started by the pastor, 
who also drew up some plans and specifications for a 
church, which were accepted by the committee, who 
gave him authority to solicit and receive bids thereon. 
This done, the carpenter’s contract was given to Ed- 
ward Brewer at two thousand two hundred and sev- 
enty-five dollars. An additional cost was incurred by 
putting in Scotch cathedral glass, and other extras, 
amounting to about one hundred and twenty-five dol- 
lars. 

The church is thirty-one by fifty feet, with front 
projection six by twenty-three feet, and rear projec- 
tion six by twelve feet, with a rear covered entrance 
Six weeks after 
the building committee was chosen the lumber was 
hauled on to the church-lot, and in about three 
The 
dedicatory services occurred Feb. 8, 1882. About 
fifteen hundred dollars was pledged in a day to re- 
The interior of the church is divided 


and stairway to the pulpit recess. 


up as follows: main audience-room thirty-one by 
forty feet with pulpit recess six by twelve feet ; lec- 
ture-room fifteen by twenty feet connected with former 


434 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





by ground-glass windows; hallway eight by fifteen 
feet; library-room four by six feet ; ladies’ kitchen 


over lecture-room and hall, and connected with 


lower floor by stairway and dumb-waiter; seat- | 


ing capacity of whole church three hundred and 
fifty. 


consisted of grading in front and also the con- 


Some improvements since the dedication have 





creting of walks, improving the library-room, and ele- | 


vating and railing off a section for the choir. 


The | 


whole church property is valued at about four thou- | 


sand dollars. The parsonage property at present is 
about two hundred dollars. The Sunday-school was 
organized the third Sunday on which meetings were 
held, in Library Hall (May 11, 1879), with a 
membership or attendance of fifty-two. The present 
membership is one hundred and thirty, and the super- 
intendent is Lewis Alden. There have been two special 
revival seasons during the present pastorate, in which 
nearly one hundred persons have taken a public stand 
for Christ. 
verted, and are now in the church. 
sient residents and gone from town. 
members of the Winthrop Sabbath-school, while 
others are turned back into the world. 

The above facts show a marked and rapid progress 
for the Holbrook Methodist Episcopal Church, especi- 
ally during the present pastorate. Death has not 
broken into its ranks, and there have been steady 


Some were tran- 


accessions. In four years this church has acquired 
a property worth nearly forty-five hundred dollars, has 
become a regular appointment in the N. E. South- 
ern Conference, and pays a salary of seven hundred 
and fifty dollars per annum. The parsonage tene- 
ment, of six rooms, is convenient, pleasant, and com- 
fortable. 

The church is doing a good and needed -work, and 
its past success is felt to be the harbinger of far 
greater growth and power for good. 

The officers of the church are as follows: 
ards, Lewis Alden (recording secretary), Wm. B. 
Crocker, Samuel C. Curtis, Alexander H. McGaw, 
Josiah W. Chamberlain, Chas. B. Boynton, Winslow 
P. Wilbur, Chas. C. Webster, and Franklin Z. Phil- 
lips ; Trustees, Lewis Alden, Wm. B. Crocker, John 


Many of these have been soundly con- | 


Some were | 
1869. 


\ 
| 


brethren of North Bridgewater (now Brockton). As 
a result of the work the people wished a church or- 
ganization, and in May the choice was made in favor 
of a Baptist society. On May 30th the church was 
constituted under the labors of the Rev. Benjamin I. 
Lane, with four members, viz., Paul Hollis, A. L. 
Russell, Emily F. Russell, and Sarah E. Belcher, 
and the Sabbath-school was given formally to the 
At the close of the year the membership 
The church was recognized by a 


church. 
was twenty-nine. 


council of Baptist Churches convened at South Ran- 


dolph in a pine grove, on land of Mr. Thomas West, 
Sept. 14, 1868. On Dec. 10, 1870, the ground was 
broken for a church edifice by Samuel Ludden (age 
eighty-two) and Daniel Faxon, Jr., son of the donor 
of the land, Rev. J. K. Chase, pastor at East Stough- 
ton Baptist Church, officiating. 

The meagre records afford but little information for 
the years from 1870 to 1873, but they note the dedica- 
tion of the church June 25, 1872, with a sermon by 
the Rev. William Lamson. The Rev. Mr. Lane con- 
tinued to supply the pulpit until about November, 
After three years of supply by students and 
laymen, the church called the Rev. Benjamin Wheeler 
to be pastor, Nov. 1, 1872, who by faithful ministry 
greatly built up the society, twenty-two being added 
during his pastorate, which ended with his death, 
Aug. 25, 1876. Following him came the Rev. 
Richard M. Nott, who became a stated supply (re- 


_siding in Wakefield) until his death, in December, 


1879. Although but three were added to the church 
during his ministry, the fruit of his and others’ 
labors was gathered in by his successor, the Rev. 
Clifton Fletcher, of Melrose, who still continues as a 
stated supply. Fifteen members were added during 
October and November, 1883. During the years 


1882 and 1883 a debt of one thousand dollars was 
canceled and improvements made in the church, in- 


Stew- | 


cluding furnaces, at an expense of nearly three hun- 
dred dollars. 
Business.—Holbrook is emphatically a ‘“ shoe 


town.” How completely this business overshadows 


all others is shown by the fact that in the census of 


I. Glover, Samuel C. Curtis, Franklin Z. Phillips, and | 


Chas. C. Webster; Class-Leaders, Lewis Alden and 
Wn. B. Crocker. 

On the first Sabbath of July, 1861, a few members 
of the Winthrop Congregational Sabbath-school or- 
ganized a mission school in the engine-hall in South 
Randolph, which continued under their care until 


the spring of 1868. During the winter of 1867- 


1880, out of a total value of manufactured products 
of two million thirteen thousand seven hundred dol- 
lars, all but six thousand dollars was in boots and shoes. 
The business dates back to the beginning of the cen- 
tury. Kphraim Lincoln was one of the pioneers, and 
others of the early manufacturers bore the character- 


istic names, known and honored in the town to-day, 


68 a revival was commenced by the Methodist 


of Paine, Blanchard, Holbrook, White, Whitcomb, 
The sires laid the foundations, and the 


To- 


Faxon, ete. 
sons have proved themselves worthy successors. 








HOLBROOK. 


435 





| 
day three of the largest firms do ninety per cent. of 


the entire business. 

The house of Thomas White & Co. was founded in 
1839 by the senior member of the present firm, Mr. | 
Thomas White. In 1865, Mr. Edmund White, 
brother of Thomas, formed a partnership, under the | 





style of T. & EK. White, which continued until 1870, | 


when the firm dissolved, Mr. Edmund White retiring, 
and a new partnership was formed consisting of 


Thomas White, T. Edgar and Henry M. White (his | 


sons), which was known under the firm-name of 


Thomas White & Co. In 1873, Mr. M. Walker 
was admitted as a partner, but no change was made 
The firm manufactures men’s and 
women’s kip, calf, buff, and split boots and shoes, and 
occupies a four-story building one hundred by thirty- 


in the firm-name. 


six feet, with an L seventy by seventy-five feet. 
factory is supplied with the latest improved machinery, 
and at all times presents a busy scene, as there are 
some four hundred and fifty people engaged in vari- 
ous ways. 
six hundred thousand dollars per year, the goods 
going all over the United States. The firm also has 
a large manufactory at Great Falls, N. H., where, in 
a three-story building one hundred and seventy-five 


The sales for the last six years averaged 


by thirty feet, employment is given to about one hun- 
dred and seventy-five hands. 
tions of that establishment amount to about three 
hundred thousand dollars per year. 

The boot and shoe business of Mr. Edmund White 
was established by him in 1848. The building oceu- 
pied as a factory is one hundred and thirty by twenty- 
five feet, and three stories in height, with two wings, 


measuring one hundred and forty by thirty and one 
hundred and forty by thirty-five feet. About four 
hundred and fifty hands are employed, who manufac- 
ture on an average two thousand five hundred pairs 
per day, which are sold throughout the New England | 
and Western States. 
of age, is a native of Holbrook. 


Mr. White, who is sixty years | 


Messrs. Whitcomb & Paine, manufacturers of men’s 
and boys’ calf boots, pegged and standard screw, oc- 
cupy two buildings--the main structure being a four- | 
story and basement building, one hundred and seventy 
by thirty feet, and the other eighty by twenty-five 
feet, containing three floors. About two hundred 
and twenty-five hands are employed, who turn out one 
hundred cases per day. ‘The firm is one of the oldest | 
in the town, having been established in 1861. The 
members are L. S. Whitcomb and C. H. Paine. 

The firm of R Thayer & Son, manufacturers of 
leather shoe-strings and dealers in leather remnants, 
was established about 1845 by Mr. Ezra Thayer. At 


his death he was succeeded by his son, Royal Thayer, 
who later admitted his own son, Mr. HE. Newton 
Thayer, to a partnership, thus constituting the present 
firm. Two buildings are utilized as factories, and 
from twenty-five to thirty hands are employed. The 
business is prosperous and increasing under its present 
intelligent management. 

The following statistics of boot and shoe manu- 


facture in the town are taken from the census of 
1880: 


Numberiof testablishments’.:.c..--cc-sessadscssdccsscrscees 16 
Hmiploy és) (male) (Over Ube cc ccnn-cosedecnacsloccoccoceineeesos 950 
ee (Heraile) psc isn econ sensldnesesasaisscesaeameccineacese 202 

| Total wages paid during the year...............csse00e - $445,000 
Capital invested.......... Pocantenl-coceteschescacescesslececeons 487,600 
LOCKS USediesscccjesceccenciecceseccclecoscciesececisecscisessseivsesus 1,360,652 
Waltesote produChencocsscsincesccosslonenesunclecesecccclessseneeries 2,007,700 


The | 


The business transac- | 


Miscellaneous.—The only secret organization in 
the town is Holbrook Lodge, No. 1753, Knights of 
Honor, which was instituted Sept. 5, 1879. The 
charter members were R. P. Chandler, Dr. J. B. 
Kingsbury, J. T. Southworth, J. W. Hayden, Walter 
K. White, H. N. Clark, Z. A. French, W. R. Norton, 
H. F. Thayer, R. T. Pratt, C. H. French, Lewis Al- 
den, George M. Patten, S. D. Chase, J. E. Daniels, 
T. P. White, E. F. Hayden, Charles Hayden, and 
Elihu A. Holbrook. The Dictators have been J. 
T. Southworth, George M. Patten, Z. A. French, and 
Lewis Alden. The present officers are: P. D., Lewis 


| Alden; D., H. N. Clark; A. D., F. P. Butman; V. 
D., E. P. Rice; Chap., George M. Patten; R., J. E. 


Daniels; F. R., John Adams (2d); T., W. E. White ; 
Guide, E. E. Paine; Guard, A. W. Pratt; Sent., C. 
W. Staples. 

The village in the southern portion of the town, 
about two miles from the centre, is known as Brook- 
ville. Its former appellation was “ Faxon’s Corner.” 
It has a post-office and a Baptist Church, of which a 
sketch has been previously given in this article. 

Holbrook’s fire department consists of one steamer, 
one hand-engine (the latter located at Brookville), and 
a hook-and-ladder truck. 
George W. Wilde. 

Statistics.—The following table shows, under the 
appropriate headings, the most important statistical in- 
formation relative to the town of Holbrook since its 
incorporation, compiled from official sources : 


The chief engineer is Mr. 


1872. 

Town Officers.—Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the 
poor, John Adams, E. Wales Thayer, Lemuel S. Whitcomb; 
town clerk and treasurer, Frank W. Lewis; school committee, 
Frank W. Lewis (three years), Barton Howard (two years), 
Charles H. Paine (one year); auditors, Ludovicus Wild, New- 


| ton White, Nathaniel E. Hobart ; constables, Samuel L. White, 


S. R. Hodge, Z. P. Jordan; fence-viewers, Hiram Belcher, 


436 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





| 


Thomas West, Royal Thayer; sealer of weights and measures, | Appropriations (including $5000 for schools, $1600 for 


Warren Thayer; engineers of fire department, Edward Belcher, 
Samuel D. Chase; collector of taxes, Jacob Whitcomb. 
Appropriations.—Schools (including repairs and incidentals), 
$4300; highways, $1300; general town expense, $5200; State 
aid, $1000; State and county tax, $3500; total, $15,300. 
Valuation, May 1.—Personal estate, $722,060; real estate, 
- $647,490; total, $1,369,550. 
Tax Rate, $10 on $1000. 
Net Indebtedness, $14,038.21. 


Town Oficers.—Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the 
; poor, E. Wales Thayer, John Adams, Charles H. Belcher; 
town clerk and treasurer, David Blanchard ; road commissioners, 
E. Wales Thayer (three years), Thomes West (two years), 
Washington L. Bates (one year). (Minor officers here omitted.) 

Appropriations (including $5436.08 for schools and $1800 
for highways), $19,236.08. 

Net Indebtedness, $12,446.70. 


1874. 


Town Officers. —Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the 
poor, same as 1873; town clerk and treasurer, David Blanchard. 
(Minor officers here omitted.) 

Appropriations (including $5645.16 for schools and $1800 for 
highways), $20,845.16. 

Net Indebtedness, $8575.05. 


1875. 


Town Oficers.—Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the | 
poor, same as 1873; town clerk and treasurer, John Underhay. 
(Minor officers here omitted. ) 

Appropriations (including $5643.94 for schools and $1500 for 
highways), $21,593.95. 

Net Indebtedness, $16,277.86. 


1876. 

Town Officers.—Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the 
poor, C. H. Belcher, Newton White, W. F. Gleason ; town clerk 
and treasurer, John Underhay. (Minor officers here omitted.) | 

Appropriations (including $5000 for schools and $1000 for 


| clerk and treasurer, J. T. Southworth. 


| town clerk and treasurer, same as 1880. 





highways), $23,000. 
Net Indebtedness, $13,065.51. 


Town Ofjicers.—Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the 
poor, Newton White, W. F. Gleason, R. T. Pratt; town clerk 
and treasurer, John Underhay. 

Valuation.—Real estate, $769,435 ; personal property, $185,- 
550; bank and corporation stock owned by residents of Hol- 
brook and taxed by the State, $577,500; total, $1,532,485. 

Tax Rate, $11 on $1000. 

Appropriations (including $5250 for schools and $1600 for 


(Minor officers here omitted.) 


highways), $19,250. (At the close of the fiscal year there was | 
a balance due the town, over all indebtedness, of $10,100.61, of 
which $10,000 was due from the Franklin and Boylston Insur- 


ance Companies—$5000 each.) 


1878. 


Town Officers.—Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the | 
poor, Henry Newcomb, E. Frank Hayden, Samuel D. Chase ; | 
town clerk and treasurer, John Underhay. (Minor officers here 


omitted.) | 
Valuation.—Real estate, $809,845 ; personal estate (not in- | 
cluding bank and corporation stock), $185,750; total, $995,595. | 
Tax Rate, $16.50 on $1000. 


| town clerk and treasurer, J. T. Southworth. 


highways, and $6000 for fire department), $24,600. 

Orders Drawn on Treasurer (including $7116.24 for fire de- 
partment, and $21,783.92 for town house and fixtures), $44,- 
596.71. 

Net Indebtedness, $19,780.62. (An itemized report of the 
town hall building committee gives the entire cost of the new 
hall, to replace the burned structure, as $28,499.81.) 


1879. 


Town Oficers.—Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the 
poor, J. T. Southworth, Samuel D. Chase, E. Frank Hayden ; 
town clerk and treasurer, John Underhay. (Minor officers here 
omitted.) 

Valuation.—Real estate, $829,550; personal (not including 
stock), $182,145; total, $1,011,695. 

Valuation of Town Property, $53,750. 

Tax Rate, $14 on $1000. 

Appropriations (including $5000 for schools, $2200 for 
highways, $4000 for paupers, and $2000 for fire department), 


| $19,400. 


Net Indebtedness, $18,156.11 

Miscellaneous Statistics.—Number of voters, 551 (an increase 
of 47 over 1878) ; number of polls assessed, 653 (increase of 63 
over 1878); houses, 385 (inerease of 38 over 1878). 


1880. 


Town Officers.-Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the 
poor, Samuel D, Chase, John Adams, E. Frank Hayden; town 
(Minor officers omitted 
here.) 

Valuation.—Real estate, $834,740; personal estate (not in- 
cluding stock), $230,125; total, $1,064,865. 

Tax Rate, $15 on $1000, 

Appropriations (including $5000 for schools, $2000 for high- 


| ways, and $3500 for paupers), $24,475. 


Net Indebtedness, $11,480.83. 


1881. 
Town Officers.—Selectmen, assessors, overseers of the poor, 
(Minor officers here 


omitted.) 
Valuation.—Real estate, $836,765; personal (not including 


| stock), $219,670; total, $1,056,435. 


Tax Rate, $16 on $1000. 

Appropriations (including $5000 for schools, $4000 for. 
steamer-house, and $3500 for new school-house), $33,475. 

Net Indebtedness, $17,631.80. 


1882. 


Town Ojficers.--Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the 
poor, John Adams, Samuel G. Chase, Abram C. Holbrook ; 
town clerk and treasurer, J. T. Southworth. (Minor town 
officers here omitted.) 

Valuation.—Real estate, $831,490; personal (not including 
stock), $152,805; total, $984,295. 

Tax Rate, $19 on $1000. 

Appropriations (including $5500 for schools, $2000 for high- 
ways, and $3800 for paupers), $27,015. 

Net Indebtedness, $20,942.99. 

1883. 


Town Ofgicers.—Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the 
poor, Abram C. Holbrook, Willard F. Gleason, Samuel D. Chase ; 
(Minor town 
officers here omitted.) 

Valuation.—Real estate, $855,120; personal (not including 
stock), $164,211; total, $1,019,331. 














HOLBROOK. 





437 





Tax Rate, $16.50 on $1000. 
Appropriations (including $5800 for schools, $2000 for high- 
ways, and $3500 for paupers), 525,550. 
Net Indebtedness, 320,000, 
1884. 


Town Officers —Moderator, Francis Gardner; town clerk and 
treasurer, J. T. Southworth; selectmen, assessors, and overseers 
of the poor, Willard F. Gleason, Abram C. Holbrook, C. H. Bel- 
cher ; road commissioners, J. W. Paine, Charles W. Paine; trus- 
tee public library, John Underhay ; school committee, M. Anna 
Wood; constables, 8S. L. White, W. 0. Crooker, C. W. Wilde, 
Newton Hollis, S. A. Allen, Patrick Reardon, G. F. Nickerson. 

Vote on License.—Yes, 103; no, 212. 

Appropriations.—Schools, $6500; highways, $3200; State 
tax, $1300; county tax, $1000; poor, $4000; interest, $1500 ; 
town debt, $2000; cemeteries, $100; library, $800; town offi- 
cers, $1000; general expenses, $800; State aid, $500; fire de- 
partment, $1000; memorial day, $100; new roads, sidewalks, 
ete., $875; enforcing the liquor laws, $500; school supplies, 
$300; night police, $500. 


long course of his business life it has been remarked 


_ of him that he seldom, if ever, failed in any of his un- 


dertakings. For a period of nearly half a century he 
conducted a boot- and shoe-manufactory, always alone, 
until within a few years of his death he admitted his 
son, E. Everett Holbrook, as partner. 

During the last twenty years of his life his interests 
outside his manufactory had grown to be so extensive 


as to demand most of his attention, and much of his 


_ time was spent as a dealer in stocks in Boston. 


His methods of business were straightforward and 
direct; scorning subterfuge and finesse, he met all 
issues squarely as they arose, and by his life’s work 


and its results he furnished indubitable proof of the 


truth of the old adage, ‘“‘ Honesty is the best policy.” 


He possessed in an eminent degree those qualities 


It was voted that there be a vigorous enforcement of the | 


liquor laws, and that the appropriation for the same be put in 
the hands of the Law and Order League. 


The selectmen and | 


Messrs. J. T. Southworth and George W. Paine were appointed | 
a committee to investigate the subject of water supply for the | 


town. 


Population.—In 1875, 1726; in 1880, 2130. 
Of the latter 1092 were males and 1038 females. 
By the census of 1880 there were in the town 11 
white males and 12 white females, aged 21 and over, 
who could not write, and 23 persons aged 10 and 
over, who could not read. 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


E. N. HOLBROOK. 


E. N. Holbrook was bern in East Randolph (now 
Holbrook), Mass., Oct. 31,1800. He was the second 
son and fifth child of Deacon Elisha and Anna Hol- 
brook. He came of an ancestry distinguished for 
energy of character, piety, devotion to principle, and 


character those traits in a high degree. His oppor- 
tunities for an education in his youth were fair, and 
were well improved. 





that command success, and to his infinite credit, be it 
said, he applied the results of that success to no selfish 
end. Not only the town hall, the beautiful Win- 
throp church edifice, to the erection of which he was 
so liberal a contributor, not only the public library 
which he endowed, but even the town itself stands as 
a monument to his memory, bearing as it does his 
name in token of the munificent donation of fifty 
thousand dollars to the new town (in event of its es- 


_tablishment), in order, as he said, “that the people 


might be permanently benefited and begin their his- 
tory as a municipality free from debt, and in more 
propitious circumstances than most of the other debt- 
incumbered towns of the Commonwealth.” 

He was one of the prime movers and most active 
agents in securing the establishment of the new town, 


_ but unfortunately he did not live to see his wish fully 
consummated. His last visit to Boston, only a few 


days before his death, was to confer with the com- 
mittee appointed by the Legislature to determine as 
to the advisability of establishing the new town. The 


_ committee reported favorably, the town was set apart, 


but Mr. Holbrook had ceased his earthly cares and 


_ labors. 
zeal in their religious faith, and he united in his own | 


Instead, however, of pursuing | 


his studies through a collegiate course he early de- 


voted his attention to business, and at the age of 
twenty he, in company with others, engaged in the 
manufacture of boots and shoes. He soon withdrew 
from the firm, however, and established himself alone 
in the same line of business. 
one of the pioneers in that branch of manufacture for 
which Massachusetts has since become so famous. 


He may be ranked as | 


From the outset he was successful, and during the | 


He died Feb. 5, 1872, in the seventy-second year 
Nature had blessed him with a fine phy- 
sique, a genial, pleasant countenance, and command- 
View his character in what light we 


of his age. 


ing presence. 
may, it was such as to command admiration not only 


as a strong, successful man of business, as a philan- 


thropic citizen, but as a loving, tender husband and 
father. He married Relief, daughter of Samuel and 
Relief Linfield. She died March 19, 18838, aged 
seventy-nine years and seven months. Their childrca 
were two daughters and one son,—Relief L. (after- 
wards the wife of Rev. Charles V. Spear, principal and 


proprietor of Maplewood Institute, at Pittsfield, Mass. 


438 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








died April 26, 1883), E. Everett (married Mary J., 
daughter of Rev. Dr. Ezekiel Russell), and Mary W. 


The son and last-named daughter are still living. 


THOMAS WHITE. 


Thomas White was born in East Randolph (now 
Holbrook), Mass., April 30, 1816. 
common schools of his town, and also the Pittsfield 
(N. H.) Academy, graduating from this institution in 
1836. 
facturing industry, commencing that business in Hast 
Randolph in 1810. At that early day very primitive 


| 
| 





| 
| 
| 
| 


his Mr. White was one of the 
few who successfully met and weathered the great 


partner in the store. 


financial storm of 1857-58. During those terrible 
_ months there were hundreds of level-headed, far-seeing 


_ business men unable, notwithstanding their most he- 


He attended the | 


His father was a pioneer in the shoe manu- | 


methods were in use, machinery for the purpose was 


unknown, and the unpretentious little shops where 


affairs compared with the vast establishments where, 
operated by steam, hundreds of odd-looking machines 


roic endeavors, to breast the tide, but having his 
business well in hand, and by the exercise of clear 
foresight and good judgment, Mr. White passed the 
crisis and met all liabilities dollar for dollar. The 
war of the Rebellion following soon after, Mr. White, 
in common with other manufacturers, lost all his 
Southern trade, which had been quite extensive. 
Taking advantage of the demands of the occasion, 
however, he at once began making army boots and 
shoes, dealing sometimes directly with the govern- 


ment, but more largely with New York merchants. 
shoes were made by hand were very insignificant | 


shape, fashion, and finish the foot-gear of the present | 


generation. At the time of which we speak there 


were no railroads, and each manufacturer would make 


| K. White. 


up a load of shoes or boots, and with his team pro- | 


ceed to cart them to market to dispose of them, and 
having done so would return home to repeat the pro- 
cess. During his boyhood, when not attending school, 
Mr. White worked in the shop with his father, and 
upon his return from Pittsfield, at the age of twenty, 
he determined to follow boot and shoemaking as a 
business. 


For a few years ke worked for others, but | 


in 1839 he commenced business for himself. It was 


a very small beginning. 


All that was required in the | 


way of an outfit was a cutting-board, a few patterns, | 


and a knife. Mr. White had, however, youth, 


strength, energy, ambition and good business capacity, | 


and all of these he put as capital stock into his busi- 
ness. From the beginning he was successful, and so 
rapidly did his business increase that in 1843 he 
found it advisable to admit a partner, and Samuel 
Whitcomb was admitted, the firm being White & 
Whitcomb. This relation was soon terminated by 
the death of Mr. Whitcomb. 


man, Mr. White had come to hold a prominent place 


Though still a young 


in the community. 
hands, and his factory became quite a source of reve- 
nue to the little village. In the mean time he had 
also established a general store in the village, having 
for partners during the eight years he was connected 
with it Mr. F. H. Keith, now a prosperous mer- 
chant of Philadelphia, and Mr. Adolphus Clark, 
who has since been successful in business in London, 
England. In October, 1842, he married Miss Harriet 
K. Keith, of Bridgewater, a sister of Mr. F. H. Keith, 


He employed quite a number of 


This branch of business was continued until the close 
of the war caused a cessation of the demand. 

In 1866, Mr. White took his brother, Edmund 
White, into partnership with him, the firm being T. & 
Up to about this time it had been the cus- 
tom of manufacturers to dispose of their goods through 
commission-houses or selling agents. Believing, how- 
ever, it would accrue to their benefit to distribute 
their own products, they opened a wholesale boot- 
and shoe-store on Pearl, near Milk Street, Boston, 
Thomas superintending the selling of the goods, while 
Edmund had charge of the manufacturing at Hast 
Randolph. 


the leading business men of Boston. 


Mr. White at once took rank as one of 
Under his man- 
agement the business during the next two years in- 
creased so rapidly as to necessitate increased facilities 
for production, aud they purchased the large four-story 
steam-factory built by Spear, Sprague & Co., and 
which admirably suited their requirements. The 
firm had now become one of the largest and most in- 
fluential houses in the trade. 

In 1871, Mr. Edmund White withdrew from the 
firm, and soon established a large business of his own 
in the same village. Upon the withdrawal of his 
brother, Mr. White admitted his two sons, Tl. Edgar 
and Henry M. White, as partners, assuming the firm- 
name of Thomas White & Co. In 1872 the great 
fire in Boston left their store, like all others situated 
in what is known as the ‘“ burned district,” in ashes. 
Some of their stock was saved, but they experienced 
heavy losses by the failure of the insurance compa- 
nies. Although they suffered temporary inconveni- 
ence by their inability to secure advantageous quar- 
ters, yet their business continued to increase so 
rapidly that during that year they took another 
partner, Mr. Marcellus Walker, of Cambridge, who 
for many years had been their salesman, and who 





hss 


) 











MEDFIELD. 


439 





had proven himself an efficient business man. As soon 


as possible they established themselves at the corner of | 


Pearl and High Streets, near their old quarters, and, 
in order to keep pace with the demands of their trade, 
they purchased and fitted for their use the meeting- 
house situated near their factory. At present theirs 
ranks among the largest factories of Eastern Massa- 
chusetts, and they turn out weekly from six to nine 
hundred cases of goods. 

In 1880 they still further enlarged their business 
by securing a factory in Great Falls, N. H., one hun- 
dred and seventy-five feet long, three stories in height, 
and capable of turning out fifteen hundred pairs of 
shoes per day. In 1885 they secured a large factory 
in Boston, where they can produce from two to three 
thousand pairs of boots per day. The productions of 
this firm rank as standard goods throughout the 
United States. 

Mr. White’s business career has been in many re- 


spects an exceptional one. But few of those who 


are referred to to-day as our “self-made men” have | 


passed through so many severe ordeals, met with so 
many heavy losses, and yet paid at all times and in 
full all obligations. While phenomenally successful 
from a business point of view, Mr. White has always 
been liberal and public-spirited, and has found time 
to fill honorably and creditably many positions of 
public trust. He has held many town offices, and 
twice represented his district in the State Legislature. 
In politics he was a Whig in ante-bellum days, and 
since the organization of the Republican party he has 
always given his support to that party. 

Mr. White has done much toward making Hol- 
brook the beautiful village it is, and is justly regarded 
by the citizens of that place as one of their benefac- 
tors. 





Cy As PAE iy Xe XV 


MEDFIELD. 





BY W. S. TILDEN. 


TuIs region of country lying to the southwest of 
Boston was, when first known to white men, the 
home of several Indian tribes. Among these were 
the Naticks, the Neponsets, and to the westward of 
Norfolk County, the Nipmucks. These tribes were at 
the beginning of their acquaintance with the English 
settlers quite friendly to them ; indeed, when John 
Oldham and three others, in 1633, went overland as 


far as the Connecticut River, he found the same 


friendly disposition existing among the Indians all 
along his journey. It was only after the encroach- 
ments of the whites upon their domain, and after 
some wrongs committed by the English, that the tem- 
per of the Indians toward them suffered a change. 
The aboriginal tribes scattered over this part of the 
country were known under the general designation of 
‘“‘ Massachusetts; and Charles River was at first known 
There 
is no account extant of any exploration of Charles 
River Valley during the first decade after the estab- 
lishment of the Bay colony, though doubtless it was 
not long before adventurous pioneers became ac- 


to Englishmen as the ‘ Massachusetts River.” 


quainted with the general features of this region. 

The territory south and east of Charles River was 
claimed by the tribe of the Neponsets, whose domain 
included the river of that name. Their sachem, Chick- 
atabot, was very friendly to the English from the 
first, forming treaties and agreements with both the 
Plymouth and Bay colonies. About 1632, William 
Pynchon, of Boston, afterwards of Springfield, pur- 
chased of Chickatabot the territory lying between 
Charles River and Neponset River, The town of 
Medfield was included in that purchase, together with 
several other towns of Norfolk County as far south as 
the Rhode Island line ; though the southern bounda- 
ries of that purchase were very indefinite, and misun- 
derstanding arose between the settlers and the Indians 
many years afterwards. It is doubtful if the limits 
were very clearly defined at the time of purchase, 
as, in 1635, the colonial government called for any 
persons who were present at the time of the purchase, 
or who knew where the boundaries were, to come for- 
ward and testify. There was no response, great num- 
bers of the Indians having been swept off by the 
smallpox in 1633, among them the sachem, Chicka- 
tabot. 

Dedham was incorporated in 1636, and included 
‘all the lands on the easterly and southerly side of 
Charles River not formerly granted to any Towne or 
particular person.” Roxbury had been already set off 
from the Pynchon purchase, and Dedham, when it was 
founded, appears to have taken in all that was left of 
it, or the territory of nine or ten of the present towns 
of Norfolk County. 

Medfield was a part of Dedham for fifteen years, 
but this part of the town is seldom mentioned in the 
early recordsof Dedham. Special attention seems to 
have been first drawn to this region on account of 
the wide expanse of meadows lying along Charles 
River, and at the mouths of its tributary streams 
near this place. The name given by the aborigines to 
the valley of Charles River above Natick, for several 


440 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





miles southward, was ‘‘ Boggestow,” variously spelled 
’ oD p) b) 


| 
| 
| 


land belonging to the colony and lying on the west 


as were most words in the ancient papers and records. | side of the river, so including the river and the wide 
From all that we can gather, the name seems to have | meadows on both sides. 


been more particularly applied to the meadows and up- | 


lands lying on the west side of the river, which were not 
in the Neponset lands, but belonged to the Naticks or 
But the Dedham 


people were accustomed to speak of all this west end 


Nipmucks, probably the Naticks. 


of their township as Boggestow ; sometimes desig- 
nating it as “ lying near Boggestow.”’ In 1642, Ded- 
ham granted to one of its citizens a farm of three 
hundred and fifty acres, “to lie in or about that place 
called Boggestow, or not far from thence.” This farm 


A petition was sent to the General Court for a 
grant of land on the west side, four miles north and 
south by three miles east and west, which was granted 
and laid out. This land, which was long called “ the 
old grant,” corresponds very nearly to what is now 
East Medway. After this petition was granted, the 


_ town of Dedham set off a portion of its territory lying 
_ on Charles River, about four miles north and south and 


lay on the east side of the river and was afterwards | 
bought in by the selectmen of Medfield, no settlement | 


having been made upon it. 
The meadows in those days being much dryer than 
at present, and being kept clear of bushes by the an- 


nual fires of the Indians, produced great quantities of | 
grass of such quality that it was very highly valued | 


by the early settlers, as it furnished an available sup- 
ply of fodder for their cattle during the winter sea- 
sons. This was probably one of the chief induce- 
ments to men to look for a place of settlement in this 
immediate vicinity. 


There were several open plains hereabouts before | 


the land had been cleared by white men, as, indeed, 


there were in various portions of the Indian country. 


They are often mentioned by the writers of those 
days. The forests were quite open, and much grass 
for pasturage was found in them. . 


During the fifteen years above mentioned, prior to 


the incorporation of the town of Medfield, there were 
In all the earli- 
est records there is not only no reference to any such 


no actual settlers upon its territory. 





fact, but everything indicates the contrary, though | 


many persons have supposed that this part of Dedham 
had been previously overspread by settlers, and these 
“set off” as is the case now when new towns are 
formed. 
erected here in‘those days, except, perhaps, a cowpen 
and a rude shelter for the keeper of the herds that 


We are not to conceive of any buildings 


found pasturage here during the summer ; as we read 
in very early records of “herd-house plain,” which 
was the level stretch of land lying along the Dedham 
road a-mile east of the present village. It is also 
spoken of as “ the cow-pen.” 

Settlement.—The first known movement for the 
formation of a new settlement here was made in 1649. 
It was started by Dedham men, though they were 
soon joined in the enterprise by people from other 


towns. The scheme was to make a new town out of 


a portion of Dedham and a corresponding portion of | 


three miles east and west. This grant from Dedham 
corresponds very nearly (perhaps exactly) with the 
present extent of the town of Medfield. It is de- 
scribed as being in the ‘‘ west end of the bounds: of 
Dedham next Boggestow.” The men authorized by 
the town of Dedham to lay it out accomplished their 
work in the spring of 1650. The orders of the 
court in regard to the laying out of the land on the 
west side of the river were also obeyed about the 
same time by Robert Kayne and Edward Jackson. 
At the acceptance of their report by the General 
Court, in May, it is stated that the court, in answer 
to the request of the inhabitants of Dedham, “ doe 
order that it shalbe called [Meadfield].” The brack- 
ets seem to indicate that the name had not then been 
decided upon, but that it was afterwards inserted. 
Various conjectures have been offered as to the 
reason for the selection of the name for the new 
town. One is that the open field where the village 
was afterwards built, lying on the way from Dedham 
to the Boggestow meadows and very near them, was 
called the ‘“ meadow field,” and hence ‘ Meadfield.” 
Another is that, as there were open fields in the 
north and south parts of the town, the plain where 
the settlement was commenced, lying midway between 
them, was called the ‘‘ mid field.” The most proba- 
ble reason is that the towns of Medfield and Dedham 
in Old England, lying near each other, and many of 
the early settlers coming from that vicinity, the towns 
were named by them in honor of their former homes. 
We know that this was the case with Dedham, and 
there is little doubt that the name of this town was 
adopted for a similar reason. 

It was decided at a Dedham town-meeting that “in 
consideration of their town rights in the meadows,” 
the settlers should pay that town the sum of one 
hundred pounds. This was afterwards reduced to 
fifty pounds, but it goes to show in what estimation 
the meadows were held at that time. Nothing is 
said of the value of the rest of the land that was set 
off. 

A committee was chosen by the inhabitants of the 








MEDFIELD. 


441 





town of Dedham to manage all affairs relating to the 
“erecting, disposing, and government of the said vil- 
lage” of Medfield. It consisted of Ralph Wheelock, 
Thomas Wight, Robert Hinsdell, Henry Chickering, 
John Dwight, Peter Woodward, and Eleazar Lusher. 
The first three were men foremost in the new settle- 
ment; the next three were men who proposed to stay 
in and act for the town of Dedham; and Eleazar 
Lusher was clerk of the town and kept the record of 
proceedings until the new town was fully recognized. 


Those records, in his characteristic handwriting, are 
still preserved among the town papers. 

The “society for removing to Medfield” was organ- 
ized by the signing of a curious agreement, probably 
drawn up by Ralph Wheelock, the “ founder of Med- | 
field.” This agreement provided, (1) That all per- | 
sons receiving grants of land from the new town 
should become subject to all rightful orders of town | 
government; (2) that all questions or differences — 
between them should be settled by reference or arbi- 
tration without carrying matters into court; (3) | 
that no person should be allowed to become a towns- 
man but such as were honest, peaceable, and free from 
scandal and erroneous opinions; (4) that none of 
the inhabitants for seven years to come should let any | 
piece of land received by grant from the town for the | 
space of a year together, except by consent of the | 





selectmen, unless it be to some member of the 
society. 

How many signed the agreement at this time is | 
It is certain that some of those whose | 


unknown. 
names are appended signed it years afterwards, at the 
time they were accepted as townsmen; and some who | 
signed at the beginning never removed to the new | 
settlement. 

It was provided that no man’s house-lot should ex- 
ceed twelve or fall short of six acres; its size, between 
these limits, to be determined by his wealth and the 
size of his family. Also, that all who received house- 
lots should be settled at Medfield before the end of 
May, 1651, and that no person should receive lands 
but those who intended to become actual settlers. 
The first highways were established preparatory to | 
rendering the town capable of being suitably laid out 
in house-lots ; but all records of those earliest high- ) 
There was a bridge built across | 





ways are lost. 


Charles River near the present town farm; a road 
from it eastward through the town to Dedham. Itis 
impossible now to tell on which side of Mount Nebo | 
From this road, at the centre of | 
the town, a road ran northerly, now North Street, and | 


the first road ran. 


another south, near what is now Pleasant Street. 
The meeting-house lot and the cemetery were laid out | 


| stands. 


| Philip Street. 


1653. 


about the same time, though there is no record 
extant. 

The first thirteen house-lots were laid out June 19, 
1650. These were scattered along Main, North, 
Green, Frairy, South, and Philip Streets. The first 
thirteen settlers were Ralph Wheelock, John Ellis, 
Samuel Bullen, Daniel Morse, James Allen, Joseph 
Clark, Francis Hamant, John Turner, John Frairy, 
Timothy Dwight, Robert Hinsdale, Thomas Wight, 
and John Wight. 
near the village grew only along the brook, and strict 
orders were made in regard to the use of them, they 
having been reserved for the use of the town. 

Dedham surrendered its jurisdiction to the settlers 
above named Jan. 11, 1651, and in May of the same 
year the town was incorporated by act of the General 
Court, the forty-third in the colony in the order of 
During these months accessions to 


It appears that good timber trees 


incorporation. 
their number were being made and new house-lots 
granted on North, South, and Bridge Streets. 

The first minister of Medfield was Rev. John Wil- 
son, Jr., who commenced his pastorate in December, 
1651. He built his house where the town hall now 
Public worship was conducted at the houses 
of the settlers for the first two or three years. 

The first family to remove to their Medfield home 
was that of Samuel Bullen, whose house stood near 
The first mill was built by George 
Barber in 1652. It stood on Mill Brook, a little way 
below where it is crossed by Elm Street. It was sold 
the same year to Henry Adams, and a few years af- 


_ terwards superseded by a mill above the bridge on Elm 


Street, which was burned by the Indians and never 
rebuilt. 

The first meeting-house was commenced about 
It was a small, plain building, with a thatched 
roof, and stood where the Unitarian house of worship 
now stands. It was not completed and furnished till 
1656. 

The meadows were laid out in grants to the owners 
of house-lots in 1652, and the following year the 
lands easily accessible to cultivation were also divided, 
according to the rules of division,—that is, by persons 
and estates, each member of the household being ap- 
praised at ten pounds. The same year the town clerk 
commenced his records of births, deaths, and mar- 
riages, and the town has an unbroken record from that 
year down to the present. 

In 1653 Mr. Wheelock took up a contribution in 
this town in aid of Harvard College. The same year 
we have a record of certain men being chosen to burn 
the woods. The custom of burning over all the waste 
lands in November of each year, which was derived 


442 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





from the aborigines, was continued for many years by 
the settlers, in order that the underbrush on the pub- 
lic lands might not prevent the pasturage of cattle 
upon them. 

The principal town business for the years preceding 


1660 was granting house-lots to new-comers, the | 
division of wood-lands, laying out roads in various | 


sections of the town and on both sides of the river, 
adopting orders in regard to fences and bounds, to 
the yoking and ringing of swine, and providing the 
town with a “ pair of stocks.” 

A school “for the education of the children” was 
established in 1655, at the town’s expense, and Mr. 
In 1657 
It had, also, an 
The 


Wheelock was appointed schoolmaster. 
Medfield contained forty families. 
“ordinary,” or place of public entertainment. 


State tax was paid in eighteen and one-half bushels | 


of wheat. 

Our territory west of the river was enlarged in 
1659 by what was called the ‘“ new grant,” two miles 
east and west, and four miles north and south. It is 


now included in the westerly part of Medway and | 


Holliston. All owners of house-lots shared in this 
land, it being mostly laid out in large parcels of from 
fifty to one hundred and fifty acres each. Soon after 
this date men began to settle on the west side of the 
river. 


The first school-house was built in 1666, eighteen | 
It evidently stood | 


feet long and fourteen feet wide. 


: . i 
on the meeting-house common, near what is now the | 


corner of North Street and Janes Avenue. 


The first emigration from this town took place | 


| 





i 


about 1670, when the Hinsdales, Plimptons, and | 


Frairys removed to the Connecticut Valley. At 
about the same date a post-road from Boston to 
Hartford was established, and a way laid out from 
Medfield to Mendon; and the business of tanning 
leather was commenced by Samuel Rockwood, near 
the present railroad junction in the north part of the 


town. A tax was levied upon the inhabitants of 


| bridge on fire as they went. 


tne Indian War.—The year 1676 is memorable 
for King Philip’s war and the burning of the town. 
In the hostilities of the previous summer Mendon 
had been abandoned, leaving Medfield the frontier 
town in this direction. After the great fight at the 
Narragansett swamp in December, the Indians formed 
themselves into small bands for the purpose of falling 
upon remote and defenseless settlements. On the 
10th of February they attacked Lancaster, burned 
the town, and carried its inhabitants into captivity. 
On the reception of the news, Mr. Wilson addressed 
a letter to the Governor and Council containing an 
urgent and pathetic appeal for aid. He states that 
Capt. Oakes had just arrived from Lancaster, and 
reported the Indians apparently bending their course 
towards this place. In answer to this appeal the 
Governor sent a hundred or so of soldiers during the 


| week, who were quartered upon the inhabitants in dif- 


ferent parts of the town. Signs of the approaching 
enemy were discovered on the 20th, and a watch was 
In spite of this precaution, 


however, the savages stealthily secreted themselves 


kept through the night. 


about the houses and in the out-buildings, and when 
the watch was taken off, at daybreak, they commenced 
firing houses and barns in every direction. The sol- 
diers, scattered as they were, could do but little against 
the enemy for a time; but as soon as the people were 
fairly aroused they fired the cannon as a signal to 
Dedham, at which the Indians, taking fright, re- 
treated over the bridge across the river, setting the 
Across the river, ona 
hill, in full view of the burning buildings, they hada 


grand feast. Thirty-two houses, besides barns, two 


mills, and other buildings were destroyed, about half 


| 


The houses 
Four houses 


of the entire number in the settlement. 
in the centre of the village were saved. 
burned were on the west of the river in what is now 


| East Medway. The cattle and horses were generally 


| lost with the barns. 


Medfield, in aid of Harvard College, amounting to | 


£2 As. 2d. 
In 1672, John Awashamog (Indian), of Natick, laid 
claim to our territory west of Charles River. 
settled by the payment to him of twenty-one pounds. 
It would seem by this that the region now Medway 
was originally the possession of the Natick tribe. 
Sixty-two persons at Medfield subscribed various 
sums in money and produce towards the “ new brick 
college.” In 


now Sher- 


The total amount was £25 1s. 
they were joined by men at “ the farms,” 
born. 


prietors. 


The loss of property was esti- 
mated at more than two thousand pounds, and it is 
said that ‘“‘ seventeen or eighteen person were slain or 
mortally wounded, besides others dangerously hurt.” 


_ Our records contain the names of seventeen who lost 


It was | 


this | 


In 1675 Medfield had seventy-seven land pro- | 


Hubbard relates that some 
were taken alive and carried off captives, but we 


their lives at this time. 


have no certain knowledge of any who suffered this 
terrible fate. 

Notice of the attack was immediately sent to 
the Governor, who at once dispatched another com- 
pany of soldiers hither ; but not finding the enemy, 
It is by no means 
Philip was near this place at the 


they pushed on to Marlborough. 


probable that King 


time of the attack, notwithstanding all the traditions 








MEDFIELD. 


443 





about his having been seen on his black horse, career; 
ing through the town, leaping the fences, ete. Those 


who lived in those times, and who wrote a full account | 


of the war, tell us that Medfield was destroyed by 
Monaco, who boasted of the deed at Groton, and at 
the same time threatened many other places. He was 
executed at Boston the following September. Mr. 
Wilson's house was open to care for the wounded sol- 


diers who were obliged to remain here, some of them | 


for three months, with the surgeon to attend them. 
The Indians did not appear here again till the last 

of April, when a fresh force of horse and foot was 

sent out against them; and on the 6th of May they 


were finally routed at Boggestow Pond, near Sher- | 


born. They lingered in small force. around this vi- 
cinity for some time afterwards, and small parties of 
soldiers went out to hunt Indians during the summer. 
But after Philip’s death, in August, they were seen no 
more, though alarms were given for several years 
afterwards, which caused the people here great uneasi- 
ness, but no disasters followed beyond the burning of 
a mill at Rockville. 

The General Court granted some little relief to the 
sufferers by this calamity, chiefly in the way of re- 
mitting taxes. It was several years before the town 
recovered from the stroke; but most of the houses 
One of the 
mills destroyed was that of Henry Adams, before re- 
ferred to, and the other was a mill on Boggestow 
Brook, now in Medway. »# 

In 1680, the first resident physician of whom we 
have any record, Dr. Return Johnson, built his house 
on North Street. He practiced medicine here up- 
wards of twenty years. 

In 1685, Josias, grandson of Chickatabot, asserted 
a claim to the land embraced within the limits of 
Medfield ; the town settled with him by the payment 
The land had been al- 
ready paid for by Mr. Pynchon, but as no deed could 
be found the matter was compromised. 

Mr. Wilson, the first minister of Medfield, died in 
1691, and it was not till six years afterwards that his 
successor, Rev. Joseph Baxter, was settled. At that 
date, 1697, the membership of the Parish Church was 
A 


were finally rebuilt on the original sites. 


of four pounds ten shillings. 


sixty-five ; twenty-five men and forty women. 


few of the members lived in that part of Dedham | 


which is now called Walpole. 

The Black Swamp lands were laid out in 1702, to 
the ‘“ proprietors,” of whom there were now one hun- 
dred and twenty-three. Of these at least twenty-seven 
lived west of the river. 

The first meeting-house had become somewhat di- 


_has been the western boundary of Medfield. 


lapidated, and it was now insufficient for the accom- | 


modation of the people ; it was removed in 1706, and 
replaced by a new one on the same spot, which stood 
eighty-three years. 
of that house. We know that in it the men were 
required to sit on one side, and the women on the 
other. 

Division of the Town.—The subject of dividing 
the town began to be seriously agitated in 1712. In- 


There is no definite description 


deed, at the time the new meeting-house was built, 
those living west of the river were promised a refund- 
ing of half the amount paid by them in case a meet- 
ing-house should be built in that part of the town 
In 1713, the west side people 
sent a petition to the General Court; a committee 
was chosen to visit the place and report, which they 


within twenty years. 


did, and they reported in favor of a division of the 
It was divided by an act of the Legislature, 
passed October 25th. Since that date, Charles River 


Those 
set off at this time to form the town of Medway con- 


town. 


stituted about one-third of the householders, and they 
possessed about the same proportion of the wealth. 

Until 1720, but one school had been kept in town, 
and that at the Centre. At this time it was ordered 
that a school be kept a part of the time in the north 
and a part of the time in the south part of the town. 

In these days, when there was no artificial heat in 
the meeting-houses, and those who came from a dis- 
tance remained through to hear the two sermons, it 
was common for neighbors to join together and build 
what was called a ‘“ noon-house” near the meeting- 
house, into which they could go between sermons, 
eat their dinner, and make themselves comfortable. 
Several of these noon-houses, in old times, stood on 
the meeting-house common here. That kind of 
building is described as being some fifteen feet square, 
opening toward the south, with conveniences for build- 
ing an open fire at the opposite end. 

Medfield sent at least eleven soldiers into the army 
to fight against the French and Indians in 1722. At 
this date the town was held to answer for not main- 
The law 
required that every town having a hundred house- 
holders should maintain a school capable of fitting 
boys for the college. The selectmen replied that they 
had but ninety-four families; but the school was es- 
tablished. 

The protest of the Medfield meadow owners against 
the Natick Dam was first made in 1723. The owner 
of the dam at that time was compelled to remove it 
on account of its preventing the drainage of the 


taining a grammar-school according to law. 


meadows. 
A movement for the division of the county of Suf- 


444 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





folk was started in 1731. The division did not take 
place till more than sixty years later. 

Mr. Baxter’s health declining, the town settled 
Mr. Jonathan Townsend as his colleague early in 
1745; but Mr. Baxter dying in May of the same 


year, Mr. Townsend became his successor in the old | 


parish pastorate. A portion of the church was 


dissatisfied with him, and there was much dissension | 


for a long time. Several 


about 1752. 


ing the ministry of John Wilson. In 1738 Mr. 


Baxter commenced a regular book of records for the | 


church, copying into it, evidently from his private 
papers, the list of members at the beginning of his 
pastorate, as well as the admissions to the church 
thereafter. 
sors. 


This record was continued by his succes- 
Mr. Townsend built his house on a lot granted 


The 


him by the town opposite the meeting-house. 


house was that long afterwards made into a straw-shop | 


by Walter Janes. 

In early times it is said that shad and alewives ran 
up Charles River to their breeding grounds. About 
the middle of the century complaint was made that 
they were prevented by the obstructions in the river, 
and this town took action in reference to their re- 
moval. 
same subject as late as 1785. 

During the French and Indian war this town fur- 
nished its quota of men to serve in the army. In 
the rolls at the office of the Secretary of State are 
found the names of forty-five men who served a 
In 1756, when 
the unfortunate Acadians were driven from their 
homes and dispersed through the colonies, several of 
them were quartered upon Medfield. 


longer or shorter time in that war. 


members withdrew; | 
some united with a Baptist Church in Boston and | 
commenced holding Baptist meetings in Medfield | 


Further action was taken in regard to the | 





Majesty’s arms, they protest that they have received 
a most unkind return, and express the hope that the 
remonstrances that were about to be made would 
bring redress. At the same time, the representative 
is instructed that he is by no means to express an ac- 
quiescence, or even a willing submission to the acts of 
Parliament. The instructions close with these words : 
“ Honor the king, but save the country.” 

It was voted that these instructions be put on file 
‘as a memorial to ages yet unborn of the present gen- 
eration’s high sense of the importance of our natural 


| and charter liberties.” 
There are no records of the old parish church dur- 


In 1767, resolutions were adopted discountenancing 
the use of imported articles, especially articles of 
luxury, and recommending the encouragement of our 
In addition, the representative 
was urged to contribute his part to the “ entire abo- 


own manufacturers. 


_ ition of that standing reproach to the nations of 





Some of them | 


remained here until 1766, when the town made an — 


appropriation “to enable the French neutrals to re- 
turn to Canada.” 

Three new school-houses were built in the town 
about 1760. 


The Revolutionary Spirit—Medfield entered | 


most heartily into the struggle for maintaining the 


rights of the people against the claims of the crown, . 


and during the Revolutionary period we discover 
many indications of a spirit that would hardly have 
been expected of our quiet, steady-going citizens. 
After the passage of the Stamp Act, in 1765, Seth 
Clark, the 
structions. 


and their 


representative, received very pointed in- | 
Referring to the loyalty of our people, | 
efforts to maintain the dignity of his | 


Christendom,—the slave trade.” 

Rev. Mr. Townsend resigned his pastorate in 1769, 
and was succeeded, two years later, by Rev. Thomas 
Prentiss as pastor of the old parish church. 

The town voted, in 1770, that they “applaud and 


| agree to, and will conform their conduct agreeable to 


the non-importation agreement entered into by the 
truly patriotic merchants of Boston, so far as it may 
relate to themselves.” In 1773 voted that ‘“ the 
representative of this town be and hereby is instructed 
to use his best endeavors in the General Assembly to 
have the full exercise of our just and invaluable rights 
and liberties restored, secured, and established on a 
just and constitutional foundation ; also that he use 
his utmost influence to have a final period put to that 
most cruel, inhuman, and unchristian practice, the 
slave trade.” 

In 1774, the town voted compliance with the agree- 
ment and resolves adopted by the Continental Con- 
gress which met at Philadelphia in October; also 
voted that those resolutions be entered on the Med- 
One hundred and fifty-three Medfield 
men signed their names as personally complying with 
The list embraces, 
with scarcely an exception, the entire voting popula- 


field records. 
and indorsing those resolutions. 


tion. 

In accordance with one of the resolves, a committee 
of seven was appointed to observe the conduct of men 
toward the measures of Congress, and to publish the 
names of all such as were found hostile to the interests 
of American liberty. 

During the exciting times of 1774-75, town-meet- 
ings were held by adjournment from week to week. . 
A committee of five was chosen as a committee of 


correspondence. One-fourth of the able-bodied men 











MEDFIELD. 


445 








were enrolled as minute-men, and put under drill, to 
be compensated for their time by the town,—that is, 
for three half-days a week. 

By the rolls at the State-House we learn that at 
the Lexington alarm, Capt. Sabin Mann and his com- 
pany of twenty-seven minute-men marched from Med- 
field, April 19, and were in service twelve days. Be- 


| 
| 


sides these, another company of fifty-four officers and | 


men marched at the same time, though their services 
were not on that occasion retained. In all, eighty-two 
men from Medfield took the field at the Lexington 
alarm. 


When the Bunker Hill alarm came, Capt. Chenery | 


started for the scene of action; and though he with | 
his men did not arrive in time to take part in that — 


battle, they served in the siege of Boston. 
In the instructions voted to the representative in 


1776 is the following: ‘‘ Whereas, the King, Lords, | 


and Commons of Great Britain in Parliament assem- 
bled, have declared their right to bind us in all cases 
whatsoever. We, therefore, if the Congress declare 
the colonies independent of Great Britain, will sup- 
port said declaration with our lives and fortunes.” 

As the struggle of those seven years of war went 


on, the citizens of this town bore their part with > 


fidelity. They were constantly called upon to furnish 
men, material, and provisions for the army. From 
first to last, one hundred and fifty-four men are known 
to have been in the Revolutionary service, of whom 
forty-two were in the Continental army. 

The first public library in this town was opened in 


1786; it was called the “ Medfield Social Library,” | 


It is 
said to have contained about seven hundred volumes. 

The parish meeting-house of 1706 was replaced by 
a new one, on the same spot, in 1789. The principal 
part of that building, with many changes, is still stand- 
ing, and is included in the present Unitarian house of 
worship. 

Until the year 1789, from the settlement of the 
town, Medfield had sent its own representatives. But 
in that year Dover and Medfield were united in a 
representative district, and so continued for forty- 
seven years. With very few exceptions, however, the 


and was owned in shares of four dollars each. 


which time the population of Medfield was seven hun- 
dred and thirty-one. 

A New County.—The agitation which had com- 
menced more than half a century before, and in which 
this town had taken much interest, as is shown by the 
action taken in town-meetings at various times, re- 
sulted in the formation of Norfolk County in 1793. 
It was proposed at one time, it is said, to make Med- 
field the shire-town ; but some of our prudent towns- 
men objected, on the ground that the practice of visit- 
ing the court-room during the trial of cases would be 
prejudicial to habits of industry in the citizens. 

The last effort to levy ministerial taxes upon all 
the inhabitants, irrespective of religious belief, was 
made in 1794. Ebenezer Clark was arrested for non- 
payment and committed to jail. The town authori- 
ties discovered soon after that they had been over- 
hasty in the matter, and went to Boston for the pur- 
Mr. Clark, how- 
ever, brought suit for damages, and the defense cost 
the town sixty dollars. 


pose of having him released at once. 


The first guide-boards in this town were erected in 
1795. They were five in number, and placed at the 
corners of the principal thoroughfares. 

At this period it was customary to tax men for any 
special skill or faculties they possessed, either profes- 
Twenty-eight men of this town 
Doctors had to 
pay fifteen dollars, then came employers, master 
mechanics, and various craftsmen, including black- 
smiths, who gave evidence of the value of their skill 
by the payment of five dollars. 

About 1798 a weekly meeting for reading and 
conversation was held. It seemed to be a sort of 
Certain books on political subjects, 
approved by the society, were read aloud, questions 
asked, and conversation had on the topics presented. 
Other subjects might be introduced after the readings 


sional or mechanical. 
in one year paid a “ faculty tax.” 


political lyceum. 


at the discretion of the presiding officer. 


representatives chosen during that period were Med- | 


field men. 

A very earnest petition was sent in from this town 
to the General Court asking for the passage of a strin- 
gent law for the apprehension of thieves. The reasons 
given were that after the disbanding of the army the 
country was overrun with vagrants and thieves, from 
whom this town had suffered much. 


At this period, also, there was much interest on the 
part of our citizens in planting trees by the roadsides. 
Many of the fine trees by the public highways in 
various quarters of the town were planted during the 
succeeding years asa result of this laudable enthu- 
siasm. ‘The streets of our town owe very much of 


their summer beauty to these early efforts in tree- 


_ planting. 


The first national census was taken in 1790, at | 


The schools had been established in the different 
parts of the town for many years, but the district 
system was adopted, and the district lines drawn, in 
the year 1800. They continued the same till the 
abolition of the district system sixty-nine years after- 
wards. 


446 


‘HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The straw manufacture, which has since grown to 
immense proportions, and has been for many years the 
principal manufacturing industry of the town, was 
commenced ina small way by Johnson Mason and 
George Hllis about the year 1801. They kept a 
common country store on North Street, opposite the 
head of Dale Street. 
by sealding and bleaching, and 


state, prepared 


braided in families. 


utilized, and many of our older people have grievous | 


recollections of the long weary hours they spent, day 
after day, in braiding straw when they were children. 
This braid was purchased by Mason & Ellis and paid 
for in goods from their store, put out to be trimmed 


and pressed by other families, and yet again to be | 


sewed into bonnets by those who had the requisite 
skill. 


York. After the death of George Ellis, Col. Mason 


continued the straw business, and several years after- | 


ward received a premium for straw bonnets manu- 
factured by him from the Massachusetts Agricul- 
tural Society. 

The Turnpike and Post-office.—The Boston and 
Hartford Turnpike was built in 1806; it was the 


property of stockholders, who, though supposing it | 
a paying enterprise at first, realized very little from | 
it. A line of coaches was run through the town for | 


the next thirty years. Toll-gates were erected at 
several points along the way; those who traveled by 
private conveyance were compelled to take the old 
The 
following year a post-office was established here, and 
was kept at the store on the corner of North Street. 


road or pay toll for traveling on the turnpike. 


Prior to this time citizens of Medfield went for their | 


mails to Dedham or Medway. 

The business of brush-making, an industry new to 
this part of the country, was started by Artemas 
Woodward about 1808, in a shop near where the 


orthodox parsonage now stands, and where he had | 


previously carried on cabinet-making, 
persons, among whom were John W. Adams, John 
Harmstad, and George M. Smith, subsequently 
engaged in the same business, which continued to be 
carried on in this town for many years. 


Several public-houses had been kept in different | 


parts of the town for a long time. One was on 


North Street opposite the head of Dale Street, com- | 


menced by Samuel Sadey and continued by others ; 
another was kept in the south part of the town, by 


Sabin Mann, at the place now owned by W. R. | 


Smith ; another was started by Seth Clark, continued 
by his son, and by Partridge Holbrook, and was at 
the place now owned by heirs of Warren Hartshorn, 


Rye straw was cut in a green | 


The children’s labor was largely _ 


The bonnets were sold in Boston and New | 


Several other 


on Main Street ; and still another, for a few years, was 
kept by Moses Richardson in the east part of the 
town, at the place now owned by Mr. Bussey. In 

1810, David Fairbanks, who was for several years 
_the prominent business man of Medfield, built the 
tavern which stood on the site of the present town 
hall, and which was for*half a century the only pub- 
Fairbanks also carried on a store at the 
corner of Main and North Streets, and did a large 
business besides in manufacturing straw bonnets. 

The old school-houses, built about 1760, proving 
now inadequate, were replaced by new ones. The 
north and south districts had been provided with 
suitable buildings about 1803, and a new house was 
built for the centre district in 1810. “ Academy 
Hall” was added to it as a second story, and was 
owned by a company who maintained a select school 
in it for some dozen years or more. 


lic-house. 


The manufacture of cut nails was commenced about 
The nail-factory 
was on the stream a little way below the stone mill 


1813, and continued several years. 


_which stands on the Dedham road. 

Rev. Dr. Prentiss died in 1814, and the following 
year he was succeeded in the pastorate of the old 
parish church by Dr. Daniel C. Sanders. 

Town and parish affairs were separated in 1815. 





Up to this date from the settlement of the place all 
matters connected with the parish, the minister, and 
the meeting-house were settled by vote in town-meet- 
ing. The First Congregational parish was at this 
| time incorporated as a religious society under the 
laws of the State. 
_ The first attempt, so far as known, to collect the 
leading facts in early Medfield history was made by 
Drs 
sermon, in 1817. 
A Sunday-school was started in 1818 by citizens 
of Medfield, irrespective of church affiliations; and it 
It continued in 
that form but one year, after which each church car- 


Daniel C. Sanders, in his well-known historical 


was held at the centre school-house. 


ried on a school of its own. 
Freemasons.—‘ Cassia Lodge” of Freemasons 
was instituted in 1823, and had an existence of 
“Academy Hall” was purchased 
The hall was after- 
wards sold to the town for school purposes. 
The second town library was started in 1828. It 
was owned by stockholders, and contained about a 
In the same year, Eliakim Morse 


| twenty-two years. 
and fitted up as a lodge-room. 


thousand volumes. 
commenced purchasing domestic straw and manufac- 
turing it, a business in which he continued for several 
| years. 


The town purchased a farm for the use of the poor 








MEDFIELD. 


447 





in 1837. 


Up to this time paupers were put up at | time the interest in it declined, till the trainings and 


public auction, and struck off to the lowest bidder for musters, which had been occasions of great enthusi- 


their support. 
by the town’s proportion (seventeen hundred and 
sixty-three dollars) of the forty millions divided 
among the States by the general government. 


The same year the Boston and Hartford turnpike | 


was laid out as a county way by the commissioners. 
In 1838, Henry Partridge, of Sherborn, bought 
the old nail-factory property in the east part of the 


town, and commenced the manufacture of hay- and — 
manure-forks and similar goods, which had a wide | 
He continued the business | 
In 1856 he, with others, | 


reputation for excellence. 


for some fifteen years. 


The town farm was paid for in part asm, became a mere farce. 


{ 
| 


formed a company for the same line of manufactures, | 


and the stone mill on the Dedham road was built, | 
where the business was carried on till the company | 


dissolved. 

The old cemetery, which was originally laid out 
when the town was settled, and which had been pe- 
riodically cleared of trees and bushes, was in 1843 
enlarged by an addition of land on the north and 
The faced wall next the street was built, the 
driveways and paths were made, lots laid out, and a 


east. 


large number of trees planted. 





The school in the centre having become quite large, © 


and a better system of vrading being desired, as well 
as more suitable accommodations being needed, in 
1844 the Masonic Hall was purchased, and the entire 
building was repaired and fitted up as a two-room 
school-house. It remained at the same place where 
the centre school-house had stood from the first, on 
North Street, near the corner of what is now called 
Janes Avenue. 

A straw-shop was built in 1845 by Warren Chen- 
ery, who had transacted business in a small way for 


several years previously ; and from this date may be | 
reckoned the modern development of that branch of | 


manufactures in the town. 
by Mr. Chenery was a branch of the Foxboro’ Straw 


| 


The business conducted | 


Works, and the building proving inadequate to his — 


wants, five years afterwards it was enlarged to double 
its original size. Warren Chenery & Son carried on 
the manufacture there till 1857, when the large three- 
story building was erected, which was burned in 


1879. 


The old brick school-house in the north district was 


removed, and the present building, corner of North | 


and School Streets, was erected in 1849. 


From early times, and especially from the times of | 


the Revolution, the State militia, which included all | 
able-bodied men between eighteen and forty-five, kept | 


up a vigorous existence till about 1830. After that 


( 
' 


Many towns then formed 
what were termed “ independent companies,” com- 
posed of those who had a taste for military affairs. 
This town boasted such a company from 1839 to 
1847. It was of efficient character and of consider- 
able local note. Among its commanding officers were 
F. D. Ellis, Isaac Fiske, Moses H. Johnson, John 
Battelle, and Amos W. Shumway. 

The voters were very much excited over the election 
of a representative to the General Court in 1850. 
After several ballotings, Jonathan P. Bishop, Esq., 
was chosen. He took part in the long struggle that 
the choice of Charles Sumner to the 
United States Senate, voting persistently for the suc- 
cessful candidate. 

Several citizens formed a company, in 1851, for the 
purpose of introducing the boot and shoe manufacture. 
The quality of the goods manufactured was excellent, 
but the business was not successful enough financially 


resulted in 


to warrant its long continuance. 
A Hunneman fire-engine was purchased in 1853, 
at a cost of six hundred dollars. A little afterwards 


an engine-house was built on North Street, and an 


engine company was formed. 

In the same year Walter Janes commenced the 
manufacture of straw-goods in the old Townsend 
house, which stood on North Street, nearly opposite 
the Unitarian Church. 

A new school-house for the south district was built 
in 1855; it stood a few rods south of the original site. 

The straw-manufacturing firm of Janes & Curtis 
commenced business in 1858; the old shop of Mr. 
Janes was enlarged to more than double its former 
size. This business arrangement continued till the 
death of Mr. Janes. 

The manufacture of carriages had been commenced 
by Jacob R. Cushman about 1835. For some time 
he did all the work with his own hands; but enlarg- 
ing gradually, he employed several workmen in the 
different departments of the business. In 1852 the 
copartnership of Cushman & Baker was formed, and 
five years later they purchased the mill privilege on 
Frairy Street, and erected a factory there with other 
buildings. The factory was burned in 1868 but im- 
mediately rebuilt. Business was continued under the 
same firm-name until the retirement of the senior 
partner, since which it has been conducted by J. H. 
Baker & Co. The work of this firm has always had 
a high reputation for thoroughness and general ex- 
cellence. 

The old school-house in the centre district was sold 


448 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





and fitted up for store purposes on the corner of | 
South Street, and a new building erected for the | 
schools on Pleasant Street at a cost of about five thou- | 
sand dollars, which is the building at present occu- | 
pied as a school-house. | 

Various projects for a railroad through this town 
had been proposed during the preceding twenty years, © 
but the first railroad communications were opened in 
1861, when the Charles River Railroad, as it was 
then called, was so far completed as to allow trains to 
run as far as the station in the north part of Med- 
field. 

The War of the Rebellion.—Medfield took an 
active part in the civil strife of 1861-65. The first 
volunteer, Allen A. Kingsbury, started at daybreak 
on the morning after the news of the attack upon our 
soldiers in Baltimore. He enlisted from Chelsea, and 
was killed at Yorktown, April 26, 1862. The fol- 
lowing men enlisted from this town during the war: 


Alexander Cameron. 
Lucius W. Allen. 
Perry Greenleaf. 
George O. Metcalf. 
Oscar B. Bussey. 
George W. Hunt. 
Edward E. Ellis. 
John Proctor. 
Gabriel Strang. 
David Maney. 
John D. Chenery. 


Willard R. Holbrook. 


Joseph Laguski. 


Thaddeus M. Turner. 


Edward U. Sewall. 
George H. Bullard. 
Joseph Clark. 


George H. Shumway. 


William H. Bullard, 
George M. Fiske. 
George H. Wight. 
Albert S. Allen. 
Curtis W. Jones. 
Charles 8. Snow. 
Frank E. Morse. 
Eliakim Morse, Jr. 
Asahel P. Clark. 
Nathan F. Harding. 
Bb. E. Hemminway. 
Eleazer Johnson. 
John H. Parker. 


Watson Cooper. 


Caleb Howard. 
Lewis Goulding. 
John A. Strang. 
Joseph H. Morse. 
Thomas E. Hunt. 
Eugene Sumner. 
Joseph Hardy. 
Cyrus D. Strang. 
James Griffin. 


Ebenezer G. Babcock. 


Michael Griffin. 
Daniel McMahon. 
William Vennon. 
Lewis H. Turner. 
Frank Rhodes. 
George E. Clark. 
George A. Morse. 
Joseph Stedman. 
Edmund L. Chenery. 
Henry Fiske. 
Jonathan G. Wight. 
Martin Bailey, Jr. 
James Ord. 

John F. Harvey. 
John G. Hutson. 
Fuller M. Babcock. 
George Miller. 
Newell T. Hunt. 
Stephen H. Berry. 
Lowell J. Southland. 
John Ord, Jr. 





The following are the names of those Medfield 
soldiers who lost their lives in the army: 


Caleb Howard. 

Allen A. Kingsbury. 
Joseph Hardy. 
Willard R. Holbrook. 
William Vennon. 


John A. Strang. 
Eugene Sumner. 
John B. Chenery. 
Daniel MeMahon. 
Frank E. Morse. 
Curtis W. Jones. 
William Dailey. 


Gabriel Strang. 
Eleazer Johnson. 


The school-district system was abolished in 1869, 
and the care of the schools thenceforth devolved upon 
the school committee of the town. 

A new railroad from Framingham to Mansfield was 
laid out and built through the town, and trains com- 


_menced running upon it early in 1870. 


The Straw-Works.—During the same year the 
copartnership of D. D. Curtis & Co. was formed, the 
manufacture of straw goods was carried on in the 
buildings hitherto occupied by Janes & Curtis, until 
the fire of six years later, when they were destroyed. 


| During this period machinery was introduced to a con- 


siderable extent. The present ample building was 


_ erected in the fall of 1876, and the proprietors fur- 
_nished it with the most approved appliances in the 





way of machinery, etc. The capacity of the factory 
affords room for six hundred operatives within its 
walls, and furnishes employment for four hundred 
Forty thousand cases of goods, of the 


value of more than a million dollars, are turned out 


more outside. 


in a year. 

Chenery Hall.— By the will of George W. Chenery, 
a bequest was made to the town of a sum of money to 
be used in building a town hall. The trustees of that 
fund allowed it to accumulate for several years, till, 


| with the accumulation and some appropriation by the 


town, a suitable building could be erected. The old 


tavern site in the centre of the village was purchased, 


Besides these, several men were procured as substi- 
tutes, and at the close of the war it was found that | 
Medfield had sent eighty-two men into the country’s 
service, and had paid, on account of the war, five 
thousand five hundred and seventy-one dollars, which, 
added to the amount paid by individuals, made a total | 
of about ten thousand dollars. 


together with some adjoining land, on which the town 
hall was built in 1872. In it a room was fitted up as 
a public library, and by bequests from Deacon George 
Cummings, and the generous aid of other citizens, a 
good library was secured, which was thrown open to 
the public the following spring. 

J. H. Gould, afterwards Gould & Stevens, com- 
menced business, in 1872, as dealers in grain, at the 
Three 
years later the steam-mill on Park Street was built by 
D. D. Curtis, when Gould & Stevens removed their 
business thither. The firm, since Gould & Co., has 
developed a large wholesale as well as retail trade in 
flour, grain, meal, and feed, as well as in coal. Their 
business is among the largest in this line in the 


Chenery Mills in the east part of the town. 


' county. 








MEDFIELD. 


449 








In 1873, Messrs. Clark & Marshall built a factory 
on Frairy Street for the manufacture of bonnet-wire, 
where they have since carried on a successful busi- 
ness. 

On the 8th of January, 1874, the new town hall was 
totally destroyed by fire, with the exception of the 
tower, some portion of which remained; among the 
contents destroyed was the public library, the fire- 
engine and apparatus, together with the hearse, which 
was kept in the basement ; also a portion of the town 
books and records. The safe containing all the most 
valuable records was, kept, by the heroic exertions of a 
few of our leading citizens, from falling into the cellar, 
where its contents must inevitably have been de- 
stroyed. 

Immediate steps were taken for rebuilding the hall, 
which was accomplished during the year; and the 
new hall, though in some respects unequal to the first, 
is believed on the whole to be more convenient and 
available for town uses. The library was replaced by 
gifts from Deacon Cummings, John J. Adams, and 
many others ; and at his death, Deacon Cummings left 
one thousand dollars to the public library, the income 
of which is to be expended yearly for its benefit. 

The rate of taxation in 1874 was the highest ever 


reached in this town,—fifteen dollars on one thousand. | moe 


| 


The bi-centennial anniversary of the burning of 


Medfield by the Indians was observed in 1876 with ap- | 


propriate exercises. Addresses were delivered by Rev. 
C. C. Sewall, Hon. R. R. Bishop, and others, and a 
poem was read by its author, James Hewins, Esq. 
The exercises of that occasion have proved the means 
of awakening a lively interest in the subject of our local 
history. 

In 1877 a hook-and-ladder truck, with apparatus, 
_ was purchased by the town and a company was formed. 

During 1878-79 the records of the town were 
copied, arranged, and rebound. It is safe to say that 


no town in the county has its records in better con- | 


dition than this. 
Population of the town, according to the census of 
1880, was 1365; number of polls, 375; number of 


men liable to do military duty, 200 ; number of dwell- 


ing-houses, 276; horses, 212; cows, 449; amount 
of school fund, $3760 ; valuation of real estate, $770,- 
559; valuation of personal estate, $294,291: total 
valuation, $1,064,850. 


REPRESENTATIVES TO THE GENERAL COURT 


Timothy Dwight, 1652. | George Barber, 1668-69, 1677, 
Ralph Wheelock, 1653, 1663-| 1680, 1682. 


64, 1666-67. | Samuel Bullen, 1681. 
Henry Adams, 1659, 1665,| John Thurston, 1683, 1697, 
1674-75. 1703. 


29 


! Edward Adams, 1689, 1692, | 


Thomas Thurston, 1686. | Simon Plimpton, 1754. 


Eliakim Morse, 1762, 1768. 





1702. Moses Bullen, 1769, 1770, 1773, 
John Harding, 1689, 1692-93, | 1774. 
1695, 1701. Daniel Perry, 1776, 1777, 1779, 


Benjamin Clark, 1693, 1699. 1780, 1784, 1785. 
| Thomas Dudley, 1694. | Oliver Ellis, 1781, 1782, 1789- 
Joseph Clark, 1696. | 92. 
Samuel Barber, 1698, 1700,| John Baxter, Jr., 1783, 1787, 
| . 1708; 1712-13. 1788, 1794-97, 1798, 1800-4. 
John Metcalf, 1704, 1705. Ezekiel Plimpton, 1799. 
Henry Adams, 1706, 1709-11, | Ephraim Chenery, 1805-7. 

1717, 1719, 1721-24, 1728. Augustus Plimpton, 1808. 
Samuel Morse, 1707. Johnson Mason, 1809-11, 1821, 
Samuel Smith, 1714. | 1843. 
Jonathan Boyden, 1715. | Daniel Adams, 1812, 1813, 
John Fisher, 1716, 1720. 1814, 1816, 1817, 1819, 1820, 
John Adams, 1718. | 1841. 
Solomon Clark, 1725. William Felt, 1823, 1824, 1826- 
George Barber, 1726, 28. 

1735, 1737. Daniel C. Sanders, 1833-36. 
Joshua Morse, 1727, 1732-33, William Peters, 1839. ° 

1736, 1744. Hinsdale Fisher, 1844. 
Ebenezer Mason, 1730. Henry Partridge, 1846. 
Joseph Plimpton, 1751. Charles C. Sewall, 1847, 1854, 
Jonathan Plimpton, 1738-40. 1862, 1867. 
John Dwight, 1741-42. Jonathan P. Bishop, 
Samuel Morse, 1747-48, 1766- 1850. 

67, 1771-72. | Isaac Fiske, 1855. 
| Seth Clark, 1749, 1763-65. Jacob R. Cushman, 1860, 1871. 
| Ephraim Chenery, 1751, 1752, Joseph H. Baker, 1875. 
William 8. Tilden, 1879. 
James Hewins, 1884. 





1734, 


1848, 


1755-59. 
Cooledge, 1753, 1757, 
1758, 1760, 1761. 


| First Congregational (Unitarian) Church.— 
The first parish and the town were identical from 
1651 down to 1815, and the history of the church 
during that period has been already given in connec- 
tion with that of the town. The members of the 
church in 1815 numbered eighty-seven, and forty 
were added during Dr. Sanders’ ministry. 

The records of the church, commenced by Mr. 
Baxter in 1738, and which had been missing for 
many years, were discovered at Northfield and re- 
turned to the keeping of the church by Dr. Sanders. 

The use of artificial modes of heating was~first 
known in the Medfield meeting-houses in 1826, when 





large box-stoves were placed near the pulpit with 
long “ Russia pipes” running back to the opposite 
end of the building. 

In 1827 several members of the old church asked 
for dismission from that body for the purpose of 
forming a new church of the orthodox Congregation- 
| alist belief. A council was called, which reported 
favorably for the petitioners, and they were dis- 
missed. 

Dr. Sanders resigned his pastorate in 1829, and 


| was succeeded in the following year by Rev. James 
A. Kendall.. During his ministry twenty persons be- 





~ 450 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





came connected with the church. Some changes 
were made in the church covenant. He resigned in 
1837. 

In 1839 the old meeting-house, built in 1789, was 
completely remodeled. 
face the south instead of the east. The old belfry 
and porch were removed, and a spire erected about 
ninety feet high, and a portico with columns added. 
The interior was modernized, new pulpit and new 
The house was also raised so that a ves- 


Rey. Charles Robinson 


pews built. 
try was built underneath. 
was installed as pastor the same year. 
ministry twenty members were added to the church. 
Mr. Robinson resigned in 1850. 

Rey. Rushton D. Burr was ordained in 1853. 
Five members were added during his stay. He hav- 
ing received a call from Marietta, Ohio, he was dis- 
missed from the pastorate here in 18957. 

Rev. Solon W. Bush was installed in 1857. In 
the eight years of his service as pastor twenty-three 
persons united with the church. He was dismissed 
in 1865, and became editor of the Christian Register. 

Rev. James H. Wiggin was installed as pastor in 


1867. 


mons on a Sunday was changed to an afternoon ser- | 


mon only, preceded by the Sunday-school, which was 
enlarged and more perfectly organized at that time. 
Meetings were also held on Sunday evenings. 
Wiggin remained till 1873, when, having received a 
eall to the church in Marlborough, he was dismissed 
at his own request. While the church was under his 


charge fifteen members were added to it, the interior 


of the house of worship was somewhat improved in | 


appearance, and a new bell purchased. 


In 1874 the meeting-house was again remodeled, | 


an addition was made to the height of the spire, the 
vestry was much improved, the exterior appearance 
of the house much changed, and the interior com- 
pletely modernized and refurnished. The entire cost 
of these improvements was upwards of six thousand 
dollars. 

For the next three years the pulpit was supplied 
by the Rev. C. C. Sewall. 
Pierce became pastor of the church. 
ceeded in 1882 by Rev. J. N. Pardee. 

Baptist Church.—A few persons of Baptist senti- 
ments resided in Medfield at a very early date, and 
out of the disaffection which arose in the parish 
church after the settlement of Mr. Townsend sev- 
eral of its members united with a Baptist Church in 


It was turned around go as to | 


During his ministry the old plan of two ser- | 


Mr. | 





when a meeting-house was built,—a small, plain 
building, thirty-one feet square. That house is still 
standing, and forms a part of the house and shop oc- 
cupied by Mr. Hoisington. There was occasional 
preaching in it till 1776, when a church was formed 
and a pastor settled. The following are the names of 
the original members: Ebenezer Mason, Dorothy 
Mason, Asa Mason, Beriah Mason, Hannah Mason, 


_ Priscilla Mason, James Morse, Maria Morse, John 


Thebault, Abigail Morse, Susannah Reed, Benjamin 


| Boyden, Elizabeth Baker, Edward Coffoa, Kezia 


During his» 





In 1877, Rev. Granville | 
He was suc- | 


| at Rhode Island College. 
| to the church within the few years next following, 


Plimpton, Mary Ellis, Kezia Cutler, Olive Cheney, 
Taphath Chenery, Bathsheba Morse, Kezia Morse, 
Mary Edwards, Lydia Lovell, Mary Harding, Abner 
Bullard, John Bassett, and Grace, a slave. 

The first pastor was Rev. Thomas Gair, educated 
Many additions were made 
largely from the surrounding towns. The prosperity 
of the church declined when other churches were 
formed in those places, and especially when a contro- 
versy arose between the pastor and some of the lead- 
ing members, resulting in the exclusion of one of the 
In 1787 the church 
could no longer support a pastor, and Mr. Gair re- 


principal resident supporters. 


signed to become pastor of the Second Baptist Church 
in Boston. 
a settled pastor for twenty-three years, and much of 
At one 
time the church numbered but two male members, 


After this date the church was without 
the time with only occasional preaching. 


and it was thought that it would become extinct. 
But the two male and ten female members were en- 
couraged to continue, and by the help of West Ded- 
ham people, who began to attend here in 1808, public 
worship was not only sustained, but in 1810, Rev. 
William Gammell was settled as pastor, preaching al- 
ternate Sabbaths in Medfield and West Dedham for 
the next thirteen years. 

In 1811, the Baptist society was organized under 
the laws of the commonwealth. In 1823, the original 
house was enlarged and improved, and the same year 
Mr. Gammell resigned, having received a call to the 
church in Newport, R. I. After his resignation the 
West Dedham portion of the church withdrew and 


| formed a church there. 


Boston, and commenced holding meetings in town, | 


The 


about 1752, as a branch of the Boston church. 


In 1824, Rev. Joseph Ballard became acting pas- 
tor, in which relation he continued until 1829. Forty- 
one persons were baptized by him during his min- 
istry. 

The pulpit having been supplied for a short time 
by Rev. J. A. Boswell, in 1830, Rev. Moses Curtis 


became pastor and remained three years, during 
meetings were held at private dwellings till 1771, | 


which time twenty-three were baptized. 








MEDFIELD. 


451 








Rev. Horatio N. Loring became pastor in 1834, and 
remained till 1838, baptizing fourteen into the fellow- 
ship of the church. 

In the latter year the church erected a new house 
of worship in a more desirable locality, on the corner 
of Main and South Streets. It was supplied with a 
bell, and a half-underground room, according to the 
fashion of those times, for a vestry. 

In 1838, also, Rev. D. W. Phillips was ordained 
as pastor, who continued in that office for twelve 
years. 
added to the church during his pastorate. 


He baptized forty-five persons, who were 
In 1842, 
the old Baptist parsonage, given to the church in 
1778, was sold, anda cottage on Pleasant Street pur- 
chased for the use of the ministry. 

Rev. George G. Fairbanks was ordained in 1851, 
who remained till 1855; during his stay ten members 
were added to the church. 


Rey. James W. Lathrop was installed as pastor in | 


1856. Sixty-three members were added (fifty-one of 


them by baptism) during the years of his ministry, | 


which lasted till 1862. 

Rev. Amos Harris was the next pastor, being 
ordained in 1862. He remained till 1865, when he 
resigned on account of ill health. 
twenty-four additions in that time. 

Rev. A. W. Carr assumed the pastoral charge at 
the beginning of 1866, and retained it five years. He 
baptized twelve. In 1869, the church cast off the 
forms of a religious society, and itself assumed the 
entire charge of the support of public worship. 

Rev. A. M. Crane was ordained in 1872, and con- 
tinued as pastor six years. 


There were 


Under his ministry the 
additions were sixty-nine, thirty-eight of these by 
baptism. 

In 1874 the house of worship was completely re- 


modeled, additions being made both front and rear, | 


the corner tower and spire erected, a better vestry and 
other rooms finished in the basement, and the whole 


refurnished. The total expense of all these improve- 


ments was twelve thousand five hundred dollars, one- | 
half of which sum was paid by Deacon George 


Cummings. 


Rev. Mr. Crane resigned in 1878, and was imme- | 


diately succeeded by Rev. I. H. Gilbert. 
The Pleasant Street parsonage was sold, and the 
present parsonage built in 1879. 


The members of the First Church, whose petition for 
leave to withdraw for the purpose of forming a new 
church has been already noticed in the sketch of that 
church, and which had been granted by the council, 
organized the Second Congregational Church Feb. 6, 





| one members were received. 








1827. The constituent members were seventeen, as 
follows: Moses Wight, Artemas Woodward, Obed 
Fisher, Nathaniel Stearns, Stephen Turner, Elisha 
Clark, Sarah Wight, Mehetabel Woodward, Mary 
Stearns, Susan F. Turner, Esther Chenery, Esther 
Chenery (2d), Olive Mason, Mary Smith, Waitstill 
Smith, Martha Adams, Keziah Mason. 

The same year a new religious society was organ- 
ized under the laws of the State. During the first 
four years of the existence of this church and 
society, meetings were held in a small hall which was 
over the store at the corner of Main and North 
Streets. 

Rev. Arthur Granger was installed as the first 
pastor in 1831. Previous to this time the church had 
received an addition of twenty-five members, and dur- 
ing his ministry twenty-four more were added. His 
pastorate terminated in 1832. The same year a 
house of worship was built on the spot now occupied 
by the society for the same purpose. 

Rev. Walter Bidwell was installed in 1833, and 
dismissed in 1836, having received twenty-two mem- 
bers. 

Rey. Charles Walker was installed in 1837, and 
continued in that office about a year. He was fol- 
lowed by Rev. John Ballard and Rev. Moses G. 
Grosvenor, who supplied the pulpit during the next 
three years, during which time ten members were 
received. 

Rev. Thomas T. Richmond was installed as pastor 
in 1842, and continued thirteen years. Thirty-four 
were added to the church membership. 

Rev. Andrew Bigelow, D.D., was installed in 1855 ; 
he remained till 1866 ; during his ministry seventy- 
After Dr. Bigelow re- 
signed, the pulpit was supplied for a year by Rey. 
Chester Bridgman, who received ten persons to 
fellowship. 

In 1869 Rev. J. M. R. Eaton commenced his 
labors as acting pastor. In 1873 the meeting-howse 
was repaired, newly furnished, and a chapel built, at a 
total expense of four thousand five hundred dollars, of 
which sum about three-fourths was furnished by Mr. 
F. D. Ellis. 

In 1876, Mr. Eaton was succeeded by Rev. Wil- 
liam H. Cobb, and the same year the church edi- 


| fice with all its contents, together with the chapel, 


Second (Orthodox) Congregational Church.— | 


was totally destroyed by fire. The present house of 


worship was built in 1877, its total cost, including 
furnishing, being about ten thousand dollars. The 
parsonage was built in 1879, 

Rev. George H. Pratt became pastor in 1879; he 


was succeeded in 1883 by Rev. Wilbur Johnson. 


452 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


DANIEL D. CURTIS. 


Daniel D. Curtis, son of Bracey and Eliza (Day) | 


Curtis, was born at Kennebunk, Me., Jan. 19, 1830. 
His father was a farmer, and descended from an old and 
honorable English family, but his means being limited, 
Daniel, like most of the farmers’ sons of that time, 
was obliged to go into the world and seek his fortune. 
At the age of twenty-one he left the paternal home 
and State and came to Billerica, Mass., where he 
went to work on what was called the ‘“‘ Old Winning 
Farm.” Here he remained two years, and then came 
to Medfield and engaged to work for Walter Janes, 
who was carrying on a very small business in a prim- 


itive way, using his dwelling-house as a shop, manu- | 


facturing straw goods. 
prise and business tact which young Curtis displayed 
induced Mr. Janes to take him into partnership, said 


Three years later the enter- | 
_ oats, barley, ete. 


partnership continuing until the death of Mr. Janes, © 


twelve years later. Year by year the business had 
steadily increased, and at the time of Mr. Janes’ 
death they were making about three thousand cases 





of goods per year, 
was the nucleus for what has since, through the skill 
the largest of its kind in the world. After the death 
H. A. Searle and G. F. Dailey, of New York City. 
Messrs. Searle & Dailey took charge of the New York 
department of the business, selling the goods, buying 
stock, etc., while to Mr. Curtis was left the supervis- 
ion and direction of the manufacturing itself. He 
immediately took measures to increase the product, 
and from time to time made additions to the works. 
They made it a rule at the beginning only to do 
business with their own capital, never to venture 
beyond their means, but, however, to avail them- 
selves of everything in the way of improved and 
labor-saving machinery as 
He also added the manufacturing of chip, lace, velvet, 
plush, satin, beaver, and felt hats,—in fact, everything 
in the line of ladies’ head-gear, as they make that a 
specialty. They employ about two hundred men and 
one thousand women in the different departments of 
their work. A small part of their manufacturing, 
particularly in felts and beavers, is done in New 
York City. 
thousand cases per year, averaging four dozen bon- 
About nine months in the 


They manufacture on an average forty 


nets or hats to a case. 
year they are turning out goods daily, the other three 
months they are occupied in getting up new “shapes,” 


a small business indeed, but it | 


ete., and preparing for the coming seasons. The 
sales amount to at least a million dollars per annum. 
The firm-name at Medfield is D. D. Curtis & Co.; at 
New York, Searle, Dailey & Co. 

In September, 1876, their factory was destroyed 
by fire. They immediately set to work erecting a 
new and much larger establishment, and ninety days ~ 
after it was commenced it was ready for occupancy. 
It is a model structure, built on the most modern 
They 
have new machinery throughout, and nothing is omit- 
ted that could possibly facilitate their work or advance 
In addition to the straw-works Mr. 


plan, with all conveniences and improvements. 


their interests. 
Curtis has a mill, where he cuts up every year a mil- 
lion feet of lumber, all of which he has made into the 
boxes in which his goods are encased for the market. 
He also owns a large steam grist-mill, where is ground 
an average of two car-loads of corn per day, besides 
He carries on agriculture on quite 
an extensive scale, owning a beautiful farm on the 
outskirts of the village of Medfield. 

Mr. Curtis married, in the autumn of 1860, Ellen, 
daughter of Jonathan and Clarissa Wight, of Medfield. 
They have four children,—Blanche E., Maude A., 
Bracey, and Daisy EK. Mr. Curtis has proved him- 


self to have in an eminent degree the characteristics 
and management of Mr. Curtis, grown to be one of | 


indispensable to a successful business career,—pluck, 


| 
| judgment, and enterprise, and united with these an- 
of Mr. Janes Mr. Curtis formed a copartnership with | 


ast aS it was invented. | 


| 


| 


other quality not always possesssed by even successful 
men, liberality. While he has built up a very large 
and constantly-increasing business, he has at the same 
time been the foremost man of his town in all things 
tending to public improvement. 

The impression that is made on the stranger as he 
drives through the lovely village of Medfield is that 
of a happy, prosperous, and thoroughly enterprising 
community. It is not detracting from whatever spirit 
of enterprise may have been exhibited by any other 
citizen when we say that to Mr. Curtis more than 
any other man thanks are due for this impression. 
Mr. Curtis is noted for his genial disposition and 
generous charity, and is liberal in his political views. 
He has never held an office, and asserts that he never 
His life has been one of steady devotion to 
His success has been the natural result of _ 


will. 
business. 
his ability to examine and readily comprehend any 
subject presented to him, power to decide promptly, 
and courage to act with vigor and persistency in ac- 
cordance with his convictions. 











Osx 





ty 














MEDFIELD. 


453 





ISAAC FISKE. 


The Fiskes of Massachusetts descended from an 
ancient family of that name which for centuries and 
until recently had its seat and manorial lands in Lax- 
field, in the county of Suffolk, England. 

Investigations by Somerby have traced its exist- 
ence as early as the reign of Henry VI., when Simon 
Fiske was lord of a manor and entitled to “coat 
armor.” 

Several of his descendants appear to have gained 
repute for piety and liberal education, and in the 
days of Queen Anne to have suffered persecution on 
account of stanch adherence to evangelical principles. 
It is recorded of one in particular that to escape being 
burned at the stake he was concealed in a cellar, 
where he wrought diligently such handicraft by can- 
dle-light as sufficed for his support. Such was the 
stock from which sprang at a later period the Puritan 
Fiskes, of Suffolk and New England. Over one hun- 
dred bearing the family name have variously attained 
distinction as divines, authors, scholars, and public 
men in the States where they have resided. 

The first Americans of the Fiske family were 
David, grandson of Jeffrey, and son of Robert and 
Sibil, a lineal descendant of Simon mentioned above, 
who, with his nephews, Nathan and John, settled in | 
Watertown, Mass.,in 1642. His brother Nathanael, | 
father of Nathan and John, probably died on the pas- 
sage from England. Nathan Fiske (1) settled in 
Watertown in 1642, admitted freeman May 10, 1643, | 
was selectman in 1673. Lieut. Nathan Fiske (2), 
born Oct. 17, 1642, died October, 1694, married 
Elizabeth ; she died May 15, 1696. Deacon | 
Nathan Fiske (3), born Jan. 3, 1672, died in 1741. 
He represented Watertown for some years,—1727—_ 
29,1732. He was aman of judgment and “ much | 
confided in by his townsmen.” He married, first, 
Oct. 14, 1696, Sarah Coolidge, she died Nov. 27, | 
1723; second, May 22, 1729, Hannah Smith, a 
widow. Nathan Fiske (4), of Weston, born Febru- 
ary, 1701, married, first, Oct. 9, 1730, Anne War- 
ren; second, Mary Fiske, daughter of Deacon Jona- | 
than and Abigail (Reed) Fiske. Jonathan Fiske (5), 
born Dec. 15, 1739, married Abigail Fiske, born > 
Aug. 16, 1739, daughter of Thomas and Mary | 
(Pierce) Fiske, of Waltham. Jonathan Fiske (6), | 
born Jan. 19, 1774, married April 7, 1799, Sally | 








Flagg. Isaac Fiske (7), son of Jonathan and Sally 
(Flagg) Fiske, was born Nov. 7, 1813, in Medfield. 
His education was not confined to common schools. 
He fitted for college at Concord Academy, but changed 
his intentions and entered the store of Edwin War- 
ren, of Framingham, as clerk, where he remained for 
a few years, afterwards becoming partner in the firm. 
Two years later he purchased the store of his brother- 
in-law, Francis Ellis, of Medfield, giving up his in- 
terest in Framingham, and moved to Medfield, where 
he continued in active business as a merchant till 
within a year of his death. Mr. Fiske was very 
prominent in town affairs, having been town clerk for 
fifteen years and town treasurer forty years, holding 
that position at the time of his death; had also rep- 
resented his town in the Legislature, and was post- 
master in Medfield for twenty years. 
was Whig and Republican ; orthodox in religious be- 
lief. Oct. 2, 1836, he married Mary, daughter of 
Loring and Klizabeth Manson, of Framingham. 
They had but one child,—Elizabeth L., born June 
5, 1846, who matured into a bright, accomplished 
She died suddenly 


Politically he 


woman, the pride of her parents. 


in the prime of her womanhood, of heart disease, May 


9,1877. Mr. Fiske’s death occurred Jan. 18, 1883. 

As a business man Isaac Fiske performed faithfully 
and earnestly whatever he undertook, was careful and 
successful, although liberal in his dealings with all, 
and men with whom he had business relations in Bos- 
ton and elsewhere speak of him in the highest terms 
of praise. 
hearted, charitable, and benevolent to a fault, a gentle 
word for all, he always stood ready to condone the 
faults of the weak and erring, and to encourage them 
to better acts in the future. 
of every one he came in contact with by his kindly 
It has been remarked 


As a neighbor and citizen he was kind- 


He won the admiration 


disposition and cheerful spirit. 


of him that he was probably more universally loved 


than any man who ever lived in Medfield. In the 
family circle he was a devoted husband and kind 
father, and the sweet tribute of praise from his loved 
companion of many years should not be omitted here. 
During the long period of their married life (forty- 
five years) she says that not an act, a word, or look 
could she wish changed, or that left behind a bitter 
memory. In all his life Isaac Fiske kept in mind 
and practiced the golden rule of Christ,—‘ Do ye unto 
others as ye would that they should do unto you.” 


454 HISTORY OF NORFOLK 


COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





(ONG 3 WSN ald bal hl oD Co.) (el 


SHARON. 


BY SOLOMON TALBOT. 





Suaron, located seventeen and one-half miles 
southwest of Boston, is on the line of the Boston 
and Providence Railroad, and has two stations. It 
is bounded on the north by Canton, east by Stough- 
ton, south by Easton, Mansfield, and Foxboro’, west 
by Walpole and Norwood. It occupies the height 
of land between Boston and Providence, and is the 
watershed of the Neponset on the north and the 
stream that runs south into Canoe and Taunton 
Rivers. 

Sharon has an area of about fourteen thousand 
acres, a little more than one-half of which is under 
cultivation. In 1880 it contained 1492 inhabitants, 
and its manufactures at the last State census were: 
boots and shoes, $93,190; iron and steel goods, 
$61,700; cotton goods, carriages, boxes, $125,820. 

The surface of Sharon is diversified and uneven, 
and increases in height from the level of the Neponset 
River, on the northwest, until it reaches, at Sharon 


This 


Village, an elevation of several hundred feet. 


village is drained by the Massapoag Brook on the | 


east and Beaver Brook on the west side. 
Lake Massapoag is a beautiful body of water, situ- 
ated one mile south of the village, and was so named 








by the aborigines of the country, and it signified to | 


them ‘Great Water.” This sheet of water is sur- 


rounded in many places by beautiful groves, on a 


hard, dry, pebbly shore, with a carriage-drive of about | 


four miles in extent around it. 
attention has been given to the inland fisheries, and 


this lake has been stocked with the following vari- 


eties: the carp, land-locked salmon, black bass, and | 


white perch. 

Many beautiful residences have been built upon the 
bluffs which overlook the lake by people from Boston, 
who come from the city during the summer to enjoy 
its romantic scenery and rural quiet. Upon the south- 
east side is the Massapoag House, located in a grove 


about thirty feet above the water,—a summer water- 


Of late years much > 


either in body or mind. Upon the west side of the 
lake is Burkhardt’s Grove, which has a branch rail- 
Here parties are brought from Boston 
or Providence, and spend the day in agreeable recrea- 


road station. 


tion, sports upon the water, in the woods, or in the 
buildings erected for their comfort and accommodation. 

Southwest of Sharon Heights Station is a large 
extent of prairie-like land of more than one thousand 
acres. It was upon this extended plain, after the late 
war, that the squadrons of the Massachusetts militia 
were mustered and reviewed by Gen. Benjamin F, 
Butler, in September, 1866. Here, during three 
days, they went through the tactics of war, and 
But now the scene is 
changed, the swords are turned into plowshares, and 


showed how fields were won. 


this extensive plain has become one of the finest and 
most famous vegetable gardens in the county. 

There is a pond of pure, soft, spring water adjoin- 
ing this plain, named by the Indians ‘‘ Wolomolapoag,” 
or ‘deep pleasant water.” This is to be utilized for 
irrigating the gardens. No doubt that it will double 
their productiveness. 

The waters of this pond are discharged in a south- 
erly direction, and after passing a.mile or more, cross 
the main road near where once stood the famous Bil- 
lings Tavern. This was the earliest house known to 
have been erected in this town, being located upon 
the Bristol and Boston post-road. There was a house 
here before 1660, although it is doubtful if Capt. Bil- 
lings occupied it before 1675. But he died here in 
1717, and has a monument to his memory in the 
cemetery near this place. This stream continues on 
into Foxboro’, where it assumes the name of Canoe 
River, and finally empties into Mount Hope Bay. 

Moose Hill.—This hill, upon the west side of the 
town, is a high, rocky region, interspersed with some 
It has a 
gradual rise from the plain, and its summit is prob- 


The 
name given to this section is probably the name of the 


fine farms, but mostly covered with wood. 
ably six hundred feet above the level of the sea. 


wild animals that once ranged its forest, fed upon its 
nutritious grasses, and drank from its pure springs 


_ and purling streams. 


ing-place, large and roomy,—a pleasant resort during | 
road leads to the top of the hill, where upon the 


the summer for people of business or of leisure, or 
those in quest of health. Here they can repose in a 
quiet home, away from the dust and turmoil of a city 
life. 


surroundings, airy drives, cheerful outlook, all com- 


The balsamic odors of the pines, the agreeable 


bine to relieve and invigorate the weak and the weary, 


It is uncertain at what period these animals disap- 
peared from this town, but as late as 1765, deer-reeves 
annually formed a part of the officers of the district, 
for the protection of moose and deer. A rugged 
rocks, in olden time, was lighted the signal-torch of 
liberty. It now has an observatory, twenty feet in 
height. From be seen Wachusett 
Mountain and hills in New Hampshire, Boston on 
the horizon, Blue Hill, and the valley of the Neponset 


this tower can 





SHARON. 455 





below, interspersed by a landscape that embraces 
towns and villages, farms and forests, lakes and 
church spires, and railroad lines, until the view is 
bounded by the hills in Rhode Island. 

There are many smaller hills, as Bluff Head, Bald, 
and Bullard’s Hill. From the southern part of this 
last-named hill is seen Sharon village nestled among 
the trees upon the horizon, while the new town house _ 
is a most conspicuous object upon the right. Below, 
in the foreground, are seen dotted in the woods the 
Mas-kwonicut meadows, and a little never-failing | 


stream called by the Indians by the same name (now 
known as Puffer’s Brook) passes near the base of this 
hill. 

Rattlesnake Hill is a high, rocky section in the 
southeast part of the town, mostly covered with wood. | 
There is a mountain road over its hills that passes by 
the Tisdale mansion, the Bay Street Chapel (evangel- 
ical), and coutinues on to North Easton. 

The rocks in this town are mostly syenite, but there 





are some excellent granite quarries in the east part of | 
the town. In former times large quantities of bog 
iron ore have been here obtained. 

Early History.—In order to introduce the local 
history of this town it is necessary to advert to the 





circumstances and the condition of affairs when the 
territory south of the Blue Hills was incorporated as 
a town, in the year 1726, called Stoughton. This | 
territory at that time extended from Readville, on the 
north, to Mansfield (or perhaps Norton at that time), 
on the south. This west line was nearly twenty miles 
in length, while the east line extended from the Blue 
Hills to Bridgewater and Easton on the south. This 
tract of country was probably ten miles in width. 
Now, in those times the colonial laws required the 
support of and the attendance upon public worship on 
Sunday, and the only Congregational meeting was | 
held in the meeting-house at Canton Corner. Those 
people who lived adjacent to other towns worshiped 
where it was more convenient. But the people 
mainly went to meeting at Canton. Sharon was a. 
component part of this territory, which will account 
for the following petition : | 





“To His Excellency, Jonathan Belcher, Esq., Captain-General 
and Governor-in-Chief in and over His Majestie’s Province of 
the Massachusetts Bay, in New England, and the Honorable, 
His Majestie’s Council and House of Representatives of the 
General Court assembled at Boston, on the eighth day of June, 
1739. 

“The petition of John Hixson and Benjamin Johnson, com- | 
mittee to prefer a petition to this court in behalf of the sub- | 
scribers, inhabitants of the Southerly part of Stoughton, humbly | 
sheweth : 

“Whereas, by the Providence of the all-disposing God, our | 
lots are fallen to us at so great a distance from the Publie ' 


worship of God, in the North part of the said town, that your 
petitioners cannot ever, without great difficulty, attend the 
public worship of God; Wherefore we have petitioned the 
town once and again, to be eased of the great difficulties we 
now labor under, but have been by them rejected, notwith- 
standing the great length of way which some of your petition- 
ers live from the public worship in the North Part, about eight 
or nine miles; and in consideration of our great duty to attend 


| the public worship of God, not only ourselves, but by our fam- 


ilies and children, which, by the blessing of God, are greatly 


| increased; Therefore, your petitioners have of late petitioned 


this Honorable Court to be set off a separate Town or Precinct, 
but this Honorable Court did not see cause to grant the peti- 
tion. The reason, as we humbly conceive, was the answers to 
the petition, which were wrong and erroneous. 

“Therefore, your petitioners humbly pray that this Honor- 
able Court, to see with your own eyes, by sending a committee 
to view the circumstances, at the charge and cost of the peti- 
tioners; that this Honorable Court may be rightly informed, 
and see the unjust proceedings of the Honorable respondents, 
and their fallacious answers to our former petitions; and as 
your petitioners are obliged by conscience and law to attend the 
worship of God, they have, by a free contribution, maintained 
preaching among themselves for a considerable time. Notwith- 
standing they bave paid their proportional part to the North 
Part, where they can have but little or none advantage. 

““We would beg leave to inform this Honorable Court that 
since we have had preaching among us, it has encouraged some 
well minded persons to come and settle within the limits herein 
petitioned, and, if it should please the Honorable Court to grant 
our petition, it would be a great encouragement to a great 
many more, if your petitioners were in a capacity to have the 
ordinances of God administered among them; and your peti- 
tioners having had some experience, by their having main- 
tained preaching among themselves, they look on themselves 
as able to maintain the worship of God. 

“Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray this Honorable 
Court that they would please to send a committee to view our 
circumstances, that so your petitioners may be put into a capac- 
ity that they may have the ordinances of our Saviour settled 
among them, in a regular order, by setting them off as district, 
and separate town or precinct, viz.’ 

[Here are given the bounds of the towns of Sharon and 
Foxboro’. ] 

‘““We humbly beg leave here to say, that what we now offer 
in respect to our being set off, is in sincerity for the promoting 


| of the worship of God and religion in its purity among us. 


“Wherefore, we pray your Excellency and Honors would be 
pleased to hear our request, and grant our petition, and as we 
in duty bound, shall ever pray. 


“Benjamin Estey. Joshua Johnson. 


Timothy Tolman. 
Isaac Cumings. 
Jobn Smith. 
William Colwell. 
Samuel Cumings. 
William Richards. 
Samuel Estey. 
Samuel Dwelly. 
Nathaniel Coney. 


Pelatiah Whittemore. 


Eleazer Puffer. 
Joseph Ingraham. 
Samuel Lovel. 
Matthias Puffer. 
Abraham Chandler. 


Josiah Perry. 
Eliakim Perry. 
John Noyes. 
Eleazer Hawes. 
Job Swift. 

Jacob Estey. 
Daniel Richards. 


Joshua Whittemore. 


Ebenezer Hewins. 
Edward Belcher. 
Jeremiah Belcher. 
Matthew Hobbs. 
Clifford Belcher. 
Ephraim Payson. 
Samuel Bird. 


456 HISTORY OF NORFOLK 


COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








Thomas Randall. 
Thomas Rogers. 
Ebenezer Capen. 
William Wood. 
Nathan Clark.” 


Ebenezer Estey. 
William Webb. 
Mayhew Tupper. 
Stephen Holland. 
Benjamin Perry. 


The respondents to this petition say: 


“The petitioners have used a great deal of craft in the course 


they have pursued, inasmuch as the town now owes the min- | 


ister about eighty pounds, and the town has just laid out nearly | 


one hundred pounds, in building a road for the petitioners to go 


to meeting 


g, and now, not satisfied, they have built a church 


near their own doors, and ask to be set off as a Town, or Pre- 
cinct.” 

The committee to whom the subject was referred 
came upon the premises, examined the circumstances, 


and reported the prayer of the petitioners ought to _ 
be granted. The report was accepted, and the Second | 


Precinct was set off and received the signature of the 
Governor, July 2, 1740. 
It must not be supposed that everything had been 


accomplished when the people had become a precinct. | 


The meeting-house, although boarded and shingled, | 


was not plastered, neither was it finished inside. 


Ata meeting of the inhabitants of the precinct, held | 
in 1740, Mr. John Hixson, Ephraim Payson, and _ 


Daniel Richards were chosen a committee, and Kben- 
ezer Hewins, treasurer. 
After hearing several candidates, among whom 


were the Rev. John Ballantine, Rev. Noah Clapp, 


Ebenezer Gay, and Philip Curtis, the people settled | 
the Rev. Philip Curtis, Jan. 5, 1742, as pastor of | 


the Second Precinct. 
In 1744 the committee put out the work of build- 
ing the galleries and their seats, two pair of stairs 


and banisters, and the plastering of the inside of the | 


church to the gables. This contract was taken by 
John Hixson and Ephraim Payson. 

The meeting-house was completed during the year. 
Capt. Benjamin Johnson made the irons for the great 
doors of the meeting-house, and everything appeared 
so safe and secure that the committee ordered a place 
in the gable prepared for the ammunition of the pre- 
Capt. Johnson procured a ladder and brought 
the ammunition and placed it in the repository made 
for it. 
life now rested from their labors and passed away, 


cinct. 
Many men who had been active in public 


John Hixon, an enterprising mechanic, built a house 
near the Chestnut Hill Cemetery, known as the “ In- 
crease Hewins’ house,” where he resided. 
ably gave the first land for the cemetery, and made 
bricks from the clay in the meadow opposite. He 
died May 13, 1751. 

Elder Joseph Hewins occupied land on the oppo- 
site side of the railroad. 


| 


there. He was deacon of the church at Canton Cor- 


_ner in 1717, and when Stoughton was incorporated, in 


1726, he was elected assessor and selectman, to which 
He died Feb. 24, 
1755, aged eighty-seven years, and left many descend- 
ants. 

Capt. Benjamin Johnson, a prominent man, carried 
on the iron-works until his death in 1760, in his 
sixty-fifth year. 

Samuel Bird lived on a farm at the outlet of Masa- 
poag, which he occupied in 1716, and died in 1742. 
His son Samuel was afterwards deacon of the church. 

William Tolman having bought a tract of land south 
of Massapoag for the purpose of preparing a new 
home, was assisted by his brother, Johnson Tolman, in 
clearing off the forest and erecting a habitation. They 
stopped at Samuel Bird’s, for the Birds and the Tol- 
mans were formerly neighbors in Dorchester. 

Here the boys seemed to be at home. Sharon was 
in those days comparatively a wilderness. Beyond 
was an almost interminable forest and swamp, and 
yet the boys were two miles from their destination. 
Being a young man of fertile invention and a good 


office he was chosen many years. 


share of perseverance, William procured a large horn- 
beam log, which was common in those days, and soon 


[= 


_had the inside dug out and fashioned into a boat, 





He prob- 


He was very early settled | 


/ men who navigated Massapoag Lake. 


however rude it may have been. 

Having made all ready and taking their dinner with 
them, William and his brother started on a voyage of 
discovery to find the new farm. It is supposed that 
William and Johnson Tolman were the first white 
In this man- 
ner they continued their labors. Early morning and 
twilight evening found them enjoying the cool refresh- 
ing breezes of Massapoag, as they floated to and from 
the scene of their daily toil. 
and subdued the land, and when the adjoining prop- 
erty came into market Johnson bought it, there being 


In this way they cleared 


about one hundred acres. 

They now began to clear Johnson’s land, which 
proved to be of a superior quality. They were both 
One day, as they were quietly eating 
their dinner, they were surprised to see a partridge 
Soon, 
however, it was followed by an enormous rattlesnake 


pleased with it. 
run past them exhibiting signs of great fright. 


which, seeing the men, stopped pursuing the bird, 
and, with head erect, eyed the strangers, while with 
an oscillating movement of its tail it commenced a free 
musical entertainment for their especial benefit. Not 
appreciating the musical talents of the performer, nor 
desiring the company of such visitors, they quickly 
dispatched the snake with a musket which was near 
them. 





at 





SHARON. 457 





William built a house and brought home a wife, | 
who proved a helpmate indeed. 
The snake had produced a decidedly unpleasant im- | 
pression upon Johnson’s mind. He did not fancy | 
such unbidden guests in his garden, and soon after | 





sold out his farm to his brother, and returned to Dor- | 
chester. This farm proved afterwards to have the 
most fertile soil, and became one of the most success- 
ful farms in Sharon. 


As had been anticipated, many worthy people be- | 
came residents of the Second Precinct during the next | 
quarter of a century. Among those who afterwards 
became active in public affairs may be mentioned 
Benjamin Gannett, William Billings, Jr., Nathaniel | 
Morse, David Fisher, and Israel Smith, as well as the 
descendants of the first settlers, who had now become | 
active citizens. 

The French and Indian Wars.—From 1750 to 
1760 the Second Precinct furnished a large number | 
of soldiers for the king’s service, although the call was 
made for Stoughton; that town included the above 
precinct. The soldiers whose names are annexed are | 
presumed to be from Stoughtonham, and served at 
Crown Point, Ticonderoga, and Fort William Henry: | 





In Cou. MILuer’s REGIMENT. 
Elkanah Billings, capt. 
Samuel Billings, lieut. 
Eleazer Robbins, ensign. 
Elijah Billings, sergt. 
Timothy Morse, sergt. 
Ebenezer Billings, sergt. 


Daniel Morse, corp. 
Benjamin Rhoads, corp. 
William Savage, corp. 
Eleazer Fisher, clerk. 
Ebenezer Bullard, drum. 
Seth Lane, fife. 
Privates. 

John Patten. 

Samuel Follet. 

Jethro Wood. 

Eli Wood. 

Stephen Hawes.! 
William Deverix. 


William Billings. 
Ebenezer Hill. 

Elisha Partridge. 
Uriah Atherton. 
Benjamin Rogers. 
Josiah Hodges. 
Elisha Morse. 
Nathan Clark, Jr. 
Michael Woodcock, Jr. 
David Wood. 
Jonathan Billings, Jr. 
William Coney. 
Beriah Billings. 
William Hewins. 
Benjamin Bullard. 


Mayhew Tupper. 
Ezekiel Pierce, Jr. 
Jacob Hawes. 
Increase Hewins. 
Enoch Hewins. 
Elijah Hawes. 
Eleazer Blackman. 
Simeon Tupper. 

Capt. Samuel Payson. 
Solomon Gilbert. 
Jeremiah Hixson.! 
Lieut. Royall Kollock. 
George Forrest. 

John Hill. 

Lieut. Ebenezer Tisdale. 
Nehemiah Clark. 
Reuben Tupper. 

Samuel Comee. 

Jobn Estey. 


Samuel Cumings. 
Ezekiel Pierce. 
Samuel Blackman. 
Benjamin Estey. 
Nathaniel Clark. 
Samuel Bradshaw. 
Michael Woodcock. 
William Wright. 
Seth Boyden. 
Nathan Clark. 
Eliphalet Hodges. 








1 Died in the war. 


Capt. Ebenezer Mann, of Stoughtonham, went into 
the war with a company, but as the soldiers are most 
of them from Wrentham they are not included in the 
Second Precinct. 

The results of this campaign were of incalculable 
citizens had been 
taught a lesson in self-reliance, they had learned the 
They had fought by the side of the 
veterans of England, and, notwithstanding the pomp 
and pride of war, they had found the army to be 
composed of men like themselves. The precinct had 
valuable religious privileges granted by the General 
Court, and they could see no reason why their civil 


benefit to the precinct. Her 


tactics of war. 


rights were not to them equally valuable and availa- 
ble. Therefore, Joseph Hewins, Jr., William Richards, 
and Jeremiah Fuller were ordered to present a peti- 


| tion to the General Court from the inhabitants of the 


Second Precinct, praying to be set off a separate town 
or district. 

In accordance with this petition, the following act 
was passed : 


“ Anno ReGni Reais GeorGII TERTII QUINTO. 


“An act for incorporating the Second Precinct in the Town 
of Stoughton, in the County of Suffolk (as it now is), into a dis- 
trict by the name of Stoughtonham. 

“ Whereas the inhabitants of the Second Precinct in Stough- 


| ton labor under great difficulties, by reason of their distance 


from the place where the town-meetings are held in said 
town: 
“ Be it enacted by the Governor, Council, and House of 


| Representatives, That the Second Precinct in the town of 


Stoughton by the same bounds and limits which the said Sec- 
ond Precinct now have, be, and hereby are, incorporated into a 


| separate district, by the name of Stoughtonham; and that the 
| inhabitants thereof be vested with all the powers, privileges, 


and immunities, which the inhabitants of any town within this 
province, do, or by law ought to enjoy: excepting only the 
privilege of sending a representative to the General Assembly : 
And that the inhabitants of said district shall have liberty, 
from time to time, to join with the town of Stoughton in the 
choice of a Representative.” 


Joseph Hewins, Esq., was authorized by the afore- 
said act, passed June 2, 1765, to issue a warrant to 
some principal inhabitant in said district, to notify 
and warn the freeholders and inhabitants therein, 
qualified to vote in town affairs, to meet at the meet- 


_ing-house for the choice of such officers as a town 
_ might legally choose. 


By virtue of the above act, Joseph Hewins, Esq., 
issued his warrant to Richard Hixson, inhabitant, who 
warned the inhabitants of said district to meet for the 
above-named purpose on the 8th day of July, 1765. 

At a meeting held on the 8th day of July, 1765, 
Daniel Richards was chosen moderator and clerk of 
said district. Daniel Richards, Mr. Job Swift, and 


458 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Mr. 
assessors, and Daniel Richards, treasurer. 

The district was now in a condition to divide its 
poor with its sister-town, define its boundaries, and 


Thomas Randall were chosen selectmen and 


apportion the school money, all of which was amica- 
bly done. 

Although the inhabitants rejoiced in the accession 
to their number of those that feared and worshiped 
God, still it is hardly possible that some of the baser 
sort should not have grown up or settled among 
them. 

There is no record of any sentences or punish- 
ments inflicted upon evil-doers in these days, but the 
following record would intimate the terror of the law 
was before their eyes, for in 1772 the treasurer was 
ordered to pay “ Wilham Price the sum of one pound 
plank and irons, and 
district, and carrying 


ten shillings, for his providing 
for making the stocks for the 
them to the meeting-house.” 

Very early in the troubles of the colonies with the 
mother-country were the questions of public policy 
discussed in the public meetings of Stoughtonham. 
The inhabitants who had suffered the privations and 
atrocities of the Indian wars for their sovereign, King 
George II., had learned a lesson in the school of war 
they were not soon to forget. They were not children, 
to be intimidated by the acts of Parliament or the sol- 
diers of King George III. 

When the public meeting was held in Faneuil Hall, 
Boston, Sept. 22, 
the provinces, Stoughtonham was represented by Mr. 
Job Swift. 

At a meeting legally assembled at the meeting- 
house, Feb. 23, 1773, the district took into considera- 


1768, to consult upon the affairs of 


tion the state of their liberties and privileges, as ex- 
hibited in a pamphlet sent from Boston, which, after 
being read, the following votes were passed, viz. : 


“Ist. That under God, through our Forefathers, we have en- 
joyed invaluable liberties and privileges, civil and religious, 
and when we consider the worth of them, and how dear it cost 
our forefathers to purchase these, for themselves and their pos- 
terity, we cannot but esteem them highly, nor wonder to see the 
people alarmed, when they behold their liberties and privileges 
threatened and invaded. 

“2d. That from what we have heard and seen, we cannot but 
think that some of our liberties and privileges have been taken 
from us, and others are threatened, and that it is an alarming 
crisis with us, and we have a loud call in Providence to us, to 
imitate the prudent man, who foreseeth the evil and hideth 
himself, 

“3d. That since we are bid to look to ourselves, not only in 
spiritual but in temporal affairs, we look upon it as our duty, 
and it shall be our practice, to use all constitutional measures to 
remove the burdens we feel and prevent those we fear, respect- 
ing our civil and religious affairs and concerns. 

“4th. That our thanks are due to the town of Boston, for 





espieing our dangers, and, like faithful watchmen, giving us 


warning. 

“Sth. That our deputy use his utmost interest and influence 
in Court, in a constitutional way and manner, to recover what 
liberties and privileges have been taken from us, and secure 
those that remain, and that our clerk inform him of this action. 

“6th. That we own King George the third to be our rightful 
lord and sovereign, and promise allegiance to him, but at the 
same time deny the parliamentary power of taxing us, being 
without the realm of England, and not represented there. 

“7th. That a copy of these votes be sent to the committee of 
cerrespondence in Boston by our clerk.” 

1774, August 29th. In a legal district meeting, 
it was, on motion made to see if the district were 
willing to comply with the late acts of the Parliament, 
voted, unanimously, in the negative. This year the 
treasurer was ordered to pay for a cask of powder and 
one hundred flints. 

At a meeting held Jan. 2, 1775, it was voted ‘that 
Mr. Job Swift be a delegate to meet with the Con- 
gress at Cambridge, on the 1st day of February next. 

Voted, that the district strictly adhere to the re- 
solves of the American Congress; and, 

Voted, that a large committee be chosen for the 
public good, and that they use their utmost endeavors 
to suppress all disorders and outrages and disturbances 
in this district, and that said committee consist of the 
following persons: Messrs. Ebenezer Capen, Israel 
Smith, David Fisher, Ebenezer Hill, Benjamin Gan- 
nett, John Comee, Capt. Edward Bridge Savels, 
Thomas Richards, William Paine (2d), Capt. Eben- 
ezer Tisdale, Samuel Gould, Benjamin Fairbanks, 
Elijah Baker, Josiah Robbins, Lieut. Richard Hixson. 

1775, February 3d. Voted to raise twenty-eight 
minute-men and two officers, and that they exercise 
two half-days ina week. Also, that the committee 
supply four guns for the men who have none, at the 
cost of the district. 

L775, April 19th: 
sounded throughout the province, and Stoughtonham 


The Lexington alarm was 


responded with the following companies of soldiers. 
Minute-Men.—In the company of Capt. Samuel 

Payson, in Col. John Greaton’s regiment of minute- 

men, on the 19th of April, 1775, were: 

Samuel Billings, corp. 

Matthew Hobbs Harlow, corp. 

Lavet Billings, corp. 


Hleazer Blackman, drum. 
Enoch Bird, fife. 


Privates. 


Samuel Payson, capt. 
Royall Kollock, first lieut. 
John Paine, sergt. 

Enoch Hewins, sergt. 
Joshua Swift, sergt. 


William Everton. 
Solomon Gay. 
Stephen Hawes. 
Nathaniel Holland. 
Caleb Johnson. 
Spencer Lyon. 


Benjamin Billings. 
John Bird. 
Samuel Capen. 
Joshua Carey. 
Jonathan Clark. 
Jonathan Cobb. 


Richard Cumings. David Forrest. 








SHARON. 


459 





Daniel Rhoads. 
James Rhoads. 
Jireh Swift. 
Levi Tuttle. 


Samuel Tolman. 
Joel Morse. 
Amos Morse. 
James Morgan. 

The second company, Capt. Israel Smith, marched 
on the 19th of April, 1775, as minute-men from 
Stoughtonham. 

These men probably intended to have served in 
Capt. Samuel Payson’s company, but living most of 
them in the south part of the district, or Foxboro’, 
when they arrived Capt. Payson had left with his 
company, and these men were mustered into a com- 
pany under Capt. Israel Smith, of Moose Hill, and 
proceeded forthwith to the scene of action. 

Minute-men of the 19th of April, 1775, in Capt. 
Israel Smith’s company : 

Israel Smith, capt. 

Daniel Morse, lieut. 

William Savage, sergt. 

John Forrest, sergt. 


Nehemiah Carpenter, corp. 
John Comee, corp. 
Edward Paine, drum, 
David Wood, fife. 
Privates. 
John Everett. 
Josiah Morse. 
Elijah Morse. 
Elisha Morse. 
Timothy Rhoads. 
Josiah Robbins. 
William Sumner. 


Uriah Atherton. 
Timothy Billings. 
Beriah Billings. 
Seth Boyden. 
Amos Boyden. 
Josiah Blanchard. 


William Comee. 


It is said that after the fight at Lexington there 
were no able-bodied young men left at home, and very 





few old men were away from the camp around Boston. — 


In these old colonial times roads were trails or bridle- | 


paths, and houses were scattered far between, and 
many were located in the fields. The occupants of 
these houses were some of them young women who 
The bride had left father 


and mother, and her wedding tour was a journey to 


had just been married. 


in the struggle for life, home, and liberty, and these 
women felt in their hearts a glow of patriotism and 
conscious pride that they had done what they could. 

It was the morning of the 17th of June, 1775, 


_when the stillness of the early hour was broken by 


The 

In 
the afternoon the contest seemed to have redoubled 
its fury. What were the thoughts of these women 
as the horrors of war and bloody strife entered their 
minds? What if their husbands or sons should be 
slain in battle, and a revengeful, conquering enemy 
should put in execution their threats to come with 
fire and sword, burn the houses and kill the defense- 


heavy cannonading in the distance, at Boston. 
roar of heavy guns continued all the forenoon. 


| less women and children ? 


In their agony of spirit and despair they turned 
their steps to Sharon Hill, the high ground near the 


_school-house, where possibly they might behold the 


fearful contest. 
beheld before them on the horizon, twenty miles away, 
in a fearful mass of smoke and flames, Charlestown, 
with its six hundred buildings. 

Night coming on, the tumult and voice of war was 
hushed. 

Anxiously awaiting some tidings from the terrible 
strife before them they went into the school-house, 
where they could sympathize with and console each 
Others came in, and a goodly number were 
gathered. Their minister, the Rev. Philip Curtis, 
who had faithfully watched over them these many 
years, was with them, with his prayers, exhortations, 
Here on this eventful night was held 
Here 


these women, with aching hearts and tearful eyes, 


They sank down in despair as they 


other. 


and watching. 
the first watch-meeting ever held in Sharon. 


_ beheld in the light of burning Charlestown the beacon 


her new house, isolated though it might be, but here | 


she had consecrated her life to new duties and her | 


affections to husband and a new home. Now, when 
the husband of a few days put on the armor of war, 
and went away to battle for his country, the light and 
love of the bride’s heart seemed gone forever. 

But the occupants of some of these houses were 
women who were past the meridian of life. Their 
gray hairs and stern features told of a life of hard- 


ship and toil, and they had hoped their declining | 
years would have rested lightly in the bosom of the | 
Yet they 
could give up their tea and little luxuries of life, | 
which they had loved so well, for the love they bore | 
_ knowing their needs and necessities (in case of a con- 


family that had grown up around them. 


their country,—the cause of freedom. 
with their counsel and their sympathy they cheered 
and encouraged the hearts of their husbands and 


Even more, 


of freedom, the dawn of a nation’s birthday. 

The following incidents are a part of the history of 
Edmund Quincy, Jr., was the son of a 
He came to this 


this town. 
retired merchant of Quincy, Mass. 
town and married Hannah Gannett, April 30, 1767. 


| He also bought a farm east of Massapoag Lake, where 
_ he resided during the remainder of his life. The mem- 





sons as they went forth from their homes to engage | 


bers of this distinguished family were most of them 
decided patriots. That was the case with Edmund 
Quincy, Jr. One day while walking upon the beach 
of Massapoag his attention was attracted by the large 
amount of iron ore lying useless and neglected upon 
the shore and extending into the water. Being much 


interested in the affairs of the colonies, and well 


flict with the mother-country) for the want of heavy 
guns, he imparted the information to his friend, Col. 
Richard Gridley, of Boston, who had been an engi- 


460 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





neer in the colonial service, and was the only Ameri- 
can in this country who knew anything in regard to 
the manufacture of cannon. 
right to take the ore from Massapoag of the “ Dor- 
chester proprietors.”’ Quincy, also, in connection with 
Gridley and Joseph Jackson, of Boston, purchased 
the furnace of the Ebenezer Mann Company, for the 
manufacture of heavy guns. 


| 
| 
| 


Quincy bought the 


This furnace was located | 


in the south part of this town, on the site now occu- | 


pied by Deacon E. Clapp’s shingle-mill. 


Col. Gridley came out to Canton in 1772, and, in con- 


nection with his son Scarborough, commenced drain- 


ing the pond and exposing the ore. Large quantities 
of the ore were taken out in 1773, and yet the guns 
were not completed until 1775. These were the first 
Col. Gridley, who had be- | 
come the chief engineer of the American army, with a | 
number of men proceeded to Massapoag Pond to | 
prove the guns. 

Capt. Nathaniel Curtis, son in-law of the Rev. 
Philip Curtis, who had acquired some knowledge of | 


cannons cast in America. 


gunnery in the French war with Col. Gridley, vol- | 
unteered his assistance and accompanied the party. | 
Previous to leaving the house he had deposited in a | 
place of safety several bags of Spanish dollars, the 
proceeds of a cargo of fish which he had just sold in 
the West Indies. In the meanwhile an impostor rode — 
through the town stating that the British had marched 
out of Boston, and were near at hand destroying | 
everything in their track. Capt. Curtis returned | 
home to find the family had fled to the woods, except 
the faithful negro, who had put out the fires, armed | 
himself with a heavy club, and was determined, as he 
said, to defend the house. The bags of money he 
said were at the bottom of the well, and he pointed 
out the hiding-place of the family. These guns hav- 
ing proved satisfactory, were taken to Roxbury and 
then to Dorchester Heights. 

The Col. Richard Gridley Company continued the | 
manufacture of heavy guns during the war of the | 
Revolution for the United States. 

The second call for soldiers came on the 4th of 
March, 1776. In response to this order, the company | 
of Capt. Edward Bridge Savels marched to Dor- | 
chester Hills. | 





The following is the muster-roll : 


Edward Bridge Savels, capt. William Billings, corp. 
Ebenezer Hewins, lieut. 
Jacob Estey, lieut. 


Thomas Richards, sergt. 
t Ss 


Zebediah Holmes, corp. 
Samuel Capen, corp. 
Ebenezer Pettee, corp. 
Philip Withington, serzt. Elijah Capen, drum. 
Solomon Gilbert, corp. 
Privates. 
Job Swift, Jr. 


| 
Solomon Gay. | 
Benj’n Packard. | 


Philip Curtis. 


Joseph Randall. 
Benj’n Randall. 
Jeremiah Richards. 
Benj'n Marshall. 
John Lovell. 
Gilbert Morse. 
Benj’n Gannett. 
Lichard Cumings. 
Abijah Tisdale. 
Samuel Gould, Jr. 
Oliver Drake. 
Oliver Everett. 
Jeremy Hixson. 
Daniel Richards, Jr. 
Jacob Estey, 3d. 
William Savels. 
John Holmes, Jr. 


Jireh Swift. 

David Gould. 
Ebenezer Gould. 
Thomas Baker. 
Ebenezer Tisdale, Jr. 
Benj’n Puffer. 

Enoch Hewins. 

John Estey. 

Samuel Holmes. 


Matthew Hobbs Harlow. 


John Johnson. 
Nathaniel Cumings. 
Joseph Hewins, Jr. 
Benj’n White, Jr. 
Jonathan Belcher. 
Solomon Estey. 
John Drake, Jr. 


| Island. 


William Richards, Jr. 
Asa Clark. 

Samuel Wood. 

Asa Harlow. 


Joseph Morse. 
Samuel Bird, Jr. 
Elijah Baker. 
Ebenezer Holland. 
Ephraim Payson, Jr. 
Benj'n Gannett, Jr. 


Edward Tisdale. 
William Lewis. 


The result of this expedition was the fortification 
of Dorchester Heights, which gave the Americans 


the control of the harbor and the town of Boston, 


and caused the evacuation of the town by the British 
army. Exasperated beyond measure by the daring 
of the patriots, whom they pretended to despise, they 
sought every means to be revenged. Among other 
dastardly acts, they burned the light-house on Castle 
From the proximity of the vessels of the 


British army to the towns upon the coast, the inhab- 


_itants were apprehensive that they too might be 
attacked and their property destroyed or carried off. 


Therefore a third call was issued. To this call Capt. 
Savels, of Stoughtonham, promptly responded on the 
22d of March, 1776. His company was now officered 
as follows: 
Edward Bridge Savels, capt. 
Royall Kollock, lieut. 
William Billings, lieut. 
Levi Morse, sergt. 
Ebenezer Richards, sergt. 
Nathaniel Cumings, sergt. 


William Bradshaw, corp. 
Benjamin Hodges, corp. 
Joseph Randall, corp. 
Abijah Tisdale, corp. 
Ebenezer Clark, fife. 
Benjamin Bullard, drum. 


The following new men, as privates, were added to 
his company : 


David Gannett. 
Elijah Billings. 
Stephen Morse. 
Zebulon Holmes. 
Levi Pratt. 
William Rogers. 
Timothy Billings. 
John Coney. 
John Smith. 

Job Willis. 


Joseph Harris. 
Archippus Drake. 
Edmund Quincy, Jr. 
William Hart. 
Jacob Hawes. 
Samuel Hixson. 
Joseph Cumings. 
Jobn Cumings. 
Thomas Clark. 
Joseph Pratt. 
Amos Morse. 


Capt. Savels marched with his company for Quincy 


on the 22d day of March, 1776. History informs us 








SHARON. 461 








that Lieut.-Col. Benjamin Tupper, a native of Sharon, 


in Gen. Ward’s brigade, was ordered to take his men | 
in whale-boats, with cannon, and fire upon the British 


vessels from Thompson’s and Spectacle Islands. So 
vigorously did he play upon the vessels, that they 
were quite willing to weigh anchor and drop down to 
Nantasket Roads, beyond the reach of the guns of 
the American army. The object of the British hav- 
ing been effectually prevented, the soldiers returned 
home. 

Three-Years’ Men.—At a town-meeting held on 
the 3d day of March, 1777, it was voted to give each 


man who shall enlist into the service of the United | 
States of America for the term of three years the | 


sum of £13 6s. 8d., to be paid by the town at the 
time of their passing muster, and at the end of each 
year, for the term of three years, if the war continue 
so long. 

“Under this vote the following men were enlisted 
and received the bounty : 


Lavet Billings. 
Samuel Brown. 
Ebenezer Capen, Jr. 
Jonathan Clark. 
William Everdean. 
Jacob French. 
Stephen Flood. 
David Forrest. 
Josiah Farrington. 
Moses Howard. 
‘Simeon Howard. 


Jonathan Hawes. 
William Hewins. 
Elkanah Hixson. 
Cato Johnson. 
Benjamin Kingman. 
Zebina Lyon 

James Perigo. 
Samuel Tolman. 
Jacob Wellman. 
Benjamin Westley. 


The families of these men were supplied by the 
committee of the town with such necessary articles 
as contributed to their sustenance and comfort during 
the absence of+the soldiers in the war. 

Six- and Nine-Months’ Men in the Revolution. 
—In the Third Suffolk Regiment, Col. Jacob Gill, of 
Capt. Na- 


Benjamin Fairbanks, Lieut. 


Canton, was Company 7, whose officers, 
thaniel Morse, Lieut. 
Ezra Morse, were of Stoughtonham, as were the fol- 
lowing men. They were not all in Capt. Morse’s 
company, but most of them did duty out of the State, 
at Fishkill or Claverack, on the Hudson River. The 
General Court paid these soldiers two shillings per 
mile as travel fees, the distance computed at two 
hundred and ten miles. 


Samuel Billings, 3d. 
Jonathan Billings, 3d. 
Eleazer Blackman. 
Ebenezer Blackman. 
Jeremiah Belcher. 
Ebenezer Bullard, Jr. 
Samuel Capen. 

John Coney. 

Melzar Drake. 
Edward French. 


Solomon Gilbert. 
Matthew H. Harlow. 
John Hewins. 

Jacob Hewins. 
Zebulon Holmes. 
Samuel Holmes. 
Benjamin Ingraham. 
Elijah Johnson. 
Oliver Johnson. 
Elkanah Jordon. 





| 


{ 


Amos Richardson. 
Joshua Swift. 

John Tolman. 

Francis Terrand. 
Joshua Whittemore, Jr. 
James Wood. 


Isaac Jordon. 
Joseph Morse. 
Nicholas McKay. 
Joseph Perigo. 
Stephen Reed. 
Timothy Rhoads. 
William Robinson. 


Mr. Job Swift represented the district in the Pro- 
vincial Congress during one hundred days, for which 
he was paid eighteen pounds. 

The district paid first requisition of beef, 7210 
pounds, £10,815; second requisition of beef, 14,845 
pounds, £20,764. Total, £31,579. Stoughtonham 
was required to furnish the support of thirty-one poor 
persons who left Boston during the siege. Also the 
district furnished 42 shirts, 42 pairs stockings, and 
42 pairs of shoes for the soldiers in the army. 

After the close of the war the soldiers returned 
home to their families poor, with little or no money. 

The taxes were heavy and their burdens hard to bear. 
Many who were able sought relief in immigration, 
and no doubt they prospered in the change. 
Store.—The first store was opened in Stoughton- 
ham about 1750 by Benjamin Hewins, Esq., near the 
residence of his great-grandson, Mr. Lyman Hewins. 
Many of his account-books are now in existence, and 
are remarkable for the clearness and beauty of the 
penmanship, as well as for the fact that there is no 
record of the sale of spirituous liquors upon its pages. 
Negroes.—It is from these account-books and other 
sources that it is learned that the following negroes 
were held as servants: Rey. Philip Curtis had Scipio; 
Joseph Everett, Cato; Samuel Cumings, Czsar;. 
Edmund Quincy, Jr., Cuffe; Benjamin Randall, 
Boston, who is still remembered by the older members 
of the community, although he died more than fifty 
years ago. He was very punctual in his attendance 
upon the meetings on the Sabbath, and outlived his 
master, who left a maintenance for Boston during his 
lifetime. Cato Johnson was probably a negro who 
served three years in the Continental army, and 
afterwards was cared for and supported by the town. 
Civil History.—The enabling act, authorizing all 
districts in the province of Massachusetts Bay to be- 
come towns by a general law, was passed on the 23d 
of August, 1775. Stoughtonham became a town on 
that day, but it was nearly six months before the 
_record of the clerk incidentally notices this fact. 
The question naturally arises, Why was this long 
circuit of measures required before the people could 
enjoy their rights and privileges ? 
It will be seen, as a precinct they only had the 
| privilege of meeting together on the Sabbath and sup- 
| porting public worship ; as a district, they were to be 


462 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





vested “ with all the powers, privileges, and immuni- 
ties which any town do have, or by law ought to 
enjoy.” Still the fact is apparent that the English 
government prefered to have good dependents rather 
than good lawmakers. The laws passed by the prov- 
ince were to be revised in England, and approved, 
before they became the law of the land here. 

Now the first thing, almost, to be done after the 
declaration of independence was to invest the districts 
with their natural rights by making them independent 
corporate bodies or towns. 

After Stoughtonham became a town the people 
voted to have the General Court change its name to 
Washington, but there is no account of any further 
action on this subject. 

On the 10th of June, 1778, the south part of the 
town of Stoughtonham was set off and incorporated 
as a town by the name of Foxboro’. 

It will be seen by the following act that the name 
of Stoughtonham is changed to the beautiful scrip- 
tural name of Sharon: 

“ CoMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

“In the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and 
eighty-three. 

“An Act for discontinuing the name of a town in the County of 
Suffolk incorporated by the name of Stoughtonham, and 
calling the same SHARON. 

“ Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in 
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That 
the said town of Stoughtonham shall no longer bear that name, 
but henceforth shall be called and known by the name of Sha- 


And all 
officers in said town shall hold and exercise their respective 


ron, the aforesaid incorporating act notwithstanding. 


offices in the same manner as they would have done had not 
the name of said town been altered. 
“Tn the House of Representatives, Feb. 24, 1783. 

“This bill having had three several readings, passed to be 

enacted. 
“'TristRAM Daxron, Speaker. 
“Tn Senate, Feb. 25, 1783. 

“This bill having had three several readings, passed to be 
enacted. 

“ SAMUEL ADAMS, President. 

“ Approved. 

“ Joun HAncock.” 

The Rey. Philip Curtis was born in Roxbury, Oct. 
4,1717. He entered Harvard College in 1734, and 
took his degree in 1738. He was admitted to church- 
fellowship, and studied divinity with Rev. Dr. Bow- 


man, of Dorchester, where he taught school. He 
preached his first sermon in Sharon in May, 1741, 
and was ordained to the ministry Jan. 5, 1742. His 


salary was £60 13s. 6d. a year, with the use of the 
ministerial meadow and wood from the precinct wood- 
lot. 
chester, by whom he had six children. 


His 


Samuel taught school, and graduated at Harvard 


son 


He married, in 1744, Elizabeth Bass, of Dor- | 





College in 1766; studied medicine, and was a surgeon 
on board a privateer during the Revolution. His 
wife, Elizabeth, died May 24, 1752, aged thirty-two 
years. On Oct. 31, 1754, he married Elizabeth 
Randall, of Sharon, and by this marriage he had five 
sons. 

It was now 1787, and the faithful pastor and the 
meeting-house had grown old together. Having seen 
more than a half-century’s service, the people con- 
The pastor 
gave them an acre more land and relinquished a 
portion of his salary to encourage them. 

The new meeting-house was erected in 1787. Jo- 
seph Hewins, Esq., procured a bell in London, which 
was placed in the tower in 1790, at a cost of sixty- 
two pounds. This bell became broken, and a new 
bell was cast at Canton, which replaced the old bell in 
1809. ) 

Mr. Curtis’ sight was remarkably clear, as he never 
used glasses, and he preached until within a few 
months of his death. 

His last affectionate tribute of respect for his peo- 


cluded to build a new meeting-house. 


_ ple was in the following impressive words : 


““Suaron, 2d October, 1797. 
“ FRIENDS AND BRETHREN: 


“T hereby signify that I release you from all lawful claims 
upon me, after the completion of last year’s salary, relying on 
your charity and generosity should I hereafter stand in need. 

“T remain your Aged Pastor and Friend in Christ, 

“* Puinip Curtis.” 
22, 


His death occurred Noy. 1797, in his eighty- 


first year. During the fifty-five years of his ministry 


| Mr. Curtis baptized nine hundred and twenty-six 





_ couples. 


and married three hundred and _ fifteen 
There were four hundred and three deaths 


persons, 


in his parish, and two hundred and sixty-four were 
added to the church. 
Mrs. Elizabeth Curtis, his last wife, died March 
11, 1823, at the advanced age of ninety-one years. 
At a meeting held Dec. 17, 1798, it was 


“ Voted, to concur with the church-in giving Mr. Jonathan 
Whitaker a call to the pastoral care of this church and congre- 
gation. 

“ Voted, that a committee of nineteen be chosen to take into 
consideration what sum will be proper to propose to him for 
his settlement and annual salary.” 


The committee reported as follows, which was 
“To give seven hundred and 


Mr. Jonathan 
Whitaker, provided he takes upon him the charge of 


voted by the town: 
fifty dollars as a settlement to 


the church and congregation in Sharon, as a gospel 


_ minister; which sum, in case he should leave the peo- 


ple in said capacity without their consent, to be re- 


_ funded to the town without interest. 








SHARON. 


463 





“Voted to pay him semi-annually one hundred and 
sixty-six dollars and sixty-six and a half cents, as a 
salary, as long as he remains their minister.” 

Mr. Whitaker in open town-meeting accepted the 
invitation, and was ordained Feb. 27, 1799. 

Never had there been a more auspicious settlement 
in Sharon. The church was crowded with hearers, 
and new pews were added in that already capacious 
meeting-house. 


Mr. Whitaker secured the house and estate of his | 


predecessor in the ministry. He also taught school, 
and entered into plans for the general interest of the 
town. 
it was not until political and sectarian questions came 


He was highly appreciated by his people, and 


up in after-years that there began to be differences of 
opinion in regard to his usefulness as a public minis- 
ter. Mr. Whitaker held to the old Puritan way of 
his predecessor of baptizing children, and when in 
after-years they desired to live in a closer com- 
munion with God, they were confirmed upon assent- 
ing to the covenant, and became members of the 
church. 

Mr. Whitaker had iow been the only preacher in 


town for many years when the first Baptist meetings | 


began to be held in this town, and he was no 
Laban, to say to the itinerant, ‘‘ Abide in my house- 


hold,” or to take the innovator into his field of labor. | 
It is not necessary to discuss those questions of a past | 
_ the pastoral office, continuing until July 9, 1856. 


age ; the actors have long since closed up their record 
and gone to their reward. Suffice it to say, that 


things continued to grow more unpleasant between 


submitted to and decided by the council, which ad- 
vised, on account of the bad feeling existing between 


the pastor and his people, that the connection be dis- | 


solved. This result was secured by the society paying 
Mr. Whitaker five hundred dollars, April, 1816. This 
religious and political controversy in the town did not 
cease with the withdrawal of Mr. Whitaker, but con- 


tinued to be exceedingly bitter and relentless for 


several years. 
The third minister of the First Congregational 


Church and society was the Rev. Thomas Rich, set- | 


tled in 1817. 
years, as the Rev. Samuel Brimblecom succeeded to 
the pastorate of the society Dec. 3, 1821, and con- 
tinued in office until March 13, 1826. 

After this time the pulpit was supplied by different 


ministers until the Rev. Jacob Norton was settled, in 
1829. 


pit was supplied for short intervals by different | 


preachers until 1842, when the old church built in 


He could not have continued many | 


He preached about two years, when the pul- | 








the year 1787 was taken down and the present church 
erected. 

The following are two stanzas from a poem written 
at that time and occasion by Jeremiah Gould, Esq. : 


“That old familiar desk, 

Whose glory and renown 

Is spread from east to west, 
And wouldst thou take it down? 

Workman, forbear thy blows, 
Rend not its oaken ties, 

Oh! spare that ancient house, 
Now towering to the skies. 


“When but a little boy 
I trod its sacred shade, 
In thankfulness and joy 
There I oft have played. 
My mother led me there, 
My father pressed my hand, 
Forgive this foolish tear, 
But let that old house stand.” 


The Rev. Samuel Pettes, Jr., became pastor Oct. 
16, 1843, and continued to officiate in that capacity 
until March 18, 1847. 

The Rev. James L. Stone succeeded the former 
pastor on Jan. 1, 1848, and continued in office until 


| May 5, 1852. 


The Rev. Thomas H. Pons was settled July 3, 
1852, and continued until Oct. 1, 1853. 
In June, 1854, Rev. Norwood Damon occupied 


From Jan. 1, 1857, to Jan. 1, 1862, the Rev. 


| Charles C. Sewall, of Medfield, supplied the preach- 
pastor and people, until finally a council was held, | 
and such grievances as the people labored under were | 


ing. From this time there was no regular preaching 
until Jan. 4, 1868, when the Rev. George W. Stacy, 
of Milford, supplied the pulpit. . Mr. Stacy’s labors 
ceased on May 2, 1870. The Rev. Mr. Tyndall sup- 
plied the pulpit until September, 1870. After 1870 
the church was supplied by candidates. 

In April, 1875, the Rev. John Wills preached for 
several Sabbaths, and for several months in the 
summer the Rev. William H. Savary, of Cantor, 
preached. 

In 1878, Rev. W. G. Todd preached through the 
summer months. From this time there was no regu- 
lar preaching until the Rev. William O. White, of 
Brookline, officiated as pastor from September, 1881, 
until September, 1883. 

The Rev. C. C. Carpenter supplied the pulpit until 
January, 1884. 

The Baptist Society.—The first meetings were 
held at the houses of Mr. Leavitt Hewins and Mr. 
Joshua Whittemore by the Rev. Mr. Gammell, of 
Medfield. 
flocked to hear him preach. 


Soon an interest was created, and many 
The first baptism took 


464 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





. | 
place at Billings’ Pond in 1812, when Joshua Whit- 


temore and Leavitt Hewins were baptized. 

The Baptist society was formed in 1813, when 
Jeremiah Richards was chosen treasurer. On Oct. 
26, 1814, the church was organized, and numbered 
twenty-six members. The first deacons were Joshua 
Whittemore and Leavitt Hewins. Barnabas D. 
Capen was elected in 1845, and Charles D. Hixon in 
1877. 

In the early days of its existence the society held 


its meetings in the hall of the parsonage. 

The Rev. Mr. Gammell was succeeded by the Rey. 
Henry Kendall, from Maine. In the year 1818, | 
Samuel Wait was ordained as pastor, and he contin- 
ued in office four years, when he was succeeded by 
Rev. Thomas Barrett, who preached about two years. 
Then, in 1823, Rev. Thomas Le Favour preached 
one year. 

In August, 1831, the Rev. Caleb Green was settled. 
As the numbers had increased it was thought advisa- 
ble to erect a church, which was built in 1833. The 
next pastor was the Rev. Thomas Driver. In April, 
1835, the Rev. Silas Hall filled the pastorate. He 
was succeeded by Rev. George N. Wait. In the year 
1841, Edward G. Sears was elected pastor and contin- 
ued in office until 1843, when he was succeeded by 
Rev. George W. Patch. He in turn resigned, and | 
the Rev. Alfred Colburn took his place. 

The Rev. Mylon Merriam became pastor in 1853, 
and closed his labors in 1858. 

Rey. Freeman B. Ashley succeeded Mr. Merriam 
in 1859. 


gation increased in numbers, and it was thought best 


This pastor was popular, and the congre- 





to enlarge the meeting-house by giving room for six- 
teen additional pews. 

In 1864, Mr. Ashley resigned his office as pastor, 
and the pulpit was occupied by Mr. Tozier, who 


preached one year. 

The Rev. Benjamin A. Edwards was settled in 
1865, and continued as pastor until 1872, when the 
Rey. Lyman Partridge acepted the pastorate and con- 
tinued to preach until 1882. “ During all these years,” 


says Mr. Partridge in a printed discourse from which 





these statistics are mainly taken, “‘ we have labored to- 
gether in harmony, while my relations to the people 
of the town have each year become pleasanter and 
more intimate. I count it a privilege and blessing 
to be able to make this last statement so near the | 
close of a pastorate of almost ten years.” 

Mr. Partridge is now settled at Westminster, Mass. 
He was succeeded in 1883 by the Rev. Irving B. 
Mower, the present pastor. 

The Christian Society (Trinitarian ),—Ata meet- 


ing held at the house of Mr. Philip Curtis, it was 
voted that a committee be chosen to take measures 
for forming a new society. Deacon Joel Hewins, 
Deacon Benjamin Fairbanks, and Lemuel D. Hewins 
were chosen, and at a subsequent meeting made the 
following report : 

“The practice of the primitive Christians, introduced into 


this country by our pious ancestors, for churches to take the 
lead in the settlement of their pastors, is, we believe, scriptural, 


rational, and salutary; and a departure from this practice so 


long preserved in this country, has doubtless been the principal 
cause of the unhappy difficulties now existing between this 
church and the Congregationalist society in this place ; and this 
church having borne, as long as forbearance is conceived to be 
a duty, and seeing no prospect of a restoration of harmony be- 
tween them and the society, deem it necessary and expedient to 
withdraw from said society, that they may independently of 
any body of men whatever enjoy the ordinances of religion 
agreeably to the practice of the primitive churches, and the 
sentiment of this church. 

“Wherefore this church do hereby constitute themselves into 
a religious society, to be called and known by the name of the 
‘Christian Society in Sharon.’ That in addition to the officers 
of the church, there shall annually be chosen by the church a 
clerk and treasurer, and also a committee of three persons to 
procure preaching and give certificates of membership to all 
who may wish to unite with this church for the support of 
public worship, agreeably to a law of this commonwealth, 
passed June 18, 1811, and generally to manage the prudential 
concerns of this society.” 


It was voted to accept the report June 16, 1821. 
The Rev. Joseph B. Felt was invited to become 
pastor of this church and society, which invitation he 
accepted, and he continued in office until 1825. 

In 1822 the society built their meeting-house. 
The next minister was the Rev. Jonathan Curtis, who 
was installed in October, 1825, and continued in office 
until the year 1834, when he requested to be released 
from the pastoral office, which was granted by the 
society. 

The Rev. Jacob Cummings was settled as pastor, 
and continued in office until 1837. In the year 1835 


this church received the legacy, bequeathed by Mrs. 


Nancy Gould, of the parsonage of the former ministers 
of Sharon. 

Rev. Lucius R. Eastman was the next pastor in 
1838, and on November 28th of that year the church 


took fire from the stove on Sunday morning, and was 


totally destroyed. 

In the summer of 1839 the present house was 
erected, and Mr. Eastman closed his labors with this 
church and society in 1840. 

In 1841 the Rev. Lebbeus R. Phillips was settled 
as pastor. This was one of the most successful 
pastorates enjoyed by the society, and was terminated 
by the request of Mr. Phillips in 1860. The Rev. 
Perley B. Davis succeeded Mr. Phillips, Jan. 29, 














SHARON. 


465 





1862, and continued in office until April 8, 1867, 
when he was dismissed at his own request. He after- 
wards settled in Hyde Park, where he still preaches. 
Rev. 8S. Ingersol Briant was settled April 22, 1868, 
and continued in office until April, 1874, when he 
resigned. He was succeeded by the Rev. Henry C. 
Weston, who was born in Charlestown, Mass., May 
9, 1844. After leaving the high school he entered 


Amherst College, where he graduated in the year | 





1866. He entered Andover in the class of the same 


| 
| 


year, and afterwards preached at North Bennington, | 


Vt. 
Chelsea, Aug. 18, 1870. 
Sept. 2, 1874. An excellent preacher, eminently 
social in his character and his relations with his peo- 
ple, a world of usefulness seemed to open before him. 
He early became interested in the schools as a com- 
mittee, and he also served the town as superintendent 
of schools. But this continued but a short time. 
His health soon became impaired and he was obliged 
to abandon his labors, not only as superintendent but 
also as pastor of his church and society. His interest 
in the labors he had chosen never ceased, although it 


top] 


covery. 
hope of a glorious immortality, and leaving many 
sorrowing friends to lament his early departure. Mrs. 
Weston and three children remain in Sharon. 

The Rev. Edward G. Smith, who supplied the pulpit 
for some time before the death of Mr. Weston, is now | 
pastor of the Christian society. 

The Catholic Chapel on Pond Street has a mission 
service, and is connected with the church at Stoughton 
of the same denomination. 

The Bay Street Chapel (Evangelical) is located in 
the southeast part of Sharon, on the Bay road, near 
Easton. 

The Methodist Church was organized in 1876, but 
has no regular preaching. 

Physicians.— How great is the influence of the med- 
ical profession over the individuals in the community. 
The patient who recovers from a serious malady is 
ever likely to retain lively emotions of gratitude to- 
wards the man who has rescued him from a bed of | 
sickness, pain, or death. 

Dr. Samuel Hewins was born in this town, Aug. 
31,1734, He married, in 1760, Sarah, the daughter 
of Dr, Nathaniel White, of Weymouth, his instruc- 
tor. He settled in Sharon near the trowel-works. 
He was an active and useful man, brought up a 
family, and died in 1827. 

Dr. Elijah Hewins, born May 23, 1747, studied 
medicine with Dr. Young, of Boston. 

30 


While here he married Clara A. Loring, of | 


| 


He was settled at Sharon, | 





| 1797. 


geon in Col. Jacob Gill’s regiment in the Revolution. 
He bought the place now occupied by Mr. Increase 
Hewins, where, after his marriage with Lois Whiting, 
of Wrentham, his children were born. His wife 
died in 1795, and afterwards he married Irene Balch, 
of Dedham. After the marriage of his son, Elijah 


| Hewins, Esq., scribe and surveyor, the doctor sold 


his place and resided with his son much of the time 
until his death, which occurred May 21, 1827. 

Dr. Samuel Capen, born in this town May 20, 
1757, studied medicine with Dr. Samuel Hewins, and 
finished his course of study at Randolph. He mar- 
ried, Nov. 18, 1792, Sarah Savels, of this town, and 
resided east of Massapoag, where his children were 
born. After his daughter Sarah married he left 
Sharon, and resided in Brockton, where he died Dee. 
13, 1843, aged eighty-seven years. 

Dr. Daniel Stone was born in Framingham, and 
graduated from Harvard University in the class of 
He then studied medicine with Dr. Willard, 
of Uxbridge, and practiced some time, when he after- 
wards came to Sharon. He boarded for a time with 


| the Rev. Mr. Whitaker, who was his classmate in col- 
became evident that there was little hope of his re- | 
He died Feb. 24, 1883, rejoicing in the | 
| life. 


lege. Afterwards he built the house now occupied by 
the Rev. A. P. Chute. Here he resided during his 
He was town clerk in 1819, and filled many 
offices in the town; was a respected member of the 
Massachusetts Medical Society. He died in August, 
1842. There are but two of his children living,— 
Albert Stone, Esq., of Elgin, Ill., and Dr. Charles 
Stone, of Marysville, Cal. 

Dr. Norton Quincy Tirrell succeeded Dr. Stone in 
Sharon. Dr. Tirrell was born in Weymouth in 1817. 
At an early age he was by the death of his father thrown 
upon his own resources. By his industry he man- 
aged to acquire the means to attend the academy at 
Willbraham, Woburn, and Gilmanton, N. H., where 
he finished his early school days. He then went to 
New York, and from there to Norfolk, Va. Here 
he taught school and studied medicine ; afterwards he 
attended lectures at Washington, D. C., where he 
graduated. He was married in 1842, and the same 
year located in Sharon. Here he was highly esteemed 
as a physician and townsman, and an active member 
of the Christian Church and society. In 1852 he 
left Sharon for his native town, where he enjoyed a 
highly successful and lucrative practice. He died on 
Oct.. 19, 1882. 

Dr. Amasa D. Bacon was a physician of experience 
when he came to this town and succeeded to the es- 
tate and practice of Dr. Tirrell. Naturally a man of 
more than ordinary force of character, he was tender 


He was sur- ! and assiduous in the care of his patients, kind and 


466 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





obliging as a neighbor, an active citizen of the town 
and the Christian society. He represented the town 
in the Legislature and on the board of school com- 
mittee. Well posted in the advancement of medical 
science, he was an honored member of the Massachu- 
setts Medical Society. He rode more to see patients 
during the last winter of his life than any winter be- 
fore. His sickness, caused by exposure and other 
causes, terminated fatally on March 28, 1881, in the 
seventy-sixth year of his age. He had by his first 
wife, Clara Choate Bacon, two sons; by his last wife, 
Nellie Choate Bacon, one daughter. 

Dr. John Smithwick, of Williams College and 
Pittsfield Medical Institution, is the present resident 
physician. 

Soldiers in the War of 1812.—Although the 
people of New England were not generally in sym- 
pathy with the war of 1812, yet Sharon contributed 
her share of the State’s quota, as the following names 
will show: 


Ziba Plympton, 
Aaron Platt. 
James Packard. 
Ebenezer Packard. 
Jedediah Packard. 
James Packard, Jr. 
Linus Rogers. 
Jedediah Snow. 
Enoch Talbot. 
Shepard Wood. 
Zephaniah Washburn. 


Amos Barden. 


Ebenezer Capen. 
Theodore Drake. 
Ellis Drake. 

John Delano. 
Samuel Gilbert. 
Charles Gay. 
Ebenezer Henshaw. 
Joel Harlow. 

Ellis Johnson. 
Matthew Johnson. 
Samuel Mann 


A part of these soldiers went to the lakes, near 
Canada, and others were stationed at Boston Harbor. 

Schools.— Coeval with the religious and secular 
polity of the town was the appropriation of lands for 
the support of public schools and for the instruction 
of youth. ‘These privileges were so highly prized 
and enjoyed by the youth of the early days, that in 
after-years, when they became the actors upon the 
stage of life, they resolved these benefits should not 
only be continued, but they should be increased be- 
yond what they had enjoyed. 

The following letter gives the origin of the Sharon 
Friends’ school fund: 
“ To the Inhabitants of the Town of Sharon: 


“ GenTLEMEN,—The undersigned being a committee from the 
subscribers to the Sharon Friends’ School Fund, have the pleas- 


ure to present to youa subscription paper for the purpose of 


beginning a fund for the education of the youth of your Town. 
. .. It is with pleasure we look back and remember the Land 
of our Fathers,—the place of Our Birth. 

“ Believing as we do, that to give the present and future gen- 
erations a good, sound, practical education is the surest means 
of preserving our most valuable privileges, both civil and reli- 
gious, which we consider to be far greater than any other 


1 





cation and the instruction of youth. 


| school, 





nation enjoys. If this be the fact, how can money be better 
appropriated ? 

“This rand is now begun with a hope and expoetanen that 
it will be increased, so that every child in your town will have 
an opportunity to acquire a good practical education, and that 
it may be the means of increasing Education, Peace, Harmony, 
and the good feelings of every inhabitant of your place... . 

“This is offered as a token of remembrance of the place of 
our nativity, with our best wishes for your peace, your pros- 
perity, and your happiness as a town and individually. 

“We are Respectfully yours, 
“Oris EVERETT, 
“ ANDREW DRAKE, 
“OxiverR FIsHER, 
“ Committee. 





“Boston, June, 1826.” 

Otis: Everett, Boston .......:sscecscessscscsiecdvscsecicenecehorceteee $1000 
Andrew, Drake; BOstOn...s.ssssccee\ccoccancieeesenants asocvoceerent 100 
Oliver Fisher, Boston.. Sols lelcow aslo seeecendeneere 100 
Moses’ Hiverett, Boston ....<+..200-s:cesescsscceisseinciucihicefoarenes eLOD, 
Aaron Hiverett, BOStOnl.....ccsccecsssoscsressalceccsenctionmrestenenee 100 
Mace Tisdale, Boston. .....01s.ce0ssesccieresec/stccuseccicenentinarees 50 
Thomas Curtis; .BOStON s...ccccceescccceesiesceceleceresincstateeceres 50 
Daniel Johnson, BoOstOn':....cccccoscececcsiecatescweisesece Seelecnees 50 
HS G.Wiares “Boston... <c.c-coccccsiseses serie chins oenioctenctecateene 25 
SS Ke tHewins, Boston s..:..cc0cccccccoscsececdnssesene Seccuacencans 25 
Whiting Hewins, Boston........ sesices olen ccstes siccdavececvess sslees 25 
Warren’ Hisher; Bostons.....cccccccsssoscle-cseseosnesesees So9000000 25 
games: Hendley, Boston ...cssccccce-sloocostecsinoencste SasOC00009 25 
Jbewis! Morse, ROXbUry)......2..+--ccscocesconsiseseosenctascassces a 25 
Hizrac Morse, ROXDULY...<..0.200 <csesiccleeesisecnenlececsenesese eames 25 
Tuther Morse, Roxbury <:....s.0cce cess secsecusecelscsnccivoceesens 25 
| Oliver Hverett, Sharon\.s...:<..+sescccsecesejecseseisecsseteneeeeacners 50 
| Hdward Richards, Cambridge........6..css-.cclnescoscsacsee oreee 25 
Jabez Fisher, Cambridge...... Sevisisedecseselsanceinds sccneecemaenes 25 
Johny Curtis) Bostons.....ces<sseies Sols sslealsicieci valsloceoctestsceete nee 10 
$1810 

The surplus revenue was, by a vote of the town, made a 

| permanent fund for the use of school; the interest is 
applied annually... seserasects 2690 

The bequest of Mrs. “Anna "Hewins, “of ‘Roxbury, whose 

husband, Abel Hewins, was a native of this town, the 
SUIN (OL.stoss.vassessaasecleocecelcececelecves sie oesiecivacs cerecadeseeetrtee 500 
Making a permanent investment of total............ $5000 


The town’s appropriation was never to be lessened 
on account of the fund. Still, many people felt the 
importance of a higher grade of study than that fur- 
nished by the public schools. This want was hap- 
pily supplied by Sanford Waters Billings, A.M., of 
this town, and a graduate of Amherst College, who 
erected a school-house at his own expense, and gave 
instruction in the classical and higher mathematical 
studies. His school became popular, not only in this 
but in the neighboring towns, and for seventeen years 
Mr. Billings has devoted his time to the cause of edu- 
When the needs 
of the town required the establishment of a high 
it was with the same generous feeling that 
actuated those noble benefactors of a former age, 
rather than the stern requirements of the law, which 
led to the establishment of the Sharon high school. 
This school is under the charge and instruction of 


_ Mr. Billings, whose services and devotion to the cause 


of education have a warm place in the hearts of his 
pupils and the people. 











SHARON. 





Public Library.—The town has a well-selected 
public library, which, although not so extensive, is 
highly appreciated and well patronized by the com- 
munity. 


The Press.—The Sharon Advocate is a lively 


weekly paper, edited by William B. Wickes, Esq., 
and is devoted mainly to the interest of Sharon in 
local and general news, and the elevation of the com- 
munity in social, moral, and philanthropic matters. 
The Post-Offices.—The first post-office was estab- 
lished at Cobb’s Tavern, on the Bay road, July 1, 


1819; the post-office at Sharon Centre about 1828. | 


The name of the office at Cobb’s Tavern was changed 
to East Sharon, June 3, 1841, the other office to 
Sharon on the same date. 

The following are the representatives from Sharon 
to the Legislature : 


1776-77. Capt. Ebenezer Tis- | 1835. Ziba Plympton. 


dale. | 1837. George H. Mann. 
1778. Capt. Edward Bridge | 1838-39. Jedediah Morse. 

Savels. | 1840. Capt. Charles Ide. 
1779-80. Nathaniel Kings- | 1842-43. Erastus Richards. 

bury. | 1845-46. Otis Johnson. 


1782-83. Jonathan Eddy. 
1785-86. Joseph Hewins, Jr. 
1787-89. Benjamin Randall. 
1790-91. Joseph Hewins. 
1801. Jonathan Billings. 


1851. Enoch Dickerman. 
1854. Charles T. Howard. 
1855. George W. Gay. 

1856. Moses Richards. 

| 1858. Amasa D. Bacon, M.D. 
1804-5. John Drake, Jr. 1860. Asahel 8. Drake. 
1806-7. Jonathan Billings. 1861-62. H. Augustus Lath- 
1808. John Drake. rop. 

1809-10. Jonathan Billings. 1865. Joel P. Hewins. 

1811. Enoch Hewins, Jr. 1868. James Capen. 

1813. Benjamin Raynolds. 1870. Bushrod Morse, Esq. 
1815-16. Ziba Drake. 
1823. Enoch Hewins. 
1831. Jeremiah Richards. 


Those years not designated this town did not send 
a representative. 

While Sharon furnished her quota of soldiers dur- 
ing the war of the Rebellion, there were many 





lings, A.M. 
| 1883-84. Bushrod Morse, Esq. 


| 1873-74. Sanford Waters Bil- | 











patriotic citizens who contributed to the service a sol- | 


dier from their own personal fortunes. 


Andrew Adams. Alonzo Capen.” 


William A. Barrows. 
John E. Barrows. 
Seth Boyden.! 
Daniel W. Bright. 
Warren M. Bright. 
Edward E. Belcher. 
Charles W. Belcher. 
Joseph C. Blake. 
Charles F. Bryant. 
Albert Bullard. 
William H. Burdick. 
John Burkett. 
William H. Bennie. 
Lewis Breton. 


Herbert E. Capen. 
Lemuel Capen. 
George W. Capen.! 
Gardner W. Capen. 
Edward Cobb. 
William Cobb.! 
James Conners. 
James W. Clark. 
Alonzo Clark. 
Horace W. Clapp. 
Leander Clapp. 
Emil Conrad, 

Silas Davenport. 
John M. Davis.? 





1 Died since the war. 


2 Died in the war. 


| to its rustic surroundings. 
_by seventy feet, and is seventy-six feet from the 





James N. Davis. 
James Dellabaugh. 
Patrick Doherty.1 
Thomas Donegan. 
Hugh Doran. 
Patrick Doyle. 
Edwin A. Dunakin. 
Stillman A, Dunakin. 
Charles H. Dunakin. 
John M. Drake.” 
Eugene Drake. 
Horace F. Drake. 
Lewis H. Duley. 
Lawrence Dorgin. 


Benjamin A. Fairbanks.! 


Albert F. Fairbanks. 
John Finley. 

John Fox. 

Carl Fabinan. 
Nathaniel R. Fuller. 
Amos A. Fuller. 
John W. Godfrey. 
Eleazer Greenleaf. 
George H. Gay.? 
George F. Gay. 
Thomas Gray. 
Charles Greenwood. 
James H. Glover.! 
Benjamin F, Gilbert. 
George M. Gerrish.2 
Thomas Houlton. 
Moses Hall. 
Norman Hardy.? 
James T. Harradon.? 


Frederick H. Holbrook. 


Benjamin L. Hewins. 
Alfred Hewins. 
Henry Hewins.? 
Charles E. Hall. 
Charles H. Hill. 
Edward R. Hixson. 
Daniel Healey. 
Addison H. Johnson.? 
Obed P. Johnson. 
Reuben F. Johnson. 
Tra Johnson. 

Warren Johnson. 
John W. Kane. 
Daniel Kane. 


467 





John R. Kelley. 
George Lenk. 

Jacob A. Morse. 
Stilman H. Morse. 
Elijah A. Morse. 
Albert F. Morse. 
Daniel Mahony. 
Thomas Miller. 
Michael Milligan. 
Peter Mears. 
Charles H. McGuire. 
John Newman. 
Isaac Mellen. 
James F. Osgood. 
John Parks. 

John B. Parks.? 
Henry Parks. 
Josiah W. Perry. 
Samuel E. Preble. 
George W. Prescott. 
Abram Poff, 

Lewis F. F. Plympton. 
Henry Peach. 

Lovel K. Pickering. 
George W. Parker. 
Albert Pettee. 
Henry J. Pickersgill. 
John Phillips. 
Lewis Pettit. 
William E. Quiggle. 
George W. Richards.! 
Charles F. Richards, 
Francis W. Read. 
Daniel Shine. 
Warren S. Skinner. 
Ansel A. Smith. 
Albert E. Smith. 
John C. Strong. 
Levi A. Talbot. 
John D. Talbot. 
Francis Tukalf. 

Otis S. Tolman. 
Davis L. White. 
Adoniram J. M. White. 
Thomas Williams, 
George A. White. 
Asa Wilson. 

Charles Worby. 


The Town Hall.—The style of this building is 
“old colonial,” which appears to be peculiarly adapted 
The building is forty-five 


ground to the highest part of the cupola on the main 
building. 
At the right hand, in front, is a circular tower 


| two stories in height, surmounted by a weather 


vane. 

The front doors open outward and give access to a 
vestibule eleven by fifteen feet. From this is a cor- 
ridor which leads to a school-room thirty-eight by 
thirty-eight feet ; previous to reaching this room there 


468 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





is a door that opens into a library-room, also into the 
reading-room adjoining. The first room on the left is 
the town clerk’s office, eleven by eighteen feet, and has 
a brick vault for storing records. This vault is pro- 
tected by double iron doors. 
school committee room, eighteen by fourteen feet, and 
connected with this by folding doors is the recitation- 
room, twelve by eighteen. From this room is the 
vestibule, from the side door of the building into the 
school-room, and then the coat-rooms, with hooks, the 
passage to the basement stairs, and the stairs to the 
rear of the main hall. 

The main stairway is on the right of the vesti- 
bule, and is, like the tower in which it is located, cir- 
cular or spiral in its course. Under this stairway is 
an ample closet. 

At the head of these stairs is a lobby twelve by 
sixteen feet, from which a balcony over the front door 
is reached by windows. 
by twelve feet, and twelve by sixteen feet, on each side 
of the lobby. 

The main auditorium takes up the remainder of 
this floor. This hall is forty-four by forty-five feet, 


with a stage thirteen feet deep and three and a half | 


feet high. It is reached by steps on either end, and 
by stairs from the side entrance below. 

On the wall in front of the stage is a handsome 
clock presented to the town by Elijah A. Morse, Esq., 
of Canton. | 

The hall is ventilated by a ventilator in the roof of 
the building, and the room is twenty-four feet high. 

The outside of the building is shingled half-way 
down the sides and then treated with clapboards. 

The finish inside the principal rooms is ash, as are 


the heavy mortised doors, and the floors are the best | 


of Southern pine. 

The building has an ornamental heavy base water- 
table, and is erected on a handsome foundation of 
Sharon granite by John Moyle. 
the building are L. E. and T. L. Barlow, and the 
architect was Arthur H. Dodd, of Boston. 


The building committee were J. M. Waston, A. B. | 


Lovejoy, and C. C. Barney. The town hall was 


dedicated Feb. 21, 1884. 


The next one is the | 


There are ante-rooms, eight | 
| ministering to her relief. In the morning she crossed 


The contractors of | 











_ ment, Gen. Patterson’s brigade. 


_talarmy. For this purpose she made a suit of men’s 


clothes with her own hands, and at night put them 
on, and started for Taunton, in hopes some one would 
direct her to the army headquarters. In a few days, 
however, she reached New Bedford, where she pro- 
posed to ship on board a cruiser, but being informed 


_ of the captain’s bad treatment of his men, she aban- 


doned the design. She now resolved to make a tour 
of several towns in Norfolk County, and afterwards 
she enlisted into the service at Worcester for three 
years, as a resident of Uxbridge, under the name of 
Robert Shurtlieff. The muster-master was Eliphalet 
Thorp, of Dedham. On May 13th she arrived at 
West Point, on the Hudson, in company with fifty 
soldiers. 

The march of ten days was very fatiguing to her, 
and at the close of a chilly, wet day, on approaching 
the fire, she fainted and fell on the floor. Upon re- 
covery she found herself surrounded by kind spirits 


the river and was assigned for duty in Capt. Webb’s 
company of Light Infantry, in Col. Shepard’s regi- 
Here her garb was 
exchanged for a uniform peculiar to the infantry. She 
learned the manual exercise with facility. She was 
about five feet seven inches in height. Her features 
were regular, though they would not be called beauti- 
ful. Her eye was clear and penetrating, and ladies of 


| taste called her handsome in her masculine attire. 








The Woman Soldier of the Revolution —De- | 
borah Sampson was born in Plympton, in this State, | 


Dee. 17, 1760, and was a lineal descendant of Wil-. 
liam Bradford, for many years Governor of Plymouth | 


Colony. 


In early life, owing to the peculiar circum- | 


stances of the family, she was put out in a family in | 


Middleborough. Here she remained until she was 


eighteen years of age. 


Afterwards she taught school. . 


In April, 1781, she resolved to enter the Continen- | 


Massachusstts Regiment. 


Her movement was erect and strong, gestures natural, 
mild, and graceful. Her first experience in actual 
warfare was in Capt. Webb’s company on scout duty 
in the morning with a party of Dutch cavalry. The 
ground was warmly disputed for some time; at 
length, however, the infantry were obliged to give 
way, but they were quickly reinforced by the Second 
The Americans having 
retired to their encampment, our fair soldier came near 
losing her life by drinking cold water. She said she 
underwent more from the heat and fatigue of the day 


than from the fear of being killed, although the man 


next her was killed by the second fire. While iu this 
vicinity she was twice wounded, once by a sabre cut 
on the face, and again bya bullet wound in the groin; 
the wound in the face was healed by salves and plas- 
ters, but the wound in the groin she dressed herself, 
and endeavored to extract the ball herself rather than 
have her sex discovered. In this, however, she suc- 
ceeded, and was soon able to be on duty again. 

In August, after eleven days of excessive travel- 
ing, the forces under Washington and Lafayette en- 
camped near Yorktown, Va. It is needless to men- 
tion the hardships the common soldiers must have 








SHARON. 





undergone. Our heroine bore up with a good heart | 
until the day on which the troops arrived, when she 
was much indisposed. On the morning of the 23d 
of September, Washington addressed his army, and 
she was near and heard his impressive words. Miss 
Sampson was among the advance of that day, and 
labored with blistered hands in the redoubt and _ 
trenches before Yorktown. She aided in storming 
the British redoubt under Lafayette on the 13th of 
October, 1783, and witnessed with patriotic exulta- 
tion the closing drama of the Revolution. Her per- 
sonal purity of character was in keeping with her 


bravery in action and duty. Such high qualities of | 
_ several of the enemy’s boats; but with his field-piece 


firmness and resolution were, perhaps, never known. 
She came to her aunt's, who lived in Stoughton, 
where she labored through the winter. It is pre- 
sumed that her uncle Waters confidentially whis- 
pered in the ear of some young man that she would 
However that may be, Deborah 
Sampson married Benjamin Gannett, at his father’s 
house, April 7,1784. There were born of this union 
one son and two daughters. By a resolve of the 
General Court of Massachusetts, Deborah received 
one hundred dollars and a monthly pension, as did 
her husband after her death, which occurred April 
29,1827. Her husband died Jan. 9, 1837. Her | 
tombstone, in the quiet cemetery of Sharon, covers 
the remains of the bravest woman of the Revolution. 

Gen. Benjamin Tupper.—Benjamin Tupper was 
born in Stoughton, now Sharon, on the 11th of. 
March, 1738. 
protection ; a father’s love never warmed and glad- 
dened his heart, as his father died soon after he was 
born. When a boy he learned the trade of a tanner 
in Dorchester. Afterward, he served in several cam- | 
paigns of the French and Indian war. Then he taught 
While here he 
became acquainted with Huldah White, whom he | 
married, Nov. 18, 1762. 

He removed to Chesterfield soon after, which was 


make a good wife. 


He never knew a father’s care and 


school several winters in Easton. 


at that time a frontier town. Here he became an 
active citizen and a deacon of the first church. 

He joined the army at Roxbury, as captain of a 
company, soon after the Lexington alarm, and soon 
He was 
ordered, with his men, to prevent the rebuilding of the 
light-house by the British in Boston Harbor. 


Maj. Tupper marched his men to Dorchester, and 


after was promoted to the office of major. 


there informed them that he was about to proceed 
down the harbor to drive the British troops off the 
island. ‘ Now,” said the major, addressing his com- 


pany, which consisted of about three hundred men, 


“if there is any one of you who isafraid, and does not | 


469 





want to go with us, let him step two paces to the 
front ;’ and turning to the sergeant he said, sotto voce, 
‘if any man steps two paces to the front, shoot him on 
the spot.” It is needless to add that every man kept 
his position. The major, with his men, then pro- 
ceeded from Dorchester, taking field-pieces with them 
in whale-boats down the Neponset River. They ar- 
rived at the light-house about two o’clock in the morn- 
ing, attacked the guard, killing the officers and four 
privates. The remainder of the English troops were 


_ captured. Having demolished the light-house then 
_in process of construction, the party were ready to 


embark, when the major himself was attacked by 


he succeeded in sinking one of the boats, and, hap- 
pily, escaped with the loss of one man killed and one 
wounded. He killed and captured fifty-three of the 
enemy, among whom were ten Tories, who were sent 
to Springfield jail. Washington, the next day in 
general orders, thanked Maj. Tupper, and the officers 
and men under his command, for their gallantry and 
soldier-like behaviour. We have given this incident 
to show the bravery of the man, as there were many 
other such incidents that might be given. He was 
appointed colonel of a Massachusetts regiment in 
1776, was at Valley Forge camp in the memorable 
winter of 1778, and wrote a letter to the General 


' Court of Massachusetts, setting forth in strong, earnest 


language the destitute condition of the troops. He 
had a horse shot under him at the battle of Mon- 
mouth. He served through the war, enjoying the 
confidence of Washington and Lafayette, and was 
promoted to the rank of general by brevet before the 
close of the war. 

Gen. Tupper entered enthusiastically into the 
scheme of the settlement of the northwest territory. 
Being selected as one of the surveyors to lay out the 
ranges, he very early entered upon that work, but was 
prevented by the warlike disposition of the Indians. 
He, however, returned the next season, and the his- 
toric seven ranges were completed. Returning home 
again, at this time Shay’s insurrection broke out, and 
he rendered valuable assistance. Then he assisted in 
the formation of the Ohio Company. His son, Maj. 
Anselm, was appointed a surveyor fur the company, 
and with the band of pioneers left Massachusetts 


| Jan. 1, 1788, and arrived at the Muskingum River 


April 7, 1788. Gen. Tupper started, as soon as he 
could build suitable wagons, with his family, passed 
over the Alleghany Mountains in Pennsylvania, and 
then sending his horses by land, took a boat and ar- 
rived with the first families, Aug. 19, 1788, at Mari- 
etta, after a journey of ten weeks. Soon after he was 


470 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








5 : 3 | 
appointed one of the judges of the court, which office 
he held until his death, which occurred during the 
Indian war. On his monument, in the Mound Ceme- 
tery, is the following simple epitaph : 

“General Benjamin Tupper, 
born at Sharon, Massachusetts, in 1738 ; 
died June 7th, 1792, 


aged fifty-four.” 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


GEORGE H. MANN. 

George H. Mann was born in Medfield, Mass., 
Sept. 16, 1793, and was the fourth child of Rufus 
Mann and Sybil (Allen), his wife, and was in the 
fourth generation from the Rev. Samuel Mann, the 
first of the name born in Massachusetts. Having a 
desire to learn mechanism, he was apprenticed to Otis 
and Oliver Allen, of Mansfield, to learn framing and 
building. After serving his time with them, he con- 
tracted with parties in Greenwich, Conn., to work at 
machine-making, that he might perfect himself for 
the business which he had laid out for himself, the 
manufacture of cotton goods, and went there in the | 
spring of 1814, and remained some two or three years. 
The first year of his service there those employed 
with him struck for higher wages and used every en- 
deavor to have him join them, but he steadily refused. 
His employers finding him alone in the shop, asked 
him, ‘ How happens it you are not out with your | 
mates?’ His reply was a characteristic one: ‘I in- 
When 
the parties came to terms, his pay was made as good 
as the best. While here, at the call of the State au- 
thorities for volunteers to throw up intrenchments 


tend to abide by my agreement with you.” 


against the threatened invasion of the British, he 
joined the ranks, and with pick and shovel marched 
to the tune of “ Yankee Doodle” to the service and 
helped man the works they constructed until the | 
threatened invasion was over. From Greenwich he 


went to Medway Village and engaged in building | 
t=} bo bets ta} 





cotton machinery, and was associated with John | 
Blackburn, Oliver Dean, Dean Walker, and others. | 
While residing there he became acquainted with | 
Rhoda Fisher, and they were married May 10, 1820. | 
From there he removed to Hast Walpole in 1822, 
and engaged in the manufacture of sheetings for the | 


Neponset Manufacturing Company. There he re- | 
mained until the spring of 1826, when he removed | 
with his family to Amoskeag, N. H., where he put in 
operation what was known in later years as the old | 


| have been kindly furnished us by 


Amoskeag factory for the Amoskeag Manufacturing 
Company. Not being able to make satisfactory ar- 
rangements with this company, at the end of his year 
he returned to Massachusetts with his family in the 


| same conveyance that he took there, a horse and 


chaise. His family consisted of his wife and two 
boys. The same year of his return he entered into 
copartnership with Joshua Stetson, Jr., of Walpole, 
and started a small factory for the making of bed- 
ticking. He was anxious to establish himself inde- 
pendently of others, and after about two years he 
dissolved his connection with Mr. Stetson and removed 
to Kast Walpole, having leased the factory there. His 
services were sought by Messrs. Amos & Abbot Law- 
rence to take charge of the Elliot Mills in Newton 
about this time, but he preferred to establish himself 
in business where he could carry out his own ideas. 
In the spring of 1831 he purchased a mill-site and 
privilege in Sharon of Joseph W. Revere, and moved 
there with his family. Here he erected a factory and 
commenced the making of ticking, of which he made 
a specialty. He won a high reputation on that class 
of goods, continuing in that business until March 10, 
1840, when his factory was destroyed by fire. He 


| represented the town in the General Court in the 


session of 1838, and was president of the Harrison 
and Tyler Club during that lively and interesting 
He took an active interest in all things 
relating to the town in its intellectual and moral 
growth as well as its general prosperity. He was a 
man of quiet mien, but of positive convictions, and 
never hesitated to openly take a stand when occasion 
The last few years of his life he suffered 
from ill health and withdrew from active business, 
In the spring of 1847 
he sought the benefit of a warmer climate, and in the 


campaign. 


required. 


yielding it to his two sons. 


| summer returned to his home and died, October 25th, 


the same year. 


HEWINS.! 


It is believed that all persons of the name of 
Hewins in this country are descended from Jacob 
Hewins, who was admitted a freeman and joined the 
His son Jacob, born 
in 1668, settled in Sharon, and was an important and 
His 


in many and distant 


church in Dorchester in 1658. 


useful man and one of the elders of the church. 
descendants are now living 
places, from Maine to Illinois. 


1The following data concerning ancestry of Hewins family 
Mr. Charles A. Hewins, of 


Boston. 


























SHARON. 


471 





Of Jacob Hewins nothing is yet known previous 
to his purchase of a house of Samuel Mason in Dor- 
chester, 19th February, 1655-56. It has been sup- 
posed that he came from England, but when Mr. 
Amasa Hewins, the artist, was there in 1833, he 
made many inquiries, but could find‘no trace or record 
of the name. In 1871, however, his son, Mr. Charles 
A. Hewins, of West Roxbury, found the family name, 
Hewins, in Stratford-upon-Avon. There were several 
families of the name in the immediate vicinity and at 
Birmingham. Mr. Thomas Hewins, of Stratford- 
upon-Avon, since dead, was an organ builder and the 
organist of the beautiful and famous church in Strat- 
ford where Shakespeare is buried. 

In the late work of Mr. Halliwell Phillips, who has 
spent the last thirty years in searching with great 
diligence for every fact and record connected with 


Shakespeare, we find the Hewins name in connection | 


with the Shakespeare family. 


The eldest daughter, Agnes Arden, married, previous 
to 1556, her first husband, John Hewyns. 
proves tat the Hewins name has existed in the heart 
of England more than three centuries, and it appears 
probable that careful research might connect Jacob 
Hewins, the ancestor of the American branch, with a 
parent stock in Stratford. 


My great grandmother, Ruth (Cummings) Hewins, | 


died in 1833, aged ninety-six. I well remember her, 


and was at her funeral. 


him as a tall, spare, grand, and dignified man, who 
Thus I have 
sat in the lap of one ancestor who knew one older one 
This covers 


stood in the pulpit with the minister. 


born two hundred and sixteen years ago. 
seven generations, 


WHITING HEWINS. 


Whiting Hewins was descended in a direct line 
from Jacob Hewins, who about the middle of the 
seventeenth century came to New England and settled 
in Boston. He purchased about 1656, from Samuel 
Mason, a dwelling-house and three acres of land in 
Dorchester. This he made his homestead. He was, 
it appears, a man of much thrift and energy, coupled 
with business sagacity, as is evidenced by the fact 


that he added from time to time to his landed posses- | 
sions various lots and tracts of land, and became be- | 
fore his death one of the largest real-estate holders in | 


that section. Some of his acres are said to be still in 
possession of his descendants. He was held in much 
respect by the early colonists, as was shown by the 


large cortége attending his funeral. His wife was 


This | 


She remembered Elder | 
Joseph Hewins (born 1668, died 1755), and described | 


{ 





| 


Shakespeare’s mother | 
was Mary Arden, the sixth daughter of Robert Arden. | 


| 





named Mary. They had seven children, of whom 
Joseph, born in 1668, was sixth. It appears from rec- 
ords that he settled on the farm of one hundred and 
twenty-three acres assigned to his father in 1698, 
and located in that part of Dorchester, now North 
Sharon, near Pigeon Swamp. He was one of the 
leading spirits of his day. He was fence-viewer in 
Dorchester in 1715-16, tithingman in 1722-23, and 
selectman in 1724-25. The town was then divided and 
he thrown into Stoughton. At the first election for 
town officers in the new town he was chosen select- 
man and assessor, and re-elected in March following. 
In 1728-29 he was first selectman, town clerk, and 
assessor. In 1730-31 he was town clerk and treas- 
urer, and in 1738 served for the last time as select- 
He repeatedly acted as moderator of town- 
meetings. He was deacon and ruling elder of the 
now Unitarian Church at Canton, and frequently 
served as moderator, ete. He was tall and erect of 
stature, and of dignified bearing. He married, 1690, 
Mehetabel Lyon, daughter of Peter Lyon, of Dor- 
chester. They had seven children. He died in 1755; 
his wife in 1733. His son, Lieut. Ebenezer, was born 
in 1707, and was the youngest of his father’s family. 
He settled in Stoughton, where he was constable in 
1737, agent for the town in 1750, and selectman in 
1751. He married Judith Porter, of Norton, 1730. 
They had ten children. He died in 1751, and Mrs. 
Hewins in 1755. Lieut. Enoch was the sixth child of 
Lieut. Ebenezer. He was distinguished for his patriot- 
ism ; he was the first man in his town to enlist in the 
Continental army ; he enlisted as a private soldier, but 
obtained the rank of lieutenant. He was sealer of 
weights and measures in the town of Sharon fora period 
of twenty years. He married, 1766, Sarah, daughter 
of Benjamin and Sarah (Bacon) Hewins. They had 
a family of thirteen children. He died in 1821, his 
wife in 1803, having resided all their lives in Sharon. 

Wuitine HeEwtns, born Aug. 13, 1789, was the 
youngest of the thirteen children. He was broughtup 
on the farm in Sharon, and received such instruction as 
the common schools of his town afforded, and in addi- 
tion the benefits of a short attendance at Framingham 


man. 


Academy. His constitution not being of that robust 


character calculated to endure the hardships and toil 
incident to a farm life in New England, he came to 
Boston when a young man and engaged as clerk in 
a store devoted to the sale of West India goods. He 
remained here a few years until he had thoroughly 
familiarized himself with the details of the business. 
He then, in company with other parties, embarked in 
trade for himself, continuing with this partner but a 
short time, however; when, in copartnership with 


472 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Warren Fisher, he opened a store in the same line of 
trade at South End, Boston. The young men were 
energetic, enterprising, and intelligent, and they suc- 
eeeded in their enterprise. Boston was growing, and, 
as is the case in all growing cities, the “ trade centre” 


gradually changed; so, following the tide of busi- | 


ness emigration, they removed their quarters, and 


opened a store on State Street. After some years of 


successful venture in West India goods, they changed | 


the nature of their traffic and began dealing exclu- 
sively and extensively in sperm oil. To facilitate 
matters they fitted out a number of vessels for the 


whale-fishery, and established a manufactory or re- | 


finery for making whale-oil at Edgartown, Dr. Daniel 
Fisher, a brother of Warren Fisher, having charge of 
this branch 
Messrs. Hewins & Fisher extended over a period of 
thirty years ; and with such prudence, enterprise, and 
foresight were their various undertakings conducted, 
that at the end of that long period it was their proud 
boast that they had never failed, had always paid all 
debts contracted, and owed no man a dollar. How 
very, very few of the great army of active business 


of the business. The partnership of 


men can say the same! 
death, having accumulated a handsome competence 
for that time, Mr. Hewins retired from active busi- 
ness pursuits. He married, in 1817, Olive, daughter 
of Lemuel and Hannah (Belcher) Eastey, of Sharon. 
They had three children,—Olive Eastey, George 
Whiting, and Horace Holley. Of these, the two sons 
grew up to manhood, but died unmarried. The 
daughter, Olive E., married Isaac Hayden, a manufac- 
turer and inventor. They reside in Boston. 


Mr. Hewins was a very genial, warm-hearted man ; 


a conservative, honest, safe business man; a man upon | 


Some years prior to his | 


| 





whose word the strictest reliance could always be— 
placed, and whose judgment and counsel could be | 


confided in with safety. In politics he was a Whig, 


He died Aug. 16, 1855. 
1867. 


Mrs. Hewins, July 30, 


MOSES RICHARDS. 


The first American ancestor of Moses Richards 
was Edward Richards, who—from the most authentic 
in 


data obtainable to 





came America the ship 


| five sons and three daughters. 


and served nine years. He married Susan Hunting, 
Sept. 10, 1638, and both he and his wife died in 
1684. They had five children, two sons and three 
daughters. Nathaniel, the second son and fourth 
child, was born Nov. 25, 1648. He inherited his 
father’s homestead in Dedham and a large share of 
his lands, which were extensive. He was a man of 
high standing in the community. He married, in 
1678, Mary Aldis, by whom he had eight children, 
He died in 1726-27. 
Jeremiah, the second son and child, was born in 1681, 
married Hannah Fisher, settled in West Roxbury, 
He bore the 
He lived to be over seventy years 


and became a large landed proprietor. 
title of captain. 
of age, but no record is found of the exact date of 
his death. He had eight children, of whom William 


_ was second, born in 1707. He married, 1733, Eliza- 


beth, daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Pike) Baker, of 
Roxbury, and settled on lands given him by his 
father at Pigeon Swamp, in north part of Sharon, 
about 1734. These lands are still in possession of 
the family, and the house in which he lived is now 
occupied by his great-grandchildren. These descend- 
ants have a number of heirlooms which have been 
handed down from this ancestor, among which are 
his spear, and his commission as an officer under 
King George II. This commission bears date Sept. 
25, 1751, and is signed by Spencer Phips, Com- 
mander-in-Chief and Jieutenant-Governor of the 
He had six children, 
the youngest of whom was Ebenezer, who was born 
Feb. 27, 1744-45, and died July 6, 1811. 

William died in 1797, in his ninetieth year. 
Ebenezer married, Oct. 6, 1769, Elizabeth Lyon, 
daughter of Benjamin and Ann (Dwight) Lyon, of 
Roxbury. He was by occupation a carpenter and 
farmer, and was a much respected citizen of Sharon. 


Colony of Massachusetts Bay. 


He hada family of eight children, of whom the elder 
and was a great admirer and enthusiastic supporter | 
of New England’s great statesman, Daniel Webster. | 


| 27, 1770. 


was Moses, whose portrait accompanies this sketch. 
Moses was born atthe old homestead in Sharon, July 
He was brought up on the farm, and his 


life was spent in that avocation. He had the usual 


- common-school education, nothing more ; but he wasa 


“ Lyon” (1652), and resided at Cambridge until | 


about 1636. 


Dedham, 1636-37, and was the sixty-second signer 


He became one of the proprietors of 


of her “social compact ;” was chosen selectman, 1646, 


man of strong intellect, and physically was of splen- 
did appearance, large, commanding, strong, very ener- 
getic and active. After he was eighty-four years 
old, he on one occasion hoed two thousand one hun- 
dred hills of corn and walked to Canton—two miles 
distant—and back in one day. 

He married, Nov. 24, 1799, Esther Hodges, 
daughter of Benjamin Hodges. They had seven 
children,—Esther (1), born Sept. 19, 1800; married 
James Smith, of Stoughton ; died April 10, 1882; had 


WA 
AY 


WK 
\\ 


\ 


SIL? 


YZ, 


Z SILL. Z 
GL 


























Oy 


tj 


Z 
YC: 


tj 
tztien 


ti 


. RAY WY 

\ QQ 
RA 
MAN 


Y 


N 














eee ee ee ee ee OEE. ee 
: RPE TLE DLS Sate a en ye Se d 3 ; SS = 











III\ 


\IIH| 


WANN 


il 













































































SHARON. 


473 








one child, Erastus. Moses (2), born Sept. 6, 1802 ; 
married Mary H. Sumner. Betsey (3), born Nov. 
19, 1804; died Jan. 1, 1877, unmarried. Nancy 
(4), born March 1, 1807; married John F. Randall. 
William (5), born June 2, 1810; resides at the old 
homestead in Sharon; is unmarried. Amy (6), born 


Nov. 24, 1812; married Seth Pettee, of Boston ; died | 


Feb. 18, 1840. Olive (7), born Aug. 5, 1818; she 
resides with her brother William at the old home, and 
has never married. She has always taken much in- 
terest in matters pertaining to the family history, and 
rendered very valuable assistance in the preparation 
of the very elaborate “ History of Richards Family,” 
which was published in 1861 by Rev. Abner Morse. 
Moses Richards was a Unitarian in religious faith, 
and in politics a Whig. 
man, and could never be prevailed upon to offer him- 
self for office. 

Probably no man in Sharon was more universally 
respected. He belonged to that class of sturdy, 
honest yeomanry in whom are deeply grounded the 


He was a very unobtrusive 


principles of honor, equal rights, and freedom, and in 
whose keeping the sacred trust of political and reli- 
gious liberty confided by our fathers may safely rest. 
He preserved in a remarkable degree all his faculties 


to the time of his death, which occurred March 15, | 


1857. 


WARREN TALBOT. 


_ Warren Talbot was born June 15,1798, in Sharon, | 


Mass. 


old and honorable families. 


He was descended from two of New England’s 
His father, Deacon Jo- 
siah Talbot, was born in Stoughton, Mass., and when 
a lad removed to Sharon, where, when he grew to 


manhood, he married Susanna, daughter of Nathaniel | 


Morse, one of the early settlers of Sharon, and who 
was a native of South Dedham. 
Warren Talbot’s youth was spent, like the sons of 


most farmers of that period, attending school a few | 


months during the year, and working on the farm the 
remainder of the time. He chose farming as his life’s 
work, and occupied the same spot whereon he was 
born. On Nov. 6, 1828, he married Esther A., 
daughter of Daniel and Nabby Hodges. 
four children,— Warren A., born Dee. 13, 1829; mar- 
ried Angenette Stone, and has two sons, and is now 
a floriculturist in Norwood, Mass. Edwin (1), born 
March 17, 1831, died Aug. 15, 1832. Edwin (2), 
born May, 1833. 
died in infancy. Mrs. Talbot died Aug. 6, 1842, 
aged thirty-four years. 

Mr. Talbot married, as his second wife, Hannah, 





They had | 


| ways more than thirty years. 


daughter of Benjamin Holmes (see Warren Holmes’ 
biography). Their children were Hannah Esther 
(died in infancy), Etta F. (now resides in Newbury- 
port), and Sarah Emma (died in infancy). 

Warren Talbot lived the quiet, retired life of a far- 
mer, and while he never sought or obtained office, or 
took an active part in public affairs, yet he was not 
wanting in public spirit, and was as benevolent as his 
He was a very energetic and 
industrious man, one who attended strictly to his own 
He was 


means would allow. 


affairs, and meddled with no other person’s. 
conservative in his ideas, and was a Unitarian in relig- 
ious belief. He lived far beyond the threescore and 
ten years allotted as the span of life, and was prepared 
and resigned when the hour and the summons came 


for him to pass to the other shore. He died Aug. 


13, 1882. 


WARREN M. HOLMES. 


Warren M. Holmes was born in Sharon, Mass., 
Nov. 12, 1810. He is the son of Benjamin and 
Sarah (Morse) Holmes, and grandson of Zebulon 
and Abigail (Sable) Holmes. This Zebulon was a 
soldier in the war of the Revolution, and was a native 
of Stoughton, but came from there to Sharon in the 
early settlement of that town. His children were 
Zebulon, born June 26, 1758; Abigail, born Jan. 
11, 1760; Olive, born July 10, 1763; Olive (2), 
born Jan. 17, 1766; Jesse, born May 18, 1768; 
Benjamin, born Sept. 7, 1770; Mary, born Dee. 25, 
LUZ: 

Benjamin married, Nov. 7, 1796, Martha Talbot. 
Their children were Lewis, born July 26, 1797; 
Benjamin, born May 16, 1799, died May 20, 1804. 
Mrs. Holmes died June 14, 1799. Benjamin mar- 
ried, as his second wife, Sally Morse, Feb. 11, 1802. 
Their children were Joseph; Martha, born Dee. 3, 
1803; Benjamin (2), born Nov. 26, 1806; Warren 
M., born Nov. 12, 1810; Hannah, born Sept.13, 
1813. Benjamin Holmes died June 1, 1842. His 
wife, Sally, died in September, 1846. 

Warren married Lydia Norris, Feb. 26,1866. She 
died without issue. He married, as his second wife, 
Mrs. Eliza Sears, Dec. 15, 1872. They have no 
children. Mr. Holmes has been surveyor of high- 
He is one of the quiet, 


| unobtrusive yeomanry of Sharon. 


Hervey, born Aug. 2, 1842, and | 





LUTHER MORSE, OF DEDHAM, ROXBURY, AND 
SHARON. 
The ancestry of Luther Morse is traced only in 
Massachusetts, and the first of the family in America 


474 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





was Samuel Morse, of Dedham, who was born in | 
England in 1585, came to New England in 1636, | 
and after about a year’s residence at Watertown be- | 
came one of the company of original settlers of the | 
| 
| 


town of Dedham. 

Samuel Morse was a Puritan, and as such was re- 
quired to get a permit from the government before he | 
could emigrate from England to America. 

His wife, Elizabeth, and his son, Joseph, accompa- 
nied him, and six other children soon joined them in 
the new home. 

John, the eldest of these, had a family of ten chil-— 
dren, two of whom were probably born in England. | 
He died at the age of forty-six. | 

The sixth child of John was named Hara, which | 
name was borne by the eldest son successively in this | 
line until the seventh of the name, who died without 
issue. 

The first Ezra, born 1643, died 1697, was but 
fourteen years old when his father died, but he pos- 
sessed those conspicuous family traits,—good abilities, 
a strong will, great energy, and therefore self-reliance. | 
His patrimony, about fifty pounds, was doubtless care- 
fully husbanded for him, as we find him on attaining 
his majority joining two others in the purchase of a 
mill at Dedham. 
interest within a year, but, with one partner, he was 


For some reason he sold out that | 


soon building another mill, and a dozen years later 
was largely extending his mill facilities in other parts 
of the town. A portion of this kind of his property 
continued in possession of his descendants for two 
hundred years or more. 

He married Joanna Hoare, and, although we find | 
but eight children of this union recorded in the 
‘Memorial of the Morses,” there is a tradition in the 
family that Joanna was but twelve years old when | 
married, that she gave birth to twenty-four children, 
and that eighteen of them attained majority. 

The second Ezra, born Jan. 28, 1671, died Oct. 
17, 1760, was a captain of militia, and for a period of | 
twenty-four years was deacon of the Second Church | 
in Dedham. 





He attained the age of eighty-nine | 


years, eight months, and nineteen days. He had 
four children, three of whom became heads of 


families. 
The third Hzra, born Dec. 12, 1694, died Dec. 23 
1789, like his father became prominent as a military 


| 


man. He received a commission as “ Captain of the 
third foot company in Dedham in the first regiment 
of militia in the County of Suffolk, whereof Francis 
Brinley, Esqr., is Colonel.” So reads the commission 

issued to him by “ William Shirley, Esqr., Captain- | 


General and Governour-in-Chief, in and over His | 


| triotism, and combativeness. 


- 
Majesty’s Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New 
England, &c.” It bears that Governor’s signature, 
and is dated March 3,1745. In the same year Capt. 
Morse and his wife, Anna, were received into the 
church at Dedham. He died in 1789, as stated 
above, at the ripe age of ninety-five years and eleven 
days. Although he had but five children, there had 
been two hundred and sixty-two descendants born to 
him, of whom two hundred and sixteen survived 
him. 

The fourth Ezra, born March 26, 1718, died June 
14, 1755. At twenty-two years of age he married 
Bethia Lewis. At his death he left a widow with 
four children, to which number a daughter was added 
a few weeks later. 

Col. Ezra Morse, the fifth to bear this full name, 
but the seventh generation of the line in New Eng- 


_ land, was born at Dedham, Sept. 17, 1741, and proba- 


bly passed his minority in that town. In 1764 he 
was married to Susanna Guild, and in the same year 
paid a poll-tax in Sharon. The next year he paid 
taxes in that town on real and personal property, but 
probably sold out that year and removed to Dedham, 
which was his home during the next nine years or 
In 1775 he was again at Sharon, where the 
records show that Ensign Morse was one of a commit- 
tee appointed, Feb. 23, 1775, in Sharon, to raise 
minute-men. He was styled Maj. Ezra Morse on the 
Sharon tax-lists of 1781, and Col. Ezra Morse in 
1787. In 1764, he married Susanna Guild, by whom 


he had four sons and one daughter, viz., Ezra, Jr., 


more. 


| Luther, Amos, Susanna, and Harford. 


‘He was distinguished for high-mindedness, pa- 
When the Continental 


| army was organized he enlisted for the war, at the 


close of which he commanded a regiment, and, on 
the disbanding of the army, was entitled to prece- 
dence in marching from the field. This honor he 
exacted with cocked pistol of another colonel, who 
attempted to supersede him. On his return he settled 
upon a farm in Sharon, but his military habits con- 


tinued through life, and the support denied him by 


the new government was mainly furnished by the in- 


dustry of his sons. In his will he left his farm to 


his youngest son, Harford, for the maintenance of 


| his widow.” [‘‘ Memorial of the Morses :” by Abner 


Morse. | 

The leading traits of the father’s character were 
inherited by his sons, as also were the persevering 
industry and thrift which distinguished their mother. 
They were also endowed with strong constitutions 
and great power of endurance. 

Luther Morse, of Dedham, Roxbury, and Sharon, 


2 eee 














SHARON. 


475 








the second son of Col. Ezra, was born at Dedham, 
Feb. 3, 1770. 

The family removed to Sharon probably in 1775, 
and there the home of the parents continued as long 
as Col. Morse lived. During all that time the farm- 
work was done by the sons, who also obtained other 
employment at times, thus securing an income from 
which they accumulated some money for future needs 
or enterprises. 








remained until 1836, except that during the war of 
1812, when Boston was menaced by British war- 
ships, the children and their mother were at Sharon 


for a shorttime. But his investments at Ludlow and 


| Granby were not disposed of at once, perhaps not for 


years. Indeed, he bought some seventy acres of land 
in Granby, probably as an investment, as late as 1821. 


His brothers, Ezra and Lewis, were residing at 


_ Roxbury when he removed there, and his sister soon 


Luther performed his full share of the homestead © 


labors, and continued to do so as long as he remained 
in Sharon. : 

On the 1st day of February, 1798, he was married 
to Mary, daughter of Zebulon and Abigail Holmes, 
of Sharon. The next day his brother Amos was 
married, and the two couples went, together, to 
Granby, Mass., where Amos had previously bought a 
farm. 


In March, Luther bought an undivided half 


of the farm, and the brothers carried it on for a time. © 
In April, 1801, we find he is a resident of Ludlow, | 
and in November of that year he bought a farm, a | 


part of which was on each side of the line between 


Granby and Ludlow; also a twenty-acre lot in| 
Granby. He appears to have had a penchant for | 


trading, and bought and sold both farms and outlying 
lots. But he did not neglect the cultivation of his 
lands, for he always seemed to have a surplus of vari- 
ous crops to sell, and rarely bought such things as 
could be raised on his farm. 

A daughter was born to him in 1799, and in Oc- 
tober, 1802, twins were added to the family. But 


| 


the mother died, and one of the twins also. The > 
| on the lot adjoining the old burial-ground at the 


surviving twin was a son, Luther Morse, Jr. 

Dec. 8, 1803, Luther Morse married Miss Eliza- 
She 
had been his housekeeper several months, and taken 
care of the children also. 
ding contract is well worth recording, viz., a solemn 
compact was made that if either became disturbed or 
incensed by the other, that other was to abstain from 


beth Holmes, a younger sister of his first wife. 


One fact about this wed- 


all retort or any other manifestation of irritated 
feeling; and it isa still more interesting fact that, 
during their long lives, no altercation between them 
was ever known to acquaintance, friend, or child, and 
yet both were persons of very strong feelings and 


after married Timothy Gay, and located near them. 

Their father, as before stated, died in 1807, and by 
his will left each of his elder children twenty dollars 
in money, but the rest of his estate, including his 
farm and whatever other property he left, was be- 
queathed to his youngest child, Harford, for the 
maintenance of his widow during the remainder of 
her life. 

Harford was then about nineteen years old, and, 
being the youngest of the family, had been reared 
He had not 
been put to work on the farm to an extent that quali- 


more tenderly than the elder children. 


fied him to carry it on after it came into his hands. 
But he was a fair scholar, and had a natural bent for 
business. and a desire to be near and with his brother 
and sister. 
posed to his brothers to turn in the farm as common 
stock, to be himself taught the business, and become 
a partner in their firm. 

A satisfactory arrangement was made, and in time 
the firm-name appeared as Harford Morse & Co., of 
which, Luther, Harford, and Amos Morse were the 


After a short trial of farming, he pro- 


members. Their factory was on Washington Street, 


corner of Eustis Street. Their business was a grow- 
ing one, and their trade extensive, they having cus- 
tomers in many of the States, and some foreign trade. 
A statement of accounts, including six months’ trans- 


actions with a single firm at New Orleans, amounted 


to more than two thousand three hundred dollars. 


There were several cases where accounts were settied 


strong wills, but also possessed of a strong sense of | 
later, the City Hotel, at Roxbury, was bought by the 


honor. 

Some time in 1806-7, Luther and Amos Morse 
engaged in the manufacture of soap at Roxbury, and 
the family of Luther was removed from Ludlow to 
Sharon temporarily, but on Dec. 3, 1807, he bought 
a house and lot on Union (now Taber) Street, Rox- 


bury, where the family was soon established, and there | 


by receiving deeds of real estate, not only in Massa- 
chusetts, but also in other New England States. 
In some cases they bought estates as investments 


when a good bargain was offered. As an instance, 


‘the Zeigler property, which had been converted into 


a public-house known as the Roxbury Hotel, and 


firm in 1826, and held until the firm was dissolved 
by the death of Harford, in 1830, and when, in order 
to settle his estate, it was sold at auction in October, 
1831. Luther and Amos Morse purchased it, and 
the former continued to hold a claim upon it until 
1842-45. 


476 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The firm continued in business until 1829, when, | 


in April, they sold the stock and tools on hand, and 
leased their works to Messrs. Ammon Rodgers and 
Benjamin F’. Campbell for a term of five years. 
From that time until 1836, Luther Morse was busy 
taking care of property of his own, and also of other 
Beside this, 
he did some business as administrator upon estates. 
In 1835, accompanied by his family, he spent 
several months in Sharon, and in the spring of 1836 


property of which he was part owner. 


removed there permanently, locating upon the old 
“Tom Randall Farm,” situated about a mile from the 


village, on the road leading from Sharon to Foxboro’, | 


over Sharon Plain. 
Foxboro’ road to Massapoag Pond, was a part of the 
original Randall purchase, and had been held by 


members of the Randall family from the first white | 


owner down to that time, when it was in possession 
of Mr. Horatio Gates Ware, of Boston, a grandson 
of Benjamin Randall, Esq., builder of the present 
substantial and rather stately dwelling upon it, which 


was erected towards the end of the last century, but | 


was renovated and furnished with the French roof and 
the piazza only a few years ago. 
In 1842-43, Luther Morse—associated with his 


son Harvey—bought this estate, and there, in peace- | 


ful and comfortable retirement, he passed the remain- 
ing years of his life. 

Mr. Morse was a man of rather stately presence, 
about six feet in height, somewhat portly, but exceed- 
ingly well-proportioned in figure, and of erect and 
dignified carriage. His features indicated the strength 
While 


of character which distinguished the man. 


This property, extending from | 


| 


} 
\ 


| 





his eyes were dark, he was not a dark-complexioned | 


person. 
stood out from his head as if to show the strong in- 


His hair was rather fine, very thick set, and > 


dividuality of the wearer; but although it turned | 


gray at an early date, it never grew thin in any part. 

He enjoyed the pleasures of the table, and was 
what is called a liberal provider. His wife was his 
faithful supporter in all good works, and never failed 


Their 


“Thanksgiving dinners” were feasts, including nearly 


to make his table command his approval. 


all the standard dishes of the time, the turkey and plum 
pudding merely crowning the glory of the occasion. 

Liberal to himself, he was equally so to his family, 
to his friends, and the community. He was ever 
ready to subscribe for the promotion of any good 
work, or to assist in defeating any project which he 
believed to be wrong. 

While he was living at Roxbury, a movement was 
started at Sharon to establish a fund, the income of 





vantages of that town. Mr. Morse and his brothers 
contributed to that object, and thus assisted in estab- 
lishing what is known as the “ Sharon Friends’ School 
Fund.” 

At some time between 1825 and 1830, the busi- 
ness of conveying passengers between Boston and 
Roxbury was in the hands of a single company, who 
were charged with fixing too high a price for the 
service. Luther and Harford Morse, with a few 
others, united in establishing a competing line, which 
wrought a wholesome and a welcome change in both 
the cost and accommodation to the public. 

Originally, his political affinities were with the old 
Republican party. In 1828 he supported Andrew 
Jackson for President, and from that time to the end 
of his participation in public affairs his sympathies 
and votes were given to and for the Democratic party 
of his time. He had no taste for public office, and 
so far as the writer has been able to learn, never held 
one; but he exerted his influence to secure the adop- 
tion of measures which he approved, and the election 
to office of men whose character, ability, integrity, 
and known sentiments gave assurance that they would 


_ conduct public business in the way he believed to 


be right. 

In theology his views were more practical than 
theoretical in character. He never made any public 
profession of religion, but held decided opinions upon 
such matters. Prior to 1819-20 he, with his brother 
Harford, owned and occupied a pew in the church of 
the First Parish (afterwards Dr. Putnam’s) at Rox- 
bury. When the building of the Universalist Church 
at Roxbury was projected, Mr. Morse at once took 
shares in the stock, and, later, bought two pews, and 
from the time of the completion and occupation of 
that building until his removal from Roxbury, he was 
a regular attendant at the services. 

During his long life he was singularly free from 
the oft-recurring terms of sickness which so gener- 
ally afflict men, but, when a little past fifty years of 


_ age, he was stricken with paralysis, which, however, 


which was to be applied to extending the school ad- | 


affected his limbs chiefly. He was soon able to walk 
again, but was ever after liable to fall over even a 
In the summer of 1846 
another stroke of paralysis came upon him, after which 
he rarely attempted to walk, but he could read and 
converse, and enjoyed the calls of his friends until the 
end of the summer of 1848. On the first of Decem- 
ber of that year he passed away, at the age of seventy- 
eight years, seven months, and twenty-eight days, and 


slight obstacle in his path. 


his remains were deposited in the family tomb in what 
was called the “ New Burial Ground,” just off War- 
ren Street, above Dudley Street, Roxbury. 





+ 


5 Hoe Aap eee epu terete ton eS eee 


1 _ . t 





“erydjapetyd ‘ioawasug 'sqoagq ‘AT 


"SSVM ‘AFZISATTIAM 
GNV TIVH NMOL ADISATTAM 











‘AUVUGIT 

























































































































































































































































































¢ 
{ 
f 





WELLESLEY. 


477 





As before stated, Mr. Morse was twice married. 
The second wife survived him about five years. 

His children were: Mary Holmes, Luther, Jr., 
and his twin, David Lewis, Ezra Dwight, Harvey, 
Leprelette, and Elizabeth Holmes, of whom Luther, 
Jr., and the last three survived their father. 

Mary Holmes died Sept. 6, 1847; married Amos 
Cheney, of Cambridgeport, and had Mary Elizabeth 
(died early), Caroline Mason (now Mrs, A.S. Bunker, 
of Lawrence, Mass.), Artemas Fuller (Boston High- 
lands), and Amos Parker (South Natick, Mass.). 

Luther, Jr., married Julia Stacy, of Belchertown, 
Mass., where he died, Oct. 28, 1850, without issue. 
His twin died at birth. 

David Lewis married Meria’ Jordan, of Dorches- 
ter, and had Luther David, who died at six months ; 
Ammon Rodgers, now at Elmira, N. Y. Died at 
Sharon, Oct. 29, 1842. 

Ezra Dwight died at Roxbury, Sept. 25, 1817, 
less than ten years of age. 

Harvey died unmarried, at Sharon, Aug. 10, 1883. 

Leprelette married Mrs. Eunice (Lowe) Nason; 
and, second, Mrs. Matilda (Colburn) Clark ; and died 
without issue, July 7, 1882. 

Elizabeth Holmes resides at Sharon, unmarried. 


CHAPTER, XXX VEL, 


WELLESLEY. 





BY J. E. FISKE. 





THE history of the town of Wellesley is necessarily 
brief, as the town was incorporated so late as April 
6, 1881. It was until that time, from 1711, a part 
of the town of Needham, and previous to that time 
its territory was included within the limits of the 
town of Dedham. 


From 1711 to 1774 there was but one parish in | 


the town of Needham, but upon the continued 


growth of the westerly part of the town, and after a | 


contest about the relocation of the meeting-house, 
which had been burned in 1773, it was finally voted 
to allow the people in the westerly part of the town 
to be free from further support of the church, “ pro- 
vided they do proceed in building a meeting-house 
and maintain preaching among them.”’ 

Two hundred pounds were at once raised by sub- 





1 She always wrote her name thus spelled.—A. P. C. 


| 


| 








scription, and a meeting-house was “ builded,” though 
not finished for several years, and preaching was 
“maintained,” though a settled ministry was not 
established for more than twenty years. In 1778 
the West Precinct was incorporated by act of 
General Court. 

Freedom in religious matters did not, however, 
entirely satisfy the inhabitants of the westerly part 
of the town, as very early efforts were made to 
obtain separate political rights. A strenuous effort 
was made in 1801, another in 1820, and other later 
and well-remembered attempts have been made at 
short intervals. In 1880 an appeal was made, with 
almost absolute unanimity, by the inhabitants of the 
west side, now grown to be a large and wealthy com- 
munity, to the Legislature, and with so great force of 
reason and argument that the petition was granted, 
and the town was incorporated and named Wellesley. 

Under the act of incorporation, Solomon Flagg, 
town clerk of Needham for thirty years, and a warm 
advocate of incorporation, called a meeting for the 
organization of the town, and the following officers 
were chosen (April 18, 1881): Moderator, George 
K. Daniell; Town Clerk, Solomon Flagg; Town 
Treasurer, Albert Jennings; Selectmen and Over- 
seers of the Poor, Lyman K. Putney, Walter Hun- 
newell, John W. Shaw; Assessors, George K. Daniell, 
Joseph H. Dewing, Dexter Kingsbury ; School Com- 
mittee, Joseph KH. Fiske (for three years), Benjamin 
H. Sanborn (for two years), Marshall L. Perrin (for 
one year). 

At a subsequent meeting (April 30th) appropria- 
tions were made for expenses, among others, eight 
thousand dollars for schools, three thousand five hun- 
dred dollars for highways and sidewalks, and it voted 
that no licenses to sell intoxicating liquors should be 


| granted. 


These town officers have been retained in the elec- 
tions which have followed, showing a very desirable 
harmony. 

“Under the act of incorporation, certain matters 
were left for adjustment and settlement between the 
parent town and Wellesley, which have all been satis- 
factorily arranged, except the provision with regard to 
the support of schools, which is now in the hands of 
a commission. 

In the autumn of 1882 it was voted by the town 
to petition the Legislature to pass an act to allow the 
town to introduce water for domestic and other pur- 
poses, and a committee was chosen to examine into 
the matter of water-supply, and report to the town. 

The Legislature passed the act asked for, and the 
committee, of which Judge George White was chair- 


478 





man, reported a plan to the town, advising pumping 
water from the borders of Charles River, near the 
northeasterly limit of the town, on or near land of 
Charles Rice, into a reservoir upon Maugus Hill, and 


thence distributing it substantially over the whole | 


town. This report was accepted and full effect given 





to it at a subsequent meeting (Dec. 22, 1883), at. 


which meeting Albion R. Clapp was chosen water 


commissioner for three years, William 8S. Ware, for 


two years, and Walter Hunnewell, for one year. 
This brings the political: history of the town to the 
present writing at the close of the year 1883. 


The name “ Wellesley,” pleasant from its euphony | 


and agreeable from its association, is derived from the 
Welles family. 


Samuel Welles, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. | 
H. H. Hunnewell, bought the place at the corner of 


Washington Street and Pond road, then within the 
limits of Natick, possibly as soon as 1750. This 
place was occupied by him for many years as a farm 
and summer home. 
the neighboring towns, and at one time the present 
town-farm of Wellesley. 

He was succeeded in ownership by his nephew 


He owned much real-estate in 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





was a pioneer in the importation of blooded stock 
from England, giving attention especially to Durham 
stock in cattle, being in this and other kindred ways 
of great value to his neighbors. He is remembered 
by the older natives of Wellesley and Natick asa very 
kindly neighbor, loaning them money in their needs, 
never pressing for payment nor charging them ex- 
orbitant interest, and encouraging them in the pur- 
chase of property, aiding them by his experience and 
means, having great resources in both. 

He was a graduate of Harvard College of the class 


_ of 1782, and a clear writer in the field in which he was 





John Welles, who married his eldest daughter Abi- | 


gail, whose maternal grandfather was Chief Justice 
Pratt, of New York, a native of Norfolk County. 
John Welles was the lineal descendant of Thomas 
Welles (of royal English descent), who came over 
with Lord Say and Sele, as private secretary, in 1636, 
and was afterwards chosen one of the magistrates of 
the Colony of Connecticut, its treasurer, Deputy 
Governor, and finally Governor. 


Samuel Welles, a graduate of Yale College (1707), | 


a descendant of Governor Welles, married Hannah 
Arnold, and removed to Boston, where his wife in- 


most interested,—agriculture. He died at the advanced 
age of ninety-one, Sept. 21, 1855, surviving his wife 


_and cousin eleven years. His son-in-law H. H. Hun- 


newell, now owning the Welles’ place, the son of Dr. 
Walter Hunnewell, a good and respectable doctor of 
Watertown, a graduate of Harvard University, 1787, 
was born in 1810, and very early went to Paris to 
engage in business in the firm of Welles & Company, 
of which firm he became a member, remaining in 
Paris till 1839, when he returned to Massachusetts, 
making his summer residence at Wellesley, in the 
‘“¢ Morrill House,” till 1852, when he erected his pres- 
ent house. His estate is so well known, and has been 
a prominent object of attraction in the town for so 
many years, especially with those who take an interest 
in horticultural matters, that any extended descrip- 
It consists of 
over four ‘hundred acres of land, of which some 
thirty acres about the Mansion House, with as many 
more connected with the cottages, are under a high 
state of cultivation, and have been laid out and 
planted by the proprietor with such success as to at- 


tion of it would seem unnecessary. 


tract the notice and receive the commendation of visi- 


tors from every part of the country. There will be 


herited large property, in the vicinity of Boylston | 


Market, and where the State- House stands. 
sons of Samuel (Samuel and Arnold) graduated from 


The two | 


found in the plantations all the choice new trees and 
shrubs that have been introduced of late years, both 


native and foreign, which have been found on trial to 


Harvard College in 1745 and 1744, and appear | 
_ sinctum on the easterly side of the place contains a 


first in the Triennial Catalogue of the college, indi- 
eating their very high social position. 

The son of Arnold, Hon. John Welles, of the 
house of J. and B. Welles, of Boston, and Welles & 
Company, of Paris, bankers, was well known on both 
continents as a successful and honest business man, 
holding in Boston many responsible positions in bank- 
ing, trust, and insurance organizations. Aside from his 
purely business pursuits he was interested in scientific 
farming and stock-raising, and in general agriculture. 

He was a member of the Massachusetts House of 

- Representatives and the Senate, and was one of the 


first presidents of the City Council of Boston. He 


stand the rigor of our New England climate, and the 


large and valuable collection of coniferse from Cal- 
ifornia and Europe, some of which are of large size 
now and whose future growth will be watched with 
much interest by those interested in the introduction 


of ornamental trees into this part of the country for 
the improvement of private or public gardens. Much 


attention has been given to the cultivation of azaleas 


_ and rhododendrons, which have been grown most suc- 


| 


cessfully in great numbers for many years, and are a 
marked feature in the place, attracting the attention 
of visitors, especially in early summer, by their gor- 
geous flowers. 


“eIydlopepLy oawsuop ‘sTOAg HT 


3 2) 


eR 
LS) 


‘"H JQ FONAGL 


“i 


“TWEAMANNAN 


























i 




















"SSVN SAF TSAIIEA 


“VLydapellyg osvisuy ‘sPOAg “HOT 
















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































WELLESLEY. 





479 





One of the most novel and interesting features of | 
the place is probably the Italian garden, a very fine 
view of which is obtained from the upper terrace as 
seen in the illustration we give. The mode of treat- 
ment here adopted in growing trees is rarely seen to | 
any extent in this country, though often met with 
in Europe, and can only be successfully used when 


circumstances are favorable and appropriate for its in- | 
troduction in the decoration of gardens or public 
parks. , Trees formally trained and clipped do not 
harmonize with those growing naturally,and when 


they are mingled together on a lawn they most de- 
cidedly mar any attempt to enhance the beauty of the 
landscape, but when seen as planted in the Italian 
garden at Wellesley, in connection with the grand 
water view, some most striking and interesting effects - 
are produced by this style of gardening. Standing 
on the upper terrace, seventy feet above the lake, the 
spectator looks down on a sharp sloping piece of 
ground, of over two acres, thrown into six terraces four 
hundred feet long, each reaching down to the water’s 
edge and planted with a large number of evergreen 


trees pruned into a great variety of forms and deco- 
rated with vases, balustrade and parapet walls. 

The garden was prepared in 1854, and the planting 
has been going on ever since, as trees of the required © 
character cannot be procured at the nurseries, and their | 
growth is necessarily very slow, being cut back once 
or twice every season to give them a compact and 
dense appearance ; but many of them have already 
attained a height of twenty to thirty feet, and are so 
high as to excite the interest and admiration of every | 
visitor. The trees which have been used in this gar- 
den consist of white pines, Norway spruces, junipers, 
retinosporas, larches, hemlocks, and arbor-vitees, and 
hedges of the two latter, one hundred and fifty feet 
long and ten to fifteen feet high, have not suffered in 
our coldest winters, though they have a northern 
exposure and the full force of our northwest winds 
over the lake. 


The labor in pruning is very great, 
stagings having to be constructed to reach the tops of 
the highest trees, and it must necessarily be largely 
increased when the next generation sees them double 
their present height. 

The kindly generosity which has thrown open for 
so many years to an admiring and grateful people 
these beautiful gardens has shown itself in a more 
marked manner even in the gift to the town of a beau- | 
tiful park, library building stocked with books, and a 
town hall by an indenture, of which the striking 
points may be briefly given, in which Mr. Hunnewell | 
expresses his desire to “ promote the prosperity of the | 
town of Wellesley and the welfare and happiness of | 


its inhabitants, and at the same time to advance the 
cause of sound learning, education, and letters,” and 
therefore conveys to the inhabitants of the town of 


_ Wellesley a parcel of land of ten acres for a park, with 


buildings erected or to be erected thereon, to be used 
as a town hall and a public library, with the conditions 
that the grounds may be entered upon and improved by 
Mr. Hunnewell and the Wellesley Free Library Corpo- 
ration, that the town shall keep in repair the buildings 
and the park in order, and that no additions or alter- 
ations shall be made without the consent of Mr. 
Hunneweli or the Wellesley Free Library after his 
death. ‘There is a further provision that the inhabit- 
ants of the neighboring town of Needham may have 
access to the library under certain restrictions. 

The library has been in operation through the year 
1883; has now over seven thousand books on its 


_ shelves, and a list of eight hundred takers. 


Mr. Hunnewell has also provided by his indenture 
a fund of twenty thousand dollars for the care of the 
grounds and library. 

The town of Wellesley is rectangular in shape, 
though somewhat irregular, being about four and one- 
half miles in length and about two and one-quarter in 


| width. 


Its neighbors on the south are Needham and Dover, 
on the east the “ Garden City,’ Newton, on the north 


| Weston, and on the west Natick. 


Charles River flows along its entire eastern boun- 
dary and for a short distance along its southwesterly 
limit. 

The Boston and Albany Railroad runs through the 
town from east to west, with stations at Rice’s Cross- 
ing, Wellesley Hills, Wellesley, and Lake Crossing, 


and at the terminus of the Newton Branch at the 


Lower Falls. The excellent service of this road, the 
cheap fares and quick transit, with promised improve- 
ments, combined with many natural attractions and 


_ advantages, make this a popular residential town for 


Boston business men and persons of literary tastes and 
refined leisure. 

The town, and more particularly the village of 
Wellesley Hills, has a wide reputation for healthful- 


ness, owing in great measure to its elevation, combined 


with the dryness of its soil and freedom from all mala- 
rial and other unhealthful tendencies, and has been 
the resort for many years, by the advice of the best 
physicians, for persons afflicted with pulmonary com- 


plaints. The charm of the town of Wellesley consists 


| in its refined rural atmosphere, its pleasant homes, its 


delightful drives and its beautiful landscape scenery, 
and no enlarged description of its enchanting outlooks, 
its elegant residences, its public buildings, its hills and 


480 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





vales, its calm waters and rugged ledges can be other- 
wise than futile and unsatisfactory. The main strect, 
named for our first President, and noticed with favor 
by Washington when he made his tour, in 1789, as a 
“ good road,” affords a notable drive, much of the way 
arched with trees, passing through our three villages, 
rising first to a view of the valley of the Charles, 
which all admire and artists love, by churches of va- 
rious architecture and varied beliefs, with hills near 
and remote, crowned with villas of the wealthy, and 


woods stretching interminably apparently to the west | 


and north, with Nonantum behind and Maugus by 
our side, to suggest to us romances of Indian life, and 
excite our sympathy for the sufferings of the red 
men, by the former home of W. G. T. Morton, the 
discoverer of that greatest of boons to human sufferers, 
sulphuric ether, by the colleges the monument more 
enduring than brass, of Henry F. Durant, by the 
beautiful Lake Waban, Lake of the Wind, named for 
Eliot’s first convert, by the elegant villas of the Hun- 
newells to the limits of the busy town of Natick. 

Two conduits of the Boston Water-Works mar the 
landscape in general, but in a few places, as the long 
viaduct across Waban Brook, the gate-houses at either 
end of the siphon on the new works, and the bridge 
across the Charles on the old, add beauties of archi- 
tecture to the natural scenery. 

Loeal historic associations are not numerous, and are 
mainly connected with Indian names and history. 

Maugus Hill, named for an Indian called Magos, 
of whom but little is known, save that he deeded 
land about Mauegus Hill to the town of Dedham in 
1681. 
Wellesley Hills for a short time, was also the name of 
an Indian who transferred his claim to the tract of 
land of which Wellesley was a part to the inhabitants 
of the town of Dedham, and many other names pre- 
served in names of organizations and in names of 
farms and country-seats. 

The “ Hundreds,” already become the fashionable 
location for residences, was named from the amount of 
land in the divisions of the country, including the 
present village of Wellesley Hills, the tract of wood- 
land now known as the Hundreds, the school-farm of 
Dedham, and Needham Leg, about three thousand 
five hundred acres in all. What is now the village 
of Wellesley Hills was included almost wholly in the 
tract of land assigned to Capt. Daniel Fisher, of Ded- 
ham, who took Sir Edmund Andros by the collar 
and drew him from his place of refuge back to Fort 
Hill in the Rebellion of 1689. This division of land 
was made in 1699. 

There are many local associations which in a town 


Nehoiden, the name of the post-office at | 








history would be in place as of interest which cannot 
find room here. 

The historical associations with the names of the 
residents of Wellesley are numerous and interesting, 
and should they be freely chronicled would embrace 
in their narration the most important events in 
American history. 

Probably Andrew Dewing was the first settler with- 
in the town limits of Wellesley, and erected a garrison- 
house about 1660. This name we find preserved in 
local and military history, the name is found in the 
list of Revolutionary soldiers, and one of the family 
was in the war of the Rebellion, the present assessor 
of that name. 

The Fullers, always one of the most influential 
families of the place, derive their origin from Thomas 
Fuller (a member of whose family very early built a 
house near the town line), a representative to the 
General Court as early as 1686, whose son was 
wounded in the Narraganset war, and whose descend- 
ants were conspicuous in the earlier and later wars 
and in civil life as well,— William, Henry A., Warren, 
and Andrew serving in the war of the Rebellion. 

The Wares, another well-known family, have always 
had their representatives in church, town, and military 
matters, one of whom has left a very valuable journal 
of his journey to Quebec under Arnold, in 1776. 

The Kingsburys, descendants probably of Joseph 
Kingsbury, of Dedham, furnished one of their num- 
ber as captain of a company which fought at the battle 
of Lexington, and a noble child of the house, Wil- 
liam H., died in the last war, while Dexter .has held 
town offices for many years. 

The Mills, one of whom was killed (and the only 
one living within the limits of Wellesley who was 
killed) in the Lexington fight, and the Smiths freely 
represented in the Revolutionary and Rebellion con- 
tests; Daniel, the first deacon of the West Needham 
Church, represented in all places of honor and works, 
with a female ancestor captured and scalped by the 
Indians and the last with us well known as legislator, 
moderator, and assessor; the Flaggs, synonym for 
town officer; Fiskes, old residents of the Leg, and 
builders of our best old homes, now represented by 
the present chairman of the school committee, and 
a captain of artillery in the late war; the Stevens, 
faithful and true, one of whom died in the wretched 
Libby prison, at Richmond; the Jennings, ancestors 
of our present town treasurer, whose first American 
ancestor was killed in a Pequot fight, 1633; the 
Slacks, later but influential through the influence of 
Squire Benjamin Slack, the last generation repre- 
sented by Capt. C. B. Slack in the war of the Re- 














L. H. Everts, Engravy 








, Philadelphia. 











ITALIAN GARDEN 
ON THE GROUNDS OF H. H. HUNNEWELL, 
WELLESLEY, MASS. 

















nap re Lae) 


“ 
eee 





WELLESLEY. 


481 





bellion ; the Lyons, eminent as manufacturers and | 


farmers, with two of the family on the muster-roll of 
the Forty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment ; the Hunt- 


ings, descendants of John Hunting, the first elder of | 


the Dedham Church, with three of the last generation 
in the late war,—Willard dying in prison, all have 
done their share in honest faithful work to enhance 


the reputation of their town and make the world | 


better for their living in it. 


Though the town is not a manufacturing town, | 


there are several factories of consequence from their 
antiquity as well as from the amount of business 
which they do. Aslong ago as 1704 Benjamin Mills 
located a saw-mill about where the Dudley Hosiery 
Mill now stands and below a natural dam which was 


enlarged by rude additions. Hissons joined him, and 





other mills followed. Below, at the site of the shoddy | 


mill of Richard Sullivan, Ephraim Jackson first es- | 


tablished his business, followed by William Hoogs. 


The present larger manufactories are the hosiery | 
mills, the paper mills of Mr. Rice, the shoddy mill | 


of Mr. Sullivan, and the chemical factory of Billings 


& Clapp at the Lower Falls, the shoe-factory of | 
Tucker & Son at Wellesley, and the paint-factory of | 


Mr. Woods, whose production of colors have increased 
from six pounds to six tons per day. 

The Educational Institutions.—The earliest 
schools for many years were probably taught in pri- 
vate homes whenever it was most convenient, but the 
first house built for that purpose was probably erected 
in 1728 by William Chubb, by subscription, costing 
thirty-one pounds ten shillings, and stood about where 


_ were Joseph Daniell and William Bigelow. 





Mrs. G. W. Shaw’s house now stands, Wellesley | 


Hills. 


The first school-house in Wellesley Village | 


stood near where Mr. Solomon Flagg’s barn now is, | 
and several school-houses in succession have been | 


built on the same site in the North District. At pres- 


ent there is one high school with forty-eight scholars 
S. Atwood, settled Oct. 23, 1856, dismissed Sept. 21, 


and three teachers; three grammar schools, three in- 
termediate, three primary, and one ungraded school at 


Unionville, all containing about three hundred and | 


seventy-five scholars. 
There have been several private schools in the his- 


Churches and Parishes.—After the incorporation 
of the ‘“ West Precinct,” already alluded to, the pov- 
erty engendered by the war proved a serious impedi- 
ment in the way of church advancement ; and it was 


_ not till after 1797 when eighteen families were added 


to the parish by the annexation of a part of Natick 
by act of the Legislature, that the inhabitants felt 
strong enough to institute a church organization. 

The church was formally ‘“ embodied” Sept. 6, 
1798, with ten members. Mr. Thomas Noyes, a na- 
tive of Acton, son of one of the Acton men in the 
Concord fight, a graduate of Harvard College (1795), 
was ordained July 10, 1799. 

The only descendants of Mr. Noyes living in 
Wellesley are a granddaughter, Mrs. F. M. E. White, 
wife of Hon. George White, judge of probate of 
Norfolk County, with their three children. He 
was pastor till July 9, 1833. The first deacons 
His suce- 
cessor was Joseph W. Sessions, ordained Oct. 2, 1833, 
dismissed May 31, 1842; succeeded, Oct. 6, 1842, 
by Rev. Harvey Newcomb, dismissed July 1, 1846; 
Andrew Bigelow, July 7, 1847, to Feb. 2, 1853; A. 
R. Baker, Jan. 1, 1856, dismissed 1861; George G. 
Phipps, Jan. 23, 1868, dismissed April 1, 1878; P. 
D. Cowan, April 9, 1879, the present pastor. 

The church building was renewed and dedicated 
Jan. 1, 1835, and this building was sold and a new 
one erected in 1868, the old building having been 
moved and presented by Charles B. Dana to Wellesley 
College, and named Dana Hall. 

The church at Wellesley Hills (Grantville) was 
built in 1847, and the church was organized Feb. 24, 
1847, with thirty members. John Batchelder and 
Reuel Ware were chosen deacons, and Rey. Harvey 
Newcomb was installed as pastor Dec. 9, 1847, and 
dismissed Noy. 8, 1849; Rev. William Barrows, set- 
tled Aug. 22,1850, dismissed Jan. 22, 1856; Edward 


1864; Charles H. Williams, settled July 25, 1867, 
dismissed Dec. 29, 1868 ; James M. Hubbard, settled 
Dec. 29, 1868, dismissed Jan. 13, 1874; J. L. Har- 


ris, settled June 18, 1874, dismissed Dec. 21, 1875; 


tory of the town, one kept by W. H. Adams, of more | 


than local repute, about 1846 to 1852; one by Miss 
Thayer about 1820. 


The preparatory school of the | 


Misses Eastman, with seventy scholars and a corps | 


of fourteen teachers, with large accommodations, has 
a most promising career before it. A small private 


family school is kept at Wellesley Hills, by Miss | 


Chesboro ; but, of course, the crowning educational 


jewel and the pride of our town is Wellesley College, | 


Jonathan Edwards, settled March 1, 1876, the pres- 
ent pastor. The church was remodeled in 1877. 

The Grantville Unitarian Society was gathered in 
December, 1869, and engaged Rey. A. B. Vorse to 
preach to them. He has continued as their preacher 
to the present time. 

In February, 1871, the society purchased Maugus 
Hall, and have continued its use as their chapel. 

The Catholic Church, near the Lower Falls, was 


which deserves and receives an extended description. | opened for services April 18, 1875, and dedicated by 


51 


482 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Archbishop Williams May 8, 1881. Rev. Michael 
Dolan has been its pastor to the present date. | 
A Methodist Church was built on Pine Plain, now | 
known as Unionville, in 1800, and preaching, largely © 
by circuit ministers, was had for over forty years. 
George Pickering was the first preacher, a man of | 
power and fame in his later ministry. There are | 
many reminiscences of preachers, sermons, and reli-_ 
gious harmony and quarrels, which can find no room 


here. 

The first post-office in the town was established in — 
1830, with Charles Noyes, son of Parson Noyes, as | 
postmaster, in a little shop where the postmaster con- 
ducted his business, that of an optician. The mail 
was brought once in two days, by the Uxbridge stage, | 
and known as West Needham Post-office. It is now | 
known as Wellesley, and, with W. H. Flagg as _post- 
master, has an average of one thousand letters per 


day to deliver. 
The post-office at Wellesley Hills was established as — 


Grantville, in November, 1851, with W. H. Adams | 
as postmaster, and was kept in his house, in which 


was also a school. It is now kept by Miss Mary P. 
Austin, with an average of two hundred letters dis- 
tributed daily. 

Meridian Lodge of Masons was organized at the 


_ Lower Falls, in a hall in a building owned by John 


Pulsifer ; declined in anti-Masonic days ; was removed 


_ to Natick, where it is now a flourishing lodge. 


- Sincerity Lodge of Odd-Fellows was organized in 
1875 in Wellesley, and is now in excellent condition, 
with (1883) Freeman Phillips as chief officer and 
sixty-four members. 


The Wellesley Soldiers’ Club, George H. Robbins 


- commander, composed of soldiers who served in the 


late war, succeeded Grand Army Post No. 62, and 
has about twenty-five members. 

Very much matter which would naturally be looked 
for in a work like this respecting early history will 
be found in the history of the town of Needham, 
while numberless historical memoranda of great local 
interest and of great interest to families and individ- 
uals are necessarily shut out from want of space and 
the general character of the work. 















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































VIEW OF WELLESLEY 


CHAPTERS XXXVITI 


WELLESLEY— (Continued). 


WELLESLEY COLLEGE. 


BY REV. D. S. RODMAN. 

As an illustration of one of the developments in 
the intellectual life of our country Wellesley College 
stands pre-eminent and worthy of note. It was 


founded by a single individual for the higher educa- 





COLLEGE. 





tion of women. Its first corner-stone laid only thir- 
teen years ago (1871), it already contains the largest 


_ number of students in any college for young women 


in the world. 

It is in a location which, for suitableness and influ- 
ence, it would be difficult to surpass; has buildings 
unexcelled for convenience and beauty; a body of 
trustees composed of some of the most prominent 


WELLESLEY. 


483 





friends of education in the land; libraries containing 
more than twenty-five thousand volumes, to which large 
additions are constantly made; scientific apparatus 
and other appliances of most approved construction ; 
and what is far more important, an able corps of 
professors and teachers; class-rooms affording illustra- 
tions of great principles and methods in education, 


God. 


_ question. 


and four hundred and eighty students eager to avail — 


themselves of the highest advantages the institution 
can offer. 


The Founder.—Henry Fowle Durant, the founder — 


of the college, was born in Hanover, N. H., Feb. 20, 
1822. 


fifteen, and was graduated in 1841. Having studied 


He entered Harvard College at the age of 


such business connections as might afford him means 
for beneficent objects, confronting the question, ‘‘ How 
can I best serve God in my day and generation ?” 

In his wife he had a noble Christian inspirer, 
helper, and friend. Their wealth was consecrated to 
How best to use it in his service was the 
He now carefully studied the various 
forms of benevolent efforts, and moved among men 
an observer of society and its many needs. 

The decision was finally made to found an institu- 
With 
this new purpose Mr. Durant’s native gifts, intense 
nature, energy of will, sound judgment, keen percep- 
tion, persistency of purpose, his executive ability, 


tion of Christian learning for young women. 





















































































































































































































































































































































































































































EAST LODGE. 


law, he was admitted to the bar in 1843. Eminently 
gifted with the talents that insure success, he soon 
became a lawyer of lucrative practice and fame. In 
1854 he was united in marriage to Pauline Adeline 
Fowle, daughter of Col. John Fowle, late of the 
United States Army. 

While in the prime of life and in a career of bril- 
liant achievement, his son, a boy eight years old, of 
fine promise and beautiful character, suddenly died 
(1863). This event, under the influence of God’s Holy 
Spirit, changed the governing purpose and direction 
of his life. With characteristic decision he became 
the man of Christian spirit and endeavor. He relin- 
quished his practice at the bar, and retained only 





literary and cultivated taste, all were brought into 
requisition, and indicated the man for the work, the 
work for the man. The magnificent institution at 
Wellesley is the result. 

‘“ Never,” says Dr. Howard Crosby, ‘“ was any great 
institution more completely the work of one man. 
To Mr. Durant belongs the credit of the plan and 
the execution, as well as the pecuniary gift.” 

Location.— Wellesley College is situated on the 
banks of Lake Waban, in Wellesley, about one mile 
from the railway station. The grounds comprise 
three hundred and thirty-one acres of meadow and 
wood land, of lawn and glade, with a mile of frontage 
on the lake. 


484 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The commonly-used entrance, one-half a mile from | 
the station, is marked by a lodge and gateway of great | 


beauty. The lodge is of the Elizabethan style, built 


of irregular rubble work of granite in various colors, | 
supported on the lowest floor by a colonnade of ten 


with trimmings of Nova Scotia freestone. Passing 


through the gateway, you enter an avenue bordered | 


with elms. 
by a circuitous way, you have glimpses of Simpson 


Sweeping through an evergreen grove | 


Cottage on an elevation upon the right; of Stone | 


Hall, a massive pile of brick, upon the left. Skirt- 


ing an old forest of oaks, you pass the College of 


Music, and soon reach the main building on a rising 
knoll, overlooking the waters of the lake. 
On the 18th of August, 1871, the first stone of 


these foundations was laid at the extreme northeast | 


corner by Mrs. Durant. On the 14th of September, 


Mrs. Durant also laid the corner-stone at the north- | 


west corner. This was done without public ceremo- 
nial, but in a manner characteristic of the spirit of 
the founders, and significant of the principles that 
actuated them and of the designs that were to be 
carried out. 


The Main Building.—This, the first in construc- | 


tion, is in the form of a double Latin cross. The 
leneth is four hundred and seventy-four feet. To 
this is added a building containing gymnasium, laun- 
dries, and kitchens, extending one hundred and twenty- 
five feet. The width of the wings is one hundred and 
seventy feet. 
points extending into five, the whole crowned with a 
mansard roof, and set off with spires, towers, bays, 
porches, and pavilions. The architecture is in the 
style of the Renaissance. 


There are in the main four stories, at — 
exhibition, but to place them where they would con- 


| 


place of intersection, opens loftily up seventy feet to 
a glass roof that surmounts this central space, thus 
distributing the cheery light through all the corri- 
dors. Around this space at every story run galleries 
polished Hallowell granite columns, which are sur- 
mounted by foliated marble capitals, and on the 
floors above by fluted iron columns with Corinthian 
capitals. 

Around this area at the several stories are balus- 
trades of different ornamented patterns, and finished in 
a varied and attractive style. From above the ob- 


_ server looks down upon an immense jardiniére on the 


The material is brick, laid in black mortar, with 


Nova Scotia freestone trimmings. The main parti- 
tion walls throughout the building are of brick, with 
fire-proof floors in the library and chapel. 
dows are varied in size and form; the window-heads 


semi-circular, with flat arches. The ends of the arms 


The win- | 


lowest floor that rises from a mosaic of marble tilings. 
This is of graceful, irregular outline, filled with earth 
and planted with palms, tree-ferns, and tropical flora 
in rich luxuriance. 

This entrance hall and the many corridors to the 
topmost story are enriched with paintings, engravings, 
sketches, casts, and statuary. Among these are the 
famous “Gibraltar” of R. Swain Gifford, a marine 
painting by Arthur Quartley, a flower piece by Mario 
Nuzzi (1603-1673), “The Cumeean Sybil” by Ved- 
der, and other paintings and sketches by Kennett, 
Bellows, Parsons, Magrath, Ellen Robbins, Edward 
Frere, Otto Gunther, Zangower, Keith, Bristol, 
Head, Smiley, Hart, Lambinet, and others. 

It was the wish and good judgment of Mr. Durant 
not to seclude these in an art gallery only for special 


stantly educate taste, awaken thought, and render this 
temporary home more beautiful and attractive. 

The broad and central stairways with their carved 
balustrades of ash and treads of oak, the floors of oiled 
cherry, are examples of the thoroughness of the con- 
struction of the whole building. The stairways in 
the east and west wings are similar to the central. 


The halls and corridors correspond on every floor. 


|The whole arrangement is on the simplest plan and in 


of the cross are carried up in pavilions and covered | 


with French roofs, the whole producing an irregular 
but harmonious exterior 
finical, substantial but not unwieldy. Dignity, grace, 
and repose are the general effect. 

The main entrance is through a  porte-cochere, 
or portico of Nova Scotia freestone. This is sup- 
ported by twelve massive pillars of the same material. 
Over the portal is the monogram, “I. H.S.” 

The central hall is one hundred and seventy feet in 
length and sixty feet in width. This is crossed at right 
angles by a corridor that extends a distance of four 
hundred and seventy-four feet, meeting a like corri- 


dor and opening in each wing. 


that is beautiful but not | 


the most convenient form for access. 

The interior wood-finish is of western ash. The 
students’ rooms are in suites of a bedroom and parlor, 
occupying a space about twenty by fourteen feet, and 
intended for two. They vary in form and size, are 
cheerful and pleasant, more than half looking out 
upon the lake and having a southern exposure, the 
others fronting the avenue that approaches the col- 
lege. A few larger parlors with two bedrooms accom- 
modate three or four pupils. There are also a few 


single rooms. Pretty carpets are upon the floors. 


The furniture is of black walnut. 


This hall, at the — 


On the right of the main entrance is the ‘ Brown- 
ing room,” and on the left are the “ reception-room”’ 


WELLESLEY. 
































































































































a 



















































































































































































Uh; Hp i iat ui 
Fs i NM 




















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































COLLEGE LIBRARY. 


and the general office. 
first floor, is the library. 
seventy-seven feet in size. 
beauty of proportions, convenience for study, and 
wealth of material. 
tractive room for treasures “‘ both new and old.” 


In the eastern end, upon the 
This room is fifty by 
It is characterized by 


To the scholar it is a most at- 


It is estimated that there is shelf-room for fifty 


thousand volumes. It already contains twenty-five 


thousand, all easily accessible and well catalogued. | 


The lower alcoves are furnished with chairs and tables, 
Those above are reached by 
The entire finish is in black 
This room is intended to be fire-proof, and 


as in the main room. 
three spiral stairways. 
walnut. 
is separated from the main building by doors of iron. 

The suite of rooms belonging to the president, and 
the young ladies’ parlor, are at this end of the build- 
ing. 

The chapel is a fine audience-room, directly over 
the library. There is seating capacity for six hun- 
dred and fifty. A gallery extending the width of 
the room is entered from third floor. This room 
is finished in black walnut, and richly frescoed. 
Ornamental trusses interlaced over the chancel sup- 
port the roof. Transverse beams divide the ceiling 
into panels, which are handsomely frescoed. 





In the rear of the platform is a memorial window, 
consisting of two pictures made by Berkhart, at 
Munich, and presented to the college by Governor 
and Mrs. William Claflin, in memory of a daughter 
who died in Rome. 

In the western end, on the first floor, is the dining- 
hall. 
fifty. 
eighteen arched windows. 
domestic hall that is specially fitted to facilitate the 


This will accommodate three hundred and 
It is finished in hard wood, and lighted by 
It communicates with the 
domestic work. The appointments in this part of the 
building are of a complete and finished character. 
The laundry is furnished for cleansing and drying 
clothes by steam. Excellent facilities, in a separate 
room, are provided for young ladies who wish to do 
their own laundry-work. 

The building is warmed by steam. Fresh air is 
constantly admitted into the basement; heated by 
contact with steam-radiators, charged with moisture 
by the addition of a prescribed quantity of steam, it is 
distributed through the building. Every study-parlor 
has its separate flue, and the register enables the occu- 
pant to regulate the heat at her pleasure. It is gen- 
erally conceded that there is no public building in the 


The building 


country better warmed and ventilated. 


‘ 


486 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





is lighted by gas, manufactured upon the college prem- | tion. Its fine proportions, exquisite symmetry, the 
ises, and conducted into every room. German student- | response of the interior to the expectations awakened 
lamps are also furnished for every study-parlor. Water | by the exterior, the excellence of its general plan, the 
is supplied in great abundance from four artesian wells. refined nicety of its details, the elegance and sim- 
Hot and cold water is provided in every part of the _ plicity that characterize it throughout the combination 
building. Bathing-rooms are at convenient points in | of so many fine qualities make the adaptation to its 
every story. A steam passenger-elevator is in use destined use almost perfect. It is justly considered 
day and evening. The drainage, natural and arti- | the master-piece of Mr. Hammatt Billings, Boston’s 
ficial, is faultless. ablest architect. 

Four years were occupied in the erection of this On Sept. 8, 1875, this building was opened with 
building. All was done under the constant and three hundred students. This faculty was represented 
scrutinizing supervision of Mr. Durant. He spared by Miss A. L. Howard as president, associated with 
neither expense nor effort to secure the utmost pos- twenty-nine professors and teachers. 





sible degree of excellence in all its appointments. The A charter had been obtained, in 1870, from the 
best materials and the most thorough workmanship | State. The establishment of such an institution in 
were everywhere made a first consideration. this part of the country, unique 10 conception, high in 


More than seven millions of brick, and twenty miles of | aim, Christian and progressive in spirit, reasonable in 


steam, water, and gas-pipes were used in the construc- | expense, fully equipped by one individual, marked an 
era in the history of 


education. It proved 
a great incentive 
throughout the land, 
and indeed throughout 
the world. 

The fifth year (1879- 
80) opened with three 
hundred and seventy- 
five students, and the 
sixth (1880-81) with 
three hundred and 
seventy-two. There 





























































































































































































































































































































































































































bs ie ie 
| 
hi 2S = 
cy 
a 


aera 


CH were more applicants 
a 


than could be received. 
It was evident that 
other buildings must 
be erected. 

Dana Hall, a build- 
ing in the village that 
had been presented to 
the college by C. B. 
Dana, was filled by members of the teachers’ class, and by graduates. 
Stone Hall.—At this juncture Mrs. Valeria G. Stone, of Malden, Mass., gave 
one hundred thousand dollars to the college, to be expended in the erection of a 
building for teachers, to be called ‘ Stone Hall.” 

The corner-stone was laid May 27, 1880; and in September, 1881, it was opened 
'-/ to the reception of students. This building is of three stories, its walls of brick, and orna- 















































STONE HALL. 






> mented with terra-cotta. The interior partitions are of brick without wood furrings. The 
external walls are vaulted with eight-inch spaces; and the corridor walls are built with flues 
for ventilation and heating ; the latter communicating with hot-air chambers in the basement. 

It is arranged for a family of one hundred students, all having separate apartments. There are four din- 
ing-rooms, a kitchen, and laundry. It has a parlor and reception-room, and is intended to provide all the 
requisites of a home. Stone Hall occupies the entire summit of a knoll overlooking the lake. 

College of Music.—The increasing demands for greater facilities in the study and practice of music 





| 
| 
| 
| 


with four hundred and fifty students. The 





WELLESLEY. 487 


ae 





led to the erection of Music Hall. The expense was 
incurred by Mr. Durant. The corner-stone was laid 


tages have been designed, in which those who prefer 
may find quiet, and at the same time enjoy all the 


June 10, 1880, and it was opened for use in Juue, advantages of the institution. 


1881. It is of brick, contains thirty-eight 
music-rooms for practice, with a hall for 
choral singing. The floors are deafened : 

































































































































































































































































double partition-walls, with double doors, 


























































































































are designed to prevent the transmission of 























































































































sound between the rooms. 




















The seventh year (1881-82) opened 














erection of Stone Hall and the College of 
Music, with the occupancy of Wabau Col- 
lege, rendered this number possible. 











This year (1881) was rendered painfully 
memorable in the history of the college by 
the death of its founder. From the begin- 
ning of the undertaking his cares had been 
unremitting, his labors great and incessant. 
With untiring energy he had devoted 
himself night and day to the most minute 
details incident to the foundation and 
establishment of a great seat of learning. Not 
only during all the work of planning and construc- 
tion, but for the six years between the opening of 
the college and his death, he gave the whole strength 
of soul, mind, and body to it. The result was inevi- 
table, that so putting his life into the college, he should 
lay down his life for it. He died at Wellesley, Oct. 
3, 1881, ten years after the laying of the first corner- 
stone. He had lived to see, if not the full accomplish- 
ment of his purpose, yet more than is given to most 
men to see of the fruit of his labors. He had seen an 
idea dear to him take root, gather material forces 
around it, emerge from the darkness, make itself 





known, recognized, felt, a power in the world for 
good. His loss was deeply felt in every department. 
The inspiration of his presence, his unwearied interest, 
his constant thoughfulness are daily missed. 

Miss Howard having resigned, Miss Alice E. Free- 
man was appointed president. 

Cottage System.—It being the aim of the college 
to provide for its students the best environments as 
well as the best instruction within its power, two 
systems, each having peculiar advantages, were se- 
lected. The founder erected at great expense one of 
the most convenient and beautiful buildings for edu- 
cation in the world, within whose walls can be col- 
lected three hundred and fifty teachers and students, 
and as many conveniences for study and improve- 
ment as can well be grouped together under one roof. 
But knowing that some find the strain and tension 
incident to intercourse with so many too great, cot- 










































































COLLEGE OF MUSIC. 


Simpson Cottage was erected on one of the fine 
sites within the grounds, at a cost of about twenty- 
five thousand dollars. It was the gift of Mr. M. H. 
Simpson, in memory of his wife, who was an earnest 
friend, and one of the trustees, of the college. It 
was opened in September, 1882; will accommodate 
twenty-three students and a teacher. 

It is the design to group around the main build- 
ing or in its vicinity—as soon as means are furnished 
—other similar cottages; each, as far as its home-life 
is concerned, to be a distinct establishment, with its 
dining-room, kitchen, and parlors; to be under the 
care of a lady of refinement and culture; where stu- 
dents will have even more than the quietness of an 
ordinary home. 

The eighth year (1882-83) opened with four hun- 
dred and eighty-five students from thirty-nine States 
and countries. - 

The requirements for admission for the next year 
were greater than in any previous year. The prepa- 
ration of applicants has been of better quality year by 
year. 

The total number admitted this year (1883-84) is 
five hundred and four. 

The college, during these nine years, has given in- 
struction to eighteen hundred and six students. 

They have been from every State in the Union 
except one (Nevada), and from Micronesia, Sand- 
wich Islands, India, Turkey, Siam, Japan, Chili, 
Mexico, Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Bruns- 
wick. 


488 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








There have been graduated in 1879, 18; 1880, | Tt is still the aim of those who control that here 


41; 1881, 23; 1882, 28; 1883, 50; total, 160. 

Twenty-four students have entered upon work in 
the home and foreign mission fields, and many more 
are engaged in teaching or are holding other positions 
of influence in various parts of the world. 

The price of board and tuition (including heating 
and light), at first two hundred and fifty dollars per 
annum, has been necessarily raised to two hundred 
and seventy-five dollars. There are twenty-four 
scholarships of five thousand dollars each, the income 
from which is appropriated to aid-deserving students, 
under the direction of the Students’ Aid Society. 
More than ten thousand dollars were thus applied 
during the past year (1882-83). The library has a 
fund of fifty thousand dollars. Funds are needed to 
retain the present low rate of board and tuition, to 
endow professorships, to purchase apparatus, to erect 
cottages for homes, a laboratory building, and an ob- 
servatory. 


The property of the college and its administration | 


art, science, and religion shall do their utmost to 


form Christian character, and impart to it wisdom, 


the best Christian influences. 





are vested in a board of trustees, chartered as a per-_ 
petual legal corporation, under the name of Wellesley | 


College. 
evangelical denominations, several universities, col- 


leges, and theological seminaries, the leading foreign | 


missionary societies in the country, laity and clergy, 
ladies and gentlemen. 

Rey. Noah Porter, D.D., LL.D., is president of 
the board of trustees; Rev. Howard Crosby, D.D., 
LL.D., vice-president ; Mrs. Henry F. Durant, treas- 
urer; Professor EK. N. Horsford is president of the 
board of visitors. 
three officers of government and instruction. There 
are fifty-three resident professors and teachers. Alice 
E. Freeman, Ph.D., is the president. 

The plan and methods of education pursued are 
based upon certain important features, the most 
prominent of which are: 

1. The supreme importance of the moral character. 

2. Health. 

3. The highest development of the intellect com- 
patible with health. 

4. The practical usefulness of the individual. 

5. The inexpensiveness of the course. 

Christian Influence.—It was the unswerving de- 
termination of the founder that the college should be 
distinctively a Christian college. 


never have been laid by him if this object could not | 


have been secured. 
stone spanning the entrance, and that which rises 
above the highest pinnacle of the noble pile, are only 
slight evidences, among many, of this purpose. 


The trustees are selected from the various 


The faculty consists of seventy- | 
| 1674 or 1675. 


i 





/ married Hannah Adams at Sherborn. 


_ strength, and beauty. 


The college therefore seeks Christian teachers, and 
It has arranged its 
curriculum so that, while it shall provide for the 


highest intellectual acquisition, it shall at the same 


time impart religious knowledge in a positive and 
practical manner, that its students may have some- 


_ thing more than a sentimental basis for religious con- 


victions. 

Prominence is given to the study of the word and 
works of God as the true basis of the higher edu- 
cation. 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


EMERY FISK. 
Emery Fisk, born in Framingham, in the State of 
Massachusetts, Feb. 27, 1803, was a descendant of 


| Robert and Sybil (Gold) Fiske or Fisk, who lived at 


Broad Gates, Loxfield, Framingham, Suffolk County, 
England, whose son or grandson, David, with two 
nephews and their mother, came to Watertown about 
1636, and there settled. David went to Wenham, 
and his descendants are to be found in Northeastern 
Massachusetts and in New Hampshire towns. 
Nathan, one of the nephews, married Susanna 
He was one of the selectmen of Watertown in about 
His fourth son, Nathaniel, was born 
July 12, 1653, and in 1677 married Mary Childs. 
Their son Nathaniel was born June 9, 1678, and 
Their third 





son, Moses, born June 29, 1713, married Mehitable 





Broad, of Needham, April 11, 1745. Their son 
Moses, born 1746, married (1775) to Sally : 
settled in Natick (Needham Leg) upon their mar- 
Their son Moses, the father of Emery, was 





riage. 


born Jan. 4, 1776, and married Sybil Jennison, of 


Hillsborough, N. H., May, 1801, and settled in 
Framingham, where they remained till Emery, their 


oldest son, was fourteen, when they removed to Wes- 


Its foundation would | 


The cross carved into the key- | 


ton, having purchased the Abijah Fisk farm. After 
remaining here one year the family removed to 
Natick, purchasing a farm, bordering upon Dug and 
Long Ponds, of Calvin Fisk, a cousin of the head of 
the family. When about eighteen years of age 
Emery left home to carry on the farm of Chester 
Adams, and, upon Col. Adams removing to Dedham, 





im 


Mf!) 


Wp 


l 











» - 
_ nr, 


ae ath cee 


7 Cas 


ia 
nm 
rm 
= 


+ 








2AEEQA tl FL ae G 


C 


( ye 
a SIC 





/) 


f 





WELLESLEY. 


489 











he left him for the purpose of entering into a busi- 
ness partnership with him. He remained in business 
in Dedham for several years. 

He married, April 16, 1828, Eunice Morse, of 
Natick, daughter of Adam Morse, and great-grand- 


He filled the office of town clerk and assessor for 
several years. 

His wife was a Brown, who was sister of Betty 
Brown, who gave a large property to the West Need- 


ham Parish. 


daughter of John Bacon, of Needham, who, as lieu- | 


tenant of a company, was killed near Menotomy, 
April 19, 1775, in the battle of Lexington. They 
removed to Needham (now Wellesley) in May, 1833, 
having purchased a farm of two hundred acres of 


Isaiah Fiske, a second cousin, and lived upon it the | 


rest of his life. 
of social, genial habits, of excellent judgment, cau- 


tious in business, more given to comfortable enjoy- | 


ment of what he possessed than engaged in the acquire- 
ment of money, though his income always exceeded 
his expenditures. 

He was greatly respected and his opinions were 
highly regarded by his neighbors and townsmen. He 
was selectman and overseer of the poor for several 
years of the town of Needham, and was representa- 
tive of the town in the Massachusetts Legislature in 
the years of 1840 and 1841. 
served as delegate to the convention for revising the 
Constitution of Massachusetts in 1853, and the ac- 
quaintance he there formed with such men as Choate, 
Wilson, Morton, Rantoul, Butler, Burlingame, and 
others was a source of great pleasure to him so long 
as he lived. He was a Democrat in politics, and 
always attended the conventions of his party, State 
and local. 

He died May 17, 1868, leaving two children (six 


He was an honest, reliable citizen, | 


| 


He was elected and 


others having died in infancy),—the elder, Abigail 


Burgess, who married Augustus Eaton, and resides 


in Needham, and Joseph E., born Oct. 23, 1839, | 


and living at the home place. He graduated at Har- 
vard College in 1861, was in the war of the Rebellion 


(1862-65), a prisoner of war ten months, and dis-_ 
of his seventy-fifth birthday, under the auspices of 
| the musical club of which he was a member. 


charged as captain of artillery. He has been for 
many years a town officer; was a representative in 
the Legislature in 1874, and a member of the Senate 
of Massachusetts in 1876-77. 





SOLOMON FLAGG. 


Solomon Flagg, 


| aggregate as Mr. Flagg, and it is 
a true product of Puritan stock, | 


was born in Boston, Aug. 24, 1804. The next spring 


his father, who had kept one of the two victualing cel- 
lars then known in Boston, removed to Needham, his 


| 
| 
} 


One of the early associates of Mr. Flagg speaks of 
him “as a spruce young man, full of fun and frolic,” 
and adds, “ he still retains these characteristics.” 

He assisted his father in keeping store and tend- 
ing bar, but under guidance of friends and their own 
principles, himself and his brother totally abstained 
from the use of liquors, and very early joined the 
temperance movement championed by Hon. William 
Jackson, of Newton. 

The grandfather of Mr. Flagg, also named Solo- 
mon, was present in the battle of Lexington, and 
served at other points during the war of the Reyolu- 
tion. He held offices in the town of Needham. 

It is easy to trace the line of the family to Thomas 
Flagg, who came over from England before 1643, and 
settling at Watertown was selectman of that town in 
1671, 1674-78, and died in 1697. 

Mr. Solomon Flagg having married Eliza Hall, 
had three children,—Charles Henry, who was killed by 
a sad accident while very young; Charles Gay, who 
died, 1860, at the age of twenty-five; and George H. 
P., born March 12, 1830, who still survives, following 
the profession of dentistry with such skill and success 
that he has acquired an enviable reputation in his work, 
and amassed a fortune which enables him to indulge 
his father in every want and luxury in his declining 
years, and to place his familiar features in this his- 
tory. 

In mature life Mr. Flagg united with the church of 
which for over fifty years he has led the choir with a 
voice familiar, not to his townspeople only, but to 
the inhabitants of the neighboring towns, who turned 
out by hundreds to do him honor on the celebration 


He was school-teacher for thirty-eight years in 
Needham, Dover, Natick, and Sherborn, and there 
are few of the old natives of these towns who do not 
know him and respect him. 

Probably no person in Norfolk County, possibly in 
the State, has held public office so many years in the 
well to put on record 
the facts of so remarkable a career in this respect. 

Mr. Flagg presents in his life the peculiarity of a 
man always in office, never an office-seeker ; a man of 
fixed opinions and beliefs, to which he always adhered, 


native place, and opened a public-house on the spot and | but by so doing never gave offense; religious in his 
in the house where the subject of this sketch resides. | bearing and habits, yet very fond of fun and good 


490 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





his life. 
and yet keenly alive to word or look ; appearing to be | 


cheer ; careful not to give offense or notice an affront, 


passive in public matters, but losing no opportunity 


to use his influence for the public weal. He has had 


and has much, very much, to do in shaping the affairs © 


He has lived to see 
many a faction die out and many a man of local in- 


of his town, village, and church. 


fluence shelved, genially smiling to himself at the 
failures, and filling oftentimes the gaps made by their 
subsidence. 

He was selectman of the town of Needham in 
1833, 1842, 1843, 1846-49, seven years in all; as- 
sessor of Needham, 1832, 1833, 1839, 1845, 1857-— 
59, 1861-64, 1866-74, twenty years in all; member of 
the school committee, 1831, 1845-51, 1857-61, 1864 
—67, 1870-80, twenty-eight years in ali. He was 
appointed town clerk Aug. 19, 1850, and held the 
office till the incorporation of Wellesley (1881), over | 
thirty years, and was elected town clerk of Wellesley 
upon the organization of the town, and holds it to 
the present writing, his third year. 

He was appointed treasurer of the town of Need-— 
ham May 14, 1859, and elected every year till the 
incorporation of Wellesley, twenty-one years. 

He was elected as representative to the General 
Court in 1834, and again in 1861, where he assisted 
in patriotic preparation for resistance to rebellion. 
He has thus aggregated one hundred and eight years _ 
of service in public elective office. Besides, he has | 
for over twenty years been justice of the peace, has | 
officiated as commissioner in disputed cases,—a record 
without a parallel, [ believe. 

No man will dispute Mr. Flage’s word or doubt his 
friendship, or find him treacherous or unfair. Hven | 
the bitterness following upon the division of the old | 
town, and for which Mr. Flagg was an earnest worker, 
has not strained to the least degree the cords of 
friendship which had been so strong heretofore. 

Mr. Flage’s accuracy as a town treasurer has been 
such that no suspicion of incorrectness has ever been 
brought against his accounts, and the neatness and | 
elegance of his records, as town clerk, have excited 
the attention and admiration of experts and State 
officials. The hope finally may be expressed: May he 
live as long as his ancestors, and preserve his youth 
as long as he lives. 


HENRY WOOD. 

The first of this branch of the Wood family to 
settle in America was Ephraim Wood, who was born 
in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England, Dec. 21, 1783. 
Ephraim was a tailor, and followed that business all 


and Henry (the subject of this sketch). 
| April 12, 1812. 


it was impossible to keep the chickens alive. 


He was a very devout Christian, and a dea- 
con in Dr. Sharp’s church in Boston. He had three 


_ brothers,— William, John, and Charles,—the eldest of 


whom was for a period of over thirty years pastor of 
the Baptist Chapel, Toddington, England, and died 
in 1864 at the age of eighty-one years. Ephraim 
married for his first wife, Sophia Ann Whitbread, 
who bore him three children,—George, Ephraim, Jr., 
She died 
In 1814, Ephraim married Jane 
The children by this marriage were William, 
Joseph, Thomas, Frederick, Jane, and Charlotte. 
Ephraim was buried in his family tomb under St. 
Paul’s Church, Boston. Henry Wood was born in 
Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England, Feb. 6,1811. His 
boyhood was passed at his home in England until 
His education 
was chiefly obtained in the common schools of Boston. 
He was early apprenticed to learn the paper-hanging 


Trigg. 


the time the family came to America. 


and wall-staining business. During this apprentice- 


ship he attended school in the winter at Ashby, Mass. 


Prior to the termination of his apprenticeship he 
bought his time from his employers and began the 
same business on his own account, and was successful. 


| Becoming alarmed in the panic of 1837, he sold out 


his business and shortly after engaged in Philadelphia 
in the business of poultry-raising on an extensive 
scale, and by the use of an artificial incubator hatched 
This business proved to bea 
failure, for, while the hatching was a complete success, 
Mr. 
Wood returned to Boston, and with characteristic en- 
He also 
put to good use his knowledge of chemistry, as applied 


out many chickens. 


terprise started again in his old business. 


to the manufacture of colors, and found he could 
manufacture at a handsome profit. For the second 
time he sold out his paper-hanging business and com- 
menced to make colorsin a house on Middlesex Street, 
Boston, doing the work by hand, producing from six 
About this time he 
purchased a farm in Grantville, Mass., now Wellesley 
Hills, the same being a part of the property now 
owned by Judge Abbott. Here he continued the 


manufacture of colors, and as the business increased 


to ten pounds of colors per day. 


he found it necessary to procure a place where power 
could be used, and leased of Charles Rice, of Newton, 
Lower Falls, a building where there was a water-power, 
and here enlarged his business, which soon became 
extensive and profitable. 

About this time Mr. Wood had a very severe sick- 
ness, but slowly recovered, and while yet hardly con- 
valescent news came of the total destruction of his 
color-works by fire, and as there was no insurance on 

















WELLESLEY. 


491 





the property, in which nearly all of his money was 
invested, this loss was severely felt by him, bringing 
privations which were bravely borne by him and his 
family. It was at this time that the only cow was 
sold to furnish money to buy bread. 
once sought the aid of his friend, Curtis Haven, and 
by his timely assistance was able to establish himself 
again, by rebuilding on the site of the old works. 


Mr. Wood at | 





Tn | 


a short time, by reason of the increasing demand for | 
| visit to America. 


his colors, Mr. Wood found it necessary to procure a 
more extensive place for manufacture, and selling his 
farm at Grantville, he purchased the water-power and 


erist-mill of Daniel Morse, at West Needham, now 
| 1836. 


known as Lake Crossing, where the business so 


rapidly increased that it became necessary to make 
It was | 


additions to the buildings from time to time. 
while manufacturing at Lake Crossing that Mr. Wood 
took into partnership his son, under the firm-name of 
‘Henry Wood & Son, and the business continued to be 
profitable and extensive. In 1866, Mr. Wood with- 
drew from the firm and his son continued, taking for a 
partner Horace Humphrey, the new firm paying a 
royalty per pound to Mr. Wood up to the time of his 
death. 

Mr. Wood was the first man to make bricks of 
Portland cement and sand, with a slight mixture of 


lime, which bricks are now recognized to be more — 


durable than most red_ bricks. 
with various machines for the manufacture of these 


He experimented 


bricks, and with varying success, and it was while > 





making these experiments that he received a serious | 


injury, occasioning the loss of three fingers of one | 


Mr. Wood was thor- 
oughly convinced of the value of these bricks, and 


hand and two of the other. 


the present condition of a chimney built of this 
cement mixture by him at Wellesley, in 1857, at- 
tests the correctness of his judgment. The value of 
this material for building has been further developed 


by the Middlesex Stone Brick Company, organized by | 
The Union Cottage of H. H.— 


his son, Edmund M. 


He was generous in his donations to charitable ob- 
jects, even though they were directed by religious 
societies that did not hold the same views that he 
did. arly in life Mr. Wood developed a fondness 
for music, and often amused his schoolmates, and, in 
later life, his children with songs and stories. He 
used often to speak of his extravagance in having 
paid the sum of twelve dollars to hear Jenny Lind 
sing in the Fitchburg Railroad Hall during her first 


Henry Wood married for his first wife Lois B. 
Rice, who died leaving no children. His second wife 
was Catharine Frances Jennings, who died Feb. 23, 
By this marriage there were two children,— 
Catharine Frances, who died in infancy, and George 
Henry, who is still living. Aug. 14, 1836, Mr. 
Wood married Eliza Hanson Comsett, daughter of 
William and Mehitable Comsett. By this marriage 
there were born Edmund M. (1), Martial Duroy (2), 
Ephraim Albert (3), Sophia Ann Whitbread (4), 
Martial Franklin Horton (5), and Louis Francis (6). 

The versatility of Mr. Wood is shown in the fact 
of the establishment of the various enterprises here 


' named, and his determined and resolute manner 


helped him over many a hard spot in his business 
experiences. While for the early portion of his life 
he had used liquors and tobacco, on being solicited 
by a temperance friend to abolish their use he prom- 
ised to do so, and throwing his tobacco and liquor out 
of the window, never again used either, and from 
this time became active in the cause of the Sons of 
Temperance. 

Mr. Wood was generous to the poor and needy, 
but in a quiet, unostentatious way, as shown by 
papers found by his executor, which gave evidence of 


' numerous charities of which even his own family 


Hunnewell, the Heckle House, at Newton Lower | 


Falls, the residences of R. M. Pulsifer and HK. B. 


success of his life. 


Haskell, of the Boston Herald, and many other 


buildings in the vicinity of Boston were built of this 
material. Henry Wood also started a flax industry 


in the western part of New York, which, however, | 


Mr. Wood was not 
He was a Republican, and an ad- 


did not prove to be a success. 
active in politics. 
mirer of William Lloyd Garrison, Charles Sumner, 
and Wendell Phillips. 


life made a study of the Bible. Later in life he be- 


In religion Mr. Wood was | 
reared a Baptist, as were his ancestors, and early in | 


_a pleasant harmony in household affairs. 





came quite liberal in his views on religious subjects. — 


were ignorant. He won the respect of all who knew 
him by his honesty, integrity, and goodness of heart. 

Mr. Wood often alluded in a feeling manner to the 
self-sacrificing character of his beloved wife, Hliza 
(now living), to whose devotion was due much of the 
Her gentleness of manner served 
as a counterpoise to his decided nature, and produced 
While 
doing all the household work for the large family, and 
practicing strict economy in management, still, with a 
happy heart and a melodious voice, she made many a 
dark day full of sunshine and happiness, and gave to 
her husband and children sympathetic and practica] 
encouragement. Mr. Wood, after a short sickness, 
died suddenly, of gastritis, at his residence in Boston, 
May 2, 1881, at the age of seventy years, and was 
buried in the family lot in Mount Auburn Cemetery. 





JUDGE WHITE, OF WELLESLEY. 

Judge White, the subject of this sketch, was born 
in Quincy. He is a lineal descendant of Thomas 
White, of Weymouth, who was one of the earliest 
settlers in that town. This Thomas White was born 
in 1599. The time of his coming to this country is 
unknown, and his birthplace also, but probably Wey- 
mouth, England. In the allotment of land at Wey- 
mouth in 1636 he received twenty-one shares. He 
was admitted freeman in 1635. He was captain ofa 
military company, and for several years a representa- 
tive in the Legislature. He was a member of the 
memorable court of November, 1637, which voted to 
banish Mrs. Ann Hutchinson “ from out of our juris- 
diction as being a woman not fit for our society.” 
He was often an appraiser of estates, and in a case of 
public interest he was appointed referee by the Gen- 
eral Court. His autograph will, now on file in the 
Suffolk Registry of Wills, attests a legal turn of 
mind. 

Among his posterity are found, Samuel White, of 
Taunton, who was born in Braintree and graduated 
from Harvard College in 1731. He was the first 
barrister-at-law in Taunton. He presided over the 
House of Representatives during the period of the 
Stamp Act. He was of his Majesty's (George III.) 
Council three years, ‘(and a man of fine personal ap- 
pearance, of great sagacity, an eloquent speaker, and 
Francis Baylies, the his- 
torian, of Plymouth County, and William Baylies, his 
brother, an eminent lawyer, the compeer of Webster, 


of irreproachable morals.” 


and often pitted against him in the trial of causes, 
were the grandchildren of Samuel White. 

Samuel Sumner Wilde (whose grandfather was 
born in Braintree), a justice of the Supreme Judicial 
Court of this State, “ whose judicial career,” says 
Judge Shaw, “was unexampled by its length, its 
brillianey, and its purity.” 

Lemuel Shaw, chief justice of the same court for 
upwards of thirty years, whose grandmother, Silence 
White, was born in Braintree. 


Jonathan White, the eminent lawyer of Plymouth | 
County ; Caleb B. White, D.D., president of Wabash | 


College, Indiana; his son, Charles B. White, the 
learned sanitarian of New Orleans; and Thomas 
Crane, the founder of the Crane Memorial Hall and 
public library in Quincy, were also his descendants. 

Dr. Nathaniel White, of Weymouth, was the ereat- 
grandson of the same Thomas White. He was grad- 
uated from Harvard College in 1725, was long a phy- 
sician and surgeon in South Weymouth, and served 
as such in the French and Indian war. 


Nathaniel White, father of Judge White, was the 





| in others. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





great-grandson of Dr. Nathaniel White, and the 
fourth of that name. He was born in Weymouth. 
His mother was Mary, daughter of Thomas Hollis, of 
Braintree. She lived to the great age of one hundred 
and three years. He married Mehitable Curtis, 
daughter of Theophilus Curtis, the fourth of that 
name, a descendant probably of Deodatus Curtis, of 
Braintree. 

In early life Mr. Nathaniel White was engaged in 
the boot and shoe trade, and acquired a handsome 
Later he entered the coal 
and lumber business, and lost heavily. This is men- 
tioned merely for the reason that the cause of his loss 
The 
Native American party made its first appearance in 
our politics in the autumn of 1854, and ran its course 
in that and the two following years. 


fortune for those days. 


bears evidence of the character of the man. 


During its 
ascendency it brooked no opposition, and with a 
bigotry of its own, persecuted what it deemed bigotry 
Mr. White fell under the ban of this secret 
organization, to his great pecuniary loss, his usual cus- 
tomers refusing to trade with him, thereby forcing him 
to carry for years, at constantly depreciating prices, a 
Mr. White and his 
three sons, one of them the subject of this sketch, 
were of the few American-born voters of Quincy who 
stood up against that racial and religious persecution. 
In that small company were Charles Francis Adams, 
Sr., Gideon F. Thayer, Rev. William P. Lunt, Henry 
Wood, and Benjamin Curtis. 

Mr. Nathaniel White was an active member for 
many years of the Universalist Society of Quincy, 
and contributed largely to its support, in personal 
labor and in money. 

He was one of the first in Norfolk County to en- 
gage in floriculture and in horticulture. 


large stock of coal and lumber. 


He was 
passionately fond of flowers and fruits; and on his 
few acres he cultivated the choicest species of flower- 
ing-plants and many varieties of trees, both fruit and 
forest. 

He was a sportsman, skillful in the use of rod and 
gun. He knew well the fishing grounds on ponds 
and in the neighboring bays; he was familiar with 


the haunts of the plover and the brant ; he owned a 


_pack of hounds for hunting the fox and the deer. 


He kept a boat, and in quest of fish and water-fowl 
frequented the islands and headlands, the nooks and 
corners in Quincy, Weymouth, and Boston bays, imi- 
tating, probably, in these things his ancestor, Thomas 
White, who more than two centuries before lived 


_ hard by, and plied his rude boat over the same waters 


and for the same purposes. 
Mr. White was known in the region round about 














WELLESLEY. 


493 





for his fine horses, one of which was renowned for his 
fire and speed. With Deacon George Baxter and 
Ebenezer Bent, he represented Quincy in the House 
of Representatives in 1840. 

Mr. White was a man of marked individuality, of 
deep convictions and passions. His natural intelli- 
gence was strong and masculine. 
fearless in expressing his opinions, deferring very little 
to the opinions of others. He was a Democrat in 
sentiment and character as well as in a party sense. 
He voted for Gen. Jackson with all his heart, as his 
father did for Thomas Jefferson. 

Judge White was the son of Nathaniel and Mehit- 
able (Curtis) White. He fitted for college at Phillips’ 
Exeter Academy, then under Dr. Soulé. He was 
graduated from Yale College in 1848, and from Har- 
vard Law-School in 1850. He studied law with Hon. 
Robert Rantoul, Jr., and on his motion was admitted 
to the bar in the fall of 1851, and immediately after 
became his partner, with the firm-name of Rantoul 
& White. 

In April, 1851, the trial of Thomas Simms, the 
fugitive slave, occurred in Boston,—a trial memorable 
for the argument of Mr. Rantoul on the constitution- 
ality of the fugitive slave law, and also as one of the 
exciting causes of the civil war; and specially notable 
in the men who appeared in the case and the character- 
istic parts which each performed. 

The court-house in which the trial took place had 


_ been converted into a prison for the custody of Simms, 


| sioners of Alabama Claims. 


After the death of Mr. Rantoul, Mr. White formed 
a connection with Hon. Asa French, subsequently the 
district attorney for Norfolk and Plymouth Counties, 
and now one of the judges of the Court of Commis- 
This partnership con- 


tinued until 1858. 


He was utterly © 


Mr. White took an active interest in the schools of 
Quincy, serving on the school committee for several 
years ; and also in the Unitarian Society of that town, 
acting on its parochial committees, and serving many 


_ years as teacher and superintendent of its Sunday- 


the State refusing the use of its jails for the confine- | 


ment of fugitive slaves. A hundred police officers 
guarded it as if it were a Bastile; and Faneuil Hall 
was occupied for barracks by the police and soldiers, 
as was the old South Church by British soldiers in 
the Revolution. The judges and officers of the law, 
and the persons having business in the courts, were 
obliged to enter the temple of justice on lowly-bend- 
ing knees beneath the chains which encompassed it. 

Commissioner George Ticknor Curtis sat in the 
judgment seat. ‘To the application of the counsel of 
Simms for time to examine the papers and prepare 
the case, the commissioner gave an emphatic refusal ; 
and to the unanswerable argument of Mr. Rantoul he 
turned a deaf ear, brandishing in his eyes the Con- 
stitution as he understood it. In the mean time, pe- 
titions for a writ of habeas corpus were made by 
Charles Sumner, Richard H. Dana, and Samuel Se- 
wall, and hearings were had on the same by Judges 
Shaw and Woodbury, but the prayers thereof were 
denied. 
Curtis, first delivering an elaborate opinion on the 
constitutionality of the law, remitted Simms to slavery. 


Five days after this hearing Commissioner 


Representatives, at Washington, the 


school. 

In 1851, with Gideon F. Thayer, founder of the 
Chauncy Hall School, he purchased and edited the 
Quincy Patriot. Mr. Thayer retired in less than a 
year, and Mr. White remained sole proprietor and 
editor until April, 1853. The grateful thanks of a 
gifted authoress for a favorable editorial on her works, 
and the hearty commendation of the chief justice of 
our highest court of an editorial on Gen. Jackson’s 
famous saying, “the constitution as I understand it,” 
constitute the only pleasant memorials in the mind of 
Mr. White of this brief digression from his profes- 
sional pursuits. 

In 1853, Mr. White was elected a member of the 
Constitutional Convention from Quincy, with William 
S. Morton, Esq., as his associate. In this body he 
was author of the article in the proposed new consti- 
tution relating to the House of Representatives. This 
article with all the others proposed were rejected by 
the people at the election which passed upon the 
work of the Convention, yet, in its principle, a few 
years afterwards, it became a part of the Constitu- 
tion of the State. ‘The opponents of the new Con- 
stitution dwelt largely upon that part which changed 
the tenure of the judiciary from a life tenure to a 
Mr. White voted against this 
change, his opinion being that the judges should be 
elected by the people, but the tenure of their office 
should be during good behavior. 

Mr. White was elected president of the Young 
Men’s Convention held at Worcester in 1857, which 
nominated Nathaniel P. Banks for Governor. Mr. 
Banks had been elected Speaker of the House of 


period of ten years. 


year before, 
which was the first civic triumph on a national 
arena of the anti-slavery party in this country. Mr. 
Banks was elected Governor by a large majority. The 


| organization which nominated and elected him drew 


into its ranks the anti-slavery men of this State of all 
shades of political opinion, and became in subsequent 
years an integral part of that imperial party which 
elected Abraham Lincoln President. 


494 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 











From Mr. White’s opening address at the Conven- 
tion we make this extract: | 

“The ties of party, the recollection of defeats and | 
triumphs, of common joys and common disappoint- 
ments, in the service of party, have not bound young | 
men together as with links of iron, nor have the gen- | 
erous sentiments of their youth and those dreams of | 
liberty which their youthful studies cherished, died — 
out of their hearts. This is a meeting of those who | 
believe ‘success is a duty,’ of those who mean to | 
achieve it, of those who believe what they have read _ 
is true, that our Constitution was ordained to protect 
and preserve the liberty of the people, and not to ex- 
tinguish it; and that, as in ancient times, under Au- | 
gustus, the spirit of absolute despotism became | 
enthroned in the form of a Republic, so it may hap- 
pen with us, if the men of this generation are unfaith- 
ful to their consciences and their high ideals of | 
liberty. 

““Mr. Banks has been tried on a national arena, | 
and has gained one of the great honors of a national © 
How well he discharged his duties we all | 
know. He taught the country this useful lesson, | 
that an ardent love of liberty is not incompatible with | 
a full and faithful discharge of duty in national affairs, | 
and how easy and safe will be the transition at a day, | 
we trust, not very remote, when the administration of | 





struggle. 


the national government shall pass into the hands of | 
statesmen, whose sentiments and convictions shall be 
in consonance with those of the founders of the Con- 
stitution, and therefore fundamentally the reverse of | 
those who now administer it.” 

In July, 1858, Mr. White was appointed judge of 
Probate and Insolvency for Norfolk County, which | 


office he now holds. ‘To become a judge of that court 
is, in many of its aspects, to become civiliter mortuus, 


to become a sort of father confessor, having to hear 


of broken fortunes and broken lives, of sorrow and 
distress, with a large authority to help the unfortu- | 


nate. This, however, is not the chief of his func- | 
tions. In the legislation of the last half-century — 


there has been an ever-increasing tendency to extend — 
the power of the Probate Court, so that now it has a | 
larger jurisdiction than any like court in this country 
or in Great Britain, the object kept in view seeming 
to be to give that court exclusive original jurisdiction 
of all subjects of which it has cognizance, with right 
of appeal to the Supreme Court. 

Aside from his judicial duties, the chief employ- | 


ment of Judge White is in the management of trust 
estates. 

In politics, Judge White has followed, with unequal 
steps, his early friend, Robert Rantoul, Jr. Mr. Ran- 


(Kingsbury) Slack. 


| ton in 1660. 


toul was taunted in his day with being a doctrinaire, 
which his friends construed as being a man in advance 
of his contemporaries on social and political questions. 
He was a strict constructionist. He had no respect 
for that mode of interpreting the Constitution which 
found in the incident a wider and more prolific author- 
ity than was given in the original grant of power. 

He did not think the Constitution was a sacred 
ark for the preservation of slavery, nor did he agree 
with those who thought it a covenant with death and 
an agreement with hell. 

He held that trade and commerce should be free 
as the winds and waves, and that a protective tariff 
was a hindrance to such freedom. That it was a sys- 
tem of monopolies, like in character to feudalism or 
slavery, kept up for the enrichment of the few at the 
sacrifice of interests of the many. 

Judge White married Frances Mary Edwena Noyes, 
only child of Edward Noyes, druggist, of Boston, junior 
member of the firm of Maynard & Noyes, and one of 
the founders of the Central Congregational Church 
in that city. Mrs. White was a great-great-grand- 
daughter of Rev. Oliver Peabody, a graduate from 
Harvard College in 1721, and the first settled min- 
ister in Natick, and successor to the Apostle Eliot, as 
preacher to the Indians. Mrs. White was a great- 
granddaughter of Dr. William Deming, of Wellesley. 
Her grandfather was Rev. Thomas Noyes, who was 
born at Acton, and was graduated from Harvard Col- 
lege in 1795. He was pastor, for thirty-four years, 
of the West Needham (now Wellesley) Congrega- 
tional Church. His father was with the Acton men 
in the Concord fight, on the 19th of April, 1775. 
All his grandsons living at the breaking out of the 
Rebellion joined the Union army,—Frank, Charles, 
George, and Thomas,—all brave from a religious sense 
of duty. Every one was wounded in battle. George 
was permanently disabled by the hardships of war, 
Charles returned to his home to die from his wounds, 
Francis Henry was killed at Antietam, 1862, and 
lies there in an unknown grave. 

The mother of Mrs. White was Clarissa, the 
youngest of seven children of Benjamin and Sarah 
The ancestors of Mr. Slack 
came from Yorkshire, England, and settled in Bos- 
On the 19th of April, 1775, when 
twelve years of age, Benjamin Slack was taken, with 
the other junior members of his father’s family, amid 
the flying bullets of the British, to Needham (now 
Wellesley Falls), where his descendants have to this 
day continued to live. He was a gentleman of the 
old school, given to hospitality, active in town and 
church affairs, faithful to the many trusts committed 





NORWOOD. 


495 








to his care, a Unitarian in religion, and a Federalist ‘‘ Great and General Court” were presented by John 


in his politics. 


His only grandson, Charles Benjamin Slack, son of | 


Thomas W. Slack, served in the Union army in the 
civil war, was first lieutenant in the Thirteenth Mas- 


sachusetts Battery, Capt. Nims, was at the siege of | 


Port Hudson, under Gen. Banks, and was wounded 
at Shreveport, in the Red River campaign. 

The children of Judge White are George Rantoul 
White (Harvard College, 1886), Mary Hawthorne 
White, Edward Noyes White. 





CHAPTER, X XX PX. 


NORWOOD. 


BY FRANCIS TINKER, 


THE town of Norwood was originally the South or 
Second Precinct of Dedham. The Neponset River 
forms its eastern boundary, and from its broad mead- 
ows the land gently rises towards the west and north- 
west, forming a warm and sunny slope, which is dec- 
orated with tasteful and pleasant homes ; with church 
spires, and turrets from the more stately mansions, 
rising above the leafy canopy, presents to the eye of 
the beholder a panorama of quiet peace and beauty ; 


Everett and others, of Stoughton, and Joseph Smith 
and others, of Dedham, Dec. 23, 1726, and referred 
to a committee. The same bounds were described in 
these petitions as were subsequently granted. Orders 
of notice were served upon the towns mentioned ; but 
remonstrance was made, and these petitions were dis- 
missed. The next is a petition of Joseph Ellis and 
others, stating the great difficulties under which they 
labor in being so far from church, and that they have 


applied to the town for their consent to be set off as 


a distinct precinct, or that the meeting-house be moved 
nearer to the centre of the town, which they have 
refused to grant; and praying that a committee might 
be appointed by the court to consider their circum- 
stances. This petition was referred to the next Gen- 
eral Court, and Messrs. Peabody and Brown, with 
such as the honorable board shall appoint, were con- 
stituted a committee at the charge of the petitioners, 
to repair to the northerly part of the town of Dedham 
and view the same, and report to this court on Tues- 
day the fifth day of December next. On this petition, 
entered July 4, 1727, they report,— 

“That the Committee appointed by the Great and General 
Court, to take into consideration the circumstances of the Town 


| of Dedham, and the petition of the southerly part of the said 


while the mind naturally turns back and asks who | 


first smoothed these pleasant fields, and caused the 
“‘ wilderness to blossom as the rose?” and the feeling 
springs up that the unrecorded history of one’s town 
is like the unmarked graves of parents, evidences both 
the want of a proper respect and filial gratitude 
towards those who have gone before, and who may 
have sowed in tears where we reap in joy; and if I 
can but succeed in recalling the names of those who 
acted so well their part, who aided, however humbly, 
in laying the foundation of our civil and religious 
institutions, or rescue from oblivion the memory of 
even one who gave his life for his country, I shall 
feel amply rewarded. Whose axe first broke the still- 
ness of the forests, or from whose humble cabin the 


smoke first rose and curled, it may be impossible to | 


tell; and if I should attempt to enter this field of 
inquiry, I might trespass upon what perhaps right- 
fully belongs to another,’ and will pass directly to the 
first attempts made to secure the organization of a 
precinct, in order to erect a meeting-house for the 
public worship of God. The first petitions to the 





1 Mr. Worthington, who writes the history of Dedham. 


Town, having attended the said service, report as follows: That 
viewing the situation, and considering the circumstances, are 
of opinion that it will be inconvenient to grant the prayer of 
the petition at present; but for as much as it appears to the 
Committee that the major part of the petitioners labor under 
great difficulties in the winter season, in attending the Public 
Worship of God, by reason of their distance from the Meeting- 
House, the Committee propose that the Public Worship of God 
be performed by a Minister, to be provided by the petitioners, 
in some private house, as near the center as may be, for five 
months in the year, viz., November, December, January, Feb- 
ruary, and March, and that there be allowed thirty shillings per 
Sabbath for the said service, the charge to be borne by the whole 
Town, and to continue until the further order of the Court, all 
of which is humbly submitted by order of the Committee. In 
Council accepted, in the House concurred in, and consented to 
by the Governor.” 


From the records of the General Court it appears 
that sundry other petitions were received from John 
Everett, of Stoughton, Joseph Smith, John Guild, 
Samuel Everett, Samuel Bullard, James Fales, and 
Ebenezer Healy, of Dedham, and a committee ap- 
pointed to report at the next session of the court, on 
what they think proper for the court to do in this 
whole affair. Nov. 19, 1729, the committee made 


the following report through their chairman, the Hon. 
William Dudley : 


“The Committee appointed by this Court to take under con- 
sideration the several petitions (before referred to), and having 


| been at ye Town of Dedham and Stoughton, and heard what 


ye several Parties had to say, as well as view the circumstances 


496 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 











of ye inhabitants, and their situation, Humbly report on ye | meetings of the precinct. Nov. 9, 1730, fifty pounds 


whole their opinion as follows, viz.: that all that part of 
Stoughton lying on ye westward of Neponset River, and to the 
Northward of Traphole Brook, to Walpole line, be added to, 
and incorporated into the Town of Dedham, with all ye inhab- 
itants, which with the Southern part of Dedham, we humbly 
are of opinion, be made into a distinct Township, the boundaries 
of ye whole to be as follows: beginning at a place called Pur- 


gatory, on Neponset River, where it may most conveniently | p 
_to procure an “orthodox minister to preach the 


take ye house and home lot of Josiah Fisher, Jr.; from thence 
to a place called the Cross ways, taking in ye house and home 
lot of John Hause; from thence so as to take in ye house and 


home lot of Lusher Gay; from thence so as to take in ye house |, ; ; F - 
fe it was “ voted to build a Meeting-House for ye Public 


and home lot of John Baker; from thence to the line for the 
Precinct, at Springfield (now Dover), so as to take in the house 
and home lot of Amos Fisher; thence by ye said line to Bub- 
bling Brook; and from thence to Walpole line; and by ye said 


line to Traphole Brook; and by ye said Brook to Neponset | 


River; and by ye same to ye first mentioned station, and that 


ye petitioners have leave to bring in a bill accordingly. And 


whereas there has been, and still remains an unhappy difference 


among the inhabitants about placing a Meeting-House for the | 


Public Worship of God, it is therefore humbly proposed that 
the said House may be ordered in such place and time as a Com- 
mittee of this court shall appoint, so as to accommodate the in- 
habitants of Dedham, or of all the inhabitants of this proposed 
Town, and the Committee propose that the Western part of Ded- 
ham be set off by that Town for a Precinct, to be confirmed ac- 
cordingly, and that the inhabitants thereof be allowed to con- 
gregate, as now they do, till the further order of this court, 
Provided, they do their proportion of the charge of supporting 
a minister where they leave.” 


| gospel.” 


were raised and appropriated to secure a preacher for 
six months,—three months to be at the house of 
John Hllis,' and three months at the house of Na- 
thaniel Guild, if it can be obtained ; if not, the entire 
time at the house of John Ellis. Joseph Ellis ‘and 
John Dean were chosen a committee, and instructed 


Ebenezer Dean was chosen treasurer, and 


Samuel Holmes, collector. At this second meeting 


Worship of God in this Precinct; to be forty feet 





in length and thirty-six in width, and erected at the 
centre of the Precinct; and Ebenezer Dean, Joseph 
Ellis, William Everett, Nathaniel Guild, and Ebenezer 
Healy were constituted a building committee, and 
instructed to procure a frame fit to set up, or raise,” 
and one hundred pounds were granted for that pur- 
pose.» Jan. 20, 1731, chose Joseph Ellis* and Sam- 
uel Bullard a committee to procure a sworn surveyor 


to find the centre of the precinct. Ebenezer Dean was 


This report was accepted, and ordered that Edmund © 


Quincy, Esq., and such of the House of Representa- | 
tives shall appoint, be a committee for placing the | 


meeting-house of the proposed town. 


“Tn Council October 3, 1730, Read and ordered that the 


Prayer of this petition be so far granted, as that the South-. 


westerly part of the Town of Dedham, together with the | 
westerly part of ye Town of Stoughton, according to the | 


Bounds expressed in the Report of a Committee of this Court, 
in December last, be erected into a township, and that the Pe- 
Sent down for concurrence. 

“J. WILLARD, Secretary. 
“In the House of Representatives, October 8, 1730. 


“Read and concurred with the amendment, striking out 


titioners bring in a bill. 


Town, and inserting Precinct. Sent up for concurrence. 
“J. Quincy, Speaker. 
“Tn council, October 8, 1730. 
“Read and Concurred. 
“J. WILLARD, Sec. 
“Oct. 8, 1730, consented to. 
“J. BELCHER.” 


By an additional act John Everett, “a principal 
inhabitant,” was authorized to call the first “‘ meeting 
of ye Precinct,” and he served his warrant on each 
person qualified to vote, requiring them in his Ma- 
jesty’s name, to assemble at the house of John Ellis, 
Oct. 22 At that 


“4, 


1730, to choose precinct officers. 


selected to hold the box on Sabbath days, so that any 
one might have a chance to contribute something for 
the support of the gospel, and if one chose, he could 
write on a slip of paper the amount he would give, 
with his name, and pay the same some other time, 
and have it “allowed on his Precinct rate.” The 
time for holding their annual meeting for the choice 
of officers was fixed for the secoud Monday in March, 
and has been continued to the present time. May 
31, 1731, “ the Precinct being regularly assembled at 
the house of John Ellis,’ John Everett was chosen 
moderator, and then “it was put to vote to see if it 
be ye mind of ye Precinct to have a loving and 
friendly conference together; passed in the affirma- 
tive period June ye 7th.” It was voted to leave the 
placing of a meeting-house for this precinct to a com- 
mittee of the General Court, and instructed William 


Bullard and John Everett “to address the General 
Court, and Petition for a Committee to place ye 


| Meeting-House for this Precinct 


” 
. 


In answer to the 
petition presented by the gentlemen named, a com- 
mittee from the General Court visited the precinct, 


_ and reported through their chairman, the Hon. Joseph 


meeting John Kverett was chosen moderator; James | 
Fales, Jr., clerk; John Everett, James Fales, Jr., 
Ebenezer Healy, assessors, and instructed to call the | 


Wadsworth, of the council : 


“The committee that was appointed at this session of the 
General Court, on the 11th day of this June, to repair to the 
precinct set off some time the last year from Dedham and 
Stoughton, to view and consider the situation and circumstances 


1 John Ellis is said to have lived near or on the place where 
Newton and David Ellis now live. 

2 Joseph Ellis lived near or on the spot where James Ellis’ 
house stands. 











NORWOOD. 


497 





thereof, and report what may be proper to be done, do report 
as follows, viz.: That we have viewed the precinct, considered 
the circumstances of the land, and heard the pleas and allega- 
tions of the people, and find them very unsatisfied among them- 
selves as to a place for the meeting-house to stand on. Then 
nominated four places several, or separate each from the other, 
on which, as to ourselves, we would report on any of them. 
But to make them unite if possible, desired that they would 
fix on that particular spot of the four, they liked best, on 
which they called a Precinct meeting, and on the 21st of this 
June, 1731, voted that it was the mind of the Precinct to fix 
the meeting-house on the south end of the common land lying 
between John Cobb’s and Dr. Richards; and we considering 
the circumstances of the whole, as to highways, Judge the 
Southermost part of said Common Land, that is, that part of it 
as may be convenient for the Building and accommodation for 
the Meeting-House itself, is the best place to set it on; all of 
which is humbly submitted. 
“JosepH Wapsworra,! in name of the Committee. 


“Tn Council read and ordered, That this report be accepted, | 
| building a meeting-house on the common land near 


and that the Meeting-House in the New Precinct in Dedham 
and Stoughton be placed accordingly, and the amount of the 
Committee’s time and expense, amounting to the sum of four 
pounds four shillings be allowed; and be paid by the said Pre- 
cinct to the Committee. 

“Tn the House of Representatives read and concurred. 

“ Consented to J. BeLcHER, Governor.” 


Representative this year from Dedham, Joseph 


Ellis; Representative this year from Stoughton, | 


Moses Gill. 

From the records of the meeting held June 21st, 
to which reference is made by the Committee of 
the General Court, it appears the places they selected 
were Qnion’s Knoll, Onion’s Bars,’ the rye field so 
called, and the south end of the common land, near 
the house of Dr. Richards. This spot they selected 
as the least objectionable of the four, either of which 
would take the majority of the inhabitants of the 
precinct nearly half a mile beyond the unfinished 
house which was erected at a vote passed at the sec- 
ond meeting of the precint, ordering it to be placed 
at the centre of the precint, as ascertained by a sworn 
surveyor, and for which one hundred pounds were 


| 





| sented to, 


granted July 14th, twenty-one days later, they vote | 


near the land of Dr. Richards, “and it was put to 
vote; if it be the mind of the Precinct to grant a 


sum of money to defray the charge of ye Committee | 
| to answer the Petitions of the Clapboard-tree People. 
| swer to the Northerly Petitioners the Court Say That Joseph 


, Bn : 5 A. ; 
in the negative; at this meeting they aoe refused ; Ellis and others, with the two Fishers, and Aaron Ellis with 


lately with us from the General Court, and it passed 


to grant any money to build a meeting-house on the 
place ordered by the General Court, and confirmed 
the same again September 3d. During this year the 


1 Benjamin Bird and John Jacob, ‘‘ Committee on the part of 
the house.” 
2 The rye field was owned by John Gay. 
32 


precinct was convened twelve times, and a house for 
the public worship of God was the burden of their 
thoughts. A meeting, March 10, 1732, opened with 
a proposition ‘to support preaching by contribution 
till the Precinct were better agreed,’ which was 
rejected, and December 5th, one hundred and twenty 
pounds were granted ‘to support preaching six 
months in a house erected near Joseph Ellis,® and 
no longer, and then six months at the house near 
Benjamin Fairbanks. This was called the centre 
meeting-house, and was erected upon the spot ordered 
at the second meeting of the precinct, in 1730. Feb. 
26, 1733, William Bullard, William Everett, Ebene- 
zer Dean, Ebenezer Healy, and James Fales, Jr., 


_ were chosen a committee, and instructed to petition 


the General Court to reverse their former order for 


the house of John Cobb, and to establish ye place ac- 
cording to the vote of the precinct, and to order the 
three hundred pounds already granted, to be laid out 
on the said centre meeting-house. This called forth 
the following order from the General Court, on the 


_ petition of Joseph Ellis and others from the northerly 


part of the precinct, presented April 13, 1734: 


“Ordered,” on the said Petition, ‘That the prayer of the 
Petition be so far granted, as that the Inhabitants of the Pre- 
cinct within-mentioned, do within the space of twelve months 
from the date hereof, erect and finish a Meeting-House at the 
place stated by a committee of this Court, the 24th day of June, 
1731, the Petitioners with their Estates be hereby, and are 
set off from said Precinct, and again laid to the first Precinct, 
in the Town of Dedham, whereunto they originally belonged; 
in the House of Representatives Read: and concurred. Con- 
J. Belcher, Gov.” Three other Petitions were 
presented to the General Court by Joseph Ellis and his Friends, 
enumerating their grievances, and the determination of the In- 
habitants not to depart from the place first marked out by the 
surveyor as the Centre of the Precinct; and the controversy 
was only closed by the Precinct Petitioning the General Court 
for a ‘‘ Committee to come and view the situation, and circum- 
stances of the Precinct, and more especially of the Northerly 
Petitioners, and to set off to the old Precinct in Dedham, as 
many of said northerly Petitioners as upon their view they 


they will not grant money to build a meetine-house | shall judge most for ye peace and advantage of both Precincts, 


and the Honorable support of ye gospelin them; and to Statea 
place for a Meeting-House for the remaining Precinct; and 
Ebenezer Dean, William Everett, William Bullard, and James 
Fales were appointed a Committee to manage the affairs, and 


In an- 


their Estates, be laid back tothe Old Precinct; the others to re- 
main in the South Precinct.” In response to the Committee 
from the Precinct the Committee from the General Court Re- 
port, “ Having naturally considered the same, as well as that 





== 
3 A frame had been erected between the house of Jonathan 
Onion and Joseph Ellis and covered with boards but never fin- 
ished till after the division of the precinct. 


498 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





of the other Inhabitants that are gone from said Precinct are of 


opinion that the place for a Precinct Meeting House be between | 


the Houses of Ebenezer Dean and Nathaniel Guild, on the 


Northwest side of the way to Walpole, about nine rods from | 


said Guild’s fence, in the quarter of an acre of land given and 
granted to the Said Precinct, by the said Dean, under his hand 
and seal acknowledged, as may appear; all of which is sub- 
mitted by the order of the Committee. SaMuEL THAXTER. 
“Tn Council read and accepted. 
“Tn the House of Representatives read and concurred. 
J. Beicuer, Governor.’ 


“ Consented to, / 


Sept. 12, 1734, the precinct instructed William 
Bullard and Ebenezer Dean to petition the General 
Court ‘ for liberty to rate all the meadows which lie 





in Stoughton, but are within the bounds of the South | 


Precinct in Dedham. 
Thaxter, from the committee, reported that having 


considered the within petition, are of opinion that the 


On this petition, Samuel | 


meadow and other lands lying in the South Precinct, , 


and which is in that part thereof, which was and now 
is Stoughton, be liable to pay their just proportion of 


all precinct rates, also all the owners of those lands | 


that live in, and may be inhabitants of, Dedham, 
which report was accepted by the Council and House 
of Representatives, and approved by the Governor. 
It is a matter of record that during this long and 
perplexing controversy, the southerly part of the pre- 
cinct never for once asked their brethren from the 
northerly part to even cross the centre of the precinct. 


The number of persons taxed by the town in 1736, | Walpole, assisted on the occasion, and the church was 


two years later, in the Second or South Precinct was 
seventy-eight, and in the Third, or Clapboard-tree, 
fifty-two. 

Jan. 4, 1735, the. precinct ‘ voted to build a meet- 
ing-house on the land formerly Ebenezer Dean’s, 
which is the place a committee of the Great and Gen- 
eral Court has ordered a meeting-house to be erected” 
for said precinct ; and John Everett, William Bacon, 
John Dean, and Daniel Draper were constituted a 
committee to carry the above vote into effect, and the 
balance of the one hundred pounds granted Nov. 9, 
1730, were appropriated for that purpose. February 
6th a further grant of one hundred and fifty pounds 
was made, and Nathaniel Lewis and John Farrington 
September 11th, voted 
“to give a minister a call to settle with them,” and 


were added to the committee. 


agreed to hear three gentlemen in order to come to 
a choice, namely, Mr. Balch, Mr. Loring, and Mr. 
Skinner. 


Thomas Balch for their pastor and teacher, and 


February 9th, made choice of the Rev. 


granted him as a settlement two hundred pounds, and 
an annual salary of one hundred and twenty pounds, 
and sixteen cords of wood, so long as’ he should con- 
tinue with them in the gospel ministry. 
Draper, Nathaniel Colburn, Richard Ellis, Ebenezer 


Kingsbury, Daniel Draper, Jr., Timothy Draper, 
Hugh Dixon, and William Clark entered their protest 
‘“‘because they have a petition in the General Court 
in hopes to be released from the precinct. On this 
petition, which was entered Jan. 16, 1735, and on 
March 26, 1736, the General Court passed the follow- 
ing order: 

“That the petitioners with theiv estates, from and after the 
term of three years from this time, be and hereby are dismissed 
from the South Precinct and are annexed to their neighbors at 
the Clapboard-tree, and pay charges there. John Cobb, William 
Bullard, Nathaniel Lewis, Samuel Farrington, who belong to 
the South Precinct, are still to be continued to do duty and re- 
ceive privilege with them as heretofore. The obligation to 


Draper continued. “Josr4H WILDER, 
“For the Committee.’’! 


April 25th, an affirmative answer was received from 
Mr. Balch, and June 2d, “agreed to keep a day of 
fasting and prayer, in order to have an ordination, 
and granted twenty pounds to meet the expenses of 
A committee was chosen to procure min- 
isters to carry on the work of the day,’’ also a com- 


the same. 


| mittee to issue letters missive convening an ordaining 


council, and provide entertainment for the same. In 
compliance with the foregoing vote, June 23d was 
solemnly observed as a day of fasting and prayer. 
The Rev. Messrs. Dexter, of Dedham, Cotton, of 
Providence, Dunbar, of Stoughton, and Payson, of 


organized and a covenant adopted which remains to 
_ the present day. 


“Jan. ye 9,1738. By an act of the General Court, Capt. 
Ezra Morse and his sons, Ezra, Jr. and Joseph, with their 
estates, were set off from Walpole and annexed to Dedham, and 


tothe Second Precinct. Also that part of Stoughton which 


| was within the limits of the South Precinct is annexed to Ded- 


called upon to furnish five hundred troops. 


Daniel | 


ham, and the Neponset River is made the dividing line between 
the towns of Dedham and Stoughton. ‘The original line being 
about one mile west of that river; and a few years later a con- 
siderable portion of the estate of Nathaniel Summer, Esq., 
was set off from Sharon and annexed to Dedham to do duty and 
1740, at the annual 


meeting voted to build a school-house twenty-one feet in length, 


enjoy privileges with the second precinct. 


and seventeen in breadth, near the house or frame of James 
Thorp, on the southwesterly side of the same; and forty pounds 
were appropriated for that purpose. 

‘In 1740 the British Government fitted out an expedition 
against the Spanish West India Islands, and Massachusetts was 
Samuel Haven, 
Esq., in the second Centennial address at Dedham, tells us that 
‘six men from the south parish in Dedham alone, of this town 
The names of only two 
have been preserved, Eleazer Farrington and Walter Hixon.” 


were among those that perished.’ ” 


1Tt appears that another petition, presented by a Mr. Byfield 
Lynde, was dismissed. 

* Holmes, in his Annals, says the sickness seems to have been 
almost as mortal as the plague; of the five hundred only fifty 


ever returned, 








NORWOOD. 


499 





| 
June 2, 1744, war, which had previously broken out 


between England and France, was proclaimed in 
Boston. Jan. 26, 1745, the General Court, after de- 
bating the subject all day, approved of the expedition 
against Louisburg, on the island of Cape Breton, as 
planned by Governor Shirley ; and Col. William Pep- 
perell, of Kittery, Me., then a part of Massachusetts, 
was appointed to the command. Says the Rev. 
Thomas Balch, pastor of this church, ‘“‘ Having an 
inclination, and being desired by the Committee 
of War, to attend the army as one of the chap- 
lains in the expedition against Cape Breton, I 
accordingly obtained the consent of my people on 
March 11, 1745, and on the 13th took my leave of 
my family and people. 
at Canso, on the 2d day of April, sailed from Canso 
to Cape Breton, on April 29th, entered into Chap- 
eaurouge Bay the next morning, and soon after went 
onshore. The siege of Louisburg continued until 


June 17th, on which day we entered and took posses- | 


sion of that strong and important place, upon terms 
of capitulation. 
land July 11th. Arrived in safety at Boston on the 
27th of said month, 1745, Laus Deo.”! 

Rev. Benjamin Balch acted as chaplain in our small 
navy, at some time during the same war. 


pedition, for we find that Capt. Hleazer Fisher’ died at 
Boston, on his way home, and was buried there. 

Lieut. Ebenezer Sumner died soon after his return, 
aged twenty-three years. 
brother-in-law, and a young man of much promise. 
John Thorp lived to reach Boston, and died there. 
Nathaniel Coney, aged forty years, and Samuel Thorp, 
aged thirty-three years, died at Cape Breton. Hugh 
Delap, a skillful gunner and engineer, was killed at the 
siege, by the bursting of a cannon. 
of this precinct returned, also Samuel and William 
Wetherbee’s names are given by Mrs. Ellis as mem- 
bers of this expedition. 

Sir William in one of his letters to Governor 
Shirley says two men were killed by the bursting of 
a forty-two-pounder, and one wounded. 

The success which crowned the enterprise was pur- 


10f Mr. Balch’s three sons, two died in the service of their 
country,—-Thomas (1), aged eighteen years, at Albany, in the 
first campaign against Crown Point. Thomas (2), n 
memory of his brother, was taken prisoner while serving on 
one of our war vessels during the Revolution, carried to Hali- 
fax, and died there. 

? Capt. Fisher was one of the fifteen original members of the 
church, and precinct clerk at the time of his decease. 


Arrived in safety and health | 


chased at a fearful loss of life ; six worthy citizens from 
this little community fell victims to the hardships and 
privations they were forced to endure. 

In 1743, from a contribution made by sundry indi- 
viduals a lot of land was purchased of Mr. David 
Fales for the use of the precinct. In 1745 voted to 
take down the hindermost body seats, in order to ac- 


_ commodate the women that bring children to meeting. 


November of this year chose Nathaniel Sumner pre- 
cinct clerk, and assessor in place of Capt. Eleazer 
Fisher, who died in Boston, on his way home from 


Cape Breton. In 1751 twelve persons were chosen 


to oversee the boys on the Lord’s day, * and their 





Sailed from Louisburg for New Eng- | 


official acts must have met with an approval, for the 
same number were chosen for four succeeding years. 

Again the sound of war is heard in our little com- 
munity, the hosts of England and France are con- 
tending for the supremacy in North America. Mas- 
sachusetts, ever faithful to the mother-country, calls 
her sons to arms, and Capt. Eliphalet Fales with his 
company treads his way through the wilderness to the 
shores of Lake George, with First Sergt. Moses 
Fisher, Corp. Benjamin Holden, William Woodcock, 
John Hawse, John Scott, Ebenezer Everett, 
David Fairbanks from the South Precinct ; 


and 
Sergt. 


| Timothy Ellis, Samuel Richards, and five others 
Quite a number of Mr. Balch’s parishioners (if not 
a company) must have accompanied him in this ex- | 


Mr. Balch says he was his | 


| 


Michael Bright 


from Dedham; Lieut. Ephraim Wesson and eleven 
men from Groton; clerk, from Little- 

n; Samuel Boyden, drummer, and three men from 
Medfield; three from Walpole ; 
two of whom were negro servants, and Samuel Pogent, 
an Indian, from Natick. Capt. Fales’ enlistment dates 
April 5, 1745, and his term of service was thirty-nine 
weeks and three days. The Massachusetts troops were 
placed under the command of Gen. William Johnson, 
of New York, and were engaged in the bloody battles 
of September 8th, in which the French under Baron 
Dieskau were defeated, and their commander mortally 
Of Capt. Fales’ com- 
pany First Sergt. Moses Fisher and John Scott from 


James Fales, 


four from Boston, 


wounded and taken prisoner. 


our little community and Isaac Patch, Joseph Rich- 


named in | 


ards, and Nathaniel Pollard from Groton were killed.* 

Before taking leave of Capt. Fales, allow me to 
copy the following, showing the care with which 
things were i See in those days: 





° “ Hutchinson’s Hsiao 


Second Period,” 


’ vol. ii. chap. iv.; Barry’s “ 
chusetts 
page 77. 

4 Three battles were fought that day between the trained 


chap. vi.; “ Parish Records,” vol. i. 


troops of France and their Indian allies on one side and the 
men of New England and New York, who had left their har- 
Four hundred of their number had 
fallen, but they were victors. Not a British soldier or officer 


vest to become soldiers. 


| was present. 


500 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





“Province oF MAssACHUSETTS Bay 
“To Exvirpnater Fares, Dr. 


6 Ror 4 Fire arms Lost in Battle, 2 Lh................008. £8. 
“ Namely, Sargent Moses Fisher, John Scott, Joseph 
Richardson, Isaac Patch. 
“The above mentioned lost their blankets. 
“ Also Timothy Callahan, 
“Timothy Hillis, 6 im all, U2. .......0.coseseecensse 38. 12d 
“ 1 Gun Lost by Nicholas Halsey.........0..s0000 2 
“To my Subsistence while making up my Muster 
Roll, 15 days 1/6...... SCO Sn06d6 cscococeecddouond acuGonKG Me Py 1G) 
“For 2 Days Travel from Dedham to Boston to 
make up the Rolls, 48......ccccsesressvescssee seveees *. 8 
£15 2 6 
‘“HLIPHALET FALES. 


“Surrouk, ss. Boston, March 3,1756. The within named 


Capt. Elephalet Fales appearing before me the subscriber and 
made oath to the truth of the within muster Roll. 
“Samwven Miuuer, Justice of the Peace.” } 


From Capt. William Bacon’s* muster-roll, made Oct. 
11, 1756, by the muster master-general of the pro- 
vincial army, we copy the following in order that we 
may see through what fearful trials the blessings we 
We can trace their toilsome 
march even now by the trail of the sick and de- 
parted ones. At the date of this return two had 
fallen in battle or been taken prisoners, namely, Jo- 


enjoy were secured. 


siah Lyon and Kbenezer Pratt ; 
George Cleveland, William Smith, Benjamin Leidiot, 
Joseph Ephraim, Hosea Abraham ; and twenty-three 
were sick, and from these we must add to the fatal 
roll Thomas Balch, son of the Rev. Thomas Balch, 
who died at Albany; Solomon Bullard, at Leicester, 
on his return; Timothy Lewis, at Lake George ; 
John Woodcock, at Fort Edward; Joseph Lyon, ser- 


geant, at Stillwater; William Lewis and Joseph 
Whittemore,’ at Albany. June 22, 1759, Hleazer 


Everett died at- Fort Cumberland; Nov. 20, 1760, 
Simon Pittee, on his return from Crown Point ; and 
December 10th, James Weatherbee, soon after his 
return from Montreal.* Other soldiers were un- 
doubtedly drawn from our precinct, but I have not 
succeeded in securing their names. 

With the conquest of Canada the lilies of France 
disappeared, and peace and prosperity returned to the 
colonies. 


March 9, 1758, chose Ebenezer Dean, Jr., Lieut. 


Fales, Benjamin Fuller, and Aaron Guild to set the | sites that were reported, and it was not till March 25, 


1 This was attached to the muster-roll. 
2 Capt. William Bacon was one of the fifteen original mem- 


bers who formed the church in this place, and probably never | 


fully recovered from the sickness contracted in this campaign. 
Died May 21, 1761, in the forty-fifth year of his age. Capt. 
Bacon’s company was mostly from the towns of Dedham, Rox- 
bury, and Walpole. 

3 These last seven were Mr. Balch’s parishioners. 

4 The last three were in the second expedition against Crown 
Point. 


six had died,— | 


- | “voted ten choiresters to lead 


| added” to the musical number. 





| Psalms, and “ voted that all the school money should 
be laid out in women schooling.” 1762, March 4th, 
“voted to build a new meeting-house, and chose a 
committee of twelve to select a suitable place, and 
report at some future meeting.” March 14, 1763, 
in the singing the 
Psalms on the Lord’s day; and in order to prevent 
discord and secure harmony, nine more by vote were 
1763 the bounds 
between the two parishes were renewed and defined as 
follows : 

“The line beginning from ye center® between ye meeting 
Houses; then runs North 50 degrees East to the place where 


the House of Ebenezer Ellis stood ; 
gree west to the Cross ways. 


from thence North one de- 
The distance between ye meeting 
Houses is one and a half mile and thirty three rods. 
“EBENEZER EVERETT, 
“ HLIPHALET FALES, 
“ Committee of the South Precinct. 
“Tsaac WHITING, 
“ToHapop Gay, 
“ Committee of the Clapboard-Tree.” 


And between the First Precinct in Dedham, 1767, 
the committee say,— e 


“We began at Purgatory Hole, so called; thence run North- 
westerly to a White Oak tree with stones around it, in land of 
Joseph Wight; thence to a heap of Stones at the Northeasterly 
Corner of Land now belonging to Dea. Wm. Avery; thence 
more northerly to the eastwardly corner of land now belonging 
to Capt. Daniel Gay; thence more westerly to the Cross ways 
near the house of Jeremiah Dean; and are of opinion that said 
line ought to be the dividing line between said Precincts, and 
for the future to be esteemed as such, excepting such lands as 
have since the setting off the South Precinet been by the 
General Court laid to the First Parish in Dedham, which is 
humbly submitted. 

“JonaTHAN Mberca.r, 
“ WILLIAM AVERY, 
“Joun Eaton, 
“ Committee of the First Precinct. 

“ NATHANIEL SUMNER, 
“Davin FIsHErR, 
“BenJAMIN FISHER, 

“ Committee of the Second Precinct.” 


March, 1762, voted to build a meeting-house, and 
chose twelve to select and secure a suitable place to 
erect the same; but objection was made to the several 


5 On the division of the parish the committee of the General 
Court fixed the dividing line midway between the two parishes ; 
then placed the estate of Benjamin Fairbanks which lay en- 





| this Parish aged sixty three years ;” 
5 ~ “ > 


tirely south and east of that line to the West Parish, and he was 
a member of that church; but upon the records connected with 
“December 18, 1757, died 


Mr. Benjamen Fairbanks of Clapboard-tree a constant hearer in 


this church the following occurs: 


and his remains rest in 
the yard his kindness gave to the parish. All his estate lay in 


| this parish. 








NORWOOD. 


501 





1768, that a union of sentiment was secured, where 
we find the following record: 
“Tt is not only a disgrace to this Parish, but a reproach to 


the Christian Religion, to suffer the house of publie worship to 
lie in so ruinous a condition; besides, unless we come into meas- 


| 
| 
| 
| 


ures soon to build one, public worship must soon be laid aside | 


amongst us for want of a place to meet in, as the old meeting- 
house cannot stand long in its present ruinous condition. We 
all readily grant that a better meeting-house is wanted, and ef- 
forts have been made to come into peaceable methods so as to 


_ Rev. Jabez Chickering. 


/ granted as a settlement, and a salary of sixty-six 


build one; but they have proved ineffectual on account of dif- | 


fering sentiments as to the place on which to build it. How- 
ever, we would not altogether give over the matter, being per- 
suaded that a little moderation, candor, and condescension would 
so compromise things as that so good and necessary a work 
might go on. We, therefore, the subscribers, inhabitants on 
the northerly side of Neponset River, will, and do, hereby agree 
that a meeting-house should be erected on the land of the heirs 
of Benjamin Fuller, deceased, at the head of Penniman’s Lane, 
so called, as near the corner of his orchard as the land will allow, 
if our brethren and friends on the southerly side of said river 
will meet us there; and we can go on united in love and peace, 
and we desire that a meeting may be called to see if such a 
union may be effected.’’ This invitation was signed by thirty 
members of the parish, and received the following response 
“We who live on the southerly side of 


said river agree thereto.” 
. 


from fifteen members: 


‘Voted to dig a hole 15 inches deep under every 
Post of the Meeting-House, To which Mr. David 
Fisher desired that his protest might be entered.” 
Nov. 17, 1768, commenced their preparation to build, 
and June 26, 1769, was fixed upon for putting up the 
Each 
person who desired was permitted to furnish his pro- 


frame of the new and second meeting-house. 


portional part of the materials. 
to be split and purchased in Boston. 
adopted “directing the committee to provide a din- 


The clapboards were 
An order was 


March 20, 1774, granted the sum of £73 8s. 6d. 
towards paying the funeral expenses of the Rev. Mr. 
Balch. On the death of Mr. Balch the precinct chose 
John Ellis, David Fisher, and Aaron Guild a com- 
mittee to supply the desk. April 16, 1776, “ voted 
to concur with the church in extending a call to the 
Two hundred pounds were 


pounds, thirteen shillings, and four pence, so long as 
he shall continue to minister to the Precinct, also Fif- 


_ teen Cords of wood, and the use of the Church Meadow? 


ner, and sufficient drink for the men that did the 


work.” 

Jan. 5, 1770, it was “ voted to sell the old meeting- 
house at auction, reserving the right to use the same 
till October 1.” March the 12th, in the disposal of 
the pews of the new church, it was voted, “ to set the 
highest pew at five pounds, lawful money, and then to 
abate one shilling and four pence on every several 
choice, falling one shilling and four pence upon every 
pew till the whole were sold; and that he that was 
highest on the rate should have his first choice, and 
that every one should have his choice according to 
the tax he paid.” And thus the fathers in their time 


dignified the pews. From the records of the many 


following years it appears that they walked together in | 


peace and harmony to the house of God; the deacons 


still reading the hymns,’ and “ Bangor” sung as it | 


hath hitherto been, by continuing the bass. 





1 Feb. 17, 1771, we find the following in the warrant for the 
precinct meeting: 


given by Dea. Ezra Morse.” 

We will now for a moment turn to the opening 
scenes of the Revolutionary war, to Samuel Adams’ 
‘“ever-glorious morning,” and repeat the roll-call of 
our little band who hurried towards the scene of 
action on the 19th of April, 1775: 


Capt. William Bullard. 

Ist Lieut. John Morse. 

2d Lieut. Nathaniel Lewis. 
Ensign Ebenezer Everett. 
Sergt. Asa Everett. 


Sergt. Jeremiah Kingsbury. 


Sergt. Ichabod Gay. 
Sergt. John Andrews. 
Corp. David Andrews. 
Corp. Benjamin Dean. 
Fifer Eliphalet Rhoads. 


Drummer Benjamin Fisher. 


Nathaniel Dean. 
Jonathan Dean. 
Jacob Penniman. 
Seth Fuller. 
Robert Little. 
Josiah Everett. 
Samuel Farrington. 
Phillip Cobbet. 
William Savel. 
Eleazer Rhoads. 
Silas Morse. 
Jesse Gay. 
William Coney. 
Daniel Colburn. 
Luther Bullard. 
Joseph Sumner. 
Jabez Holmes. 
Moses Guild. 


Eliphalet Fisher. 
Abel Everett. 
Abner Fisher. 
Jason Fuller. 
Nathaniel Sumner, Jr. 
Daniel Fairbanks. 
Nathan Clarke. 
Seth Morse. 

Enoch Talbot. 

Seth Farrington, Jr. 
William Everett. 
Moses Fisher. 
Benjamin Herring. 
William Kendall. 
Jacob Cleveland. 
John Dean, Jr. 
Timothy Lewis. 
Jesse Kingsbury. 
Thomas White. 
Benjamin Lewis. 
Archalus Clark. 
John Smith. 
Benjamin Felt. 
Samuel Clark. 
Edward Bullard. 
Jacob Smith. 
Ithamer Farringion. 
William Lewis, Jr. 
Robert Little. 


(Signed) Wiriiam Buiiarp, Captain. 
Their term of service was short, varying from two to twelve 


days. 





“Art. 6. To see if the Precinct will cause the practice of read- 
ing the Psalms in the Public Worship by the Deacons to be dis- 
continued, and will vote to provide books for themselves that so 
that part of Divine service may be performed in a more manly 
| and rational manner for the future. Dismissed from the war- 
rant by vote. 

“Art. 8. To see if the Parish would have Bangor sung as it 
hath hitherto been. Passed in the affirmative.” 

2 Forty pounds were granted to pay for the expense of the 
ordination and for the five guns bought for the parish, and 
' July 3d was appointed for his ordination. 


502 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


° 





<“ MIppLESEX, ss., Jan. 2, 1776. 


“ William Bullard, within named, appeared personally, made 
solemn oath that the within pay-roll, by him subscribed, was, 
according to his best knowledge and judgment, just and true. 

“ Before Henry GARDNER, 

“Justice of the Peace. 


in the Continental army.' 





“xamined and compared with the original. 
“ JostAH JOHNSON, 
“Jonas Dix, 


“ Committee. 


“Tn Council, March 27th, 1776, Read and allowed, and | 
there upon ordered that a warrant be drawn on the Treasurer | 
for 44 pounds 12 shillings and 8 pence, and three farthings, in | 
full discharge of the within roll. 

“Perez Morton, Dep’t Sec’y.” 


There were others from this parish who hurried 
forward. Mr. Israel Everett, who lived where Mr. 
Rooney now lives, and in memory of whom Everett 
Street was named, was wounded, but the names are 
so similar in the several parishes of the town I shall 
only give the names of some few, of whose residence — 


there is no doubt, leaving the remainder for some 
In Capt. Joseph Guild’s company, First 
Parish, in the Northern campaign of 1775 and 1776, 
we find three sons of Zebediah Clark (Archelus and — 
Samuel, who died at or near Ticonderoga), Robert | 
Little and Benjamin Fisher, Jr. (who died at the | 
same place), Daniel Clark, Sergt. Eliphalet Thorp, | 
Edward Bullard, Ebenezer Sumner, John Smith, | 
Aaron Guild, John Rugles, Abner Pettee, John | 
Smith. In Capt. John Gay’s company, from the | 
West Parish, occur the names of Sergt. William 
Everett, Silas Everett, Hezekiah 
Turner. Of Capt. Aaron Guild’s company of three 


future time. 





Morse, Josiah 


months’ men a large number were from this parish. 
Some persons made several campaigns, and there is | 
but little doubt that every able-bodied person of | 
suitable age was called upon to do military duty at 
In 
the spring of 1776 two soldiers on the march for | 
New York died, one at Capt. Ebenezer Everett's | 
and one at the house of Mr. Benjamin Fisher. No | 
Peacefully they 


some period during the war of the Revolution. 


record reveals to us their names. 
rest with our honored dead. 

It is hardly possible for us at the present day to 
conceive of the hardships and sufferings the Revolu- 
tionary fathers were called to endure. The province 
tax of the town of Dedham in 1775 was three hun- 
dred and seventy pounds, six shillings, nine pence, 
and one farthing; in 1778, eighteen hundred and 
fifty-seven pounds, thirteen shillings, and ten pence, 
and it was required to be collected and paid into 
the State treasury by the first day of October. In | 
addition to this increased taxation, frequent requi- | 
sitions were made for beef, blankets, shirts, shoes, and | 


stockings, enough at least to supply the town’s quota 
By a vote of the town 
the quota of men from each precinct was to be in 
proportion to the taxes paid by each, and the several 
precincts assumed the business of paying such soldiers 


_as were members of their own body or employed by 
| them.’ 
their quota of men for the Continental service with- 
_ out the town’s bounty or any part of it, their propor-. 


In 1777, the Second Precinct having raised 


tion of the taxes assessed for paying this bounty is 
committed to the constable of that precinct to be dis- 
posed of as the precinct shallsee fit. Butif the pre- 
cinct was prompt in filling its quota, they were most 
negligent in preserving the names of those who took 


their lives in their hands, and went forth to do battle 


for their country.’ On the books of the church we 
find the names of some few who died in the service ; 
but if no other record existed except that preserved in 
the parish, it might truly be said, “ the dead live, and 
the living die.” From a report made by a committee 
constituted in 1787 to examine the accounts of the 
that the 
whole amount committed to Kliphalet Fales was nine 
hundred and thirty-six pounds, twelve shillings, nine 
pence, and three farthings; that the treasurer had 


collector and treasurer of the war rates: 


paid out seven hundred and seventy-two pounds, sev- 
enteen shillings, eight pence, and three farthings. One 
hundred and forty-five pounds, four shillings, and seven 
pence remain in the hands of the treasurer, and one 
hundred and sixty-three pounds, fifteen shillings, and 
one penny uncollected, which they value at seventy- 
Allowing the 
same depreciation as was made by the committee on 


seven pounds and eighteen shillings. 


what was paid by the treasurer, it would not vary 
much from twelve hundred dollars in our present cur- 
rency. When we reflect upon theirscanty means, 
their small numbers,‘ and the greatness of that power 
which they defied, we bow in reverence before their lofty 
heroism and devotion to those great principles which 
they held God had established, and which no human 


legislation had power to abridge or destroy. The 


1 Worthington’s “ History of Dedham,” published in 1827. 

2 Mann’s *‘ Annals of Dedham,” page 54. 

3’ Not a name is recorded of a single soldier, nor the amount 
of bounty paid, or where they went. 

‘ In 1765, by a census recorded by Samuel Dexter, Esq. : 





No. of No. of 
Houses. Inhabitants. 
Hirst uParisbh, srcsdevessveusteeves DO Disess veeccicceosstectoveastnemectoteene 813 
Secord! (Paxrishiowcecdescsccesses AD ccccecsecieecedsusesteceetisveseenes 441% 
Mhird Parish. scdscsccccccseces a} URL redtcctocesdoccslennteasscenscvnqoes 313 
| Fourth Parish—Dover,...c. « 49 ..coccccsisscscsscscovesseesscusase 352 
1919 


* Over ten to each house. 








NORWOOD. 


503 








insurrection in 1787 caused not a ripple here; men | 
who stood with Washington in the trenches around | 


Boston, or trod the frozen snows of Canada, were too 
loyal to revolt against the constituted authorities of 
the State, and promptly responded to the requisition 
upon' Capt. Gay, for twelve men for thirty days, to 
march in midwinter to Worcester, to protect the 
courts and disperse the deluded followers of Capt. 


Daniel Shays. In the division of the school money in | 
1796 we find the following: For the South Branch | 


$52.60 ; tax on dogs,’ $8.00. For the Middle Branch, 
$98.12 ; tax on dogs, $18.00, For the North Branch, 


$15.32; tax on dogs, $2.00 ; so that the taxation of | 


dogs for the instruction of children is no new thing. 


That the parish sought to make the most of what 


means they had may be seen by the following: 
“That the money of the Parish be let out for three 

years, to them that will make the Parish the best 

present on each one hundred dollars; which was 


The 
old meeting-house was taken down and the materials 
used in the construction of the new one. 


meeting-house and were owners of the pews.* 


The pews 
on the lower floor, thirty-three in number, were ap- 
prized at one dollar each, and the sixteen on the 
second floor at seventy-five cents each, amounting to 
forty-five dollars* Mr. Homer Fales was killed by 
the falling of some timbers, and Mr. Leonard Fisher 
was slightly injured, May 14, 1828. Dec. 16, 1829, 
the Rev. William Cogswell, D.D., was dismissed, to 
take the general agency of the American Education 
Society, and the Rev. H. G. Park was ordained the 
next day, and continued the pastor until Sept. 23, 
1835. March 2, 1836, Mr. Calvin Durfee was in- 
stalled, and tendered his resignation Feb. 23, 1851, 


_ which was accepted, and July 15th the pastoral rela- 


done, the bids varying from four dollars and fifty | 


cents to five dollars and twenty-five cents. 

March 12th died the Rev. Jabez Chickering, for 
thirty-six years the pastor and teacher of this parish. 
April 26, 1815, Rev. William Cogswell was ordained 
as his successor. 
new meeting-house, and chose a committee of fifteen 
to select a suitable place to locate the same. At a 
subsequent meeting they reported they could not 
agree. Seven were then chosen, and their report was 
Up to this period their expenses had been 
met by direct taxation upon the polls and estates of 
the members of the parish. They now vote to secure 
the same by subscription. March 28, 1828, thirty- 
five members close their connection with the first so- 


the same. 


March 13, 1826, voted to build a | 


ciety and connect themselves with the religious | 


society called Universalist. 
they renew their vote to build, and again constituted 
a committee of fifteen, who reported that the place 
where the house of Mrs. Abigail Everett stands is the 
most suitable for the said meeting-house, and that the 
land can be obtained at a reasonable price, and that 
individuals agree to clear the land of the buildings 
free of expense to the society,’ which report was ac- 
cepted, and it was voted to build the said house “ by 
a subscription of shares.” The land was valued at 
one hundred and fifty dollars, and the shares, sixty in 


April 25th of this year | 


number, were placed at two dollars and fifty cents | 


each and conveyed by deed to the several proprietors 
jointly, and they were at the expense of erecting the 





1 Jacob Penniman, Jacob Penniman, Jr., and Joel Guild are 
the only names given. 
? By-law of the town, approved by the court. 


tions were closed by a mutual council.’ October 3, 
1851, Rev. M. M. Colburn was installed pastor and 
teacher, and dismissed Aug. 11, 1866. 

Oct. 1, 1866, Rev. Joseph P. Bixby commenced 
his labors as acting pastor. May, 1878, after twelve 
years of active and useful labor, tendered his resigna- 
tion, to take effect in accordance with the terms of the 
contract. 

Rev. Ellis Mendell, the present pastor, was or- 
dained June 4, 1879, and with his society will soon 
take possession of their new and tasteful edifice, 
which is erected on the spot marked out by a com- 
mittee of the ‘Great and General Court” in 1734, 
and where the fathers of the church covenanted to 
walk together in peace and love. Says Mr. Worth- 
ington in his history of Dedham, published in 1827, 
“No church quarrel or discord has been known to 
have existed worthy of notice,” and the same may be 
said of it to-day. 

The Universalist Society.—The petition for its 
incorporation bears date Oct. 8, 1827, and was signed 
by Jeremiah Draper® and thirteen others. On the 





3 March 27, 1882, the parish “ voted to adopt Chapter 15 of the 
acts of the year 1882, and the corporation styled the Proprie- 
tors of the Congregational Meeting-House in the Second Parish 
in Dedham, established by Chapter 24 of the acts of the 
year 1829, is hereby dissolved, and the rights, privileges, and 
property of the proprietors vested in the First Congregational 
Parish in Norwood.” 

+The appraisers were Messrs. George Haws, of Wrentham, 
Gen. Josiah S. Fisher, and John Goulding. of Dedham. 

5 The council say in “ coming to this result, hear with special 
pleasure the testimony of Mr. Durfee to the punctual and gen- 
erous manner in which his salary has generally been paid, we 
wish to commend their fidelity in this respect, and to hold it up 
as an example to others.” 

6 Jeremiah Draper was the son of Dr. Philip and Mehetabel 
Draper, born April 19, 1789; a graduate from Harvard; com- 
missioned a justice of the peace; owned a farm near the Sharon 


504 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





22d, Lewis Rhoads was chosen clerk (which office he 
continued to hold for thirteen years), and Jeremiah 


Draper, Joseph Sumner, and Daniel Stone, commit- | 


tee of the society. 


Thomas Whittemore, then twenty-seven years of age. 


The Rev. J. C. Waldo occupied the desk from March 
30th to July 20th. Says the Rev. Mr. Hill, to whose 


kindness I am indebted for the items connected with | 


his society, we find it entered upon the records: 


Dedham is designed to be a temple for the worship 
of the one living and true God, as the universal 
Parent of mankind, who will have all men to be 
saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” 
June 14, 1830, their meeting-house was dedicated, 
He 
was assisted in the services by the Rev. Messrs. Bal- 


Rey. Thomas Whittemore preaching the sermon. 


lou, Streeter, and Frieze. June 17th, of this year, 
Rey. Alfred V. Bassett was ordained as pastor and 
teacher of the society. He was a young man of fine 
talents and an able preacher. His pastorate was 
closed by death Dec. 26, 1831, and clothed his peo- 
ple in the habiliments of mourning. His successor, 
the Rev. Rufus S. Pope, supplied the desk some 
three years from September, 1833, and left many 


warm friends. His name should be cherished for 


his noble and manly stand in the cause of temperance. | 


It is told that he was the man who opened the crusade 


against intemperance in South Dedham, delivering a _ 


lecture on that subject. 


Says Mr. Hill, “It raised 


such a storm that it blew him out of town;” but unlike 


the tornado, its sweep brought joy and gladness where | 
Messrs. J. D. Pierce and E. | 


Partridge supplied for a time in the interval which | 


sorrow had reigned. 


followed. Rey. Edwin Thompson began his labors 
in 1840. In 1841 he was ordained, and at once 


opened upon the liquor traffic. 


loners sympathized and acted with him. “ He com- 


menced at headquarters, the hotel of Joseph Sumner, 


and continued his persuasive arguments, in which 


Mrs. Sumner joined, and a few others, till Mr. Sum- 


ner finally offered to stop rum-selling forever if any 
one would buy his stock on hand. Mr. Thompson 
was a poor man, receiving but three hundred dollars 
a year, but he bought the liquor, pledging his little 


Mr. 


salary in payment. 


Sumner kept his word, 
line. Joseph Sumner, son of Nathaniel and grandson of Deacon 
Nathaniel Sumner, born April 28, 1797; died Sept. 13, 1877. 
Of Mr. Stone nothing is left on record. 


The first sermon was preached | 
prior to this time in the hall of the hotel by the Rev. | 
_ greatly increased. 
The Rev. Messrs. T. B. Thayer, Hosea Ballou, Bal- | 
four, and Streeter supplied the society occasionally. | 


i 
and entered the Washingtonian movement, and be- 


_ came president of the society in this place.” When 
Mr. Thompson closed his labors here he could look 
back and see that the society had more than doubled 
its numbers during his ministry and its moral power 
His faithful and untiring labors 
in the cause of temperance have made his name an 
honored one, and enrolled him among the benefactors 
of mankind. 





| were chosen deacons. 


Rev. Charles H. Webster was settled June 25, 
1846, and remained four years. Rev. N. C. Hodg- 


don, who came in 1850, remained but a short time. 
| 


“The building this day erected (June 18, 1829) | 
by the Universalist Society in the Second Parish in | 


Rey. Ebenezer Fisher commenced his labors in 1853. 
The five years of his pastorate were periods of special 
enterprise and prosperity. 

In June, 1856, the Universalist Church was organ- 
ized, and J. KE. Hartshorn and Willard Gay, Esq., 
Mr. Fisher resigned his charge 
to accept of a professorship in the Canton Theological 
Seminary, New York. His successor in the ministry, 
Rey. A. R. Abbott, remained two years. Rev. J. H. 
Farnsworth occupied the pulpit for a short time, and 


_ was succeeded by Rev. M. R. Leonard, who was or- 





Two of his parish- | 


dained June 30,1861. Mr. Leonard, was a graduate 
of the first class of the Canton Seminary under the 
charge of Dr. Fisher. 

In 1865 a meeting of the society was called to take 
into consideration the subject of enlarging, selling, or 
building a new meeting-house, and the Hon. Joseph 
Day, George B. Talbot, and Lyman Smith consti- 
tuted a committee to take all legal steps necessary to 
They each 
subscribed two thousand dollars, and others united 


| sell the old house and build a new one. 


with them according to their means, and raised their 
The 


house was completed in less than one year from the 


subscription list to sixteen thousand dollars. 


time the committee received their instructions, and 
dedicated to the worship of God. Mr. Leonard re- 
signed on account of ill health. His successor, the 
Rey. George Hill, was installed February, 1865, and 
for seventeen years ministered to-this people; re- 
signed his charge July, 1881. 

Mr. Hill, at the close of his pastorate, can see his 
society, which less than fifty years ago was few in 
numbers and forced its pastor to depart because he 
| spoke against the greatest moral pestilence that ever 
rested upon this community, now stands forth strong 
in numbers, influence, and power in this noble cause. 

The Rey. Mr. Sellick, the present pastor, com- 
menced his labors in April of 1883. 

The Baptist Society.—The first public meeting of 
the Baptist people was held in Union Hall, Aug. 8, 
| 1858,—sermon by Rev. Joseph B. Breed, of Woon- 











NORWOOD. 


505 





socket, R. I. 
Breed was constituted their pastor according to their 
established usages. Jan. 2, 1859, the record says, 
“ Brother Messer was to-day baptized; this is prob- 


ably the first time that the ordinance of baptism by | 
immersion was ever administered in South Dedham.” | 
| same year. 


Dee. 1, 1859, their church was dedicated. 


Introductory prayer by Rev. M. M. Colburn, of the | 


Congregational Church ; reading of the Scripture by 
Rey. M. Lincoln, of Jamaica Plains; prayer by the 


Rev. J. W. Lothrop, of Medfield; sermon by the | 
ate, and their church edifice was enlarged and rededi- 
B. W. Gardner; reading of a hymn by Rev. J. R. | 


pastor, J. B. Breed; dedicatory prayer by the Rev. 


Abbot, of the Universalist society; benediction by 
the pastor. 

May 4, 1860, Mr. Breed preached his farewell dis- 
course. 
the Rev. James J. Tucker, of Worcester, to become 
their pastor. Sept. 1, 1860, he commenced his labors. 
His health failing, leave of absence was granted him, 
but death closed his pastorate Jan. 13, 1864." 


August 8th an invitation was extended to 


In November of the same year Mr. | early as 1852. 


} 








His successor, the Rey. C. Osburn, of West Troy, | 


N. Y., became pastor March 20, 1864. Aug. 20, 


1865, he tendered his resignation, to take effect the | 


last day of September. 
George G. Fairbanks, of Somerville, occupied the 
pulpit till March 7, 1869, when he was dismissed to 
accept a call from the Baptist Church in Middleboro’, 


where he still officiates. May 3d a call was given 


From Aug. 1, 1866, the Rev. | 


| 


to the Rev. Edwin Bromley, of West Boylston, which | 


was accepted, and he continued pastor until April 6, 
1876, when he was dismissed. 
I. H. Gilbert, of Hyde Park, assumed the duties of 
the pastorate. March 13th, at the annual meeting of 
the church, it was ‘ resolved to take all legal steps to 
renew the existence of the society in connection with 
the church,’ which was consummated April 9, 1877. 
Oct. 12, 1878, Rev. Mr. Gilbert’s resignation was 
accepted, that he might take the pastorate of the 
Baptist Church in Medfield. Rev. W. A. Worthing- 
ton supplied the desk from May 4, 1879, to Sept. 12, 
1880, when he tendered his resignation. The present 
pastor, B. W. Barrows, commenced his labors imme- 
diately after Mr. Worthington’s departure. 

The St. Catherine Church being connected with 
the St. Mary’s Church, Dedham, and forming one 
pastorate, I can say but little. For the few facts 
recorded I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Edwin 
Fahy. 


Services were held in private houses several times 


a year by the Rev. P. O. Beirne, of Roxbury, as 





1 He died in Chicago. 


Sept. 29, 1876, Rev. | 


Union Hall was used occasionally till 
the completion of Village Hall, when they gathered 


_ there about once a month till the purchase of their 
| church, April 22, 1863, from a committee of the 


Universalist society. After remodeling, it was dedi- 
cated with appropriate ceremonies August 3d of the 
Soon after it was transferred from the 
pastoral care of the Rev. P. O. Beirne, of Roxbury, 
to the care of Rev. John B. Brennon, of Dedham. 
Not far from 1874, Mr. Brennon was placed at Med- 
field, and Rey. D. J. O. Donovan assumed the pastor- 


cated. On account of failing health, and being 
unable to perform the duties of so large a pastorate, 
he closed his labors, and was succeeded by the Rev. 
R. J. Johnson, the present pastor. In 1854 the con- 
eregation connected with this church numbered about 
one hundred, at the present time (1854) some eight 


| hundred. 


First Congregational Church.—June 23, 1736, 
after a day of fasting and prayer, the following 
persons entered into the church covenant: Thomas 
Balch, Samuel Bullard, John Everett, John Dean, 
James Fales, Jr., Samuel Fuller, William Bacon, 
Eleazer Fisher, Samuel Holmes, Jeremiah Kings- 
bury, Ezra Morse, William Everett, Nathaniel Guild, 
Ebenezer Dean, and Nathaniel Lewis. It would be 
pleasant to transcribe in full the covenant into which 
they entered, because it gives so perfect an idea of the 
character of the men who founded this ancient church, 
but its length precludes the idea.. It remains a pre- 
cious memento of their faith and piety. June 30, 
1736, Rev. Thomas Balch was ordained over this in- 
fant church and precinct as its pastor and teacher. 
The sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Walter, of 
Roxbury, from John xvii. 10, “ All mine are thine, 
glorified in them.” 
singing two stanzas 


and thine are mine, and I am 
The exercises were concluded by 
from the Eighty-ninth Psalm, 
nineteenth verse : 

“Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and 
saidst, I have laid help upon one that 7s mighty; I 
have exalted one chosen out of the people. 

‘“T have found David my servant; with my holy oil 
have [ anointed him: 

“ With whom my hand shall be established.” 

Mr. Balch was a native of Charleston, born Oct. 
17, 1711, graduated at Harvard, 1733, married to 
Miss Mary Sumner, of Roxbury, Oct. 11, 1737; 
died Jan. 8, 1774, aged sixty-two years, two months, 
and eleven days, making his ministry thirty-seven 
From all the 


commencing at the 


years, six months, and eight days. 
testimony that can be found, it appears that Mr. 


506 HISTORY OF NORFOLK 





Balch was honored and beloved by his people in an | 


unusual degree, and in return gave them his warmest | 


affections, and labored assiduously for their temporal 
and spiritual welfare. From the records of the church 
during his ministry one hundred and _ seventy-one 
persons were received “into full communion,” ninety- 
three recognized or owned the covenant, nine adults 
and six hundred and twenty-eight children were bap- 
tized. One hundred and forty-eight couples were 
and forty-five funerals, some of which were out of the 
limits of the precinct. A large number of collections 


COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


to continue unto this day, and as all things are pre- 
served by Him, so he rules and governs them accord- 
ing to his will. This doctrine of universal dominion 
and providence of God is here laid down. He doeth 
according to his will in the army of Heaven, and 
among the inhabitants of the earth. A subject well 
worthy of our contemplation, and not inappropriate 
at this time.” * God exercises his absolute dominion 


_and sovereign providence over men on earth. The 
united in marriage, and he officiated at two hundred | 


were made for persons on account of losses by fire, | 


and for those suffering from poverty and sickness; 


one for the completion of an unfinished Congregational 


meeting-house on Tower Hill, in South Kingston ; 
another, of considerable an amount, for the poor 
Acadians when forced from their homes by the royal 


mandate, procured through the influence of Governor | 


Shirley. Some, over one thousand, were brought to | 


Boston, and the other seven thousand or more scat- 
tered from Massachusetts to Georgia. 

By his ministerial brethren Mr. Balch was highly 
esteemed, says the Rev. Jason Haven, of the First 


Parish, in this town. In 1796, forty years from his 


affairs of the world in general are ordered and deter- 
mined by Him. His is the kingdom, and He is 
the Governor among the nations, and his mandate 
reaches the utmost bounds of creation. “ What an 
exalted idea does this aive us of the divine majesty, 
and how glorious and adorable must that God be.” 
‘“War must be managed with a view to peace. Soa 
time of peace must be improved to prepare for war.” 
‘‘Have we not seen the importance of well-disci- 
‘‘Well-accomplished 
and skillful soldiers will be more than ever necessary 
for us in the future.” ‘The time may come even 


plined troops in the late war?” 


in our days, such is the instability of human affairs, 
_when those who envy our growing greatness may 


ordination, he remarks that “he had often recol- | 
lected that profusion of Christian friendship and | 


brotherly love expressed in the right hand of fellow- | 


ship given by the Rev. Mr. Balch, of the South | 


Parish ; all which friendship and brotherly love he 


continued to exemplify while his valuable life was 


spared, towards the person then ordained and towards 


his brethren in the gospel ministry in general.” 
He took a deep interest in the young people of his 
charge, and delivered a series of lectures for their im- 


provement, which were repeated by request in Rox- | 


bury and Charlestown. 
Mr. Balch as a preacher must have ranked much 


| Jabez Chickering 


above mediocrity ; and allow me to give a few extracts | 


from a sermon delivered before the Ancient and Honor- 


able Artillery Company in Boston, 1763, and then we | 


will pass from the patriarch of this church to his suc- 


cessors.” 


Daniel iv. 35: ‘‘ He doeth according to his will in | 


the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of | 


the earth.” After referring to the occasion which 
called forth these words from the once proud, but 
now humbled king of Babylon, he continues, “ He 


that commanded the world into being has caused it 


1 Barry’s “ History of Massachusetts, Second Period,” page 
200-204. 38-42 ;s 


“« Evangeline.” 
bon] 


Hutchinson’s, vol. iii. and Longfellow’s 


7See Mr. Durfee’s “‘ Centennial Sermon,” page 18. 


form deep plots against us, and endeavor to put them 
in execution by the point of the sword.” * Then, “Is 
it not wisdom to cherish a martial spirit, and in time 
‘Let us look to Him 
in whom it pleased the Father that all fullness should 
dwell, for grace and strength to enable us to prosecute 
our Christian warfare, till death shall discharge us 
from the fatigues and turmoils of this transitory life, 


of peace prepare for war ?’’® 


and we put on the garlands of immortality to reign 
with our victorious Redeemer in the realms of a glo- 
rious and undisturbed peace, through the endless ages 
of eternity.” 

After the death of Mr. Balch it was about two 
years and a half before the settlement of the Rev. 
on July 3, 1776, the day before 
Mr. Chickering 
was a native of Dover, and was born Nov. 4, 1753; 
graduated from Harvard University in 1774; studied 
theology with the Rev. Benjamin Caryl; married Miss 
Hannah Balch, April 22, 1777, a daughter of his 
Seventy-eight were added to the church, 


3D) 
the declaration of independence. 


predecessor. 
two hundred and three couples were joined in mar- 
riage, and two hundred and eighty-two were borne to 
It is 
told by aged people who remember him, that he was 


their last resting-place during his pastorate. 


remarkably fond of children, and they too, in turn, 





3 Preached soon after the close of the last French and Indian 
war. 

* How prophetic. 

5 Here John Adams is outdone. 





NORWOOD. 


507 








were equally attached to him. It is asserted, in the 
discourse delivered at his funeral, that for some of 
the last years of his life he expended the whole of | 
his salary in relieving objects of distress in his vicin- 


ity, and in subscribing money for religious and liter- 
ary purposes. The youth of to-day should hold him 
in kind remembrance, for he really laid the founda- 
tion of our public library. and the income from his | 





gift annually gives them the means to add to their | 
stock of knowledge. 

It is said that Mr. Chickering left no printed dis- 
courses except a charge given at the ordination of the 
Rev. Mr. Richey, of Canton, and the right hand of 
fellowship at the ordination of the Rev. Joshua Bates, 
of the First Church, Dedham, whieh for beauty of | 
sentiment and expression is seldom equaled, and | 
‘‘ Before the 
morning stars sang together, or all the sons of God 
shouted for joy, God was happy in the perfection of | 
his own nature. 


allow me to quote a few sentences: 


But in his manifestation to man he 
has revealed himself, communicating happiness to his 
creatures, through the medium of love; for God is 
love, and the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ex- | 
hibits the divine benevolence, causing mercy and | 
truth to meet together, and righteousness and peace | 


to embrace each other. ‘The great end of our holy 


religion, next to reconciling us to God, is to reconcile 


us to each other. 
good-will to man, was the song of the multitude of 
the heavenly hosts at the birth of the Saviour, whose 
life was one great example of benevolence and love. | 
At death, what had he to bequeath? Peace I leave | 
with you, my peace I give unto you.” .. . “ Love to | 
God and man, was by the Saviour made the criterion 
of our relation to Him, and interest in the blessings of | 


Glory to God for peace on earth, and 





his purchase. He left in charge this new command- | 
ment, ‘As I have loved you, that ye also love one | 
another. 


my right hand, as a public declaration that you are | 


209 


. . . “Dear brother, I cordially give you | 


embraced in our fellowship, in taking a part in the | 


ministry of reconciliation. ‘We have one master, 


iP) 


even Christ, and all we are brethren. + aBreth-)) 
ren of this church of Christ, we, the elders and mes- | 
sengers of the churches salute you, and with you re- 
joice that the eminent abilities and usefulness of your 
senior pastor have been so long continued. Need we 
exhort you to remember and honor the aged priest so 
long as he liveth; we also rejoice that the pastor 
now inducted to office was so highly esteemed for his 
work’s sake, as to be the man of your unanimous > 
choice. May your mutual affections be as the dew of 
Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the | 
mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded | 


| elected secretary and director of that society. 


| Dartmouth College. 


| and professor of Christian Theology. 


the blessing, even life for ever more.” Mr. Chicker- 
ing died March 12, 1812, in the fifty-eighth year of 
his age, and the thirty-fifth year of his pastorate ; and 
his remains lie entombed near his people, and the 
children he loved so well. His successor, the Rev. 
William Cogswell, was born at Atkinson, N. H., 
June 5, 1787; graduated at Dartmouth College in 
1811, and was principally guided in his theological 
studies by the Rev. Dr. Worcester, of Salem. During 


_his ministry seventy-four became members of the 


church, sixty-eight were united in marriage, and for 
one hundred and sixteen he performed the last sad 
rite. Dr. Cogswell was a ready writer, and one of the 
ablest divines in the State. Many of his published 
sermons and addresses can be found in the parish, and 
so will make no quotations. 

His “ Assistant to Family Religion,’ a duodecimo 
volume of four hundred and four pages, in a few years 
passed three editions, and his ‘‘ Theological Class Book,” 
published and stereotyped in 1833, was republished in 
England. “ A Catechism on the Doctrines and Duties 
of Religion,” in two parts, passed through several 
He was dismissed that he might take the 
general agency of the American Education Society.’ 

His successor in the ministry, Rev. Harrison G. 
Park, was ordained by the same council which dis- 
missed Dr. Cogswell. Mr. Park was born at Provi- 
dence, R. L., July 26, 1806; was graduated at Brown 
University in 1824. After leaving college he studied 
law two years with the Hon. Mr. Fisk, of Wrentham, 
and Bradford Sumner, Esq., of Boston. He studied 
theology with Dr. Wisner, of Bostor, and at the 
Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. J. His pastor- 
Mr. Park was a good 
sermonizer and After 
from this place he was settled over the Second Society 
in Danvers,’ and subsequently at Burlington, and at 


editions. 


ate coutinued about six years. 


an able man. his removal 


' Leaving the parish where for fourteen years he had labored 


97 


with great success, he entered June 27, 1829, upon his_new 


On the death of the Rev. Dr. Cornelius, in 1832, he was 
After a period 


duties. 


of twelve years of most incessant labor, on account of failing 


| health, he tendered his second resignation, April 14, 1841. 


January 12th of this year, he had been elected a professor in 
He very soon established ‘‘ The Northern 
Academy of Arts and Sciences,’ and in the course of three 
years he collected twelve hundred bound volumes and five 
thousand pamphlets, and secured some twenty-two thousand 
dollars to the funds of the college. Nov. 1843, he 
was elected president of the Gilmanton Theological Seminary, 
His last work was to 


99 


as, 


edit the sixth volume of the New Hampshire Historical Collec- 
tions. He died April 18, 1850. 

2 While at Danvers he was called to deliver a funeral dis- 
course in memory of the Rey. Mr. and Mrs. Cowles, pastor of 
the First Church, who, with his wife, was lost at sea by the 


508 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Burnardston. The last years of his life were passed | 
in this town, where he took a deep interest in all that 


pertained to its welfare. 


His successor, the Rev. Calvin Durfee, was born in 
Pittsfield, Mass., Oct. 6, 1797; graduated from Wil- | 
liams College; studied theology with the Rev. Dr. | 
Woodbridge, of Hadley; ordained at Hunter, New | 
York; resigned in 1835; installed March 6, 1836, 
over the Second Parish in Dedham ; resigned in 1857 ; 


spent three years in Brookline, Ohio; and on the resig- 
nation of the Rev. Dr. Peters was appointed financial 


agent of Williams College. Some of his sermons are 
preserved in the parish or pastors’ library. Dr. 
Durfee’s principal work is the “ Annals of Williams,” 


on which it is said he spent a quarter of a century. | 


Dr. Irenzeus Prime, in his introduction, speaks of it as 
one of the most extraordinary literary compilations of 
the present day. He died in 1879, aged eighty-two 


| 
| 
| 
\ 


years. 

Rey. Moses M. Colburn, sixth pastor of the First 
Church, was born at Fair Haven, Vt., Sept. 17, 
1819; graduated from the University of Vermont; | 
studied theology at the Andover Seminary ; spent 
fourteen years of pastoral life in South Dedham ; re- | 
moved to Waukegan, IIl., where he labored four | 
years. In 1870 we find him at St. Joseph, Mich., 
where death closed his pastorate in 1876, in the fifty- | 
seventh year of his age. 

Mr. Colburn is spoken of as a faithful pastor and a | 
good man, as one deeply interested in the youth of | 
the town and parish, and admirably adapted to guide 
them in the way to honor and respectability. One _ 
printed discourse, the ‘‘ Cowfortless Christian,” re-_ 
_ mains iu the society. 

Rey. Ebenezer Fisher was born in Charlotte, Me. | 
(then a part of Massachusetts), Feb. 15, 1815. Itis | 
said he was a lineal descendant of David Fisher, who 
was here as early as 1730, and died in 1791, aged 
seventy-four years. Mr. Fisher licensed to | 
preach in 1840 ; in 1841 was settled at Addison Point, | 
Me.; May 18, 1747, was installed over the Univer- 
salist Church in Salem. 





was 


This pastorate continued 
Oct. 7, 1853, resigned his charge 
on account of ill health; November, 1853, was in- 
stalled in due form over the Universalist Society in 
South Dedham. As a temperance man he pushed 
forward the good work Mr. Thompson had begun, 
and exerted a 


about six years. 


wholesome wherever he 
April 15, 1858, Dr. Fisher was inaugurated 


professor and head of the Theological Seminary in 


influence 
moved. 


foundering of the “ Hope,” which was published by request and 
is still preserved in this parish. 


Canton, N. Y. During his connection of twenty- 
one years with that institution he had seen more 
than one hundred students, whose minds he had in a 
great measure moulded and fashioned, settled in 
He died sud- 
denly Feb. 21, 1879, on his way to his recitation- 
rooms in the seminary. 

Deacon John Everett, son of Capt. John Everett, 
and grandson of Richard Everett, one of the original 
founders of Dedham, settled in that part of Stough- 
ton which was annexed to Dedham. He married Mercy 
Brown, Jan. 3, 1700. In the act of incorporation of 
the precinct, he is named as a “ principal inhabitant.” 
On the organization of the church, in 1736, he was 
elected the first deacon. From the records of the 
church and parish, he appears to have been an active, 


the Universalist pulpits in our land. 


intelligent, and pious man, laboring for the good of 
all. He died March 20, 1751, aged seventy-five 
years. 

Deacon Ebenezer Everett, son of Deacon John, 
was born Aug. 5, 1707; married Joanna Stevens ; 
was chosen deacon Noy. 30,1760; died June 19, 
1778. He was the father of the Rev. Moses Everett, 
ninth minister of Dorchester, and the Rev. Oliver 
Everett, fourth pastor of the New South Church, 
Boston, and grandfather of the Hon. Alexander H., 
and the illustrious orator and statesman, Governor 


_ Edward Everett. 


Capt. and Deacon Ebenezer Everett was born Oct. 
7, 1734; Dec. 16,1756, married Abigail Bacon. He 
was a veteran of the French war; enlisted May 7, 
1755 ; marched with Capt. Fales through the wilder- 
ness to Albany, from thence to Lake George, and 
was undoubtedly in the battle of September 8th, as 
his company was engaged and lost heavily. He was 
chosen deacon July 30, 1778; died Oct. 1, 1808. 

Willard Everett, grandson of Deacon Ebenezer (2), 
was chosen deacon Jan. 14,1834; died March 17, 
1851, aged fifty-six years. 

Willard Everett (2) was chosen deacon Oct. 28, 
1852; died Nov. 27, 1857, aged thirty-five years. 
In the midst of an active and highly useful life he 
passes from us ; “ but the righteous shall be in ever- 
jasting remembrance.’ 

When Ezra Morse was driven from his mill-seat, 
on Mother Brook, the town ‘‘gave him a grant of 
forty acres of land near the Neponset River, or at the 
old saw-mill,’ or at Everett plain, where he might find 
He also had leave to 
erect a saw-mill on Hawes Brook on the way leading 


it most to his satisfaction.” 


! This was probably built about 1664 by Joshua Fisher on the 


' Neponset River. 





NORWOOD. 


509 





to the south meadow. His son Ezra was born Jan. 
28,1671. On the formation of the church, 1736, 
he was chosen deacon, and subsequently gave to the 
church the meadow-land they now hold, and died Oct. 
17, 1760, aged ninety years, honored and respected. 
Mr. Jonathan Dean, chosen deacon July 18, 1736, 
continued to fill that office till March 28, 1870, at 
which time he passed away in the fullness of a ripe 


old age, numbering ninety-three years. 

Deacon Nathaniel Sumner, son of Edward Sumner, 
of Roxbury, born April 10, 1720, was a graduate of 
Harvard, class of 1739. Studied theology, but never 
took upon himself the ministerial office ; Oct. 18, 
1752, was chosen deacon ; 1768, was sent as a dele- 
gate to the convention held in Faneuil Hall. Repre- 
sentative to the General Court for the sessions of 
1756-57, 1762, 1769, and -1770, 
of the Board of the Selectmen for 
Died Dec. 23, 1802, aged eighty-two years. 

Willard Gay, Esq., was born Jan. 3, 1818, ap- 
pointed justice of the peace in 1858, postmaster in 
1861. These offices he continued to hold to the close 
of life. Assistant assessor United States from 1861 
till the district was abolished ; 
collector till a further alteration was made, and the 
number of officials reduced. A member of the Board 
of Selectmen of Dedham for several years, and also 
of Norwood during the first three years of its exist- 
ence. On the organization of the Universalist Church, 
in 1856, he was chosen deacon and treasurer, which 
offices he continued to hold while his valuable life | 
was spared. 

Hon. Joseph Day was born in Walpole July 25, 
1807. 
trist school afforded sixty years ago. 


and a member 


nineteen years. 


after that, assistant 


His education was such as the common dis- | 
At the age of | 
sixteen years he left home to learn the currier’s trade. | 
When twenty, he came to South Dedham and en- | 
gaged as a journeyman in that same business for the | 
late John Smith. He was absent some four years, 
eugaged in the same business, and then returned to 
South Dedham, and joined Isaac Ellis in erecting a 


paper-mill for the manufacturing of wrapping-paper, — 
on the spot where Isaac Ellis’ mill now stands. In _ 
two years he returned to his old business of tanning, 
and opened a shop, where he continued ten or eleven 
years. In 1844 or 1845 he established, in connection 
with Mr. A. L. White, the house in Boston now | 
known as Day, Wilcox & Co. In about eight years 
Mr. White withdrew from the firm, and Mr. Day re- 
ceived as partners D. W. Wilcox, Lyman Rhoads, and | 
his son Lewis. In 1864 he withdrew from the firm. 
He served some years as one of the assessors of Ded- 
ham, a director in the Dedham National Bank, a ’ 





| James Pinney, Co. F, 2d Regt.; enl. May 26, 1861; 


| Elias W. Adams, Co. F, enl. Aug. 24, 1861 


| Sumner A. Ellis, Co. F, enl. Aug. 24, 1861; 


| Patrick 


representative to the General Court in 1843-44, a 
senator from Norfolk County in 1856-57 (serving as 
amember of the Committee on Prisons and Reforma- 
tory Institutions). 


Deacon Curtis G. Moore, born Dec. 18, 1805, 


contributed seventeen hundred and seventy dollars 


towards the erection of the Baptist meeting-house, 
but as his left hand knew not what his right hand 
did, it is impossible to make any estimate of his 
benefactions. On the organization of the church, in 
1858, he was chosen deacon, and continued in office 
till his death. He left by will two thousand dollars 
to the church, the income to be used for the support 
of the gospel. 

Joel M. Baker, born Sept. 9, 1808, was connected 
with the Baptist Society, and was largely instrumental 
in building up the same. His gifts, when their 
meeting-house was in process of construction, amounted 
to two thousand eight hundred and ninety-five dollars, 


-and from 1858 till the time of his death (May 21, 


1878) he must, at least, have contributed, besides the 
above gifts, twenty-five hundred dollars more, for his 
hands were always open and ready to balance the 
accounts of the society at the end of the year. 

We will now pause in our narrative and turn back 
to the time when the cohorts of slavery unfurled the 


_ black flag of treason and marshaled their untaught 


hordes for carnage and strife, and to the gathering of 
freemen to save the Union and the priceless heritage 


for which our fathers fought. 


From this parish went forth for three years,— 


must. out 
May 25, 1864. 


James M. Pond, sergt., Co. F; enl. Aug. 24, 1861; pro. 1st 


sergt.; poe Ist lieut. Jan. 15, 1864; re-enl. October, 1864, 
and trans. to 32d Regt. 
Joseph W. ye sergt., Co. F; enl. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 


1861 for sickness. 

; disch. in 1862 for 
wounds received at second Bull Run; re-enl. and must. out 
July 12, 1865. 

George W. Brigham, Co. F, enl. Aug. 24, 1861; pro. corp. in 
1861, sergt. in 1862; prisoner at exp. of service. 

disch. in 1862 for 
wounds received at second Bull Run; re-enl. Jan. 12, 1864; 
disch. for disability June 17, 1865. 

Franklin Fisher, Co. F, enl. Aug. 24, 1861; 
sickness. 

William P. Fairbanks, Co. F, enl. August, 1861; re-enl. Jan- 
uary, 1864, and trans. to 52d Regt. 

Henry L. Hayford, Co. F, enl. Aug. 24, 1861; 
1864; 


disch. in 1863 for 


re-enl. January, 

trans. to 32d Regt. 

Chester R. Lawton, Co. F, enl. Aug. 24, 1861; pro. corp. in 

1862; re-enl. January, 1864; disch. under G. 0. in 1864. 

Mears, Co. F, enl. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. 
wounds received at second Bull Run. 

| William J. Marsh, Co. F, enl. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1861 for 


sickness, 


in 1863 for 


510 


HISTORY OF NORAOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSET''S. 





George E. Pond, Co. F, enl. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1861 for | 
sickness ; re-enl. in Co. D, 42d Regt., Sept. 12, 1862; must. | 


out July 30, 1863. 
Austin E. Pratt, Co. F, enl. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1863 for 
wounds received at Gettysburg. 


Charles G. Rogers, Co. F, enl. Aug. 24, 1861; pro. corp. in 1863; | 


must. out Sept. 2, 1864. 

Henry R. Ellis, musician. 

Julius Bockme, Co. B, 20th Regt.; enl. July 26, 1861; re-enl. 
Feb. 23, 1864; wounded in May, 1864. 

Charles J. Haas, Co. B, enl. July 26, 1861; must. out Aug. 1, 
1864. 


Edward R. Pond, Co. I, 24th Regt.; enl. Oct. 8, 1861; disch. | 


April, 1863, for disability. 

Charles D. Pond, sergt., Co. I; enl. Aug. 16, 1862; must. out 
June 9, 1865. 

Ferdinand Steiner, corp., Co. [; enl. Aug. 16, 1862; must. out 
June 9, 1865. 

Charles D. Force, corp., Co. 1; enl. Aug. 16, 1862; must. out 
June 9, 1865. 

John G. Dymond, corp., Co. I; enl. Aug. 16, 1862; died at 
Hampton, Va., March 29, 1863. 

Ephraim A. Roberts, fifer and bugler, Co. I; enl. Aug. 16, 1862; 
trans. to Vet. Res. Corps in 1864. 

Clinton Bagley, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; pro. corp., sergt., Ist 





sergt., and sergt.-maj.; pro. 2d lieut. Sept. 8, 1864, declined | 


commission; must. out June 9, 1865. 

Henry Bauer, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; pro. corp.; trans. to 
Vet. Res. Corps in 1863. 

John H. Birch, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; died of fever Aug. 
15, 1863, at Overton Hospital, Memphis, Tenn. 

Michael Colbert, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; killed at Petersburg 
Mine July 30, 1864. 


William J. Wallace, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; taken prisoner 
at Poplar Grove Church Sept. 30, 1864; exchanged in 
1865; must. out June 9, 1865. 

Joseph P. White, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; killed at Antie- 
tam Sept. 17, 1862. 


Nine Monrus’ Men, Forry-rairp REeGiment. 

Alvin Fuller, sergt., Co. D; enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 
30, 1863. 

E. Phineas Guild, corp., Co. D; enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out 
July 30, 1863. 

Elbridge P. Boyden, corp., Co. D; enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. 
out July 30, 1863. 

Frank D. Hayward, musician, Co. D; enl. Sept. 12, 1862; re- 
enl. U.S. Signal Corps March, 1864; must. out Aug. 17, 
1865. 

Willard Babbitt, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 

Jarvis G. Fairbanks, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 
30, 1863. 

Edwin E. Fisher, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 


| William H. Gay, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12,1862; must. out July 30, 


1863. 

Clarence M. Guild, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 
30, 1863. 

Charles J. Guild, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 

Charles E. Hartshorn, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; disch. April 
25, 1865, for sickness. 


| Francis P. Ide, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 


George V. Dean, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; disch. in 1862 for | 


sickness. 


Francis Donley, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, | 


1865. 
Moses W. Downs, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; disabled by wounds 


received at North Anna River May, 1864; trans. to Vet. | 


Res. Corps in 1864. 

Albert Ellis, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; pro. corp.; must. out 
June 9, 1865. 

Alfred Ellis, Co. I, en]. Aug. 16, 1862; pro. corp. and sergt.; 
must. out June 9, 1865. 


Warren Ellis, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. | 


Henry Fisher, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; taken prisoner at Pop- 
lar Grove Church Sept. 30, 1864; exchanged in 1865; 
must. out June 9, 1865. 

Alfred T. Hartshorn, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; 
for sickness. 

John Hyde, Jr., Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; 
1865. 

Canrad Kril, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 


Henry Kril, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 


disch. in 1863 


must. out June 9, 


1863. 

A. Mason Morse, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 

Charles H. Morse, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 
30, 1863. 

Joseph E. Morse, Co. D, eni. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 

Sanford O. Morse, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 
30, 1863. 

George HE. Pond, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 

Edwin Pratt, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

William H. Randall, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 
30, 1863. 

George A. Rhoads, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 
30, 1863. 

George L. Rhoads, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 
30, 1863. 

Joseph H. Richardson, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out 
July 30, 1863. 


| Bennett O. Richards, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 


Albert G. Ober, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, | 


1865. 
Conrad Rausch, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 
wounds received at Antietam. 
Conrad Schneider, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; disch. in 1863 for 


1862; disch. in 1862 for 


sickness. 

Hiram Shufelett, Co. I, enl. August, 1862; pro. corp. and sergt.; 
disch. for wounds received at the Petersburg mine. 

John L. Smith, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; pro. corp., color corp., 
sergt., and Ist sergt.; pro. 2d lieut. Jan. 9, 1865; not mus- 
tered; must. out June 9, 1865. 

Charles H. Sulkoski, Co. I, enl. Aug. 16, 1862; killed at An- 


tietam Sept. 17, 1862. 


30, 1863. 

Charles H. Shackley, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 
30, 1863. 

James F. Shepleigh, Co. D, enl, Sept. 12, 1862; 
30, 1863. 

Alfred M. Shepleigh, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 
30, 18638. 

Henry A. Shaw, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 

George H. Smith, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 

William R. Tibbetts, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 
30, 1863. 

Albert G. Webb, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 


must. out July 








NORWOOD. 





511 





James M. Wood, Co. D, enl. Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 

Ithamar W. Copeland, Co. K, 44th Regt.; enl. Sept. 12, 1862; | 
disch. Jan. 14, 1863, for sickness. 

James T. Holmes, Co. C, 61st Regt. (one year); enl. Sept. 17, 
1864; must. out June 4, 1865. 

Henry M. Fales, 16th Battery, Light Artillery (three years) ; 
enl. March 11, 1864; must. out June 27, 1865. 

Lewis P. Baker, Sherman’s U.S. Battery. | 

Henry Smith, Co. B, Ist Cav.; enl. September, 1861; disch. | 
Dec. 25, 1862, for disability. 

Samuel Patterson (Stoughton), Co. I, enl. Sept. 14, 1891; trans. 
to 4th Cay. 

John E. Richardson, Co. B, enl. Feb. 21, 1863; died in rebel 
prison Aug. 17, 1864. 

Charles E. Barrows, enl. August, 1863; served five years in 
U.S. Navy. 

Willard 8. Rhoads (son of Deacon Lewis S. Rhoads), enl. in Co. 
B, 1st Mich. Cav.; pro. com.-sergt. 2d Cav. Brigade ; killed 
near Centreville, Va., by guerrillas, Nov. 3, 1863. 





To Mr. William J. Wallace I am indebted for fore- 
going names of soldiers who went from this parish. 

The town of Norwood contains some six thousand 
two hundred and thirty acres of land fit for cultiva- 
tion, with a population of about twenty-five hundred; 
distant from Boston fourteen and a quarter miles, 
with easy communication by the New York and 
New England Railroad. It has four churches already 
defined, one hotel, three dry-goods stores, six grocery 
stores, apothecary-shop, three markets, a bakery, and | 
everything to make it a desirable place for residence. 

The first meeting of the citizens of the South 
Parish, in Dedham, interested in the formation of a 
town was held in Village Hall, Dec. 22,1871, at. 
which measures were adopted to secure that end ; and 
a committee was chosen to appear before the Legisla- 
tive Committee on Towns, and support the petition 
of George B. Talbot, and two hundred and fifty-one 
other legal voters within the limits of the old parish 
lines, which were adopted with but little variation, for 
the boundaries of the new town of Norwood, except 
the reception of a small territory, and a few persons 
from Walpole, whose business and family interests 
connect them with us. Feb. 23, 1872, the act | 
was approved, and March 6th, the citizens celebrated 
the birth of their town. His Excellency, Governor 
Washburn, the occasion, and remarked | 
that he thought it unnecessary to call upon any 
one outside of their number to give them advice. 
On looking around the room he saw among the mot- | 
toes, “‘ Economy, Responsibility,” and he thought by 
the report of the Committee that that motto was very 
appropriate. He said ‘“‘ each one partook of therepu- | 


graced 





1The petitioners did not employ counsel; the expense was | 
simply for such legal advertisements as were required by the 
statute. : 





| tation of his town, and the character of a town par- 


took of the character of its individuals. It becomes 
of the greatest importance that whatever we possess, 
whether of wealth or education, should all be conse- 
crated to work for the community's good.”’ Senator 
Thomas L. Wakefield, of Dedham, “ spoke of the rela- 


_ tions of the old town of Dedham to the new town of 


Norwood.” He said, “ since the year 1635 they had 


lived together in harmoney, and now they parted 


without a disagreement. There had been no objection 
on the part of Dedham, not because they wished for 


the separation, but because they thought it due to 


the new community.” 

The Board of Selectmen of Dedham were repre- 
sented by A. B. Endicott and Benjamin Weatherbee, 
Esqs. The warrant for the first meeting of the town 
was drawn by Willard Gay, Esq., and made re- 
turnable March 11th. Mr. Gay presided till the 
clerk was chosen and qualified. Deacon George 
Lovis was chosen moderator, and the following board 
of town officers were elected: Samuel E. Pond, J. 
Edward Everett, Willard Gay, Esq., selectmen ; Ty- 
ler Thayer, Caleb Ellis, George H. Morse, assessors ; 


Francis Tinker, clerk ; L. Waldo Bigelow, treasurer ; 


Hon. J. ©. Park, Francis O. Winslow, Rev. E. A. 
Wyman, school committee; Capt. C. W. Strout, 
James Engles, constables,—and Norwood’s legal life 
commenced; and their first act, after expressing 


_ their grateful acknowledgment to the committee who 


had served them faithfully (Hon. John C. Park, J. 
Warren Talbot, and Caleb Ellis), was the following : 
“ Resolved, That the citizens of Norwood, in town- 


| meeting assembled, recognize with grateful pleasure 


the readiness and courtesy with which the citizens of 
Dedham and Walpole have assisted us in the inaugu- 


ration of our new Town; and that the clerk be in- 


structed to present a copy of this resolution to the 
selectmen of Dedham and Walpole.” In 1769 the 
town of Dedham appropriated to the South Parish, as 
their proportion of the school money for that year, 
the sum of eighteen pounds and ten shillings (or 
fifty-five dollars and sixty-seven cents), which was di- 
vided by the parish assessors between the five schools, 
according to the number of scholars in each. The 
first appropriation of money made by the town of 
Norwood was six thousand dollars for the support of 
her schools; and, during the twelve years of her ex- 
istence as a town, she has taxed herself for the 


benefit of her children and youth the sum of sev- 
enty-eight thousand six hundred and fifty dollars, 


besides erecting two new school-houses, which, with 


the alterations and improvements in and around the 


others, and supporting a public library of some three 


512 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





thousand volumes, swells the sum to one hundred 
thousand dollars. Her poor have been weli cared 
for, and comfortable tenements provided, and so 
clothed that none would suppose they were the wards 
of the town. Thirty-two thousand two hundred 
dollars have handsomely smoothed her streets, and 


seventeen thousand more have opened ways for new | 


and happy homes. Highland Cemetery, contain- 
ing some seventeen acres, has been consecrated as 
the last resting-place for her departed ones. 


added to the value of her estate. Six hundred and 
twelve have joined her population by birth, two hun- 
dred couples united in marriage, while the icy hand 
of death has robbed us of some four hundred, many 
of whom welcomed with us the birth of our town, and 
with whom we took sweet counsel in all the way of 
life, and whose names will be long cherished and re- 
membered. 

Agricultural Products.—1200 tons of hay, 7074 
bushels of potatoes, 5997 bushels Indian corn, 127,- 
905 gallons of milk, 300 pounds of butter, 32,514 
dozen eggs valued at some over $60,000, besides 
garden vegetables, berries, and fruits, of which con- 
siderable quantities are sold. 

Industries.—I'he New York and New England 
Machine- and Car-Shops, five in number, built in the 
most substantial manner, give employment to about 
three hundred men, and send forth some very fine 
and comfortable cars. The land—some seventeen 
acres—upon which they are built, was presented to 
the company by the citizens of the town. 

George H. Morrill & Co., 
printers’ ink. This business was founded by Sam- 
uel Morrill, a native of Salsbury, born April 4, 
1804. 


isting for a manufactory of this kind. 


manufacturers of 


He was a printer, and saw an opening ex- 
His original 
establishment was very small, having nothing more 


than one kettle and a small wooden building for | 


making lampblack. When he removed to South 
Dedham his two sons (George H. and Samuel 8.) 
became partners. About 1869 
solved, and the business continued under the name 
of George H. Morrill & Co. 


buildings used in the business, some of them of’ con- 


There are fourteen 


siderable size, water-wheel, thirty-five horse-power, 


One | 
hundred and fifty-five new dwellings have been erected, | 
and three hundred and seventy-two thousand dollars | 





this firm was dis- | 


and is supplemented by a one hundred and twenty- 
and fifty men, with a monthly pay-roll of from five 
pumps, which throw either water or oil, a rotary 


five horse-power Harris-Corliss steam-engine, steam- 


pump, capable of throwing sixteen hundred gallons 
per hour, fourteen large Bogardus eccentric- and 


six Rooler mills, used for grinding ink, and kept con- | 


/ tensive establishment upon the old site. 


stantly employed from the beginning to the end of 
the week, four iron mixers, capable of mixing fifteen 
hundred pounds each, numerous reservoirs and tanks, 
the largest of which is made of heavy boiler-iron and 
is twenty-five by thirty feet, and has a capacity of 
fifty thousand gallons, or fifteen hundred barrels, and 
one other of nearly the same size. At 220 Com- 
mercial Street, San Francisco, Cal., may be found a 
branch house, which supplies seven-eighths of all the 
ink used on the Pacific slope and in Mexico. They 
also export largely to South America, India, China, 
and Japan. Office, 34 Hawley Street, Boston. By the 
census of 1880, the value of the ink manufactured 
by this house was stated at eighty thousand dollars, 
but since that time it has been largely increased. 
The manufacturing of raw hides into leather was 
one of the early industries of South Dedham, and 
was commenced as early as 1776 by a Mr, Guild, and 
the business was continued by his family for more 
than halfa century. In 1791, Mr. John Smith, a poor 
boy of seven years of age, was hired out to Mr. Guild, 
and, by indomitable will and perseverance under great 
disadvantages, became successful in business and 
prominent in town affairs. Mr. George Winslow was 
born in Brewster in 1800, and at eighteen learned 
the tanner’s and currier’s trade with Samuel Guild, of 
Roxbury. He came to South Dedham in 1826, 
married the only daughter of John Smith, and 
founded the business which has been continued with 
increasing capacity ever since. In 1831 Lyman 
Smith, son of John, was admitted to the firm, and 
continued with George Winslow up to 1853, when 
they dissolved. George Winslow and sons (Elisha 
and George) at the old place, and Lyman Smith & 
Sons (John E. and Charles L.) removed to the pres- 
ent location of that firm, and builded anew. In 
1860, George Winslow retired, and the firm-name 
became Winslow Brothers, who still manage the ex- 
Tanning 
law-book leather, roller skins, linings for the boot and 
shoe trade, and a variety of sheep-leather of different 
finish and colors adapted to an almost endless di- 
versity of uses. There has been a steady growth of 
the business, new buildings have been added, steam- 
power substituted for water-power, and labor-saving 
machinery invented and introduced, until a capacity 
of tanning more than a million skins annually has 
been attained, giving employment to about one hundred 


to six thousand dollars. 

Lyman Smith & Sons, manufacturers of all kinds 
of sheep and lamb leather. This firm is the out- 
growth of a partnership formed over fifty years ago 














NORWOOD. 


513 





between George Winslow and Lyman Smith; the | 
firm then doing business at the present location of | 
Winslow Brothers. Dissolved in 1853. Mr. Smith | 
and his sons (John K. and Charles L.) occupied their | 
present location and commenced business under the | 
firm-name of Lyman Smith & Sons. In 1856, Mr. 
Smith, Sr., retired from the firm, and his sons con- | 
tinued the business under the same firm-name. In | 
1853 there was but one building erected, and the skins | 
simply tanned and sold in the rough ; and the capacity | 
of the establishment was but thirty thousand skins | 
per year, and only four men employed. Their build- 
ings at the present time cover more than one acre of | 
land, and range from one story to five, and give em- | 
ployment to one hundred and forty-three men, with a 
capacity to finish some twenty thousand skins per | 
week, or one million forty thousand per year. 

The Norwood Iron Foundry was established in 1854 | 
by Spencer Fuller and Isaac Colburn, under the firm- 
name of Fuller & Colburn. Mr. Colburn withdrew | 
from the firm in 1858. On the death of Mr. Fuller 
the estate passed into the hands of EH. D. Draper & 
Sons. They give employment to some thirty-five | 
hands, and furnish some seven hundred and forty-two | 
thousand three hundred and seventy-nine pounds of | 
fine iron castings. 





F. A. Fales, proprietor of the steam-mill for grind- 
ing grains, disposes of 18,000 bushels of corn and as | 
many bushels of oats, 130 tons of bran, 200 tons of | 
ground feed, 150 tons of corn-meal, besides finer 
grains and flour. 


The carpet works, for printing floor and carriage 
oil-cloths, was established about thirty years ago by | 
K. Fisher Talbot. On the death of Mr. Talbot, in | 
1882, these works passed into the hands of HE. EH. 
Pratt & Son. They employ twenty men, and produce 
one hundred and eighty thousand yards of carpeting | 
annually ; their pay-roll averaging eight hundred dol- 
lars per month. 

The manufacture of wrapping paper was commenced 
in 1832 by Isaac Ellis and Joseph Day, under the | 
firm-name of Ellis, Day & Co. In about two years | 
Mr. Day withdrew from the firm, and in a few years 
the establishment passed into the hands of Paul Ellis, 
who continued the manufacture of paper and trunk 
boards some fifteen years, when his sons became part- | 
ners. In 1864 the mill was burned and Mr. Ellis, 
Sr., retired from the business. The mill was rebuilt 
by Charles, John, and Isaac Ellis, and the business 
continued under the firm-name of Ellis Brothers until | 
1876, when the firm was dissolved, and Isaac con- 
tinued the business. In 1878 it was again burned ; 
the premises were now purchased by Isaac Ellis, and | 


338 





rebuilt in the most substantial manner, and now gives 
employment to some fifteen persons, and sends to mar- 
ket one hundred and eighty tons of paper annually. 

Tyler Thayer, builder, has been engaged in business 
thirty-five years, and has erected two of the four 
churches, and more than one-half of all the dwelling- 
houses in the town, besides many in the adjoining 
towns, all of which his own hands have marked out 
and prepared for his workmen to frame. The past 
year he has used 555,500 feet of long lumber, 
530,000 shingles, 230,000 laths, at a cost of some 
$14,600, giving constant employment to eighteen men 
with a pay-roll of some $8000, and this amount falls 
below the yearly average. 

Milton H. Howard, builder, has been engaged in 
Owns the steam- 
planing- and saw-mill, uses some three hundred thou- 
sand or more feet of long lumber, and a like pro- 
portion of laths and shingles, gives employment to 
eighteen or twenty hands, and has put up some of the 
finest dwellings in the town. 


business some five years or more. 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


LYMAN SMITH. 


DS) 


Lyman Smith was born Oct. 22, 1808, in that part 
of Dedham now Norwood. He was the son of John 
Smith and Anna Rhoades, and grandson of John 
Smith and Abigail Morse. On the maternal side 
his grandparents were Eliphlet Rhoades and Mercy 
Holland. 

John Smith, father of Lyman, established himself 
in a small way as a tanner in his native town, first, 
in connection with, and afterwards succeeding, Abner 
Guild. The shops were located where the larger es- 
tablishment of the Winslows now stands. Lyman 
Smith, like most boys of his day and circumstances, 
was early taught to labor. His parents were unable 
to give him other educational advantages than those 
afforded by the schools of the village. He was pos- 
sessed of a bright, active mind, however, and a’re- 
tentive memory, with a decided talent for mathematics, 
and by attention to his studies during the early years 
of his boyhood, which constituted his only school- 


_ days, he familiarized himself with those fundamental 
_ elements of an education so necessary to the successful 


business man. 

At the age of fifteen he entered his father’s tan- 
nery, to learn the business, and that year in partic- 
ular it is said that he used to cart, with ox-teams, 


514 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








bark from Boston to his father’s tannery. He applied | He married Malinda E. Guild. Their children 


himself earnestly to his work, and thoroughly famil- 
iarized himself with all the minutiz of the business, 
so that a few years later, when he succeeded to the 
business, he had that thorough knowledge of practical 
detail which, together with the acumen and business 
ability necessary, enabled him to make more than an 
ordinary success. 
self, in 1831, he formed a copartnership with his 


brother-in-law, the late George Winslow, which co- | 


partnership continued until 1853, when his sons be- 
coming of age, and the tanning business largely in- 
creasing, Mr. Smith disposed of his interest to Mr. 
Winslow and erected the large establishment in the 
village near the railroad station now occupied by his 
sons. Having seen his sons successfully started in a 
business career, Mr. Smith, after about three years, 
withdrew from active partnership in the firm, retaining 
only a silent interest in the business, which was con- 
ducted under the firm-name of Lyman Smith & Sons. 
Although he was thus freed from the cares of active 
business, yet he still retained to the close of his life 
an unabated interest in all that pertained to his old 
work, and it was his custom to daily visit the tan- 
neries, inspect the processes, and converse with the 
workmen, among whom he was universally respected. 
Mr. Smith was a man of strong individuality. The 
sterling integrity and high moral standard of his char- 
acter is acknowledged by all who knew him. In man- 
ner he was genial, courteous, and kind ; possessed of a 
happy, hopeful turn of mind, he carried a cheerful 
face, and was ever ready with a pleasant word. 
cessful himself in the business affairs of life, he was 
never unmindful of the fact that many who were 
deserving were not equally successful, and his benev- 
olence, while unostentatious, was constantly exercised. 
He was a man of warm heart, calm judgment, strong 
in his convictions of right and wrong, and in his likes 
and dislikes. 
dom, justice, and truth, and the bitter, uncompromis- 
ing foe of whatever tended to debase or degrade man- 
kind. 
after he retired from the duties of business, in all 


He 


measures which would benefit his native town. 


When he began business for him- | 


Sue- | 


He was the friend of temperance, free- | 








He took an active interest, both before and | 


assisted largely in the erection of a new and more | 


commodious school-building for the benefit of the | 


He was chosen a director of the 
1862, 
1877. 


to the 


youth of the town. 
Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance Company in 
and a director of Dedham National Bank in 
He gave his counsel and pecuniary assistance 
Universalist Society in the building of a new church 
edifice, and assisted in laying out the streets and 
extending the limits of the growing village. 


were John E., born Aug. 7, 1830; Charles L., born 
May 15, 1833; Anna M. R. (now the wife of Lewis 
Day), born Aug. 17,1836. Mrs. Smith died Oct. 5, 
1845. 

Mr. Smith married, as his second wife, Sept. 8, 
1846, Ann M. Joy. By this marriage there was no 
issue, 

He died May 23, 1883, in his seventy-fifth year. 
On the day of his funeral, which was very largely 
attended, all places of business in his native town 
were closed out of respect to his memory. 





GEORGE EVERETT. 


George Everett, son of Deacon Willard and Lucy 
(Dean) Everett, and grandson of Ebenezer and Sarah 
Everett, was born in that part of Dedham since set 
apart as Norwood, Feb. 5, 1826. He is descended 
through eight generations from Richard Kverett, who 
was one of the original founders of Dedham in 1636. 
There were two generations of Johns, and three of 
Ebenezers, Deacon Willard being the son of the 
last Ebenezer. Willard learned his trade as a cabi- 
net-maker, of the late Jabes Boyden, and succeeded 
him in that business about the year 1820. He began 
in a small way, but by dint of earnest application, 
coupled with a good business talent, he succeeded in 
building up a large manufactory, and accumulated 
In 1850 his two 
eldest sons—Willard and George—were admitted to 


quite a property for those days. 


partnership with him, under the firm-name of Wil- 
lard Everett & Co. Nov. 27,1851, Deacon Willard 
died. The business was conducted then by his sons, 
and the original style of firm-name was retained until 
the dissolution of the firm, in 1868, at which time it 
consisted of George, J. Edward, and Francis EH. Ever- 
ett. The firm was an enterprising one, and did a 
large and profitable business. he first extension 
tables that came into general use were manufactured 
and placed on the market by this house. Deacon 
Willard, Jr., another son, was a member of the firm 
to the time of his death, Nov. 27, 1857. They had 
a large, well-appointed factory, located near Norwood 
Central Depot, and large warerooms in Boston. They 
made a specialty of tables of all kinds, hat-racks, ete. 
They made only good goods, and commanded the best 
prices. Upon the dissolution of the firm (1868), 
George retired from active business pursuits, but such 
was the native energy of his nature that he continued 
to be an active man, both mentally and physically, to 


‘the day of his death, which occurred suddenly of 











Age 





ZCLS 












































































































































oe Wi Forge 








NORWOOD. 


515 








heart-disease, in Boston, Jan. 6, 1881, in his fifty- 
fifth year. He married, July 27, 1847, Julia D., 
daughter of Jesse and Julia (Dean) Ellis. Their 
children were Alice J., born Aug. 6, 1848, died in 
infancy ; Laura C., born Nov. 10, 1850, died in in- 
fancy; Willard E., born June 13, 1853; George F., 
born Aug. 7, 1855, died Aug. 23, 1863; Herbert, 
born July 23, 1859; Richard B., born Jan. 6, 1864. 
Of these, Willard E. married Ida E. Woodbury, of 
Ashburnham, Mass., Oct. 2, 1878. They have one 
child,—Bernice J. They reside in Turner’s Falls, 
Mass., where he is a paper manufacturer. Herbert 
is a mineralogist, and located in Denver, Col. Richard 
is with his elder brother, at Turner’s Falls, learning 
paper making. 

George Everett was benevolent and public-spirited, 
liberal in all his ideas, and kindly disposed. He al- 
ways manifested much interest in the welfare of those 
employed by him, or with whom he was brought in 
contact by business relations. He was a moral man, 
and was interested in all reform movements ; he was 
a liberal supporter of the church, though not a mem- 
ber. While he was always ready with material aid 
to help further any enterprise tending to the build- 
ing up or improvement of his town, yet he would 
never accept any office, preferring to leave the honors 
and cares of official life to those whose fancy or 
tastes led them in that direction, while he faithfully 
discharged the duties devolving upon him as a private 
citizen. 

He was a man of large physique and commanding 
personal appearance. 
grievous surprise to the community in which he lived, 
all of whom he could claim as his friends. He came | 
of an honorable and worthy ancestry, and was a fair 


His untimely death was a 





type of New England’s sturdy manhood, which fal- | 
tering at no obstacles, daunted at no discouragement, 
but earnest, active, and intelligent, marks out a course 
and object in life, and follows that course until the 
object be attained. 

(For additional history of Everett family, see his- 
tory of Norwood in this volume, by Francis Tinker.) | 





FRANCIS TINKER. 


If the reader has ever been at Plymonth and vis- 
ited Pilgrim Hall, he may have noticed, on the paling 
which incloses a fragment of the rock on which the 
Pilgrim Fathers landed, the names of those who came 
passengers in the “ Mayflower,’ and among those 





names he may have observed that of Thomas Tinker. 
From other records it appears “ that the said Thomas | 





Tinker brought with him a wife and two children,’’ 
and that he died a short time after his arrival. From 
this humble and short-lived pilgrim our family claim 
to be descended. The writer of the sketch of the 
town of Norwood was born Jan. 3, 1816, at Worth- 
ington, Hampshire Co., Mass., of pious parents, and 
it will suffice for him to say that in every place in 
which he has been ealled to reside, he has received 
every favor from his fellow-citizens to which he was 
entitled. 


DAVID SYLVESTER FOGG, M.D. 

David Sylvester Fogg is descended from two of the 
pioneer families of New England. He was born in Mer- 
edith, N. H., March 30, 1821, and was the fourth son of 
Joseph and Judeth (Gilman) Fogg. 
in this country are descended from a younger son of a 
family of that name still existing in the south of Eng- 
land. The family estates in England are entailed, and 
are now held—or were lately—by Sir Charles Fogg. 
The name of Gilman is found in the early chronicles 
of Wales. 
came to America in the early part of the seventeenth 


The Fogg family 


Representatives of these two families 


| century, and settled at Exeter, N. H., where were 
if 


born both the paternal and maternal grandfathers of 
Dr. Fogg, Stephen Fogg and Bradbury Gilman. 
When the war of the Revolution came both these 
gentlemen offered their services to their country ; they 
were in the battle of Bunker Hill and served subse- 
quently in that war. Soon after the close of the war 
they each married, and together moved to Meredith, 
N. H., where they took up contiguous tracts of wild 
land on the shore of Lake Winnipiseogee, which they 
cultivated and developed into valuable farms, and 
which are now in the possession of their descendants. 
They were among the early settlers of that part of 
New Hampshire. Joseph Fogg, son of Stephen 
and father of Dr. David S., held a commission as 
captain of New Hampshire militia in the war of 
1812-14. 

David S. Fogg obtained his academical education 
at Holmes’ Plymouth Academy and Dartmouth Col- 
lege. He studied medicine with Josiah Cosbey, 
M.D., of Manchester, N. H., and took the degree of 
doctor in medicine at Dartmouth Medical School in 
1845. The subsequent year he spent in the medical 
schools and hospitals of Philadelphia,—then the centre 
of medical learning in this country. In 1846 he set- 
tled in the south parish of Dedham (now the town of 
Norwood), in Norfolk Co., Mass. He soon obtained 
an extensive practice in this and surrounding towns, 
which he has sustained from that time to the present, 


516 





= 


when at the age of sixty-three he is still in active 
practice, and is among the oldest and most successful 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into 


practitioners of the county. During the course of his | 


practice he has received repeated professional calls from 
almost every town in the county. He is a member 
of the Norfolk Medical Society, Massachusetts Med- 
ical Society, and the American Medical Associa- 
In 1861 he was a volunteer surgeon in the 
On the organization of the 


tion. 
Peninsular campaign. 
boards of enrollment, he was appointed by President 
Lincoln surgeon of the board for the Seventh Massa- 


chusetts Division, headquarters at Concord, Mass., | 


and served in that office till the close of the war, | 


when he returned home and resumed his practice in 
Dedham and adjacent towns. 


eminent degree the confidence of those who know | 


him, not only as a skillful medical practitioner, but as 
an honest, honorable, earnest man ; he is distinguished 


for his sobriety, integrity, and love of right, for his _ 


gentle demeanor and kindly feeling. 

He married, 1847, Mary B., youngest daughter of 
Rey. Thomas W. Tucker, of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, who was at that time stationed at Dorchester, 
Lower Mills. 


Dr. Fogg enjoys in an | 





Mr. Tucker, father of Thomas, was | 


born in England; came when a young man to. 
America, settled in Boston, and married Hannah | 


Wait, of Medford. Thomas was the youngest of 
several children; received his education at the public 
schools, joined the Bromfield Street Methodist Church, 
and at the age of nineteen was licensed to preach. 


At the age of twenty-one he became a regularly or- | 
dained minister of that denomination, and continued | 


in active service more than sixty years. 
nation he joined the New England Conference, was 


On his ordi- | 


appointed one of its itinerant preachers, and assigned 


to the circuit of New Hampshire and Vermont. 
married Mary Orn, of Charleston, N. H., a woman 


He | 


of very superior qualities of mind and heart, and who | 


became a true helpmeet to him and a sharer of all 
his joys and sorrows, and was honored in the church 
As a 


preacher, Mr. Tucker was eminently successful, and 


and conference as a “mother in Israel.” 
as a faithful worker in the cause of his Master he had 
few, if any, equals; winning large numbers to a belief 
in and practice of the principles of religion, and 
greatly augmenting the membership of the church. 
Among his early and special converts was E. T. 
the 
preacher” of Boston. 


well-known and celebrated “sailor 


Taylor, 
Mr. Tucker died in Chelsea in 
1871, aged eighty years. 


Thus passed from earth | 


one whose whole life exemplified the bighest Christian | 


virtues. Following in the footsteps of his Master, he 
has doubtless received the welcome plaudit, “ Well 


the joy of thy Lord.” 

Dr. Fogg’s children—four sons and two daughters 
—were all born in Dedham (now Norwood). The 
eldest son, Irving 8., M.D., is a graduate of Harvard, 
and is now practicing medicine with his father. Ralph 
M. is a dentist in Boston. The younger children are 
still pursuing their education. Mrs. Fogg is quite 
skillful as a landscape artist, as the many productions 
of her brush which adorn the walls of their pleasant 
home will attest. 


OTIS MORSE. 


Otis Morse, of Norwood, is ninth in descent from 
Samuel, the first of the American line, who was born 
in England in 1585, emigrated to New England in 
1635, settled at Dedham in 1637, died in Medfield, 
April 5, 1654. The line of descent is Samuel’, John’, 
Ezra’, David‘, David®, Samuel®, Oliver’, Oliver® (who 
married Azubah Gay), Otis’, born in Norwood (then 
South Dedham), March 12, 1809. When about 
twelve years of age, as was usual with boys in the 
early days of our country, being one of a family of 
nine children and with limited means, Otis left home 
and went to work on the farm of one of the most 
progressive farmers in the section, Benjamin Weth- 
erbee ; there he remained four years, fixing himself in 
those habits of industry and perseverance which have 
been his help to success. Mr. Witherbee, prizing his 
services, endeavored to retain him until he was twenty- 
one. But Otis was determined to be a blacksmith, and 
learned the trade at a shop about two miles east of his 
present residence; stayed there until he was nearly 
twenty-two, then was employed by his cousin in a shop 
near the present Norwood Hotel. About six months 
after that he went in business for himself and erected 
a shop near his present house, purchasing the land 
and an uncompleted house, which he finished and 
made his home, and shortly starting for himself, bought 
the business of his cousin, thus having two establish- 
ments to occupy him. He ran these two shops for 
three years. His health at that time was much im- 
paired ; he had injured himself shoeing stage horses, 
and was obliged to cease work for a year before he 
built his shop. He came of a consumptive family, 
three of his brothers dying of that disease, but in 
Mr. Morse that tendency developed into stomach 
trouble, dyspepsia, and continued until he was fifty- 


two years old. After his health failed he formed 


a partnership with Nathaniel Noyes, of Dedham, to 


| 


make carriages and do blacksmith’s work, as Morse & 











































































































AAMUA 


NN 





HW 


AAA 


WH) 
UWF 
























































































































Ce a a eee a 


NEEDHAM. 


517 





| 
Noyes, in 1833. He still holds an interest in the > 


business, which has been carried on under the name 
of “ Otis Morse” for nearly forty years. He manu- 
factured and built iron fence for twenty-five years, 
and for thirty years has conducted the undertaking 
business. 
As an evidence of his industry, during the year of 
his illness he ran a fish-cart for several months. Mr. 
Morse married, first, Frances L. Boyden, by whom he 
had one child who attained maturity, Edward B. ; he 
is a resident of Boston, and an active business man. 


He owns several tenements which he lets. | 


Mrs. Frances Morse died Oct. 10, 1838, aged twenty- 


three years, and Nov. 20, 1839, Mr. Morse married, 
second, Hannah (Day) Polleys (daughter of John 
and Hannah (Day) Polleys; she was born July 25, 
1809. Otis Morse is a man of modest character, 


of William Nehoiden, of whom it was purchased by 
the inhabitants of Dedham on the 13th of April, 
1680. The consideration being ten pounds in money, 
fifty acres of land, and a quantity of Indian corn to 
the value of forty shillings. 

The first settlements were made in the northeastern 
part of the town, but the precise period cannot be 
It is probable, however, that it was not 
The ancient 


ascertained. 
long after the purchase from Nehoiden. 
records of Dedham show that a settlement existed 
here in March, 1694,and July 2, 1705, the select- 
men of the mother town granted a license to Benja- 
min Mills to keep a public-house near the Lower Falls. 

It is evident that quite a number had located here 


| prior to 1709, for on the 9th of March, of that year, 


of high integrity, indefatigable and close in his ap-_ 


plication to his work, honest and prudent. From 
nothing he has won success and a competency for his 
old age in the community where his goings out and 
comings in have been known to all men. 


Faithful in | 


the inhabitants petitioned the town of Dedham for a 
grant of eight pounds to defray the expense of three 
months’ preaching among themselves, which was 
granted. 

Incorporation of Town.—The settlement having 
now increased to a considerable extent, in May, 1710, 


all his relations, none speak of him but in praise of a petition for incorporation as a separate town was 


the worthiness of his character as a man, and of the 
skill he displayed as a workman in anything he un- 
dertook. 

Mr. Morse has done much to build up his native 
town, has assisted many people in starting business, 
built several houses and shops, was interested in the 
foundry that was built, and to him, with a few others, 
the prosperity of Norwood is largely due to-day. 
Politically he is a Republican. His religious belief’ is 
that of the Orthodox Congregationalists. In the 
home circle his labors have been ably and warmly 
seconded by his cheerful wife, the companion of more 
than forty years. Truly it may besaid of Mr. Morse, 
“having put his hand to the plow, he looketh not 


| 
| 


| 


presented to the General Court. This petition was 
signed by the following persons: Benjamin Mills, 
Andrew Dewing, John Fisher, Ephraim Ware, Rich- 
ard More, Robert Cook, Jeremiah Woodcock, Henry 
Alden, Thomas Metcalf, Benjamin Mills, Jr., Hleazer 
Kingsbury, Ebenezer Ware, James Kingsbury, Josiah 
Kingsbury, Joseph Hawes, Jonathan Dewing, John 
Smith, Jr., Thomas Fuller, Robert Fuller, Christo- 
pher Smith, John Gill, John Parker, Jr., John 
McIntire, Isaac Parker, Hezekiah Broad, Matthias 
Ockinton, Andrew Dewing, Jr., William Mills, Zech- 
ariah Mills, Jonathan Parker, Timothy Kingsbury, 
Samuel Bacon, Andrew Wadkins, Joshua Smith, 


Samuel Parker, John Fisher, Jr., John Woodcock, 


back,” and in his old age enjoys the results of indus- _ 


try and perseverance. 


CHAPTER 


NEEDHAM. 


X L. 


Indian Occupation—Original Purchase in 1680—Consideration 
—First Settlements— Petition for Preaching in 1709—Petition 


for A f I ion— aS —L: |e é 
Mea eet oie Gee eee tere ee oral wided they would have preaching among themselves. 


Support of Ministry—Incorporation of Town—Named after 
Needham in England—The First Town-Meeting—Selectmen 
Elected—Burying-Ground—The First Minister-—-First Meet- 
ing-House—Westerly Precinct Set Off—The First Chureh 
Bell—Early Educational Interests—Social Library. 


THE territory embraced within the bounds of the 
present town of Needham originally formed a portion 


Edward Cook, Stephen Hunting, John Parker. 
This petition, however, was opposed by the town of 
Dedham, and a committee was chosen by that town 


to appear at the October session of the General Court 


The General 


and remonstrate against the division. 


Court did not immediately grant the prayer of the 


petitioners, but advised the inhabitants of Dedham to 
exempt the petitioners from paying taxes for the sup- 
port of the minister then settled in their town, pro- — 


This advice was complied with by a vote of the town 


_ November 13th following. 


In addition to this, March 19, 1711, the proprie- 


_ tors of undivided land in Dedham granted to the set- 


of Dedham, and belonged to an Indian by the name | 


tlers here two lots of land, containing about one hun- 
dred and thirty-three acres, for the support of the 
ministry. 


518 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Although the situation of the inhabitants was now | 
virtually that of a separate precinct, yet they perse-— 
vered in their efforts for incorporation as a town, and | 
on the 5th of November, 1711, the General Court 
granted an order incorporating that portion of Ded- 
ham north of the Charles River under the name of 
Needham. 

What gave the new town the name of Needham is 
not definitely known, but Rev. Stephen Palmer, who 
was an authority on the local history of this town, in | 
a note to an historical address delivered by him in | 
1811, says, ‘‘ The author has been informed by one 
of the descendants of the venerable Timothy Dwight, 
of Dedham, who was a member of the Legislature 
when this town was incorporated, that it was named | 
Needham at the request of Governor Dudley after | 
Needham in England, and because that town is near | 
to Dedham, although in a different county.” 

The first town-meeting was held Dec. 4, 1711, 
when the following selectmen were chosen: John 
Fisher, John Smith, Benjamin Mills, and Robert 
Cook. 
Robert Cook was also the first representative to the 
General Court, May 19, 1712. 

At the same meeting (Dec. 4, 1711) the select- | 
men, Gay, Jeremiah Woodcock, | 
Thomas Metealf, and Eleazer Kingsbury, were made a | 





Timothy Kingsbury was chosen town clerk. 


with Jonathan 

committee to select a suitable place for burying the dead. 
In less than two months from the incorporation of | 

the town (Dec. 25, 1711) the inhabitants voted to | 


build a house for public worship. | 


This house was | 
raised in 1712, and in 1713-15 money was granted | 
for finishing various parts of it; “ but,” says Mr. Pal- | 
mer, “it does not appear that the house was entirely | 
finished, nor is there any account that it was ever | 
dedicated.” The first candidate to preach to them | 
was a Mr. Dewing, March 16, 1713, but the first 
regular pastor was Rey. Jonathan Townsend, or- | 
dained March 23, 1720. Mr. | 
Townsend, Thomas Metcalf, and Josiah Newell as _ 


The church chose 


deacons, all of whom declined, when Jeremiah Wood- | 
cock and Timothy Kingsbury were chosen, and ac- 
cepted. 

The first baptism was Ruth, child of Deacon Tim- 
othy Kingsbury, July 3, 1720. 

The Westerly Precinct was set off Oct. 3, 1774 
and in 1778 was made a separate society. 


- 


“A church bell was for the first rung in this town” | 
Nov. 15, 1811. 
The educational interest of the town received the | 


early attention of the first settlers, and in their peti- | 


{ 


tion for incorporation they expressed a concern for the | 


education of their children. 


_ off as fast as possible. 


In 1796 a social library was established in the 
town. 


CHAPTER XEE 


NEEDHAM—( Continued). 


War of the Revolution—The Battle of Lexington—Needham’s 
Prompt Response—Her Citizens perform Efficient Service— 
They harass the British Retreat from Lexington and Concord 
—Ephraim Bullard alarms the Minute-men—List of Names 
Composing Needham Companies—Capt. Aaron Smith’s Com- 
pany of Militia—Capt. Caleb Kingsbury’s Company of 
Minute-Men—Capt. Robert Smith’s Company—Sketches of 
the Killed—Incidents—Votes of the Town during the Rey- 
olutionary Period. 


War of the Revolution.—In the first battle of 
the war of the Revolution five citizens of Needham 
sacrificed their lives, and ‘‘ cemented with their 
blood the foundation of American liberty.” In pro- 
portion to its population Needham suffered more 
severely than any other town except Lexington. 
Three companies with full ranks hastened to the com- 
bat. 
men, Capt. Aaron Smith’s seventy men, Capt. Robert 
Smith’s seventy-five men, one hundred and eighty- 
five in all. It is probable that few, if any, able-bodied 
men remained at home. ‘The news of the battle 
reached Needham about nine o'clock in the morning, 
the messenger passing through the town to Dover 
and Dedham. The East Company, commanded by 
Capt. Robert Smith, immediately assembled at the 
meeting-house, and marched to Watertown, where 
refreshments were furnished. They then hastened on 
to the scene of action, where they did efficient service 
in harassing the British troops in their hurried retreat 


Capt. Kingsbury’s company numbered forty 


from Lexington and Concord. 

There is a tradition that the alarm was given at 
the west part of the town by a man who rode through 
the place bare-headed. At that time Ephraim Bul- 
lard kept a tavern on the Sherborn road. This house 
stood near where the stone lodge at the entrance to 
the college grounds now stands. 

Bullard went up on the hill near by, and discharged 


a gun three times as a signal. Great fires were made 


_in the house and bullets moulded, the women assist- 


ing in the work. The men were supplied and sent 
It is said that the West Need- 
ham men reached the scene of conflict a little in ad- 
vance of the East Company, having received the 
alarm earlier. 

The following is a list of the names of the men 
composing the Needham companies, copied from the 
original muster-rolls on file in the State archives: 








NEEDHAM. 


519 





“A Roll of Capt. Aaron Smith’s Company of militia, who 
marched in consequence of the alarrum made on the 19th of 
April last, in the Regement whereof William Heath, Esq., was 
then Col., as follows, viz:1 


Moses Bullard, lieut., 13. 
John Bacon, sergt., 5. 
Samuel Kilton, sergt., 5. 
Enoch Kingsbery, corp., 5. 
Joseph Drury, corp., 8. 
Joseph Mudg, drummer, 10. 


Aaron Smith, capt., 15. 
Josiah Upham, ensign, 9. 
William Fuller, sergt., 8. 
Joseph Daniell, sergt., 11. 
Jonathan Smith, corp., 13. 
Jeremiah Daniell, corp., 11. 


Privates. 


Jona. Whittemore, Jr., 8. 
Isaac Bacon, 8. 

David Trull, 5. 

Lemuel Brackett, 5. 
John Slack, 4. 

John Smith, Jr., 11. 
Joseph Hawes, 14. 
William Kingsbery, 7. 
Timothy Huntting, 12. 
Seth Broad, 9. 
Jonathan Kingsbery, 9. 
Joseph Kingsbery, 13. 
Jonathan Dunn, 9. 
Issachar Pratt. 4. 
Philip Floyd, 8. 
Samuel McIntire, 2. 
Peter Jenison, 5. 

Jobn Bullard, 5. 
Eliphelet Kingsbery, Jr., 9. 
Joseph Hawes, Jr., 9. 
Ebenezer Huntting, 9. 
Jeremiah Edes, 8. 
Moses Huntting, 8. 
John Smith (3d), 8. 
John Fuller, 4. 

Uriah Coller, Jr., 7. 
Moses Bacon, 7. 
William Huntting, 8. 
Noah Millard, 2. 


Stephen Bacon, Jr., 11. 
Moses Fuller, 9. 
Samuel Brackett, 10. 
Zebadiah Pratt, 6. 
Samuel Baley, 6. 
Daniel Huntting, Jr., 2. 
Moses Daggett, 15. 
Daniel Ware, 10. 
Samuel Daggett, Jr., 8. 
Benj. Mills, Jr., 14. 
Samuel Pratt, 15. 
Samuel Woodcock, 10. 
Jeremiah Smith, 11. 
Abner Felt, 4. 
Timothy Bacon, 8. 
Solomon Flagg, 5. 

Jos. Kingsbery, Jr., 5. 
Jeremiah Gay, 5. 
Jonathan Huntting, 5. 
Aaron Smith, Jr., 9. 
Amos Edes, 8. 

Samuel Smith, 5. 
Collins Edes, 5. 
Ithamar Smith, Jr., 7. 
Luke Mills, 7. 

Seth Pratt, 7. 

Israel Huntting, 7. 
Samuel Ward, 8. 

Abiel Smith (Natick), 2. 


Total amount £50 7s. 2d. 07. 
Aaron Suiru, Capt. 
Neepuam, March 14, 1776.” 


** Colony of the Massa. Bay, Mar. 15th, 1776, Capt. Aaron 
Smith above named, made oath to the truth of the above roll 
by him subscribed, according to the best of his knowledge. Be- 
fore Sam’l. Holten, Jus. Peace thro. the Colony.” 


“This copy hath been compared with the original thereof and 
agrees therewith. 

“ JostAH JOHNSON, ) 

j Com,” 


“ Jonas Dix. 


“Read and allowed and thereupon ordered, that a warrant 
be drawn on the Treas’r., for £50 7s. 2d. in full discharge of the 
within roll. 

“ PEREZ Morton, D. Sec’y.” 


“A muster Roll of the Travel and Service of a Company of 


Minute men in Needham under the command of Caleb Kings- | 





1 The figures at the end of the names denote the number of 
days served. 





bery, in Col. Davis’,Regiment that March’d in consequence of 
the Alarm made on the 19th of April, 1775, which is as fol- 


loweth, viz.: 
Caleb Kingsbery, capt., 2. 
Eleazer 2d 


wounded, 2. 
Samuel Daggett, sergt., 4. 


Kingsbery, It., 


Ephraim Stevens, sergt., 8. 
Samuel Brown, corpl., 5. 


Thomas Hall, corpl., 5. 

John Bacon, Ist It., killed, 1. 
Daniel Gould, sergt., 5. 

Isaac Underwood, sergt., 2. 
Samuel Daniell, cor., 1. 
Ephraim Bullard, drummer, 5. 


Privates. 


Ezekiel Richardson, 8. 


| Joseph Mudg, 1. 


Josiah Ware, 1. 

David Hall, 1. 

Jacob Parker, 8. 

David Smith, 2. 

Isaac Goodenow, Jr., 15. 


| Samuel Greenwood, 2. 


| Theodore Broad, 5. 


Nathaniel Kingsbery, 2. 
Amos Mills (killed), 1. 
Seth Wilson, 6. 
Henry Gale, 7. 
David Hagar, 6. 
Jobn Fuller, 2. 
Neepuam, March 24, 1776. 


“Colony of the Mass. Bay, March 15, 1776. 


Elijah Houghton, 2. 
Jesse Kingsbery, 1. 
Henry Dewing, 7. 
Stephen Huntting, 8. 
Jonathan Smith, 1. 
Moses Felt, 2. 

Thomas Discomb, 4. 
Abijah Mills, 11. 
Josiah Lyon, 2. 

John Edes, Jr., 2. 
Nathaniel Chamberlain, killed. 
Ithamar Smith, 8. 
Nehemiah Mills, Jr., 9. 
Jonas Mills, 7. 


CALEB KINGSBERY. 


Captain Caleb 


Kingsbery within named, made solemn oath to the truth of 

| the within Roll by him subscribed, to the best of his knowledge. 

Before San#i. Holten, Jus. Peace thro’ the Colony.” 
“Compared with the original and therewith agrees. 


“HR, STARKWEATHER, 
“ Jno. TURNER, Com.” 


“ Read and allowed and ordered that a Warrant be drawn on 
| the Treas’r. for £16 18s. 104d., in full of the within roll. 


‘Perez Morton, D. Sec’y.” 


“A Muster Roll of the Company under the Command of Capt. 
Robert Smith, in Colonel William Heath’s regiment, Needham, 
| January 3, 1776: 


Robert Smith, capt., 14. 
Oliver Mills, It., 12. 


| Silas Alden, ensign, 14. 


Jona. Gay, sergt., 14. 

Tho. Fuller, sergt., 14. 
Elisha Mills, sergt. (killed), 1. 
Eleaz. Fuller, sergt., 14. 
Sam. Alden, corp., 14. 
Eliakim Cooke, corp., 12. 
Sam. Fisher, corp., 14. 
Eben Day, corp., 15. 

Eben Clarke, drummer, 16. 
Josiah Fisher, fifer, 16. 
John MeIntosh, 16. 

Isaac Shepard, 14. 

Sam. Ware, Jr., 6. 

Rich’d Blencowe, 8. 
Jerem. Eaton, 14. 


| Eben Wilkinson, 1. 


Timo. Dewing, 3. 
Amos Fuller, Jr., 14. 


| Joseph Stowell, 6. 


Jere. Woodcock, 4. 


| John Bird, 5. 


Eben Clark, 3. 

Timo, Broad, 14. 
Josiah Dewing, 3. 
David Mills, 16. 
Phinehas Coller, 16. 
Theop. Richardson, 15, 
John Kitley, 6. 
Jona. Parker (killed), 1. 
Josiah Eaton, Jr., 14. 
Nath. Willson, 10. 
Moses Eaton, 14. 
Elmon Tolman, 14. 
Sam. Edes, 14. 

Benj. Ware, 6. 

Benj. Mills, Jr., 14. 
Aaron Paine, 10. 
Nathan Newell, 10. 
Wu. Smith, 4. 

Sam. Wight, 8. 
Josiah Newell, Jr., 4. 
Aaron Smith, Jr., 4. 
Uriah Coller, 15. 
John Clark, 16. 
Rich’d. O’Brian, 9. 


520 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Rich’d. Richardson, 5. 
Josiah Lyon, Jr., 10. 
Joseph Ware, 10. 
Thomas Fisher, 11. 
Simeon Fisher, 10. 
John Tolman, 16. 
Jona. Kingsbury, 10. 
Theop. Richardson, Jr., 14. 
Nath. Fisher, Jr., 14. 
Aaron Ayers, 14. 

William Eaton, 14. 

Aaron Fisher, 12. 

Timo. Fisher, 14. 

Joseph Colburn, 14. 


Daniel Wight, 10. 
Eben. Richardson, 11. 
David Nowell, 10. 
Elijah Fuller, 16. 
Jonathan Ware, 6. 
Sam. Pain, 1. 
Solomon Fuller, 8. 
Ezra Mills, 10. 

Philip Mills, 14. 
Lem. Eaton, 9. 

Lem. Mills, 7. 

Robt. Fuller, Jr., 8. 
Joseph Colburn, Jr., 3. 


“Suffolk ss., Jan. 2, 1776. The above named Capt. Smith ap- 
peared and made oath that this Muster Roll was carefully made 
and according to his belief. 

“ Before me JostAn NEWELL, Justice Peace. 

“Examined and compared with original by 

“ James Dix, 
“Epwarp Rawson, Com.” 


“In Council March 19th, 1776. Read and allowed, there- 


£67 17s. 1?d. in full discharge of the same.” 


The following particulars have been gathered, re- 
lating to the men who were killed. They were all 
natives of Needham except Chamberlain. 

Sergeant Elisha Mills was the son of Zechariah and 


Margaret (Kenrick) Mills, and was born in 1735; 


married Deborah Lyon on May 10, 1759. Children,— | 


Elisha, Debby, Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Paul, and George. 
He was by occupation a blacksmith. He owned 
the farm on the south road which some few years 
ago belonged to Mr. Horace Felton. The Mills house 


was taken down in 1862, by Mr. Felton, who erected | 


a new house a short distance from the oldsite. It is 


said that Mills came to his death in the following | 


manner: He with others were in a barn as the main 
body of the red-coats were passing, the flank guard 
being close by. Mills stepped out, raised his gun to 
his shoulder and fired. He instantly fell pierced by a 
half-dozen balls. His body was brought home the 
next day ina cart, driven by Aaron Smith, Jr., who 
afterwards married the widow. 

Amos Mills, son of Isaac and Abigail (Ward) 
Mills, was born June 29, 1732. 


and six children. 


He left a widow 
He was a cousin of Elisha Mills. 
He lived at the west part of the town, on what is 
now called Blossom Street. His home has since been 
known as the Abijah Stevens place. 

Jonathan Parker was born April 19, 1747, and 
was, therefore, just twenty-eight years of age at the 
time of his death. He was the son of Jonathan and 
Anna (Wight) Parker. 
1, 1769. 
have been other children, but their births are not on 


They had one son, Jonathan. ‘There may 


record. 





_ thirty-six acres of land, appraised in 1776 at one hun- 


| Fuller. 


dred and sixty-five pounds. The house he occupied 
was taken down some years ago by the late Spencer 
It stood within a few rods of the residence 
of Mr. William Pierce. His widow married Deacon 
Isaac Shepard. According to tradition, Parker and 


one Aaron Fisher, also of Needham, had sheltered 


_ themselves behind a barn to get a shot at the enemy, 


_ when they were surprised by the flank guard. 





_when they got nearly to the Lower Falls. 


Parker 
was shot making for the woods. Fisher escaped. 
Lieut. John Bacon lived in that part of Needham 
set off to Natick in 1797. Born in 1721; married 
Abigail Sawin, 1744. They had nine children. Aus- 
tin Bacon, Esq., a great-grandson of Lieut. Bacon, 
gives the following interesting account of the cireum- 
stances attending the death of his ancestor: “ In the 
night or near morning the alarm was given, and he set 


off on horseback to join his comrades at the more 
upon ordered that a Warrant be drawn on the Treas’r for | 


eastern part of the town, and sent his horse back 
Soon after 
he had gone a trumpet sounded, and some Framing- 
ham men came along with one Nero Benson, a negro, 
for a trumpeter, and every house they passed had a 
blast. 
they heard from him, when one Hawes, they used to 
call ‘Old Hawes,’ came home (he was a soldier in 
the French and Indian war), and gave the following 


I think it was early the next morning before 


account: That Bacon and himself were on a ledge of 
rocks in Menotomy behind a stone wall, trying to get 
a good shot at the red-coats. 
the flank guard should surprise them, and kept a 
lookout. Bacon, with his powder in his hat, was 
lying behind the wall with another, when Hawes said, 
‘Run or you are dead, here’s the side guard.’ They 
tried to get over the wall, but Bacon was shot through 
near the third button on his vest. 
receiving the news my grandfather (son of Lieut. 
Bacon) went off to see how it was, and near night, 
April 20, came home with his clothes, the body hav- 
ing been buried at West Cambridge. The clothes 


Hawes was fearful lest 


Immediately on 


were found in the school-house, and the moment 


erandfather entered the room he knew the old striped 
hat which was put on top of the roll of clothes.” 
Bacon was described as a great worker, and would 


_ oftentimes have eight or ten Indians, negroes, and four 


Married Jemima Allen June | 


He owned a dwelling-house, barn, and about | 


yoke of oxen in his field. 

He went to Annapolis Royal in the French war, 
between 1745 and 1748. 

Nathaniel Chamberlain was a soldier in the French 
war. His name appears on a “Return of men In- 
listed for his Majesty’s Service for the Total Reduc- 
tion of Canada.” He is there stated to be a resident 


of Needham, born in Roxbury, enlisted March 20, 





NEEDHAM. 521 





1760, at that time forty-one years of age. From the upon us in such a manner .as to produce the utmost 


town records we learn that Nathanieland Jane Cham- | 


berlain had four children,—Abijah, Jane, Nathaniel, 
and Anne. 

John Tolman was severely wounded. 
nearly shot through the body that the ball was ex- 
tracted from the opposite side.’”’ He recovered, and 
afterwards served a term in the war. 

Lieut. Eleazer Kingsbery was wounded. 
said that he was struck in the leg by a musket-ball, 


which was prevented from penetrating the flesh by | 


his leather breeches.” 

In 1851 a granite obelisk was erected in a sightly 
Upon the side of the 
monument facing the public street appears the follow- 


position in the old cemetery. 


ing inscription : 
“ In 
memory 
of 
John Bacon, 
Amos Mills, 
Elisha Mills, 
Jona’ Parker, 
and 
N. Chamberlain, 
who fell 
at Lexington 
April 19, 1775. 
For 
Liberty they died.” 


The following narrative of Revolutionary events is 
taken from an unpublished autobiography kept by 
Rev. Samuel West, who was the minister of the town 
in 1775 :* 

‘Clouds and thick darkness at this period threat- 
ened an impending storm to these American colonies. 
Every week and almost every day produced some- 
thing new, either to manifest or to increase the irri- 
tation of the people. Mobs were continually rising, 
and some of our best men were dragged from their 
houses, arraigned before the basest and meanest mem- 


dignity. 


valuable as naturally sunk to the bottom. The meas- 
were precisely such as to keep up the former, without 
any tendency to accomplish their purpose. 


1 Rev. Samuel West, D.D., was born at Martha’s Vineyard, | 


Nov. 19,1738. Graduated at Harvard University, 1761. Ac- 
cepted an invitation to settle in Needham, and was ordained 
April 14, 1764. Removed to Boston, 1788, to become the minis- 
ter of the Hollis Street Society, and died in that town April 10, 
1808. 


““ He was so | 





“Tt is | 





_ The news reached us about nine o'clock A.M. 





In a boiling cauldron, the scum and filth | 
naturally rose to the top, while that which was most | ; 
| victorious army, especially in civil wars like this. 
ures pursued by the government in Great Britain | Whatever I had read on the subject now came fresh 
to my mind, and produced the most painful appre- 


“On the 19th of April, 1775, the storm burst | 





consternation and distress, both to the British and 
Americans who witnessed the scene. I shall not de- 


| . . . . . 
| tail the circumstances which attended the tragic affair 


any further than as they are immediately connected 
with the object of the memoirs, which is not to give 
a history of the times any further than as events re- 
late to or immediately affect myself and family. In 
the night after the 18th of April, a detachment of the 
British troops marched out of Boston for the purpose 
of securing to themselves or destroying the provisions, 
etc., which had been deposited at Concord by order 
They in part effected 
their purpose, but were soon attacked by our people, 


of the provincial government. 


and a continual skirmish was kept up during the 
About one hundred 
on both sides were killed, and many were wounded. 


The 


East Company in Needham met at my house, as part 


march from Concord to Boston. 


of the military stores were deposited with me; they 
then supplied themselves, and by ten o’clock all 
marched for the place of action, with as much spirit 
and resolution as the most zealous friend to the cause 
We could easily trace the 
march of the troops from the smoke which arose over 


could have wished for. 


them, and could hear from my house the report of 
the cannon and the platoons fired by the British. The 
Needham company were soon on the ground, but, un- 


happily, being ignorant of what are called flank 


guards, they inserted themselves between them and 
the main body of the British troops. In consequence 
of which they suffered more severely than their neigh- 
bors, who kept at a greater distance. 

‘* Never did I know a more anxious day than this, 
not so much on account of what was taking place, 
although that was solemn and deeply affecting, but 
I considered it as no more than the beginning of sor- 
rows, and a prelude to infinitely more distressing 
scenes which we expected would follow. We even 


bers of society, and treated with every mark of in- | anticipated the enemy, enraged as they were, at our 


doors and in our houses, acting over all the horrors 
which usually attend the progress of an exasperated 


hensions. All this actually took place, though not 
as I expected with respect to my family and neigh- 
bors, yet in other and many parts of America. But 
it was a happy circumstance that the people in gen- 
eral, and even our principal leaders, had none of 
these gloomy apprehensions, and flattered themselves 
that the contest would soon be over. That if we 
could but dispose of the British force already here, 


522 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





that government would never think of pursuing the 
affair any further, but come to some compromise with 
the colonies to mutual advantages. In the evening 
we had intelligence that several of the Needham in- 
habitants were among the slain, and the next morning 
it was confirmed that five had fallen in the action 
and that several others had been wounded. 
remarkable that the five who fell had families and 


several of them very numerous families, so there 


were about forty widows and fatherless children made | 


in consequence of their death. 
lies immediately, and with a sympathetic sense of 
their affliction I gave to some the first intelligence 
which they had of the dreadful event,—the death of 
a husband and a parent. 
in which the tidings were received discovered the 
While some 
were almost frantic in their grief, others received the 
news in profound silence, as if in a consternation of 
grief they were incapable of shedding tears or utter- 
I shall only add further, with 
respect to this memorable day, that it appeared to 
have a surprising effect on the spirit of the people 
in general, and, from being, as I had supposed them, 
and as they were actually, mild and gentle, they be- 


different dispositions of the sufferers. 


ing sighs or groans. 


came at once ferocious and cruel, at least towards all | 


those whom they suspected as unfriendly to their 
cause. Their treatment of such as the British had 


left dead on the road was such as I never could have | 


supposed. They were stripped for the sake of their 
clothes, and left naked on the highway until buried 
by order of our government.” 

We may fittingly close this chapter with the lan- 
guage of Mr. Charles C. Greenwood, being the closing 


I visited those fami- | 


The very different manner | 


| 
| 


It was | 





words of an able article by him entitled “ Need- | 


ham in 1775:” “Few towns can present a nobler 
record for ‘ patriotism and devotion to the cause of 


civil liberty’ than the good old town of Needham.” 


Votes During the Revolutionary Period.'—The | 


| great sacrifices made by the patriots. 


army’ and that on Hudson’s River, and prominent 
citizens of Needham, of whom Col. William McIntosh 
was the most conspicuous, served as officers in dis- 
tant places. 

There were doubtless other soldiers from this town 
whose names are either not found upon the rolls, or 
could only be found by an exhaustive search. When 
it is considered that in 1775 the population of the 
town was less than a thousand, and that the people 
were farmers with but little personal property or ready 
inoney, it will be possible to form some idea of the 
Few towns 
were more prompt in furnishing the required supplies, 
or in raising their quota of men. The public action 
taken by the town during the great struggle for a na- 
tional existence cannot be better illustrated than by the 
following extracts from the town records, which fur- 
nish ample evidence how nobly Needham did her part 
in the war, and what privations her sturdy yeomen 
must have borne to meet the constant drain of money 
and supplies which they cheerfully voted. 

Aug. 31, 1774, the town chose Capt. EHleazer 
Kingsbery, Capt. Lemuel Pratt, Mr. Jonathan Dem- 
ing, Mr. Samuel Daggett, and Capt. Caleb Kingsbery 


a committee ‘‘ To attend a County Convention at the 


House of Mr. Woodward, Inn-holder in Dedham, on 
Tuesday the Sixth Day of September Next at Ten 
o'clock, before Noon, To Deliberate and Determine 
upon all matters as the Distressed Circumstances of 
this Province may Require.” 

Sept. 30, 1774, Capt. Eleazer Kingsbery was 


| chosen a delegate to the Provincial Congress, to 


meet at Concord “the Second Tuesday of October 
next,” and January 26th following he was again 
chosen agreeably to a recommendation by the Con- 
gress, Dec. 10, 1774, to the towns to choose members. 

March 23, 1775, the town voted that the collectors 


of province taxes, who had not already paid over the 


muster-rolls in the State archives give the names of | 


upwards of three hundred Needham men who served 
in the war of the Revolution. 
marched to Lexington, and others assisted in the forti- 
fication of Dorchester Heights, or did guard duty on 


Castle Island and at other places about Boston. 


mouey to Hon. Harrison Gray, Esq., should pay it 


to Henry Gardner, Esq., of Stow. Gray was the 


_ agent of the crown, and Gardner of the Congress. 


A large number | 


The | 


town had its quota of soldiers at Ticonderoga, and in | 


the Rhode Island campaign, and of the “three years’ 


men,” 
more, and doubtless participated in the principal bat- 
tles and witnessed the great historical events of the 
war. Men were raised to recruit the ‘“ Northern 


' Compiled by Mr. George K. Clarke. 


many served their full time and some even | 


i 


May 29,1775, Col. William McIntosh was chosen 
a delegate to the Provincial Congress to be held at 
Watertown, 31st instant, and Capt. Robert Smith, a 
“Committee of Correspondence.” 

March 11, 1776, Mr. John Slack, Mr. Michael 
Metcalf, and Mr. William Smith were chosen a ‘“‘ Com- 
mittee of Correspondence, Inspection, and Safety,” and 
June 24, 1776, the town voted to instruct and advise 
their present Representative, ‘That if the Honour- 
able Congress for the Safety of the United Colonies 
Declare them Independent of the Kingdom of Great 
Britain, that they, the Said Inhabitants, will Solemnly 





NEEDHAM. 523 





Engage with their Lives and fortunes to Support them | 
in ye measure.” 

July 15, 1776, the town voted to choose a com-_ 
mittee “to Consult what Method to Raise the money | 
to Incouriage the Men that are to be Raised to Go to 
Canady :’”’ Col. William McIntosh, Capt. Aaron Smith, 
Mr. Michael Metcalf, Capt. Robert Smith, and Mr. 
John Slack were chosen, and reported as follows: | 
“That the Town Should Raise Seven Pounds in ad- 
dition to the Bounty already Granted by the General | 
Court, to Every Non-Commissioned Officer and Sol- 
dier, that should Enlist for Canady. We further Re- 
port, as our opinion that the men that were Out 
Last Summer in the Eight Months Service should be 
allowed half a turn, and if any of the Kight Months 
Men Should turn out and Inlist and take the Fourteen 
pounds shall be allowed half a turn more which will 
make a whole turn. We further Report as our opinion 
that if any Should Inlist that were Not in the Last 
Years’ Service and take up the seven pounds Granted 
by the General Court Shall be allowed a whole turn ; 
and if they take the Fourteen Pounds shall be allowed 
half a turn.” 
pounds to each non-commissioned officer and soldier 
who should enlist for Canada. 

Oct. 29, 1776, the town voted that the Council and 
House of Representatives should act as a “ Joynt | 





The town also voted to grant seven 


Body” to form a new Constitution to be published in 
every town in the State, and to be acted upon by the | 
electors. 

Feb. 17, 1777, it was voted to pay a bounty of | 
fourteen pounds toeach man who should enlist in the 


Continental army for three years, or for the war. 
This bounty was raised by a tax, and the town also 
chose a committee of seven to learn what had been 
paid to reinforce the army, “and who has Done a 
turn or part of a turn Personally,” and voted to raise 
money by a tax to pay these claims. 

February, 1777, the following persons who enlisted 


for service in Canada were paid their bounty of seven 
pounds each: Nathaniel Fisher, Aaron Fisher, Isaac 
Goodenow, John Kittley, Josiah Upham (for his ne- | 
gro’s enlisting), Benjamin Mills, Jr., Benjamin Mills 
(3d), Ebenezer Huntting, Jonathan Huntting, Israel | 
Huntting, Moses Eaton, Lemuel Eaton, Jonathan 
Whittemore, Jr., Jeremiah Woodcock (paid to his 
father), John Beaverstock, and John Smith, Sr. 7 
The Declaration of Independence is spread in full 


upon the records in the clear and bold handwriting of 
Lieut. Robert Fuller, the town clerk, and is followed 
by an order of Council that the same be “ Printed, 
and a Copy Sent to the Ministers of each Parish, of 
every Denomination within this State, and that they 


Severally be Required to read the Same to their Re- 
spective Congregations, as Scon as divine Service is 
Ended, in the afternoon, On the first Lord’s Day 
after they shall have Received it. And after Such 
Publication thereof to Deliver the Said Declaration to 
the Clerks of their Several Towns, or Districts; who 
are hereby Required to Record the Same in their Re- 
spective Town, or District's Books, there to remain as 
a Perpetual Memorial thereof.” 

March 10, 1777, Mr. William Smith, Lieut. Eben- 
ezer Fuller, and Mr. Joseph Daniell, Jr., were chosen 
a ‘*Committee of Correspondence, Inspection, and 
Safety.” 

May 26, 1777, the town expressed their opinion 
that the Council and House of Representatives should 
“postpone Coming into a New form of Government at 
present’’ because of the “ War Still Raging.” 

August 15, 1777, voted to pay a bounty of twenty 
pounds each to those enlisting to reinforce the North- 
ern army. 

Dec. 15, 1777, Thomas Fuller, John Bird, and 
Josiah Ware were chosen a committee to provide for 
the families of those men who had enlisted for three 
years, or for the war. The town also accepted the 
reports of committees relating to soldiers who had 
served near Boston in 1775 and 1776, at Ticonderoga 
in 1776, at York, and at Castle Island, and voted eight 
shillings per month to those men who went to the 
islands near Boston in 1776, and four pounds each to 
those who went to Providence in May, 1777. Lieut. 
Moses Bullard was allowed £6 13s. 4d. “ for his Going 


_ to Ticonderoga,” Lieut. Oliver Mills the same for going 


to York in December, 1776, and Lieut. Enoch Kings- 
bery £3 6s. 8d. for going to York. 

Feb. 6 and 9, 1778, the selectmen granted orders 
on the town treasurer to two hundred and twenty-nine 
persons for services or money paid during the war. 
The amounts averaged about £6. March 9th, Josiah 
Eaton, Henry Dewing, and Ebenezer Newell were 
chosen a “ Committee of Correspondence, Inspection, 
and Safety.” 

In 1778 the town paid for clothes, shoes, etc., fur- 
nished the army, and May 6th of that year a committee 
was chosen to hire men “at the best method they 
can,” to reinforce Gen. Washington and the army at 
Hudson’s River. Col. William McIntosh, Capt. 
Aaron Smith, Capt. Eleazer Kingsbery, Sergt. Jona- 
than Gay, and Mr. Aaron Smith, Jr., were chosen, and 
the necessary money voted. 

May 22, 1778, Benjamin Mills, Jeremiah Daniel, 
and Jonathan Smith were added to the committee to 
care for soldiers’ families, and May 28th the town voted 


‘ £154 to pay for the clothing sent as a gift to the 


524 





Continental soldiers that went from Needham. March 
11, 1779, the committee of ‘ Correspondence,’’ ete., 
chosen the last year was re-elected. 

In the winter of 1779 numerous payments were 
made for clothing ete., for the army, and March 19, 
1779, the town accepted the reports of several com- 
mittees relating to soldiers who had served in various 
localities. Elmun Tolman and Nathan Dewing, “ that 
were in the Year’s Service,” were voted each £6 13s. 4d., | 
and 20s. per day, with their wages, was voted to those 
who went, or sent others, to Rhode Island “ in August 
Last.” Also £11 per month to those who “ went to | 
Boston in September, 1778, or hired men in their | 
Room for three months.” A committee of five, con- | 
sisting of Mr. John Slack, Capt. Caleb Kingsbery, 
Capt. Aaron Smith, Capt. Robert Smith, and Mr. 
Jeremiah Daniel, were chosen ‘to Set what Sum of 
money the town Shall Allow to a man that may be 
Drafted or Goes Volentary into the Publick Service 
of the War Needham.” 


for the Town of Aaron | 





Smith, Jr., Jonathan Gay, and Isaac Goodenow were | 
added the next July. | 
The town voted £3000 “ to pay the charge of the | 
War the Last Year,” and Josiah Newell, Jr., Josiah | 
Upham, Ensign Timothy Kingsbery, Josiah Newell, 
Esq., Deacon John Fisher, Moses Kingsbery, and 
Col. William McIntosh were chosen a committee to 
take care of the families of the Continental soldiers. 
May 24th, Jonathan Gay was added to the committee. | 
’ July 26, 1779, voted to pay £17 to those men | 
“that went to Gard at Boston in Sep'", 1778.” 

Oct. 19, 1779, the town voted to increase the ap- 
propriation of £4000 for the support of the war to 
£7000. 

Oct. 15, 1779, the selectmen granted orders to 
ninety-five persons for services and money paid on | 
account of the war, and during the first three months 





of 1780 many similar orders were granted. 

March 13, 1780, Moses Man, Aaron Smith, Jr., 
and Eleazer Fuller were chosen a committee of ‘ Cor- 
respondence, Inspection, and Safety,” and March 17, 
1780, Capt. Eleazer Kingsbery, Mr. Nathaniel Fisher, 
Mr. Ephraim Pain, Capt. Caleb Kingsbery, Mr. | 
Ebenezer Day, Mr. Timothy Newell, and Lieut. Tim- | 
othy Kingsbery were chosen a committee to ‘“ Supply 
the Continental Soldiers’ Families.” 

May 29, 1780, the town voted to choose a com- 
mittee of five “to hire men in the Publick Service 
of the War if any Shall be Wanting,” and Aaron 
Smith, Jr., Eleazer Fuller, Josiah Newell, Jr., Enoch | 





Parker, and Amos Fuller were chosen. It was also 
voted to empower the committee to hire money if | 


necessary. | 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





June 6, 1780, Rev. Mr. Samuel West, Nathaniel 
Fisher, Michael Metealf, Capt. Aaron Smith, Josiah 
Newell, Esq., Samuel Daggett, Jonathan Smith, Rob- 


ert Fuller, Jr., and Moses Fisk, the committee chosen 


to report on the acceptance of the “ Form of Govern- 
ment’ proposed for the State, reported favorably on all 
the articles but the third, which in their opinion was 
inconsistent with religious liberty. They also ex- 
pressed the opinion that the writ of habeas corpus 


ought to be suspended in time of war only, and for 


not more than six months. 

June 16, 1780, it was voted to raise by a tax the 
necessary money to hire men for the war, and Samuel 
Alden, John Slack, Jr., and Robert Fuller, Jr., were 
added to the committee chosen May 29th. 

July 17, 1780, the town voted a “ Tax of Thirty 
Thousand pounds in addition to the Thirty thousand 
pounds already granted to be raised this Year to hire 
men.” 

December, 1780, a tax of £23,000 was voted “ to 
Purchase the Beef that is now Called for from the 
town of Needham by order of the General Court.” 
Lieut. Oliver Mills, Samuel Daggett, and Timothy 
Hunting were chosen to hire men for the war. Aaron 
Smith, Jr., Capt. Moses Bullard, John Ayers, and 
Capt. John Bacon were added to this committee Jan. 
to, 78st. 

January 29th another committee, consisting of 
Capt. Moses Bullard, Moses Man, Capt. John Bacon, 
Samuel Fisher, Isaac Goodenow, Jr., Lieut. Enoch 
Kingsbery, and Capt. Robert Smith, were chosen for 
the same purpose. 

Feb. 26, 1781, it was voted to add £250 hard 


money to the £300 already granted by the town “ to 
raise ye men that are now Called for.” 


April 5, 1781, “ Crown””’ Nathaniel Fisher, Capt. 
Robert Smith, and Capt. William Smith were chosen 
a committee of ‘“ Correspondence, Inspection, and 
Safety.” 

July 9, 1781, £220 hard money was voted to pur- 


chase the beef required of the town by the General 


Court, and Timothy Newell, Ensign Josiah Upham, 
and Capt. Isaac Goodenow were chosen to make the 

The committee to hire soldiers was re- 
Aaron Smith, Jr., was added thereto, and 
£180 hard money or the equivalent in paper money 
was voted for the use of the committee. 

March 18, 1782, it was voted to raise by tax £550 
to pay the bounty of the three-years’ men. 

Col. William McIntosh! was born in Dedham, June 
16, 1722. His father died when he was but two 


purchase. 
elected. 





1 By Rev. Stephen Palmer. 





NEEDHAM. 


525 





years old. He lived in his native town! till he at- 


tained to the age of fourteen, when he went to the | 


State of Connecticut with the view of learning the 
trade of a carpenter. But, pursuing this occupation 
about a year, he became dissatisfied with it, and re- 


x | 
linquishing the idea of being a mechanic he returned _ 
In that 


and lived a number of years in Roxbury. 
town he entered the marriage state Aug. 26, 1745. 
It has been remarked by an eminent writer that 


The time in which he was 
called to act was eventful to our country, when much 


born at a proper time.” 


energy and many important duties were imperiously 


required. In the public and momentous concerns of 


this period he took an active and occasionally a peril- | 


ous part. 

His public career was commenced in what is called 
the French war. When forces were raised to repel 
the incursions of the enemy at Crown Point and Lake 
Champlain he received an ensign’s commission Sept. 


9, 1755, and soon after joined the army at Fort Ed- 


ward. This was about two months after the memo- | 


rable defeat of Gen. Braddock, when public affairs 
But the 
dangers of the enterprise did not prevent him from 
engaging in the defense of his country. In conflicts 
with the enemy he displayed much personal bravery, 
and though his life at times was brought into jeop- 


assumed a gloomy and threatening aspect. 


| 
} 





ardy, yet he showed no disposition to shrink from | 


duty or desert his post. 
his situation was such that either capture or death 
seemed inevitable, but by the God of armies he was 
preserved from both.’ 


At one time in particular 


During this war and in testimony of his faithful 


services he was promoted to the office of first heuten- 
ant. This commission, dated March 13, 1758, he 
received at Lake George, where he was then stationed. 
This higher trust he executed with his accustomed 


On leaving the army he returned to his family and 
to the duties of a private citizen in Roxbury. He 


| and respected. 


of the town. Soon after this appointment he was 
raised to the office of lieutenant-colonel. This office 
he held at the commencement of the Revolution and 
discharged the duties of it in the first action of the 
war, that well-known action which took place in this 
vicinity. 

On the 14th of February, 1776, by the Council of 


this State he was appointed colonel of the first regi- 
_ ment of militia in the county of Suffolk. Under this 
“it is necessary for a great or useful man to be— 


appointment he went into the army at different stages 
of the war, and was engaged in some of the important 
battles which were fought. In time of engagement 
he was noted for his coolness, fortitude, and bravery. 
While he was guarded and prudent in his measures, 
His 


military talents and services caused him to be noticed 


he was also courageous and firm in his conduct. 


By his companions in arms he was 
much approved; commanders of a higher grade paid 
him a tribute; and even by the great Washington, 
according to correct information, he was called a good 
officer and a brave man. It is, therefore, no more 


than justice to his memory that he should be enrolled 


in that catalogue of worthies whose patriotism and 


heroic exertions, under the auspices of Providence, 
secured the freedom and independence of our country. 

But the public services of our friend were not con- 
fined to the field; he was also much employed in the 
cabinet. The public concerns of this town and of 
this parish have been often committed to his trust. 
For twelve years he served the town in the capacity 
of a selectman, and five years he was a representative 
of it in General Court, during which periods he was 
occasionally appointed on many important commit- 
tees, and was esteemed a valuable member of the 
Legislature. 

We have yet to add, and what may be ranked 


_ among the more important acts of his public life, that 
in the year 1779 he was chosen and acted as a mem- 
fidelity in further defending the rights of his country. | 


continued in that town till May 23, 1764, when he | 


removed to Needham. Here he has statedly resided 
to the end of his days, a period of nearly forty-nine 
years, and has been much esteemed and respected 
among us. About the year 1774, when the militia 
in this town was divided into two companies, he was 


chosen the first captain of the company in this part | 





1 In the family of Capt. David Fales. 

2 At this time he was deserted by his men, and within pistol- 
shot of the enemy was fired upon singly by five hundred In- 
dians. But being on descending ground, they shot over him, 
and through divine protection he was enabled to escape. 





ber of the convention which formed the Constitution 
of this commonwealth. And in the year 1788 he was 
also a member of the convention in this State ap- 
pointed for the purpose of taking into consideration 
the national Constitution, and voted for its adoption. 

Col. McIntosh was naturally a man of firmness and 
stability. 
was remarkably even and uniform in his deportment, 


Possessing a well-poised constitution, he 


small things did not move him; though he was by 
no means destitute of passion, and was susceptible of 


_ strong feelings, yet he had the government of himself. 
| He mixed prudence with fortitude, and was habitually 


guarded and exemplary in what he said and did. 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





526 
CHAPTER XLIL 
NEEDHAM—( Continued). 

Ecclesiastical History—Congregational Church—Unitarian 


Chureh—Baptist Church—Methodist Church, 


Highlandville—Second Adventists. 


Episcopal 


Congregational Church.'—The town of Need- 
ham, originally a part of Dedham, was incorporated 
Noy. 5,1711. The first Congregational Church was 
organized March 20, 1720, on the Sabbath, and Mr. 
Jonathan Townsend, the first minister, was ordained 
March 23, 1720. 
was graduated from Harvard College in 1716. 
continued with this church forty-two years and a half. 
The Rev. Samuel West, D.D., succeeded him, his 
settlement occurring April 25,1764. He resigned 
Nov. 15, 1788, and was installed over the Hollis 
Street Church, in Boston, the next year, where he re- 
mained until his death, April 10,1808. Mr. West 
was born in Martha’s Vineyard, 1738, and was gradu- 
ated 1761. Four years after Mr. 


at Harvard in 


West’s resignation Mr. Stephen Palmer was ordained. | 


His pastorate continued until his death, Oct. 31,1821. : i 
1857, when the Rev. Lucius R. Eastman was en- 


Mr. Palmer was born in Norton, 1766, and was grad- 
uated at Harvard, 1789. 
Mr. William Ritchie was installed Dec. 12, 1821. 


He was born in Peterborough, N. H., 1781, and was | a : 
organization was needed, and a council was called to 


graduated at Dartmouth in 1804. 

For more than a century was this church firm in its 
belief in the cardinal doctrines of the evangelical 
churches of New England. There came a time of 
spiritual apathy which resulted in an almost entire 
departure from the early faith, and the church passed 
out of the hands of Congregationalism. 

The year 1855 marks the beginning of the later 
history of Congregationalism in the eastern part of 
the town of Needham. ‘There were at that time a 
number of persons who had no opportunity to wor- 


ship with the church of their choice. There were 


He was born in Lynn in 1698, and)” ; : 
since that time they have been independent, never 


He | 


meetings during this time, furnished the Bible which 
was used, often bringing singers with him to the 
services, and not being pleased with the condition of 
the walls of the hall, he had them papered at his 
own expense. This church, as well as at least two 
others in the neighborhood, owes very much to Dr. 


Burgess’ kindness and labor freely bestowed. He 


_ was the father of the enterprise here, and is gratefully 


remembered. 
In 1856, on the last Monday of April, a meeting 


_ was called of those interested in these services to see 


what should be done for the future. They decided 
to continue the services at their own expense, and 


having received aid from any missionary society. 
Many of the people living at a distance from Nehoiden | 
Hall, it was thought best to hold the meetings in a 
more central place. Village Hall, near the depot, 
was hired for this purpose, and was fitted up in an 
appropriate manner. This hall was burned in the 
spring of 1882. The first service was held in this 
new place of worship on the first Sunday of July, 
1856. Dr. Burgess preached the first sermon. The 


pulpit was supplied by various ministers until Feb. 8, 


gaged as stated supply, being the first minister to 
reside among this people. 
The time had evidently arrived when a church 


advise and aid in such organization. The council met 


/ on May 6, 1857. 


The Dedham, Dover, Medfield, 
West Needham, Grantville, and Newton Congrega- 
tional Churches were represented in the council. The 
church was at this time regularly organized, under 


the name of the Evangelical Congregational Church. 


} 


others who attended services in some of the adjoining | 


There had been for some time a desire to 
This 


feeling becoming known to the Rey. Ebenezer Bur- 


towns. 
have Congregational preaching in their midst. 


gess, then pastor of the Congregational Church in 
Dedham, he offered to preach for them. His offer 
was gladly accepted, and the first service was held on 
the first Sunday in April, 1855, in Nehoiden Hall, at 
the Centre. 
Dr. Burgess gave his services to this people 


The building is now used as a tenement 
house. 


for thirteen months. He paid all the expenses of the 





1 By Rey. L. W. Morey. 


The exercises consisted of reading of the Scriptures 


_and prayer by the Rev. U. Haskell, of Dover; ser- 


mon, from Eph. ii. 20, by the venerable Dr. Burgess, 
of Dedham; reading of the church creed and cove- 
nant by the Rev. Lucius R. Eastman, acting pastor ; 
charge and baptism of children by the Rev. A. R. 
Baker, of West Needham ; fellowship of the churches, 
by the Rey. E. S. Atwood, of Grantville; address to 
the people, by the Rev. J. H. Fairchild, of South 
Boston; concluding prayer, by the Rev. Andrew 
Bigelow, of Medfield. The church formed consisted 
of twenty-eight persons, ten of them males and 
eighteen females. The following is the list of names 
of the original members: 


Henry Webber. 

Mrs. Adrianna G. Webber. 
Miss Ellen M. Bullen. 
Miss Marrietta J. Bullen. 


Dr. Josiah Noyes. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Noyes. 
Mrs. Sarah W. Nay. 
Mrs. Jane W. Pickering. 








NEEDHAM. 527 





Miss Rachel Swith. 

Mrs. Margaret O’ Neil. 
Charles E. Keith. 

Josiah Davenport. 

Mrs. Sarah Davenport. 
Mrs. Peady R. Mills. 
Mrs. Rebecca Bullen. 
John Mills. 

Mrs. Abigail C. Mills. 
Mrs. Lucinda Kingsbury. 


William B. Pickett. 
Mrs. Mary A. Pickett. 
Rev. Moses Winch. 
George L. Newton. 

Miss Pamelia Smith. 
Susanna Harris. 

Mrs. Susan Hardy. 

Rey. Lucius R. Hastman. 
Mrs. Sarah A. Eastman. 
Lucius R. Eastman, Jr. 


Ten of the original members are now (Feb. 27, 
1884) living. 

The Rev. Mr. Eastman continued with the church 
until Jan. 1, 1859. 

The Rev. William B. Greene became acting pastor 
Sept. 1, 1859. He was ordained in Waterville, Me., 
_in 1855, and came from that place to Needham. 
relation to the church extended over fourteen years, a 


| 


from the church in Upton, Mass. The five years of 
his labors with this church saw the membership of the 


society reach its largest number, and afterwards suffer 
from removals. Nearly thirty families in a short 
period removed from the town, among the number 
some of the most helpful members and officers of the 
church. A revival during the latter part of Mr. 


| Wright’s ministry here resulted in considerable gain 


His | 


period which witnessed considerable growth and pros- — 


perity. The society at the close of his term of service 
was more prosperous than at any previous time. 

On the 6th of July, 1859, a Sunday-school was 
formed in connection with the church. For nearly 
three years the people assembled in Village Hall, 
when it was felt that the desire for a house of wor- 
On the 23d of May, 1859, 
the society voted to build a chapel. The site for the 
new building was given to the society by Mr. Charles 
E. Keith. 


this project, and so vigorously was it pushed that 


ship might be gratified. 


Measures were at once taken to forward 


before the close of the year the chapel was completed. 
It was originally intended that this chapel should in a 
few years give way to a church building, but although 
able to build, not many years later, financial troubles 
coming in the midst of preparations to that end, the 
plan has never been carried out. The chapel was 
dedicated, free from debt, Dec. 28, 1859. 
cation sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. EH. N. 
Kirk, of Mount Vernon Church, Boston. Jan. 1, 
1860, the first Sunday services were held, Mr. Greene 
preaching the first sermon. The congregation at this 
time did not fill the house, but it increased steadily for 
many years. Mr. Greene’s connection with the church 
ceased April 1, 1873. 

The first settled pastor was the Rev. Augustus C. 
Swain, who was ordained and installed June 25, 1873. 
He remained with the church less than a year, being 
dismissed by council April 22, 1874. 

The Rev. J. L. Wheeler commenced preaching here 
in April, 1874, as stated supply, till April 1, 1875. 
He was ordained in 1869, and came here from Gardi- 
ner, Mass. 


The Rev. J. E. M. Wright became acting pastor | 


July 7,1875. He was ordained in 1852. He came 


in the membership of the church. 
his relation April 1, 1880. 

For nearly two years the pulpit was supplied by 
different ministers. In the spring of 1882 it was 
In the 
mean time the chapel was frescoed, the expense being 
borne by the Ladies’ Friendly Society, which from 
the first has been abundant in labors for the good of 
the church. 

The Rev. Lewis W. Morey was ordained and 
installed pastor of the church Sept. 6, 1882. 

The First Parish of Needham' has an exist- 
ence coeval with that of the town. Early in the 
eighteenth century a few houses with outlying farms 
dotted the section now embraced in the towns of 
Needham and Wellesley. These settlers, prompted 
by that inborn instinct for local civil organization 


Mr. Wright closed 


determined to secure a pastor for the church. 


which is a marked feature of the Anglo-Saxon, and 


_ feeling the need of religious ministrations so charac- 


The dedi- | 


teristic of the New England Puritans, soon began to 
take measures for the organization of a separate town 
In 1710, they petitioned the General 
Court for an act to set apart their precinct and make 


and worship. 
ita town. In consequence of an energetic opposi- 
tion on the part of Dedham the petition was refused, 
but the General Court advised the inhabitants of 
Dedham to exempt the petitioners from paying taxes 
for the support of the Dedham minister, provided 
they would have preaching in their own precinct. 
The next year, at the March meeting, Dedham voted 
a grant to these settlers of two lots of land containing 
one hundred and thirty-three acres, for the support of 


the ministry among them. This was the germ out of 


_ which grew the First Parish Church and society. A 


} 


if 


portion of this land, including the cemetery, is still 
owned by the parish. 

For the sake of definiteness and precision, we will 
divide the sketch of this ancient parish into separate 
heads. 

I. The Meeting-House.—The town of Needham, 
on Dee. 25, 1711, voted to build a house for public 
worship and granted eighty pounds for this purpose, 
one-half to be paid in money, the other half in labor. 


1 By Rev. S. W. Bush. 








528 


When we consider all the circumstances, this enter- 
prise evidenced both courage and faith. It was a 
costly undertaking. The inhabitants were scattered 
and lived by dint of the utmost frugality and econ- 
omy. ‘The real difficulties were increased by a sharp 
division in respect to the site of the edifice. The 
contest became so hot that an appeal was made to the 
General Court, and this august body appointed a com- 
mittee to fix the location. The various parties acqui- 
esced in the decision, even if they were not fully satis- 


fied. 


was not until the next year that money was voted by 
Meanwhile services were held 
There is no re- 
These 


the town for glazing. 
in the unfinished meeting-house. 
cord of its being either finished or dedicated. 
earnest worshipers were not dependent on cushioned 
seats, frescoed walls, and heated furnaces. They went 
in and out of this meeting-house until Sunday, Oct. 
17, 1773. On this day a child was christened, and 
the pastor, the Rev. Mr. West, preached a sermon 
from Psalm iv. 5: ‘‘ Offer the sacrifice of righteous- 
ness, and put your trust in the Lord.” During the 
night following the neighbors were startled as they 
saw the meeting-house in flames. 
a reward for the discovery of the person who set it 
on fire, we infer it was the act of an incendiary, but 
the culprit was never found. These frugal and hardy 
pioneers met their loss with stout hearts and voted in 
town meeting two hundred pounds towards rebuilding, 
and chose a committee of five to proceed at once with 
the work. The old feud about location again broke 
out, and the disagreement led to a division of the town 


into two precincts. The frame of the new house was 


raised either on the 3d or 4th of August, 1774, and | 
/ment were so marked that his advice was often 
sought both by his own parishioners and for the set- 
| tlement of controversies and difficulties in the neigh- 


in three weeks the services in the unfinished building 
were resumed. Gradually, though slowly, the house 
was finished and remained until 1811, when it was 
repaired with the addition of a ‘“ handsome tower,” 
and on Nov. 15, 1811, a bell was hung and for the 
first time rung in the town. 
the edifice of the First Parish now on “ the plains.’ 

As an illustration of the reputation of this bell, the 


? 


story is told that the meeting-house at Newton Upper 
Falls having had the bells, both proving unsatisfae- 
tory, the bell-makers maintained that the defect in 


The work of building went on very slowly. | 
The frame was raised in the summer of 1712, but it | 


As the town voted | 


The same bell is used in | 








tone was caused either by the location of the building | 
so he set his face with firmness against the teaching 
| 

_ and practice of the New Lights upon these matters. 


or the construction of the tower. ‘To test this the 
First Parish bell was loaned, and, as it rang out its 
clear, rich tones in Newton Upper Falls, the judg- 
ment was that the two bells were at fault. 

The old meeting-house was taken down in 1835, 
and out of its timbers a new frame was made, and 


| a church. 


boring churches. 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


the building was finished. Gradually there came a 
change over the town. ‘Two villages grew up around 
the railroad stations,—one at Needham Plains and 
the other at Grantville. The worshipers of the 
latter place organized another parish and dedicated 
Thus the old meeting-house was away 
from the larger part of the congregation. It was, 
therefore, necessary to move it to the centre of popu- 
lation. So it was taken bodily on wheels in 1879 
and rolled along the outskirts of the village and 
placed on its present location near the railroad 
station. It was entirely refitted, and is now an or- 
nament and a thing of use and beauty in the centre 
of the village on “ the plain.”’ 

Il. The Ministers—The First Parish has had a 
succession of faithful and devout ministers. As soon 
as the parish was organized, the people began to look 
out for a pastor, A large number of candidates were 
heard and five received calls to settle, but declined. 
But, nothing daunted, the people continued their 
quest. They held special days of fasting and prayer 
for guidance, and sought advice from the leading 
ministers of Boston and their neighborhood. After 
more than eight years of effort, on Dec. 29, 1719, 
they gave a unanimous call to Mr. Jonathan Town- 
send, whose acceptance, dated Jan. 25, 1720, was 
read in town-meeting, ‘to the great satisfaction of 
the people.” Mr. Townsend was ordained March 23, 
1720, and continued his ministry till Sept. 30, 1762, 
covering a period of forty-two years. The Rey. 
Stephen Palmer, in his “Century Sermon,” thus 
draws his portrait: ‘‘ Possessing strong powers of 
mind, cultivated and improved by education and 
study, he was enabled to think deeply and correctly.” 
His accurate knowledge of dates, candor, and judg- 


His ministry as a whole was 
peaceful till, about 1746, the church was plunged 
into controversy about the employment of “ illiterate 
teachers” and the right to have separate meetings 
among themselves. Mr. Townsend, like most of his 
ministerial brethren, regarded the ministry as an 
‘appointed order of men who are separated unto 
the gospel of God.” He also placed special stress 
on the importance and value of an educated ministry, 


This led to a split, and some of the disaffected with- 
drew from the parish. “In the main,’ says Mr. 
Palmer, “ he was happy with his people, sharing much 


in their affection and esteem.” 





NEEDHAM. 





After an interval of two years and seven months, 
during which period the people in a day of fasting © 
and prayer sought for divine direction, Mr. Samuel 
West received a call on Nov. 7, 1763, from the 
church, and on December 5th, following, “ the con- | 
gregation concurred.” He was ordained April 25, | 
1764, and continued his ministrations until Nov. 2, | 
1788, at which time he preached his last sermon. 
The separation really took place Jan. 12, 1789, when | 





| sermons or addresses on special occasions. 





he was dismissed by a vote of the parish. Mr. West 
gave as a reason for his leaving “a difference of 
opinion with respect to ministerial support.” The 





differences between the minister and parish so far as 
indebtedness was concerned was settled by a mutual 
agreement between the parties. The Rev. Thomas 
Thacher, as quoted by Dr. Palmer, describes him as 
‘“‘a man of talents, of extensive erudition, and of very 
amiable and polished manners. 
by all who were acquainted with him. While he 
continued in the ministry here, he was esteemed a 
faithful and affectionate pastor ; and was highly ac- 
ceptable to the people of his charge.” 

The Rev. Stephen Palmer, after a lapse of four years, 
received a call June 11,1792. The interval between 
this call and the resignation of Mr. West was a period 
of discouragement. But the few and faithful stood 
firm in their support of the parish. 
Dow was invited to settle Aug. 2, 1790, but declined, 
and on June 11, Mr. Stephen Palmer received a call, 
and was ordained the 7th of November, 1792. Mr. 
Palmer was the son of a minister, and inherited from | 
his father a love of knowledge. He graduated from | 
Cambridge with academic honors, and entered upon 
the ministry with interest and devotion. It was dur- 
ing his life that what the historian, Hildreth, calls | 
Mr. | 
Palmer, though orthodox in his theological opinions, 


the spirit of latitudinarianism began to prevail. 


was liberal in his methods of study and conviction. | 
The Rev. John White, of West Dedham, in his 

funeral discourse on the death of Mr. Palmer, quotes | 
him as saying, “‘ Every man will have a creed of his 
own. 


I have mine,—but have no right to impose it 


upon others, nor have others any right to impose 
theirs upon me. I have never viewed my opinions to 
be such mountains, as a different faith cannot remove, 
nor have I ever yet believed myself to be infallible. 
He who thinks he has no more light to receive, has 
seen but little, and he who is not open to convictions 
is in bondage to himself.” 

The ministry of Mr. Palmer was marked by fidelity | 
both as a preacher and pastor. As an evidence of | 


the acceptance of his ministrations there are no less | 


than twenty of his publications, most of them either 
34 


This is acknowledged | 


529 





The 
memory of him still remains among the oldest sur- 
viving members of the parish as a pleasant tradition. 
He died Oct. 31, 1821. 

At the death of Mr. Palmer, the parish at once 


_ proceeded to settle a new minister, and the Rey. Wil- 


liam Ritchie received a call Dec. 12, 1821. The 


| period of his ministry was at the time the doctrinal 


controversy arose, which led to the separation of the 
New England Congregational Churches into two dis- 
tinct bodies known as the Orthodox and Unitarian. 
Mr. Ritchie sympathized with the Unitarians, and as 
the ministers of most of the old parishes in the 
neighborhood were of this drift, he was in fellowship 
with them. This was a source of disagreement on 
the part of some of his hearers who were inclined to 
the more orthodox belief. Still, his ministry was, as 
a whole, a very useful and harmonious one. Towards 
its close his health failed, and on Dec. 17, 1841, he 
resigned his active charge with the request that he 
might retain his relation as pastor. The correspond- 
ence between him and the parish abounds in the ex- 
pressions of mutual kindness and esteem. He alludes 


_to the great changes which had taken place in the 


parish during his ministry, and expresses his deep 


_ interest in the future religious welfare of his beloved 


Mr. Hendricus | 


parishioners. The letter of the society in reply is both 


sympathetic and appreciative. His death, which took 


place Feb. 22, 1842, awakened a deeper feeling of 


tenderness, and the parish voted to pay his funeral 
expenses, and his people with loving care placed his 
remains in the grave, and carried with them the 


_ memory of his useful and devoted life. 


The Rev. Lyman Maynard, a minister in fellow- 
ship with the Universalist Church, was installed as 
the successor of Mr. Ritchie, Sept. 8, 1842. Accord- 


_ing to the arrangement with the parish the settle- 


ment was for an indefinite term, the parties being at 
liberty to dissolve the connection on giving each 
other six months’ notice. When the call was given 
it was also voted that the parish committee call upon 
Mr. Maynard, and request that he should exchange 
with clergymen in the vicinity of different denomi- 
nations within convenient distance. The committee, 
it would seem, did not inform Mr. Maynard of this 
arrangement, for in a communication next year he 
said he would consent to exchange with the Rey. Mr. 
Partridge, of Newton, and the Rev. Mr. Spear, of 
Weymouth, both of whom were of the Universalist 
persuasion ; that had he been informed of the vote 
of the parish on this subject, he should have hesi- 
He had known 
much disunion to grow out of such a course, and had 


tated before accepting the call. 


530 





| 


fears of the result. He hoped, however, for the 
best, and should use his utmost efforts to promote a 
spirit of harmony in the society. Mr. Maynard’s | 
connection closed in 1846, and then followed a series | 
of short settlements. The Rev. C. H. A. Dall’s min- 
istry was from Feb. 7, 1847, to Dec. 1, 1849; the 
Rev. James F. Hicks, from July 14, 1852, to De- 
cember, 1853. The Rev. George Channing supplied | 
the pulpit for the next two years. He was succeeded 
by Mr. Andrew N. Adams, who was ordained at 
Needham Noy. 21, 1855. After a brief ministry the 
Rey. William Barry was next settled, and his min- | 
istry was both devoted and fruitful in good works. 
He was followed by the Rev. George H. Emerson, | 
D.D., who supplied the pulpit with acceptance. In | 
1870, after his engagement ended, the society called 
the Rev. A. B. Voise, who also supplied, in addition, 
the pulpit of the Unitarian Church at Grantville. | 
The service in the First Parish Church was held in 
the forenoon—that at Grantville in the afternoon. 
The next year the society at the latter place gave Mr. 
Voise a call to be their minister, and the Rev. 8. W. 
Bush succeeded him, and still is minister of the First 
Parish. 

Ill. The Parish and Church.—ULike all the old | 
Puritan Congregational Churches, the First Parish had | 
a twofold organization known as the Parish and the 
Church. The parish organization was devoted chiefly 
to the care of the financial affairs, and the records 
abound in illustrations of the difficulties of the volun- 
tary system for the support of religious institutions. 








For a long time the First Parish was the only reli- | 
gious society in Hast Needham, and as diversities of | 
religious opinions prevailed, added to the extreme in- | 
dividualism which is inbred in New England Puri- | 
tanism, it was not always easy to raise the minister’s 

salary. Still difficulties the 

members of this old historic society maintained for | 


with these inherent 
successive generations the ministrations of the pulpit. | 
The parish records, which have been kept with un- | 
usual accuracy and care, contain full evidence of the 
earnest fidelity with which the cause of religion was 
maintained. 

The church organization concerned itself with the 
spiritual affairs of the parish. It 
March 23, 1720, and on July 3d following the ordi- 


was embodied 


nance of the Lord’s Supper was first administered, 
Two 


deacons, Thomas Metcalf and Josiah Newell, were 


when about fifty communicants were present. 


chosen, and a covenant was signed March 18, 1720. 
This covenant was very mildly orthodox in its state- 
ment of belief, and in no way bound its subscribers 


to a rigid creed. It was silent on those doctrines | 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





_ which are called Calvinistic, and its definition of the 


Trinity would be accepted by those who are Sabel- 
lians. In 1764, October 19th, this covenant was re- 
newed by the members of the church with an addi- 
tion practical in its character. No mention is made 
of a belief in any specific doctrines which have since 
been emphasized by a large body of the New England 
Orthodox Congregational Churches. This covenant 
continued until about 1850, when a new one was 
adopted. In this, after an acknowledgment and con- 
fession of sin, the candidate is thus addressed by the 
minister: ‘“ You sincerely and solemnly give up your- 
selves to God the Father, whom you receive as your 
God. . . . to the Lord Jesus Christ, and receive him 
as made of God unto you, wisdom and righteousness, 
and sanctification and redemption.” This covenant 
with verbal alterations, but the same in substance of 
doctrine, is still used. 

In the idea of church-fellowship we can trace 
a gradual growth. At first the church refused to 
give members a dismission, and to recommend them 
to the Baptist, Methodist, and other communions, but 
in the course of time their ideas broadened, and July 
19, 1840, it was voted ‘as there is but one Christian 
Church in the world, they consider it improper to dis- 
miss from the church.” But as there are branches 
of the Christian Church, the record adds, which re- 
quire a certificate of dismission as well as recommen- 
dation, this church will comply with request of those 
members who wish to join another branch of the one 
Christian Church. 

The early records of the church also abound in de- 
tails of proceedings growing out of some unchristian 
conduct. Ifa member had a grievance against a 
brother or sister, it was brought before the church. 
One incident which illustrates the early period is 
worthy of mention. In 1736 several of the brethren 
fell into hot disputes about certain personal matters 
so that they became angry. The affair was submitted 
to the church, and after a full hearing the disaffected 
brethren were exhorted to bury their differences in 
one common grave of forgetfulness, and for the time 
to come to live and act towards each other as Chris- 
tians. They agreed to do this. So, after singing a 
psalm, the Rev. Mr. Townsend called for a tankard 
of drink and drank to ‘the heretofore contending, 
but now reconciled brethren, praying that all might 


live and act together in love and favor, to which 


Capt. Cook said, Amen. Then the minister gave the 
tankard into Capt. Cook’s hand ; he drank himself and 
drank to Capt. Fisher. We all drank ut sie finitur. 
So the matter ended.” 

The general trend of both church and parish was 











NEEDHAM. 


531 





towards what is called liberal Christianity. So the 
First Parish, like many other old ones in the country, 
became either Universalist or Unitarian. At present 
the First Parish holds ecclesiastical relations with the 
Unitarians, and its members have a reasonable hope in 
a more prosperous future. 

The First Baptist Church.'—* During the year 


_ was obliged to resign, Nov. 12, 1865. 


out any stated salary. On account of ill health he 
During his 
term of office twenty-eight were received from other 
churches and eighteen baptized. 

At this time, by reason of the recent death of Rev. 


_A. Harvey and the removal from the town of Deacon 


1853 the people of Needham Plains began to feel the © 


importance of having stated evangelical worship in 
this new and rapidly increasing village.” 

In 1854, Deacon George Howland, of the Second 
Baptist Church at Newton, employed at his own ex- 
pense Rev. Amos Webster to canvass the town and 
preach a few Sundays. 

The first service was held September 24th, in the 


| Smith, D.D., of Newton. 


old school-house corner of Great Plain Avenue and | 


Webster Street, and was attended by fifty-six persons 
in the morning and seventy-four in the afternoon. In 
connection a Sunday-school was established, with 
Deacon George Howland as superintendent. 

A subscription paper was put in circulation about 


this time and nearly two thousand dollars pledged. A | 


society was formed and a house of worship soon com- 


menced, large enough to seat about four hundred in | 
the audience-room and two hundred in the vestry, at | 


a cost of four thousand two hundred dollars. The 
vestry only was finished and was opened to public 
worship early in June, 1855. 

The building is situated on the corner of Great 
Plain and Highland Avenues. 

Rey. Amos Webster continued to preach till the 
following October, when he resigned, and the desk was 
supplied by different preachers for some time. 

May 26, 1856, the church was organized with 





George Howland, the church was in a very weak 
state. They engaged the services of Rev. S. F. 
The first five years he 
was with the church hardly money enough could 
be raised to meet the running expenses, and in the 
autumn of 1869, when Deacon John Burnham and 
the clerk, Brother G. F. de Leesdenier, died, it 
seemed as though the enterprise must be given up. 
It was at this time that the male members were so 
few that one man, Deacon William Moseley, held 
every office in the church, and was also superin- 
tendent of the Sunday-school. But the faithful 
efforts and self-denial of the few left were not in vain, 
and soon the church was strengthened by the addition 
of new members. In the year 1871 sixteen were 
baptized and five added by letter, the church debt 
was paid, principal and interest, amounting to seven 
hundred and thirty-four dollars, and early in the next 
year preparations for finishing the audience-room were 
commenced, and by June all was completed and hand- 
somely furnished, at an expense of four thousand one 
hundred and fifty-four dollars, about one thousand of 
which was raised by the exertions of the pastor in 
other places. 

The house was dedicated, free from debt, June 5, 
1872, and a vote passed that the pews should be free. 


| The sermon on this occasion was preached by Rev. 
J 


twenty-five members, George Howland, deacon, and | 


C. M. Dinsmore, clerk. A council, composed of 
pastors and delegates from ten Baptist Churches, was 


held June 11th, and the church was recognized as | 


Rev. 
Banson Stow, D.D., preached the sermon on that 
occasion. 


“‘an independent and regular Baptist Church.” 


A beautiful communion service was pre- 
sented by Mrs. Nancy Kingsbury. 

June 22d the first baptism took place, at which 
four candidates were immersed and received into the 
church. 

December 7th, Rev. A. F. Willard accepted a call 
to become its pastor. He remained with the church 
nine years, although, on account of ill health, he was 
absent about a year. All this time the church was 
in debt and the people poor. 
fully for the love of the cause, part of the time with- 





1 By Thomas Sutton, Esq. 


But he labored faith- | 


William Lamson, D.D., of Brookline. 

Aug. 1, 1873, the pastor resigned, having labored 
with marked success for seven years, twenty-six hay- 
ing been received by baptism and fourteen by letter. 

Dec. 23, 1873, Rev. S. G. Abbott became pastor. 
During his stay quite a number of improvements 
were made in the church property, fifteen persons 
added by baptism, and fourteen by letter. Owing to 
the removal of several men of means from our town 
and the general depression of business, the church 
was unable to continue its relation with the pastor, 
and he resigned July 1, 1876. 

Rev. A. T. Spaulding was settled March, 1877, 
and labored with good success for eight months, when 
he died instantly with heart-disease. He was much 
loved and respected by the church and community. 

Rey. S. F. Smith, D.D., again supplied the pulpit 
until Aug. 29, 1880, when he left for a two-years’ 
trip among the mission-fields in Europe and Asia. 


Rey. E. A. Read was called to be pastor June, 


532 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





1881, and continued two years, during which time 
various plans to aid the benevolent organizations of 
the denomination were formed, which have been 
quite successful. Since then the old friend of the 
church, Rev. S. F. Smith, D.D., has supplied the 
pulpit. 

Within a few years a new furnace, organ, and 
chandelier have been purchased, and the buildings 


put in good repair and painted, all debts paid, and | 


some money is now in the treasury. The future 
prosperity seems assured, and the church has ex- 
tended a call to the Rev. W. H. Clark, of South 
Norridgewock, Me., to become its pastor. He will 
commence his labors in February, 1884. 

The number baptized since its organization is 
seventy; admitted by letter, one hundred and one. 
Total, one hundred and seventy-one. The present 
membership is seventy-one, and the officers are, Dea- 
cons William Moseley and R. W. Ames, trustees ; 
John Moseley, treasurer; Thomas Sutton, clerk ; 
Thomas J. Crossman, superintendent of Sunday- 
school. 


Methodist Episcopal Church, Highlandville.’— 


The Methodist Episcopal Church of Highlandville. a 
village of Needham, was organized in April, 1867, 
and the Rey. John W. Coolidge, of the New Eng- 
land Conference, was appointed its pastor. Previous 
to this time many influential families of the vicinity 
had been connected with the Methodist Church in 





Newton Upper Falls; its pastors had held frequent | 


religious services among them, resulting, especially in 
1865-66, in a large addition from Highlandville to 
the Upper Falls Church, so that on the organization 
of the former thirty-four members were united with 
it by letter from the latter. The society, from the 
spring of 1867 to the summer of 1876, worshiped 
in a hall in the centre of the village. Its business, a 
fine woolen and silk hosiery, was prosperous, and its 
population, mostly English immigrants, increased 
rapidly, and the question of building a house of wor- 
ship became one of deeply interesting discussion. In 


1875 it took a business form, and in the summer of | 


1876 a beautifully-situated and convenient church 
The 


initiation to its consummation, was inspired by the 


edifice was completed. enterprise, from its 


pastor, Rev. G. R. Bent. The cost of the site, edi- 
fice, and furnishing was ten thousand dollars. Soon 
after its dedication the business of the village became 
greatly depressed, in common with that of the coun- 
try at the time, and greatly embarrassed the financiers 
of the society. An effort has just been made for the 


1 By Rey. Z. A. Mudge. 


canceling of its debt, and large success has been at- 
tained. The pastors of this society, in conformity 
with the itinerant usage of Methodism, have been as 


follows: J. W. Coolidge, 1867-68; Stephen Cush- 


ing, 1869-70; S. H. Noon, 1871-73; G. R. Bent, 
1874-76; W. Silverthorn, 1877; Stephen Cushing, 
1878-79; R. W. Harlow, 1880-81; Z. A. Mudge, 
1882-83. 


CHAPTER XIE 


NEEDHAM—( Continued). 
THE PRESS—CIVIL HISTORY—MILITARY RECORD. 


The Needham Chronicle—Changes in Boundary-Line—Valua- 
tion— Population—Documentary—Representatives — Select- 
men—Town Clerks—Treasurers—Military Record. 


The Needham Chronicle.—The publication of 
the Needham Chronicle and Wellesley Advertiser, 
the first paper printed in this town, was founded in 
1874 by George W. Southworth, a native of Stough- 
ton, this county, who had had previous journalistic 
experience at Stoughton and Marlborough, in response 
to the express desire for a local paper by the most 
The Chronicle enjoys a circula- 
tion in neighboring towns. At the incorporation of 
Wellesley the words ‘‘ and Wellesley Advertiser” 
were dropped from the heading, and an edition called 
the Wellesley Advertiser issued since that time for 
Wellesley. The Chronicle is still under the able 
management of Mr. Southworth. 

Changes in Boundary-Line.—By an act of the 
General Court, passed in the year 1797, an alteration 
was made in the line between Needham and Natick. 
By virtue of this act sixteen hundred and fifty-six 
acres of land were set off from Needham to Natick, 


prominent citizens. 


and in exchange four hundred and four and one-half 
acres, exclusive of pond, were set off from Natick 
and annexed to Needham, leaving a balance in favor 
of Natick of twelve hundred and fifty-one and one- 
half acres. 

An island in Charles River, at the Upper Falls, set 
off from Needham and annexed to Newton, June 21, 
1805. 

The westerly part of the town, comprising about 
six thousand acres of land, with a population of about 
two thousand seven hundred, set off and incorporated 
as the town of Wellesley April 6, 1881. 


* From Rev. Stephen Palmer’s “ Century Sermon,” page 9. 





NEEDHAM. 


533 








VALUATION 1883. 








Walle ofsreslestate..ccccss.cccesslccaasees- $1,625,198 
Value of personal estate....... cusisececuare 185,792 
Motal valuation cccccecccicctecse=cieessss ons $1,810,990 
INCTER Ol IAN TASSOSSCU .cccccicccesccrocotecleccsecs=s 7715 
POPULATION. 
LGD s.. QAM Who alSb0 vc wecsscossceseccess 1944 
MiviOezenessespesiesccesese 912 US60 ssc ssecdetes conse 2658 
NO Ditcesssecces\ccescacse 1130 W865: ceescesscossnsssess 2793 
SOO a ccscersstecsawcase 1072 TSO sccscesssstsseeessss 3607 
USO aesccccsssecescscse 1097 VST Ditaccescatavsssteeesss 4548 
HS 2 ONceccsscaccsssvesers 1227 US80 sss. vessscveecccsce 52521 
MSS Oscsvetescsioeacssees 1418 1883 about............ 2600 
USS. Oevcccscescctescevaces 1488 
DOCUMENTARY. 


“ NEEDHAM, July 17, 1737. 


sixth year of her age. 
land, on July 14, 1652, and about the year 1671 went up from 


thence to Hadley, where, for the space of about a year, she | 


waited upon Col. Whalley and Col. Goffe (two of King Charles’ | 
_and served three years. 


first judges), who had fled thither from the men that sought 
their life. 
Dedham, one of the magistrates of this Colony under the old 
charter. 


cometh in in his season.’’ 


REPRESENTATIVES TO THE GENERAL COURT. 
Capt. Robert Cook, 1712, ’26, ’39. 
John Smith, 1714. 
Timothy Kingsbury, 1723. 
Josiah Kingsbury, 1728, ’29, ’31. 
John Fisher, Esq., 1735-38, ’40, °41, 751. 
William Bowdoin, 1752-55. 
Lieut. Amos Fuller, 1756, ’59, ’60, ’61, ’66. 
Capt. Eleazer Kingsbury, 1768, ’69-70, ’71, ’74, ’79. 
Col. William McIntosh, 1776, ’80, ’81, ’83, 1804. 
Deacen John Fisher, 1777, ’78.? 
Nathaniel Fisher, 1782, ’85. 
Robert Fuller, Jr., 1787. 
William Fuller, Esq., 1789, 90. 
Col. Jonathan Kingsbury, 1793, ’98, ’99, 1801, ’03. 
Col. Silas Alden, 1796. 
Daniel Ware, Esq., 1805-07, ’10-13. 
James Smith, 1808, ’09. 
Jonathan Gay, Jr., 1814. 
Elisha Lyon, Esq., 1816, ’39, ’40. 
Seth Colburn, 1824, 
Aaron Smith, Esq., 1827. 
Gen. Charles Rice, 1829, 731. 
George Fisher, 1830. 
Rufus Mills, Esq., 1832, 733. 
Thomas Kingsbury, Esq., 1834-36, 48, ’49. 
Solomen Flagg, 1834; the District, 1861. 
William Flagg, 1836, ’37. 
Asa Kingsbury, 1837, ’38, ’42. 
Emery Fisk, 1840, ’41. 
Capt. George Smith, 1843, ’44. 
Daniel Kimball, 1846. 
Edgar K. Whitaker, 1847. 
Henry Robinson, 1850, *51. 
Lauren Kingsbury, 1855; the District, 1858. 





1 Wellesley set off, 1881. 
2Son of the first named John Fisher. 


She was the daughter of Capt. Daniel Fisher, of | 


Having lived a virtuous life, she died universally re- | 
spected and came to her grave in a full age, as a shock of corn | 








Jonathan Fuller, 1856. 


| George K. Daniell, 1857; the District, 1866, ’68, ’70. 
| Charles C. Greenwood, the District, 1863. 
| Galen Orr, the District, 1864. 
John M. Harris, the District, 1872. 
| Joseph E. Fiske, the District, 1874. 


James Mackintosh, the District, 1876, ’77, ’81. 
Lyman K. Putney, the District, 1880. 


For the years not mentioned above, prior to 1858, 
the town was not represented. 

From 1857 to 1877, Needham, Dover, and Med- 
field comprised the Fourteenth Norfolk District. 

At the present time, Needham, Dover, Medfield, 
Norfolk, and Wellesley constitute the Ninth Norfolk 


nneeediedeheeseMrs Uedia Chicherine inthe ciehty- | Wistrict. 
y j g ghty- | 


She was born at Dedham in New Eng- | 


Joseph E. Fiske was a member of the State Senate 
in 1876 and in 1877. 

Galen Orr was chosen special commissioner in 1868, 
Chosen commissioner in 
1871, and served eight years. 

Edgar K. Whitaker was a member of the Ex- 
ecutive Council in 1851. 

The following served as delegates to the several 
conventions held in Massachusetts : 

Capt. Eleazer Kingsbury, delegate to the First 


| Provincial Congress held at Concord, October, 1774, 
_and also to the Second, at Cambridge, February, 
| 1775. 


Col. William McIntosh, delegate to the Third Pro- 
vincial Congress, convened at Watertown, May 31, 
1775, and also to the Convention which met at Cam- 
bridge, Sept. 1, 1779, to frame a new “ Constitution 


_ or Form of Government.” He was also delegate to the 
_ Convention held in Boston in January, 1788, which 


ratified the Constitution of the United States. 
Col. William McIntosh and Robert Fuller, Jr., 


| were chosen to attend a Convention held at Concord 
_in October, 1779, ‘“‘to take into consideration the 


prices of merchandize and country produce, &c.” 
Col. Jonathan Kingsbury, delegate to a Convention 


of Delegates from the towns in Norfolk County, on 
May 15, 1794, at Henry Vose’s, Milton, “to consult 


on matters respecting said County.” 

Aaron Smith, delegate to the Convention held at 
Boston to revise the Constitution, 1820. 

Emery Fisk, delegate to the Convention to revise 


the Constitution, 1853. 


SELECTMEN. 

Deacon Timothy Kingsbury, 1711-18, 720, ’21, ’28, ’24, °32, °33, 
736,739, 7A. 

Capt. John Fisher, 1711-14, ’22-26. 

John Smith, 1711-16, ’18-20. 

Benjamin Mills, 1711, 719. 

Capt. Robert Cook, 1711-15, *18-20, ’21-24, ’27-31, 734-35, ’37, 
739-47, 


534 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Joseph Daniels, 1712. 

Deacon Jeremiah Woodcock, 1712-14, 719, ’22, ’33. 

Richard Moore, 1712-14. 

Lieut. Thomas Metcalf, 1714-15, °18, 23, 27, 30-31. 

John Rice, 1715, 716, *18, ’20. 

Josiah Kingsbury, 1716-17, ’20-23, ’25-26, ’28, ’38. 

Deacon Eleazer Kingsbury, 1716, *17, ’21, ’27, ’29-31, 733, ’36, 
39, °41, °46-48. 

Benjamin Mills, Jr., 1717. 

John Smith, Jr., 1717, ’19, ’22, ’24, 726, ’28. 

Josiah Newell, 1719, ’22, ’24, ’25. 

Joseph Hawes, 1719. 

Joseph Boyden, 1721. 

Joseph Mills, 1723. 

Henry Pratt, 1725, ’26, ’28-31, ’34, ’35. 

Andrew Dewing, 1725, ’27. 

Capt. Robert Fuller, 1726, ’28-32, ’34, ’35, 37, 739, ’42, 743, ’46- 
"49, 

Ensign Thomas Fuller, 1727, ’29, ’39. 

James Kingsbury, 1732, ’41, ’43. 

William Mills, 1732. 

John Fisher, Esq., 1732, ’36, ’38, ’45, °47, 750. 

Zechariah Mills, 1734, ’35, ’43, 46, ’47, ’49. 

Jonathan Hunting, 1734, 35. 

John Underwood, 1736. 

Jonathan Smith, 1736, ’38, 749. 

Lieut. Amos Fuller, 1737, ’42, ’43, °52, ’54-58, ’60, 
16555°69: 

Benoni Woodward, 1737, ’40. 

Ensign Aaron Smith, 1737, ’40, °42, °44, *47-51. 

Nathaniel Bullard, 1740, ’46. 

John Goodnow, 1740. 

Jeremiah Fisher, 1742, ’44, ’45, ’47, ’48, ’50. 

Samuel Parker, 1744, ’45. 

Josiah Newell, Esq., 1744, ’45, ’47-51, ’53, ’61, ’62, ’64-66, 
269. 214s ile 

Eliakim Cook, 1750, 51, 59, ’66. 

Joseph Daniel, 1751. 

Nathaniel Mann, 1741. 

John Alden, 1752. 

Capt. Caleb Kingsbury, 1752, ’54, ’59, ’62,’70, ’73. 

Thomas Metcalf, 1752-58, ’60. 

Ephraim Ware, Jr., 1752. 

Lieut. Robert Fuller, 1753-62, ’67, 68, ’70, ’72, 
80, °84. 

Capt. Eleazer Kingsbury, 1753, ’56-58, 
68, °70, °73. 

John Mills, 1753. 

Samuel Mackintyre, 1755-57, 760. 

Ebenezer Skinner, 1754. 


61, ’64, 


"74, 76-78, 


60, 62, 64, °65, ’67, 


Samuel Daniel, 1755. 

Jonathan Smith, 1758. 

Nathaniel Fisher, 1759, °62, 

Lemuel Pratt, 1759-63, ’73. 

Ephraim Bullard, 1761. 

Michael Metcalf, 1763-65, ’67, 68, ’71,°72. 

Deacon John Fisher, 1763-65, ’68, ’75, ’81. 

Jonathan Denning, 1763. 

Timothy Newell, 1763, ’69, ’72, ’76. 

Josiah Eaton, 1766, ’74. 

John Kingsbury, 1776. 

Capt. Ephraim Jackson, 1766. 

Col, William MeIntosh, 1767, ’68, ’70,’75, 
91, °92. 

Seth Wilson, 1767, ’69. 

Lieut. Ebenezer Fisher, 1769. 


"43. 7d, 77, 278, 782, ?85, 


"78, °80, ’81, 





| William Fuller, Esq., 1775-81, 





Capt. William Smith, 1770, ’75, 
Jonathan Day, 1771. 

Amos Fuller, 1771, ’72, ’76. 
Benjamin Mills, 1771, ’84. 
Lieut. John Bacon, 1771. 


"79. 


| Isaac Underwood, 1772. 


Josiah Ware, 1773. 

Ebenezer Fuller, 1774, ’75. ; 

*84—86, ’88-92, 94-96, 98, 1800, 
701; 

Col. Silas Alden, 1776, ’80, ’87,’88, ’91, ’93, 97-1802. 

John Slack, 1777, ’78. 

Lieut. Oliver Mills, 1779, ’86, ’87, 789, ’92, 94, 795. 

Sergt. Thomas Fuller, 1779, ’80. 

Samuel Daggett, 1779. 

Capt. Aaron Smith, 1783, 789. 

Aaron Smith, 1781, ’90-99, 1801-04, ’08-12. 

Stephen Bacon, 1781. 

Robert Fuller, Jr., 1782, ’83, ’87, ’88, 792 

Enoch Parker, 1782. 

Eleazer Fuller, 1782-83, ’99, 1800-02. 

Col. Jonathan Kingsbury, 1782, 90, 93-96, ’98, 799, 1800-02. 

Jeremiah Daniel, 1783. 

Jonathan Smith, 1784. 

Deacon Isaac Shepard, 1784. 

Lieut. Samuel Townsend, 1785. 

Samuel Brown, 1785-86, ’88. 

Nathaniel Ware, 1786. 


| Ebenezer Day, 1786. 





| Enoch Fisk, 1787-88. 


Lieut. Ephraim Bullard, 1787. 
Amos Fuller, 1789-90. 

Moses Fisk, 1789. 

Capt. Josiah Newell, 1790, “91, 93. 
Capt. Robert Smith, 1793-95. 

Dr. Timothy Fuller, 1797. 

Lieut. Jonathan Gay, 1796-98. 
William Farris, 1796-97. 

Col. Moses Mann, 1799, 1800, ’04. 


| Samuel Pratt, 1802. 


George Fisher, 1803, ’04,’16, ’18, 719. 
Lieut. Moses Garfield, 1803, ’04, ’06, ’08, ’12-19. 


| Maj. Ebenezer McIntosh, 1803-07, ’18, ’19, ’21, ’23. 


Daniel Ware, Esq., 1805-16. 

Royal McIntosh, 1805, ’07. 

Amos Fuller, Jr., 1805. 

David Smith, Jr., 1805-11. 

Benjamin Slack, Esq., 1806, ’19-22, ’24-26, ’31. 


| James Smith, 1807-11. 


Dr. Samuel Gould, 1809-12. 


| Jonathan Gay, Jr., 1812-15. 
| Daniel Hunting, 1813-10. 


| Capt. Jonathan Fuller, 1813-16, ’22—44, ’28, ’29, 


| Capt. Elisha Lyon, 1816, 19-21, ’23, ’25, 


’27, ’37-41, ’45-47. 
Aaron Smith, 1817-18, ’20, ’22, ’28, ’29. 
Capt. George Smith, 1817, ’20, ’22, ’23, ’26. 
Seth Colburn, 1817, 719. 

Peter Lyon, Esq., 1817, ’20-23, ’25, ’26, ’34. 
Artemas Newell, Esq., 1820-23, ’26-28, 730. 
Israel Whitney, 1824, 734. 

Capt. Reuben Ware, 1824-26, ’43. 

Gen. Charles Rice, 1825, ’27-28, ’30, ’32, ’33. 
Capt. Ebenezer Fuller, 1827. 

Capt. Curtis McIntosh, 1827, ’28. 

Thomas Kingsbury, 1829, ’30, ’32, 733, 735. 
Ameaphel Smith, 1829, ’31. 











Deacon Benjamin Fuller, 1829, 731. 

Joseph Newell, 1831, ’32, *33. 

William Flagg, 1831, ’32, 733, ’35, 736, °44, 745, 752, 759, 760. 
Davis C. Mills, 1832, 33, ’43, 744. 

Solomon Flagg, 1833, ’42, ’43, 46-49. 

Dexter Ware, 1834, 7°35. 

William A. Kingsbury, 1834. 

Tyler Pettee, 1854. 

JohnS. Bird, 1835. 

Col. Warren Dewing, 1835, ’36, ’45-48. 

Otis Sawyer, 1836, ’52-55. 

Michael McIntosh, 1836. 

Reuel Ware, 1836-38. 

Spencer Fuiler, 1837, ’38. 

Deacon Lauren Kingsbury, 1837, ’38, 756, ’57. 
Jonathan Fuller, Jr., 1837, ’53-57. 

Emery Fisk, 1838-40. 

William Eaton, 1839, ’42—44. 

William Pierce, 1839, 40-44, 48-51. 

Moses Garfield (2d), 1839-41. 

James Smith, 1840, 41. 

John Mills, 1841, *42. 

Joshua B. Lyon, 1842. 

Daniel Grant, 1844. 

Timothy N. Smith, 1849-51. 
George K. Daniell, 1850, *51. 
Josiah H. Carter, 1852-54. 
Galen Orr, 1855, 758-65, 72. 
Charles C. Greenwood, 1856, *57. 
Nathaniel Wales, Jr., 1858-60. 
George Howland, 1858. 

Silas G. Williams, 1861-68. 
Augustus Stevens, 1861-68. 
Charles H. Dewing, 1866-69, ’71. 
Dexter Kingsbury, 1869, ’70, ’72. 
Freeman Phillips, 1869, ’70. 
James Mackintosh, 1870, ’75-77, ’81, ’84. 
George Spring, 1871, ’72. 
Edmund M. Wood, 1871. 
Hezekiah Fuller, 1872. 

Joseph E. Fiske, 1873-76. 
William R. Mills, 1873, ’74. 
Everett J. Eaton, 1873, 74. 
Mark Lee,! 1875-82. 


Lyman K. Putney, 18 
Joseph H. Dewing, 18 
Enos H. Tucker, 1881-83, 
Henry Blackman, 1882, 83. 
William H. McIntosh, 1882, ’83. 
F. P. Glover, 1884. 
William Carter, 1884. 

- TOWN CLERKS. 
Timothy Kingsbury, 1712-18, ’20-24. 
Richard More, 1714 (four months). 
Josiah Newell, 1719. 
John Fisher, 1722, ?25-27. 
Capt. Robert Fuller, 1728-35, ’37, 41-43, ’46-59. 
Thomas Fuller, 1736, 738. ' 
Jeremiah Fisher, 1739, ’40, ’44. 
Eliakim Cook, 1745, ’50, ’51. 
Thomas Metcalf, 1752-60.2 


-80. 





1 Resigned May 5, 1882, and Henry Blackman elected to fill | 
the vacancy. 
* Died Oct. 8, 1760, and Lieut. Robert Fuller chosen to serve | 
the rest of the year. ! 





NEEDHAM. 


535 


. 





Lieut. Robert Fuller,? 1761-88. 
Moses Fuller, 1788-96. 

Dr. Timothy Fuller, 1796-98. 
Daniel Kingsbury, 1799. 

James Smith, 1800. 

Daniel Ware, 1801. 

Col. Jonathan Kingsbury, 1802-04, 
Jonathan Gay, Jr., 1805-15, ’23. 
Solomon Flagg, 1816, 717, ’22. 
Dr. Samuel Gould, 1818-21. 

Asa Kingsbury,* 1824-50. 
Solomon Flagg, 1850-81. 


oo? 


Charles C. Greenwood, 1881-84. 


TREASURERS. 
Capt. Robert Cook, 1712, 716, 718, 733-35, ’39-45. 
Thomas Metcalf, 1713. 
Josiah Kingsbury, 1714, ’19-22, ’28-30, ’36-38. 
Eleazer Kingsbury, 1715. 
Benjamin Mills, Jr., 1717. 
Thomas Fuller, 1723, 724. 
Timothy Kingsbury, 1725. 
Benoni Woodward, 1726. 
John Fisher, 1727, ’31, 32. 
Capt. Robert Fuller, 1746-49. 
Jonathan Parker, 1750-55. 
Capt. Eleazer Kingsbury, 1756-63. 
Timothy Newell, 1761 (two months). 
Natbaniel Fisher, 1764, ’65. 
Capt. Caleb Kingsbury, 1766-68. 
Amos Fuller, 1769-90. 
Moses Fuller, 1790-92. 
Col. Jonathan Kingsbury, 1793-1806. 


| Daniel Ware, Esq., 1807-17. 


Capt..Jonathan Gay, 1818-21, ’25-29. 
Aaron Smith, 1822-24. 


| Israel Whitney, Esq., 1830, ’35-37. 
| Rufus Mills, Esq., 1831-34. 


William Flagg, 1838. 


DS’ 


Elisha Lyon, Esq., 1839-52. 


| Thomas Kingsbury,® 1853-59. 


Solomon Flagg, 1860-81. 


Levi Ladd, 1881, ’82, ’84. 
John M. Harris, 1883. 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


EDGAR KIMBALL WHITAKER. 

The ancestors of this gentleman were of Saxon 
origin. The ancient family-seat was in Warwickshire, 
upon a tract called Whiteacre or Whitacre in Domes- 
day Book (a.p. 1086). Part of this tract is still so 
designated. It was ‘“‘enfeoffed” to the ancestors of 
Simon de Whitacre, knight, of the reign of Henry I. 





3 Died May 12, 1788. 

4 Died Aug. 17, 1850, and Solomon Flagg appointed by the 
selectmen, Aug. 19, 1850, to serve the rest of the year. 

5 Died May 14, 1859, and Solomon Flagg appointed by the 
selectmen to serve the remainder of the year. 


536 





(A.D. 1100-1135). The chiefs of the family, knights 


and barons, were many times called to be of the 
“‘king’s council,” under the first three Hdwards and 
Richard II., a period of near one hundred years. 


Their coats-of-arms bore invariably three lozenges, or | 


three mascles. Since feudal times, when their men 


of mark were soldiers, the Whitakers have achieved | 
distinction as scholars, historians, divines, jurists, and | 


physicians. The limits of this paper will not permit 
a recapitulation of their names and record. 


it that the family history is honorable. 


Branches of the family settled, first, in Lancashire © 


and Yorkshire, and afterwards in Wiltshire, Dorset- 
shire, and other counties. Later on, representatives 
emigrated to Ireland, Germany, and America. In 
1611, Rev. Alexander Whitaker, known as the 
“apostle of Virginia,’ and son of Rev. William 
Whitaker, LL.D., Master of St. John’s College, 
Cambridge, came to Virginia with Sir John Dale, 
and was established at Henrico. 

Of the immediate ancestors of Edgar Kimball 
Whitaker, Jonathan, born about 1690, is said to have 
“left England on account of religious persecution, 
settled first in Connecticut, then on Long Island, and 
afterwards in New Jersey.” He resided at Hunting- 


ton, Island of Nassau (now Long Island), in 1724. | 
He removed to Mine Brook Farm (purchased in 


1734), near Basking Ridge, Somerset Co., N. J., 
where he died in 1763. A lineal descendant occu- 
pies the old homestead. 
He left a portion of his estate in trust for 
the Christian education of the Indians. 


Puritans. 


Of his eight known children, Nathaniel was sev- | 


enth, and the third son. Nathaniel was born in 1730 ; 
was educated at Princeton, N. J., where he was grad- 


uated in 1752. He became a Presbyterian clergy- 


man, and was first settled at Woodbridge, N. J., in | 


1755. 


Society ‘‘ to settle in the work of the gospel ministry” 


In 1759, he was “ called” by the Chelsea 


at Norwich, Conn., and, having accepted, “ arrived 
with his family and goods, by water, April 12, 1760. 
A room for preaching had been prepared in the tavern 
kept by Samuel Trapp, and a bell, to take the place of 
the Sabbath drum, was suspended in the rear of the 
house, from a scaffolding erected upon a rock.” Early 
in 1766 he was selected by the Board of Commis- 
sioners of the London and Kdinburgh Societies for 
Propagating the Gospel in New England to visit Eng- 
land and Scotland in behalf of Rev. Eleazer Whee- 
lock’s Indian school at Lebanon, Conn., and during 
an absence of eighteen months, procured donations 
to the amount of eleven thousand pounds for the 


school, the final result being the founding of the in- | 


Suffice | 


He was a Puritan of the | 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





stitution at Hanover, N. H., which takes its name 
from Lord Dartmouth, one of the principal donors, 
' and a warm friend of Mr. Whitaker. In one of his 
letters to Mr. Wheelock (March 19, 1766), he says, 
‘“ Yesterday the good King went to the house, in the 
midst of the shouts and acclamations of a joyful 
people, in order to sign the Bill for Repealing the 
accursed Stamp Act; of this I was a spectator. A 
joyful day it was.” St. Andrew’s University gave 
Mr. Whitaker the degree of D.D. while he was in 
Scotland. In 1768 he resumed his pastorate at Nor- 
wich. In 1769 he was installed as pastor of the 
Old Tabernacle Church, in Salem, Mass., where he 
remained until 1784, when he organized a Presby- 
terian Church at Norridgewock, Me., retaining his 
charge there for six years. In 1790 he removed to 
_ Hampton, Va., where he died in 1795. His portrait 
—presented to him in London, by Lord Dartmouth, 
_ according to family tradition—is in the library at 
Dartmouth College, where it was deposited by its 
owner, Judge J. 8S. Whitaker, of New Orleans, his 
_erandson. He was learned, a powerful writer and 
preacher, prone to controversy and skilled in it, an 
ardent patriot, and a man of indomitable will. His 
appearance was prepossessing, and his manners 


winning. 

Jonathan was the seventh of Nathaniel’s eight chil- 
dren, and was the fourth son. He was born in Salem, 
Mass., in 1771; was graduated at Harvard College 
in 1797, and became a Unitarian minister. His first 
pastorate was at Sharon, Mass., where he was ordained 
and installed in 1799, Rev. Abiel Holmes, the father 
of Oliver Wendell Holmes, preaching the ordination 
sermon. In 1817 he removed to New Bedford, Mass., 
where, in addition to kis pastoral duties, he assumed 
the charge of an academy, with decided advantage to 
the then growing town. In 1825 he went to Sum- 
merville, S. C., where he remained some years. His 
next residence was in Ogdensburg, N. Y., whence he 
removed to Henrietta, in that State, where he preached 
and conducted the Monroe Academy, and where he 
died in 1835. He married Mary Kimball, of Brad- 
ford, Mass., sister of Rev. Daniel Kimball, long an 
honored resident of Needham, and of Rev. David 
Tenny Kimball, for fifty years Unitarian clergyman 
at Ipswich, Mass. Jonathan Whitaker was a thor- 
ough scholar, gifted as a public speaker, devoted to 
his sacred calling, and eminently successful as a 
teacher. During the second war with Great Britain, 
although an ardent Federalist, he went at the head of 
a company of one hundred of his parishioners to 
assist in throwing up the earthworks upon Dorchester 
Heights, near Boston, when invasion was expected. 












































































































































RK 


\ 











NEEDHAM. 


537 








Edgar Kimball was his fourth son, and the sixth 
of his ten children. He was born in Sharon, Nor- 
folk Co., Aug. 27, 1806, and died in Boston, Nov. 


10, 1883. He received his early instruction in the > 


school of Rev. Dr. Richmond, pastor of the Unitarian 
Society at Stoughton, in whose family he lived until 
after his father's removal to New Bedford. At New 
Bedford he continued his studies at the academy estab- 
lished by his father, in preparation for matriculation at 
Harvard College, but, preferring a mercantile life, he 


entered the house of W. & G. Allen, of that place, | 


in his fifteenth year. In 1823 he went to Boston, 
and was employed in the old dry-goods house of Lane 


& Lamson, and on a change of the firm, remained | 
In 1827, his | 
health failing, he was advised to choose a country © 


with his valued friend, David Lane. 


residence, and found employment in the charge of the | 


books of the manufacturing firm of Crocker, Rich- 
mond & Co., of Taunton, Mass. 


After a pleasant | 





year in that then delightful town, with health re- | 
stored, he returned to Boston, and to his old employ- 


ers,—lLane & Lamson. In 1829 he went into business 
on his own account as a dry-goods merchant, succeed- 
ing David Lane, on Cornhill. 





Subsequently he | 


established himself at the corner of Water and Wash- | 


ington Streets. 
but its capital was mainly in the energy and business 
qualifications of its managers. It went down in the 
dark days that ended with the grand financial crash 
of 1837. 
went to New York, where he found occupation, first, 
as a clerk, and afterwards in the office of Gen. James 
Lorrimer Graham, in conveyancing. In the summer 
of 1839 he left New York for East Needham, where 
he purchased a farm, and soon became identified with 
the interests of the town. Here he had two honored 
relatives,—Rev. Daniel Kimball, a college friend of 


The business of his firm was large, | 


ments of the teacher’s calling, and the defects of our 
old district schools made him an efficient coadjutor of 
his cherished friends, Horace Mann and Barnas 
Sears, in their great work. 

In all matters affecting the prosperity and the 
moral progress of Needham Mr. Whitaker took a 
lively interest, and was indefatigable and judicious in 
his efforts. He devoted himself with unremitting 
zeal to the temperance reform. He connected him- 
self with the Sunday-school of the Unitarian Church, 
and for many years was its faithful superintendent. 
The village Lyceum, an organization for lectures and 
debates (founded by Rev. Daniel Kimball, who was 
its presiding officer until advancing age compelled him 
to relinquish the charge), owed a great share of its 
prosperity to his constant support. 
long series of terms upon the town school committee, 
and gave much of his time to the supervision and 
improvement of the schools. The forlorn condition 
of the parish cemetery attracted his attention at an 


He served for a 


early day, and the task of its extension and embel- 
lishment was accomplished mainly in consequence of 
his efforts and appeals. He was foremost in the 
organization of the Norfolk County Agricultural So- 
ciety, of which he was the first corresponding secre- 
tary, Marshall P. Wilder being its first president. 
At his own cost he laid out public streets. He 


planted shade-trees by the highways. He labored 


assiduously, in the face of constant opposition and 


After winding up its affairs, Mr. Whitaker | 


his father, and his maternal uncle, and Mrs. Clarissa | 


Ritchie, his mother’s sister, and wife of Rev. William 
Ritchie, the Unitarian clergyman of the Kast Parish. 
He had married, Oct. 28, 1830, Catharine Cravath 
Holland, daughter of John Holland, of Boston. 
During the rebuilding of the house upon his farm, 
in the winter of 1839-40, Mr. Whitaker taught the 
Upper Falls district school, and many of the substan- 
tial, older residents of that part of Needham were 
among his pupils. His experience as a teacher was 
one of his pleasantest recollections, and it was of 
essential service to him in the making of friendships 
which made Needham always dear to him.  Inter- 
ested in the cause of popular education, and an earnest 


discouragement, to bring the railroad through Hast 
Needham, sustaining the project almost unaided when 


other men grew disheartened. 


Mr. Whitaker received the unsolicited appoint- 
ments of justice of the peace and trial justice from 
Governor Briggs, a political opponent. In 1843, and 
several times afterwards, he was Democratic candidate 
for the State Senate. In 1846 he represented the 
town in the lower house. In 1848 he was nominated 
by the Democrats to succeed John Quincy Adams in 


Congress, and was a delegate to the Democratic 


' elected one of the Governor’s council. 


promoter of the common-school system in Massachu- | 


setts, his practical acquaintance with the require- 


In 1849 he was 
For three 


National Convention at Baltimore. 


years he was agent of the commonwealth for the in- 
spection of charitable institutions. In 1855 he re- 
ceived a position in the Boston custom-house, and re- 
mained in that service until after the inauguration of 
President Lincoln. In 1862, Secretary Chase gave 
him an appointment in the Treasury Department, and 
during the remainder of his active life he was in gov- 
ernment employment, at Washington generally, but 
with intervals at New York and New Orleans. At 
the latter place he was auditor of customs from 1866 
Finally, 


until relieved at his own request, in 1869. 


538 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





his health failing, and after a prolonged leave of ab- 
sence, in 1876 he resigned his official duties, and 
returned to Massachusetts, where he died, as stated. 

His first wife died at Needham, April 22, 
Noy. 28, 1850, he married Clementina Augusta 
Dimick, daughter of Jacob Dimick, of Quechee, Vt. 
She died in Washington in February, 1865. Sept. 19, 
1866, he married, at New Orleans, Sarah Beaumont 
Millard, daughter of Alfred Millard. By his first wife 
he had eleven children, nine of whom have survived 
him. 

Mr. Whitaker was a man of pure life, was fond of 
books, and his mind was well stored and cultured. 
He wrote with force and elegance, and his advantages 
of voice, person, and manner rendered him an ex- 
tremely effective public speaker. Misfortunes never 
affected his amiability, or diminished his faith in 


human kind. He has left to his descendants an 


honored name, and earned the lasting regard of his | 


townsmen. 


GALEN ORR. 


Hugh Orr, the first American ancestor of Galen 


1850. | 





fifth child of Thomas and Rachel (Bullen) Orr. 


Mitchell, and there were born to them twelve chil- 
dren, eight sons and four daughters. 

Thomas Orr, the eldest son of Hugh Orr, Jr., was 
born in Bridgewater, Mass., July 18, 1785. When 
quite a young man he obtained employment in Need- 
ham, and there met Rachel Bullen, of that town, 
whom he afterwards married. About the year 1812 
he removed with his family to Shirley, Mass., where 
he died March 14, 1819, leaving a widow and six 
children, the eldest twelve years and the youngest ten 
months old, without adequate means of support. 
Necessity compelled the mother to place the older 
children under the care of relatives and friends, and 
returning with her two younger children to Need- 
ham, she endeavored to provide for her own and their 
support. 

Galen Orr, whose portrait is here given, was the 
He 
was born in Shirley, Mass., Dec. 9, 1815. His early 
life was spent on a farm, with only such advantages for 
education as the public schools of that day afforded. 
Being obliged to rely upon his own resources to gain 


a livelihood, he learned the trade of nail-cutting, and 


oD) 


_worked at it in the towns of Braintree and Dover, 


Orr, was born in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, Scot- | 


land, Jan. 2, 1715. 
and house-lock filer.” 


He was ‘“ educated a gunsmith 

He came to America June 
17, 1740, and, after a temporary stop at Haston, set- 
tled in East Bridgewater, where he lived until the time 
of his death, Dec. 6, 1798. He married Mary Bass, 
daughter of Capt. Jonathan Bass, of Bridgewater, 
Aug. 4, 1742. 
styled in certain resolutions passed by the General 
Court of Massachusetts, May 2, 1787, very soon 
after he came to East Bridgewater, established iron- 
works there and commenced the manufacture of scythes 
and axes. 
tion in the manufacture of fire-arms, and at the com- 
mencement of that war produced the first cannon 
made in this country by boring from the solid cast- 
ing. Shortly after the Revolutionary war he was a 
member of the Massachusetts Senate. He was also 
instrumental in the introduction of cotton machinery 
into this country, and the first machines for carding, 
roving, and spinning cotton made in the United 
States were constructed at his works in Hast Bridge- 
water. He had ten children, two sons and eight 
daughters. 

Hugh Orr, Jr., who was the tenth child and the 
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in 
Bridgewater, Mass., July 26, 1766, and lived there 
until his death, June 2, 1851. 


“ Hon. Hugh Orr, Esq.,” as he is | 


Mass., and also in Boston, at the large works then 
located on the “Mill Dam.” At Newton Lower 
Falls he worked as a blacksmith and machinist; 
ing knowledge and experience which were of 
value to him 
established. 


gain- 
great 

in the business which he afterwards 
In the year 1837 he married Mary Ann 


| Smith, daughter of Luther Smith, of Needham, and 


settled in that town. The children by this marriage 
were Galen, Jr., born July 3, 1838, and died Feb. 8, 
1883; Mary E., born Feb. 11, 1840; Lydia A., 
born April 25, 1842; and Isabella A., born Nov. 8, 
1844. Galen, Jr., married Henrietta Childs. The 


husband of Mary EK. is Edgar H. Bowers, a manufac- 


He was engaged just before the Revolu- | 


He married Sylvia | 


turer of Needham, and the husband of Lydia A. is 
Emery Grover, a lawyer in active practice at the 
Suffolk bar. In 1839, Mr. Orr commenced the man- 
ufacture of blind hinges and fastenings, which he 
continued until his death, taking into partnership, in 
1872, his son-in-law, Edgar H. Bowers. About 1850 
he purchased the mili privilege on Rosemary Street, 
in Needham, and engaged in the manufacture of cot- 
ton batting, which business he continued for some six 
years, when he sold the machinery to be removed from 
the mill. In 1857 he formed a copartnership with 
his cousin, Thaddeus Bullen, of Haverhill, Mass., and 
fitted up the mill for the manufacture of tacks and 
finishing nails ; but this business proving unrenumera- 
tive, at the end of a year and a half the partner- 
ship was dissolved and its affairs closed. In 1860 he 





Gale Ct/~ 














— = 
2 Pars 
~ 
—_ + 
= - a 
a" 
Os 
_ ~ 











NEEDHAM. 


539 





established a grist-mill, and for about six years dealt | 


quite largely in flour and grain. Mr. Orr's early 
political affiliations were with the Democratic party, 
but upon the organization of the Free-Soil party he 


was among the first to join its numbers, and he con- 


tinued in it until the formation of the Republican party, , 


with which he acted up to the time of his death. Al- 


bors and townsmen in matters touching both public 
and private interests, and his judgment was always 
trusted. His kindness of heart and sympathy with 
the unfortunate were remarkable, and no deserving 


_ person ever appealed to him in vain if it was in his 


| 


though not a member of any church, he was always — 


interested in the institutions of religion and contri- | 


When the Congre- 
gational society of Needham was formed he assisted 


buted liberally for their support. 


family, as long as his health permitted. He was espe- 
cially fond of church music, and gave liberally of 
his time and means to develop an interest in and to 
support that part of public worship. He was a mem- 


ber of the board of selectmen and overseers of the poor 


of the town of Needham for the year 1855, and after- | 


wards for eight consecutive years from 1858 to 1865, 


and was re-elected in 1866, but declined to serve longer. | 
During the war of the Rebellion he was chairman of the | 


board, performing the arduous duties which at that 
trying time devolved upon such officers with untiring 
energy and ina manner which left no room to doubt his 
entire devotion to the cause of his country and the 


interests of those who went to defend and preserve its | 


institutions. In 1872 he was again elected selectman 
and overseer of the poor, and served as chairman; he 
was re-elected in 1873, but declined to accept. In 1864 
he was a member of the State Legislature, representing 
the Fourteenth Norfulk District, then composed of the 
towns of Needham, Medfield, and Dover. He was 
elected special commissioner for the county of Norfolk 
for the term of three years from Jan. 1, 1869, and 
served in that capacity. 


power to assist. 


ELISHA LYON. 


Elisha Lyon, for more than sixty years one of the 


_ honored citizens of Needham, was born in Milton, 
in its organization and attended that church, with his | 





In 1871 he was elected | 


county commissioner, and continued in that office by | 


re-election until the close of the year 1879. In 1874 
he was elected president of the Needham Savings- 
Bank, which position he occupied until the closing of 
the bank in 1879, when he and the treasurer, Emery 
Grover, Esq., were appointed receivers. Under the re- 
ceivership the depositors have been paid in full. The 
beginning of the year 1880 found him in failing health, 
and he withdrew from active life and spent the re. 
mainder of his days quietly at his home in Needham, 
where he died March 4, 1881. 

Mr. Orr was a man of much strength of character, 
active and energetic, of great firmness and keen fore- 


sight, and although lacking the advantages of early | 


education which many of his associates enjoyed, was 


able to raise himself to a position of influence and — 


honor in the community which he held to the last. His 
counsel and advice were frequently sought by neigh- 


Sept. 29, 1778; son of Jacob and Jerusha (Tucker) 
Lyon. He remained in his native town until sixteen 
years of age, when he went to Roxbury and com- 
menced working at the hatter’s trade. In conse- 
quence of the death of his employer soon after, he 
left Roxbury and, going to Dedham, entered the 
employ of Reuben Guild, with whom he completed 
his apprenticeship asa hatter. At the age of twenty- 
one he removed to Needham and commenced the man- 
ufacture of hats, which he carried on successfully for 
nearly forty years. His factory was destroyed by fire 
in 1834, and being then fifty-six years of age, Mr. 
Lyon concluded not to rebuild, but to pass the balance 
of his life in comparative retirement from active busi- 
ness. 

Dec. 18, 1800, he united in marriage with Sally 
Brown, who died June 6, 1807; their children were 
Sally B., born May 28, 1801; Louisa, born April 11, 
1803; and Lemuel, Feb. 2, 1806. 

Oct. 31, 1809, Mr. Lyon married Polly Brown, 
sister of his former wife, and their family were as 
follows: Joshua B., born Oct. 25, 1810; Mary Ann, . 
born Nov. 7, 1814; Elisha Hiram, born Feb. 11, 
1818; and Hannah, born Feb. 19, 1820; all living 
except Joshua B. Mrs. Lyon died Sept. 6, 1867. 
Mr. Elisha H. Lyon [who incorporates the accom- 
panying portrait as a tribute to the memory of his 
father] and his sister, Hannah, reside on the cld home- 
stead where they were born. 

Politically, Mr. Lyon was originally a Jeffersonian 
Democrat, later a member of the Free-Soil party, and 
was a stanch member of the Republican party from 
its organization to the day of his death. 

Possessed of a taste and an ability for the discharge 
of public duties, a judgment well balanced and al- 
most uniformly correct in its results, and an integrity 
of character that was never touched by whisper or 
reflection ; it is not strange that he was selected by 
his fellow-citizens as one fitted to assume and admin- 
ister public trusts in a variety of town relations. He 
never shrank from the duties of citizenship, and served 
his town faithfully and well, and discharged the duties 


540 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





of the various positions to which he was called to the 
entire satisfaction of his fellow-citizens. He was a 
representative to the General Court in 1816, 1839, 
and 1840; selectman fifteen years, and for seven of 
those years chairman of the board; town treasurer 
from 1839 to 1852 inclusive. 
superintending school committee four years; he was 
also a member of the local or district committee for 
several years; assessor three years; and being fre- 
For a 
period of nearly thirty years he rendered valuable 


quently chosen moderator of town meetings. 


services on various committees, appointed from time to 
He was commissioned 
justice of the peace in 1824. In 1814 he was the 
commander of East Militia Company of the town, 
and although not called into service, the company was 


time to consider town matters. 


ready to march for the defense of the country at a 
minute’s warning, the alarm to be given by the ringing 
of the bell. 

Personally, Elisha Lyon represented the best type 
of that pure, firm, straightforward, stalwart, Saxon 
virtue, which has proven New England’s best inherit- 
ance from the mother-country. In religious faith he 
was a Unitarian, and a firm believer in both the jus- 
tice and goodness of the Deity. And so by holiness 
in life, and godliness in walk, he sought to be judged 
rather than by any show of the mere ceremonials of 
profession. He was a member of the First Church 
of Needham, and from Sept. 1, 1826, to May 19, 
1849, a deacon. 


Later in life he attended the Orthodox 


He was also on standing committee 
many years. 
Church at the “ Plains,” and was chosen a deacon, but 
declined the office. 

Elisha Lyon was essentially a self-made man. Early 
in life he learned that the way to success was by no 
royal road, but was open to stout hearts and willing 


hands. 


thing by perseverance and well-digested plans, and the 


He gained nothing by mere luck, but every- 


intelligent application of his energies to the end in 
view. He wasa kind neighbor, and one of Needham’s 
He died May 14, 1862, aged 
eighty-three years, seven months, and fifteen days. 


most honored citizens. 


REV. DANIEL KIMBALL. 

Rev. Daniel Kimball was the oldest son of Daniel 
and Elizabeth (Tenney) Kimball, and was born in 
Bradford, Mass., July 3, 1778. 


among the earliest settlers of that town, and his father 


His ancestors were 


was one of the largest and most successful farmers of | 


the place, highly esteemed by his townsmen, filling 
various offices of trust and honor, and taking a deep 


He was one of the | 





| 
| 


interest in his country’s cause in her struggle for inde- 
pendence. His mother was of a devout, religious tem- 
perament, endowed with a large share of native intel- 
ligence improved by reading, and with her husband 
devoted to the education and moral improvement of her 
children. In common with his brothers and sisters 
(ten in number) Daniel inherited a robust physical 
frame, a cheerfulness of temperament, and a love of 
labor which made his services of great value to his 
father, whom he assisted on the farm, attending the 


Early 


showing a taste for study, he then, with his father’s 


district school in winter to the age of sixteen. 


permission, went to the academy in the neighboring 
town of Atkinson, N. H., and there fitted for college, 
entering Harvard at the age of eighteen. He gradu- 
ated with distinction in the class of 1800, numbering 
among his classmates Washington Allston, Dr. Charles 
Lowell, Chief Justice Shaw, Rev. Joseph S. Buck- 
minster, and other noted men with whom he main- 
tained intimate and pleasant relations during life. 

After leaving college Mr. Kimball taught school 
for a year or two, and then returned to Cambridge as 
a theological student under the direction of Dr. Tap- 
pan Hollis, professor of Divinity, and was approbated 
and commenced preaching in 1803. The same year 
he delivered the Latin valedictory on taking the de- 
gree of Master of Arts, and was appointed tutor in 
Latin at Harvard, which office he held two years ; and 
after spending two or three years more in theological 
study and preaching, and declining several offers to 
settle over a parish, he accepted a call from the trus- 
tees of Derby Academy in Hingham to take the office 
of preceptor, and entered upon its duties in 1808. 
On March 22d, of the same year, he was married to 
Miss Betsey Gage, of Bradford, daughter of Peter and 
Mary (Webster) Gage, and granddaughter of Major 
Benjamin Gage, an officer in the French war and in 
the American army of the Revolution. 

Mr. Kimball remained in Hingham for eighteen 
years, discharging his duties as preceptor with ex- 
emplary fidelity, taking private pupils into his family, 
and often called to officiate in vacant pulpits and in 
ministerial duties. Strictly conscientious in all that 
he did, he was not one to neglect any duty or to esteem 
it irksome. His heart was in his work. His pupils 
felt the influence of his faithfulness, and went from 
his hands thoroughly prepared for college and other 
pursuits, and strengthened in their moral character by 
the example and precepts of their instructor. So ex- 
act was he in the preparation of his pupils for college 
that not one offered by him during his whole course 
of teaching (over forty years) ever failed of admission. 
Many lads afterwards eminent in various walks of life 








MEDWAY. 


5404 








were his pupils, and it may be mentioned as an evi- 
dence of the esteem in which he was held in Hing- 
ham and vicinity that John Quincy Adams, who was 
his steadfast friend, on going abroad as minister to 
Russia, placed his two sons, George Washington and 
John, under his care. 

In order to qualify himself more fully for ministerial 
work, Mr. Kimball was ordained as an evangelist, 
while at Hingham, by the Plymouth Association, Dec. 
17, 1817. 

In the spring of 1826, Mr. Kimball purchased a 
farm in Needham, then a very retired country town, 
and opened a boarding- and day-school for youth of 
both sexes. His oldest son, Daniel, fitted for college, 
but died before entering. Both the others entered 
and graduated at Harvard, having been fitted for col- 
lege by their father. His daughters assisted both in 
the school and the cares of the household. 

Upon taking up his residence in Needham, Mr. 
Kimball at once identified himself with the interests 


of the town, and labored in every way for its temporal | 
He was a member of the | 
school committee for twenty-three years and chair-— 


and spiritual advancement. 


man of the board most of that time, and wrote valu- 
able and suggestive reports. He also assisted in the 
formation of the American Institute of Instruction, 


and had been at the time of his death for twenty-seven | 


years one of its vice-presidents. He was often ap- 
pointed on committees in town-matters, and in 1846 
represented the town'in the State Legislature. 

After a life of temperance and activity old age 


found him with a still vigorous intellect, and with a_ 


sufficient degree of physical energy to enjoy that pe- 
riod which by many is anticipated with dread, and he 
retained his calmness and cheerfulness to the last. 
He died at Needham Jan. 17, 1862, aged eighty-three 
years and six months. 


Mrs. Kimball survived her husband several years, | 
and died at Needham Nov. 11, 1873, aged eighty-nine | 


years and ten months. 
number, and were all born in Hingham: 

Elizabeth Tenney, born March 23, 1810; died in 
Boston April 2, 1833. 

Harriet Webster, born Dec. 1, 1812; married John 
M. Washburn, Esq. ; resides in Lancaster, Mass. 

Daniel, born Oct. 1, 1814; died in Needham Dee. 
Lit S2i: 

Benjamin Gage, born May 5, 1816; married Miss 
Emeline F. Smith, and resides in Edgartown, Mass. 

Mary Jane, born Oct. 19, 1817; married Hon. 
James Ritchie ; resides in Hyde Park. 

Henry Colman, born Feb. 25,1820; married Miss 
Harriet C. Fisher, and resides in Stoughton, Mass. 


Charles David Tenney, born Sept. 6, 1821; died 
in Hingham, July 24, 1822. 

Charlotte Sophia, born July 31, 1823; married 
J.C. Hoadley, Esq.; died at Lancaster, June 12, 1848. 

Clara Anna, born Jan. 7, 1825 ; died in Needham, 
Dec. 25, 1847. 





CHAPTER XQLIYV. 


MEDWAY. 


BY E. 0. JAMESON. 


MeEpway is not one of the very ancient towns of 
Its municipal history reaches 
_back only one hundred and seventy years. It was 
| constituted of that part of Medfield which was located 


the commonwealth. 


west and north of the river Charles. 

The early Indian history, the laying out of farms, 
the building of roads, and the first settlement of the 
territory now embraced in the town of Medway are 
identified with the history of Medfield. The larger 
| part of Medway, along the west bank of the river 





Their children were nine in | 


Charles, is country which the Indians called Boggas- 
tow, the western section lying southward of Win- 
_nekenning (the smile of the Great Spirit) Lake, now 
Winthrop Pond, the Indians named Mucksquirtt. 
| The eastern and southern boundaries of Medway are 
the river which Capt. John Smith in 1614 named 
the Massachusetts, but soon after called the Charles, 
in honor of Charles I. of England. 

All the region west of the Charles River was once 
under the dominion of the Nipmuck Indians, but some 
_ years prior to King Philip’s war the Nipmucks be- 


came divided into several smaller independent tribes, 
and Boggastow fell to the possession of a smail_tribe 
known as the Naticks, whose chief was John Awash- 
amog. 

The patent granted to John Endicott in 1628, 
who, with his company of immigrants, settled Salem, 
embraced within its extreme southern boundary the 


| larger part of the territory included in the present 





| town of Medway. This appears in the description 
given in the grant, as follows: “That part of New 
England lying between three miles to the north of the 
| Merrimack and three miles to the south of the Charles 
River, and every part thereof in the Massachusetts 
| Bay and in length between the described breadth 
from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Sea.” 
For some years after this Patent was issued all the 


5408 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








region west of the Charles was held by the Massa- 
chusetts Colony as “country land,” unincorporated 
and ungranted to settlers. 


| from this day, Octob. 23, 1649, and Capt. Keaine, Mr. Edward 
| Jackson, and the Surveyor Gennerall are appointed to lay it out 


| at any time, Dedham giving them a weekes warning.” 


The earliest intimation that the white man’s civili- | 


zation was about to lay her hand upon the vast wil- 
derness ov the west side of the river Charles was 
given in 1643, when the General Court of Massachu- 


setts Bay granted to the Rey. John Allyne, the first 


minister of Dedham, in consideration of some public 
service rendered, two hundred acres of wild land lying 
in the forest beyond the west bounds of that town. 

In 1649 Capt. Robert Kayne received a Grant of 
one thousand and seventy-four acres, bounded south 
by Rev. Mr. Allyne’s grant, and in 1652 other grants 
were made to Nicholas Wood, Thomas Holbrook, 
Hopestill Layland, and his son, Henry Layland, all of 
Dorchester, Mass. Their lands lying adjacent and 
near to that granted to Rev. Mr. Allyne. 


These several grants constituted “The Farms,” so | 


called, largely embraced in the present town of Sher- 
The single grant made to Rev. Mr. Allyne is 
easily identified as located in the extreme northeast 


born. 
part of the present town of Medway, land lying be- 
of the town of Sherborn. It was on this tract of land 
that the earliest settlement within the limits of Med- 
way was made. Here the first white man appeared 
on the scene, and became an actual settler in 1657. 
Meanwhile the town of Medfield had been established 
by an act of the Generai Court, and a considerable 
settlement made on the wide plain to the eastward 
from the river Charles. 

The incorporation of Medfield came about in this 
wise: certain citizens of Dedham conceived the idea 
of having a new township established which should 
embrace the western portion of Dedham, and an ad- 


side of Charles River. 

Accordingly, on the request of petitioners the town 
of Dedham made a grant of “so much land within 
the west end of the bounds of Dedham, next Bog- 
‘gastow, as is or may be contained within the extent 
of three miles east and west, and four miles north and 
south.” This territory constitutes the present town 


of Medfield. 








_ settlement of Medfield the year 1651. 


Under date of May 22, 1650, the following record 
appears : 


“Whereas, there was a graunt made by the Generall Court at 
a session of the 8th month of 1649 unto the inhabitants of 
Dedham in answer to petition of theires for enlargement of the 
village theire, as by the said graunt may more fully appeare, 
this graunt so made was laid out by Captaine Robert Keaine and 
Mr. Edward Jackson, who have subscribed it with theire hands 
in manner and forme followinge, vizt: beginninge at a small hill 
or iland in the meddow on the west side of Charles river, and run- 
ninge from thence about full west three miles, and then turninge 
a South line, ended at Charles river at three miles anda quar- 
ter. This line beinge then shorter than by the graunt it was al- 
lowed to be, but accepted by the grauntees. The said river is 
appointed to be the bounds from that place to the place where 
This Court doth approve of this returne of 
the psons above mentioned concerninge the bound of the said 


the first lyne began. 


village, & in answer to the request of the inhabitants of Ded- 
ham, doe order that it shall be called Meadfield.” 


It appears from these records that the survey was 
made to the satisfaction of all parties, and that under 
date of May 22, 1650, the General Court established 
the new township and ordered it to be called ‘‘ Mead- 


| field.” 
tween Boggastow Brook and the southern boundary | 


The grant thus made on the west side of the river 
Charles, when Medfield became incorporated after- 
wards, constituted a considerable part of Medway, and 
was known as the “ Old Grant.” This territory is em- 
braced in East Medway, Rockville, and Medway Vil- 
lage. The first thirteen house-lots in Medfield were laid 
out June 19, 1650, on the plain east of the river, and 
the following year the grantees erected houses and 
removed from Dedham, making the date of the actual 
Dedham sur- 
rendered its jurisdiction Jan. 11, 1651, and the May 
following the town of Medfield was recognized by the 


at : ; | General Court in the following act : 
ditional section of meadow and wild lands on the west | : 


“There beinge a Town lately erected beyond Dedham in the 
County of Suffolke upon Charles river called by the name of 
Meadfield, upon their request made to this General Court, this 
General Court hath graunted them all the power and privileges 
which other towns doe injoy according to law.” 


There followed a somewhat rapid settlement of the 


_ new town, and the setting up of religious institutions. 
_ Before the year closed, December, 1651, Rev. John 


A petition was then sent to the General Court for | 


a grant of land west of the river. The answer to this 
petition is recorded as follows : 

“Tn answer to a petition of the inhabitants of Dedham for a 
parcell of upland and meadow adjoining to their line, to make 
a village of, in quantity four miles south and north, and three 
miles east and west, because they are straightened at their doores 
by other towns and rocky lands, &e. Their request is graunted, 
so as they erect a distinct village thereupon within one year 


Wilson, Jr., was on the ground, and settled as pastor 
over a people to whom he ministered for the next 
forty years. 

The first survey of lands west of the river Charles 
was that of the ‘‘broad meadows,” in 1652-53, con- 
sisting of twenty-two grants or about uinety acres in 
all. In 1653 grants were made to Abraham Harding 


_and Peter Adams in “ grape meadow,” by the town of 


Medfield. 





MEDWAY. 


541 





The first actual settler within the territory, now | 


Medway, was George Fairbanks, from Dedham, in | 


1657. Mr. Fairbanks was not connected with the 
settlement of Medfield Plain, but purchased the tract 
of land which had been granted in 1643 to Rev. Mr. 
Allyne, by the General Court. While Mr. Fairbanks 
lived within the limits of Medfield, and enjoyed relig- 


{ 


In the Colonial Record for May, 1659, appears the 
following: ‘In answer to petition of inhabitants of 
Medfield, the court judgeth it meete to graunt unto 
them as an addition to their former bounds and at 
the west end thereof two miles east and west and four 
miles north and south, provideth it entrench not upon 


any former graunts, and that Capt. Lusher and Left. 


ious and municipal privileges in that town, he held his _ 


land by purchase and not by town grant. He was one | 


of the inhabitants at “The Farms,” so called. His 
immediate neighbors, as recorded in 1660, were 
“nicholas woods, Daniel Morse, Henry Lealand, 
thomas Holbrooke, and thomas Bas.” 

There were also John Hill, Benjamin Bullard, and 
perhaps others who settled in the vicinity about this 
time. 

Late in 1658 the town of Medfield voted to lay out 
certain uplands on the “ West Side,’ which the 
records thus describe : 

“On the Longe plain to begin next to Boggastow 
River on that end.” 
bounds By charles river to Begine next the town.” 
“Tn pine valley to begin at north end and go 
throf it.” ‘At the end of pine valley on a per- 
sell of land that the path goeth throfe.” 
had, perhaps, been a few grants made to individuals 
prior to this,—to John Fussell, eight acres, to Ben- 
jamin Abby, and probably to others. But, in 1659, 
there were laid out fifteen lots, in all one hundred 
and seventy-three acres, on land owned and taken by 
the following persons, viz.: Benjamin Abby, heirs of 
Joseph Morse, Thomas Wight, Sr., John Thurston, 
Samuel Bullen, Peter Adams, Nicholas Rockwood, 
Thomas Wight, Jr., John Frairy, Sr., Robert Hins- 
dell, Joshua Fisher, Thomas Thurston, Thomas Ellis, 
Mr. Wilson, James Allen. 

It is said to be “ quite certain that none of the 
men who drew these lots settled on the west side of 
the river,” although the sons of some of them did 
years afterwards. 


‘““ At the furder Corner of our 


Various highways were projected by which these 
grants of land were made accessible to the owners 
living in Medfield. It was in the year 1659, that 
was sought and obtained from the General Court 
another grant of land to the westward, known as 

The New Grant.—The following entry is found 
in the town records of Medfield: ‘‘ The Eleventh of 
May one Thousand six hundred fifty-nine, in An- 
swer to petition of the town of Medfield presented to 
the General Court was granted by the court to the 
town of Meadfield an addition of land at the west end 
of their former grant, as the Record of the Courte 
will make Appeare.” 


Fisher are hereby appointed to lay it out.” This 
accession of territory westward is embraced in the 
present West Parish of Medway. At the next 
annual town-meeting of Medfield, held Feb. 6, 1660, 


_ the following vote was passed : 


“Tt is ordered that the new graunt mad to the town this year 
by the Courte shall Be Divided By way of Devidend to all the 
inhabitance of the town that are proprietors in the town and 
that it shal be Divided by the common rules of Division by 
number of persons and estates.” 


Each member of the family was reckoned the same 


as ten pounds of estate in the division of land. At 


There | 


another meeting, April 20, 1660, two highways were 
ordered through this new grant, one at a distance 
of half a mile north of the Charles River from east 
to west, the other through “the midst of the tract 
of land from the way that runs west to a line to the 
north end of the same.” 

These highways divided the new grant into three 
sections, known as the River, East, and West Sections. 
The River Section was divided into twelve lots, em- 
The 
West Section was divided into nineteen lots, embracing 
ten hundred and ninety-six acres, and the Hast Section 
into sixteen lots, embracing sixteen hundred and fifty- 
eight acres, leaving some two hundred acres undivided 
at the northeast corner of the grant, near Winthrop 
Pond. 


The names of those who received dividends of 


bracing ten hundred and seventy-nine acres. 


these lands are given in the order in which the lots 


were drawn. 

The River Section (twelve lots) : Ralph Wheelock, 
John Metcalf, Robert Mason, John Pratt, Widow 
Sheppard, Thomas Wight, Jr., Timothy Dwight, 
John Turner, Alexander Lovell, John Ellis, James 
Allen, Joseph Thurston. 

The West Section (nineteen lots): Heirs of Jo- 


| seph Morse, Henry Smith, John Bullard, Sampson 


Frairy, Edward Adams, John Fussell, William Part- 
ridge, Jonathan Adams, Daniel Morse, John Plymp- 
ton, Isaac Chenery, Joseph Clark, Robert Hinsdell, 
John Fisher, Nicholas Rockwood, Samuel Bullen, 
Abiel Wight, John Frairy, Jr., Mr. Wilson. 

The East Section (sixteen lots): Gershom Whee- 
lock, Joshua Fisher, Benjamin Abby, John Frairy, 
Sr., Henry Adams, Thomas Wight, Sr., Thomas 


542 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Mason, Francis Hamant, John Partridge, John | 
Warfield, Thomas Ellis, John Bowers, Thomas Thurs- 
ton, John Thurston, Peter Adams, George Barber. | 
The first white child born within the territory of | 
the present town of Medway was Jonathan Fairbanks, | 
son and sixth child of George Fairbanks, the first | 
He was born May 1, 1662. Jonathan | 
He was drowned in 


settler. 
Fairbanks became a physician. 
crossing Boggastow Pond on the ice as he was re- 


turning from a visit to a patient in Medfield, on the 
night of Dec. 18, 1719. 
The establishment of a new town on the west side 


of the river Charles must have been agitated forty 
years before it became a fact, for we find that at a 
session of the General Court held in Boston, in May, 
1662, it was voted: ‘“‘in answer to the petition of the 
inhabitants of Boggastow, it is ordered that Mr. Ed- | 
ward Jackson, Mr. Ephraim Child, Mr. William 
Parks, and Ensigne Fisher, or any three of them, 
shall and are hereby impowered as a committee to 


view the place and return their applications to the 
next sessions of this Court for settling a Township 
there as is desired.” 

In 1662 lands were laid out on the west side within 

e “Old Grant,” and Joseph Daniell, an accepted 
townsman of Medfield, in October of that year, drew | 
lands in this new survey, and became soon after 
the second actual settler of Medway. His house, | 
built prior to 1665, stood west of ‘Island Woods,” | 
and the farm he owned is still owned and tilled by | 
his descendants. Mr. Daniell married, Nov. 16, 1665, 
Mary Fairbanks, the eldest daughter of George Fair- 
banks, the first settler. 
ceremony within the territory, now Medway. Soon 





‘This was the first marriage 


after, in the same year, Jonathan Adams and Eliza- 
Jonathan Adams became | 
In 1668 
William Allen settled where Dr. Richardson afterward 


beth Fussell were married. 
a settler on the west side in October, 1665. 


lived, and Peter Colley was an inhabitant west of the 
Charles in 1669. 
up, 


In 1672 the settlement of Indian | 
claims came tO" 
treat and conclud with John of Boggastow, we mene 
John a Wasameg of natick, for and 
right in claim in the lands within our Towne Bownes | 
on the west sid of Charlles River. Thomas Wight, 
Sr., John Frairy, Sr., John Elice, John Medeallfe, 


and George Barber ware chose a Commity to treat and 
oD 


and a committee was chosen 


the interest 


conclude with John Awashamog as above said.” 
“Shortly after Indian troubles arose, and, Feb. 21, 
1676, about half the houses in the village of Medfield 
massacred. At this 
date, so far as is ascertained, there were resident on — 


were burned and seventeen persons 


the west side of the river, within the present bounds | 


of Medway, the following householders: ‘ George 
Fairbanks, Sr., George Fairbanks, Jr., Joseph Daniell, 
Jonathan Adams, William Allen, and Peter Collyr,” 
perhaps John Fussell: in all thirty persons. Of 
| these, Joseph Daniell, Jonathan Adams, William Allen, 
and probably Peter Collyr had their houses burned. 
As a protection against the attacks of the Indians, 
there had been built by the residents of “The Farms,” 
some years before, a “stone house” near Boggastow 
Pond, a place of refuge and defense. To this Rev. 
Mr. Wilson refers in his letter written to the Gov- 
ernor of the Colony on the evening of that disastrous 
day, Feb. 21, 1676. He says, ‘“ We hope George 
Fairbanks’s mallteatie 3 is safe.” 

On the 6th of the following May this garrison 
house was savagely attacked by the Indians, but they 
met with a “ notorious repulse.’ The 2d of the next 
July, the men of Medfield in turn attacked the 
Indians, in the woods near the “stone house,” and 
drove them to such a distance from the town that they 
never again appeared in those parts. From this time 
the settlements on the west side increased. In 1677, 
Josiah Rockwood settled on the farm which soon came 
into the possession of the Lovell family, and was owned 
by them for the next one hundred years. This, with 
the Wheeler place, is now known as the Oak Grove 
Farm, 

In 1682, George Fairbanks was drowned. In 1693 
there were sixteen householders on the west side, as 


appears by the tax-list, viz.: John Adams, John 


Ellis, Abraham Harding, John Clark, Jonathan 
Adams, Sr., Jonathan Adams, Jr., Peter Adams, 


Josiah Rockett, John Partridge, Jr., John Richardson, 
John Rockett, Samuel Hill, George Fairbanks, Jona- 
than Fisher, Joseph Daniell, Joseph Daniell, Jr. 

Stretching out over a large area, and almost divid- 
ing from north to south the present town of Medway, 
was the Black Swamp, so called from the dark shading 
its thick, heavy pines gave to the landscape. The 
laying out of Black Swamp was ordered under date of 
March, 1702. 

‘“ Voted, that the Black Swamp shall be laid out 
with such necks of upland and Ilands as_ shall 
make it formable by our former Rules of laying out 
lands.” The list of proprietors contains one hun- 
dred and twenty-three names. Of these, twenty- 
seven were residents of the west side of the river, 
Viz. : 

Jasper Adams, John Adams, Jonathan Adams, 
Jonathan Adams, Jr., Peter Adams, Benjamin Allen, 
William Allen, John Clarke, Theophilus Clark, Tim- 
othy Clark, Ebenezer Daniell, Joseph Daniell, Joseph 
Daniell, Jr., John Ellis, Sr., George Fairbanks, Jona- 








MEDWAY. 


543 





than Fisher, Henry Guernsey, Abraham Harding, 
Samuel Hill, John Partridge, Samuel Partridge, 
Widow Rebecca Richardson, John Richardson, John 
Rockwood, Josiah Rockwood, Vincent Shuttleworth, 
Ebenezer Thompson. 

The next succeeding ten years there was consider- 
able growth to the population on the west side of the 
river, and there prevailed a general desire to have 
religious privileges nearer at hand, which found ex- 
pression in a petition to the town, May 7, 1712, for 
building a meeting-house on the west side of the river. 
This matter was pressed upon the town unsuccessfully, 
but at length it was made the subject of a petition to 


the General Court, which, although opposed, met with | 


colonial favor, and the General Court “ recommended 
to the town of Medfield to raise money towards the 
building another meeting-house on the west side of 
Charles River.” This was opposed by a vote of the 
town, and March 9, 1713, “ voted that the town shall 
petition the General Court, declaring their inability 
to build another meeting-house in the town, and to 
bare the charge attending it.’”’ The town voted money 
to pay ‘necessary charges that may arise for the 
printing of said petition, and the town paid to “ Mr. 
Paul Dudley to manage the town case three pounds.” 

The General Court at length sent a committee to 
look over the ground with reference to the establish- 
ment of a new town west of theriver Charles. This 
committee reported favorably. 
states that on Oct. 24,1713, he “‘ helped the select- 
men prepare the bill for Medway, the new town on 
the west of Charles River.” . The act was passed 
the next day, Oct. 25,1713. This Act of Incorpo- 





And Judge Sewall | 


ration, a yellow and time-stained document, still | 


preserved in the archives of the town of Medway, 
is as follows: 


“ ANNO REGNI ANN&® REGIN2Z DUODECIM. 


“An Act for Dividing of the Township of Medfield and 
erecting a new Town there by the name of Medway. 


““Whereas the Lands of the Township of Medfield within 
the County of Suffolk lye situate on Charles River, to wit on 
both sides of the said River being divided by the same: and 


the town plat and principal settlement, as also the meeting- | 


house for the Public Worship of God, being seated on the Hast 
side for accommodation of the first and Ancient Inhabitants, 
who are now much increased, many Issued forth and settled on 


the West side of the River to a Competent number fora distinct | 


Town of themselves, and labor under many hardships and Difii- 
culties by reason of Separation by the River to Enjoy Equal 
benefit and town privileges with others of their fellow Towns- 
men and neighbors, and have therefore made application to the 
town as also addressed this Court to be made a distinct Town. 
Committees appointed by this Court having been upon the 


Ground, viewed the land and Reported in their favor for proper 


bounds to be set them. 


“ Be it Enacted by his Excellency the Governour, Council, and 
Representatives in General Court assembled and by the Authority 
of the Same: 


“That all those Lands Lying on the West side of Charles 
River, now part of the Township of Medfield, be Erected and 
made into a Distinct and Separate Town by the name of Med- 
way, the River to be the Bound betwixt the Two Towns. And 
that the Inhabitants of Medway haye, use and Exercise and En- 
joy all such power and privileges which other Towns have, So by 
Law use, exercise & enjoy. So that they procure and Settle a 
Learned, Orthodox Minister of good Conversation among ’em 
and make provision for an Hone support & maintainance for 
him, and that in Order thereto, they be Discharged from further 
payment to the Ministry in Medfield from and after the last day 
of February next. 

‘Provided also that all Province and Town Taxes that are 
already Levied, or Granted, be Collected and paid, and all town 
Rights and Common undivided Lands remain to be divided 
among the interested as if no separation had been made. 

“And Mr. George Fairbanks, a principal Inhabitant of the 
said Town of Medway, is hereby Directed and Impowered to 
Notify and Summon the Inhabitants duly Qualified for Voters 
to Assemble and meet together for the Choosing of Town Offi- 
cers to stand until the next Annual Election according to Law. 

“A true Copy—examined. 

“Jsa. Appineron, See’ry. 


In the order of incorporations Medway was the 
sixty-ninth town in the Massachusetts Colony. Tra- 
dition says it derived its name from the locality, 
being situated meadway or midway, @e., by the way 
Or midway, it being 
the half-way stopping-place on the old Post road 
from Dedham to Mendon. Some have derived the 
name from Medway River, in England. 

The following are the names of the forty-eight 
original founders of the town of Medway, Mass., 
Oct. 25, 1713: 


of or between the meadows. 


John Ellis. 

Joseph Ellis. 

George Fairbanks. 
Henry Guernsey. 
Abraham Harding. 
Abraham Harding, Jr. 
John Harding. 


Daniel Adams. 
Jasper Adams. 
John Adams. 
Jonathan Adams. 
Jonathan Adams, Jr. 
Joseph Adams. 
Obadiah Adams. 
Peter Adams. 
James Allen. 
William Allen. 
John Barber. 


Thomas Harding. 
Samuel Hill. 
Samuel Hill, Jr. 
Ephraim Hill. 


Joseph Barber. 
John Bullard. 
Malachi Bullard. 
William Burgess. 


Theophilus Clark. 


Timothy Clark. 
Edward Clark. 
Joseph Curtis. 
Ebenezer Daniel. 
Jeremiah Daniel. 
Joseph Daniel. 


Joseph Danel, Jr. 


Samuel Daniel. 


Michael Metealf. 
Samuel Metcalf. 
Benoni Partridge. 
John Partridge. 


Jonathan Partridge. 


Samuel Partridge. 

Daniel Richardson. 
John Richardson. 

John Rockwood. 


Josiah Rockwood. 


Ebenezer Thompson. 


Nathaniel Whiting. 


Nathaniel Wight. 


544 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Topographical.— Medway is bounded on the north 
by Holliston and Sherborn, on the east by Medfield 
and Norfolk, on the south by Franklin and Belling- 
ham, and on the west by Milford and Holliston. The 
Charles River separates it from Medfield, Norfolk, 
and Franklin, almost entirely on its eastern and 
southern boundaries. It embraces only about fifteen 
square miles, although its extreme length south and 
west is six miles and its extreme breadth northwest and 
southwest is four miles. 
sand acres, about one-half being unimproved or pasture 
land, one-quarter under cultivation, and one-quarter 
The valuation of land being 


There are nearly ten thou- 


wood and sprout land. 
about three hundred thousand dollars. 
traversed by nearly a hundred miles of highways, and 
by railway from east to west in direct connection with 
Boston. Its topography is peculiar by reason of the 
meadow-lands, which extend for miles along its eastern 
border, and traverse midway almost its entire breadth 
from north to south. These meadows along the river 
Charles are productive of grass. 
the western border of the Old Grant are known as 


Black Swamp, and considerably covered with forest 


Those lying along 


trees. : 
The water system of the town is limited ; consist- 
ing of the Charles River which flows along the eastern 


boundary in a very irregular and serpentine course; _ 


Boggastow Brook crossing the northern and easterly 
corner of the town, flows into Boggastow Pond, 
which has its outlet into the Charles River; Chicken 


Brook, which enters the extreme western part of 


the town from Holliston, flows through that entire 
section from the north to the south, and empties 


into the Charles River; and Winthrop Pond, which | 


is partly in Medway and partly in Holliston. These 
waters furnish but limited mill power and at but a 
The surface of the uplands of the town 


While 


to the south, west, and north the country is uneven 


few points. 
is level with few hills in the easterly section. 
and hilly. The most elevated land is a range of hills 
west of Black Swamp. 
the town is excellent for agriculture. 


meadows furnish large 


ting, and an abundant crop of cranberries for the | 
the Southern Division of the New York and New 


picking. Medway is well furnished with highways. 
From east to west the “‘ Old Mendon Road,” laid out 
in 1670, called the “County road,” along which 


Washington rode on his way to Cambridge to take { 
It is | 


command of the American army in 1775. 
said that Washington, in making this passage through 
the town, dined at Richardson’s Hotel in the Kast 
Parish, at the house now standing and the residence 


of Mrs. Cyrus Ballard. 


The town is | 


The soil in many parts of | 
The broad 


quantities of hay for the cut- | 


| 








By an act of incorporation, passed March 9, 1804, 
the Hartford and Dedham Turnpike Corporation came 
into existence. And there was constructed a turnpike 
through the town from east to west, called the Hart- 
ford Turnpike. This road was opened to travel in 
1807, and a toll-gate established near the ‘“‘ Hammond 
Place.” This point is now marked by the railroad- 
crossing in Hast Medway. 

Tolls were collected for nearly twenty years. The 
Medford Turnpike was laid out and established as a 
public highway June 4, 1838, and received the name 
of Main Street. It is the longest highway in the 
town, extending from Medfield to Bellingham. The 
old county road, which is the oldest highway in town, 
and nearly as long as Main Street, running in the same 
direction nearer the river, is called Village Street. 

A movement to secure railroad communication to 
Boston from Medway took form in a meeting of 


| prominent men in the region, held Nov. 30, 1836, in 


Medway. In this meeting were Artemas Brown, 
M.D., Luther Metcalf, Esq., Hon. Warren Lovering, 
Lyman Adams, and others of Medway. This move- 
ment for a long period was a contest and a struggle. 


/It had a history of almost twenty years, for not 


until January, 1853, was the puff of an engine and 
the rumble of a railroad train heard within the 
precinct of Medway. The first railroad opened to 
the public was the Medway Branch of the Norfolk 
County Railroad, January, 1853, having its terminus 
in Medway Village. This was discontinued in 1864, 
and the rails removed in the night. The New York 
and Boston Railroad, which was an extension of the 
Charles River Railroad, from Dedham to Woonsocket, 
was completed and opened to Medway in 1861, and 
to Woonsocket in 1863, and merged into the Boston, 
Hartford and Erie Railroad. Financially this railroad 
has been a failure ; it is now the Woonsocket Division 
of the New York and New England Railroad. 

There are four principal villages in Medway, viz., 
Kast, West, Rockville, and Medway Villages. The 
New York and New England Railroad passes im- 
mediately through three of these so as to furnish 
easy transportation to Boston, to Providence, and 
Worcester. Rockville has coach connection with 
England Railroad at Norfolk Station, so that all 
parts of the town are well accommodated. 

The amount of freight and passenger business to 
and from the three stations in Medway on the New 
York and New England Railroad for the year ending 
Jan. 31, 1883, was $41,843.23. 

Population.—The exact population resident within 
the territory embraced by the town of Medway at the 











MEDWAY. 


545 





date of its incorporation is not stated. The number | 
of householders and voters was 48, which would 
indicate a population of some 250 or 300 people. | 
By the first census taken and published in 1765 
there were 123 houses, 138 families,—males 380, 
females 388; and 17 negroes; making a total of 
785 inhabitants. In 1776 there were 912, in 1790 
there were 1035, and in 1800 there were 1050. As 
reported in the State census of 1875 there were 
4242 inhabitants,—males 2066, females 2176; na- 
tives of the town 1567; natives of Massachusetts 
2931; natives of United States 3421; foreign-born | 
742 ; and unknown nationality 79. The number of 
polls were 1038. The population of the town has 
hardly increased during the last ten years. The 
business of the town is largely manufacturing. There 
are some 500 boot-makers, 150 straw-bonnet makers, | 
200 farmers, 50 merchants and traders, 12 black- 
smiths, 54 carpenters, 5 physicians, 2 lawyers, and 
10 clergymen. 

In the population of Medway by census of 1875 
there were 204 persons who were illiterates ; 31 of | 
these were natives, and 173 foreign-born. 80 of the 
number could read, but 124 could neither read nor 
write. About five per cent. of the population is 
illiterate. 

Municipal.—tThe first town-meeting of Medway 
was held ‘“‘ November ye 23d, 1713 . . . to choose 
town officers to stand untill the next annuall ellection 
are chosen, which will be in March 1714.” 

After making choice of town clerk, selectmen, and 
constable, the town 








The first road laid out after the incorporation of 
the town is thus recorded: 


“June 4, 1715. The select men met at the house of Nathaniel 
Wight to lay out high wais for the benefit of this Town, and 
for the Conveniency of travelers to pass from town to town as 
followeth: begun in the country Rhode that leds to mendon 
near twenty rods east from Nat Wight’s upon a straight line 
across part of the plain known by the name of Stony Plain, 
and cross a swamp place comonly called paradise island, and 
by the south east side of Ebenezer Thompson’s field on to bare 
hill along at the south west end of the meeting house to the 
laid out highway through the plain comonly known by the 
name of hills.” 


For the first thirteen years of their municipal his- 
tory the town was not represented in the Provincial 
Court. They adhered to their vote taken Dee. 3, 
1713, “To send none, accounting ourselves not 
obliged to send any,” until 1726, when they chose as 


| their first representative to the General Court Jon- 


athan Adams. 

The names of representatives to the Colonial State 
Legislature from Medway, in the order of their elec- 
tion, are as follows: 


Jonathan Adams. Luther Metcalf. 


“ Voted, That John Rockett and Jonathan Adams, Sen., Sergt | 


Samuel Partridge, and Serg' Jonathan Adams and Edward 
‘Clark to be a Committee to take care to procure the Meeting- 
house built.” 

“ Voted, That Abraham Harding, Sen’, John Partridge, and 
Theophilus Clark to procure and carry in a petition to the 
town clerk of Medfield in order to the procuring of acecommoda- 
tions for the setting of the metting hous upon the place com- 
monly called bare hills, and some conven’t acomodations for 
the ministry near ther abouts.” 


The business of the town for the first forty years 
of its municipal history was largely in relation to 


ecclesiastical matters. This feature, however, disap- 


pears from the town records, with the following | 
entry : 

“ March ye 22 Anno Dom. 1748-9, Received of Dea. John 
Barber, town treasurer, the sum of four hundred pounds old 
Term Bills in full satisfaction of my salary the past year, and 
I do hereby acquit and discharge the said Town of Medway 
for all debts, dues or demands whatsoever on the account of 
my yearly salary from the time of my first settling with them 
in the work of the ministry to the first day of this instant, 
March, as witness my hand 

“NATHAN BucKNAN.” 


35 


Edward Clark. Asa Cole. 
Samuel Metealf. Willard Daniels. 
Jeremiah Adams. Joel Hunt. 


Jonathan Adams. 
Elisha Adams, 
Moses Adams. 
Elijah Clark. 
Joseph Lovell. 
Moses Richardson. 
Eliakim Adams. 
Abner Morse. 
John Ellis. 
Jeremiah Daniels. 
William Felt. 
Nathaniel Lovell. 
George Barber, Jr. 
Seneca Barber. 
Warren Lovering. 


Joseph L. Richardson. 


Paul Daniell. 

George W. Holbrook. 
Nathan Jones. 
Eleazer Daniels. 


Horace Richardson. 


Horatio Mason. 
Clark Partridge. 
Alpheus C. Grant. 
Albert Irving. 
Tisdale S. White. 
William B. Boyd. 


William H. Temple. 


William H. Cary. 
William Daniels. 
Anson Daniels. 
Leander 8S. Daniels. 
George P. Metcalf. 
James H. Ellis. 


Rev. Alexis W. Ide. 


Edward Eaton. 


David A. Partridge. 


Elijah B. Daniels. 


Joseph W. Thompson. 


Edward I. Clark. 


_ eleven, and Moses Richardson thirteen years. 


In all forty-eight persons, many of whom were re- 
elected, and several serving a number of years. War- 
ren Lovering, Esq., served seven, Jonathan Adams 
Stull 
others from two to five years. 

The names of the town clerks of Medway, from 
1713 to 1883, in order of election, are as follows: 


John Rockett. Samuel Harding. 


| 


Edward Clark. 
Jeremiah Daniell. 
Ebenezer Daniell. 
John Barber. 


Jeremiah Adams, 
Samuel Ellis. 
Elisha Adams. 
Elijah Clark. 


546 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








Daniel Wiley. 
Anson Daniels. 
Luther Bailey. 
Daniel C. Fisher. 
A. N. B. Fuller. 
George P. Metealf. 
Orion A. Mason. 


Elisha Ellis. 

Timothy Clark. 
Henry Ellis. 

Simon Fisher. 
Theodore Clark. 
Joseph Lovell. 
Joseph L. Richardson. 
Luther Metcalf, Jr. 


James Morse. 
Oliver Adams. 
Isaac Bullard. 
Moses Richardson. 
Asa P. Richardson. 
Simeon Clark. 


Jotham Clark. 
Sylvanus Adams. 
Luther Metcalf, Jr. 
Cephas Thayer. 
Eleazer Daniels. 
James Lovering. 
Daniel Pond. William Adams. 
Nathaniel Lovell. Daniel Wiley. 
Eliakim Adams. Asa Cole. 

Abner Morse. 
Thomas Adams. 


The present town clerk, O. A. Mason, has served 
twelve; S. N. B. Fuller, served fourteen; Edward 
Clark, eighteen; Joseph L. Richardson, nineteen ; 
Joseph Lovell, twenty; and Elijah Clark, twenty- 
four years. Still others served from two to ten years. 
The number of different persons who have filled this 
office in the one hundred and seventy years is twenty- 
‘five. 

The names of persons who have served as select- 
men of the town of Medway, from 1713 to 1883, in 
the order of their election, are as follows: 


Joseph Adams. 
Orion Mason. 
Simeon Richardson. George Harding. 
Abijah Richardson, M.D. 
Joel Partridge. 


Oliver Adams. 


Newell Lovering. 
Nathan Jones. 
William H. Cary. 
Elisha Cutler. 
Horatio Mason. 
Milton M. Fisher. 
Albert Twing. 
James Mann. 
Nathan C. Pond. 
Artemas Brown, M.D. 
Clark Partridge. 
Joseph C. Lovering. 
Elias Metealf. 
Arnold Smith. 
Edward Eaton. 
James P. Clark. 
Simeon Fisher. 
William Adams. 
Alvin Wight. 

A. L. Shaw. 

Joel P. Adams. 
William Daniels. 
George W. Ray. 
James H. Ellis. 
Wales Kimball. 
William H. Temple. 
A. N. B. Fuller. 

A. 8. Harding. 
Joseph Bullard. 
Willard P. Clark. 
David A. Partridge. 
Henry 8. Partridge. 
Moses C. Adams. 
Charles F. Daniels. 


Abner Mason. 
Jabez Shumway. 
Theodore Clark. 
Nathan Jones. 
Micah Adams. 
Jobn Ellis. 

Amos Turner. 
Luther Metealf. 
Jonathan Adams. 
Abner Ellis. 
Jeremiah Daniell. 


John Rockett. 
Samuel Partridge. 
Jonathan Adams. 
Jonathan Adams, Jr. 
Edward Clark. 
Theophilus Clark. 
Ebenezer Thompson. 
Nathaniel Wight. 
Malachi Bullard. 
John Richardson. 
Abraham Harding. 
John Bullard, 
John Clark. 

Jasper Adams. 
Henry Guernsey. 
John Partridge. 
Timothy Clark. 
Michael Metcalf. 
Jeremiah Daniell. 
Daniel Adams. 
Nathaniel Whiting. 
Ebenezer Daniell. 


Nathaniel Clark, 
Jonathan Adams. 
Ephraim Partridge. 
Thaddeus Lovering. 
Elijah Partridge. 
Sylvanus Adams. 
Jasper Adams. 
Ralph Bullard. 
Moses Richardson. 
William Felt. 
Seneca Barber. 
Calvin Cutler. 

Asa Daniels. 
Nathaniel Cutler. 


Samuel Fisher. 
Elisha Adams. 
Malachi Bullard. 
Henry Daniels. 
Job Plympton. 
George Barber. 
Uriah Morse. 
Eleazer Adams. 
Moses Richardson. 
Elijah Clark. 
Samuel Hayward. 
Asa Richardson. Lewis Wheeler. 
Joshua Partridge. Simon H. Mason. 
Daniel Ide. Moses Rockwood. 
Amos Turner. Simeon Partridge. 
Jeremiah Daniels. 
Elisha Ellis. 
Nathan Daniels. 
Thomas Adams. 
Thomas Metcalf. 


Aaron Adams. 

Paul Daniell. 

Joseph L. Richardson. 
Joel Hunt. 


Jeremiah Adams. Moses Felt. 


Samuel Metealf. 
Peter Balch. 
Thomas Harding. 
Eleazer Adams. 
Joseph Adams. 
Samuel Daniell. 
John Adams. 
Samuel Harding. 
Joseph Barber. 
Daniel Richardson. 


Benjamin Rockwood. 


John Barber. 
Jonathan Partridge. 
George Deming. 
John Harding. 
Hugh Brown. 
Samuel Ellis. 
Nathaniel Cutler. 
Michael Bullen. 
Henry Morse. 


Ichabod Hawes. 
Nathan Whiting. 
Henry Bullard. 
James Penniman. 
Timothy Clark. 
Asa Daniels. 
Josiah Fuller. 
Daniel Bullen. 
Moses Adams. 
Elisha Cutler. 
Joseph Partridge. 
Joseph Lovell. 
Asa Clark. 


Nathaniel Partridge. 


Henry Ellis. 
Simon Fisher. 
Simon Cutler. 
Joseph Curtis. 
John Harding. 
Moses Thompson. 


Lemuel Clark. 
Thomas Harding. 
Elisha A. Jones. 
Amos Bullard. 
Christopher Slocum, 


James M. Daniels. 
William Everett. 
Edward Fennessy. 
George B. Thrasher. 
Elihu S. Fuller. 


The whole number who have served in the office of 
selectman is one hundred and eighty-eight persons. 
Some have served by re-election from two to twenty 
| years. 

_ There appears in the record of town expenses for 
1734-35, the following : 

“Paid Mr. Salter, of Borston, for half barrel of pow- 
der, £10; for one hundred weight of bulits & one 
hund. flints, £5 15s. To Edward Clark, for bringing 
ammunition, £5. To Timothy Clark, for bringing 
_ powder and bulits, 3s. 6d.” Making a total of £16 3s. 
6d. Whereas all other expenditures of the town for 














MEDWAY. 


547 





that year, exclusive of the minister’s salary, but in-— 
cluding £2 which was paid for schools and £7 for the | 
building of a pound, were £12 2s. 13d. 

In 1730 bears were troublesome in the vicinity of 
Winthrop Pond. In 1737, Seth Harding was paid 
one pound for “ killing a wild catt.” In 1742, nine- 
teen pounds, eleven shillings, and six pence were or- 
dered by the town to be paid for killing eight hun- 
dred and seventeen squirrels and six hundred and 
eighty-four blackbirds. The last deer killed in the | 
region was in 1747, and the last panther made his — 
appearance in 1790. / 

“The incorporation of the West Precinct by the 
General Court, Dec. 29, 1748,” prepared the way for 
the organization of the Second Church of Christ in 
Medway. ‘The first town-meeting held in the West 
Precinct was in March, 1753. 

In March, 1770, the town voted that the inhabit- 
ants “ will forbear the purchasing of tea and wholly | 





restrain themselves from the use of it, upon which | 
there is a duty laid by the Parliament of Great Brit-_ 
ain, and also that they will forbear the purchasing of | 
any goods knowingly, directly or indirectly of any im- 
porter . . . until the revenue acts shall be repealed.” 
And a committee was chosen, who recommended to | 
the town ‘to frown upon all who may endeavor 
to frustrate the good designs of the above vote, and | 
to deem all who may at any time counteract it no 
better than enemies to our constitution and banes to | 
the Commonwealth.” 
'“ unanimously” adopted. 


This recommendation was 


In December of 1775 the selectmen were instructed 
to withhold their approbation from “ inn-holdersand re- 
tailers of strong liquors in this town from all such per- 
sons that shall buy, use, and consume any tea in their | 
homes while subject to duties.” In 1774 there were — 
added to the town stock of ammunition “ 100 pounds 
of powder, 200 pounds of bullets, and 200 flints.” In 
September of 1774 the town voted to purchase “two | 
iron field-pieces, for better security and defence.” | 
Medway was thoroughly patriotic, as seen in various | 
votes adopted at this period. 





In the warrant for March meeting in 1776 “ His | 
Majesty’s name” was omitted for the first time. 

The town warrant calling a meeting May, 1776, 
was issued “in the name of the government of the | 
People of Massachusetts.” 

Elijah Clark was representative to the General Court 
of 1776, and instructed as follows: “If the Honorable | 
Continental Congress shall for the safety of the colo- | 
nies declare them independent of Great Britain, then | 
we will support them in the measure with our lives 


and fortunes.”’ | 


| Sabbath, . 


| of that office. 


In 1780 the expenditures of the town were £92,909 
10s. 3d. in the currency of that period, and in 1781 
the town voted to pay those “ who marched and served 
in the late alarm in Rhode Island” the sum of twenty- 
five pounds per day for service. 

The tax-list of 1783 fills fourteen manuscript pages 
on paper eight inches square, contains two hundred 
and sixteen residents and ninety-eight non-residents ; 
poll-tax, 2s. 6d. The largest real estate tax-payers 
were Asa P. Richardson, £1 2s. 9d.; Capt. Joseph 
Lovell, £1 3s. 8d.; and Nathaniel Lovell, £1 8d. 

The warrant for 1794 defines the qualifications for 
voting for State officers to be, a residence within the 
State one year, age twenty-one years, and an estate 
of sixty pounds, or an estate yielding an annual in- 
come of three pounds; and for town officers the pay- 
ment of a tax, besides a poll-tax, equal to two-thirds 
of the poll-tax. 

In 1795 Federal money came into use, and the 
town expenditures recorded in dollars, cents, and 
mills for the first time. This year the town ordered 
guide-posts to be set up. The Hartford Turnpike 
was built and opened for public travel in 1807, but 
became a public way June 4, 1838, after a corporate 
existence of thirty years. In 1805, Ezekiel Plymp- 
ton petitioned the town to grant liberty to owners of 
land to set out and cultivate various kinds of trees 


along the highways against their premises, which 


petition the town voted to dismiss. Mr. Plympton 


was a hundred years ahead of his generation. 


In 1814 the town voted not to 
tive to the Legislature ‘‘ by reason 


send a representa- 
of the town being 
at great expense for building Meeting-houses, and 
also an additional number of poor thrown upon the 
town.” 

In 1815 two additional tithingmen were chosen, 
making the number four for that year, and the follow- 
ing vote was passed : 

‘““ Whereas, The profanation of the Lord’s Day-by 
many inconsiderate persons has become notorious, and 
is incompatible with a due regard to the Christian 
. it being the ardent wish of this town 
that the tithingmen should use their vigilant exertions 
in order to put a stop to all unnecessary traveling on 
the Sabbath, and in all things cause the laws for the 
due observance of the Lord’s Day to be duly executed 
according to the tenor and intent of their solemn 
oath.” 

Tithingmen ceased to be chosen in 1845, Samuel 
Force and Anson F. White being the last incumbents 
In 1818 voted to hold town-meetings 
two out of every three years in East Parish, and one 
year in West Parish. In 1823 voted to alternate 


548 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





In 


town-meetings between East and West Parishes. 


S. W. Segur, 1873-75; Rev. James M. Bell, 1876, 


1843 voted to hold town-meetings every third year the present pastor. 


in the Village, which plan is still followed. In 1831 
the day of State election was changed to November. 
In 1867 the town gave names to its public streets. 


The First Baptist Church was’ constituted Nov. 
15, 1832, in West Parish or New Grant. The pastors 


have been Rey. William Bowen, 1833-35; Rev. 


Ecclesiastical.— The early inhabitants of the ter- | 


ritory within the present town of Medway were fur- 


nished religious as well as municipal privileges in | 


Medfield of which they were a part. 
fifty years their ecclesiastical connections were with 
the old First Church of Christ in Medfield, of which 
Rev. John Wilson, Jr., was pastor from 1651 to 1691. 
As the population increased on the west side of the 
river Charles, in consideration of the long distance 
to public worship, there was awakened a strong and 


general desire to have a meeting-house, and Christian | 


privileges among themselves. This found frequent 
expression, and the refusal of the town of Medfield 


to subject themselves to the expense of building a | 


second meeting-house, and of the support of the 
Gospel on the west side of the Charles River led the 
inhabitants of that part of the town to determine on 


For a period of 


and ask the General Court for the establishment of a | 


new town. 


It was, as they expressed it, “that they | 


and their posterity might more conveniently enjoy — 
Rev. M. Thayer, 1866; Rev. W. A. Nottage, 1867— 


Gospel privileges” that the new town of Medway was 
incorporated, Oct. 25,1713. For a period of the first 
forty years much of the business transacted in town- 
meetings had to do with the matters of the church 
and the ministry. 

The First Church of Christ in Medway was organ- 
ized Oct. 7, 1714, by the establishment of public 


worship on the west side of the river Charles. This 


first service was held ‘“‘ at the house of peter Adams.” | 


The first meeting-house was erected on Bare Hill, and 
probably dedicated Nov. 20, 1715, the day that Rev. 
David Deming was ordained the first pastor. 

The First Church of Christ.— For the larger part 


of the period of one hundred and seventy years this has | 


been the only church in the East Parish of the town. | 


It now occupies its fourth meeting-house, and has its 
ninth pastor. 
Deming, 1715-22 ; Nathan Bucknam, 1724-95; Rev. 


Its pastors have been Rev. David | 


Benjamin Green (colleague), 1788-93; Rev. Luther | 
Wright, 1798-1815 ; Rev. Luther Bailey, 1816-35 ; 


tev. Sewall Harding, 1837-51; Rev. John O. Means, 
D.D., 1851-55 ; Rev. Jacob Roberts, 1856-71; Rev. 
E. 


O. Jameson, 1871, the present pastor. 


The Second Church of Christ was organized in the | 


West Precinct or New Grant Oct. 4,1750. The pastors 
have been Rev. David Thurston, 1752-69; Rev. 


David Sanford, 1773-1810; Rev. Jacob Ide, D.D., 


Aaron Haynes, 1836-40; Rev. David Curtis, 1843- 
45; Rev. Abner Mason, 1845-47; Rev. E. C. Mes- 
senger, 1849-66; Rev. Samuel Brooks, 1866-69; 
Rev. 8S. J. Axtell, 1870-78; Rev. John EK. Burr, 
1878-83; Rev. Benjamin R. Dow, 1884, the present 
pastor. 

The Third Congregational Church was organized 
Dec. 7, 18536. The pastor was Rev. Luther Bailey, 
who, after several years of ministration, retired, and 
the organization became at length entirely extinct. 

The Evangelical Congregational Church, of 
Medway Village, was organized Sept. 7, 1838. The 
pastors have been Rev. David Sanford, 1838-71 . 
Rev. R. K. Harlow, 1872, the present pastor. 

The First Methodist Episcopal Church was or- 
ganized July 19, 1857,in West Parish, or New Grant. 
The pastors have been Rev. William Jackson, 1857— 
58; Rev. M. Tilton, 1859; Rev. Joseph Higgins, 
1860-61; Rev. George Whitaker, 1861-63; Rev. 
T. C. Potter, 1863-65; Rev. C. W. Wilder, 1866; 


68; Rev. W. P. Ray, 1868-71; Rev. William Mer- 
rill, 1871-73; Rev. J. R. Cushing, 1873-74; Rev. 
L. Crowell, 1874-77 ; Rev. D. N. Richardson, 1877- 
79; Rev. J. C. Smith, 1879-82; Rev. W. M. Hub- 
bard, 1882, the present pastor. 

St. Clair’s Roman Catholic Church was organized 
in 1864 at Medway Village. Rev. J. P. Quinlan, 
pastor. 

The Saint Clement’s Church was established 
June, 1865, in the East Parish. The rectors have 
been Rev. Benjamin F. Cooley, 1865-69; Rev. 
Charles Kelly, 1870-71. Their church building was 
burned Feb. 5, 1871, and was not rebuilt. A new 
church edifice of stone was erected in 1874-80 in 
Medway Village, called Christ’s Church. It was 
opened for divine service on Christmas evening, 1881, 
by Rev. John 8S. Beers, Missionary-at-large in the 
Diocese of Massachusetts. Jan. 8, 1882, Rev. Sam- 
uel Edwards became officiating missionary under the 
Diocesan Board of Missions, which position he still 
filled in 1884. 

Rockville Chapel was erected in 1876. For 
many years the First Church of Medway had mains 
tained a Sabbath-school in the village of Rockville, 
and in 1876 a convenient chapel was erected at the 
In this chapel 


expense of sixteen hundred dollars. 


1814-65; Rey. Stephen Knowlton, 1865-72; Rev. | a Sunday-school meets weekly, and public worship is 





ee a 





MEDWAY. 549 








held regularly by the pastor of the First Church once 
a month, and occasionally by other clergymen. 


The wages of teachers at this period may be inferred 


from the record that Samuel Harding was paid three 


The town of Medway is abundantly provided with — 
churches and religious institutions, which are well | 
| Neck, New Grant, North New Grant: and in 1769 a 


supported and prosperous. 


Educational In 1678 George Fairbanks, Jr., | 


gave one shilling and one bushel of Indian corn and 
Joseph Daniell gave two shillings sixpence and two 
bushels of corn as a contribution towards the “ new 
college in Cambridge.” This was the first expression 
of interest in “higher education” made in the town 
of Medway. 

The first appropriation of money on record for edu- 
cating the children within the territory of the present 


pounds for keeping school seven weeks. In 1760 
five schools were maintained, viz., East Parish, Bent, 


school on the county line, No. 6, was added. 

Until 1805 the selectmen had the supervision of the 
schools, but that year the limits of the different dis- 
tricts were fixed, and the first school committee chosen, 
who were Abijah Richardson, M.D., John Ellis, 


_ Ezekiel Plympton, Philo Sanford, and Calvin Cutler. 


town of Medway was that made when the town of | 


Medfield voted Oct. 28, 1697, “ fifty shillings for 
schooling children on the west side of Charles 
River.” 


The first school-teacher contracted with appears in | 


the following entry upon the record of Medfield, May 
4, 1699: “The selectmen agreed with Sergt. Joseph 
Daniell to take care for the schooling children on the 
west side of Charles River.” 

The first school-room was ordered Sept. 13, 1704, 
when the town of Medfield voted, ‘‘ The inhabitants 
of the west side to provide a convenient room for a 
school this year for such time as shall be needfull.” 

The first payments made to teachers as recorded 
were: Feb. 21, 1700, “ payd unto peter adams for 
his wive’s Keeping school on that side of the River, it 
being the full of his Du, 2—9-11.” 
at this time the mother of seven children. March 
19, 1700, “ payd to Sergt. Joseph Daniel for Keep- 


Mrs. Adams was | 





ing a school the year 99 he Dischargin the Town 3 | 


want. 6d.” March 29, 1710, “‘ Paid to John Part- 


ridge, Sen., for Keeping School on the west side of | 


Charles River one month 1-12-0.” 

Upon the records of Medway under date of May 
13, 1717, it is found that the town “ granted four 
pounds of money to be raised as and put into the 
minister's rate for to build a pound and keep a scool.” 


The next year two pounds were voted, thirty shillings — 


for a writing school, and ten shillings for a school at 
‘“y* bent of y® river.” Ruth Harding received nine 
shillings and eight pence, and widow Partridge six 
shillings and four pence for teaching. In 1726 the 
town appropriated ten pounds to be divided for the 
support of the schools in different parts of the town. 

In March, 1737, the town of Medway voted to 
build three school-houses, one in East Parish, one at 
the Bent, and one in the New Grant. 

In 1745 the town granted forty-five pounds to be 
distributed in different sums to support six schools. 


The names of persons who have served on the 
school committee in order of their election, from 
1805 to 1884, are as follows : 


Abijah Richardson, M.D. James Lovering. 


John Ellis. 
Ezekiel Plympton. 
Philo Sanford. 
Calvin Cutler. 
Nathan Jones. 
Amos Turner. 
Aaron Adams. 
Rey. David Sanford. 
Rey. Luther Wright. 
William Green. 
Eliakim Adams. 
Joseph Lovell. 
Lemuel Daniels. 
Abner Morse. 
Theodore Clark. 
Timothy Whiting, 
Jeremiah Daniels. 
Seneca Barber. 
Asa Daniels. 
Lyman Tiffany. 
Thaddeus Lovering. 
Sylvanus Adams. 
Luther Metealf. 
Aaron Rockwood. 


Joseph L. Richardson. 


Elihu Partridge. 
John Harding. 
Rey. Jacob Ide. 
Ralph Bullard. 
Timothy Hammond. 
Reuben Hill. 

Joel Hunt. 

Rey. Luther Bailey. 
Sabin Daniels. 
Aaron Adams. 

Dr. Oliver Dean. 
Christopher Slocum, 
Moses Felt. 

Eleazer Daniels. 
Elisha A. Jones. 
Calvin Cutler. 
William Felt. 
Isaac Kibbe. 

Sewall Sanford. 
Ezra Richardson. 
Luther Metealf, Jr. 
Lemuel Clark. 


Jasper Daniels. 
Nathan Grant. 

Joel Partridge. 

Silas Richardson. 
Moses Harding. 

John Bullard. 

Amos Bullard. 

Ralph Mann. 

Amos Cutler. 

Aaron W. Wright. 
Lowell Bullen. 
Warren Lovering, Esq. 
Royal Southwick. 

A. L. B. Monroe, M.D. 
Abijah R. Wheeler. 
Charles S. Cheever. 
Artemas Brown, M.D. 
Timothy Walker. 
Rev. A. Haynes. 

A. G. Cheever. 

Wales Kimball. 

Rev. Sewall Harding. 
Daniel Wiley. 

Rey. David Sanford. 
Anson Daniels. 
Milton M. Fisher. 


‘Rey. John O. Means. 


Rey. C. C. Messenger. 
George L. Cary. 
Andrew Washburn. 
Rey. Alexis W. Ide. 
Asa Hixon. 

Willard P. Clark. 

Rev. Jacob Roberts. 
Charles H. Deans, Esq. 
Rev. Samuel Brooks. 
H. D. Brown, M.D. 
John S. Walker. 

O. A. Mason. 

Elias T. Fisher. 

Lyman Adams, Jr. 
William A. Jenkes. 
Elbridge Smith. 

Rev. Seth J. Axtell. 
Marcellus A. Woodward. 
Henry W. Daniels. 
Rey. E, 0. Jameson. 


550 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Elijah B. Daniels. 
Charles A. Bemis, M.D. 
George B. Towle, A.M. 
Dr. John S. Falsom. 
George E. Pond. 

Charles C. Lawrence. 
George W. Follansbee. 
Charles 8. Philbrick. 
Henry 8. Partridge. 


Aaron Brigham. 

J. Warren Clark. 
Waldo B. Hixon. 
Charles F. Daniels. 
Charles A. Bigelow. 
Edmund A. Clark. 
E. A. Daniels, M.D. 
Rev. E. N. Hidden. 
Frederic Swarman. 
George E. Sanderson. 


The whole number being one hundred and six- 
teen persons. Among these who have served a long 


series of years were Rev. David Sanford, twenty-two 


years ; Rev. Luther Bailey, twenty-four years ; Deacon | 


Anson Daniels, twenty-eight years (and still in office) ; 
Rev. Jacob Ide, D.D., thirty years. 

The earliest record of a district-school meeting is 
that of No.1 District, Feb. 11,1801. The appropri- 
ation of money by the town for schools that year was 
four hundred dollars. At this district-school meeting 
it was voted “to have one month's man school” and 
“to have four months’ woman school.” 

The text-books used in school at the beginning of 
the century were Pike’s Arithmetic, Morse’s Geogra- 


phy (with maps), and the American Preceptor. Pen-_ 
manship received much attention, and the art of 


making and mending a quill pen was a great accom- 
plishment and a necessary qualification for teaching. 
In 1816 the village District, No. 7, was formed and a 
school-house built. In 1873 school-house No. 9 was 
erected. 

In 1830 the first High School was set up in Med- 


way. It was taught at the village first by Abijah R. 








Baker, from Franklin, Mass., a graduate of that year | 


from Amherst College. 

This school was successful and popular for several 
terms, but was superseded by select and private schools 
taught at intervals and in different parts of the town. 
Among the teachers were George P. Smith, after- 
wards a clergyman in Worcester, and Samuel J. 
Spaulding, afterwards Rev. Dr. Spaulding, of New- 
buryport, Mass. 
Dedham, taught a similar school in the West Parish, 
Mr. Daniel J. Poor 1838. 
academic studies were pursued in these schools. 


and in The higher 

In 1851 the town conformed to the law of the 
State and established a high school, which has been 
maintained ever since at the expense of the town. 
In 1869 the district system was abolished and the 
school committee increased to nine members. 
high school, from 1851 to 1855, was rotary: one 
term yearly at each of the three villages; then 
from 1855 to 1879 it was distributed 
high and grammar schools, one in each village, but 


into three 


In 1831-32, Mr. Daniel Forbes, of | 


The | 


in 1879 the Medway High School became _per- 
manently located in Medway Village, pupils being 
transported at the expense of the town. This school 
for two years has been under the charge of George H. 


_ Rockwood, A.M., as principal, with a lady assistant, 
| Miss Sarah E. Haskell. 


There is a large attendance, 
and the school takes high rank for the facilities it 
affords for pursuing Higher English and Classical 
studies. In 1883 a class of thirteen graduated, some 
of whom entered the best New England colleges 
without condition. 

St. Clement’s school was established, in 1868, in 
connection with the St. Clement’s Church in the East 
Parish. This school was for the education of boys. 
It had a history of a few terms of marked prosperity, 
but in 1870, the buildings being burned, it was dis- 
continued. 

The town of Medway has advanced in its appropri- 
ations for schools from four pounds, “for building a 
pound and teaching a scool,” or two pounds for 
schooling the children in 1717, to some nine thousand 
dollars for schools and school incidentals in 1883. 
Instead of one school and one teacher, there are 
eighteen schools, with twenty teachers, including a 
High School not surpassed in this region, and graded 
The town provides liberally : 
books, supplies, and everything to equip and run 
her public schools with success. In 1883 the town 
adopted the plan of providing school-books free of 
expense to all the pupils except those in the High 
School. The school board consists of nine members, 
the superintendence, employment of teachers, and gen- 


schools of a high order. 


eral management of the schools being in charge of a 
sub-committee. 

The educational facilities of the town are supple- 
two public libraries: the Hast Medway 
Circulating Library and the Dean Public Library. 
The Dean Library Association was incorporated 
March 3, 1860. By the munificence of the late 
Dr. Dean they have a capital of about five thou- 
sand dollars, the income of which goes to support the 
Dean Publie Library, which has some twenty-five 
hundred volumes. This library is accommodated 
with a convenient room in Sanford Hall. 

Sanford Hall was erected, 1872, at a cost of about 
sixteen thousand dollars, in Medway Village. It was 
dedicated Dee. 31, 1872, by appropriate services, and 
named for the largest donor to its building fund, 
Milton A. Sanford, Esq., of New York, but a native 
of Medway. 

Theodore W. Fisher, M.D., of Boston, son of Hon. 
M. M. Fisher, of Medway, gave an historical address 
on the occasion, and Rey. R. K. Harlow made the 


mented by 








MEDWAY. 


551 





address of dedication. The lower story of the 
building is occupied by stores and the Dean Public 
Library. The second story is devoted to a public 
hall, with convenient anterooms, 
devoted to several smaller halls used for various pur- 
poses. 

Partridge Hall was erected in 1876, in East Med- 
way, by the enterprise of one of the active citizens of 
the place, whose name it bears. 

Numerous organizations in the town, such as fire- 


The third story is | 





companies, Lodges of Masons and Odd-Fellows, East | 


Medway Improvement Society, and Patrons of Indus- | 


try, co-operate to render the population intelligent, — 


social, and thriving. 
Industrial Medway has always been somewhat 


largely an agricultural town, farming being the occu- | 


pation of the people outside of the village centres. 

The small water-power within the limits of the town 
has been utilized, and in later years supplemented 
with steam. A variety of manufactures have been 
produced. Hardly had a settlement on the west side 
of the river Charles been commenced, when we find 
the town of Medfield making a grant in 1659 to 
Robert Hinsdell of “forty-six acres lying on the 
other side of Boggastow Brook,” in payment for 
“the bell” with which he had provided the town for 
their church. And very soon, 1663, Boggastow 
mill-dam is mentioned, and in 1665, Robert Hinsdell’s 
mill was a fact. This first mill was doubtless for 
Mr. Hinsdell sold it in 1669 to Peter 
Woodward, and it was burned by the Indians some- 
time prior to 1676, but probably rebuilt, as Hinsdell’s 
mill is mentioned in 1677. In 1680, Medfield voted 
to grant fifty acres of land to encourage the building 
of a mill on Charles River, and to exempt the mill 
from taxes for seven years. This proposal was ac- 
cepted, and the first mill at the Bent, now Rockville, 
was built by the following owners : 


grinding corn. 


Mill: 


John Metcalf, Sr., John Partridge, Sr., Samuel — 


Morse, Edward Adams, Joseph Allen, John Metcalf, 
Jr., Nathaniel Allen, George Barber, Ephraim Wight, 
Samuel Barber, John Plympton, and Benjamin 
Wheelock. This mill was burned prior to 1685, and 
“ Gamaliel Hinsdell was appointed by the selectmen 
to prosecute John Sunchamaug, an Indian, upon sus- 
picion of firing the new mill.” How soon this mill 
was rebuilt is not known. But Feb. 7, 1687, the 
town granted to Joseph Daniell “ the stream of Bog- 
gastow Brook, so far as it shall be needful to the ad- 
vantage of his mill, and not damage the proprietors 
on said brook, provided he maintains a good mill on 
said stream, for the supply of the town.” The fol- 


the common land on the brook,” and “to flow the 
common land so far as shall be convenient for a mill 
at all times forever.” Joseph Daniell had become the 
proprietor of the old mill site, “‘ the place where Peter 
Woodward's stood,” for he gave it to his son in 


| 1693. This mill site is thus described: “ The land 


where the old mill stood being two acres more or 


less, a highway to pass through the same.” This 


' was the site of the Hinsdell mill which was burned 


by the Indians. In later times it was known as 
Bullard’s mill, afterwards as Fisher’s mill, then as 
Partridge’s mill, and was at Jast purchased by M. H. 
Collins, Esq., and removed to make way for straight- 
ening the highway, so that the road now passes over 
the spot first selected for the erection of a mill by 
Robert Hinsdell, on the west side of the Charles. At 
just what date the mill further up the Boggestow 
Brook, known as Daniell’s mill, was built is not known. 
But Joseph Daniell, Jr., built a saw-mill there, and 
the property was held in the Daniel’s name until re- 
cent date, although no mill has been there for some 
years, the last Daniels proprietor being Cyrus Dan- 
iels, whose grandfather, Moses Daniels, was drowned 
in 1800 in the flume while shutting the gate. The mills 
on the Charles River were as follows: one near where 
the mill of George Barber and others was built, known 
as the Richardson and Ellis’ mill, not far from the site 
of the present factories in Rockville; Whiting’s mill, 
near Medway Village not far from the New Sanford 
There were Cutler's mill on Chicken Brook, 
on the road to Holliston, and another mill on the same 
stream near its junction with the Charles River, a site 
occupied in later times by Campbell’s paper-factory. 
Among the earliest cotton-mills in the State was the 
“« Medway Cotton Manufactory,” located upon the site 
of the old saw- and grist-mill, erected by Nathaniel 
Whiting on the Charles River, at a point near Med- 
way Village. 

It appears that Luther Metcalf, Sr., Philo Sanford, 
Abijah Richardson, William Felt, Comfort Walker, 
Nathaniel Miller, and John Blackburn entered into a 
formal agreement, May 14, 1805, as associates “ for 
the purpose of carding and spinning and manufac- 
John Black- 
burn was a practical manufacturer, having been in the 
employ of Samuel Slater, who was the founder of 
The first mill erected 
It was 


turing cotton in all its various branches.” 


cotton-mills in this country. 
was sixty by thirty feet, two stories high. 
completed and went into operation in March, 1807, 
with machinery to operate eight hundred and twenty 
The exact date of the introduction of 
These 


spindles. 
looms for weaving in this mill is unknown. 


lowing year they gave him leave “to land a dam on ' associated manufacturers of cotton added Lyman 


9 


_ 


55 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Tiffany to their number, and were incorporated by the 
General Court as the Medway Cotton Manufactory, 
by a special charter approved March 4, 1809. On 
Sunday, Oct. 20, 1811, this mill was destroyed by 
fire. It was rebuilt and running by the close of that 
year. The new mill erected stood for seventy years. 
The corporation had for its agent and treasurer Lyman 
Tiffany from 1809 to 1819, when Dr. Oliver Dean 
Dr. 


was elected, and served seven years, until 1826. 


Dean was succeeded by Luther Metealf, Jr., who held | 


the position thirty-eight years, until the corporation 
dissolved, which occurred after the sale of the property 
in 1864. Soon after it was purchased by William A. 
Jenckes, of Woonsocket, and for fifteen years operated 
in the manufacture of flax, under the name of Med- 
way Flax Company. Aug. 10,1881, the property was 
conveyed by Mr. Jenckes to the Sanford Mill Corpo- 
ration for fifteen thousand dollars. The old mill was 
sold at auction Aug. 17, 1881, for one dollar and 
fifty cents, to be removed in ten days. 
now occupied by a substantial brick building for the 
manufacture of fine woolen fabrics. It is called the 
Sanford New Mill. 

In 1837 there were running two thousand four hun- 
dred spindles, and the production of cotton goods was 
nearly a half-million of yards, valued at about fifty 
‘thousand dollars. The production of woolen goods was 
some seventy-six thousand yards, valued at seventy-two 
thousand dollars. There were at that date also man- 
ufactured cotton wadding and cotton batting to some 
extent. 


From the cotton-mill of Medway, it is said, “ grad- | 


uated many of the men who were to lay the founda- 
tions of Lowell, Manchester, and other manufacturing 
places, and build for themselves colossal fortunes.” 
The manufacture of boots and shoes has been for 
more than fifty years the prominent business of the 


town. In 1837 this industry employed about three 


hundred persons, the production that year being | 


forty thousand pairs of boots and about a hundred 
thousand pairs of shoes, valued at nearly one hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars. The manufacture of boots 
has largely superseded that of shoes, and the business 
now gives employment to four hundred persons, and 


the annual production exceeds a million of dollars. 


The straw braid and bonnet industry commenced | 
yy 
The braiding of | 


straw was carried on in families and exchanged at the | 


in Medway about the year 1800. 


stores for goods. 
In 
1830 the weaving of imported straw was introduced. 
In 1840, Hon. M. M. Fisher established straw goods 
manufacturing, which has continued in operation and 


commenced to manufacture it into bonnets. 


The site is | 


About 1810, Capt. William Felt | 





_has been an important industry of the town. In 


1837 there were manufactured more than thirty 
thousand straw bonnets, valued at forty thousand dol- 
lars. 


The value of straw goods manufactured in 
1874 was nearly two hundred thousand dollars. 
There have been and are various other industrial 
interests in the town. One of the oldest church- 
bell foundries in the country was established in Hast 
_ Medway in 1815, by Maj. George Holbrook, and for 
many years Holbrook’s bells from thousands of church 
steeples from Maine to Texas have summoned the 
| people to worship. In the same part of Medway, 
clocks, church organs, and organ pipes have been 


| 


manufactured for some years. Messrs. Ware, organ- 
pipe manufacturers, made the pipes for the great organ 
in the Colliseum building, Boston, at the time of the 
Jubilee. E. L. Holbrook, Hsq., still carries on the man- 
ufacture of church organs of a very superior quality, 
being himself a practical musician of rare gifts. 
There are several corn-canning establishments; one 
of the largest is that of the late James La Croix, Esq. 

There are manufactured awls, boxes, mallets, monu- 


| ments, paper wrapping, bricks, and other products to 


a considerable extent. 

Military.— The Revolutionary Period.—The town 
of Medway as early as 1765 expressed anxiety and 
the spirit of patriotic resistance of British oppres- 
sion by giving instructions to her representative, 
Elisha Adams, of that year, and by various acts in 
the next ten ensuing years declarative of her full 
sympathy with the colonists in their opposition to 
the encroachments on the liberties of the people. In 
_ January, 1775, the town voted thirty pounds “ to 





encourage the enlisting of a number of able-bodied 
“men to the number of one-quarter of the military 
_ soldiers to complete and hold themselves in readiness 
| to march at the shortest notice.’’ These were called 
| “ minute-men.” 
The following names appear as those who had en- 
_dured sufferings and hardships in the Continental 


| service of 1776-77: 


John Barber. 

Seth Mann. 

Jesse Richardson. 
Paul Holbrook. 
Joshua Morse. 
Abial Pratt. 
Ichabod Hawes, Jr. 


Lieut. Joshua Gould. 
Joshua Bullard. 
Joseph Clark. 

Jonas Brick. 
Jedediah Phillips. 
David Hagur. 
Simpson Jones. 


Joel Morse. Samuel Partridge. 
Jonathan Graves. James Barber. 
John Hill. John Allen. 


Jotham Ellis. 


A full list of those who served in the army of the 
' Revolution from the town of Medway cannot be given, 





MEDWAY. 


553 





but she did her full share in creating a patriotic senti- 
ment, in fighting the battles, and in enduring the hard- 
ships of the Revolutionary period. 

The War of 1812.—Medway furnished soldiers 
to vindicate the national rights and resist British 
encroachments. 

The War of the Union.—In the late war the 
record of Medway will compare favorably with that of 
any town in tke old Bay State, both in furnishing 
men, money, and in works of beneficence to relieve 
the sufferings of sick and disabled soldiers. The town 
took action as early as 1862 to have prepared a care- 
ful record of her soldiers. This action antedated by 
nearly a year that of the Commonwealth, and it may 
have been the first action of the kind taken within 
the State. 
a brief biographical sketch of all her Union soldiers. 
The whole number of soldiers sent into the field under 
the various calls of the President was three hun- 


dred and eighty-four. The whole number of different | 


men sent was three hundred and sixty-nine. 
The following are the names of two hundred and 


fifty-eight Union soldiers, residents of Medway, who | 


served in the war of the Union, 1861-65: 


Milton §. Adams. 
Sidney W. Allen. 
Daniel Ackley. 
Stephen P. Adams. 
George W. Adams. 
William Adams. 


Charles H. Cole. 
D. Frank Covell. 
John Coad. 
Albert H. Clark. 
David A. Clark. 
Edmund Clark. 


As a result, the town of Medway has > 





Erastus Adams. 
Charles A. Adams. 
Calvin Adams. 
Eliakim A. J. Adams. 
George H. Allen. 
William O. Andrews. 
George H. Andrews. 
Alfred Ashton. 
Albert A. Ballou. 
George W. Bancroft. 
Newell Barber. 
George W. Ballou. 
Adin P. Blake. 
George F. Browne. 
Henry W. Brown, M.D. 
Aaron Browne. 
Robert W. Brown. 
Edmund M. Bullen. 
Albert E. Bullard. 
Lewis Buffum. 
George W. Bullard. 
Joel P. Bullard. 
Charles E. Burr. 
John W. Cass. 
Charles E, Carey. 
Alfred A. Carey. 
Samuel B. Carey. 
John Carr. 

Timothy Coughlin. 


Lieut. Charles Clark. 
James Warren Clark. 
Sewall J. Clark. 
Albert L. Clark. 
Warren A. Clark. 
Asa Clark. 

Charles 8. Clark. 
Joseph C. Clifford. 
William Hiram Chace. 
Alex. Metcalf Cushing. 
Charles E. Cummings. 
Frederick F. Clark. 
William B. Clark. 
Alfred Clifford. 
William D. Daniels. 
William A. Daniels. 
Charles H. Daniels. 
Henry J. Daniels. 
Henry R. Dain. 
Alonzo M. Dain. 
Davis S. Darling. 
Jesse Darling. 

Edwin 8. Davis. 
Francis T. Dodge. 
Charles M. Disper. 
Alonzo Dunton. 
Shubael E. Dunbar. 
William H. Dunbar. 
Amos A. Dugan. 





Charles H. Everett. 
George B. Everett. 
John M. Fales. 
Albert F. Fales. 
James EH. Fales. 
Frank L. Fisher. 
George H. Fisher. 
Lewis L. Fisher. 
Willard P. Fisher. 
Theodore W. Fisher, M.D. 
Emmons Force. 

Silas Force. 

Julius A. Fitts. 
Thomas Flaherty. 
James Blake Flaherty. 
Charles F. Fuller. 
Amos L. Fuller. 
George A. Fuller. 
Michael Fitzgerald. 
James Fitzgerald. 
George Edmund Fuller. 
James A. Gale, M.D. 
James M. Grant. 
Frank 8. Grant. 
Edwin A. Grant. 
Harrison G. O. Grant. 
xeorge O. Grant. 
John Gormly. 

Charles A. Grant. 
Isaac C. Greenwood. 
John T. Greenwood. 
George E, Greenwood. 
George H. Greenwood. 
Joseph A. Greenwood. 
John Glancy. 

John P. Green. 
Patrick Gallagher. 
Charles Grant. 

Peter Harrington. 
Thomas J. Harrington. 
Edward P. Hart. 
William Hawes. 
William C. Hawes. 
John Harney. 
Addison T. Hastings. 
George B. Hardy. 
Michael Hart. 

Daniel Hammond. 
John Henry. 

James H. Heaton. 
Edmund W. Hill. 
Alonzo Hixon. 

Moses Hill. 

John Higgins. 

George H. Hixon. 
Egbert Oswell Hixon. 
Edward Hogan. 
Albert C. Houghton. 
Alvin W. Houghton. 
Dennis Hosmer. 
Edwin H. Hosmer. 
John G. Hosmer. 
Edwin H. Holbrook. 
George H. Ide. 
Edmund A. Jones. 
Charles C. Kimball. 


Frank W. Kimball. 
George H. Kingsbury. 
Charles G. Kingsbury. 
Frank Kaney. 
Horatio T. Leonard. 
James EK. Lawrence. 
William Lilley. 
Albert W. Mann. 
Frank V. Mann. 
James B. May. 
Edward A. May. 
George W. Mahr. 
William M. Martin. 
Peter Mann. 

Charles Magorty. 
Thomas H. Matthews. 
William F. Merritt. 
Lewis L. Miller. 
James Mitchell. 
James S. Mitchell. 
Milton H. Morse. 
Amos B. Morse. 
Robert T. Morse. 
Frederie D. Morse. 
Eleazer Morse. 

Alex. L. B. Monroe, M.D. 
F. L. B. Monroe, M.D. 
Daniel Mundon. 
James McCowen. 
Gilbert McCullom. 
Daniel McAlwey. 
James McLaughlin. 
Richard B. McElroy. 
George L. Meyer. 
William D. Newland. 
George G. Nourse. 
John Nolan. 

William A. Nolan. 
John Nolan, Jr. 
Michael O’ Donnell. 
Jobn O’ Hara. 
William R. Parsons. 
David A. Partridge. 
Warren J. Partridge. 
William S. Partridge. 
George V. Partridge. 
George E. Pettis. 
William H. Pettis. 
George Otis Pond. 
Edwin C, Pond. 
Edwin D. Pond. 
George E, Pond. 
Osear A. Pond. 
Elmer H. Pond. 
Jonathan Pitcher. 
Ezra Pierson. 

John A. Pierce. 

Asa D. Prescott. 
Franklin Proctor. 
Stephen F. Purdy. 
Martin W. Phipps. 
George H. Read. 
Benjamin F. Remick. 
Timothy Reardon. 
Patrick Regan. 
Addison W. Richardson. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








Medway. 
Medway village in the spring of 1803. 


Henry S. Richardson. 
Henry H. Rich. 
Emory Richardson. 
George S. Rice. 
James G. Richards. 
Thomas Rollins. 
Henry M. Rockwood. 
Brougham Roberts. 
Michael Slaven. 
Chandler W. Sanders. 
George S. Sandford. 
John Scott. 

Michael Schofield. 
George F. Simpson. 
William Smith. 
Edmond J. Smith. 
John F. Stratton. 
George Herbert Stratton. 
Henry L. Snell. 
Herman 8S. Sparrow. 
Phillip O. Sparrow. 
Frederic Swarman. 
John H. Swarman. 
Lewis A. Treen. 
John §. Treen. 
William H. Turner. 
Lucius M. Turner. 
William H. Thomas. 


Miscellaneous.—There are four Post-offices in 
The first Post-office was established in 
Capt. Wil- 


liam Felt was appointed the first Postmaster. His 


Benjamin C. Tinkham. 
Charles H. Torrey. 
Jobn Tevlin. 
Jeremiah Vose. 
Albert Vallet. 

Albert L. Vallet. 
John H. Vallet. 
George C. Webber. 
J. Welch, alias J. Blake. 
George H. Williams. 
Allen T. Williams. 
Horace J. Wilmarth. 
John Willey. 
Charles E. Williams. 
Albert H. Wiley. 
Charles Whitney. 
Henry Wheat. 
Alfred C. Wheat. 
James Whitcomb. 
Charles E. Whitney. 
George W. Whitney. 
Lewis Wheeler. 
Henry A. Wood. 
Daniel 8S. Woodman. 
Emory Wood. 
Samuel P. White. 
Robert O. Young. 
Orson D. Young. 


in West Medway. The first Postmaster in this office 
_was Olney Foristall, and the office was kept in the 
house, then a hotel, but now the residence of James 
Coombs, Esq. Mr. Foristall has been succeeded by 
Simeon Fuller, Deacon Daniel Wiley, Levi P. Col- 
burn, Stephen Partridge, Jason Smith, Gilbert Nourse, 
John Cushing, Lewis Clark, J. N. Tourtellotte, Mrs. 
Mary A. Tourtellotte, and Vincent Moses, the present 
incumbent. 

The fourth post-office in Medway was established 
| Feb. 23, 1838, in Rockville. Deacon Timothy 
| Walker was appointed the first Postmaster. His 
successors have been Eliab B. Blake, John S. 
Walker, Erastus H. Tyler, and Frederic Swarman, 
| the present incumbent. 

The following persons have received appointment 
to the office of Justice of the Peace by the Governor 
and Council, in the order in which their names occur. 
The first received appointment in 1736: i 


Edward Clark. 

Elijah Clark. 

Jonathan Adams. 
Abijah Richardson, M.D. 
Joseph Lovell. 

Eliakim Adams. 

Aaron Adams. 

John Ellis, Jr. 

Abner Morse. 

John Richardson. 


Clark Partridge. 
Charles H. Fitts. 
William B. Boyd. 
William H. Cary. 
Asa M. B. Fuller. 
Alpheus C. Grant. 
Austin 8. Cushman. 
John §. Smith. 
James P. Clark. 
Charles H. Deans. 


first quarterly return was made July 1, 1803, Gideon 
Granger being Postmaster-General. The office was 
kept in Capt. Felt’s store, which stood near the pres- 
ent residence of Mrs. Hathon. The mail was carried 


by a post-rider, who went over the route once a week. 


The postage was from six to twenty-five cents per let- | 
At this date | 


ter, according to the distance carried. 
there were less than thirteen hundred post-offices in 
The successors of Capt. William 
Felt, as postmasters in this office, have been Warren 
Lovering, Esq., Sewall Sanford, James B. Wilson, 
Clark Partridge, Samuel W. Metealf, Collins Hathon, 


the whole country. 


O. A. Mason, and, since 1864, H. E. Mason, the pres- | 


ent incumbent. 
Hall since 1873. 


The office has been kept in Sanford 


The second post-office was established in Kast Med- 


way March 17, 1819. 
was appointed the first Postmaster, and the office was 
kept in the house of Adam Bullard, late residence of 
James La Croix, Esq. 


Timothy Hammond, Ksq., 


The successors of Timothy 
Hammond, Esq., have been Nathan Jones, George 
Holbrook, Deacon Milton Daniels, Mrs. Mariam 
Daniels, and George B. Fisher, who was appointed 
in 1877, and is the present incumbent. The office 
has been in Partridge Hall since 1876. 

The third post-office was established Sept. 19, 1834, 


Amos Turner. 


William Felt. 


Luther Metcalf. 
Warren Lovering. 
Leyi Adams. 
Luther Metcalf, Jr. 


James Lovering. 
Joseph Adams. 


Timothy Hammond. 
Joseph L, Richardson. 


Thaddeus Lovering. 


Christopher Slocum. 


Wales Kimball. 
Abram 8, Harding. 
Charles B. Whitney. 
W. H. Temple. 
William Daniels. 
Amos H. Boyd. 
Willard P. Clark. 
Addison P. Thayer. 
Edward Eaton. 
Marcellus A. Woodward. 
George P. Metcalf. 
Alexander Fairbanks. 


Joel EK. Hunt. 

Orion A. Mason. 
Erastus H. Tyler. 
Israel P. Quimby. 
David A. Partridge. 
James H. Ellis. 
Frederick L. Fisher. 


Nathan Jones. 
Joel Hunt. 
Artemas Brown. 
Elisha Cutler. 

| John P. Jones. 
Horatio Mason. 
Milton M. Fisher. 
Seneca Barber. 





Of the above, John Ellis, Jr., was Associate Justice 
of the County Court of Sessions. 

Joseph L. Richardson and Luther Metcalf, Jr., 
were Justices of the Quorum; Warren Lovering and 
Milton M. Fisher were Justices of the Peace and 
- Quorum for the whole State; Asa M. B. Fuller and 
| Charles H. Deans were Trial Justices; and Milton M. 
| Fisher was Notary Public. 
| Joseph Ware was appointed Coroner in 1794. His 











SS 











MEDWAY. 555 





successors have been Ralph Bullard, Zachariah Lovell, | 


and Valentine Coombs. 
In 1877 Charles A. Bemis, M.D., was. appointed 
Medical Examiner. 


Cemeteries, 1700-1884.—The town of Medfield, 


March 4, 1700, “‘ voted that the inhabitants on the 


west side of Charles River shall have two acres of | 


land for a burying-place whare they and a committee 


chosen by the selectmen for that end shall order it in | 
It does not ap- | 


any of the Town commons there.” 
pear that this ground was laid out until Medway was 
incorporated, but burials were made in the Medfield 
burying-ground and in that of the south part of Sher- 
born. We find, however, that at a meeting of the 
legal voters of the town of Medway, held Oct. 29, 
1714, at the house of Peter Adams, of which The- 
ophilus Clark was the moderator, it was “ voted, that 
the burying place should be upon Bare Hill, sum 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


MILTON HOLBROOK SANFORD. 


Milton Holbrook Sanford, the oldest child of Sewall 
and Edena (Holbrook) Sanford, was born in Medway, 
Mass., Aug. 29, 1813. 

He inherited eminent ancestral respectability from 
both parents, his father being a grandson of the elo- 
quent and well-known divine, the Rev. David San- 
ford, for thirty-seven years pastor of the Second Con- 
gregational Church, Medway, and his mother a 
descendant of the sixth generation from Thomas Hol- 
brooke, of Broudway, England, who sailed from Wey- 


-mouth, England, March 20, 1635, with his family 


whare within forty Rods of the meeting-house,” and | 


a ‘‘commity was chosen by the vote of the Town to 


joyn with the committy y' Medfield have chose to | 


lay out a burying place, who are, Cpt. george Fair- 
banks and Zackri Partridge and John Richardson.” 

This cemetery was the first and only one in the town 
for some years. 


and is still used by the people of the East Parish as | 


the burial-place of the dead. 

The second cemetery laid out was in the West 
Precinct, probably about the time of the erection of 
the first church in 1750. It was located near the 
church, as was customary in those days, and has been 
greatly enlarged and improved. 


It has been enlarged and beautified, © 


and one hundred other emigrants, bound for New 
England. He settled in Weymouth, Mass., from 
whence his worthy posterity have gone out into all 
the land. 

The boy Milton early exhibited traits that were 
prophetic of his future. He was self-reliant, cour- 
ageous, generous, and frank, a champion in all athletic 
sports and contests. His education, beyond that 
afforded by the schools of his native village, was ob- 
tained at a military school (taught by Capt. Alden 
Partridge) in Middletown, Conn., and subsequently at 


the academies in Bradford and Andover, Mass. 


Oakland Cemetery is a third place of burial located | 


near Medway Village. This is a beautiful spot, and 


was appropriately consecrated to its sacred purposes by | 


a service held June 20, 1865. The Scriptures were 
read by Rev. David Sanford, the prayer was offered 
by Rev. Jacob Lee, D.D., and an address made by 
Rey. Jacob Roberts. 

The first burial in these newly-consecrated grounds 


When seventeen years of age his school-life was 
terminated by the death of his father, the manage- 
ment of whose extensive and varied business was in- 
trusted to him, a trust that he very successfully dis- 
charged, as the agent of the estate, until experience 
made him competent to assume the business as princi- 
pal. 

After a successful career in Medway, he disposed 
of his business there and removed to Boston, where 
he opened an office for the sale of Southern products. 
This enterprise gave him acquaintance at the South, 


_and prepared the way for the extensive business opera- 


was that of Mrs. Mary Darling, who died Oct. 26, | 


1865, at the age of one hundred and two years, five 
months, and ten days. At a little distance from Oak- 
land Cemetery in 1876 was laid out the Catholic 
Cemetery. 


Many quaint inscriptions are to be found on the | 
older gravestones in the East and West Parish ceme- 


teries. On the gravestone of one, Phineas Allen, is 
found the following inscription : 


“ Behold and see as you pass by, 
As you are now so once was I; 
As I am now, so you must be, 
Prepare to die and follow me.” 


tions which he subsequently carried on in that section. 
Leasing a mill in Canton, Mass., he commenced the 
manufacture of a strong cotton fabric, much in use on 
the plantations of the South. After working this 
mill for ten years, his need of better facilities induced 
him to buy a mill property in Southborough, Mass., 
where he erected a substantial and adequate factory. 
His success in this enterprise was exceptional. By 
a process of which he held the monopoly he utilized 


the fibre of jute for the manufacture of plantation 


cloth, which sold readily, and at a handsome profit. 

His business at Cordaville was very profitable, and 
during the ten years preceding the civil war the bulk 
of his large wealth was accumulated. 


556 





Asa business man, io Sanford possessed ed 
Coupled with a 


sagacity that discovered, as by intuition, the right | 


qualities that compel success. 


thing to do, and the right method of doing it, was an 


energy and determination that obstacles only intensi- | 
substantial evidences of his loyalty. As a young 


fied. 
will-power he was always conspicuous. 

When he built his mill at Southborough he changed 
the location of the dam, against the protests of many 


In practical common sense, self-reliance, and 


advisers, but the result, in the increase of the head 
and fall of water, fully justified his action. 

After the destruction of this mill by fire, two or 
three years later, he pushed the work of rebuilding 


with such energy that in one hundred and twenty-one | 


working days the second mill was weaving cloth. 

On the election of Mr. Lincoln as President, the 
defiant attitude of the South convinced Mr. Sanford 
that war was inevitable, and in spite of the incred- 
ulity of his contemporaries, he protected himself by 
turning the paper of his Southern customers, of which 
he held a large amount, into cotton. He thus escaped 
heavy losses, and was enabled to continue running his 
mill long after similar factories had suspended. 

Subsequently his mill lay idle for two years, during 
which period, with characteristic generosity, he sup- 
ported the families of his operatives. He then 
changed his machinery, and commenced the manufac- 
ture of blankets for the United States army. 

At the close of the war Mr. Sanford sold out his 
mill property, and, having an independent fortune, 
decided to gratify a taste that he always had for 
blooded horses. 
American horse that would compete, in endurance 
He accord- 
ingly purchased a tract of land near Paterson, N. J., 
and established there the Preakness stud, which has 
become famous for its breeding record. 

To secure a soil and climate better adapted to his 


It was his ambition to produce an 


and speed, with foreign blooded racers. 





purposes, he disposed of his property in Paterson and | 
purchased a valuable tract of land in Lexington, Ky., 


where he established the North Elkhorn stud, now 
Elmendorf. 
on the American turf, and bred some horses that have 


Mr. Sanford won many important races 


made a creditable record. 

In 1881 he sold out his stock-farm, owing to in- 
creasing infirmity, and limited his business cares to 
the management of his large property. 


Mr. Sanford was twice married; in 1836 to Miss 


cessful operation. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





lng over Mr. Santord's heart. In 1846 he married 
Liss Cordelia Riddle, of Boston, who still (1884) sur- 
vives him. 
The welfare of his native village was always a 
matter of interest to him, and he has given many 


man, he was active in the formation of the parish 
associated with the Third Evangelical Congregational 
Church, and in the erection of its house of worship. 
This church and parish, over which his uncle, the 


| Rev. David Sanford (2d), was for thirty-five years 


pastor, received frequent tokens of his continued in- 
terest. Its organ was his gift. He was the largest 
contributor to the expense of remodeling its house of 
worship in 1874. Six years later he paid the entire 
cost of inclosing its grounds with a granite curb, sur- 
mounted by a substantial wrought-iron fence. 

By his generous aid the capacious building that 
bears the family name (Sanford Hall), was erected in 
1872. 

Water-pipes, connecting with pumps at the mills, 
were laid at his expense through the most exposed 
portion of the village street, as a protection from fire, 
and for the irrigation of the church grounds. He 
also paid for inclosing the lawn fronting the Catholic 
Church with a substantial granite curbing. 

Two years previous to his death he responded to a 
memorial from leading citizens, who were desirous of 
increasing the business of the town, by subscribing 
forty thousand dollars for the incorporation of a stock 
company for the manufacture of cassimeres, a project 
which he had the pleasure of seeing realized in a sub- 
stantial and thoroughly equipped brick mill, in suc- 
Thus he has set up his memorial, 
not only in the adornment of his native village, but 
in its increased business activity and well-being. 

It was not by reason of his eminent business ¢a- 
pacity and energy, his skill and success in conducting 
the various enterprises he originated, or his large 
wealth that Mr. Sanford impressed his personality 


_ with most emphasis and permanence upon his kindred 


and friends, but rather by the nobility of his nature, 
the quick response of his sympathies, the hearty liber- 


ality of his ministrations, the steadfast loyalty of his 


| friendships. 


These are the characteristics most con- 


|" spicuous to the thought of those who knew him best. 


Anna IT’. Davenport, daughter of Benjamin Daven- | 
port, of Mendon, Mass., by whom he had one child,— | 


In 1838 mother and child both died 


a daughter. 


within a few days of each other, the latter being less | 


To his family he was the ideal of chivalric kindness, 
always the safe and interested adviser, the able and 
generous helper. 

was not confined within the limits 
of his friendships, but reached and blessed the needs 
Those for whom he has 


His liberality 


of the comparative stranger. 


. | . . 
than a year old, a bereavement whose shadow lingered ' smoothed the rough ways of life are a multitude, and 








4 





SPT De Sr 





a 


tn 


MEDWAY. 


557 





embrace beneficiaries of numerous and diverse needs. 
Among them are the aged servants of God, whose 
years of waiting were blessed with many comforts 
through his thoughtfulness; the homeless unfortu- 


nate, for whom he provided a home; the widow and — 
the fatherless, to whom he was as a defense; the | 


earnest student, anxious and troubled by the question 
how his school expenses are to be met, for whom he 
solved the problem by a signature,—his helpful aid 


all the more grateful for the modesty and secrecy with | 


which it was tendered. 

Even on his dying bed this “ law of kindness that 
was in his heart” laid on him still its sweet constraint, 
so that to strangers, who were fellow-sufferers on beds 
of pain, he sent delicacies that he had enjoyed, in 
token of his sympathy and desire to help. 


life its motto and inspiration, — 


“Tis worth a wise man’s best of life, 
*Tis worth a thousand years of strife, 
If thou canst lessen but by one 
The countless ills beneath the sun.” 

During the last years of his life he suffered from 
physical infirmities, which increased until they con- 
quered even his resolute will, and after weeks of 
much pain and weakness he quietly passed away, in 


his summer home at Newport, R. I, Aug. 3, 1883. | 


His body was brought to his boyhood home, and after 
a simple service in the village church, was laid to rest 
in the family burial lot, beneath the shadow of the 
stately monument which he had erected in honor of 
his ancestors, whose dust shares the same resting-place. 


- MILTON M. FISHER. 
Milton M. Fisher, son of Willis and Caroline 


(Fairbanks) Fisher, was born in Franklin, Mass., 
Jan. 30, 1811. 


from two old English families probably having a com- | 


mon ancestor. 


His grandfather, Joseph Fisher, of 





He is descended on his father’s side | 


Franklin, traced his lineage to Anthony Fisher, of | 
Syleham, Suffolk County, near the borders of Norfolk, © 


| lish, a dolphin; in French, dauphin “ embossed”) with 


England. The line descends from him to his son 
Anthony, born 1591, who, with his wife and five 
children, came to America in the Great Puritan Im- 


migration, and settled in Dedham in 1637; and, re- | 


moving just over the line, was known as Anthony 
cal with those of the Dauphine of France, heir ap- 


Fisher, Sr., of Dorchester. 


nelius, born in England, is next in line of de- 


His second son, Cor- 


scent,. who, with Samuel Fisher and eight others, 
projected a colony in Wollomonopouge, now Wren- 


Cornelius, Jr., born February, 1660; thence to Ben- 
jamin, born March 6, 1701; thence to Joseph, born 
Oct. 6, 1741, and to Willis, born July 20, 1783. 
His grandfather, Joseph, married Susa Fisher, 
daughter of Hon. Jabez Fisher, who traced his lineage 
to Thomas Fisher, who immigrated from Winston, in 
England, a town near Syleham, with his wife and 
three children, and settled first in Cambridge in 1634, 
but removed to Dedham on the arrival of Anthony 
and others, in 1637, and died in 1638, having con- 
tracted to build the first meeting-house in Dedham. 
This line comes next to Samuel, born in England, 


_ who was one of the original colony at Wrentham, and 


deacon of the first church, and a member of the 
General Court; thence to his son Ebenezer, born 


_ Dec. 20, 1670 ; thence to Hon. Jabez, born Nov. 19, 
The poet’s declaration seems to have furnished his | 


1717, who settled on territory now Franklin ; thence 
to Susa, who married Joseph, thus uniting the line of 


_ Thomas to that of Anthony,—coming to Willis, father 
| of Milton. On the side of his mother, Caroline Fair- 


banks, his descent is traced from Jonathan Fairbanks, 
of Somerby, West Riding, Yorkshire, England, who 
with his wife and six children came to America and 
settled in Dedham previous to 1664 ; thence the line 
is through John, first, second, and third, to Asa first, 
and second, to Caroline, who married Willis Fisher, 
and inherited and lived upon a part of the large 
landed estate acquired by the third John, and now 
The 
ancestors of Mr. Fisher both in this country and in 


comprising several farms in South Franklin. 


England have for centuries held a good position in 
the great middle class of society. 

The Fisher coat of arms used in this country by 
Joshua Fisher, Sr., of Medfield, and Capt. Ebenezer 
Fisher, of Dedham, is the same as described in the 
history of Norfolk County in England, with notices 
of Richard and Edward Fisher, ‘‘ Gentlemen ;” Rich- 
ard Fisher, chaplain, 1442; John Fyshere, 1449, 
burgess of Thetford; Rev. William Fisher, “a Pub- 
lic Benefactor; and of Mrs. Maiy Fisher, ‘“‘ who died 
and went to Heaven in a hurricane.” The arms are 
a common shield bearing upon its face a fish (in Eng- 


the crest of an eagle, and without any known motto. 
A “crown” rested on the face of the shield over and 
above the dolphin, and an eagle on top of the shield 
as the “crest.” These arms are known to be identi- 
parent to the throne. These arms originally were 
those of the Count of Dauphiny, a French province, 


| who bestowed his title and estates upon the heir ap- 


tham, previous to 1661, and removed from Dedham | 


hither in 1662; thence comes the line to his son 


parent. They probably came to England previously 
through one Osborne la Pécheur, in English Os- 


558 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 











borne Fisher, one of the Norman French generals of 
William the Conqueror in 1066, who, after the con- 
quest, received from William, for distinguished ser- 
vices, lands in Bedfordshire, where is now a hamlet 
called “Fisher,” visited some years since by Col. 
Horace N. Fisher, of Brookline. 

It is evident that the Fisher arms are of French 
origin. The name being derived from a common 
occupation and found in several languages, may have 
been a family name in England before the Norman 
conquest. 

Among the many bearing the name in Norfolk 
County, descendants of the original seventeen and 
honored by their fellow-citizens, none attained a 
greater distinction or more justly than the Hon. 
Jabez Fisher, of Franklin, who, between 1766 and 
1799, was in public life, was member of the General 
Court seven years, senator five, councilor eleven, and 
one of a committee to exercise executive power in 
place of the Tory Governor Gage; member of the 
Provincial Congress during its whole existence, and 
elected to the Committee of Safety with Gen. Joseph 
Warren and others for colonial defense in 1775. He 
was also a delegate to convention to adopt the Con- 
stitution of the United States. (See Emmons’ Ser- 
mons, vol. ii., and Judge Theron Metcalf’s article in 
the Boston Monthly Magazine, June, 1826.) 

The subject of this notice was educated at a classi- 
cal school in Medway, taught by Rev. Abijah Baker, 
D.D., and at Day’s Academy, Wrentham, Isaac Per- 
kins preceptor. He entered Amherst College in 1832, 
in class with Governor Bullock and the Hon. and Rev. 
Edmund Down, but health failing, he left the next 
year, devoting some time to travel in the States and 
Canada. 


of sixteen years, and, teaching a classical school in 


He commenced teaching school at the age 


Randolph in 1832, he prepared in part twenty youths 
for college, some of whom have been and still are 
prominent in public life. He began business as a 
trader upon a small borrowed capital in Franklin in 
1835, removed to Westboro’ next year, and married 
Eleanor, the eldest daughter of Hon. Luther Metealf, 
of Medway, Aug. 22, 1836. 
pointed postmaster in that town, after much opposi- 


In 1838 he was ap- 


tion, because he was an ‘ Abolitionist.”” Being in- 


dorsed by the local Democratic Committee and others 


as “honest and capable,” and not a fanatic, Amos | 


Kendall, the postmaster-general, for once disappointed 


the pro-slavery party. 
In 1840, removing to Medway, he established 


there the manufacture of straw goods, and continued | 


the business in partnership with others till 1863. 
He was deputed by the trade to go to Washington 





and readjust the revenue tax with Governor Boutwell 
upon straw goods. 

Retiring from this business in 1863, he established 
the Medway Insurance Agency, representing a large 
insurance capital in some thirty companies, his son, 
Frederick L., being associated with him since 1878. 

In 1840 he was elected a deacon of the village 
church in Medway, giving him a title by which he 
has been more familiarly known to the public ever 
since. Being an original pupil in the Franklin Sab- 
bath-school, in 1819, he has been either pupil, 
teacher, or superintendent in some Sunday-school to 
the present time. Upon his motion in the Massa- 
chusetts Senate in 1859, the first State aid of three 
thousand dollars was given to the Washingtonian 
Home in Boston, of which institution he has been a 
director for many years, and is officially connected 
with several State and national benevolent organiza- 
tions. 

He has held various municipal offices and public 
trusts by judicial and executive appointments, such as 
justice of the peace, quorum and for all the counties 
notary public, commissioner in railroad matters, and 
for the division of towns of Danvers and Peabody. 

In 1848 was delegate from Norfolk County with 
Hon. Charles Francis Adams to the Free-Soil Na- 
tional Convention, and in 1850 candidate with him 
and Judge Wilkinson for senator of the county. 

After a protracted and expensive illness of four 
years he was elected senator (Republican) for Nor- 
folk, West District, in 1859 and 1860, with two ses- 
sions in each year. In both terms he resisted suc- 
cessfully by vote and voice the annexation of Roxbury 
to Boston, and the measure was delayed eight years, 
much to the benefit of the treasury of Norfolk 
County. In 1863, perhaps as some recognition for 
services rendered, he was elected county commis- 
sioner, and served till 1872, and for three years as 
chairman of the board. Two of his returns upon 
important highways were sharply contested in the 
Supreme Court, and although a layman they were 
sustained as legal in every point, and notably in the 
case from Brookline, in which the returns provided 
a reservation to Norfolk County of ten thousand 
dollars, if Brookline were annexed to the county of 
Suffolk before the highway improvement was com- 
pleted. A “wise provision,” said Judge Gray. He 
was contemporary with the earliest modern efforts in 
the temperance and anti-slavery cause, and met with 
much opposition. While in college, in 1833, he was 
the first to break silence in the chapel upon the 
tabooed question of slavery. Reproved by the pro- 
fessor, he was sustained by the faculty, and the dis- 





= 


~ 
i. 


and Rev. R. K. Harlow. 


MEDWAY. 


559 





cussion went on until freedom of speech and the 
views of his essay were fully sustained. 

Though failing to graduate from ill health, the 
trustees in due time conferred upon him the honorary | 
degree of Master of Arts. 
first anniversary of the American Anti-Slavery So- | 
ciety in 1833; was chairman of committee which | 
perfected the organization of the old Liberty party in | 
the county, visiting all the towns till the ballot-box in | 
all spoke for the party. He addressed many meetings, 
and wrote many articles for the press upon temper- 
ance, slavery, and other topics, and has continued so 


He was a delegate to the | 





to do till the present time. 
In 1845 he prepared a petition, quite numerously 
signed, to the American Board of Commissioners for 


Foreign Missions in the maiter of slavery in the 


churches under the patronage of the board among | 
the Choctaw Indians. Upon this petition Rev. Dr. 

Wood made a characteristic report, unsatisfactory to 
anti-slavery Christians, which led, soon after, to the | 
formation of the American Missionary Association, 
About 
this time he assumed and paid a liberal share of the 
debt of the Massachusetts Abolition Society, and in 
the late war paid more than enough to procure a sub- | 
stitute. As to local enterprises, in 1846, he settled a 
difficulty, and so obtained land for a church park, and 
inclosed it ; introduced the question of a high school, 
consummated in 1851; was first chief engineer of fire 


now doing a great work among the freedmen. 


department in 1854; one of a committee to appear 
before the Legislature for railroad, secured after a 
great struggle and delay, and opened in 1862 ; ob- 
tained charter for the Dean Library in 1860, and is 
He laid out the | 
Oakland Cemetery, of which he is sole proprietor. 

In 1871 he projected the Medway Savings Bank, 
and has always been its president, and in the same > 
year co-operated in the erection of Sanford Hall 
building. In 1881 he initiated, at his own cost, 
measures which secured the successful co-operation 
and liberal aid of Mr. M. H. Sanford and others in 
building the Sanford Mills. In the same year he 
suggested and obtained an appropriation from the 
town for the publication of a town history, to which 
he has contributed much material, and is chairman of 
the committee of publication. 

His seventieth anniversary was observed by his 
fellow-citizens Jan. 31, 1881, in Sanford Hall, and 
conducted by a committee consisting of William H. 
Cary, Clark Partridge, A. S. Harding, O. A. Mason, | 
The tables were beautifully 
furnished, and letters received from personal friends, — 


including Governor Claflin, Hon. F. W. Bird, N. F. | 


now president of the association. 





Safford, J. White Belcher, Sheriff Thomas, Charles 
Endicott, Dr. Mortimer Blake, and others. Addresses 
were made by Rev. Dr. Spaulding, KE. O. Jameson, 
R. K. Harlow, and others, all complimentary to the 
personal character and services of the guest of the 
occasion. 

Mr. Safford says, “ My acquaintance with him 
dates back to more than half these ‘ threescore years 
and ten,’ and during a protracted term of official ser- 
vice I have witnessed his unswerving devotion to the 
conscientious discharge of his duty as a citizen, his 
earnest and vigorous thought, his firm yet cautious 


_ mind, and as one whose intelligence, fidelity, activities, 


and examples assuredly merit this public apprecia- 
tion.” Mr. Belcher, one of his old pupils, says, 
‘Some of his pupils now living can recall his faith- 
ful teachings and wise counsels which helped to 
qualify them to fill honorable positions in life. I 
have long known him as one of the faithful guardians 
in many departments of the interests of Norfolk 
County.” Rev. Mr. Harlow said, ‘He has made 
his mark upon more useful enterprises in this com- 
munity than any other man among us,” and Rey. Dr. 
Spaulding said, ‘ To know him well he must be known 
in his home-life, as it has been his privilege to know 


| him.”’ 


The last lines of the poem for the occasion by 
Deacon Anson Daniels, entitled “The Garden Beyond 
the Iron Gate,” voiced the common feeling : 

‘* May he who yesterday stepped through the gate 

Find the joys that abound in this Garden of fate, 


And be cheered by the music that floats from the Shore, 
Beyond the dark waters, where life is evermore.” 


Mr. Fisher has had nine children, four of whom 
are living. His eldest son, Dr. Theodore W. Fisher, 
born May 29, 1837, was educated at Andover, Hast 
Hampton, and Harvard Medical College; was surgeon 
of the Forty-fourth Regiment Massachusetts Volun- 
teers ; has officially served the city of Boston for nearly 


| twenty years as physician, and is now superintendent of 


He first married Miss Maria 
C. Brown, of Medway, who died early, and next 
married Miss Ella G. Richardson, of Boston. 
have two sons, Willis and Edward. 

His eldest daughter, Mary Eleanor, born Dec. 5, 
1844, educated at Wheaton Seminary and Gannet’s 
Institute, is a teacher of French and German. His 
next son, Frederick Luther, born Jan. 12, 1853, is a 
graduate of the Institute of Technology, Boston ; began 


the Lunatic Hospital. 


They 


business as a trader; married Miss Caroline P. Lyons, 
of Boston; has a daughter, Hattie Lyons, and now 
manages an insurance agency in Boston and Medway. 
His youngest daughter, Helen Frances, born May 


560 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








12, 1854, is a graduate of Framingham Normal 


School, became a teacher, married Walter V. 
Hawkes, late of Amherst, now of Saugus. They 
have two children, Milton and Louisa. —'T. W. F. 


JAMES HOVEY SARGENT. 


James Hovey Sargent, the son of Nathaniel and 
Abial H. Sargent, was born in York, Me., in June, 
1782. His early life was spent in his native village, 
where he availed himself of such opportunities for 
education as the schools of the town afforded. 

In his nineteenth year he entered Phillips’ Acad- 
emy, Exeter, N. H., and at the conclusion of his 
academic course commenced the study of medicine 
with Dr. Gilman, a practicing physician in that 
town. 

On the 19th of June, 1806, he was appointed by 
President Thomas Jefferson, surgeon’s mate in the 


ties of extreme old age prevented him. His last 
years were quietly passed in the society of those who 
were fitted, by age and kindred tastes, to be his com- 
panions, his needs most considerately and untiringly 
ministered to by his devoted and beloved daughter. 
In recognition of his public career, and out of re- 


spect to his memory, a post of the Grand Army, 





| 
| 
{ 


United States army, to take rank from the 6th day of | 


the previous March. He was enrolled on the medical 
staff of Fort Independence, Boston Harbor, in April, 
1806, where he remained for the succeeding ten 


years. Dr. Sargent was married, in 1812, to Miss 


Fanny Ruggles, of Roxbury, Mass., who died Sept. | 


13,1854. They had one child, a daughter,— Frances 
J. R.,—who married Mr. Anson Bullard, of Medway, 
and who survives both parents (1884). Dr. Sar- 
gent was subsequently stationed at Fort Pickering, 
Salem, Mass. ; Fort Constitution, Portsmouth, N. H. ; 
Fort Preble, Portland, Me.; Fort Trumbull, New 
London, Conn.; Fort Niagara, Niagara, N. Y. (at 
which place he resigned his commission in 1846, 
having completed a term of forty years’ continuous 
service ). 

He subsequently resided with his daughter at 
Watertown, Mass., accompanying her when she re- 
moved to Medway, Mass., in which place he died in 
August, 1869, probably the last survivor of those 
who held commissions in the army when he entered. 
He was buried in Mount Auburn, the resting-place of 
the dust of his devoted wife. 


r, Sarge yas a ge é } SC | Goalye j 2S i 
Dr. Sargent a gentlem in of the old school, | principally the public records of State, county, town, parish, 


of fine presence, and courtly manners. 
fond of reading, but confined himself to the best 


He was very 
authors. In his old age his mind remained uncom- 
monly active, and his memory continued clear and 
retentive. 

His neighbors and acquaintances in Medway re- 
member his venerable and dignified aspect as he 
appeared upon their streets and in the village church, 
of which he was a constant attendant till the infirmi- 





formed in Medway in 1882, took his name as its 
designation,—viz., James H. Sargent Post, G. A. R. 


CHAP T ER, Xo Ve 


WEY MOUTH.! 


BY GILBERT NASH, 


Geography—Geology—General History—Weston’s Colony— 
Gorges’ Settlement—Hull’s Company—Lcelesiastical Trou- 
bles—Pequod War—Emigration—Town Government. 


Geography.— Weymouth is the most ancient town 
in the county, and, next to Plymouth, in the com- 
monwealth, and its original boundaries have been 
preserved without material change until the present 
time, therefore its lines are the same for any date in 
its history of two hundred and sixty years. The 
town borders upon the shore of Boston Harbor, with 
its centre about thirteen miles southeasterly from 
Boston and about double that distance northwesterly 
from Plymouth. 

It is above nine miles in extreme length from the 
Abington line on the south tothe shore of the bay on 
the north, with an average of about seven miles. It 
lies between Braintree and Holbrook on the west 
and Hingham on the east, with a width nearly 
uniform of about two and a half miles. It has a 
water front on Fore and Back Rivers of eight or nine 
miles, and its whole area contains between sixteen and 
Of this area a considerable 
portion is covered by ponds. Great Pond, in the 
southerly part, is about a mile and one-third in length 


seventeen square miles. 


1 This sketch has been compiled largely from original sources, 


and church; and, brief as it necessarily is, it is the most elab- 
orate account of the town yet offered to the public, no history 
ever having been undertaken, although the initiatory steps of 
such a work are in progress. Prominence has been given to 
the general history and to the churches and schools, as being of 


| public importance and interest, and in most cases the compiler 


| his own statement of the facts. 


has preferred to give the substance of the records rather than 
Ile would also gratefully ac- 
knowledge the kind offices of his many friends who have aided 
him in the collection of material necessary to the prosecution of 


his work. 











vG 

s § 
~ N 
: x 

ee 
\ Sv 
y S 
Q a 
x N 

Xe 








WEYMOUTH. 


561 





and one-third of a mile in width, with a surface of | 


about two hundred and fifty acres. Whitman’s Pond, 
centrally located, is about one-third less in extent 
than Great Pond, being nearly as long but of very 
irregular form. Whortlebury Pond, a little south of 
Whitman’s, is small, nearly circular, and about forty 
rods in diameter. There are but two streams of any 
importance,—“ Mill River,” the outlet to Great Pond, 
running into Back River, a distance by its course in 


six miles, and “ Old Swamp River,” rising in Hing- 


and one-half or three miles. These rivers have sev- 


eral very fine water privileges, one of which, that of 


the East Weymouth Iron Company, has been thought 


one of the best in the State. There are but two hills 
of noticeable prominence in the town,—Great Hill, on 


| Weymouth made a part of it. 
which it passes through Whitman’s Pond, of five or 








the shore of the bay, and King Oak Hill, about two | 


miles farther south. 


From the summits of both are | 


to be seen some of the finest views in the State. 
: . A . | 
There are two inlets making in from the bay, naviga- 


ble for vessels of considerable size-—Fore River on 
the north and west, four or five miles in length, and 
Back River on the northeast, three or four miles long. 
The extreme northeasterly portion of the town is a 


long and narrow neck of land extending into the bay | 


for a mile and a half or more, while beyond this, to 
the north about eighty rods.away, lies Grape Island, 
separated only by the narrow mouth of Back River, 
and is of an oblong shape, about half a mile in length, 
and sixty rods in width, while about two hundred 
rods farther to the north, in the bay, lies another 
small island, called Sheep Island. Both of these be- 
long to Weymouth, are wholly destitute of trees, and 
used only for pasturage. 

Almost the whole of the south part of the town is 





For the first hundred years the town constituted 
one precinct, but in 1723 it was divided into two, the 
south being somewhat the larger. Quite recently, for 
practical and convenient purposes, it has been divided 
into five wards,—two at the south, one at the east, one 
at the Landing, and one at the north. Until 1793 
Weymouth constituted a part of Suffolk County, but 
in that year Norfolk County was established and 
It has four post- 
offices, one in each of the principal villages, with tele- 


_ graphic and telephone accommodations along the lines 
ham and flowing into Whitman’s Pond, about two | 


of the Old Colony and South Shore Railroads, which 
cross the town at different points. 

Geology.— Weymouth, geologically, is a very an- 
cient town. The solid rock formations date far 
back in the primitive ages, and its physical history, 
could it be told in detail, would be extremely inter- 
esting. The rock underlying a large portion of the 
town is closely allied to the famous granite beds of 
its near neighbor, Quincy, but is less perfectly crys- 
tallized. This bed rock is everywhere pierced by 
veins of amygdaloid trap, -often many feet in width. 
Belonging to a later period are beds of dark slate or 
shale, extending across the northerly part of the town 
from Braintree to Hingham, and cropping out upon 
the surface in huge seams at frequent intervals. 


| These slates contain large quantities of iron pyrites, 


an elevated plateau with a light sandy or gravelly soil, | 


capable, with good tillage, of producing fair crops. 
The surface from this plain commences to fall away 
with gentle undulations until it reaches the sea. 
The northern portion has always enjoyed the reputa- 
tion of containing the best land for cultivation, while 
only a comparatively small portion of the whole area 
is unfit for agricultural purposes in consequence of 
swamp, ledge, or barrenness. Formerly farming was 
the principal industry, and the larger portion of the 
population gained their livelihood from the produce of 
the soil, but during the present century manufactures 
have increased to such an extent as almost to exter- 
minate the former. 
large amount of business is done in lumber and coal, 
while the Old Colony and South Shore Railroads bring 
in large quantities of grain, flour, and other necessaries. 
36 


and are cut by quartz veins in which are found fine 
crystals. There is also found in North Weymouth 
another peculiar purplish slate which is full of cavi- 
ties that seem once to have been filled with organic 
matter. 

After the very early period in which these rocks 
were formed there comes a great gap in the record 
of this earth history as written by the pen of Nature, 
until the glacial or ice period is reached, of which 
Weymouth bears abundant and very marked testimony. 


| The uncovered ledges are in many places very plainly 


On Fore and Back Rivers a | 


scarred with the parallel groovings or sfriz, andthe 
surface is covered with hills of gravel and sand, or 
strown with bowlders of great variety and of all sizes 
up to that of an ordinary dwelling-house. 

In various parts of the town, particularly that in 
the north bordering upon Back River, are unusually 
fine examples of the sharp, linear hills, called horse- 
backs or kames and glacial plains, both formed by 
the ice as it melted or retreated towards the pole. 

The hilly, rolling surface of Weymouth, especially 
in the northerly portion, is due partly to the up- 
turned ledges of granite, and partly to these hills of 
glacial gravel. But little soil is left upon the rocky, 
gravelly hills, most of the vegetable débris having 
been washed into the swamps and peat-bogs. 


~ 


562 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








General History.—The history of the town of 
Weymouth covers a period of two hundred and sixty- 
one years, and is no less fruitful in important and 
stirring events than that of any of its contemporaries. 
The early voyagers were attracted to it by its beau- 
tiful and protected situation, shielded from the ocean 
by the beach and peninsula of Nantasket, and from 


the Indians by its position between the two rivers, | 


extending far into the bay. Its central location made 
it also easy of access both by water and land from a 
large reach of territory, thus rendering it a favorable 
point for trade with the natives. The wandering 
fishermen and traders who were ranging the New 


England coast during the early years of the seven- 





teenth century, soon discovered its value and made | 


it a point of rendezvous. 
slip out upon the ocean, and from it they could make 
such excursions upon the land as were necessary in 
accomplishing their purposes. 

The great companies were then looking for the 
men and the places by whom and where they could 
carry out their grand schemes, accumulate the for- 
tunes and seize the honors they foresaw already 
within their grasp; and, not more scrupulous than 
some of their modern successors, they were not al- 
ways as careful as to the means by which their pur- 
poses were to be accomplished as might be desired. 
Land was here in abundance, and its rightful owners, 


if there were any, were few, ignorant, and of no | 


fixed abode. The geography of the coast was not 
well understood ; and it easily happened that conflicts 
of jurisdiction arose between the various claimants 
that caused, in after-times, no little vexation and 
trouble. 
together the boundary was not well defined, and 
a fine position-near the border, once in possession, 
It 


was at a great distance from the courts that held 


might, perhaps be held against future comers. 


jurisdiction, and influences might be brought to bear 


even upon those high in authority that would render | 


the result of a trial anything but certain. Justice 
was tardy, her eyes liable to partial blindness and 
ry 

Thus 


the position of things prepared the way for a train of 


her hand held the scales in uncertain poise. 


events involving a great deal of disturbance and per- 
plexity, and the result was usually in favor of those 
holding the most money and home influence. 

Such was the condition of affairs during the first 
The Virginia 


Company, whose patent covered the southern portion 


quarter of the seventeenth century. 
of the English possessions in America, established at 
Jamestown, Va., in 1607, a colony which commenced 


a long and severe struggle for existence. In 1614, 


If the Plymouth and Gorges grants came | 


From it they could easily | 





the Dutch began a settlement on Manhattan Island, 
at the mouth of the Hudson,—an entering-wedge be- 
tween the two portions of the continent claimed by 
England,—and seven years later, at the close of the 
year 1620, the Plymouth Company, after much dis- 
cussion and bargaining, invited the Pilgrims (then 
temporarily living in Leyden, in Holland) to embark 
for the coast of New England, and the colony located 
at Plymouth, where the resolute members of that com- 
munity commenced their hand-to-hand conflict with 
the terrible circumstances against them, and which 
proved almost too great for their strength. 

The Weston Colony.—Thus it was that Mr. 
Thomas Weston, a merchant of London, who had 
much to do with the Pilgrims in their negotiations 
with the Plymouth Company, and with an exalted 
opinion of the value and future prosperity of the 
country, conceived the idea of an independent enter- 
prise of similar character, which should unite in itself 
all the elements of success without cumbering itself 
with the discouragements that surrounded the other 
They would establish a trading-post by 
men without families which should afterwards grow 


settlement. 


into a powerful State. 
1622, 
selected—not so much for their special fitness for the 


Consequently in August, 
a company of about sixty able-bodied men, 


work proposed as for their willingness to undertake 
it—from the migratory population of London, landed 
from the “ Charity” and ‘‘ Swan,” two small vessels 
chartered for the purpose, upon the shore of Wessa- 
guscus, about twenty-five miles north of Plymouth, 
inside of the eutrance of a capacious bay afterwards 
known as Boston Harbor. The spot has not been 
positively identified, but tradition points to the north- 
ern shore of Phillips’ Creek, a small inlet of Fore 
River (or Monatiquot), about three or four miles from 
its entrance into the bay,—a_ well-protected, well- 
wooded and watered spot, and one that promised well 
for the business proposed. 

As might have been expected, this company, with 
no settled habits of industry and no extraordinary 
inducements to form them now, not well disposed 
towards the hard labor and deprivations necessary to 
the formation of a settlement in a new and rugged 
country, and without a competent head, soon became 
disgusted with their enterprise, neglected their means 


_ of livelihood, broke over the comparatively friendly re- 


lations upon which they had subsisted with the natives, 
and were soon in great distress. The severity of the 
winter and their neglect to make provisions for it, in 
a short time brought them to the point of starvation. 
Their treatment of their savage neighbors rendered 


In 


them in the utmost degree distrustful and timid. 











WEYMOUTH. 





563 





their want of food they sent to their neighbors at | 
Plymouth for supplies, but they, nearly as badly off, — 
could not help them,—thus the fish of the sea, the 
shell-fish of the beaches, and the nuts and fruits of 
the forest became their sole food. In their great fear 
of the Indians they applied to Plymouth for assist- 
ance, and that colony sent up Capt. Miles Standish 
with a file of men, who speedily established order in 
Meanwhile, | 


the death of the principal aggressors. 
fully satisfied with their brief experiment of colonial 
life, the Weston Colony disbanded, going in different 
directions, and at the opening of the summer of 1623, 
not one was left upon the spot to claim ownership in 
the name of the ill-fated company. 


killed and one wounded by the savages in their various 
encounters, and at the close of the spring, after the 
visit of Capt. Standish, three of their number, the 
last of the company, were cruelly tortured to death by 
their Indian neighbors with whom they had sought 
refuge. After the lapse of more than two and a half 
centuries it may be possible to form a more favorable 


this colony than that which has been usually accredited — 


to them. That they were not the utterly depraved set 
they have been described is very evident. In their 
intercourse with the Plymouth people they certainly 
showed a disposition to act fairly. In an expedition 
made with them under contract to trade with the 
Indians to the south, in the region of Cape Cod, Mr. 
Weston’s people took their full share of the labor and 
privation, acting with energy and honorably discharg- 
Even their associates in this 
When 


one of their number had shown himself a notorious 


ing all their obligations. 
enterprise offer no complaints in this respect. 


thief, and had committed serious depredations upon 
their Indian neighbors, he was given up at their com- 
plaint, and, as the sufferers declined to judge the 
culprit, the colonists proceeded to execute summary | 
It may be said that this act 
was the result of fear, but it is hardly fair to ascribe 
a dishonorable motive when a better one appears in the 
exhibition of it. 
pose, neither were they actuated by that strong relig- 


justice by hanging him. 


They had not that high moral pur- 


ious faith that actuated their Pilgrim contemporaries. 
They were not flying from persecution in their own 
land to seek a home for themselves and their families 
where they could enjoy comparative freedom of con- 
science and life, although at the expense of most of 
life’s comforts. ‘hey were men with no families, who 
undertook the enterprise to earn a living, and, it may 
More 
than this, they were under no competent leadership, | 


be, make a fortune with which to return home. 


Mr. Weston remaining behind, and his agent, intrusted 
with the charge of the colony during its early days, 
dying in a short time. Had they come with families 
dependent upon them, with the result resting upon 
their own exertions, the issue might have been differ- 
ent. Their faults seem to have come from the want 
of proper training with its consequent improvidence, 
and the lack of a sufficient motive. 

Gorges’ Settlement.—The natural attractions of 
Wessaguscus did not suffer it to remain long unoc- 
cupied, for in the autumn of the same year, 1623, 
or in the late summer, it is not quite certain which, 
Capt. Robert Gorges, son of Sir Fernando Gorges, 


acting under a charter from the Plymouth Company, 
Ten of the colony died of famine, two had been | 


the Council of New England, came with a company 
consisting in part at least of families and of character 
superior to that of those who had preceded them, with 
the evident intention of forming a permanent settle- 
ment. They landed upon the northern part of the 
town, probably near or upon the spot chosen by the 
Weston people the year before, thinking undoubt- 


_ edly that this was covered by the grant which was so 
estimate of the character of the men who composed | 


indefinitely described as to be easily susceptible of 
misconstruction. This gave them ten miles of the 
coast on the northeast side of Massachusetts Bay and 
extending thirty miles inland. They chose their ten 
miles evidently to include the entrance of Boston 
Harbor, and this mistake, if mistake it were, was the 
cause of much trouble in the future. 

The leader of this company is well known in his- 
tory, but of the men who composed it little has 
been recorded; even their number is not known, the 
names of very few mentioned, and those with a 
great deal of uncertainty. It is, however, a well- 
ascertained fact that the colony was projected to favor 
the establishment of the government more firmly 
on the New England shore, and to prepare a founda- 
tion upon which the Episcopacy might rear its future 
prosperity, and also as an offset to the threatened 
opposition that might possibly arise from the then in- 
significant attempt at Plymouth. 
fore carried upon its face the evidence of ministerial 


The project there- 
and ecclesiastical favor; hence, it did not meet 
with much assistance from the Pilgrims, from whom 
To 


further the authority of the church and to form a 


there have come not the most favorable reports. 


legal basis of future action the colony brought a reg- 
ular chaplain, or clergyman of the Church of Eng- 
land, in the person of Rev. William Morrell, a man 
of education and standing, of excellent character, 
with power sufficient for the purpose intrusted to his 
care, the establishment of the claims of the church in 
the wilderness, and also to act as its bishop when 


564 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








the enterprise should develop sufficiently to need the 
services of such an officer. 
The plan of the colony was projected upon a scale 


of magnificent proportions and with machinery sufh- | 


cient to conduct the affairs of an empire. Capt. Gorges 


was named as Governor-General, with a general over- | 


sight of the company’s officers in America, and au- 
Asso- 
ciated with him in the government were Capt. Francis 


thority by commission to carry out his plans. 


West, admiral; Christopher Levet, Esq., perhaps the | 


chief judicial officer, and such others as the Governor- 
General chose to appoint, any two of whom, with 
himself, were empowered to transact any business 
necessary for the government of the colony. The 
Governor of Plymouth, for the time being, was con- 
stituted a member of the government, and immediately 
upon the arrival of the company, in August or Sep- 
tember, Governor Bradford was notified of the fact, 
and at once made his arrangements to make the new- 
comers a call; but before this could be effected, the 
Governor-General, while on a tour of inspection over 
his extended domains, was forced by stress of weather 
into Plymouth, where he remained a few days and 
Very soon, 
however, he became satisfied with his experience 


then returned overland to Wessaguscus. 


as a ruler in the new settlement, and returned 
to England with a considerable portion of his com- 
pany; others of the party went to Virginia and some 
to Plymouth, while some remained as the nucleus of 
the future settlement. 
remained here for perhaps a year and a half, and 
despairing of an accomplishment of his purpose in 
coming hither, went to Plymouth and took passage 


for England. 


Mr. Morrell appears to have | 








In the course of the year 1624, there came in other | 


settlers from Weymouth, England, bringing with them 


a non-conformist minister by the name of Barnard, | 


The rec- 


ords of this time are so bare and scanty that nothing 


who remained with them and died there. 


more than the fact of this addition is known. From 


this time until the arrival of Governor Winthrop at | 


Shawmut there is more or less mention of the settle- | 


ment at Wessaguscus, and a continual though small 
accession to its members. ‘The most notorious event 
of this period was the arrest there in 1628 of Thomas 
Morton, of Merry Mount, as Mount Wollaston was then 
called, by Capt. Miles Standish by order of the Plymouth 
authorities, taken to that town and sent to England. 
In 1630, and the following years, the settlement was 
recognized as a part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony 
and taxed for its support. 


In 1632, Governor Win- | 


throp with a party of friends visited Plymouth, by | 


either name), thence overland. On their way, in 
going and returning they were generously entertained 
by the people of that place. During that year a tax 
was ordered by the court, five pounds of which was 
levied on Wessaguscus, eight on Boston, and four 
pounds ten shillings on Salem, showing the relative 
In 1633 it was spoken of 
In 1634 it was ordered to pay 
the charges incurred in taking care of Thomas Lane, 
a servant of John Burslyn (Bursley), of that settle- 
ment, who had fallen sick in Dorchester. 

Hull Company.—In 1635, the place came into 
general notice and took a prominent position among 


importance of the towns. 
as a small village. 


the towns composing the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 
On the 8th of July, of that year, the General Court 
passed an order permitting Rev. Joseph Hull with 
twenty-one families, consisting of about one hundred 
persons, to settle at Wessaguscus, the largest addition 
at any one time, probably, in the history of the town. 
These settlers came from Weymouth, England, and 
belonged to the county of Dorset and its immediate 
They were a class of people who soon 
became prominent and whose families, many of them, 


neighborhood. 


retain their position to the present day. Their min- 
ister, Rev. Joseph Hull, became for a time the min- 
On the 2d of September the 
town was erected into a plantation, equivalent proba- 
bly to an act of incorporation, and the name changed 


ister of the town. 


to Weymouth, which it has since retained. On the 
following day it was ordered to send a deputy to the 
General Court, to which office William Reade, John 
Bursley, and John Upham were elected, these three 
being sent as an accommodation to three strong oppos- 
ing elements then existing in the town, consisting prob- 
ably of those who remained of the Gorges Company 
and friends who followed them, those who came in 
from other towns in the colony with an interest cen- 
tering in the capital, and a third, embracing those who 
came with Rev. Joseph Hull, and their sympathizers. 
John Bursley representing the first, William Reade 
the second, and John Upham the third. The court 
influence predominating, Mr. Reade was retained and 
the others were permitted to retire. During the years 
1635 and 1636 commissioners were appointed to estab- 
lish the bounds between Mount Wollaston and Wey- 
mouth, of which Fore River and the Smelt Brook 
formed a part, thence by astraight line running south, 
a little westerly, until it reached the line of Plymouth 
Colony ; also, between Weymouth and Bare Cove, 
afterwards Hingham, of which line Back River and 
a creek called Fresh River formed a part ; thence on 
a line nearly parallel with the western boundary, to 


vessel to Wessaguscus or Wessagusset (it was called by | the Plymouth Colony line. These bounds, which were 





WEYMOUTH. 


565 





the more ancient ones re-established, have remained | 
to the present with little if any change. 

Ferries had already been erected, 
the town with its neighbors on either hand, and 


connecting 


bridges were projected for the better accommoda- 
tion of traffic and travel. Roads were built towards © 
Boston and mills erected upon the streams. A quar- | 
terly court was established, to be held in Boston, to 


which Roxbury, Dorchester, Weymouth, and Hing- | 
ham belonged; and for the better protection of the > 


inhabitants of the various towns in the colony from 
the Indians, it was ordered by the General Court that 
no dwelling-house should be built more than half a 


mile from the meeting-house. It appears, however, 


' views of Mrs. Hutchinson. 


that the latter order was never enforced, or soon be- | 


came a dead letter, for at this time the people of 


Weymouth were scattered over a territory from two _ 


to three miles in extent. The‘larger part of the 
population lived in North Weymouth, commonly 
known as “Old Spain,” extending from the shore of 
the bay to Burying Hill, more than a mile, while 
there were quite a number of plantations, extending 
south and east over King Oak Hill as far as Fresh 
Pond, now Whitman's, in East Weymouth. 

Where the first meeting-house was built is unknown, | 
but tradition says in Old Spain, probably near what | 
is now the centre of the village; but this did not 


long remain, giving place to a more commodious 


building which stood upon Burying Hill, near where 
This remained 
until 1682, when a third was erected upon the spot 


North Street now passes through it. 


now occupied by the meeting-house of the first parish. 
The houses of the inhabitants were mostly rude struc- 
tures built of logs, and thatched with the coarse grass 
found at the head of the beaches above the salt water, 
which was carefully preserved for the purpose by order 
of the town. In 1642, 26th April, the Indian title | 
to the town was extinguished by purchase ; the origi- 
nal deed is not to be found, but a copy stands upon 
the records of the Suffolk County registry of deeds, | 
and is a curious specimen of the sharp trading which 


the early fathers allowed themselves to indulge in 
when dealing with the native owners. It was signed | 
by Wampetuck, a/ias Josias Webecowett, Nateaunt and 
Nahowton, sachems. 

Church Troubles.—During the early years of the 
town it was very much disturbed by internal dissen- 
sions in the church. From 1635, on the arrival of | 
Rev. Joseph Hull and his company, until 1644, upon 
the settlement of Rev. Thomas Thacher, there was 
almost constant tumult and disturbance, sometimes so 
serious as to draw the attention of the General Court. 
About the years 1637 and 1638 there were no less 


than four claimants for the Weymouth pulpit, each 


_ with a strong party at his command ; the old Gorges 


settlers, the later comers from Dorchester, Boston, 
and vicinity, and the recent Hull arrivals, while the 
fourth, coming with a view of harmonizing the differ- 
ences, only added another element to the discord. The 
Episcopal element was still strong, but apparently not 
enough so to propose a candidate of their own views; 
the Puritan party, which sustained Rev. Thomas 
Jenner; the 1635 settlers, under the leadership of 
Rev. Joseph Hull, an independent, with Episcopalian 
antecedents ; and a strong party who had invited Rev. 
Robert Lenthal, who was suspected of favoring the 
Rev. Samuel Newman 
was summoned to heal the breach, but he found the 
trouble too serious for his powers. The departure of 
all of these contestants and the settlement of Rev. 
Thomas Thacher, appeared to resolve the difficulty. 
In December, 1636, the General Court ceded to 
Weymouth, Grape Island and Round Island, the only 
additions ever made to its territory. During the eight 
years from the arrival of Rev. Joseph Hull, in 1635, 
to the departure of Rev. Samuel Newman, in 1643, 
Weymouth had gained largely in population and had 
become one of the most important towns in the colony. 
The records of the latter year, subsequent to the de- 


_parture of Rey. Mr. Newman to Rehoboth, with a 


large colony, estimated by some as high as forty 
families, contained the names of more than one hun- 
dred and thirty land-owners, representing, most of 
them, heads of families. These records are imperfect, 
and probably do not represent by many the whole 
number. It is at this time that the regular records 
of the town commence, from which date they are 
comparatively good, probably as full as the average of 
the town records of the colony. Earlier than this 
the peculiar circumstances surrounding the settle- 
ment conspired to envelope the history in much ob- 
security. The natural jealousy of the Pilgrims against 
the adherents of the established church from which 
they had suffered so much, prevented them from 
making any fuller record than was absolutely neces- 
sary of their neighbors at Wessagusset ; and later, 
the Puritans at Boston were in the same condition 
and no better disposed, although it was in their own 
territory and under their own jurisdiction ; while stil] 
later, the disturbances produced by the conflicting 
elements in their own midst prevented the preserva- 


tion of records that would be of inestimable value at 
the present time. 


Pequod War.—The Indians upon the territory of 
the town were never numerous from the first visits 
of the whites to its shores, and this was one reason 


566 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





for its selection as a favorable location for a settle- 
ment ; yet, notwithstanding its retired position, it was 


not without its share of damage from its savage | 


enemies in other parts of the province, and it was 
always called upon for its quota of men, and taxed 
As early as 1637, of 
the one hundred and sixty men called for to serve 


for its share of the expense. 


call, and such business was transacted as the time de- 
manded. When and how the first land grants were 
made is not known, but probably upon the earliest 
settlement the lands were divided as the needs of the 
settlers appeared ; that remaining was held in common. 


A large portion of the north part of the town was 


_ occupied, and as early as 1636 there is record of a 


against the Pequods, five were to come from Wey- | 


mouth; and from this time until the close of the 
King Philip war, in 1676, the town was always a con- 
tributor in men and money to sustain the various ex- 
From that time 
the immediate danger was not felt, yet her soldiers 
were found upon the bloody fields of New York and 


Canada, fighting for the preservation of their homes, 


peditions sent against the Indians. 


although so far away. 

Emigration.—The first large colony sent out from 
Weymouth was that under the charge of Rev. Samuel 
Newman, to Rehoboth, and numbered by the best 
accounts about forty families. From that time, but 
usually in small companies, often but a single family, 
the tide flowed away, and the town saw its population 
slowly diminish by the constant drain upon it to 
supply the calls of the frontier. First Maine, New 
Hampshire, Vermont, and the western part of this 
State, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, made large de- 
Then followed the calls from New York and 
the other Middle States, and still later the vast West, 
which have all been abundantly answered, until not a 
State in the Union, and hardly a county or town, but 
has one or more of the sons of Weymouth to repre- 
sent it. This condition of things could not fail to be 
seriously felt, and the town was severely crippled by 
it, so much so that from 1643, for one hundred and 


mands. 


fifty years, the gain was hardly perceptible, sometimes 
a period of gain to be more than offset by a corre- 
sponding period of loss, while the actual increase for 
the whole time was so small as to be hardly appreci- 
able. Ifthe estimate for 1643 of at least one hun- 
dred and fifty families be correct, and an average of 
six to the family a fair allowance, a population of nine 
hundred at that time against fourteen hundred, the 





estimate for 1776, will show the truth of this state- | 


ment. 


the early settlements, the government of the town was 


of a very simple pattern. Town-meetings were called 


from the charges of her children. 


division of great lots at the lower end of Fresh ( Whit- 
man’s) Pond, some two or three miles from the shore 
of the bay. 

In 1645 a partial record of the then property 
owners was made which has been preserved. Most 
of the early records are filled with the regulations 
respecting cattle, the cutting of timber, and such 
public matters as seemed to be called for. The earliest 
officers, after townsmen, named upon the records are 
fence-viewers, and the number and prominence of the 
men appointed to this position show it to have been 
at least no sinecure. ‘There was the strictest scrutiny 
into the character and purpose of those who came 
among them. As early as 1646 a vote was passed 
forbidding any inhabitant from taking as an inmate 
any stranger without giving the town an indemnity 
bond against damage, under penalty of a fine of five 


shillings per week ; nor could he sell or let to any 


such person house or land, without having first ten- 
dered the same to the town at a training, lecture, or 
other public meeting. 

During those early days frequent regulations were 
made for the preservation of pine and cedar, indicat- 
In 1648, Widow Hillard 
was required to give the town security against harm 
At the first set- 
tlement the town set apart the shore land between 
high and low water-marks for thatching purposes, 


ing a waste of that material. 


thatch being at that time the most important material 
for roofing purposes, and there appeared to be a neces- 
sity to provide for its preservation; and when the 
General Court afterwards ordered that all lands to low 


| water-mark should belong to the proprietors of the 
| adjoining land, this regulation of the town was re- 


spected, and an exception made in its favor. 
The highways were a matter of prime importance 


"at an early date, and as far back as 1649 the inhabi- 
Town Government.—Like that of nearly all of | 


tants were required to work them at the call of the 


_ “way warden,” under penalty. In 1650-51, March 1, 


as necessity demanded, at irregular intervals; and | 


townsmen, afterwards known as selectmen, chosen at 


The officers 


seem to have been their own recorders, since no regular 


times and in number most convenient. 


clerk appears for twenty or thirty years. Meetings 


were notified upon training or lecture days by public 


| 


a vote was passed requiring the officers to post notices 
of the assessment of rates, and all persons liable to 
taxation were required to bring in lists of polls and 
March 10,1651, the town 
voted to fine all such as should be tardy at town- 


property under penal ty ° 


meetings six pence for each hour the meeting con- 


tinued. The rates were to be laid so that the town 














WEYMOUTH. 


567 








bills could be promptly paid, particularly Capt. 
Perkins’ ten pounds for six months’ schooling, which 
is the first notice upon the record in relation to school 
matters. 

About this time the town business had accumulated 
to such a degree that it became necessary to adopt 
more systematic measures in relation to its conduct. 

Regular meetings were to be held on the first 


Monday in March and the last Monday of November, | 
for the choice of officers and general business, while 


unimportant matters could be regulated on lecture 
days without notice; and all military affairs were to 


be decided upon training days. The townsmen were 





also required to make report of the action taken at | 


their meetings. The first annual town-meeting was 
held Nov. 26, 1651, for the choice of town officers, 
and the townsmen are now for the first time called 
“ selectmen,” a title which they have since retained. 
The powers of these officers are given upon the record 
with minute detail, and the business of the town 


seems to have been settled upon in nearly the same | 


form that it bears at present. 

The necessity of a town clerk was apparent, and 
Deacon John Rogers was chosen ‘“ recorder,’ his 
special duty being that of clerk to the selectmen. At 


this time there is a record made of those entitled to | 


the great lots near Whitman’s Pond, numbering about 
sixty persons. Jan. 24, 1652-53, two thousand acres 


were set apart as town commons, running across the | 


town from Braintree to Hingham, and: near the cen- 
tre from north to south; at the same time Thomas 
Dyer was chosen to record births, deaths, and mar- 


riages, and William Torrey recorder of deeds, ete. 


The town records seem at this time to have been in | 


two divisions, each with its clerk, one for the per- | 


In 1663 


there is a record of the names, number of lot and 


sonal, and the other for the general record. 


acres, of each person who was allotted land in the first 
and second divisions, beginning on Braintree line. 
For many years the records are mainly taken up 


with domestic matters, regulations for cattle, running | 


boundary lines with other and adjacent towns and be- 
tween different estates, locating and improving the 
highways and managing the town commons, which 
was a matter of no small moment in those days. The 
sexton’s duties were prescribed and looked after, and 
all parish matters, neither few nor small, were trans- 
acted by the town in public meeting, since the town 
and precinct were one. 


clerk in the matter of recording grants, and for copy- 
ing, so large as to demand compensation, which was 
voted at the rate of one shilling for grants, six pence 
for a copy, and three shillings and four pence for re- 
cording the assessor's rates. 

In 1668, Lieut. Holbrook was appointed with full 
powers to answer the “ presentment” of the General 
Court in relation to the highways. 

At the March meeting, 1669-70, a committee was 
chosen to procure a ‘“‘ new town book,” upon which 
all of the affairs of the town should be correctly 
kept, and it is not at all unlikely that the oldest 
book of records now in possession of the town is the 
identical book purchased at this time, since in it are 
references to older books not now to be found. 


@HGAPR DeR ee LiaVal 
WEY MOUTH—(Continued). 


King Philip’s War—Company of Horse—Town Affairs—Sir 
Edmund Andros—Military Company—Canadian Expedition 
—lLocal Matters—Town Boundaries—New Precinet—Dr. 
White—Town Regulations—Parsonage 
wacket Indians—Town Commons-——Throat 
French and Indian Wars-—-French Neutrals—Dr. Tufts— 
Highways-—-South Precinct. 


Property—Pig- 
Distemper— 


/ 
i King Philip’s War.—During the period from 
1651 to 1674, the town had been steadily growing in 
population and wealth, and laying the foundations of 
future prosperity, unconscious of the dark days before 
it. The people were upon the shore of the bay, far 
removed from danger of savage beasts or men, but 
trouble was gathering, and the ill feeling between the 
white settlers and the Indians on the southern 
borders had risen to that point that it needed but an 
accident of small importance in itself to bring about 
an outburst of hostilities. Such an accident happened 
in the murder of a white man by an Indian, and the 
execution of the offender. This was an opportunity 
too favorable to be resisted by the young braves, and 
the attack upon Swanzey, June 24, 1675, was the 
result. 

Upon this practical declaration of war sides were 
at once taken, the savages eagerly waiting to obtain 


their long accumulation of revenge, while the colonies 


As early as 1667 there was found a necessity to | 


enlarge the capacity of the meeting-house, the seating | 


At the 


showing a gradual increase in population. 


same time there was an increased call upon the town 


of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay joined hands for 
mutual aid and defense. Troops were quickly 
mustered and took the field in hope of a speedy 
crushing of their terrible foe. 


But they reckoned without their host. Philip of 


568 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





cate a eee — . 
Pokanoket was no ordinary opponent, and the events | defend their own firesides, “ who, when we are most, 


of the following two years were such a record of hor- 
ror as the settlements had never before seen and were 
never afterwards to know. All through the State, 


from Massachusetts Bay to the Connecticut River, | 


the Indians spread with the utmost rapidity, carry- 
ing terror and dismay into every household. They 
seemed to be ubiquitous, appearing in places widely 
distant at the same time, and only to burn and kill. 

The history of this deplorable war is too well known 
to be repeated. 
stroyed and half a million of money expended, while 
it is estimated that more than six hundred young men 
were slain or died in the service, or one in twenty of 
the producing citizens, and one family in every twenty 
was burned out. Contributions came in from various 
sources. Connecticut, which had escaped the ravages 
of the war, sent a thousand bushels of corn, and other 
places were equally prompt with their sorely-needed 
aid. Even across the ocean friends appeared, and 
Ireland sent forward a generous gift. 

It will be sufficient to say that Weymouth was not 
the least among the sufferers. At the very beginning 
of hostilities (12th February, 1675) an attack was 
made upon the town, and several houses burnt. At 
the call of the State the men of Weymouth responded 
heartily to defend their homes from the ravages of 
the destroyer, and in the return made by Capt. Wil- 
liam Torrey on behalf of the Committee of Militia of 
Weymouth, lst December, 1675, appear the names of 
twelve volunteers, and nearly all of those names were 


In March fol- 


lowing the town was again attacked by a band of In- 


of her known and honored citizens. 


dians who were on their way to Plymouth Colony, 
and seven houses and barns were burned, while in 
February preceding several men had been killed in 
the town. So many men had been drawn away from 
the place for frontier service that not enough remained 
for their own defense, and the exigency was so great 
that on 26th March, 1676, a petition was presented 
to the Governor and Council, signed by the same Wil- 
liam Torrey and on the same behalf, urging the recall 


of the men then on the frontier for the protection of | 


their own homes; then follow the names of these, 
ten in all, and none of them belonging to the preced- 
ing list. These, too, were all young men of character 
and promise. 

19th April, 1676, Sergt. Thomas Pratt was killed 
at Weymouth. And again the petition comes up 
from the distressed settlement, upon a demand for six 
more men by the State, representing in the most vivid 


colors the dangers of their position and the absolute 


More than a dozen towns were de- | 


} 





_are but a small company, and we have ten men out 


already and have the enemy appearing daily at our 
very doors, four killed already, and in danger where- 
soever we go; in expectation every day and hour of 
being assaulted, stand continually upon our guard, 
whereby planting is obstructed and all things turning 
into confusion and destruction ;’ and in a postscript 
the writer, Capt. William Torrey, adds: “ Just at this 
instant saw appearing of fire and smoke about the 
Town, whereby we certainly know that the enemy is 
very near us.” 

A still later letter from the same hand continues 
the story of trouble and alarm, and it was only upon 
the death of Philip and the annihilation of his forces 
that the terror quieted and the settlement calmed down 
into its wonted peace. How many men were fur- 
nished by the town for service in this war it is im- 
possible now to determine, as the records are very 
imperfect, and it is only by incidental mention in 
contemporaneous writings that most of the facts 
now known have been preserved. The twenty-two 
men whose names are preserved were but a part of 
those who were thus engaged; others are known to 
On Oct. 12, 1676, 


an abatement was made by the General Court in favor 


have “ fought in the bloody war.” 


of Weymouth on account of its losses by the enemy, 
and ten days later the taxes of those persons “ slayne 
in the war” were for this purpose levied on the whole 
town. , 

Later on, in 1678, March 23d, there is the petition 
of John Lovell, of Weymouth, to be paid for service 
in this war, and October 7th, Richard Russ, also of 
Weymouth, a wounded soldier, was allowed forty 
shillings for his cure. A night-watch was also kept 
up in the town as late as the summer of that year, 
showing that the alarm had not wholly subsided. 

Company of Horse.—In 1679, in the fall, a com- 
pany of horse was formed which continued its organ- 
ization for a number of years, and a year later, by 
order of the General Court, the soldiers of Weymouth, 
with those of the other towns in Suffolk County, were 
organized into a regiment, under the command of 
Maj. William Stoughton, thus anticipating any occa- 
sion that might arise which should call for troops. = 

Town Affairs.—26th November, 1683, an im- 
portant change in the manner of choosing the select- 
men was effected by a vote of the following import, 


“that after this year the selectmen shall be chosen 


necessity that the men should remain at home and | 


? 


by ‘papers, as the law provides,” and this is the 
first appearance of the ballot in Weymouth. 
At a meeting held on the second Tuesday of 


March, 1685-86, the following curious record occurs : 








WEYMOUTH. 


569 





“Caleb Littlefield, living in the house formerly 
Thomas White’s, warned to leave town, not being an 
inhabitant, or bring security to the selectmen.” He 
still remained in town, and a request was made to the 
General Court to enter a caution upon its records 
that he or his may not become chargeable to the 
town, should they come to want. Such was the care 
taken that no unnecessary burden should be thrown | 
In the following autumn it was 


upon the people. 
voted ‘that the selectmen should have their dinners | 
at the town’s charge when they meet for business.” 

On March 7, 1691-92, after various changes in | 
the time of holding the annual meetings, the town | 
returned to the former custom of holding two each | 
year, one on the “last Second day of November and 
the other on the first Second day of March,” which | 
all of the inhabitants who were voters should be 
obliged to attend, under a penalty of eighteen pence 
for each absence. 

Sir Edmund Andros.—The advent of Sir Edmund | 
Andros as Governor of the colony in December, 1686, | 
was the beginning of a series of important events bear- 
ing upon its political fortunes. 
had been permitted a large degree of freedom in the 
management of their local affairs, and the Governor 
seldom interfered ; now, everything was to give way to | 


the will of the Executive, whose power was nearly ab- 
solute. Learning and religion were given the go-by in 
lack of the usual supports. Town-meetings were only 
allowed for the choice of town officers, not for deliber- 
The vote by ballot was 


ation on important matters. 
rejected. 


common law and the Bible were brought forward in 
testimony only to be scorned. All commons and lands 
reserved for the poor were given to favorites. Every- 
thing must minister to the power and the purse of 
the Governor and his associates, while all opposers 
were treated as rebels; but the unyielding spirit of 
the stern old Puritans could not be subdued. Min- 
isters preached sedition and resistance, and once, at 
least, put by Thanksgiving day. Desperate measures 
were proposed and a petition to the king prepared, 


_ with which Increase Mather was already on his way 


to England when the rebellion of 1688 broke forever 
the power of James, and with him went his rulers in 
the colonies. 

Weymouth was not indifferent to these great 


movements, and 20th May, 1689, a meeting was 


Hitherto the colonies | 


Personal liberty and the ancient customs | 


were disregarded. None could leave the country with- | 


out special permit. Probate fees were increased to an 
alarming degree. 


The 
Episcopal service, never before established in the 


Bible, to which Puritans would never consent. 


colony, must have its place, and a meeting-house in 
Boston was demanded for the purpose. 
Writs of 


habeas corpus were withheld, and the laws of Kng- 


were levied, which were generally refused. 
land denied to the people of the colony. Men were 
tried, fined, and imprisoned for refusal until even the 
clergy counseled resistance. The rights of property 
were denied, and old grants must be renewed at a 
high rate of fees, while grants under the charter 
were declared void by its forfeiture. 
were worthless. 

Lands had been held under grants from the Gen- 
eral Court to the towns and from the towns to indi- 
viduals. These were now declared to be “ not worth 


arush.’’ Possession and use were pleaded in vain by 


the answer, ‘“‘ You use and possess for the king.’”’ The ' 


Oaths were administered on the | 


Heavy taxes | 


Indian deeds | 


held in relation to a new government, at which it 
was voted, “in concurrence with the representatives,” 
“that the Governor, deputy, and assistants chosen in 
1686, with the deputies then sent by the several 
towns, should be the settled government of the 
colony.” In other words, the vote was to restore the 
old order of things. 

When Sir Edmund Andros made his escape from 
the castle, Capt. Samuel White, of Weymouth, re- 
ceived a warrant from Governor Bradstreet and his 
Council to pursue and bring him back again, which 
he did with his troop of fifty-two men, for which, 
with other services, he claimed seventy pounds, but 
was allowed only twenty-two pounds eight pence. 

Military Company.—24th June, 1689, the fol- 
lowing officers were confirmed for the Weymouth 
and Hingham troops: Capt. Ephraim Hunt, Lieut. 
Jacob Nash, Ensign Richard Phillips. Capt. Wil- 
liam Torrey had declined the command on account 
of the infirmities of age. This seems to have been 
a reorganization of the former company raised several 
years previous, and which had been in service during 
the interval. 

Canadian Expedition.—In the Canadian expedi- 
tion of 1690, Weymouth was represented by Capt. 
Ephraim Hunt and others. For his services in this 
campaign, Capt. Hunt received: from the General 
Court a grant of the territory, now Ashland. 

Local Matters—Nov. 27, 1693, the selectmen 
were ordered to “ prepare and present to the Justices’ 
Court in Boston, the laws and orders which concern 
the prudential affairs of the town;” and March 7, 
1697-98, John Torrey, “to encourage his trade, 
shall have twelve poles of land next his father’s, out 
of the towns commons, for a tan-yard as long as he 
shail use it for that purpose.” 

In 1703, the town seems to have come under the 


570 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





displeasure of the government for dereliction of mil- | 
itary duty, his Excellency intimating to the Council | 
August 19th, that Col. Hunt was in default in the levy | 
of soldiers ordered from his regiment, none appearing 
from Weymouth and Hingham, and Col. Hobby was | 
dispatched with ten men of the troop of guards, with 
orders to make a draft of twenty men out of each of 
the said towns. 

Town Boundaries.—F rom the earliest times the | 
boundaries between Weymouth and Abington on the 
south, and Braintree on the west, seem to have been 
in a very unsatisfactory condition. Committees were 
frequently appointed by Weymouth to run the lines 
with a committee of Braintree, but in nearly all 
cases the latter town refused to act; thus the matter | 
remained unsettled, which was a source of much | 
irritation and annoyance, until Weymouth appears to | 
have lost patience, and ordered its selectmen, June | 
13, 1712, to prosecute the selectmen of Braintree for | 
refusing to run the town-line as the law provides, | 
Whether or | 
not the matter ever came to court is uncertain, but it 


voting to stand by them in the business. 


is quite true that down to the present time the line 
has never been satisfactorily determined. 

New Precinct.—In 1722, 
came up which threatened to seriously disturb the | 
friendly relations that the two sections of the town 
held towards each other. 


an important matter 


With the increase of pop- 
ulation the settled portions of the town gradually ex-— 
tended until they covered more or less densely its 
entire territory, verging in the north and south towards 
villages. The length of the town and its narrowness 
contributed to form it into distinct sections with sep- 
arate interests and associations, and this naturally 
engendered a feeling of conflict, if not of hostility, 
when any questions came up on which there could be 
a territorial difference of opinion. 

These opportunities often occurred, particularly in 
school and parish affairs. The former could more 
easily be adjusted as schools could be supplied at 


moderate expense for all portions, but with regard to 
the church and parish, the matter was more difficult 
to manage, since the church was already established, 


with its meeting-house located in the north part of the 
town, and a second church with its necessary expense 
would involve a burden too heavy for the abilities of 
the town to sustain. Yet the distance, some five or 
more miles for a large portion of the inhabitants, and | 
the constantly occurring occasions of disagreement, 
finally brought the matter to a crisis, the south por- 
tion of the town coming to the determination to have 
its own church and mecting-house either by a new 
precinct or by a new town. 


_and prevent, if possible, its consummation. 


Accordingly, a petition signed by about forty of 
the inhabitants of the south part of the town was 


| presented to the General Court setting forth the diffi- 
culties of their position, and praying to be set off as 


a distinct town or precinct. The north part, being in 
the majority and disliking to be disturbed in its old- 
time arrangement, determined to oppose the movement 
A town- 
meeting was called and a committee chosen to oppose 
the petition in the General Court. Attempts were 
made to accommodate the difficulty by a proposed re- 
moval of the meeting-house to a more central locality, 
all of which failed. Notwithstanding the efforts of 
the town as represented by its majority, the General 
Court, in the spring of 1723, recognizing the reason- 
ableness of the request, granted it, and the South Pre- 
cinct was organized with a territory covering more than 
half of the area of the town. But this did not heal 
the breach as subsequent events proved, for there were 
yet continual sources of trouble and difficulty arising 
from the parsonage property which was in possession 
of the North Precinct, and which its people refused 
to relinquish. 

Fisheries.—In the early days of the town no in- 
significant portion of the food-supply came from the 
fish taken within or near its borders; and of these, 
the most dependence was placed upon the herring, or 
alewives, which were in the habit of running into the 
ponds that feed Back River to spawn. 
years the supply was doubtless sufficient for all, and 


For many 


there was little need of restriction or care lest that 
supply should fail. It was therefore unnecessary that 
the town should concern itself about the matter. But 
as the population increased, and the multiplying of 
mills upon the stream threatened to prevent the fish 
from ascending to the ponds, it was found necessary 
that the town should take some control of the matter 
and provide that proper care should be taken to pre- 
serve this important source of food. 

As early as 1648, mention is made of the “ her- 
ringe broge,” giving evidence that this fishery dates 
back to the first settlement of the town. For the rea- 
sons previously given very little notice is subsequentiy 
taken of the matter for three-quarters of a century. 
In 1724-25, at the town-meeting held March 8th, a 
committee was chosen “ to treat with the mill-owners 
on the river, by Bates’, to make a convenient passage 
for fish into Whitman’s Pond, to pay not over £5.” 
From that time onward the ‘‘ alewives business” oc- 


Officers 


were regularly chosen to have charge of the fisheries, 


cupies a large space upon the town records. 


to preserve the fish, and also to take and dispose of 
them in the season, while the proceeds of the sale were 





POOR FS ee 








WEYMOUTH. 


571 





a source of income that the town valued highly, as 
will be seen in the subsequent history. The arrang- | 
ing and settling of this business often proved quite | 
perplexing and difficult. 

New County.— About 1725, the subject of forming 
a new county, to be set off from Suffolk, was agitated, 
but the project was steadily opposed by Weymouth, | 
unless the court-house should be located within five | 


or six miles of the centre of the town, to which the 
other towns would not consent. 

Dr. White.—At the March meeting held on the | 
14th of that month, 1726-27, the town felt a necessity 
for encouraging the settlement of a physician within | 


its limits, and for this purpose voted “ a grant of five 
acres of land to Dr. Nathaniel White while he should 
remain in the town and practice medicine.” 

Town Regulations.—On July 21, 1729, a list of 
the first jurymen chosen by the town appears upon 
the records, and from that day to the present the 
matter has never been allowed to fall into disuse. 

From the first settlement of the town for more than 





a century its expenses were very light, the highways | 
being provided for by personal labor of all the male 
inhabitants above sixteen years, and no regular appro- 
priation was made for the support of the poor, the 


cases being very few, and each as it came up was 
cared for as the circumstances of the matter required ; 
hence are found occasional records like that of Aug. | 
23, 1733, when the three daughters of Widow Ruth | 
Harvey were provided for by the town, the largest | 
tax being that for the ministry and the schools. These 
matters will be more fully treated in another depart- | 
ment of this sketch. 

The proposition for a new county still continued to — 
be agitated. Feb. 2, 1729-30, the town went so far 
as to choose an agent to treat with the towns of 
Scituate, Hingham, Hull, Braintree, Hanson, and 
Abington respecting the matter, and Sept. 1, 1755, a 
vote was passed in favor of a new county, to be com- 
posed of the towns in Suffolk County outside of | 
Boston. 

At the following town-meeting, held March 1, 
1735-36, two important measures were passed ; one al- 
lowing all freeholders to vote in the affairs of the town 
commons, and the other to divide all the commons 
among the householders ‘‘who are freeholders,” in 
equal shares, and this vote was reaffirmed at a subse- 
quent meeting held March 29th. 

March 7, 1736-37, a committee was chosen to unite 
with Braintree to build a cart-bridge over the Smelt 
Brook at Weymouth Landing, a proceeding so neces- 
sary that it is almost impossible to conceive that an 
important thoroughfare like this, on the main road | 


leading from Boston to Plymouth, should have been 
so long permitted to remain without such an improve- 
ment. 

And again, on the 13th of March following, the 
town votes its mind that Boston should be a county 
by itself, and a committee was chosen to petition the 
General Court to that effect. 

Parsonage Property.— Ever since the division of 
the town into two precincts there had been constant 


| trouble about the parsonage matters before referred 


to; the South claiming a share in the property and 
Yet 
it was such a continual source of irritation that on 


the North steadily refusing to allow the claim. 


June 23, 1741, the town chose a committee to con- 
sider the matter and to see if some amicable adjust- 
ment could not be made, but the effort failed, and the 
subject remained to be the cause of much future 
trouble. 

Pigwacket Indians.—In 1744, a proposition was 
made that the Pigwacket Indians then stationed in 
Boston should be placed in Weymouth, but the dis- 
position of the town was shown by a unanimous vote, 


on July 25th, that this should not be done. 


Town Commons.—On May 23, 1751, the town 
made its first general appropriation for the poor by 
voting twenty pounds for this purpose. At the same 
meeting it was also voted that the Second Precinct 
should have its share of town-meetings in proportion 
to its tax; also that the town commons should be di- 
vided among the inhabitants according to the tax of 
1750, each poll to draw one share, and other shares 
in proportion to the tax; but this vote, like all pre- 
vious votes of the kind, was changed on July Ist so 
as to except all not over twenty-one years of age, all 
not born in town and who were not householders and 
freeholders, and also all persons renting property. 

Throat Distemper.—At this period occurred 
the terrible throat distemper that raged so viclently 
in the town during a whole year, from May, 1751, te 
May, 1752, that out of an estimated population of 
about twelve hundred one hundred and fifty died, be- 
ing an eighth of the whole number. This scourge is 
unprecedented in the history of the town, and was 
long remembered with dread and horror. Another 
disaster of a very different character occurred in the 
burning of the old church, in the First Precinct, on 
the 23d of April, 1751, in which was stored three 
barrels of gunpowder. These two occurrences were 
deemed of so much consequence that the town voted 
not to send a representative to the General Court that 
year on that account. 

French and Indian Wars.—Soon after this the 
peace of the colonies was seriously disturbed by the 


572 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





wars between England and France, which, to a large 
degree, were’ carried on upon this continent, and in 
which the French made alliance with the savage 


tribes of New York, Canada, and the nearer western | 
territories. who carried on the wars in their usual | 


merciless and bloodthirsty manner; and, although 


New England, especially upon the shores of Massa- | 


chusetts Bay and the southern borders, was far re- 


moved from the scene of active strife, yet even the | 
little town of Weymouth was not exempt from its — 


share in the hardship and expense attendant upon 
their continuance. The records are very bare and 


many of the muster-rolls have been lost, but enough 


remains to show something of what these wars cost | 


the town in blood and treasure for matters in which 
In the expeditions of 1755 
and 1756, to Crown Point and Lake George, about 
forty men of Weymouth belonged in the regiment 


it had no real concern. 








of Col. (afterwards Gen.) Benjamin Lincoln, under — 


the command of Capt. Samuel Thaxter. 


Of this | 


number six never returned to the town, but died or | 


were killed during the year’s service. Among the 
men of this company was Lieut. Solomon Lovell, af- 


terwards general during the Revolutionary struggle. 


But these were not all, for in the many hard cam- | 


paigns along the northern frontiers during these and 
subsequent years, until the capture of that last strong- 
hold of the French on this continent, Louisburg, in 


1758, and the victory of Wolfe on the Plain of Abra- 


ham, below Quebec, in the year following, by which 


the power of that nation in this quarter of the world | 


was completely broken, Weymouth sent her sons to 
assist in the general cause. 

The names of such, to a great extent, are wanting, 
but in the incidental mentions upon public archives, 
and in private family histories, enough is gathered to 


show that there were many of them, and that they | 


bore an honorable record. 

French Neutrals.—In 1755, after the capture of 
Acadia (Nova Scotia) by the English, large numbers 
of the unfortunate inhabitants, who were with the 
greatest inhumanity forced to abandon their former 
pleasant homes, and seek shelter wherever they might, 
were brought to Boston, and as no provision had been 
made for their support, they were parceled out among 
the several towns that were thus compelled to provide 
for them. Weymouth received its share, but how 
many there remains no record to show, excepting such 
as is found in the votes of the town in special cases 
and upon the treasurer’s books, like the following: 
March 8, 1756, “ Dr. Nathaniel White was paid 
eight shillings per week for a year for keeping the 
French Neuters,” this by vote of the town, and upon 


_ the treasurer’s account there is an item of six pounds 
_ paid to James Humphrey, Feb. 28, 1761, for subsist- 


ing the “ French Neuters.” 

Dr. Tufts.—Again, March 10, 1760, Dr. Cotton 
Tufts, who had recently settled in the north part of 
the town as a physician, and who afterwards, for more 
than half a century, was one of its most valuable and 
prominent citizens, was chosen agent to confer with 
other towns about a new county. 

Highways.—About the same time also the town 
was found to have outgrown the primitive method of 
working the highways, and something different and 
more effective was needed. New regulations were 
consequently adopted, whereby each poll was to be 
taxed two shillings and one penny, one day’s work ; 
other taxes in same proportion. Those having teams, 
horse or ox, were rated at certain prices, and the 
whole matter was reduced to a kind of system, rude to 
be sure, but a vast improvement over the ancient plan. 
This arrangement was continued with comparatively 
few changes for several generations. 

South Precinct.—During these years the South 
Precinct seems to have been steadily gaining upon 
the North in population and influence, and had become 
strong enough to command a vote, March 24, 1761, 
defining the word “ ministry” in the parsonage deed 
to include both ministers, and that each should draw 
of the income from that source in proportion to the 
tax paid by his parish. 


CHAPTER XLVIT 
WEY MOUTH—( Continued). 


Revolutionary War—Arbitrary Measures of the Crown—Agents 
Chosen to Meet in Boston—Committees of Correspondence— 
No more Tea—-Energetic Action—Record of Votes on the 
Resolutions of Congress—Refusal to Pay Taxes to the Royal 
Treasurer—Town Committee of Correspondence—Minute- 
Men-——Preparations for War—Raising Troops-—Declaration 
of Independence——Bounties—State Convention—State Con- 
stitution—Procuring Men and Provisions—Soldiers to Hull. 


Revolutionary War.—Soon after this time the 
political affairs of the colonies began to assume an 
importance that they had never before reached. The 
arbitrary measures of the English government con- 
tinually growing more and more harsh and oppres- 
sive, had roused the people to a pitch that boded no 
friendly issue. Measure after measure was adopted 
by the ministry, each more urgent and onerous than 
the former, and forced upon the people until they 
were compelled to resort to extreme measures in self- 


— 





, 


—— 


=" 


WEYMOUTH. 


573 








defense. During the whole history of the colonies all 


important business was transacted in open town-meet-_ 


ing. Was any measure suggested for the benefit of 
the town, here it was thoroughly discussed, and 
adopted or rejected. Was any grievance complained 
of, here it was also considered and remedies proposed. 
Here all voters stood upon a perfect equality, where 
each could and did speak his mind freely and fully, 
and every vote counted one. 

In these town-meetings, therefore, the measures of 
government came up for consideration, and such 
means were adopted as seemed best suited to counter- 
act the evil effects of the arbitrary measures of the 
crown. Here were chosen the representatives to the 
General Court, to whom were given instructions filled 
with important and minute detail, and these officers 
were held to a strict accountability. To their con- 
stituents they must answer, and that directly ; there 
could be no evading or shirking, consequently the 
public business was transacted under a feeling of 
heavy responsibility, which resulted in carrying out 
the will of the people as far as the power of the 


assembled were the same class of men who spoke so 
boldly in town-meeting, and the same spirit animated 
their actions in the higher position. 

Weymouth took an active and prominent part in 
the primary action that immediately preceded the 
war of the Revolution, and under the leadership of 
such men as Maj. James Humphrey, Dr. Cotton 
Tufts, and Gen. Solomon Lovell, of the North 
Parish, and Deacon Nathaniel Bayley, of the South, 
the town took a position that it had never before 
nor has since attained. Oct. 16, 1765, Maj. Hum- 


| 





matters then agitating the country. At a special 
meeting held in Weymouth, Jan. 3, 1774, of which 
James Humphrey was moderator, a letter was read 
from the Boston committee, with copies of the votes 
and proceedings of that town at meetings held on the 
5th and 18th of the previous November, with regard 
to the cargoes of teas daily expected from the East 


_ India Company's warehouses in London, suggesting 


the co-operation of the several towns in resisting the 
introduction of this obnoxious article,—obnoxious 
only because it had been the innocent occasion of an 
unjust tax. The matter was fully considered and a 
resolution passed ‘“‘by a very great majority . . . not 
to purchase nor use any of the East India Company’s 
teas of any kind (excepting such as they might now 
have on hand), until the act of Parliament, laying a 
duty thereon, be repealed.” 

No more Tea.—Also, that the minds of the people 
might be more fully determined, and there be no mis- 
take in the business, also to show that they were as ready 
to act as to resolye, a committee was chosen, consisting 


of Cotton Tufts, Esq., Maj. Lovell, Deacon Nathaniel 
deputies extended. The law-makers in General Court | 


Bayley, Jacob Goold, and Ebenezer Colson, to prepare 
the resolutions in proper form and to present them at 
the March meeting “ to be signed, that the minds of 
the inhabitants may be generally known.” 

On the 18th of July, of the same year, a form of 
covenant was received from the committee of corre- 
spondence of Boston, and recommended for signatures. 
This was placed in the hands of a committee, who 


_were to give it full consideration, obtain as many 


phrey, then representative to the General Court, re- 
ceived full and decided instructions from the town as | 


to the position he was to take in the present position 
of affairs. 

Sept. 1, 1766, the town refused to consent to the 
proposition, “that the sufferers by the disturbances 
of last year in Boston should be paid from the 
public treasury, as recommended by his majesty, 
and instructed their representative of this action.” 

Agents Chosen to Meet in Boston.—Sept. 21, 
1768, James Humphrey and Cotton Tufts were ap- 
pointed agents to meet in Faneuil Hall, Boston, on 
the following day, to consult with the agents of other 
towns on the present state of affairs. 

Committees of Correspondence.—In the mean 
time the political matters of the State had reached 
such a point that committees of correspondence had 
been formed in all of the principal towns, and fre- 


quent consultations were held upon the important | 


names to it as possible, and then to deposit it with 
the town clerk. 

Energetic Action.—At a meeting held on the 
28th of September following, the instructions of the 
deputies from Boston to the General Court were read, 
and the same were made the instructions of the town to 
its deputy, Nathaniel Bayley. At the same meeting, 
Deacon Bayley was also chosen to attend the meeting 
of the Provincial Convention to assemble at Concord, 
on the second Tuesday of October next. The town 
also accepted the nineteen resolves drawn up by the 
county committee, agreeing to stand by them, and to 
hold the constables harmless in refusing to pay over 
the State taxes to the treasurer appointed by the 
crown. 

Record of Votes on the Resolutions of Con- 
gress.—The resolutions prepared by the committee 
had been presented to the inhabitants for signature, 
according to the action of the town, and were reported 
as follows. In the South Precinct this preamble was 
adopted, date Dec. 12, 1774: 

‘‘ We, the inhabitants of the Second Precinct in the 


574 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





said Town, under the sacred ties of Virtue, Honor, 
and love of our Country, do now covenant and agree 
with each other, that we will conform and strictly 
adhere to the agreement and association which the 
American Continental Congress bas recommended 
unto us, and which has now been read.” 


| to pay them one shilling per week for four weeks ; 


This was signed with the following result: one | 


hundred and two in favor, none against and twenty-one | 


not voting, make a total of one hundred and twenty- 
three voters. 

In the North Precinct the agreement varied a little 
in its wording, and read as follows: 

“We, the inhabitants of the first precinct of Wey- 
mouth, whose names are here underwritten, do signify 
our approbation to the Continental Association which 
is recommended by the General Continental Congress 
held in Philadelphia, in the year 1774, those of us 
that approve of the same, to answer to our names 
by the word ‘ yea,’ and those who disapprove of the 
The following questions 


”) 


same by the word ‘no.’ 
were put at the close of the lecture, Dec. 25, 1774, 
with this result : 

One hundred and four answered “ yes,’’ four an- 
swered ‘no,’ and fourteen did not answer. One 
hundred and twenty-two voters being at the meeting. 


and, on May 2d of the same year, it was voted to pay 
“a pistareen a day for a week to a company of fifteen 
men for a military guard in the present troublesome 
times.” 

Preparations for War.—At a town-meeting held 
on the 24th of May, Deacon Nathaniel Bayley was 


Deserters were to lose their wages. 


chosen to represent the town in the Previncial Con- 
gress to meet at Watertown, May 31st ; the Committee 


_ of Correspondence was also directed to ascertain who 


| officer. 


were in need of arms, and report to the commanding 
Enrolled soldiers from sixteen to sixty years 
of age were required to meet and organize, those of 
each parish at their own meeting-house, on the 25th 
of May. The town also accepted the offer of Mr. 


Polley for the use of two swivel guns then at Salem, 


and voted their thanks to Dr. Tufts for his offer to 


transport them to Weymouth. 
On the 29th of May the committee was authorized 
to procure arms at the town’s expense for those not 


_able to purchase or hire them, and the Committee 


_ of Correspondence was directed to put in order the 


two swivel guns and to procure ammunition at the 


Refuse to Pay Taxes to the Royal Treasurer.— 
Jan. 30, 1775, Deacon Nathaniel Bayley was elected | 


by the town as its delegate to the proposed Congress 
to meet at Cambridge, Ist of February next, the town 


to provide for him. The town also chose a committee — 
to see that the inhabitants adhere strictly to their | 
pledge; and, at the same meeting, renewed the vote — 


to hold the constables harmless for not carrying their 
“ Harryson Gray,” 


money for the year 1772 to and 


ordering the money to be paid to the town treasurer. © 


On the 13th of March, however, the latter vote was 
so far reconsidered as to direct the constables to pay 
the money to Henry Gardner, of Stow. 


Town Committee of Correspondence.—A Com- | 
mittee of Correspondence for Weymouth to act with | 


those of the neighboring towns had been chosen on | 


the 9th of March, consisting of Dr. Tufts, Maj. Lovell, 
Maj. Vining, Capt. Asa White, and Mr. Josiah Colson. 
This committee met in Arnold’s Tavern, at Weymouth 
Landing (the building is yet standing), together with 
those with whom they were to associate, organized by 
choice of Dr. Tufts as chairman, and Capt. White 
as secretary, and afterwards did efficient service during 
the war. 

Minute-Men.—On the 13th of March it having 


been deemed necessary in view of the exigency of 


the times and the wish to be prepared for any emer- | 
gency, to enlist a company of minute-men, it was voted | offered by the province for the enlistment of ten men, 


town’s charge, in case the province should not assume 
it. The bells were also to be rung to notify an 
alarm. The thanks of the town were also voted to 
Hon. Richard Darby for the use of two small car- 
riage-guns, which were delivered to Thomas Jenks, to 
be returned when done, with thanks and all damage 
made good. 

June 1, 1775, the town instructed the committee 
to hire guns at one dollar each, for six months; and 
such was the urgency of the times that the enrolled 
militia were ordered to appear under arms on the 
Lord's day, under penalty of one dollar for each day ; 
and those who remained at home, without reasonable 
excuse, were to forfeit two dollars each. The num- 
ber of those reporting without arms was twelve in 
the North Precinct, and twenty-two in the South. 

March 11, 1776, a new Committee of Correspond- 
ence was chosen, consisting of Cotton Tufts, Hsq., 
Capt. James White, Col. Solomon Lovell, Nathaniel 
Bayley, Esq., and Daniel Blanchard; and on the 20th 
of May two representatives were chosen, Nathaniel 
Bayley and Col. Solomon Lovell. All persons draw- 
ing ammunition from the town were to return the 
same in amount, or pay at the rate of four shillings 
per pound for powder, eight pence for bullets, and six- 
pence for flints. 

Raising Troops.—At a town-meeting held on the 
15th of July, the town voted to raise one hundred and 
thirty pounds by tax, to be added to the bounty 





WEYMOUTH. 


575 





the quota called for from Weymouth, to be raised in | 
ten days. Deacon Nathaniel Bayley and Capt. 
Samuel Ward were authorized to hire men from out 
of town in case they should not be raised in town, and 
to pay them the same bounty as was paid to towns- 
men,—that is, twenty pounds, thirteen from the town 
and seven from the province, and the treasurer was to 
borrow the money for the purpose. 

On the 22d of July eight more men were called for | 
from the town, and it was voted to raise one hundred 
and four pounds additional. These men were enlisted 
for the Northern or Canada expedition, and fully 
earned their wages. 


It was also voted at a meeting 
held Nov. 18, 1776, to raise ninety-two pounds for | 
the men raised on the previous September. ‘This was 
to be raised by tax on polls and estates, and all who 
had been in the Continental service for a year were 
And on the 23d December follow- 
ing, the town raised one hundred and ninety-eight 
pounds to pay twenty-two men who had gone into 
the Continental service with Lieut. Samuel Kingman, 
or three pounds additional to each man. 


exempt from it. 


Upon the actual commencement of hostilities, as | 
will be seen, the town took prompt and decided meas- 
ures to perform its whole duty in carrying into effect 
its resolutions of the previous years, and to obtain the | 
independence of the country. Men and money were 
freely raised and sent forward at the call of the Con- | 
tinental and Provincial authorities. 

Declaration of Independence.—The Declaration | 
of Independence was entered in full upon the town 
records, and read from both pulpits upon the next 
Lord’s day after its reception. Measures were also 
taken to prevent a monopoly in articles of necessity, | 
and to guard against extortion, and the prices at which | 
these articles were to be sold were fixed by the town. 

Bounties.—At a meeting held Feb. 21, 1777, 
to encourage enlistments for a longer term than 
those of previous years, it was voted to pay each 
soldier enlisting in the Continental service for three 
years, or during the war, seventy-four pounds addi- 
tional. On the 17th of March it was voted to pay each | 
soldier six pounds who was in the Northern army for 
a year. 








The committee was instructed to inquire 
‘‘why some of our soldiers came from York before 
their time was up,” and these were not to draw their 
pay until the committee had made its report. 

On the 14th of May, it was voted to pay “six. 
pounds per month, for eight months, for men who | 
enlist in the provincial or Continental service, and 
deserters were to forfeit all right to their wages.” On 
the 21st of the same month, a thousand pounds was 
voted to raise men for the Continental army, and a | 





_ with no immediate prospect of an end. 


committee of three chosen to hire men from out of 
town. No one member was to pay more than thirty 
pounds per man without the consent of another. On 
the 18th of August the town voted to add four 
pounds, ten shillings per month to the pay of each 
soldier from the time of marching to his return, allow- 
ing twenty miles for a day’s march. Three hundred 
pounds more were also raised for men for the Conti- 
nental service; and on the 25th of August the wages 


_ of soldiers were raised to twelve pounds per month 


until the 1st of November. 

On the 22d of September, by vote of the town, men 
were not to be drafted for the army, and those who 
entered the service in the previous September were to 
be allowed forty shillings per month to make their 
pay equal to that of the men hired by the town. 
Men were becoming scarce and more difficulty was 
found in obtaining them, consequently greater in- 
ducements must be offered. On the 6th of Novem- 
ber, Capts. Samuel Ward and Thomas Nash were in- 
structed to raise men at the best rate they could to 


_ guard prisoners, to serve until the 1st of April next ; 


and another levy of eighty pounds was made. 

On the 10th of November, under a further call for 
soldiers, it was voted to ‘pay them four pounds in 
case they can't be had for less, and forty shillings 


| for rations to find themselves in case the State does 


not find them,” and for this purpose seventy-five 


_ pounds were voted. 


At a meeting held on the 2d of March, 1778, it was 
found so difficult to raise the necessary number of 
men demanded of the town that a committee was 
constituted to devise an easier method of doing it; 
but notwithstanding their utmost exertions, the trou- 
ble met them face to face. Men must be had, and 
Committees were ap- 
pointed to assist the officers in procuring enlistments, 
but the men came slowly and only upon the offer of 
superior inducements. 


no men were to be found. 


The war was lingering on 
much longer than any had at first supposed, and 
The buoy- 
ancy of spirit and the hope that animated the people 
at the beginning had died out, and there remained 
but the stern reality of severe service, small pay, and 
an abundance of hardship; enthusiasm could accom- 
plish nothing, for there was none ; consequently, money 
must be given in its stead. 

On the 16th of March, 1778, it was voted to raise 
six hundred and twelve pounds to pay the men under 
Capt. Ward, at the rate of nine pounds per month, 
On the 
25th of May following fifteen hundred pounds were 
voted “to raise men to be sent to Gen. Washington 


who were guarding the stores near Boston. 


r 


576 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





and other places, and the committee were authorized | 
to go out of town to hire them, and to pay each man — 
one hundred pounds or forty shillings per month to | 
serve, to be paid in articles at the prices when the war — 
began.” 

July 8, 1779, the committee was instructed to 
hire soldiers for the Continental army for nine months, 
three years, or the war, to pay them forty shillings 
per month in produce at the prices of 1775, or in cash 
upon the best terms they can make, the treasurer to 
borrow forty-five hundred pounds for the purpose. 

State Convention.—On the 22d of July, 1779, 
Hon. James Humphrey was chosen representative to 
the State Convention, to meet at Cambridge on the Ist | 
of the following September for the purpose of form- 


ing a constitution ; and on the 2d of August the town 
accepted, by a large majority, the action of the con- 
vention at Concord regulating prices, and a committee 
was chosen to carry the matter into effect, also to see 
On the 16th of | 
August the treasurer was authorized to borrow nine 
thousand pounds for the purpose of procuring soldiers. 
This rapid and large increase of appropriations is sim- | 
ply the measure of the depreciation in the value of 
the currency of the country at that time, and by no 


that the regulations were observed. 





means an indication of such an increase in the actual — 
expense. As an illustration of this advance or rather | 


depreciation, in 1780, March 13th, at the annual 


meeting, six pounds was fixed as the value of a day's 


work upon the highways against two shillings eight | 
pence two years previous. At this meeting the as- | 


sessors were instructed “ to report a list of all persons 


taxed for estates to be amended by the town, and all | 
upon the list were to be required to give in under 

oath a true list of their property, and any who do 

not shall pay double their assessment, and to double 

on each assessment until they comply with the re- 

quirement.” 

State Constitution —On the 24th of April, 1780, a 
committee was appointed to consider the new Consti- 
tution and report, which was done on the 22d of May, 
and this Constitution was accepted with a proposition 
of certain amendments, such as ‘ where personal estate 
is required, it shall be expressly mentioned ‘ rateable 
estate ;’ and that at least as much property shall be 
required for qualifications of members of Congress as 
for Senators, and that no member of the board of war 
shall be a member of the Senate or House of Repre- 
sentatives; that express provision be made for calling 
a Congress in 1795.” Hon. James Humphrey, the 
delegate, was instructed to advocate these amendments, 
and also to vote for the adoption of the Constitution, 
even although they should not be made. 


On the 19th of June the town was divided into 
twenty districts ‘‘ as the tax-lists stand, each district to 
send one man into the service, and if any one refuse to 
go or to pay his proportion, the captain of the company 
is directed to draft him. Any widow or female re- 
fusing to pay, it shall be added to the next tax, and 
any district that neglects to furnish its man, the cap- 
tain of its company shall proceed to draft, the tax-list 
to be put into the hands of the three highest on the 
list for the purpose of calling a meeting to carry this 


| vote into effect.” 


Procuring Men and Provisions.—On the 18th 
of September thetown voted fifteen thousand pounds 
for three months’ men, and on October 9th, twenty 
thousand pounds more to purchase beef, according to 
the requirement of the General Court. On Decem- 
ber 20th, the militia officers were appointed a com- 


| mittee to see if they can hire nineteen men, the town’s 


quota for the Continental army upon the last call of 
the General Court, and one hundred and thirty thou- 
sand pounds were voted to procure beef on the call of 
the same. Non-residents were to be taxed for their 
share of expense in hiring the six months’ men, and 
fifty hard dollars a year for three years, was to be the 
pay of men for the Continental service. 

At the annual meeting, March 12,1781, it was voted 
that “any person refusing to pay his proportion of 
the expense of procuring men for three years’ service 
shall be taxed for the same and the tax collected by 
the officer.” On the 26th of March it was voted to 
change the manner of raising men; voted to raise 
nineteen hundred hard dollars, or currency, seventy- 
five for one, for the purpose ; ninety pounds in specie 
to be paid for three years’ men, one-third when mus- 
tered in, and one-third at the beginning of each year 
for two years succeeding. 

The first meeting recorded for the election of State 
officers was held April 2, 1781. On the 9th it was 
ordered that the money raised to pay soldiers should 
be kept by itself; and that a petition be presented to 
the General Court for the privilege of enlisting the 
On 


June 18th, “three hundred dollars, hard money, was 
’) 9 


men at the Castle for the three-years’ service. 


voted for three-years’ men ; one-third at the beginning 
of each year, or fifty dollars bounty, and ten dollars 
per month.” On the 25th of June, men were to be 
‘hired on the best terms that could be made for six 
months, and if delayed longer than that to have 
double wages for the over time,” and for this the town 
would give security, a proceeding reflecting somewhat 
upon its credit. 

On the 9th of July it was voted to raise five 


' months’ and three months’ men for the Continental 








WEYMOUTH. 





service. On July 16th, a better prospect opened, 
when it was understood that “ men could be had for 
fifty hard dollars and they to relinquish the Conti- 
uental pay.” It was accordingly voted to hire them. 
On the 8th of October it was voted to raise twenty- 
five hundred hard dollars to hire men for three years, 
the committee to have discretionary powers in the 
matter. Also voted that the monthly requisition for 
beef be complied with. November 19th, it was voted 
to assess immediately the State tax to make up the 
deficiency in Continental soldiers; and on December 
10th it was voted that the tax, fourteen hundred and 
thirteen pounds, four shillings, and sixpence, be paid 
by January Ist, following, or the men procured, each 
of whom was to be rated one hundred and twenty- 
eight pounds, nine shillings, and sixpence, and every 
exertion was to be used to procure money and men. 
Soldiers to Hull.—It appears that the men were 
raised with much trouble but not until after the time 
set, December 20th, and the superintendent refused 
to receive them. A petition was therefore made to 
the Governor and Council to be relieved from the diffi- 
culty by a grant of more time. On Sept. 30, 1782, 
ten soldiers were sent to Hull to assist the French in 
throwing up fortifications for the defense of the har- 
bor, and these were to be paid ‘seven dollars per 
month, if not allowed that by the State;” and on 


December 2d, the town remitted the taxes of ‘‘ Gideon | 


Colson and Thomas Tirrell, they being in the enemies’ 
hands when the taxes were made.” 

This concludes a brief sketch of the history of Wey- 
mouth during the Revolution as found upon its records. 
Very much of its service in men and money must be 


sought in other directions, and at the best the story | 


must be imperfectly told. Of the official rolls, many 
are incomplete or wholly missing, but enough remain 
to show that of a population of about fourteen hun- 
dred people, according to the estimate of Dr. Cotton 
Tufts, made within two years after the close of the war, 
the town sent into the various departments of military 
service upon the calls of the State and Continental 
authority, at least two hundred men, one in seven of 


its total inhabitants ; and these must have embraced | 


very nearly all of the able-bodied men. It is true 
that the terms of service were very short in many in- 
stances, but however short, the burden of such a 
large number must have been enormous. 

The number who perished upon the field of battle 
or died in the service cannot be ascertained, but prob- 
ably not less than thirty or forty, since a list remains 


| 





of fifteen from the soldiers of the South Precinct | 


alone. 


ment of the men for wages, bounties, and support, also 
37 


The amount of expense attending the pay- | 


D577 


for army supplies, it is almost impossible to estimate 
owing to the fluctuating value of the currency, but 
the various votes already quoted give some idea of 
its sum. 

Of the officers sent into the service from this town, 
honorable mention is made of General Solomon Lovell, 
who was in command of the eastern military district 
of which Boston was the headquarters. He also was 
in active service in the Rhode Island campaign in 
1778, and his brigade did efficient work in the battle 
before Newport, in which the general was noted for 
his coolness and bravery. He was also the military 
commander of the unfortunate Penobscot expedition 
of the following year, which was unsuccessful, not 


| from any fault of his, but from the want of co-opera- 


tion on the part of the fleet under command of Com- 
modore Saltonstal, who was afterwards cashiered for 
cowardice and inefficiency. Among the other officers 
may be named Capt. Thomas Nash, who served under 
Washington during the siege of Boston, and was officer 
of the day on the night when Dorchester Heights 
were taken possession of; Capt. Joseph Trufant, 
Capt. Samuel Ward, Capt. Asa White, Lieut. Cush- 
ing, who was with Arnold in the Canada expedition, 
Lieut. Samuel Kingman, Lieut. Thomas Vinson, Lieut. 
David Joy, Lieut. Asa Dyer, and others. 

The record is one of which Weymouth has no 
reason to be ashamed, although, at times, the work 
languished and the men refused to go, money came 
slowly or not at all, yet the times were such and the 
demands so many and great that its ability was not 
sufficient to meet them. It must also be borne in 
mind that this town was not alone in these deficien- 
cies, but was even more prompt than many, and 
probably equal to the foremost. The fact stated 
that the town sent into the field fully two hundred 
men, of whom probably nearly a quarter perished, 
tells a story that it will be difficult to overcome. 
Hardly a family, or very few if any, but had~one 
or more representatives in the field during some 
part of the great struggle, and some throughout its 
whole duration. The town was also peculiarly for- 
tunate in having for its leaders men of such ability 
and judgment as those whose names have been men- 
tioned, Dr. Cotton Tufts, Gen. Solomon Lovell, Maj. 
James Humphrey, and Deacon Nathaniel Bayley, 
men who were wise in council, skillful and brave in 
the field, and untiring in their efforts to promote the 
interests of their country in the-momentous struggle 
in which it was then engaged. Some of the public 
papers prepared by these men in their official service 
are models of political documents, and will compare 
favorably with the best of that day. 





CHAPTER XLVIIL 
WEY MOUTH— (Continued). 


Recovering from the Effects of the War—Work-House—Local 
Matters—Smallpox—Norfolk County—Attempt to divide the 
Town—Business Enterprises—Post-office—War with Eng- 

at Cohasset—Town Lines —Manufacturing 

Companies Discouraged—Surplus Revenue—Anti-Slavery 

Resolutions—Town Records—Town Hall—War of the Rebel- 

lion—Opening Scenes—Twelfth Regiment—Raising ‘Proops 

—Military Records—Bounties—Thirty-fifth Regiment— 

Town Bonds and Seal—Forty-second Regiment—Contribu- 


land—Alarm 


tions—Difficulties--Fourth Heavy Artillery—Final Attempt | 


‘to divide the Town—Soldiers’ Monument—Two Hundred 


and Fiftieth Anniversary—Water Question—Fire Depart- 
ment—Growth of the Town. 


Recovering from the Effects of the War.— 
The process of recovery from the desolations occa- 
sioned by the war was slow. The losses had been 
too great, the wounds too deep, and the exhaustion 


too complete to be made good at once; hence, there | 


was great depression in trade, for there was no money 
upon which to transact business. The drain of men 


had been so severe that it was many years before the 


gap thus occasioned was so far filled that the ordinary | 
The | 


evils resulting from a currency depreciated until its | 


duties could be done with comparative ease. 


value became but nominal, continued the burdens of 
taxation far beyond their natural limits, and thus there 


was stagnation and depression. Nor were these physical | 
evils the only sources of difficulty, those of a moral | 


nature, resulting directly from habits contracted in 
the army, were a calamity of far more terrible charac- 
ter; and not one was so fearful and far-reaching in 


its effects as that of the excessive use of intoxicating | 


liquors, which had become wellnigh universal; and 
in consequence, large numbers of well-to-do families, 
who before the war were in comparative wealth and 
ease, became reduced, and were obliged to sell the 
estates that the war had left to them, to supply the 
demands of an exhaustless appetite. Hence, in 
course of the following generation a vast number of 
the 


the estates in town changed hands. Nor has 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





| the citizens. During the latter years of the war the 


town, after various attempts, succeeded in building, in 


1779, a work-house near the centre of its territory, 
not far from ‘irrell’s mill, for the accommodation of 





effect of this wholly ceased even at the end of a full | 


century from the close of the war, but is still felt in 


its hereditary power, by multitudes of the present | 


generation, who have inherited this unnatural appetite 
from their ancestors. 
Work-House.—For years therefore the inhabi- 


tants were obliged to struggle for a bare maintenance, | 


and were in no condition to prosecute business en- 


terprises or carry on the pursuits of learning; and it | 


was a score of years before the natural resources of | 


the town began to be developed by the enterprises of 


| 
I 


the poor, who had increased to such a degree as to re- 
quire special attention ; and this house was used for 
that purpose until the erection of another building 
for the same purpose, at Weymouth Landing, in 


| 1809. 


Local Matters.—A few items of interest occur 
upon the records from time to time before the close of 
the century, among which are the following: March 
12, 1787, the town officers took the oath of allegiance 
agreeable to a resolve of the General Court; May 7, 
1787, Dr. Cotton Tufts was chosen a delegate to the 
Convention in Boston, second Wednesday in January, 
to consider the constitution or form of government of 
the United States of America; April 5, 1790, the 
town voted to allow their representatives five shillings 
per day agreeably to the practice of other towns, and 
March 14, 1791, the town clerk was directed to read 
the laws of the commonwealth at the next meeting 
after he receives them, 

Smallpox.—At a meeting held Sept. 11, 1792, 
the town refused to permit inoculation for the small- 
pox, and March 11th, following, permission was 
granted for the erection of a hospital for that purpose 
agreeable to law, under direction of the selectmen. 

Norfolk County.—After the war the question of 
anew county was frequently raised and various action 
taken, sometimes favorable and sometimes opposed, 
but the matter was finally determined by the General 
Court, and the towns of Suffolk County, southerly 
from Boston, were set off and formed into Norfolk 
County in 1795; this, however, does not seem to have 
suited the good people of Weymouth, for, August 26th 
of that year, a committee was appointed to draw upa 
petition to the General Court praying to be set off 
from Norfolk County and to be reannexed to Suffolk, 
but the movement was unsuccessful, and Weymouth 


| has remained to the present time a part of Norfolk 


County, although the attempt was afterwards re- 
newed, the reason alleged being that the shire-town 
was too far away. 

Attempt to Divide the Town.—In 1796 the di- 
vision of the town was again proposed, this time by 
the North Precinct, and a petition presented to the 
General Court for that purpose. The feeling ran very 
high, the North Precinct being almost unanimously 
in favor, and the South as decidedly opposed. For 
the next halfa dozen years the matter was in constant 
agitation in public and in private, in parish-meeting 
and in town-meeting, and the town was so nearly di- 








WEYMOUTH. 


579 








vided upon the subject that the votes were sometimes | 
in favor and sometimes against. At that time, about | 
the year 1802, according to a canvass made for the 
purpose, the population was found to have increased 
to 1803, 965 of whom lived in the North Parish, and 
838 in the South; the ratable polls in the North 211 
and in the South 200; two-fifths of the land in the | 
North, and three-fifths in the South; of the money 
at interest the South had $22,950, and the North 
had $20,133. The Senate voted in favor of a division 
but the House refused, and the matter was referred to 
the next session, March 3, 1803, which was equiva- 
lent to an indefinite postponement of the whole sub- 
ject. Thus the question has remained to the present, 
with spasmodic attempts from time to time to revive 
it, but never with much prospect of success. 
Business Enterprises—With the increase of. 
population and wealth there came also a revival of | 
business enterprises, and soon after the beginning of 
the nineteenth century a new era of prosperity 
dawned upon the town, commencing at Weymouth 
Landing, at the head of tide-water on Fore River, | 
and gradually extending over other parts of the town. 
In 1805 a turnpike was built through Weymouth, 
opening a more direct communication between Boston 
and Plymouth, by which the village at the landing 
was largely the gainer. Under the lead of Capt. 
Samuel Arnold, Levi Bates, and others various | 
branches of mechanical industry were started, and a 
new life infused into the community. Within a few 
years a large number of buildings were erected within 
a radius of half a mile. 








Many of them, in magni- 
tude and value, have hardly been surpassed to the pres- | 
ent day. Navigation was resumed, and quite a brisk | 
trade carried on between the town and Boston by 
means of sailing packets, which ran regularly ; and 
it was in these days that shoe manufacturing com- | 
menced, which has since grown into such vast propor- 
tions. 

In 1800, March 10th, there is found for the first 
time upon the records the warrant for the town- | 
meeting entered in full, a custom that has been ever | 
since continued; and under date of May 11, 1801, 
are found the qualifications of voters at that time, 
who were to be twenty-one years of age, and to 
possess a freehold valued at sixty pounds, or one 
yielding an income of three pounds (free suffrage had 
not yet become the law of the land). 

The town, which was always conservative, did not | 
look altogether with favor upon the new enterprises, 
but viewed with jealous eyes the proposition to open 
new roads through its borders and construct bridges 
across the rivers, and went so far (3d February, 1803) | 


navigation at Fore River. 


as to choose a committee to oppose them before the 
committee of the General Court, which had the mat- 
ter under consideration,—such men as Cotton Tufts, 
Hliphalet Loud, and Maj. John White being foremost 
in the opposition,—but the roads and the bridges were 
built, and the town was the better for them. 
Post-Office.—In 1804, February 6th, the town 
instructed the selectmen to petition the Postmaster- 
General to establish a post-office at or near the head of 
This village, although the 


| youngest in town, was already the most important. 


The answer to this petition was the establishment of 
the first post-ofice in Weymouth. In 1809 the new 
work-house at the landing was completed, costing 
about sixteen hundred dollars, and was used for the 


_ accommodation of the town’s poor until the purchase 


of the present town farm, in 1839. March 12, 
1810, the selectmen and the physicians of the town 


| were appointed a committee to superintend the inocu- 


lation with cowpox. 

War with England.— During the war with Great 
Britain, in 1812-15, many of the young men of the 
town engaged in the service by land and sea, but 
the action of the town shows very little movement in 
connection with the subject, there being but four votes 
standing upon its records relating to the matter. May 
21, 1812, the town voted to pay each enlisted soldier 
a bounty of five dollars, and ten dollars per mouth pay 
while in actual service; and June 30, 1814, it was 
voted to make the pay of non-commissioned officers 
and privates, now or hereafter in the service, equal to 
fifteen dollars per month, and the same to those called 
out upon the alarm at Cohasset, and who remained 
there until legally dismissed. A committee of safety 
was also chosen, to consist of the selectmen (three) 
and six others. Onthe 7th of November the town 
voted twelve hundred dollars to pay the soldiers and 
build a magazine. 

Alarm at Cohasset.—The nearest approach to 
actual hostilities that the town experienced during 
that war was upon the occasion of this “ alarm at Co- 
hasset,” which occurred on a Sunday, Adjt. Cushing 
notifying the militia in the meeting-houses while the 
people were attending divine service. It was re- 
ported that a landing had been effected from an Eng- 
lish ship-of-war that was cruising along the coast, 
committing many petty depredations, and that there 
was necessity for immediate assistance. The infantry 
and artillery companies from Weymouth responded 
immediately, but the alarm was a false one and there 
was no need of troops. 

Mechanical industry being then in its infancy, and 
needing the services of only a part of the men, num- 


580 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








bers of these had entered into the mercantile marine, 
and at the opening of the war, this branch of service 
being paralyzed, many of them found employment in 
the navy and upon privateers. 


| 


A change appears upon the records in May, 1818, | 


an income 





with respect to the qualification of voters, 
from freehold estate of ten dollars, or one valued at 


two hundred dollars, being required, and an age of | 


twenty-one years. 
Town Lines.—In the beginning of the third vol- 


ume of the town general records there is a full descrip- | 


tion of the town lines,as measured by James Humph- 


rey, Esq., in 1794, probably the most correct and | 


reliable of any to be found upon any record. Aug. 
21, 1820, a committee was appointed to oppose the 


petition of the Hingham and Quincy turnpike to the 


General Court to have the allowance paid to vessels | 


passing through their drawbridges removed. 
Manufacturing Companies Discouraged. — In 


the years 1822 and 1824, committees of manufactur- | 


ing companies were looking over the State in search | 
of the most desirable water privileges, with a view of | 


selecting a location, and Weymouth Back River ap- 
pears to have had a preference. 


In the former year, 


12th of August, Samuel Hubbard and others had so | 


far decided in favor of this locality that they re- 


quested of the town the privilege of purchasing the | 
alewife fishery, the only serious aifficulty; but the - 


town, valuing a small present income more highly 
than a large one in prospect, refused. 


Again, April | 


5, 1824, Gen. W. H. Sumner and others, impressed © 
with the value of the water privilege, offered the town 
two hundred dollars per year for ten years, and agree- | 
ing to make a sufficient fishway by which the fish could | 


ascend into the pond above, to employ a capital of 
one hundred thousand dollars, and pay a parish tax 
to be divided between the three parishes. But the 
town, with strange short-sightedness, again refused. 
Had better counsels prevailed, Weymouth might now 
be what Lowell is. On May 2, 1825, Gen. Sumner 
again renewed his request with a still more favorable 
proposition, but the town would not consent. 

In 1831 the report of the expenses of the town 
was printed for the first time. 


Surplus Revenue.—In 1836 the general govern-_ 


ment found itself in the anomalous condition of an 
overflowing treasury, and a large sum amounting to 
millions was distributed among the States for 
Massachusetts distributed its 


many 
use as a loan. 
among the several towns, and Weymouth, in 


their 
share 


1837, after one of the most hotly-contested struggles 


in its history, having called no fewer than eight | 


meetings upon the matter, divided its share among 


the inhabitants, pro vata, taking notes therefore, 
which was in reality a perpetual loan without interest, 
for on March 16, 1868, the town voted to destroy 
the notes, amounting to $6146.40, they being out- 
lawed and worthless. 

Anti-Slavery Resolutions.—Soon after this time 
the anti-slavery agitation commenced, and an earnest, 
determined body of its friends were found among 
the citizens, and so vigorous and successful were their 
efforts that a strong sentiment was created in the 
town in favor of the movement, so strong that when, 
in 1842, George Latimer, a fugitive slave, lay in 
Boston jail, at the instance of his alleged master, 
James b. Gray, of Virginia, a series of indignant 
resolutions were passed at the meeting held November 
14th, protesting against the act. 

In 1857 another movement was made by Jacob 
Perkin and others towards the improvement of the 
water privilege at Hast Weymouth, in the interest of 
iron manufacturers, which, after long and tedious ne- 
gotiations and litigations, resulted in the establish- 
ment of the Weymouth Iron Company, which has 
proved one of the most important business enter- 
prises of the town. 

Pay of Town Officers.—At the March meeting, 
in 1843, it was voted to pay town officers one dollar 
per day for their services, the clerk to have no pay 
for town-meeting days. This seems to have been the 


beginning of regular payments for this purpose, but 


with an advance from time to time until it has in- 
creased to three times its original amount. 

In 1847 a strong effort was again made for a divi- 
sion of the town, but like that of fifty years previous 
it proved unsuccessful, the vote on the question being, 
taken by a committee going from house to house, 
with the following result: 460 in favor and 465 
against, 72 not voting, and 56 not found; of the 
nays, 359 were in the South Parish. This agitation 
was renewed again in 1850 with similar result. 

On Nov. 12, 1850, strong, denunciatory resolutions 
against the fugitive slave law were passed, and on 
March 10th, succeeding, the town voted that they be 
expunged from the record, which was accordingly 
done by writing across the face. Thus the record 
stood until March, 1880, when the latter vote was 
rescinded, and the record stands as originally made 
in favor of the resolutions and as the voice of the 
town. 

Town Records.—The original town records being 
badly worn and in a very dilapidated condition, the 
selectmen were instructed to have them transcribed, 
also to look up the books belonging to the town, 
have them catalogued, and to procure a safe in which 





WEYMOUTH. 


581 





to keep them. The first and last clauses of the vote 
were carried into effect, but that relating to the cata- 
logue remained unattended to. 

Town Hall.—In 1852, in view of the want of 
a proper place for holding town-meetings, and for 
quarters for town offices, the town hall was built on 
the westerly side of Washington Street, at the corner 
of Middle Street, and very near the geographical 
centre of the town. A plain, inexpensive structure, 
but which has answered the actual necessities of the 
town in that respect for over thirty years. And 
again on March 13, 1854, a series of strong anti-sla- 
very resolutions stand upon the records as the ex- 
pression of the town. 


War of the Rebellion—As will be seen, the 


records are very bare of interest, other than that | 


which attaches to the ordinary but necessary business _ 


The 
long continued quarrels in Congress upon the slavery 


of the town, until the stirring days of 1861. 


question, each year growing more intense and bitter, 
had culminated in a marshaling of the contending 
parties and the election of a Republican President. 
The crisis was brought about by accident, each party 
believing, until the actual collision, that the other 
would give way and not force matters to an extremity. 
But the attack upon Sumter and the call of President 
Lincoln for volunteers decided the question in favor 
of war. The spirit of the people was aroused to 
the highest pitch and the greatest enthusiasm pre- 
vailed. 

A public meeting of the citizens was called at once, 
and the organization of a military company for actual 
service commenced. Volunteers for what was after- 
wards Company H, Twelfth Regiment of Massachu- 
setts Volunteers, were enlisted; the company was 
soon filled, and made choice of James L. Bates for 
captain, whose after-record was the brightest in the 
town’s military history. He passed through the vari- 


ous grades of service, and at the close of the war wore | 


worthily the honorable title of brevet brigadier-gen- 
eral. His regiment saw the hardest service, and 
fought in twenty-eight battles. 

On the 29th of April a special town-meeting was 
called, at which five thousand dollars were voted to 
equip this company and for other necessary expenses 
connected therewith. 


ceive fifteen dollars per month and each single man 


Each married man was to re- 


ten dollars, while in actual service under command of 
its officers; the same to be paid to others who shall 
hereafter enlist. June 11, 1861, the selectmen were 
directed to furnish necessary aid, not exceeding fifteen 
dollars per month, to the wife, and children under 


sixteen years of age of men enlisted by the town in 


the service; also to other near relatives who might 
be dependent upon them at the time of enlistment. 

On the 10th of March, 1862, ten thousand dollars 
was appropriated for aid to the families of volunteers 
in the field, and the poll-tax of last year’s volunteers 
was also remitted. 

Military Records.—The selectmen were instructed 
to cause a record to be prepared and kept of all the 
Weymouth soldiers engaged in the service of the gov- 
ernment, with such details as may be obtained with 
respect to them and their service, names, ages, resi- 
dence, and such particulars as may be necessary to a 
full knowledge of them and their service in the war. 

Within the first year of the Rebellion Weymouth 
had paid out for aid to families of soldiers over fifteen 
thousand dollars, something over one-third of which 
was to be reimbursed by the State; and in order to 
guard against unforeseen and sudden emergency 
“ Union Guards” were formed, for whose supplies and 
necessary expense the town also paid in the same time 
nearly a thousand dollars more. 

Bounties.—During the summer of 1862, the 
urgency for soldiers became so great and the call so 
persistent that the town, upon the report of a com- 
mittee appointed for the purpose, voted to pay a bounty 
of one hundred and fifty dollars to each inhabitant 
who should enlist within ten days (25th July) as 
a volunteer in the United States service for three 
years, unless sooner discharged, under the call of the 
Governor, as per general order No. 26, to be paid on 
being mustered in; volunteers for one year to be paid 
one hundred dollars; and nineteen thousand dollars 
was appropriated for the purpose. 

Upon the spur of this incentive a second company 
was speedily raised, which was mustered into the service 
Aug. 12, 1862, as Company H, Thirty-fifth Regi- 
ment of Massachusetts Volunteers. Benjamin F. 
Pratt was chosen captain, who was promoted through 
the several grades of the service, and at the close of 
the war was breveted as brigadier-general. This 
regiment and the Twelfth saw very hard service in 
the Army of the Potomac, and their losses were very 
severe. On the 19th of August the town extended 
this offer to all who should enlist in the town’s quota, 
whetber inhabitants or not. 

Town Bonds and Seal.—On the 4th of Novem- 
ber fifteen thousand dollars was appropriated for aid 
to the families of soldiers who were inhabitants of the 
town when enlisted. At the same time it was voted 
to issue town bonds not exceeding thirty thousand 
dollars at five per cent., and March 24, 1863, the 
selectmen were instructed to procure a corporate seal, 
with the legend, “Town of Weymouth, Mass., Incor- 


582 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





; ai ; j aa 
porated 1635,” for the use of the town, upon its bonds 


and other documents, which was accordingly done. 
In the fall of that year a company of nine months’ 

men were enlisted, and mustered into the service 

September 13th, as Company A. Forty-second Regi- 


| 
| 


ment Massachusetts Volunteers, under the command | 


of Col. Burrell. Hiram 8S. Coburn was chosen its 


captain. 


On the 21st of July, 1863, the town voted three | 


dollars per week for aid to the families of volunteers | 


for one year, to fill up the town’s quota, in addition to | 


the sum paid by the State, and the same amount for 
a second year, provided they continue in the service 
so long; 


5) 


As the time approached for the expiration of the 
term of service of the Twelfth Regiment, the select- 
men were directed to proceed to Boston and receive 
Company H of that regiment, and to invite those 
members of the Eleventh Regiment, who enlisted 
from this town, to assist in this duty. In the summer 
and autumn of this year a fourth company was en- 
listed for one year, and mustered in as Company G, 
Fourth Heavy Artillery. Many of these were re- 
enlistments of members of the Twelfth, Thirty-fifth, 
and other regiments whose terms of service had ex- 
pired. ‘This company was stationed upon the fortifi- 


cations near Washington and saw but little active 


and on November 23d one thousand dol- | 


Jars was placed at the disposal of the recruiting com-_ 


mittee, who were to receive no pay for their services. 

Contributions.— At the annual meeting, March 21, 
1864, the town voted to raise twenty-five thousand 
dollars for State aid, and subsequently, April 9th, it was 
voted to refund the contributions made by citizens for 
filling the town’s quota of men under the calls of the 
President, October 14th, and February Ist, provided the 


contributors agree in writing to apply the same towards _ 
furnishing the men called for March 14, 1864; and | 


six thousand five hundred dollars was appropriated 
for the purpose. The recruiting committee were also 
instructed to solicit subscriptions of money, to be used 
in raising men to fill the present quota. On the 20th 
of May ten thousand dollars were voted for recruiting 
under the last call. 

Difficulties.—On the 8th of June the town voted 
to pay one hundred and twenty-five dollars to each 


volunteer recruited under any call of the President 


service. 

On the 8th of November the town appropriated 
twelve thousand dollars for bounties, not to exceed one 
hundred and twenty-five dollars to each man counted 
in Weymouth’s quota under the next call. March 
20, 1865, the town voted to borrow thirty thousand 
dollars on its bonds at six per cent., to be sold as re- 
quired; and on the 22d of May the town voted to 
refund the money contributed by individuals to aid in 
filling the quota of the town in accordance with the 
law of April 25th of this year; a list to be prepared 
and payment to be made in town notes, due Sept. 1, 
1866. On the 21st of December a committee was 
chosen to consider the subject of a soldiers’ monument 
and report. 
aid to all who had not received it; also, to pay each 
man drafted July, 1863, who furnished a substitute, 
whether the latter remained in the service or not, 


A vote was also passed to pay two years’ 


payable in town notes in three years with interest. 


this year, or in anticipation of any future call, this 


enlistment to be made under 
chairman of the board of selectmen. 
at this time to be great difficulty in answering the 
calls of the President, and so serious was the emer- 
gency that the selectmen resigned in a body, but were 
afterwards persuaded to withdraw their resignations. 
It appeared, also, that the town was justified in 


the direction of the | 
There seemed | 


making serious complaint of the manner in which the | 


enrollment of those liable to military duty was made, 
“That the en- 


rollment of this town is fully 20 per cent. larger than 


as appears by the following resolves: 


the average towns in the district, large numbers of 


whom are unfit to be enrolled, and that the town re- 


quest an equitable enrollment. That the town believes 


their selectmen and assessors to compare favorably | 


with those of neighboring towns, and feels aggrieved 
that they should have been entirely ignored in the 
matter of enrollment, while those of other towns 
have been appointed to that duty.” 


This completes the record in brief of Weymouth dur- 
ing the war as far as it appears upon its books; but 
before a correct judgment can be formed as to what the 
town actually did in the great struggle for existence 
that the country carried on during the four years from 
1861 to 1865, it will be necessary to go somewhat 
more into detail, and to ascertain more nearly the 
number of men sent into the field and what became 
of them. It is well known that the town answered 
all of the calls made upon it, but what was their 
measure? <As before noticed, there were enlisted four 
full companies ; these were sent into the service and 
performed all the duties required of them, which in 
many instances were neither few nor light; besides 
these, enlistments were made for all the various 
branches of the service, infantry, artillery, and cavalry, 
in more than fifty different organizations, as well as 
many in the navy. ‘The whole number actually con- 
tributed by the town probably will never be accurately 
known, but upon its records are the names of nearly 


eight hundred; without question enough have been 











WEYMOUTH. 


583 





omitted to carry the total above that number, or | also authorized to engage some one to prepare and 


nearly one in ten of its population. 


Of these, ninety-eight have their names upon the 


soldiers’ monument as having been killed in battle or 
died in the service. Besides these, and this list is by 


no means complete, more than a hundred are reported — 


as wounded, and nearly forty taken prisoners, many of 
whom died in rebel prisons. And of the whole num- 
ber, only eight, less than one in a hundred, are re- 
ported as deserters, and some of these returned to their 


regiments. 


and one of which the town may well be proud; 


and when the history of Weymouth in the Rebellion 


is written, which will some day be a fact, it will be | 


This certainly is an honorable record | 





made sure that this town is entitled to a high place | 


among the thousands that contributed cheerfully and | 


| 


liberally towards the accomplishment of the same | 


noble purpose. 


Final Attempt to Divide the Town.—XSeveral — 
attempts were made to revive the question of a di- | 
vision of the town, and March 19, 1866, a vote was | 
actually passed to do this (two hundred and sixty- | 
nine to two hundred and thirty-nine) upon the north- | 


erly line of the fifth and sixth school distrigts, and a | 


committee of one appointed from each district to carry 


| 


the vote into effect; but the matter appears to have | 
been dropped, to be again called up March 4, 1878, | 


when the selectmen and three from each ward, twenty 
in all, were constituted a committee to take the whole 
matter into consideration and report. 


3, 1879, and was unanimous that it was inexpedient 
to divide the town at that time, and the report was 
accepted. 

Soldiers’ Monument.— After various votes and ap- 


| 
| 


This report | 
was made at the next annual meeting, held March | 


propriations, a soldiers’ monument was erected upon | 


Burying Hill, in the old North Cemetery, upon the 


easterly side of the highway, consisting of a plain 


granite obelisk, suitably commemorating the names 
and services of those who perished in the Rebellion 
in defense of their country, and was dedicated in 1868. 

On the 21st of March, 1870, it was voted to divide 


the town into five wards, for convenience in carrying | 


on the necessary public business. This was accord- 
ingly done, and it remains thus to the present day. 
In 1871, March Gth, the first appropriation was made 
for the celebration of Memorial day, and the vote has 
been annually repeated ever since. 

The Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary.— 
At the annual meeting held March 2, 1874, a com- 


publish a history of the town. The first vote was 
carried into effect on the 4th of July of that year, by 
a public meeting upon King Oak Hill, with appro- 
priate services, among which was an historical address 
by Charles Francis Adams, Jr., Esq., whose great- 
grandmother, Abigail Smith, wife of John Adams, 
second President of the United States, inferior to none 
of the honorable women mentioned in the national his- 
tory, was born and reared within a short distance of the 
spot where the address was delivered. The occasion 
was one of great interest, being the second of the 
kind held in Massachusetts, and was celebrated with 
much enthusiasm by a large number of the citizens of 
this and other towns, who were cordially invited to 
the entertainment. 

Water Question.—The last important business 


found upon the town records is upon the question of 


supplying the town with water from Great Pond. 
Many and urgent had been the calls demanding this 
or some other means by which the inhabitants and 
the rapidly growing necessities of the town should be 
Efforts 
were put forward to that end, and a charter was ob- 
tained from the Legislature of 1882-83, of sufficient 
On the 18th of 


September, 1883, a town-meeting was called, at 


furnished with an ample supply of water. 


powers to cover the undertaking. 


which it was voted, by a large majority, to accept 
the water act, and on the 25th of the same month a 
board of water commissioners was chosen, and in- 
structed to cause to be made thorough surveys and 
estimates of all work and costs proposed by the act, 
and to make a report of the same at a special meeting 
to be called for the purpose. This, one of the most 
important enterprises ever undertaken by the town, 
has not reached its present stage without violent op- 
position. The unfortunate situation of the town in 
respect to its various villages, with their often con- 
flicting interests, and the jealousies occasioned thereby, 
has shown itself in this matter, as in nearly every 
important movement that has ever been proposed, and 
its success, however much it may be desired, is not 


yet assured. (The final action assuring it has since 


| been taken.) 


Fire Department.— Until quite recently the town, 
officially, had made no attempt to afford its citizens 


protection against fire. What had been done was the 


| work of volunteer companies, or of fire districts in 


mittee was chosen to make arrangements to celebrate | 
the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the set-_ 


tlement of the town, and the same committee was 


A half 


century or more ago a small hand-engine, called the 


which the town government had no part. 


‘« Aquarius,” manned by a company of volunteers, 
was located at Weymouth Landing, which was for 
many years the only protection against fire, other 


584 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





than the primitive hand and bucket arrangement. 
Some twenty years later several fire districts were 
erected in town, and hand-engines provided for 
them. 
action in the same direction, and went so far as to 
choose a committee to purchase four engines and the 
necessary apparatus to go with them, for the four 
principal villages. This was April 29, 1844; but 
on the following May 7th this vote was rescinded, 
and the matter remained in its previous condition 
until March 5, 1877, when a committee of three 
from each ward was chosen to organize “a fire depart- 
ment.” In accordance with the report of this com- 
mittee, the town, on the 15th of May, voted to pur- 
chase 3 fire-engines, hose-carriages, ete., 2 hook-and- 
ladder trucks, and 1500 feet of hose. Also to build 
3 engine-houses and construct 5 reservoirs, appropri- 
ating $18,000 therefor. On the 30th of January, 


1878, a vote was passed making a further appropria-_ 


tion of $1100 for another hand-engine. 
$2000 was voted for an engine and hose-carriage. 


On May 2d, 
In 
March, 1880, a steam fire-engine was purchased for 
Ward 3, at a cost of $3200, and in 1883, $4200 was 
Thus it will 
be seen that the town has made a beginning in this 


appropriated for a steamer for Ward 2. 


important matter, which only needs to be supple- 
mented by the introduction of water from Great 
Pond, as proposed by recent votes, or from some other 
source, to afford really effective protection. 

Growth of the Town.—It may be of interest to 


note the gradual growth of the town expenses from 


the beginning, when almost every separate item was 
voted upon in open town-meeting, and there were 
almost no general appropriations, until the present time, 
when the annual expenditure of the town is not far 
from $100,000. On the 23d May, 1751, is noted 
the first general appropriation for the poor, amount- 
ing to £20. 
personal labor, and it was not until after the year 


The highways were provided for by 


1800 that anything like regular, stated appropriations 
were made. 
average sums appropriated for expenses, other than 


At that time the town attempted some | 


year 1800 to about $500. From 1800 to 1810, the 
yearly average was about $700; from 1810 to 1820, 
about $1000; from 1820 to 1830, about $1000 to 
$1200 (in 1821 there were 895 children of school 
age); from 1830 to 1840, from $1200 to $2000; 
from 1840 to 1850, from $2500 to $3500 (in 1842 


_ there were 1099 children of school age); from 1850 


| 


| 





Beginning with the year 1820, the | 


schools and highways, were for the ten years from | 


1820 to 1830, about $1400; for the succeeding de- 


cade, from 1830 to 1840, about $2000; from 1840. 


to 1850, about $4000, an increase of 100 per cent. ; 
from 1850 to 1860, about $7000; from 1860 to 


1870, about $15,000; and from 1870 to 1880, about | 


$25,000, an increase in half a century of nearly 1800 


per cent., while the increase of population was but | 


little more than 400 per cent. 
The expenditure for schools, aside from the build- 
ings, beginning at about $100, had risen in the 


to 1860, from $3500 to $7000; from 1860 to 1870, 
from $8500 to $15,000; from 1870 to 1880, from 
$20,000 to $26,000, an increase since 1821 of 2500 
per cent., while the number of school children had 
increased but about 125 per cent. (the census of 1880 
showing 2028 children of school age). 

The increase of population for the first century and 
a half was very small indeed, the estimate for 1643 
being about 1000. 
Kgerton manuscript in the British Museum, and dates 
about 1675, in which the number of houses set down 
for Weymouth, in round numbers, is 250; allowing 
5 to a house, this would give a population of 1250. 
In 1750 the estimate was 1200. A census in 1765 
showed 1258, while that of 1776 indicated 1471, and 
in 1790 this had declined to 1469. In 1800 quite a 
gain was shown in a total of 1803. The following 
ten years* there was an increase of but 86, while in 
1820 the number had increased to 2407. From this 


The next estimate is from the 


| time the gain was rapid, the census of 1830 giving a 


population of 2837, while that of 1840 was 3738, 
and that of 1850 stood at 5369. The succeeding ten 


| years showed an increase of over 40 per cent., giving 


a total of 7742. In 1870 the population was 9010, 
and in 1880, 10,570, a gain in the present century of 


almost 500 per cent. 


The appraised value of the real property was in 
1853, $1,158,999; and of the personal, $619,483 ; 
a total of $1,758,482. In 1875 the real estate was 
valued at $3,863,523 ; and the personal, $2,107,711 ; 
a total of $5,971,234. This was the last State valuation. 

These statistics show, in a comparative degree, the 
wonderful development of the town in material re- 
sources, and also its rapid progress in mechanical 
pursuits, while the indications are not wanting that 
promise a long continuance of its prosperity. 


Oye ACP Hd 2x 
WEY MOUTH—( Continued). 


Keclesiastical History—Congregational Churches—The First 


Church. 
The First Church.—There is no record of the or- 
ganization of this church, It is simply recognized by 
its name at the earliest mention as an established in- 





WEYMOUTH. 


585 





stitution well known to contemporaneous writers. It 
has already been stated that with the Gorges Com- 


pany, in 1623, came Rev. William Morrell, a clergy-_ 
man of good reputation in the Church of England, of | 


culture and learning ; that he remained in the planta- 





tion for perhaps a year and a half and then gave up — 
his charge, returning to England by way of Ply-— 


mouth, 
and remarkable discretion, well suited to have the 
charge of an English parish, but scarcely adapted to 
the needs of a New England settlement at that day. 
Mr. Morrell brought with him a commission from the 
Keclesiastical Court in England to exercise a kind of 
superintendency over the churches already existing or 
which might be established here. 
was to empower him with authority over all churches 
in the colony, and as “all” meant only Plymouth, 


He was an amiable gentleman of refinement | 


structure, corresponding to the dwellings of the people. 
No mention, however, is made of this, which in a few 
years was replaced by a more convenient and substan- 
tial building erected upon Burying Hill. 

In the summer of 1635 a large addition was made 
to the little settlement by the arrival of a company of 
about a hundred people, under the leadership of Rev. 
Joseph Hull, sailing from Weymouth, England, but 


| gathered from the county of Somerset and the neigh- 


This commission | 


borhood. Mr. Hull came in the interest of the 
Episcopacy, being a graduate of Oxford of 1612, and 
as recently as 1632 rector of Northleigh, Devon, but 
finding that the condition of the plantation was such 
as hardly to justify an attempt to establish the Epis- 
copal form of worship in the immediate vicinity of so 
many dissenters, and probably with a leaning in the 


latter direction himself, he fell in with the current 


over which he was hardly in a position to claim juris- | 


diction, he obeyed the dictates of his good sense and | 


refrained from any attempt to exercise his authority. 


The conditions under which the settlement at Wey- | 


mouth was made rendered it unnecessary to organize a 
parish, for it already existed as a matter of fact, and the 


| 


church was a branch of the Church of England in this — 
remote corner of its kingdom; and evidently to the 


care of his parish Mr. Morrell devoted himself so long 
ashe remained. ‘The religious element does not seem 
to have been predominant in this settlement, and the 
surroundings and influences being such as to give but 
little promise of future benefit, Mr. Morrell returned 
to his own country, leaving the remnant of his flock 
to the mercy of circumstances. In the following 


year, 1624, according to ‘“ Prince’s Annals,’ which, 


from the facilities in the hands of the compiler, seems | 


fairly conclusive, there came in another company, to | 


join the planters at Wessaguscus, from Weymouth, 
England. These were probably a mixed party, with 
the independent element predominant, since it is 
stated that they brought with them a non-conformist 
minister by the name of Barnard, who remained 
‘with them until his death. Nathing more is known 
of him or of his administration over this people. 
There was no need to organize a church, since one 
after the Episcopal form already existed. It simply 
changed its “rector” for a ‘minister.’ There was 
no need even to throw off the authority of the bishop, 
since there was no officer of that order to claim the 
rule, and thus for a dozen years the affairs remained, 
the continual influx of planters of various religious 
ideas preventing, probably, any very decided opinions 
from becoming predominant. 

There was unquestionably some kind of a house 
of worship erected, but probably a rude, temporary 


and became a moderate dissenter. There having been 
no minister here since the death of Mr. Barnard, the 
situation seemed favorable for the selection of Mr. 
Hull to fill that office, and he undoubtedly preached 
here for a time as minister of the church, but other 
elements were at work which soon developed themselves 
as an opposition. There were remnants of the Gorges 
Company still favoring their old order, while there were 
many new-comers from Dorchester, Boston, and other 
places who favored the Puritans and the authority of 
Governor Winthrop; these later seem to have been 
a strong party and were evidently dissatisfied with 
Mr. Hull, for they soon gave a call to Mr. Thomas 
Jenner, of Roxbury, who, in the early part of 1636, 
came into the settlement and became its minister, 
while Mr. Hull seems to have removed temporarily 
to Hingham. 

There does not appear to have been the utmost 
harmony among the inhabitants, for in the following 
year a council of the elders was called to ‘“ reconcile 
the difference between Mr. Jenner and his people,’ 
and the difficulty was so serious that the Governor 
and his Council were compelled to step in and arrange 
matters. This trouble offered a‘ favorable opportunity 
for a third party to throw itself into the breach in the 
hope of becoming possessors of the field. These, in 
1637, gave an invitation to Rev. Robert Lenthal to 
become their Mr. Lenthal had recently 
come from England, where many of the Weymouth 
people had been under his ministry ; hence the invita- 
tion, which he did not hesitate to accept. He, also, 
remained here for several years, but was in constant 
trouble and difficulty, and in 1639 was tried before 
a council held in Dorchester for heresy, but the re- 


An 


attempt, seems to have been made at this time to form 


minister. 


sult was unsatisfactory, as it settled nothing. 


586 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





another church, the difficulty was so great, but with- 
out success. 

The Weymouth Church then, in 1638-39, found 
itself in this position: Mr. Hull claimed to be the 
minister, and occasionally exercised the office, with a 
strong body of adherents. 
with the official favor to sustain him; while Mr. 
Lenthal preached as circumstances would permit, and 
had a large following. This condition of things in a 
village no larger than Weymouth of that date could 
not be supported, and in the latter year, 1639, Rev. 
Samuel Newman, a graduate of Oxford of 1620, and 
a man of excellent reputation, was invited to come in 
How this was to be effected does 
not now appear; nevertheless he came, and there was 


as a harmonizer. 


displayed the extraordinary phenomenon, for those | 


days, of four ministers of the same denomination con- 
tending for a single pulpit in one small community. 
This, however, did not continue, for Mr. Hull and 
Mr. Lenthal retired in 1639, and Mr. Jenner in 1640, 
leaving Mr. Newman in possession ; but the conflict- 
ing elements were too many and discordant for his 
peaceable nature, and after a ministry of about four 
years, he, with a large body of his friends, removed to 
Rehoboth, leaving the church without a pastor. 

He was succeeded by Rev. Thomas Thacher, who 
was settled 2d January, 1644, and remained pastor of 
the church for twenty years, when he removed to 
Boston, and was afterwards installed as the first pastor 
of the Third Church (Old South). He was the first 
minister ordained in Weymouth, all of his predeces- 
sors having received their ordination in England. He 


Mr. Jenner still remained, | 


| Nov. 28, 1664. 


that should he leave or die without children, the town 
should have the privilege of buying the property. 
Mr. Thacher was followed in the ministry by Rev. 
Samuel Torrey, who was ordained Feb. 14, 1665. Rev. 
Emerson Davis says he preached there from 1656, as 
colleague of Mr. Thacher. He was certainly there 
Mr. Torrey was son of Capt. Wm. 
Torrey ; bornin England, in 1632; educated at Har- 
vard College, but owing to an extension of the course 
of study for a year he, with some of his associates, 
became dissatisfied and left the institution without 
eraduation. He remained pastor of the church in 


| Weymouth until his death, April 21, 1707, a period 





| current pay. 





of over forty-two years. He was a man of great and 
acknowledged ability, of excellent reputation as a 
preacher, and in 1684 was chosen president of Har- 
vard College, which position he declined. Three 
times he preached the election sermon, an honor never 
before conferred. 

In 1667 the meeting-house was again repaired, 
and a bell procured and hung. Up tothe year 1671, 
although there is much upon the records concerning 
the minister’s rates and providing for his maintenance, 
there is no amount stated for his salary. This year 
the matter was thoroughly discussed and arrange- 
ments were made to pay Mr. Torrey fifty pounds per 
year, and five members of the precinct became bound 
This was to be 
paid in money, or its equivalent of eighty pounds in 


for its payment, ten pounds per man. 


In 1673 ten pounds in wood (twenty 


cords) was added, and in 1680 his salary was increased 


| ten pounds. 


had an excellent reputation as a preacher, and was 


also an able physician, a man of talent and education. 
Under his ministrations the people, by whom he was 
beloved and revered, enjoyed a long period of rest 


and prosperity, very pleasant after the vexations of | 


the previous ten years. 


During the pastorate of Mr. Thacher the old meet- | 


ing-house, which stood upon Burying Hill, on the 
westerly side of the present highway, and nearly op- 
posite the site of the soldiers’ monument, had become 
so much in need of repairs that the townsmen, Dec. 
14, 1652, were directed “ to do what was necessary 
to make it more comfortable and prevent any further 
decay.” In the early days of the town, until it was 
divided in 1723 into two precincts, it constituted one 
precinct, and all parish business was transacted in 
town-meeting. 
tenance provided by the town, and as it possessed at 
this time no parsonage, the minister provided his own 
dwelling, which, upon his leaving, was purchased by 
the town and sold to his successor, with the condition 


In 1682 the meeting-house had become 
so old and decayed that the town voted to pull it down, 
and a new one was erected upon land bought of Capt. 


John Holbrook, the site of the present meeting- 





| Mr. 


house. This house was forty-five feet by forty, and 
twenty feet between joints, with four gable-ends, cost- 
ing, in all, two hundred and eighty pounds. In 


1697-98 


pounds to the minister’s salary. 


the town voted an addition of twelve 
After the death of Mr. Torrey a call was given to 


Peter Thacher, of Boston, a grandson of Rev. 


Thomas Thacher, the former minister, at a salary of 


seventy pounds and a “convenient settlement.” It 
was a custom of those days to grant the minister upon 


his settlement a certain sum to pay his expense of 


The minister was hired and his main- | 


_ pounds, with his fire-wood added. 


removal or “ setting up housekeeping,” equal usually 
to one or more years’ salary. This did not appear to 
be quite satisfactory, and the sum was increased ten 


This call was ac- 


"cepted, and Mr. Thacher was ordained Nov. 26, 1707. 
_ He was a popular preacher and very highly esteemed 


} 
| 


by his people, among whom he lived in great har- 





WEYMOUTH. 





587 





mony until 1718, when a prospect of a call to Boston 
introduced a disturbing element, in consequence of 
which he was dismissed, and afterwards settled, as col- 
league of Rev. Mr. Webb, over the North Church, 
Boston. He wasa graduate of Harvard of 1696. 
His manner of leaving Weymouth was very unsatis- 
factory, and the cause of much ill-feeling against him 
on that account. During the ministry of Mr. 
Thacher the town purchased a parsonage for the min- 
ister, of Zachariah Bicknell, which has been a perma- 
nent establishment in the parish since that time. 

On March 27, 1719, the town concurred with the 
church in a call given February 26th to Mr. Thomas 
Paine, of Barnstable, to be their minister upon a sal- 
ary of ninety pounds and the use of the parsonage. 
He was ordained Aug. 19, 1719. 


1 


He remained the > 


pastor until April 15, 1734, when he was dismissed. — 


It was during his ministry, in 1723, that the south part — 


of the town was set off as the Second Precinct. 
withdrew a large part of the population and property, 
so that it was with great difficulty that the parish ex- 
penses were met, and in consequence much trouble 
arose with Mr. Paine during the later years of his 
service, which was eventually the cause of his leaving. 
For several years his family had resided in Boston 
while he performed his official duties in Weymouth. 
Mr. Paine graduated at Harvard in 1717, and was, in 
point of ability and acquirements, the equal of any 
of his predecessors, with the possible exception of 
Mr. Torrey. 
and won the affection of his people to a remarkable 


He was of a kind and amiable disposition, 


degree, and had it not been for the unfortunate pecu- 
niary condition of the parish there would have been 
no occasion for his leaving. 

In August, 1634, after the dismission of Mr. 
Paine, a call was extended to Mr. William Smith, of 
Charlestown, to become the minister, at a salary of 
one hundred and sixty pounds and three hundred 
pounds settlement, the latter to be paid one hundred 
pounds annually for three years, all in bills of credit. 
This invitation was accepted, and the first Wednes- 
day of December he was ordained as pastor of the 
First Church and Parish in Weymouth, which office 
he retained until his death, 17th September, 1783, in 
his seventy-seventh year. 
Harvard of 1725. 
gravestone gives, probably, a correct estimate of his 
character : 


He was a graduate of 
The following epitaph upon his 


“As a Divine he was eminent As a 
Preacher of the Gospel eloquent and devotional in 
life he exhibited the Virtues of the Religion which 
he had taught in Death felt its Supports and closed 
a long and useful life with hopes full of immortality.” 
Prepossessing and conciliatory, he soon became a 


This | 


| 


favorite, especially among the young. He was lively 
and animated as a speaker, and through his long min- 
istry of nearly forty-nine years—the longest on the 
record of the church—he was highly esteemed and 
beloved. He, however, is best known as the father 
of three daughters, who married three men all of 
whom became eminent. Hon. Richard Cranch mar- 
ried Mary, the eldest; Abigail became the wife of 
John Adams, the second President of the United 
States, and was the mother of John Quincy Adams, 
the sixth President; the third daughter, Elizabeth, 
married Rey. John Shaw, of Haverhill, a man of 
standing and reputation. 

He was minister through the Revolutionary war 
with its stirring scenes, and died just as the day of 
peace was dawning upon the land. The difficulties 
of the times, with a divided town and a fluctuating 
currency, made it often hard to raise the amount 
necessary for his support, and the records are largely 
At the 
commencement of his ministry, in its second year, he 
had a long and severe sickness, which disabled him 
from service for the time, and later on, in 1769 
and 1770, he was again disabled by the same cause, 
and for several months his pulpit was supplied by 
James Blake, A.B., of Dorchester, a graduate of Har- 
vard of 1769, a young man of rare excellence and 


filled with endeavors to arrange this matter. 


promise, who came to Weymouth to teach school, 
and, after a little time, supplied the pulpit during the 
illness of Mr. Smith, in which position he died, 17th 
November, 1771, within a month of his twenty-first 
birthday. A volume of his sermons was afterwards 
published. 

On the 23d of April, 1751, a great disaster befell 
the parish in the loss of its meeting-house by fire. 
The loss was a severe and heavy one for the people at 
that time, especially as the parish was passing through 
the most fatal epidemic that has ever been known in 
the history of the town, one in ten of the popula- 
tion perishing with the terrible ‘throat distemper,” 
among others Maj. Adam Cushing, the foremost man 
of his day in town and in the parish. They were 
not discouraged, however, but set to work with 
energy and determination, and within a year a new 
house was ready for use, which was occupied by the 
parish eighty years. It was with the commencement 
of Mr. Smith’s ministry that the earliest records now 
in possession of the church had their beginning, and 
these are exceedingly meagre, other than the noting 
of statistics, admissions to the church and baptisms, 
with a few marriages and deaths. 

After the death of Mr. Smith there was a vacancy 
in the ministry for more than four and one-half 


588 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





years, when from various causes they were unable to 
obtain a pastor. Rev. Huntingdon Porter preached 
for a time in the year after Mr. Smith’s decease. On 
the 24th of May, 1784, the parish voted a call to 
Mr. Samuel Shuttlesworth, of Dedham, in which the 
church concurred, but, after supplying the pulpit 
On the 


22d of November the parish voted unanimously to 


until August Ist, he declined the position. 


invite Mr. Asa Packard, of Bridgewater, to become 
their minister, but he also declined. 

Ever since the division of the town into two pre- 
cinects there had been trouble between them con- 
cerning the parsonage property, which culminated in 
a suit, in 1785, by the South Parish for claimed 
rights, which were denied by the North. The issue 
of the contest was in favor of the latter. During the 
summer and fall of that year Rev. Mr. Judson sup- 
plied the pulpit, but on the 16th of January of the 
following year (1786) the parish made choice of Mr. 


Israel Evans to fill the vacancy in the pastorate. 


_ he was ordained Oct. 13, 1824, to the pastorate of the 


First Church of Weymouth, which position he held 
until Oct. 10, 1833. 
cessful one, one hundred and twenty-nine persons 


His ministry was a very suc- 


having united with the church during the nine years. 
While Mr. Bent was the pastor of the church the meet- 
ing-house, having become old and out of repair, was 
taken down in 1832 and a new one erected upon the 


-same spot, which, with some important changes, has 


This invitation he accepted under date of 24th of | 


March, but some unfortunate reports reaching his ear 
before settlement, he felt obliged to decline, which he 
did in a letter dated 26th of September. Soon after 
this Mr. Jacob Norton was hired to preach, and on 
the 12th of March, 1787, the committee was in- 
His min- 
istrations proved so acceptable that on the 9th of 
April it was voted to give him a call, at a salary of 


structed to engage him for a further time. 


ninety pounds per year, his fire-wood and two hun- 
dred pounds settlement, fifty pounds per year for four 
years (the latter instead of parsonage, which had been 
first voted). Mr. Norton accepted the call, and was 
ordained 10th of October, 1787. 
of Harvard of 1785 or 1786, a man of strong mental 


He was a graduate 


powers, with thorough intellectual training, and a 


keen controversialist. He excelled as a_ classical 


scholar, and had a high reputation as a Hebraist. 


theological discussions, which he sustained with great 


learning and ability. He was, however, changeable 


been occupied by the parish until the present time. 
This is the third meeting-house built upon this spot. 
Mr. Bent was a graduate of Harvard of 1822, a man 
of deep piety, in excellent standing among his asso- 
ciates, and holding a warm place in the affections of 
his people. 

After the dismission of Mr. Bent, Mr. John C. 
Phillips, of Boston, was employed to preach during 
the month of November, 1833, which he did with 
such effect that a unanimous call was given him by 
parish and church, at a salary of seven hundred dol- 
lars per year, which he promptly accepted, and was 
ordained on the 18th of December, 1833. He re- 
mained pastor until Nov. 13, 1837, a ministry of a 
little over four years, the shortest in the history of 
the church since the settlement of Rev. Samuel New- 
Mr. Phillips 


was a graduate of Harvard of 1826, and of Andover 


man, about two hundred years before. 


Theological Seminary. 
course of legal study with Hon. Samuel Hubbard, 
He 


was a fine scholar, a strong thinker, and a close rea- 


He also completed a full 
judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. 
soner. His rare social powers made him a general 
favorite, and it was with deep regret to his many 
friends that circumstances compelled him to ask his 
dismission. 

The interval was very short after Mr. Phillips left 
until the call to Rev. Joshua Emery, Jr., of Fitch- 


burg, Jan. 2, 1838, at a salary of eight hundred dol- 
During his ministry he was frequently engaged in | 


in his religious belief, particularly during the later | 


years of his ministry, which was the cause of great 
trouble in the church and parish, and eventually led 
to a dissolution of the pastoral relation, which took 
place 10th of July, 1824, after a service of nearly 
thirty-seven years. 
able character, and highly esteemed for his amiable 
qualities. 

On the 23d of August, 1824, a hearty call was ex- 
tended to Rev. Josiah Bent, Jr., of Milton, by the 
parish to become pastor, at a salary of six hundred 


dollars and his fire-wood. This call he accepted, and 


He was a man of irreproach- | 


He accepted the invitation, and was 
This is the 
first installation unaccompanied by ordination in the 
His 
pastorate extended until April 1, 1873, a period of 


Jars per annum, 
installed on the 25th of the same month. 


history of the church for two hundred years. 


over thirty-five years, when he was dismissed at his 
own request, feeling with the advance of years that 
the burden of the parish was too great for his strength. 
His ministry was a long and successful one, during 
which one hundred and eighty-five were admitted to 
the church. He was a forcible and energetic speaker, 
especially gifted in prayer, and the estimation in 
which he was held by his people may be measured by 
the length of his pastorate. He was also a valuable 


citizen, being strongly interested in education, for 





= 





WEYMOUTH. 


or 
ee) 
cS 





many years the chairman of the school committee, 
performing at times nearly the whole duties of the 
board. At the beginning of his service the parish 
built a new parsonage house, that now used for the 
purpose, upon the site of the old house, some parts of | 
which had stood there for one hundred and fifty 
years. During many years the social meetings of the 
church had been held in the hall of the school-house, 
opposite the meeting-house, for want of a chapel or 
vestry, a need that was greatly felt, and which was 
provided for in 1856 by the erection of a neat and 
commodious chapel by the church, and attached to 
the rear of the meeting-house, with which it com- 
municated. 

On the 28th of July, 1873, the parish concurred in 





the unanimous call of the church to Rey. F. P. Chapin 
as pastor, at a salary of fourteen hundred dollars and 
the use of the parsonage. This call was accepted, and 
Mr. Chapin was accordingly installed, and remains in 
the pastoral office to the present time. An important 
event in the history of the parish took place in 1875, 
when it fell heir to a legacy of ten thousand dollars, 
for the “support and maintaining of the present re- 
ligious doctrines of the parish,” by the will of Mr. 
Joseph Loud, lately deceased, who for many years was 
an active member of the church and parish, and who 
thus gave substantial evidence of his good will. 

This ancient church has suffered greatly from cir- 
cumstances beyond its control; first, in the establish- 
ment of the Second Church, in 1723, its hundredth 
birth-year, whereby a large number of its active sup- 
porters were withdrawn; and again, in 1811, upon 
the formation of the Union Church of Weymouth and 
Braintree, a large part of whose members came from 
this church. Still later, in 1822, its membership was 
once more greatly depleted by the withdrawal of many 
to form a Methodist Church in Kast Weymouth; and 
last, in 1852, the most serious loss of all, in the re- 
moval of fifty-one members to form the Pilgrim Church 
in Old Spain. 


ing her resources and impoverishing herself in the 


Thus the mother has been exhaust- 


establishment of a family of vigorous and prosperous 
children ; but it has been at a serious cost to her, since 
the removal of so many members, and the decline of 
business in the village near, has reduced it from the 
one only church in the town to the smallest of six of 
the same fellowship. Yet she still keeps on her way 
and bravely sustains the burden that is thus cast upon 


her, doing her work with diligence and fidelity. 








CH AP DER? a; 
WEY MOUTH—( Continued). 


Congregational Churches (Continued): Second Church, Union 
Church of Weymouth and Braintree, Union Church of South 
Weymouth, Church at East Weymouth, Pilgrim Churech— 
Methodist Episcopal: Church at East Weymouth, Church 
at Lovell’s Corner—Universalist : 
Church, Third Churech—Baptist: First Churech—Roman 
Catholic: Parish of St. Francis Xavier, Parish of the 
Immaculate Conception, Parish of the Sacred Heart, Parish 
of St. Jerome—Protestant Episcopal: Trinity Parish. 


First Church, Second 


The Second Congregational Church and Parish 
in South Weymouth.—The causes that led to the 
separation of the town into two precincts, and the 
formation of the Second Church, have been already 
alluded to. 
other causes of dissatisfaction, gave rise to the deter- 
mination of the dwellers at the South to separate, 
while the opposition, steady and persistent, on the part 


The long distance and poor roads, with 


of the old parish and church, served only to solidify 
the determination, which resulted, in 1723, in an act 
of the Legislature established the Second Precinct, and 
on the 21st of June the parish met and organized. 
On the 15th of July a call was given to Mr. James 
Bayley, to settle with them, at a salary of seventy-six 
pounds, and a settlement of one hundred and thirty 
pounds. A church, however, was not formed until 
the following 18th of September. A meeting-house 
had already been erected, and Mr. Bayley had been 
preaching there probably for a year or more. He 
accepted the call, and was ordained Sept. 26, 1723, 
as pastor over this people, and remained such until 
his death, Aug. 22, 1766, a period of forty-three 
years. He wasa native of Roxbury, a graduate of 
Harvard of 1719, and served his first and only pas- 
torate in Weymouth. During his extended ministry 
there were added to the church in all two hundred 
He seems to have been much 
beloved by his people, and was held in estimation by 
the neighboring parishes. 

After the death of Mr. Bayley, on the 15th of 
January, 1767, Mr. Ephraim Briggs received a call 
from the parish, in concurrence with the church, to 


and seven persons. 


become their minister,,but with so strong opposition 
that he declined. 
supplied by five different ministers, each preaching 


Through that season the pulpit was 


several Sabbaths in succession, and in March, 1768, a 
call was given to a Mr. Fuller which was declined, 
after which Mr. Simeon Williams, of Raynham, 
preached for several months and then received a call 
which he accepted, and was ordained Oct. 26, 1768. 


590 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








Here he remained until May 31, 1819, the date of | 
his death. 
of New Jersey College of 1765. 
tended over a period of more than fifty-one years, the | 
In 1784 and 17835, | 


the old meeting-house was torn down and a new one | 


He was born in Eaton, and was a graduate | 


His ministry ex- | 


longest ever recorded in the town. 


erected. 

Upon the repeated request of Mr. Williams for a | 
junior pastor, on Dec. 14, 1818, the church called | 
Mr. William Tyler to that position, and on the 24th | 
of February following he was ordained, but the death | 
of Mr. Williams, so soon after, left him sole pastor. 
Mr. Tyler remained as pastor of this people until Oct. 


17, 1831, when he was dismissed at his own request, 


after a ministry of nearly thirteen years. For more 


than a year the church was without a pastor, and on 
Noy. 8, 1852, a call was extended to Rev. Charles I. 
Warren, who accepted the invitation and was installed 
Jan. 1, 1833, but, after a brief pastorate of little more 
than a year and a half, he was dismissed Aug. 13, 
1834, at his own urgent request and much to the 
regret of his people. It was four years after this be- | 
fore the office was again filled, and this period was 
one of great trouble that nearly proved fatal to the 
church. The difficulty was so serious that on account | 
of religious differences the church seceded from the 
parish, worshiping in a hall, and a new society, the 
Edwards Society, was organized. The breach, how- 
ever, was healed in 1837, and the church and parish 
united in the old meeting-house, although an unsuc- 
cessful attempt had been made to form another church, 
During the separation, a call had been extended to | 
Rey. Joshua Emery, Jr., which he declined. In 1836, | 
the society gave Rev. Mr. Biscoe a call, which he also 


declined. After the reunion of the church and society, 
in August, 1838, Rev. Wales Lewis received a eall, 
which he accepted, and was installed on the 12th of 
September. During his ministry there was serious 
trouble which increased to such a degree as in the end 
to cause his dismission, which took place in J une, 1847, | 





after a pastorate of about nine years. During the 


troubles in the pastorate of Mr. Lewis, in 1842, and 


as a consequence to them, a strong party drew off | 


and formed the Union Church and society, which be- 
came a permanent organization. 
After the dismission of Mr. Lewis Rev. Joshua 


Leavett preached for a time, and an effort was made 
to give him a call, but without success. There was | 
felt very great discouragement as to their future 
prospects, which gave way to a feeling of hope when 
Rev. James P. Terry accepted their call, and was | 
installed July 6, 1848. 


assume a more cheering aspect, so much so that in 


Matters at once began to 


| following 31st of December. 


the year of his settlement the present parsonage house 
was built for the benefit of the parish, and about five 
years later, in 1853, the present meeting-house was 
erected at a cost of about fifteen thousand dollars, and 
the church and society stood once more upon firm 
In February, 1868, Mr. Terry’s health gave 


ground. 


_ way, and he was obliged to suspend his ministrations. 


He was granted leave of absence for six months, dur- 
ing which time the people worshiped with the Union 
Church, under Rev. 8S. H. Hayes. In March of the 
following year, 1869, finding that his health did not 
improve, Mr. Terry felt obliged to ask to be relieved 
from his pastoral relation, and his request was relue- 
tantly granted. 

About the same time a plan for a union of the two 
societies and churches was arranged and an agreement 
made to adopt it, but it failed to be carried into exe- 
cution. Rev. Dr. Labaree preached for about a year 
and a half, when the present pastor, Rev. George F. 
Stanton, began his work here. He received a call to 
settle with this people, which he accepted, and was 
installed 27th October, 1870, and it was in the third 
year of his ministry that the church and society cele- 
brated their one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, 
The 


church is yet strong and vigorous, notwithstanding 


with appropriate services, amid much rejoicing. 


the years it has survived and the struggles it has 
encountered, and bids fair to live far into the future. 
The Union Religious Society of Weymouth 
and Braintree.—This society and the church con- 
nected with it, although its meeting-house is located 
a few rods over the line in Braintree, is comprised so 
largely of Weymouth people that it fairly deserves a 
place in this record. Its members were drawn mainly 
from the first churches of Weymouth and Braintree, 
who, on account of the considerable distance of those 
two meeting-houses and the increasing importance of 
the village of Weymouth Landing, coming from a 
rapid influx of population and the commencement of 
business enterprises, desired better accommodations 
for religious services. The society was formed March 
13, 1810, and the Hollis Street Church, Boston, 
then about to be taken down, was purchased, its ma- 


| terial removed by vessel to its present location in 


East Braintree, where it was rebuilt, and, with many 
alterations, remains still as the house of worship of 
the people. The society was incorporated 21st Feb- 
ruary, 1811, and a church organized August 14th of 
the same year. A call was at once given to Mr. John 
Frost, who declined it. In the following November, 
Mr. Daniel A. Clark was invited to a settlement. 
He accepted the invitation, and was ordained on the 
After a short pastorate 





WEYMOUTH. 


591 





(less than two years), owing to the disaffection of a few — 
members of the church and congregation and a diffi- 
culty in raising his salary, Mr. Clark resigned, and 
was dismissed 20th October, 1815. After a year or 
more of financial distress, during which the pulpit was 
supplied from Sabbath to Sabbath, in January, 1815, 
Mr. Jonas Perkins, of Bridgewater, was hired for | 
three months, and before that time had expired he was | 
given a call, which was accepted, and he was ordained | 
June 14th of that year. 
ous ministry of forty-six years, at the age of seventy, | 


After a long and prosper- 


in accordance with long-expressed plans, he resigned | 
his pastorate, and the connection was severed 15th 
October, 1860. He remained in the village, taking 
an active interest in the affairs of his old church until 
his death, which occurred June 26, 1874. After | 
the resignation of Mr. Perkins a call was extended 
to Rev. E. Porter Dyer, of Hingham, Sept. 28, 
1860, which he declined. In the following Decem- 
ber, Rey. Lysander Dickerman, of Gloucester, was in- 
vited to the vacant pulpit, which invitation he ac- 
cepted, and he was installed Jan. 17, 1861. After | 
a very stormy pastorate of about six and a half years, 
during a part of which a bitter quarrel existed be- 
tween the pastor and about half of the congregation, 
which in the end seriously threatened the very existence 


of the church and society, his official connection with | 
them closed in July, 1867. The results of this quarrel 

were very disastrous, so that they had no pastor for 

about two years, when matters began to assume a_ 
better aspect, and April 1, 1868, Rev. A. A. Els- | 
worth, of Milford, was hired to supply the pulpit, | 
which he did very acceptably for about three years. — 
After this time, affairs having been somewhat accom- 
modated and extensive alterations made in the meet- 
ing-house, a hearty call was extended to Rev. Lucien 
H. Frary, of Middleton. This call was accepted, and 
Mr. Frary was installed April 13, 1875. He is now 
in the eighth year of his ministry, with a united peo- 
ple and a strong and prosperous society, that has, 


through his exertions, just relieved itself from a 
heavy debt incurred in the remodeling of the house, 
and which had seriously crippled it in its work. 
Union Church and Society of South Weymouth. 
—As before stated, the organization of this church | 
and society grew out of the trouble in the Second | 
Parish, from which the members of the new organ- | 
ization withdrew. The society was formed June 20, | 
1842, and the church November 1st of the same year. 
The meetings were first held in Rogers’ Hall, until a 
meeting-house could be erected, which was effected 
the same year. On the 3d of July, 1843, a call was 
extended to Rev. George Denham, which he accepted, 


and he was installed November Ist. This connec- 
tion was held until May, 1847, when he was dis- 
missed. On the following 17th of November, Rev. 
Willard M. Harding, having accepted a call, was in- 
stalled, and continued his ministry until 1858, when 
he resigned, and was dismissed April 8th by a coun- 
cil, which installed as his successor Rev. S. H. Hayes, 
who retained his position as pastor over that people 
until Nov. 17, 1870, when he asked and received his 
dismission. From February, 1871, to September, the 
pulpit was supplied by Rev. Henry E. Cooley. Dur- 
ing the years 1870 and 1871, a new meeting-house 
was erected, at a cost of forty thousand dollars, and a 
parsonage at a cost of four thousand dollars. A call 
was extended to Rev. James McLean, which he ac- 
cepted, and was installed February 27, 1872. He 
was dismissed May 29, 1876. Rey. George N. Mar- 
den followed him as acting pastor, from February, 
1877, to August, 1881. On the 1st of September 
of the latter year, a call was extended to Rev. Wil- 
liam H. Bolster, which he accepted, and was installed 
April 12, 1882. He is the present pastor. 

The Congregational Church of East Weymouth. 
—This church was formed from a division in the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, a majority of the soci- 
ety remaining and forming a new church, called the 
First Evangelical Methodist Church, the minority 
retaining the old organization and building a new 
house of worship. This church was formed March 4, 
1843, with ten members. In 1860, February 25th, 
it changed from the Methodist to the Congregational 
form, and joined the Norfolk Conference of that de- 
nomination. It is now, numerically, the strongest 
church of that order in the town. It has been obliged 
to enlarge its meeting-house, to accommodate the in- 
creased call for sittings. Its congregation is an 
enterprising and prosperous one, and its list of pas- 
tors, notwithstanding its comparatively recent date, is 
It has 
When 


the old society divided, the meeting-house was sold 


altogether too long to be here enumerated. 
also a large Sabbath-school connected with it. 


and torn down, and a new one erected upon the same 


| spot, which remains to-day, with the enlargement 


above mentioned. 

The Pilgrim Church and Society of North 
Weymouth.—The growing necessities of the pros- 
perous village of Old Spain were the cause of the 
The 
society was formed May 14, 1851, and a meeting- 


movement that resulted in these organizations. 


house erected the same year. 
ized March 11, 1852. 
Rey. Calvin Terry was called to be the first pastor. 
He accepted the call, and was installed May 18, 1852. 


The church was organ- 
In May of the same year, 


592 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








This connection was a very unfortunate one, on ac- | 
count of long continued and great dissensions with — 
the pastor, who, after much trouble and difficulty, | 
was dismissed Dec. 25, 1856. On Sept. 14, 1857, 
Rev. Charles E. Reed, of Taunton, was invited to the | 
pastorate, but declined. In the spring of 1858, Rev. | 
Samuel L. Rockwood accepted a call, and was installed 
March 12th. His ministry continued until July 31, 
1871, when he was dismissed at his own request, on 
account of ill health. He was succeeded by Rev. 
Louis B. Voorhees, who was ordained December 6th, 


same year, and continued his ministry until his resig- 
nation was accepted, July 1, 1876. On the 23d of 
November following, Rev. George Dodson, having 
accepted a call, was installed, and remained pastor 
1879, when ill health compelled him 
Rev..A. H: 
Tyler commenced his services as acting pastor May 
17, 1880, and resigned in the spring of 1884. In 
1881 a parsonage was built. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church of East Wey- 
mouth.—The first movement looking to the formation | 
of a Methodist Church in East Weymouth was made 
in 1822. The trouble in the old North Church, con- 
sequent upon the changes in religious belief of Mr. 


99 
23. 


until Dee. 
to resign the active duties of his office. 


Norton, the inconvenient distance from meeting, and 
the fact thata large portion of the people were gradually 
becoming restive under the severe Calvinistic creed 
then held by the two churches in town, induced a 
desire for more freedom in religious thought and 
belief. 
the new society erected its first meeting-house in 
1825. 
an enlargement of this building, which was made in 
1828: 
far from one hundred members were received from 
the North Parish. 
show itself, and the desire to be removed from the 


The first class was organized in 1823, and | 


The rapid growth of the parish necessitated 


During the first ten years of its existence not 
About this time trouble began to 


higher authority of the Methodist Episcopal govern- 
ment to return to the ancient freedom of the Con- 
gregational Church caused a majority of the people | 
to separate from the Conference and continue their | 
The 


minority, who preferred their original form, withdrew 


organization as a Protestant Methodist Church. 





and formed a new society, retaining the old name. 
They built their first meeting-house in 1844, and 


such was the increase that they were obliged to en- 
large the building in 1850. 
by fire 13th December, 1851, and, with its contents, | 
This was a heavy blow, from which, 


This house was destroyed 


was a total loss. | 


however, it soon rallied, and another house was erected | 


This 


becoming too contracted for the growing necessities of | 


in the following year, dedicated October 12th. 


the society, was enlarged in 1864. This building was 
also burned 23d February, 1870. Another, and the 
present, house of worship was erected on Broad 
Street the same year, and dedicated December 23d. 
It has free sittings. The church belongs to the New 
England Southern Conference. The society has also 
The present mem- 
bership of the church is about two hundred and sixty. 
It has been from its organization an energetic church, 


a fine parsonage, built in 1867. 


and the centre of good influences. It has also a large 
and flourishing Sabbath-school. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church at Lovell’s 
Corner.—The initial steps towards the formation of 
this church were taken in the autumn of 1866, in 
recognition of a long-felt need of that growing and 
prosperous village, when Rev. D. W. Waldron, pastor 
of the Congregational Church at Hast Weymouth, 
began there on Sabbath afternoons a preaching ser- 
vice (at five o’clock). This was continued as long as 
he remained pastor of the East Weymouth Church, 
and for about a year after. During the latter time 
the neighboring ministers preached there in turn. 
After this a regular pulpit-supply was obtained until 
a Congregational Church was formed, on the last 
Thursday in October, 1872. Rev. Joseph C. Halli- 
day, the first pastor, commenced his work there on 
the first Sabbath of the following December, and 
held the position until July, 1877, nearly five years. 
From that time until November of the same year 
In that month Rev. 
Henry P. Haylett, a student of Boston University 


(Methodist Episcopal), was engaged. 


there was no regular minister. 


During his 
pastorate the church changed its denominational con- 
nection and united with the New Bedford Methodist 
Episcopal Conference in April, 1879, and in April, 
1882, it was transferred to the New England Southern 
Conference of the same denomination, where it still 
Mr. Haylett was succeeded May 1, 1880, 
by Rev. Charles H. Farnsworth, who in turn gave 


remains. 


place, in the following year, to Rev. K. G. Babcock, 
A Sabbath-school was gathered 
by the efforts of Rev. Mr. Waldron, in the spring of 


the present pastor. 


1867, which has continued an active existence in con- 
This 


church has no meeting-house, but has held its services 


nection with the work of the church ever since. 


in a hall. 

The First Universalist Society of Weymouth, 
—This society was organized at Weymouth Landing 
July 21, 1836, in consequence of a desire on the part 
of many of the people of that village, then the largest 
in the town, for a wider privilege in the interpretation 


of the Bible than the belief of the Union Church 


would permit. Rev. Matthew Hale Smith was hired 











WEYMOUTH. 


593 








to preach once a fortnight in Wales’ Hall. 


A move- 


ment was soon made towards the building of a meet- | 
ing-house with such success that a house was finished | 
at a cost of six thousand four hundred dollars, includ- | 


ing land, bell, and furniture, and was dedicated Sept. 
13, 1839. Mr. Calvin Gardner preached on the next 
and three following Sabbaths. 
was the pastor from November, 1839, to April 1, 
1841. 


Rev. John S. Barry | 


| 
{ 


He was succeeded at once by Rev. John M. | 


Spear, who remained until April, 1845, when he | 


closed his service, and was followed by Rev. Mr. 
Coffin until November of the same year, when Rey. 
Mr. Dennis supplied the pulpit. In 1846, Rey. Mr. 
Barry returned, and remained as minister until Jan. 


1, 1850. He was then succeeded by Rev. Mr. 


| alternate Sabbaths in Harmonial Hall. 


Hemphill and others, for about two years, when Rev. | 


D. P. Livermore was hired, and remained about two 
years. After him Rev. Mr. Davenport preached for 
a year, whose successor was Rey. Charles Mellen, who 
remained from April, 1855, to April, 1860, when the 


pulpit was supplied for a year and a half by Rev. D. | 


T. Goddard. Following him there was no regular 
Brown was engaged, and held the position until Sep- 
tember, 1869. 
B. Davis became pastor, and continued in that posi- 
tion from October, 1871, to April, 1873,—a year and 
a half. Rev. L. 8. Crosley was the next pastor, be- 
ginning his service November, 1876, and closing 
March, 1878. The next pastor, Rey. Anson Titus, 
Jr., began his work November, 1878, and ended 
April, 1883, having charge also for the greater part 
of the time, first of the church in Old Spain, and 
then of that in South Weymouth. 
worships in its original meeting-house on Washington 
Street, and its present pastor, recently engaged, is 
Rev. B. F. Eaton, who has the charge also of the 
West Scituate Society. 

The Second Universalist Society of South 
Weymouth.—The first services in the Universalist 


faith in South Weymouth were held in Columbian | 


Hall in 1835, during the trouble in the Second 
Congregational Church, when Rev. Sylvanus Cobb 
preached for a time. There was then no organization, 
the movement meeting with bitter opposition, and it 
was not until 1848 that an association was formed 


known as the ‘Washington Corporation,” out of 


which grew the Second Universalist Society. Rev. 
John Parker, the first regularly settled pastor, was 
installed in 1849, and remained in that service for six 
years. 
1850. 


38 


stalled on Sunday evening, July 8, 1855, and re- 
tained his position for more than fourteen years, when 
he was succeeded by Rev. Jacob Baker, who was in- 
stalled in 1869. His term of service extended overa 
period of nine years, to 1878, since which time there 
have been several pastors,—Revs. EH. A. Perry, An- 
son Titus, B. F. Bowles, the present pastor, and 
others. 

The Third Universalist Society of North Wey- 
mouth.—This society was organized Nov. 19, 1853, 
and a Sabbath-school gathered on the succeeding fast- 
day. The first minister was Rev. R. L. Killam, of 
Scituate, who commenced April 1, 1855, preaching on 
His term of 
During the next. 
year only evening services were held, conducted by 
different clergymen, after which Rev. E. H. Hawes, 
of Stoughton, supplied the pulpit on alternate Sab- 
baths for one year, beginning May 1, 1859, and Rev. 
R. L. Killam for the summer following. 


service continued for three years. 


During the ten succeeding years the services were 


_ conducted by clergymen of Weymouth and the neigh- 
minister until April, 1864, when Rev. Miss Olympia | 


After an interval of two years, Rev. 


boring towns. Rev. G. W. Skinner, of Quincy, was 
the next preacher, his work dating from April 1, 1871, 
and continuing one year, when he was followed by 
Rev. G. W. Whitney, of Quincy, who was pastor 
from April 1, 1872, to July 1,1878. During his 
ministry a chapel was erected, which was dedicated 
Jan. 16, 1873, and a church of twenty-two members 


was formed June 28, 1874. Mr. Whitney was suc- 


ceeded by Rev. Anson Titus, Jr., of Weymouth 
_ Landing, who preached from September, 1878, to 


| 


| July 1, 1880, when he resigned his position. 
This society still | 


Rev. 
KE. A. Perry was pastor from the latter date to April 


| 1, 1882, the present pastor, Rev. R. T. Sawyer, of 


Quincey, commencing his labors on September 3d of 
the same year. 

The First Baptist Church and Society in Wey- 
mouth.—The first movement towards a union of the 
members of the Baptist denomination and those favor- 
ing its belief, for some kind of associated effort on 
behalf of their special views, in the village of Wey- 
mouth Landing, was made in the years 1851-52, in 
the establishment of a regular weekly prayer-meeting, 


and, also, of a sewing circle, the proceeds of whose 


labors were devoted to the renting of Union Hall, 
where preaching services were held as often as circum- 
stances would permit by the Baptist ministers of the 


neighboring towns. After a little more than a year 


| arrangements were made with Messrs. Leander P. 


During his pastorate a chapel was erected, in 


Gurney and Noah Fullerton, of the South Abington 


| Church, for regular preaching on the Sabbath; and, 
The next pastor, Rev. Elmer EK. Hewitt, was in- | 


on the 13th of March, of the same year, a Sabbath- 


594 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





school was commenced. 
produced the desire fora church, which was formed 


on Feb. 7, 1854, but it was not until June 21, 1855, | 


that the society was organized and the congregation 
became fully equipped for its work. Rev. H. C. 
Coombs, of Middleborough, supplied the pulpit for a 
few weeks, when it was placed under the care of Rev. 


: : | 
This state of things soon 


ished and occupied, and the audience-room of the 
church itself has been in use for a year or two. 

The Parish of the Immaculate Conception, at East 
Weymouth, was formed, and a church built in 1879, 
dedicated November 23d. In 1881, a parish was 


constituted in Old Spain, called the Parish of Saint 


Henry Fitz, missionary of the State Convention, and | 


its preachers were mainly from the Newton Theologi- 
cal Seminary. The first pastor was Rev. Andrew 
Dunn, of Bridgewater, who commenced his labors 
April 1, 1855, and a chapel was erected, which was 
dedicated on July 12th. Mr. Dunn remained as pas- 


| 


Rev. Father Smyth 
had charge of all these parishes (with one or more 
assistants) until 1882, when Rev. Father Millrick was 
placed over the Parishes of the Immaculate Conception 
and Saint Jerome, Father Smyth retaining the other 
two until 1883, when he was succeeded by Rev. Father 


Jerome, and a church erected. 


| Murphy, the present incumbent. 


tor of the church until Jan. 31, 1858, and was suc- | 


ceeded on May Ist by Rev. Levi A. Abbott, of Mil- 
ford, who continued with the people for five years, 
untilthe end of May, 1863. On Nov. 1, 1863, Rev. 
Gideon Cole, of Sheldonville, having accepted a call 
commenced his work in this place. During his pas- 
torate a new meeting-house was built on Washington 
and Broad Streets, nearly opposite the chapel, and 
dedicated Jan. 31, 1866. 
the spring of 1871 by Rev. C. H. Rowe, who was 
followed in the autumn of 1874 by Rev. W. C. 
Wright. 
years, when he was dismissed, and a call extended to 
Rev. P. A. Nordell was accepted, who began work 
in the spring of 1878, which he continued until 1882, 
when he resigned, and was succeeded by Rev. Seth 
J. Axtell, the present pastor. 

Roman Catholic.—The Parish of St. 
Xavier was the first parish of this demonination, and 
The first 
priests of the parish were Rev. Fathers Roddan and 


Mr. Cole was succeeded in 


He remained in the pastorate about four 


Francis 


embraced territorially the whole town. 


Episcopalian—The Trinity Church at Wey- 
mouth Landing.—This parish was organized Nov. 
11, 1867, at the time and in consequence of the 
trouble in the Union Congregational Church, in con- 
nection with the Rev. 8. Dickerman. Services had 
been held in Williams’ Hall, as early as July 7th of 
that year. On September 10th, the homestead of the 
late Atherton W. Tilden, on Front Street, was pur- 
chased, and the house reconstructed into a church. 


These changes were completed, and the first service 


held there Dec. 8, 1867, but the church was not con- 
secrated until May 21, 1874. From March 4th to 


| July Ist of that year, 1867, Rev. S. R. Slack, of 


South Boston, was the officiating clergyman, when 
Rev. Mr. Burroughs was called to the rectorship, 
which he resigned Oct. 1, 1868, and was succeeded 


| in December by Rev. T. W. Street, who in turn gave 


Lynch, who came to the town in 1851, and the first | 
services were held in East Weymouth that same year, | 


in private houses. 
worship was changed and services were held in Tirrell’s 
Hall, at Weymouth Landing. In 1854, Rev. Father 


Roach took charge of the parish, but it was not until 


After a few months the place of 


| 


way to Rev. F. O. Barstow, December, 1869. He 
was followed in June, 1870, by Rev. W. I’. Lhoyd, 
who resigned in 1873, and was succeeded by Rev. 
William C. Winslow, who remained but one year. 
The next rector was Rev. Samuel R. Slack, in June, 
1874, who retained that position until April 12, 
1877, when he resigned, and was followed by Rev. 


John A. Jerome, who occupied the position until 
| March, 1883. In November, of this year, Rev. 


1859 that the first church was erected, which was | 


located upon Middle Street, not far below the town | 


hall. - Father Roach was succeeded, in 1866, by Rev. 
Father Hennigan, who remained until 1869, and in 
the fall of that year the church was burned. 


Rev. | 


Father Smyth followed Father Hennigan in 1869, and | 


soon after the church on Pleasant Street was erected, 
in 1870. In 1873, the Parish of the Sacred Heart 
was constituted at the Landing, the tavern property 
purchased and services held in the hall of the building. 
in 1876, a church of brick and stone was begun, 
which, when completed, will be the costliest church 


edifice in the vicinity. The basement was soon fin- 


| 


Charles L. Wells became officiating clergyman. 


CHA PTH Ravi: 


WEY MOUTH—( Continued). 


Edueational Institutions—Publie Schoolsk—Weymouth and 
Braintree Academy—Newspapers— Weymouth Historical So- 
ciety—Social Libraries—Mutual Library Associations— 


Tufts’ Library. 

Next in importance to the ecclesiastical interests 
come those of education, of which the public schools 
form the prominent feature ; and for these the town 








er wees: 





WEYMOUTH. 


595 





has always taken special care. In the early days of 


its history the records are exceedingly brief, and only 


slight and incidental mention is made of many things — 


of which now there is great need of fuller informa- 
tion. The first notice of matters connected with 
schools occurs on March 10, 1651, when the town 
voted to pay Capt. Perkins ten pounds for six months 
schooling. Capt. William Perkins was a prominent 
man in town in those days, being “ townsman,” and 
probably held other important offices. In subsequent 
history it was found that it was to men of this char- 
acter that the town intrusted the education of its 
children. 


| year. 


It is a singular fact, and one which shows that the | 


interest of the town in education was not confined to 


its own borders, that the second mention should be | 


that of asubscription of ten pounds, sixteen shillings, 
and sixpence by Weymouth to Cambridge College, 
in 1652. After Capt. Perkins, the next school- 
master named is William Chard, who was also town 
clerk, and attended to the drawing up of such legal in- 
struments as the necessities of the people demanded. 
He is first mentioned in that capacity April 10, 1667, 
where the town voted him three pounds and ten shil- 
lings, the rent of the flats in addition to his other pay. 
On the 25th of August thirty shillings was also 
added. On Nov. 29, 1669, he was engaged at ten 
pounds per year, probably employed only a portion of 
the time. He was also sexton, and the pay of both 
offices was sometimes included in one vote. On Sept. 
18, 1678, his pay had advanced to twenty-four pounds, 
and the town was to furnish a school-room. The se- 
lectmen with the elders were also ‘“ to rate each pay- 
scholar for his benefit.” The next year a house and 
orchard were rented for him at forty-five shillings, 
and in 1680 the house of James Stewart was bought 
for forty pounds for the use of the schoolmaster; 
this was to be paid for by subscription, which failed, 
and a tax was laid for it. In the following year, 
1681, a school-house was built on a part of the land 
bought of Capt. John Holbrook, the other part of 
which was afterwards occupied by the new meeting- 
house erected in 1682. The house with the furnishing 
cost thirty-six pounds. In 1684 Mr. Chard’s salary 
was advanced to thirty-three pounds and fourteen 
shillings. His duties were “to keep a free-school 
and teach all children and servants sent to him to 
read, write, and cast accounts.” 

On Nov. 28, 1687, for some reason the town 
voted “not to continue Mr. Chard in the work of a 
public schoolmaster at the public charge, but he is 


at liberty to use the dwelling and school-house until | 


next March meeting, for which he is to ring the bell 


_his own house. 





and sweep the meeting-house.”” Probably this was 


for want-of funds, as he was in office during the 


year 1689, and continued a town schoolmaster until 
1696, when he removed to Abington. Mr. John 
Copp was appointed to succeed him at thirty pounds 
per year, and he was also chosen town clerk the same 
Mr. Copp does not appear to have remained 
in his position quite two years. At the March meet- 
ing, 1697, the town voted that “parents shall pay 
three shillings for each child sent to school between 
the ages of eight and fourteen years.’ This was to 
pay in part the schoolmaster’s salary, the remainder 
to be made up bya tax upon all who lived within two 
miles of the school-house. By this time the increase 
of scholars was so large that the town found it neces- 
sary to employ more teachers, and Joseph Dyer was 
employed to teach in the school-house, with John 
King as assistant, and Edward Bate was to teach in 
To follow the precedent, now well 
established, Edward Bate was elected town clerk. 
The pay of schoolmaster was to be not over thirty 


pounds, one-third of which was to be paid by those 
_who sent their children to school and the remainder 


| house was built at a cost of £4 


by tax. The next year the whole was raised by tax, 
and John Torrey was employed, probably, in the 
place of John King, as Edward Bate still retained his 
position the following year, 1699, and later Torrey 
appears as Bate’s assistant. 

During the summer of 1700, five women were en- 
gaged to teach school for six months at twenty-five 
shillings each, besides the usual rate paid by those 
who sent children. On the 21st of October of that 
year Samuel Hunt, son of Col. Hunt, was hired as 
schoolmaster at £15 10s. in money for six months, or 
twenty-three pounds “as the ratesrun.” In January, 
1705, Ebenezer White, of Dorchester, was appointed 
schoolmaster for half a year at fifteen pounds, and on 
March 3, 1707, Thomas Thornton was engaged at 
twenty-five pounds, of fifteen pennyweights each 
(silver). To him, in 1709, succeeded John Torrey at 
fifty shillings per month. In 1717 school was kept 
in each school-house four months, and it seemed that 
now there was a school-house in the south part of 
the town. 
year. In September, 1719, Ebenezer Rolie was hired 
for a year at £42 10s., and Mr. Calder in 1723, at 
And this year, 


John Galt was teacher for a part of this 


the same price. 723, a new school- 


1 
2 Ts. 1l1d., between 
Joseph Lovell’s and John Shaw’s. Mr. Calder taught 
two months here, and two months in the North 
school-house. In 1729 it was voted that the South 
Precinct should have a school one-third of the year, 


and be at the charge of having a school-house, and 


596 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





the North two-thirds of the year. In May, 1730, | 
Joseph Torrey was hired as schoolmaster at fifty | 


pounds. 

After the division of the town into two precincts, 
a large part of the school business was transacted at 
the precinct meeting, the town appropriating money 
and dividing it between them according to the 
amount paid by each. The appropriations commenc- 
fag in 1733, at seventy-five pounds, had risen, in 
1800, to five hundred dollars. A new school-house 
was built by the North Precinct in 1730, where the 
old one stood near the meeting-house, and Hazara 
Whitemarsh was the schoolmaster. 
ate of Harvard, also town clerk and selectman, one | 
of the fathers of the town. He continued his posi- 
tion as schoolmaster until 1760, teaching sometimes | 
in one precinct and sometimes in the other, according 
to the various votes of the town. During this time 
the precincts maintained their separate woman’s 
schools. In 1760 the name of David Wyre appears 
upon the record as schoolmaster, and in 1769 and | 
1770, Mr. Lemuel Cushing taught for about a year. 
Mr. James Blake, A.B., also taught a few months 
about this time. The necessities of the times during 
the Revolutionary war rendered the raising of money | 
very difficult, and probably the school interest among | 
others suffered in consequence. There is no other | 
teacher mentioned by name until Dec. 11, 1780, when 
Samuel Reed was engaged to teach in the North Pre- 
cinct, “at his offer,” six shillings per week in money, 
‘or its equivalent in necessaries at prices before the 
war.” Jan. 24, 1785, Nathaniel Bayley, Esq., was | 
appointed to answer to the General Court on behalf | 
of the town for neglecting to keep a grammar school ; | 
thus it appears that the town had become a delin- 
quent in this matter, but the lesson was a good one | 
and did not need to be repeated. 

After the close of the war prosperity began to | 
dawn upon the town; the schools soon felt the im- | 





He was a gradu- | 





petus, and new houses were built and new schools 
established in various parts. Samuel Reed and James 
Humphrey (3d) were employed at two pounds per week, 


and the latter to have three shillings per week extra, 


“he. having been at the expense of fitting himself 


for a grammar-school teacher.” Both of these were 
men of mark in town as well as schoolmasters, having 
been town clerks, selectmen, and also village no- 
taries. Both held long terms of service as school- 
teachers, with excellent reputation. 

In 1796, the school system, which had been sufh- | 
cient for the needs of the town in its earlier days, was | 
found to be greatly wanting, and a committee was | 
chosen to take the whole subject into consideration 


| appropriated for school purposes. 


and report a new plan. This was done, and in 
1799 the town was divided into eight school dis- 


_ tricts, substantially as it remained for seventy years. 
| Each district was to furnish its school-house and 


teacher, paying its expenses from its proportion of 
The business 
was to be in the charge of a prudential committee-man 
selected by the district, but chosen by the town. The 
school money was divided, sometimes according to the 
number of families, sometimes according to the num- 


the school money raised by the town. 


ber of scholars, and sometimes according to the amount 
of tax paid, but more generally, a part equally, and a 
part according to the number of scholars. 

In 1810, the employment of ‘ Latin and Greek” 
masters was authorized, and also “ English masters 
who shall teach equivalent to twelve months in the 
year.” In 1814 each district was ordered to report in 
detail tothe town. In 1816, the “ alewive money” was 
In 1821, a census 
reported four hundred and thirty-four families and 
eight hundred and ninety-five scholars. In 1827 the 
town chose a committee of seven under a new State law, 
to have the oversight of the schools, or the general 
charge and superintendency of them. This was called 
the High Committee. They examined and approved 
the teachers, and kept a close watch upon the schools 
to see that they were properly taught. This system 
was retained until the abolition of the district system, 
in 1869, when this committee became the school com- 
mittee, combining its former powers with those of the 
prudential committee. The High Committee reported 
to the town at its annual March meeting, and in 1839 
these reports began their publication. In 1842, a 
second enumeration of the children of school age 


_ showed ten hundred and ninety-nine, an increase of 


over two hundred and four in twenty-one years. 


In 1845 the Fourth District was divided, and the 


Ninth set off from it. In 1847 the Tenth District 
was set off from the Second, and several years later 
the Eleventh was taken from the Highth. Various 
minor changes were made in process of time, but this 
arrangement was that substantially kept until 1869. 
Attempts were made at various times looking to the 
establishment of a high school, but without success 
until about 1852, when the town hall was built, in 
which a room was fitted up for that purpose, but it 
was not until the next year that the town directed the 


_ school committee to go forward, appropriating one 


thousand dollars for the purpose. Tor several years 
it was a matter of some doubt whether or not the 
school would succeed on account of the exceeding in- 
convenience of its location, being far away from nearly 
all of the scholars. Experiments were made, trying 








WEYMOUTH. 


597 











one school at the town house for a time, and then | 


changing to two schools, one at the North and one at 
the South, and it was not until 1865 that the present 


arrangement was permanently adopted, that of having — 


one school in each of the two sections. 


measures to carry the vote into effect, but the follow- 


ing year a return to the old system was made. Again, 


in 1863 the same thing was voted, and in the next | 


year rescinded. Thus the matter remained in un- 
certainty until 1869, when the old arrangement was 
set aside and the present town system finally adopted. 
The same indefinite attitude was taken by the town 
with respect to the employment of a school superin- 
tendent. The first one was hired in 1863, and from 
that time to the present, although a superintendent 
has been employed for the greater portion of the time, 





and was succeeded by Samuel Thomas Worcester, 
afterwards judge, with Miss Mary F. R. Wales as 
assistant,—this was about the spring of 1830. These 
were soon married to each other and left the school 


_ together. Calvin E. Park, a brother of Professor Park, 
In 1859 the town voted to abolish the district sys- | 
tem and appointed a committee to take the necessary _ 


of Andover, followed Mr. Worcester, and Miss Lucy 
M. K. Brastow took the place of Miss Wales. Mr. 
Eldridge succeeded Mr. Park, and was probably the 
last that taught for the corporation. There were 
several who attempted private schools in the build- 
ing, but, like the academy, they were financial fail- 
ures, and in 1833 the building was sold and con- 
verted into a double tenement dwelling-house, having 
previously been used for a short time by the public 
schools. The building was burned in 1844. 
Newspapers.— As far as information can be ob- 
tained, the first attempt at newspaper publishing in 


the town was made about fifty years ago, by Josiah 


so many changes have been made and so uncertain | 


the action that might be taken, that little benefit has 
been derived from the services of that officer. 
The treatment of the schools by the town seems at 


last to have settled down upon a more permanent | 


basis that bids fair to continue, and which will raise | 


the schools to a much higher plane than they have ever 
occupied. The town system appears to have little if 
any opposition, and the superintendency seems also 
to have become an established fact. That this is the 
true course is very evident, from the fact that the 


town has now 48 schools in operation, under the 


charge of 54 teachers, with a school population of | 


2006, between the ages of five and fifteen years, ac- 
cording to the report of the year 1885, necessitating 
Of the 


schools 2 are high, 12 grammar, 20 intermediate, and 


an appropriation of not far from $32,000. 


14 primary. 

Weymouth and Braintree Academy.—Feeling 
the need of a higher seminary of learning than any 
that had been sustained hitherto in the town, in the 
early part of the present century a project was under- 
taken by some of the prominent citizens of Weymouth 
Landing for the establishment of an academy of high 
grade, and an act of incorporation was obtained, dated 
28th of February, 1828, in which Cotton Tufts, 
Joseph Loud, Noah Fifield, and others, were named 
as corporators. A suitable building was erected the 
same year upon land donated for the purpose by 
Capt. Warren Weston, on the side of the hill a short 
distance above his dwelling, on the Weymouth and 
Braintree turnpike, and the institution was begun. 
The first principal was Thomas or Samuel Gregg, 
and soon after a Mr. Goodell was furnished him as 
an assistant. 





_ years. 


White, of North Weymouth, an amateur printer with 
) My ) Pp 

Only a few numbers were 
It soon 


very limited facilities. 
published, and those at irregular intervals. 
ceased to appear for want of sufficient encouragement. 
For many years succeeding this Weymouth was with- 
out a local press, although occasional attempts were 
made by publishers of neighboring towns to intro- 
duce their own papers here with a slight change in 
the form and with a local heading. In 1867 the 
Weymouth Gazette, published by C. G. Easterbrook, 
made its first appearance, and it has since that time 
been issued regularly every week. It has made itself 
a local necessity, and bids fair to become permanent. 
During the existence of the Gazette, several attempts 


_ have been made to introduce rival sheets, the first of 


these being the Weymouth Courier, which began its 
publication, in 1876, in East Weymouth, under the 
charge of Jones & Co. It survived about one year. 
The Weymouth Advance was the next candidate for 
the position,—started, in 1877, at East Weymouth, 
by C. F. David, and had an existence of about. two 
Spooner & Webster undertook to resuscitate 
the latter enterprise, but, after a few weeks, the at- 
tempt was abandoned, as was also the effort to revive 
the Weymouth Courier by Mr. Spooner. 

The Weymouth Historical Society.—This 
society was organized in the spring of 1879, by sev- 
eral gentlemen, for purposes indicated by its name. 
The growing interest in historical matters and the 
absence of any history of this ancient and important 
town encouraged the effort, and its object has been to 


collect and preserve historical material, mainly that 


Mr. Gregg remained but a short time, | 


connected with this town. Elias Richards, Esq., has 
been its president since its formation, and it has suc- 
ceeded in collecting a valuable amount of historical 


Pasa, 


598 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





matter. 
library of historical works. Its meetings are of much 
interest and are held monthly in the Tufts’ Library 
Rooms, where also are located its library and other 


collections. 


Social Libraries were formed in several of the | 


villages in the town in the early part of the present 
century, The shares were owned by the members and 
the expenses paid by a small annual fee. These proved 
of great benefit, but the foundations upon which they 
rested were not calculated for permanence, and in a 


few years they gradually disappeared. The first 


It has also a small but constantly increasing | 


permanent organization of the kind was the Mutual 


Library Association of South Weymouth, formed 


Nov. 13, 1863, with eighty members, holding about | 


one hundred and thirty-five shares, and a library of 
four hundred volumes, which has now increased to 
fifteen hundred. 
library was supported by annual fees, fines, and occa- 


sional entertainments. Since that date it has been 


Previous to Dec. 24, 1881, the | 


free to the public, depending upon private contribu- | 


tious and extra entertainments for its support. It is 
well patronized and promises permanence. 


The Tufts’ Library.—This is a free, public 


library, located at Weymouth Landing, and was estab- 
lished from a fund left by will, for this purpose, by | 


the late Quincy Tufts, and his sister, Miss Susan 
Tufts, grandchildren of Dr. Cotton Tufts, one of 
Weymouth’s most valuable citizens during the whole 
of the latter half of the eighteenth century. The 
estimated value of the fund is about twenty thousand 
dollars, and came into possession of the trustees 
of the Tufts’ Library in 1879, who immediately 
proceeded to apply it to its intended purposes. A 
part of the fund consisted of two buildings at the 


_ ployment of men “ to trayne” them. 


takers, thus making it available to all the people, 
although it is located in one of the villages. The in- 
come of a part of the fund was set apart by the devisee 
for free lectures upon educational matters, and two 
courses of these have already been provided. The 
library is in the control of a board of trustees, con- 
sisting of the selectmen of the town, ex officio, and 
others chosen by the town according to the terms of 
the legacy. 





CHAPTER LAT 
WEY MOUTH—( Continued). 


Military Organizations: Early Companies, Company for the 
Castle, Weymouth Light-Horse, Weymouth Artillery, Wey- 
mouth Light Infantry, Franklin Guards—Grand Army of 
the Republic: Lincoln Post, No. 40, Reynolds Post, No. 58 
—Societies and Associations: Masonic Orphans’ Hope Lodge, 
Delta Lodge, South Shore Commandery, Pentalpa Royal 
Arch Chapter—Odd-Fellows: Crescent Lodge, Wildey Lodge, 
Wompatuck Encampment—Knights of Pythias: Delphi 
Lodge—Knights of Honor: Pilgrim Lodge—Weymouth Ag- 
ricultural and Industrial Society—Other Organizations. 


Military Organizations—Very early, in fact 
from the beginning of the settlement, the necessities 
of the times called the attention of the people to 
military matters. 
themselves with arms, and to have some kind of 
organized associations to resist their savage enemies, 
who were ever on the alert to surprise them. Con- 
sequently, among the earliest movements recorded 


They were obliged to furnish 


are the formation of military companies and the em- 
The records of 


_ Weymouth show its interest and participation in these 
Landing, the lower story of one being fitted up for 


the library, and the income derived from the re- | 


mainder of the fund devoted to furnishing and sus- 
taining it. Books were purchased and arranged, 


a librarian engaged, and the library opened to the 


public the 1st of January of the year 1880, with | 


about two thousand three hundred volumes. Since 


then the library has been rapidly increased from 


the income of its funds and from liberal appropria- | 


tions by the town, until its volumes have reached the 
number of about seven thousand five hundred (Jan. 1, 


1884), and is one of the most valuable and best selected | 


for its size of any in the land. It is highly appre- 


ciated and extensively used by almost the whole body | 


of inhabitants of sufficient age; and the call has been 
so large from the other villages of the town that the 
trustees have made arrangements by which these can 
be supplied with the books without expense to the 


organizations in the first years of its existence. 

As the various wars began and ended this feeling 
became active or dormant, and new movements were 
made from time to time, as fresh occasions called 
for them. Of the earlier organizations nothing very 
In the first century of the colony, 


Weymouth had its troop of horse, besides its regular 


definite is known. 


enrollment of militia, covering all able-bodied men of 
military age, formed into companies and officered. 


This system, if the rude organizations can be dig- 


nified by such a term, continued for two hundred 
years. 
Near the close of the first half of the eighteenth 
century an independent company was formed in Wey- 
mouth for service at Castle William, in Boston Har- 


bor, under command of Maj. Adam Cushing. Its 


officers were Ebenezer White, captain; Ebenezer 


Porter, lieutenant; and John Porter, ensign; with a 


6 ee 











WEYMOUTH. 


599 





: . : 
roster numbering sixty-six persons, most of whom more prosperous than at present. 


were young men, from eighteen to twenty-five years | 


of age. A full list of its members is in existence at 
the present time. 


During the latter part of the century the troop of. 


horse was revived, and in 1798 the Weymouth Light- 
Horse Troop was regularly organized, with John 
White as its first captain, whose commission dates 
August 13th of that year. This company held its 


existence about a dozen years, and included on its | 


rolls a large portion of the active, prominent citizens. | 


The next organization was the Weymouth Artillery 
Company, formed in 1801, with Nathaniel Shaw as 


Its regular meet- 
ings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each 
month. 

Societies and Associations.— Masonic.—Among 
the most important associations in the town are the 
Masonic organizations, of which there are three. 

The Orphans’ Hope Lodge of Ancient, Free and 
Accepted Masons was instituted June 8, 1825; the 
charter was granted to John Edson and others. In 
1830, during the Anti-Masonic excitement, the char- 
ter was returned to the Grand Lodge, and Sept. 10, 
1856, was reissued on petition of Lovell Bicknell and 


others. John Edson was the first Master and Timothy 


its first captain, his commission dating October 5th | 


of the same year. This company enjoyed an active 
life of more than forty years, and was composed of 
the “first young men” of the town. 


about 1843. 


It disbanded | 


The Weymouth Light Infantry was a local organ- | 
ization, formed at Weymouth Landing in 1818, Levi | 


Bates being its first captain, the date of whose com- 
mission is recorded as Feb. 9, 1818. It was com- 
posed of the active men of the village, and continued 
its existence for about fifteen years. 


The Franklin Guards, of South Weymouth, was a | 


-local organization, as indicated by its name. 
captain was Samuel P. Bayley, commissioned Feb. 26, 
1822. The company was continued for ten or fifteen 
years. 


Its first | 


Gorden the first Secretary. From the return of the 
charter the lodge has always been in a prosperous 
condition and never more successful than at the pres- 
ent time. 
Landing, then at North Weymouth, and since at East 


Its meetings were held first at Weymouth 


Weymouth, always in hired apartments; but a new 
hall is now in process of erection by the lodge in the 
latter village, and will probably be ready for occupancy 
in the fall of 1884. The lodge numbers one hundred 
and sixty-six members. 

The Delta Lodge, at Weymouth Landing, was 
chartered July 2, 1869, by the Grand Lodge; the 
first meeting having been held on May 12th of the 


previous year. Edward Avery was the first Wor- 


| shipful Master ; N. F. T. Hunt, Senior Warden; A.S. 


Grand Army of the Republic, Department of | 


Massachusetts.—Lincoln Post, No. 40, named for 
our lamented President, was organized Jan. 2, 1868, 
at North Weymouth, having for its first Commander, 
Gen. B. F. Pratt, who had previously been a comrade 
of Post 15, in Boston. In August, 1873, it surren- 
dered its charter and united with Post 58. 

Reynolds Post, No. 58, was formed July 14, 1868, 
and numbered, Dec. 1, 1883, three hundred and nine- 
teen members. It was named in honor of Gen. John 
F. Reynolds, of the First Army Corps, under whom 
many of its comrades served. Its first commander 
was Gen. James L. Bates, and its present, Col. B. S. 
Lovell. Its charity fund amounts to $13,000; and 
up to the beginning of 1883, the post had expended, 
in relief and benefits to sick comrades and to widows 
and orphans of deceased soldiers, the sum of $6768.83. 


During its later years the disbursements for these pur- | 


poses have been about $1000 annually. The funeral 
expenses of a comrade, to the amount of $50, are 
borne by the post, in cases where the family or con- 
nections of the deceased would find it a burden to 
provide them. 


All of the members are uniformed. | 


The post is a most useful organization, and was never | 


White, Treasurer; C. G. Thompson, Secretary. The 
present officers are Alden Bowditch, Worshipful 
Master; HK. E. Richards, Senior Warden; John M. 
Walsh, Treasurer; Wm. 8S. Wallace, Secretary. 

The South Shore Commandery of Knights Tem- 
plar was duly constituted by charter Oct. 13, 1871, 
Z. L. Bicknell, Commander; George Wyman Fay, 
Generalissimo, and E. Waters Burr, Captain-General. 
Its place of meeting is at East Weymouth, and its 
present membership (September, 1883) is one hun- 
dred and fifty-three. Its present officers are E,W. 
H. Bass, Commander; William Fearing, Second 
Generalissimo; Charles N. Marsh, Recorder; and 
Andrew J. Garey, Captain-General. 

Pentalpa Royal Arch Chapter held its first meet- 
ing June 14, 1870,Stephen S. Bradford, High Prest ; 
William Humphrey, King; A. A. Holbrook, Scribe; 
Samuel A. Bates, Secretary. Its present officers are 
Francis K. Slack, High Priest; Joel F. Sheppard, 
King; John M. Walsh, Scribe; William Cushing, 
Secretary ; and its membership is one hundred and 
twenty-four. 

The Independent Order of Odd- Fellows has two 
lodges in the town. 

The Crescent Lodge, No. 


96 
32, 


at East Weymouth, 


) 


600 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





was instituted Aug. 22, 1845. It has received into 


its membership three hundred and forty-six, of whom | 


forty-five have died. 

The Wildey Lodge, of South Weymouth, was 
instituted March 9, 1875, with eighteen charter mem- 
bers, and has now a membership of one hundred and 
eighteen. Its growth has been steady and permanent, 
and it stands second to none in sustaining the objects 
of its organization. It has a fine building erected by 
its members, which, with its furnishing, has cost 
fifteen thousand dollars. In this building are a hall 


for the use of the lodge, a public hall, and two stores. 


The Wompatuck Encampment, No. 18, was origi- | 
nally organized in Hingham, but surrendered its | 


charter Feb. 2, 1851. It was reinstated at Kast Wey- 


mouth Oct. 27, 1875, at the petition of Stephen | 


Cain and thirteen others, with George W. Pratt, C. 
P.; A. H. Leonard, Scribe; and K. Chamberlain, 
Treasurer. 


Knights of Pythias.—The Delphi Lodge, No. 15, 


was organized Dec. 17, 1869, with thirteen char- | 


ter members, at Weymouth Landing ; was burned out 
Sept. 15, 1870, sustaining a loss of six hundred dol- 
lars. The lodge now occupies a fine, new hall, well 
furnished, and is growing rapidly, with a present 
membership of one hundred and twelve. 

Knights of Honor.—The Pilgrim Lodge, No. 
485, at Hast Weymouth, was organized Feb. 27, 1877, 
with thirteen charter members ; first named “ Cooper,” 
in compliment to its first Dictator, but two years after 
this, for obvious reasons, the name was changed to 
“Pilgrim.” Its growth has been slow but steady, and 
now numbers sixty members. This is a benevolent 
association, and pays two thousand dollars to the heirs 
of each member upon his death. 
is the present Dictator. 

The Weymouth Agricultural and Industrial So- 
ciety was formed Oct. 31, 1864, for purposes indi- 
cated by its name, to promote the interests of agricul- 
ture and industry. Its first president was James L. 
Bates, and its present, Alvah Raymond. 
about thirty-three acres of land in the southeasterly 
part of the town, upon which there is a_ half-mile 


track, with horse-stables, ete. Its stock is held at ten 


Frank W. Lewis | 





It owns | 


dollars per share, of which there are about nine hun- | 


dred, held by four hundred and seventy members. | 


and is in a prosperous condition. 

There are also several other organizations of similar 
character, among them the Hibernians of East Wey- 
mouth, a Council of the Royal Arcanum, at Wey- 
mouth Landing 


3) 


and many temperance associations, 


Temple of Honor, Reform Club, Good Templars, | 


Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, and others, 
of which fuller mention cannot be made for want ot 
space. 


CHAR LHR. hime 


WEY MOUTH—( Continued). 


Business Enterprises!—Mills: The Waltham- Richards- Bates’ 
Mill, Tide Mill, Tirrell’s Mill, Reed’s Mill, Loud’s Mill, Vin- 
son’s Mill, Dyer’s Mill—Turnpikes: Weymouth and Brain- 
tree, New Bedford, Hingham and Quincy Bridge—Rail- 
roads : Old Colony, South Shore—Expresses—T elegraph—Tel- 
ephone—Financial Corporations—Banks: Weymouth Na- 
tional, National of South Weymouth—Savings Banks: Wey- 
mouth, South Weymouth, East Weymouth—Weymouth and 
Braintree Fire Insurance Company—Manufactures: Boots 
and Shoes—Weymouth Iron Company—Fish Company— 
Weymouth Commercial Company—Ice Companies—Bradley 
Fertilizer Company—Ship Building—Bay State Hammock 
Company—Howe & French—Fire-Works—Mitten-Factory 
—Miscellaneous. 


Mills.— Weymouth has always, from its settlement 
by the English, been noted for its excellent mill priv- 
ileges. Mill River, from its departure from Great 
Pond to its mouth at tide-water, abounds with valu- 
able sites which have been improved during al- 
most if not quite its entire history. The mill of 
William Waltham is mentioned in his will in 1640. 
In the following January, 1641, a difficulty arose 
between Henry Waltham, to whom the property had 
passed, and Wealthean Richards, wife of Thomas 
Richards, whose husband was absent from the coun- 
try and had left her in charge of his interest. This 
was submitted to a reference consisting of Rev. Mr. 
Newman, James Parker, Esq., and Edward Bates. 
In 1642, Henry Waltham sold one-half of his grist- 
mill (the same property) to Joseph Arthur, of Wey- 
mouth, England, for one hundred and forty pounds, 
In 1651, after the death of 
Mr. Richards, who seems to have obtained posses- 
sion of the whole property, the mill was set off to his 
widow. ‘The town records of that date say it “ was 
on the road to Hingham Plain.” This locates it at 
Back River, below Whitman’s Pond. The mill (or 
mills) seems to have passed into the hands of Elder 


with other property. 


1 The portion of this sketch devoted to business matters is 


- s ° | CeSSé j yery ief, spac a i € li 
The society holds an annual fair upon its erounds, | necessarily very brief, the space allowing only a bare outline 


of important interests. Many are omitted entirely, among 
which are all of that class engaged in supplying the material 
wants of the inhabitants, very large’ in the aggregate, employ- 
Several of the smaller 


manufacturers are also unmentioned for want of room. The 


ing much capital and many individuals. 


compiler believes, however, that he has treated the business in- 
terests of the town as fully and fairly as can be reasonably de- 
manded in a work of this magnitude. 














Bates, and was used as a grist-, saw-, and fulling-mill, 
probably in two different buildings and a short dis- 
tance apart. After several changes the privileges 
passed into the possession of the Weymouth fron 
Company in 1837, which has since improved them. 


The Tide-Mill.—As early as 1669 the ‘“tyde-mill” | 


is mentioned. In 1682 it is called ‘ Nash’s grist- 
mill.” In 1696, James Nash, the second of the 
name, left it to his grandson, James Drake, from 
whom it passed into possession of the Burrells, and 
soon after, the Webbs, with whom it remained for a 
hundred or more years. It was used for mill pur- 
poses until the present generation. 
mantled, and the privilege is not used. Its location 
was on Mill Cove, on the easterly side of Fore River, 
and not far from the original Weston settlement. 
Tirrell’s Mill.—This mill is situated very near the 
centre of the town, ‘and dates from 1693, when the 
town granted a permit to Gideon Tirrell to set up a 
fulling-mill at ‘blade mill.” Whether the latter 
name refers to the name of the owner or of the kind 
It remained 
in the family of its original builder until quite re- 
cently, when it was bought by J. Loud & Co., and 
by them sold to Howe & French, the present owners. 


of a mill previously there is not known. 


Reed’s Mill—Following the course of the stream 
for about two miles towards its source, where it crosses 


It is now dis-° 


WEYMOUTH. 





601 





1837, and afterwards for a time as a bucket- and 
shingle-mill. The property is now owned by Mr. 
Elon Sherman, and used as a box-factory, with 
about fifteen workmen. A few years since the old 
mill was burned and a new one erected. Mr. Sher- 
man has also, within a year or two, commenced the 
manufacture of paper cartons for shoes. 

Dyer’s Mili.—This mill is located on Marsh River, 
on Pleasant Street, and was probably built by William 
Reed before 1700. In 1716 it is named in the will 
of John Porter as the “saw-mill.” It subsequently 
passed into the hands of the Dyers, and was used by 
them as a grist-mill. Jt has not been used for mill 
purposes for about fifty or sixty years. 


Turnpikes, Railroads, ete.—The primitive means 


| of communication with Boston and other towns was 





the old Plymouth road, Reed’s mill is found, built | 
probably near the close of the last century by Jere- | 


miah Shaw. 


It came into the hands of Ezra Reed / 


| 


about 1811, and was used as a grist-mill until 1855, | 


when the present building was erected, which was | 
occupied by E. & C. Sherman as a box-factory for a 


dozen years. The upper mill was built in 1866, and 


was used as a saw-mill until 1877, when it was leased 


to Cyrus Sherman and used for the manufacture of | 





boot- and shoe-lasts, at which business he employs | 


about twelve hands. 

Loud’s Mill——This was probably the oldest mill 
above Tirrell’s. It was built near the beginning of 
the last century, and was known as Sayle’s mill. 


That family is now extinct in the town. At that 


by private conveyance,—horses, ox-wagons, and after- 
wards carriages,—with the sailing packets, the latter 
From 
the earliest times the packet was the favorite, being 


being the main dependence for this purpose. 


quicker, cheaper, and more convenient, and was in 
constant use for more than two hundred years, one or 
two of them always finding ready employment in 
As the roads improved, and 
the needs of the people became greater, the stage- 


passengers and freight. 


coach made its appearance and ran regularly between 
this town and Boston, until the necessity of still 
better roads for the accommodation of the increasing 
Turnpikes were projected 
in various places, and several were proposed that 
The conservative 


travel became apparent. 


should pass through Weymouth. 
element prevailed so strongly that the town strenu- 
ously opposed every attempt to locate one through it, 
Notwithstanding 
all the endeavors of the town, charters were granted 


especially those crossing the rivers. 


for three. 
The Weymouth and Braintree Turnpike, crossing 
from Weymouth Landing southeasterly to Hingham 


on the line from Boston to Plymouth, was chartered 


period quite a village clustered about this mill, of | 


which only the ruined cellars remain. 


The present — 


mill was erected in 1836 as a grist-mill by Mr. Loud, © 


where, in 1850, he commenced making boxes. 


He | 


still carries on the business there, employing about 


ten persons. This mill is a short distance above the 


Reed Mill. 


Vinson’s Mill.—This mill, formerly known as Col- 


son’s, is located not far from Great Pond, and was 
erected about 1765. It passed into the hands of 
Mr. Vinson, and was used as a grist-mill until about 


March 4, 1803, and opened for travel in 1805. This 
was continued for nearly fifty years, when, owing to 
the changed condition of things with new modes of 
conveyance, it was thrown upon the town, July 15, 
1852, and became a public road, now known as 
Washington Street. 

A second, the New Bedford Turnpike, obtained a 
charter 29th February, 1804, and was laid out from 
the Weymouth and Braintree turnpike, beginning 
about a mile from the landing, running nearly south 
to the Abington line, on the route from Boston to 
New Bedford. The northerly part of the road was 
never a paying concern, and before many years it 
lapsed into private hands and is now Main Street. 


602 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The Hingham and Quincy Bridge and Turnpike 
Corporation was chartered 5th March, 1808, and 
opened for travel, with its two bridges over Fore and 
Back Rivers connecting Quincy and Hingham, in 
1812. 
and tolls to vessels passing through the draws, were 
a continual source of vexation and contention, which 


These bridges, with their tolls from travelers | 


did not cease until the whole property was thrown 


upon the towns as a public highway, 25th September, | 


1862. 


were proposed and established, and Weymouth did 
not refuse to encourage such enterprises. Conse- 
quently 

The Union Bank of Weymouth and Braintree was 
proposed, one hundred thousand dollars capital con- 
tributed, an act of incorporation obtained, dated 


| March 17, 1852, and the company organized on the 


11th of April, with choice of Josiah Vinton, Jr., as 
president, and commenced business as soon as the 


necessary details could be arranged. _In 1853 an in- 
Raitlroads.—Succeeding these, and the main cause | 


of their failure, came the railroads; and the same | 


spirit that had opposed the turnpike came forward in 
great strength against the railroad, and the town op- 
posed every attempt to locate one across its territory, 
but the genius of progress prevailed, and in March, 
1844, . 

The Old Colony Railroad received its charter, and 


located its track across the southwest corner of the | 


town from Braintree to Abington, passing a little 
south of the village of South Weymouth. The road 
was speedily built, and was opened for travel 10th 
November, 1845. 


crease of $50,000 was made to its capital. On Sept. 
6, 1864, the bank reorganized under the United 
States National Banking Act as the Union National 
Bank of Weymouth, and Jan. 12, 1865, the capital 
was increased to $300,000; and again, April 12, 
1869, another $100,000 was added, making its pres- 
ent capital $400,000. It has a building of its own, 
and has always been located at Weymouth Landing. 
The First National Bank of South Weymouth was 
organized Oct. 31, 1864, in consequence of the in- 
crease of business in that part of the town, and to 


employ a part of the capital rapidly accumulating 


The South Shore Railroad soon followed the Old | 


Colony, its charter dating 26th March, 1846, and 
was opened to the public 1st January, 1849. This 
road crosses the town near the villages of Weymouth 
Landing, North Weymouth, and Hast Weymouth, 


the principal centres of population and business. It 
was run at first connecting with the Old Colony at 
Braintree, and was afterwards hired by the latter. In 


May, 1877, it was bought by that corporation, and is 
now one of its branches. 

The Express Business has grown in a half-cen- 
tury—at the beginning of which private teams were 
the only means of transportation aside from the 
sailing packets—until it numbers a dozen companies, 
employing scores of men and twice as many horses, 
requiring not far from sixty thousand dollars of 
capital. 

The Telegraph and the Telephone have also become 
indispensable to the wants of the inhabitants, several 


lines of the former running through the town, and | 


the latter being freely used by many business houses. 
It also is found very convenient for families. 
Financial Corporations.—The increase of mer- 
cantile business and the springing up of manufactures 
consequent upon revival of trade at the beginning of 
the nineteenth century demanded greater financial facil- 
ities than were previously enjoyed. In the circles 
immediately concerned there was not capital enough 
to do the necessary business, and exchanges were dif- 


ficult. As the grand panacea for all these evils banks 


there. 
its capital was $150,000. 
building it now occupies. 

The Weymouth and Braintree Institution for Sav- 
ings Was incorporated Feb. 16,1833. The original in- 
corporators named were Asa Webb, Whitcomb Porter, 
and Warren Weston. It began business the follow- 
ing February, 1834, Dr. Noah Fifield being the first 
president. By act of Legislature March 19, 1872, its 
name was changed to Weymouth Savings-Bank. Its 
assets, Jan. 1, 1883, were $565,432.06. 

The South Weymouth Savings- Bank was incorpo- 
rated March 6, 1868, in the name of Benjamin F. 
White and others, and commenced business the fol- 
Its assets amounted to $395,176.20 


Hon. B. F. White was its first president, and 
In 1866 it purchased the 


lowing month. 
at the last report. 

The East Weymouth Savings-Bank was incor- 
porated in 1872, and began business. On Jan. 1, 
1883, its assets were reported at $247,357.56. 

The Weymouth and Braintree Mutual Fire Insur- 
ance Company was incorporated in 1833. Asa 
Webb was chosen president; F. A. Kingsbury, see- 
retary ; and Ezra Leach, treasurer. After fifty years 
of active business, it is now closing its affairs. 

Manufactures.—For nearly two hundred years 
Weymouth was eminently an agricultural community. 
It had fine, large farms, well cultivated and produc- 
tive. A hundred years ago a much larger proportion 
of its area was under cultivation than at present, and 
many of the best farms of that date or earlier are now 


grown up to wood or bushes. Its dairies were cele- 


. 











WEYMOUTH. 


603 





brated throughout the State. 
of manufactures a new condition of things was called 
into existence, and the young men instead of follow- 
ing the occupation of their fathers began to learn 
trades, and the farms being neglected, the town grad- 
ually changed from agriculture to manufactures, and 
is now almost wholly given up to the latter. 

Boots and Shoes.—This interest largely predomi- 
nates, and employs more men and capital than any 
other branch of industry. 
of the present century there were probably not more 
than three or four persons who manufactured this 
class of goods for other than the home market, and 


| 


With the introduction — 
in the ponds of the town, and a contract was made 


quantities to pay well for gathering, began to be found 


with Thomas Hobart, of Abington, by a public sale, 
for the ore found in Great Pond at forty shillings per 
ton, with an agreement to defend him against any 
claims for damages that might be advanced by other 
parties who might contest the town’s right to the ore ; 
a committee was also chosen by the town to prosecute 


_any others who should be found taking ore from this 


As late as the beginning | 


pond. 
This contract remained in force until the 20th of 
May, 1773, when a lease was given to Mr. Hobart 


for thirty years, at sixty pounds per year, for the 


those only gave employment to a few apprentices, be- 


sides what they could do themselves. These goods 


were carried to Boston market either upon the backs 


Whortlebury Ponds. 


of the manufacturers, who made the journey on foot, | 


or else in saddle-bags upon horses. The business 
gradually increased until it became necessary to use 
wagons to carry in the goods and bring out mate- 
The beginnings of this trade were at Wey- 


mouth Landing, spreading thence to the north and 


rials. 


south villages, reaching latest of all the east, which | 


now surpasses all of the others in the magnitude of its 
business in this line. 
it became necessary to employ a “ baggage wagon,” 


It was a whole generation before 


privilege of taking ore from Great, Whitman’s, and 
Ore has been found at various 
times and places besides, and attempts made to 
utilize it, but the quantities were so small and the 
expense of getting it so great that competition with 
more favored deposits could not be maintained, and 
the enterprises were abandoned. After the expira- 
tion of Mr. Hobart’s lease the town appears to have 
made no other. 

The East Weymouth Iron Company is one of the 
largest manufacturing establishments in the town. It 
was incorporated 4th March, 1837, with a capital of 


one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which has 


the clumsy pioneer of the present express, and the > 


buildings used in carrying on the manufacture would 
hardly suffice for offices at the present day, the goods 
being made wholly at the homes of the workmen, 
nearly all of whom had little shops in or near their 
dwellings, the work being prepared and packed only, 
As late as 1840, it was a large factory 
that produced five hundred dollars’ worth of goods in 
the week. About that period South Weymouth re- 
ceived an impetus from its Southern trade (some of 


at the factory. 


its manufacturers having gone to New Orleans and — 


established sales-rooms in that city), which placed it 


far ahead of its rivals at the Landing and North | 


Weymouth. ‘The increase in the volume of the busi- 
ness was, however, very large in all parts of the town, 
especially after the opening of California, in 1849; 
and the large demand from that State for this class of 
manufactures the town was forward to meet. From 
these small beginnings the trade has increased until 
there are now forty establishments, employing up- 
wards of two thousand five hundred persons, and using 
more than a million dollars of capital. 
production of the various classes of goods is about 
four millions of dollars in value. 
these factories furnish work for one hundred to five 


hundred people each. 


The annual | 


Six or eight of | 


Jron.—In the spring of 1771 iron ore, in sufficient - 


since been increased to three hundred thousand dol- 
lars. It owns the splendid water privilege at Bank 
River, at the foot of Whitman’s Pond. 
years it was exceedingly prosperous, making enormous 
dividends. 
ally declined, and it ceased for a time to pay a profit, 
but quite recently its trade has begun to revive and 
At present 


For many 


From various causes its business gradu- 


its prospects are again more encouraging. 
it manufactures only nails, and these have a very wide 
reputation. It employs two hundred and seventy-five 
men when running full. 

Fish Company.—In the early part of the seven- 
teenth century a company was formed by a number 
of the prominent men of the town for the purpose of 
carrying on “a fishing trade to Cape Sables,” and 
the town granted to it the use of ‘‘so much of Hunt’s 
Hill, with the lowland and beach adjoining, at the 
mouth of Fore River, as may be necessary for the 
As far as the record shows, this was the 
Of its 


purpose.” 
first joint-stock company formed in the town. 
history but little is known. 

After this, by nearly a century, came the ‘“ Wey- 
mouth Commercial Company,” in 1805, formed for 
the purpose of carrying on a foreign and domestic 
trade. This company employed a capital of not far 
from twenty thousand dollars, the shares of the several 
stockholders varying from three hundred to three 


604 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


thousand dollars each, Eliphalet Loud, Esq., being | 


the treasurer. It owned 


which were the ship ‘ Commerce,” 


several vessels, among | 


Capt. Joseph — 


Tirrell, the brig ‘“ Adamant,” and the schooner 


“ Venus.” 


had a prolonged existence. 


This company does not appear to have 


Ice Companies.—The ice business is carried on to | 


considerable extent, there being several companies in 


| 


| 
various parts of the town engaged in supplying the | 


local demand, while the “South Boston Ice Com- 
pany” cuts large quantities for export. The ice-houses 
of the latter are located at Great Pond, and have a 
holding capacity of forty thousand tons, from which 
they ship to Boston about twenty-five thousand tons 
annually. The season for cutting lasts from four to 
six weeks, during which the company employs from 
seventy-five to one hundred and fifty men, and from 
twenty to thirty horses, the quality of the ice being 
the finest in the market. 
business here in 1874. 
Lumber, Grain, and Coal.—The navigable waters 


The company commenced 





in 1872, for the purpose of manufacturing various 
kinds of fertilizers, successors of William L. Bradley, 
who had previously been engaged in the same _ busi- 
ness for eleven years. The company owns a large 
tract of land upon Hastern Neck, the northernmost 
point on the mainland of Weymouth, upon which 
they have erected about thirty buildings, with wharves 
and landings, where they employ about one hundred 
and seventy-five men, and are manufacturing about 
sixty thousand tons of their productions in the year. 
They also own and use the tow-boat “ Peter B. 
Bradley,” the largest and strongest in Boston Harbor, 
with five “ lighters,” two of three hundred tons each, 
one of two hundred tons, and two of one hundred 
tons each; also a brig of three hundred and fifty 
tons. 

Ship Building.—Although Weymouth has been 
during most of its history largely interested in mer- 
cantile marine affairs, owning vessels and furnishing 


“men, yet it has never been largely engaged in the con- 


struction of these vessels. 


bordering the northern part of the town have ever | 


been improved by the inhabitants as sources of con- | 


venience and profit in the transportation of passengers 
and freight. From the early settlement sailing ves- 
sels ran with more or less regularity between this 


town and Boston, as well as other places about the 


bay, but it was not until the present century that | 


there began to be anything like commercial adven- | 


ture. (Quite early in the nineteenth century the lum- 
ber trade was opened with the Maine ports, and several 
After 1826 
the trade increased rapidly, and Weymouth Landing 
became the market for the lumber traffic of the towns 


freights annually came into Fore River. 


lying to the southward for many miles. The business | 


- . . ? 
was carried on with enterprise and success for many 


years, and was a source of profit to the village, until | 
the opening of the railroads diverted much of this — 


trade to other places. There is still, however, a large 


Follow- 


ing the opening of the lumber traffic the importa- 


business done in this line at the Landing. 


tion of grain from New York and other places was — 


begun, and soon after, coal became a staple com- 


modity. All of these branches of business have 


been continued until the present, and are now prose- | 


cuted largely and successfully by several concerns, who 
employ large numbers of men and many vessels, and 
it is no uncommon sight to witness lying at the 
wharves half a dozen vessels ladened with coal and 
lumber, some of them carrying a freight of four or 
five hundred tons each. 

Among the various industrial interests not before 
named are the “ Bradley Fertilizer Company,” formed 


About half a century ago 
a ship-yard was established at Weymouth Landing by 
Atherton W. Tilden, which he carried on for a few 
years, and built a number of vessels of various sizes, 
some of several hundred tons burden. From that 
time until 1876 but little if anything was done at 
the business. In the latter year N. Porter Keen 
commenced the in Old 
Spain, near Hunt's Hill, and since that time he has 
built eleven vessels, sail and steam, averaging a cost 


construction of vessels 


of about forty thousand dollars each. There is on 


the stocks at present a large vessel intended for a 
four-masted schooner (since launched). Mr. Keen 
employs about thirty men. 

The Bay State Hammock Company, Augustus 
Beals, proprietor, has a factory in “ Old Spain.” Com- 
menced in 1876, making about two hundred per year, 
and now produces twenty-five thousand annually, 
employing about fifty workmen. 

Howe and French purchased, about ten years since, 
the old Tirrell Mill, where they manufacture fish 
glue, working about five months in the year, and em- 
ploying about seventy individuals. 

Fire- Works.—About the year 1850, Edmund 8. 
Hunt, of this town, began his first experiments in the 
manufacture of fire-works, but it was not until 1856 
that the business was fairly established. Since that 
time it has been carried on with success, and has a 
well-earned reputation for the quality and variety of its 
The factory is at, Weymouth Landing, 
and in the busy season employs about thirty opera- 


productions. 


tives. 


Tanning and Currying.—In former days these 














PO ey eye 


i?) (ae 


WEYMOUTH. 


605 





branches of business were carried on in many small 


establishments scattered in various parts of the town, 
but these have nearly all disappeared, and are repre- 


sented by three concerns, who employ in all from — 


twenty to thirty men. One of these factories, that 
of W. Humphrey & Co., has been in existence, under 
various owners, for considerably more than a hundred 
years. 


There are also three firms occupied in extracting 


the oil from the calf-skin skirtings collected at the | 


boot- and shoe-factories, and in bleaching them. This | 


business employs eight men, and extracts about two 
tons of grease per week. The work is done at Hast 
Weymouth. 

At South Weymouth, Clarence A. Hunt has a 


large factory, in which during the trade season he | 
employs one hundred and twenty hands, mostly girls | 


which to rest a full and thorough history of “ Wey- 
mouth during the Rebellion,” and is perhaps suffi- 
ciently accurate for ordinary purposes. 


A great many of the men here enumerated served 
in other organizations during the war than that 
to which they are credited; to name them all would 
extend the work too much for the general purpose ; 
that here given is usually one in which the first en- 
listment was made. The rank named is the highest 
held during the term of service, without regard to the 
organization in which it was held. When no State is 
named Massachusetts is understood, and the alphabeti- 
cal arrangement has been used to facilitate reference. 
The necessary abbreviations will be readily understood. 
The name being first given, then the rank, afterwards 
the branch of service, and last, casualties where any 
occurred. 


and young men, in the production of various kinds of 


mittens and gloves, including all kinds of leather and 
yarn work, about one hundred dozen being a day’s 
work. 

There are are also many small manufacturers of 
different kinds of which space will permit only the 
mention, among them a furniture factory at North 


| Abbott, Luther C., 8th Regt., Maine. 
Adams, George M., sergt., 35th Regt., Co. H. 
Adlington, Stephen L., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 
Adlington, Walter S., private, 11th Regt., Co. F; died. 
Allen, Charles H., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 


Allison, Walter, private at Watertown Arsenal. 


Weymouth, a factory at East Weymouth for the can-— 


ning of fruits, vegetables, and meats, several stamp- 
ing and gilding establishments; also others for 
making heels and counters for boots and shoes. 


CHAPTER LIV. 


WEY MOUTH—( Continued). 


Military Record, 1861-65.—The following rece- 
ord of soldiers sent by the town of Weymouth, Mass., 


Ames, William F., Ist Conn. Cav. 

Andrews, Edward G., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 
Atkinson, James, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 
Bailey, Christopher C., corp., 12th Regt., Co. H. 
Bailey, Orestes L., private, 4th Cav. 

Baker, Andrew J., private, 3d Heavy Art. 


| Baker, Calvin R., private, 33d Regt., Co. K. 


into the Union service during the great Rebellion of | 


1861-65, with the exception of a few errors corrected 


by the compiler, is taken chiefly from the town archives, | 


kept in accordance with acts of the Massachusetts 


Legislature, approved March 7 and April 29, 1863, | 


and is believed to be substantially correct. There are, | 
doubtless, errors and omissions, as it is almost neces- | 


sary there must be in such compilations, judging 
from the universal experience of the past. Names are 
extremely liable to error, since there are so many 
ways of spelling the same. Dates also are sources of 
difficulty, as all know who have ever attempted to 
verify them. Defective memories are exceedingly 
fruitful in mistakes,in matters that are not made the 
subject of record at the time of their occurrence. 
Much care and labor have been bestowed upon this 


list, yet it claims to be at best but a good basis upon 


Baker, Charles H., musician, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Baker, Howard, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 
Baker, William H., private, 13th Regt., Co. H; killed. 
Baldwin, Everett, private, 12th Regt. 
Barnes, Ferdinand J., corp., 35th Regt., Co. H. 
| Barnes, Robert B., private, 16th Light Bat. 
Bartlett, George, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 
Bates, Albert, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 


| Bates, Alfred L., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 


| Bates, Charles W., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Bates, Elijah R., navy. 

| Bates, James L., brig.-gen., 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
Bates, John F., private, 13th Regt., Co. K. 

| Bates, John W., lieut., 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. : 
Bates, Leavett, sergt., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Bates, Levi L., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

| Bates, Lewis D. 

Bates, Samuel A., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Bates, Stephen, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

| Bates, William L., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 





Bearce, Simeon, private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 


| Beals, Elias F., corp., 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 


Beard, Austin P., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
| Beaulieu, Moses, private, llth Regt. 
Belcher, Alfred C., private, Ist Cay. 
Bicknell, Anson F., corp., 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Bicknell, Charles E., corp., 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
Bicknell, Francis A., major, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
| Bicknell, Frederick T., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; prisoner ; 


| died. 


Bicknell, George W., private, 14th Regt., Co. F; wounded; died. 


606 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Bicknell, John Q.. 43d Regt., Co. B. 

Bienville, Lewis, private, 11th Regt. 

Bingham, Clarence V. 

Binney, Isaac H., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Binney, John, sergt., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Birmingham, Matthew, private, 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Birmingham, Richard. 

Blackman, John H., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; killed. 

Blanchard, Alonzo, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Blanchard, Alonzo W., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Blanchard, Charles B., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; prisoner ; 
died. 

Blanchard, Frank, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Blanchard, George W., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Blanchard, James B., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Blanchard, John, private, 32d Regt., Co. G. 

Blanchard, John, Jr., sergt., 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Mark M., private. 

Otis S., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Blanchard, O.S., private, 58th Regt., Co. G; killed. 

Blanchard, Thomas §., private, 32d Regt., Co. A. 

Boodrue, John, 43d Regt., Co. B. 

Bourne, Ezekiel P., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Bourne, L. V., private, 2d Art., Co. H; died. 

Bowditch, Frederick H., musician, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Bowker, James B., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; prisoner. 

Brady, Thomas, private, 29th Regt., Co. B. 

Bragg, Ira W., surgeon, navy; died. 

Bresnahan, Michael, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Briggs, Charles E., private, 14th Light Bat. 

Briggs, Henry H., private, 8th Vet. Regt., Co. G. 

Briggs, John H., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Brooks, Spencer L., sergt., 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Brown, Dennis, private, 9th Regt., Co. D; accidentally killed. 

Brown, George, navy. 

Brown, James, navy. 

Bryant, James A., corp., 4th Heavy Art., Co. G; prisoner, 

Buckmaster, Michael, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Buker, Leonard E., sergt., 32d Regt., Co. F. 

3urns, Francis D., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Burns, John W., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; prisoner. 

Burrell, Charles H., private, 3d Cav., Co. 1; wounded. 

3urrell, David B., lieut., 12th Regt., Co. H; killed. 

Burrell, John G., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Burrell, John P., lieut., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Burrell, Joseph H., Jr., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Burrell, W. L., private, Ist Heavy Art., Co. M; killed. 

Burrell, Martin D., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; prisoner. 

Burrell, Martin J., lieut., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

3urrell, Oliver, lieut., 35th Regt., Co. H. 


Blanchard, 
Blanchard, 


Burrell, Richmond. 

Burrell, Richmond P., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Burrell, Samuel E., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Burrell, William L., private, 14th Heavy Art.; killed. 
Cady, Benjamin L., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
Cady, Lorenzo, private, Ist Heavy Art. 

Cahill, Thomas, private, 4th Cav.; killed. 

Cain, Leonard W., musician, 56th Regt., Co. C. 

Cain, Stephen, musician, 56th Regt., Co. C. 

Calnan, John. 

Canterbury, William, musician, 12th Regt. 

Carey, Timothy, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Carney, Thomas, private, 30th Regt.; died. 

Carney, William, private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Carter, Galen A., private, 16th Regt. ; wounded and died. 
Carroll, John, private, 3d Bat., R. I. 


| Carroll, John, navy. 


Carroll, Michael, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 
Coughlan, Thomas, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 
Chandler, Bradford, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 


| Chapman, Daniel L., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
| Chase, Abial H., corp., 42d Regt., Co. A. 
| Chessman, E, B., private, 32d Regt., Co. H; died. 





Childs, John, private, 3d Heavy Art. 

Churchill, Joshua F., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
Churchill, Julius R., private, 32d Regt., Co. G. 

Clapp, Loring O., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 


| Clapp, William H., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 


Clark, Albert, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Coburn, Hiram S., capt., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Cokeley, Dennis, private, 9th Regt., Co. D. 

Cokeley, Humphrey, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
Coleman, Thomas, private, 24th Regt. 

Collet, Frederick, sergt., 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Colson, Frederick B., private, Ist Cav., Co. K. 

Conner, Daniel, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Conners, Patrick, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Cook, Thomas W., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; deserted. 
Coolidge, Amos R., private, 16th Light Bat. 

Coolidge, Francis E., private, 12th Regt., Co. C; killed. 
Coolidge, Frederick, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 
Coolidge, George H., private, llth Regt., Co. K; died. 


| Coolidge, Richard S., private, 11th Regt., Co. @; deserted. 


Coolidge, William F., private, 11th Regt., Co. K. 
Corban, Frank, private, 4th Regt., Co. C. 

Corban, Roswell L., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Corr, Owen, navy. . 


Cotter, Patrick, private, 4th Cav.; died. 


| Coughlan, Thomas, 42d Regt., Co. A. 


Cowing, Charles G., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 


| Cowing, Henry V., private, 11th Regt., Co. F; prisoner. 


Crocker, Charles A., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; killed. 
Crocker, Elery C., sergt., 42d Regt., Co..A. 


| Crocker, Enoch, private, 11th Regt., Co. F; killed. 


Cronin, Patrick. 

Cudworth, Benjamin, private, 42d Regt., Co. D. 

Cully, Andrew, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Cummings, William L., private, 4th Cav., Co. D; prisoner. 
Cunningham, John, private, 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
Curtis, Charles H., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Cushing, Alanson B., navy. 

Cushing, Alfred T., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
Cushing, Charles E., corp., 12th Regt., Co. I; prisoner and died. 
Cushing, David W., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; killed. 
Cushing, Edward, private, 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
Cushing, Elbridge G., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Cushing, Francis H., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Cushing, Frederick O., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Cushing, George A., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Cushing, George C., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Cushing, George F., private, 16th Light Bat. 

Cushing, Henry F., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
Cushing, John F., corp., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Cushing, Thomas B., private, 12th Regt., Co. B; killed. 
Cushing, William E., private, 11th Regt., Co. F, 

Cushing, William N., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Cushing, William N. (2d), private, 14th Regt., Co. K. 
Cushing, William Newton, private, 2d Cav. 

Daffy, Thomas, private, 42d Regt., Co. D. 

Daggett, Henry T., private, lst Cav. 


| Dailey, Israel A., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 


Dallof, Albert W., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 











WEYMOUTH. 





607 





Dalton, John W., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Daly, Dennis, private, Ist Regt. 

Dame, Joseph T., private, 32d Regt., Co. F; killed. 

Damon, Albert, Co. H; wounded. 

Damon, Isaac B., private, 2d Regt. 

Damon, Joshua F., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Damon, Proctor A., private, Ist U. Heavy Art. 

Damon, Zachariah, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; died. 

Davidson, Albert, private, 15th Regt., Co. C. 

Davis, George R., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Davis, Horatio A., corp., 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Davis, John, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; died. 

Davis, Leonard I., private, 16th Light Bat. 

Dayon, Michael, private, 10th Conn. Regt.; wounded. 

Davy, Manning, private, 38th Regt., Co. H. 

Davy, William H., at Watertown Arsenal, 

Day, Greenleaf, musician, 4th Cay. 

Day, J. H., private, 6th Bat.; died. 

Day, James B., private; died. 

Day, Joshua D., corp., 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Dean, Benjamin R., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Dean, Seth, private, Cabot’s Art. 

Deere, Elias H., private, 12th Regt., Co. C.; wounded. 

Delawney, Michael, private, 9th Regt., Co. C. 

Denbroeder, Adrianus, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Denton, Samuel C., musician, 56th Regt., Co. A. 

Derby, Alden, private, 12th Regt., Co. H ; wounded. 

Derby, Franklin, sergt., 4th Cav., Co. B. 

Derby, George, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Derby, Loring W., sergt., 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Derby, Thomas, Jr., sergt., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Deselit, Louis. 

Deshon, Jason L., sergt., 12th Regt., Co. H; killed. 

Doble, George H., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Doherty, Bernard, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Donahoe, Stephen, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Donnelly, Frank, private, 9th Regt.; killed. 

Donnelly, J. Michael, private, 28th Regt.; killed. 

Donovan, Malachi, private, 9th Regt.; deserted. 

Donovan, Michael, navy. 

Doran, Daniel, private, 33d Regt., Co. M. 

Downey, Thomas, private, 16th Regt. 

Duffy, Richard, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Dunbar, Charles H., lieut., 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Dunbar, David, corp., 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Dunbar, James D., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; prisoner. 

Dunbar, Warren, private, 12th Regt., Co. E. 

Dunbar, Willard J., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Dunn, John, corp., 14th Regt., Co. K. 

Duvall, Lewis, private, 32d Regt., Co. A; deserted. 

Dyer, William H., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Earl, Daniel C., corp., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Early, Edward, navy. 

Estes, Eli H., corp., 42d Regt. 

Estes, Herbert E., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Estes, Samuel, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Fahey, Edward A., sergt., 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Fairbanks, George E., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Fairbanks, Gerry, private, 16th Light Batt. 

Farmer, Charles H., private, Signal Corps. 

Farmer, William H., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Farren, G. W., private, 4th Cav., Co. B; prisoner. 

Faulkner, Harrison, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Fearing, Israel J., private, 14th Regt., Co. F; prisoner and | 
died. 

Fennell, James, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 





Fennell, John, sergt., 25th Regt., Co. A; wounded. 

Fitzgerald, Patrick, private, 11th Regt.; killed. 

Fleming, Michael, private, 11th Regt.; killed. 

Flynn, John, navy. 

Fogarty, William, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Ford, Charles T., private, 3d Heavy Art. 

Ford, James B., private, 19th Regt., Co. 1; wounded. 

Ford, Joseph B., wagoner, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Ford, Michael, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Forrest, Michael A., private, 2d Regt., Co. I. 

Foss, Benjamin F., private, 11th Regt., Co. F; killed. 

Fox, Owen, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Foye, Samuel §., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Fraher, Patrick, private, 2d Heavy Art., Co. D; prisoner and 
died. 

French, George W., corp., 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

French, Samuel L., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; died. 

Furness, John. 

Gamage, Theodore A., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Gammons, Frederick, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; prisoner and 
died. 

Gannett, Charles E., sergt., 35th Regt., Co. H; died. 

Gannett, Joseph H., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Gardner, Edward B., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Gardner, George L., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Gardner, Henry A., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Gardner, Jacob, Jr., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Gardner, Jason, musician, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Garey, Andrew J., capt., 12th Regt., Co. H ; wounded. 

Garvin, Edward, private, 33d Regt. 

Gay, John O., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Gay, Samuel E., sergt., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Gerrold, Alexander M., navy. 

Gibbs, Benjamin §., private, 12th Regt., Co. E; wounded, 

Gibbs, Elisha J., lieut., 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Gillinghan, James R., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Gillinghan, John, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Gloster, Patrick, private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Goldthwait, Charles, private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Goodwin, John M., at Watertown Arsenal. 

Goodwin, Samel D., private, 12th Regt., Co. D. 

Goodwin, William A., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Goodwin, William H., private, Nim’s Bat., Co. B. 

Gordon, Joseph. 

Gorman, John, private, 56th Regt., N. Y., Co. K; wounded. 

Gove, Andrew §., at Watertown Arsenal. 

Grant, Thomas, private, 12th Regt., Co. D; wounded. 

Graves, George D., private, 18th Regt. 

Graves, Joshua. 

Gunning, Amos J., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Gustin, George A. 

Hackett, Patrick, private, 9th Regt. ; killed. 

Hall, Edward W., private, 7th Regt., Co. F; died. 

Halligan, Edward, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Halloran, James, private, 35th Regt., Co. H ; wounded. 

Haley, John, navy. 

Hamilton, Lucius M., musician, 12th Regt., Co. H; died. 

Hamilton, Otis R., private, 14th Regt., Co. K. 

Hanley, Michael (2d), private, 31st Regt. 

Harding, Elsworth M., private, 4th Regt., Co. C. 

Harrington, Isaac N., private, 60th Regt. 

Harrington, Minot J., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Harrington, William, private, lst Heavy Art. 

Hart, John W., private, 3d Heavy Art. 

Hart, Michael, 3d Heavy Art. 

Hastings, Charles W., capt., 12th Regt., Co. H; prisoner. 


608 


2 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Hawes, Bradford, private, Ist Cav,, Co. K. 

Hawes, Charles, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Hayden, Albert C., private, 35th Regt.,Co. H; wounded. 

Hayden, George F., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Hayward, Charles W., private, 28th Regt., Co. G; prisoner. 

Hayward, Isaiah T., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Heald, Lysander, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Healy, Cornelius, 12th Regt., Co. A: killed. 

Healy, George R., private, 13th Regt., Co. C; died. 

Healy, Henry, private, 14th Regt., Co. K; wounded. 

Healy, James H., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Healy, William, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Hennessey, John, private, 3d Regt. U. S. Reg., Co. EH; wounded. 

Hersey, Daniel D., private, 32d Regt., Co. F ; died. 

Hersey, William §. 

Hersey, Wilson D., private, 18th Regt., Co. K; died. 

Hesse, Augustus, private, 9th Bat. 

Hewitt, Henry, private, 4th Cav., Co. B ; prisoner and died. 

Hickey, Kenneth, private, 12th Regt., Co. E. 

Higgins, Lucius. 

Higgins, Michael, private, 42d Regt. 

Hill, Boyle D., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Hobart, Otis M., private, Ist U. Heavy Art. 

Hobart, Thomas P., corp., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Hobill, Ralph, private, 11th Regt., Co. 1; wounded and died. 

Hocking, William H., private, 14th Regt., Co. K. 

Holbrook, George, corp., 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Holbrook, George A., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Holbrook, Jeremiah, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Holbrook, John Q. A., private, 42d Regt., Co. D. 

Holbrook, Richard M., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Holbrook, William, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Holbrook, William A., private, 4th Cav., Co. HE; died. 

Holbrook, William O., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Hollis, Adoniram B., corp., 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Hollis, Asaph L., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Hollis, George, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Hollis, Henry §., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded and died. 

Hollis, Isaac N., Jr., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Hollis, John F., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Hollis, John O., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. , 

Hollis, John Q., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Hollis, Leroy 8., private, 4th Regt., Co. C. 

Holmes, Jesse H., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Holmes, Lyman T., sergt., 35th Regt., Co. H; killed. 

Holmes, Marcus M., private, 11th Regt., Co. G@; wounded. 

Hope, John, private, 24th Regt., Co. K ; wounded. 

Houghton, Edzel, private, 16th Light Bat. 

Houghton, Oliver, private, 16th Light Bat. 

Howard, Henry, private. 

Humphrey, Clinton C., private, 8th Bat. 

Hunt, Henry N., private, lst U. Heavy Art. 

Hunt, James L., private, 55th Regt., Co. H. 

Hunt, John Q., corp., 55th Regt., Co. H; killed. 

Hunt, Samuel W., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Hunt, Webster W., 4th Heavy Art. 

Hunt,. William, private, 12th Regt., Co. E. 

Jacobs, Daniel, private, Ist Cav. 

Jackson, Nelson §., private, 14th Regt., Co. K; prisoner and 
died. 

Jaquith, Reuben, private, 16th Light Bat. 

Jones, Charles G., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Jones, Granville R. 

Jones, James G., Ist Heavy Art., Co. M; died. 

Josephs, Uriel, corp., 42d Regt., Co. A; died. 

Joy, George F., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 


| 
| 
) 








Joy, Walter H., musician, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G, 

Joyce, E. L., private, Ist Heavy Art., Co. M; killed. 

Keating, Thomas H., musician, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Keep, William J., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Keily, Timothy, private. 

Kelley, Thomas, private, 42d Regt., Co. C. 

Kendrigan, Edward, private, 3d Cav. 

Kenney, Bernard, private, 3d Heavy Art. 

Kennison, Benjamin R., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Kerr, Owen, private, 28th Regt., Co. C; wounded. 

Kilburn, Charles E., private, Ist Cav.; wounded and supposed 
dead. 


Kimball, Selden, private, 16th Light Bat. 


Kingman, Nathan, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Kirby, Patrick, private, 7th Regt. 

Kittridge, Paul C., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; died. 

Knights, Edward, private, 35th Heavy Art., Co. A. 

La Forrest, Frederick, private, 4th Regt. 

Lajoye, Joseph, private, 12th Regt., Co. D; killed. 

Lamson, Daniel, sergt., 35th Regt., Co. H; killed. 

Lane, §. Cushing, engineer, navy. 

Lane, Parker E., private, 4th Regt., Co. C. 

Lane, Webster, engineer, navy. 

Lantz, David J., private, 42d Regt., Co. A; prisoner. 

Larmay, Joseph, private, 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Larmay, Leander. 

Lary, William, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Lathrop, Hiram G., private, 12th Regt. 

Lathrop, Washington I., private, 13th Regt., Co. F; killed. 

Leach, Adnah G., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Leach, Ezra W., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Lemar, Joseph, private, 11th Regt., Co. EH; wounded. 

Leonard, Alonzo H., corp., 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Leonard, Charles H., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Leonard, Charles M., private, 11th Regt., Co. F. 

Leonard, John, 22d Regt.; died. 

Lewis, Edward, lieut., 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Lewis, George F., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; killed. 

Lewis, William A., private, 38th Regt., Co. D; killed. 

Lewis, William H., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Lincoln, Daniel, private, 32d Regt., Co. A. 

Lincoln, Daniel W., private, 4th Regt., Co. C. 

Lincoln, Samuel, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Lindsley, Frederick, at Watertown Arsenal. 

Lines, Patrick, private, 24th Regt. 

Linnell, Samuel D., private, 2d Heavy Art., Co. L. 

Linton, Augustus A., private, 11th Regt., Co. PF. 

Linton, E. Frank, private, 11th Regt., Co. F. 

Littlefield, Lemuel P., private, 14th Regt., Co. K; wounded 
and died. 

Livingston, George H., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Lloyd, Charles §., lieut., 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Londergan, Thomas, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Long, William, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Loring, Benjamin J., 5th Regt., Co. G. 

Loring, Charles H., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Loubey, Edward, private, 11th Regt.; missing. 

Loud, Byron W., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Loud, Francis M., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Loud, John A., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Loud, John F., sergt., 32d Regt., Co. F; wounded. 

Loud, Josiah E., private, U. Cav., Co. A. 

Loud, Livingston W., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Loud, Samuel R., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Loud, Thomas B., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Loud, William E., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 








WEYMOUTH. 


609 





Louney, Daniel E., private, 63d Regt., N. Y., Co. C; wounded, 

prisoner, died. 
Lovell, Benjamin S., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 
Lovell, Frank G., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Lovell, George, private, 16th Regt. 
Lovell, Jacob R., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Lovell, James A., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Lovell, William L., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 
Lynch, Patrick, private, 9th Regt., Co. H. 
Lyon, George P., capt., 12th Regt., Co. H. 
Macauley, Matthew, private, 12th Regt., Co. H; prisoner. 
Mahan, Jerry, private. 
Makepeace, Horace M., 42d Regt., Co. D. 
Mangon, Charles, private. 
Mann, George H., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 
Marden, Lewis C., corp., 42d Regt., Co. A; died. 
Marden, Newell, private, 29th Regt., Co. H. 
Marlow, Peter, private, Ist Regt. 
Martin, Edwin, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Mason, Adoniram J., lieut., 35th Regt., Co. H. 
May, John D., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Maynard, George F., corp., 12th Regt., Co. H. 
McAllister, Samuel A., 16th Regt., Co. G; died. 
McArdle, Patrick A., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 
McAuliffe, Dennis, private, 9th Regt., Co. I; killed. 
McCarthy, John, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 
McCarthy, John, private, 9th Regt., Co. B. 
McCauley, Dennis. 
McCue, Patrick, private, 14th Regt., Co. H. 
McDavitt, William, private, 16th Light Bat. 
McGill, John, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; deserted. 
McGill, Stephen, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 
McGrath, Michael, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 
McGuire, James, private. 
McGuire, Patrick, private, 9th Regt., Co. K. 
McGuire, Thomas, private, 9th Regt., Co. I. 
McKenzie, Daniel B., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. : 
MeMakens, John, private, 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
MeMorrow, Charles J., private, 11th Regt., Co. G@; wounded. 
Merchant, William F., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
Miller, Alonzo R., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Mitchell, George W., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 
Mitchell, William, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 
Moore, Martin F., private, 16th Light Bat.; died. 
Moran, James F., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Moran, William H., private, 3d Heavy Art. 
Morgan, Thomas T., private, 11th Regt., Co. E. 
Morrell, Charles A., lieut., 35th Regt., Co. H. 
Morreil, Charles G., corp., 35th Regt., Co. H. 
Morrison, James, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Moulton, Harrison, private, 2d Light Bat., Co. B. 
Munroe, Alfred C., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
Murphy, Eugene. 
Murphy, Jeremiah, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Murphy, Martin, private, 9th Regt., Co. B; wounded. 
Murphy, Terence, private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 
Murphy, Timothy. 
Murphy, William H., private, 32d Regt., Co. A; wounded. 
Nash, Aaron P., Jr., private, 12th Regt., Co. C; wounded. 
Nash, Elbridge, private, 44th Rest. 
Nash, Franklin A., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 
Nash, William C., private, 16th Light Bat. 
Nightingale, Thomas J., private, 11th Regt., Co. K. 
Nolan, Daniel, private, 16th Light Bat. 
Nolan, James, private, 16th Light Bat. 
Norton, Royal, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

39 








O’Brien, Richard, private, 9th Regt., Co. G. 

O’Connell, Maurice, private, 2d Regt. 

O’Conner, Timothy, private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

O’Conner, John, private. 

O’Donnell, Patrick, private, 42d Rest., Co. A. 

Oreutt, Augustus E., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; died. 

Oreutt, Benjamin H., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Orcutt, Charles, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Orcutt, George O., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; died. 

Orcutt, James M., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Oreutt, William, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Osgood, George W., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Parks, John, private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Parrott, Josiah R., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Parry, John, private, 32d Regt., Co. A. 

Pedman, William J., private, 14th Regt., Co. K; wounded. 

Perrigo, Charles C., private, 30th Regt. ; died. 

Perry, George H., navy. 

Perry, Henry, private, 22d Regt., Co. F. 

Peterson, Alfred, private, 35th Regt., Co. H ; wounded. 

Pettes, I. D. Howe, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Philbrick, Stephen K., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Phillips, Lewis, private, 24th Regt. 

Pierce, David J., private, 42d Regt., Co. A, 

Pierce, Eliot C., maj., 13th Regt., Co. H;: wounded. 

Pike, William, private, 25th Regt., Co. H; killed. 

Pond, Henry V., private, 60th Regt. 

Pool, Samuel B., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Pope, Charles A.,sergt., 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded and died. 

Pope, Clinton F., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Pope, Warren W., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Porter, Hiram, private, 29th Regt., Co. G. 

Porter, Jonathan K., corp., 12th Regt., Co. H ; wounded. 

Powers, Peter, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Pratt, Asa B., corp., 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Pratt, Benjamin (2d), private, 42d Regt., Co. D; prisoner. 

Pratt, Benjamin F., brev. brig.-gen., 35th Regt., Co. H; 
wounded. 

Pratt, Benjamin F. (2d), private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Pratt, Benjamin F. (5d), corp., 55th Regt., Co. H; prisoner. 

Pratt, Charles, private, 4th Cav. 

Pratt, Chester D., private, Ist Cav. 

Pratt, Francis B., capt., 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Pratt, Francis 8., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Pratt, George H., private, 24th Rest. 


| Pratt, George Hiram, private, 2d Cav., Co. C. 


Pratt, Henry, private, 4th Cav., Co. G. 

Pratt, Henry F., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Pratt, James, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; died. 
Pratt, Josiah H., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 
Pratt, Leander. 


| Pratt, Leonard, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; killed. 


Pratt, Leonard F., corp., 12th Regt., Co. H; died. 
Pratt, J. Quincey, private, 4th Cav., Co. B; killed. 
Pratt, Samuel, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Pray, Samuel, private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Pry, Thomas W., private, 3d Heavy Art. 

Prouty, Elijah, private, 4th Regt., Co. C; died. 
Prouty, Oliver B., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 
Puffer, James E., private, 32d Regt., Co. F; killed. 
Putillow, Frank A., private, 4th Cav.; died. 
Quinn, Jeremiah, private, 42d Regt., Co. D. 

Rand, James W., private, 59th Regt., Co. I. 
Randall, Martin L., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co.iG, 
Ray, William N., navy. 

Raymond, Bela T., private, 42d Regt., Co. I. 


610 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Raymond, Benjamin, private, 42d Regt., Co. I. 

Raymond, Charles W., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Raymond, Horace B. 

Raymond, James G., 4th Cay., Co. D; died. 

Raymond, James G., private, 42d Rect, Co. A. 

Raymond, I. H., BEEN 4th Regt., Co. C. 

Raymond, Thomas W., private, 4th Cayv., Co. EH. 

Raymond, Walter B. 

Rea, John D., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Rea, William M., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Reamy, Joseph, private, 4th Cav., Co. E. 

Reckards, Winslow M., corp., 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Redmond, Charles S., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Remington, Foster. 

Rennard, Henry F., private, 3d Cav.; killed. 

Reed, Franklin, private, 4th Cav., Co. B; prisoner. 

Reed, Matthew, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Reed, Salmon, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Reed, Thomas, private, 60th Regt. 

Reynolds, William H., private, 4th Cav., Co. E. 

Rice, Stephen L., private, 16th Light Bat. 

Rice, Urban, navy. 

Rice, William P., sergt., 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Richards, Benjamin F., corp., 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Richards, Charles L., private, 18th Regt., Co. H; wounded and 

died. 

Richards, Charles N., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Richards, David P., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Richards, George W., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Richards, Samuel M., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Richards, William H., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Richardson, Emery, private, 11th Regt., Co. F. 

Richardson, F. P. 

Riley, Michael, private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Riley, Timothy, private, 11th Regt., Co. D; eae 
Ritchie, Henry, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; died. 
Roachman, John, private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Robbins, Charles H., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded and 

died. 


Robbins, Christopher C., private, 3d Md. Regt., Co. D; wounded. | 


Robinson, Benjamin F., corp., 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
Robinson, Wilber F., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Robinson, William H., private, 18th Regt., Co. K. 

Rockwood, Elisha R., lieut., 4th Heavy Art., Co. @; wounded. 
Rogers, Daniel F., 12th Regt., Co. H; prisoner and died. 
Ross, Samuel J., private, 38th Regt., Co. K. 

Rowe, James, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; died. 

Rowley, Edward, private, 9th Regt., Co. C. 

Ruggles, George, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Ryan, John, 3d Cav., Co. C. 

Ryan, Timothy, private, 28th Regt., Co. D; wounded. 
Sampson, John M., private, Ist U. Heavy Art. 

Sargent, Edward W., private, 16th Light Bat. 

Sargent, George W., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Sargent, Walter H. 

Seully, John, private, 9th Bat. 

Shannahan, Jeremiah, private, 16th Regt. 

Shannahan, William, private, 20th Regt. 

Shaw, Augustus E., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Shaw, Austin B., private, 14th Regt., Co. K; wounded, 
Shaw, E. Faxon, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. @ 
Shaw, George, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 
Shaw, Gilbert M., corp., 42d Regt., Co. A. 
Shehan, Dennis, private, 16th Regt.; killed. 
Shepherd, Joseph E., private, 13th Regt., Co, F. 
Shergold, Nehemiah, private, 12th Regt. 





Simpson, Oliver E., private, Ist Regt., Co. I; killed. 

Skinner, Robert G., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Slason, William T., corp., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Slatterly, Edward, private, 12th Regt., Co. C; wounded. 

Slatterly, John G., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; probably killed. 

Slatterly, Patrick, 42d Regt., Co. B. 

Smiledge, Alfred B., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Smiledge, John S., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Smith, Bernard, navy. 

Smith, Cornelius, navy. 

Smith, Frank, Watertown Arsenal. 

Smith, James, navy. 

Smith, Jason, Jr., private, 35th Regt., Co. K; died. 

Smith, John, private, 12th Regt. | 

Smith, John (2d), navy. 

Smith, Richard B., sergt., 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Smith, William W., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; killed. 

Snell, William, 20th Regt., Co. A. 

Spear, Albert A., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Spear, Charles H., private, 11th Regt., Co. F. 

Spear, Josiah Q., corp., 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Spear, Richard, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Spencer, Jeremiah, private, 18th Regt., Co. K. 

Spinney, Harris H., corp., 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded and 
prisoner. 

Spooner, William A., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Springer, Samel B., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Stackpole, Oliver B., private, 42d Regt., Co. A; died. 

Starbuck, George, private, 2d Regt., Co. I; died. 

Stevens, James H., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Stoddard, Addison, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Stoddard, Elbridge I., sergt., 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Stoddard, Henry A., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Stoddard, John H., private, 42d Regt., Co. D. 

Stoddard, Sargent L., private, 42d Regt., Co. D; prisoner. 

Stone, William E., private, 2d Cav., Co. I. 

Sutton, Reuben. 

Swan, Gideon R., 29th U. Heavy Art. 

Sweares, Henry, private, 12th Regt., Co. H; killed. 

Sweeny, Robert, navy. 

Sweeting, Putnam I., private, 24th Regt., Co. F. 

Taylor, Joseph F., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Thayer, George R., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Thayer, John Q. A., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; prisoner. 

Thayer, Joseph W., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Thayer, Nathaniel A., private, 12th Regt., Co. E. 

Thayer, N. W., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; prisoner and died. 

Thayer, Samuel G., private, 12th Regt., Co. C; prisoner. 

Thayer, Stillman, private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Thayer, Watson, sergt., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Thayer, William G., private, 12th Regt., Co. E; wounded. 

Thomas, Albert, private, 4th Regt., Co. C. 

Thomas, Allen, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G 

., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Thomas, Edwin, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 


Thomas, Benjamin F 


| Thomas, Edwin (2d), capt., 3d U. Heavy Art. 


Thomas, Francis L., lieut., 12th Regt., Co. H; killed. 
Thomas, Isaac, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Co. G. 

Co. H. 

Co. H. 


Thomas, John, private, 4th Heavy Art., 
Thomas, Leonard, private, 12th Regt., 
Thomas, Minot A., private, 12th Regt., 


| Thomas, Nelson, sergt., 42d Regt., Co. A. 
| Thompson, Harrison G., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 


Thompson, Josiah, Jr., private, 12th Regt., Co. H; killed. 
Thompson, Sumner, private, 16th Light Bat. ; died. 
42d Regt., Co. A. 


Thompson, Zenas M., private, 





WEYMOUTH. 


611 








Tirrell, Albert H., lieut., lst Cav. 

Tirrell, Albert J., private, 14th Regt., Co. K. 

Tirrell, Alfred W., lieut., 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Tirrell, Augustus, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Tirrell, E. P., private, 3d Heavy Art. 

Tirrell, Ebenezer, Jr., sergt., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Tirrell, Edwin F., sergt., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Tirrell, Francis B., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Tirrell, Franklin, corp., 32d Regt., Co. F; died. 

Tirrell, George W., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Tirrell, John W., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Tirrell, Levi, private, 12th Regt. 

Tirrell, Major, private, 33d Regt. ; wounded. 

Tirrell, Warren, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Tirrell, Winfield B., corp., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Tomalty, Owen, private, 63d Regt., N. Y., Co. B. 

Toombs, Eliot L., private. 

Torrey, Appleton H., private, 11th Regt., Co. B. 

Torrey, Benjamin F., private, 12th Regt., Co. C. 

Torrey, Charles D., sergt., lst U. Heavy Art. 

Torrey, Charles L., private, 32d Regt., Co. A. 

Torrey, James L., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Torrey, Joseph E., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Torrey, Joshua L., private, Ist Cav., Co. A. 

Torrey, Lorenzo, private, 12th Regt., Co. H; wounded, pris- 
oner, and died. 

Torrey, Naaman, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; died. 

Torrey, Naaman J., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Torrey, Noah W., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Torrey, Richard L., private, 11th Regt., Co. B; wounded and 
supposed killed. 

Torrey, Richmond, private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Torrey, Sumner F., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Torrey, Turner, private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Totman, Elmer H., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Totman, Irving J., private, 2d Heavy Art., Co. C; died. 

Townsend, William, private, Ist U. Heavy Art. 

Tracy, Patrick, private, 3d Heavy Art. 

Trask, Joseph, private, 29th U. Heavy Art. 

Trott, Charles R., corporal, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Trufant, Edgar H., private, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Trufant, Edward F., private, 11th Regt., Co. F; killed. 

Turner, Waldo, private, 55th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Tyndall, John, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Vance, William, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Viger, Joseph, musician, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Vining, Adoniram E., private, 14th Regt., Co. F; prisoner. 

Vining, Alonzo, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Vining, Andrew J., private, 24th Regt., Co. K. 

Vining, Daniel, drummer, 35th Regt., Co. H. 

Vining, George H., private, 14th Regt., Co. F. 

Vining, George W., corp., 12th Regt., Co. H; killed. 

Vining, N. F., private, 4th Cav., Co. E. 

Vining, Solon A., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Vining, William A., private, lst Cav., Co. I. 

Vogel, Henry B., 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

Walker, Edwin, private, 55th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 


Walker, George, private, 12th Regt., Co. F; wounded and died. 


Walker, Isaac H., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Walker, Roscius R., Watertown Arsenal. 

Wall, Patrick, private, 11th Regt., Co. B. 

Walsh, Michael, private, 12th Regt. 

Ward, James, private, 3d Heavy Art. 

Ward, Patrick, private, 3d Heavy Art. 

Ware, Lawrence, private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 
Warren, Ephraim L., maj., 22d Regt. 


Weed, Otis H., Jr., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Weeks, James, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Weeks, Nathan, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Welch, James (3d), private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Wendall, James C., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Whelan, Edmund B., private, 3d Regt. U. S. Regulars, Co. E; 
prisoner. 

Whelan, John H., lieut., 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Whitcomb, John M., private, 4th Regt., Co. C. 

White, Benjamin, private, Ist Regt. E 

White, Calvin T., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

White, Charles H., private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 

White, Francis E., lieut., 4th N. Y. Cav., Co. G. 

White Herbert, Watertown Arsenal. 

White, Henry, sergt., 42d Regt., Co. A. 

White, Frederick R., private, 38th Regt., Co. A. 

White, J. Francis, lst Heavy Art., Co. C. 

White, James, private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

White, Patrick, private, 42d Regt., Co. A 

White, Robert H., musician, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

White, Robert S., musician, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

White, Sanford, private, 38th Regt., Co. A. 

White, Warren F., private, 3d Heavy Art. 

White, William, lieut., 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded. 

Whiting, Charles D., private, Ist U. Heavy Art. 

Whiting, Harrison, private, 12th Regt., Co. H; prisoner. 

Whitman, Theron W., private, 60th Regt. 

Whitmarsh, John Q., private, 12th Regt., Co. C; killed. 

Whitmarsh, Peter, private, 16th Light Bat. 

Whitney, Edwin, private, 4th Heavy Art., Co. G. 





Whittemore, William, private, 32d Regt. 

Wilber, Charles C. 

| Willett, G. F., private, 4th Cav.; wounded and died. 

| Williams, Charles 8., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

| Williams, Eugene S., private, 4th Cav., Co. B; killed. 

Williamson, Joseph, private, 14th Regt., Co. K; wounded and 

died. 

Willis, Stephen R., corp., 35th Regt., Co. H; killed. . 

Winslow, Joseph B., sergt., 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Winslow, Nathan F., private, 35th Regt., Co. H; wounded and 
died. 

| Woodward, Sylvester R., private, 42d Regt., Co. A. 

Worster, E. Frank, Watertown Arsenal. 


| Wright, C. Wesley, private, 4th Cav., Co. B; prisoner. 
Wright, Henry, private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 

Wright, William H., navy. 

| Wrightington, Judah, private, 18th Regt., Co. 0. 
Young, Benjamin M., private, 12th Regt., Co. H. 
Young, Job, private, 16th Light Bat. 





| BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


GEN. APPLETON HOWE, M.D. 


| From the most authentic records we have been able 
to obtain it appears that the Howe family of 
America—many of whose members have attained 





honor and distinction in various walks in life—are de- 
} . . 

_scended from the Howes, of Warwickshire, England, 
| where the name has a very honorable record, “ two 


| branches at the least having received earldoms, and 


612 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








| 
several having been knighted for meritorious services for medical advice, in critical cases, outside his own 


rendered their sovereign.” James Howe, the first 
American ancestor, was made freeman in 1637, married 
Elizabeth Dane, of Ipswich, where he spent most of 
his life; he died 1702. Deacon Abraham Howe— 


probably a grandson of James—married Lucy Apple- | 


Their third son was Nathaniel, born 1764. He 
He was pastor of the 


ton. 
became a celebrated divine. 


Congregational Church, at Hopkinton, Mass., from | 
| the new law in 1841. 


1791 to 1830, when he retired from the ministry after 
an active service of forty years. He died seven years 
later, aged seventy-three. He was of marked origi- 
nality of character, Puritan in every fibre of his be- 
ing, uncompromising in his convictions, with a quaint 
humorous vein in his composition, he had the faculty 
of saying original things in an original way that ar- 
rested and chained the attention of all. His cele- 
brated “ Century Sermon” made his name familiar to 
the reading public, both of this country and Europe, 
where it was republished. He married Olive, sixth 
daughter of Col. John Jones, Jr., of Hopkinton, and 
granddaughter of Col. John Jones, who came from 
the Old South Church, Boston, to Hopkinton in 


127. 


Gen. Appleton Howe, M.D., son of Rev. Nathaniel | 


and Olive Howe, was born in Hopkinton, Mass., Nov. 
26,1792. He fitted for college at Phillips’ Andover 
Academy. He entered Harvard College, where he 
availed himself earnestly of every advantage that 
famous institution could offer, and graduated in class 


of 1815, receiving the degree of A.B. He was a 


e [ 
classmate of Jared Sparks, afterwards president of | 


Harvard College, John G. Palfrey, Dr. Jeffries, 
Rey. Dr. Hodges, John G. Lowell, Ebenezer Francis, 
and others who became distinguished in after-years. 
Upon leaving college he taught school winters, and 
studied medicine with Drs. John C. Warren 
John Ware, two of Boston’s most noted physicians. 


In 1819 he received from Harvard College the degree | 





of M.D., and shortly after received 
unusual thing 


what is a very 





and | 


| 





. . ° | 
a written call, signed by a committee | 


representing the Second Parish of the town of Wey- | 


mouth, to come and settle there as a medical practi- 


tioner. This committee was composed of the leading 


. . . . | 
citizens of the community, and this quaint document 


is still in possession of Dr. Howe’s family. He ac- 


cepted this “ call,” and began practice as a physician 


in what is now the village of South Weymouth, | 


where he was the leading physician and citizen for 


fifty years, or until the day of his death. 
became widely known and respected, his many sterling 
qualities of mind and heart, united with an earnest- 


He soon | 


ness in study and application, made him much sought ° 


town. He was for many years president of the Nor- 
folk County Medical Society, was a member of the 
Massachusetts Medical Society, and also of the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society. He was much interested 
in military matters, as in all other affairs of public in- 
terest, and many military honors were bestowed upon 
him. In 1839 he was chosen major-general of the 
First Division Massachusetts Militia, and again under 
He was chosen captain of the 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in 1840. 
He always took a foremost stand in the cause of edu- 
cation, and was chairman of the high school committee 
many years. 

It has been remarked of him that “ he was a man 
whom office and honor sought, he never sought 
them.” He filled many positions of trust. He was 
an officer in the Weymouth and Braintree Mutual 
Fire Insurance Company, and was for many years 
president of the Weymouth Savings-Bank. He was 
State senator from Norfolk County in 1841-42. 
He was always one of the foremost to press all needed 
improvements and reforms. 
in matters of local interest, but in the great questions 


This was true not only 


and measures in which a nation was interested. He 
always earnestly and zealously espoused and advo- 
cated the measures he believed right. He was 


among the earliest disciples of the anti-slavery 
movement, and throughout his life was a bitter foe 
to intemperance and all other vices which tend to 
degrade and destroy a noble manhood. Dr. Howe 
was a remarkably strong man physically, mentally, 
and morally. There was in his make-up a wonder- 
ful, persevering energy that would not succumb to 
This characteristic marked 
his boyhood and developed with his manhood. The 


or acknowledge defeat. 


son of a poor clergyman, he made for himself all the 
He taught school and 
earned the money to defray his expenses through 


advantage he ever enjoyed. 
college. This done, he taught school and earned the 
money necessary for the prosecution of his medical 
studies. 
profession with the same earnestness and assiduity 


Having qualified himself, he practiced that 


that characterized all his undertakings through life. 
He labored not only to build up a competence for 
himself and family, but he labored with equal zeal 
for whatever would benefit his community or man- 
kind at large. Starting in life with an object and 
purpose, he had the courage to pursue that object, 
and attain that purpose against all opposing circum- 
Like most earnest, broad- 
minded men, he possessed a wonderful personal mag- 
Genial, spontaneous, candid, he had the 


stances or temptations. 


netism. 


ee ee 




















Say 
iS \ 





ee 


LAD 

















\ \ | 
\ . 


\\ 





eRe Se al 


PRK, 





(ARN tae, bas 


Neier Gina 


WEYMOUTH. 


613 





faculty of winning to him and to his views those 
with whom he came in contact. He was one who 
stood in the front rank in that noble army of New 
England’s gallant sons, who, starting in life with 
only brave hearts, clear heads, and willing hands, 
carve for themselves a career of honor, and write 


their names in enduring characters on the scroll of | 


their country’s history. 


Dr. Howe was twice married, first to Harriet, | 


daughter of Hon. Eliphalet Loud Weymouth. By 


this marriage there was no issue. 


Loud, of Weymouth. There were two children, a 


son, who died in infancy, and a daughter, still living. 


Dr. Howe died at his home in Weymouth, Oct. 10, 
1870. 


JAMES TIRRELL. 


James, son of James and Hannah (née Kingman) | 


Tirrell, was born in Weymouth, May, 1797, where 
he resided until his death, Nov. 5, 1865. He was 
the second son in a family of seven,—Kingman, 
James, Betsey (Mrs. Richards), Minot, Wilson, Al- 
bert, and Mary (Mrs. Vining). The family is traced 
back to Gideon Tirrell, who settled in Weymouth 
about 1658, and died Oct. 13, 1730. He was an 
extensive land-holder, prominent in the affairs of the 
town and in the church, whose descendants, thirty 
years ago,—two names excepted,—were believed to 
constitute the largest number of voters in the town. 
At the age of eighteen James was left fatherless, and 
he assumed his father’s place in the care of the family. 
His mother lived to the age of eighty-seven, and died 
in the Christian faith in 1858. He pursued his 
business with various success till about 1831, when 
the firm of James Tirrell & Co., consisting of the 
three brothers,—James, Minot, and Albert,—was 
formed for carrying on the boot and shoe business. 


~ Minot was early sent to New Orleans, and was soon | 
followed by Albert, who, by energy and economy, | 
But | 


succeeded in establishing a successful business. 
James was the leading spirit. He was cautious and 
enterprising. 
confidence of business men. 
manding presence, great firmness, and persistent 
energy. He felt a large interest in the public welfare, 
and was ready for any movement that commended 


itself to his judgment. He was early the commander 


of a company of artillery, which gave him the title | 
of captain, which he wore by an apparent right the | 
For many years he was one of the | 
He was one of the founders | 


rest of his life. 
overseers of the poor. 


His second wife, | 
who survives him, was Eliza, daughter of Joseph | 
_ thoughtful of home interests, ever helpful to the com- 





| Jan. 24, 1804. 





He had means, experience, and the | 
He was a man of com- | 





and directors of the bank in South Weymouth. He 
was a Whig in politics in the days of Daniel Webster, 
as were most of his brothers, and great national ques- 
tions stirred him deeply. He was an active member 
of the Union Congregational Church, whose welfare 
was dear to him. He built its first house of worship 
from his own funds, the society repaying him after 
the pews were sold; and often when there was a de- 
ficit at: the end of the year in the parish expenses, he 
would ask them to raise what money they could, and 
he would pay the balance. Thus, though his business 
was in Boston and his days spent there, he was ever 


mon welfare, and it cannot be doubted that his per- 
sonal influence and example encouraged many of his’ 


| fellow-townsmen to successful enterprise. 


He married Betsey Whitmarsh, a most fitting com- 
panion, who still survives, surrounded by her chil- 
dren and grandchildren in a pious and serene old age. 
Their children are Hannah (the constant companion 
and tender guardian of her mother in her declining 
years), Tirzah (the wife of Moses T. Durell, and re- 
sides in Boston), Alfred (who married Frances Hast- 
ings, and early entered upon a successful business 
career in Boston and New Orleans), Mary Jane (the 
widow of the late Gen. James L. Bates, of the Massa- 


| chusetts Twelfth, who did honorable service in the 


late war), and James (who married Helen Sprague, 
and while a young man became a member of the firm 


of J. & A. Tirrell). Two children died young. 


NATHANIEL SHAW. 


Nathaniel Shaw was born in Weymouth, Mass., 
He was the son of Capt. Nathaniel 
and Jane (Tirrell) Shaw. Capt. Nathaniel was born 
in East Abington, Mass., Aug. 5, 1769. 
life he moved to Weymouth, and became one of the 
pioneers in what has since grown to be New England's 
greatest industry, the manufacture of boots and shoes. 
He was a man of character and integrity, and much 
respected in the community. His children were Na- 
thaniel (1), Jane (1), Lydia (1), and Oran (1) (all of 
whom died young), Nathaniel (2) and Jane (2), twins 
(she married Josiah Torrey and died 1839), Cynthia 
(married Thomas Reed and died 1878), Theron V. 
(died 1878), Sophronia (married Thomas White, died 
1871), Oran P. and Lydia T., twins (she married 
Adoniram Vining and is still living in Weymouth). 
Oran is also still living. Capt. Shaw died Nov. 17, 
1835. Mrs. Shaw died Sept. 7, 1835. 

Nathaniel Shaw had no exceptional advantages in 


Early in 


614 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 











the way of schooling beyond that furnished by the | stacles and discouragements. At times there seemed 


common schools of his day and locality. 
schools only the rudiments of learning were taught, 
but many, if not the majority of our practical suc- 


cessful business men were brought up under the same | 


régime, and while they were denied the privileges and 
pleasures of classic attainments, yet they were sufh- 
ciently instructed in the fundamental principles of | 
mathematics and other useful branches to enable 


them to successfully conduct the various transactions 
incident to a business life. As soon as Mr. Shaw was 
old enough to be of practical service in his father’s 
shop he was initiated into the mysteries of the craft, 
and by the time he had arrived at manhood he had 
acquired a thorough practical knowledge of the busi- 
ness in all its details. 
jority he came to Boston and engaged as clerk in the 
store of Joseph Smith, on Hanover Street. On Jan. 
20,1831, he married Emily L., daughter of Eliphalet 
and Anna (Blanchard) Loud, of Weymouth, and soon 
after, on account of the ill health of his wife, he re- 


Soon after attaining his ma- 


turned to his native town and took an interest in the 

manufacturing establishment of his father. Upon the | 
death of his father (1835) he took entire control of | 
the business, and for some years conducted it alone. 
He soon developed remarkable tact and energy in the 
conduct of his business, and rapidly extended his trade 
until it became, for those days, a large concern. Some 
time prior to 1849, Theron V. Shaw was admitted to 
partnership; but this copartnership only continued a 
few years, when Theron V. withdrew, and Nathaniel 
conducted the business alone until 1855, when Wil- 


liam Appleton Shaw (Nathaniel’s eldest son), becom- | 


ing of age, he and Hon. B. F. White were admitted 
as partners, under the firm-name of Nathaniel Shaw 
& Co., and this copartnership continued until Mr. 
Shaw’s death, Feb. 21, 1860. A few years later, 
Hon. B. F. White, owing to ill health, retired from 
business and removed to California. 
ment, Theron V. again took an interest in the busi- 
ness, which he retained to the time of his death 
(1870). Sinee then William A. Shaw has conducted 
the business alone. 


Nathaniel Shaw was in many respects a remarkable | 
man,—remarkable for energy, courage, perseverance | 


under difficulties, and for the equanimity of temper 
and courtesy of demeanor which he maintained under 


all, even the most trying circumstances. He was of 


a quick, active disposition, with a wonderful facility | 


for the dispatch of business. The large business 


which he built up from a comparatively small begin- | 


Upon his retire- | 


At these | 


an epidemic of failures among his customers, notably 


during the great panic of 1837, and later, in 1857; 








| 
| 
| 


ning, and conducted successfully through the most | 


trying ordeals, was beset by more than ordinary ob- 


‘to the bar at Saco, Jan. 18, 1869. 


but through all his embarrassments and adversities 


he carried a smiling face, an undaunted heart, and 
an active, persistent energy that eventually tided him 
successfully over all difficulties. It was often remarked 
among his acquaintances that he seemed to “ carry sun- 


Probably no 
employer ever was more respected or better beloved 


shine with him wherever he went.” 
by his employés. He was the soul of honor and one 
of the most charitable of men, always looking after 
the interests and seeking the comforts of the families 
of those in his employ. He shrank from public no- 
tice or public office, and the only office he ever ac- 
cepted from the people was that of representative to 
the State Legislature in 1857. He was one of the 
directors of the Weymouth National Bank. In poli- 
tics he was a Whig and Republican, and was a strong 
anti-slavery advocate. He was a warm friend to the 
temperance movement, and gave a great deal to its 
support. He was very public-spirited, and many 
marks of his handiwork are observable in the im- 
provements of his town. He was a regular attendant 
at the Second Congregational Church at South Wey- 
mouth, and was never absent unless on account of ill- 
ness. 
there was one child, William Appleton (born Jan. 28, 
1832; educated at Braintree Academy and Phillips’ 
Andover Academy; married Harriette P. Reed, April 
8, 1858). Mrs. Shaw died Jan. 17,1833. Mr. Shaw 
married, as his second wife, Diantha, daughter of Ste- 
phen and Susan (Loud) Tirrell, Feb. 18, 1840. She 
was born Oct.10,1817. They had three children,— 
Emily L., born April 8, 1842, died in infancy; Mary 
R., born March 23, 1844; and Wendell, born Feb. 1, 
1848, educated at Weymouth High School and at 
select school at Auburndale, Mass., and married Lydia 
G., daughter of John Urquhart, of Gloucester, Mass. 
They have two children living, Theron B. and Stacy 
W. Wendell is a farmer, and resides at the old home- 
stead in Weymouth. Mary R. Shaw is now the wife 
of Stephen W. Harmon. 
York Co., Me. 


of his town, and also Linnington and Limerick Acad- 


He was twice married. By his first marriage 
for) 


He was born at Buxton, 


emies, he fitted for college at Maine State Seminary 
(now Bates College), at Lewiston, Me. He gradu- 


_ated at Bowdoin College in 1865, and subsequently 


taught the high school at Saco, Me., the academy at 
Hampton, N. H., and the Parsonfield Seminary at 
North Parsonfield, Me. He read law at the office of 
Wells & Marshall, at Buxton, Me., and was admitted 
The following 


After attending the common schools. 





2 PPT RI LE Te 


—s 














| 
| 


SSS eee 





WEYMOUTH. 615 





March he came to Boston, Mass., and since that time | 
has practiced his profession in the courts of that 
city. 





JOHN S. FOGG. 


called the ‘loafers’ stand,”? near the place where he 
boarded, ruminating as to what should be his next 
move, he was approached by Martin S. Stetson, of 
Stetson & Blake, East Abington, boot and shoe man- 
ufacturers, and offered a job ‘“treeing” boots. It is 
needless to say the proposition was accepted. He 
continued with them a few months, until the business 


_ became slack, when he accepted a like position with 


John S. Fogg, well known as a boot and shoe man- 
ufacturer, and also as a prominent banker in Boston, 
was born in Meredith, N. H., April 16,1817. He 
is the son of Josiah and Mary (Roberts) Fogg. His 
ancestors came originally from the South of England, © 
where large estates are now held by Sir Charles Fogg. 
Younger brothers of this family came to America 
about the middle of the seventeenth century, and — 
were among the early settlers of Exeter, N. H. 
Their progeny went westward, and were pioneers in 
the settlement of the territory about Meredith. Mr. | 
Fogg’s parents removed to Stanstead, Canada, when | 
he was a year anda half old. They were poor, and 
the only opportunities afforded him for an education — 
were the very limited advantages of the public schools. © 
The winters in that climate being long and severe, 
prevented a regular attendance at these during the 
winter months, and in summers the necessities of the © 
family compelled him to be placed at labor as soon as 
he was old enough for his services to be of any value. | 
The death of his mother when he was only nine years 





old added to the disadvantages under which he was 
placed, and this was followed, when in his fourteenth 
year, by the death of his father, leaving a family of | 
five children, of whom John S. was the elder. The 
children were now compelled to separate and find | 
homes in different families. 


Mr. Fogg remained in 
Canada until his nineteenth year, when he came to | 


Meredith, his native place, and attended school that 
and the following winter, working on a farm the in- 
termediate summer. 

On the Ist day of April, 1836, he started by stage- 
coach alone for the city of Boston to seek his fortune. 
At Lowell he saw his first railroad train, boarded it, 
and that (Monday) afternoon he stepped from the 
cars in the city of Boston, with scant means in his | 


pocket, with not an acquaintance in the entire city, 
with no definite plan or object in view save that he 
was determined to do something to earn a living and 
if possible to win his way to fortune. He procured | 
cheap lodgings and board, and proceeded during the 
following week to cast about for something todo. In 
this he was unsuccessful, and the following Satur- 
day found him penniless and sadly discouraged. On 
the afternoon of that day, while standing at a place . 





| Boston's leading dealers. 


| following year, 1851, Mr. Burbank died. 
| then associated with himself William S. Houghton. 


Daniel Blanchard. Here he worked very hard for a 


_ year, when this firm likewise failed, and Mr. Fogg 


lost more than half his wages. In the mean time 
Stetson had managed to get under way again, and Mr. 
Fogg returned to his employ, where he continued till 
1840, treeing and crimping boots. In April of this 
year he began business for himself as a boot and shoe 
crimper, at South Weymouth, Mass. About the first 


of the year 1841 he bought stock and made a few 


cases of best quality boots, brought them to Boston, 


and sold them to retailers. With the funds thus ac- 
quired he replenished his stock, paid his hands, and 
thus embarked in the boot and shoe manufacturing 
business. He soon built up quite a trade, and in 
1842 he built his first factory—a large one for those 
days—at Columbian Square, South Weymouth. 
This was the first large factory in that part of the 
town; was heated by steam, and was looked upon by 


| Mr. Foge’s more conservative neighbors as rather a 


After having met 
with some losses, through failures among his cus- 


risky and extravagant venture. 


tomers, he confined himself exclusively to the supply- 
ing of the wholesale houses. His first deal with a 
wholésale house was with Alexander Strong, one of 
Mr. Foge’s goods were the 
best that could be made, and he experienced no diffi- 
culty in finding customers among the best dealers, 
such as Atherton, Stetson & Co., Joseph Whitten & 
Co., and other prominent houses. 

On Jan. 1, 1850, he formed a copartnership 


with Wilman Burbank, who was also a partner with 


Alexander Strong, and they established a boot and 
In July of the 
Mr. Fogg 


shoe store on Central Street, Boston. 


They removed their store to Pearl Street, and under 
Houghton, they did a 
large and rapidly-increasing business. About 1861, 
Albert L. Coolidge was admitted as a partner, and the 
firm became Fogg, Houghton & Coolidge. In the 
mean time, about 1859, they began to secure quite a 


the firm-name of Fogg & 


1 This was a place where men out of employment and who 
desired to obtain work were in the habit of congregating, and 
where employers used to come to seek help when they desired 
to increase their forces. 


616 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





trade in California; they manufactured a class of goods 


especially adapted to that trade, and their sales in this | 


market continued to increase so rapidly that in 1866 
they did a business of more than a million dollars, 
and were at that time quoted as the largest boot and 
shoe manufacturers in the United States. 
Mr. Fogg withdrew from this firm, but still continued 
manufacturing at Weymouth. In the meantime, in 
1867, his brother, Parker 8S. Fogg, returned from 
California with a cash capital of nearly a hundred 
thousand dollars, which he had amassed in the boot 
and shoe trade, and for which he sought investment. 
John 8. placed an equal amount with him, and to- 
gether they established themselves as bankers, at No. 
20 Congress Street, Boston, with Parker 8. Fogg as 
active business manager. 
personal attention to his manufacturing interests at 
Weymouth until June 1, 1871, when his brother 
died, and he then assumed the management of the 
bank, and to this interest he has devoted his chief 
attention to the present time. Upon the dissolution 
of the firm of Fogg, 
Fogg formed a copartnership with N. B. Thayer, 
who had been foreman of the Weymouth factory and 


who had shown good business qualities, and under | 


the firm-name of N. B. Thayer & Co. the manufac- 
turing at Weymouth was continued until March, 
1882, when the firm of Fogg, Shaw, Thayer & Co. 
was formed, with factories at South Weymouth, West- 
boro’, and Marblehead, Mass., and Farmington, N. H. 
In their banking operations Messrs. Fogg Brothers & 
Co. made a specialty of dealing in western commer- 
cial paper, and in this connection one remarkable fact 
may be mentioned,—during the last five years they 


have handled over one hundred miilion dollars west- | 
In 1865 the | 


ern paper and have never lost a dollar. 
First National Bank of South Weymouth was incor: 
porated, and Mr. Fogg was chosen president, which 
position he has held to the present time. In this 
same year Mr. Fogg was elected president of the 
Agricultural Industrial Society. 
this capacity eleven years he resigned. 


Corporation, in which concern he is a large share- 
holder. 
a Republican in politics, and has been a member of 
His 


business career has been a phenomenally successful 


He still holds this position. Mr. Fogg is 


the Union Congregational Church since 1850. 


one, and through all his various and multitudinous 
dealings and interests he has always paid dollar for 
dollar, and never asked an extension. Of his personal 
traits and characteristics, one of his neighbors speaks 


as follows: ‘Mr. Fogg is a man of fine personal 


In 1878, | 


John 8. continued to give | 


Houghton & Co., 1878, Mr. | 


After acting in | 
In 1879 he | 
was elected president of the Putman Horseshoe Nail | 





appearance, splendid physique, in perfect health, and 
weighs something over two hundred pounds. His 
personal manners are easy, address and manner of 
He is noted 
among a very wide circle of business and other 
acquaintances for his perfect self-control under even 
the most exasperating circumstances.” Neighbors of 
forty years testify that while they have on very rare 
occasions seen him angry, they have never known 


speaking kindly and sympathetic. 


him to exhibit other than the most composed external 
This habitual ‘ruling of his own spirit’ has 
always given him great influence over his many em- 


bearing. 


ployés, and has preserved between him and them an 
unusual degree of harmony. He is candid and frank 
in his natural disposition, and hasan especial sympa- 
thy for struggling young men of merit who are evi- 
More than one 
such has received from him substantial tokens of his 
sympathy. His early advantages in the way of edu- 
cation were scanty, but he has by diligence and per- 
Mr. 
Fogg is highly esteemed in the community where 
he has so long resided and is best known. He isa 
man of decided religious convictions and character, 
though never obtrusive, always quietly firm whenever 


dently trying to help themselves. 


sistence largely surmounted these difficulties. 


occasion arises for a declaration of his principles in 
this regard. He is, besides a giver to many good 
causes, a generous supporter of the Union Congrega- 
tional Church, of which he has been for so many 
years a valued and influential member.” 





MARSHALL CURTIS DIZER. 

Marshall C. Dizer was born in Weymouth, Mass., 
Sept. 23, 1822. He is the son of John and Sophia 
(French) Dizer, and grandson of John Dizer, a Ger- 
man immigrant to this country about 1790. This 
John Dizer was a seafaring man, and made his home 
John Dizer, 
Jr., learned shoemaking when a young man, and fol- 
lowed that occupation until between fifty and sixty 


years of age, when he retired to a farm, where he still 


in Boston, where his only son was born. 


_ resides, at the advanced age of eighty-seven. Marshall 


©. is the oldest son of seven children. In his youth 
he had no educational advantages further than the 
schools of Weymouth afforded, and as soon as he had 
arrived at such age that his services were useful he 
was placed in the shop to help his father at the shoe- 
maker’s bench. He was brought up to this vocation, 
and worked at his trade until he attained his majority. 
He then took a case of shoes to make for a manufac- 


turer, for which, when finished, he received thirty-five 














WEYMOUTH. 


617 





dollars. With this capital he embarked in business — 
for himself, and from that day to the present he has _ 
never worked a day as an employé. He purchased 
stock, made shoes, and sold them to merchants, and — 
with the money thus acquired would replenish and 
increase his stock and employ assistants,—gradually | 
but continually building up and advancing.. He prac- 
ticed the most rigid economy, and labored with the | 
most persevering energy. As an instance of the self- 
denial and restraint he practiced, he has frequently, 
when business called him to Boston, made his noon 
meal off an apple and doughnut costing a cent each. 





To the young men of the present day this would 
seem ridiculous and contemptibly penurious, but many | 
o, sub- | 


oO) 


if not most of those who are to-day the leadin 
stantial business men of New England laid the foun- 
dation of their fortune and success by the exercise of 


similar frugality. In about three years Mr. Dizer 


purchased and conducted a grocery-store as an adjunct 
to his manufacturing business, his shoemaking being | 
conducted in one-half the store. It is worth record- | 
ing that the only material aid Mr. Dizer ever asked | 


or received from any one in the building up of his 


business was a loan of one hundred dollars from Mr. 
Jonathan Denton, of Boston (afterwards his father- | 
in-law), and this debt caused him so much mental 
uneasiness that he determined never to repeat the 


process. In a few years his business had so far in- 
creased as to render new and larger quarters necessary. | 
He had also married in the mean time, and so he | 
fitted up the grocery-store as a dwelling and leased a | 
larger factory in which to conduct his business. Here 
he remained only a few years, when, in obedience to 
the demands of his rapidly-growing trade, he leased a | 
much larger factory, gave up the grocery-store attach- 
ment, devoted himself exclusively to manufacturing, 
and continued in this factory until 1861, when he. 
built a shop where his present immense establishment 
now stands. Up to this time, however, Mr. Dizer’s 
career had not been one of uninterrupted prosperity. 
Like other business men, he had encountered many 
unlooked for obstacles and met with many reverses, 
but, unlike many others, he never lost heart or cour- | 
age, but overcame obstacles as best he could and kept 
energetically at work. In the great financial crash of 
1857 he lost almost the entire accumulations of pre- | 
vious years, and it was only by the most unyielding 
efforts that he managed to avoid suspension. Again, 
in 1861, the loss of his Southern trade through the | 
outbreak of the civil war, and the consequent failure 
to collect outstanding dues in that quarter left him | 
once more almost penniless. Again, however, he began | 
almost at the beginning, built up new trade, and once 


_stanch Republican. 


more conquered adverse fortune. When he began the 
erection of his new factory he had no surplus money, 
but paid all bills of its construction (as they fell due) 
from the proceeds of his business. Up to this time 
he made only shoes. He now began making calf 
boots, and for about three years made a specialty of 
army shoes. 

Since 1861, as Mr. Dizer’s business has increased, 
he has increased his facilities and made additions to 
his factory more than half a dozen different times, 
until he has now the largest factory in the world for 
the class of goods he makes. He has never had any 
partners in business except his two brothers, John T. 
and Jacob F., who at different times have had an 
interest, until Mr. Dizer’s two sons became of age, 
when the brothers retired and the sons were admitted 
as partners, the firm-name being M. C. Dizer & Co. 
Mr. Dizer’s factory now furnishes employment to 
nearly six hundred persons, and they do a business 
of about eight hundred thousand dollars per annum. 
The writer of this sketch was conducted by Mr. 
Dizer through the various departments of his im- 


mense establishment, where hundreds of curiously- 


fashioned machines, many of which are original with 
this house, each perform with the most astonishing 
rapidity some part of the process of making a boot or 
shoe, where each of these various machines has in 
attendance a skillful manipulator who operates the 
machine with such wonderful skill and does his work 
so deftly and with such mathematical regularity that 
one involuntarily wonders whether by long months 
and years of routine work he too has not become a 
machine, a veritable automaton that could not go 


wrong if he would. A visit to an establishment like 


| this is full of instruction and interest ; it serves to so 
_ forcibly and impressively illustrate the rapid strides 


which have been made in inventive science in the 
last quarter of a century, that but little seems left for 
succeeding inventors to do. 

Mr. Dizer has always devoted himself strictly te 
his business, and almost invariably refused any official 
position tendered him. He has been director of dif- 
ferent banks and corporations for short periods, but 
always gave up such positions as soon as he could 
consistently do so, believing one interest at a time 
sufficient for one man, if that interest be properly 
attended to. The only position of trust he now holds 


is that of vice-president of the Union National Bank 


of Weymouth and Braintree. In politics he is a 
He is a member of the Baptist 
Church, which is largely sustained by his liberality, 
and of which his father is deacon. He has always 
been strictly temperate, never using either tobacco or 


618 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





liquor. As an evidence of the character Mr. Dizer | in signing the church covenant, and was an early dea- 


has always sustained among his business acquaint- 
ances, a single incident will suffice to illustrate. 
During the great panic and upheaval in business 


circles caused by the outbreaking of the civil war in | 


1861, one of Boston’s leading business men was ap- 
proached by another, who had a very slight acquaint- 
ance with Mr. Dizer, and asked what he thought of 
Mr. Dizer’s responsibility. The gentleman referred 
to replied, “If I knew to-day that M. C. Dizer was 
not worth one dollar in the world, I should not hesi- 
tate to trust him for ten thousand dollars.” 

He married, first, Sarah A. Denton, of Boston. 
She lived but little more than a year, and Mr. Dizer 
married as his second wife a sister of the first, Miss 
Delia A. Denton. 
are dead, two sons and one daughter are living,— 
Silas C., who married a daughter of Gen. Luke 
Lyman, of Northampton, and now resides in Long- 
Walter M. married a Miss 
Eggleston, of Westfield, and resides in Weymouth, 


wood, near Boston; 


and Alida R., now Mrs. George W. Baker, of Wey- 


_ years accumulated some means and purchased a farm, 


mouth. 


ELIAS SMITH BEALS. 


Elias 8. Beals was born in Weymouth, Mass., Oct. 
20, 1814. He is the son of Lewis and Sarah S. 
(Harding) Beals, and is descended in a direct line 
from John Beal, who came from the parish of Hing- 
ham, in Forehoe Hundred, County of Norfolk, Eng- 
land. He came to America in the vessel ‘“ Diligent,” 
arriving at Boston on the 10th of August, 1638, with 
his family, consisting of wife, five sons, three daugh- 
ters, and two servants. He settled in Hingham, 
probably on account of his wife being the sister of 
tey. Peter Hobart, who had chosen that town as his 


John 


residence, and was the first minister there. 


Beal became a man of influence in the new colony, | 


- whom Lewis was one. 
They have had five children, two © 





and his progeny, which has been somewhat numerous, | 


has been distinguished for intelligence, integrity, and 
good citizenship. The line of descent from John 
Beal to Elias S. is: John (1), Jeremiah (2), Lazarus 
(3), Lazarus (4), Lazarus (5), Lazarus A. (6), Lewis 
(7), Elias S. (8). 

Lazarus, of the fifth generation, was a physician in 
what was then the Second Precinct of Hingham (now 
Cohasset), it being set apart as a new town in 1770. 


From the meagre data obtainable at this late day, it | 


is evident that this .Dr. Lazarus Beal was a man of 
more than usual enterprise and ability. He was a 


leader in all measures of advancement in his town, 


| clining years. 


| homestead). 


con in the church. A copy of this document, now in 
the possession of Mr. Quincy Bicknell, of Hingham, 
shows it to be remarkable for its liberality, “being 
sufficiently broad to embrace all denominations of 
Christians.” Dr. Beal’s wife was named Lydia. 
They had a large family, of twelve children. He 
lived to be seventy-two years of age, dying Oct. 31, 
Lots 

Lazarus A., son of Dr. Lazarus, was born Sept. 30, 
1753; died Nov. 23, 1822. Karly in life he moved 
to Weymouth, where he married, Oct. 29, 1776, 
Bethiah Lewis. She was born April 8, 1756; died 
Aug. 5, 1805. They had a family of six children, of 
He was born Oct. 13, 1793. 
His education was such as could be obtained at com- 
mon schools of his town at that period, and when 
about seventeen years of age he chose brick-masonry 
as a trade, and this he followed assiduously as an oc- 
cupation till between fifty and sixty years of age. By 
habits of economy and thrift he had during these 


and to the avocation of agriculture he devoted his de- 
He, like his father, was an orthodox 
Congregationalist, and was a member of that church 
for more than fifty years of his life. He married 
Sarah S., daughter of Capt. James and Mary (Ford) 
Harding, of Weymouth. ‘Their children were Hlias 
S., Mary H. (afterwards the wife of Francis B. Bates, 


_ now deceased), Sarah L. and Lewis A. (who is a ma- 


son by trade, and resides with Sarah L. at the old 
Mr. Beals lived 
to the remarkable age of more than eighty-eight years, 


He died May 10, 


Both are unmarried. 


retaining his faculties to the last. 
1882. 

Elias S. had in his youth no educational ad- 
vantages other than the common schools afforded. 
He worked when a boy, about three years with his 
father at masonry. When about eighteen he learned 
shoemaking, and for a few years worked at cutting 
and making shoes for neighboring manufacturers. In 
1838 he took a large lot of boots and shoes, the prop- 
erty of various manufacturers in Weymouth, on board 
a vessel and sailed for Savannah, Ga., where he dis- 
posed of part of the same to advantage, the remainder 
he shipped to Charleston, 8. C., and then sold the 
larger part of what he had left from the Savannah 
market. This was Mr. Beals’ first business venture 
out in the world, and the fact that his neighbors 
trusted him, a young inexperienced man, showed the 
esteem in which he was held by his fellow-townsmen. 
On his return from Savannah to Charleston he sailed 


and was one of those who joined with Rev. N. Hobart | on board the steamer ‘‘ Savannah,” celebrated as being 














WEYMOUTH. 


619 





the jirst steamship that ever crossed the Atlaitic | 
On the voyage to Charleston she broke her | 


Ocean. 
starboard shaft in a gale of wind and came to anchor. 
The gale was so furious that she parted all her cables 
but one, and the vessel was in imminent danger of being 
lost with all on board. During the prevalence of the 
storm, however, the passengers were transferred at 
great risk of their lives to a passing steamer, and 
carried on to Charleston. 
in Charleston Mr. Beals took passage on the ship 
“ Leland,’ and after a very rough voyage arrived 
again in his native town, Weymouth. He then began 
in a small way manufacturing boots and shoes, and 
soon connected with this pursuit a small store of gen- 
eral merchandise. Later on he built a factory at 
Torrey’s Corners, and continued as manufacturer and 
merchant until 1849, when he connected himself with 
others in a jobbing boot and shoe trade in New Or- 
leans, from which he retired some two years later. 
Returning to Weymouth, he built a larger factory, 


and became regularly established as a boot and shoe | 


manufacturer. 
familiarized himself with the peculiar requirements 
of the Southern market, he made a specialty of cater- 
ing to that trade. He studied the tastes and require- 
ments of his patrons, and took pains to keep abreast 
of the times, and, if anything, a little in the leader- 


Having by intercourse and contact 


ship in the matter of styles, etc., in his goods, and by — 


these means established a paying trade in first-class 
goods in his line. As an instance of the enterprise 
which has always characterized Mr. Beals’ business 
career, it may be mentioned that he purchased and 
ran the first sewing machine ever used in North Wey- 
mouth ; he soon after bought another, and they proved 


paying investments. He took pains to note their 


value as compared with hand labor, and it is a note- | 


worthy fact that in the first year of their use these two 
machines saved him a matter of one thousand dollars, 
in increased prcduction and diminished expense. The 


outbreak of the civil war destroyed all of Mr. Beals’ | 


trade, as his customers were all in the South, conse- 
He deliberated 


long as to whether he should offer his services to his 


quently he gave up manufacturing. 


country, but physical infirmities deterred him; he _ 


however, sent a substitute, and one of his sons (Frank) | 


enlisted and served until the first battle of Fredericks- | 


burg where he was severely wounded. 
erable delay and trouble Mr. Beals succeeded in getting 
his son home, where he was tenderly nursed by his 
parents through a long confinement from his wound, 
but he eventually recovered and was afterwards honor- 
ably discharged, being unfit for further duty. 


After consid- | 


Mr. Beals served as selectman in Weymouth in — 


After a week or so spent | 


1855 and in 1856. When a young man he was the 
principal auctioneer in the northerly part of Wey- 
mouth, and has always been greatly interested in all 
kinds of public improvements. The Hook and Lad- 
der Company in his ward have assumed his name, 
had it painted on their truck, and hung his portrait in 
the front end of their hall. 

He has done a large business as insurance agent for 
many years, and has been so fortunate as to never 
have had a single loss for any one of the more than 
one hundred different stock insurance companies 
that he had placed risks in, and less than one thou- 
sand dollars for all the several mutual insurance 
companies that he is agent for. 

He has been a director at differnt times in two na- 
tional banks; and is, and has been for several years, 
president of the North Weymouth Cemetery Associa- 
tion, and also treasurer of his religious society. 

In 1859 he was a member of the State Legislature, 
and assisted in the revision of the laws of the common- 
wealth, which were published as “ The General Statutes 
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” He often 
served on school and special committees, such as for 
the erection of public buildings and other important 
purposes. It was almost wholly through the unwearied 
and unremitting endeavors of Mr. Beals, continued 
through a period of three years and against the most 
inveterate and unyielding opposition from various 
quarters, that toll privileges of the Quincy and Hing- 
ham bridges were abolished by act of the Legislature, 
and the bridge was made free to all. The account of 
Mr. Beals’ efforts, the strenuous and bitter opposition 
he met with, and his final victory in the achievement 
of his object would be too long to be accorded space 
here, but the entire story is ably, concisely, and wit- 
tily told in a pamphlet published at the time, entitled 
“The Hingham and Quincy Bridges: their Freedom, 
and the Manner in which it was Obtained.” 

Through his earnest endeavors in this matter he 
was brought in contact with, and formed the personal 
acquaintance of, almost the entire senatorial body, and 
as an evidence of the impression he made, it may be 
mentioned that in the winter of 1862 a petition was 
circulated in the Senate, directed to the authorities at 
Washington, requesting the appointment of Mr. Beals 
as Internal Revenue Assessor for the Second District 
of Massachusetts. This petition was signed by every 
member of the Senate (forty in all), by about one 
hundred members of the House, and by many other 
prominent men. It was forwarded to Washington, 
and in due time he received an appointment signed by 
Hugh McCulloch, then Secretary of the Treasury, 
On Feb. 28, 


appointing him to the position sought. 


620 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





1863, a second commission was issued, signed by | he also engaged in the manufacture of nets and ham- 


He 


held this position until shortly after the accession 


President Lincoln, continuing him in the office. 


of Andrew Johnson to the Presidential chair, when 
for political reasons a successor was appointed. Three 
months later Mr. Beals received a telegram from the 
Commissioner of Internal Revenue at Washington, 
asking him if he would “ travel as special agent for the 
Treasury Department, to instruct Internal Revenue 
This he 


did, and for a year and three months he traveled all 


officers in the discharge of their duties.” 


over the country this side the Mississippi River in the 
performance of this duty, which he discharged to the 
He served 
until there was a general act passed, which went into 


entire satisfaction of the department. 


effect July 4, 1868, discharging a// special agents of 
the Treasury Department under the United States 
government. One act of Mr. Beals in this connec- 
tion is especially worthy of mention: he alone and 
unaided recovered for the government from the First 
National Bank of the District of Columbia, at Wash- 
ington, on incorrect returns, many thousands of dol- 
lars more money than all he ever received from the 
government as compensation for services and ex- 
penses; this he did while temporarily located in 
Washington between his tours in the prosecution of 
his regular duties, and the work was not in the strict 
line of his legitimate duty. 

In 1868, Mr. Beals’ son (Frank) commenced busi- 
ness as a boot and shoe dealer in Milwaukee, Wis. 
Two years later Mr. Beals and also Alexis Torrey 
took a partnership interest in the business, and about 
the same time Mr. Beals’ youngest sou, James L., 
engaged as book-keeper for the firm. For a number 
of years Mr. Isaac G. Mann was also a partner, but in 
1877 they purchased Mr. Mann’s interest and he re- 


tired. James L. then became a member of the firm. 


The firm-name is Beals, Torrey & Company, and | 


they do a business exceeding half a million dollars 
per year, which the young men of the firm have built 
up through their own efforts. 

Mr. Beals married, July 27, 1837, Betsey, daugh- 
ter of Ancill and Hliza Burrell, of Weymouth. Their 


children are Augustus, Elizabeth, Elias, Frank, James, | 


| mouth (Old Spain), Sept. 2, 1811. 


and Mary S.; Mary died at the age of nineteen, the 
rest are living. 


Augustus was chief clerk in his father’s office | 


In 1866-67 
he was United States Internal Revenue Agent in the 


while he was in government employ. 


| 
Second District of Massachusetts, for collection of de- | 


linquent taxes. 
boots and shoes at his father’s old stand, and in 1878, 
under the name of Bay State Hammock Company, 


In 1868 he began manufacturing | 





mocks. He married Abbie F. Lovell, of Weymouth, 
and has three daughters,—Clara E., Gertrude F., and 
Alice 8. Elizabeth married Josiah H., son of Capt. 
Cornelius Pratt, of Weymouth. They have one son, 
—James H. Hlias Frank married Emily C. Torrey, 
sister of Alexis Torry. James married a lady in 
Milwaukee, and has one son,—F rederick Elias. 

Mr. Beals was one of the town auditors for many 
years prior to 1883, at which time, on being again 
elected, he declined serving longer. He was ap- 
pointed a justice of the peace in 1851, and now holds 
his fifth commission as such officer, doing no small 
amount of gratuitous service in that line for pen- 
In politics he is a pronounced 
In religion he is a Universalist, and has 
contributed liberally in various ways, not only to the 


sioners and others. 
Republican. 


erection of a suitable house of worship, but also to 
the support of the society of which he is a member. 
Mr. Beals is frank and outspoken in his opinions and 
sentiments, and honorable and earnest in all matters. 

Whatever he has taken in his hand to do he has 
always done with a will, and his efforts throughout 
life have been crowned with that success which must 
accrue to intelligently directed and persistent energy. 
In 1878 he made a tour through England, France, 
Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Prussia, Bel- 
cium, etc., and while on this trip contributed a series 
of letters to the Weymouth Gazette. 

He says he neither hopes for nor desires any new 
official position whatever, as his business interests and 
connections require all the labor, time, and attention 
he is able to bestow. 

He now, in his seventieth year, fully realizes that 
the evening shades of this earthly life are drawing 
closely about him; and his full faith in God and His 
providence makes to him the future more and more 
bright and glorious as time rolls on, and his scenes of 
earthly things are vanishing into the past. 


JAMES TORREY. 
Deacon James Torrey was born in North Wey- 
He is a son of 
James and Hannah (Holbrook) Torrey, and grand- 
son of Lemuel and Sarah (Lovell) Torrey. The 


| 'Torreys were among the pioneer families in this an- 


cient and historic town, and they have always been 
noted for their integrity of character and good citizen- 
ship. James Torrey was a farmer in North Wey- 
mouth, and had three children,—Sarah, married 


Jacob Dyer, of Weymouth, had seven children, and 





V/ 


y 


ae 


5 ian ea 


YH 














WEYMOUTH. 


621 





died June 26, 1880; Lemuel, born Oct. 30, 1806 
(married Nancy Bicknell, of Hast Weymouth, and had 


seven children. Mrs. Torrey, after suffering much from | 


rheumatism, died Jan. 5, 1864, and Lemuel married, 
as his second wife, Mrs. Ann Maria Batchelder, née 
Stoddard, of Upton. She is still living). Mr. Tor- 


rey died June 5, 1880; the third and last child is_ 


James, whose portrait accompanies this sketch. James 
Torrey, Sr., died in 1815, in his thirty-eighth year, 
from lung fever brought on by cold contracted while 
mustering in militia. Mrs. Torrey married as her 
second husband Stephen French, of Hast Weymouth. 
By this marriage there was no issue. 

James, Jr., was only about four years of age at 
his father’s death. The family were left with small 
means, and of course the children were compelled to 
work at an early age to help support the family. At 
thirteen years of age James was hired out to work 
on the farm at three dollars per month, and worked 


lowing year he worked a number of months at the 
same price. About this time his mother married 
the second time, and he returned home to live with 
her and his stepfather. Here he remained until the 
death of his mother, which occurred when he was in 
his twenty-first year. During his minority he had 
learned boot and shoemaking, and he now went to 
work for various manufacturers. Nov. 12, 1834, he 
married Catharine Whitmarsh, daughter of Peter 
and Ruth (Webb) Whitmarsh, and granddaughter of 
Thomas and Jane (Reed) Webb. About the time 


turing boots and_ shoes. 
brother he bought out and conducted a small store 


at North Weymouth. This copartnership lasted 


eleven years, when he sold his interest to his brother, | 


and established business for himself. He built up 
quite a large business for those days, and was uni- 
formly successful. About 1865 he took into part- 


nership his nephew, Lemuel Torrey, Jr., furnishing | 
the funds and superintending the general affairs of | 


the firm, while Lemuel assumed the actual charge of 
affairs, and gave his personal attention to the manu- 
facturing. This copartnership continued until 1872, 
when Mr. Torrey withdrew his capital from the con- 
cern, and permanently retired from active business, 
after having spent nearly forty years of his life as a 
manufacturer. 

Since his retirement he has not been idle ; he has 
settled many estates, some of which were in a very 
‘complicated condition. This he has done to the gen- 
eral satisfaction of those concerned. 

During the course of a long and very active life, 





| 





| three years, and overseer of the poor one year. 
| was on the board of selectmen at the time when 


| mouth. 
of his marriage he began in a small way manufac- | 
In company with his | 


Deacon Torrey so deported himself as to win the 
confidence and esteem of those who know him, and 
he, though never an aspirant for office, has been 
honored with many trusts. He was elected director 
of Quincy Stone Bank, afterwards called National 
Granite Bank, in 1853, and has held that position 
to the present time. He has been for many years, 
and is at present, trustee of the Weymouth Savings- 
Bank. He has been, since its incorporation, a di- 
rector in Dorchester Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
pany, covering a period of about thirty years. He 
was postmaster at North Weymouth under the ad- 
ministration of four Presidents, has been selectman 


He 


there was a dispute as to the boundary line between 
Weymouth and Abington. They petitioned the Leg- 
islature, and Mr. Torrey was one of the commis- 


_sioners appointed to survey and establish the line. 
at this price seven months of that year, and the fol- | 


This proved to be a very arduous and laborious work, 
as it was done during the most inclement weather of 
a severe winter, and through a_badly-constructed 
route. The line was established, however, according 
to their survey, the Legislature accepting their re- 
port. Deacon Torrey is an earnest and faithful 
worker in Masonry. He joined first the Old Colony 
Lodge, F. A. M., at Hingham, Mass., was made a 
Master Mason at this lodge, and continued his mem- 
bership there until the renewal of charter and reor- 
ganization of Orphans’ Hope Lodge at Hast Wey- 
He changed his membership to this lodge, 
and has been its treasurer since its organization, a 
period of more than a quarter of a century. He is 
a member of the North Weymouth Pilgrim Church 
(Congregationalist), and has been a deacon of this 
church from its organization, in 1852, to the present 
time, and for ten years or more superintendent of the 
Sunday-school. 

Though never an active politician, he has always 
acted with the Republican party in most measures, 
and in this, as in all other matters, he is liberal in 
his views and opinions. Deacon Torrey is one of 
the most highly-respected citizens of his town, and 
together with his estimable wife is passing a serene 
and quiet life’s autumn near the spot where he was 
born, surrounded by warm friends, and in the enjoy- 
ment of a competence secured by years of active in- 
dustrious toil and traffic. 

No children have blessed their union, but many 
little sons and daughters of neighboring people will 


| remember with pleasure in after-years their kindly- 


received visits to Deacon Torrey’s. 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





CHAPTER. LY. 


WRENTHAM. 


BY HON. SAMUEL WARNER. 


Av a General Court holden at Newe Towne, Sept. 
2, 1635, it was ordered “ that there shall be a planta- 
tion settled about two miles above the Falls of Charles 


meadow, to be laid out hereafter as the Court shall 
appoint.” 

On the Sth of September, 1636, the General Court 
ordered that the plantation to be settled above the 
falls of Charles River shall have three years’ immunity 
from public charges, as Concord had to be accounted 
from the 1st of May next, and the name of said plan- 
tation is to be Deddham; to enjoy all that land on 
the southerly and easterly side of Charles River not 
formerly granted to any town or particular persons, 
and also to have five miles square on the other side 
of the river. 

This was the original grant as appears in the first 
volume of the records of Massachusetts of that tract 
of land which includes the present townships of Ded- 
ham, Medfield, Wrentham, Needham, Bellingham, a 
part of Sherborn, a part of Natick, Franklin, Med- 


way (which was attached to Medfield until 1781), | 


Walpole, a part of Foxborough, Norfolk, and Nor- 
wood. 

In about the year 1647 the records of Dedham say 
that John Dwight and Francis Chickering gave notice 
of hopes of a mine near certain ponds thirteen miles 


from town. It is supposed that the ponds here meant 


were at Wollomonpoag, the Indian name of the | 


plantation afterwards made a town by the name of 
Wrentham. 


ham had little knowledge of this part of their town- 
But it must have been somewhat explored be- 


ship. 
fore the year 1649, as we learn that in that year, on 


account of the scarcity of grass in Dedham, the in- | 


habitants went to Wollomonopoag to cut grass from 
the meadows there. 

But the earliest movement regarding the occupa- 
tion of Wollomonopoag of which any record is found 


was made in the year 1660. It is as follows: 


if 











“ Dedham, 22, 4, 1660. At a meeting of the selectmen there, | 


Lieut. Fisher, Sergt. Fuller, Richard Wheeler, Ensign Fisher | 


are deputed to view the lands both upland and meadow near | 


about the ponds by George Indian’s Wigwam, and make report 
of what they find to the selectmen in the first opportunity they 


can take.’’ This was in obedience to the desire of the inhabi- 


| tants expressed ‘formerly in a lecture day.” 


The selectmen reported on the 31st of Tenth month 


_ (December), 1660, that they had deputed men to search 


and view the place, whose returns encouraged them 


““to depute two men to endeavor to compound with such In- 
dians as have a true right there.’ And they approved of the 
establishing a plantation there in this careful language, viz., 
‘To us it seems that it might be helpful to conduce to public 


| and particular good that the place might be planted with meet 


' inhabitants in due time.’ 


River, on the northeast side thereof, to have ground | care thereof be left to a committee to explore the place further, 


lying to it on both sides of the river, both upland and | 


They also suggested that the present 


and to consider what measures are proper in the premises, and 
‘propose them to the town in some public meeting to be con- 


299 


sidered and resolved as the case may require. 


At a town-meeting in the following month a com- 
mittee was chosen ‘“ in respect of Wollomonopoag.” 

On the 27th, 1st, 1661 (March), at a general town- 
meeting, the question being put whether there should 
be a plantation erected or set up at the place called 
Wollomonopoag, it was answered by a vote in the 
affirmative. The question being further put whether 
the town would lay down six hundred acres of land at 
the place before named for the encouragement of the 
plantation, it was answered by a vote in the affirma- 
tive. Thir- 
teen voters dissented, and their names were entered 
upon the record. 

A committee was appointed also at this meeting, 


This vote, however, was not unanimous. 


“to settle and determine such things as shall be mentioned 
needful for the plantation before named. First, they shall de- 
termine when men present themselves for entertainment there 
who are meet to be accepted. Second, they shall proportion to 
each man his part in the six hundred acres. Third, they shall 
order the settling of the plantation in reference to situation, 
highways, convenient place for a meeting-house, a lot or lots 
for church officers, with such other things necessary as may 
hereafter be proposed.” 


In case the committee should reject applicants the 


right of appeal to the town was reserved to them. 
It is probable that at the date of this | 


grant of the General Court the inhabitants of Ded- | 


It will be noticed that in this legislation in the 
Dedham town-meeting, it was especially provided that 
the Indian title to the lands at the place intended for 


_the new plantation should be extinguished by pur- 


chase. As early as 1629 the Governor of the New 
England Company advised the Governor and Council 
for London’s Plantation, in the Massachusetts Bay, 
that “if any of the savages pretend rights of inher- 
itance to all or any part of the lands granted in our 
patent, we pray you to endeavor to purchase their 
title, that we may avoid the least scruple of intrusion.” 
And in a second communication similar advice was 
repeated. In the year 1652 the General Court sol- 
emnly resolved, ‘that what lands any of the Indians 
within this jurisdiction have by possession or im- 








WRENTHAM. 








provement by subduing of the same, they have just — 


right thereunto according to that in Genesis 1 and 
28, and chapt. 9, 1, and Psalms 115, 16.” 

In 1662, Timothy Dwight and Richard Ellis made 
a report of their doings in extinguishing the Indian 
title to the Wollomonopoag lands. The substance of 
this report was, that by the assistance of Capt. Wil- 


lett, they had obtained, under the hand and seal of | 


the sagamore, a release from the Indians of their 
title to six miles square of land, the captain making 
the payment of the consideration on behalf of Ded- 
ham. 
letter of thanks to the captain for his kindly services, 
and that he be requested to procure a deed, signed by 
the sagamore, that may be sufficient according to our 
laws. It was also voted that a rate be made upon 
cow-commons to pay the captain £24 10s. for the 
purchase of the lands. 

In 1661 the boundaries of the plantation were es- 


Upon reading of this report, the town voted a _ 


tablished at a general meeting of the town (Dedham) | 


as follows: ‘It is ordered that the bounds of the 
plantation at Wollomonopoag shall be upon Stop 
River towards the East, beginning at Medfield 
bounds, and so all along as the river lies, up stream 
until it comes about half a mile above the falls in 
that river, near about where the path to that place at 
present lies, and from thence Southward to Dorchester 
line; and the West bounds shall be at or about the 
end of five miles from one of the ponds in Wollo- 
monopoage, to be a line running parallel with the line 
at the Kast end of the plantation, Always provided 


| 


that it extend not to any lands but such as are at | 


present our own; And the south bounds shall be 
Dorchester line, and the North bounds shall be Med- 
field bounds in part and Charles River in part.” 
Dorchester at this time extended from its northern 
line, at Boston, nearly to Rhode Island, and Rehoboth 
included Attleborough and Cumberland, now in Rhode 
Island. It is said that the above-named south line ran 
from the southwest corner of the present township of 


623 





Wollomonopoag seemed now in a fair way of being 
planted. Two years had now elapsed since the good 
people of Dedham began to agitate the question. 
The place had been viewed, as they expressed it, 
favorable report had been made, and the fathers of 
the town had given it their cautious approval. Some 
few persons had already broken ground and made im- 
provements, and these were recognized in after divis- 
ions of the land. It seemed, therefore, that the set- 
tlement had begun to exist. But difficulties were 
started, and those who had intended to go from Ded- 
ham to live at Wollomonopoag asked for a meeting of 
the proprietors, “‘ that then and there such questions 
may be answered as shall be proposed.” 

Accordingly, a meeting is called for the 12th of 
Eleventh month, 1662 (January), “to attend the 
propositions of such brethren and neighbors as have 
intended to go to Wollomonopoag.” The proprietors 
‘presented a paper of some considerations.” A con- 
ference ensued between the proprietors and the pro- 
posed colonists. The committee of the latter were 
Anthony Fisher, Robert Ware, Richard Ellice (Ellis), 
Isaac Bullard. Their statement was, that ten men 
had been accepted by them to go to Wollomonopoag, 
and had agreed with the proprietors about their 
rights there, but that this number is not sufficient for 
But, 


further, if they have sufficient encouragement to goe on, 


encouragement to goe on with the plantation. 


they will pay the money rate of any of the propri- 
etors who remain in Dedham, with whom they have 
agreed or can agree, and that they “are not in a ca- 
pacitie to settle rights of those who have not sub- 
scribed.” 
now circumstanced, they cannot go on to make a 
that although 
they are not free,” yet they are not desirous to leave 


And, “all things considered, as they are 
plantation as the town intended, . . . 


the world altogether, ‘‘ but are willing to proceed, if 
the town will enable us to proceed in a safe way.” 


| That they have been at charges in making improve- 


Walpole southwesterly, south of the Maj. Mann house | 


(now 8. W. Grant’s), and northerly of Turner’s Mill 


(now Hawes’), crossing Thurston Street north of Mr. | 


Hodges’ house, and Madison Street a little south of 
Mrs. Gage’s house, and then continuing in the same 
course over Line Hill to the end of Dorchester line as 
above. This was the line until 1753, when a gore of 
land on the southeast line was annexed to Wrentham. 

In this same year (1661-62) the proprietors voted 
to sell their rights to lands in Wollomonopoag for one 
hundred and sixty pounds, to persons fit to carry on 
the work in church and state, provided the plantation 
be entered on within two and one-half years. 


ments there, and are not able to bear burthens here 
(Dedham) also, and desire the town would relieve 
them. The proprietors, in answer, propose to lay out 
to each proprietor in town his part proportionably, in 
that six hundred acres for a plantation as first in- 


tended, by which means they say possibly they, the 


| 


colonists, may be supplied, each man being left to 


bargain for himself. And secondly, that payment 


‘ should be made for their improvements, if their im- 


proved parcels should fall to others in the drawing of 
lots, or compounded some other equal way, or they 


be allowed to retain those parcels with the lots they 


| might draw. 


Hereupon others who had intended 


' «to go to Wollomonopoag,” did disown what the four 


624 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





men (committee) had subscribed unto, and accounted | acres to be taken before the last of this month.” On 


themselves not at all engaged thereby, “but agreed to 
sit down by the advice of the major part of the pro- 


prietors.” These were Nath. Whiting, John Kent, 


Nath. Bullard, James Thorpe, John Evered, Robert | 


Freeman, Nath. Stearns, Dan Makiah, Samuel Fisher, 
Job Littlefield, Job Perry, Samuel Parker, Cornelius 
Fisher. 

It thus appears that the whole number of men who 
proposed to settle at Wollomonopoag was twenty- 
But they conceived they had poor encourage- 
Their isolated condition 


three. 
ment from the parent town. 
in this wilderness was intensely real to them, and they 
gave utterance to their feelings in the declaration that 
they “did not wish to leave the world altogether.” 
Moreover, Capt. Willett’s bill had not yet been paid, 
although the selectmen, being also a committee haying 
charge of the Wollomonopag affairs, on the 27th of 


February, 1662, “doe judge it meet that the case | 


should speedily come to an issue and resolution that 


so the engagement to Capt. Willett may be performed | 


and our own future power be settled and continued.” 

On the 2d of March, 1663, the proprietors resolved 
by unanimous vote that they ‘could not advise the 
parties to proceed to make it a plantation, all things 
considered, as they are now circumstanced.” But 
they voted “that the charges of those persons who 
had been accepted by the committee, which they had 
necessarily expended upon breaking up of lands at 
Wollomonopoag, should be reasonably and equally 
satisfied.”” Thus, it seems, the first attempt at settle- 
ment had failed. 

At the same meeting, however (March 2, 1663), 
the proprietors took a decisive step (one consideration 
being Capt. Willett’s bill yet unpaid, for the payment 
of which a tax had been ordered, as before stated, 


the 25d of the same month the proprietors met to 
draw their lots in the Wollomonopoag plantation, 
which it seems had been surveyed and platted. It 
was agreed “on behalf of them that have improve- 
ments there that they might take the lots they had al- 
ready subdued and improved, and not draw lots with 
the rest of the proprietors. The persons who were 
thus allowed to choose were Anthony Fisher, Jr., Sergt. 


_ Richard Ellis, Robert Ware, James Thorpe, Isaac 








some of the proprietors refusing to pay on the ground | 


that those who were to have the lands should pay for 
them), viz., they voted “that there shall be six hun- 


dred acres of land layed out at Wollomonopoag for a | 


general divident, that so every proprietor may have 
his proportion therein, according to the general rule 
of division of lands; and the six hundred acres to be 
layed out with as much convenience as may be with 
reference to a plantation, if the Providence of God 
shall make way thereunto, viz., that the six hundred 
acres shall be such lands as to be so laid out for house- 
lots, and all highways, officers’ lots, burial-place, and 
training-grounds. And all other lands necessary to be 
reserved and used for all public uses within the trat 
(tract) of the town shall be over and above the six 
hundred acres before mentioned, and also all manner 
of roughlands, the circumference of the six hundred 





Bullard, Samuel Fisher, Samuel Parker, Josh Kent, 
and Job Farrington. These persons, with Ralph 
Freeman, Sergt. Stearns, and perhaps Daniel Makiah, 
were the first persons to break up and improve land 
at Wollomonopoag. The proprietors then proceeded to 
draw their lots, the same being numbered from one to 
thirty-four inclusive. The first lot was “‘ to be where 
the Indians have broken up land, not far from the 
place intended to build a mill at.” This was un- 
doubtedly in the neighborhood of the mill site now oc- 
cupied by the Hagle Factory. This appears from the 
depositions of aged persons taken in 1724, who were 
then old enough to remember the first occupation of 
these house-lots, and who say “ that they were east or 
easterly of the mill-pond, and that the first was James 
Draper's, the second Nathaniel Whiting’s, who im- 
proved them several years; and many other lots there 
were improved by their owners.” The first settlers 
beyond question located their improvements (so called) 
upon the easterly and southeasterly side of Whiting’s 
Pond, or the Great Pond (previously known as the 
mill-pond), but their houses were at some distance 
from the pond, probably on what is now Franklin 
Street and on South Street. An ancient map (1738), 
showing the position of these first house-lots, confirms 
this supposition, showing also some lots occupied on 
The whole number 
of proprietors was seventy-three; the number of lots 
drawn was thirty-four, and the order and numbers 
given, but the boundaries were not determined. The 
shares were unequal, the division being made “ac- 
cording to the rule for dividing lands in Dedham.” 

In the year 1663 the first highway was confirmed 
by the selectmen of Dedham, at the request of those 
who had drawn lots at Wollomonopoag, “at the east 
end of their lots.” This was the first authoritative 
recognition of a highway in this plantation, and was 
probably a part of a way now known as South 
Street. 

After this date the affairs of the plantation were 
very quiet until the year 1666-67, when the proprie- 
tors voted that the meadows “ appertayning to that 
place” be all measured, and appointed a committee for 


what is now called East Street. 








WRENTHAM. 


625 





that purpose, Lieut. Joshua Fisher being named as 


| 


| 


measurer, and he was directed to “lay out all the lots © 


that are granted and drawn in succession together.” | 


For the preservation of wood and timber a penalty of 
two shillings sixpence was imposed upon the trans- 
gressor for each tree by him felled without the con- 
sent of Lieut. Fisher and Sergt. Ellis; and in 1667 a 
committee was appointed to define the east boundary 
of the plantation upon the suggestion that there was 
some mistake about it. 

At a general meeting of the town, April 11, 1668, 
the proprietors, upon the request of the Indian Sarah, 
of Wollomonopoag, “grant her one parcel of upland 
near a pond about two miles westward from the situa- 
tion of Wollomonopoag, in exchange for that land the 
said Sarah, her son, or George, her brother, possessed 
or claimed there to be set out to her by Robert Ware 
and Samuel Fisher, estimated at ten acres, and she to 
have liberty to take fencing stuff, and is enjoined to 


| 


| 
| 


keep it sufficiently fenced. The Indian Sarah, and 


George, her brother, and John, her son, being all 
present, do all declare themselves to accept of this 
grant upon these conditions as above expressed.” The 


pond to which Sarah went is supposed to be the small 


one which we call Uncas Pond, now in Franklin. 
The men of Dedham thus determined to recompense 


this Indian woman for the loss of her claim, although | 


they had purchased the land of her sovereign. 
1668, upon complaint made by Samuel Sheeres, a 
committee was appointed “to repayre to Wollomono- 
poag to settle the lines between his lot and those of 
John Alders (Aldis) and Job Farrington.” 


Tn | 


first attempt at settlement, but he now became a pur- 
chaser. He lived in Dedham, but was not a proprie- 
John Thurston, of Medfield, also purchased 
rights in lands at Wollomonopoag, as it is said, and 
became active in promoting the settlement. As the 
proprietors at Dedham conveyed their rights to others, 
these purchasers of course became independent of 
them. The proprietors of Dedham and the proprietors 
of Wollomonopoag were no longer the same. 

In order to understand the nature of the land titles 
here and the meaning of the words (often met) 
“according to the rule for the division of lands,” 
Mr. 
Worthington, in his history of Dedham, gives a 
history and an explanation of this matter substantially 
as follows: The second grant of the General Court, in 


tor. 


some further explanation may be necessary. 


1636, for a plantation was made to nineteen persons. 
These grantees were sole owners until they admitted 
new associates.’ At first these were admitted with- 
out asking any compensation, lots of land being 
freely granted them; and after the home-lots of the 
inhabitants were cleared of wood, leave was asked 
In 1642 two 
hundred acres were made a common tillage-field, in 
which each proprietor’s share should be assigned to 
These 
men proceeded, not upon any arbitrary rule, but upon 
the various considerations of personal merit, useful- 


to cut it from the common lands. 


him by seven men chosen for that purpose. 


ness, ability to improve, or the amount of taxes paid. 


| Thus the minister had twenty-three acres set off to 


Sheeres was at this time an inhabitant of Wollo- | 


monopoag, having come here to live, according to 
Rey. Mr. Man’s record, about the year 1666. He 
says, under date of Aug. 12, 1709, “ Old Goodman 


Sheeres died,—a man eighty years and somewhat | 
more,—the first English inhabitant in this town, and — 


who had lived here about forty-three years.” The 
first birth recorded at Wollomonopoag was that of 
** Mehitabel Sheeres, the daughter of Samuel Sheeres 
and Mary, his wife,” who was born the 1st of Febru- 
ary, 1668. 
place now occupied by Mr. Isaac F. Bennett, on 
South Street, and that in 1668, John Ware also built 
on the Bean place and Samuel Fisher on the Luther 
Fisher place (Mr. Barnes’). John Littlefield also is 
supposed to have built about this time. 

About this time some of the proprietors sold their 
interests in the lands to such persons as wished to go 
there and remain as inhabitants or engage in the set- 
tlement of the plantation. Sheeres does not appear 


It is supposed that Sheeres lived on the | 


to have been named as one of those who joined in the | 


40 


him, while the deacons had fourteen acres each, and 
Maj. Lusher modestly received thirteen ; other inhabit- 
In 1645 
they divided three hundred and seventy-five acres of 
woodland on the same plan, but in 1656 they ceased 
to make free grants to strangers of the common lands. 
This led to the adoption of some rule for division of 
those lands among the proprietors and their heirs. 
No one pretended that all should have an equal share. 
They agreed on this principle, that each man’s share 
should be proportioned to the valuation of his prop- 


ants taking from eight to one acre each. 


erty. They then found that the number of acres in 
the herd-walks, or cow-commons, was five hundred 
and thirty-two, and the number of cattle fed thereon 
somewhat less; and that by allowing one cow-com- 
mon for every eight pounds’ valuation of estate the 
whole number of cow-common rights or shares would 
be four hundred and seventy-seven, and this would 
make the number of cow-commons the nearest to 
their then number of cattle. 





1 These nineteen with their associates formed a body called 
the Proprietors of Dedham. 


626 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Five sheep-commons were equal to one cow-common, | 


and were used as fractions of a whole right. 

This rule bearing hardly on several poor persons, 
the proprietors so far departed from it as to give them 
twenty-five more cow-common rights, which, added to 
the former number, made five hundred and two com- 
mon rights or shares. This arrangement as thus far 


made became permanent. 


to put cattle into the cow-commons, although they 
should have dividends in the lands. 
and some other non-resident owners made complaints. 





“Philip Sachem to Major Lusher and Lieutenant Fisher : 

“ GENTLEMEN,—Sirs, thes are to desire you to send me a hol- 
land shirt by this Indian, the which att present I much want, 
and in consideration whereof I shall and will assuredly satisfie 
you to content between this and the next Michelmas, for then I 


' intend to meet with you at Wollomonuppouge, that we may 


treat about a tract of land of four or five miles square, which I 
hereby promise and engage that you shall have ye refusall of, 
and I make no doubt but that we shall agree about said tract of 


| land, which I shall sell you for ye use of your town of Dedham. 
But the proprietors went further, and voted that | 
non-resident owners of land should not have any right | 


Henry Phillips 


The General Court appointed referees to settle this 


dispute, the contending parties agreeing. 


These | 


gentlemen made an award, which they supported by 
quotations of Scripture, giving to Phillips and other | 
on “the 8th of the 9th mo., 1669, upon notice from 


agerieved persons twelve more cow-common rights, 
and to the church eight more, making the whole 
number five hundred and twenty-two. 
acquiesced in this decision, and the selectmen assigned 
to the eighty proprietors their due shares. The com- 
missioners further decided that the majority in interest 
should hereafter govern. 

After this decision there were two distinct bodies, 


the proprietors and inhabitants (including non-propri- | 


etors). But for many years this distinction existed 


The parties | 





only in theory, for there were not for many years | 


people in town who were inhabitants and at the same 


time non-proprietors. In process of time the two 


separate bodies had meetings on the same day, and | 


The | 


their doings were recorded in the same book. 


number of shares determined the number of cattle | 


each could pasture on the common lands, but this | 


privilege was limited to those who belonged to this 


body of proprietors, which was a sort of a corporation ; 
other persons might be inhabitants of Dedham with- 
They 


out having any interest in the common lands. 


could acquire an interest in those lands by purchasing | 


of some proprietor. The proprietors had the owner- 
ship and power to convey and manage the undivided 
lands, while the inhabitants took the management of 
town affairs upon themselves. 

These rules regarding the division of lands were, 
of course, applied throughout the whole township of 
Dedham, and included the lands at Wollomonopoag. 

Tt will be remembered that Dedham had, through 
Capt. Willett, paid the sagamore Philip, in the year 
1662, for his right and title to the lands at Wollo- 
monopoag, £24 10s. But Philip now, in 1669, set 
up a claim to a tract said to be within the limits of 
his former grant. He addressed the following letter 
to two of the principal men of Dedham: 


I pray fail not to send me a good holland shirt by the bearer 
hereof, for I intend next week to be at plimoth Court, and I 


want a good shirt to goe in. I shall not further trouble you at 


present, but subscribe myself your friend, 
“Puitip SAcnem’s P MARK. 

“Mount Hop, ye 25 May, 1669.” 

We are not informed whether the liberality or the 
fears of the good men of Dedham provided Philip 
with the Holland shirt in which he wished to appear 
before the wise men of Plymouth; but we find that 


Philip Sagamore yt he is now at Wollomonopouge 
and offers a treaty about sale of his rights in ye lands 
yr within the town bounds not yet purchased, A 
committee was appointed, viz.: Timothy Dwight, 
Anthony Fisher, Robert Ware, Richard Ellice, and 
John Thurston, to repayre to Wollomonopogue on the 
morrow, and treat with the said Philip, in order to a 
contract with him to clear all his remaining rights 
within the town bounds, provided he make his right 
appear, and to secure our town from all other claims 
of all other Indians in the land contracted for.” 

It seems that a contract was made, for on the 15th 
of the same month (November, 1669) a rate was 
made for the payment to Philip “ for his right lately 
purchased.” The sum thus assessed was £17 Os. 8d., 
to be paid in money. ‘Tradition informs us that 
Philip, in this second treaty, showed the northern 
boundaries of his kingdom, being the southern boun- 
dary of the Sachemdom of Chickotabot, in Walpole ; 
and that the shape of the land was somewhat like 
that of a new moon, enclosing a part of the first 
grant within its horns.” Seventy-nine persons were 

Ensign Chickering’s tax 
Rev. John Allen’s 
This tax was 
assessed upon the cow-commons of the proprietors. 
Adding this £17 0s. 8d. to the sum previously paid 
through Capt. Willett, we find the whole amount 
paid to Philip for his title to Wollomonopoag was 
£41 10s. 8d. 

Second Attempt at Settlement.—Although, as 
we have seen, an attempt to settle a colony at Wollo- 
monopoag had failed in 1663, yet the idea was not 
absolutely abandoned. Proof of this is seen in the 
transactions had in the interim between that date and 


assessed to pay this rate. 
was the largest, being 11s. 10d. 
was next in amount, being 8s. 9d. 





——= 


WRENTHAM. 


627 





that which we have now reached,—1669. We in- 
stance the drawing of lots, the laying out of a high- 


Sarah, the settling of lines of lots, the purchasing of 
proprietors’ rights, and the second treaty with King 
Philip. 

Although previously to 1669 no white man per- 


haps, except Samuel Sheeres, had come here to dwell, | 


nevertheless those who had made improvements by 
| be small yet our latter end shall much increase; and that know- 


breaking up ground, etc., kept their lots or trans- 
ferred them to others who retained the title. 
And now in December, 1669, the proprietors of 


Wollomonopoag (now independent of the proprietors 


of Dedham) met at the public-house of Joshua 
Fisher, in Dedham. This was their first meeting as 
a body distinct from the proprietors of Dedham. 
The purpose of the meeting was 


“to adopt some rules as to the ordering and due management | 


of the said place for the furthering and settling a plantation 
there.” They voted first that “all rates, ete., for defraying 


public charges hereunder written shall be and remayne in full | 
force to all ends, intents, and purposes to all proprietors there 
_ until the intended plantation become a town. 


«2d. Every proprietor shall annually pay towards the main- 
tenance of a minister there ls. 6d. for each cow common right, 
besides what shall be assessed upon improved land. 

«3d. That the libertie to call or invite a minister to exercise 
to the people there is left to the inhabitants there and such of 
the principal proprietors as may be advised without difficulty, 
provided it be by the allowance and consent of the Rev. Mr. 
Allin, of Dedham, and the ruling Elder of the Church there, 
and Elea. Lusher. _ 

“4, That a convenient meeting-house shall be built, to which 
end 2s. per cow-common shall be paid, whereof Mr. Theo. 
Deane, Capt. Willm Hudson, and Mr. Job Viale promise to pay 
accordingly in money, which is accepted. John Thurston, 
Robert Ware, and Sergt. Fuller are appointed a committee for 


the ordering the building and finishing that meeting-house in : 5 pl 
7 7 ii a _which of course included Wollomonopoag. 


convenient time.” 


The meeting-house was not finished until about the 
year 1682. 


But on the 27th of December, 1669, | 





the Rev. Samuel Man was invited to become the | 


minister at Wollomonopoag. The letter of invitation 
was as follows: 


““EsTEEMED Sir,—We, the subscribers, being by the Provi- 


that place called Wollomonopoag, in Dedham, and according 
to our best observation and understanding concerning that place 
capable of affording competent subsistence according as the em- 
ployments of husbandry use to produce to so many families as 
might be a small town if it be duly improved by an industrious 
people according to the rule of the word of God, and in his 
name and fear, and that the kingdom of the Lord Jesus may 
be enlarged, and several families at present streightened might 
be relieved, and some benefit might arise to the public, which 
are the ends we propose to ourselves: these things being con- 
sidered by us, we thinke it our duty to indeavor the settling a 
plantation there, so far as lyes in our power, and in order thereto 
we would in the first place, with the greatest care, provide that 


the ordinances of the Lord Jesus may be there dispensed and 
duly attended, that his blessing may be upon us and presence 


| with us, remembering that he have promised that where his 


way, Surveying of the meadows, the grant to Indian | name is recorded there he will come and there he will bless his 


people; and whereas we have already enjoyed encouraging tast 
of that measure of fitness that God hath bestowed upon your- 
self to dispense his mind to us in the public ministry of his word, 


| we therefore do jointly declare with one consent we desire you 


to accept of these few lines as a solemn and unanimous desire 
and invitation to that work of the ministry of the gospel to us 
and among us at that place, hoping that though our beginning 


ing that until the house and ordenances of the Lord Jesus be 
carefully provided for, few, if any, serious godly people, they 
that we desire to encourage, will be willing to settle themselves 
there with us, we so much the more earnestly desire you would 
not refuse our request and wish, and doubt not but that the Lord 
of his goodness will make us in some measure able and willing 
to attend the rule of Christ for your due encouragement in all 
outward supplies; and if you please to accept of this our invi- 
tation and earnest desire, we do engage ourselves to be careful 
not to neglect our duties therein, and such of us as are Inhabit- 
ants shall also attend the same according to our proportion in 
our estates there at such time as we shall reside and dwell there; 
but wheresoever we, the late proprietors, dwell, we shall be 
ready and willing to bear charge thereunto according to our late 
(vote).” 


This letter is dated 27th Tenth month, 1669, and 
was subscribed by thirty-nine names. It was indorsed 
as follows: 


“‘We whose names are hereunder written declare our appro- 
bation of the within invitation, and desire that a blessing from 
the father of Merceys may be upon it and the work intended. 

“ ELEA. LUSHER, 
“ JoHN ALLIN, 
“Joun Hunrine.” 

Eleazer Lusher, whose name is frequently mentioned 
in connection with town and proprietary affairs, was a 
prominent man in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. 
In Dedham he was concerned in all important matters, 
Hence 
the invitation to Mr. Man must have his approval. 
It is said he came to Dedham with Mr. Allin, and 
was more learned than any other man in town, except- 
ing Mr. Allin. He kept the records, and it is to_his 


| care that we are indebted for the facts that have been 





preserved regarding the settlement here. He was 


_ frequently a deputy to the General Court, of which 


dence of God proprietors, and some few of us inhabitants in | 


body he was a useful and influential member. He 
participated in all the momentous affairs of the col- 
ony whenever there was occasion for the counsel and 
services of the wisest and most patriotic. 

In April, 1670, the proprietors appointed John 
Thurston and Samuel Sheeres to be fence-viewers at 
Wollomonopoag ; attended to some complaints against 
some land-takers outside of the six hundred acres, 
and voted a dividend of lowlands, fit to be improved 
for English grass, half an acre to each cow-common, 
if so much may be found, otherwise less. 


628 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





At a general meeting of the proprietors held on 
the 1st of the Second month, 1671, “the question 


being put, who are the persons that will engage (God | 


willing) that themselves and their families shall be 
settled at the place called Wollomonopoage, before the 
end of the fourth month, called June, Anno 1671, 
persons answering were John Thurston, Thomas 
Thurston, Robert Ware, John Ware, Joseph Cheeney. 
It was thereupon voted, that the proprietors desire 
that these men and John Aldis should settle them- 
selves and their families.” They also confirmed the 
bounds of the plantation as established in 1661, and 
ordered a book “ for the entering such acts as concern 
Wollomonopoag, and such transcripts as may be made 
from Dedham town book, and contributed three shil- 
lings, sixpence for the purchase, and appointed Hleazer 
Lusher to make the entries and transcripts and paid 
him three shillings eightpence in part satisfaction.” 
It will be noticed that June is called the fourth 


month. At that time the year commenced on the 


| 





| Thurston and others. 





twenty-fifth day of March throughout his majesty’s | 
good repair the inhabitants ‘ will see out for the pro- 


dominions. In the twenty-fourth year of the reign 
of George II. (1751), Parliament enacted that the 
year should begin (after Dec. 31, 1751) on the first 
day of January next following. 

It seems, then, that six persons with their families 
were to be settled at Wollomonopoag before the end 
of June, 1671. These, with Samuel Sheeres’ family, 


would make seven families that were probably dwell-_ 


ing here in the wilderness, before the close of 1671. 

In January, 1672, a grant for a corn-mill was made. 
The mill was to be built ‘upon that stream that 
comes out of the ponde and runns into Charles River, 
in the neerest convenient place to the lower ende 
of the ponde in Wollomonopoag, and made fitte for 
work, and doe grinde corn as such a mill ought to doe 


before the first daye of Maye, which shall be Anno 


1673, and be so kept and attended that the Inhabi- | 


tants there be supplyed with good meale from time to 
time of the corne they shall bring to mille.” 


To the | 


builder the whole power of the stream was granted, | 


and he was also to have a house-lot out of any | 


unappropriated land not exceeding ten or twelve 
acres, 

This action was some ten years after the first steps 
taken by Dedham about the plantation, and tends 
strongly to show that the first comers were only tem- 
porary dwellers, looking after their improvements and 
returning home when their tasks were done. 

This time the settlement began in earnest. 
Thurstons, Wares, and others agreed to go up and 
settle at Wollomonopoag, with their families; the 


lishment of a blacksmith,—hardly less important,— 
and an able and faithful minister was invited. 

A committee, of which Maj. Lusher was a member, 
entered into a contract with Robert Crossman to build 
a mill on the conditions above stated. Robert en- 
gaged for himself and his heirs to build and equip 
the mill, ‘“‘ God permitting,” according to the proposi- 
tions of the proprietors, whereunto he did subscribe 
by making his mark. 

This was the last service rendered the settlement 
by Maj. Lusher. His death occurred this year, and 


in January following a committee was appointed to 


“yecon with Mrs. Lusher: for the writing written in 
the booke by the Hon’d. Major Lusher.” 

The mill, it seems, made slow progress; for in 
1674, Crossman requesting that the land he was to 
have might be laid out to him, was answered that 
when he should finish the mill according to his en- 
gagement, he should have it laid out by Sergt. Thomas 
And in 1680 it was voted that 
“if Robert Crossman do not speedily put his mill in 


curing another mill.’” 

There is a tradition that a son of Crossman was 
killed below the mill by an Indian, by which the 
father was so alarmed and discouraged that he aban- 
doned his mill and let it go out of repair. The rec- 
ord of the son’s death is as follows: ‘ Nathaniel 
Crossman, the son of Robert Crossman and Sarah, 
his wife, was killed by the Enymy Indians, March ye 
8, 1675-6.” 

Anticipating a few years, it appears that in 1685 
the grants formerly made to Crossman were con- 
ferred upon John Whiting upon similar terms. He 
was the son of Nathaniel, who had a corn-mill on 
Mother Brook, in Dedham, and who drew lot number 
two in the six-hundred acres dividend “ not far from 
the place intended to build a mill at.” He did not 
But he must have been 
the owner of Crossman’s rights in the mill, as his 
widow, Hannah Whiting, conveyed them by her deed 
to this son John, with other property, describing it as 
coming to her from her deceased husband, Nathaniel. 
This deed was dated Noy. 9, 1688, in the fourth year 
of King James II. John married Dec. 24, 1688, 
and lived upon the land granted to Crossman, near 
the outlet of the Great, or Mill Pond. 

In the year 1821 the town of Wrentham investi- 


come to Wollomonopoag. 


gated the question whether the successors of John 


The | 


building of a corn mill was provided for, the estab- | 


Whiting, viz., the Hagle Manufacturing Company, 
were not bound to grind corn, ete., for the inhabitants 
according to the conditions of the ancient grant to 


Crossman. It appears in the course of this investi- 











WRENTHAM. 


629 





gation, from the depositions of Capt. Lewis Whiting, 
Joseph Whiting, and Jemima Fisher, grandchildren 
of John Whiting, “that their grandfather built the 


mill on the present dam on the grant made to Cross- 


| 


man to grind particularly for the inhabitants of 


Wrentham.” And it further appeared that the dwell- 
ing-house built and owned by their grandfather, John 


Whiting, now (1821) owned by Eliphalet Whiting, | 


stands on the two-acre lot granted by the proprietors 
to their grandfather, John. (Two acres were granted 


John when he succeeded to Crossman in 1685.) It 


further appeared that the original site of the corn-mill 
was some eighty rods aboye the present dam, one of 
the deponents saying he had dug out mortised timber 
there, and seen the remains of a dam, and that such 
remains were believed to be visible even then (1821). 
The deponents had been told, and always understood 
that their grandfather, John, was the son of Nathan- 
iel, of Dedham, and that before he was married, when 
he was about eighteen years old, he came up from 
Dedham, and “tended the mill ;” and that his mother 
came with him and purchased all the lands, buildings, 
and rights of Crossman. 


ie yxix 


grandfather, John, who died in 1755. That house, 


the dwelling-house of that John Whiting, some por-— 
tions of which were erected nearly two hundred years | 


ago, and which were standing in 1821, is still standing, 
probably the oldest building within the bounds of the 
plantation, and still in the possession of descendants of 
John Whiting. It is doubted if a parallel case can 
be found in the ancient Wollomonopoag. 


And the “inhabitants moved 
there might be a committee chosen to treat with Mr. 
Samuel Man in reference to his settling and carrying 
on the worke of the ministrie ther.” 

After this preliminary step in the most important 


Wollomonopoag.” 


matter of settling a minister, they began to care for 
the highways and to procure a blacksmith, next to the 
miller a man of the greatest importance in the infant 
settlement. 

They, the proprietors, voted to give ten acres of 
upland for the encouragement of “ such a man as may 
This 
was in 1672. But they did not then succeed, for in 
1674 they voted “ for further incoragement of a black- 
smith in case there appere a man that is suffichant 


be approved of the calling of a blacksmyth.” 


| workeman and other wayse Incorageabell and do sup- 





As to the obligation of the factory owners to grind 


for the inhabitants, such eminent counselors as Wil- 


‘liam Prescott and Solicitor-General Davis united in | 
the opinion that the owners were under that obliga- | 


tion, and that suits might be maintained against 
them. But here the matter was dropped. Besides 
the grain-mill, there were formerly a fulling-mill and 
a saw-mill where the dam now stands. 

The precise time when the first minister, the Rev. 
Samuel Man, came to abide at Wollomonopoag is not 
known. The people had, as appears from their letter, 
heard him preach probably at Dedham, and _ probably 
between the date of that letter (1669 and 1672) he 


preached to the little group of settlers in this wilder- | 


ness occasionally, if not regularly.’ 
may have been, in 1672 the proprietors voted that 
“arate should be made of 1s. 6d. per cow-common 
towards the maintenance of the present minister at 





1 As he died in 1719, and this was the forty-ninth year of his 
ministry, as Mr. Bean was informed, he must have commenced 
about the year 1671. 


However this | 





t 


| againe.”” 
These deponents were more | 
than eighty years of age, and must have known their | 


ply the towne with Good and suffichant ware, too 
acres of meaddow and 2 or 3 acres of low swampy 
land, on condition that he inhabitt in the towne 7 
years, but if he remove from the town within 10 years 
the too acres of meadow to returne to the towne 
And in 1675 a small parcel of meadow 
containing two acres, lying below “Slate Rock,” was 
left for a smith. This was granted to James Mosman 
upon the condition of the vote of 1674. The infer- 
ence is that Mosman was the first blacksmith in the 
place. But he did not remain here long, and in 1685 
it was voted that “considering the want of a black- 
smith Sergt. Fisher is requested to treat with Samll. 
Dearing respecting the same and make report to the 
town.” 
Dearing “to settle with us to folow the calling of a 
blacksmith.” In 1687 the town, for his encourage- 
ment to settle, granted him “liberty of wood for 
firing and for coal for his worke and feeding and tim- 
ber for his use upon the comon land so long as he 


Two years later the town invited Samuel 


continue in the calling of a blacksmith in the town; 
this and what was proposed to him att our meeting 
last year.” On the 23d of June, 1688, the inhabit- 
ants being at work in the highway, Samuel Dearing 
also being present, agreed to accept the land assigned 
for a blacksmith upon the terms stated at the meeting in 
1672, and the inhabitants agreed “ to confirm said land, 
and also y‘ parcel of meadow and swampy land which 
was assigned for the encourgement of a smith, to the 
said Saml. Dearing; and do also appoint a committee 
to lay out the house-lot of ten acres near the Meeting- 
House.” The committee “did forthwith lay out said 
ten acres abutting upon the highway in part southwest 
and near to the land for the Burying place Northeast 
and common land on all other parts.” Other grants 
and promises of land were also made to him. He 
decided to locate here. In 1708 he was married to 


630 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Mary Man, the daughter and oldest child of the Rev. 
Samuel Man. Mr. Dearing was one of the selectmen 
in 1706. 

ninety-six. 
cludes the land where the present Congregational and 


Episcopal houses of worship stand. 


In 1672 a committee, previously appointed, re- | 


ported to the proprietors as follows, substantially : 
‘“‘Tmprimis, to grant Mr. Man a convenient house- 


lot out of the public lands, so much as shall arise | 


upon ten cow-commons, and all rights and privileges 
thereto belonging, as also libertie to choose half his 


He died in 1753, at the good old age of | 
The grant of ten acres made to him in- | 





proportion of meadow, the rest to take as other men.” | 


Further, the proprietors tender fifty pounds towards | 


building him a house, and the inhabitants engage to 
pay as they have intimated. his on condition that 
he settle at Wollomonopoag; but ‘if he is called to 
move, then he shall choose two or three men who 
shall judge and determine what shall be presented to 
them, and if they agree that his call is clear to re- 
move through default of the people, then Mr. Man 
shall enjoy the house and all the lands formerly men- 
tioned ; but if they do not so judge, and yet Mr. Man 
remove, then the former grants to return to the pro- 
prietors.” 
lows: “I do accept of these propositions in case they 
be performed within the space of a year and a half. 
(Signed) Samuel Man.” 

A committee was at the same time chosen to col- 
lect the money and build the house. 

Such was Mr. Man’s settlement. 
was not cheerful. 
three years. He knew, for he had preached among 
maintain themselves and their families. He came into 
almost a wilderness, where there was not only no 
meeting-house to receive him, but even no dwelling- 
house for a shelter and home, and, as Mr. Bean says 
in his century sermon, only sixteen families. 

He was the only son of William Man, who came 


To these terms Mr. Man agreed as fol- | 


The prospect 


His call had been pending some | ing any County rates for 7 or 8 years, we being few and poor 





from Kent County, England, where he was born about | 


the year 1607. 
tled in Cambridge, Mass. 
there July 6, 1647. 
University in 1665; married Esther Ware, of Ded- 


He married Mary Jarrard, and set- 
His son Samuel was born 


ham, in 1673; was employed asa teacher at Dedham, 
Mass.; ordained at Wrentham April 13, 1692, and 
died there May 22, 1719, in the seventy-second year 
of his age and forty-ninth of his ministry. 
dren were eleven in number, seven sons and four 
daughters, and, while his descendants must be very 
numerous, not one is known to bear the name at 
present in the town. 


He was graduated at Harvard | 


them, that this small company of farmers could barely | Which will oblige us to serve your honors. 


Incorporation of Wrentham.—In October, 1673, 
the inhabitants addressed the following petition to the 
General Court: 


“ The petition of the Inhabitants of Wollomonopoage humbly 
showeth that whereas it hath pleased God by his especial provi- 
dence to set the place of the habitation of divers of us in a place 
within the bounds of Dedham where some of us have lived 
severall years conflicting with the difficulties of a wilderness 
state, and being a long time without any to dispense the word 
of God to us, although at last it hath pleased God to send the 
gospel among us, dispensed by that faithful servant of his, Mr. 
Samuel Man; but not having power to assess or gather what 
have been engaged by reason divers live not within the limits 
of the town, and the constables of Dedham are not willing to 
gather what has been engaged, neyther is that engaged by 
Town power, so the pay is not attained, but that work is like 
to fail and we perish for lack of knowledge unless it please 
God to move your hearts who are the fathers of the country to 
take care for us and not for us only but for the interest of God 
here, now being helpless and hopeless doe yet venture to spread 
our complaint before your honors desiring you would put forth 
your power to promote the ordinances of God here. That 
which we desire and humbly present to your pious considera- 
tion is that there may be a committee impowered by this Hon. 
Court to settle some way for the maintenance of the ministrie,, 
which we doubt not but most of the proprietors in Dedham and 
elsewhere will readily grant, yet some there are that have 
rights here seem only to be willing that we should labor under 
the straights of a new plantation so as to bring their land to a 
great price, which no other can regulate (that we understand) 
but yourselves. ‘Therefore we fly to your wisdom and justice 
for help which no other under God can do. The proprietors 
also having engaged but for so long as we remain under the 
town power of Dedham, and Dedham now advising us to in- 
deavor to be of ourselves declaring that they cannot act for us 
as is necessary in divers cases they living so remote. And if 
it shall please God so far to move you to help us in this dis- 
tressed state we humbly further crave to be excused from pay- 


and fur into the country, and not considerable to the County 
We have herewith 
sent the copies of what the proprietors did engage (which have 
caused us your petitioners to venture upon these difficulties 
expecting more would have come to us) which we desire may 
be ratified till they send inhabitants suitable, or what other 
way God may direct your wisdom to determine, which shall 
ever oblige your poor supplyants to pray, &c.” 


The selectmen of Dedham assented, and upon the 
17th day of October, 1673, O. S8., the inhabitants 


were made a town by the name of Wrentham. The 
selectmen desire, ‘if the Court see meet to grant them 
town power, that it may be called Wrentham.’ Mr. 


- Bean alludes to the tradition extant in 1773 that some 


His chil- | 


of the first settlers here came from Old Wrentham, in 
England. It is supposed that the Rev. Mr. Philip or 
Phillips, who left his pulpit in Old Wrentham by 
reason of the persecutions of 1636-38, came to Ded- 
ham, and that he received an invitation to the minis- 
try in Dedham in 1638, but did not accept it. After 
being in Dedham and perhaps other places about a 
year he returned to his native land and resumed his 








WRENTHAM. 


631 








pastoral duties in his former parish. It is said that 
upon his voyage hither he was attended by “a goodly 
company,” others also from Old Wrentham, England, 
having preceded him. The names of Thurston and 
Paine are particularly mentioned. These brought 
“an account of the state of affairs in Wrentham on 
which the Christian people of Dedham in that coun- 
try invited him by letter to that plantation beforehand, 
so that when he arrived his friends there did expect 
and much endeavor to obtain his guidance in the 
first beginning of their ecclesiastical relationship.” 

In the petition of the inhabitants their leading 
thought seems to have been the maintenance of the 
minister. They asked for town power that rates 
might be made and collected for this purpose. ‘‘ Spir- 
itual affairs were ever first in the minds of the Puri- 
tans.” “Tt being as unnatural for a right New Eng- 
land man to live without an able ministry as for a 
And the Gen- 
eral Court “judgeth it meet to give the petitioners 


smith to work his iron without a fire.” 


all due encouragement conduceable to their settle- 
ment with the present minister, according to their 
desires.” 

The minister was the principal person intown; the 
real head of the people. 
matters temporal as well as spiritual. Usually he was 
the only learned man in these primitive settlements. | 
As the freemen must be church-members, it may be 
conceded that his influence must have been almost 
without limit. 


The early comers to Massachusetts established a 
church after their own choice, and the civil polity was 
in subordination to the ecclesiastical. 

In the resolve of Oct. 17, 1673, the General Court 
granted “all the liberties and privileges of a town- 
ship,’ with the boundaries heretofore agreed upon 
between the inhabitants and Dedham. Wrentham 
thus became independent of Dedham. But yet the | 
inhabitants were not considered competent to manage 
their town affairs, and the Court placed them under 
the guardianship of a committee, “ for the better car- 


rying in end of their prudential affairs,” etc., and ap- 
pointed Capt. Hopestill Foster, Mr. William Park, 
and Ensign Daniel Fisher to be the committee. They 
were to be joined with any two of the inhabitants that 
might be chosen, and the acts of said committee or 


the major part of them were “to be valid, and their 
power to continue till the Court take further order.” | 
And Wrentham was exempted from county rates for | 
four years. | 


John and Thomas Thurston were chosen by the 


His advice was sought in } 





inhabitants ‘to joyne with the committee appointed — 
by the Court.” ! 


Organization of the Town.—We now leave our 
Indian cognomen of Wollomonopoag. Hereafter the 
name given by the General Court is to be our desig- 
nation. On the 4th day of December, 1673, the 
committee (for ordering the affairs of the town called 
Wrentham, near unto Dedham) met and ordered as 
followeth : 


“1. Thomas Thurston to have the town book and make 
record of such orders as have passed respecting said plantation, 
ete. 

“2. Property holders there shall pay 1s. 6d. for every cow- 
common for support of the minister, according to a previous 
vote. 

“3. £50 to be assessed upon the proprietors towards build-~ 
ing him a house, according to an act past by them y® 31 June, 
"72. 

“4, All former committees to continue the work committed 
to them heretofore, as to laying out highways, etc. 

“5, That the order in Dedham Town Book referring to the 
admitting inhabitants, made June 1, ’66, be transcribed in this 
town book, to be an order for the town of Wrentham as to all 
intents and purposes therein contained. 

“Subscribed. Per order of Gen. Court. 

‘“‘HopesTILL Foster, 
“WILLIAM Park, 
“DANIEL FISHER, 

“ JoHn THURSTON.” 


The important order referred to by the committee 
was in substance as follows : 


‘“‘ Whereas, towns have suffered from the entertainment of 
persons privately, and as this town is liable to like inconve- 
nience, therefore for the prevention thereof, it is ordered that 
no inhabitant of the town, or tenant of any house, lands, &e., 
shall after due publication hereof, grant, sell, alienate, lease, 
assign, sett, or to farme lett any house, lands or parcels of land 
whatsoever within said town &c., to any persons not formerly 


| dwelling within our town, nor shall hire any out of town per- 


son for a servant by the yeare or any apprentice for more than 
two months without the leave of the Committee or the Select- 
men, without such ‘securitie’ for the ‘town’s indemnitie’ as 
said Committee or Selectmen shall accept. Notice shall be 
given of allsuch contracts made or intended to some one of the 
Comttee or selectmen, andif not forbidden within a month then 
the party may proceed therein. Butif being forbidden, he shall, 
notwithstanding proceed to contract or entertain contrary to this 
order, or shall fail to give notice as above provided, he shall for 
every month so continuing forfeit to the use of the Towne 


| twenty shillings to be levied upon his goods by the constable 


by warrant from the Comttee or Selectmen or be recoverable 
by action at law.” 

Such an order sounds very strangely in these days. 
But two hundred years ago such regulations con- 
formed to the sentiment prevalent in the Colony of 
Massachusetts Bay. 

And in 1692 a law of the province gave settlement to 
persons who sojourned in any town three months with- 
out having been warned by the constable to depart. And 
in 1736 it was enacted that the inhabitants who took 
in strangers should in twenty days notify the select- 
men thereof. Prior to these enactments it seems that 


652 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





the towns adopted orders upon the whole subject of 


the admittance of inhabitants, servants, and appren- | 
At this time notifications and warnings were | 


tices. 
not very frequent; Wrentham being “ far into the 
country,” few strangers probably found their way 
hither. Later in its history arrivals were more nu- 
merous and warnings more frequent. One is here 
copied : 
“ Wrentoam, January the 20, 1758. 
“We the subscribers would In Form the Selecttmen In Be- 
half our Honered Father Pelatiah man that He Hez brought 
into This Towne from Dedham gilyard Morse and Taffey Morse 
children of the late Widow Morse. 
“DANIEL MAN, 
“ MinatrAn Man.” 


—_— 


Having progressed thus far the inhabitants had a gen- 
eral meeting in February, 1675-74, and passed votes 
as to the mode of assessing estates for the support of the 
minister, requesting of the church in Dedham the use 
of their lands here for Mr. Man, for preventing the 
waste of timber, for repair of highways, and for fen- 
cing the lots of settlers. 
surveyor of highways; Samuel Sheeres and Joseph 
Kingsbury, fence-viewers. Measures were also taken 
for herding cattle, for keeping out-of-town cattle off 
the common lands, for the ringing of swine, and for 
building a pound. 

In 1674 an Indian named Matchinamook asked 
that he might have some place to live in, and “ full 
liberty” was granted him “to go to a place called 
Harry’s Plantation, or at the head of Ten-Mile River, 
near to the Pattene Line, there to improve three or 
four acres of land during his lifetime.” 

All these votes were subject to the approval of the 
court’s committee. 


tiations were had with Crossman regarding the corn- 


ah 


mill, as previously related; and in 1674 and 1675 
the votes for the encouragement of a blacksmith were 
passed. 

This latter year was undoubtedly one of anxiety to 
the little town of Wrentham. 
of 1675,” says Drake, ‘‘ Sassamon’s body was found in 
Assawomset Pond, in Middleborough.” 
Indian preacher, a professed convert to Christianity, 


“ Warly in the spring 


John Thurston was chosen | 








In this year some further nego- 





He was an | 


who had learned something of the English tongue. | 


Having learned from his countrymen that they in- 
tended to make war upon the English, he communi- 


cated that knowledge to the Governor of Plymouth, | 


Three In- 


dians were executed for this murder on the 8th day 


and by Indian laws this forfeited his life. 


of June, 1675, according to the same authority, the | 


act having been committed Jan. 29, 1675, N. 8. | 


Until this execution the natives had not engaged in 


any acts of open hostilities. But soon afterwards 


scene of action), where they were killed. 


Swanzey was attacked and nine of her inhabitants 
killed, and on the 24th of June the abandoned houses 
were burnt. Soon afterwards a part of Taunton, 


Middleborough, and Dartmouth were destroyed. 


| Mendon was also attacked, and it is said four or five 


persons killed. 

In 1675-76 the General Court, in consideration that 
many Indians were “skulking about our plantations, 
doing much mischiefe and damage,” offered a bounty 
of three pounds per head, or the Indian so taken, to 
every person who should surprise, slay, or bring in 
prisoner any such Indian.” 

It was probably about this time, and not long before 
their withdrawal, that the valorous little colony cov- 
ered itself with glory in the famous attack at Indian 
Rock. The story is as follows : 

A man by the name of Rocket being in search of 
a strayed horse in the woods, about three miles north- 
east from Wrentham village, discovered a trail of In- 
dians, forty-two in number, towards the close of the 
day directing their course westward. Rocket, undis- 
covered, followed the trail until about the setting of 
the sun when they halted, evidently with a design to 
lodge for the night. The spot chosen was well situ- 
Rocket 
watched their movements until they laid themselves 
down to rest, when with speed he returned to the 
settlement and notified the inhabitants. They being 
collected, a consultation was held, whereupon (the 
women, the infirm, and the children being secured in 
the fortified houses) it was agreed to attack the In- 
dians early the next morning. The little army con- 
sisted of thirteen; at its head was a Capt. Ware. 
Rocket was its guide. 
before daylight, and were posted within a short 


ated to secure them from a discovery. 


They arrived upon the ground 


musket-shot of the encamped Indians, with orders to 
reserve their fire until the Indians should arise. Be- 
tween daybreak and sunrise the Indians rose, nearly 
all at the same time; when, upon the signal given, a 
full discharge was made, which, with the sudden and 
unexpected attack and slaughter, put the Indians into 
the greatest consternation, so that in their confusion, 
attempting to effect their escape in a direction oppo- 
site to that from which the attack was made, several 
were so maimed by leaping down a precipice from 
ten to twenty-feet among the rocks that they became 
Some of the fugitives were over- 
And it is related that two of them 
being closely pursued, in order to elude their follow- 


an easy sacrifice. 
taken and slain. 


ers, buried their bodies all except their heads in the 
waters of Millbrook (about one mile from the first 
It is prob- 
able that these were likewise injured by their precipi- 





WRENTHAM. 


633 








tation from the rock. 


his long musket called a buccaneer at a single fugitive | 


Indian at the distance of eighty rods, and broke his 


One Woodcock discharged | 


| 
| 


thigh-bone and afterwards dispatched him. After the | 


battle there were numbered of the Indians 


some say twenty-four. Not one of the inhabitants 
was killed. 

Dr. James Mann, to whom we are indebted for 
this account of the fight at Indian Rock, says there 
is an intelligent man eighty-seven years of age (Dea- 
con Thomas Mann), who in his youth was acquainted 


with Rocket, and perfectly well remembers that on 


account of the above adventurous deed he received | 


during his life an annual pension from the General 
Court. 
name of Clap, was also living, aged ninety-four years, 
who well recollected to have heard the story related 


when quite young, as a transaction in which her | 
He adds there | 
| appointed also to keep a register of births, marriages, 


grandfather bore a conspicuous part. 
are men now living (at the date of his communica- 
tion) who well remember to have seen bones in 


abundance of the unburied Indians left upon the | 


spot where the action happened. 

In March, 1676, the inhabitants left their homes, so 
lately established here and with so much difficulty, 
on account of the alarming attitude of the natives. 
Up to this date eighteen births had been recorded, and 
the small number of families who were without any 
means of defense against the savages prudently with- 
drew. The war against the English was now fairly initi- 
ated by Philip. Having stirred up the native Indians 


killed | 
upon the field or by the fall from the rock, twenty; 


A granddaughter of Capt. Ware, of the 








from Mount Hope to Hadley, he led them against the | 


settlements of the whites, and prolonged the contest for 
The settlements were brought to the 
verge of destruction. 


nearly a year. 
Twelve or thirteen towns were 


entirely ruined, six hundred houses burned, and six | 


hundred men fell in battle. 
of Medfield was attacked and some twenty whites 
killed, and more than half the houses were burned or 
otherwise destroyed. Wrentham lay in the track 


The neighboring town 


from Mount Hope to Medfield, and was in danger. | 


The withdrawal of the inhabitants was in season; 
“no lives were cut off by the heathen.” But the 


Indians came after the inhabitants were gone, and | 
shillings—£1 10s. in wheat, five shillings in money, 
| and £3 10s. in merchantable Indian corn. 


burned all their dwellings but two, which were saved 
because, according to tradition, the party attacking be- 
lieved they had been infected with the smallpox. 

We get some knowledge of the condition of our 
town, and of the manner of administering its affairs 
more than two hundred years ago, from the record of 


a town-meeting held before the inhabitants aban- | ~ 


doned the place, viz., in 1674-75. At this meeting 


if he remained in Wrentham seven years. 





‘Samuel Fisher was appointed to take down in writ- 
ing what shall be agreed on this day.” It was 
ordered that a list of voters should be made, and 
absentees from town-meetings were to be fined ; grants 
of land were to be recorded ; fences three feet high, 
and sufficient to turn lawful cattle, should be built ; 
cattle should be herded and a herdsman appointed, 
the minister’s salary provided for, and additions made 
to it as inhabitants and improvements should increase, 
that the meadows should be laid out; that births, 
marriages, and deaths should be registered ; appointed 
surveyors of highways and fence-viewers, and men 
to burn the woods. They also voted that Mr. Man 
should have his ten cow-commons heretofore prom- 
ised, and that four days’ work should be done upon 
the highway. These votes were approved by the 
committee, of which it will be remembered two of the 
inhabitants were members, whose importance in the 
little community was thus recognized and acknowl- 
edged. One of these was Samuel Fisher, who was 


and deaths. Even thus early a list of voters was to 
be made, and under the laws of the colony but little 
difficulty could arise in determining who were voters. 

The General Court ordered, ‘to the end that the 
body of commons may be preserved of honest and 
good men, that noe man shall be admitted to the free- 
dome of this body polliticke but such as are members 
of some of the churches within the lymitts of the 
And in 1635, ‘that none hut freemen shall 
have any vote in any towne in any action of authority 
or necessity,” etc.; and ‘“‘for the yearly choosing of 
assistants the freemen shall use Indian corn and beans, 
the corn to manifest election, the beans contrary.” 
Quakers and others who refused to attend public wor- 
ship were made ‘“uncapable of voting in all civil 


same.” 


assemblise during their obstinate persisting in such 
wicked ways and courses and until certificate be 
given of their reformation.” 

It was voted upon Mr. Man’s request, in 1675, that 
the common rights and lands heretofore granted to 
him for improvement should become his absolutely 
Cornelius 
and Samuel Fisher bargained for his ten cow-com- 
mons, agreeing to pay therefor five pounds and five 


The last meeting of the inhabitants prior to aban- 
donment of the place was holden on the 19th of Jan- 
uary, 1675-76, and on March 30th they left on ac- 
count of the Indian war.’ 


1 The book-keeper made this entry: ‘‘ March ye 30, 1676, ye 
inhabitants ware drawn of by rason of ye Endian worre.” 


634 


HiSTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








| 


And on the 2d of February, 1675-76, the Pru- | 
dential Committee met and appointed the first Tues- 
day in March following to be a meeting of the pro- 
prietors at Dedham in reference to their replanting 
On the 6th of March, 1677, at | 
the proprietors’ meeting in Dedham, the question — 


there again. 


being put whether “they would go on with Wren- 
tham plantation again if there were peaceable times,” 


the answer was by all present that they would bear 
charges there as formerly, and divers of them ex- 
pressed themselves “willing to return if Mr. Man | 
would return with them, and a considerable number 
would ingage in that worke.”’ Upon further debate 
it was decided that a committee be chosen to present 
the case of Wrentham to the honorable General Court 
for their advice and concurrence in order to the re- 


building the towne again.” 
They also made a division of their meadow lands. | 
In 
1660 the number of proprietors was eighty. Sixteen 
years had made changes in the ownership of lands. 
From this time until January, 1677, no important 


In this division only forty-five persons drew lots. 





public transactions concerning Wrentham took place. 
At that time the “ Proprietors and those that were | 
formerly inhabitants of Wrentham” met, and the in- 
habitants were asked whether “they would go on to _ 
rebuild and inhabitt Wrentham.” 
as follows: 


Their answer was | 


“We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, having formerly 
had our residence in Wrentham, but by those sad and sollame 
dispensations of God’s providence were removed, yet desire a 
worke for the honour of God and the good and comfort of our- 
selves and ours might be again ingaged in and promotted 
att that place. 
God willing. 


Therefore our purpose is to returne thither, 
But knowing our own inability for so great and 
waytie a worke, both in respectt of our insufficiency for the 
caring on of new plantation worke, and the dainger that may 
yet be renewed upon us by the heathins breaking out on us, 
thinke it not saffe for us to returne alone, except other of the 
proprietors joyne to go up along with us, or send inhabitants 
to ingage in that work with us.” Subscribed by Elizear Met- 
calf, Daniell Haws, Daniell Wight, Saml. Fisher, William 
Macknah, Elizear Gay, Samuell Man, Cornelius Fisher, Joseph 
Kingsbury, Robert Ware, John Aldis, John Payne, Benjn. 
Rocket, Nath. Ware, John Ware, Michell Wilson, Samuel 
Sheeres. 


This faithful record informs us who the first in- 
habitants were. And although driven from their 
homes by the ‘“‘ heathins” and obliged to take quar- 


ters with their Dedham friends, they nevertheless 


preserved their organization, choosing John Ware 
and Samuel Fisher to join with the court’s com- 
mittee, Hleazar Gay, constable, and the faithful Sam- 
uel Fisher to keep the town book. 

The proprietors responded favorably to the appeal 
of the inhabitants, and a committee was appointed to 


_ two-thirds in Indian corn. 
_ taxed one pound. 


_ book-keeper, etc., were appointed. 


treat with Mr. Man. He very wisely required that 
a goodly number of competent persons should go back 
as a principal condition of his own return; and also 
that a suitable dwelling-house should be prepared for 
him; that there should be no delay as heretofore in 
the payment of his salary. This of the proprietors. 
Another condition of great importance he annexed, 
to wit: that they should sell their interest to settlers 


in good faith. Other conditions were made to the 


| proposed inhabitants, such as the improvement of his 


land, providing fifty loads of wood, care of his cattle, 
And 
if they failed to perform these he was to be at liberty. 

As to the first proposition, it was stated that the 
former inhabitants have determined to return to 
Wrentham, and that others purpose to join them, 
and that this is all the “incouragement that can at 
present be expected.” 


and a chosen manager of his out-door business. 


The other terms were sub- 
stantially accepted by both the proprietors and in- 


_ habitants. 


K rate was made probably in 1679 for the building 
of Mr. Man’s house at two shillings per common. 
Forty-five were taxed for this purpose, including the 
church at Dedham. The amount assessed was fifty- 
two pounds fifteen shillings and sevenpence, of which 
fourpence per common was to be paid in money, the 
rest to be one-third part in wheat and rye, the other 
Mr. Man himself was 
John Thurston, a non-resident, it 
seems was the largest taxpayer, the amount assessed 
him being three pounds sixteen shillings. 

In 1680 a house-lot and ten cow-commons, with 
the privileges thereto belonging, were granted to Mr. 
Constables were made 
to account for the rates collected by them, and it was 


? 


Man, to be “absolutely his.’ 


determined that highways should be made through 
the six hundred acres. Rules also for supplying Mr. 
Votes for the preserva- 


tion of grass upon the common lands, for the encour- 


Man’s wood were adopted. 


agement of a saw-mill, for a clerk of the rietts (writs), 
The book-keeper 
was ordered to procure a “copy of the purchase of 


and a brand-mark for their cattle. 


Wrentham, Indian title, when and of whom it was 
Mr. Man was to have the 
Constables, fence- viewers, 


A herd of milch 
On account of 


purched” (purchased). 
benefit of the church-lot. 


cows was to be kept ‘in the towne.” 
the scarcity of timber no one could cut off the com- 
mon land upon penalty of five shillings per tree. 
Lands were to be fenced in general fields, each man 
bearing his proportion of the expense, according to the 
number of his acres. Bounds between town and in- 


dividuals were to be renewed once in three years. 





WRENTHAM. 


635 





A part of the former inhabitants had returned in | In 1685 there was a general meeting of the pro- 
March, 1680, as appears from the following entry of prietors and inhabitants “att Wrentham meeting 
the book-keeper: “The inhabitants, such as were then | 


come to Wrentham being meat [met] to agree of rais- 


ing an addition for the finishing Mr. Man’s house | 


and chimnis according as they had formerly ingaged, 
they agreed that a rate should be made for that end, 


and that it should be leavied upon the commons, for | 
that several of them that had ingaged whose names | 
to any other use or purpose whatsoever.” 


are upon record were not yett come to dwell here and 
thereby theire rateabell estate is not in towne.” 

The First Meeting-House.—In March, 1681, the 
committee having met at Dedham, and being informed 
that the inhabitants of Wrentham were suffering 
“oreat inconvenience for want of a suitable place to 
attend the worship of God, it is ordered that a con- 
venient house be forthwith erected.” 
to be borne in part by the proprietors and in part by 
the inhabitants. In March, 1682, they concluded 
that,— 





The cost was | 


“The bigness of the house shall be as followeth, viz., 36 foote | 
in length and 26 foot wide, with 16 foot stude suffichantly | 


brasted (braced) and all other suffichant timber suitabel for 
such an house; to stand the north side of Mr. Man’s house. 
And they granted to John Woodcock a parcel of land as nere 
the place where the meeting-house shall stand as may be con- 
veniently had, that he might sett a small house up for theire 
refreshment on the Sabbath day when they come to attend 
upon the worship of God.” 

This was the first vote regarding the building of 
the meeting-house, which they thought might be in- 
closed by the 15th of September next following and 
finished by March 1, 1684, but a dozen years had 
passed before its completion. 

In 1684, to “prevent unnecessary discourse,” a 
committee was appointed to ascertain what debts were 


due to and from the town before the war, and to do as | 


God shall direct them.” 
dividends of land, viz., timber and woodland, plow- 


They also ordered three 


land, and meadow or swamp land; and having chosen 
their book-keeper, prudential committee, constable, and 
agent for the minister's business, they chose also a 


committee to assess a tax for the payment of his sal- | 


ary, the only object for which a tax was at this time | 


assessed, there being no school at this early period, | 


and the highways being made and repaired by the 


personal labor of the inhabitants. A committee was 


appointed to “looke to the boys upon the Sabbath in | 


time of exercise to keep y™ from playing and also to 
sweep the meeting-house.” 

Liberty was given to certain persons to build a gal- 
It thus appears that this 
first meeting-house was erected and occupied in 1684, 
although far from being finished. 


lery in the meeting-house. 


' mon land and for other trespasses. 


‘ title to lands in the west part of the town. 


hous,’ when it was determined that the common land 
between the two great ponds “shall lie common for 
thé proprietors.” Secondly, that they would “sett 
out four or six acres of their now common land near 
the metting hous, with twenty or twenty-five acres of 
other upland and swamp or swampy land for the en- 
couragement of a school, which was not to be diverted 
These 
lands and the proceeds of their sale, let it be said to 
the honor of the good people of this town, never have 
been diverted by them from the use to which they 
were thus applied, but now make a part of the fund 
whose income is appropriated to the support of 
schools. 

It was ordered that the meeting-house should be 
used for a watch-house. They provided also for a 
stock of ammunition, voted to establish the stocks for 
the punishment of offenders, to pay for “ billiting” 
soldiers at the time of the Indian war, and to pay 
bounties for “ wolves that have been killed.” Eleven 
wolves were killed. John Ware was allowed one 
pound four shillings and ninepence for his disburse- 
ments or services in building Mr. Man’s first house, 
from which it would seem that Mr. Man had been a 
householder here before Philip’s war, his first house 
having been burned by the Indians. 

In the same year the inhabitants presented a peti- 
tion to the General Court praying that they might be 
authorized to chose selectmen, as in other places, rep- 
resenting that the committee appointed to have the 
care over them, although very useful in “‘ yt capacity, 
yet they are crazy and infirme in body, and cannot be 
got together so often as we stand in need of, etc.” 

The General Court in answer granted “ that they 
may have liberty to chous men as in other places.” 

In 1686, selectmen were chosen for the first time. 
They were Samuel Fisher, John Blake, John Fair- 
banks, John Guild, and John Ware. And now the 
town began its real independent existence, being 
deemed at last capable of acting without guardians. 
They appointed a committee ‘to goe the bounds be- 
tween Dorchester and Wrentham, and renewe the 
markes as the law directs.” They voted bounties for 
killing blackbirds, adopted orders concerning cedar 
timber, and fined certain persons for neglecting work 
upon the highways and for cutting grass upon com- 
The town had at 
this time forty-two pounds of powder and one hun- 
dred of lead. A committee was appointed to go to 
Rehoboth (since Attleborough), and examine the 


There 


636 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





was but little money in the plantation, and the salary 
of the good minister was so much in arrear that the 
town “‘ doe nominate their friend and neighbor, Sargt. 
Samuel Fisher and do desire and impour him to de- 
mand and upon refusal to address himself to ye Gov- 


ernor and Council for advice and make his report to | ; : 
| by ye English Noon hill, & so to ye grat River, called by ye 


the Town.” 

On the Ist day of March, 1687, there was a meet- 
ing of the inhabitants “to consider the matter of 
clearing the Enden [Indian] title to their lands.” 
Samuel Fisher and John Ware were chosen a com- 
mittee “ to take care in the town’s behalf and manage 
the clearing and confirmation of the Town’s title to 
ye lands in ye town bounds according to ye agree- 
ment with Dedham at the first settling of Wrentham.” 


Report or THE ComMmitrEE.—* Forasmuch as Thomas Awas- 
amogue a Natick Indian in the last year being 1687, made claim 
to some of our lands which was bought of Philip Sagamor and 
payd for according as the law then provided for ye Endians 
the town being called together to consult y" own interest, ther 
was a committee chosen to inquir into the matter, which Com- 
mittee (after some inquiring and also treating with said Thos. 
Awasamogue) presented to the town divers Evydances [evi- 
dences] and wrightings both of English and Endians for ye 
making the thing mor clear which Evydances are insarted as 
followeth. 

“1. Philip Sachem to Major Lusher and Lieutenant Fisher.! 

2. The following order, Wollomonopoag, 10, 9, 69. 

“To the Selectman of Dedham—these are to request you to 
pay to this barer for ye use of King Philip five pounds, five 
shillings mony and five in Trucking cloath att mony price with 
a third Pt advanced. 

“ JoHn Tuurston, Sr., & others.” 


“3. Receaved of this bill ye 16 of November 1669 in refer- 
ance to the pay of King Philip of mount hope ye full and just 
sum of five ponds and five shillings in money and twelve yards 
in trucking cloath, three pounds of powder and as much lead 
as to make it up to which is in full satisfaction with ten 
pounds that he is to receive of Nathaniel Pan [Paine] of 
Seconck for all the rights of land claimed by Indian title from 
the town or within ye limits belonging to the town of Dedham 
which is due by any claim to King Philip or heirs or assigns in 
witness hereof I have here sett to my hand this 16 Novemb. 69 

“Tn presents of us. 

“ Josnua Fisner & others 





 PrereR INDIAN 


his) (CS mark.” 


Then follow sundry depositions,— 


1. “ Nathaniel Colburn, aged 70 years and upward (Dedham, 
March, 1687), testifie that I, being at Wollomonopogue when 
King Philip did make sale of thos lands, which ware in ye 
bounds of Dedham, to those men which Dedham Selectmen 
had sent up to trade with King Philip respecting ye same, and 


1 This is the letter previously inserted on page 626, in which 
Philip wished his white friends to send him a ‘holland shirt to 
wear to Plimouth Court and offering to sell his land at Wollo- 


monopoag.” 


There is also an entry under dateof 8th of 9th mo., 
1669, that Philip’s notice was received and a committee ap- 
pointed to treat with him at Wollomonopoag, and the report of 


the committee and the ordering of a rate to pay Philip. 





I did see King Philip seal the deed in ye presents of divers 
Endens (Indians), who, he said, ware of his council.” 

2. “An Indian, called Joseph, aged 46 years or more 
(Wrentham, March, 1687), who testifie that when I was a 


| young man I did live at Wollomonopogue, and was one of 


Philip’s men. And I know that Philip, our Sachem, his hunt- 
ing land was from Mashapogue pond, & so along toa hill, called 


English Charles River, & so up y* River to a River att Sichso- 
pogue, and up to Sanetcheconet and ye land belonging to Wol- 
lomonopog, all y$’ lands I know was Philip’s, and that he sold 
it to Dedham men. I was at Wollomonopoag when Dedham 
men bargained for it, and farther, when I was a boy, my grand- 


| father lived at Pabeluttock, and payed tribute to Philip.” 


3. “Sampson, an Indian, aged 55 years, and Deask, aged 40 
years (Bristol, March, 1687), testifie and saith that we, having 
had some knowledge of the bounds of the lands which some- 
time did belong to Philip Sagamore, and it was always accounted 
that in the north or norwest part, his bounds went from Masha- 
pogue pond, and so to Wawwatabscutt, and yn (then) Pabanut- 
tuck, and to Bappatocket, & yn to Nihoquicag, and from thens 
straight away to Pontucket River, and that these places was 
Philip’s propriate, being his outmost bounds that way, and 
further saith, that ye Indians yt dwelt ther did pay tribute to 
Philip. When they killed a bare they brought it to Philip. 

“Roben, a Tanton Endian, & his squay testifie the same. 
John Doggett testifie that Nihaquiag was in Philip’s bounds.” 

4. “The testimony of an Indian called Labeock, aged 86 
years (Decem. 24, 1686), who saith he knew all the lands here 
described to be aforetime Wassomeakin’s (Massasoit), and after 
Philip, his son’s. The bounds Eastward was at Mashapogue 
pond, and so from ye middle of that pond Northward over a 
high hill, and straight along to another great hill into Medfield 
ward, a hill called by the English Noon hill, and from that hill 
straight along to ye great River, called by ye English Charles 
River, and up y* River, to a pond and a little hill, which was 
by the Indians called Pabaluttock, wher was of old a hill field; ~ 
and further, his land was to Seanchapogue River, & so bake 
again southward to Senecheconet, and all yt land called Wollo- 
monopogue. Isay I know all this land was, after Wassamakin’s 
death, Philip’s land, and that all Indians that lived ther when 
Philip was alive called him Sachem and payd tribut to him; and 
further, I hard Philip say that he had sold thos lands to Massa- 
chusetts men, and had no more to doe ther, and I did see Philip’s 
men when they brought the pay to Philip. 

5. “John Daggett, of Rehoboth, aged 64 years (Wrentham, 
March, 1687), testifie, that in former times, as I had frequent 
convers with the Indians upon Ocasion I was att a great meet- 
ing of ye Indians, or an Indian dance, where yr (there) was 
present Ansemakin, Sagamore of Mount hope, and Philip, his 
son, who was afterwards Sagamore, and a great number of In- 
dians, and I did then understand that there was a bussell or 
controversie amongst ym, and many large words about ye Right 
of land, and after long debate the conclusion was, that from 
Pontuequet River and so northward by a small river near 
Sanchapogue, at least eight or ten miles, and y® (then) about 
Eastward, and so to Mashapogue pond, was and should be An- 
semakin's land. Ys (this) meeting was, as nere as I can re- 
member, upwards of 30 or nere 40 years since, and was on the 
land in controversie.” 


Land Titles.—In 1688 all grants of land were to 
This year the salary of Mr. Man 
was to be forty pounds, one-fourth in money, one- 
fourth in English grain, and the other half in coun- 


be in fee simple. 








WRENTHAM. 637 





try payment. Ten persons agreed to pay certain 
sums towards the salary, twenty-six requested to be 
taxed their proportional parts. It would seem, there- 
fore, that there were thirty-six taxpayers living here 
at this time. Of these, Ensign Blake was the 
wealthiest. 

Public officers made moderate charges for their ser- 
vices in 1688. 
two days and to Dedham and Boston five days, 
charged twelve shillings. 
Swanze, Brestol, and Tanton five days, to Dedham 
and Boston four days, eighteen shillings. 

In the assessment in December, 1688, for paying 
the expenses of clearing the Indian title, which was 
to be borne by proprietors as well as inhabitants, but 
few names except those of inhabitants appear. 
Man’s policy that non-resident proprietors should 
sell out their interest in the lands here had prevailed. 
The tax also was fora black staff, for wine and ale 
measures, scales and beam, and for some finishing of 
the meeting-house, and other things for which the 
town is indebted. 
ble, whose duty it was “ to carry his black staff in the 
execution of his office that none may plead igno- 
rance.”’ 

Burial-Ground.— When the proprietors in 1689 
laid out to Samuel Dearing the blacksmith the ten 


acres promised him, “sufficient land for to bury in, | 
one acre and a half at least, and a leading way to it,” 


was reserved. ‘This was pursuant to the reservation 
made at the original planting of Wollomonopoag. No 
more specific statement of the quantity of land re- 
served for this use has been found. The southeast 
corner of Dearing’s house-lot ‘‘ touched on the bury- 
ing-ground.” It was no doubt near the site occupied 
by Mr. Harlow. Although the proprietors appointed 
a committee to lay out the burying-ground, yet in 
1795 no report of such committee could be found, 


but the yard was found to be included in the lands of 


Cyrus Guild, and an agreement was then made with | 


Guild as to boundaries, leaving three acres and four | 
he intended to let Force into his house as a tenant, 


rods for burial purposes. The old cemetery has re- 
cently been enlarged by the annexation of more of the 
land originally owned by Cyrus Guild. The ancient 
yard is filled with the dust of generations that have 
lived and died since Samuel Sheeres first came to Wol- 
But 


lomonopoag. 
“The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep” 


not altogether in quiet; modern improvement is re- 
ported to have driven its plowshare over their ashes. 

In the westerly part of the town (now Franklin) 
one acre was laid out for a burying-place, ‘bounded 


Lieut. Fisher, for going to Mendon | 


John Ware, for going to— 


Mr. | 


The black staff was for the consta- | 








on the way leading from Capt. Robert Pond’s along 
by Eleazer Metealf’s, north on the land of Baruch 
Pond, eastward by common land on all other parts.” 
Laid out March 28, 1735. 

In 1689 the town made provision for the first per- 
son requiring help asa pauper. The constable was 
ordered to ‘“ convey out of town a woman of late come 
from Boston to Mr. Blake’s, unless she forthwith 
give bond with sufficient sureties for the securitie of 
the town.” 

Richard Puffer agreed to take the above-mentioned 
pauper for one year, and was to have “three pounds 
& ten shillings in Country pay, and in case she should 
larn to spin and card yn (then) yr (there) shall be 
consideration on yt account of ten or twenty shillings 
as may be meet.” 

The meeting-house was still unfinished in 1690. 
It was then voted that “it should be shingled on or 
before the 20th of June, 1690, the walls lathed, 
plastered, and white-limed, two galeries finished, and 
the windows gleased (glazed).” Watchmen were to 
walk two together “of a night” from the meeting- 
house eastward and westward “not exceeding half a 
mile.” The law of 1636 required them to examine 
all night-walkers after ten o’clock at night, unless 
they be known peaceable inhabitants; to inquire 
whither they are going and what their business is, 
and, if their answers are unsatisfactory, they were 
to be held securely until the next morning and 
carried before a magistrate to answer, etc.; and to 
secure any one after ten o'clock at night behaving 
“debauched by” or being “in drink.” In short, like 
Dogberry’s posse, these worthy officers were 


“To comprehend all vagrom men.” 


And, further, they were ‘to see all noises stilled and 
lights put out (except upon necessary occasions) for 
the prevention of fire as much as may be.” 

A circumstance illustrative of the spirit of the time 
happened in the case of Benjamin Force in 1691: 
Cornelius Fisher, having informed the selectmen that 


was ordered to make no contract with him until the 
selectmen should be satisfied, or that his stay in town 
should be limited, at least. 
in strict conformity to the rule adopted by the town, 


This order was, however, 


as set forth upon a previous page. 

A tax was assessed of thirty-six pounds for Mr. 
Man’s salary, he being entitled to forty pounds, 
‘having reseved order from y*® Revt. Mr. Man to 
make it no more respecting the waight of publique 
charges.” 

The next year we find the inhabitants engaged in 


638 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





their ordinary affairs, including the perambulation of 
the town lines between Wrentham and Dorchester, 


and Medfield and Wrentham, Dedham and Wren- | 


tham. The young settlement had now become able 
to contribute to public charges, and was assessed 
£135 16s. 4d. as its part of a county tax. This tax- 
list contained forty-two names, John Blake’s having 
the largest sum set against it, viz., £9 11s. Lieut. 
Fisher’s tax was £6 2s. 9d. 





In some discussion concerning a way to Mischo | 


meadow, it was said it would be of great use to other 
meadows that way, one of which was the meadow 
at the mine. We get from this statement an idea as 
to the location of the mine, and infer that it was in 
the westerly part of the town; but as to its character, 
whether it was a gold-, silver-, copper-, lead-, or coal- 
mine, we are not informed.' 

One Dr. James Stuerd (Stewart), with his family, 
having taken up his residence at the house of Hleazer 
Gay, an admonition went swiftly from the selectmen 
to Eleazer that he must be responsible for this bold 
physician and his family according to the town’s 
orders. It is probable that the forty-two householders, 





agement to a medical man, so that the worthy select- 
men of that day most prudently prevented Dr. Stuerd 
from becoming an inhabitant unless the required se- 
curity should be given. 

In 1692 some new regulations were made concern- 
ning the admission of inhabitants. _New-comers were 
required to present themselves to the selectmen and 
bring with them certificates of their good behavior and 


honest vocation, and especially of their ability to get 


a “livelihood.” And if strangers failed thus to satisfy | 
the selectmen, or to give sureties, they were to be | 


warned out of town, and in case of their neglect or 


delay, they were to be ‘‘ sent out of said town bounds | 


by y° constable.” 
Thomas Young, having desired to be admitted an 


inhabitant, the selectmen answer him that as they do | 


not desire to be rash in any proceeding, they will 


an obstinately healthy people—gave poor encour- | 








postpone the consideration of his case three weeks, | 
and, if he shall then satisfy them by certificate or | 


otherwise, then to be admitted. 


At the annual town-meetings the list of voters was | 


to be read by ten o'clock A.M., and the absentees to be > 


fined. 
A town-meeting was called on the 28th of April, 
1692, “by sun half an hour high in the morning to 
1The Dedham Records, vol. iii. p. 206, speak of hopes of 
discovering a copper-mine within the bounds of Wollomono- 
poag at Harry’s ground, on the west side of a brook that runs 
out of Mischo. 





consider the subject of seating the people in the 
meeting-hons.” 

The town compensated Deacon Samuel Fisher and 
Cornelius Fisher, for their services as representatives 
to the General Court, by the payment of seven pounds 
and fifteen shillings ; and allowed Samuel Fisher, for 
his disbursements for ‘ Diat,” etc., fifteen shillings 
for something more than two weeks, his horsekeeping 
included ; and Cornelius Fisher, for“ Diat,” drink, and 
other necessaries, one pound, fifteen shillings, and four 


pence for about four weeks, including his horse- 


keeping. 

In 1693 the towns of Rehoboth (Attleborough) 
and Wrentham renewed their bound marks, being oc- 
cupied three days in the matter, and beginning at 
Pawtucket River. Afterwards the selectmen were 


| directed “ to let out the common meadow on the south 


side of Dimon Hill nere Rehoboth line till the town 
” Showing that a part of 
what is now Cumberland, R. I., was within the limits 
of Wrentham. 

It was now, 1693, voted that the annual town- 
meetings should hereafter be holden on the first Mon- 
day of March, and this continued to be the day of 
those meetings for about one hundred and eighty-five 


otherwais dispose of it. 


years. 

A new corn-mill was established at Jack’s Pasture, 
now the site of the City Mills. 

A similar grant of stream, land, and privileges was 
made to any one who would erect ‘a good and suf- 
fitiant corn-mill at Stony Brook.” 

It was not until the year 1695 that any steps were 
taken towards the building of a school-house. At 
this time the voters determined to build a watch- 
house, which should serve the purpose of a school- 
It was ‘to be so bigg as y‘ y™ (that 
there) may be a room of sixteen foot squar besides 
Galleries were to 
be finished in the meeting-house and the people to be 
placed therein, and Hleazer Fisher was to sweep it, 
take care of the cushion, and provide a lock for the 


house also. 


convenient room for a chimney.” 


door. 

People were occasionally warned to leave town, six 
having been so warned from 1696 to 1699. 

Two dividends of land made in 1698 are instruc- 
The first was of timber land, consisting of only 
Seem- 


tive. 
one and one-half acre to each cow-common. 
ing to prove a scarcity of timber land. And we also 
may add that the proprietors at different times made 


regulations concerning the use of timber, and for pre- 


venting trespasses and waste thereof. The second 
dividend was called the great dividend, being seven 


acres to each cow-common right. A corrected list of 





= 


= 


WRENTHAM. 


639 








the commons was prepared in order to this dividend 


to have a school kept within its limits. For about 


in October, 1697, and it was found that the whole | forty years the place had been known, and more or 


number of cow-commons was five hundred and two 
(502), and of sheep-commons thirty-one and one-half 


(313), and that the number of proprietors was sixty- 


three (63). 
drawn—one being the church lot. 
the remainder were drawn by inhabitants and by 


In this ‘“ divident” fifty-eight lots were 


All but fifteen of | 


John Thurston, who drew twenty. The non-resident 


proprietors had at this date become reduced to a small 
number, and the little community was really becoming 
independent. 


Upon consultation with Mr. Man, the selectmen de- | 


cided that there should be “a contribution on the 
Lord’s day, after the evening exercise, toward defray- 
ing his salary.” The people had been very negligent 


about paying him. 


_ less inhabited, but nothing had been done in the way 
_ of a public school in all that time. But now the obli- 
_ gation could no longer be shunned, and the town voted 
to procure a schoolmaster. But it seems that the 
good fathers were not successful, for we find the record 
made that they had approached Mr. Cobbitt with an 


invitation, but found him engaged for the winter ; 


and although they had heard of other masters, yet 
‘considering the scarceness of money, etc., it is pro- 
posed for this winter time that ye Selectmen, and 
such others as will join in yt worke with them, doe 
_ by themselves or som others in their behalf, take their 

turns by ye week to keep a school to teach children 


-and youth to read English and wright and cypher 


The constables were often behind | 


in their collections, and many “ reckonings” were had — 


with them on this account. 
land were often delinquent in this respect. 
ecdote of the Rev. Jonathan French is told by Presi- 
dent Quincy substantially as follows: ‘The parish 
were bound to find him in wood ; the winter was coming 
on, and they had neglected to furnish it. Experience 


An an- | 


The towns in New Eng- | 


had taught him that a direct complaint would be use- 


less. He waited therefore until the proclamation for 
Thanksgiving came, and after reading it to the con- 


gregation he said, with great apparent simplicity, | 
‘“‘ My brethren, you perceive that his Excellency has 


appointed next Thursday as a day of Thanksgiving, 
and according to custom it is my purpose to prepare 
two discourses for the occasion, provided I can write 
them without a fire.” The hint took effect, and be- 
fore twelve o’clock on the succeeding Monday his 
whole winter’s stock of wood was in his door-yard. 
A committee was appointed “to take care of the 
common meadow about Diamon Hill for the town’s 
use.’ Jurisdiction was taken by Wrentham over this 
part of Rehoboth (now Cumberland, R. L.). 
names of people born on territory now included 
within the limits of Cumberland were entered upon 


the books of the record of births, etc., in Wrentham; _ 


especially was this the case with the name of Ballou. 


In the same year (1698) the selectmen, acting for | 
the first time in the name of the overseers of the poor, | 


contracted with Ben Rocket to keep Hannah Kings- 
bury, a distracted or idiotic person, for one year for 
£3 10s. in money. In 1701 the number of tax- 
payers was fifty-four. 

A town-meeting was called Dec. 19, 1701, to act 


upon the subject of establishing a school “as the law | 


direct.” The requisite number of householders— 


The | 


(Grates), and in hope that som of 5 (our) neighbors 
will joyn with us in yt worke we Intend (God willing) 
to begin the next Monday.” 

In 1702 so much progress was made that it was 
resolved to build a school-house “twenty foot long 
and sixteen foot broad, to be built and finished by 
next Michelmas or thereabouts.’’ 

In the rate made for paying the cost of this school- 
house, the selectmen included the names of fifty-eight 
Of these, Daniel Hawes 
was taxed thirteen shillings and Robert Ware twelve 
shillings and ten pence, Lieut. Ware eleven shillings 
twopence, Michael Wilson ten shillings and eight 
pence, and Eben Gay ten shillings, who are named as 
showing who paid the largest taxes, and what amounts 


persons who were assessed. 


they were assessed. The assessment for the school- 

house probably amounted to about fourteen pounds, 

This first school-house was located near the present 
site of the bank building; at least, one stood there in 
/1738. On the 24th day of December, 1703, the 
selectmen ‘did bargain and agree with Theodo" Man 
in behalf of the town to keep schoole, beginning 
January the 3d next insuing, until the next March 
for the sum of three pounds eight shillings in silver.” 
He was a son of Rev. Samuel Man. In 1704, John 
Swineborn was employed for thirty shillings and his 
' diet. In 1705, Theodore Man was offered forty shil- 
lings per month, and in 1707 the treasurer was 
directed to pay him four pounds for keeping school 
two months. John Fale, Jonathan Ware, and Wil- 
liam Man were also employed to teach, and they, with 
others, kept the one school in town for some years. 
The town voted from time to time small sums for 
| repairing this solitary school-house. 


[In 1717 a three months’ school was established, to 
be kept alternately at the east end of the town one 


fifty—now being settled here, the town was compelled | month, the next month at the school-house, the third 


640 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





month at Ebenezer Ware’s; and in 1719 four schools 
were voted at four different quarters of the town. 
Jabez Wight, of Dedham, was employed to teach a 
grammar school for one-quarter of a year for ten 
pounds. 

In 1723 a school was provided at Poppoluttuck, 
and the next year it was voted that the school be kept 
one-half the time in some convenient place near the 
meeting-house, and in that part of the town formerly 
belonging to Dorchester, and the other half in those 
places that that will accommodate those inhabitants 
In 1734, Mr. 
Joseph Bacon was employed to preach four months 


who live at a distance from town. 


in the west part of the town (now Franklin), and also | 


to keep school three months, for the sum of forty-two 
pounds. The schools were not permanently located 
in those days, it seems, as the matter of placing or 
stating them was frequently considered in town-meet- 
ings. ‘To show what wages were then paid we append 
a few examples. In 1730, Nathaniel Newell was 
allowed twenty-seven pounds for keeping school three- 


quarters of a year, and he procured his board for five 
shillings per week. ‘The Selectmen agreed with 
Mr. David Cowell, to keep a grammar school in this 
town for one month for the sum of five pounds, and 
with Hezekiah Man for two months after the expira- 
tion of that time, and they were to provide for them- 
selves.” 
paid “fourteen pounds and his diet and lodging.” 
Notwithstanding the division of the town into pre- 
cincts in 1737, precinct schools were not established, 
although the law of the province allowed it. 


teachers, the town continuing to discuss and settle the 
questions of number and location of schools and 
amount of money to be expended. 


In 1762, Eliphalet Whiting was directed “ to make | 


answer to a complaint laid before the grand jury, for 
not keeping a grammar school.” 
hundred families were under obligations by statute to 
maintain agrammar school. Whatever might be the 
notions of the selectmen of those days about a gram- 
mar school (and it seems that to instruct their chil- 
dren to read, write, and cipher was all they required 
of their teachers), the law-givers of 1647 defined it 


by requiring that the master thereof should be able | 


to fit youth for the university. And it is probable that 
our predecessors made attempts to provide such teach- 
ers, agents being sent to Cambridge, Dedham, Rox- 
bury, ete., to procure them ; and Jacob Bacon, Heze- 


kiah Man, David Cowell, Amariah Frost, James | 
Messinger, and Benjamin Guild, who were employed | 


as teachers, were university graduates. In 1764 the 


In 1739 the grammar-school teacher was | 


The | 


selectmen continued as formerly to contract with | 


All towns of one | 


grammar school was continued, and the school money 
remaining after paying for that was divided according 
to the number of children between four and sixteen 
years of age. his was the practice for many years. 
In 1767 the town voted to expend eighty pounds for 
the support of schools, and that the school should be 
kept in the circular form,—that is, moving about into 
different parts of the town according to their respec- 
tive turns, until the eighty pounds be expended. The 
divisions of the town for school purposes were desig- 
nated variously, as the Long Walk division, Capt. 
Day’s division, the South End division, the school near 
Esquire Whitney’s, Deacon Man’s division, ete. In 
1780 three thousand pounds were voted for the use of 
the school in this town, so depreciated had the cur- 
rency become ; and in 1786 it was voted to keep a 
grammar school at the cheapest rate in order to clear 


i 


the town of a fine; also, that young men intending 
to go to college should be exempt from poll-tax so 
long as the town is exempted from keeping a gram- 
mar-school master. The Legislature, in 1789, author- 
ized a division of towns into districts, with bounds 
defined for school purposes. And in 1790, Deacon 
Man’s division, so called, was changed into a school dis- 
trict, and the bounds thereof established. In 1802, dis- 
tricts one, two, and three were in like manner defined, 
and eventually, viz., in 1846, there were nineteen. A 
hundred years ago the school money was expended as 
follows, viz.: for the Benjamin Shepard division, 
three pounds, thirteen shillings, for the year 1777 ; 
the River End division, three pounds, eighteen shil- 
lings ; the Samuel Lethbridge division, three pounds, 
eightpence; Long Walk division, four pounds, one 
shilling, two pence; Capt. Fairbanks’ division, five 
| pounds, eight shillings, four pence; North End divi- 
| sion, three pounds, nine shillings, fourpence; the 
Reuben Pond division, three pounds, nine shillings, 
fourpence; Joshua Grant division, four pounds, 
eighteen shillings, eightpence ; the South End divi- 
sion, six pounds, ten shillings; Capt. Day's division, 
five pounds, twelve shillings, eightpence ; the Samuel 
Hawes division, four pounds, eight shillings, tenpence ; 
Col. Metcalf’s division, four pounds, eleven shillings ; 





| Ellis’ division, two pounds, three shillings, four- ° 


pence; Plain division, three pounds, eightpence; Hast 
division, six pounds, seven shillings, tenpence. In 
the year 1800 five hundred dollars was granted for 
the support of schools; from 1802 to 1806, six 
hundred dollars; from 1806 to 1810, eight hundred 
dollars; from 1810 to 1827, one thousand dollars ; 
from 1827 to 1842, fifteen hundred dollars ; in 1846 
it was two thousand dollars. From that time it has not 
‘been below two thousand dollars, and has been five 





WRENTHAM. 


641 





thousand. After the loss of that part of our town | 
which went into the new town of Norfolk the sum 
was reduced to four thousand dollars. 

School Fund.—It will be remembered that in | 


1662-63, as previously related, the proprietors of the | 


lands here held a meeting at Dedham, and among 
other things voted to reserve land “ for highways, of- | 
ficers’ lots, burial-place, trayning-ground, and all other | 
lands necessary to be reserved for all public uses.” 

As early as 1685 they voted to “set out four or six | 
acres of their now common land in the most conven- | 
ient place near the meeting-house for ye accomodating 
and incouragement of a school, with twenty or twenty- 
five acres of other land, upland and swamp or swampy 
land.””. This was “to be for the use and benefit of | 
the school, and not to be alienated to any other use or 
purpose whatsoever.” The boundaries of the six 
acres first above-named were not established until 
1741. In 1734 the proprietors passed a vote “that 
there be and hereby is given, granted, and confirmed | 
to the inhabitants of this town forever, for the use and | 
benefit of a school in this town, the income or use | 
thereof to be employed for the maintaining and keep- 
ing a school in this town, and to no other end or use | 
whatsoever, a piece or parcel of land commonly called | 
the school land, being upland and meadow land, con- | 
taining by estimation twenty-five acres, more or less, | 
butted and bounded, ete.” These two tracts of land 
went by the name of the school land, and the meadow, 
at least, was leased to individuals for many years, un- 





| 


til the people thought that their value in money 
would produce more income for the school, and there- 
fore, in 1753, procured leave of the General Court to | 
sell them, it being ordered that the principal sum 
should always be kept good and the interest only ap- 
plied towards the support of the school in said town, 
and that neither the principal or interest be applied 
to any other use.” 

Under this authority the lands were sold, and the 
income of the money arising from the sale applied to 
the use of the schools. Other lands granted to the 
town at other times were sold, and the proceeds (in 
1759) also applied to the use of the school, and made | 
a part of the school fund. 

In 1827, Benjamin R. Cheever, of Philadelphia, 
by his will gave the sum of one thousand dollars to | 
Wrentham, his native town, in aid of its school fund. 

The income of this fund has never been diverted 
from the purpose to which it was devoted by its 
founders. In all the years since its creation, through | 
all the exigencies of the inhabitants, even in the straits | 
of the Revolutionary war, to their honor be it said | 


this fund remained intact. | 
41 





the church invited him to become their pastor. 


| take place until July, 1776. 


Besides the common schools, the people here had 
for many years a successful private school, known as 


| Day’s Academy. For the establishment of this insti- 


tution they were in a great measure indebted to the 
Rey. Elisha Fisk, who was the minister of the church 


_and-society. His efforts and the efforts of some 


others to raise funds for this purpose having been 
successful, a charter for an academy was obtained 
from the Legislature in 1806. It was named Day’s 
Academy in honor of Benjamin Day, who contributed 
more largely to the funds than any other subscriber. 
The State granted a half township of Jand in Maine 
for the encouragement of the school. The amount 
subscribed in money was twenty-three hundred dol- 
lars. The General Court enacted that there be and 
hereby is established in Wrentham an academy by 
the name of Day’s Academy, for the promotion of 
learning and religion, and that the present pastor and 
the present deacons of the First Congregational 
Church in said Wrentham, and their successors in 
office, together with Beriah Brastow, George Hawes, 


| Jairus Ware, John Whiting, Lewis Whiting, Abijah 


Pond, Timothy Whiting, Daniel Ware, Amos Archer, 
David Fisher, Jr., Joseph Whiting, Jr., Eliphalet 
White, Luther White, Elijah Craig, Eliphalet Whit- 
ing, John Hall, Jr., William Brown, William Mes- 
senger, and such others as may hereafter associate 
with them, be and hereby are incorporated into a body 


_ politic by the name of the Trustees of Day’s Academy, 


etc. This act is quoted for the purpose of showing 
who were the men that interested themselves in the 
establishment of an institution whose influence was so 
important upon the community. 


The academy building, erected in 1808, was opened 


| for the reception of students by a prayer by Rev. 


Nathaniel Emmons and an address by Bradford Sum- 
ner, Esq., the first teacher. It became a flourishing 
institution, and so remained until other academies - 
Mr. Fisk said 
of it, ‘‘ Many resorted to it for acquiring learning. fn 
it a large number of students have been fitted for 


higher usefulness in the common business of life and 


were established in its neighborhood. 


for entrance into the colleges.” 

A Baptist Church was organized in the westerly 
part of the town in 1769. Its first settled minister 
was the Rev. William Williams, who graduated at 
In March, 1775, 
He 


Brown University the same year. 


accepted the invitation, but his ordination did not 


About the time of his 
settlement he opened an academy which attained to 
high distinction among the literary institutions of the 
day. He is supposed to have had under his care nearly 


642 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








two hundred youths, about eighty of whom he fitted 
for college, not a few of whom became distinguished in 
literary and professional life. He also conducted the 
thological studies of several young men with a view to 
their entering upon the ministry. He continued to 
teach and preach until about the close of his life. He 
was a fellow of Brown University from 1789 to 1818. 
In 1777, when the college building was occupied as a 
barrack for soldiers, and afterwards as a hospital for 


French troops, the library was removed to the country | 


and placed in the keeping of Mr. Williams. Rev. Dr. 


Fisher, of West Boyleston, in 1859, says of Mr. Wil- | 


liams, ‘“‘ He is especially worthy of notice as having 
been one of the first graduates of Brown University, 


and as having contributed not a little to the intellect- | 


ual improvement of the Baptist denomination in New 
England. His manners were easy and agreeable, and 


his powers of conversation such as to render him quite — 


attractive. His talents and acquirements were highly 
respectable. His services as a teacher commanded 


great respect not only in, but out of his denomina- 


tion. Among his pupils were the late Hon. David R. | 
_ British ministry did not keep their promise, and after 


Williams, Governor of South Carolina; Hon. Tristam 
Burgess, of Rhode Island; Hon. Horace Mann. 


Not a man to attract and impress the multitude, yet 


by a steady course of enlightened and Christian ac- 
tivity he accomplished an amount of good for his de- 
nomination which fairly entitles him to a place among 
its more distinguished benefactors. 
spirit of improvement and a love of intellectual cul- 
ture throughout the circle in which he moved.’’— 
(Sprague’s ‘ American Pulpit.’”) * 





Samuel Sheeres, the first white inhabitant, was by | 
vote of his fellow-townsmen exempted from the pay- 


ment of all taxes in the future. 
Deacon Metcalf both refused to serve as represent- 
atives to the General Court; and Samuel Fisher, Jr., 
who had been chosen in 1702, was allowed “ to make 
use of nine or ten shillings of the town’s money in his 
hand if he stand in need.” The selectmen were di- 


rected ‘‘ to take care that the seats in the meeting-house 





1 Mr. Williams was the son of John and Ann (White) Williams, 
His father 
came from Wales to this country and settled in Bucks County, 


and was born in Hillstown, Bucks Co., Pa., in 1752. 
where he accumulated a handsome property and spent the re- 
mainder of his days. 
Hopewell, N. J., at a celebrated school taught by Rev. Isaac 
Eaton. 
versity, then located in Warren, R.I., one year in advance and 


He entered the institution which is now Brown Uni- 


graduated in 1769. In the autumn following he married Pa- 


Robert Ware and | 


tience, the daughter of Col. Nathan Miller, of Warren, R. I. | 


Sept. 27, 1771, he was baptized by Rey. Charles Thompson, of the 


same place, and admitted to the church under his pastoral care. 


On the 18th of April he was licensed by the Warren Church as | 


a preacher of the gospel.”’—Sprague’s American Pulpit. 


be finished.” 


Theodore Man was engaged to teach 
school from January 3d to March 1st, for three pounds 
and eight shillings in silver. 

In January, 1704, the people seemed to feel some 
compunctions at the condition of their meeting-house, 
and resolved, “ forasmuch as the place of the worship 
of God want finishing to make it sutable, &c., it is 
thought galeries may be made over the galeries that 
be, and the walls filled and white-limed, and then per- 
sons placed as ought to be that there may be decency 
and order in the house of God.” The number of tax- 
payers was sixty-eight. In 1708-9 the town was threat- 
ened with presentment at the next Quarter Sessions 
unless Mr. Man’s salary in arrear should be paid. 

It seems from some votes passed in this latter year 
that men were impressed in Wrentham to serve against 
the French and Indians in the Canadas. We also 
learn that Ensign Blake was in the Queen’s service. 
An attack of the combined northern colonies against 
Montreal and Quebec was meditated at this time, 
under the expectation that a British fleet and army 
would be sent to co-operate with them. But the 


waiting a long time for the appearance of the fleet 
the forces were disbanded without attempting any- 
thing. It does not appear whether any Wrentham 
men were in the expedition against Canada under- 


_ taken by the Tory ministry of Queen Anne in 1711, 
He diffused a | 


which terminated so disgracefully for the assailants. 
And after the peace which Walpole had maintained 
so long was at last broken, and the French and Eng- 
lish in America were again in hostility, and Louis- 
burg had been taken from the French by an army 
chiefly from Massachusetts, and again a project was 
formed to capture Quebec, and again the English fleet 
and army failed to appear, and the war was ended and 


Louisburg ceded back to the French, it is not cer- 


His son William was fitted for college at | 


tain that our town furnished soldiers for this, or for 
subsequent campaigns until 1756. 

In that year the names of Benjamin Hubbard and 
Thomas Cook, both of Wrentham, are found upon 
the muster-roll of the company in his Majesty’s “ser- 
vice, under command of Capt. John Jones, of Bel- 
lingham. And in the company of Capt. Eliphalet 
Fales, of Dedham, in 1756, were enrolled Michael 
Mulsey, Zachariah Worthee, Forster, and 
Simeon Forster, all of Wrentham. Also, Stephen 
Cook, of Marlboro’, born in Wrentham, and Isaac 
Fisher and Ebenezer Streeter, of Wrentham, were in 
Capt. Nathan Tyler's company. Capt. Nathaniel Blake, 
of Milton, also enrolled in his company Abner Turner, 
Ephraim Randall, Jeremiah Blake, Michael Ware, 
Joseph Turner, Thomas Boyden who were all of 


Jona 


——S 








WRENTHAM. 


643 








Wrentham. And in Maj. Stephen Miller’s company, 
in Col. Bagley’s regiment, Fort William Henry, Aug. 
9, 1756, the following-named Wrentham men were 
enrolled, viz. : 


Ebenezer Cox, from Capt. Day’s company. 

John Cox, from Capt. Day’s company. 

Abijah Hall, from Capt. Man’s company. 

Thomas Boyden, from Capt. Man’s company. 

Edward , from Capt. Day’s company. 

John Conole, from Capt. Man’s company. 

Benjamin Cox, from Capt. Day’s company. 

Morris Fling, from Capt. Day’s company. 

Joshua Fisher, from Capt. Day’s company. 

Benjamin Ware, from Capt. Day’s company. 

Michael Ware, from Capt. Day’s company. 

Michael Wilson, from Capt. Goldsbury’s company. 

Pitt Pumham, of Stoughton, hired at Wrentham, from Man’s 
company. 

Richard Newton, of Wrentham, 1757. 








An alarm company was enrolled in Col. Miller’s | 


regiment at Wrentham, April 22, 1757, of which 
Samuel Day was captain, Benjamin Shepard, lieuten- 
ant, Ebenezer Cowell, ensign, Lemuel Kollock, clerk, 
John Hancock, Daniel Man, Pelatiah Metcalf, Ga- 
maliel Gerould were sergeants, and Samuel Fisher 
and Elisha Harrington were drummers, and there 
were sixty-four privates. 
alarm-list of men between the ages of sixteen and 
sixty years, fifty-two in number, headed by the Rev. 
Joseph Bean, in which were also the names of Capt. 
Timothy Metcalf, Capt. Nathaniel Ware, Capt. Jona 
Whitney, Lieut. Joseph Fairbanks, Lieut. Ebenezer 
Cox, Dr. John Druce, Dr. Obadiah Blake, and others, 
some of whom had probably seen service in former 
conflicts with the enemies of the English. 

In 1759, Capt. Jonathan Adams’ company, in Col. 
Ridley’s regiment, under Jeffrey Amherst, general 


Besides this there was an 





and commander-in-chief of his Majesty’s forces in | 


North America for the invasion of Canada, included 
three men from Wrentham,—Benjamin Moore, Josiah 
Blake, and Ebenezer Blake. 

In the same year Wrentham men were “ inlisted 
or impressed for his Majesty’s service” in Col. Miller’s 
regiment, “‘to be put under the command of his Ex- 
cellency Jeffrey Amherst, Esq., general and com- 
mander-in-chief of his Majesty’s forces in North 
America for the invasion of Canada, 1759.” These 
men had been in an expedition against Lake George 
in 1758, and one of their number in 1757. Their 
names were as follows: 


Thomas Bristo. 
Andrew Everet. . 
Levi Morse. 
John Conole. 
Hezekiah Ware. 


Isaiah Bacon. 
Thomas Fuller. 
Joseph White. 
Melatiah Ware. 
David Force. 





John Lawrence. 
William Holden. 
Thomas Pitty. 
Daniel Pond. 
Daniel Guild. 
Oliver Pond. 
Reuben Thorp. 

Capt. Abijah Hall, of Wrentham, commanded a 
company in the service, and the Wrentham men 
mustered into it were Daniel Hawes, Thomas Boyden, 
Nathan Hall, Jacob Bacon, Henry Crossman, Elisha 
Farrington, Jonathan Newton, Amos Man. 

In Capt. Samuel Slocomb’s company were Robert 
Cooke, John Boyd, Hleazer Blake, John Blake, 
Stephen Cook, Thomas Cook; they were enlisted 
April 2, 1759, and mustered out December, 1759. 

In September of this year, Quebec having surren- 
dered to the English, the war in North America was 
virtually at an end. But the English colonies had for 
many years been exposed to the hostile incursions of 
warlike French and Indians, and had suffered the loss 
of many lives and of much treasure. The New Eng- 
land towns contributed soldiers, and the preceding 


David Shepard. 
Samuel Metealf. 
Solomon Blake. 
Naphtali Bishop. 
Samuel Ellis. 

Moses Wheelock, 1757. 


{ record shows that Wrentham was not behind in fur- 


nishing men for the various campaigns. 

Resuming our narrative, and returning to the year 
1709, we find the people peacefully pursuing their 
usual avocations, and administering their prudential 
affairs with great economy,—‘ fastening the loose 
glass in the Meeting-house,’ for example, and “ stop- 


| ping the windows with board where glass was want- 


” 


ing.” A few years later, John Ware and Ebenezer 
Fisher reported that they were appointed a committee 
to run the ancient patent-line between the counties of 
Suffolk, Bristol, and Plymouth, and had met Capt. 
Jacob Thompson, a surveyor, “ but being shamed in 
the thing had done nothing.’ ‘This line was the 
boundary of the colonies of Plymouth and Massa- 


chusetts, and a prominent bound, called Angletree, in 


| Wrentham line, was established by commissioners of 


the respective colonies in 1664. But it seems that 
for a number of years, although surveys had been 
ordered, the line was in doubt. At length the Pro- 
vincial Legislature enacted “that for the future a line 
beginning at a certain heap of stones on the west side 


_of Accord pond, in Hingham and Abington, and run- 





ning from said monument west twenty and one-half 
degrees south, leaving the towns of Weymouth, 
Braintree, Stoughton, and Wrentham adjoining on the 
north, and Abington, Bridgewater, “Mansfield, and 


| Attleborough on the south, to a certain old white- 


oak tree, anciently marked, now standing, and being 


| a boundary between the towns of Wrentham and 


Attleborough, by some called Station tree, by others 


644 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Angle tree, shall forever hereafter be the bounds be- 


tween the county of Suffolk and the counties of | 


Plymouth and Bristol, so far as said line extends, etc.” | 


Wrentham was at this time within the county of. 
all due encouragement with their present minister 


Suffolk. 
About this time (1713) the town was indicted for 
not maintaining a school. 


In 1716 a committee was appointed to seat people | 


in the meeting-house according to their age, useful- 
ness, and estate, including the inhabitants of Dor- 
chester, who attended church here. A _ suit was 


brought against Attleborough for refusing to renew | 
to) to) fo) oD 


the bound marks. It seems that the indictment of 
the town for not maintaining a school had its effect, 
for it was now voted to establish a school in four 
parts of the town. 
to procure a minister for one-quarter of a year, and 
was continued in authority after the death of Mr. 
Man, which took place on the 22d day of May, A.p. 
1719. 

Fifty years had passed away since he was first 
called to preach to the handful of people who were 
attempting a settlement in this wilderness. The 
people, in addition to the hardships incident to their 
pioneer life, had been liable to conflicts with savages 
and Frenchmen. He came to them while in their 
weakness and poverty, returning with them after 
Philip’s war, although he had opportunity to settle 


In 1719 a committee was chosen 





elsewhere, and notwithstanding he had had bitter | 


experience of their inability to provide for him suit- 
ably. 
Some five hundred and thirty-three persons had 


been born in that time within the bounds of the | 


township, seventy-one couples married, and seventy- | 


three persons had died. It has previously been re- 


lated that the former inhabitants made it a special 


strongly seconded by the ministers of the churches. 
Hence, in answer to the petition of the inhabitants of 
Wrentham for town power, the colonial record is, 
“The Court judgeth it meet to give the petitioners 


according to their desires.”’ 

To that excellent man is due, in a great measure, 
undoubtedly, the continuance of the settlement whose 
early planting here has been described in previous 
pages. 

Mr. Bean, in his sermon preached at the conclusion 
of the first century of the town’s existence, viz., in 
1773, in speaking of the first settlers here, says, 
‘They were careful to have the word of God regu- 
larly preached to them and procured Mr. Sam’! Man, 
a young candidate, for that purpose.” And after 
Philip’s war, “‘when the settlers had concluded to 
return, so great was their veneration for Mr. Man, 
and so acceptable had been his labors among them, 
that it was their earnest desire he should return with 
them.” It seems that, while away from Wrentham, 
he had been preaching at Milton, and was about to 
receive a call there, but, says Mr. Bean, “so great 
was his affection for the people of Wrentham, and so 
desirous was he of the plantation’s going on that he 
complied with their request.” In 1692 a church was 
gathered here, consisting of ten members, including 
Mr. Man. ‘The others were Benjamin Rockett, John 
Ware, Eliezer Metcalf, John Fairbanks, Thomas 
Thurston, John Guild, Ephraim Pond, John Vails, 
Samuel Fisher. 

‘““Mr. Man was ordained over the church and con- 
egregation, the same day preaching his own ordination 
He had preached about eighteen years 

‘‘ He died in the seventy-second year of 


sermon.” 
previously. 


_ his age and the forty-ninth of his faithful ministry.” 


condition of their return at the termination of Philip’s | 


war that Mr. Man should return with them. He was 
indispensable to them. In fact, the minister in those 
days was really the head of the people. He was their 
guide not only in spiritual affairs, but in worldly 
affairs also. He was undoubtedly the only man in 
the community who had had the opportunity of ac- 


quiring learning beyond the elements, and his influ- 


_ preacher, pious and faithful. 


‘“‘ By what I have heard of him,” continues Mr. Bean, 
“he was a man of good erudition and an accomplished 
He lived greatly beloved 
by his people, and died greatly lamented by them. 
He was born at Cambridge, and was graduated at 


Harvard University in 1665.” He adds, that one of 


the first men of this province said of Mr. Man that 


_he was not only a very good, but a very great and 


ence was accordingly felt in all public affairs, as well | 


as in his pulpit on the Sabbath. 
cumstances which forced the early inhabitants of 
Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies from their 


Moreover, the cir- | 


° 
transatlantic homes to these shores compelled them | 


The chief 


men in the colony,,who had been leaders of the emi- 


to consider themselves a peculiar people. 


gration, governed according to their notions ef what 
religion and the word of God required, and were 


learned man. 

At a general meeting of the inhabitants, in Sep- 
tember, 1719, the church, in presence of the inhab- 
itants, did agree that the inhabitants should join them 
in choosing a minister out of three that were nomi- 
nated, viz.: Rev. Samuel Andrew, Rev. Jonathan 
Parepont, and Rev. Henry Messinger. 

The record says, ‘‘The Rev. Henry Messinger, by 


/a very unanimous and major vote, was chosen and 














WRENTHAM. 


645 





elected, by both church and town jointly concurring, 
to be the minister of this town to carry on the work 
of the ministry.” 
dated at Cambridge, Oct. 2,1719. He married Esther 
Cheever, of Cambridge, January, 1720, and was de- 


scribed in the records of that town as the Rev. Henry | 


Messinger, of Wrentham. It would therefore appear 


that he had already commenced his ministerial duties — 


at that date, as the name of Messinger is not found 
upon the town record previously. His children were 
twelve in number. One of his sons (John) died in 
18]4, in his eighty-third year. He served in the 
office of town clerk twenty-one years in succession, 
when he declined further service, remarking that he 
In 1787 
he was again elected, and served seven years suc- 


ought to be free at the age of twenty-one. 


cessively, making, in the whole, twenty-eight years. 


same, will exercise a fatherly pitty towards me with respect 
thereto, will daily more and more qualifie me therefor and en- 


| courage me therein, and accept my sincere desires and endeavors 


He accepted their call by a letter 


to advance his glory and the eternal happiness of others. And 
that it may be so, [ humbly ask your earnest prayers for me at 
the throne of Grace, that God would forgive my many and 
great sins, whereby I am rendered so unfit to engage in so 
sacred a work, and for which I desire deeply to be abashed and 
humbled before God. Cry to God mightily on my behalf, that 
he in whom is all fulness would in a plentiful manner bestow 
upon me the outpouring of his spirit and adorn me with every 
Christian grace and virtue, that I may come to you in the ful- 
ness of the blessing of the Gospel of Peace, and if God in his 
due time shall settle me among you, doe what you can to make 


| my work, which I engage in with fear and trembling, easy to 


me, and let nothing be done to discourage me. 


A printed sermon of the Rev. Mr. Man is in ex- | 


istence, and also two or more of Rev. Mr. Bean, but 


it is not known to the writer that there is any manu- — 


script or published discourse of Mr. Messinger. It 
has therefore seemed proper to copy here his letter of 
acceptance, that the readers of these annals may be 
enabled to form an idea of the man." 


“To tHE CuurcH AND Town oF WRENTHAM, Grace, Mercy, | 
and Peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. | 


“ Sirs,—I cannot but with great fear take notice of the over- 
ruling Providence of God in inclining your hearts so unani- 
mously to make choice of myself, the most unworthy and unfit, 


To this end let 
brotherly love be and abound among you, let every one forgive 
his brother his trespasses as he hopes for forgiveness of God, 
live in peace, study the things which tend thereto, and the God 
of Peace will be with you and bless you. And God, of his in- 
finite grace, grant that we may with united hearts strive to ad- 
vance his kingdom and glory, may be mutual blessings to, may 
enjoy much comfort in each other, and perform the respective 
duties incumbent on us, as that, when our glorious Jesus shall 
make his second and illustrious appearance to judge both quick 
and dead, we may meet each other with joy and comfort, and 
give up our accounts with joy and not with grief. 

““T am your sincere tho unworthy servant for Jesus’ sake, 

“HENRY MESSINGER. 
“ CAMBRIDGE, Oct. 2, 1719.” 


Mr. Messinger was ordained Dec. 5, 1719. In 1721 
a second house for public worship was built, and was 
used as such by all the people in the town until Aug. 


| 29, 1737, when the West Parish (afterwards Frank- 


to settle with you and to carry on the work of the ministry | 


among you. And since your invitation to me, I hope I have 
seriously and solemnly considered how awful great and diffi- 
cult the work is to which I am called. 
work has been set so solemnly before me by others, and I have 
well thought of my own youthfulness and the little progress I 


have made in my studies to fit and qualifie me for so great a 


And when this great 


work, I have been ready to plead and say, how shall I speak 
that am but a child, and how shall I watch over souls so as to 
save my own and the souls of others? and-have been almost 
In the multitude of the thoughts within me I 
have asked counsel of Heaven, and left my case there, begging 
of God that he would direct me in the weighty business before 


discouraged. 


me, so as should be most for his honor and glory, your spiritual | 
good and advantage, and my own future joy and comfort, and | 


IT hope I have not sought in vain. I have likewise consulted 
many learned, wise, and godly men, who with one consent agree 
that my call is clear, and that therefore it is my indispensable 
duty to comply with the same, as I would not deny the call of 
Christ. 


ance on his gracious promises to his faithful ministers, I accept 


Wherefore, in the fear of God and with a humble reli- 


your call to carry on the work of the ministry so long as Prov- | 


idence shall provide for my comfortable sustenance among you, 
trusting that God that has called me to engage in so awfula 
work, who sees my unfitness for it and inability to perform the 





1 Since this was written the writer has learned that an account 
of a revival in 1741, at which time many were added to the 
church in Wrentham, was prepared by Mr. Messinger and pub- 
lished in the book entitled the “‘ Great Awakening,” and also 
that he wrote.a commentary on a part of the Old Testament. 


lin) was organized. A new church was formed there, 
composed of members dismissed from the old church 
here, under the ministry of Rev. Elias Haven, who 
was ordained over them on the 8th day of Novem- 
ber of the same year. 

The immediate successor of Mr. Messinger says, 
“He continued in this First Parish greatly laboring 
in word and doctrine till it pleased the Sovereign 
Lord of life and death to put a period to his life and 
work nearly together. His death occurred on the 
30th day of March, 1750, in the fifty-fifth year ef his 
age, and the thirty-second of his faithful ministry. 
He was a gentleman of unblemished reputation, and 
He had 
the character of a plain, faithful, affectionate, and 
profitable preacher. And though he was of but a 
slender, feeble constitution, yet he was abundant’ in 


highly esteemed for his piety and virtue. 


labors among the people of his charge, and spared no 
pains for promoting the interest of the Redeemer and 


the good of souls. It is no wonder, then, that when 


all the congregation saw he was dead they mourned 


for him as Israel did for Aaron.” 

Tt is a somewhat remarkable fact that there is no 
one now residing within the limits of the town who is 
a descendant, and bears the name at the same time, of 


646 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








either of the first five ministers settled, although | 
Mr. Man left six sons and Mr. Messinger five, and 
Mr. Bean and his successors also left sons. The de- 
scendants of the first two must, nevertheless, be very 
numerous among us, notwithstanding the fact that 
large numbers of them have from time to time gone 


to dwell elsewhere. 

The Rev. Mr. Messinger’s daughters were sought 
in marriage by neighboring clergymen. Mary mar- 
ried the Rev. Elias Haven, of West Wrentham (now 
Franklin) ; Esther, the Rev. Amariah Frost, of Men- | 
don, Mass.; Sarah, first, Dr. Cornelius Kollock, of 
Wrentham, and second, Rev. Benjamin Caryl, of 
Dover, Mass.; Elizabeth, the Rev. Joseph Bean, her | 
father’s successor in the ministry at Wrentham. His | 
son, James, was the first minister of Ashford, Conn. | 

Those inhabitants of Dorchester living as they say 
convenient to come to the public worship of God in 
Wrentham, agreed to be taxed ratably for the pay- 
ment of Mr. Messinger’s salary so long as the town 
of Dorchester would exempt them from paying there. 
Their names were Samuel Man, Hannah George, 


Samuel Lane, Jeremiah Ruggles, Mary Shepard, 
John Martin, James Humphrey, Samuel Richardson, 
In October of 
this year, having voted that the new meeting-house | 
should stand on or near the spot occupied by the old 
one, the inhabitants determined that it should be 
“forty feet in length and thirty-eight in breadth, and 
of such height as may be most convenient and proper 


Mark Force, and Solomon Howes. 


for two tiers of galleries one above the other.” 
Another institution indicating the progress of the 
settlement in another direction was established as ap- 
pears by the following recited vote: ‘‘ Agreed with 
Ensign Eliezer Ware to make a pair of stocks at the | 
town’s cost and charge.” 


This useful reformer prob- 
ably adorned the common in front of the new meeting- 
house, where its beneficent workings were visible to all 
the good people of the village, as often as the night- 
watch, whose duty it was to patrol the streets east and 
west, one-half mile from the meeting-house, made their 





seizures, and bore the trophies of their vigilance to 
this place of confinement, where the morning sun | 
found them bound hand and foot. 

‘We find that Benjamin Ware was living in Wren- 


tham in 1721 as a practicing physician. He was the | 
first physician who settled here, Dr. Stewart, as pre- 
viously related, not finding sufficient encouragement 
in the earlier days of the plantation to remain. 

At this time the inhabitants living in the wesierly 
part of the town (now Franklin) desired some relief | 
from ministerial charges because, as they say, they 
‘‘live remote from the public worship and cannot at- | 


tend on the same without difficulties and hardships.” It 
was accordingly determined that whatever they might 
now pay toward building the new meeting-house 
should, whenever they should be set off into a pre- 
cinct, district, or parish by themselves, be returned to 
them for their use in the defraying the charge of 
building a meeting-house among them. 

The provincial government having emitted bills of 
credit to the amount of fifty thousand pounds, this 
town took two hundred and seventy-two pounds and 
ten shillings, for which trustees were appointed to 
loan to the inhabitants at five per cent. interest. The 
entire tax for this year (1722) was two hundred and 
ninety-two pounds, seventeen shillings, and eight- 
pence. 

A committee appointed to seat people in the meet- 
ing-house were directed to reserve a pew for the min- 
ister and his family, and also one for the widow of the 
Rev. Mr. Man, and then to place the men on one side 
of the house and the women on the other. Schools 
were established in other parts of the town between 
the years 1723 and 1728, and in 1725, having op- 
posed the setting off the westerly part of the town 
into a new precinct, the inhabitants (in 1727) prose- 
cuted Bellingham for refusing to renew the bound- 
marks, and in 1728 took three hundred and fifty-one 
pounds and five shillings in bills of credit of the 
province. 

In 1729 the number of inhabitants over sixteen 
years of age liable to road work was one hundred and 
ninety-three. 

Bounties were occasionally paid for killing wild ani- 
Jonathan Nutting had one pound for killing a 
wild-cat. 


mals. 


The patriotism of the inhabitants was so much ex- 
cited at this time that they, with preamble and good 
set phrase, ordered the selectmen to draw out of the 
treasury the sum of twenty-five pounds and forward 
the same to the Hon. John Quincy, Speaker of the 
The controversy between the officers of the 
crown and the people had been waged for many years 


House. 


with regard to fixed salaries. The king’s government, 


fearing the effect of the payment of their salaries to 


| the royal governors by the people, instructed each 


viceroy to demand of the provincial assemblies a fixed 
salary, believing that he would thus be less likely to 
incline to the popular interests against the crown. 
The demand made by Dudley in 1702, and resisted 
by the Assembly, was renewed by Shute in 1706, with 
like result, and being insisted on caused violent dis- 
putes, the people in the course of the quarrel repeat- 
edly asserting the principle on which they finally ap- 
pealed to arms against the mother-country. Glancing 











WRENTHAM. 


647 





at the fact of Shute’s going to England in 1722 and 
preferring complaints against Massachusetts, of the 


House of Representatives choosing their Speaker in 
1723 and placing him in the chair without presenting 
him to the Governor for confirmation, and in a variety 
of ways asserting its rights, especially in voting the 
allegations of Shute without foundation and ordering 
one hundred pounds sterling to be remitted to their 
agent in Europe to employ counsel, in which, how- 


| 
ever, the board of assistants refused to join, the pre- 
paring an address to the king, in which the Council | 


refused to join, the ordering the Speaker to sign and 
send the paper to England, the preparing a separate 
address by the Council, which was forwarded to Shute, 
and the employment of Dummer and Cooke to appear 
for the province, we find that it was not until 1726 
that a decision was made before the Lords in trade 
and the king in council upon the complaints preferred 
by Shute. The decision, as is well known, was adverse 
to Massachusetts, and resulted in adding two clauses 
to her charter, viz., one affirming the right of the 


) 





Governor to negative the choice of Speaker, the other | 


denying the House of Representatives the right of ad- 
journing itself for any period longer than two days. 


And Governor Burnett, the successor of Shute, renew- | 


ing in 1728 the demand that a fixed salary be paid 
him, saying this was the command of the king, the 
House refused, but granted him seventeen hundred 


pounds towards his support and the expenses of his | 


journey. He refused it, but took three hundred pounds 
granted for his journey. Hence arose a violent quar- 
rel, the Governor remonstrating and threatening, and 
the deputies persisting in their refusal. 


of the controversy and its causes being made to the 


A statement | 


towns, great excitement ensued, Boston in a particu- | 


lar manner declaring its opposition to the commands 
of the king, in consequence of which the Governor 
adjourned the General Court to Salem, the House 


denouncing the step and requesting the Governor to | 


summon them to Boston, which, being refused, the 
Here the House resolved to apply to the king, and 
Belcher and Wilkes were employed as its agents. 
Grants were made by the House to defray their ex- 
penses, but the Council rejected them, whereupon a 


port of him and his family.” ‘“ Wherefore it was voted 
that a contribution be taken up once a quarter upon 
the Lord’s day for this purpose for one year next en- 
suing, and that the deacons take care to deliver the 
money so gathered to the Rev. Mr. Messinger.” His 
salary was nominally one hundred pounds, but, as he 
was paid in the depreciated bills of credit of the prov- 
ince, the real sum received by him must have been 
much less. 

The cost of the late war to the colonies, estimated 
at sixteen millions of dollars, of which only five mil- 
lions was repaid by the British ministry, bore hardly 
upon the province. Besides, Massachusetts had con- 
tributed her share of the thirty thousand lives com- 
puted to have been sacrificed in the protracted con- 
test. 
emissions of paper money that gold and silver were 


To defray her expenses she made such large 
not at all in circulation. It seems that a small party 
favored the calling in the paper money, “ relying on 
the industry of the people to replace it with a circu- 
lating medium of greater stability.” 

‘‘ Another party favored a private bank, the bills not 
to be redeemed in specie, but landed security to be 
given.” Another party were for a public bank, the 
faith of the government to be pledged to the value of 
the notes, and the profits accruing from the bank to 
be applied for its support. This party was successful, 
and fifty thousand pounds in bills of credit were issued, 
This 


currency was so much depreciated that at one time 


and afterwards one hundred thousand pounds. 


fifty thousand pounds were voted to defray town 
charges and six thousand seven hundred pounds for 
the minister’s salary. 

The town, in 1734, having refused to build a meet- 
ing-house for the westerly inhabitants, voted to supply 
them with preaching, and chose a committee to “ clear 
the town of certain scandalous charges made by Bel- 
lingham in a petition to the General Court. It was 


also voted in 1735 that some people with their es- 


tates be annexed to Medway; and that a number of 
Court remained at Salem, supported by the towns. | 


sufficient sum was subscribed by the people of Boston | 


and placed at the disposal of the House. 
of twenty-five pounds made by Wrentham in 1729 
was intended for this fund. 

The bills of public credit continuing to depreciate, 
the town ‘‘ proposed to take into consideration the 
present difficult circumstances of the Rev. Mr. Mes- 
singer, and make some further provision for the sup- 


The grant | 


families formerly of the westerly end of Dorchester, 
but now intermixed with the westerly end of Stough- 
ton, who were joined to this town in 1724, may be 
returned to the town of Stoughton.” One reason 
assigned for this movement was “that the town of 
Wrentham is now under very mean, low, and poor 
circumstances, their town charges being very great; 
adding, the charge of the town to maintain the poor 
would amount, as we suppose, to more than all the 
polls and estates of families upon the said land would 
pay, and also many highways must be made through 
said tract.” 

The town continued to oppose the application of 


648 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








the inhabitants of West Wrentham to be set off 
into a separate township, but, at the suggestion of 
the committee of the General Court, voted in 1737 
that they might be set off as a distinct parish. 


Those who were dismissed from the church here | 


formed a new church there in 1738, and Rev. Elias | : ‘ : 
: | and especially of the late Parliament, commonly called the 


Haven was ordained their minister in November of 
the same year. 

The warrants for town-meetings began in 1740 to 
summon the voters to meet at the public meeting- 
house in the Hast Precinct, and in 1742 the town 
discontinued the practice of warning town-meetings 


from house to house. In 1746 two parcels of land 


were laid out for training-grounds, one of which in- | 


cluded all the common land about the meeting-house ; | 


and a grant was made to Eliphalet Whiting, of the 
use of the creek between the two ponds, with the 
privilege of erecting a dam, with the right of the 
town to resume it on certain conditions. 

The church records say, ‘‘ The Rev. Mr. Messinger 
gave up the ghost on the 30th day of March, 1750, 
and was buried on the Tuesday following ; that the 
church and First Precinct unanimously invited the 
Rev. Mr. Joseph Bean to carry on the work of the 
ministry among them.”’ 
ordained Dee. 5, 1750. 

Joseph Grant, Robert Ware, Obadiah Allen, Eben- 
ezer Guild, Ephraim Knowlton, Samuel Ray, and 


John Hills, Jr., declaring themselves Anabaptists in | 


1752, 
A part of Stoughton was annexed to Wrentham, 
in 1753, and the next year the inhabitants of the 


were exempted from ministerial taxes. 


Mr. Bean accepted, and was | 





West Precinct praying the General Court to organize | 


to oppose the petition; and at the same time the town 
voted that “it was not in favor of the excise bill 
printed by the General Court.” 

Nothing extraordinary seems to have occurred in 
the affairs of the town from this date until the year 


1765, when the voters placed themselves on record in | 


regard to the Stamp Act, so called, in the following | 


ecided language: 
decided langua; 


“Ata meeting of the freeholders and other inhabitants of 
the town, held by adjournment Noy. 1, 1765, it was unanimously 
voted that the following sentiments be recorded on the town 
book, that the children hereafter to be born may see the desire 


ernment in the world, though with decency yet with the utmost 
firmness, having the strongest affection and loyalty tothe King 
and the highest veneration for that august assembly the Par- 
liament, and sincere regard for all our fellow-subjects in Great 
Britain, any attempt to deprive us of our rights and privileges 
as colonists must be very alarming, and as such we cannot for- 
bear mentioning some of the proceedings of the late Ministry, 


Stamp Act, which we apprehend is unconstitutional and oppres- 
sive, as it wholly cancels the very conditions on which our an- 
cestors settled this country and enlarged his Majesty’s dominion 
in America, at their sole expense with vast treasure and blood, 
—that it totally deprives us of the happiest frame of civil gov- 
ernment, expressed in our charter,—for by the charter of this 
Province the General Assembly has the power of making iaws 
for its internal government and taxation,—and that no freeman 
shall be taxed, but by his own consent either in person or by 
proxy. And by this act a single judge of the Admiralty has 
power to try and determine our properties in controversies 
arising from internal concerns without a jury; which in our 
opinion is contrary to the very expressions of Magna Charta— 
that no free man shall be amerced but by the oath of good and 
lawful men of the vicinage, and by this act it is certain that it 
putsit in the power of Mr. Informer or Prosecutor to carry the 
subject more than a thousand miles distance for trial. Who, 
then, would not pay a fine rather than to be thus harassed, 
guilty or not? If his Majesty’s subjects 
in America are not to be governed according to the known 


What can be worse ? 


| stated rules of the Constitution as those in Great Britain are, what 


then will be wanting to render us miserable and forlorn slaves? 
But supposing that these difficulties were imaginary only, yet 
we have reason to except against that act, as we apprehend con- 
sidering the almost insupportable load of debt the Province is 
now under, and the scarcity of money. We have reason to 
think that the execution of that act for a short space would 
drain the country of its cash and strip multitudes of their prop- 
What then would 
be the consequence resulting from so sudden and convulsive 


erty and reduce them to desolate beggary. 


a change in the whole course of our business we tremble to con- 
Gentlemen, as these are our sentiments of that act, we, 
the freeholders and other inhabitants of this town legally as- 


sider. 


- hae Rats | sembled for that purpose, claim a share to join with all the 
them into a separate district, a committee was chosen 


friends of liberty on so important a point; but when we con- 
sider the answer (this day read before the town) of the Honor- 
able House to his Excellency’s speech at the opening of the pres- 
ent session so minutely pointing out the inherent rights of the 
colonies and the spirit that runs through the whole form, it 
gives us the utmost satisfaction and strongest confidence under 


| God to rely on the wisdom and integrity of the respectable body 


of the House, under whose paternal care and protection we have 
ever been a happy people. And we remain with the utmost 
assurance that no measures will be wanting by this Honorable 
House, in joining with all the other colonies in such remon- 


strances and petitions as are consistent with our loyalty to the 


| King and relation to Great Britain, for the repeal of said act, 


| which we hope by the blessing of God will have its desired 


their ancestors had to hand down to them their rights and | 


privileges as they received them from their ancestors, and that 
a copy thereof be sent to the Honorable, the House of Repre- 
sentatives in General Court assembled. Gentlemen, asa free and 
fullenjoyment of the inherent rights and privileges of natural, 
free-born subjects of Great Britain, long since precisely known 
and ascertained by uninterrupted practice and usage from the 
first settling of this country down to this day is of the utmost 
value, and ought to be contended for as the best frame of goy- 


effect.” 


This report was signed by Capt. John Goldsbury, 
Deacon Jabez Fisher, and Ensign Lemuel Kollock. 

This act so odious to our patriotic sires, signed 
March 8, 1765, by a commission on account of the 
king’s insanity, rendered invalid every written instru- 


/ ment which was not drawn upon stamped paper, to be 


purchased of the agents of the British government at 











WRENTHAM. 


649 








exorbitant prices, and punished every violation with — 


severe penalties, suits for which were to be brought in 
any Admiralty or King’s Marine Court throughout 
the colonies. The excitement extended throughout 


the province. The foregoing report was read to the 


town on the very day the act was to go into oper- | 
| Majesty’s service and the peace and safety of his 


ation. 
Boston had assumed an attitude of defiance; its 





people had determined that stamped paper should not | 


be used; had hung Oliver, the distributor, in effigy 
upon the old liberty-tree, and made him swear that 
he had not and would not distribute the odious 
stamps; shouted liberty, property, and no stamps; 


demolished the stamp-office, and making a bonfire of | 
its materials on Fort Hill, had consigned the images | 


of Oliver, Bute, and Grenville to the flames, calling 
themselves Sons of Liberty, and rending the air with 
huzzas for Pitt and liberty, even going so far as to 


ransack the house of Hutchinson, the chief justice, | 


spoiling his furniture and throwing his books and 


’ This report being read twice before the town, 


after consideration and some debate, it was unanimously 
voted and accepted. 

The town chose a delegate to a convention to be 
holden in Faneuil Hall on the 22d day of September, 
1768, to consult and advise such measures as his 


~ ? 
ingly. 


In 177); 
Jabez Fisher was chosen representative to attend a 
General Court to be held at Harvard College. The 
House was convened at Salem and Cambridge, to 


subjects in the province may require. 


avoid the influence of the people of Boston upon 
that assembly. The quarrels with the Governor at 
every session of the court tended to make clearer and 
clearer the fact that the British government intended 
to coerce the colonies. The House protested against 
being adjourned from Boston, and learning that the 
government officers were receiving salaries from the 


crown, it passed a tax-bill, including those officers in 


_ the list of persons to be taxed, which the Governor 


manuscripts into the street. At a meeting in Faneuil | 


Hall these riotous proceedings were denounced, but | 


Boston’s resistance to the stamp act was sustained by 


numerous towns in the province, among which Wren- | 


tham’s voice was heard in the emphatic yet temperate 
words of the manifesto above written. 


| 
| 


rejected on the ground that he was expressly forbid- 
den from giving his consent to such an act upon any 
pretense whatsoever, which so roused the ire of the 
members of the House that they declared they knew 
of no commissioners of his Majesty’s customs, nor of 


"any revenue his Majesty had a right to establish in 


Jabez Fisher, the representative to the General 


Court, was instructed the following year to vote 


against charging the province for any of the damages | 


caused by the riotous proceedings above mentioned, 
and also against extravagant grants for superfluities ; 
but to join in measures designed for the detection 


and punishment of the rioters. At the same time he | 


was instructed to vote for a statue in honor of the 
most patriotic Pitt without any limitation annexed as 
to its cost. 


But in November following a committee reported | 


to the town that, ‘ considering his Majesty’s most gra- 
cious recommendation and the application of the suf- 


ferers, the vote passed in August last be reconsidered | 
and the following instructions be given to our repre- | 
sentative. ‘To Mr. Jabez Fisher: Sir, we, your con- | 
stituents, his Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects in | 


town-meeting assembled, considering the gracious de- | 


sire of his Majesty that a veil be cast over the late 
times of tumult and disorder, and considering it as a 


point of prudence and true policy, instruct you that | 


you give your vote to the purport of the bill which is 
prepared by the honorable House of Representatives 
at their last session entitled “An Act for granting 
compensation to the sufferers and of free and general 
pardon, indemnity and oblivion to the offenders in the 
late times,’ and that you use your influence accord- 


North America. The Governor also rejected the 
grants made to the agents of the province in Europe. 
Vessels of war, twelve in number, arrived and an- 
chored in the harbor, and Sam Adams declared “ that 
America must under God work out finally her own 
salvation.” The clergymen of Boston refused (with 
one exception) to read the Governor’s proclamation 
for Thanksgiving, but “implored Almighty God for 
In April, 1722, 
the Governor convened the Assembly at Boston, and 


the restoration of lost liberties.” 
here the quarrel was renewed. A resolve having 
been passed denouncing the payment of thie salary to 
the Governor by Great Britain, he was informed by the 
secretary for the colonies that the king had made pro- 
vision for the support of his servants in the Massa- 
chusetts Bay. A town-meeting was called (the court 
not being in session) ; John Hancock was moderator. 
The Governor was asked by this meeting “if stipends 
He refused 


A message condemning the measure as 


had been fixed to the offices of judges.” 
to answer. 
contrary to the charter and the common law was sent 
to him, and requesting that the subject might be 
referred to the General Court. This request was also 
refused, and the General Court was not permitted to 
meet in December, the time to which it had been pro- 
rogued. The Governor in his reply denied the right 
of the town to debate such matters, upon which it 


650 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





was voted that the inhabitants of Boston have ever 
had, and ought to have, the right to petition the king 
for the redress of such grievances as they feel, or for 
preventing of such as they have reason to apprehend, 
and to communicate their sentiments to other towns. 
And Samuel Adams then proposed that step which, 
it has been said, ‘included the whole Revolution, 
viz., a committee of correspondence to consist of 
twenty-one persons, to state the rights of the colo- 
nies, and of this province in particular, as men and 
Christians, and as subjects, and to communicate and 
publish the same to the several towns, and to the 
world, as the sense of this town, with the infringe- 
ments or violations thereof that have been, or from 
time to time may be, made.” This was the origin of 
the famous committee of correspondence, and it is in 
answer to their letter that the inhabitants of Wren- 
tham, on the 11th day of January, 1773, returned 
the following spirited and patriotic reply : 

“First. Resolved, That the British constitution is grounded 
on the eternal law of nature, a constitution whose foundation 
and centre is liberty, which sends liberty to every subject that 
is, or may happen to be, within any part of its ample circum- 
ference; that every part of the British dominions hath a right 
freely to enjoy all the benefits and privileges of this happy con- 


stitution, and that no power of legislation or government upon 
earth can justly abridge nor deprive any part of the British 


happy constitution and its true principles; that every part of 
the British dominions in which acts of the British Parliament 
are exercised contrary to the true principles of the constitution 
have, and always ought to have, a right to petition and remon- 


strate, or to join in petitioning and remonstrating to the king, | 


lords, and commons of Great Britain that all such acts of Par- 
liament may speedily be removed, abrogated, and repealed. 
That the province of Massachusetts Bay have the right not only 
by nature and the laws of England, but by social compact, to 
enjoy all the rights, liberties, and immunities of natural and 
free-born subjects of Great Britain to all intents and purposes 
whatsoever; and that acts of the British Parliament imposing 
rates and duties on the inhabitants of this province while they 
are unrepresented in Parliament are violations of those rights, 
and ought to be contended for with firmness. 

“ Resolved, That it is the opinion of this town that the act of 


the British Parliament in assuming the power for the legislation | 
_ the attendance of members and putting off the session 


of the colonies in all cases whatsoever, and in consequence of 
that act have carried into execution that assumed power, in lay- 
ing duties on divers articles in the colonies for the express pur- 
pose of raising a revenue without their consent, either by them- 


selves or their representative, whereby the right which every | 


man has to his own property is wholly taken away and destroyed ; 
and what is still more alarming is to see the amazing inroads 
which have been made, and still are making, on our charter 
rights and privileges by placing a Board of Commissioners 
among us under so large a commission, with a train of depend- 
ents to sap the foundation of our industry; our coasts sur- 
rounded with fleets; standing armies placed in free cities in 
time of peace without the consent of the inhabitants, whereby 
the streets of the metropolis of this province have been stained 
by the blood of its innocent inhabitants; the Governor of the 
province made independent of the grants of the General As- 





| Man. 


dominions of those liberties without doing violence to this | 


' sent the town in a General Court at Salem. 


sembly; large salaries affixed to the Lieutenant-Governor, the 
judges of the admiralty, ete.; the amazing stretch of the power 
of the Courts of Vice-Admiralty, in a great measure depriving 
the people in the colonies of the right of trial by jury, and such 
like innovations, which are intolerable grievances, tending 
wholly to deprive us of our charter rights and privileges, pull 
down the constitution, and reduce us to a state of abject 
slavery.” 


Another resolve against fixed salaries for the judges 
of the courts of common law follows, and another 
showing the tendency of these measures thus de- 
nounced to produce absolute government. The last 
one acknowledges the care and vigilance of Boston, 
and assures them 

“That, as this town hopes never to be wanting in their duty 
and loyalty to their King, so they are ever ready to do every- 
thing in their power in a constitutional way to assist in carry- 
ing into execution such measures as may be adopted to remove 
those difficulties we feel and to prevent those we have reason to 
fear. 


“Tn the name of the Committee. 
“Davip Man.” 


These resolves were unanimously adopted by the 


town. The following year a committee of corres- 
pondence was chosen, viz., Samuel Lethbridge, Jabez 
Fisher, Dr. Ebenezer Daggett, Mr. Lemuel Kollock, 
Capt. John Smith, Joseph Woodward, and David 
A committee was also chosen to attend a con- 
vention of the county at the house of Mr. Woodward, 
innholder, in Dedham, “to deliberate and determine 
on such matters as the distressed circumstances of the 
province require,’ and on Sept. 30, 1774, the town 
voted that a provincial congress was necessary. It 
also voted to purchase two pieces of cannon. 

Jabez Fisher was chosen delegate to a convention 
at Concord Oct. 2, 1774. Previous to this, viz., 
Sept. 15, 1774, Mr. Fisher had been chosen to repre- 
But in 
the mean time Governor Gage, becoming alarmed at 
the tone of the resolves and votes passed in town- 
meetings and county conventions, issued his procla- 
mation on the 28th day of September dispensing with 


until some more distant day. 

The instructions given to Mr. Fisher, the delegate 
to the Provincial Congress at Concord, were drafted 
by Ebenezer,Daggett and Lemuel Kollock. They al- 
lude to the fact that he is chosen at a time when the 
province is in consternation and confusion, briefly ad- 
vert to the causes thereof, and instruct him to make 
the charter of the province the rule of his conduct, re- 
fusing to acknowledge any mutilations or alterations 
of the charter as valid; and that he should acknowl- 
edge those counselors who were elected by the Gen- 
eral Court as the only constitutional council of this 


age 8 oe 





WRENTHAM. 





651 





province, and if the congress should consequently be 
dissolved, then to join with members from this and 
other towns in a General Provincial Congress. 

Capt. Peres Cushing and Mr. Joseph Spear were 
appointed chief gunners of the two field-pieces, and 
directed to see that each piece is fixed and kept with 
a carriage and utensils fit for action as soon as may | 
be. It was voted also to increase the town’s stock of | 
ammunition. The constables were ordered to pay all | 
province taxes in their hands or to be collected by 
them to Henry Gardner, of Stow, instead of Harrison 
Gray, the royal treasurer, and it was voted that the 
town would indemnify them against any consequences 
of such payment. This was decidedly a revolutionary 
step. The attitude of the town was unmistakable. 
No wonder they got their guns ready for immediate 
use and laid in more powder and ball. If King 
George had prevailed in the war against the colonies, 
our patriotic predecessors might have been hung for 
treason. In September, 1776, these guns were at | 


Boston. 

In January, 1775, the town proceeded to create a 
military establishment, providing for the enlistment of 
minute-men, and proposed to send beef, pork, grain, 
and other provisions for the poor of Boston. 

The committee of correspondence chosen March 4, 
1776, were Samuel Fisher, Dr. Ebenezer Daggett, | 
Deacon Theodore Man, Mr. Joseph Fairbanks, Mr. 
John Craig, Mr. Daniel Holbrook, Mr. Hezekiah | 
Fisher, Mr. Joseph Hawes, Capt. Asa Fairbanks, | 
Capt. Peres Cushing, and Mr. Joseph Whiting, Jr. 

At the first alarm Wrentham was ready to send 
men to the battle-field. Her patriotism was not con- 
fined to words. Witness the muster-rolls which pro- 
claim this fact : 





““A Muster Roll of the Minute Company in the Colony ser- 
vice which marched from Wrentham in the alarm on the 19th 
of April last past under the command of Capt. Oliver Pond.” 


Oliver Pond, capt. 
Wigglesworth Messinger, Ist 


Joseph Adams, private. 
John Blake, private. 
William Wetherbee, private. 
James Blake, private. 

Isaac Clewley, private. 
Benjamin Day, private. 
John Druce, private. 

Asa Day, private. 
Jonathan Everett, private. 
Jonathan Felt, private. 
Joseph Field, private. 
Samuel Frost, private. 

John Fisher, private. 
Timothy Hancock, private. 
Benjamin Rockwood, private. 
Jacob Mann, private. 

Peter Robeshaw, private. 
Joseph Raysey, private. 
Benjamin Ray, private. 


lieut. 
Hezekiah Ware, 2d lieut. 
Noah Pratt, sergt. 
Elias Bacon, sergt. 
David Ray, sergt. 
Nathan Blake, sergt. 
Nathan Hancock, corp. 
Beriah Brastow, corp. 
Aquilla Robbins, corp. 
David Everett, private. 
Jeremiah Hartshorn, private. 
Theodore Kingsbury, private. 
Ebenezer Kollock, private. 
George Mann, private. 
Benjamin McLane, private. 
James Newhall, private. 
John Porter, private. 





Abijah Pond, private. 
Oliver Rouse, Jr., private. 
Hezekiah Hall, drummer. 


Christopher Burlingame, fifer. 


In council Feb. 23, 1776 read and 


“Alarm 19 April 1775. 


Deodat Tisdale, private. 
Daniel Ware, private. 
Ware, private. 





allowed and ordered that a warrant be drawn on the Treasurer 
for £33. 3. 8. 1 in full of the within Roll. 


“Perez Morton, Sec’y.” 


Also a muster-roll of the company in the colony which 
marched from Wrentham on the alarm on the 19th of April 
1775 under the command of Capt. Benjamin Hawes,! in Col. 


John Smith’s Regiment. 
Benjamin Hawes, capt. 
Timothy Guild, 2d lieut. 
John Everett, sergt. 
Abijah Blake, sergt. 
Daniel Guild, sergt. 
John Kingsbury, soldier. 
Samuel Brastow, soldier. 
Daniel Holbrook, soldier. 


James Holbrook, Jr., soldier. 


Jeremiah Cobb, soldier. 
Elijah Farrington, corp. 
Jason Blake, drum. 
Daniel Cobb, fifer. 
Stephen Blake, soldier. 
Benjamin Pond, soldier. 
Jacob Blake, soldier. 
John Needham, soldier. 
Oliver Ware, soldier. 
Moses Craig, soldier. 


William Green, soldier. 
Jason Richardson, soldier. 
Ephraim Knowlton, soldier. 
David Man, soldier. 
Jacob Daggett, soldier. 
Oliver Harris, soldier. 
Samuel Wood, soldier. 
Ebenezer Field, soldier. 
Henry Holbrook, soldier. 
Jacob Holbrook, soldier. 
Samuel Richardson, Jr., 
soldier. 
David Holbrook, soldier. 
Samuel Baker, soldier. 
Turil Gilmore, soldier. 
Nathan Kingsbury, soldier. 
John Hawes, soldier. 
Samuel Pettee, soldier. 
Stephen Pettee, soldier. 


“ SUFFOLK 832. 
“Wrentoam December y® 8th 1775. 
“Capt. Benjamin Hawes came before me and made solemn 
oath to the truth of the above-written muster-roll according 
to his best skill, knowledge, and judgment. Sworn before me 
EBENEZER FISHER, 
** Just of Peace. 
“ A true copy compared and examined by 
“ Epam STARKWEATHER } 
“Epwp Rawson j Com’rs. 
“Jas TURNER 





1 Daniel Hawes, who was an early comer to Wrentham, 
had ason Benjamin, born March 14, 1695-96. He married 
Abigail Fisher, Dec. 9, 1724. One of theirsons was Benjamin, 
who was born June 11, 1731, and was therefore about forty-four 
years of age when he commanded the company whose names 


| are enrolled above. He was conspicuous in the controversy with 
| the Rev. David Avery hereinafter related. 
| few years a portion of the land originally laid out to the ances- 


Until within a 


tor by the proprietors of lands in Wrenthan was in the posses- 
sion of his descendants. 

Capt. Lemuel Kollock, who also commanded a company of 
minute-men in April, 1775, was a conspicuous and influential 
citizen, and his name often appears in connection with the 
patriotic measures discussed in the town-meetings. His death 
was oceasioned by a fall from his horse on the 14th day of July, 
1795, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. 

Capt. Samuel Cowell, the son of Joseph, was born in 1787. 
He commanded a company of minute-men at the time of the 
alarm in April, 1775, and probably at other times was com- 
manding officer of men who were destined for the continental 
army, as was Capt. Samuel Fisher. 

Capt. David Holbrook, of the northerly part of the town, had 
command of a company at the time of the alarm in April, 1775. 


652 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





“Tn council Feby y® 16th 1776 read and allowed and there- 
upon ordered that a warrant be drawn on the Treas™ for £29 
4.6. in full discharge of the within roll. 

« Perez Morton, 
© D. See’y.” 


““Also a muster-roll of the company, in the colony service, 
which marched from Wrentham on the alarm on the 19th of 
April, 1775, under the command of Capt. Lemuel Kollock, in 
Col. John Smith’s Regiment. 


Lemuel Kollock, Capt. 
Joseph Everett, 1 Left. 


Joseph Hewes, Jr., Privit. 
Benjamin Shepard, ‘“ 


Swift Paysen, 2 do. Joseph Cook, ee 
John Whiting, Sergt. John Bates, Cb 
William Puffer, ‘ Nicholas Barton, ss 
Jesse Everett, “ John Dale, 4 
Timothy Pond, “ Ralph Freeman, £ 
Joseph Ware, Privit. Sam! Bolkom, ae 
Ebenezer Gilbert, “s Ephraim Hunt, eg 
Jeremiah Day, <6 James Blake, oS 
Ichabod Turner, “¢ Jeremiah Pond, ce 
Daniel Mumm, a Jonathan Shepard, 
Stephen Harding, cS Benjamin Guild, 2d, “ 
Aaron Hall, os Ebenezer Fisher, Jr., ‘ 
Daniel Messinger, ‘“ Joseph Hancock, ss 
L. W. Messinger, ss Elisha Turner, s 
Isaac Richardson, es David Ware, ee 
Isaac Fisher, J Ebenezer Allen, Wy 
Daniel Gould, se Nathan Moss, <f 
Obediah Man, se Jesse Ballou, OS 
Ebenezer Blake, so 


“Sworn to and examined & compared with the original, and 
£24 7. 11 allowed for pay in full.” 

There were also companies commanded by Capts. 
John Boyd, Asa Fairbanks, and Elijah Pond respec- 
tively, that marched from Wrentham on the 19th day | 
of April, 1775, in the colony service. Capt. Thomas 
Bacon commanded a company that marched from 
Wrentham April 30, 1775. Capt. Samuel Cowell 
also had command of a company about the same time- | 





It also appears from the military rolls at the State, 


House, that a number of men of the company called 
the North Company, in the West Precinct, enlisted | 
into the Continental army in 1778. 
under the command of Capt. Samuel Fisher, composed 


Also a company 


largely of Wrentham men, enlisted for three years or | 
during the war. 

Japt. Oliver Pond, of Wrentham, enlisted in the 
eight-months’ service in the Continental army, in Col. 


Joseph Read’s regiment, April 27, 1775. He was 
first captain in this, the Sixth, Massachusetts. A fter- 


wards the regiment was called the Thirteenth Massa- 
Upon the expiration of the time 
He 


went with the army from the neighborhood of Boston 


chusetts Regiment. 


—eight months—he again enlisted for one year. 


to New York, and then to the “ Jerseys,” and partici- 
pated in the battles of Trenton and Princeton and 
other contests of the campaign. 

In 1777, in consequence, it is understood, of some 


| with our lives and fortunes 


acts or of some proposed acts of the Continental 
Congress in regard to the army and its officers which 
were displeasing to him, he resigned his office of cap- 
tain and left the army. 

But when Shay’s rebellion broke out he took com- 
mand of the military company which marched from 
Wrentham and vicinity to Springfield, where the 
rebels, refusing to lay down their arms, and having 
been fired upon, fell into confusion and soon dispersed. 
The roll of that company was almost the only paper of 
Capt. Pond’s that escaped the fire, when the house in 
which he was residing was burned. 

He was often honored by his fellow-townsmen by 
appointment to places of trust and responsibility. A 
soldier of the Revolution, who had known him well, 
summed up his opinion of the hero in these two lines 
of his epitaph,— 

“None more wise, more fit for duty, 
None more faithful to his trust.’ } 


Upon the 5th day of June, 1776, among other in 
structions given to their representatives in General 
Court, the inhabitants in open town-meeting adopted 
the following: ‘“ We, your constituents therefore 
think that to be subject or dependent on the crown of 
Great Britain would not only be impracticable but 
unsafe to the State. The inhabitants of this town 
therefore, in full town-meeting, unanimously instruct 
and direct you to give your vote that if the Honorable 
American Congress, in whom we place the highest 
confidence under God, should think it necessary for 


the safety of the united colonies to declare them inde- 


| pendent on Great Britain, that we, your constituents, 


, will most cheerfully sup- 
port them in the measure.” 

We should look in vain in any history of the war 
of the Revolution for a more decided manifestation of 
spirit. It was, indeed, the spirit of the times. Every 
man who voted for these instructions was a traitor to 
his king; a rebel against the government to which 
he owed allegiance. But alarming as was the pros- 
pect, fearful as might be the consequences, our pa- 
triotic fathers did not hesitate to assume this attitude. 


We know not the history of the struggle until we ex- 


_ amine the recorded acts and opinions of the little revo- 


lutionary towns whose spirit sustained the courage of 
This vote, it will be ob- 
served, was passed one month before Congress declared 


Assemblies and Congresses. 


1 Ephraim Pond, the ancestor of Capt. Oliver, was one of the 
He married Deborah 
His son, Ephraim, born in 1686, had a son, 
Ephraim, who married, in 1786, Michal Man, the daughter of 
William Man, and a granddaughter of the Rev. Samuel Man. 


members of the first church in 1692. 
Hawes in 1685. 


Their second son, born July 29, 1737, was Oliver Pond. 


a 





i 





WRENTHAM. 


653 





independence of Great Britain, His majesty’s name | 
was omitted for the first time in the warrants in 1775, | 


and the freeholders were summoned in the name of 
the government and people of the Massachusetts Bay 
for the first time May 6, 1776. 


The town voted that the soldiers who enlisted for | 


three years should receive forty shillings per month 
from the town; and in obedience to an act of the 
General Court the selectmen fixed a tariff for articles 
commonly sold. 


In May, 1777, the instructions to Benjamin Guild, | 
6c New | 


the representative, contain the following: 
scenes of horror and devastation present themseives, 
while the fleets and armies of the tyrant of Great 
Britain are on our coasts, and around our dwellings 
we are disturbed by internal enemies,’ and they direct 
him to give his vote for a constitution and frame of 
government. And a committee was chosen to inform 
the government against loyalists, and another to hire 


men to complete this town’s quota. It was also voted 


that the families of those who have gone to the war | 


be provided for. 


confederation. A report of the committee to hire sol- 


diers for the war stated that a seventh part of the | 


male inhabitants were enlisted in the war as soldiers, 
and the sum of eighteen hundred pounds was voted to 
defray the expenses of raising the town’s quota of the 
Continental army. 


On the 20th of May of the same year the in- | 


habitants gave their votes in favor of the first consti- 
tution and frame of popular government in Massachu- 
setts. But the people of the colony rejected it. 


lies of non-commissioned officers and soldiers who had 








At | 


the same time provision was again made for the fami- | 


pay for beef for the army The General Court hav- 
ing required Wrentham to furnish a certain number 
of shirts, hose, and blankets, the selectmen inform the 
assessors that the sum of four hundred and sixteen 
pounds in silver is necessary for this purpose, and as 
there is no money in the treasury they are requested 
to assess the sum upon the inhabitants in silver 
money. 

This was about the time when, notwithstanding 
successes at the South, the country seemed to be on 
the brink of ruin. Although aid seemed at hand 
upon the arrival of Rochambeau and De Grasse, and 
although some temporary relief had been obtained, yet 
no sufficient and reliable means of supplying the 
wants of the army had been provided. The enemy 
was in possession of a large part of the country; the 
Americans, whose campaigns were to be extensive, 
had scarcely an army and were wholly without money. 
Their bills of credit were worthless, not being a legal 
tender, or taken even for taxes. Borrowing of France, 
Spain, and Holland was attempted. Franklin obtained 


_a gift of six millions of livres from Louis X VI., who 
In 1778, the town voted to accept the articles of | 


also guaranteed a loan of ten millions made by Hol- 
land to the United States. This success, added to the 
labors of Robert Morris, the new treasurer, who 


_ brought not only zeal and great ability but his own 


private fortune to the rescue, brought confidence to 
the public, and economy took the place of waste. 
Upon the conclusion of the war the town instructed 
the representative “ to use his influence to persuade 
the General Court to call on Congress to redeem the 
outstanding bills of credit now in the hands of treas- 
urers and individuals in this State; and that the 
delegates in Congress be directed to obtain without 


delay a liquidation of all Continental accounts, that 


gone to the war. 


this State may speedily know their due proportion of 
In 1779, a committee against monopoly and fore- 


the public expense, so that a just average may be 





stalling was chosen, and ninety-two votes were cast 
for a constitutional convention,—none against it. The 


town, notwithstanding the straits to which it was re- | 


duced, did not forget the men who had gone to the 


battle-fields, as appears by the frequent votes passed | 


in aid of their families. 
year in a vote of twenty pounds to the heirs of John 
Druce “as a bounty for his enlisting into the Conti- 
nental army.” 
war by hiring and paying men to enlist into the ser- 
vice, and exempted them from taxation. 

In September, 1780, a committee was chosen to 


procure beef for the army, and in January of the fol- | 


lowing year the sum of one hundred and twenty thou- 


sand pounds was granted to hire the men called for to 
serve in the Continental army for three years and to 





An instance occurred this | 


made through the United States as soon as may be of 
the public debt. 

The town, in 1776, being threatened with a visita- 
tion of the smallpox, Josiah Blake’s house was 
And the next 
year Dr. Daggett was authorized “to carry on in- 


ordered to be used for a hospital. 


_oculation of the small pox at that house on certain 
| conditions.” 
They also still resolved to maintain the | 


The town at last agreed, in 1778, that the inhab- 
itants of the West Precinct might be set off into a 
separate township, according to certain metes and 
bounds. 
cordance with the desire of the petitioners, incor- 
porating the inhabitants of the West Precinct into a 


The General Court passed an act in ac- 


township by the name of Franklin, with boundaries 
which differed but little if any from the bounds of 


654 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





the precinct. 
1778. 
Foxborough having been incorporated June 10, 
1778, from parts of Wrentham, Walpole, Stoughton, 
and Sharon, a report was made of the amounts due 


This was on the 2d day of March, 


to several persons within the limits of the new town- 
ship, being the sums which they had paid towards 
building the meeting-house. The whole sum was | 
£26 Os. 10d. 3q7. 

In 1779 the salary voted the Rev. Mr. Bean was 
one thousand pounds. The year previous his salary 
was one hundred and thirty pounds. This shows how 
rapidly and alarmingly the currency had depreciated. 
To illustrate this, I will add that the assessors were | 
directed in assessing the one thousand pounds for Mr. 
Bean to make a separate column of what each per- 
son’s proportion would be in a tax of £66 13s. 4d., 
and that any person might pay his proportion of said 
sum as follows, viz.: Indian corn at three shillings 
per bushel, good ground malt at five shillings per 
bushel, rye at four shillings, clear salt pork at five 
pence per pound, good mutton at two pence two 
farthings per pound, tried tallow at sixpence per 
pound, good wool at one shilling four pence per pound, | 





good flax at eight pence per pound, and other ne- | 
cessary articles as they were commonly sold before 
the year 1775. The inference is that the one thousand | 
pounds in the curreney of that day was equal to only | 
£66 13s. 4d.! | | 

It was in the same year (1779) voted “ that Mr. 
Bean use Doct. Watts’ hymns as well as psalms in 
singing in public assembly in this town.” 

Having in May, 1780, voted against the new con- | 
stitution, the inhabitants granted fifty thousand | 
pounds to defray town charges, and, upon the 4th 
of September, cast their first votes for a Governor and 
other State officers. Fifty-seven votes were given, all 
for John Hancock. ‘The representative was instructed 
to vote for the repeal of the excise act, “‘ because it 
obliges every individual who consumes rum and other 
spirituous liquors to pay duties on the same; the | 
most wealthy, who purchase large quantities, are not | 
subject to pay any duties on the same, as the act now 
stands.” 





The voters expressed their disapprobation of the 
act of the Continental Congress called the Commu- | 
tation Act (granting half-pay for life to all officers | 
who should serve until the end of the war); they | 
also disapproved of the Society of the Cincinnati. 
For some years the subject of a new county had 


1 A committee reported that the payments made to Mr. Bean | 


since the commencement of the war would not be equal to | 
seventy pounds in silver. 


| Prayer,” A.D. 1775. 


been agitated, and Wrentham was quite urgent upon 
the matter, sending delegates to conventions holden 
to consider that subject, and instructing the repre- 
sentatives in General Court to endeavor to accom- 
plish it. Boston was the shire town, and all county 
and court business must be done there at very great 
inconvenience. But the new county was not estab- 
lished by the General Court until 1793. 

On the 2d day of August, 1784, the town voted 
to join with the church in giving Mr. Adoniram 
Judson a call to settle in the ministerial office as a 
colleague with the Rev. Joseph Bean. There were 
one hundred and five votes in his favor and eighty- 
four against him. Mr. Judson declined the call, and 
a committee was chosen for the purpose of hiring 
preaching. Mr. Bean died Dec. 12, 1784. The 
kind offers of several clergymen, who had tendered 
each a day’s preaching for the late Mr. Bean’s family, 


| were accepted. 


Mr. Bean’s publications were a century sermon, 
preached Oct. 26, 1773, one hundred years after the 
town was incorporated, and printed by request in 
1774; and a sermon preached before the congrega- 
tion of the First Church and Parish of Wrentham 
“On a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting, and 
Published in 1837. 

Of Mr. Bean’s ancestry but little is known. It 
seems that he was established in business in Cam- 


_ bridge, Mass., and was converted under the preaching 


of Whitefield and Tennent. He left his business and 
entered college and was graduated, at the age of thirty 
years, in 1748. He was ordained Dec. 5, 1750, and 
married Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Henry Mes- 
singer, his predecessor in the ministry in Wrentham, 
The epitaph on his gravestone is as follows : 


“Near half an age with every good man’s praise 
Among his flock ye shepherd passed his days; 
The friend ye comfort of ye sick and poor, 

Want never knocked unheeded at his door, 

Oft when his duty call’d, disease & pain 

Strove to confine him; but they strove in vain, 
All mourn his death; his virtues long they tri’d; 
They knew not how they lov’d him till he dy’d.” 


In October, 1785, the town voted to join the church 


| in the call and settlement of the Rev. David Avery 


to the work of the ministry in this place by one hun- 
dred and fifty-one votes to one against it. A com- 
mittee having been chosen “to fix his settlement,” 
reported that two hundred pounds be given to Mr. 
Avery; and one hundred pounds per annum as his 
salary. This report was adopted by the town.” 


2“ The Rey. David Avery was born April 5, 1746, in Franklin, 


! Connecticut. His father’s name was John. He was converted by 








WRENTHAM. 


655 





Mr. Avery’s reply to the invitation of the church 
and town was as follows : 


“To THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AND SOCIETY OF THE 
TOWN OF WreENTHAM.—Brethren and Gentlemen, as you were 
pleased on the tenth of October last to unite in inviting me to 
settle in the Gospel Ministry I have taken your proposals into 
serious and mature consideration, and do now in the sincerity 
and cheerfulness of my heart declare my acceptance of your 
call. And Ido also engage without reserve in the strength of 
Christ carefully and faithfully to exercise my office amongst 
you for your spiritual advantage and highest interest as long as 





school, Connecticut, entered Yale College, and was graduated 
in 1769. He engaged in teaching Indian schools. He studied 
theology with Rev. Dr. E. Wheelock, of Dartmouth College, 
preached on Long Island, and in 1771 was ordained as mission- 
ary to the Oneida Indians. 


March 25, 1773, and dismissed April 14, 1777, to go as chaplain 
inthe army. On his return he was settled at Bennington, Vt., 
May 3, 1780, and dismissed June 17, 1783, and settled at Wren- 
tham May 25, 1786, and dismissed April 21,1794. He preached 
afterwards to a congregation at North Wrentham, where a church 
was organized in 1795, until some time in 1797, when he re- 
moved to Mansfield, Conn. He engaged in missionary labor 
under the direction of the Massachusetts Domestic Missionary 
Society, going into New York and Maine. He afterwards, from 
1798 to 1801, preached in Chaplin, Conn., having gathered a 
new church and society there, called the Union Church. In 
1817 he visited his daughter, Mrs. Hewett, in Shepardstown, Va. 
He received a cordial and unanimous call to settle in Middle- 
town, in the vicinity of Shepardstown, but was taken ill and 
died there, and was buried on the week of his intended installa- 
tion, the clergy of the invited council officiating as bearers. 
His voice was so clear and sonorous and his articulation so dis- 
tinct that it was a common saying in the army that every 
soldier in a brigade could hear all that he said. When the 
news of the battle of Lexington reached Gageboro’ Mr. Avery’s 
parishioners assembled in arms, formed themselves into a com- 
pany, elected him for their captain, and marched for Cambridge 
on the 22d of April. Mr. Avery preached at Northampton the 
next day from Neh. iv. 14. They arrived at Cambridge Satur- 
day 29th, and were honorably received and congratulated by the 
troops assembled. Mr. Avery preached on Sunday afternoon to 
the troops from a temporary stage erected in the college area, 


Teieity, ae fe ala " | : 
from Neh. iy. 14,and on Monday he began a regular course of | combatants go to the field with as much zeal as the 


morning and evening prayer with the regiment to which he 
belonged. On Tuesday he commenced visiting and praying 
with the sick and wounded regulars in the hospitals. May 11th, 


Leaving this field he returned to | 
New England and was installed at Gageboro’ (now Windsor), Vt., | 





fast-day, he preached on Cambridge common; May 29th he | 


volunteered with an expedition to Noddles’ Island, where there 
was a brisk skirmish,standing guard two hours. July 20th, 
having preached to the troops again, it being a fast-day ordered 
by the Continental Congress, he on the 27th read to the troops 


the declaration of war against Gen. Gage. His people (of 


Gageboro’) consented that he might engage in the next cam- | 


paign, the neighboring ministers agreeing to supply his pulpit 
two-thirds of the time while he was absent. Mr. Avery often 
acted as physician and assistant surgeon. He was at the taking 
of Burgoyne, the capture of the Hessians at Trenton, and in 
the battle of Princeton. When settled at Bennington, at the 
request of the Governor and Council he took the field with Gen. 
Allen, and was in the battle of Bennington and assisted in 
dressing the wounds of the soldiers.’—Hist. Mend. Ass. 


| 
| 


divine wisdom shall see fit to continue me with you. And may 
God Almighty grant that we may be mutual comforts and bless- 
ings to each other that we may rejoice together in each other at 


| the appearing of Jesus Christ, to whom be glory in the churches 


throughout all ages world without end. Amen. 
“Davip AVERY.” 


Three years afterwards his salary was increased to 
one hundred and thirty pounds, so well and smoothly 
had pastor and people moved together. So auspi- 
cious a settlement would seem to augur well for church 
and people. The vote was nearly unanimous, it 


_ seemed to be hearty. Yet the dawn was soon over- 
the preaching of Whitefield, fitted for college at D. Wheelock’s | 


cast and a violent ministerial quarrel commenced, des- 
tined to end only with the disruption of the pastoral 
and ministerial relation. 

In 1791 the warrant for town-meeting, among 
other things, contained an article “to see if the in- 
habitants . . . are satisfied with the Rev. David 
Avery as a Gospel Minister,’ and “ provided the 
major part of the town are satisfied with the Rev. 
David Avery, to see if the town will consent that any 
persons that are dissatisfied may go to any other 
society to do duty and receive privilege,” and “ to see 
if it be the mind of the town to recommend the Rey. 
David Avery to cail a church meeting, agreeable to 
the request of Deacon David Holbrook and others 
presented to him Oct. 15, 1790.” Although no 
action was taken at this meeting, yet the fact that 
such an one was called was equivalent to a declara- 
tion that war had begun. It is true that in the 
scanty memorials of that controversy we find no 
record of its severity or bitterness in hostile speeches 
and partisan manifestoes preserved, yet tradition says 
it was marked by unusual asperity, that not only the 
community, but families were divided into Averians 
and Anti-Averians. A few years since people were 
living whose memory went back to that time, who, in 
their young days, had had their ears stunned with the 
din of the conflict, and whose eyes saw the veteran 


Crusaders of former days went against the Infidel. 
Meeting after meeting was held, council upon council 
convened, war-worn veterans were appointed to guard 
the door of the church to keep out the minister whom 
they had so unanimously called. The division was so 
wide and so deadly that reconciliation became imprac- 
ticable. In the progress of the controversy Mr. Avery 
and his adherents withdrew, or were forced from the 
meeting-house, and the pulpit was supplied by a com- 
mittee. Eventually, as a result of this unfortunate 
division, the church at North Wrentham was organ- 
ized, largely from those who had adhered to Mr. 
Avery. 

A committee, chosen by the town, to treat with 


656 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Mr. Avery, to see on what conditions he will agree to 
dissolve his pastoral connection with this society, re- 
ported his answer as follows: 
me, I do not think it consistent with my duty I owe’ 
to God and this people to treat with this committee 
on the subject of dissolving my pastoral relation.” 
It was then resolved, after long debate, that Mr. 
Avery come into this meeting, and give his reasons 
why be could not treat with the committee on the 


subject of dissolving his pastoral relation with this | 


people. 
the next morning, and a committee chosen to invite 
Mr. Avery to attend, and then the meeting was ad- 
journed until one o'clock, at which time Mr. Avery 
attended, and read before the town his reasons why 
The mod- 
erator then, in behalf of the town, requested the rev- 


he could not treat with said committee. 


erend gentleman to lay his reasons on the table, or a 
copy of them; but he said he should not. 
then voted by the town that he be requested to lay 
said reasons on the table, that they might be consid- 
ered by paragraphs, but in the interim the reverend 
gentleman withdrew. It was then determined “ that 
a committee of ten be chosen, five from each side of 
the question, to consider the difficulties the town 
labors under respecting their pastor, and that they 
act discretionary and report to the town at the ad- 
journment.” This committee were Elias Bacon, 
Lemuel Kollock, John Hall, Abijah Fisher, David 
Fisher, Thomas George, James Smith, Amos Walton, 
Daniel Messinger, and Ebenezer Blake, Jr., and, after 
conference, reported that they could not agree. 

In the warrant for the April town-meeting was an 
article ‘to see if it be the mind of the town to em- 
ploy the Rev. David Avery any longer as a public 
teacher of piety and religion and morality, or after 


due consideration of the ill consequences which may | proper capacity as the town of Wrentham for making these pro- 


be expected from our remaining in our present un- 
happy situation, whether it is not best for the cause 
of religion and the happiness of this society to em- 
ploy a public teacher whose sentiments and perform- 
ances may better correspond with the ideas of this 
society in so important a station ;” also, “if circum- 
stances require a separation, to determine on what 


improve the meeting-house. 

Upon the 4th of February, 1793, the town, upon a 
vote by yeas and nays, “ resolved by seventy-four to one 
not to employ Mr. Avery as a gospel minister in this 
place any longer.’’ Lemuel Kollock, Esq., Oliver 
Pond, Esq., and Dr. Jenks Norton were appointed a 
committee to inform Mr. Avery of this vote. On the 
11th of the same month it was resolved that a confer- 


This meeting was adjourned to eight o’clock | 


It was | 


“ As things appear to | 








him of these votes and request his answer. 





ence be held “on the subject of our difficulties with the 
Rev. Mr. Avery and his adherents, and the propriety 
of his removal from the ministerial office in this place, 
and that several neighboring divines be requested to 
attend and assist us in said conference, and that we 
request Mr. Avery and his adherents to join with us 
in this conference and in the choice of divines for that 
purpose; and that, after sufficient inquiry may be 
made into the nature and grounds of our difficulties, 
and each party have expressed their ideas upon the 
subject, the divines be desired to give their opin- 
ion on the case and to advise the parties to such meas- 
ures as may tend to dispel the difficulties and reinstate 
peace and harmony ; and if Mr. Avery don’t think fit 
to join in such conference that he and his adherents 
be requested to join in calling an Keclesiastical Coun- 
cil to hear and judge and give their advice upon all 


_ the difficulties which shall be stated to them by the 


agerieved bretheren of the church and congregation 
A committee 
was appointed to wait upon Mr. Avery and inform 


Mr. 


previous to the choice of the council.” 


Avery’s answer was as follows : 


“ To those of the inhabitants of the town of Wrentham who 


have assumed to act as a town-meeting and to pass votes rel- 

ative to me, David Avery, minister of the Congregational 

Church and people in said town. 

‘GENTLEMEN: I[ have this day received from you two pro- 
posals viz: First, that I with my adherents hold a conference 
with you on the subject of your difficulties with me and the 
propriety of my removal from the ministerial office in this place. 
Secondly, and if I don’t think fit to join in said conference that 


| T and my adherents be requested to join in calling an Keclesi- 


astical Council to hear afd Judge and to give advice upon all 
the difficulties which shall be stated to them by the aggrieved 
bretheren of the church and congregation previous to the choice 
To these proposals I beg leave to answer so far 
as they respect my voice, that I see not that I can comply with 


of the Council. 
them as I deem your meeting illegal and you not to bein a 
posals. 

“DAVID AVERY.” 


The above answer being read and duly considered, it 
was voted that a committee of five men be chosen to 
join with the aggrieved brethren of the church “to 
state all the difficulties we labor under respecting the 


Rev. David Avery, our pastor, and to lay it before the 
conditions it shall be made, and which party shall | 


| Esq., Capt. Benjamin Shepard, Nathan Blake, Oliver 


council.’ This committee consisted of Lemuel Kollock, 


Pond, Esq., Jeremiah Day, Dr. Jenks Norton, and 
Maj. Samuel Cowell. 

Previous to these votes and acts of the town the 
church had been deeply stirred by the controversy. 
In the year 1792 there had been a trial of the pastor 
before the church upon charges of heresy and impru- 
dence, of which he was acquitted by a small majority. 








WRENTHAM. 


657 








We have now but scant means of ascertaining what church upon certain questions involving the points 
were the peculiar tenets of Mr. Avery that were deemed by these members heretical. To this request 


deemed so heretical. 
Elisha Fisk, who succeeded him in the ministry at 
Wrentham, may be received as no doubt a true and 
careful one. 
of my immediate predecessor and his treatment of 
those who differed from him were said to be the ex- 
citing cause of the difficulties which had existed. 


He says, ‘‘ Some errors in the doctrines | 


But the statement of the Rev. | 





One of the subjects on which he strongly and fre- | 


quently insisted was that the atonement consisted in 
the obedience of Christ, and that his sufferings and 
death made no part of it only as they were matters of 
obedience. 
to be the teaching of the Scriptures on a fundamental 


point, to the articles of faith and to the preaching of | 


the former ministry. In some other minor points 
he was thought to be incorrect. Instead of being 
conciliating towards those who were dissatisfied it was 


said that he was overbearing, and made the impression 


what he wished must bedone. For this all the church | 


and people were not prepared.” 


Speaking of Mr. Avery himself, Mr. Fisk says, — 
‘“ He was a man of commanding personal appearance, | 


of a handsome address, of a loud and well modulated 
voice. Apart from his band 
might have been taken for a general instead of a 
chaplain in the army, as he actually had been.” 

At the request of a minority of the church a meet- 
ing was called in August of the same year for the 
purpose of conference on present difficulties, and, if 


necessary, to appoint a mutual council. A discussion 


difficulties in which they found themselves, and to 
ask the advice of the council thereon involving the 
question of dismissing Mr. Avery. But the influ- 
ence of the pastor was strong enough to restrict that 
action to the precise grounds of complaint which had 
been alleged in his recent trial by the church. Thus 
limited, the council simply revised the doings of the 
church, reversing its judgment in some particulars, 
and sustaining it in others, and advised Mr. Avery 
carefully to review his sentiments, and to avoid in 


and black coat, he | 


This was contrary to what was believed | 


he replied “ that, if the whole church should request 


‘him to call a church meeting, he would not do it 


unless he thought it best.” In 1793, at a church 
meeting, the aggrieved brethren requested Mr. Avery 
and his adherents to join them in the choice of an 
ecclesiastical council “who should consider all our 
matters of grievance respecting Mr. Avery’s doctrine 
and conduct, and the expediency of dissolving his 
pastoral relation.” Whereupon Mr. Avery invited 
the majority to repair to his house, and there it was 
voted not to join with the minority in the choice of 
an ecclesiastical council. Then a letter was addressed 


to him, as follows: “Rev. Sir,—Forasmuch as di- 


vision and disunion are become very prevalent in 
this place by reason of your sentiments and conduct, 
which we have publicly complained of and which we 


apprehend have been principally condemned by the 


late mutual council; and forasmuch as there appears 
that there was aruling mind in the church, and that | 


not the least prospect of harmony being restored to 
this divided church and town without your removal, 
we therefore most earnestly request you to ask a dis- 
mission from your pastoral relation to us.” This 
was dated Feb. 8, 1793, and was signed by twenty- 


| two members of the church. The aggrieved brethren 





then joined with a committee of the town in a 
letter-missive to several churches, desiring them to 
meet in council to consider the subject of recog- 
nizing them as the First Church in Wrentham. 

In accordance with this request the churches above 
mentioned sent delegates to a council which convened 


on the 26th day of March, 1793, and invited Mr. 
arose as to what was to be submitted to the council. | 
The Anti-Averians wished to lay before them all the | 


Avery and his adherents to join with a view to restore 
the peace and union of this town, and particularly to 
consider the subject of a petition to the General Court 
for an act of incorporation. 

Mr. Avery refused this invitation. Then the 
council determined among other things that- about 
one-half of the acting male members appeared to—be 
conscientiously aggrieved with the pastor’s deviation 
from principles and discipline, that Mr. Avery's adher- 
ents have petitioned the General Court for an act of 


| incorporation ; that the step which the aggrieved breth- 


his public discourses all expressions which may tend | 


to destroy solemnity and excite levity, and in all his 
conversation to express himself with prudence and 
moderation, and the church were advised to exercise 
candor and tenderness towards their pastor. 

Some twelve months before this Mr. Avery had 
been requested by thirteen members of the church to 


ren have taken in calling a council, appears to have 
been the only one left them to obtain redress; that 
they have honored themselves by seeking in a patient 


and persevering manner redress of their grievances 


according to the usual practice of Congregational 


| Churches; and after some reflections and suggestions 


arising from their unhappy condition recognize them 


call a meeting thereof to take the opinion of the ’ 


42 


as the original Congregational Church in Wrentham, 
together with such as should join them. Ata church 


658 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





meeting May 23, 1793, the minority took into con- 


sideration the result of the late council, and after 
stating also the fact that Mr. Avery’s adherents had 
petitioned to be incorporated as the original Congre- 
gational Church in Wrentham, declare that this was 


probably done by the advice of Mr. Avery, who | 


thereby had left the rest of the church and the town 
to take care of themselves or to worship with a min- 
ister whom they had long considered a grievance ; 
that they had been recognized by the council as the 
original church, and finding that the petitioners have 
notified the town according to the order of the court 
and thereby fully manifested their intention to be a 
separate society, therefore voted that the pastoral re- 
lation between this church and the Rey. David Avery 
is dissolved. After voting to adhere to the church 
covenant of 1699, they also passed a vote to request 
the town to join them in obtaining and settling a 
minister. It may be remarked here, that the town 
had in April, 1793, remonstrated against the incor- 
poration of a new society. 

In June Mr. Avery appointed a meeting of all the 
members that formerly belonged to the church to meet 
at the meeting-house. The recognized church met 
at the house of Abijah Fisher, and chose a committee 
to inform Mr. Avery “that if he or his adherents 
have any business with us or any proposals to make 
to us they may know where to treat with us.” The 
committee reported to Mr. Avery at the meeting- 
house, who said in reply to their message that he 
knew but one church in this town. 


On June 25, 1793, Mr. Avery had a council at his | 


house, who sent a message to the recognized church 
that they were ready to receive any proposals. That 
body replied that their recognition shall be no obstacle 
to the general peace and union of the congregation, 
and upon Mr. Avery's being removed from every pre- 
. tence of a pastoral relation to the church in this 
town, they would joyfully consent to a firm union. 
After one or two more messages all communication 


ceased. In July the church voted that since the 





deacons, treasurer, and anumber of the members had | 


gone off with Mr. Avery having all the church lands | 


and other property, that a committee be chosen to | 


settle with their late treasurer, and request him to | 


deliver up the property in his hands for the use of 


said church, and to demand of Mr. Avery peaceable | 


possession of the church lands and to forbid any per- | 
| remonstrated against his using the meeting-house and 


son to improve said lands and prosecute them if ne- 
Deacons Thomas Man and Jacob Pond were 
In 


December, Mr. Avery was invited to join them 


cessary. 
invited to join the original recognized church. 


in calling a mutual council to give their opinion and 


| Church in this town. 


advice upon all matters of difficulty and the propri- 
ety of his dismission from his ministerial office under 

Twenty-four members joined in 
Mr. Avery replied that he did not 


all circumstances. 
this invitation. 


_ know them in their assumed capacity ; that it was too 


weighty a matter to act upon without the sanction of 
the church, and would be incompatible with the rules 
of Congregational Churches and the eighteenth chap- 
ter of Matthew. He was asked to put his answer in 
writing, but he refused. Some other attempts were 
made but proved fruitless ; and as it was improbable that 
Mr. Avery would ever consent to submit the question 
to a mutual council according to their request, it was 
resolved by the old church to summon a council for 
that purpose. The town was notified and requested 
to join, and did join. 

Mr. Avery and his adherents were also notified and 
requested to join. In the mean time while the above 
correspondence was taking place between the members 
of the recognized church and Mr. Avery, the town 
was also acting on the same subject. A correspon- 
dence ensued between the town and Mr. Avery by 
committees, but it ended in a flat refusal of Mr. Avery 
to recognize the town-meetings as legal. The town, 
therefore, after exhausting all other means, requested 
him to ask a dismission. This he refused, and the 
town proceeded to declare his ministerial relation to 
it dissolved by seventy-seven votes against twenty- 
seven. This was on May 20, a.p. 1793. It was 
also made a matter of complaint that Mr. Avery and 
his adherents had inaugurated a movement for a new 
incorporation ; and the town declared that if it took 
place it would be of itself a dissolution of the rela- 
tion between it and Mr. Avery, and voted in June to 
hire a gospel minister to supply the pulpit here agree- 


able to the request of the original Congregational 


At the town-meeting in June 
a letter from Mr. Avery was read, referring to the 
town’s vote of dismissal and declaring it illegal, and 
tendering his services to the town as its minister, re- 
questing that he might not be obstructed in the free 
and unembarrassed use of his office in this place. In 
reply the town declare that “ the tender of his services 
has but little claim to attention, but that they wish 
not to disturb him in the free exercise of his minis- 
trations to those who wish to improve him, provided 
the town is not interrupted thereby; that the town 
propose soon to have a preacher of the gospel, and 


pulpit any longer as a minister, and caution him 
against obstructing the town in the free and unem- 
barrassed use thereof for the public worship of God 


in future.’ A committee was chosen and instructed 











WRENTHAM. 


659 





to keep the meeting-house shut on the Sabbath in 
future “‘ unless the committee chosen to procure preach- 


ing should desire it; provided that Mr. Avery might | 
have it for his council; further, if he and his ad- | 


herents will engage to let us have it in peace when 


we shall want it at all other times it may be open for | 
In January, 1794, the town | 
voted as has been stated to join the original Congre- | 


their improvement.” 


gational Church in calling an ecclesiastical council. 
This council assembled at the house of Col. Benja- 
min Hawes on the 25th day of March, 1794, and 


after a vain attempt to persuade Avery to join it, | 
proceeded to the meeting-house and conducted their | 


proceedings in public. 

The report of the council, which was unanimous, 
sustains the disaffected brethren and town except in 
voting Mr. Avery’s dismission without the advice of 
a council. By their advice both the recognized church 
and town voted again that Mr. Avery be dismissed 
from his pastoral and ministerial relations. The 
brethren notified him of this vote, he in reply cen- 


sured their proceedings and still claimed to be their | 
In May of the same year the brethren of | 


minister. 
the recognized church proceeded to organize. Deacons 
Man and Pond were invited to return, but as they 


did not, the church made choice of deacons pro tem- | 


pore. Mr. Avery’s adherents generally were also in- 
vited. A committee was appointed to reckon with 
Thomas Man, church treasurer, that the church might 
know what was in his hands, and forbid him from 
paying any of the church money to Mr. Avery; also 
a committee was chosen to demand of Mr. Avery the 
church records. 


brethren of the recognized church to join in request- 
ing Mr. Avery to join with the church in calling a 
mutual council to consider, first, how the parties should 
be reunited ; second, the dismission of the pastor in 
his especial relation to them, the Averians; and if 
this be deemed expedient that the council should pre- 











whether he is or is not the minister; second, if he 
be the minister, is it expedient that he should be dis- 
missed from his special relation to us (the adherents), 
and if expedient how it shall be effected; third, 
how shall the parties be reunited ? 

The brethren of the recognized church replied and 
declined the proposal. This was on the 20th of Sep- 
tember. On the 2d of October Mr. Avery, on be- 


_ half of himself and his adherents, made a communi- 


cation, stating that they should make no further pro- 
posals at present. 

In 1795, Deacons Man and Pond refusing to give 
any account of church property in their hands, and 
having attempted to seize the tankards and other 
vessels made use of at communion seasons, the church 
voted that unless they should appear at the next 
church meeting, and give the church satisfaction, 
they ought to be dismissed. John Hall, Philip Blake, 
and Amos Walton were chosen deacons, and in March 
Deacons Man and Pond were dismissed. The new 
officers were instructed to demand the church records 
of Mr. Avery, and a committee was chosen to confer 
with Mr. Avery’s adherents, with a view to accom- 
plish a reconciliation. 

On the 20th of October a council, held at Mr. 
Avery’s house, resolved that reunion was very desir- 
able, and therefore advised Mr. Avery to ask a dis- 
mission, and the church (that portion of it which ad- 
hered to him) to grant it. This was accordingly 
done in presence of the council, and communicated 
to the brethren of the recognized church, who ac- 
knowledge the receipt, and state that they are heartily 


_ desirous of reunion as soon as a church meeting could 


On the 30th day of July the Averians invited the | 


be regularly appointed for that purpose; this was 


signed by eight members. The council being, as 
oD oD oo) 


they say, discouraged by this reply, proceeded to the 


business before them. After deciding various ques- 


tions of church discipline, they recommended the 
_adherents of Mr. Avery to serve the moderator of 


scribe the way in which his dismission ought to be | 
effected. To this the recognized brethren on the 11th | 


day of August reply, first, that the matters embraced 
in the communication are important, and that they 
wish to treat them with all respect which their unhappy 
situation. . . . requires; that reunion with the Ave- 
rins is their earnest wish (excepting Mr. Avery him- 
self). . . . that they consider Mr. Avery legally dis- 


the recognized church with an attested copy of the 
result of this council, and also to hold themselves, for 
four weeks afterwards, in readiness to reunite with 
them upon gospel principles, but if they should refuse 


_a reunion, then it was the opinion of the council that 


missed and therefore cannot comply with the second © 


request of his adherents. ‘This drew out an able re- 
joinder from the Averians, concluding with a proposal 
to join in requesting Mr. Avery to unite with the 


church in calling a mutual council to consider first | 


the churches ought to allow them to be a church of 
Christ in regular standing, and that they, the coun- 
cil, would consider them a sister church, and treat 
them in all respects according to the rules of Chris- 
Upon the 23d of 


November the recognized church informed those who 


tian fellowship and holy order. 


lately adhered to Mr. Avery that they desired reunion, 
and waited to hear them speak their wishes on the 
subject, and in December a conference was voted. 


660 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The committee of conference met, Mr. Emmons being 
with them by request. The Averians presented two 
papers containing proposals, The first proposed that 
the recognition should be renounced and the votes 
dismissing the deacons canceled. 
nized church agreed to, with the amendment that 
when they dismissed the deacons they thought it 
justifiable, and had seen no reason to alter their opin- 
ion, but for reasons mentioned would cheerfully re- 
scind that vote, and do hereby rescind it. This 
amendment was rejected by the Averians. The 
second paper contained a renunciation on the part of 


the Averians of superiority to the other brethren, 
and all pretensions to separation, although they had | 


heretofore claimed to be the church of Christ in 
Wrentham. 
oblivion. 


The third paper proposed amnesty and 


This the recog- 


The brethren of the recognized church | 





responded to these proposals after some statements, | 


first, that they would overlook error of judgment, 
and suppress unchristian and unfriendly reflections 
upon conduct; secondly, would require the same 
of the Averians; thirdly, that members of each 


communion should be mutually admitted to the other ; | 


fourthly, that this reciprocity should also be extended 


to the deacons of either body ; fifthly, and also to the | 


church records of each party, that they may be ad- 
monished in time to come not to fall out by the way ; 


sixthly, each party shall consider these united factions © 
as the same church as before the separation, mutually | 


renouncing all claim to superiority; seventhly, this 
reunion to be publicly ratified in church meeting on 
some future day mutually agreed upon as a day of 
humiliation, fasting, and prayer, to seek the divine 
favor and direction in their choice and settlement of 
a gospel minister. 


day of December voted not to accept the proposals of 


would be proper, but cannot accede to such as had 
been offered. 

The other party replies that it cannot consent to 
this (7.e., to withdraw its amendments), and proposes 
a committee of conference. The last communication 
was as follows: 

“ To the brethren of the recognized church : 

“We see no advantage arising from going over the ground 
again. We will wait thirty minutes longer to receive of you a 
Your neglecting to com- 
ply with our request in the proposals for a definitive answer we 


definite answer to our last proposals. 


shall consider as a rejection of said proposals. 

“Dec. 9, 1795, 40 minutes after 5 in the evening.” 

After this the church meeting was dissolved. On 
the 14th of December Deacon Man was dismissed 
Afterwards, in August, 
1796, it was voted to hear and confer upon any pro- 
posals that one, any, or all of the church lately ad- 


from his office as treasurer. 


hering to the Rev. David Avery have to make respect- 
June, 1797, the dea- 
cons were instructed to supply the pulpit if the town’s 


ing a reunion with the church. 


committee do not, and a committee was chosen to help 
the deacons settle their accounts relative to lawsuits. 
It appears by an account of the deacons presented to 
the church in 1797 that a suit was commenced by 
Thomas Man against Aaron Hawes. It was tried in 
1795. “The trial took up a great deal of time. 


| Mr. Avery was the mover and prosecutor in the ac- 


tion which was brought to try the validity of the vote 
dismissing Deacon Man, as if that was valid the vote 
dissolving his pastoral relation was also valid, and the 
town having concurred his salary was gone from the 
So that Mr. Avery was on 
The judges were of opinion that Mr. Avery’s 


time of the dismission. 
trial. 
principles of church government were arbitrary and 


| erroneous; that the vote for dissolving his pastoral 
The brethren of the recognized church on the 9th | 


the Averians without the amendments which they had | 


appended, but if the Averians would not accept the 
amendments then they were requested to consider the 
proposals of the recognized brethren. On the same 
day the Averians proposed reunion on the ground of 
an abandonment of the recognition and a mutual re- 
scission of all votes passed since (excepting only that 
vote passed by the Averians themselves dismissing 
Mr. Avery), and retaining the covenant and the offi- 
To this the 
other party say “‘ we have received a paper . . 


cers of the church before the separation. 
. con- 
taining new proposals, to which we cannot . . 
ply until you have given a definitive answer to our 
last communication.” 

To this the Averians reply that they are ready to 
accept any amendments to their first proposition that 


oben | 


relation was regular and valid; that the vote of the 
church given by a majority dismissing the plaintiff 
from the office of deacon was regular and effectual, 
and that he could not maintain the action.” 

In July, 1798, the church (recognized) voted 
unanimously to desire the Rev. Hlisha Fisk “ to 
preach in this place longer that the time for which he 
is now engaged,” and in November he received a call 
to settle in the ministry at Wrentham. ‘This call was 
renewed on the 6th day of March, 1799, unanimously, 
and on the 25th day of April, 1799, he gave an affirm- 
ative answer, as follows: 

“To the Original Congregational Church of Christ in Wren- 
tham: 


“Having received from you brethren an invitation to take 
the pastoral care and charge of you as a church and to settle 
with you in the work of the gospel ministry, I do by this de- 


clare my acceptance of it. 
“HuisHa Fisk.” 








WRENTHAM. 


661 





The town had, in November of the year 1798, con- 
curred with the church in the settlement of Mr. Fisk, 
on condition that he be supported by the Congrega- 


tional society then projected. This society was in-— 


ecorporated in February, 1799. A number of the in- 
habitants of Wrentham petitioned the General Court 
to incorporate them into a religious society by the 
name of the Congregational Society in Wrentham. 
They set forth that they have raised by subscription 
three thousand eight hundred and sixty dollars as a 
fund, the interest of which is to be appropriated to 
the support of a Congregational minister, and pray to 
be incorporated for the purpose of holding and man- 
aging saidfund. The General Court passed an act in 
response to this petition, and made the society capable 
of receiving and holding grants or devises of lands or 
By this act of 


tenements, bequests, donations, ete. 


incorporation, and the proceedings of the society under — 
its provisions in connection with the church, the re- | 
lations between minister and town which had so long | 
chased by ladies of the town by the manufacture and 


subsisted were terminated. 

Mr. Fisk thus entered upon a pastorate which 
At the date of his 
ordination, June, 1799, the church is said to have 


reached to more than fifty years. 


been reduced to ten members. Such was the force 
In his 


semi-centennial discourse he says he was the forty- 


and bitterness of the Averian controversy. 


ninth candidate, only one other of the forty-nine 
having received a call. He has been thus described 
(it is said by Dr. R. 8S. Storrs) with reference to that 
period, ‘‘ Of observing mind, careful and conciliating 
in his conversation and manners, interesting and pop- 
ular in his pulpit performance, he succeeded, as few 
other men would, in uniting and holding together 
very discordant materials, not only at the commence- 


ment of his ministry but through the vicissitudes of | 


more than fifty years. He gained and kept the envi- 
able reputation of ‘ peace-maker.’ ”’ 

The foregoing account of the Averian controversy 
was taken by the writer, so far as the action of the 





church is concerned, from the church records more | 


1“ Mr, Fisk was a descendant of William, brother of John 
Fisk, minister of Chelmsford, where he died Jan. 14, 1676. 
William arrived in 1687, admitted freeman in 1642, member 
of the church of Salem July 2, 1641, removed to Wenham, 
where he was town clerk, and representative from 1647 to 1650, 
and died in 1654. His 
grandson, Daniel, removed from Wenham to Upton in 1748, 
and died about 1761. He had eight children,—Samuel, one of 
the sons, removed to Shelburne, and was ancestor of Rev. Pliny 


His widow married a Rix of Salem. 


Fisk. Daniel, the oldest son, born about 1723, married Zelpah | 


Tyler, and had five children. Of them, Robert, born Feb. 24, 
1746, married Mary Hall, and had four children. 
was Elisha Fisk.”’— Hist. Mendon Association. 





The oldest | 


than twenty years ago; and it has been repeated 
here at length, precisely as it was on the occasion 
for which it was originally prepared, because it prob- 
ably exists nowhere else but in the writer’s posses- 
sion, the church records having since that time been 
lost. 
good condition, including even one small volume in 


At the time referred to these records were in 


the handwriting of Rev. Samuel Man.’ 

The Congregational Church in Foxborough, in 
Franklin (once West Wrentham), and in the north 
parish of Wrentham, now Norfolk, have been formed 
by those who were formerly members of the original 
church here organized in 1692. Since the incorpora- 
tion of the society for the support of the minister no 
tax has been assessed for that purpose. At the time 
of Mr. Fisk’s settlement the house of worship had 
neither bell, clock, nor organ. A bell and clock, 
however, were added probably some time before 1806, 
as we find the parish assuming at ‘that date the ex- 
pense of taking care of them. An organ was pur- 
sale of straw and chip bonnets. This instrument was 
formally dedicated, the Rev. Mr. Fisk preaching from 
the text, “Praise him with stringed instruments.” 
In his sermon Mr. Fisk defended the use of musical 
instruments in public worship. That modest organ 
has been succeeded by others, until, by the munifi- 
cence, chiefly of one of our citizens, the fine and large 
one now used was placed in its present position. 

After the final settlement of the religious and so- 
ciety disturbances, which were so happily extinguished 
in the fortunate choice of Mr. Fisk, the people here 
were peaceable and prosperous. 

The population of the town was by the census of 
1800 two thousand and sixty-one (2061), and was 
chiefly agricultural. 

But in 1812 the General Court incorporated 
Nathan Comstock and others by the name of “ The 
Wrentham Manufacturing Company,” for the pur- 
pose of manufacturing cotton and wool at Wrentham, 
in the county of Norfolk. In 1813 the Franklin 
Manufacturing Company was incorporated for the 


| purpose of manufacturing cotton and woolen cloth 


and yarn in the town of Franklin, upon the same 


stream; and in 1814 the Walomopogge Manufac- 


turing Company, “for the purpose of manufacturing 
cotton and woolen cloth and yarn in the town of 
Wrentham.’ The former company’s mill was com- 
monly called the Bush Factory, the last named the 


2 There is a tradition that Mr. Man’s house was destroyed by 
fire in 1699, which may account for the absence of the earliest 
volume, 


662 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Eagle Factory, while the lowest on the stream was 


called the City Mills. 
upon Mill Brook, so called, the last named near the 
outlet of the Great Pond, where Crossman & 
Whiting had the first corn-mill, as related in earlier 
pages, and the second one on the site of Adams’ 
at Jack’s This southwesterly 


corn-mill pasture. 


These mills were all erected | 


branch of Charles River afforded nearly all the water- | 


After the introduc- 
tion of the power-loom in the manufacture of cotton 


power within our present limits. 


and woolen fabrics, a rush seems to have been made 
into the business of manufacturing, and a very large 


number of companies were chartered in Massachusetts | 


to carry on this special branch of industry. The 
Stony Brook Manufacturing Company was also in- 
corporated in 1814, and is to be added to the list of 
our manufactories. The business which these com- 


panies were organized to carry on was conducted by 


various owners, agents, and lessees, and with various | 


success. 
facture of cloth, and the noise of the looms could be 
heard proclaiming the power of the stream if not the 
profit of the manufacturers. 


Maj. Thomas 8. Mann are remembered as energetic 
and intelligent manufacturers, who for many years 
were engaged in business on this old Mill Brook. It 
is apprehended that none of the numerous mill-owners 
became wealthy in the prosecution of their calling. 


The factory which was first built on or near the | 


site of the present one in South Wrentham or Shep- 
ardville, so called, is supposed to have been the first 


mill in the vicinity in which water-power was applied | 


to the spinning of cotton or wool. 
mill is supposed to have been one of the earliest in 
the country in which such application was made, it 
being said to have been the third. 


At first they were employed in the manu- | 


And by some this | 
| menced until some years afterwards; it may be that Mr. 





_ bonnets came through New York from Europe. 
Eli Richardson, Esq., Allen Tillinghast, Esq., and | 


Manufacture of Straw Goods.—Some years ago 
the late Judge Staples, of Rhode Island, read before 
the Rhode Island Historical Society, in Providence, a 
paper upon the rise and progress of the straw-braid 
business embracing many facts. He said the straw 
business began very early in Tuscany and in some of 
the States of Italy. Bonnets and hats of this mate- 
rial were imported ready-made into England. Sub- 
sequently they were made an article of export to the 
American colonies, and were kept for sale in Provi- 
dence. In the latter part of the last century Mrs. 
Naomi Whipple, wife of Col. John Whipple, who 
kept a store at the foot of Constitution Hill, North 
Main Street, was celebrated for the taste she displayed 
The braiding of 
straw in this country was begun in 1798 by Mrs. 
Betsey Baker, daughter of Joel Metcalf, then with 
Mrs. Whipple (now, at the date of the paper, of 
Dedham, Mass.). From her several acquired a knowl- 
edge of the process of braiding. Another account 
informs us that Mrs. Whipple kept a small mil- 
linery shop in her husband’s store, and that her 
She 
and Hannah (probably Betsey) Metcalf unbraided a 
piece of the braid and thus learned how it was con- 


in trimming hats and bonnets. 


structed. Procuring some straw they successfully 


imitated the braid, and soon after made and sent a box 


In 


of her own bonnets to her New York importer. 


' the summer of 1799 several Providence girls came to 
fo) 





It seems that as | 


early as 1795 Mrs. Susannah Shepard was manufac- | 


turing goods at that mill. In confirmation of this 


statement reference is made to an original agreement | 


between herself and Stephen Olney, of Providence, 
R. L., dated Nov. 13, 1795, as follows, viz. : 


“ Agreed with Mrs. Susannah Shepard, of Wrentham to make 


her a chaise by the first of March next for £55 she finding the | 


harness, the Wheels, Leather for top and Lining—remainder to 
be had in Goods at Wholesale cash price of her manufacture. 
“Signed Providence Nov. 13, 1795. 
“STEPHEN OLNEY. 


“Recev4 of Mrs. Shepard on Account of a 

chaise 54 yds thick set, (Q) <ccccccccissccceeccess 48 
DRS VASi Satin DOVED 4) Occsescosenerccceeecsceecd ests > £1 48 
DEOL OLV CTCL su(GQ)v-4 Oiwes oaceciceeseciveeeetiecwedeses 0118 
1 yd and on Nail of Carpeting,@ 3s........... 0 3 44 
TSP VAse Car PClING”.. cereiessss trelccssas cide cesicavesnce: 118 74 
DENA CREE CHICESig adendsslocs con aee sernosensicnieasst ass: 0 70 

£418 2 


a boarding-school in Massachusetts wearing their 
home-made bonnets, which created no little excitement. 
One of these, Sally Richmond, came to Wrentham 
Academy (if this means Day’s Academy it is a mis- 


take as to time, that institution not having been com- 


Williams’ academy at West Wrentham was the one 
intended). She taught the ladies where she boarded. 
And in this way straw-braiding was introduced into 
this State through Wrentham. The first bonnets were 
made of oat straw flattened, and contained from sixteen 


to eighteen yards. So popular were these bonnets that 


no lady was thought to be in style without one, and 


the demand for them gave a vigorous impulse to the 
trade, and the sale extended throughout the country. 
This demand added much to the business of small 
trading stores by exchange of their goods for straw- 
braid. 


bonnets, and this led to special manufactories of straw 


The braid thus collected was converted into 


goods. 


Messrs. Fisher, Day & Co. entered into this busi 


ness about the year 1804 and continued until 1816. 


In the neighboring town of Franklin the Messrs. 
Thayer carried on the business from about 1810 to 





WRENTHAM. 


663 








1816, and subsequently Maj. Davis Thayer con- 
tinued in the business many years, and it is still car- 
ried on in the factory of Davis Thayer, Jr., on or 
near the old site, with greatly enlarged facilities and 
success. This latter account of the rise and progress 
of the straw-braid industry may be found in substance 
in “ Dr. Blake’s History.” 

The principal manufacturer of straw-bonnets in 
Wrentham was Amariah Hall,’ familiarly known as 
“ Bonnet Hall.” He began business about 1802 at 
the house known as the White house, that being the 
name of its former occupant. This house stood on the 


site now occupied by our almshouse. One room in 


this house was appropriated to this purpose, so small | 


was the business then. There were braiders in almost 
every family. Mr. Hall continued in the business for 
some years at this place. 
a little later, Mr. Hall built the house now owned 
by Daniel Brown and used as a boarding-house for 
the employés of Messrs. Brown & Cowell. This 
was built fora hotel by Mr. Hall and occupied by him 
as such. An addition to the main building was used by 
him for the manufacture of straw goods which he 
A few years after this Mr. 
Hall failed in business and returned to Raynham, 


continued to carry on. 


which was his native place. 
this building and kept a store therein, dealing also in 
straw goods. He had also, in company with Asa Day, 





1The facts stated in this note are furnished by J. W. D. 
Hall, of Taunton, Mass. Amariah Hall was sixth in descent 
from George Hall, one of the first settlers in Taunton, Mass. 
He was born in Raynham, and after giving up business in Wren- 
tham returned thither. He was exceedingly fond of music, and 
composed several of the old tunes which are remembered and 
sung to this day. This was seventy or eighty years ago. They 
are named as follows: ‘‘ Morning Glory,’ “Summer,” ‘“ Ca- 
Raynham,” ‘ Restora- 
tion,” “ All Saints, New,” ‘‘ Crucifixion,” “ Solitude,’ “ Con- 
templation,”’ 


naan,” “ Falmouth,” “Massachusetts,” 


“China,” “Civil Amusement,” ‘ Harmony,” 
“Devotion,” ‘ Hosanna,” “ Zion,’ and others. When he vis- 
ited Raynham, during his residence at Wrentham, “ the choir 
would get together and sing his tunes in honor of the composer, 
and old vocalists say that many of his old-fashioned tunes of 
real harmony were much appreciated.” 

Another composer and teacher also lived in Wrentham, Sam- 
uel Billings. He resided in the house formerly occupied by 
Deacon Elijah, and Deacon Smith Pond, in Pondville, where, 


Afterwards, about 1812 or | 


Mr. James Ware took | 





as my informant, Mrs. J. M. Pond (widow of Deacon Smith), | 


says “he wrote his beautiful music,” he would compose a tune, 


perhaps an anthem, and perhaps finish it late at nightand then | 


awaken his wife, get her to dress at midnight and sing it over 
with him. He taught singing schools five evenings in a week 
for three months at a time. The late Gen. Preston Pond, a well- 
known teacher and singer, said he found no musie so sweet as 
Billings’. His musical talents were highly appreciated, and for 
a long time he was a very popular teacher. Deacon Handel 
Pond, also a native of Wrentham, where he spent most of his 
years, was a noted teacher and composer. 





dealt in straw goods at their store, afterwards known 
as the ‘“‘Green Store,” on the Norfolk and Bristol 
turnpike, in Wrentham. Others engaged at later 
dates in this business, notably Robert Blake, Esq., 
who acquired a handsome competency for those days 
and retired. He was one of the unfortunate passen- 
gers of the ill-fated steamer “ Lexington,” which was 
destroyed by fire on Long Island Sound in 1840, and 
was among the lost. Howard Mann, Esq., also made 
straw goods in Wrentham, occupying, after his business 
became large, the same buildings that Mr. Hall, his 
The business done by Mr. 
Mann and by the copartners, Mann, Swift & Co., was 
probably larger than had been done by any one indi- 
vidual or firm before in this place in the same line of 


predecessor, had done. 


business. It is not recollected that any of the manu- 
facturers of straw goods had previously organized fac- 
tories or shops with machinery used and shop-hands 
regularly employed. The old custom of trading straw- 
braid at the stores in exchange for goods was aban- 
doned. People who worked in it in a moderate way 
either sold their braid to the manufacturers or made 
it up into hats or bonnets and then sold them in their 
new shape. 
number or value of the goods made at the time when 
Fisher, Day & Co. and Amariah Hall were in the 
They probably made a few thousand hats 
and bonnets annually. After Mann, Swift & Co. left 
the business there was a manufactory of straw goods 
in the westerly part of the town, at Sheldonville, of 
which Alonzo Follett was the proprietor and manager. 
This was actively continued until the buildings were 
destroyed by fire. Mr. B. H. Guild, also, and F. N. 
Sheldon & Co. subsequently, at different times engaged 
in the manufacture of straw goods at Sheldonville. 


We have now no means of knowing the 


business. 


After a long interval the business was again revived 
in the central village by Messrs. John C. and Lyman 
A. George, and afterwards was carried on for some 
years by William E. George, under whose energetie 
administration, supplemented by the increased use-of 
machinery and other facilities, a much greater amount 
was done than ever before. Mr. George was suc- 
ceeded by Messrs. Brown & Cowell, who began their 
work in the factory buildings which had been erected 
by Mr. George. They had hardly commenced when 
the buildings were destroyed by fire. Mr. Brown 
erected another building near the site of the former one 
a few years since, and by the introduction of the sew- 
ing-machine large quantities of goods are manufac- 
tured by this firm in the shop which, before its use in 
making this kind of goods, were made by people at 
their own firesides in this town and vicinity. 

It should have been stated that the Messrs. Ide 


664 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





succeeded Messrs. Mann, Swift & Co., continuing | son again resumed it. But he did not occupy it long, 
the business for a few years. A straw-manufactory and eventually removed to Providence, R. I. It is 
_ not known that any other person engaged in the busi- 


was for a short time in operation in that part of Wren- 
tham which is now Norfolk, under the management 
of Mr. Allen and afterwards of Mr. Perry. 

The value of the goods denominated straw goods 
now made (1884) in this town is estimated at $250,- 
000 for the year. From the census report of 1880 we 
learn that the number of establishments in the straw 
business in Massachusetts was 33, having a capital 


of $2,361,960. The average number of hands em- 


| in 1844. 


ployed was, of males above sixteen years, 2531; of | 


females above fifteen years, 5185; children and youth, 
93. The total amount paid in wages in the year was 
$1,968,232 ; value of materials, $4,117,162; 
of products, $6,898,628. 


value 


Jewelry.—Another industry having small begin- | 


nings in this town has grown to be the controlling 
business. This is the manufacture of those kinds of 
goods that come under the general name of jewelry. 
Beginning early in the century in the neighboring 
town of Attleborough, it was certainly to be expected 


I n 


that part of Wrentham now known as Plainville, but 


that it would spread into adjoining territory. 


at the early date above mentioned called Slackville, in 
honor of people named Slack who lived there, an 
old stone mill is remembered which was sometimes 
called Slack’s mill. It was a small mill, but to the 
passer on the highway it was a conspicuous object, 
because it was almost the only object, save here and 
there a dwelling-house, to be seen between the wharf, 





so called, in Wrentham and the old Hatch Tavern in | 


Attleborough. 
history, and its owners a fluctuating if not a money- 
making business. 


This mill, it is said, had a checkered | 


| 


It seems that, whatever in its ear- | 
| 


lier days may have been the business to which it was | 


devoted, it was used for a grain-mill by the Slacks 
prior to its being occupied by George W. Shepardson, 
who seems to have been the first to introduce the 
manufacture of jewelry into Wrentham. He was at 


work there prior to the year 1843. His line of goods 


was chiefly buttons for vests and pantaloons, although | 





we have placed him for convenience in the list of | 


jewelers. He is said to have employed some fifteen 
to twenty hands, making some eight or ten thousand 
dollars’ worth of goods per annum. He was there 
about two years. He was succeeded by H. M. Rich- 
ards, Esq., of Attleborough, in March, 1843, who 
engaged in the business of making fine gilt jewelry, 
amounting to about twenty thousand dollars per year, 
as nearly as can now be ascertained. He employed 
Mr. Richards oe- 


cupied the mill for about a year, when Mr. Shepard- 


from twenty-five to thirty hands. 


$1,681,034; products, $4,2 


ness at Plainville, either while Messrs. Shepardson 
and Richards were there, or subsequently, until Jo- 
seph 'T. Bacon, Esq., purchased the property and de- 
molished the old mill and built the large shop now 
(with important additions) occupied by Lincoln, 
Bacon & Co. The firm of Bacon, Hodges & Mason 
followed next after Messrs. Shepardson and Richards, 
They continued together in the business 
for three or four years, when Masop retired. Then 
Messrs. Bacon & Hodges were the partners until 
1850. At that date Mr. Hodges left, and Josiah 
Draper and John Tifft united with Joseph T. Bacon 
in the firm-name of Draper, Tifft & Bacon, and con- 
ducted the business under this style until Mr. Tifft 
died, in 1851, when another change took place, and 
Frank 8S. Draper, son of Josiah, and Frank L. Tifft, 
son of John, and Joseph T. Bacon and James D. 
Lincoln formed a copartnership under the style of 
Draper, Tifft & Co., which continued until July, 1860, 
when Frank 8. Draper retired, and the firm took the 
name of Lincoln, Tifft & Bacon. In 1863 or 1864 


the manufacturing business at Plainville was carried 


| on in the name of J. T. Bacon & Co., and the whole- 


sale business in New York in the name of Lincoln, 
Tifft & Co., the same gentlemen constituting both 
In July, 1882, Messrs. Harland G. Bacon, 
son of the senior member, and Daniel O. Schofield, 
of New York City, became copartners, the style of 
the firm being Lincoln, Bacon & Co., both in New 
York and in Wrentham. 

Another large factory building was erected some 


firms. 


years since by Mr. J. T. Bacon and his partners, 
which is occupied by the Plainville Stock Company 
and by Messrs. Wade, Davis & Co., and others. A 
large number of hands are employed by the companies 
engaged in the manufacture of jewelry and goods in 
that line,—the ten or fifteen hands of Mr. Shepardson 
in 1843 having increased to hundreds, and in place of 
his eight or ten thousand dollars’ worth of goods, the 
amount now manufactured in that village alone, by the 
opinion of a competent judge, cannot be less than five 
hundred thousand dollars’ worth annually. 

In 1880 the number of establishments in Massa- 
chusetts was one hundred and five; the amount of 
capital, $1,936,800 ; number of males employed above 
sixteen years, 2485; number of females above fifteen 
years, 743; children and youth, 37; total amount 
paid in wages during the year, $1,464,993 ; materials, 
65,525. 

Instead of a few scattering buildings that might 











WRENTHAM. 


665 





have been seen some years ago at Plainville, there are | 
now at least two hundred, some ten having been | 
erected in the last year (1883). 

A fine, large school-house has recently been built | 
and finished, so as to serve not only for the schools in © 
that village, but with a hall convenient for public 


meetings and other purposes. The Grand Army of 


the Republic have also a commodious building for the 
purposes of their organization. 

The spacious workshops can employ five hundred | 
hands. The number actually employed varies as the | 
business varies, “ranging probably from three hun- 
dred and seventy-five (375) in dull times to five hun- 
dred when business is good.” 
has been made in this village in recent years, and the 


ieee ae : 
Very marked progress 


indications point to future prosperity. 
It may be remarked here that before 1860 the 
manufacture of jewelry was commenced by Messrs. J. 


H. Sturdy & Co. at Sheldonville, and afterwards by 
the same firm at Wrentham village, where it was con- | 


tinued some few years, employing a large number of 
hands and doing a large business. 
Quite recently the firm of Cowell & Hall have es- 
tablished the business again in this village. | 
About sixty years ago Col. Rhodes Sheldon came | 
from Cumberland, R. L., to the westerly part of 
Wrentham and commenced the business of building | 


boats and transporting them to Boston for sale. This 
business he carried on for many years, and was suc- | 
ceeded in it by his sons George and Orrin, the last 
named of whom still carries it on at the old place. In 
Col. Sheldon’s time the usual amount done may have 
been about four thousand or five thousand dollars’ 
worth per year. In the year 1845, or about that time, | 
it went up to ten thousand dollars, and last year 
(1883) it was about seven thousand dollars. 
dustry has been steadily continued until the present 
Under the administration of the elder Sheldon 
quite an impulse was given to that part of the town, 





This in- 
time. 


manifested in an increased number of dwellings, in 
the erection of one church edifice, and in various 
Other parties have at different times en- 
gaged to some extent in boat-building, but they have 
long since abandoned it. 


other ways. 


The business of manufacturing boots was carried | 
on here at various times, a considerable amount being 
done in that line, giving employment to a good num- 
ber of men. The firms of Pond, Cook & Co. and 
Aldrich, Cook & Proctor were conspicuous in this 
line of business. It has now ceased altogether for 
some years, not being able to make headway against 
the sharp competition which other towns put forth. 

While the jewelry business and the straw business | 


are larger than all others here, yet we must not for- 
get the manufacturers of fine wool shoddies, extracts, 


_and yarns, and other manufacturers who are doing 


something each in his own line to employ himself and 
give employment to others. In the first-named busi- 
ness, it being estimated by one conversant with the 


subject that the amount of its annual products is 


about sixty thousand dollars, it would not be, perhaps, 
unsafe to say that the others make the amount up to 
one hundred thousand dollars. 

The manufacture of cotton and woolen fabrics, of 
straw goods, of jewelry, and of other things by water- 
power or by steam-power began long after the occur- 
rence of the facts narrated in the early portion of this 
history. 
been prosecuted always, and in former days a con- 


The usual mechanical arts have, of course, 


siderable amount of business was done in the line of 
carriage building. 

In an old house not now inhabited, but yet stand- 
ing near the station of the New York and New Eng- 
land Railroad Company at West Wrentham, known 
formerly as the Heaton place, Nathaniel Heaton 
Occasionally 
an old book has been seen purporting to have been 
printed there by him. His brother Benjamin, who 
graduated at Brown University in 1790, published a 
spelling-book and a preceptor which are supposed to 
have been printed by Nathaniel. Silas Metcalf, 
Hsq., one of our oldest citizens, who has always 
lived in the westerly part of the town, well remem- 
bers the fact that printing was done in the Heaton 


many years ago set up a printing-press. 


house, and that he used to go there when a boy for 
books. Nathaniel removed (at what date is not now 
known) to Smithfield, R. J., and thus terminated the 
printing business in Wrentham. 

Prior to 1815 all mail-matter for Wrentham Centre 
and also for Franklin was brought from the Druce 
tavern, so called, upon the turnpike,—Norfolk and 
Bristol. About that year a post-office was estab- 
lished in the village of Wrentham, and David Fisher, 
Esq., the landlord of the ‘ Roebuck” tavern, was ap- 
pointed postmaster. 

It has not been ascertained that there was any 
mail-carrier employed by the government to supply 
Wrentham and Franklin from this solitary post-office 
People went to that distant tavern 
for their mail-matter. Capt. Charles W. Farring- 
ton, now one of our oldest citizens, was often sent 
there when a boy for letters and newspapers, as he 
informed the writer. And he further says that the 
good people who came this way from the neighbor- 
hood of the office would bring along such letters and 
newspapers as belonged here, and on Sundays Maj. 


on the turnpike. 


666 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, 


MASSACHUSETTS. 





Druce, the postmaster, would do likewise when he 
came over to attend meeting. 


War of 1812.—The part which Wrentham took | 


in the so-ealled French and Indian war has been | companies in which our townsmen served; 
p) 


related, and also more at length the patriotism the | 


people displayed and the hardships they bore during 
the long conflict of the colonies with the mother- 
country. 
that many of the inhabitants engaged. It is known 
that some went to the forts in the harbor and to 
other places perhaps considered most exposed. These 
were probably drafted or ordered out for short terms 
of service. As all the muster-rolls of the officers and 
men who served in the second war with Great Britain 
are at Washington, it cannot be shown what service 
was performed unless with great labor and expense. 

But one eminent man we know went from this 
town as a surgeon and served throughout the war as 
such,—Dr. James Mann.'! He was born in Wren- 
tham, and was the son of David Mann, who was a son 
of Pelatiah, who was a son of the Rev. Samuel Mann. 
He was born in 1758, graduated at Harvard Uni- 
versity in 1776, and received the degree of M.D. at 
his A/ma Mater, and also at Brown University and 
at Yale College. He was a practicing physician in 
his native town at the breaking out of the war. He 
enlisted as a surgeon in the army of the United 
States, and, it is understood, was on the Niagara 
frontier in 1814, and in the performance of his duty 
as a surgeon at the battles of Chippewa and Lundy’s 
Lane, and continued in the service for many years 
after the end of the war. He died in 1832 

The Civil War.—In regard to this conflict we are 
not left so much in the dark. 
existed and traces of its effects encounter us on every 
side. no contest on this side of the At- 
lantic ever was honored with so many histories, or 
ever had such full and careful records. Indeed, it is 
a matter of some difficulty to know what to select out 
of the great mass for a history like this. It would 
be impossible for the writer to describe the spirit 


Moreover, 


which was aroused by the first attack of the seceders | 


upon a national fort. The story has often been told. 


1In Drake’s it is 
stated that Dr. Mann was three years a surgeon in the Revo- 
lutionary army, and in 1812 was hospital surgeon of the United 
staff 


“Dictionary of American Biography”’ 


States army and head of the medical on the Northern 


In the later war of 1812 we fail to find | 


Evidence of its having | 





What was true of other towns in Massachusetts was 
_ undoubtedly true of Wrentham. It is not the place 
here to give a history of the several regiments and 
that has 
But it falls within the plan of 
this sketch to relate the action of the town regarding 
the war of 1861. Sumter was fired upon on the 
15th of April, 1861. Soon afterwards, viz., on 
May 6, 1861, a town-meeting was held at the old 
vestry of the centre meeting-house (so called), which 
was very fully attended. At this meeting, after warm 
and patriotic utterances, a preamble and resolutions 
were passed. ‘The first resolution was as follows, viz. : 


been done elsewhere. 


“ Resolved, By the legal voters of the town of Wrentham, in 
town-meeting assembled, that the sum of ten thousand dollars 
be and the same hereby is granted for the support, encourage- 
ment, and relief of those of our fellow-townsmen who have gone 
and of those who may hereafter go into the service of the 
United States as soldiers, and of their families. 

“Second. That the money thus appropriated be expended by 
the selectmen, to be assisted by a committee of three, if neces- 
sary, of whom the treasurer shall be one. 

“Third. That each volunteer shall receive from the town 
while in active service an amount sufficient, with the govern- 
ment pay, to make his monthly pay twenty-five dollars; and 
the further sum of one dollar a week be paid to the wife and for 
each child under fifteen years of age, and one dollar a day for 

each day spent in drilling previous to being mustered into the 


| United States service. 


“Fourth. To provide suitable uniforms, and all necessary 
equipments and clothing not provided by the government, to 
each citizen of Wrentham who shall enlist in the military 
service. 

“TWifth. That the treasurer be authorized to borrow on the 
credit of the town such sums of money as shall be ordered by 
the selectmen, not exceeding ten thousand dollars.” 


After this meeting the citizens held a number of 
impromptu meetings in different parts of the town, 
which were enlivened by music and patriotic songs, 
and by occasional speeches. Volunteers began to 
come forward, and soon a company was under drill 
upon the common. This company was joined with 
others, and organized as the Kighteenth Massachu- 
setts Regiment of Volunteers, and soon were away in 


the vicinity of Washington. Some Wrentham men 


_ had previously enlisted in the three months’ regiments. 


frontier. In 1818 he was post surgeon; in 1821, assistant sur- | 
geon. He obtained the Boylston prize medal for the year 


1806 for a dissertation on dysentery, and subsequently received 
another prize fora medical dissertation. He also, in 1816, pub- 
lished “ Medical Sketches of the Campaigns of 1812, 1813, and 
1814, with Observations on Military Hospitals and Flying Hos- 
pitals Attached to a Moving Army.” 


In March, 1862, the agen committee made a re- 
And in July, 1862, the town voted that the 
selectmen be authorized to pay a bounty of one hun- 


port. 


dred dollars to each volunteer who should enlist for 
three years, and be credited to the quota of the town ; 
also that the treasurer be authorized to borrow money 
to pay said bounties; and the clergymen, selectmen, 


and 


age 
z 


all good citizens are earnestly solicited to encour- 
and stimulate, by public meetings and otherwise, 
the prompt enlistment of the requisite number of 








WRENTHAM. 


667 








volunteers from the town, that our fellow-citizens | 


already in the service may be cheered and sustained 


by accession of numbers and strength, the Rebellion | 


crushed, and peace and prosperity soon smile upon 
our common country. Aug. 28, 1862, the selectmen 
having paid the sum of one hundred dollars to each 
volunteer in addition to the bounty voted by the town 
in July, the town at this meeting ratified that pro- 
ceeding, and voted to pay a bounty of two hundred 
dollars to each volunteer who shall enlist for nine 
months, and be credited to the quota of the town on 
or before the second day of September next. The 
treasurer was authorized to borrow money. On De- 
cember 8th the vote restricting the time for enlist- 
ment was reconsidered, and the doings of the selectmen 
and treasurer were approved. 

In 1863 there were no votes passed by the people 
in town-meeting in relation to the war. 

At the March meeting in 1864 the town voted 
that payment of State aid should be continued. In 
April it was voted to raise by direct taxation eight 
thousand dollars for recruiting purposes, and to refund 
to citizens money which they had contributed for the 
encouragement of recruiting. 

In August the bounty to each voluuteer for three 
years’ service who should thereafter enlist and be 
credited to the quota of the town was one hundred 
and twenty-five dollars. 
to borrow money to pay the same. 

In January, 1865, the same bounty was voted, and 
it was also voted to pay the recruiting officers of the 
town two dollars a day and ten cents a mile for travel 
while they have been, or shall be, engaged in pro- 
curing volunteers for the town. 

August 14th the town voted to reimburse to. the 
citizens ‘“‘ such sums as they have paid for the purpose 


of filling the quotas of the town during the past | 


year.” 
Wrentham furnished three hundred and thirty-six" 


men for this war, which “ was a surplus,” as appears | 
| services was built by the Universalist society upon 


by a report of the adjutant-general, “of seventeen 
over and above all demands.” ‘Ten were commis- 
sioned officers. The whole amount of money, exclu- 
sive of State aid, expended by the town on account 
of the war was $31,531.23. 

In 1870 Wrentham again lost a part of its territory 
A new town 
was incorporated by the name of Norfolk, taking from 
Wrentham seven thousand one hundred acres, eight 


hundred and fifty people, and one hundred and forty 


and a large number of its inhabitants. 





1 This appears to be erroneous. The list of names appended 
foots up two hundred and thirty-six that were in Massachusetts 


regiments. 


The treasurer was authorized | 


| 








voters, and property valued at three hundred and fifty- 
seven thousand four hundred and seventy-five dollars. 
This was done with the assent of the old town. 

By a colonial census made in 1776 the population 
of Wrentham was 2879. In 1790, after the setting 
off of Franklin and also of a part of the town of 
Foxborough, the population was 1767. 


By the census of 1800 it was................ 2061 
5S cs Cee SHIDO Se  etcocnenstaesteccees 2478 
6 ef SEW LS 2 ORES Sie cecccestusesseocese: 2801 
OG G See BS) SEN tic estincctses cote: 2698 
Os SS SS GAO Mee ae ccceasuceacsceents 2915 
« ee SCBNISS (NSS Tei ttescdacvsseseresees OU ON 
cc Statecensusollco ome amecnsccccesscensceees 3242 
£6 re CMSUSGO! SS 0) osceeessroeseesesswse 3406 
OS te CaS Gmc ie csdeleveneineeseerew OU iar 
Gh ce Os altel) Se Siccdeis saceiseweevess Lene 
if 08 SOM MIS [Dbeonaled: sacecelessorsizecce's 2395 
ae OS See SS Ole sae h Ricsecteleceds et ZAOL 


In 1790 the number of houses was two hundred 
and forty-three ; the number of families was two hun- 
dred and seventy-eight ; the number of free white 
males sixteen years of age and upwards was four hun- 
dred and seventy-one; the number of free white 
females, nine hundred and seven ; number of free white 
males under sixteen years, three hundred and eighty- 
seven; the number of all other persons was two. 

In 1800 Wrentham was the third town in the 
county in population, being exceeded by Roxbury and 
Dorchester only ; and in 1810 and in 1820 it held 
the same relative rank. 

In 1832 a bank was incorporated with a capital of 
one hundred thousand dollars, andin 1836 this was 


| increased to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 


Philo Sanford, Robert Blake, John Tifft, Calvin 


| Fisher, Jr., Daniel A. Cook, and Otis Cary have been 


Calvin Fisher, Jr., and Francis N. 
Plimpton have been its only cashiers. 


its presidents. 


The fourth meeting-house erected near the spot 
occupied by its predecessors was dedicated in Septem- 
ber, 1834. The old church building at West Wren- 
tham gave way some time afterwards to a convenient 
house for religious purposes erected by the Baptist 
denomination at Sheldonville. A house for religious 
the site of the old Baptist meeting-house at West 
Wrentham. 
Congregational society connected with the main 
building. 
the gift of Braman Hawes, Hsq., a native of Wren- 


There isa chapel for the use of the 
This commodious and useful building was 


tham, and is denominated “ The Hawes Chapel.” The 
Roman Catholics have also a chapel for their religious 
uses, and there is also a chapel at Plainville under the 
The Epis- 


copalians a few years since established a church and 


charge, it is understood, of Independents. 


erected a fine church building here. 
Some years since the town erected a large and con- 


668 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





venient building in Wrentham Village, for the accom- 
modation of the high school and a grammar and a 
primary school. It was also provided with a spacious 


and convenient hall for the transaction of its public 


business; and the town bade adieu to the vestry of | 


the meeting-house in which, and in its predecessors, it 
had held its town-meetings for more than one hun- 
dred and fifty years. School-houses have also been 
built at Sheldonville, Plainville, and at West Wren- 
tham within recent periods, and the accommodations 


are ample thoughout the town for the children and | 


The first 


school-house of the fathers, which was to be “ sixteen 


youth who go to them for instruction. 


foot,” with allowance for a chimney, and was also to | 


be for a “ watch house,”” would be regarded as a myth 
did not the sober record fully attest it. 

‘Twice since the incorporation of the town the events 
above related have been commemorated,—once in 
1773 by the century sermon, so called, of the Rev. 


Mr. Bean, and again in 1873 by the historical ad- | 


dress of the late Judge Wilkinson. The sermon was 
delivered Oct. 26, 1773, and “ printed at the earnest 
request of the hearers for the preservation of ancient 
things to future posterity.” 

This was not on the Sabbath day, and, it may be 
presumed, was honored by a large attendance. 

In the second case, notwithstanding the day was 
very stormy, a large audience gathered in the meet- 
ing-house which succeeded that one in which Mr. 


Bean preached his commemorative discourse one hun- | 


dred years before. The interesting event had in- 
duced a good number of people from other towns and 
places to brave the violence of the storm. One of 
these, Professor George P. Fisher, of Yale College, 
a native of Wrentham, participated in the exercises. 
The address was delivered from short notes and was 
not published. 


The fiftieth anniversary of the ordination of the 


Rev. Elisha Fisk was celebrated on the 12th day of | 


June, 1849. 
on that occasion he reviewed the events of his minis- 
try of fifty years, incidentally speaking of events in 
the history of the town. 
together with an appendix prepared by Mr. Fisk’s 
colleague, the Rev. Horace James, giving an account 
of the celebration. One passage is quoted : “ The day 
of jubilee arrived. The weather was delightful. The 
church was filled to its utmost capacity. A multitude 
of the sons of Wrentham, and many connected with 
them by marriage or other agreeable associations, were 
gathered in their childhood’s home to do honor to him 


In the sermon preached by Mr. Fisk | 


The sermon was published, | 


Conclusion.—In concluding the “ Annals of Wren- 
tham,” the writer would say he has followed the course 
adopted by him in the preparation of some historical 
sketches, published in a newspaper in 1873, namely, 
he has let the records, from which the early history 
is mainly derived, tell their own story, with only such 
change of form as to make them narrative, and such 
comments as seemed needed for explanation. Judge 
Wilkinson, in his address, pursued a similar course, 
taking his facts chiefly from the same sources, so far 
as he proceeded, but covering much less ground than 


the present narrative embraces. His manuscript 


(which I have kindly been permitted to inspect) is 


unfinished, consisting of notes and memoranda which 


_ he probably intended at some time to put into form. 





who from their earliest recollection had ministered at | 


the altar of God.” 


The Rev. Dr. Blake, in his historical address at 
Franklin, June 12, 1878, also has given from the 
same sources so much of the ancient history of 
Wrentham as was needed to introduce the history 
of Franklin, whose centennial was celebrated on that 
day. 

Let it be hoped that this attempt “to preserve (in 
the language of Mr. Bean) these ancient things’ may 
not be altogether unsuccessful. 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


HON. JOSIAH JONES FISKE. 


Josiah J. Fiske was born in Sturbridge, Mass., 
Nov. 28, 1785. His ancestors were among the ear- 
liest settlers of Watertown, and came from Weybread, 
County of Suffolk, England, in 1642. As early as 
the eighth year of the reign of King John (A.D. 
1208) we find the name of Daniel Fisc, of Laxfield, 
appended to a royal grant which confirmed a deed of 
land in Digniveton Park, made to the men of Laxfield 
by the Duke of Lorraine. This grant is in the public 
Simon Fiske held land in 
Laxfield early in the fifteenth century, and was 
lord of the manor of Stodhaugh. 


record office in London. 


There are in sev- 
eral churches monumental tablets and brasses bear- 
ing the arms of the family, which seems to have been 
prominent in the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk. 
Col. F. S. Fiske, of Boston, has in his possession 
an interesting copy of the ‘“ Confirmation of Arms 
and Grant of Crest from College of Arms, London,” 
issued to the Fiske family in 1635. Nathan Fiske 
was the first American ancestor, and from him the 
line of descent to the subject of our sketch is as fol- 
lows: Nathan’ (born Jan. 23, 1671), Henry’ (born 

















York. After leaving college, in 1808, he was for a | 


WRENTHAM. 


669 





Jan. 24, 1707), David‘ (born Dec. 17, 1759), Josiah 
J.,5 the son of David and Eleanor (Jones) Fiske. 
Hon. Josiah J. Fiske was graduated at Brown 
University, where he was a classmate and friend | 
of William L. Marcy, sometime Governor of New | 





short time preceptor of an academy in Maine; but 
he soon determined upon the law as a profession, and 
studied first in the office of the late Nathaniel Searle, 
LL.D., of Providence, and afterwards with Timothy 
Bigelow, Esq., of Boston. 

Mr. Fiske developed marked ability as a lawyer, 
and soon found himself in the enjoyment of an ex- 
tensive practice. His office at Wrentham became a 
favorite resort for students ; perhaps few lawyers, un- 
connected with the law schools, have superintended 
the legal instruction of a greater number of young | 
men. ‘To strong powers of logic and analysis, Mr. 
Fiske added both quickness of perception and readi- 
ness in expression; he had an energy of character, a 


perseverance in carrying out his plans, which no ob- 
stacles could discourage ; and if he had continued to 
devote himself exclusively to the law, there can be little - 
doubt that he would have ranked among the most 
eminent in that profession. But he lived in the time 
when the great manufacturing interests of New Eng- 
land were just being founded. larly foreseeing their 
importance, he was tempted to devote to them much 
of his own energy, and during the latter years of his 
life his attention was given to manufactures almost 
exclusively. His own enterprises were located in his 
native town, Sturbridge, and the now flourishing vil- | 
lage of Fiskdale commemorates hisname. He laid the 
foundation of the Sturbridge cotton manufactures ; his 
first mill was built in that town as early as 1827, and 
in 1834 he built another larger mill, containing ten 
thousand spindles and two hundred looms. 

Mr. Fiske was of the stamp of man that leaves its 
impress on the day and generation. 


intelligent, strong ; 


He was active, 

strong in character and influence, © 
strong in mind and judgment, with that enterprise | 
and public spirit which seeks not selfish ends alone, 

but labors for the good of all. He found his work to | 
do in the world, and, doing it well, found also work 
for others. In public affairs he was prominent; pos-— 
sessing the well-won confidence of his fellow-towns- 
men, he was often chosen to positions of honor and 
trust. State senator from 1823 to 1826, inclusive, 
he was in 1831 a member of the Governor’s Council. 
He was appointed upon the first Board of Railroad — 
Commissioners created by the State, and, of many > 
minor positions, was aide-de-camp to Maj.-Gen. Crane | 
from 1823 to 1827, a member of the Grand Lodge | 


_F. A. M., of Massachusetts, and for several years 


District Deputy Grand Master. 

Like most active men, Mr. Fiske was in advance 
of the general thought and sentiment of his time. 
Subsequent developments have proved the wisdom of 
many of his views for the improvement of the towns 
of Wrentham and Sturbridge which may then have 
been deemed unwise or impracticable. In his manners 
he was always kindly and genial, and this virtue was 
above all conspicuous in his home life. His wife, 


| Jerusha, was the daughter of Dr. Jenckes Norton, of 


Wrentham, and Jerusha Ware. He died Aug. 15, 
1838, at Sturbridge, the place of his birth. 
Two of Mr. Fiske’s brothers were also graduates of 


| Brown: David Woodward, who practiced law in 


Wrentham several years, but finally settled in Detroit, 
where he died in 1871, and Calvin Park, a physician, 
who spent nearly all his life in Sturbridge, and died 


in Chicago in 1874. Of the ten children of Mr. 


Fiske, Josiah J. and George Jenckes were well known 
as members of the Boston firm of James M. Beebe & 
Co., contributing largely, by their skill and energy in 
the management of the business, to the great success 
of that firm. Josiah died unmarried in 1850. George 
died at Nice, in France, in 1868, leaving a widow, 
Frances Lathrop, the daughter of James M. Beebe, a 
son, George Stanley, born in Paris in 1867, and a 
daughter, Esther Lathrop, born at Nice in 1868. 
JosEpH Norton, the eldest son, and Elizabeth 
Stanley are the only surviving children of Josiah J. 
Fiske. Joseph Norton Fiske was born in Wrentham, 
March 4, 1814, and received his early education at 
Day’s Academy. He had at first intended to take a 
collegiate course, but developed a strong inclination 
for mercantile pursuits, and in 1833 entered the count- 


_ing-room of Shaw, Patterson & Co. as clerk, where 


he remained five years, and then became the confi- 
dential clerk of George B. Blake & Co. In 1841 he 
engaged in business for himself, but from 1844 to 
1846 was obliged by ill health to remain inactive.— 
Mr. Fiske then became a member of the Boston 
Brokers’ Board, and opened a banking-house on State 
Street. Though he began with a small capital, his 


_ business rapidly increased and became very lucrative. 


Continuing in it for twenty-four years without inter- 
mission, Mr. Fiske retired in 1870, and passed three 
years traveling in Europe with his wife. Since then 
his time has been gccupied in the care of his own es- 
tate and various trusts. He married, in 1849, Char- 
lotte Matilda Morse, daughter of Dr. Elijah Morse, 
of Mount Vernon, Me., and grand-daughter of Dr. 
Jacob Corey, of Sturbridge. 


670 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





J. T. BACON. 

Joseph T. Bacon was born May 21,1818. He is 
the son of George and Avis B. (Fales) Bacon, and 
grandson of Kbenezer Bacon, one of the prominent 
He 


served as senator from his district, and being public- 


men of his day in the town of Attleborough. 


spirited and possessed of sterling qualities, was looked 
upon as a leader in opinion and enterprise by his 
fellow-townsmen. 
Ebenezer, was one of the early settlers of Attle- 
borough. 

Joseph T. Bacon, being the son of a farmer in 
moderate circumstances, had no special advantages 
afforded him for obtaining an education further than 
the public schools of his town offered. 

At thirteen years of age he was placed to learn a 
trade with Robinson & Co., button manufacturers, and 
remained with this firm until he was eighteen, when, 
in copartuership with his brother Ebenezer, he en- 


gaged in the manufacture of jewelry at Robinson- | 


ville, making a specialty of rings. Some two or 
three years later Edward Richards was associated 
In 1838 or 1839, Mr. J. T. Bacon 


with the firm. 


withdrew from the firm of Richards & Bacon, and | 


moved to West Attleborough, where he formed a co- 
partnership with Lewis Holmes for the manfacture of 
jewelry, and the firm continued, under the firm-name 


of Bacon & Holmes, until about 1841, when Mr. | 


Holmes withdrew, and Messrs. Hodges and Mason 
associated themselves with Mr. Bacon, and continued 


to do business at West Attleborough until 1844, when | 


the firm moved to Plainville. Their first factory at 
Plainville was a small affair, truly, compared with 
their present large establishment, but they were suc- 
cessful, and gradually, but surely, built up a trade 
About 1847, Mr. Mason withdrew, 
In 1850, Mr. Bacon 
met with serious loss by fire; his factory was burned, 
About 1850, Mr. Bacon 
formed a copartnership with Messrs. Draper and Tifft. 


and retained it. 
and later on Mr. Hodges also. 


and he had no insurance. 


The factory was rebuilt and the business resumed 
under the firm-name of Draper, Tifft & Bacon. John 
Tifft died in 1851, and Francis L. Tifft, his son, took 
his place as soon as he became of age. Josiah Draper 
retired, and his interest was continued by his son, 


Frank 8. Draper. Mr. J. D. Lincoln was also ad- 


Edward Bacon, the father of 





the prosecution of the business chiefly in the hands 
of the younger partners. They now do a business of 
about two hundred thousand dollars per annum, em- 
ploying about one hundred and twenty-five hands. 
They make stock plate goods, chiefly ladies’ ware. 

Mr. Bacon is a liberal Republican in politics, but 
will not accept office of any kind. He shrinks in- 
stinctively from everything savoring of notoriety. 
He married Emeline M., daughter of Harland Hodges, 
of Maine. ‘To them were born three children,— 
Harland G. (who is in business with his father), 
Charles B. (who was a brilliant, promising young 
man, but died in his seventeenth year), and a daugh- 
ter, Maria (who died at the age of five years). 


JAMES DANIELSON LINCOLN. 


James Danielson Lincoln was born in Brimfield, 
Hamden Co., Mass., March 30, 1823. His father, 
Dr. Asa Lincoln, was a native of Taunton, and his 
mother, Sarah (Danielson) Lincoln, was a native of 
Brimfield. 
his mother died, leaving a family of ten children. 
After her death he went to live with Fisher Thayer, 
an uncle by marriage, residing at what was then 
called “ River End,” in the eastern part of Franklin. 
Here his boyhood was spent, doing chores about the 
house and attending school from twelve to fourteen 
weeks each year. When he was seventeen years of 
age the family removed to Wrentham. His uncle was 
a manufacturer of thread, and young Lincoln had 
He attended 
Day’s Academy two terms, not neglecting, however, 
his duties.in the shop. In 1850 he left Wrentham 
and obtained a position in New York, in the boot- and 
shoe-store of Howard Mann, where he remained 


When James D. was seven years of age 


charge of preparing it for market. 


about a year. Upon leaving Mr. Mann he was urged 


_ by Mr. John Tifft, of Draper, Tifft & Bacon, to con- 


nect himself with that firm as salesman, offering him 
either a small salary or one-quarter interest in the 
business. 

Not wishing to connect himself with the proprie- 
torship of a business of which he knew nothing, he 
chose the salary, with the stipulation that he should 


_ have an interest in the business at any time he might 


mitted as a partner, and business was conducted 


under the firm-name of Draper, Tifft & Co. Later 


on Mr. Draper retired, and the firm became Lincoln, | 


The business is conducted under 


Tifft & Bacon. 
the firm-name of Lincoln, Bacon & Co. Messrs. 
Bacon and Lincoln have in a measure withdrawn from 


the active superintendence of the business, leaving 


desire. He went with this firm in March, 1851, and 
the following June Mr. Tifft, who had charge of the 
business in New York, died, leaving the entire busi- 
ness of selling the goods to Lincoln. When Francis 
L., son of John Tifft, became of age, a change took 
place in the firm. He and Frank 8. Draper, son of 


Josiah Draper, took their fathers’ interest in the busi- 


? 





Cod 


CE 


Mors 


























\ 
AN NV 
\ 
“, 
AW 
\ 
A 
\ » 
\ 




















WRENTHAM. 


671 





ness, Mr. Lincoln was admitted as a partner, and the | 
firm took its old name of Draper, Tifft & Co., Mr. J. | 
T. Bacon and Mr. J. D. Lincoln being the “ Co.” 
From that time to the present, through the various | 
changes of the firm,—Lincoln, Tifft & Bacon, Lincoln, | 
Tift & Co., and nowas Lincoln, Bacon & Co.,—he has 
continued to be a partner. 
Messrs. Lincoln and Bacon now leave most of the | 
active business to the younger members of the firm. 
In 1880 he married Eliza Taylor Melcher, of La- | 
conia, N. H. He has a pleasant home in Plainville, 
where they now reside. 





Mr. Lincoln, as a business 
man, has been successful and honorable, and in his 
intercourse is affable, courteous, and gentlemanly, im- | 
pressing all with whom he comes in contact with the 
kindliness of his nature and the honesty of his motives. 





WILLIAM SHERBURNE. 


William Sherburne was born March 30, 1802, in | 
Cumberland, R. I. He is the son of William and | 
Sarah (Lovett) Sherburne, and grandson of Benja- 
min Sherburne. This Benjamin had a large family | 
of children. William, his son, was born Dec. 25, 
1760, and died Sept. 15, 1846, in his eighty-sixth 
year. His wife (Sarah Lovett) lived to be aged 
ninety-one years. Their children were Lucy, de- 
ceased (Mrs. Darius Cook); Amey, deceased (died 
unmarried) ; Henry, deceased ; Nancy, deceased (Mrs. | 
Silas Metcalf); Sally, deceased (Mrs. George Gil- 
mon); Eleanor, deceased; William; George, de- 
ceased ; Eliza, deceased (Mrs. Bradbury C. Hill); 
Cornelia, deceased (Mrs. L. Tourtellott) ; and James. 

William Sherburne had but limited advantages 
in his youth. 








His father was a blacksmith, and | 
young Sherburne had to work in shop and on 
farm at the age when he should have been at 
school. He, however, laid the foundation for a_ 
strong and healthy physique. At twenty-two years 
of age he hired out at two shillings per day to work 
on the farm which he now owns, and where was born 
the woman who afterwards became his wife. This 
was Lydia Jenks, daughter of Luke and Roby (Ar- 
nold) Jenks. They were married April 16, 1828. 
Their children were Roby M., Eliza E., Alice J. 
(deceased), William J. (deceased), Alice A. (de- 
ceased), Marion L. Immediately upon his marriage 
Mr. Sherburne hired a farm and began farming for 
himself. Through persevering industry and prudent | 
management he prospered, and about 1860 he pur- 
chased the farm on which he now resides. He has | 


been a resident of Wrentham nearly eighty years, | I. 


his father having removed here when William was a 
mere lad. In his younger days he did military duty 
nine years as a member of the Franklin Artillery 
Company. Mrs. Sherburne died July 16, 1876. 


| Mr. Sherburne is a Republican in politics, and a 


highly esteemed citizen. 


RHODES SHELDON. 


Rhodes Sheldon, the son of Roger and Huldah 
(Streeter) Sheldon, was born in Cumberland, R. L., 
July 21, 1786. 

His ancestors came originally from England, where 
the family is an ancient and honorable one, and were 


among the early settlers of Rhode Island. Roger 


_ was by occupation a farmer and shoemaker ; during 


the war of the Revolution he made shoes for the 
colonial soldiers. He wasa strong advocate of liberty, 
and from the signing of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence to the day of his death he advocated the aboli- 
tion of slavery. 

He had quite a large family of children, and of 
course could give them only the ordinary common 
school advantages. Rhodes was brought up on the 
farm, but upon arriving at manhood he began boat- 
building,—small craft, such as ships, boats, ete. About 
1823 he moved to West Wrentham, and established 


| himself in this business, which he continued to the 


time of his death. He was very successful, and be- 
came quite a large land-owner. He was the leading 
spirit of his section, was public-spirited and benevo- 


lent, and it was almost entirely through his aid and 


instrumentality that the beautiful and thriving little 
_ village which now bears his name was built up. 


He 
always took great pleasure in assisting any worthy and 
industrious man in getting a home of his own, and he 
would build and furnish houses for his workmen and 
give them time to pay for the same by their labor. 
Mr. Sheldon was a man of robust and vigorous 
physique, peaceable and kindly disposed, and by his 
benevolence and friendly spirit endeared himself to 
all who knew him. He was not only a successful man, 
but an eminently useful man to the community in 
which he lived. In politics he was a Whig and Re- 
publican, and a Baptist in religious belief. He was 
twice married. His first wife was Prusha, daughter of 


| Stephen and Huldah Inman, of Cumberland, R. I. 


Their children were Stephen, deceased ; Huldah, de- 
ceased; Mariette; Nathaniel; George; Orin; William, 
deceased; and Willard, deceased; the two latter 
twins. All of whom were born in Cumberland, R. 
Mrs. Sheldon died Jan. 3, 1850. Mr. Sheldon 


672 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





| 
married, as his second wife, Mrs. Catharine Tilton; by | 
this latter marriage there was no issue. He died Dee. | 
15, 1866. 
Of the children, Stephen died in his nineteenth — 
Huldah married Milton Grant and died, leav- 


Mariette married George Wellman, 


year. 
ing two children. 
of Sheldonville, and is still living. 

George, who pays this tribute to his father’s mem- 


ory, married Amy A. Aldrich, by whom he had one | 
child, which died in infancy. 
his first wife he married Mrs. Mary J. Thayer ; 


Upon the decease of | 


| 

they have four children. 
All of the sons of Rhodes Sheldon have been en- | 
gaged more or less in boat-building, Nathaniel gave | 
George re- | 
Orin still | 
continues the business in connection with William 
Sheldon, George’s son. They have the original shop 
in Wrentham where Rhodes Sheldon successfully 
prosecuted the business for so many years, and also a | 


it up and is now engaged in butchering. 
tired some years ago from active business. 


boat store in Boston for the disposal of their goods. 


HORACE L. 
The first of this branch of the Cook family of whom | 
we have authentic record was Elder Josiah Cook, | 


COOK, | 


its early settlement. He was a man of stern moral- 


| 
who preached in Cumberland, R. I., in the days of 
ity and rigid uprightness of character. His wife was 
Mary Staples. Their son, Abner Cook, was a farmer, 
and married Rhoda Thompson, by whom he had chil- | 


dren, one of whom was named Horace, who was also 


a farmer, and married Lucretia Bates, by whom he 
had Amory B., Deiilah O., Ely E. (deceased), Senah | 
A. (deceased), Lucretia (deceased), Senah A. (2d, 
deceased), Martha A., Horace L., Rhoda T. (de- 
ceased), Mortimer C., Massena A., Warren F., and 
Alonzo. Horace L. was born Aug. 26, 1816, was 
brought up a farmer’s son, and had the advantages | 





only of the common schools of his town. He mar- 
ried, Jan. 23, 1845, Lucy A. E. Hawkins, daughter | 
of Rufus and Anna (Ballou) Hawkins. She was | 
born in Cumberland, R. I., Sept. 8, 1826. Their | 
children are Eldora L., born Dec. 7, 1845; died Aug. 

1, 1847. Frederick H., born Dee. 15, 1848; died | 
Jan. 23, 1869. Everard R., born March 6, 1854, 

and now resides with his parents. Mrs. Cook is de-- 
scended from Andrew and Rebecca (Robinson) Haw- 

kins, of Smithfield, R. I. Their son, Darius, was 

born in that town, and was a farmer by occupation. | 
He married Esther Haskall, and had four children,— 
Rufus, Sally, Amos, and Polly. Rufus was a car- 
penter by trade, married Anna Ballou, and had chil- | 


| Cook). 


of sessions in the Provincial Assembly. 


| government. 


| judgment was more highly estimated. 


dren,—Charles (deceased), Martin (now residing in 
Madison County, Ohio), and Lucy A. E. (now Mrs. 
Horace L. Cook is a Republican in polities, 
is a prosperous farmer, resides on the old homestead 
in West Wrentham first settled by his grandfather, 
and has a beautiful home, the result of his industry 


_and prudent economy. 


JABEZ FISHER. 

Hon. Jabez Fisher was born in Wrentham, Noy. 19, 

ay Gr 
but was distinguished for ready and strong common 
sense, and for intuitive perceptions of the proper 
adaptation of means to the ends proposed. He was 
sound and practical, at the same time able to detect 
sophistry and baffle cunning. He was remarkable for 
an inflexible adherence to principle. 


He received only a common-school education, 


He was cour- 
teous in manners and strongly desirous of being useful. 
He represented the town of Wrentham for a number 
In 1774, 
in October, he was a member of the House of Dele- 
gates, which met at Salem and formed themselves 
into a Provincial Congress, also of the Second Con- 
gress, which met at Cambridge, and also of the Third, 
of which Dr. Warren was president. This last Con- 
eress remained in session until July 19, 1775, when 
the representatives who had been elected under the 
Mr. 


Fisher was also a member of this body, and was one 


provisions of the province charter assembled. 


of the renowned twenty-eight who were then elected 
councilors, to act as a distinct branch of the Legis- 
lature and to exercise the executive powers of the 
John Adams, Samuel Adams, Thomas 
Cushing, Robert Treat Paine, and John Hancock 


were among those elected. Mr. Hildreth, from whose 


biographical sketch of Mr. Fisher the foregoing is 
_ condensed, continues, ‘“‘ No member of that honorable 


board was in labors more abundant than he. No one’s 
No one’s firm- 
ness less distrusted.” He was regarded as the special 


watchman of the country part of Suffolk (then in- 


cluding Norfolk), and relied upon to bring into action 


He 


never disappointed expectation nor failed in any pur- 


all the force, moral and physical, of that section. 


pose which he deliberately formed. No man knew 
better what was practicable, and no man deliberated 
more thoroughly. He was a delegate to the Conven- 


tion of Massachusetts for the adoption of the Consti- 


tution of the United States in 1788, for which he 
labored and voted. He died in 1806, aged eighty- 


nine years. 
































































































































FOXBOROUGH. 


673 





Cl APT HR. ob, VIP 


FOXBOROUGH. 





Incorporation of Town—Early History—The First Settler— 
Jacob Shepard—List of Early Settlers—Early Votes—The 
Pioneer Schools—The First Town Clerk—Church History— | 
Early Votes—Manufactures, ete. 


FOXBOROUGH was incorporated, June 10, 1778. 
The title reads, ‘“‘ In the year of our Lord 1778. An 
Act for incorporating certain lands in the County of 
Suffolk, formerly belonging to the town of Dorches- 
ter, but now to the towns of Wrentham, Walpole, | 
Stroughton, and Stoughtonham, with the inhabitants | 
living thereon, into a town by the name of Fox- 
borough.” 

The act recites that the lands formerly belonged to 
Dorchester, but such portion as was previously in- 
cluded within the limits of Walpole had never been 
a part of Dorchester. 

Walpole, incorporated Dec. 10, 1724, had before | 
been a part of Dedham, incorporated 1636, which 
had heretofore been called “‘ Contentment.’’ But by | 
far the largest part of this territory was once Dor- | 
chester. 


The original Dorchester, incorporated 1630,— 
‘Mattapan, ’—comprised only the little region be- 
tween the Neponset River, the town of Boston, and 
the bay; but in 1636 the General Court granted to | 
the Dorchester Plantation the ‘‘ Unquety Grant,” con- 

taining some six thousand acres, from the south bank | 
of the Neponset to the top of the Blue Hills, from | 
which was carved Milton, incorporated in 1662; and | 





in the following year the court annexed to Dorchester | 
the ‘“‘ New Grant,” so called, being all the territory, | 
not before granted, between Dedham and the line of | 
the Plymouth Colony, about which line there was a> 
dispute long unsettled. 

The southern boundary line of Dorchester was first | 
marked in 1664. It was run again by the agents of 
Dorchester from “ Angle Tree,” upon the line of | 
Attleborough, to ““ Accord Pond,” on the borders of | 
Hingham, Abington, and Scituate, “ twenty-five and | 
a half miles and twenty rods.” This old boundary | 
line was confirmed to Dorchester by the General Court 
in 1720. Dorchester then extended from Dorchester 
Point (now South Boston) to within one hundred | 
and sixty rods of the line of Rhode Island; about 
thirty-five miles as “‘ y® road goeth.” 





1 The following chapter was contributed by Hon. E. P. Car- 
penter, being an address delivered by him at Foxborough, 
June 29, 1878, and is an invaluable contribution to the historic 
literature of the State. 

43 





_ hundred and four years, one month, and six days. 


The dismemberment began in 1724, when the 
southwest portion of the South Precinct was set off 
to Wrentham, formerly a part of Dedham, incorpo- 
rated in 1673. The petitioners gave for cause, “that 
they lye thirty miles from the old meeting house, and 
fifteen from the southern meeting house of Puncapaug, 
so that they are under great disadvantages for attend- 
ing the public worship there.” The part thus set off 


_to Wrentham was larger than one-half of the present 


town of Canton. Two years later the remainder of 
the ‘“‘New Grant” was set off, and incorporated as 
Stoughton, so called for Governor William Stoughton, 
of Dorchester. When the question was before the 


town of Dorchester, thirty-four voted in favor of the 


| partition, twenty-nine against It. 


The first precinct or parish of Stoughton, being the 
northerly portion, was, in 1797, incorporated as Can- 
ton. Previously, however, 7.c.,in 1765, the northerly 


| portion of the west part of Stoughton, or Massapoag, 
| had been. incorporated as a district by the name of 


Stoughtonham ; and by the provisions of the general 
act of 1775 that district became a town to all intents 
and purposes. 

In 1783 it became Sharon, Stoughton remaining a 


| town by itself. Thus, from Dorchester came Canton, 


Stoughton, and Sharon entire, Foxborough substan- 
tially, and a large portion of Wrentham. 

When Foxborough, as such, was created, all this 
territory belonged to the county of Suffolk; but it 
was all set off to the present county of Norfolk when 
incorporated, March 26, 1793. John Shepard was 
born Feb. 25,1705, and died April 3, 1809, aged one 
He 
was born in what was then Dorchester, now Fox- 
borough; and a most respectable antiquarian has 
recently once more given currency to the story that 
he had been (through legislative changes) a resident 


of three different counties and five different towns, 
_ and yet lived in the same house all the time. 


As we have seen, Foxborough was carved in 1778 
from Wrentham, Walpole, Stoughtonham, and Stough- 
ton; principally from the two latter towns. It is 
natural, therefore, to inquire what the conduct of these 
two towns had been during the Revolutionary struggle. 

Stoughton had been a little backward in support of 


| the Boston Committee of Correspondence in 1773 and 


the early part of 1774, but the County Congress was 
held at Doty’s Tavern in Stoughton, now Canton, Aug. 
16, 1774, and Joseph Warren was present, and there 
was no hesitation afterwards. The town was repre- 
sented at the famous County Convention at the house 
of Daniel Vose, in Milton, Sept. 9, 1774, when War- 
ren said, “On the fortitude, on the wisdom, and on 


674 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





the exertions of this important day is suspended the 
fate of this new world and of unborn millions.” Then 
the “ Suffolk Resolves” were unanimously adopted. 

On the 19th of April, upon the “ Lexington Alarm,” 
nine companies, or four hundred and seventy men, 
marched from Stoughton and Stoughtonham. Among 
these it is easy to distinguish the Foxborough names. 

July 10, 1775, Stoughton and Stoughtonham as- 
sembled together, and elected Thomas Crane as their 
representative to the General Court, to be holden at 
Watertown, July 19, 1775. 

Our act of incorporation establishes the territory 
we have been discriminating, “ with the inhabitants 
living thereon,” “into a town by the name of Fox- 
borough.” It is said to be the only town of that 
designation in the world, so that there can be no mis- 
take as to our identity. Whence the name? The 
name itself proves the inhabitants loyal to liberty. 

Charles James Fox, born 1749, son of Lord Hol- 
land, in Parliament before he was twenty years of age, 
was already an eminent man when, in 1774, he opposed 
the Boston Port Bill and defended the conduct of the 
colonies. He said, in 1775, of Lord North, the prime 
minister of George III., “The King of Prussia, nay, 
even Alexander the Great, never gained more in one 
campaign than Lord North has lost. He has lost a 
whole continent.” One of Fox’s biographers says, 
“ During the whole American war, Mr. Fox succes- 
sively protested against every measure of hostility 
directed against the colonies.” Of him the Foxbor- 
ough soldiers, who marched in quickstep at the “ Lex- 
ington Alarm,” and to Bunker Hill and Dorchester 
Heights, had heard, and, whatever the faults of that 
famous British statesman, no friend of American inde- 
pendence need blush to bear his name. 

May 22, 1776, the town of Stoughton passed this 
resolve: ‘That if the honorable Continental Congress 
should, for the safety of this colony, declare us inde- 
pendent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, we, the 
inhabitants, will solemnly engage, with our lives and 
fortunes, to support them in the measure.” ! 

It may not be out of place, however, to add here 
the tradition that Seth Boyden (then eighteen years 
of age), Ebenezer Forest, Samuel Forest, and Oliver 
Pettee (father of Martin Pettee), of Foxborough, were, 
in the last year of the Revolutionary war, taken by a 
British fleet while cruising on an American privateer, 
and were thrown into the prison-ship at New York, 
whence they were released at the close of the war. 
Of Abijah Pratt, who was afterwards a lieutenant in 


1 The Revolutionary history will be found on subsequent 


pages of this work. 





his company, his descendants relate that, enlisting as 
an undersized lad of sixteen, he stood on tiptoe behind 
the other recruits in an agony lest he should fail to 
pass the military inspection. 

But who were the inhabitants incorporated? How 
Whence did they come, 
These questions 
are not easily answered, because the town records 
contain no list. A distinguished antiquarian has 
furnished a list of those males of sixteen years and 
upwards, supposed to have resided on the Foxborough 
territory Jan. 1, 1777, collated by him from an orig- 
inal schedule, prepared at that time by Mr. Hill, one 
of the selectmen of Stoughtonham. It is suggested 
that there may not have been so many residents, but 
it is thought useful to preserve the list, in all one 
hundred and six in number : 

“January 17, 1777.2 Nehemiah Carpenter, 3; 
Jacob Cook, 1; Josiah Robbins, 1; Jacob Lenard, 1; 
Joseph Wood, 1; John Comey, 4; John Sumner, 3; 


many were there of them? 
and how long had they been here ? 


| Job Willis, 2; Zebulon Dean, 1; Widow Elizabeth 


Payn, 4; William Payson, y° first, 2; Spencer Hodges, 
1; Thomas Richardson, 2; John Richardson, 1 ; Daniel 
Robeson, 1 ; Seth Robeson, 1; Joseph Payn, 1; Wil- 
liam Payn, 2d, 5; Jacob Payn, 1; John Payn, 1; 
Lem. Payn, 1 ; Eleazer Belcher, 1 ; Josiah Blanchard, 
1; David White, 1; Samuel Balcom, 1; Joseph Tif- 
ney, 1; David Forrest, 1; William Clark, 1; Elijah 
Mors, 1; Joseph Rhodes, 3; Nathaniel Clark, 2; 
Maj. Samuel Billings, 4; Josiah Farrington, 1; Ebe~ 
nezer Billings, 3; Levi Morse, 1; Ebenezer Hill, 3; 
Elijah Billings, 2; David Wood, 3; Tim Clap, 1; 
Ezekiel Pierce, 1; Jethro Wood, 1; Capt. Nat. Morse, 
2; John Smith, 1; Lem. Lyon, 2; Lieut. Ezra Morse, 
2; William Billings, 1; William ———, 3; Zuriah 
Atherton, 1; William Clapp, 1; William Comey, 2; 
Capt. Israil Smith, 1; Beriah Billings, 1; Jeremiah 
Rhodes, 1; Jonathan Billings, 2d, 1; Jonathan Bil- 
lings, 3; John Basset, 1; William Wright, 1; Samuel 
Bradshaw, 2; David Wilkeson, 1; Thomas Pogge, 1 ; 
Joseph Rhodes, 1; Stephen Cobb, 3; Ephraim Shep- 
ard, 1; Nathan Clark, 2; total, 106.” 

Many of the residents upon the present territory 
of Foxborough, previous to 1778, are known, and 


_ their places of residence can be identified. 


In 1713 the proprietors of the outlying lands in 
Dorchester were incorporated into a distinct body 
from the town, and were henceforth called ‘“ The 
Proprietors of the Undivided Lands.” This body 
held its meetings until after 1770, and from it the 
title to much of the lands in Foxborough was derived. 





2 The figures after each name indicate the number in family. 





FOXBOROUGH. 


675 





Previous to either of these dates, however, ic., | 
about 1669 and 1670, there was laid out to William 


Hudson two tracts of land adjoining each other, con- 
taining five hundred acres, annexed from Dorchester 
to Wrentham in 1824, but now in Foxborough, and 
known as “Shepard’s Farm.’’ William Hudson con- 
veyed the tract to “Thomas Platts, of Boston, 
butcher,” Oct. 21, 1676, in consideration of two hun- 
dred and seventy-five pounds, “the same situate, 
lying, and being in the wilderness, between Dedham 
and Seaconet, commonly called or known by the name 
of ‘Wading River Farm.’” Under the will of 
Thomas Platts, probated Aug. 8, 1692, the farm 
passed to his son, Thomas Platts, of Boston, victualer, 
who, by deed dated July 11, 1704, conveyed it to 
“ Jacob Shepard, late of Mystic (now Medford), but 
now of Wading River, planter.” Thus Jacob Shep- 
ard’ was certainly here in the wilderness in 1704, and, 
so far as any known record, must have been the first 
settler of Foxborough. If he had half the trouble 
in discovering his place of settlement that I have had 
in establishing the fact that he was the pioneer settler, 
he must have been endowed with a large share of 
perseverance and patience. 

In 1718 his widow administered upon his estate, 
inventoried at £1339 19s. 6d., and in 1727 partition 
of the lands was made between the widow, Mercy, 
John, Thomas, Joseph, and Benjamin. His son 
John is the patriarch John before spoken of as born 
here in 1705, and possibly, nay, probably, was the 
first white-born child of Foxborough. The cellar is 
still to be seen over which that house stood. 

Afterwards, Timothy Morse, of Walpole, bought of 
Edward and Samuel Capen three hundred acres of 
land, late in Dorchester, but then in Stoughton,—the 
southeasterly end of the forty-seventh lot in the 
twenty-fifth division. 
quent to 1726. 
in 1749, who became a settler. A portion of this 


land is now owned by Jarius Morse. The name of 


Timothy Morse, Jr.; appears in the tax-list of 1742; 


that of Eleazer Robbins, from Walpole, appears in 
the same list. Robbins owned about one thousand 





1 William Shepard, one of the first settlers of Dorchester, ad- | 


mitted to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in 1642, 
afterwards moved to the southerly part of the town, near Provi- 
dence; then returned nearly to the town of Dorchester, “as 
near thereunto as Dedham ;” this was in 1675, or near that time.” 


(From History of Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. | 


John H. Eastburn, publisher, 1842.) 


Was this William Shepard the father of the Jacob Shepard, | 


and grandfather of the John Shepard, named on pages 54 and 
55 of the “ Centennial Record”? Andisn’t it probable that Wil- 
liam settled here on his return from Providence way ? 


This must have been subse- | 
Timothy sold to his son Timothy | 


| town office. 








‘years a judge of the County Courts. 


acres of what is now called East Foxborough. He 
had three daughters. One of them married one Dr. 
Winslow, from Freetown ; another married Abijah 
Pratt, of Foxborough (to whom we have alluded) ; 
and the third married Kingsbury, the great-grand- 
father of our present worthy citizen, Joseph A. 
Kingsbury. Robbins’ house stood nearly opposite 
the present Kingsbury homestead. Of Dr. Shadrach 
Winslow, one of our former worthy townsmen, now 
nearly eighty-six years of age, writes, “He was a 
man of marked mind, and was probably the most 
scientific individual who ever resided in the town of 
Foxborough. After graduating at Yale College, and 
receiving the best medical education the country could 
afford, about 1778 he embarked as surgeon on board 
a privateer, made several trips successfully, but was 
at length taken prisoner and carried to England and 
confined in Dartmoor prison for several months, where, 
by exposure, he sustained injuries which greatly im- 
paired his health, and from which he never recovered. 
His profound knowledge of his profession led him to 
despise quackery in all its forms, and to which he 
never descended. He became a citizen of Foxbor- 
ough about the year 1784. Notwithstanding his 
talents and high attainments he declined all partici- 
pation in governmental affairs, not accepting even a 
He loved retirement. Books were his 
companions and friends. social and cour- 
He was a gentleman in the 


He was 
teous to all his friends. 
full sense of the word.” 

The Morses and Boydens came from Medfield ; the 
Capens, from Dorchester, now Stoughton; the Bel- 
chers, from Stoughtonham, now Sharon; the Ever- 
etts, from Dedham; the Carpenters, from Reho- 
both. 


Seth Boyden’s name appears in the tax-list of 


1742. He was the ancestor of all the Foxborough 
Boydens. ‘The record shows that he bought a tract 


of some two hundred and forty acres (now what-is 
known as the Amos and Seth Boyden estate) about 
1738. Ebenezer Warren, the brother of Gen. Joseph 


| Warren, removed here about 1779 from Roxbury, 


where he was born in 1749. A son of Gen. War- 
ren, visiting his uncle, died, and was buried in the 
old burying-ground; but his remains were removed, 
some years since, in a most unceremonious, not to 
say uncivilized, manner, in a raisin-box for a casket, 
Ebenezer Warren was a stanch patriot and true man, 
and always a leading citizen, but of obstinate and 
unyielding temper. He was its delegate to the State 
Convention which adopted the Federal Constitution, 
the magistrate of the infant town, and was for many 


The Clarks, 


676 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Everetts, Bakers, Carpenters, Pratts, Pettees, and Bel- 
chers settled here after 1750. 

In 1776 the annual town-meeting of Stoughtonham 
was held March 11th. 
town offices the following became two years after citi- 
zens of Foxborough, viz.: Ebenezer Hill, Selectman ; 


_ what after became Foxborough territory, and the sure- 


_ ties named in the bond were Elkanah Billings (one of 


Of those then elected to the | 


the proprietors), Josiah Morse, and Ebenezer Hill, 


Foxborough men. The said forty-fifth lot of land 


contained four hundred and thirty-seven acres, of 


Nathaniel Clark, of the Committee of Correspondence, — 
allowance for ‘bad land,” in the whole probably 


Inspection, and Safety ; Nehemiah Carpenter, Con- 


stable, as he was for many years in this town; Jona- | 


than Billings (2d), Surveyor of Ways. Seth Boyden 
was collector for the second ministerial precinct in 


Stoughton in 1750, as appears from the rate-book, | 


now in the hands of his descendants. That precinct 
included Stoughton, Sharon, and a large part of Fox- 
borough. 


They also have “the records of the proprietors of a | 


lot of land, being y° forty-fifth lot in y° twenty-five 
divisions of land (so called), lying, and being in y° 
Township of Dorchester, and now in y* Township of 


| 


Stoughton, in y° County of Suffolk; and is held in | 


common by the said proprietors,—Begun the tenth 
day of April, 1739.” This record was kept by Seth 
Boyden as the “ Proprietors’ Clerk.” This lot was 
partly in the present Sharon, and partly in Fox- 


borough, and contained the iron-ore bed worked so | 
cast by Atherton at this forge is deposited in Memo- 
rial Hall. 


long. The sixth article in the warrant, issued March 
4, 1738, by Jonathan Ware, Esq., of Wrentham, is 
“‘to determine in what manner y° Iron oar and stream 
in s* land shall be divided or disposed of.” 
Preserved Capen was moderator of the first two meet- 


ings, held respectively at the house of Mrs. Mary | 
Billings, widow of Beriah Billings, innholder, and | 


Capt. Samuel Billings. Both Beriah and Capt. Billings 
lived in what now is Foxborough. It was voted that 


Capt. | 





the iron “ oar,’ then or thereafter found, should be | 


reserved to the use of all the proprietors, according 
to their interest, each of whom might between the 
last Tuesday in August and October “dige oar an- 
nually, and at no other time of the year.” 

“The Brook or Stream” was also reserved for the 
use of the proprietors ‘to build a mill and dam on, 
provided they do not raise such a head of water as to 
float the adjacent lands or meadows, at any other time 
of the year than between y° first day of October and 
the 20th day of April, annually.” And in the same 
custody we find a bond of Nathan Clark, Jr., ““ Bloomer” 
(or maker of iron blooms), and Nathaniel Clark, “ Cord- 
winder” (cordwainer or shoemaker), for one hundred 
pounds, dated Dec. 20, 1760, and conditioned upon 
draining off ‘“‘ their forge pond, by hoysting the gates 
by the first day of May, so long as it is improved for 
a forge pond.” Nathan Clark and Nathaniel Clark 
(the Stoughtonham committee-man of 1776) lived on 


which two hundred and thirty-two and one-quarter 
acres were set off to Seth Boyden, with an additional 


nearly two hundred and seventy acres. By this 
record of the last meeting of the proprietors, held 
Sept. 12, 1757, it appeared that Daniel Bacon had 
‘‘duge and carried off, without leave, seventeen tuns 


_ seventeen hundred and fifty pounds of iron oar, and 


Michael Woodcock nine tuns and fourteen hundred 
By Boyden’s 
account he received seventy-five tons of ore as his 
proportion in the years 1740 to 1755, inclusive. 

It was at this forge and from this irop ore that the 
first cannon were cast for the war of ‘“’76,” by one 
Uriah Atherton ; and the “grog cups’ used on the 
occasion are now in the hands of one of his descend- 
ants. This honor is claimed by Bridgewater; but 
there a well-authenticated tradition that the 
“ Bridgewater folks” came here to learn the trade, and 
A cannon-ball 


of iron oar, without proper leave.” 


is 


proved themselves ready apprentices. 


Boyden was a man of intelligence, and held a full 
share of offices in Stoughton before the incorporation 
of Foxborough, as the ancient papers we have to-day 
would show. Among them isa warrant addressed by 
the Selectmen of Stoughton, April 25, 1768, to Seth 
Boyden, directing him “to take care of and award 
the wages,” viz.:. ‘ All y° roads lying in that part of 
Stoughton called Robinses Corner” (7.e., Robbins), as 
the part of Foxborough where Boyden lived appears 
to have been then called. He was to give the high- 
way tax-payer the proffer of doing their proportions, 
etc., in labor at “ £0 2s. 4d. a day for a man, and 
£0 4s. 8d. a day for a man and yoke of oxen and 
cart.” 

Amos Boyden was early a surveyor in Foxborough, 
as appears from a warrant addressed to him in the 


' second year of incorporation (7@.e., 1779), directing 


him ‘to take and award all y* highways or roads in 
your squardren,” etc. Also, “all y* other roads be- 
longing to y° town of Foxborough in that part that of 
late belonged to Stoughton.” 

The expense of the school in “ Robinses Corner”’ is 
show by the following receipts. It was, perhaps, as 
burdensome to our fathers proportionally as to us; 
but we find no record of complaint for what are called 
“public burdens :” 











FOXBOROUGH. 


677 





“THE Town or SroucuTon to Sera Boynen, Dr. Marcu, 1772. 
d. 


£ 8. 
By Cash paid to Jeremiah Fisher for keeping School 
in Robinses Corner six weeks the sum of thirty- 





SIX SHilliMgGS .........ceceeseeeeecerccces soccsccecs eves cesees 1 16 0 
To boarding sd School Master two weeks in Feb- 
ruary and March, 1772, at five shillings and four 

pence per week ten shillings and eight pence...... 0 10 8 

Zee Os <S 


“Sroucuton, July ye 10, 1772. 
“ Per me, SetH BoyDEN.” 


The schoolmaster’s wages were six shillings a week. 
“Sept first 1773 

“Received of Seth Boyden fifteen Shillings for Keeping 

School in Stoughton five weeks in July and August in the year 


1773 Rect by me 
“LyprtA Morse.” 


Lydia received three shillings a week. Judging © 


| 


confidently anticipate that at no distant period that 
number will actually attend town-meetings.” The 


expectations of the committee were more than real- 


_ its polls numbered 695. 


by the name, she was of the neighborhood talent, and | 


boarded ‘ to hum.” 
According to the list, which has before been given 
at length, there were, at the time of incorporation, 


sixty-four families, containing one hundred and six | 
cept that of Dover and Stoughton (the mother-town) ; 


male inhabitants, sixteen years of age and upwards, 
in that portion of Stoughtonham which became Fox- 
borough. This makes no account of the inhabitants 
living upon the lands of Wrentham, Walpole, and 
Stoughton, incorporated with those of Stoughtonham. 


The names of quite a number have been named of | 
bors of Sharon, Walpole, Mansfield, and Wrentham. 


those who, before incorporation, dwelt upon the lands 
of Stoughton and Wrentham. 

In 1765 Stoughton, including the present Stough- 
ton, Sharon, Canton, and all of Foxborough (except 
such portions as once belonged to Wrentham and 
Walpole), contained a population of 2295, and 567 
male inhabitants, sixteen years and upwards, or al- 
most exactly one in four of the whole. In 1777 
Stoughton contained 532 males, sixteen years and 
upwards; Stoughtonham, 300. In 1778 Stoughton 
had 504 polls in valuation, Stoughtonham 209, and 


Foxborough (now appearing in census for the first | 


time) had 113. Stoughton and Stoughtonham had 


ized Nov. 9, 1840, when, under the stimulus of the 
‘Log Cabin Campaign,” the town polled 252 votes; 
but that number was not again reached for years. In 
1875 the population of Foxborough was 3168, and 
It has, therefore, increased 
about sevenfold since its incorporation in these re- 
spects. The soil of the lands set off as Foxborough, 
better known as ‘“‘ Foxbery” at that time, was not 
rich or productive, and the people who dwelt upon 
them were poor also, and rather looked down upon 
by their wealthier neighbors of Walpole, Wrentham, 
Sharon, and Mansfield. In 1781 the State tax of 
the town was less than that of any town in Suffolk 
County save Hull. 

In 1796 its State tax was the smallest paid by any 
of the towns in Norfolk County; in 1810 the small- 
est except that of Dover; in 1820 the smallest ex- 


and in 1830 the smallest, still excepting Dover. 

In 1876 there were twenty-four towns in Norfolk 
County ; of these, fourteen towns had a greater val- 
uation than Foxborough, nine had a less valuation. 
In amount of taxable property it surpassed its neigh- 


In population it is the twelfth town of Norfolk County. 


Of the first settlers of Foxborough as a town, John 


each lost to Foxborough, and all three had doubtless | 


lost by the ravages of the war. 
According to the proportion of Stoughton and 


Everett was a blacksmith, Aaron Everett a carpenter, 
Joseph Everett, a tanner and currier and a glove- 
maker. 
calico. 

Swift Payson was the first town clerk, 1778 and 
1779. He was son of the Rev. Phillips Payson, 
pastor of Walpole, one of the eleven candidates voted’ 
for, in 1729, for minister of the church in Dorchester. 
The good parson established his son as a farmer in 
This Swift Payson was a humorous, 
Passionately fond 


One citizen made hats and another stamped 


Foxborough. 
whimsical, but kindly character. 


_of music, his first accumulations, as a boy, were de- 


Stoughtonham, the population of Foxborough at its | 
_ long concealment, the father cried, ‘‘ Where did you 


incorporation must have been about 450. In 1781 
it had 133 polls, and had, perhaps, nearly 550 inhab- 
itants. In 1790 the census gave the town a popula- 
tion of 640; in 1800, 779; in 1810, 870; in 1820, 
1004; in 1830, 1168; in 1840, 1494; in 1850, 
1880; in 1860, 2879; in 1875, 3168. Ata town- 
meeting held Nov. 11, 1852, a committee appointed 
to consider the expediency of building a town house, 


' get that fiddle ?” 


voted to the purchase of a violin. Horrified at the 
sound of the instrument, accidentally heard after a 


“T bought it, sir,’ was the appa- 
rently innocent reply. ‘Then sell it at the first op- 
portunity ; let me never hear it again.” Shortly the 
Ministerial Association met with Mr. Payson, to whom, 


"sitting in the parlor, demurely entered the lad with 


his violin. ‘Gentlemen, would either of you like a 
first-rate fiddle? My father says I may sell it, and I 


reported that “the whole number of voters are sup- | thought it only right to give you the first chance.” 


posed not to fall much short of 200, and we may | It is to be hoped the boy’s wit saved his fiddle. 


LG 


678 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





may have done good service in Foxborough, for tradi- 


tion says our people, in the midst of hardship and 
privation, were yet gay and _ pleasure-loving, and 
“ often danced on sanded floors to the scraping of the 


catgut ;’ and the discovery of red ears at huskings | 


was the same then as now. Joseph Hewes lived in 
the house afterwards occupied by Col. Henry Hobart, 
well remembered as one of the strongest and most re- 
liable citizens of Foxborough. 
ticed medicine, and removed to Providence, R. L, 
where he accumulated considerable property. 


John Everett, the blacksmith, lived in a large | 
house, sheltered by two fine old trees, an elm anda | 


white-wood tree. Upon a limb of the last he hung a 
tavern sign which welcomed the wayfarer. 

Joseph Comey was the village shoemaker; Simon 
Pettee was a gunsmith; Stephen Pettee, a farmer ; 
William Pettee, a laborer and a famous singer; Ben- 


jamin Pettee lived in what is known as Daniel Car- 


penter’s ‘old house ;” Forrest, Guild, and Jedediah | 
“ New State.” | 
David Stratton, the Shepards, Sherman, and Clafflin | 


Morse lived in what is now called 


(another shoemaker) lived in the southern part of the 
town. 
On the great road from Worcester to Taunton lived 


Grover, Shaw, the Paines, Seth Robinson, Ebenezer | 
On the road leading to | 


Warren, Spencer Hodges. 
Mansfield (through East Foxborough, or “ Robbinses 


over Robinson Hill was laid out) lived Robins, Kings- 


ilies. 
families. 

Near the northeast corner of the town lived Eleazer 
Belcher, who cultivated a farm, made potash, and kept 
a little Before Belcher, however, Joseph 
Rhoades, living a mile from any other person, kept a 
store in his corn barn. The Morses lived near Swift 
Payson, on the road to Walpole, or what is and was 


store. 


one hundred and twenty-five or one hundred and fifty | 


Another branch 
At the 
Centre were Leonard, Cook, Jeremy Hartshorn, Sam- 


years ago called “ Crack Rock.” 
of the family lived at Robinses Corner. 


uel Baker, and Nehemiah Carpenter. 

It is said that the old Deacon Baker house, alias 
Bird house, has sheltered six generations, and always 
The old Ironside Pa- 
triots, Baker and Belcher, who lived there at the time 
of the tea-tax, declared “tea shall not be drank in 
this house ;” but Mrs. Belcher’s taste for the cup was 


loyal except in one instance. 


stronger than her patriotism, and, detailing her 
daughter as guard at the door, she would indulge in 


The 


a “sip’’ of tea in the absence of her liege lord. 


Joseph Hewes prac- | 





than fourteen feet square. 
Corner,” before the roads through Witch Woods or | 


except a space at each end to enter. 
bury, Pratt, Bird, Comey, Sumner, and Leonard fam- | 
Near Sharon lived the Boyden, Clap, and Clark | 


disloyal cup still exists, but in the hands of loyal sub- 
jects. 

Moseley was a deserter from an English man-of- 
war, who hid himself in Foxborough, where, long 
after, his wife joined him. He bought a piece of 
land of Samuel Mann, in the dense woods, for which 
he paid four dollars. On it he built a log cabin with 
one room and loft reached by a ladder. Afterwards 
a rude shelter was put up for cow and pig. Near by 
A flat rock was the door- 
sill, upon which played successively eleven daughters, 
some of whom became mothers of highly respectable 
families. Roses long grew spontaneously where the 
rude home of the sailor fugitive had been. 

Francis (or Francois) Daniels was a Frenchman, 
from Normandy ; a Protestant, deeply religious. He 
came to Boston as a ‘‘ stow-away,” and was advertised 
and sold for one hundred dollars to pay his passage. 
He was purchased by John Hewes and brought to 
this town, and not only redeemed himself from servi- 
tude, but poverty, by his industry and perseverance, 
breaking up quite a large farm with the rudest imple- 
ments ; the farm is now owned by one of his descend- 


was a never-failing spring. 


ants, and his blood flows in the veins of many of 


us. You can see here to-day his sabots, or wooden 
shoes, that he wore when he came to this town. 

The first school-house in the town was not more 
There were on one side 
three seats running the whole length of the building, 
There was an 
entry just large enough for the door to open and shut 
without injury to the children. The room was lighted 
by three windows, one on each of three sides, each 
containing twelve panes of small glass, six by eight 
inches. ‘There never was such an article as a desk 
for the teacher. Private kindness furnished a small 
table, with a single drawer, and a comfortless chair. 

A male teacher kept the winter school, and was 
expected to teach reading, writing 


5) 


and arithmetic, 
with something of English grammar; but the female 
teacher of the summer school was allowed to dispense 
with the latter of the “ three R’s.” 
understand how to knit and sew, for the accomplish- 


But she must 


ments of young ladies in that age were the marking 


of linen, making thread lace, and embroidering mus- 


lin. 

All the people west of Foxborough Centre sent 
their children to this school-house, which was always 
full. The children wore coarse homespun cloth, stout 
leather shoes, and yarn stockings, and the girls had 
For, as has 
been said before, the Foxborough people at that early 


striped shawls pinned beneath the chin. 


day were very poor, and money was exccedingly scarce. 








FOXBOROUGH. 


679 








The women spun wool and flax, and wove cloth. | 
When the good dame had a few yards of linen, or > 
some spare sheets, she took them to the calico artisan, 
who stamped them with bright colors for dresses. 
Carriages were very rare in the country towns. In 
1753 a tax was imposed upon them, for the purpose — 
In 1757 
there were six carriages in Stoughton ; but it may be 
doubted whether either of these was owned in that 
part of Stoughton which was incorporated in Fox- 
borough. Two women often rode on the back of one 
horse, which they caught, saddled, bridled, and 
mounted at the horse-block, without masculine assist- 


of encouraging the linen manufacture. 


ance, 
The simplicity and rude fashion of living one hun- 
dred years ago gave to our fathers 


“An undergoing spirit to bear up 
Against whatever ensued.” 


In the act of incorporation the motive recited by 
the Legislature for passing it is substantially as that 
passed fifty-two years before by the ancestors of some 
of them, for being set off from Dorchester to Wren- 
tham,— | 

“ Whereas, a number of inhabitants belonging to the towns 


of Wrentham, Walpole, Stoughton, and Stoughtonham have | 
represented to this Court the inconvenience they labor under 


on account of their distances from their places of publick wor- 
ship in the towns to which they now belong, and have earnestly 
and repeatedly requested that they may be incorporated into a 
town, be it therefore,” ete. 


The controlling suggestion then was the inconven- 
ience of the petitioners in attending ‘ public wor- 
ship.” Probably some of them lived at least ten or | 
twelve miles from the meeting-house, the stated ser- | 
vices of which the law compelled them to support, | 


| 


and which alone they had a right to attend, save by | 


a courtesy, then rarely expected or extended, for it | 





must not be forgotten that until 1833 all tax-payers | 
were compelled by law to support public worship in the 


towns where they resided. In that town and no other 

did they pay, or could they pay, for preaching. There, | 
and nowhere else, had they a right of property therein, 

or felt themselves at home. 
of creed to fill the pews. ‘To transport the large 
family of those days over such roads as then were, 
twenty or twenty-five miles, to meeting and home 
again, was indeed a Sabbath-day’s journey. 
an intolerable grievance. 


There was no shrinkage 


It was 
It was so great a griev- 
ance in the Foxborough case that the earnest and re- 
peated request must have been effectual long before | 
probably, but for a reason about to be given. It ap- 

pears that as early as 1757 the royal policy was adopted 

of opposing the incorporation of new towns, because | 





thus the size of the House of Representatives was 
increased,—a body that was generally hostile to the 
king’s prerogative,—and so, when absolute necessity 
seemed to require a new organization, it was conferred 
in the shape of a “ district’ instead of a township, 
without the right of representation, as in the case of 
Stoughtonham, in 1765, and Mansfield, in 1770. 
Hence, if Massachusetts had remained a province, 
the Governor would have been reluctant to organize 
Foxborough as a district, and pretty certainly would 
not have assented to its incorporation as a town. Its 
people were uninfluential, poor, and patriotic. They 
were such 


“ As dare to love their country and be poor.” 


After the expulsion of the royal Governor there 
was, of course, no longer any objection of a similar 
character to the incorporation of towns. 

But the years 1775-77 were busy and crowded 
years, full of labors and terrors for both people and 
Legislature, and in this way it probably happened 
that Foxborough was not made a town till 1778. 

It was not customary, certainly, to incorporate a 


| town or district until it was clearly in a situation to 


provide “ publick worship” for itself. 

In almost every such case its capacity to that end 
had been previously tested as a precinct or parish. 
Foxborough had not been a precinct, but it had a 


_meeting-house, or an apology for one, supposed to 


have been erected as early as 1763, perhaps about the 
commencement of the effort for separate organization. 

Nehemiah Carpenter and Jeremy Hartshorn gave 
the land for a common, on which to build the church, 
and for a burying-ground. 

It was centrally located, but was covered with rocks, 
shrub-oaks, and bushes, with a few sterling oaks, that 
should have been spared. The building was spacious 
At 


the first town-meeting it was voted *‘to choose a com- 


enough, but the people were too poor to finish it. 


mittee of three persons to provide for the laying the 
floor and making the doors of the meeting-house, and 
to provide for the glazing so many of the windows as 
the committee shall see fit.” 

It had been used for religious services without 
doors or windows, as a mere shelter from the storm. 
It was better than worshiping on the naked hills or 
under the shrub-oaks. It was many years before the 
ceiling or walls were plastered or the most ambitious 
thought of painting it. It grew dark with exposure, 
and seen on the plain by the traveler, from north or 
south, it looked like a black cloud. 

‘What house is that?” asked a stranger. “It is 
Ale 


the Lord’s house,” answered the citizen. 


680 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








thought it was the Lord’s barn,” retorted the irrever- 
ent stranger. 

All the town-meetings were held in the meeting- 
house, as was customary; indeed, everywhere the 
town was the parish, and immediately took upon 
itself (as indeed the law obliged it) the care and ex- 
pense of providing for “ publick worship.” The 
meeting-house was for many years the only public 
building in the town, and scarcely any town-meeting 
occurred in which there was not something done 
about it. 
erect pews—were many times sold to obtain money 


‘¢ Pew spots’ —7.e., flooring upon which to 
p > $ 


for necessary repairs or improvements, as (March 2, 
1799) “will purchase stuff enough to finish of y°® 
meeting-house.” No committee on public buildings 
ever had more thought or care. Plans of improve- 
ments were submitted, pews were constructed in the 
galleries, a porch was built on one side, and long after 
on the other side. 


The 
town chose a committee to seat the singers in the 


hinder seats on the floor at publick vendue.” 


meeting-house. In 1788 it was voted that “Serviors | 


clear the bushes from around the meeting-house, and 
allow the men the same price for their labor as they 
worked on the highway.” 
pence half-penny per square in 1790 for mending the 
windows. 


Aaron Everett got six- 


In the same year leave was granted to 
build horse-sheds, and, long after, to erect a horse- 
block “the fore side of the meeting-house, they de- 
fending the same,’ and so on, again and again. 
Clearly the town thought it owned the meeting- 
house; and perhaps, legally, it did, as well as the 
land under it. But the town had not originally built 
the building, as it was erected before any town was 
In 1821, Rev. Thomas Williams, 
being about to leave the society, offered it five hun- 


incorporated, 


dred dollars (the amount of his original settlement) 
The offer 


if it would erect a new meeting-house. 
was at once accepted by a bare majority. 


‘““The town voted to sell the two | 


' town. 





The work of tearing down the old building began | 


the next morning by volunteers, amid wild excite- 
ment, and denunciation by some. 

Dec. 22, 
warned the town to assemble at their meeting-house 
on Monday, the 4th day of January, 1822, “ to see,” 
among other things, ‘if the town will repair their 


1821, the selectmen, by their warrant, 


meeting-house, or do or act anything relative to the 
premises.” ‘The record of this town-meeting mourn- 
fully commences: ‘“ Pursuant to the foregoing war- 
rant the town assembled on the spot where the meet- 
ing-house stood. Voted, to direct their treasurer not 
to prosecute any person or persons on account of the 


parish taking down their meeting-house.” 





The town’s “ meeting-house” had disappeared, and 
they certainly never had any other. They were not 
permitted to use the new brick meeting-house, built 
in 1822, and taken down in 1855 or 1856, and for 
many years a place was hired for the transaction of 
the town’s business." 

A hundred years ago the minister was the most 
important and influential person in a New England 
Foxborough was not fortunate. A strong 
pastor would have given stability to the people and 
been a natural leader, in temporal as well as spiritual 
things. Rev. Mr. Britt supplied the pulpit, perhaps 
before as well as after the incorporation, and for many 
years the town chose a committee to procure preach- 
Several clerzymen declined overtures for settle- 
ment, apparently on account of a want of harmony 
in the proceedings. Rev. Mr. Kendall was ordained 
in 1786, with great unanimity, and dismissed with 
greater unanimity in 1800. Then the Rev. Daniel 
Loring was called by the casting vote of old John 
Shepard, when near one hundred years of age, and 
in two years dismissed, serious disaffection having 
The only useful and successful 


ers. 


meanwhile occurred. 
man among the early ministers was Rev. Thomas 
Williams, before alluded to, who came from Provi- 
dence to Foxborough. Church psalmody made the 
usual dissension in Foxborough, and the peace-loving 
Mr. Williams found it necessary to employ the diplo- 
macy of a Talleyrand in introducing music to the 
choir. | 

The first bass-viol was manufactured by Marcus 
Everett, as to the wood-work, and finished by George 
Holbrook, a bell-maker by trade, and a famous music- 
It cost four dollars, and was an excellent 
instrument. When it was brought into the choir the 
old Frenchman, Francis Daniels, was horrified. In 
vain did some learned in Scriptures reason. There 
might be biblical authority for the harp, and even the 
viol, but certainly none for the bass-viol; and the 
only compromise attainable was that he should quit 
the church when the profane performance began and 


teacher. 


return when it was over. 

The first intruding denomination was the Baptist, 
next the Universalist, and lastly the Catholic. 

The first Baptist meeting-house was located near 
the entrance of the road to “‘ Witch Woods,” and the 





1 Jan. 4, 1822, to Noy. 14, 1836, town-meetings were held in 
Union Tall, over the school-house, which was built in 1793, 
near where the Baptist Church now is; then in Sumner's Hall 
(where Union Building now is); from March 1, 1847, to April 
7, 1856, in Cocasset Hall; April, 1856, to March 29, 1858, in 
American Hall (now Knights of Honor Hall); since then in 
town hall. 








FOXBOROUGH. ’ 


681 





house now occupied by Ashael Dean was the parson- 
age. It was removed early in May, 1843, to the site 
of the present town hall or house, and enlarged and 
otherwise improved. When their present church was 
built it was sold at auction, and was converted into a 
box-manufactory, which was destroyed some two years 
since by fire. 

The Catholics have built their third house of wor- 
ship, the others having been destroyed by fire. 

In the early part of the century the Foxborough 
Female Benevolent Society, afterwards the Ladies’ 
Charitable Society, was established, and became the 
source of much good. Dues were paid either in 
money or straw braid. 

After some years George Stratton became owner 
of the iron-foundry. He also kept a store at Fox- 
borough Centre, and his son kept the tavern, once 
conducted by Benjamin Comey. From Stratton the 
foundry passed into the hands of Gen. Leach, of 
Easton, and at his death to those of Martin Torrey 
and Otis Cary. 

In the first years of its organization, being the last 
of the war, the town suffered severely from the State 
and Continental charges and burdens. Papers in the 
Massachusetts archives show that the town was more 
than once relieved from excessive and disproportion- 
ate rates and quotas. Like other towns, it in vain 
attempted to regulate the “price of things,” con- 
stantly rising with the depreciation of the currency. 
To show how great that depreciation was we need 
only give one or two illustrations. In 1780 the town 
voted £4068, or more than $20,000, for mending 
the highways and bridges, paying some $60 per day 
for labor. In 1776 it voted $1100 for highways and 
bridges. In 1780 the State tax of Foxborough was 
£16,411, or more than $80,000. Sept. 4, 1780, the 
town voted to raise £21,000, or more than $100,000 ; 
but afterwards reduced the amount to £16,000. Oc- 
tober 9th, Voted to levy £15,000 to procure beef on 
a requisition for the army, and to defray other town 
charges. 








But the following year there was an attempt | 


to resume specie payments, for it was voted to raise 


“(100 Spanish milled dollars for highways.” 

The truth is, the depreciation was such that a hun- 
dred paper dollars were worth about one dollar in 
specie. 

For three different years the town treasurer of Dor- 


chester paid out thousands more than he received,— | 
so rapid was the downfall of currency. May 18, | 


1781, the town treasurer owed Foxborough £13,679. 


In 1782 the rate of Eleazer Fisher was remitted; 


rate, £124 10s.; silver rate, £0 11s. 4d. It will not 
be attempted at this time to produce much from the 


town records. A futile attempt was made as early as 
1782 to support preaching by voluntary contributions : 
‘““ Voted, To have contributions every Sunday after 
divine service is over, to pay ministers.” The plan 
has often failed since. 

There was frequent legislation against crows and 
blackbirds. There was a town defaulter as early as 
1785, and to settle the defalcation the town took a 
In 1794 


the selectmen were voted a committee to open a sub- 


farm and traded the same for preaching. 


scription for the relief of sufferers by fire in the town 
of Boston. As will be observed, Foxborough early 
adopted many popular measures. In 1798 the town 
voted “to allow 66 cents for eight hours’ work, and 
$1.33 for eight hours’ work of a man and a team suf- 


ficient to carry aton weight.” This was an eight-hour 


law. 


April 6, 1801, ‘* Voted, To admit the use of instruments of 
music in public worship.” 

In 1803 it was “ Voted, Not to let the swine run at large,” 
but the pigs had influence enough to procure a reconsideration 
of this vote, and ran at large some time longer. 

In 1804, *‘ Voted, That the Selectmen vendue Lemuel White 
and wife, two of the town’s poor, or support them the best way 
they can devise.” 

May 5, 1804, “‘ Voted, to purchase a hearse.” The town had 
already bought ‘a grave-cloth,” and it was soon voted to build 
a ‘ herse-house,” to be under the care of the Selectmen, and 
March 2, 1812, voted to paint the ‘ herse-house.” 

Jan. 9, 1826, “ Voted, That the Selectmen be instructed to 
remove Daniel Dassance, as soon as convenient, from the House 
of Correction, at Dedham, and build a cage and place it within 
his mother’s house, and him the said Dassance therein, under 
the care of the Selectmen.” 


Dassance was a poor, insane person, whom the town 
was treating according to the custom or necessity of 
the time, who was afterwards provided for in the hos- 
pital at Worcester. 

May 3, 1830, “ Voted, That in our opinion the wearing of 
mourning apparel ought to be discontinued.” 


Jan. 7, 1833, ‘ Voted, The town express their cordial appro- 
bation of the sentiments contained in President Jackson’s 


| Proclamation.” 


Hard drinking was almost universal when Fox- 
borough was incorporated. um raised a meeting- 
house or a barn, or built a bridge. Every employer 
furnished it; every workman drank it. The only 
mechanical interest was the iron-foundry. It was a 
densely-wooded region, and the great specie-raising 
industry was charcoal-making. It was said that “ the 
only export was charcoal, but that the imports were 
threefold, —molasses, codfish, and New Lngland rum.” 
Ruin fell upon the best men in the town, and the 
town itself. Distress was universal. The straw man- 
ufacture, then in its infancy, somewhat mitigated suf- 
fering ; for by its aid the mother and little children, 


682 ‘ 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





whom the husband and father had abandoned, were | 
enabled often to keep the “ wolf from the door.” 

Rev. Mr. Williams, Melatiah Everett, Hsq., and 
Stephen Rhodes are entitled to great credit, not only 
because they clearly appreciated the necessity of re- 
form, but had the courage to undertake it against dis-_ 
couragement and fierce opposition. The movement 
to suppress intemperance began in 1817, much earlier 


Rum had 
conquered New England; but the manliness of her 


than in most cases, and was triumphant. 


people overthrew the tyrant, as it is to be hoped it 


will yet again. 
Perhaps increasing prosperity had much to do, also, 


with the improved tone and increased self-respect of 


the people of Foxborough. 

We have just alluded to the straw manufacture, of 
which it is now possible to speak only in the briefest 
The honor of being the first American 


manner. 
manufacturer of straw bonnets is ascribed to Betsey 
Metealf, of Providence, R. I., who imitated an im- 


ported Dunstable. She then was a girl of twelve 


years ; but, as Mrs. Baker, she afterwards carried on 


the business, at first as a monopolist, but soon with 
It is said that Eunice, daughter of 
Aaron Everett, made the first bonnet in Foxborough. 


competitors. 


Soon after, Sally Mann made one. The straw was at | 


first cut with a pair of’ scissors. 





Straw bonnets soon became common in Foxborough 
and Wrentham, where Amariah Hall, who kept store, | 
Cornelius Metcalf, 
coming to Foxborough, married Hepsebeth Sumner, 
and bought the place formerly occupied by the first 
minister, Mr. Kendall. Mrs. Metcalf had great skill 
in making the straw bonnets. 


took them, paying in goods. 


She adopted several | 
children, took apprentices, and carried on the business 
in a small way. Metcalf Everett first made straw 
goods for the New York market. Elias Nason then 
kept a store, paying for straw goods partly cash and 
partly in other goods. 





Nehemiah Carpenter was 
afterwards associated with Nason in this business. 
Daniels Carpenter and John Corey afterwards sepa- | 
rately manufactured straw goods on a much larger 
scale, paying cash for labor. 

John Corey was lost in the burning of the steamer 


“ Lexington,’ on Long Island Sound, in the winter 
of 1840. 
Edson Carpenter and Milton, John E., and Henry 


H. Sumner, sons of John Sumner, afterwards carried | 
on stores, where straw braid and bonnets were received | 
n payment for goods. 

The Sumner brothers, under the firm-name of J. KE. 
Sumner & Co., manufactured largely of straw goods, 
and sold imported stock to smaller manufacturers. 


Foxborough Foundry on Mill Street (usually called 
Cary’s Foundry) has been in operation more than 
one hundred years, having been built in 1781 by 
George Stratton, Uriah Atherton, Joseph Hines, and 
John Knapp. 

Pond’s box-factory and saw-mill was started in 
1850 by Daniels Carpenter, Lucius Pond, J. Fisher 
Pond, and V. S. Pond. 

Dr. Gardner Peck, formerly a successful physician 
Thus 
gradually the business grew and developed, until, in 
1844, Oliver, Warren, and HE. P. Carpenter, as asso- 
ciates in business, built what then was considered a 


in Foxborough, engaged in the manufacture. 


marvel of a straw-factory, or works. 

It was what is now the ‘ Verandah House,” used 
as a boarding-house. The business increased rapidly, 
and after several additions and alterations the first 
works were found altogether too limited, and in 1853 
the Union Straw-Works were established; but the 
growth of the business made it necessary to enlarge 
its limits, which was done in 1856. The business in- 
ereased from $75,000 in 1844 to nearly the amount 
of $2,000,600 in 1865. 


through its straw business, a name that in many for- 


Foxborough has made, 


_ eign places is known better than the city of Boston 


itself. 

Certainly to this business Foxborough is indebted 
for her modern prosperity. 

On the 29th of June, 1778, the inhabitants of 


_ Foxborough first assembled in town-meeting, in pur- 


suance of the warrant issued by Benjamin Guild, a 


magistrate of Wrentham, at the request of Benjamin 


Pettee, Swift Payson, Nehemiah Carpenter, Jacob 
Cook, Jacob Leonard, Amos Morse, and Samuel 
Baker. Josiah Pratt was moderator of the meeting ; 
Swift Payson, clerk; Josiah Pratt, John Everett, 
Benjamin Pettee, Daniel Robinson, and Joseph Shep- 
ard were chosen selectmen; Nehemiah Carpenter was 
They 


‘Voted to adjourn the meeting for one hour and a 


chosen treasurer, and John Comee, constable. 


half, then met” and chose five surveyors of highways, 
three for a committee of correspondence, five assessors, 
two tithingmen, two fence-viewers, two field-drivers, 





one sealer of leather, two hog-reeves,—a full comple- 
ment of town officers. 

The 29th of June, 1778, was a period of gloom 
and doubt in the Revolutionary struggle. But our 
immediate ancestors were ready to play their part like 
men. In 1780 they said, in their petition to the 
General Court, ‘‘ We are willing to sacrifice our all in 


the common cause, if it should be necessary.” 











FOXBOROUGH. 


683 








CHAPTER, aY i. 


FOXBOROUGH—( Continued). 
MILITARY RECORD. 


The Heroes of Three Wars—War of the Revolution—1812— 
War of the Rebellion—List of Soldiers, 1861-65—Patriots of 
1776—Soldiers of 1812—Roll of Honor, 1861-65—Veterans 
of the War—Militia, 1796. 


THE territory of Foxborough was made up from 
parts of Wrentham, Walpole, Stoughton, and Stough- 
tonham (now Sharon). Wrentham was incorporated in 
1673 ; Walpole, in 1724 ; Stoughton, in 1726 ; Sharon, 
in 1765; Foxborough, on the 10th of June, 1778. 
It was born, therefore, amid the throes of the Revo- 
lutionary period. Lexington, Bunker Hill, the siege 
and evacuation of Boston, were memorable deeds 


already quite passed by in the rapid rush of events. | 
Washington had occupied and evacuated New York; | 


Long Island and Staten Island had been lost to the 


enemy, who had, moreover, taken the forts upon the | 
Hudson River, and overrun the Jerseys, occupying — 


Philadelphia. The fame which Washington won by 
the brilliant engagements at Trenton and Princeton 
had been somewhat dimmed by the indecisive or dis- 
astrous engagements at the Brandywine, Germantown, 


and Monmouth Court-House ; but the failure of the | 


Gates and Conway intrigue to displace him from the 
chief command demonstrated what a strong hold he 
already had upon the affections and respect of his 
countrymen. 

In the North the patriots had been more fortunate. 


\ 





At Bennington, on the 16th of August, 1777, the | 


sturdy Stark had defeated the Hessian Colonels 
Baum and Breyman, in the glorious battle of Ben- 
nington. 


This victory reanimated the people of New Eng- 


land and New York, and prepared the way for the 


- overthrow and surrender of the proud army of Bur- 


goyne, Oct. 16, 1777. 

The finances of the United States were in a most 
deplorable condition. The liabilities contracted by 
Congress amounted to $40,000,000 ; Massachusetts 
alone owed $5,000,000. 
for the war amounted to at least $65,000,000. 

Continental money depreciated to at least six for 


_tham for three years’ service. 


The entire debt contracted | 


one in New England, and eight for one in the South. | 


Ata later period the money wages, for one year, of | 


Ezra Carpenter, here in Foxborough, upon the farm 
of Benjamin Pettee, now owned by Daniels Carpen- 
ter, was only sufficient to buy him a pair of cowhide 
shoes. 


Thus the financial status of the infant republic was 
wellnigh desperate. Yet faith and hope were strong. 

June 14, 1777, the flag of the stars and stripes 
had been adopted. Though harassed and depreciated, 
the immortal Washington was 


“Patient of toil, serene amidst alarms, 


Inflexible in faith, invincible in arms.” 


In that year, too, Lafayette had brought his sword, 
his youthful enthusiasm, and his loyal devotion to the 
American cause. Jan. 30, 1778, France and the 
United States signed two treaties,—one of friendship 
and commerce, the other of defensive alliance; and 
this alliance, embroiling England with France, event- 
ually rescued our independence from the countless 
dangers that beset it. : 

June 13, 1778, the British Commissioners—the 
Earl of Carlisle, William Eden, and Governor John- 
stone—communicated to Congress proposals as a basis 
of peace, an extension of colonial trade: no military 
force to be quartered in any colony without the con- 
sent of its Assembly; an arrangement for sustaining 
the Continental bills of credit and their ultimate dis- 
charge ; a representation of the colonies in the Parlia- 
ment of Great Britain, and of the British government 
In short, King George 
offered almost everything short of total independence ; 


in the colonial assemblies. 


but Congress peremptorily refused to treat unless the 
independence of the States was first acknowledged or 
the troops withdrawn. This was three days after the 
incorporation of our little town. Five days later, on 
the 18th of June, Philadelphia was evacuated by the 
British. 

Thus, amidst the mingled hopes and fears of Ameri- 
cans, Foxborough began its existence asa town. The 
inhabitants of the territory embraced in it had already 
evinced their willingness to share in all patriotic perils 
and sufferings. When enlistments were first called 
for, Lieut. Timothy Morse recruited twenty-four men 
in the crowded bar-room of the old tavern at Wren- 
My grandfather, Ezra 
Carpenter, was at work in a ditch on the land now 
owned by his son, Daniels Carpenter, when the min- 
ute-men were first summoned by the alarm, upon the 
news of the battle of Lexington. He dropped his 
tools, ran for his musket and knapsack, seized a parcel 
of bread and meat, bade good-by to his friends, and 
started to join his company at Wrentham ; but, failing 
to find it there, he continued his march alone to Ded- 
ham, and there joining other comrades, they continued 
on and overtook the company at Roxbury. 

He was at the siege of Boston, and there, while 


' doing guard duty, had a narrow escape from a cannon- 


684 





ball, that came so near to him that he lost a portion 
of his shirt from his back and was thrown headlong 
to the ground, and reported by the soldier on guard 
with him as having been killed. 
of eighty-nine, and the speaker has often listened with 
boyish enthusiasm to his stories of Revolutionary 
service, protracted for three years. He was, doubtless, 
a soldier of Putnam’s af Long Island; he certainly 
crossed the Delaware, under Washington, on the mem- 
orable Christmas-eve of 1776, and on Christmas morn- 


ing, at eight o’clock, rushed in with his comrades upon | 
the surprised and sleepy Hessians, confused with the | 


last night’s debauch. They had thrown their fresh- 
baked bread into the ‘‘ horse-pond ;” but it was, never- 


theless, rescued on the points of bayonets, and proved, 


after a shaving process, a savory morsel to the half- 


starved Americans. ‘This Foxborough soldier and his 
comrades, a number of whom lived and died within 
my remembrance, but of whose particular history I 
have no knowledge, wintered in 1776-77 at Morris- 
town, in comparative comfort; but in 1777-78 the 
distress in the winter quarters of Washington’s army 


was terrible, and the old campaigners often dwelt upon | 


its details. Dec. 10,1777, the army went into winter 
quarters at Valley Forge. 
were quartered in log huts, each containing fourteen 
men. For want of shoes, ali the late marches had 


been marked with blood from wounded feet. 


up all night before the camp-fires. 
quarter were unfit for duty, because barefoot and 
otherwise naked. Provisions failed; more than once 
there was famine in the camp. 

Such was the service and suffering of the Foxbor- 
ough soldiers in the Revolution. As there were, of 
course, no records until after 1778, we are unable to 
find the responses the town would, if in existence, 
have made to the stirring appeals of James Otis, 
John Adams, Hancock, and Samuel Adams, ad- 
dressed to the little rural municipalities ; but we find, 


in the very first warrant issued for a town-meeting, | 


dated June 12, 1778, “Article 5th: to see if the tion of 1860, and its immediate consequences, culmi- 


town will carry on the war by way of a rate, or act 
or do anything thereon they shall see fit ;” feeling 


carrying on the war. 
tionary soldier, | may be pardoned for expressing the 
gratification I have experienced in serving as your rep- 
resentative upon the commission which has deposited 
the noble statue of Samuel Adams in the capitol at 
Washington as the gift of Massachusetts to the nation 
and her tribute of admiration to him, often called “ the 
pilot of the Revolution.” 


Eleven thousand soldiers | 


For lack | 
cf blankets, many of the men were compelled to sit” 
More than one- | 


He lived to the age | 





nating in the fall of Fort Sumter. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





It is said and claimed that Uriah Atherton, of 
Foxborough, cast at Sharon the first cannon of the 
Revolutionary war. 

The Revolutionary patriots of Foxborough bore the 
names of Boyden, Billings, Carpenter, Forrest, Harts- 
horn, Howe, Morse, Everett, Pettee, ete.; in all 
twenty-four in number. 

The same names reappear, in the war of 1812, 
among the thirty-eight men furnished by the town to 
the light infantry company which reported at Rox- 
bury, serving fifty-six days in and about the forts of 
Boston Harbor. Daniel Everett was its captain; Asa 
Plympton, lieutenant ; Amos Morse, ensign. Of the 
soldiers of 1812, four are still living,—Alexander 
Boyden, Francis Carpenter, Daniels Carpenter, and 
Lyman Comey,—whose united ages are quite three 
hundred and thirty years. 

July 2, 1812, the town voted “to make up to the 
soldiers detached from the militia in Foxborough and 
inhabitants of Foxborough, with the government pay, 


twelve dollars per month for May, June, July, Au- 


gust, September, and October, and ten dollars for No- 
vember, December, January, February, March, and 
April, if they are called into active service.” 

Aug. 22, 1814, it was voted “to make up to the 
soldiers of the last detachment, and all who may be de- 
tached in Foxborough previous to March next, eigh- 
teen dollars a month each, and each five dollars 
bounty.” At a meeting Nov. 7, 1814, the part of 
the vote about bounty was reconsidered. 

It may be worth while to note that in 1815, at 
the close of the war, one hundred and fifty-two votes 
were thrown for Governor; and, in the absence of 
statistics showing the number of inhabitants of the 


_ town at that time, we are led to infer that Foxbor- 


ough had a large representation of soldiers in the 
war of 1812. 


the Massachusetts regiment in the Mexican war, 


Foxborough furnished one man to 
whose name was Henry Hunnewell; but, as it is 
well known, that war was not popular in this region. 


Time passed and brought us to the Presidential elec- 


The deadening 


spirit of compromise and submission, which domi- 
and assuming, as it were, the whole responsibility of | 


As the grandson of a Revolu- | 


nated in the large commercial cities in the winter of 
1860 and 1861, had a palsying effect upon the patri- 


otism of the country; but, with the outrage to the 


flag, American manhood flamed forth. Fort Sumter 
fell on Saturday, April 13, 1861. On Monday, April 
15th, Col. A. B. Packard, of Quincy, commanding 
the Fourth Regiment Massachusetts Militia, received 
orders to appear at Boston on the following morning 
with his command. The adjutant, Henry Walker, of 








FOXBOROUGH. 


685 





Quincy, sent them at once to the several companies 


by special messenger, who reached the last company — 


(Company G, of Taunton) in a driving storm of wind 
and rain, beating up Capt. Gordon at 3 a.m. of the 
16th of April. Company F, of the Fourth, was 
known as the “Warren Light Guard of Foxbor- 


ough.” It was organized under the act of Jan. 22, 


1776, and in 1861 was said to hold the oldest charter — 


in the State, granted upon petition, all similar having 
disbanded. In 1854 it was changed from an artillery 
In 1857 its location 
was changed from Norton to Foxborough. 


into a light infantry company. 


was, of course, in memory of the martyr of Bunker 
Hill, whose brother, Judge Warren, resided in Fox- 
borough in the house that his lineal descendant, our 


The son of Gen. Warren was buried in the 
old burying-ground, but his remains were removed 
some years since. 


cupies. 


Its name | 


The Fourth Regiment was prepared to march on the 
16th, but no transportation could be furnished until 
the 17th, and it was quartered for the night in Faneuil 
Hall. As it was, it left the State for the seat of war 
| before any other regiment. On Wednesday, the 17th, 
it left Faneuil Hall at three p.m., and marched to the 
_ State-House, where Governor Andrew made one of 
his most inspiring addresses. He said, “‘ It gives me 
unspeakable pleasure to witness this array from the 
good old Colony. You have come from the shores 





of the sounding sea, where lie the ashes of Pilgrims, 
and you are bound on a high and noble pilgrimage for 
liberty, for the Union and Constitution of your coun- 
try. Soldiers of the old Bay State, sons of sires who 


_ never disgraced their flag in civil life or on the tented 
worthy citizen, Henry G. Warren, now owns and oc- 


In April, 1861, David L. Shepard was its captain, — 
Moses A. Richardson and Carlos A. Hart its lieuten- | 


ants,—all of Foxborough. Alvin E. Hall, of Fox- 


borough, was sergeant-major of the regiment. 


Capt. Shepard received his orders at nine o’clock | 
PM., and immediately notified officers and men to | 


report at the armory, at the Cocasset House, as early 
as possible on the following morning. The members 
of the company were scattered well over the town 
and out of town, but a large number reported 
equipped for duty at about ten o’clock. 


solemn moment of parting. 


It was a 


field, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for 
this noble response to the call of your State and your 
country. You cannot wait for words. I bid you 
God-speed and an affectionate farewell.” Col. Pack- 
ard modestly responded: ‘“ Your Excellency, I am 
scarcely able to speak. All I can say is, we will en- 
deavor to do our duty.” Governor Andrew replied, 
“7 know you will endeavor, and I know, colonel, you 
will succeed.”” The Fourth embarked at Fall River 
on the steamer ‘‘ State of Maine” the same night, and 
arrived in New York in the afternoon of the next day. 


The boat was improperly ballasted, and her captain 


Excitement was intense. | 


“‘ Hsquire”’ Bird,—as he was known and called by all, | 


and of whom it could be truly said, if it could be said 
of any man, ‘‘an honest man is the noblest work of 
God,’—inspired with patriotic zeal and fervor, made 


: a0 
a most feeling and eloquent address to the soldiers 


who had been called to defend the honor of their 


country, to which Capt. Shepard fittingly replied in | 
behalf of the company. There were a number of our | 


young men who volunteered to don the uniforms of 


members of the company, who had families, and to | 


“ fall in” and follow the fortunes of the company, and 
did so. 


at the State-House. 
throughout the entire regiment. 
Walker beat the drum for recruits. 
“JT want to see my wife.” “No time for leave- 
taking,” said the adjutant; “fall in.” “Do you 
want an Irishman?” said one. ‘ Do you believe in 
the old flag? If you do, fall in.” 
marched in his shirt-sleeves. 


The same readiness was evinced 


The company were followed by a large num- | 
ber of friends and citizens to Hast Foxborough, where | 
they took the train for Boston, ané promptly reported | 


At Quincy, Adjt. | 
One man said, | 


So he fell in, and | 


did not consider her safe to carry troops, so that Col. 
Packard telegraphed to Governor Andrew for instruc- 
tions. He replied, “‘ If the captain says he can carry 
your men, go on; Massachusetts must be first on the 
After a short delay, reballasting the 


steamer, she proceeded to Fortress Monroe, about the 


ground.” 


safety of which much anxiety was felt, as it was 


insufficiently garrisoned and dangerously situated. 


Governor Andrew’s order, issued from the office of the 
| Adjutant-General, April 17, 1861, directed “Col. 
Packard, of the Fourth Regiment, Second Brigade, 
First Division, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, to 
proceed to Fortress Monroe, by steamer to be pro- 
vided, to enter into the service of the United States as 
United States Militia, and, on being joined by Col. 
Wardrop’s regiment (Third Massachusetts Volunteer 





Militia), he will take command of them also.” 

The steamer left New York at nightfall, and was 
about thirty hours on the way. Capt. Shepard was 
Only two com- 
The rest 
were sent below under a guard; the fear being that, 


ordered to take charge of the boat. 
panies were allowed to remain on deck. 





if the men were allowed to rush to and fro, the in- 


_ adequately-ballasted steamer might capsize. Arriving 
at Fortress Monroe at an early hour on the morning 


| 


| of Saturday, the 20th, and seeing no flag flying from 


686 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








it, “we spent,” says an officer of the Fourth, “an 
hour of anxiety lying off and on, doubtful who held 
the fort. But at length the glorious banner of the 
stars and stripes was unfurled, and she landed her 


precious freight. We found some two hundred and 


fifty regulars, worn out with watching, who heartily | 


welcomed us. The fortress was almost defenseless. 


We spent the next month in guard and fatigue duty, | 


mounting guns, and storing provisions.” The uni- 


forms became so threadbare that the men, many of | 
them, were obliged to wear their overcoats on parade, | 


to cover their new raglan style of pants. As the 
regiment was the first to leave Massachusetts, it was 
also the first to reach the actual seat of war, and the 
first mustered in the service of the United States. 
It was mustered into the service April 22d. The 
Third Fourth saved Fortress 


and Massachusetts 


Monroe, whose value to the Union cause was beyond | 


all price; for, had it fallen into the hands of the 
enemy, no one could estimate the cost in treasure and 
blood to have regained the same. 

May 27th the regiment went from the fortress to 
Newport News, and fortified it. 

It was at this time, under a commission from the 
town, that the writer visited Fortress Monroe as 
bearer of kind messages and remembrances from 


of the fortress. 








when you don’t know who is around; but I confess 
I felt rather more secure and at ease within the walls 
But this is a digression, for which 
I beg pardon, and will return to our record. 

Four companies as a battalion, united with some 
Vermont and New York troops, under Maj. Win- 
throp, participated in the unfortunate affair at Big 
Bethel, where plenty of pluck was exhibited, but 
little or no capacity. Company F was not ordered, 
but volunteered to go into the fight, and did go, in- 
It is 
said that history repeats itself, but history would make 
a great blunder to repeat the battle of Great Bethel, 
if we can believe what is recorded of its generalship 


stead of Capt. Bumpus’ company, of Braintree. 


on our side. The Fourth was the only organization 
which marched into camp that night in regular order 
at shoulder arms. 

The news of this battle created an intense excite- 
ment and feeling through the State, as the report first 


came that the Fourth Massachusetts was “all cut to 


_ pieces.” 


July 3d the Fourth, with the Third Massachusetts, 


_ were ordered to occupy Hampton, which they partially 


friends at home, and to provide for the needs and | 


comfort of our soldiers. Reporting to Gen. Butler, 


who was then in command, | obtained a permit, and | 


accompanied the general and staff to Newport News. 
The stern realities of war were still in-the future, and 
when we landed, instead of finding the troops forti- 
fying, or watching the enemy, who was said to be 
near at hand, behind intrenchments, the scene was 





more like an old-fashioned muster-field,—a regular 
holiday show. 
first one I saw, had embarked in the butchering busi- 
ness, and was skinning a pig, shot on “ Uncle Sam’s 
farm.’ Another had gone into the horse and mule 
business, and was ready to swap or trade on most 
favorable terms, as he had purchased cheap of a contra- 
band, in the absence of his master. Another had 
made an investment in the wood and /ive-feather busi- 
ness, and had borrowed a hand-cart to bring his goods 


or merchandise to camp, and was quite willing to 


-at Long Island, Boston Bay. 


fortified. 

July 17th they left Hampton for Fortress Monroe 
on their way home, having served their time of enlist- 
The regiment was mustered out July 22d 
They received high 


ment. 


praises for their service from Col. Dimmock, the 
commandant of the fortress, and from Gen. Butler, 
who said in a farewell, “ You have done your duty 
well. You have all along been in the advance at 
Fortress Monroe, at Newport News, at Hampton.” 


_I have dwelt with particularity upon its service as a 


One of our soldiers, and about the | 


throw in the meat of the poultry, and wood to cook 


with, if he could only have the feathers returned in 
good order for the filling of a bed. I had no occasion 
to complain of my rations during my visit, which will 
always be held in pleasant remembrance for the hearty 
welcome received. I don’t know how I should have 
felt if I had been ‘armed and equipped as the law 
directs ;’ fora musket is a good thing for coura 


re 
ge 


three-months’ regiment because of the stirring patri- 
otism, promptness, and magnetic energy with which 
it was rendered at an awful crisis of our history. 
On its return to Foxborough, Company F, with full 
ranks, was warmly received; an address of welcome 
was made by EH. P. Carpenter. But the service of 
the Fourth Regiment did not end here. When, in 
the early summer of 1862, Gen. Banks retreated 
down the valley of the Shenandoah, Governor An- 
drew called for more troops (May 26th), the Fourth 
Regiment was again ordered out. Lieut.-Col. Walker, 
the late adjutant, read the order at Quincy on his way 
He drove through the coun- 
In forty-eight 


to the railroad station. 
try and caused alarm-bells to be rung. 
hours the regiment had eight hundred men in Boston. 
But they were not wanted, as the alarm had passed, 
and so they returned home. 

In July, 1862, came the call for two hundred thou- 


sand nine-months’ men. Jieut.-Col. Walker at once 








FOXBOROUGH. 


687 





tendered the Fourth Regiment, the first offered, and, — 


being accepted, went into camp at Lakeville in Au- 
gust. 


borough company, though we find but a small num- | 


ber of the three-months’ men upon the roll-call, as 
many of them had enlisted in other regiments, and 
the company was recruited for the most part with 
new members. 


Foxborough, and Benjamin H. Richmond, of Norton, 
lieutenants. The company were mustered into ser- 
vice September 23d. 


sioned major, and sworn or mustered in as such 


Capt. Howard was commis- 


December 16th, which necessitated the election of | 
On the election of First Lieut. 


another captain. 
William R. Black, of Company G, Taunton, as cap- 
tain, Lieut. Moses A. Richardson resigned, and Ben- 


jamin H. Richmond, of Norton, was elected first | 
lieutenant, and Isaac H. Bonney, of Foxborough, | 


second lieutenant. Foxborough is accredited with 
Dec. 25, 1862, the 
regiment left camp for New York, and thence went 
to New Orleaus. 
expedition, when the noble old Farragut ran by in 
the “ Richmond ;” Col. Walker was put in command 
at Brashear City, whence, May 28, 1863, the regi- 
ment was again ordered to Port Hudson. 


forty-seven men in this company. 


Four officers 
of the Fourth were in the advance, of whom one was 
killed and two wounded. The regiment lost every 
fifth man. Ten Foxborough soldiers in Company F 
laid down their lives in patriotic devotion to their 
country. ‘Their names are found enrolled with the 
“ heroic dead” in Memorial Hall, and will be held 
in grateful remembrance when your name and mine 
shall be forgotten. The regiment was mustered out 
Aug. 22, 1863, most of the men having been in ser- 
vice eleven months. 


the enemy’s works, gallantly leading. 


Gen. Emory said, “ It was one 
of the best regiments in my whole division. It was 
It was remarkable for its camp, po- 


lice, and sanitary discipline. 


well disciplined. 
I remember signalizing 
it before the whole division at Baton Rouge, on ac- 
count of its extreme excellence in these respects.” 
If you would learn more of the history of this regi- 
ment, call upon the living witnesses now before you, 


for their testimony would be the whole history of | 


a Massachusetts regiment, that rendered invaluable 
service to the country, and gained imperishable laurels 
for itself. 


Foxborough men are found enrolled in the Seventh | 
Massachusetts, raised by that distinguished officer, | 


Company F did not lose its identity as a Fox-— 


They went into camp with C. F. | 
Howard as captain, and Moses A. Richardson, of © 





It was in the first Port Hudson | 


_“ Foxborough Company.” 
June 14th, Capt. Bartlett, of Company K, led the | 
storming party, and was killed on the very slope of | 


Maj.-Gen. D. N. Couch, at Taunton. It was mus- 
tered into the service June 15, 1861, and mustered 
out July 5, 1864. Upon its standard will be found 
a long list of battles in which it was engaged. Of 
this regiment, on the 5th of May, 1864, the first day 
of the Wilderness, Col. Briggs, of the Tenth, writes, 
‘“*Men fell like leaves in autumn: yet the regiment 
stood firm, never wavered, till, the ammunition being 
expended, it was promptly relieved by Lieut.-Col. 
Harlow and the Seventh Massachusetts. Would [ 
could sound a note to his praise, than whom none is 
more worthy !” 

Some Foxborough soldiers served in the “ Immor- 
tal Sixth Regiment,” when called to serve one hun- 
dred days. 

Eight companies of the Eighteenth Regiment were 
recruited chiefly in Norfolk, Plymouth, and Bristol 
Counties. Col. James Barnes, of Springfield, com- 
It was mustered Aug. 27,1861. Fox- 
borough had a number of representative soldiers in 
this regiment, who have a good record, and two of 
Company I are registered with the “ heroic dead.” 

About forty men are credited to Foxborough upon 
the roster of the Twenty-third Regiment, commanded 
by Col. Kurtz. Company K was recruited by Capt. 
Carlos A. Hart, in this town, and was known as the 


manded it. 


It went into camp with 
the regiment at Lynnfield, in command of Capt. Hart, 
with John Littlefield and Benjamin F. Barnard, lieu- 
tenants. The regiment left camp for Annapolis, Nov. 
11, 1861, and was mustered out at Readville, July 12, 
1865. It went with Gen. Burnside to Roanoke Island. 
It fought its first battle Feb. 8, 1862, which lasted 
two days; twenty-five hundred prisoners were cap- 
It was at New- 
bern, Goldsborough, and in other engagements in 
North Carolina; and at Drury’s Bluff, Cold Harbor, 
and the other terrific battles of Grant’s campaign of 
1864, in Virginia. Col. John W. Raymond, the last 


commander, says of this regiment, “In closing my 


tured in the two days’ engagements. 


narrative of the regiment, I cannot refrain from speak- 
ing a few words in commendation of both men and 
officers during the time I had the honor to command 
them. Their excellent conduct while in camp or gar- 


_rison, their courage and bravery under fire, their vigi- 


lance and fidelity at all times displayed, entitle them 
to the highest praise, and have won for them the ap- 
probation of all who have been in command over them. 
Rest assured that the Twenty-third Regiment, as an 
organization, never brought discredit upon their native 
State; and I shall count it the highest honor of my 
life that I have been privileged to command it.” 
Such words, coming from Col. Raymond, are com- 


688 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





mendations that every soldier of the regiment may | Elisha White were constituted a committee to pur- 


well be proud of, and its record needs no further in- | 


dorsement to make it equal to the best. 


One Foxborough soldier perished in Company A | 


| 
| 
| 
| 
| 


of the Twenty-fourth Regiment, in which a number | 
enlisted, which fought from Roanoke Island to Peters- 


burg. 
20, 1866. 
its colors and said, “I welcome you home. But all 
have not returned. Hight officers of the line and two 
hundred and ten enlisted men have fallen in battle 
and by the casualties of war. 
should now transfer your colors to the great compan- 


ionship in which they shall henceforth be preserved, 


and that, in behalf of a grateful people, I should | 


greet and honor your return.” 

We had representatives in the Fifty-sixth Infantry, 
which left Massachusetts March 21, 1863, which em- 
blazons heroic service upon its flag at Spottsylvania, 
North Anna, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, the Weldon 
Railroad, and the pursuit of Lee. 

One of our honored dead was of the First Massa- 
chusetts Heavy Artillery, previously Fourteenth In- 


Tt was not mustered out of service until Jan. | 
On the 27th, Governor Bullock received 


fantry, which, after guarding the forts about Wash- | 


ington for two years, went into the field in 1864, and 
Fox- 


borough men fought also in the Ninth, Seventeenth, 


fought from Spottsylvania to Hatcher’s Run. 


ninth, Thirtieth, Thirty-second, Thirty-third, Thirty- 
fifth, Thirty-eighth, Fortieth, Forty-seventh, Fifty- 


Massachusetts; in her First, Second, Third, and 
Fourth Cavalry; in the Third, Twelfth, Thirteenth, 
Fourteenth, and Sixteenth Massachusetts Batteries ; 
in the First Heavy Artillery, in the Kighteenth and 
Twentieth Unattached, in the First Rhode Island 
Artillery and Seventh Rhode Island Infantry, and we 
had representatives in the regular army, navy, and 
Veteran Reserve Corps. 

Having made up “ Our Soldiers’ Record,” which 
must necessarily be imperfect in some respects for 


want of proper time to obtain the required data, we | 


It only remains that I | laws of 1861. 


chase clothing and supplies for volunteers, and to 
meet the various wants of their families. 

It was also voted to appropriate three thousand 
dollars to procure rifles for the members of the rifle 
company, and EK. P. Carpenter was designated as 
agent to obtain them. 

The government refused to accept this company, 
and it was disbanded. 

June 15th it was voted to pay aid to the families 
of soldiers, in accordance with Chapter 222 of the 
K. P. Carpenter, as chairman of the 
Relief Committee, made a report of his visit to Com- 
pany F, at Fortress Monroe, Va. 

July 22, 1862, one hundred dollars was voted as a 
bounty to twenty-four persons, who might volunteer 
under the recent call of President Lincoln, and the 
bounty was afterwards raised to one hundred and 
twenty-five dollars. 

August 14th the town passed the following vote: 


“Wuerras, The town of Foxborough is desirous of standing 
shoulder to shoulder with their fellow-citizens of other towns in 
filling up the second quota of three hundred thousand men 
ordered by the President of the United States to be drafted for 
service on or about the Ist of September next; and, whereas, 
the citizens believe that our old Commonwealth will fill said 
quota by volunteers without a draft becoming necessary ; and, 


| whereas, time is of importance, and the towns are not fully 


Twentieth, Twenty-sixth, Twenty-eighth, Twenty- | aware of the sum the exigencies of the occasion will require, 


but have full confidence in the patriotism and judgment of the 
selectmen; therefore, Resolved, That the selectmen proceed to 


| take such measures as they may deem wise and expedient to 


third, Fifty-fourth, and Fifty-eighth Regiments of | 





will now refer to the patriotism of the town, as shown 


by the acts of its citizens. 


enlist such numbers of men as may be required from this town 
by said draft; and the town pledges to them that such sums of 
money shall be voted to them hereafter as may be necessary to 
carry out this vote.” 


September 20th a vote was passed approving of the 
selectmen’s offer of a bounty of one hundred and fifty 
It was voted also to 
pay one hundred and fifty dollars to each inhabitant 


dollars for nine-months’ men. 


of the town of Foxborough enlisting in Company F 
of the Fourth Militia Regiment for nine months’ ser- 
vice, and to as many others as might be needed to fill 
the quota. There were two negative votes. The treas- 
urer was authorized to borrow for the purpose a sum 


_ not exceeding ten thousand dollars ; it was also voted 


Almost immediately upon dismissing their fellow- 


citizens of Company F, Fourth Regiment, to the | 


field of war, the citizens of Foxborough began to 
consider their duty as patriots in a larger way. 

At a town-meeting held May 4, 1861, it was voted 
that the treasurer shall borrow ten thousand dollars 


for a war fund, to be paid in five equal annual install- | 


ments, commencing Oct. 5, 1862. E. P. Carpenter, 
W. P. Shepard, Otis Cary, J. E. Carpenter, and 


| 


to extend the same aid to the families of drafted men 
as to volunteers. 

March 26, 1864, it was voted to reimburse three 
thousand nine hundred dollars furnished by individuals 
to procure the town’s quota of volunteers under the 
calls of Oct. 17, 1863, and Feb. 1, 1864. There was 
one vote in the negative. 

June 18, 1864, it was voted that the treasurer have 
authority to borrow two thousand eight hundred and 











FOXBOROUGH. 


689 





seventy-five dollars to pay expenses incurred in filling 
the town’s quota under the call of March 14, 1864. 

Aug. 1, 1864, it was voted to raise a sum not ex- | 
ceeding one hundred and twenty-five dollars per man | 
to fill the quota under the call of July 18, 1864, for 
five hundred thousand men. March 11, 1865, it was 
voted to appropriate a sum not exceeding three hun- 
dred dollars to make up a deficiency in paying one | 
hundred and twenty-five dollars each per man to fill 
the quota under the call of Dec. 1, 1864, for three 
hundred thousand men. 

Let us not, in this retrospect, forget the labors and 
untiring sympathy of the women of Foxborough. In 
the war archives of the commonwealth is a letter 
dated April 19, 1861,—the very day when the streets 
of Baltimore drank the patriotic blood of Massachu- | 
setts,—addressed to Governor Andrew by Miss Fran- | 
ces Wight (now Mrs. Coggswell), of Foxborough, 
signed by one hundred young ladies of this place, 


offering their services as nurses, or to make sol- 
diers’ garments, to prepare bandages and lint, to do 
Gov- 
ernor Andrew, replying, writes, “I accept it as one of 
the most earnest and sincere of the countless offers of 
devotion to our old commonwealth and to the cause 
of the country.” He concludes by asking them to 
‘help those who are left behind, and follow those who 
have gone before with your benedictions, your benefac- 


? 


anything for the cause in their power to do. 





tions, and your prayers.’’ The good work inaugurated | 
by gentle and enthusiastic maidens was, with unabated | 
zeal, carried forward by all our women to the end of 
the great war for the Union. In this connection we | 


must not forget to mention those young ladies who 





went out from our midst to teach the freedmen, for 
they had battles to fight, which, if it did not cost them 
their lives, required sacrifices that proved both their 
patriotism and philanthropy. 

In an address of this character it were nigh impos- 
sible to mention all who were meritorious; but I | 
cannot forbear alluding to those most worthy and pa- 
triotic citizens, and faithful and true friends of the | 
soldier,— William H. Thomas, Ezra Carpenter, Rich- | 
ard Carpenter, Edmund Carroll, and Robert Kerr,— 
who have gone from among us; and, as we hallow 


the graves of our dead heroes, and erect monuments 


to their memories, let us not forget their faithful com- 
rades in civil life who did valiant service for the cause 
for which they laid down their lives. In summing | 
up “our record,” I find that 55 men were furnished | 
in 1861 for three years; 24 for three years, and 45 | 
for nine months, in 1862; in 1863-64, 60 for three | 
years, and 23 for one year, including officers and | 


men; the whole number furnished was 276, being a | 
44 





surplus of 13 over the quota. The whole number of 


| different men was 178, equivalent to 100 men each 


day of the war. Of these, there were 2 majors, 4 
captains, 11 lieutenants, 13 sergeants, and 11 corpo- 
rals, making 41 commissioned and non-commissioned 
officers, and 137 privates; 21 of this number died in 
battle or of disease. The amount expended by the 
town for bounties and enlistment expenses was 
$21,742.48. The amount of private subscriptions 
for bounties to volunteers was $7008.33; $1001.13 
were spent for clothing and supplies for the soldiers, 
being for Company F at Fortress Monroe. Large 
contributions of clothing and supplies were sent 
through the Foxborough Relief Association and the 
Sanitary and Christian Commissions. Money con- 
tributions in this behalf may be estimated at $500. 
The material interests of Foxborough declined slightly 
during the war. In 1860 our population was 2879 ; 
in 1865 it was 2769. In 1860 our valuation was 
$1,287,735 ; in 1865, $1,284,524. 

Never shall we forget the morning when the glori- 
ous news came that Gen. Lee’s army had surrendered. 
It was a day of great rejoicing. The bells were rung, 
the glorious stars and stripes were flung to the breeze, 
and saluted with cheers and tears, for men and women 
eried for joy, and thanked God for these glad tidings, 
that foretold peace and the return of those that had led 
us to victory. A procession was formed, and marched 
with stirring music through the principal streets and 
to the town hall, which was filled. Prayer, earnest 
and fervent, was offered by Deacon Hewins, and some 
speaking was “in order;’’ but there are times when 
there is more eloquence in silence than in the best of 
oratory, and this seemed to be the time and occasion. 

The war over, the town, in common with almost 
all its sister communities, began to consider its duty 
towards a fitting commemoration of the valor of its 
deceased soldiers, who went forth from it and fell in 
the service of their country. March 10, 1866, it was 
voted to refer the article in the warrant, in reference 
to a monument of the deceased soldiers, to a commit- 
tee consisting of five-—K. P. Carpenter, William 
Carpenter, Otis Cary, William H. Thomas, and George 
T. Ryder,—who made an extended report, March 6, 
1867, which was ordered to be printed. The com- 
mittee recommended the building of a Memorial Hall 


| as the most fitting monument to the valor and patriotism 


of the dead, whilst it would be at the same time emi- 
nently useful to the living. March 16, 1867, it was’ 
voted that the committee be instructed to procure 
plans and estimates in accordance with this report; 
also a plan for a monument, with estimates for cost of 
each, and to report on the same. There is, however, 


690 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





no question that the original report (to be found on 
the town records) substantially settled the question, 


and secured the building of the useful and substan- | 


stial structure that adorns our village,—the Memorial 
Hall. It was erected in 1868, at an expense of some 
thirteen thousand dollars, including town appropria- 
tions and subscriptions, or gifts made by individuals. 
It was dedicated on Friday, the 17th of June, with 
impressive ceremonies. Hon. George B. Loring was 
the orator of the day, and made a most appropriate 
and eloquent address. 


ROLL-CALL OF FOXBOROUGH’S SOLDIERS, 1861 TO 
1865. 


Fourtn Reement, Company F. (Three months.) 


22, 1861; July 22, 1861, 


David L. Shepard, capt., must. April 22, 
ex. of service. 

Moses A. Richardson, Ist lieut., must. April 22, 1861; 
1861, ex. of service. 

Carlos A. Hart, 2d lieut., must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, 
ex. of service. 

Wm. H. Torrey, sergt., must. April 22, 
ex. of service. 

John F. Shepard, sergt., 
ex. of service. 

John M. Welch, sergt., must. April 22, 1861; 
of service. 
Edward E. Bird, sergt., 
ex. of service. 
Samuel D. Robinson, corp., must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, 
ex. of service. 

Lewis L. Bullard, corp., must, April 22, 1861; 
ex. of service. 

Frank O. Pierce, corp., must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. 
of service. 

Lucius W. Allen, must. May 22, 1861; July 


service. 


July 22, 


1861; July 22, 1861, 


must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, 
July 22,1861, ex. 
must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, 
July 22, 1861, 


22, 1861, ex. of 


of | 


| William A. Morse, must. April 22, 1861; 





Charles D. Bacon, must. May 6, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

James S. Bemis, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of | 
service. 

Isaac H. Bonney, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

Samuel N. Bryant, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

Hiram F. Buck, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. 
service. | 

James Carpenter, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 


service, 

Gabriel P. Chamberlain, must. 
ex. of service. 

George H. Claflin, must. April 


April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, 


22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 


service. | 
Henry A. Fales, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 
William H. Fales, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 


George M. Fillebrown, must. April 22, 1861; 
of service. 

Albert KE. Forrest, must. April 
service. 

Edward M. Freeman, must. April 22, 1861; 
of service. 


July 22, 1861, ex. 


22 


22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 


July 22, 1861, ex. 


Alonzo W. Fuller, must. May 22, 1861; July 22, 
service, 

Joseph Gotleib, must. April 22, 
service. 


1861, ex. of 


1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 


| Moses L. Green, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 


service. 

Ephraim O. Grover, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

Pascal C. Grover, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

David T. Hartshorn, must. May 6, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

Edwin P. Jewett, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

Joseph H. Joplin, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

William H. Lyons, must. May 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

Ransom Matthews, must. May 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 


July 22, 1861, ex. of 


service. 

William H. Pierce, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

Charles H. Pond, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

James L. Sherman, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

William H. Sweet, must. May 6, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

Charles A. Thompson, must. April 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. 
of service. 


| Willard W. Turner, must. April 22, 1861; July 22,1861, ex. of 


service. 

James White, must. May 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of ser- 
vice. 

Nelson S. White, must. May 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

Rufus 8. White, must. May 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

Liscomb C. Winn, must. May 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 

James A. Wyer, must. May 22, 1861; July 22, 1861, ex. of 
service. 


Tuirpd Barranion, Company D. (Three months.) 


George Draper, must. May 19, 1861; July 23, 1861, discharged. 


FourtH Re@imment. (Nine months.) 
Charles F. Howard, maj., must. Dec. 16, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, 
ex. of service. 


Company F, (Nine months.) 


| Charles F. Howard, capt., must. Sept. 23, 1862; Dec. 6, 1862, 


| Moses 


Isaac H. Bonney, 2d lieut., 


maj. 
A. Richardson, Ist lieut., must. Sept. 23, 1862; Sept. 23, 
1862, resigned. 


OT. 


must. Dec. 27, 1862; Aug. 23, 1863, 


died at Indianapolis. 
93 


Joseph H. Joplin, Ist sergt., must. Sept. 23, 1862; July 14, 1863, 


died on railroad. 


Liscomb C. Winn, sergt., must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, 
| ex. of service. ‘ 
Gabriel P. Chamberlain, sergt., must. Sept. 23, 1862: May 31, 


1863, died at Brashear City. 


Ephraim 0, Grover, corp., must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, 


ex. of service. 








FOXBOROUGH. 





691 





' Pascal C. Grover, corp., must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, 
ex. of service. 

Charles B. Winn, corp., must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, 
ex. of service. 

Charles T. Sumner, corp., must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, 
ex. of service. 

George H. Grover, musician, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 
1863, ex. of service. 

William M, Adams, musician, must. Sept. 23, 1862; March 6, 
18638, died at Carrollton, La. 

Joseph H. Alden, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. 

Warren B. Alden, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Dec. 8, 1862, dis- 
charged. 

Lewis W. Belcher, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. 

Isaac H. Bonney, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Dec. 27, 1862, 2d 
lieut. 

Charles L. Boyden, must. Oct. 15, 1862; July 15, 1863, died at 
New Orleans. 

Edwin J. Carroll, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. 

James S. Carver, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. 

George H. Copliston, must. Sept. 26, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. 
of service. 

William Day, must. Sept. 23, 1862; June 10, 1863, died at 
Brashear City. 


Joseph H. Dow, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. 

Edwin Dunbar, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. 

Anson Fisher, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service, 

HE. Irving Fisher, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. | 

George H. Fisher, must. Oct. 26, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. 

Handel P. Fisher, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. 


Edward M. Freeman, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. 
of service. 

George A. Mann, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. 

Cyrus B. Morse, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of | 
service. 

Klbridge F. Morse, must. Sept. 23, 1862; May 26, 1863, died at 
New Orleans. 


Jarius J. Morse, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. 

William A. Morse, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. 

Joseph Myers, must. Sept. 238, 1862; July 20, 1863, died at 
New Orleans. \ 

Charles A. Pettee, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. 

Charles D. Smith, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of | 
service. 

Leonard Smith, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of | 
service, 

Payson F. Smith, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of | 
service. | 


William A. Stevens, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. 
of service. 
Henry C. Sumner, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 13, 1863, died | 





on railroad. 


David A. Swift, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 
service. 
Charles A. Thompson, must. Oct. 15, 1862; Aug. 
of service. 
George S. Thompson, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 
of service. 

John Ware, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of ser- 
vice. 

Preston B. Whittemore, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, 
ex. of service. 

James Wight, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of ser- 
vice. 

Ansel L, Willis, must. Sept. 23, 1862; Aug. 28, 1863, ex. of 
service. 


1863, ex. of 
28, 1863, ex. 


28, 1863, ex. 


Srxtu Regiment, Company B. (One hundred days.) 
Thomas 8. Brigham, must. July 17, 1864; Oct. 27, 1864, ex. of 


service. 

Timothy Brennan, must. July 17, 1864; Oct. 27, 1864, ex. of 
service. 

Curtis 8. Childs, must. July 17, 1864; Oct. 27, 1864, ex. of ser- 
vice. 

Lewis E. Comey, must. July 17, 1864; Oct. 27, 1864, ex. of ser- 
vice. 

Seth N. Kingsbury, must. July 17, 1864; Oct. 27, 1864, ex. of 
service. 

William T. Wright, must. July 17, 1864; Oct. 27, 1864, ex. of 
service. 


Company K. (One hundred days.) 


Gardner A. Carpenter, must. July 14, 1864; Oct. 27, 1864, ex. 
of service. 

Benjamin L. Dixon, must. July 14, 1864; Oct. 27, 1864, ex. of 
service. 

John J. Dixon, must. July 14, 1864; Oct. 27, 1864, ex. of ser- 
vice. 


SeveNTH REGIMENT, Company H.1 
Richard H. King, must. June 15, 1861; Nov. 12, 1861, dis- 
charged. 


Stillman F. Morse, must. June 15, 1861; March 10, 1863, died. 
James Prime, must. June 15, 1861; Dec. 3, 1862, discharged. 


Company I. 


Louis Heckman, must. June 15, 1861; June 27, 1864, ex. of 
service. 


Nintu Recent, Company B. 


Charles Lyons, must. June 11, 1861; Oct. 16, 1862, discharged. 


SEVENTEENTH REGIMENT, Company H. 
John R. Nelson, sergt., must. Dec. 25, 1863 ; July 11, 1865, ex. 


of service. 


EIGHTEENTH REGIMENT, Company H. 
Alvin E. Hall, 1st lieut., must. Aug. 20, 1861; July 9, 1862, re- 


signed. 

Chris. T. Hanly, Ist lieut., must. May 5, 1863; Nov. 10, 1863, 
discharged. 

Chris. T. Hanly, 2d lieut., must. Dec. 25, 1862; May 5, 1863, 
lieut. 


Band. 


Albert E. Forrest, must. Aug. 24, 1861; Aug. 11, 1862, order 
War Department. 








1 Term of service of all regiments and batteries not otherwise 
designated was three years. 


692 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








Company I. 


Christopher T. Hanly, must. Aug. 24, 1861; Dee. 25, 1862, 2d 
1st lieut. 

George H. Claflin, corp., must. Jan. 2, 1864; Oct. 21, 1864, to 
32d Inf. 

Wm. C. Grover, musician, must. Aug. 24, 1861; Dec. 30, 1862, 
discharged. 

James S. Bemis, must. Aug. 24, 1861; Feb. 8, 1863, discharged. 

George H. Claflin, must. Aug. 24, 1861; Jan. 1, 1864, re-en- 


listed. 

Amos L. Fuller, must. Aug. 24, 1861; Dec. 21, 1862, dis- 
charged. 

Nathan M. Grover, must. Aug. 24, 1861; Jan. 4, 1863, dis- 
charged. 

Moses E. Harding, must. Aug. 24, 1861; Oct. 2, 1862, dis- 
charged. 

Leander G. Thompson, must. Aug. 24, 1861; Nov. 29, 1862, 
discharged. 


Ezekiel J. Tolman, must. Aug. 24, 1861; Nov. 22, 1861, died. 


Twentieta ReGiment, Company D. 


James Donahue, must. Aug. 9, 1862; Dec. 11, 1862, killed at 
Fredericksburg. 
Patrick Slattely, must. Aug. 9, 1862; Jan. 15, 1863, discharged. 


Company E. 
David Caine, must. July 22, 1861; Oct. 23, 1861, died of 


wounds. 
Donald McGilvery, must. Aug. 9, 1862; Sept. 17, 1862, dis- 
charged. 


Company I. 


Owen Murphy, must. Aug. 9, 1862; Aug. 1, 1864, ex. of ser- 
vice. : 

Timothy Clifford, must. Feb. 26, 1864; Feb. 28, 1864, rejected. 

John Lynch, must. Aug. 9, 1862. 

George Proctor, must. March 3, 1864; March 5, 1864, rejected. 


TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT, Company K. 

Carlos A. Hart, capt., must. Oct. 11, 1861; Oct. 13, 1864, ex. 
of service. 

John Littlefield, 1st lieut., must. Oct. 11, 1861; May 4, 1862, 
resigned. 

James L. Sherman, Ist lieut., must. May 3, 1863; Oct. 13, 1864, 
ex. of service. 

Joshua B. Bowman, Ist lieut., must. Oct. 14, 1864; June 25, 
1865, ex. of service. 

Edward E. Bird, 2d lieut., must. Nov. 3, 1862; May 23, 1864, 
resigned. 

James L. Sherman, 2d lieut., must. Nov. 18, 1862; May 3, 
1863, 1st lieut. 

Edward E. Bird, Ist sergt., must. Sept. 28, 1861; Nov. 2, 1863, 
2d lieut. 

Lewis L. Bullard, Ist sergt., must. Sept. 28, 1861; Sept. 30, 
1862, discharged. 

James A. Carpenter, Ist sergt., must. Dec. 3, 1863; June 25, 
1865, ex. of service. 

Thomas G. Pierce, sergt., must. Sept. 28, 1861; Aug. 1, 
discharged. 


1862, 


William H. Pierce, sergt., must. Sept. 28, 1861; July 10, 1863, 


discharged. 

Charles W. Stearns, sergt., must. Sept. 28, 1861; Oct. 13, 1864, 
ex. of service. 

James A. Carpenter, corp., must. Sept. 28, 1861; Dec. 2, 1863, 
to re-enlist. 

Otis H. Horton, corp., must. Sept. 28, 1861; March 26, 1863, 
discharged. 





James L. Sherman, corp., must. Sept. 28, 1861; Aug. 20, 1862, 
sergt.-maj. 

Hiram D. Skinner, corp., must. Sept. 28, 1861; Oct. 13, 1864, 
ex. of service. 

Benj. P. Slater, corp., must. Sept. 28, 1861; March 14, 1862, 
discharged. 

Patrick Hanabury, wagoner, must. March 29, 1864; June 25, 
1865, ex. of service. 

Ezekiel Ames, must. Sept. 28, 1861; July 11, 1862, dis- 
charged. 

Benjamin F. Belcher, must. Sept. 28, 1861; Dec. 2, 1863, to 
re-enlist. 

Benjamin F. Belcher, must. Dec. 3, 1863; June 25, 1865, ex. 
of service. 

Levi Bennett, must. Sept. 28, 1861; Dec. 2, 1863, to re-enlist. 

Levi Bennett, must. Dec. 3, 1863; June 25, 1865, ex. of ser- 


vice. 
Joseph Brigham, must. Sept. 28, 1861; June 25, 1862, dis- 
charged. 
Hiram 8. Buck, must. Sept. 28, 1861; Sept. 11, 1862, dis- 
charged. 
Thomas Carpenter, must. Sept. 28, 1861; Oct. 13, 1864, ex. of 
service. 

Samuel C. Chestnut, must. Oct. 27, 1861; Feb. 21, 1863, dis- 

charged. 

William H. Fales, must. Sept. 28, 1861; March 26, 1863, dis- 
charged, 

David Flahaven, must. Sept. 28, 1861; Dec. 2, 1863, to re- 
enlist. 

David Flahaven, must. Dec. 3, 1863; June 25, 1865, ex. of . 
service. 





Joseph Gay, must. Aug. 25, 1864; June 25, 1865, ex. of service. 

Patrick Hanabury, must. Sept. 28, 1861; March 28,%1864, to 
re-enlist. 

William D. Higgins, must. Sept. 28, 1861; Oct. 13, 1864, ex. 
of service. 

Allen P. Lake, must. Oct. 30, 1861; Oct. 13, 1864, ex. of service. 

John Mahoney, must. Sept. 28, 1861; Oct. 13, 1864, ex. of ser- 
vice. 

Oliver Prime, must. Sept. 28, 1861; March 13, 1863, discharged. 

Edward Richardson, must. Sept. 28, 1861; Oct. 13, 1864, ex. of 
service. 

Hiram A. Snow, must. Dec. 3, 1863; May 16, 1864, missing. 

Franklin E. Taylor, must. Sept. 28, 1861; Feb. 16, 1863, dis- 
charged. : 

Joshua Taylor, must. Sept. 28, 1861; Oct. 13, 1864, ex. of ser- 
vice. 


| Charles A. Whipple, must. Oct. 12, 1861; May 5, 1862, died at 


Newburn. 

George W. Williams, Jr., must. Sept. 28, 1861; June 21, 1862, 
discharged. 

Micajah B. Alley, must. Aug. 25, 1864; Oct. 27, 1864, rejected. 


Twenty-rourtH REGIMENT, Company A. 
John M. Welch, sergt., must. Sept. 4, 1861; March 26, 1863, 


discharged. 

Henry J. Barrows, must. Aug. 13, 1862; Oct. 16, 1862, died at 
Newburn. c 

Wm. R. Goldsmith, must. Aug. 13, 1862; Dec. 4, 1864, ex. of 
service. 


| Patrick Roche, must. Sept. 27,1861; March 12, 1864, Vet. Res. 


Corps. 
David Scott, must. Aug. 13, 1862; Dec. 4, 1864, ex. of service. 
John H. Sumner, must. Aug. 13, 1862; Dec. 4, 1864, ex. of 
service. 
Wm. H. Torrey, must. Noy. 30,1861; June 8, 1863, Ist lieut. 








FOXBOROUGH. 


693 





Company G. 
Joseph Jewett, must. Sept. 5, 1861; Sept. 5, 1864, to re-enlist. 





Company I, 
George F. Wallace, corp., must. Jan. 2, 1864; Jan. 20, 1866, ex. 
of service. 
TWENTY-sIxTH REGIMENT. 


Isaac Smith, Jr., ass’t surg., must. Dec. 2, 1862; Noy. 7, 1864, 
ex. of service. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT, Company D. 


Andrew K. Grady, wagoner, must. Dec. 13, 1861; Dec. 19, 
1864, ex. of service. 


Company G. 
Peter Leighton, must. March 29, 1864; Aug. 16, 1864, missing. 
Joseph Murray, must. March 17, 1864; Sept. 13, 1864, dis- 
charged. 


TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT, Company F. 


Joseph Boyden, Ist sergt., must. Jan. 2, 1864; July 29, 1865, 
ex. of service. 


Joseph Boyden, must. Dec. 31, 1861; Jan. 1, 1864, to re-en- | 


list. 
Company G. 


Henry B. Titus, sergt., must. Jan. 2, 1864; June 28, 1865, 
discharged. 


THIRTIETH REGIMENT, Company E. 


Theodore R. Skinner, musician, must. Nov. 5, 1861; Feb. 12, 
1864, to re-enlist. 


THIRTY-SECOND ReGIMENT, Company D. 


George H. Claflin, corp., must. Jan. 4, 1864; June 29, 1865, 
ex. of service. 


THIRTY-THIRD REGIMENT, Company C. 


Alfred L. Morse, must. Aug. 6, 1862; May 27, 1865, order War 
Department. 
Ira C. Sayles, must. Aug. 6, 1862; Aug. 13, 1862. 


THIRTY-FIFTH REGIMENT, Company C. 


Alonzo W. Fuller, must. Aug. 19, 1862; Feb. 28, 1863, dis- 
charged. 


Tuirty-EIGHTH REGIMENT, Company I. 


James Nelson, must. Aug. 21, 1862; June 30, 1865, ex. of 
service. 





William Rich, must. Aug. 24, 1862; June 30, 1865, ex. of ser- | 


vice. 
FortieEtH ReGimeNntT, Company F. 


Edmond Burke, must. Sept. 3, 1862; March 15, 1863, Vet. Res. | 


Corps. 


Forty-sEVENTH REGIMENT, Company C. (Nine months.) 


Bernard E. Backer, 2d lieut., must. Feb. 2, 1863; Sept. 1, 1863, 
ex. of service. 

Bernard E. Backer, sergt., must. Sept. 23, 1863; Feb. 2, 1864, 
2d lieut. 


Firty-FrourtH REGIMENT, Company F. 
Henry James, must. Dec. 18, 1863; Aug. 20, 1865, ex. of ser- 
vice. 
Firty-FIrth# REGIMENT, Company F. 
Wm. H. Torrey, capt., must. Feb. 7, 1864; July 7, 1865, re- 
signed. 





Wm. H. Torrey, Ist lieut., must. June 19, 1863 ; Feb. 7, 1864, 
captain. 
Wm. H. Torrey, 2d lieut., must. June 17, 1863 ; June 19, 1863, 
Ist lieut. 
Firtry-stxtH REGIMENT. 


Fred. D. Forrest, capt., must. Dec. 4, 1863, commission revoked. 


Company C. 


George Eaton, must. March 10, 1864; June 19, 1865, order 


War Department. 
Company D. 
Jeremiah E. Earle, sergt., must. Dec. 29, 1863; July 12, 1865, 
ex. of service. 
Leander Clapp, corp., must. Dec. 29,1863; May 6, 1864, killed, 
Wilderness, Va. 
Patrick M. Driscoll, must. Dec. 29, 1863; January, 1864. 
Daniel Mahoney, must. Dec. 29, 1863; Feb. 23, 1864, died. 


Company E. 


Otis Dean, must. Jan. 12, 1864; June 15, 1865, order Gen. 
Park. 


| Comfort O. Fisher, must. Jan. 12, 1864; Dec. 30, 1864, order 


Gen. Auger. 
Edward E. Place, must. Jan. 12, 1864; June 30, 1865, order 
War Department. i 
Company F. 
George E. Bird, must. Jan. 12, 1864; July 14, 1865, order War 
Department. 
Eliphalet S. Wilson, must. Jan. 12, 1864; July 12, 1865, order 
War Department. 
Company K. 
Edwin P. Jewett, Ist sergt., must. Feb. 25, 1864; Sept. 1, 1864, 
promotion. 
Liscomb C. Winn, Ist sergt., must. Feb. 25, 1864; July 12, 
1865, ex. of service. 


Firry-EIGHTH REGIMENT, Company G. 


Joseph Merritt, must. March 26, 1864; Oct. 1, 1864. 


EIGHTEENTH UNATTACHED CoMPANY. 
Wm. F. Boyd, sergt., must. Dec. 7, 1864; May 12, 1865, ex. of 


(One year.) 


service, 

Ethan A. Cobb, sergt., must. Dec. 7, 1864; April 11, 1865, 2d 
lieut. 

George A. Brock, must. Dec. 6, 1864; May 12, 1865, ex. of 
service. 

Herbert E. Cobb, must. Dec. 6, 1864; May 12, 1865, ex. of ser- 
vice. 

Willis S. Cook, must. Dec. 6, 1864; May 12, 1865, ex. of-ser- 
vice. 

Samuel H. Gooch, must. Dec. 6, 1864; May 12, 1865, ex. of 
service. 


| Cephas P. Grover, must. Dec. 7, 1864; May 12, 1865, ex. of 


service. 

Lewis F. Holmes, must. Dec. 7, 1864; May 12, 1865, ex. of 
service. 

Theodore H. Hunniwell, must. Dec. 7, 1864; May 12, 1865, ex. 
of service. 

Thomas J. Kennedy, must. Dec. 6, 1864; May 12, 1865, ex. of 
service. 

Zeri B. Martis, must. Dec. 6, 1864; May 12, 1865, ex. of ser- 
vice. 

Cyrus B. Morse, must. Dec. 6, 1864; May 12, 1865, ex. of ser- 
vice. 

Stillman F. Willis, must. Dec. 7, 1864; May 12, 1865, ex. of 
service. 


694 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





TWENTIETH UNATTACHED CoMPANY. (One hundred days.) | 

Jarius J. Morse, corp., must. Aug. 11, 1864; Noy. 18, 1864, ex. 
of service. 

E. Irving Fisher, must. Aug. 11, 1864; Nov. 18, 1864, ex. of 
service. 

Edward Matthews, must. Aug. 11, 1864; Nov. 18, 1864, ex. of 
service. 

William A. Morse, must. Aug. 


service. 


11, 1864; Nov. 18, 1864, ex. of 


TWENTY-NINTH UNATTACHED HEAVY ARTILLERY. 
E. P. Jewett, must. Sept. 1, 1864; June, 1865, close of war. 


TWELFTH Batrery. | 


Andrew W. Martin, corp., must. March 29, 1864; July 25, 
1865, ex. of service. 


THIRTEENTH BATTERY. 


Patrick Curtin, corp., must. Jan. 27, 1863; July 28, 1865, ex. 
of service. 

Michael A. MecCostello, must. March 30, 1864; July 28, 1865, 
ex. of service. 


FourTEENTH BATTERY. 


Williams Leonard, artificer, must. Feb. 27, 1864; June 15, 
1865, ex. of service. 
George Leonard, must. Feb. 27, 1864; June 15, 1865, ex. of 
service. 
SIXTEENTH BATTERY. 


Wn. Hilliard, must. July 28, 1864; Aug. 1, 1864. 

Martin Shea, must. March 11, 1864; June 27, 1865, ex. of ser- 
vice, 

John Smith, must. July 28, 1864; Aug. 1, 1864. 


First CAVALRY. 


George M. Fillebrown, 2d lieut., must. Oct. 30, 1862; May 12, 
1863, Ist lieut. 
George M. Fillebrown, Ist lieut., must. May 12,1863; Jan. 25, 
1864. 
Company B. 


- George M. Fillebrown, com.-sergt., must. Sept. 17, 1861; Oct. 

30, 1862, 2d lieut. 

Herbert F. Dean, must. Sept. 14, 1861; April 4, 1864, promo- 
tion. 

George M. Washburn, must. Sept. 17, 1861; Nov. 17, 1864, ex. | 
of service. 

Company K. 

Allen F. Belcher, Ist sergt., must. Sept. 23, 1861; trans. to Co. 
K, 4th Cay. 

Horace E. Dupee, com.-sergt., must. Sept. 25, 1861; trans. to 


Co. K, 4th Cav. | 


Charles D. Bacon, sergt., must. Dec. 4, 1861; trans. to Co. K, 
4th Cav. 

Newton W. Bacon, must. Oct. 19, 1861; trans. to Co. K, 4th 
Cay. 

Charles H. Pond, must. Sept. 19, 1861; trans. to Co. K, 4th 
Cav. 

Second CAvALry, Company D. 

George H. Sanford, must. Feb. 26, 1864; July 20, 1865, ex. of 

service. 
Company F. 

Lawrence Dwyer, must. March 15, 1864; July 20, 1865, ex. of | 

service. 


Tuirp CAVALRY, Company B. 





Patrick Kelcher, must. Feb. 27, 1864; Dec. 15, 1865. 


FourtH CAVALRY. 


Allen F. Belcher, Ist lieut., must. Feb. 1, 1865; Feb. 20, 1865, 
res. brevet capt. 

Allen F. Belcher, 2d lieut., must. July 27, 1864; Feb. 1, 1865, 
Ist lieut. 

Allen F. Belcher, com.-sergt., must. Jan. 1, 1864; July 27, 
1864, 2d lieut. 


Company K, 


Allen F. Belcher, Ist sergt., must. Sept. 23, 1861; Dec. 31, 
1863, to re-enlist. 

Allen F. Belcher, Ist sergt., must. Jan. 1, 1864; June 6, 1864, 
com.-sergt. 

Horace E, Dupee, com.-sergt., must. April 21, 1864; Nov. 14, 
1865, ex. of service. 

Charles D. Bacon, sergt., must. Dec. 4, 1861; Dec. 3, 1864, ex. 
of service. 

Horace E. Dupee, sergt., must. Sept. 25, 1861; April 20, 1864, 
to re-enlist. 

Newton W. Bacon, must. Oct. 19, 1861; Oct. 16, 1864, ex. of 
service. 

Charles H. Pond, must. Sept. 19, 1861; Sept. 24, 1864, ex. of 
service. 

Company L. 


Richard H. King, blacksmith, must. Feb. 18, 1864; Nov. 14, 
1864, ex. of service. 


VETERAN RESERVE CoRPs. 


James R. Albion, must. Aug. 8, 1864. 

Myrom Ames, must. Aug. 15, 1864; Nov. 14, 1865, order of 
War Dept. 

Edward H. Bowker, must. Aug. 19, 1864, 

John Devlin, must. April 14, 1864. 

Francis J. Flanagan, must. April 15, 1864. 

William Greenlough, must. April 15, 1864, 

David Haugh, must. April 14, 1864. 

Dwight N. Hill, must. Aug. 29, 1864. 

Benj. F. Jones, must. Jan. 10, 1865; Noy. 16, 1865, order of 
War Dept. 

Samuel Keller, must. April 14, 1864. 

John Kirchen, must. April 14, 1864. 

August Kinttile, must. May 11, 1864. 

August Krun, must. July 28, 1864. 

Alvah 8. Langley, must. Aug. 13, 1864. 

Michael McCarthy, must. July 29, 1864. 

Donald McDonald, must. April 14, 1864. 

George McDoner, must. April 20, 1864. 

Michael McNamara, must. April 14, 1864. 

Bernard Mullins, must. July 21, 1864. 

John Phillips, must. July 30, 1864. 

Wm. H. Pierce, must. Aug. 31, 1864. 

John Rooney, must. April 20, 1864. 

James E. Smith, must. July 28, 1864. 

Leander G. Thompson, must. Aug. 29, 1864. 

Francis Traynor, must. April 14, 1864. 

George Vandergrist, must. Aug. 15, 1864. 

Thomas H. Walters, must. July 28, 1864. 

John White, must. Aug. 13, 1864. 


ReGuiar ARMY. 


John Buchmiller, must. July 18, 1864. 
Robert W. Graham, must. March 30, 1864. 
John Hogan, must. July 21, 1864. 
Frederick W. Kent, must. July 18, 1864, 
Joseph McGinley, must. April 8, 1864. 
John Montague, must. July 30, 1864. 








FOXBOROUGH. 


695 





Wesley H. Sherwood, must. April 11, 1864. 
Elijah Spencer, must. July 18, 1864. 

Robert Wallock, must. April 13, 1864. 
Henry Karch, must. July 30, 1864. 

William F. McAlliston, must. July 30, 1864. 


FOXBOROUGH SOLDIERS CREDITED TO QUOTAS OF 
OTHER TOWNS. 
Sevento Reciment, Company H. 


George S. Cook, must. June 15, 1861; June 27, 1864, ex. of 
service. 


Charles D. Richardson, must. June 15, 1861; Jay. 16, 1863, | 


disability. 
William F. Frazer, musician, must. June 15, 1861; Sept. 1, 
1863, Vet. Res. Corps. 


Company I, 


William A. Richardson, must. June 15,1861; Feb. 4, 1863, died, 
Washington. 


TWENTY-FOoURTH REGIMENT, Company A. 
Nelson S. White, must. Dec. 5, 1861; Dec. 22, 1863, promoted. 


Frrty-sixtH REGIMENT, Company A. 
Christopher Martin, must. Dec. 29, 1863; ——- — 1864, order 
War Department. 
Company F. 
George H. Hartshorn, must. Jan. 12, 1864; July 12, 1865, close 
of war. 
Company G. 
Leander Clapp, must. Dec. 29, 1863; May 13, 1864, killed in 
battle. 
Company H. 
George F. Hogle, must. Jan. 27, 1864; July 26, 1864, disability. 
Isaac Skinner, must. Dec. 19, 1863; Dec. 19, 1863, rejected. 


First Massacuusetts Heavy ARTILLERY. 
Uriah S. King, must. March 20, 1862; Oct. 29, 1864, died in 
Georgia. 
NintH Marne Reciment, Company B. 
William B. Grover, must. Oct. 20, 1862; Sept. 12, 1863, medi- 


cal cadet. 


TuoirD REGIMENT RuHopE IsutAnD Heavy ARTILLERY, Com- 
pany M. 


Charles Beal, corp., must. Jan. 1, 1863; Aug. 30, 1863, wounded. 


Charles Beal, must. March 17, 1862; Jan. 1, 1863, promoted. 


Sixta Rwope Istanp BArTrTery. 


William C. Winslow, must. Aug. 15, 1862; Feb. 20, 1865, dis- | 


ability. 
Lixcoty Guarps, Seconp District CotumBiA REGIMENT, 


Company G. 


John E. Belcher, must. Jan. 13, 1862; Jan. 13, 1865, ex. of | 


service. 

Joel A. Belcher, must. Jan. 13, 1862; Jan. 13, 1865, ex. of 
service. 

Joseph W. Belcher, must. Jan. 27, 1862; Feb. 2, 1865, ex. of 
service. 


THIRTY-THIRD UniteEp States REGIMENT COLORED TROOPS. 

Nelson S. White, capt., must. Nov. 12, 1865; Jan. 31, 1866, ex. 
of service. 

Nelson S. White, Ist lieut., must. Oct. 7, 1865; Nov. 12, 1865, 
promoted. 


| Nelson S. White, 2d lieut., must. Dec. 22, 1863; Oct. 7, 1865, 


promoted. 


| 

| 

Soldiers credited to Foxborough’s Quota, but served in Regi- 
| ments other than Massachusetts. 


Thomas Carr. 
James Cavaglin. 
Emery Eighart. 
Frederick Hill. 


\ 


service. 
Isaac B. Beal. 


Seth Boyden. 
Samuel Billings. 
Jacob Billings. 
Ezra Carpenter. 
John Carpenter. 
Oliver Comey. 
Spencer Comey. 
John N. Everett. 
Ebenezer Forrest. 
Samuel Forrest. 
Elias Guild. 
Jabez Grover. 


Dudley Billings. 
Comfort Belcher. 
Bowdoin Brastow. 
Bela Bacon. 
Alpheus Bird. 
Daniels Carpenter. 
Francis Carpenter. 
David Capen. 
Willard Childs. 
Peleg Durfee. 
David Davis. 
Daniel Everett. 
Charles Faxon. 
Jabez Fales. 
Freedom Guild. 
Fisher Hartshorn. 
John Hewes. 
Elkanah Hodges. 





Alexander Boyden. 


Charles McGinnis. 
William Quinn. 
Patrick Randolph. 
Henry Williams. 


. Navy. 
Henry Cleveland, must. May 6, 1861; March 24, 1863, ex. of 


The Memorial Tablets.—At the right of the en- 
trance to Memorial Hall is a marble tablet, with a 
medallion of flint-lock musket, powder-horn, and 
cartridge-box in relief, inscribed as follows : 


Patriots oF 1776. 


Thomas Hartshorn. 
Zadoe Howe. 

Jesse Hartshorn. 
Jeremiah Hartshorn. 
Cornelius Morse. 
Timothy Morse. 
Oliver Pettee. 
Abijah Pratt. 

John Sumner. 
William Sumner. 
Daniel Salley. 
Thomas Clapp. 


SoLpiEerRs oF 1812. 


Otis Hodges. 

Henry Hobart. 
David N. Hall. 
Timothy Morse. 

Asa Plimpton. 
Elijah Plimpton. 
Martin Pettee. 
Oliver Pettee. 
James Plimpton. 
James Paine. 
Stephen Rhoades, Jr. 
Loring C. Shaw. 

E. Holmes Sherman. 
Robert Shepard. 
Martin Torrey. 

Asa White. 

Amos White. 

James Wilber. 

Isaac Winslow. 


Tt is also known that Elisha Morse, a resident upon 


what is now Foxborough territory, served in the 
French and Indian war, in 1747. Capt. Josiah Pratt 


_ and Capt. Eleazer Robbins, afterwards citizens of this 


town, commanded two of the nine companies that 
left Stoughton, April 19, 1775, upon the Lexington 
alarm. Uriah Atherton, Nehemiah Carpenter, Jr., 
and Dominic Dassance were also in the Continental 
Stephen Boy- 


army, either as militia or volunteers. 


696 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





den and Asa Boyden were also soldiers of 1812; it 
is probable that still other names are omitted from the 


tablets in Memorial Hall. 


Upon the opposite side of the door-way is inscribed 


the 


ROLL OF HONOR, 1861-1865. 


Maj. Charles F. Howard. 
Capt. David L. Shepard. 
“« Carlos A. Hart. 
“« Ww. H. Torrey. 
«Nelson S. White. 
Lieut. Allen F. Belcher. 
«James L. Sherman. 


“« Christopher T. Hanley. 


«Bernard E. Backer. 
“Moses A. Richardson. 
“John Littlefield. 
“George M. Fillebrown. 
«Alvin E. Hall. 
Isaac Hl. Bonney. 
“¢ Edwin P. Jewett. 
«Edward E. Bird. 
Sergt. Joseph H. Joplin. 
* John F. Shepard. 
John M. Welch. 
ee Lewis L. Bullard. 
«Wm. H. Pierce. 
«Charles W. Stearns. 
Horace E. Dupee. 
Joshua B. Bowman. 
«Andrew N. Grady. 
Joseph Boyden. 
Thomas G. Pierce. 
Gab. P. Chamberlain. 
Liscomb C. Winn. 
Samuel D. Robinson. 
«Frank O. Pierce. 
«Otis H. Horton. 
James A. Carpenter. 
«SOW am. H. Fales. 
Benjamin P. Slater. 
“George H. Claflin. 
George 8. Cook. 
Pascal C. Grover. 
Ephraim 0. Grover. 
«Charles B. Winn. 
Ezekiel Ames. 
Joseph H. Alden. 
Wm. M. Adams. 
Henry A. Alexander. 
Hiram 8. Buck. 
Charles D. Bacon. 
Benj. F. Belcher. 
Levi Bennett. 
Joseph Brigham. 
James 8. Bemis. 
Samuel N. Bryant. 
Newton W. Bacon. 
Henry J. Barrows. 
John KE. Belcher. 
Joel A. Belcher. 
Joseph W. Belcher. 
Charles Beal. 
Isaac B. Beal. 
Lewis W. Belcher. 


Charles L. Boyden. 
George E. Bird. 
Wm. F. Boyd. 
Timothy Brennan. 
Thomas 8. Brigham. 
Samuel Chestnut. 
Thomas Carpenter. 
Henry Cleveland. 
James §. Carver. 
Edwin J. Carroll. 
Geo. S. Coppleston. 
Patrick Curtin. 
Leander Clapp. 


Gardner A. Carpenter. 


Curtis Childs. 
Edgar L. Comey. 
Joseph H. Dow. 
Wm. Day. 

Edwin Dunbar. 
Otis Dean. 

John J. Dixon. 
Benj. L. Dixon. 
Herbert F. Dean. 
Jeremiah E. Earl. 
George Eaton. 
Amos L. Fuller. 
Alonzo W. Fuller. 
Albert E. Forrest. 
Edward M. Freeman. 
Wm. F. Frazer. 
Handel P. Fisher. 
E. Irving Fisher. 
Anson Fisher. 
David Flavaban. 
Comfort O. Fisher. 
Joseph Gotlieb. 
Wm. C. Grover. 
Nathan M. Grover. 
Wm. R. Goldsmith. 
George H. Grover. 
Wm. B. Grover. 
Joseph Gay. 
Cephas P. Grover. 
David T. Hartshorn. 
Patrick Henneberry. 
Wm. D. Higgins. 
Moses E. Harding. 
Lewis Heckman. 


George H. Hartshorn. 


Henry James. 
Joseph Jewett. 
Benj. F. Jones. 
Uriah 8. King. 
Richard H. King. 
Seth N. Kingsbury. 
Allen P. Lake. 
Charles Lyons. 
Bartlett P. Luce. 
Wm. H. Lyons. 





Williams Leonard. 
George Leonard. 
Alfred L. Morse. 


| Stillman F. Morse. 


Ransom Matthews. 
John Mahoney. 
Wm. A. Morse. 
Joseph Myers. 
Owen Murphy. 
Elbridge F. Morse. 


| Cyrus B. Morse. 
| Jairus J. Morse. 


Rufus 8. White. 
Wm. Winslow. 
Ansel L. Willis. 
John Ware. 
Daniel Mahoney. 
George A. Mann. 
Zeri B. Martis. 
James Nelson. 


| Charles H. Pond. 





| 23d, 


| Henry C. Lindley, capt. 


| 56th, 


Oliver Prime. 
James Prime. 
Charles A. Pettee. 
Edward E. Place. 
Edward Richardson. 
Wm. Rich. 


Charles B. Richardson. 


Patrick Roche. 
Wm. A. Richardson. 


Wm. H. Sweet. 
Hiram D. Skinner. 


Theodore R. Skinner. 


David Scott. 

John H. Sumner. 
Wm. A. Stevens. 
Leonard Smith. 
Charles D. Smith. 
David A. Swift. 
Henry C. Sumner. 
Payson F. Smith. 
Charles I’. Sumner. 
Hiram A. Snow. 
Martin Shea. 
Joshua Taylor. 
Franklin E. Taylor. 


Charles A. Thompson. 


Willard W. Turner. 


Leander G. Thompson. 


Ezekiel J. Tolman. 


George 8. Thompson. 


George M. Washburn. 
George W. Williams, Jr. 


Charles A. Whipple. 
James Wight. 
Charles Whipple. 


Preston B. Whittemore. 


Stillman F. Willis. 
Wu. T. Wright. 


Isaac Smith, Jr., asst. surg. 


Our Honored Dead.—Names inscribed on marble 
tablet opposite entrance in Memorial Hall, surmounted 
by medallion representing arms encircled by wreath: 


Q 
2 


Regt. 
Ath, 
4th, 
4th, 

18th, 

23d, 

24th, 
7th, 
7th, 
4th, 
(Ade 
4th, 
4th, 
4th, 
4th, 
Ath, 
4th, 

56th, 


ay 


PADS 


“ 


eh Me 


- 


- 


Pe Ff eo fa Ff 


18th, 


BL By 


a 


Ist, Heavy Art’l’y, 


Date of Death. 


Lieut. Isaac H. Bonney...Aug. 
Sergt. Joseph H. Joplin...July 
Sergt. G. P. Chamberlain..May 


Ezekiel J. Tolman......... Noy. 
Charles A. Whipple........ May 
Henry J. Barrows.......... Oct. 


Charles D. Richardson...Jan. 
William A. Richardson... Feb. 


23, 1863. 
14, 1863. 
31, 1863. 
22, 1861. 
5, 1862. 
7, 1862. 
20, 1863. 
4, 1863. 


William M. Adams.........March 6, 1863. 


Stillman F. Morse.......... March 10, 1863. 
Eibridge F. Morse...... ...May 26, 1863. 
Wallism Day scccsccosssclneses June 10, 1863. 
Charles L. Boyden......... July 15, 1863. 
Joseph Miyers...........c0see July 20, 1863. 
Henry C. Sumner..........: Aug. 13, 1863. 
Edwin J. Carroll............/ Aug. 31, 1863. 
Daniel Mahoney............ Feb. 23, 1863. 
Teander Clapps secs .siessseoes May 13, 1864. 
Amos L. Fuller.............Aug. 10, 1864. 
Hiram ASSN O Wises scssesecs 1864. 
Uriah, S: Kaings.ssc.cccessss. Oct. 29, 1864. 


VETERANS OF THE WAR. 
Organized June 17, 1878. 


James 8. Carver, Ist lieut. 


Fred. Whitney. 


Wm. T. Wright. 


David Scott, 2d lieut. 
Thomas B. Bourne, ord.-sergt. 
Joseph H. Dow, 2d sergt. 

H. B. Hartshorn, drummer. 
Henry A. Alexander. 

Cyrus B. Morse. 

Jabez B. Davidson. 

Seth Talbot. 


Edwin P. Jewett. 
Timothy Howe. 
Wm. R. Reed. 


Thomas Carpenter. 


Allison Cobb. 
Wm. Moorhouse. 
Sumner Wetherell 
Harrison Doty. 








FOXBOROUGH. 


697 








David Flahaven. 
James Blanchard. 
Patrick Curtin. 
Charles A. Thompson. 
John Higgins. 
Charles D. Smith. 
Henry C. Fulsom. 
Ansel Willis. 
Caleb Josselyn. 
V. F. Grover. 
Curtis Childs. 
Oliver Prime. 
John Jackson. 
Dexter Inman. 
John A. Davis. 


Wm. H. Kempton. 
Dennis Lovett. 
Elbridge Alexander. 
Royal J. Packard. 
L. Edgar Comey. 
Joseph H. Alden. 
Abijah M. Morse. 
Dennis F. McCarty. 
Thomas Brigham. 
John Ferguson. 
John Wright. 
Samuel C. Bourne. 
Leander G. Thompson. 
A. L. Bundy. 
Samuel C. Chestnut. 


The following records are taken from a book in the 
possession of Mr. A. J. Boyden, upon the first page 
of which is written, ‘‘ Militia Book for the use of the 
Company in Foxborough, 1790.” Mr. Boyden also 


has a roster, of which a copy was printed in the Fox- 
| is 45, officers Included, And the Company of foot, commanded ~ 


borough Zimes of Feb. 28, 1879: 


“ Acreeable to an act of Congress, the 9t® of May, 1794, A 


deteachment of Eighty Thousand Men be raised, and this states | 


propotion is 11885, oficers included, and the 4th Rigaments 
propotion is 97, oficers included, and the foot Company in Fox- 
borough propotion is one Subbolton, one Serjent, and Sixteen 
Privates, which ware deteached and Returned the 8 day of July, 
in ye 1794, and ware ordered to be acquipt and hold themselves 
in Readiness to march at a Minutes warning, if called for, and 
to serve three months after They arrive at the place of Rendez- 
vous, if not sooner discharged. 
“Mens Names that were deteached and Returned :— 


“ Sergent, Asa Paine. 


“ Rank and File. 


Jacob Billings. 
Samuel H. Everett. 
Richard Everett. 
Zippa Swift. 

Job Shearman, Jun, 
John Shearman, 
Jason Belcher. 
Philips Payson. 


Joseph Bradshaw. 
Lemuel Wight, Junt. 
Asa Robinson. 
Elkonah Clark. 
Cyrenius Pettee. 
Oliver Morse. 

Elias Guild. 

John Sumner, Jun’. 











“Acreeable to an Act of Congress, the 24 of June, y° 1797, A | 


deteachment of Eighty Thousand men, to be Raised and Rurnd, 
Armed and Equipt as the Law directs, and Hold themselves in 
Readyness to march at a minutes warning, if called for, and 
Serve the Term of three months after they arrive at the place 
of Rendezvous, unless sooner discharged. 

“This states propotion of the above 80,000 is 11,836, in- 


cluding oficers, the second brigade, first divisions, propotion is | 


348. 

“The 4th Rigament 2¢ Brigades proportion is 89, oficers in- 
cluded, and the foot Company in Foxborough propotion, Two 
Commitiond officers, one serjent, fourteen privates. 

“The names of the men that ware deteacht and Returnd, 
Oct. 12, ye 1797, and ware holden to stand in Readiness from 
that time for the Space of one year, and after that untill the 
Eand of the next sessions of Congress, and No longer. 


Sergent, Benjamin Comee. 


} 


| 





} 


“ Privates. 
Oliver Morse. 
Lemuel Paine. 
John N. Miller. 
Asa Robinson. 


Francis Jones. 
Elisha Wilbur. 
Obadiah Shearman. 


“ Rank and File. 
Elias Guild. 
Asa Shaw. 
Leonard White. 
James Daniels. 


David Capen. 
Joel Morse, Junt. 
Asa White. 


“N.B.—The time mentioned in the orders for the above 
named men to Hold themselves in Readyness is expired the 3d 
of March, 1799, and they are discharged by order of the Com- 
mander-in-chief. Foxborough, May 3, y® 1799. 


“The President of the United States, pursuant to an Act of 
Congress of the 10 of April, 1812, having required of the Com- 
mander-in-chief to take Effectual Measures for having 10,000 
of the Militia of Massachusetts, Detached & Duly Organized In 
companies, Battallions, Regiments, Brigades, and Divisions. 
And the Second Regiment, 24 Brigade, and 1 Div. Proportion 


by Capt. Metcalf Everett, has Detached 1 serg. and 6 Privates, 
it being her Proportion of the above number. 

“‘ Mens Names that were Detached and Returned from Capt. — 
M. Everett’s Company : 





“ Serg’t, Oliver Capen. 
“ Privates. 
Isaiah Morse. 


Jairus P. Morse. 
John Morse, 2d. 


Isaac Shepard. 
Spencer Leonard. 
Oakes Copeland. 


“Copy of A Detachment made from Capt. Metcalf Everett’s 
Company, July 26th, 1814, viz. : 
“SAMUEL PECK, lee 
+ Privates. 
“ Harrrorp Leonarp, ) Yee 


“Copy of A Detachment made from Capt. Metcalf Everett's 


| Company, Sept. 20th, 1814. 


“Tsaac WINSLOW, 
“ ALPHEUS BirD, 


1 
\ Privates.” 
' 

“Wirttam Vinson, J 


CHAP PER a VEEL: 
FOX BOROUGH—( Continued). 


Ecclesiastical History —Congregational Church—Baptist Church 
—Universalist Chureh—Roman Catholic—Chapels—Civil 
History—Delegates to Convention—State 
Senators — Commission of Insolvency — Representatives — 
Justices of the Peace—Selectmen—Town Clerks—Town 
House—Memorial Hall—The Howe Monument—Change in 
Boundaries—Masonie—Historical Items—The Press—The 
Centennial Celebration—Population—Statistical. 


Constitutional 


Congregational Church.—Soon after the de- 
struction of the first meeting-house, erected in 1763: 
of this society the second one was erected in 1822, 
and dedicated in January, 1823. It was located near 
the site of the old edifice, and about one hundred feet 


698 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





northwest of Memorial Rock. It was taken down in 
1855. The present church was erected in 1854. 
The pastors have been as follows: Thomas Kendal, 
1786-1800; Daniel Loring, 1804-6 ; Thomas Skel- 
ton, 1807-16; Thomas Williams, 1816-21; Willard 
Pierce, 1824-39; Daniel J. Poor, 1840-47; Wil- 
liam Barnes, 1847-54; Kdmund Y. Garrette, 1854— 
57; Noadiah S. Dickinson, 1858-69 (died March 
27, 1876); Marshall B. Angier, Jan. 29, 1879-80. 
The First Baptist Church was built in 1822, 
and cost twelve hundred dollars; 
Elm It was about thirty-six by forty feet, 
and was the first house of worship in town in which 
It was moved in May, 1838, 


Street. 


a stove was introduced. 


to the site now occupied by the town house, where it | 


was lengthened twelve feet and a vestry finished in 
In 1850 it was sold, and became a 
part of the steam-mill of V. S. Pond, which was 
burned Jan. 27, 1876. 

The Baptist church edifice, now occupied by the 
society, stands on School Street. 
1850, at an expense of four thousand two hundred 
dollars. Improvements were made in 1856 and 
1860, and it was enlarged and improved to such an 
extent as to make it proper to rededicate the building, 
which was done, in the presence of a large congrega- 
tion, Jan. 22, 1879. 

The pastors have been as follows: 
March, 


the basement. 


Warren Bird, 
1822, to October, 1828; Timothy C. Ting- 


ley, July, 1831, to Tul 1837; Silas Ripley, Oc- | 


tober, 1837, to May, 1841; Edwin B. Bullard, May, 
1842, to May, 1843; Silas Ripley, June, 1843, to 
September, 1854; Isaac Smith, November, 1854, 

January, 1867; Cyrus H. Carleton, November, 
1867, died Dec. 25, 1868; William H. Spencer, 


it was located on | 


It was built in | 
b | Seth Boyden, 1809-11, 1826- 





September, 1869, to April, 1879; Millard F. John- | 


son, Sept. 1, 1879. 

The Universalist Church was built in 1843, and 
is located at the head of Bird Street, fronting the 
common. It originally had a spire in addition to 
gale. It 
has a finished vestry, anterooms, etc., in the basement. 


the belfry, but this was blown off in a severe 


The pastors have been as follows: 


Mellen, 1843-46; E. C. Rogers, 1846-47; W. G. 
Anderson, 1847-48 ; renee Slade, 1848-53 ; oe 
Holmes, 1853-57 ; N. C. Hodgdon, 1858 59: C. 


Bradley, 1860-65; John M., 
James H. Little, 1869-74 ; 
74; Allen P. Folsom, 


Merrick, 
James Kastman, 


1874-76; W. W. Hayward, 


ears 


Charles W. | 


1873- | 


1876-77; Q. H. Shinn, 1878; Donald Frasher, 1881-_ 


83. 
Roman Catholic Church.—The first Catholic 
Church here was erected in 1859, and destroyed by 


| Willard Pierce, 1830, 1840. 


fire March 1, 1862. 
burned Sept. 12, 1877. 
was completed in 1878. 

There are also chapels for public worship at Hast 
Foxborough and South Foxborough. 


It was rebuilt in 1873, and 
The present church edifice 


DELEGATES TO CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS. 
1779, John Everett; 1820, Seth Boyden; 1853, Henry Ho- 
bart. 
Hon. Ebenezer Warren was delegate to the convention, 1788, 
that adopted the Federal Constitution. 


STATE SENATORS FROM FOXBOROUGH. 


Henry Hobart, 1852. | Otis Cary, 1863-64. 
James E. Carpenter, 1855-56. | Erastus P. Carpenter, 1872-74. 


COMMISSIONER OF INSOLVENCY FOR NORFOLK 
COUNTY. 


Robert W. Carpenter, 1884-87 


REPRESENTATIVES TO GENERAL COURT FROM 1778 
TO 1878. 


1784- | Martin Torrey, 1849, 1851. 
Alfred Hodges, 1850. 
James Stratton, 1853-54. 
John Littlefield, 1855-57. 
Daniels Carpenter, 1858. 
Otis Cary, 1860-61. 
Robert W. Kerr, 1863-64. 
| Ezra Carpenter, 1866. 
Frederick K. Ballou, 1867. 
Melatiah Everett, 1831. John M. Merrick, 1869. 
Henry Hobart, 1832-33, 1835- J. E. Carpenter, 1870. 
36. William H. Thomas, 1872. 
| George T. Ryder, 1873. 
| William A. Thompson, 1875. 
| Joseph A. Kingsbury, 1876. 
James F. Leonard, 1878. 
Benjamin F. Boyden, 2d, 1879. 
Fred. H. Williams, 1883-84. 


John Everett, 1779-81, 
85, 1792. 
Ebenezer Warren, 1783. 


27, 1829. 

Elias Nason, 1812. 

John Sherman, 1823-24, 1828, 
1839. 


Joseph Kingsbury, 1834. 
Stephen Rhodes, 1837. 
Warren Bird, 1858, 1841. 
Silas Ripley, 1839. 
Nehemiah Carpenter, 1842. 
Francis Dane, 1843-44, 
John M. Everett, 1846. 
JUSTICES OF 

Warren Bird. 

R. Walter S. Blackwell. 

William Boyd. 

Seth Boyden. 


THE PEACH. 
Alfred Fales. 
Thomas M. George. 
Freedom Guild. 
Edward D. Hewins. 


David Capen. 


James Capen. 


Erastus P. Carpenter. 


James E, Carpenter! 


Aobert W. Carpenter. 


Edmund Carroll. 
Julius Carroll. 

Otis Cary. 

Edwin W. Clarke. 
Aaron Everett. 
John M. Everett. 
Melatiah Everett.! 
William Payson. 
Gardner M. Peck. 
Edward M. Phelps. 
Joseph KE. Pond, Jr. 
Abijah Pratt. 


Henry Hobart. 
Noah Hobart. 
Alfred Hodges. 
Charles W. Hodges. 
David Huston. 
Lobert W. 
Joseph Kingsbury. 
James FE. Leonard. 
John Littlefield. 
John Q. Lynch. 
Elias Nason. 


Swift Payson. 


Kerr. 


Isaac Smith. 

A. Thomas Starkey. 
William H. Thomas. 
Ebenezer Warren. 
Joseph Warren. 


' Also Justices of the Quorum. 





aie 





FOXBOROUGH. 


699 





Carmi Richmond. 
Frank I. Sherman. 
George Sherman. 
John Sherman. 


Samuel 8S. Warren. 
Daniel B. Whittier. 
Fred. H. Williams. 


SELECTMEN FROM 1778 TO 1878. 


Josiah Pratt, 1778-79, 1781- 
85, 1794. 

John Everett, 1778-79, 1788, 
1792-93, 1798-99. 

Benjamin Pettee, 1778-79. 

Daniel Robinson, 1778. 

Joseph Shepard, 1778. 

Samuel Billings, 1779, 1786. 

Nathaniel Clark, 1779, 1782- 
85, 1791-92. 

Nehemiah Carpenter, 1780, 
1787. : 

Swift Payson, 1780-81. 

Ebenezer Warren, 1780, 1786, 
1789-93. 

Aaron Everett, 1781-85. 

Simon Pettee, 1786, 1789-90. 

Samuel Baker, 1787-88. 

Joshua Armsby, 1788. 

Joseph Hews, 1789-90, 1795- 
99: | 

George Stratton, 1791-93, 1798 
-1808. 

Spencer Hodges, 1794-97. 

Abijah Pratt, 1794-99, 1801, 
1819. 

William Summer, 1799-1805. 

Seth Boyden, 1802, 1811, 1813, 
1815, 1817, 1829. 

Joseph Kingsbury, 1806-8. 

Elias Nason, 1809-12. 

Jesse Hartshorn, 1810-11. 

Ethridge Clark, 1812, 1814. 

Stephen Sherman, 1812, 1830- 
33. 

Jacob Leonard, 1813-14. 

Harvey Pettee, 1813-14. 

Peter Carpenter, 1814. 

Beriah Mann, 1815-19. 

John Sherman, 1815-28. 

Daniel Everett, 1818-28. 

Joseph Warren, 1820-22. 

Asa Plimpton, 1823-26. 

David Capen, 1827-33. 

Silas Smith, 1829, 

Henry Hobart, 1830-32, 1834— 
40, 1842-45. 





Joseph Kingsbury, 1835-35. 

Alpheus Bird, 1834-36, 1841. 

Ezra Carpenter, 1836-40, 1853 
—59, 1862-66, 1871. 

Ephraim Grover, 1837-40. 

John M. Everett, 1841. 

George Sherman, 1841-45. 

Willard Plimpton, 1842-45. 

Freedom Guild, 1846-49, 1852 
-61. 

Oliver Carpenter, 1846-47. 

Martin Torrey, 1846-47. 

Otis Cary, 1849-51, 1867-69, 
1874-75. 

Job Sherman, 1848-51. 

Albert Fisher, 1850-51. 

James Stratton, 1852-57. 

M. Merrick Torrey, 1852. 

James Capen, 1858-61, 1868— 
70. 


| Jeremiah M. Shepard, 1860- 


63. 
Elisha White, Jr., 1862-66. 
William H. Thomas, 1864-66. 
Edmund Carroll, 1867-68. 
Charles W. Hodges, 1867. 
William H. Cobb, 1869. 
James F. Leonard, 1870-71, 
1875-77. 
Eli Phelps, 1870-73. 
Henry G. Warren, 
1876-77. 
Michael Ryan, 1872. 
Benjamin B. King, 1873. 


| Alfred Hodges, 1874. 
James A. Comey, 1874-75. 


Newland F. Howard, 1876-78, 
1883. 

Erastus P. Carpenter, 1878-83. 

Willard P. Turner, 1878-80. 

Joseph A. Kingsbury, 1879- 
80. 

Isaac P. Carpenter, 1881. 

Francis D. Williams, 1881-83. 


| Carmi Richmond, 1881-82. 


William H. Torrey, 1881-83. 


| William B. Crocker, 1882-83. 


TOWN CLERKS. 


Swift Payson, 1778-79. 
Amariah Marsh, 1780-83. 
Nehemiah Carpenter, 1784-85, 
Abijah Pratt, 1786-88. | 
Aaron Everett, 1789-1800. 
George Stratton, 1801-8. 
Beriah Mann, 1809, 1815-19. 
William Payson, 1810-14. 
Shubal Pratt, 1820-22. 
James Paine, 1823-31. 


| 
| 


tithingmen in 1860; none since. 


| Melatiah Everett, 1831. 


Otis Hodges, 1832-33. 
Warren Bird, 1834-47. 


| Silas Ripley, 1848-49. 
| Nathaniel T. Shepard, 1850- 


54, 
James E. Carpenter, 1855-60. 
William H. Thomas, 1861-72. 
James F. Leonard, 1872-77. 


| William H. Torrey, 1878-83. 


First omitted to chose tithingmen, April 3, 1837. 


Chose five 


| dred persons. 
is occupied on the first floor by the first primary and 


the grammar and first intermediate schools. 





The town house was built in 1857, at an expense 
of $15,496.79, which amount includes the cost of the 
land. The building committee were E. P. Carpenter, 
Otis Cary, Henry Hobart, Oliver Carpenter, and F. 
D. Williams. Vote to build passed March 14.1857; 
first town-meeting held in new hall March 29, 1858. 
This meeting was opened by prayer by Rev. N.S. 
Dickinson. In 1874 an addition was built for school 
purposes at expense of $26,244.31. The building is 
heated by steam from a boiler in the basement, and is 
lighted by gas. 
(three cells), cistern (containing thirty-three thousand 


The basement contains the lock-up 


gallons of water for use in case of fire), the boiler-room, 
coal-bins, ete. The first floor of the main structure 
contains the lower town hall, thirty-six by fifty-four 
feet, with anterooms, town officers’ office (with ante- 
room), in which is situated the safe recently erected at 


an expense of six hundred and fifty dollars, second pri- 


_mary school-room, public entrance to town hall, and 


ticket-office. The second floor is occupied by the 
town hail, fifty by seventy-five feet, with two ante- 
rooms, each twelve by twenty feet. It has a platform 
fifteen by twenty-six feet, and gallery seventeen by 
forty-five feet. The hall and gallery seat eight hun- 


The school-house addition, so called, 


second intermediate schools, on the second floor by 
Each of 
these schools occupies a room thirty-five by twenty- 


four feet, furnished with the most improved school- 


furniture, and has commodious clothes-rooms, sink- 


rooms, and water-closets connected. On the second 


| floor are also two dressing-rooms, each fourteen by 


fifteen feet (with water-closets), connected with the 
platform of the town hall. The upper floor is oceu- 
pied by the high school,' which has a room fifty feet 
square, with commodious clothes-rooms and water- 


closets. The number of children which can be seated 


| in these six school-rooms is over three hundred. 


The town house is situated on elevated ground, 
having a large common in front of and between it 
and South Street. 
house is situated a few rods northeasterly of the 
addition. Cocasset engine-house is similarly situated, 
southeasterly of the building.” 

The Union Straw-Works stands on Wall Street, 
and occupies, with machine-shop, foundry, gasometer, 


Foxborough steam fire-engine 


bleach-house and yards, stables, ete., about two hun- 
dred and ten thousand feet of land. Opposite are 


1 Foxborough high school was established by vote of the town 
passed April 3, 1865. 
2 April 6, 1857, selectmen directed to establish a legal fire 


department. 


700 





the Veranda and Hamlet Houses, boarding- houses — 


owned by the proprietors of the Union Straw- Works. 


The expense of building these works, including the | 
addition built in 1856, exceeded one hundred and 


Connected with these works, 


fifty thousand dollars. 


and owned by the same corporation,—the Union and — 


Bay State Manufacturing Company,—are the “ West 
Branch,” a large three-story building on Main Street 
(formerly the manufactory of Foxborough Jewelry 
Company), and the “South Branch” (known as 


“Nason’s Factory’’ when built, in 1810), situated | 


on Water Street. These buildings are managed by 


William T. Cook & Co. (W. T. Cook and L. Porter | 


Faught) for the corporation. 


The Old Carpenter House was the first building | 


erected in the Centre. It stood on a leading way off 
It was built 


in 1749-50 by Nehemiah Carpenter, who came to 


South Street, and near the town house. 
this place from Rehoboth. It afterwards served as an 
inn, and was known as the “Old Tavern.” It was 
torn down in 1880. 

The Old Stone Factory, or Foxborough Laundry, 
is located in the section known as “ New State,” on 


Granite Street, at the head of Cocasset Pond. It 


was erected about 1825 by Simon Pettee, and was | 


for many years used for the manufacture of cotton 
cloth. 

Memorial Hall was erected by the town in 1868, 
in the old burying-ground near the common, at a cost 
of thirteen thousand dollars. 


dome, on which is a large figure of a Union soldier | 


with arms at rest. The interior is handsomely finished 


in oiled chestnut, the sides not occupied by the me- | 


morial tablets being fitted with cases containing the 
books of the Public Library. Over the entrance is a 
marble tablet inscribed, ‘‘ Soldiers’ Memorial. Krected 


of the United States at the right and of Massachusetts 
at the left. At the right of the entrance is the marble 
tablet with names of Revolutionary soldiers, and on 
the left the tablet with Foxborough’s roll of honor; 
immediately opposite, and surmounted by a large figure 
of the Goddess of Liberty in colored glass, is the tablet 
containing the names of ‘“ Our Honored Dead.” 

The Warren House was one of the first houses of 
the modern style of architecture. 


It is built of pebble- | 


stone with granite trimmings, with slated roof and — 





| nexed to Walpole. 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





cover on.” The cover referred to is a cast-iron urn, 
surmounted by an acorn dated 1810, and there is set 
in the urn a slate tablet, inscribed, “The grave is 
waiting for your body, and Christ is waiting for your 
soul ; O may this be your cheerful study to be pre- 
pared when death doth call.” This slab and urn 
having been broken, it was replaced by the Centennial 
Committee, the original acorn being retained. The 
granite capstone is inscribed, ‘“ Wrought by the de- 
ceased, 1810,” and “ Repaired by his son, Z. Howe, 
M.D., 1841.” 

Change in Boundaries.—Since the incorporation 
of the town the following changes in its boundary- 
lines, etc., have been made,—viz., June 20, 1793, 
county of Norfolk established, thus removing Fox- 
borough from Suffolk County. Feb. 3, 1819, boun- 
dary-line between Wrentham and Foxborough estab- 
lished. Feb. 7, 1831, part of Wrentham annexed to 
Foxborough. Jan. 30, 1833, boundary-line between 
Sharon and Foxborough established. March 27, 
1833, and March 28, 1834, part of Foxborough an- 
Feb. 28, 1850, part of Sharon 
annexed to Foxborough. 

The fire department consists of steam fire-engine 
and hand-engine, hose, three carriages and supply 
wagon, two engine-houses. 

St. Alban’s Lodge, A. F. and A. M., was first in- 
stituted in Wrentham in 1818. Charter returned to 
Grand Lodge in 1844. Reorganized in American 
Hall, Foxborough, in December, 1855, by fourteen 
members, since which over two hundred and fifty 
have joined it. Since reorganization, four flourishing 
lodges have been set off from it. 

Historical Items.'—‘‘ Oct. 20, 1635, about sixty 
men, women, and children, with their property of all 
kinds, left Dorchester for the valley of the Connecti- 


_ cut,—or Quonticut, as it was then ealled,—which had 
by the Town, A.D. 1868,” with bronze coat of arms | 


been described as extremely fertile. Among these 
were Mr. Rossiter, Mr. Grant, Mr. Smith, Mr. Car- 
roll, Mr. Morse, Mr. Leonard, Capt. Clapp, and others. 


_ A portion of this number found a well-watered place, 


The Howe monument stands in rear of Memorial | 


Hall. 


It is inscribed, “This monument was erected | 


by Dr. N. Miller to the memory of his friend, Mr. | 
ZADOCK HOWE, who died 1819, eset. 77, and who | 


fought under the Great WASHINGTON. 


To those | 


who view, before you're gone, be pleased to put this | 


about twenty-five miles southwest of Dorchester, in 
what was afterwards known as Stoughtonham, and 
here they decided to remain.” (From Baker's ‘‘ His- 
torical Collection of Massachusetts.” ) 

Leonards, Morses, and Clapps were names found 
Three Morse brothers were 
living on the stream now known as Rumford River, 


among earliest settlers. 
about a mile from East Foxborough village, long be- 
fore Foxborough Centre had a resident. 


““Ceesar Augustus Weatherbee died in Foxborough 


1 Furnished by Robert W. Carpenter, Esq. 











FOXBOROUGH. 


701 





in 1808, aged one hundred and twenty-six years.” 
(Foxborough Journal, Oct. 17, 1873.) 

“ A large tract of land, on which is situated Sharon, 
Wrentham, Walpole, and Foxborough, was purchased 


in 1663 or 1665 of King Philip by the Massachu- | 


| those poverty-stricken times. 


setts Bay Colony, by Capt. Daniel Fisher, a lawyer of 
Dedham. Fisher was a captain of Ancient and 
Heavy Artillery Company ; representative from 1658 
to 1682, except 1659 and 1670; Speaker of the 
House of Deputies in 1680; assistant in 1683; died 
in Dedham, November, 1683.” (From “ History of 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, 1842.’’) 

Foxborough Local Newspapers.— The Salma- 
gundi Journal, edited by J. K. Carpenter and pub- 
lished by Edson Carpenter, was issued from Novem- 
ber, 1849, to January, 1850. 

Bonnet Case (a fair paper), was issued Jan. 12 
and 13, 1853. 

Country Times, edited and published by Henry C. 
Buffum, was issued from April 12, 1856, to April 5, 
1857. 

Home Library, edited by John Littlefield and pub- 
lished by William H. Thomas, was issued from June 
13, 1857, to Dec. 12, 1857. 


Eagle and Flag, edited by T. E. Grover and Ed- | 


win M. Bacon and published by William H. Thomas, 


was issued from January, 1863, to November, 1863. | 


Norfolk County Chronicle, edited by E. W. Clarke 


and E. M. Bacon and published by William H. Thomas, | 


was issued from Noy. 14, 1863, to Oct. 1, 1864. 
Foxborough Journal, edited by Robert W. Car- 











“That the one hundredth birthday of a town which has 
made the progress during that period that this has done should 
be joyously and thankfully observed, with a certain degree of 
pride and self-commendation, is not to be wondered at. 

“One hundred years ago the residents of Foxborough were 
but few in number, and they were of a poorer class, even of 
They had of town property one 
small church building, without doors, and with unglazed win- 
dows, used as a place of worship and for the storage of powder. 

“Their principal industry was the tilling of the soil; yeta 
few hoop-poles and considerable charcoal were produced and 
exchanged with the citizens of larger places for the few neces- 
sities of life which could not be produced {from our own soil, 


| such as new rum, molasses, and codfish. 


“The number of inhabitants of this newly-organized town 
did not exceed four hundred and fifty. 

“ At the present time we have a population of nearly thirty- 
two hundred souls; a town house that cost nearly twenty-five 
thousand dollars, with a school-house addition worth as much 
more; six other school-houses, valued at from six hundred to 
two thousand dollars each; a thirteen thousand dollar me- 
morial hall, with an excellent public library of nearly three 
thousand volumes therein; two commodious engine-houses ; 
fire apparatus (with an able department to use it), which cost 


| not Jess than ten thousand dollars, and which is worth, when it 





penter and published by James M. Stewart, was | 


issued from Feb. 21, 1873, to Sept. 27, 1878. 
Foxborough Times, edited by EK. W. Clarke, R. 


W. Carpenter, W. C. Macy, D. L. Lowe, and F. H. 


Williams, and published by Pratt & Clarke, Pratt & | 
Carpenter, Pratt & Macy, Pratt & Lowe, and Pratt & | 


White, has been issued from March 28, 1873, to the 
present time. 


Gazette, edited by R. W. Carpenter and published | 


| people to expect from it a celebration of its centennial anni- 


by J. E. Carpenter & Son, was issued from Nov. 28, 
1874, to March 6, 1876. 


The Centennial Celebration.—The centennial of | 


the incorporation of the town of Foxborough was 
celebrated June 29, 1878, with imposing ceremonies. 
Hon. Otis Cary was president of the day, and Hon. 
K. P. Carpenter delivered the historical oration. 


The Foxborough Times, in referring to this event, | 


says,— 


“The close of the first century of the corporate existence of 
our beautiful town was most appropriately and successfully ob- 
served, after a long and laborious work of preparation, on Satur- 
day and Sunday last. 


| a much larger sum. 


is considered the amount of property it has saved to our citizens, 
We have an excellent and nearly self- 
supporting town farm. Our church societies, four in number, 
have each a convenient church edifice. Our common, at the 
Centre, is a prettily laid out green, with fence, walks, and 
shade trees, second to none inthe State. We have an assessed 
valuation of over one and a half millions of dollars; an in- 
dustry which tends to cultivate the taste of our citizens for that 
which is neat and tasty, that stops not its refining influences at 
the portals of the manufactory where they are inculcated, but 
they are carried into the homes and every-day life of our citi- 
zens, causing them to vie each with his neighbor in prettily 
arranging and keeping his grounds and buildings, thus making 
our town, as a whole, so neat as to give it the title of ‘the Gem 
of Norfolk County.’ 
—an industry which has given employment in a single year to 
3291 persons, and paid for labor in this town and vicinity $399,- 


We refer, of course, to the straw business, 


| 676.15. It has produced 2,473,819 hats, caps, etc., in one year, 





valued at cost at $1,493,986.40; and that we have other indus- 
tries will not be doubted by those who witnessed the trade pro- 
cession of Saturday. Our citizens are, on the whole, an intel- 
ligent, energetic, and generous people, well-to-do in this world’s 
Our 
town is noted for its enterprise and liberality, which caused 


goods, and above the average communities in morality. 


versary which should be second to none, and one which would 


| be an honor to the town and its citizens.” 





Population.—In 1790, 640; in 1800, 779; in 
1810, 870; in 1820, 1004; in 1830, 1166; in 1836, 


1416; in 1840, 1294; in 1850, 1978; in 1855, 
2570; in 1860, 2879; in 1865, 2778; in 1870, 
3057; in 1875, 3168; in 1880, 2954; in 1883, 


3000. 

Statistical—Population, 3000. Valuation, $1,- 
500,000. Averate rate of taxation in five years but 
$12.45 per $1000. Public property, consisting of 
town house and school building ($40,000), fire appa- 
ratus and engine-houses ($10,000), memorial hall and 


702 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





public library —2500 volumes—($17,500), town farm 
($4000), school-houses ($8000), and other property, 
making total value over $80,000. 
$15,000, funded at 4 per cent. 

with sidewalks lined with beautiful shade trees, graded 
schools, public library, liberal supply of well-stocked 


stores, good postal, railroad, telegraphic, telephonic, 


Excellent streets, 


and hotel accommodations. 
Distance from Boston 25 miles, from Providence 20 


miles, from Taunton 15 miles, Attleborough 9 miles. | 


Boston and Providence and northern division of Oid 
Colony Railroads pass through the town, giving un- 
excelled freight facilities. Freight rates the same as 
from Boston. Nine passenger trains daily to Boston. 

Societies—Royal Arch Chapter, Masonic Lodge, 
Knights of Honor, Good Templars, Order of Golden 
Cross, G. A. R. Post,—nearly all being flourishing 
and prosperous and occupying commodious halls. 
Foxborough Brass Band, organized 1844; Foxbor- 
ough Savings-Bank, incorporated 1855. 


Public Halls—Town hall seats 600, lower town | 


hall seats 200, Samaritan Hall seats 300, Union Hall 
seats 100. 

Among the business enterprises now located in this 
town are the manufacture of straw hats (the largest 
straw-factory in the world), felt hats, sewing-machines, 
leather-board, packing-boxes, lumber, paper boxes, tin- 
ware, stoves, boilers, hollow-ware, stereoscopic views, 
slates, clothing, millinery goods, harnesses, carriages, 
baskets (2), toilet and common soaps (4), boots and 
shoes (6), brooms, music-clamps, dental goods, ex- 
tracts and medicines (3), cider and glue, two iron 
foundries, planing- and saw-mill, steam laundry, steam 


printing-office, wool scouring-mill, two grist-mills, two — 


Other products are 
lumber, wood, hoop-poles, charcoal, blacksmith work, 


granite quarries, and others. 


florists’ and green-house goods, ice, meats, cranberries, 
butter, milk, garden and farm produce. 


Foxborough is a growing village, one of the pret- | 
tiest and healthiest in the State, with town house, | 


school-houses, engine-houses, memorial hall, public 
/ 3 
library, excellent fire department, and other public 
property valued at nearly one hundred thousand dol- 


Town debt but 
| growth and continued prosperity of the town. 











lars, with a debt of but sixteen thousand dollars | 


(funded at four per cent.), and the rate of taxation is 
small and constantly decreasing ; situated but twenty- 
five miles from Boston, with seven trains to that city 
each day; freights to all points the same as from 
Soston, 


The Union straw-works, the largest straw shop in 


| (now Wakefield) Academy. 


the world, is located here, and residents are desirous | 


of having new industries located in the town, and will 
encourage and assist any which may come. 


the Baptist Church at East Stoughton. 


| afforded. 


The manufactory of the Rotary Shuttle Sewing 
Machine has just been established here, and other new 
enterprises are under way, all of which insures the 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


ISAAC SMITH, M.D. 


Isaac Smith, born March 5, 1809, in Milton, Mass., 
was son of Lemuel and Mercy (Sumnee) Smith. 
Isaac Smith, grandfather of Dr. Isaac, was probably 
a native of Bridgewater, as that was the residence of 
his father, but passed most of his life in Randolph, 
engaged in agriculture. Lemuel, his son, was a shoe- 
He had six sons and one daughter,—(1) 
Lemuel, Jr., who died aged twenty-three years. (2) 
Clarissa, she married first Mr. Ham, of Lisbon, Me., 
and second, Mr. Horton, of Gloucester. She is now 
a widow, has one child living, a son, Albert Ham. 
(3) Isaac. (4) Edmund, he was a physician in Bos- 
ton for many years, where he died, and is buried at 
Milton, his native place. (5) Albert is a wholesale 
boot and shoe dealer in New York City. (6) Luther 
N. married in Lisbon, Me., moved to Aroostook 
County, and died there of heart-disease. He was a 
farmer. (7) Francis A. married a Miss Bosworth, 
of Plympton, and resides in Stoughton; is a book- 
maker. Isaac Smith had only such educational ad- 
vantages as the common schools of his native village 
After his twelfth year he left the paternal 
home to battle with the world and win such fame 
and fortune as might fall to his lot. He had only a 
bright mind, a brave heart, determined will, and will- 
ing hands; he shrank from no labor, however dis- 
tasteful, that would help him in his onward and up- 
ward course. He first hired out as a chore-boy and 
general farm laborer, living two years with one family ; 
then he went to Stoughton, and obtained employment 
His in- 


dustry and perseverance soon won for him the con- 


maker. 


in a boot and shoe manufactory as a cutter. 


fidence of his employer, and in the absence of the 
regular manager he acted as superintendent. Here 
During this time every spare 
hour and moment was devoted to study. When he 
was nineteen years of age he went to South Reading 
Here he continued his 


he remained five years. 


study for two years, working out of school hours to 
pay his board. In the course of these two years he 
was authorized to preach, and was called as pastor of 
His means 





a 








1 








Ze 
WS 


rt 











FOXBOROUGH. 


703 





were very limited, and he accepted the call, and at 
twenty-two years of age he was settled as a pastor. 
His parish being small, the young minister had here 
ample time and opportunity for the continuance of his 
beloved studies. He remained in charge of this pas- 
torate for twenty-three years, making many and strong 
friends. In the session of 1850 he represented the 
town of Stoughton in the State Legislature. His 
predilection had always been for the study of medi- 
cine, and, after having pursued a scientific and classi- 
eal course, he commenced his study with special refer- 
ence to the practice of medicine. Dr. Smith did 
what probably no one else has ever attempted,—he 
took the college catalogue, and with that as his guide 
he purchased the necessary text-books, and completed 
the entire course of study as set forth therein, and 
with such success that Dartmouth College granted 
him the degree of A.M. 

His early medical education, like his other attain- 
ments, resulted mainly from private application, with 
occasional assistance in the society of his father-in- 
law, Dr. Macomber, and subsequently a full course of 
study with Dr. Haines, a graduate of Castleton Medi- 
cal College, Vermont. After several years’ assiduous 
and earnest study, he passed examination and obtained 
the degree of M.D. from the University of Vermont. 
In 1854 he accepted a call to preach from Foxbor- 
ough, Mass., and came to that place as pastor of the 
Baptist Church, where he officiated for twelve years, 
when his voice failed, and he gave up the ministry 


and adopted the practice of medicine, which, for the | 


last seventeen years, has been his work. About the 
time of his entering the ministry, July 30, 1832, he 
married Angelina Macomber, of Marshfield. (Mrs. 
Smith’s paternal grandmother was descended from 
Peregrine White. grandfather, Gad 
graduate of Har- 
vard College in 1768; he was also a surgeon in the 
Continental army. Her great-grandfather, Gad Hitch- 
cock, Sr., was an Armenian minister, and graduated 
at Harvard in 1743. 


Her maternal 
Hitchcock, was a physician, and a 


The Hitchcocks and Macombers were both of Scot- 


tish origin, Macomber being a Gaelic name, signifying | 


son of the counselor.) Their children were, (1) 
Alonzo, who died in infancy; (2) Angelina M., died 
aged six years; (3) Charles M., now pastor of Spring 
Hill Baptist Church, of Somerville, where he has 
been for thirteen years. 
from Judson University, Arkansas; has one child, 
W. French, a Harvard graduate, who, after finishing 


Her father, Charles Macomber, | 
was a physician and a Harvard graduate in 1799. | 


He received degree of D.D. | 





| twenty-two years of age, 


his college course, went to Germany, where he con- | 
tinued his studies for two years, and received the | 


degree of “ D.Ph.” from Gottingen University. He 
is now at Boston, as Massachusetts State assayer. 
He has one child, Inez. (4) Isaac, Jr., graduated 
at Dartmouth, receiving degrees of A.M. and M.D. 
He married Annie L., daughter of Oliver Carpenter, 
and had one child, Bertie C., now at Brooklyn, N. Y. 
He was a prominent surgeon and physician of Fall 
River, and but a short time prior to his death (Jan. 
20, 1881) received an appointment as Professor of 
Clinical Surgery in the Boston College of Physicians 
and Surgeons. . 

Dr. Isaac Smith is a self-made man of the highest 
order. His energy and perseverance have been re- 
warded by both a high social position and sound 
financial standing. In all the relations of life he has 
done his work well. His strong adherence to friends, 
and chivalric, steadfast, and tender devotion to wife, 
children, and a large circle of friends, have often been 
marked, and caused him to be reverenced by many 
who will long remember his pleasant and instructive 
words. He has honored the positions he has held, 
and from the stand-point of a hale old age, can look 
back upon a laborious, useful, and well-spent life. 


JAMES EDSON CARPENTER. 


James Edson Carpenter, the eldest son of Kdson 
Carpenter and Sarah Reed (Jones) Carpenter, grand- 
son of Peter Carpenter, and great-grandson of Nehe- 
miah Carpenter (the first resident of Foxboroug 
Centre), was born in Foxborough, in a building then 
standing where the ‘“ Cocasset House” now is, Jan. 
30, 1829. His great-grandfather, Benjamin Jones, 
was a soldier in the French and Indian war. 

An ambition to obtain knowledge was early fos- 
tered by his mother, who had been a school-teacher, 
and was of a naturally studious family. From in- 
struction obtained from her and from the public 
school he became fitted for Day’s Academy, Wren- 
tham, at theage of twelve. He attended this academy 
two years and a Mansfield school one term, and then 
became a clerk in his father’s store, having pro- 
gressed in mathematics and Latin beyond the point 
The 
above completed his elementary instruction, yet he 


now expected of a high school graduate. 


never ceased to be a student, becoming, by attentive 
study at leisure moments, a proficient Greek and 
Latin reader. 

He remained in his father’s employ until he was 
during which time he 
showed abilities as salesman and book-keeper of no 


He edited and published, in 1849, the 


mean order. 


704 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





first local newspaper, the Salmagundi Journal. In 
1852 he opened “ country stores” in South Walpole 


and East Foxborough ; continuing these but little | 


more than a year, he returned to his father’s store, 
and there continued until 1855, at which time he 
built the American Hall building and devoted his 
entire attention to public business. 


o, and so 


In early years he was a pronounced Whig, 


remained until the organization of the American | 


party, in which he was one of the first to be enrolled, 
and in behalf of which he was a zealous worker. 
introduced and advocated its principles in his native 
town, and exerted himself in obtaining for it numer- 
ical strength and party power. He tenaciously held 
to the tenets of this party, and in 1857 assisted in 
organizing the order of American Phoenix, which, it 
was hoped, would continue the work in which the 
“ American” was engaged when the more important 
question of abolition of slavery caused it to suspend 
its labors. He joined the Republican party at its 
formation, and worked with it until the Greeley cam- 
paign ; he then became an “ Independent,” and so 
remained until a few years prior to his death, when 
he returned to the Republicans, voting for such of 
their nominees as were total abstinence men, and 
‘scratching’ all who were not. As a nominee for 
Presidential elector on the Greeley ticket, he received 
the largest number of votes cast in this State for any 
candidate on that ticket. 

He was always opposed to the Prohibition party, 
although for the greater part of his life a strict total 


abstinence man in theory and practice. Until en- 


gaging in business in Washington, in 1864, he never | 


used liquor or tobacco in any form, but he then and 
there contracted habits which afterwards contributed 


In 1876 he became 


largely towards his adversities. 


interested in the Temperance Reform movement, and | 


continued an earnest worker therein until his last 
sickness. He was president of the Foxborough Good 
Samaritan (Reform) Club several terms, and to his 
exertions the club was indebted for its hall, and the 
town for the improvement of an unoccupied school- 
house, now the Samaritan Hall building. 

While in the Senate, to which he was elected when 
twenty-five years of age, he decided to study law, and 


entered the office of Hon. S. C. Maine. 


He was 


He | 








admitted to the bar of the Superior Court in 1857, | 
and to that of the United States Cireuit Court in | 


1867. 
ginning of his last sickness he had a large practice, 
and at one time had offices in the cities of Boston, 
New York, and Washington. 
where accounts were in controversy, and where sound 


His services in suits 


From the date of his admission to the be- | 


| 


| Union and the New England Gallery of Patents. 


legal knowledge was demanded, were valuable, and 


his opinions sought and respected by his brother 
lawyers. 

He was first elected upon the School Committee in 
1852, and he served on that board nearly half the 
time during the remainder of his life. As town 
clerk he served from 1855 to 1861. He also served 
many years on the auditing and minor committees, 
and us moderator of town-meetings. He was in the 
State Senate in 1855 and 1856, serving on the Com- 
mittees on Claims, on Bills in the third reading, and 
as Chairman on the Committee on Prisons. In 1870 
he was a member of the Elouse of Representatives, 
serving on the Committee of Probate and Chancery. 
He held a commission as justice of the peace, and of 


| the quorum, and sat as magistrate on many cases, but 


ceased to act as trial justice when the prohibitory law 
was enacted. He was postmaster during the admin- 
istration of President Lincoln, and assistant post- 
master several years previous. He was one of the 
corporators, and for many years treasurer, of the Fox- 
borough Savings-Bank and of the Foxborough Loan 
Fund and Building Association. He also represented 
a number of life and fire insurance companies as 
In 1858 he purchased a right from the 


owners of the Morse patent to construct a telegraph 


agent. 


line from Mansfield to Franklin, and organized the 
Massachusetts Central Telegraph Company to build 
and operate it ; the line was built as far as Foxborough, 
and an office opened in the American Hall building. 
In 1862 he was one of the most interested and per- 
sistent in obtaining a charter for the Foxborough 
Branch Railroad Company, and was a director and 
clerk of the corporation until after it had obtained 
additional powers and become the Mansfield and 
Framingham Railroad Company. 

About this time he became interested in patent- 
rights, and in addition to his other business instituted, 
and for several years managed, the National Inventors’ 
He 
acted as director and treasurer of no less than thirteen 
corporations or associations having for their object the 
In 1870 he 


formed a company to manufacture straw goods in 


manufacturing of patented articles. 


Foxborough, and a charter was issued to the Fox- 
borough Straw-Works, but actual business was never 
commenced. 

He was deeply interested in Freemasonry, and was 
one of those who were instrumental in the building 
of the Masonic Hall. He was a member of St. Al- 
bans Lodge, Keystone Chapter, Pawtucket Council, 
Royal and Select Masters, Lafayette Lodge of Per- 
fection, and of Boston Commandery of Knights Tem- 








\ 


4 








FOXBOROUGH. 


705 








plar. He was a warden of St. Albans Lodge six | 
terms, and the Master of the lodge three years. In | 
1859 he was a member of St. John’s Encampment | 
of Knights Templar, and accompanied it on its pil- | 
egrimage to Richmond, Va. In 1863 he was a mem- 

ber of the Union League, and assisted in spreading 

its influence. | 

To those few who were intimately acquainted with 
him he was genial and unreserved, entertaining and 
instructive ; but he was naturally reserved and studious, 
more inclined to seek the companionship of his library 
of standard works than that of “society,” while the 
loss of his property added to his retiring and reserved 
demeanor. 
fortune, but he lost all through investments in petro- 
leum stock and advances to the Gilmore Petroleum 
Company, of which Governor Gilmore, of New 
Hampshire, was president and he the treasurer. 
The last few years of his life were spent in an unsuc- 
cessful attempt to retrieve his financial losses. 

He had two brothers—Thomas Williams C., died 
1872, aged thirty-six, and Francis Augustus C., died 
1867, aged twenty-four—and two sisters—Sarah Isa- | 
bel C., died in 1835, aged one year, and Mary Palmer 
C., died in 1851, aged thirteen. 
brother, after graduating at Harvard College, entered 
his office and was reading law until removed by death. 

Nov. 9, 1851, he was married to Rowena Augusta, | 
daughter of Jeremiah and Anna (Carroll) Boyden, | 
of South Walpole. 
daughter of Nehemiah Carpenter, who was his ances- 
They had four children, all of 
whom are now living. Robert Winthrop C., born 
June 4, 1853, studied Jaw with his father and was 
admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court on attain- 
ing his majority, June 4, 1874. He now practices 


He had at one time acquired a moderate 


His youngest 


Her grandmother was the grand- | 


tor, as above stated. 


law, is a justice of the peace, and commissioner of 
insolvency for Norfolk County. Charles Edson C., 
born Feb. 24, 1857, is a clerk in Attleborough; | 
Eugene Maine C., born Oct. 14, 1859, is a printer 
in Foxborough; Anna Isabel C., born June 6, 1868, 
is attending Foxborough High School. 

His mother died in Providence, R. I., Aug. 10, | 
His 


1883, aged eighty years and fourteen days. 
father and widow still reside in Foxborough. 

He was confined to his house by his disease nearly 
a year prior to his death, and died in Foxborough, 
Jan. 30, 1880, aged fifty-one years, and was buried | 
with Masonic ceremonies, in Rock Hill Cemetery, 
Feb. 1, 1880. 





45 





THE HODGES FAMILY. 

On the enrollment list of Taunton in 1643 appears 
the name of William Hodges. Tradition says he was 
one of three brothers, William, John, and Richard, 
who came to America as early as 1633. John and 
Richard settled in Salem, and William in Taunton. 
William is mentioned by Governor Winthrop as com- 
mander of a ship in voyages to and from England in 
connection with Capt. John Gallop, whose daughter, 
Esther, afterwards married Henry, son of William. 
William died in 1654, leaving two sons, John and 
Henry. From John and Henry have descended the 
two great branches of the Hodges family in Southern 
Massachusetts. 

Henry, born in 1652, who married Esther Gallop 


| in 1674, is ancestor of the Hodges family of Norfolk 


County. According to his will, proven in 1717, he 
left eleven children,—William, John, Joseph, Henry, 
Benjamin, Ephraim, Mary, Esther, Charity, Elizabeth, 
and Abigail. His son Henry married Sarah Leonard, 
and died in 1735, in his seventieth year, leaving four 
sons and several daughters,—Josiah, Eliphalet (who 
came from Taunton and settled in Sharon, now Kast 
Foxborough, on the land where Marcus P. Hodges 
now lives, between 1738 and 1745), James, Henry, 
Anna (married George Williams), Abigail (married 
Mr. Harvey), Betsey (married Benjamin Wilbur), 
Eliphalet, born 1712, married Abigail Fillebrown, of 
Mansfield ; their daughter, Isabel, married John Evy- 
erett, of Wrentham, and had children,—George, 
Eliphalet, Sally, Stephen, John and Abigail. 
son of Henry and Sarah (Leonard) Hodges, was born 
1710, married Mary Cooledge, of Watertown, and 
died in 1798. His wife died in 1808, in her eighty- 
seventh year. Their children were Benjamin, Lydia, 
Pheebe, Molly, Sarah, Betsey, and Josiah. (Henry, 
grandson of the first Henry, well known as Capt. 


Josiah, 


Hodges, lived in Taunton, married Mary, daughter of 
Joseph Eddy, and died in 1779, aged fifty-five, leav- 


| Ing six sons,—Zephaniah, Spencer, Henry, Elkanah, 


James, and Abiathar. Spencer, son of the third Henry, 
married Mercy, daughter of Nathan Dean, and had 
children,—Spencer, Elkanah, Otis, Lydia, and Mary. 


| Spencer, Jr., married Esther, daughter of Swift Pay- 
| son, of Foxborough; Elkanah married Trulove Clark, 
who now lives in Foxborough, aged ninety-two years; 


Otis married Virginia Clark; Lydia married Leonard 
White; Mary married Melzar Skinner, of Mansfield, 
and removed to New York. Spencer, Jr., left three 
children,—Spencer P., Esther C., and Henry. EI- 
kanah left one son, Albert, and one daughter, Elvira, 
who married Sanford Leonard, of Foxborough. Otis 
left two sons, George and Henry.) Benjamin, son 


706 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





of Josiah and Mary C. Hodges, born in 1745 and | 
died in 1814, was a farmer, and cleared and pre- 
pared for cultivation a large tract of land near the | 


present Hodges homestead. He married, first, Hsther, | 
daughter of Robert and Ruth (Fisher) Allen, of Wal- 
pole. She was born in 1749 and died in 1780. Their | 
children were Sewall, Daniel, and Esther. He mar- | 
ried, second, Miriam, daughter of Josiah Pratt, of Fox- | 
borough, born 1755, died 1825. Their children were 
Rachael and Hannah (twins), Joseph, James (who 
died in infancy), Benjamin, and Annie. Sewall and 
Daniel located on the ancestral domain, where they 
always lived as prosperous farmers, and died within 
twelve days of each other. (Daniel married Nabbe 
Richards; Esther married Moses Richards ; Rachael 
married Solomon Richards; Hannah married Thomas 
Billings, of Canton; Joseph married Nancy Hodges, 
and moved to Belmont, Me.; and Annie married 
Amos Barden, of Walpole.) 

Srwatut Honpaes, son of Benjamin and Hsther 
(Allen) Hodges ( William', Henry’, Henry’, Josiah‘, 
Benjamin®, Sewall®), was born Feb. 3, 1773. His 
education was obtained under the difficulties of a hun- 
dred years ago in the little old school-house at Kast 
Foxborough, whose broad, open fireplace, big stones for | 
andirons, and big logs for burning, remained Jonger in 
memory than the lessons acquired. He married, first, | 
Sally, daughter of John and Unity (Shepard) Bil- | 
lings, of Canton, Nov. 6, 1805. She was born Feb. 
27,1778, and died May 1, 1816. They had four chil- | 
dren,—Sally, married James Daniels, of Foxborough ; | 
Mary, married Job Sherman (see his biography) ; | 
Alfred married Jerusha Comey, died in 1875, leaving 








two daughters,— Martha L. and Emma B.; and Orna, 
who married Allen C. Doolittle, has one daughter, 
Sarah B. Mr. Hodges married, second, Judith, daugh- 
ter of Seth and Mary (Harkness) Sherman, of Bel- | 
lingham, Nov. 6,1817. She was born Sept. 17, 1784, | 
and died April 30, 1862. 
William S. (died aged two years); Abigail S., mar- 
ried Richard Battey, of Smithfield, R. I., died Nov. 
21,1882; Ruth A., married, first, Solomon Sherman ; 
had three children,—LEllery C., Elbridge G., twins, and | 
Louis A., who died in 1878; second, married 8. C. | 
Shepard, of Mansfield ; Judith S., married Asa Stone, 
of Providence; Anne Maria, married Zelotes Buck, | 
of Clinton, and has three childrenn—Elma M., Abby 
H., and Edward H.; David S8., died aged four years. 
In 1834, Mr. Hodges built that part of the Boston 
and Providence Railroad passing through his farm. 
After the double track was laid, Oct. 22, 1849, while 


crossing the track he was struck by a train, and so 


They had six children,— | 


severely injured that his death occurred in a few hours. | 


Mr. Hodges has worthily borne the character of his 
ancestor, the first Henry, who was called ‘ Honest 
Henry,” and, like his immediate predecessor, has been 
an honorable, industrious, and valuable citizen. He 
was kind and indulgent in his family relations, a 
strong friend, firm in principle, and exemplary in con- 
duct. 
ments, signing the first temperance pledge in town. 
He was ever a friend to the poor and to the slave. 
He cast the first ‘‘ Free-Soil” vote in the town of 
Sharon, willing to be deemed radical in the conscious- 
ness of being right. He was of a reflective turn of 
mind, and delighted in studying the creative forces of 
nature, and tracing all things from cause to effect. 


He stood in advance in great moral move- 


He was an appreciative reader, and contributed to es_ 
tablish and support a circulating library in Foxborough 
in order to obtain the reading matter he desired. He 
was a member of the first parish church in Sharon, 
was a cordial friend and supporter of the Rev. Jona- 
than Whittaker, and when his pastorate terminated 
by a schism in the church and society, Mr. Hodges 
following his convictions of right and duty, became 
a member of the Friends’ Society in Mansfield. 
All of his children, beside the common school, at- 
tended a Friends’ school in Providence. One of his 
daughters writes concerning him: ‘He was the 
teacher of my lifetime. Whatever good there is in 
me I owe to him. He was truly a religious man, for 
few more than he reverenced the Bible. Many of his 
explanations of texts are still fresh in memory. His 
views were spiritually in advance of the age in which 


he lived.” 


BENJAMIN Hopags, son of Benjamin and Miriam 


| (Pratt) Hodges (William', Henry’, Henry’, Josiabt, 


Benjamin’, Benjamin®), was born April 11, 1789. 
He was an agriculturist from childhood on the home- 
stead of his father, was educated at the common 
schools of his native town, and during all the long 
years of his quiet, uneventful life seldom left his 
native town or his ancestral acres. He married, 
Nov. 8, 1811, first, Hannah, daughter of Josiah 
and Susan (Morse) Talbot, of Sharon. They had 
six children,—Benjamin F. (married Julia Dassance, 
and resides in Chelmsford; their children are Julia 
A., Mary J., Anna M., Jesse, and Francis), Emeline 
(married Stephen L. Boyden, of Foxborough; their 
children were Charles L., died in the army of the 
Rebellion, Hannah E., Benjamin F., of Foxbor- 
ough, Amos J., resides in Philadelphia), Lucy 
(married Asahel Dean, of Foxborough; has two 
children, Marcus P. and Lucy A.), Lewis (died 
young), Marcus P. (who lives on the old homestead), 
and Catharine F. (married Nahum Dunbar, resides 














os. § = 


a ae 
So ae eS oe 
wm = - 































































































































































































































































































































































































J ye fa Up CPOE 


es Oe er ag ee 


ey 





FOXBOROUGH. 


707 





| 


in Chelsea, and has three children, Mary F., Charles 
G., and Anna). Mrs. Hannah Hodges died Jan. 19, 
1838, in her fiftieth year. Mr. Hodges married, 
second, Susannah Sumner, of Foxborough. She 
died Sept. 1, 1877, in her eightieth year, leaving no 
children. 


Unostentatious and unassuming, Mr. Hodges was | 


ever a good citizen, of sterling honesty and upright- 
ness, kind in his family relations, and very genial and 
social in his associations with all coming within his 
sphere. By persistent industry and steady economy 
he acquired a competence while health and vigor 
were vouchsafed him, and did not withhold the en- 
joyment of the fruit of his labor until old age came 
on. He joined the Congregational Church in Sharon, 
and afterwards became a member of the Congrega- 
tional Church in Foxborough, the meetings of which 
Al- 
ways temperate, he took care of his health, and was a 


he attended during the many years of his life. 


well-preserved man, retaining his faculties in a re- 
He 


was much interested in and enjoyed especially the an- 


markable degree to an unusually advanced age. 


nual gatherings of the Hodges family at the old 
homestead. Here for twenty-two successive years 


from fifty to eighty descendants of Josiah Hodges 


met in social reunion, usually accompanied by a picnic | 


on the lawn west of the “old house.” Of this merry 
circle none were happier than Benjamin Hodges. 
The last gathering occurred the year previous to his 
death, which took place Dee. 9, 1882, in his ninety- | 
third year. 

We are indebted to Mrs. Mary H. Sherman for 
the ancestral history and material for this sketch. 


JOB SHERMAN. 


Job Sherman, son of John and Polly (Skinner) 
Sherman, a lineal descendant of Philip Sherman, the | 


first American ancestor and eighth in line, was born 
in Foxborough, May 15,1805. The following an- | 
cestral history was furnished by Mrs. Mary H. Sher- | 
man, of Foxborough: “The earliest records I find of | 
the Sherman family are the names David, Nathan, El- | 
nathan, and Joseph. David had sons,—Jacob, John, 
Nehemiah, and Elkanah. John had children, Job, 
John, Lucy, Charity, and Elizabeth. Job, the son 
of John and Ruth (Allen) Sherman, was born in | 
Rochester, Mass., in 1746, married Elizabeth, daughter | 
of Experience and Hannah (Nichols) Holmes, and | 
died in Foxborough in 1857, aged ninety years and | 





four months, surviving his wife twenty years. He | 


lived several years in Middleborough, and in the | 


| spring of 1781 came to the south part of Foxbor- 


ough, where he bought a tract of land, for which he 
paid in Continental money. He built a log cabin, 
and, with only a dog for company, made his improve- 
ments and cultivated the land during the first season. 
He had no fences, his faithful dog protecting his 
crops from the foraging herds, then permitted to 
roam at will through the forests. In the autumn he 
moved his family of wife and six children into the 
log’ cabin, which was their home until he built a 
frame house in 1784. They experienced all the trials 
incident to a pioneer life. In the winter of 1789 
snows fell so deep that for three weeks they were cut 
off from all communication with the outside world, 
and their first visitor was a Mr. Freeman, who came 
on snowshoes from the house where Francis Carpen- 
ter lived in 1870. This house of Mr. Sherman’s 
is now occupied by his grandson, Obadiah Sherman. 
Job Sherman was a member of the Society of Friends, 
and probably the first meeting of that society in the 
county was held in his house, April 15, 1795. The 
children of Job and Elizabeth Sherman were Susanna, 
Obadiah, Job, John, Stephen, George, Experience 
H., and Elizabeth. They received only a common- 
school education, yet three of them, Obadiah, Stephen, 
and John, were qualified for teachers. Obadiah is 
still remembered by several as a teacher of consider- 
Five of the 
sons located, lived, and died on or near the old home- 
stead. The two daughters never left the old home, 
lived to a good old age, and died unmarried. John, 
the third son of Job and Elizabeth Holmes Sherman, 
born Dec. 2, 1775, married Polly, daughter of Solo- 
mon Skinner, of Mansfield. They both died in 1842, 


able note for many successive winters. 


leaving eight children,—Mary, John, Laura, Job, 


Albert G., Eliza, Solomon, and James H.; none are 
living except Job. Albert G. and James H. died in 
California; Albert G. left a son, William Russell. 
Eliza married Jerry A. Olney, lived in Putnam, 


| Conn., died July 15, 1883, leaving five children,— 


Louisa B., Albert S., Ellen M., Adelaide KE. and 
Adeline A. (twins). John Sherman, son of Job, was 
a man of sterling worth; in proof of which we give 
the following extract from a town report and letter 
from the town clerk: ‘‘ John Sherman was the seventh 
generation from Philip Sherman. He early exhibited 
a great love for reading and study, and notwithstand- 
ing his limited means for obtaining an education, ac- 
quired extensive information. He thus became a 
wise counselor and a useful citizen. He served as 
selectman in Foxborough fourteen years in succession, 
and was looked upon by all as one of the first advisers 


in town affairs. He was three years representative 


Q 


708 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASS 


ACHUSETTS. 





] 


in the General Court, and was frequently chosen 
school committee man, and served on other important 
committees in town. He died July 12, 1842, aged 
sixty-six years. ‘To the family of the late John 
Sherman, Esq.; Respected Friends; In compliance 
with a vote of the town of Foxboro, I communicate 
to you a copy of resolutions adopted in town-meeting | 
July 18, 1842, by the inhabitants of Foxboro in town- | 
meeting assembled. Resolved, that we regard as es- | 
pecially impressive that Divine Providence which has 

recently and suddenly removed an estimable citizen, 

Resolved, 


and, as it were, a father, from our town. 
that the public services and private virtues of Jobn 
Sherman, Esq., lately deceased, are held by us in re- 
spectful remembrance, and that we present to his 
bereaved family the assurance of our affectionate con- 
dolence. With like sentiments and regard, I am 
yours sincerely, Warren Bird, Town Clerk.” 

Jos SHERMAN obtained his education at the dis- 
trict schools of Foxborough, where he has always re- 
sided. He served an apprenticeship of four years 
with Gen. Shepherd Leach in his iron-foundries at 
Foxborough, Chelmsford, and Walpole. His remu- 
neration was one hundred dollars each year and board, 
also an allowance of one-half pint of rum or molasses 
each day. He refused both. He was employed in 
iron-foundries for several years after his apprentice- 
ship. In 1830 he married Jane W. Ellis, who died 
in December, 1831, leaving a daughter (Jane E.), 
who died in her fourteenth year. Mr. Sherman mar- 
ried again, 1841, Mary, daughter of Sewall and Sally 
(Billings) Hodges, of Sharon (now East Foxborough). | 
They have had four children,—Herbert E., Frank L., | 
John H. (deceased), and Albert H. (deceased). 
Herbert E. married Adeline A., daughter of Jerry 
A. and Eliza (Sherman) Olney, of Putnam, Conn., 
in 1875; they now reside in Providence, R. I., and 
have two children,—Stella L. and Janet H. Frank 
I. married Clara M., daughter of W. A. Crowley, of 
Mansfield, and resides on the “home-place ;” they 
Both 


Herbert and Frank have had good school advantages, 








have two children,—Jessie and Arthur L. 


and are well-skilled civil engineers. 

After his work in foundries Mr. Sherman returned 
to Foxborough, and has ever since been a busy and 
He 


owned the homestead together. 


successful farmer. and his brother Solomon 
Each built a new 
house, and until Solomon’s death carried on the busi- 
ness in company. Solomon married Ruth A., daugh- 
ter of Sewall Hodges, died in 1870, and left three 
sons,—KHllery C. and Elbridge G. (twins), and Louis 
A., who died in 1878. | 


Job Sherman has well sustained the reputation of | 


his ancestors. His life has been an uneventful and 
quiet one. He never has traveled one hundred miles 
from home. Honest, industrious, and with good 
judgment, he has served his day and generation well, 
and is now a cheerful and contented old man. He, 


as well as his wife, is a strong advocate of total ab- 


stinence from spirituous liquors. He is a Republican 


in politics. He has been honored with the confidence 


-and esteem of his fellow-townsmen, and has served 


several years as selectman, assessor, school committee- 
man, and in other positions of trust and responsi- 
bility. 





ALFRED HODGES. 


Alfred Hodges was born Feb. 16, 1809. He re- 
ceived his education at the public schools of his 
native town and at the Friends’ School in Providence, 
R. I. He chose merchandising as a pursuit, and was 
a man much respected in his community. He pos- 
sessed in a high degree the confidence of his fellow- 
towsmen, and was frequently called upon to fill 
positions of trust in the town. He represented the 
town of Foxborough in the Legislature, and held 
various other offices. He married, Oct. 19, 1838, 


_Jerusha Comey, third daughter of Oliver and Keziah 


Leonard Comey. They had one son, who died Oct. 
7, 1841, aged about two years, and two daughters, 


who are now living. He died April 3, 1875. 


CHAPTER (UT xX? 
WALPOLE. 


Pioneer History—The Dedham Covenant—Indian Proprietors 
—Primitive Condition of the Country—Early Settlements— 
The Cedar Swamp—Petition for Precinet—Incorporation of 
Town—The French and Indian War—Capt. Bacon’s Com- 
pany from Walpole—Slavery in Walpole—Deacon Robbins’ 
Slave “ Jack’’—War of the Revolution—Resolutions of the 
Town—List of Revolutionary Soldiers—War of 1812—Capt. 
Samuel Fales’ Company of Light Infantry. 


Tue town of Walpole was one of the subdivisions 
of the old mother-town of Dedham, and for nearly 
one hundred years the history of this town is the 
history of Dedham.’ 

In 1635 the General Court of the colonies made a 
grant to twelve persons of land lying in Dedham for 
the purpose of founding a settlement. Nearly all of 





1 The following chapter is condensed from an able historical 


address delivered by Henry E. Fales, Esq., at Walpole, Sept. 


28, 1881. 


2 


See history of Dedham elsewhere in this work. 








col gw) 


oa 














Cg gee 


WALPOLE. 


709 








the early settlers came to Dedham from Watertown 
and Roxbury, and the settlement was founded the 
year after (1636), and called Contentment. When 
these men came to Dedham to form their settlement, 
they joined in the following covenant: 


“1, We whose names are hereunto subscribed, doe, in the fear 
and reuerence of our Allmightie God, mutually; and seuerally 
p mise amongst our selves and each to other p’fesse and practice 
one trueth according to that most p’fect rule, the foundacion 
whereof is euerlasting love. 

“2, That we shall by all means laboure to keepe of from us 
such as ar contrarye minded, and receaue onely such unto us 
as be such as may be p’bably of one harte with us as that we 


either knowe or may well and truely be informed, to walke ina | 


peaceable conversation with all meekness of spirit for the edifi- 
cation of each other in the knowledge and faith of the Lord 
Jesus: and the mutuall encouragm’t unto all temporall comforts 
in all things: seeking the good of each other out of all which 
may be deriuded true peace. 

“3, That if at any time difference shall arise betwene p’ties 
of our own said towne that then such p'tie and p’ties shall pr’s- 
ently referre all such difference unto some one, 2 or 3 others of 
our said socictie to be fully accorded and determined without 
any further delay if it possibly may bee: 

“4, That every man that now or at any time here after shall 
haue lotts in our own said towne shall paye his share in all such 
rates of money, and charges as shall be imposed upon him rate- 
ably in p’portion with other men as allso become freely subject 
vnto all such orders and constitutions as shall be necessariely 
had or made, now or at any time here after from this day fore- 
warde, as well for loveing and comfortable societie, in our own 
said towne as allso for the p’sperous and thriueing condicion of 
our said fellowshipe especially respecting the feare of God in 
which we desire to begine and continue what so euer we shall 
by his loving fauoure take in hand. 

“5, And for the better manefestation of our true resolution 
here in, euery man so receaued; to subscribe here vnto his 
name thereby obligeing both himself and his successors after 
him for euer as we have done.” 


When these men came into Dedham they adopted 
a liberal and honest policy towards the Indians. 
though they had a grant of this land, yet they were 


careful to extinguish the title of the Indians, and as | 


late as forty-nine years after the establishment of the 
settlement certain descendants of the former Indian 
proprietors claimed rights, and they were purchased 


Al- 


found in examining the old records and the old annals 
| the great cedar swamp spoken of, and spoken of at a 
very early time. It is conceded by all the Dedham 
historians that that cedar swamp is the cedar swamp 
between the plain and South Walpole. The lumber 
which could be procured there was a necessity to the 
settlers, and was early sought for. As early as 1646, 
ten years after the people first established the town, 
Ralph Day was allowed twenty shillings for beating 
the drum at the meeting-house, to be paid in cedar 
_ boards. On the 4th of May, 1658, an agreement 
was made between the town and Eleazer Lusher and 
Joshua Fisher to erect a saw-mill on the Neponset 
In 1674 it passed into 
the possession of Thomas Clapp, and a highway was 


| River near the cedar swamp. 


soon after laid out from the town to the cedar swamp 
near the saw-mill. It is said this mill stood where 
the mill of Caleb Ellis afterwards did, but after an 
examination of the records, I am pretty thoroughly 
convinced it stood within the limits of the present 
town of Walpole. 

The moving cause of the settlement of the town 
was the support of preaching and of religious worship, 
and as the settlement extended south and away from 
Dedham, the people living upon this territory could 
/ not be accommodated by the churches in Dedham, 
and efforts were made for the erection of a parish or 
| precinct in this region. 

Incorporation of Town.—In 1721 a petition was 
presented to the General Court of the colonies, pray- 
ing that the south part of Dedham, which doubtless 
included what is now Walpole, might be incorporated 
as a parish for the purpose of supporting religious 
This petition was opposed and defeated, 
but four years afterwards it was renewed, and Walpole 
I have not been able to find at the 
State-House the original petition for the incorporation 





worship. 
was incorporated. 


of the town, although I found this petition of 1721; 





and deeds given, and those deeds are still in preser- | 


vation. 
When these people came here to found this town 


The 


It was 


the upland was mainly covered with timber. 
meadows were open and could be mowed. 
from the meadows that they derived their principal 
stock of hay for their cattle. The woods were filled 
with animals, and as late as the incorporation of this 
town a bounty was paid for the destruction of wolves, 


wild-cats, and rattlesnakes. 


tlement extended at a very early period up to within | 


the limits of the present town of Walpole. I have 





but I have here the act of the Legislature of the 
Province of Massachusetts Bay incorporating the 
town: 


“Whereas the South part of the town of Dedham, within 
the county of Suffolk, is competently filled with inhabitants, 
who labor under great difficulties by their remoteness from the 
place of public worship, etc., and have thereupon made their 
application to the said town of Dedham, and likewise addressed 
this court, that they may be set off a distinct and separate town, 
and be vested with all the powers and privileges of a town; 
and the inhabitants of Dedham having consented to their being 
set off accordingly, and a committee of this court having viewed 
the said town of Dedham, and reported a proper divisional line 


Q : | between the two parts thereof,— 
Various circumstances tend to show that the set- | E 


“ Be it therefore enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor, Council 
and Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the au- 


thority of the same, That the southerly part of the said town of 


710 





Dedham be and hereby is set off and constituted a sep[a] [e]- 
rate township by the name of Walpole; the bounds of the said 
township to be as follows,’”—I will omit the boundaries,— 

“ Provided, that the inhabitants of the said town of Walpole 
do, within the space of eighteen months from the publication 
of this act, erect and finish a suitable house for the publick 


learned, orthodox minister of good conversation, and make 
provision for his comfortable and honorable support; and like- 
wise provide a schoolmaster to instruct their youth in writing 
and reading; and that thereupon they be discharged from any 


further payments for the maintenance of the ministry and 
school in the town of Dedham.” 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, 


MASSACHUSETTS. 





viding for his wife, he bequeathed nearly all his prop- 
erty to the first church, and in his will was this clause: 

“And further my will is, that if my negro servant, 
named Jack, shall live to be chargeable by reason of 


old age or infirmity, or both, and my aforesaid wife 
worship of God, and, as soon as may be, procure and settle a | 


Thus, when the political structure of Walpole was — 


built, the church was the foundation, and the school 
was the cap-stone. 
Dedham had consented to the separation, I judge 
from the records that they did not do it very gra- 
ciously. 

Here is what the Dedham annalist says about it. 
This is all the record: 

1724, 


ing the boys in order on the pulpit stairs. 
Dedham.” 


Voted to give Jarvis Pike twenty shillings for keep- 
Walpole set off from 
That is how the town of Dedham gave away her 
all that. She 
took her name from the great English statesman, Sir 
Robert Walpole, and she took the place with the 
other municipalities of this old province of Massa- 


daughter. But she has grown for 


chusetts Bay, and from that time to this she has kept 


step with them, and I know of nothing connected | 


with her history for which any Walpole citizen ought 
to blush or hang his head with shame. From that 
time, 1724, we find by the records that they held 
their meetings, they selected their representatives, 
they supported their ministers, they paid for their 
schools, and during the different wars which followed 
they did their part as should well become them. 

In the Crown Point expedition in the French and 
Indian war a company went from this town, com- 
manded by Capt. William 
pedition a company went from Dedham, commanded 
by Capt. Eliphalet Fales, and there appears upon his 


3acon. In the same ex- 


roll the names of a great many Walpole men. I 
have seen the old rolls, worn and stained after the 
lapse of a hundred and twenty-five years, which con- 
tain the names of the men who went from within the 
limits of this town to serve their country against their 
enemies in Canada and elsewhere. 
Slavery.—Slavery once existed in Walpole. The 
records of the church show that at least one slave was 
owned and kept here. One of the famous men one 
hundred and twenty-five years ago was Deacon Ezekiel 
Robbins, who kept the Brass Ball Tavern. When he 


died he left no children, and by his will, after pro- 


Although the act recited that | after, 








| trying days? 


shall not sell him, as she is hereby empowered to do, 
then my w/7d/ is that the aforesaid church in Walpole 
shall take tender care of him and suitably provide for 
him all the remainder of his life, and afford a decent 
burial after his death.” 

The records of the church show that they received 
the legacy with the condition. This will was admitted 
to probate in 1772, and Mrs. Robbins died shortly 
You will find upon the church record year 
after year a charge of so much paid for the support 
of “ Jack.” 


dollars for advertising him when he ran away, and one 


One year you will find a charge of six 


year you find a vote instructing the committee to in- 
quire into the legality of his marriage with a certain 
woman with whom he lived. In 1810, when the death 
of “Jack” oceurred, there is a statement of the expen- 
diture of one hundred and sixty-three dollars and thirty- 
three cents for his funeral. It is evident that Jack 
had a big funeral, and that it was celebrated with be- 
coming honor. Perhaps some of you may remember 
the old colored woman who lived this side of the plain, 
and how she used to travel about from place to place. 
She was the woman with whom Jack lived, and con- 
cerning whom a church committee was instructed to 
inquire whether they were legally married or not. 
War of the Revolution.—The first question which 
any patriotic citizen of Walpole will be likely to ask 


is, What was the course of this good town in those 


“And,” says Mr. Fales, “I am glad 


to say to you, ladies and gentlemen, that I have ex- 


amined the records with especial reference to these 
events, and I say to you that I closed the examination 


with pride that the town of my nativity stood up so 


manfuliy and bravely in resistance to British oppres- 
sion.” 
They were a series of resolutions reported by a com- 
mittee consisting of Aquilla Robbins, Enoch Ellis, 
Seth Bullard, George Payson, and Samuel Cheney. 
The resolutions were ringing with patriotism and 


In 1773 they passed some ringing resolutions. 
ra) to 


independence, and were adopted by the town and 
incorporated upon the records. 

Sept. 26, 1774, the town voted to join with other 
towns in sending a representative to the Provincial 
Congress, and chose Nathaniel Guild representative. 
Dec. 19, 1774, the fourteen articles of association of 
the American Congress that met at Philadelphia the 
5th of September were adopted, and by vote entered 
upon the town’s book, and there you will find them 








WALPOLE. 


AL 


, 





recorded. Then they voted to purchase two field- | 


pieces, and chose Benjamin Kingsbury, captain, 
Ebenezer Clapp, and Ensign Theodore Mann a com- 
mittee to purchase them. Then they chose a Com- 


mittee to join with other towns as a Committee of | 


Correspondence and Safety, and in 1778 this little town 
voted to raise by taxation five thousand pounds to 
help carry on the war. 

But that is not all that Walpole did in the Revolu- 
tion. I want you to go back with me to the 19th of 
April, 1775, to two little towns in Middlesex County. 
You have heard of the lights in the Old North 
Church, and the rapid ride of Paul Revere through 
Medford and Lexington to Concord. You have heard 
how the minute-men rallied and were slain upon 
Lexington Green. You have heard how the British 
Regulators marched into Concord, and to enable them 
to carry out their work of destruction, they posted 
four companies of light infantry at North Bridge to 


guard the approach to the town, and you have heard | 


how the minute-men from Acton and Concord and 
Lincoln met upon the hill, and were formed in bat- 
tallion by Adjutant Hosmer, the Acton men led by 
Capt. Isaac Davis, the young gunsmith who that 
morning bade his wife and little children good-by, 
with the words, ‘ Hannah, take good care of the 
children,” and was borne back that night to his home 


lifeless and cold. You have read that when the ques- | 


tion of attacking this British guard was discussed, 
Capt. Davis said, “I haven’t a man that is afraid to 
go,” and so they marched up the river-bank by the 
right flank with trailed arms, and were met by a rat- 
tling volley from the British infantry, and Capt. Davis 
and Hosmer fell dead, and Major Buttrick cried, 
“ Fire, fellow-soldiers; for God’s sake, FIRE!” 


And then was fired “the shot heard round the | 


world.” 


“You know therest. In the books you have read, 
How the British Regulators fired and fled,— 
How the farmers gave them ball for ball, 

From behind each fence and farm-yard wall, 
Chasing the Red Coats down the lane, 

Then crossing the fields to emerge again 
Under the trees at the turn of the road, 

And only pausing to fire and load.” 


Now, you will ask me what Walpole did then. I 
will tell you. 
pole men from taking part in the battle, but she sent 


alarm, with a population of less than eight hundred, 
—almost one-fifth of the entire population gathered 








Time and distance prevented the Wal- | 





cord!” The alarm was given, and the men gathered 
from the centre of the town, from the mill, from the 
shop, the south end, from the plain, from the other 
parts of the town, and took the road over to Medfield | 
Dover, and Sherborn, on towards Concord ; two com- 
panies, with twenty-five additional men in a Medfield 
company, responded to the alarm. Ladies and gen- 
tlemen, the least we can do for these men is to re- 
member them and speak their names, and when I 
found the old, brown, worn, moth-eaten rolls, these 
rolls of honor, I had them copied, and I want to read 
the names of these men, because I see before me the 
I tell you the best 


patent of nobility that an American boy or man can 


descendants of so many of them. 


have is the fact that his grandfather fought in the 
Revolution. 
““ WaLpoLe, December ye 4th, 1775. 

«A muster roll of the company in the colony’s service which 
marched from S. Walpole on the alarm last April ye 19: 1775, 
under the command of Capt. Jeremiah Smith in coll. John 
Smith’s Regiment. 

“Jeremiah Smith, Philip Robbins, John Boyden, Oliver 
Clap, Benjamin Hartshorn, Ebenezer Fales, Abel Allen, Jere- 
miah Fales, Elijah Plympton, Ichabod Clap, Aaron Fales, 
Timothy Man, Joseph Ellis, Jonathan Boyden, Jeremiah 
Blake, Asa Page, Joshua Allen, Samuel Copp, Joseph Tucker, 
Amos Morse, Aaron Blake, Joseph Fales, Eliphalet Fales, Ed- 
ward Cleavland, Joshua Boyden, Timothy Cudworth, George 
Cleavland, Matthias Puffer, Samuel Allen, Charles Page, Moses 
Fales, Benjamin Man, Joseph Carrill, Jr., Nathinel Guild, Jr., 
Fisher Hartshorn, Ebenezer Page, Joseph Page, Thomas 
Nason, Elijah Clap, Asa Plympton, Jonathan Carrill, Christo- 


| pher Smith, Timothy Hartshorn, John Dexter, Jonathan Kin- 


dall, John Cleavland, Thomas Page, Eliphalet Clap, Moses 
Fales, Jr., John Frizel, Eliab Lyon, David Boyden, Jeremiah 
Dexter, Theodore Man, Asa Fisher, Abiather Fales, Jonathan 
Boyden, Jr., Abner Gould, Ebenezer Clap, Jr., Eleazer Clap, 
Aaron Ferington, Philip Bardians, Jr., Joseph Man, Jonathan 
Dexter.” 

“A muster roll of a militia company in Walpole in coll. John 
Smith’s Regiment: Seth Bullard, Captain, Eliph’t Ellis, Lieu- 
tenant, Enoch Ellis, Ensign, Samuel Smith, Thomas Pettee, 
Henry Partridge, Eben. Gay, Nathaniel Nason, Eben. Harts- 


| horn, Aaron Clark Fales, Jotham Morse, Eleazor Partridge, 


Ezekiel Boyden, Benoni Morse, John Ellis, Moses Ellis, Jacubd 
Kingsbury, Seth Kingsbury, John Boyden, Richard Hartshorn, 
Henry Smith, Jr., Solomon Kingsbury, Asa Ellis, Jacob Gould, 
Calvin Gay, Jabez Boyden, John Hartshorn, Bexalel Turner, 
Ziba Baker, Ebenezer Day, Samuel Thompson, James Clap, 
Jacob Clap, Elisha Hall, Eliphalet Ellis, Joseph Boyden, Sam- 
uel Guild, Joseph Guild, Ebenezer Farrington, William Pettee, 
Josiah Whittemore, Obadiah Morse, Nathaniel Gay, Benjamin 
Kingsbury, Ebenezer Fales, John Gregory, John Lewis, Abner 
Turner, Nicholas Harris, Joseph Kingsbury, Samuel Boyden, 


| Ebenezer Farrington, Jr., Thomas Howard, Josiah Hall, Seth 
one hundred and fifty-seven men to respond to the 


and marched to Concord. Go back with me in mem- | 


ory and see the messenger come riding in and saying, 


“The British are going to destroy the stores at Con- | 


Hart, Elihu Lawrence, Moses Chamberlain, Asa Kingsbury, 
Tsiah Lyon, Amos Ramsdale, Samuel Rhodes, Joshua Hews, 
John Day, John Boyden, Samuel Cheney, George Payson, Seth 
Payson.” 


Then, in addition to these full companies, one con- 
taining sixty-seven men, three more than the maxi- 


712 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








mum, and the other containing sixty-four men, I find 
twenty-five names upon the roll of a Medfield com- 
pany who were commanded by Capt. Sabin Mann, all 
Walpole men: 

“Joshua Clap, Lieutenant, William Bacon, Ensign, Benja- 
min Carroll, Benjamin Potter, Jeremiah Boyden, Jeremiah 
Smith, Ichabod Reed, Samuel Hartshorn, Elias Mann, James 
Fales, Willaber Nason, Amos Turner, Seth Clap, Samuel Fuller, 
Joshua Clap, 3d, David Purrington, James Smith, David Morse, 
Peter Lyon, Abel Baker, Abiel Pettee, Stephen Fuller, Joseph 
Day, John Lawrence, Stephen Dexter.” 

One hundred and fifty-seven men! And it must 
be that they included every able-bodied man, with a 
fair share of the boys and cripples. Later on in the 
war a company from Walpole, under command of 
Capt. Aaron Guild, helped build the intrenchments 
upon Dorchester Heights, which movement resulted 
Another 
company marched from Walpole under Capt. Fisher 
Be- 
sides these, there were men that served in the Conti- 
nental army. You have all heard the story of Hol- 
land Wood, the old artilleryman, who was with 


in the evacuation of Boston by the British. 


in what was known as the Warwick expedition. 


Washington when he crossed the Delaware, and you 
have heard the story of his strength, when, at the 
battle of Monmouth, his gun fell from its position, 
and with his own unaided strength he raised it and 
put it upon its carriage, and when it was so hot it 
burnt through the sleeve of his coat. I assure you 
our good old town stood up in the front ranks in those 
days, and I do not believe the breed has all run out 
yet. 

After the close of the war the town went on as 
did other towns, the people cultivating their farms, 
building their dams, erecting their mills, filling their 
We 
all of us know of the old historic companies of our 
fathers, the Walpole Light Infantry, formed in 1802 
under command of Capt. Samuel Fales, and when it 


school-houses, until the war of 1812 came on. 


was called upon by the government, under the com- 


mand of Capt. Warren Clap, they marched to Boston _one hundred pounds settlement; fifty pounds of the 


and performed all the duties that were required of 
them. 


After the war came peace once more, and then we 





_ remaining fifty the year following. 


went on with our career of prosperity as a town until | 


the dark days of the Rebellion; but these events are | 


so fresh in the minds of you all that I need not dis- | 


cuss them at length here. I know, and you know, 
that at the first call Walpole sent her men to fight 
the battles of liberty and union, and the events of 
that war made our country and government a stronger 
and better government and country than ever it was 


before. 


' contrast. 


CHAPTER LX. 
WALPOLE—( Continued). 


Ecclesiastical History—First Congregational Society—Ortho- 
dox Congregational Church—Congregational Church, East 
Walpole—Methodist Episcopal Church—Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South Walpole. 


The First Congregational Society in Walpole.’ 
—The history of this society dates from the incor- 
poration of the town, in 1724, though religious ser- 
vices were undoubtedly held in the settlement before 
that date. 

The earliest record bears date March 30, 1725. It 
was voted then by the people of the town to build a 
meeting- house. Subsequently measures were taken 
for the “‘ support of preaching” and the securing of a 
minister to live with the people. 

Many meetings were held over the perplexing 
question of the proper size of the house, but at last 
it was decided to build one thirty-eight feet long and 
thirty-two feet wide, smaller than was at first pro- 
posed. 

Pending the erection of the house religious meet- 
ings were held in the homes of the people, as were 
the regular town-meetings. 

In 1726 work was actually begun on the building, 
but for many years it remained unfinished. Therefore 
there is no account of a dedication. There is no record 
of a formal ‘‘raising.” There were, originally, but 
twelve pews, but this number was greatly increased 
as the congregation grew, and as the people tired of 
the rough benches. The congregation steadily in- 
creased until, in 1743, the seats on the floor and in 


_ the gallery being all occupied, the town voted to build 


‘a second tier of galleries.” 

The first minister called by the town was Rey. 
Joseph Belcher, who wrote his acceptance May 17, 
1728. He was to receive fifty pounds as salary and 
settlement to be paid the year he was ordained, the 
For some reason, 
not recorded, the town voted, May 5, 1729, to dismiss 
Mr. Belcher. 

June 8, 1729, Rev. Phillips Payson preached for 
the first time in Walpole. Jan. 30, 1730, he ac- 
cepts a call of the town, voted Oct. 20,1729. The 
letters of Mr. Belcher and Mr. Payson are in strong 
The one is fervent, enthusiastic, abound- 
ing in pious phrases, the other is brief, business-like. 
The one condition stated in Mr. Payson’s letter is, 





1 By Rev. J. H. Weeks. 








WALPOLE. 


713 





that the town shall furnish him all the firewood he 
may need, that it shall be four paces in length, and 
that it shall be brought to the house. 

Mr. Payson was ordained and installed minister of 
the town Sept. 16,1730. The town, when making 
preparation for this great event, voted that Ebenezer 
Fales should entertain the ministers taking part in 
the ordination service, and that he should be paid 
The ministry of Mr. Payson 
covers a period of nearly forty-eight years. It is not 
stated who presided at the organization of the church. 
July 2, 1730, the following persons were embodied : 
James Bardens, Ebenezer Fales, Kleazer Partridge, 
Samuel Kingsbury, Peter Fales, Thomas Clapp, 
Joseph Carryl, Moses Chamberlain, Ebenezer Rob- 
bins, Joseph Smith. Samuel Kingsbury was the first 
deacon of the church, having been elected Oct. 8, 
1730. Ebenezer Fales, elected Dec. 10, 1731, was 
the second deacon. 
admitted to the church by Mr. Payson was two hun- 


“ five shillings a man.” 
to) 


The whole number of members 


dred and seventy-two. 





In the early years of his ministry Mr. Payson was | 


greatly troubled by the unchristian behavior of some of 


the members of the church. There are many records of | 


“ discipline.” 
was the minister’s thorn in the flesh. He seemed to 
have a genius for mischief, but the church was faith- 
ful to the commandment and forgave him many times. 


As the years pass, however, cases of discipline grow 


rarer, the pastor’s good influence doubtless being one 


of the causes. 


There was one man in particular who | 
| Rev. George Morey, who was pastor forty-six years. 
| He was called by the town March 10, 1783, and 





Very little matter of general interest is recorded for | 


many years. At every annual town-meeting the two 


important items of the minister's salary and his fire- | 


wood are discussed and voted upon. 


grew towards his prime and the society enlarged, it | 


was easy to pass a vote for the original salary, and 
even to increase it. As the minister’s physical and 
mental powers waned, it was deemed necessary to 
reduce the salary somewhat. But, on the whole, a 
good understanding existed between minister and 
people through this long pastorate, and as young and 
old man, Mr. Payson enjoyed the respect of his people, 
while most of the years were passed in quiet and 
peaceful labor. The thoughtfulness of his people is 
shown in a vote of 1772. 

‘Voted to build a seat in the pulpit for the benefit 
of Mr. Payson, if it is desired.” 


then old and becoming infirm. 


The minister was 
Mr. Payson lived to 
see the colonies fully committed to an armed conflict 
with Great Britain. In the meeting-house were held 
the important meetings of that war-time. Here was 
first read and administered, without doubt, the oath 


As the minister | 





of allegiance, a strong, patriotic expression. 


Here the 
people ratified the fourteen articles of the ‘ Associa- 
tion of the Grand American Congress.” Here they 
elected their representatives, voted money and pro- 
visions for the support of the army, and talked elo- 
quently of their wrongs. 

How strange to find the first meeting-house and 
first pastor drawing to their decay together! Mr. 
Payson died Jan. 22,1778, and in 1781 the meeting- 
house was condemned, the town voting to build a new 
one on the same spot. 

The new building was raised in 1783. In June of 
that year it was voted to appoint a committee “to get 
ministers to pray with us at the raising.” Adam 
Blackman was the head carpenter. The building 
was sixty feet long and forty feet wide. When it 
was finished no one knows; for, as in the first case, 
meeting-house bills came up, the regular subject of 
All 


discussion in town-meetiny, for several years. 


| the material of the old building that could be so used 


was worked into the new. ‘This building was fur- 
nished with a belfry, in which was placed, in 1791, a 


bell. 


the west side, the other on the east. 


The entrance was through two porches, one on 


With the new meeting-house came a new minister, 


ordained November 19th of the same year. During 


his pastorate Mr. Morey admitted to the church one 
He died July 26, 
His pastorate was not marked by any great 


hundred and fifty-two persons. 
1829. 
event or change, so far as his own charge was con- 
cerned. He lived, as Mr. Payson, to see his country- 
men engaged in war with Great Britain, and realized 
how profoundly a small community like his own could 
be moved, for Walpole was loyal always. 

After his death, according to his directions, all his 
manuscripts were destroyed. We are not able, there- 
fore, to determine the quality of his preaching or—his 
literary ability; but it is said he used certain mys- 
terious signs and abbreviations that would have made 
the task of deciphering his writings to-day hopeless. 
Indeed, the 
It 


was doubtless owing to the influence of his preaching 


His Calvinism was of a mild type. 
theology of Walpole had never been very harsh. 


that, with the advent of his successor, the great 
majority of his people espoused the Unitarian side in 
the controversy over the doctrine of the Trinity. He 
has left one impressive monument in the row of noble 
elms planted by his hands near the site of the old 
homestead, on the Medfield road. 

Several amusing stories are still told of “ Parson” 


Morey. As he was busy cut of doors one day, one 


714 





of his church members came up cay id. i: coos 
Morey, my mind is greatly troubled over this matter 
can you tell me something to relieve 
“You better go home 


of original sin ; 
me?” And the parson said, 
and think of your own sins, for you have enough of 
them to think about.” 

Just before the time for starting for meeting on a 
Sunday the horse was brought to the door, and the 
parson, standing at the window, watched to see the 
bell swing in the belfry on the hill, and before the 
sound actually reached his ears he had started for the 
door. The horse had become so accustomed to his 
promptness, and had so associated it with the sound 
of the meeting-house bell, that one morning, when 
the parson was delayed, he trotted decorously off to 
meeting, and took his place in the familiar shed near 
the meeting-house. 

Once Mr. Morey preached an eloquent and power- 
ful sermon against card-playing. 
adjusting the pulpit-cushion, he dislodged a pack of 
cards, which fell upon the heads and into the laps of 
the venerable deacons, who sat just beneath. Imagine 
the astonishment of the preacher, the stupefaction of 
the deacons, the horror of the older ones in the con- 
gregation, the mirth of the younger! 

On the 15th of November, 1826, Mr. 
Storer was ordained and installed junior pastor of the 
church and society in Walpole. For several years it 
had been evident to the people that their old pastor 
had become too infirm for the duties of his position, 
though he would not admit it, but endeavored, hero- 
ically, to meet his people’s wants. 

The resolutions passed in a meeting of the town 
are highly creditable to the people, and recognize fully 


the ability and fidelity of their pastor, and express — 


The sum 
of one thousand dollars was voted Mr. Morey, and it 
was decided that he should keep the title of pastor as 


their great gratitude for his long service. 


long as he lived. 
There was a notable 
Mr. Storer. 
of those attending the council : 
land; Porter, of Dorchester ; 
Richmond, of Dorchester; Pierce, of Brookline ; 
Lowell, of Boston; Saunders, of Medfield ; 
Providence; Rev. Messrs. Ware, Pierpont ; Gannett, 
of and Dewey, of New Bedford. 


2 os ane 
Storer was understood to be a Unitarian, and the 


of Roxbury; Harris, 


Boston ; 


presence of certain ministers at his ordination would, 
of itself, members of the 
church in Walpole, still holding firmly to the doctrine 
of the Trinity, and considering it their duty to still 
profess it, finding little sympathy among the other 


indicate it. But several 


Next Sabbath, in | 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





apes of the caaeern addressed a letter to the Con- 
gregational Church in Walpole, praying that they 
might be dismissed from membership in order to form 
a second church. 

A meeting of the church was immediately held, 
but the subject was referred to the next regular meet- 
ing, that all the members might be present and the 
matter be fully voted upon. 

Before action could be taken by the church the 
petitioning members organized what is now known 
as the Second Church, or Orthodox Congregational 
Church. At the regular meeting of the old church, 
action on the petition was indefinitely postponed. The 
original members of the Second Church, therefore, 
were always members of the First. During the min- 
istry of Mr. Storer church and society prospered 
greatly, one hundred and twenty-one members being 
received into the church. Being of a social nature, 
well educated, and, as a preacher, magnetic, Mr. 
Storer became very popular. His removal to Syra- 
cuse, N. Y., to take charge of an important church 
there, in 1839, was considered a calamity. Some of 
the fine trees on Common Street attest the interest he 
felt in the town which he had made his home. His 


short ministry was, however, a ministry of power, and 


John P. B. | 


he is still remembered with respect and affection. 
Under date June 18, 1837, Mr. Storer makes his 


last record: ‘“ Voted, That the church accept the in- 


| vitation to join with the Second Parish in Roxbury 





gathering at the ordination of | 
We find the following names in the list | 
Drs. Nichols, of Port- | 


Kdes, of 


Mr. 


in the ordination of Mr. Theodore Parker as their 
Pastor.” 

Before Mr. Storer left Walpole it was determined 
The 
porches and all projecting portions that would inter- 
fere with its march were cut away, and it was lifted 
from its foundations and swung around, rear end first, 
being guided by a pole stuck in the ground midway 
the old and new sites. 

In its second place it has rested to this day, not 
outwardly the same, for a spire has been run up, a 


to move the meeting-house to a new site. 


new front built, and a vestry put underneath. 

With the rededication of this meeting-house, which 
they called a new one, there was the installation of a 
new minister. Rev. John M. Merrick received a call 
from the church and society August, 1839. Decem- 
ber 11th of that year was memorable, it being the 
date of his installation and of the rededication. The 
The sermon was by 
Mr. Merrick was 
pastor twenty-six years, resigning his charge in 1865. 
N. H., March 20, 1871, 
pastor of the Unitarian church and society. The re- 
corder says of his sufferings in his last days, ‘ He 


meeting-house was crowded. 
Rev. George Ripley, of Boston. 


He died in Charlestown, 











bore all with patience and a Christlike resignation.” 
During his ministry in Walpole forty members were 
admitted to the church. His son, Prof. John M. 


WALPOLE. 


| 
| 
| 
| 


Merrick, connected with the College of Pharmacy in | 


Boston, rapidly rising to eminence as a scientist and 
writer on various subjects, died suddenly in Walpole 
in 1879. Mr. Merrick presided at the council called 
to examine his successor, Rev. W. B. Smith, and at 
the installation made the address to the people. 

Mr. Smith was installed Oct. 5, 1865, Dr. Hedge, 
of Brookline, preaching the sermon. 
ministry all things prospered, and he 
affection and confidence of his people. 
absence in Europe, in 1874, considerable 
made in the interior of the meeting-house. 


gained the 
During his 
change was 


leries were removed, the pulpit was lowered, and a 
recess made at the rear of the pulpit. 
J. Young, of Cambridge, preached the sermon at the 
reopening. 
the pastor from Europe, his letter resigning his pas- 
torate came, taking the people by surprise, and bring- 
ing sorrow to very many. 
which he was then suffering, and which occasioned 
his resignation, Mr. Smith has not recovered. 
removed to Grafton, where he now lives. 
his ministry of eight years Mr. Smith admitted to 
church membership thirty-nine persons. Pending 
the selection of a successor to Mr. Smith, Professor 
Young, of Cambridge, preached for the society. 

March 22, 
stalled pastor, Rev. J. F. Lovering preaching the 
sermon. 
sons were admitted to church membership. 
Hamblett was greatly liked as a preacher. Impul- 
sive and enthusiastic, he did not spare himself, but 
being burdened by sickness, he found himself unable 
to perform all the duties or meet all the demands of 
his position, and in 1882 he resigned, removing to 
his old home in New Hampshire, where he hoped to 
recover his lost health, and where he still lives. He 
left many interested friends in Walpole. 

In November, 1882, Rev. J. H. Weeks, the pres- 
ent pastor, preached for the first time in Walpole. 
He took charge of the pulpit January, 1883, but did 


When all were looking for the return of | 


During his ministry of five years four per- | 
Mires) 


| only eternity will reveal. 


During his» 


The gal- | 


Prof. Edward | 


| 


From the disease from | 





| Rev. Jonathan Curtis, scribe of the council. 
He 


During | 





} 
| 
| 


not begin the actual work of the pastorate until April | 


of that year. 


The society is now in good condition, | 


and hopeful as to the future, having in its member- | 


ship and congregation leading citizens of the town, 


A movement towards the erection of a 
chapel for Sunday-school uses has been started. The 
church and society have several funds at their dis- 
posal, left them by will. 


the town. 


715 


has been increased this last year, and a new interest 
in that direction has already manifested itself. 

Orthodox Congregational Church.'—No one can 
write the history of a church. A church is a living 
soul, not a machine. It has an inner life whose record 
is alone in heaven. We can measure the length and 
the breadth and the depth and the power of a river, 
but a church,—its full history, its influence, its power, 
We may tell some inci- 
dents connected with its growth, we may outline a 
sketch of its external life, and this is all. 

The history of the Orthodox Congregational Church 
It 


was organized at the house of Mrs. Catharine Allen, 


of Walpole, Mass., covers less than sixty years. 


Nov. 13, 1826, the following ministers and dele- 
gates composing the council: Rev. Ebenezer Burgess 
and Nathaniel Guild, of Dedham; Rev. Warren 
Pierce and Deacon Ebenezer Forrest, of Foxborough ; 
Rev. Moses Thatcher and Artemas Woodward, of 
North Wrentham; Rey. Jonathan Curtis and Philip 
Curtis, of Sharon. 

Rev. Ebenezer Burgess was chosen moderator, and 
T wenty- 
nine persons appeared before the council stating that 
they desired to be formed into a church of Christ for 
their own edification and improvement in divine knowl- 
edge, for the better maintaining of gospel ordinances 
and public worship among themselves, as well as for 


the general promotion of vital religion and the ex- 


1877, Rev. F. P. Hamblett was in- | 


After long and 
careful examination the council voted unanimously to 


tension of the Redeemer’s kingdom. 


organize the petitioners into a church according to 


their request. The following twenty-nine persons 


' then assented to and signed the ‘“ Confession of Faith” 


and entered into ‘ Covenant” with God and with each 
other, and thus became the original members of the 
Orthodox Congregational Church of Walpole: Henry 
Plimpton, Aaron Guild, Joshua Allen, Jonathan 
Wild, Rhoda Bird, Keziah Thompson, Lucy Nason, 
Phebe Robbins, Nabby Robbins, Keziah Kingsbury, 
Susanna Plimpton, Mercy Billings, Anna Ellis, Lucy 
Morse, Cynthia Guild, Priscilla Lewis, Catharine 
Everett, Sarah Smith, Catharine Allen, Mary Nason, 
Jerusha Clapp, Miriam Smith, Susanna Lewis, Milley 
Baker, Joanna Hill, Patty Bowker, Unity Allen, 
John P. Allen, Susanna Smith. 


The church thus formed worshiped for about a 


_ year in the upper part of the building still standing 
the representatives of the original families who settled | 


The church membership | 


on the corner of Main and East Streets, and adjoin- 
Until 
they were prepared to call a pastor, they were minis- 


ing the site of the present house of worship. 





1 By Rey. Francis J. Marsh. 


716 








tered unto by pastors in and around Boston, among | 
ning of Mr. Bigelow’s ministry was forty-eight. 


whom were Rey. Dr. Lyman Beecher and Rev. Dr. 
Green, of Boston. Of the original members only 
one is now living, but the descendants of many of 
them are still represented in the church and society. 

The society which is connected with the church—— 
called the Orthodox Congregational Society—dates 
back to Oct. 4, 1826, with an original membership of 
seventy-four persons. Henry Plimpton, John Black- 
burn, Oliver Lincoln, Levi Clap, Nathan Ware were 
the first committee of the society; and John Black- 
burn, Henry Plimpton, Everett Stetson the trustees 
of the society. The first clerk was George P. Ellis, 
who held the office but one year, and was succeeded 
by John Morse, who served nearly nine years. Dur- 
ing its history this society has had but four clerks; 
the present incumbent, Samuel Allen, having served 
thirty-five years. 

The first treasurer of the society was Josiah Hill, 
who held the office thirteen years. He was succeeded 
by Asa Hartshorn, who served twenty years; while 


the present treasurer, the third the society has had, ’ 


Metzgar W. Allen, has held the office fifteen years. 
At once, upon the organization of the church and 


society, steps were taken looking to the erection of a | 


meeting-house ; and by the earnest labors and many 
sacrifices of the members, and by the good provi- 
dence of God in increasing their means and their 
membership and blessing their endeavors, a house of 
worship was completed, and in September of the fol- 
lowing year, 1827, was dedicated to the worship of 
the Triune God. It was a happy day for the little 


company of disciples. Many were the thanksgivings 


to God, and many were the prayers that God would | 
bless His people in their new relations, and would | 


ever manifest His special presence in this sanctuary. 
The sermon was preached by Rey. John Codman, 
D.D., of Dorchester. 

The total expense of the building, without the 
vestry or galleries, which were added several years 
afterward, was less than three thousand dollars. 

On the 25th of April, 1867, after having been 
thoroughly remodeled at an expense of seventeen 
thousand dollars, the house was rededicated to the 
worship of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Rev. 
idward G. Thurber, the pastor, preaching the sermon. 

The first pastor of the church was Rev. Asahel 
Bigelow, of Boyleston, Mass., a graduate of Harvard 
College and Andover Seminary. He was installed 
March 12, 1828, and dismissed Jan. 1, 1849. The 
council of installation was a large one, consisting of 
thirty-seven members, and included Rev. Lyman 
Beecher, D.D., and Rev. John Codman, D.D. 





_G. Thurber, of Monroe, Mich. 


| 14, 1863. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The number belonging to the church at the begin- 


During his pastorate of twenty-one years, which was 
the longest that the church has ever had, one hun- 
dred and sixty were added to the membership. Mr. 
Bigelow was pre-eminently a Bible preacher, and so 
plain and clear were his teachings that even the chil- 
dren could understand. He was a man of deep piety 
and earnest prayer. A diligent student, he was much 
in his study, ‘searching daily the Scriptures whether 
those things were so.” After a long and faithful 
service here he removed to Hancock, N. H., where 
he labored twenty years more, and then passed to his 
reward at the age of eighty years. 

The second pastor of the church was Rev. George 
H. Newhall, of Athol, Mass. He graduated at Am- 


_herst College in 1845, and from Andover Theological 


Seminary in 1850, and was installed Sept. 10, 1850. 
A young man, coming to his first pastorate, he brought 
all the freshness and ardor of youth, and by his earnest 
Christian life, his genial spirit, and love of men for 
But his 
ministry was cut short by his early death. Aug. 24, 
1853, he died, at the age of twenty-seven, and was 
buried here in the midst of his people. Though for 
less than three years he ministered, yet his influence 
still abides with the church, and his memory is 


their sake, he soon became greatly beloved. 


precious. 

He was succeeded by Rev. Edwin H. Nevin, of 
Cleveland, Ohio, who was installed Nov. 15, 1854. 
Within three years he was called to the pastorate of 
Plymouth Church, Chelsea, Mass., and April 7, 1857, 
was dismissed by council to accept this call. He is at 
present residing in Philadelphia, Pa. 

After two years of brief supplies of the pulpit, 
Rev. Joseph W. Healey, of Andover, Mass., was 
called to the pastorate and installed Sept. 14, 1859. 


In the summer of 1862, Mr. Healey, being invited 


to minister in the Hanover Street Congregational 
Church, of Milwaukee, Wis., was dismissed by coun- 
cil from this church. Thirty-nine were added to the 
church during his ministry. 

The fifth pastor of the church was Rev. Edward 
His collegiate course 
was taken at the University of Michigan, and his 
This 


Here he was or- 


theological at Union and Andover Seminaries. 
was Mr. Thurber’s first pastorate. 
dained to the ministry of the gospel Oct. 29, 1862. 
After serving a year he was installed as pastor Oct. 
During Mr. Thurber’s ministry of nearly 
eight years—the second longest the church has had 
—the meeting-house was thoroughly remodeled and 


' rededicated. 








WALPOLE. 


717 





Kighty-eight were added to the membership in the 
eight years, and of these nearly one-half, forty, were 
added in one year. During Mr. Thurber’s pastorate, 
also, the first complete manual of the church was 
published. May 3, 1870, he was dismissed, and en- 


| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 


tered at once upon the pastorate of the Park Presby- | 


terian Church, Syracuse, N. Y., where he still remains. 


Very soon after this Rev. Heman R. Timlow, of | 


East Cambridge, Mass., was called, and Sept. 28, 
1870, was installed. Dismissed by council July 26, 


1872, to enter upon editorial work, he resided for | 


some time at Montclair, N. J. Since, however, he 
has resumed pastoral labor, and is minister of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church at Burnt Hills, N. Y. 


He was succeeded by Rev. Bela N. Seymour, who | 


supplied the pulpit about one year and then was 
ealled to the Congregational Church of New Ipswich, 
N. H. He is now settled in Connecticut. 


Rev. Henry L. Kendall, of Barrington, R. I., a grad- | 


uate of Brown University and Andover Theological 
Seminary, became the eighth pastor of the church. 
He was ordained Jan. 27, 1875. arly in 1876 an 


urgent call came to him from the First Congrega-_ 


tional Church of Charlestown, Mass., which he ac- 
cepted. 
as a minister of the gospel. 


Mr. Kendall was a man of unusual talents 
A clear thinker, an 
earnest preacher, and of a nature that attracted men to 


himself, he was “ thoroughly furnished” for his work. | 


But at the early age of thirty-four he was called to 
his reward. 

Sept. 27, 1876, Rev. Calvin G. Hill, of Hamilton, 
Mass., was installed as the ninth pastor of the church. 


Mr. Hill graduated at Amherst College and Bangor | 


Theological Seminary. His pastorate—being the third 
longest the church has had—continued until Aug. 1, 
1881, when he was dismissed by council, and soon 
after became pastor of the First Congregational 
Church of Milton, Mass. 


graduating at Amherst College and Andover Theo- 


logical Seminary, began his ministry here Jan. 15, | 


1882. 
By this review it will be seen that the church has 
had a pastor over them for forty-nine out of the fifty- 


eight years since its organization. The average term 


of the ministry of these pastors has been five years” 


nearly ; but this average is large because of the length 


of the first pastorate, that of Rev. Mr. Bigelow, which | 


was twenty-one years. 
church has had four hundred and seventy-four mem- 
bers, and its present membership is one hundred and 
eighty-one. 

Its Sunday-school has been coexistent with itself, 


The tenth and present | 
pastor, Rey. Francis J. Marsh, of Leominster, Mass., | 


During all its history the 


the anniversary of each being observed annually, No- 
vember 13th. Among the first superintendents we 
find the names of Deacon Everett Stetson, Daniel 
Allen, Jr., Jeremiah Allen, and Willard Lewis. Mr. 
Myron H. Piper is the present superintendent, and 
the membership of the school is two hundred and 
fifty. 

The church has also several missionary societies 
connected with it, and thus in various ways is reach- 


' ing out its hand to do the work of the Master. 





Congregational Church, East Walpole.'—April 
28, 1877, a meeting was called at the house of Mrs. 
Selany Smith for prayer, and to consult about ob- 
serving the Lord’s Supper, and it was voted by the 
Christian people that Rev. C. B. Smith be requested 
to present at an adjourned meeting a statement of 
belief and covenant for the purpose of a permanent 
organization. 

May 5th, the brothers and sisters met at the same 
place, and after kind discussion it was voted to organ- 


_ize by adopting the statements recorded as the sub- 


stance of our religious faith and covenant, and 
Brother William Rhodes and Mr. Joseph Cheney to 
provide the elements used at the Lord’s table, and to 
serve as deacons of the church; also voted to observe 


the sacraments once in two months from the first Sun- 





day in May, 1877. 
May 6th, eighteen persons united in observing the 


| Lord’s Supper, one being baptized. 


July 1, 1877, the sacraments were again observed, 
Mrs. Ellen N. Brown being baptized, and was added 
to the church. Services were held in Bird’s Hall, its 
free use being given by the Hon. F. W. Bird. Meet- 


_ ings had been held in Bird’s- Hall occasionally before 


| 





this for some two or three years by different preachers 
and laymen from out of town, but nothing permanent. 
About this time Rev. C. B. Smith came among us, 
and has still remained. 
Everything went on quietly in a union way until 
September 3d, when at a regular meeting of the church 
it was voted to choose a committee for the purpose of 


considering the propriety of calling a council to rec- 


ognize the church and recommend it to the fellow- 
ship of other churches, if thought advisable to do so, 
and to determine the time of inviting such churches 
to meet in council as they should think advisable. 

The pastor, Deacon William Rhodes, and Brothers 
S. G. Fuller and J. A. Brown were chosen said 
committee. 

Oct. 18, 1880, in response to letters missive, an 


ecclesiastical council assembled in Bird’s Hall, in 








1 Contributed by John A. Brown. 


718 











East Walpole, to consider the purpose of recognizing 
the church as an orthodox Congregational Church. 


Council organized by choosing Rev. C. G. Hill as_ 


moderator, and Rev. Weston, scribe. 
The following churches were represented: Nor- 
wood, Walpole Centre, Sharon, Dedham, and Revere. 


Council voted to recognize and recommend us to | 
the fellowship of orthodox Congregational Churches. | 


The public services were held at 7 P.M. 


of the Scriptures by F. O. Winslow, of Norwood. | 


Prayer on consecration by Rev. C. G. Hill. Right 
hand of fellowship by Rev. Ellis Mendell. Address 


to church by J. P. Bixby, of Revere. 

Dec. 6, 1880, the Lord’s Supper was observed, 
and after it Mr. J. A. Brown was chosen clerk. 

April 20, 1881, the church was admitted to full 
membership in the Massachusetts Suffolk South Con- 
ference, which held their meeting at Boston High- 
lands, Deacon Rhodes and the pastor being present in 
behalf of the church. 


June 6, 1882, at a meeting held at Deacon Wil- | 


liam Rhodes’, it was voted to erect a church building, 
and the following trustees were chosen: Deacon Wil- 


Reading | 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


can be secured. The sum paid for the lot was one thou- 
sand dollars. N. W. Fisher is secretary and treasurer. 

Methodist Episcopal Church, South Walpole.’ 
—Methodism was introduced into South Walpole by 
Rey. Benjamin Haines in 1818. The meetings were 
held in a private dwelling, the residence of Mr. Eliph- 
alet Smith. The next year a Methodist class was 
formed by Rev. Isaac Jennison, who then resided in 
Mansfield. In 1822 a church was organized with its 
officers, among whom was Josiah Hall, who served in 


| that capacity faithfully and with great honor thirty- 


In 1830 the first church edifice was 
erected under the pastoral charge of Rev. Francis 
Dane. It was built on the site of the present par- 
sonage, donated to the society by Silas Smith. The 
house, when completed, was dedicated that year to 
the worship of God by Rey. Lewis Bates. The sec- 
ond church edifice was erected in 1846, under the 


five years. 


_ pastorate of Rev. D. L. Winslow, and was dedicated 





liam Rhodes, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel G. Fuller, and | 
Simon Gould, who was chosen treasurer of the com- 


mittee. 
Fuller were chosen to solicit money for same. 

Oct. 14, 1882, Deacon Rhodes and wife gave the 
land for the church. It was erected by Frank 
Smith, of Franklin, and dedicated May 18, 1883, 
with the following service: Valedictory by F. O. 
Winslow ; invocation by Rev. F. J. Marsh; reading 
Scripture by George Hill; singing by congregation ; 
history of church by Rev. C. B. Smith; music; 
sermon by Rev. A. H. Plumb, D.D., of Boston ; 
prayer of dedication by Rev. J. Coit; benediction by 
pastor. 

The cost of the church was a trifle over two thou- 


Mrs. Susan Thompson and Mrs. Elizabeth — 


- Boyden and Rev. Willard Smith. 





sand dollars, the sum being all paid at the dedication. | 


Their present membership is nineteen, and the usual 
congregation about fifty. 
res y 


The Methodist Episcopal Church at Walpole | 


Centre was formed in 1874, with a membership of 
twelve. The first minister was 
lowed by Rev. J. H. Vincent, one year; Rev. H. V. 
Webster, one year; Rev. E. Comstock, one year; 
Rev. KE. C. Farwell, one year; Rev. I. O. Holman, 
two years; Rev. M. D. Hornbeck, one year; Rev. 
Rev. M. D. Sill is the 


The present membership is about 


A. A. Kidder, one year. 
present pastor. 
fifty. 


ing the town house one year ago, and propose to erect 


The society purchased an eligible lot adjoin- 


tev. Mr. Noon, fol- | 


a chapel thereon the present year if sufficient funds | 


to the worship of God by Rev. Charles Adams, D.D., 
at the cost of three thousand seven hundred dollars. 
The following board of trustees were then appointed : 
Josiah Hall, Silas Smith, Caleb S. Ellis, R. Clapp, 
J. Boyden, A. Ellis, and M. Smith. 

In 1834 the church was favored with a very exten- 
sive revival, and many were added to the church, the 


fruit of which still remains. Among the converts were 


two young men of great promise, who afterwards en- 
tered the ministry and became members of the New 
Their names are Rev. Luman 
This revival was 
under the labors of Rev. William R. Stone. More 
than forty pastors have served the church during its 
history of sixty years. The present pastor is Rev. 
O. W. Adams. The membership is about seventy. 
The trustees are H. L. Boyden, E. P. Boyden, J. D. 
Hunt, C. S. Ellis, George Scott, E. C. Boyden, W. 
Shephard. 


England Conference. 





CHAPTER, Loar 
WALPOLE—( Continued). 


The Press—The Walpole Standard—The Walpole Enterprise— 
The Norfolk County Tribune—The Walpole Star—Manufac- 
turing Interests—Civil History—The Town Hall—Military 
History—Number of Men Furnished—Amount of Money 
Expended—Roll of Honor—Memorial Tablets. 


THe first paper bearing a Walpole head was the 
Walpole Standard, which was printed in Franklin 
and was started early in October, 1870, by James M. 


1 By Rev. O. W. Adams. 











WALPOLE. 


#19 





Stewart, of the Franklin Register. This paper ap- 
peared every Friday and lived to see the eighth volume. 
The Walpole Enterprise was started Saturday, March — 
1, 1878, by E. H. Hosmer, of Walpole, who, after | 
about six months, sold the paper to T. 8. Pratt, of 
Mansfield. Charles M. Thompson, of Walpole, was | 
its next editor, and he remained until June, 1881, | 
when Charles J. McPherson succeeded him, and after | 
three months bought the paper out, and the Norfolk 
County Tribune was started in its place. The Tribune 
lived about ayear. On June 17,1882, The Walpole 
Star appeared, being published by Charles J. Mc- 
Pherson, and met with a greater success than any of 
its predecessors. It is still flourishing, and gives | 
promise of long life. Its size, as also the Standard | 
and Enterprise, is an eight-column folio, while the 
Tribune was a nine-column folio. 








Town Hall.—The present town hall was dedicated | 
Sept. 28, 1881, an historical adddress being delivered | 
on the occasion by Henry E. Fales, Esq. It is a 
substantial and commodious brick structure, with a 
town clock in the tower. It is beautifully located, 
and reflects much credit upon the building committee 
and the citizens of the town of Walpole. 

Military History.—The first vote in reference to | 
the Rebellion is under date of April 30th, when it was 
voted that the treasurer borrow not exceeding $5000 
to pay soldiers belonging to Walpole and to aid their 
families. 

The town furnished about one hundred and twenty- 
six men for the war, one of whom was a commissioned 
officer. The whole amount of money expended for 
war purposes, exclusive of State aid, was $14,564.47. | 
The whole amount paid for aiding soldiers’ families — 
and expended by the State was $10,203.54. 

The selectmen during the Rebellion were as follows : 
In 1861-63, Nathaniel Bird, Calvin Hartshorn, M. 
B. Boyden; in 1864, James G. Scott, J. H. Leland, 
Horace Draper; in 1865, J. G. Scott, J. H. Leland, 
and J. P. Tisdale. 

The town clerk in 1861-64 was Palmer Morey 
(Mr. Morey died in August, 1864, and Samuel Allen 
was appointed for the balance of the year); in 1865, | 
George P. Morey. The treasurer in 1861-63 was 
Samuel Gilbert; in 1864-65, Samuel Allen. 

Manufacturing Interests.'—Neponset River rises | 
in Foxborough and enters Walpole at the extreme 
south corner, takes a northerly course to the centre, 
then changes to an easterly course, and enters Nor- 
wood just below Holingsworth & Vose’s paper-mill, 
formerly known as Hon. F. W. Bird’s lower will. | 











1 By Beeri Clark. 


| ing grain, also tended toll-gate. 


ford Lewis made cotton from clippings. 


_as the Henry 8. Clark privilege. 


| burned while they were in business. 


On this stream are fen separate and distinct water 
privileges, with a combined fall of one hundred and 
fifty-one feet. A description of each privilege sepa- 
rately will be given as correctly as records and personal 
information will permit, beginning at the south and 
following the river to the last one in town. 

The first fourteen-feet fall is known as Elbridge 
Smith privilege. In 1814 it was the property of 
Timothy Gay, of Dedham, with a grist-mill located 
there, it being near the Boston and Providence turn- 
pike, where a toll-gate was; the miller, besides grind- 
A few years after it 
became the property of Daniel & Elbridge Smith, 
who built a factory for manufacturing cotton goods. 
Several gentlemen occupied it only each for a short 
time. Sumner, of Canton, made rubber lining; Brad- 
There is no 
record to be found of any other transaction. The 
property is now owned by George Fisher, of West 


| Dedham. 


The second privilege, twenty-one feet fall, is known 
A deed dated Suf- 
folk County, 1720, signed by Theodore Mann Clothier 
to his son, Timothy Mann, later called colonel, who 
at a still later date deeded to his son, Timothy Mann, 
shows clearly the business there for many years. In 
1812 there were two privileges, one five hundred or 
six hundred feet below the other. Col. Timothy Mann 
James Richardson & Co. 
About 


Clothier occupied the lower. 
manufactured nails, etc., at the upper mill. 


that date Col. Timothy Mann manufactured cas- 


When he 
retired the Boston and Walpole Manufacturing Com- 
pany carried on the same business, of which the Hon. 


simeres, satinets, etc., in his two mills. 


The upper mill was 
It was rebuilt 
by Eli Bonney, Leavitt Kingsbury, and David Rug- 
In 1820, Hall J. Howe and 
James Richardson formed a copartnership, and com-= 


Truman Clarke was agent. 


gles, who never used it. 


menced manufacturing broadcloths and cassimeres. 
About 1825 the Hon. Truman Clarke and wife, daugh- 
ter of Timothy Mann, came in possession of the prop- 
erty, and commenced a successful career in the manu- 
facturing of woolen goods, broadcloths, and cassimeres. 
The lower mill was burned about this time and never 
rebuilt. The high reputation of his goods and his char- 
acter as an honest business man secured for him a wide- 
spread acquaintance, and soon placed him in affluent 


circumstances. He was honored by an election to a 


| seat in the Massachusetts Senate, and filled offices of 


responsibility in town. He retired from business, 


_ leased his factory to Mr. Whitehouse & Co., who con- 


tinued but a short time the same business. 


720 





In 1836, John Mann began the manufacturing of 


1837, April 1, he formed a co- 


boots and shoes. 


partnership with Hon. Truman Clarke, known as the | 


firm of Clarke & Mann, South Walpole. They bought 


of the Boston and Providence Coach Company their 


stable, converted a part of it into a boot- and shoe- 
shop, and the remainder to a dwelling. The connec- 


tion continued twelve years with success, at which 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








time Mr. Mann bought the interest in the business of | 


Mr. Clarke, and continued the same until the exten- 
sive fire of Boston curtailed his means. He affirmed 
that the business had increased from fifty thousand 
to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year. 
His reputation for making a first-class calf boot was 
not excelled. In 1851, Henry 8S. Clarke, son of 
Truman Clarke, formed a copartnership with Naaman 
Welmarth, styled Clarke & Welmarth, who leased 
Truman Clarke’s factory, and made stocking yarn. 
In 1862, N. B. Welmarth retired. Henry S. Clarke 
continued until his death, in 1881. His widow and 
The eldest, W. H. Clarke, 


nearly twenty-one years of age, now runs the mill. 


three children remain. 


Boot and shoe business was not connected with the 
Clarke privilege. 

The third water privilege, twelve-feet fall, is called 
the Old Rucaduc. Previous to 1812 it formed a part 


of the farm belonging to William Bacon, who, with | 


Horace Smith and Eliphalet Smith, were the first 


owners. 


Clap, in company, owned and ran a saw-mill, shingle- 
Mr. Bacon wanted an 
Mr. Smith called it a 


mill, and carding-machine. 

aqueduct to irrigate his land. 
rucaduc, which gave the privilege that name. 
still later date, which we cannot name, no record can 
be found, Daniel Smith and Elbridge Smith bought 


In 1812 an old resident reports that Wil- | 
liam Bacon, Eliphalet Smith, Maj. Smith, and Horace | 


At a | 





the privilege, and erected a cotton-factory (the old | 


one having decayed and fallen down), and manufac- | 


D. & KE. Smith 


conveyed this property to Jenks, who manufactured 


tured cotton-thread several years. 


cotton-thread and silk-covered bonnet-wire. Jenks 


conveyed it to William H. Cary, who used it for the | 


manufacturing of cotton-thread. 
veyed it to James Ogden, who used it for a shoddy- 
In 1877, 
James Ogden conveyed this privilege to the Alden 
Feb. 23, 
1881, by an act of Legislature, the name was changed 
to Walpole Emery-Mill. 

been made to the mill. 


mill. In 1876 we find it in his possession. 
Kmery Company, who came from Ashland. 


Extensive additions have 
A railroad track connects it 
with the Old Colony Railroad, adding convenience, 
ete. Mr. John Way is the present superintendent. 


Warren 


W. H. Cary con- | 


soyden at one time was engaged in the | 


| dam and saw-mill there. 


manufacturing ladies’ boots, and also in making 
shirt- bosoms. 

Mason Pierce, engaged in his early years in manu- 
facturing shoes, South Walpole, for over thirty years 
past has been a Boston expressman. 

The fourth water-power privilege, a seven-feet fall, 
Previous to 1806, 
Aaron Blake obtained a right to flow the meadows 
about one mile above the centre of Walpole; built a 
In 1806, Samuel Nason 
and Jason Boyden ran the saw-mill, and also had a 


is called the Blackburn privilege. 


erist-mill on another dam a short distance below, with 
a fall of twelve feet. June 11, 1811, John Black- 
burn, a manufacturer from Medway, purchased the 
two privileges, and soon after erected a building for 
the manufacturing machinery. In the upper part of 
that machine-shop the renowned George Blackburn, 
in company with his father, John Blackburn, com- 
menced his career in manufacturing cotton yarn. 
They continued until the building was burned down. 
George Blackburn afterwards became the owner of 
several factories,—one in Mansfield, one in Ashland, 
and another in Fitchburg, where the noted cotton 
sail duck ten and seven-twelfths feet wide was made. 
His father for several years after was engaged in the 
business of farming. 1846, John Henry Blackburn, 
son of John Blackburn, in company with Ollis Clap, 
bought the foundry of Deacon Everett Stetson, situ- 
ated on the bank of Stetson mill-pond, and removed 
the personal property to its present situation on the 
Blackburn privilege, and there engaged in casting all 
kinds of light work,—stoves, machinery, fire-frames, 
ete. The copartnership continued one year. Mr. 
Blackburn carried gn the same business seven years, 
at which time (about 1840) Lewis and Erastus Rob- 
bins took the business and carried it on one year and 
ahalf. J. H. Blackburn gave up manufacturing and 
commenced farming. He had previously introduced 
a grist-mill and a shingle-mill, which are now in run- 
ning order and in his possession. In a part of this 
building William Hart and Stephen Sanford engaged 
for two or three years in the manufacture of cotton 
warps for satinets. Five hundred feet below this 
dam is an old building which goes by the name of the 
Old Mill, built by John Blackburn, which at one time 
was used by Hart & Sanford in manufacturing bat- 
ting. Asa Whitman manufactured lamp-wicks there. 
Ephraim Shepard occupied it, sawing wood-work for 
carriages. 

The fifth water-power privilege, eighteen and a half 
feet fall, is known as Union Factory. Here, in 1812, 
according to the memory of our oldest residents now 
living, who inform us that Samuel Fales, a manufac- 








WALPOLE. 


721 





turer of snuff, was located. Thaddeus Clap and 
Samuel Fuller had a tan-yard. Eliphalet Clap owned 
a forge, and manufactured wrought iron and nails. 
Daniel Ellis was a clothier. In 1813, Oliver Clap, 
Warren Clap, Daniel Ellis, Daniel Payson, and Kd- 
ward G. Cundal, styled Oliver Clap & Co., bought 
the land (on which the factory was built) of Eben- 
ezer Clap, also the right to convey the water through 
his land, giving to said EH. Clap an_ obligation, 
binding each jointly and severally forever to build the 
fence around the land and protect against injury by 
washing, or gullying, or injuring the land in any way. 
The Walpole Union Manufactory (cotton and woolen), 
Oliver Clap, president; Warren Clap, treasurer ; 
Oliver Eldridge, proprietors’ clerk. It was a fine 
edifice, sixty by forty feet, four storigs and a half, 


erly end surmounted with a musical bell, which pealed 
forth its daily notes for over sixty-seven years, except 
during periodical depressions, which all factory inter- 


ests have at times been obliged to pass through. Not 
one in Walpole but what have been obliged to stand 


idle at some time. 


It was a stock company and_ superintended by 
agents. 





David Fairbank is reported as the first, Maj. | 


Alfred Allen is reported as the second, and Asa Whit- | 


man as the third. 


Whitman became the owner of the twenty-four shares 
in Diamond Factory, and April 11, 1842, deeded that 
property to his son. (See history of Diamond Fac- 


After a series of years, his con- 
° ° ° ° | 
nection having been severed with Union Factory, Asa 


carpet lining, cotton batting, cotton 


tory.) In September, 1844, Warren Clap, Benjamin — 


Banks, E. W. Clap, and the Manufacturers’ Insurance 
Company deeded each one-eighth part of Union Fac- 
tory to Amory Warren, who deeded to W. R. But- 
terworth, who manufactured cotton cloth for a con- 
siderable length of time. In 1847, Mr. Cook, from 


order, manufactured cashmirettes, using a part of 
Hon. Truman Clark’s factory in finishing them. Dee. 
15, 1848, Charles F. Tilinghist deeded the property 


to Smith Gray, James 8. Shepard, and William H. | 


Messrs. Gerish & Glover have leased this property to 
Stephen Pember, since which time (September, 1881) 
it was burned down, and a flat-roof, one-story build- 
ing erected thereon. Mr. Pemberton hired a small 
factory on the banks of Union Dam, owned by Mr. J. 
B. Cram, in 1881, and in a few days that was burned 
to the ground, since which Mr. Cram has rebuilt, and 
is now manufacturing ticking. 

The sixth water-power privilege, Walpole Centre, 
Willard Lewis, nine feet waterfall. 

In 1812, Daniel Clap, clothier, was located here 
(how long he had been there the historian is unable 
to say), and continued several years afterwards. In 
1821, Harlow Lawrence, who had been an employé 
in the Union Factory, purchased this privilege, and 


| built a fine building two and a half stories, sixty by 
besides the basement, with a bell-tower on the south- 


forty feet, with a bell-tower surmounted with a bell, 
and fitted it with machinery for the manufacturing of 
cotton thread, and continued successfully until he 
died. After his death it stood idle for a while. 

George Guiler continued the manufacturing of 
thread about ten years in the interest of the heirs. 

A Mr. Blackington leased and continued the same 
business for a term of years. 

Previous to 1863, William Lewis had been manu- 
facturing list carpets quite extensively. 

Feb. 21, 1863, Deacon Willard Lewis purchased 
of the heirs of Harlow Lawrence this factory, water- 
power, and privilege, and commenced to manufacture 
government lint for the army, and also list carpeting, 
calking, and 
cotton percolator, used for straining rosin at the 
South. 

Mr. William Hart built a machine-slop near the 
old Lawrence Factory. He was an accomplished 
mechanic, employed at one time quite a large number 


of hands, and continued his business until quite an 
Providence, after putting the factory in complete | 


Cary. May, 1852, Messrs. Gray, Shepard, and Cary | 


conveyed by deed the Union Factory and privilege to | 


Charles Manning, Henry R. Glover, and Jerome B. | 


Cram, styled Manning, Glover & Co., who continued 


the manufacturing of curled hair mattresses, cotton | 


batting and wicking until July, 1872. The copartner- 
ship was then dissolved, and the property came into 
the possession of Jerome B. Cram. 
thirds, Henry R. Glover one-third. 


tinued manufacturing curled hair and mattresses until 


He owned two- | 
Mr. Cram con- | 


aged man. His machine-shop was after a while con- 
nected with the Lawrence Factory, previous tothe 
purchase of Willard Lewis. That factory has been 
burned down since his purchase, and a two and a half 
story brick building stands on the old site. Messrs. 
Willard Lewis & Son now continue manufacturing. 
The Stetson water-power, twelve feet fall, is owned 
by Edward P. Stetson. In 1795, Ebenezer Harts- 
horn was the owner, and had a grist-mill, acting in 
In 1796, 
Joshua Stetson bought the privilege, and commenced 


the capacity of a miller and a farmer. 


His mechanical 
skill and upright manner of doing business soon 
brought him to the notice of the trading commu- 
nity, who soon gave him the credit of manufacturing 


the manufacturing of farming tools. 


1880, when he sold his interest to Smith Gerish. | the best hoe in the country. The fame of the Stet- 


46 


G22 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








competence. His son, Everett Stetson, continued the 
business his father left to him until 1830. 

Capt. Joshua Stetson died Feb. 14, 1863. Joshua 
Stetson, Jr., was proprietor of a cotton-factory on this 
privilege from 1850 to 1867. 
tion of making the best ticking in the market. <A 
copartnership, Stetson & Bullard, 1844 (see Diamond 
Factory report). Deacon Everett Stetson, in 1846, 
sold to J. H. Blackburn and Ollis Clap a foundry 
of which he had previously been the proprietor. 
They removed the personal property to the Black- 
burn privilege. He had also been the owner of a 
card-clothing factory, situated near his dwelling-house, 
at which time (1855) he bought the entire Stetson 
privilege, and removed his factory to its present po- 
sition near the dam, and continued the same until 
1867, when he was succeeded by his son, Edward P. 
Stetson, who still continues the business. Here 
are running machines the inventor of which, Elea- 
zer Smith, who lived and died here, and was buried 
within sight of this factory, the world ought to 
honor,—Eleazer Smith, who invented a machine for 
pricking the leather, cutting, crooking, and setting 
card-teeth, all in one operation, also a machine for 
cutting and heading nails, etc. The present proprie- 
tor of this card-clothing factory has made extensive 
additions and improvements, which in appearance and 
convenience does him credit. His business is exten- 
sive. 

Mr. Iva Gill, the oldest living manufacturer in 
town, began the manufacturing of fur-napped hats in 
1823, changed later to fur-felts. He has occupied 
buildings on this privilege since 1855. He was the 
successor of Rand & Hooper, hatters. They were 
the successors of a Mr. Roberts, a hatter. 

The eighth water-power privilege, with two dams 
combined, formerly known as Daniel Ellis and Deacon 


Henry Plimpton, power eighteen and a half feet, is | 


Tn | 


now known as Linden Spring and Axle-Works. 


He had the reputa- | 





1810, John Stanley, Thomas Stanley, and William | 
Appleton carried on the manufacturing of tacks and | 


snuff. Previous to that time it was a part of the farm 


belonging to Roland Willett, and deeded to them Jan. | 


25, 


1816, 
Henry Plimpton came into possession of the upper 
1818, Daniel Ellis 


became the owner of the lower privilege, and Danicl 


1810 (the lower privilege). 
privilege, and manufactured hoes. 
Ellis & Son continued the business of a clothier and 


Daniel Ellis died in 1835 ; 
his son continued the business till 1837, when George 


manufacturing satinet. 


Deacon | 


Blackburn took possession and continued three or four | 


son Hoe spread far and wide, He continued the | years. A Mr. Freeman then took the factory and 


business until 1827, at which time he retired with a | manufactured negro cloth one year. 
/ manufactured satinet there one year. 


Calvin Turner 

Park Sterns 
and Blackburn deeded, Aug. 29, 1844, the lower 
privilege to Deacon Henry Plimpton, who manufac- 
tured satinets and hosiery yarn a short time, then, in 
connection with his upper privilege, continued the 
manufactory of hoes, steel springs, ete. 1835, O. W. 
Allen & Co., Henry Plimpton, O. W. Allen, and Jere- 
miah Allen manufactured twine on the lower privilege. 
Everett Stetson manufactured wadding there. In 
1848, C. G. & H. M. Plimpton (Calvin G. Plimpton), 
sons of Deacon Henry Plimpton, formed a copartner- 
ship, and continued the forge, steel spring, axle, and 
numerous other kinds of tools and implements used 
in farming and machinery, filling quite extensive 
orders from California until 1865, at which time they 
sold the property to the Linden Spring and Axle 
Company, of which Hubbard W. Tilton was a large 
owner and agent. 

Stephen Pember hired a part of this privilege a 
few years since, and used it for a shoddy-mill until it 
burned down. 

The ninth water-power privilege is a fifteen-feet 
fall, of which Hon. F. W. Bird is proprietor. In the 
year 1817 or 1818, Eliphalet Rhoads carried on a grist- 
mill here. Dean Sales & Co. manufactured cotton 
cloth, known as Neponset Manufacturing Company. 
They, in 1835, sold to Silas Smith and others, who 
formed a copartnership known as the Neponset Paper- 
Mill Company, and manufactured printing paper. 
Dec. 20, 1836, the Neponset Paper-Mill Company sold 
the property to Jabez Coney, Jr., of Dedham. He 
continued the business until Nov. 8, 1838, at which 
time the Hon. Francis W. Bird purchased the entire 
property of him. For a few months Mr. Bird ran 
the mill on news-printing paper, after which he made 
coarse paper for hardware, sugar, and other various 
uses, and has continued increasing the variety of paper 
of that class until the business has increased five or 
sixfold. F. W. Bird & Son are now owners of the 
mill. 

Tenth privilege, Bird’s lower mill, twelve feet 
water-fall, paper-mill, was built by George Bird, 
father of F. W. Bird, in 1817-18. Run by Bird & 
Son, George and Josiah N. Bird, afterwards by Josiah 
N. Bird, who sold it to F. W. Bird, April 1, 1833. 
They made the same kinds of paper as the upper mill. 
Hon. F. W. Bird, a part of the time with partners, 
owned it until March, 1882, when he sold it to Hol- 
lingsworth & Vose. Of late years the mill has been 
confined to first-class manilla paper. 

Hon. F. W. Bird & Son now occupy a new 








WALPOLE. 


723 





brick mill, erected on the site of the old one, a few 


years ago burned down, equipped with the most im- | 


proved machinery, and running night and day in 
order to fill orders. Mr. Bird’s business career has 
been long and noted, meriting the respect of the 
community at large, public-spirited in the full sense 
of the word, a free giver to many charitable pur- 
poses, often filling offices of responsibility in his own 
town, Massachusetts Legislature, and Senate. 

The eleventh water-power privilege, a fifteen-feet 
fall, is the Diamond Factory, situated on Spring 
Brook, which rises from Moose Hill and the springs 
at its base in Sharon, taking a northwesterly direction 
and emptying into the Neponset River at the centre 
of Walpole, near the factories of Bradford Lewis & 
Son. This factory is situated about three-quarters of 
amile above. Aug. 20, 1814, Jonathan Wilde and 
wife deeded this privilege to Samuel Hartshorn and 
Daniel Kingsbury, with dam, fifteen-feet water-fall, 
and a factory to be built thereon by said Jonathan 
Wilde. A company of farmers, mechanics, capitalists, 
and traders formed a copartnership and owned this 
factory and privilege. As no record of it can be found, 
and no one that I have been able to find knows who 
they all were, will give the names of those who I have 
heard were stockholders. Josiah Hill, Daniel Kings- 
bury, Nathaniel Guild, Herman Guild, James Guild, 
Ebenezer Hartshorn, Samuel Allen, Robert Robertson, 
one of the proprietors, Daniel Kingsbury, agent, and 
manufactured cotton cloth several years. Hartshorn & 


Kingsbury manufactured cotton cloth in 1868. Hemp | 


twine was made there. 


Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Diamond Manufac- 
turing Company was incorporated ; number of shares, 
twenty-four. ‘Twelve shares signed over to Smith 
Gray by Daniel Carpenter, of Foxborough, identified 
him as interested there. March 14, 1842, Asa Whit- 
man, who had been a manufacturer of cotton cloth 
for a term of years, signed by deed this property to 


his son, Henry C. Whitman, who, Aug. 1, 1844, 


signed his interest to Smith Gray, who, Oct. 1, 1844, | 
leased to Stetson & Bullard—Joshua Stetson, Jr., 


and William Bullard—for five years this Diamond 
Manufacturing Company's property. In 1858, Simeon 
Clap was the owner of this factory. 
manufacturer of straw bonnets from 1842 until 1850; 
a manufacturer of lamp-wicking and twine until he 
purchased this privilege, after which he manufactured 
stocking-yarn, twine thread, and Java canvas. Mr. 
Clap died in 1881, since which time this property has 
been conveyed to Bradford Lewis & Son, and is used 
for burring wool. 


He had been a | 








The Royal Smith Machine-Shop is situated one- 
quarter of a mile above Diamond Factory, on Spring 
Brook. Oct. 3, 1840, Royal Smith erected a ma- 
chine-shop, and carried on the manufacturing of cotton 
and woolen machinery about six years. It was, after 
lying idle a term of time, used for the purpose of 
cleansing waste. About the year 1860 it took fire 
About four years ago (1880), 
Nathan Clark bought the privilege and built a saw- 
mill, rebuilt the dam, and within the past year has 


and burned down. 


built an additional building in which he has a planing- 
mill, gig-saw, and a shingle-mill. His son, Alton N. 
Clark, is the owner and proprietor. 

In old times, eighty years or more, there were two 
furniture manufacturers in Walpole,—Josiah Hill and 
Horace Guild. Josiah Hill, on Hast Street near 
where now stands Catholic Church ; Horace Guild, on 
Walpole plain. 

Bradford Lewis & Son, manufacturers and dealers 
in cotton waste for cleaning machinery. In 1872, 
Bradford Lewis built a factory on Neponset River, 
where Spring Brook empties into that river, in which 
he has continued the manufacture of cotton waste for 
cleaning machinery to the present time. 

In 1881 he erected a paper-mill near by his other 
factory, in which he has made bookbinders’ board, 
and still continues the same. 

Mr. Lewis had, previous to building these two 
buildings, been engaged at intervals of time in manu- 
facturing. In 1864 at South Walpole, in 1868 with 
his brother, and also at G. P. Morey’s mill privilege, 


| principally in the same business above mentioned. 
Feb. 27, 1829, by an act of the General Court of the | 


Deacon Jeremiah Allen seems to have been the 
first, or at least one of’ the first, manufacturers of twine 
here. In 1832 he began the business in the Allen 
In 1866 he 
formed a copartnership with Samuel Allen, Jr. They 


neighborhood, near his residence. 


built another factory, running parallel, near the old 
one, and continued the business until the death—of 
Jeremiah Allen. 

Samuel Allen, Jr., then purchased the interest be- 
longing to him, and has continued the same, lately 
associating with himself his son, now Samuel Allen & 
Son. They manufacture several hundred kinds, in 
different lengths, size, color, etc., confining the manu- 
factory to one building, leasing the other to Aaron 
K. Clap, who is engaged in manufacturing jewelers’ 
Samuel Gilbert, who 
had been for many years a manufacturer in Walpole, 
died Dec. 26, 1883, aged eighty-three years and 
four months. 


cotton and absorption cotton. 


He learned the hoe manufacture of 
Joshua Stetson, and, after his day’s work was done, 
used to engage in the manufacture of straw bonnets. 


724 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





More than fifty years ago he built a shop, and em- 
ployed quite a number of girls there, and a large 
number about town, manufacturing straw bonnets. 
He was associated, in company with Horace Plimp- 
ton, for several years, after which he continued, until 
quite late in life, manufacturing for D. D. Curtis, 
Medfield, who pays him a handsome tribute of re- 
spect: “For twelve years or more he has manufac- 
tured for me without a fault. He was honest and 
true. He died honored and respected.” Horace 
Plimpton was engaged in the manufacture of hoop- 
skirts from 1859 until 1869. Prince & Woodward 
succeeded them a short time. John Blackburn suc- 
J. B. Hannahs & Barney 
manufactured hoop-skirts a short time. J. B. Han- 
nahs, in 1841, commenced manufacturing carriages 
Billings Ellis commenced the manu- 


ceeded him a short season. 


for a season. 
facture of carriages, wagons, and sleighs in 1849, and 
has continued the same business to the present day. 
Ephraim Shepard began the manufacture of carriages 
in 1822, and continued it quite extensively, at one 
Mr. Nathaniel Bird 
came to Walpole in 1801, engaged in the manufac- 


time for thirty years or more. 


ture of chaises and coaches until 1821, at which time 
his factory, and himself and brother, were burned to- 
gether. 

April 11, 1825, Squire M. Fales was proprietor of 
a foundry in the west part of Walpole. Gen. Leach, 
of Easton, purchased the works, and changed into a 
blast-forge, melted the ore, and manufactured ma- 
He con- 
tinued the business until 1845, at which time he sold 


chinery of most descriptions then in use. 


the property to Thomas and George Campbell for the | 
A portion of West Walpole | 
containing that has since been set off to Norfolk. 


manufacture of paper. 


John Bowker was for many years engaged in the | 


manufacture of straw goods. Simeon Clap, in 1842, 


was engaged in the manufacture of straw goods. 


Brook, about half a mile westerly of the town house. 
Mill Brook takes its rise in Dover, runs southerly 
through the east corner of Medfield, and empties into 


Neponset River, near Bradford Lewis & Son’s mills. | 


The land occupied by this privilege lying on the 
south side of this brook was formerly a part of Par- 
son Morey’s farm, that part lying on the north side 
was the property of William Robbins in 1860. In 
the year 1840, Lewis W. and Hrastus Robbins built 


the dam, erected a machine-shop and manufactured 


Erastus Robbins died, and | 


axles, ete., until 1853. 
his brother purchased the personal property of the 
company and carried on the business until 1855. 

In 1854 this privilege became the property of the 





Morey privilege, sixteen-feet fall, is situated on Mill | Aquilla Robbins, 1748-67. 





Hon. George Morey, of Boston. In 1863 it was 
transferred to Palmer Morey, and in 1868 it was 
transferred to George P. Morey, its present owner. 
Lewis W. Robbins and John P. Holmes leased the 
machine-shop and continued the axle and machinery 
manufacture until 1858. 

A saw-mill and shingle manufactory had been es- 
tablished for quite a length of time, which, together 
with the machine-shop and privilege, was let to Brad- 
ford Lewis, 1868, and used for manufacturing cotton 
waste, who ran the saw- and shingle-mill a few years. 
In 1873, E. Frank Lewis hired the whole privilege, 
ran the saw- and shingle-mill until 1876, at which 
time they were sold. 

In 1873, Mr. Lewis commenced the business of 
wool-scouring, which has increased, and now, with a 
full supply of water, is enabled to scour two hundred 
thousand pounds per week. He has also extensive 
ice-houses. 

Walpole Dye and Chemical Works, Henry D. 
Dupee, proprietor, is situated at the junction of the 
New York and New England and Old Colony Rail- 
roads, and was incorporated in March, 1872. Seven 
buildings, inclosed in an area of about three acres ; 
manufacture colors and mordants used in print-works. 

Bleaching establishment, R. 8. Gray, proprietor. 
About fifty years ago, Smith Gray commenced the 
bleaching and coloring business on the now known 


| Deacon Willard Lewis privilege, afterwards discov- 


ering the beautiful clear spring water in abundance, 
where now the present proprietor, Robert S. Gray, is 
doing business. 

Civil History.’ 


TOWN CLERKS. 

George Payson, 1778. 
Stephen Felch, 1779-99. 

Asa Kingsbury, 1800-8. 
Samuel Hartshorne, 1809-14. 
Harvey Clap, 1815-32. 
Joshua Stetson, Jr., 1833-44. 
Palmer Morey, 1845-64. 

| George P. Morey, 1865-83. 


Samuel Kingsbury, 1724-28. 
Ezra Morse, 1729. 

Samuel Kingsbury, 1730-38. 
Joshua Fisher, 1739-47. 


Stephen Felch, 1768-73. 
Seth Clap, 1774-75. 
Benjamin Kingsbury, 1776. 


Seth Clap, 1777. 





List of Representatives.'—Previous to the year 
1740 there seems to have been no action of the town 
as to the choice of a representative. From the year 
1740 to 1767 the town voted each year not to choose 
a representative. 

Joshua Clap was chosen representative in 1768. 

Seth Kingsbury was chosen representative in 1769. 

Joshua Clap was chosen representative from 1770 to 1772, 
inclusive. 


Enoch Ellis was chosen representative in 1773. 








1Compiled by George E. Morey. 





WALPOLE. 725 





Enoch Ellis was chosen a delegate to represent the town in 
the Provincial Congress in 1774. 

Enoch Ellis was chosen a delegate to represent the town at 
the Congress to be held at Watertown, for six months next en- 
suing, in 1775. 

Benjamin Kingsbury was chosen, July 10, 1775, to represent 
the town at the Great and General Court to be held at Water- 
town the 21st day of said July. 

Joshua Clap was chosen representative in 1776. 

Benjamin Kingsbury was chosen representative in 1777. 

Seth Bullard was chosen representative from 1778 to 1780, 
inclusive. 

There was no choice of representative from 1781 to 1783, 
inclusive. 

Seth Bullard was chosen representative from 1784 to 1786, 
inclusive. 

Enoch Ellis was chosen representative in 1787. 

Seth Kingsbury was chosen representative in 1788. 

Shubael Downs was chosen representative in 1789. 

Seth Bullard was chosen representative in 1790. 

No representative was chosen in 1791 and 1792. 

Oliver Clap was chosen representative from 1793 to 1795, 
inclusive. 

Seth Bullard was chosen representative from 1796 to 1798, 
inclusive. 

Moses Ellis was chosen representative in 1799. 

Seth Bullard was chosen representative in 1800. 

William Bacon was chosen representative in 1801. 

Oliver Clap was chosen representative in 1802. 

William Bacon was chosen representative in 1803. 

Asa Kingsbury was chosen representative from 1804 to 1808, 
inclusive. 

Daniel Kingsbury was chosen representative from 1809 to 
1816, inclusive. 

No representative was chosen in 1817, 1818, and 1819. 

Jesse Boyden was chosen representative in 1820 and 1821. 

Voted not to elect a representative in 1822. 

Harvey Clap was chosen representative from 1823 to 1825, 
inclusive. 

Voted not to elect a representative in 1826. 

Joseph Hawes was chosen representative from 1827 to 1831, 
inclusive. 

Phinehas Ellis was chosen representative in 1832. 

Truman Clarke was chosen representative in 1833 and 1834. 

Joseph Hawes was chosen representative in 1835. 

Joshua Stetson, Jr., was chosen representative in 1836, 1837, 
and 1838. 

Emmons Partridge was chosen representative in 1859. 

Palmer Morey was chosen representative in 1840 and 1841. 

Oliver W. Allen was chosen representative in 1842 and 1843. 

George Bullard was chosen representative in 1844 and 1845. 

Francis W. Bird was chosen representative in 1846 and 1847. 

Asahel Bigelow was chosen representative in 1848 and 1849. 

Palmer Morey was chosen representative in 1850 and 1851. 

Voted not to choose a representative in 1852. 

Henry Plimpton was chosen representative in 1853. 

Harvey Boyden (2d) was chosen representative in 1854. 

Jeremiah Allen was chosen representative in 1855 and 1856. 

In 1857 Representative District No. 11, Norfolk County, was 
formed, consisting of the towns of Milton, Sharon, Canton, and 
Walpole, and no representative was chosen from Walpole from 
1857 to 1861, inclusive. ‘ 

Elbridge Piper was chosen representative in 1862. 

Naaman B. Wilmarth was chosen representative in 1863. 

No representative was chosen from Walpole in 1864. 

John M. Merrick was chosen representative in 1865. 











Francis W. Bird was chosen representative in 1866. 

No representative was chosen in 1867. 

Francis W. Bird was chosen representative in 1868. 

No representative was chosen in 1869, 1870, and 1871. 
Willard Lewis was chosen representative in 1872 and 1873. 
Samuel Allen was chosen representative in 1874. 

No representative was chosen in 1875. 

Francis W. Bird was chosen representative in 1876 and 1877. 
Henry S. Clarke was chosen representative in 1878. 

No representative was chosen from Walpole in 1879 and 1880. 
George HE. Craig was chosen representative in 1881 and 1882. 


Military Record.—The following are the names 


of persons enlisted for the quota of Walpole in the 


late war: 
Nine-months’ Men. 

Achorn, Albion G. Hartshorn, Lowell E. 
Babbitt, Willard M. Hartsborn, Frederick A. 
Brown, Winslow E. Hartshorn, Horace B. 
Baker, Stephen T. Hutchinson, James E. 
Babcock, Epriam A. Nudd, John A. 
Bowditch, Asa W. Nickerson, George W. 
Duff, Robert H. Ridge, Edwin B. 
Fuller, Henry C. Rhodes, Charles J. 
Fisher, Nathan W. Smith, Ruel V. 
Fales, Francis H. Spear, Horace A. 
Fisher, Albert. Lewis, James A. 
Fowler, Josiah. Tisdale, Francis A. 
Gray, Charles L. Thomas, Henry A. 
Gilmore, James S. Boyden, Frank L. 
Gilmore, Luman W. Park, Ebenezer B. 


Guild, William F. 


Three Years’ Men. 


Adams, John. Coates, Sylvester. 
Allen, Joshua. Daggett, James A. 
Allen, Edward K. Dailey, John. 
Allen, Melzar W. Dorethy, George E. 
Achorn, Henry C. Drugan, William F. 
Alford, G. H. T. Drugan, John A. 
Blackington, James E. Driscoll, Patrick. 
Bacon, Warren. Dolph, William. 
Bacon, James W. Earley, John E. 
Baker, Harlan P. Flood, Patrick. 
Bacon, Charles D. Frizell, John W. 
Bacon, Newton W. Fisher, Albert. 
Briggs, Benjamin M. Fisher, Martin. 
Boyden, Frank L. Farrell, Felix L. C. 
Boyden, James 0. Finney, Michael. 
Battersby, Joseph A. Griffin, Michael. 
Brooms, John. Griffin, James. 
Bailey, Philo. Gilmore, Luman W. 
Bill, Horace. Gray, William H. 
Borzenius, Martin. Green, Hamilton. 
Becker, Heinrick. Gibson, Richard. 
Brooks, Joseph R. Hall, Lewis A. 
Blitt, Lewis. Hartshorn, Menzies. 
Cheeney, John B. Hartshorn, Sidney S. 
Clinton, Edward. Herne, Patrick. 
Clark, John A, Hayford, Harvey L. 
Corcoran, Cornelius. Hartshorn, Lowell E. 
Carr, Thomas. Hopkins, James F, 
Calvert, Robert. Hartshorn, George H. 
Cave, Joseph. Hickox, Charles. 
Clarke, George. Hutchins, Frank. 
Cowden, Jason. Howard, Norman. 


726 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Richardson, N. H. F. 
Ramsbottom, Job. 
Reeney, William T. 
Ryan, Patrick. 
Ragan, James. 


Haskell, Charles T. 
Jackson, Samuel. 
Kenney, Wallace. 
Kraufman, Christian. 
Lyon, William H. 
Lewis, George W. Rummalls, Alexander T. 
Lumbers, Frederick. 
Luce, Joseph. 

Mylod, Warren M. 
Mitchell, James A. 
Manter, William G. 
McKew, John E. 

Merrill, Albert F. 
McDonald, J. Alexander. 
McGinnis, John. 

Morse, George H. 
Merrill, Albert F. 
Maxwell, William H. 
Mansfield, George. 


Russell, George A. 
Sheriden, Frederick. 
Stone, Silas E. 
Shepard, Daniel G. 
Spear, Charles N. 
Smith, Adelbert. 
Smith, John H. 
Sturnley, Alfred. 
Scott, Winfield H. 
Sackett, Norman A. 
Stevens, Robert W. 
Tattersall, Richard. 
Tittatson, Eugene. 
Tisdale, Francis A. 
Whelden, John F. 
Wiggin, John. 
Washburn, Andrew. 
Walker, Robert H. 
Young, George W. 


Martin, Thomas. 
McClair, Eugene. 
Nickerson, Joshua C. 
Piper, Samuel N. 
Piper, Elbridge B. 
Piper, Albion M. 
Riley, John. 


List of persons enlisted to the credit of Walpole’s 
quota in naval service : 


Seamen. 
O’Brien, James. 
Sullivan, Daniel. 
Stevens, Edward. 
Sturtevant, Edwin. 
Shackley, George A. 
Shackan, John F. 
Stephenson, George. 


Fairfield, George W. 
Needham, Patrick. 
O’Neil, Peter. 
O’Sullivan, James. 
O’Sullivan, Timothy. 
O’Brien, Thomas. 
O’Helhayen, Henry. 
O’ Harriman, James. 


Day, Moses, substitute for Edward P. Stetson. 
McCarty, John, substitute for John D. Ellis. 

Nixson, Iseac, substitute for Charles D. Hartshorn. 
Ryan, Thomas, substitute for Jerme B. Cram. 

Glann, Mark, substitute for George P. Morey. 
Campbell, George D., substitute for Charles S. Mason. 


One Hundred Days’ Men. 


Fales, Milton E. 
Fisher, Simon E. 


Gay, George W. 


Gray, Charles L. 
Kerby, Patrick. 
Rhodes, Charles J. 


Gill, George H. Fisher, Nathan W. 





Roll of Honor.—The following is a list of the | 


names as they appear on the new Soldiers’ Memorial 
Tablets in the town house : 


“The citizens of Walpole, honoring the faithful services of 
their sons in aiding to suppress Rebellion, and maintain the in- 
tegrity of the Nation, have erected these tablets. 


“In MEMORIAM. 


Elbridge B. Piper, died April 18, 1862, in hospital at Newberne, | 


N:. C. 

John W. Frizell, died May 18, 1862, in hospital at Port Royal, 
8. C. 

Patrick Herne, killed in battle at Bull Run Aug. 30, 1862. 





John E. McKew, killed in battle at Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 
13, 1862. 


| Henry L. Godbold, died in hospital at Washington, D. C., Sept. 


27, 1862, of wounds received in battle. 

Martin L. Fisher, died Aug. 18, 1862, in New York. 

James 8. Gilmore, died Feb. 26, 18638, in hospital. 

William C. Manter, died Feb. 13, 1863, in hospital at Fairfax, 
Va. 

John G. Woods, died June 30, 1864, in hospital at City Point. 

Samuel Jackson, died July 4, 1864, in hospital at Washington, 
D. C., of wounds received in battle. 

Charles N. Spear, died Oct. 29, 1864, in hospital at Newberne, 
N.C. 

Lowell E. Hartshorn, died Dec. 16, 1564, in Andersonville 
Prison, Ga. 


“Roti or Honor 1861-1865. 


David W. Lewis, capt. Vt. 9th Regt. 

Henry L. Godbold, 1st lieut. 1st Penn. Artillery. 
Silas E. Stone, asst. surgeon, 23d Mass. Regt. 
Samuel N. Piper, q.-m. sergt., 23d Mass. Regt. 
James W. Bacon, sergt., 33d Mass. Regt. 
Jason Lewis, sergt. 46th Mass. Regt. 

Charles N. Spear, corp. 23d Mass. Regt. 

John W. Frizell, corp. 28th Mass. Regt. 

Wm. F. Drugan, Regt. 1. 

John A. Drugan, Regt. 2. 

Henry W. Stevens, Regt. 7. 

Patrick E. Driscoll, Regt. 12. 

Charles E. Leland, Regt. 13. 


“ Regiment 18. 


George H. F. Alford. N. H. F. Richardson. 

George W. Lewis. John McGinnis. 

John Wiggin. George E. Dorethy. 

John H. Smith. Job Ramsbottom. 

Patrick Herne. 

“ Regiment 23. 
Daniel G. Shepard. 
8. S. Hartshorn. 
Joshua Allen. 
Harlin P. Baker. 
Patrick Flood. 
Battalion 16. 


Edward Clinton. 
Warren Bacon. 

M. B. Hartshorn. 
Warren Mylod. 
Elbridge B. Piper. 
Melzar W. Allen. 


“ Regiment 26. 


Henry E. Achorn. William T, Reeney. 


“ Regiment 33. 

John C. Nickerson. 
Silas W. Nickerson. 
Fred Sheridan. 
George W. Young. 


James E. Blackington. 
James A. Daggett. 
John Dailey. 

Michael Griffin. 

Lewis A. Hall. 


John E. McKew, Regiment 35. 
Benjamin M. Briggs, Regiment 39. 


“ Regiment 42. 
Ebenezer B. Park. 
Simon &, Fisher. 


Milton E. Fales. 
Patrick E. Kerby. 
Thomas Shea (2d). 
Paul V. Smith. 


George W. Gay. 
George H. Gill. 
Tra Fisher. 

* Regiment 44. 
Winslow E. Brown. 
Stephen T. Baker. 


Albion G. Achorn. 
Willard M. Babbitt. 











WALPOLE. 





H. B. Hartshorn. 
John A. Nudd. 
George W. Nickerson. 
Edwin B. Ridge. 
Charles I. Rhoades. 
Francis A. Tisdale. 
Henry A. Thomas. 
James A. Lewis. 
Josiah Fowler. 
Horace A. Spear. 
Elisha Morse. 
Patrick Kinlehan. 


Asa W. Bowditch. 
Robert H. Duff. 
Henry C. Fuller. 
Nathan W. Fisher. 
Francis H. Fales. 
Albert Fisher. 
Charles L. Gray. 
James 8. Gilmore. 
Luman W. Gilmore. 
L. E. Hartshorn. 
Fred A. Hartshorn. 
James E. Hutchinson. 


“ Regiment 56. 


Edward K. Allen. George H. Morse. 


Samuel Jackson, Regiment 58. 
John G. Woods, Regiment 59. 
Martin L. Fisher, Cavalry 1. 
James F. Hopkins, Battalion 1. 


* Cavalry 4. 
Patrick Ryan. Winfield H. Scott. 


Michael Kinney. 


John Brown, Cavalry 5. 
Frank L. Boyden, Battalion 11. 
Wallace Kenney, Battalion 14. 


“ Battalion 16. 

James A. Battersby. 
Julius Boyden. Robert W. Stevens. 
James O. Boyden. James A. Mitchell. 


“ First Rhode Island Artillery. 
William G. Manter. John Campbell. 
William H. Lyon. John Higgins. 
Albert F. Merrill. Horace C. Briggs. 
John A. Gray. 


John E. Earley. 


“ Navy. 
Samuei Guild. 
Moses Day. 
John McCarty. 
Isaac Nixon. 


Thomas Ryon. 
Mark Glann. 
George D. Campbell. 


“Aimy Substitutes for Walpole Men. 
Albin M. Piper. 
Frederick A. Griffin. 
Philo Bailey. 
Henrich Beeker. 
Jason E. Cowden. 
Charles H. Haskall. 
Charles H. Kickox. 
Frank Hotchkiss. 
Christian Kaufman. 
George Mansfield. 


Joseph Luce. 

Morten Personlius. 
Michael Robinson. 
Norman A. Sackett. 
George A. Russell. 
Alexander T. Rummall. 
Martin Thomas. 
Frederick Lumber. 
William Spain.” 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


EVERETT STETSON. 

The ancestor of the Stetson family in America was 
Robert Stetson, who came from the county of Kent, 
England, and settled in Scituate in the year 1634. 
He was one of the most noted and valuable men in 











Plymouth Colony, and held many offices of trust and | 


leaving his son Edward P. as his successor. 


| Oct. 10, 1797. 


T27 





responsibility. Everett Stetson, seventh in descent 
from Robert, was the son of Capt. Joshua and Nabby 
(Everett) Stetson. His father was extensively en- 


gaged in the manufacture of agricultural implements. 


Stetson’s hoes were famed far and wide. He was an 
active, energetic business man, and a captain in the 
militia, by which title he was universally known. He 
had two sons, Joshua and Everett, the younger of 
which is the subject of this sketch. Everett Stetson 
was born in Walpole July 31, 1803, and died in the 
same town Nov. 9, 1870. He married, Oct. 6, 1825, 


Mary P. Adams, of Medway. Their children were 


| Aaron E., who died in September, 1875, and Edward 


P., who still resides in Walpole. 

Mr. Stetson received a common-school and aca- 
demic education. He learned his father’s trade, and 
was engaged in that business from 1827 until 1830. 
He then entered the foundry business, in which he 
continued till 1845, when, finding that it could not 
be carried on successfully without removal to a larger 
centre, he started the manufacture of machine card 
clothing for cotton and woolen machinery. This was 
not an easy undertaking, and for success required 
perseverance, energy, and untiring industry, which 
characteristics Mr. Stetson possessed in a large de- 
gree. This business he established on a firm basis, 
and after carrying it on for more than twenty years 
(from 1845 to 1867) he retired with a competency, 
Everett 
Stetson was an influential member of the Congrega- 
tional Church at Walpole for many years. He held 


the office of deacon from 1828 to 1870, and was also 


a superintendent of the Sabbath-school. By his death 


| Walpole lost a good citizen and the church a true 


Christian helper. While unostentatious in his giv- 


ing, he did not withhold a helping hand from worthy 


charities or public benefactions, but gave liberally. 
He was a man of strict integrity and many virtues, 
and one whose life well merited the confidence and 
esteem which he received. 


EBENEZER STONE, M.D. 
Dr. Ebenezer Stone was born at Sherborn, Mass., 
He was of old New England Puritan 
ancestry, being of the seventh generation in lineal 
descent from Gregory Stone, who emigrated to New 


| England from Nayland, Suffolk Co., England, about 


1635, and became one of the earliest settlers of Cam- 
bridge, Mass. 

Gregory Stone (1) married at Nayland, July 30, 
1617, Margaret Garrad. She died Aug. 4, 1626, 
and he married as his second wife the widow Lydia 


728 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








Cooper, of Dedham, Essex Co., England, who accom- 
panied him to New England. He took the freeman’s 
oath May 25, 1636. 
Church at Cambridge, and was the last survivor of its 


original members. He was also a magistrate, and a 


representative to the General Assembly in 1658. He | 


He was a deacon of the First | 
and was graduated A. B. in 1820, and two years later 


died at Cambridge, Nov. 30, 1672, aged eighty-two | 


years. 

The eldest son of Gregory Stone (1), by his first 
wife, Margaret Garrad, was John Stone (2), born at 
Nayland, England, and baptized there, according to 
the parish records, July 31, 1618. He came to 
New England with his father, and in 1638, while still 
under age, settled at Sudbury, Mass., but after his 
father’s death he inherited the homestead at Cam- 
bridge, and resided there during the remainder of his 
life. He was a deacon of the church at Sudbury, and 
ruling elder of the church at Cambridge, and repre- 
sentative to the General Assembly in 1682 and 1683. 
He married in 1639, Anne Howe, daughter of Elder 
Edward Howe, of Watertown, Mass., and died at 
Cambridge, May 5, 1683. 

The fourth and youngest son of John (2) and 
Anne (Howe) Stone, was Nathaniel Stone (3), born 
at Sudbury, May 11, 1660. He married, April 25, 
1684, Sarah Waite, daughter of Capt. John Waite, 
of Malden, Mass., and died at Framingham, Mass., 
October, 1732. 

The second son of Nathaniel (3) and Sarah (Waite) 
Stone, was Ebenezer Stone (4). He was born at 
Framingham, Mass., April 16, 1688; married May 
10, 1721, Prudence Pratt, daughter of Joseph Pratt, 
of Framingham, and died at Framingham in 1739. 

Silas Stone (5), the fourth son of Ebenezer (4) and 
Prudence (Pratt) Stone, was born at Framingham, 
April 29,1728. He married, Jan. 25, 1750, Hliza- 
beth Russell, daughter of Deacon Jonathan Russell, 
of Sherborn, Mass. About 1763 he removed to 
Duplin, N. H., being one of the first settlers of that 
town, and he died there in 1777. 

Silas Stone (6), the fourth son of Silas (5) and 


Elizabeth (Russell) Stone, was born at Natick, Mass., | 


April 5, 1755. He accompanied his father to Dublin, 
N. H., but after his father’s death he returned to 
Massachusetts and settled in Sherborn, where, Jan. 9, 
1781, he married Jeanette Twitchell, daughter of 
Deacon Jonathan Twitchell, of Sherborn. 
at Sherborn, July 12, 1820. 


| he took the degree of M.D. in 1824. 





He died | 


friends who were gone before. 


Dr. Ebenezer Stone (7), the subject of this sketch, | 
was the sixth son of Silas and Jeanette (‘Twitchell ) | 


Stone. 


for books, and he early decided to complete his educa- 


He inherited from his father an unusual love | 


tion by a collegiate course and to follow a professional | 





career. Having pursued his preparatory studies under 
Rev. Joseph Wheaton, of Holliston, and Charles 
Train, of Framingham, he entered Brown University, 


took the second degree of A.M. After graduating 
from college he began the study of medicine with Dr. 
John Kitridge, of Framingham. He completed his 
medical studies at the Harvard Medical School, where 
Soon after he 
settled at Walpole, Mass., where the remainder of his 
life was passed and where he pursued the practice of 
his profession nearly up to the time of his death. 
He married at Walpole, Nov. 23, 1831, Elizabeth 
Holbrook Hawes, daughter of John Holbrook and 
Achsah (Barber) Hawes. She was born at Roxbury, 
Mass., May 10, 1809, and died at Walpole, Aug. 18, 
1860. 
sons and two daughters, all of whom, except one 
daughter, survived their father. Dr. Stone died Aug. 
13, 1869, in the seventy-second year of his age. 
During the later years of his life he was assisted in 
his practice by his son, Dr. 8. E. Stone, who had also 
followed the profession of medicine and who succeeded 
The son still fills at Walpole 
the place so long held by his father. 

The life of a country physician offers few events to 
add interest to a sketch of the nature of this one. 
The record of Dr. Stone’s life is simply one of ardu- 
ous duties well and faithfully performed. Outside 
his professional labors, his chief interest was in the 
cause of education, and he gave much time and atten- 
tion to the schools of the town, where his sound learn- 
ing and scholarly tastes made his advice and assist- 
ance of great value. His character is well described 
in the following extract from a notice of him pub- 
lished at the time of his death : 

“He was remarkable for calm, deliberate considera- 
tion of questions of importance, and the value of his 
In 
consequence of certain peculiarities of habit and man- 
ner he did not escape without wounds, but he never 
failed to win respect for fidelity to his own convic- 
tions. Contemplating the inevitable changes of 
nature and aware of his own diseased physical con- 
dition, he looked forward to the approaching close of 
life with utmost serenity,—as a journey onward to 


Of this marriage were born six children, four 


to his father’s practice. 


judgement upon contingencies of serious result. 
DS t=) 


another home, and a reunion with the kindred and 
He continued the 
faithful service of his life ‘ without haste and without 
rest,’ until, after a few days of physical suffering, and 
in the confidence of Christian faith and hope, he laid 
down his work on earth and entered on the work and 
the joys of immortality.” 








ss 
<e 








WALPOLE. 


729 








FRANCIS WILLIAM BIRD. 


Francis William Bird was born at Dedham, Mass., 
Oct. 22, 1809. 


children. 
as early as 1807, at Mill Village, Dedham, and fol- 
lowed that calling till 1835. His death occurred in 
1854. When Francis was nine years of age his father 
removed to East Walpole. 
attended school about six months of the year, and 
spent the rest of the time at work in his father’s 
mill. He was then sent to Day’s Academy, at 
Wrentham, and in 1827 entered Brown University, 
graduating in 1851. 
about one year he was compelled to desist from all 
mental labor. Then, with health partially restored, 
he decided to enter business. On April 1, 1833, he 
commenced business in a mill hired of and formerly 
run by his brother, Josiah N. Bird, at East Wal- 
pole. This mill he bought in 1854. 
bought the mill of the Neponset Paper Company, 
next above him on the same stream, and soon after 
formed a copartnership with his father and brother- 
in-law under the firm-name of George Bird & Sons. 
In 1842, George Bird & Sons failed, and Mr. Bird 
passed through bankruptcy. After F. W. Bird had 
been cleared of his legal liabilities he again went to 


work at the same place and in the same business, and © 
in a few years was able to pay all the old debts in| 


full. He is now at the head of the firm of F. W. 


Bird & Son, his partner being his son, Charles Sum-— 


ner Bird. 

Mr. Bird has been long and prominently connected 
with Massachusetts politics. He was first elected as 
member of the Legislature of 1847. He has since 


been a member of that body, in 1848, 1867, 1869, | 


1877, and 1878. He was a member of the Execu- 
tive Council in 1852, 1863-65; a member of the 
Constitutional Convention in 1853, a State senator in 
1871, and the Democratic candidate for the Governor- 
ship in 1872. 


Mr. Bird married, in 1834, Rebecca Hill Cooke, | 


daughter of Benoni Cooke, of Providence. Of this 
union one daughter was born. Mrs. Bird died in 
1835, and the child in 1836. In 1848 he married 
Abby Frances Newell, daughter of Joseph R. Newell, 
of Boston. Six children have been born to them, all 


of whom survive except the oldest son, who died in 


1874. 
One who has known Mr. Bird well in different re- 


lations for more than thirty years adds the following 


remarks upon his character and life: 
‘‘He has been a very prominent figure in the polli- 


He was son of George and Martha | 
(Newell) Bird, and is the last survivor of eight | 
His father was engaged in paper-making 


Francis in his early years | 


By reason of ill health for 


In 1838 he | 


_ tics of Massachusetts from 1846 to the present time 
| (1884). In 1846-48 he was active in the anti- 
slavery section of the Whig party, sometimes called 
‘“‘ Conscience Whigs,” then led by Charles F. Adams, 
Charles Sumner, Stephen C. Phillips, Henry Wilson, 
John G. Palfrey, and Charles Allen, and, though 
much younger than most of these gentlemen, was 
called into their conferences and enjoyed their confi- 
| dence. He joined the Free-Soil movement in 1848. 
| From that time until the abolition of slavery in the 
| United States and the reconstruction of the South 
on the basis of equal rights, he was one of the most 
| efficient organizers of the political movement against 
slavery known as Free-Soil and later Republican, and 
exercised a marked influence on its policy and nomi- 
He uniformly attended its conventions, par- 





nations. 
ticularly the State Conventions ; and his open rooms 
during the previous evening, where he met delegates 
in a friendly way and conferred as to pending ques- 
tions and candidacies, were for a long period a centre 
Altogether no man in his day has 


| of great interest. 
done so much to bring together in a social way those 
who were united by the idem sentire de republica. 
As Governor Andrew said of him, he ‘deserved 
gratitude for what he had done to promote good-fel- 
lowship. Though a doctrinaire in his theories, 
Mr. Bird has in his political course kept practical re- 
sults in view, and he efficiently promoted, in 1850, 
the union between the Free-Soilers and Democrats 
which made Mr. Sumner senator and Mr. Boutwell 
Governor. He has, however, always opposed ambigu- 
ous and timid courses, even in seasons when popular 





| currents were running strongly against direct and 
| courageous action. He stood firmly in 1853-56 
_ against the Know-Nothing, or Native American party, 
when his anti-slavery associates in large numbers 
_ joined in or dallied with it; and in periods of pres- 
sure, when many were wavering and disposed to make 
concessions, he always supported a radical and uncom- 
promising policy against slavery. In all the conflicts 
of Massachusetts politics for twenty-five years, in all 
the efforts to place the State on the highest plane of 
moral and political antagonism to slavery, no man’s 
counsels and co-operation were more valued. At 
critical periods involving public interests or their own 
political careers, two public men may be named who 
turned to him with a confidence which they gave to 
few others,—Charles Sumner and John A. Andrew. 
| He refused in 1872 to support President Grant for a 
re-election, disapproving certain features of his admin- 
istration, and condemning particularly his unjust 
treatment of Mr. Sumner. He has since acted gen- 
erally with the Democrats, though refusing to sustain 


730 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








their nominations when deeming them unworthy of 
support. 


“Mr. Bird has taken a constant interest in the | 


affairs of his State. He has guarded with vigilance 
the public treasury, and has been assiduous in pro- 
moting what he deemed the best plans for utilizing 


the public property. He has often started, organized, 


and led the opposition to schemes for wasting the | 


funds of the State in ruinous investments in rail- 
roads, notably in the Hoosac Tunnel, and, after the 
first two loans, in the Boston, Hartford, and Erie. 

‘As a controversialist, both in politics and in mat- 
ters relating to public property and interests, he has 
hardly had a peer in the history of the State. His 
writings and reports in pamphlets and newspapers 
have been marked by a faithful study of the facts, a 
clear and forcible treatment of the subject, and when it 
seemed necessary, a trenchant discussion of individual 
action and conduct. 

“Tt is very rare that any man has had so wide a 
circle of friends, varying, indeed, opposite in their 
tastes and opinions. On three different occasions 
they have borne testimony to his worth and services, 
—on his fiftieth birthday, at the Revere House, in 
Boston, when Mr. Andrew, in behalf of himself and 
other intimate friends, presented him with a memorial 
of affection ; on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his mar- 
riage, when, from the neighborhood and distant places, 
early and later friends went to Kast Walpole to give 
their congratulations ; and on the commemoration of his 
seventieth birthday, when he was met at the Revere 
House by about two hundred friends, from all walks 
in life, divided in pursuits and associations, and was 
congratulated at the dinner in speeches from gentle- 
men well known in the public life of the State. 

‘“ Without large means, Mr. Bird has observed great 
simplicity in his ways of life. He has suffered from 
ill health for a long period, but his vital force has 
enabled him largely to counteract physical disability. 





He will be remembered for his originality, freshness, | 


and sincerity, his tender sympathies in bereavement, 
his loyalty in friendship, and his generous help to the 
unfortunate. 
been various, find his strong personality vividly 
stamped on their minds, not as one of a familiar 
type, but separate and distinct by itself, adding a new 
experience of human character.” 


Those whose knowledge of men has | 


© HAP Ey =e oes 
MILTON. 


Pioneer History—The First Settlements—Stoughton, Glover, 
and Hutchinson—Grant of the Territory to Dorchester—Re- 
lease of Indian Title—Cutshamoquin—Location of First Set- 
tlements--King Philip’s War—Prominent Early Settlers— 
Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens--Robert Vose, 
Robert Tucker, Benjamin Wadsworth, Joseph Belcher, Oxen- 
bridge Thatcher, John Swift, Peter Thatcher, Dr. Miller, 
Samuel Miller, Governor Belcher, William Foye, Col. Gooch, 
Governor Hutchinson, James Smith, Oxenbridge Thatcher, 
Jr., Samuel Swift, Nathaniel Tucker, Seth Adams, William 
Foye, Jr., Joseph Gooch, Benjamin Pratt, Col. Joseph Vose, 
Job Sumner, John Miller, Benj. Wadsworth, W. 8S. Hutchin- 
son, Josiah Badcock, Samuel Henshaw, Edward H. Robbins, 
Rufus Badcock, Thomas Thatcher, Jesse Tucker, J. S. Boies, 
Nathaniel J. Robbins, John M, Forbes, Solomon Vose, Roger 
Vose, Charles P. Sumner, etc. 


For six years after the arrival in Massachusetts 
Bay of Governor Winthrop, with the charter, in 1630, 
and the great accompanying emigration connected 
with this movement, all the territory comprised within 
the present borders of Milton remained a part of the 
undivided lands of the colony, and during this period 
three gentlemen, who were doubtless members or 
stockholders of the company before they left England, 
—lIsrael Stoughton, John Glover, and William Hutch- 
inson,—selected a part of the Jand dividends to which 
they were entitled within our limits. 
probably attracted by certain natural advantages which 
belonged to the locality,—the water-falls in the river, 
the convenience for ship-building offered by the tide- 
waters, an abundant supply of ship-timber, and, above 
Stoughton 
and Glover were prominent men in the Dorchester 


They were 


all, the fertility of much of the land. 


plantation, and the pioneers of civilization upon this 
soil. ; 

Mr. Stoughton selected one hundred and sixty 
acres of land connected with the lower falls, including 
nearly the whole of Milton Hill, and the front on 
the river to the bend, where the ship-yard of Mr. 
Briggs was located. Nearly all this property con- 
tinued in him and his heirs for more than twenty 


He 


was an active, public-spirited man, of the true Crom- 


years, when it was sold to John Gill, in 1656. 


wellian type, engaged in every movement for the 


_ benefit of the colony, resisting the conspiracies of the 


Indians, founding the college, and during the twelve 


years of his residence in Dorchester, the whole time 
occupying an important place as deputy or councilor 





1 The following chapter was contributed by Mr. James M. 
Robbins, being an address delivered by him June 11, 1862. The 
original address is here presented in a condensed form, to adapt 
it to our work.--Eprror. 








MILTON. 


731 





| 
in the government. or commanding the forces in the | 


| 
Indian wars in Connecticut and Rhode Island. In | 
1644 he left his family and embarked for England, | 
where he died the following year, the colonel of a | 
Parliamentary regiment engaged in the great revolu- | 
tion of that day. 

Mr. Glover selected a lot directly south of Milton 
Hill, of one hundred and eighty acres, on the flat 
fronting on the northwest by the brook, and south- | 
east on the centre line of the town, where he laid out | 
a farm, and after the annexation of this territory to 
Dorchester, built a house near where the brook 
reaches the road by Mr. Davis’. This farm was oc- 
cupied many years by his agent or tenant, Nicholas 
Wood, until it was sold in 1654 by the heirs to Rob- 
ert Vose. Mr. Glover, besides employing himself. 
much in commerce, was often representative for | 
Dorchester, and many years assistant or councilor. | 
Capt. Johnson describes him as a plain, sincere, godly | 
man, strong for the truth, and of good abilities. His | 
name is frequently mentioned as attending the meet- 





ings of the company in London before the emigration. | 
He left several sons, and his posterity is numerous in 
New England now. 

Mr. William Hutchinson belonged to the Lincoln- 
shire company, who came with Rev. Mr. Cotton and 
settled at Boston. Mount Wollaston, or Braintree, 
was early ceded to the town of Boston, with a view 
of supplying the inhabitants of the peninsula with | 
Mr. Hutchinson 
laid out a large tract, doubtless supposing it to be 


such lands as they might desire. 


within the Braintree line, but when a survey was | 
made in laying out the towns of Braintree and Dor- | 
chester, a large part of Hutchinson’s lot was found 
to fall within the line of the latter town; in fact, in- | 
cluded the whole east corner of the town of Milton, | 
The 
title, however, was confirmed to him, including all the 
land east of Gulliver’s brook to the present Quincy 
line, and was sold in 1656 by his son, Capt. Edward | 
Hutchinson, to Anthony Gulliver, Stephen Kinsley, | 
and Henry Crane. 
Mr. Hutchinson’s career in Massachusetts was very | 
soon terminated through the proceedings instituted 
by the colony and clergy against his wife, Ann Hutch- 


besides a large tract within the Braintree line. 


inson, upon the charge of heresy, of which she and 
some of her adherents were convicted, by a synod 
held at Cambridge, and banished from the colony. 
Edward, the son of William Hutchinson, soon re- | 
turned to Boston, and spent a long life as a most 
active and useful citizen in Massachusetts, and was 
finally killed in the service of the colony at Brook- 
field, in Philip's war, 1676, in command of a cavalry 


he had heretofore given to Callicot for himself. 


corps. His posterity made a figure for four genera- 
tions, in almost every post, civil and military, in the 
colony. Governor Hutchinson, his great-grandson, 
was long connected with the town. 

In 1636 the town of Dorchester obtained a grant 
of nearly the whole territory now comprising the 
town of Milton, which was the first of a liberal series 
of grants made by the colony to that important town. 
This movement was the signal for the commence- 
ment of the actual occupation and settlement of Mil- 
ton, and the twenty-five years which passed, during 
the connection with Dorchester until the independent 
establishment of the town, sufficed to collect about 
thirty families, with which the town’s separate career 
began. It was usual, in occupying new territory at 
that time, to obtain a release of the Indian title from 
their chiefs; and accordingly, in October, 1636, the 
Neponset Sagamore Cutshamoquin, for twenty-eight 
fathoms of wampum conveys, for the use of the Dor- 
chester plantation, all the land south of Neponset to 
the Blue Hills, to Richard Collicot (town corpora- 
tions not then created), reserving certain lands which 
Mr. 
Collicot’s name appears among the early inhabitants 
of Dorchester, and he is mentioned as a licensed fur- 
dealer, which occupation seems to have brought him 
early into intimate relations with the native Indians. 
He obtained a lot of one hundred and twenty acres 
at Unquety (doubtless the Pratt farm), and built 
there a house, perhaps the first dwelling in the town. 
He seems to have been a most active and useful man, 
—selectman and deputy for the town of Dorchester, 
officer of the artillery company, member of the 
Synod at Cambridge; at one time trading with the 
settlements in Maine, now aiding Governor Endicott 


in the Narragansett war, then assisting the apostle 


Eliot in collecting the Indians for religious service 
at the falls,—an energetic, ubiquitous man, whose 
permanent residence it is difficult to fix, but his~con- 
nection with our settlement is traced during fifty 
years. He was trustee of our meeting-house fund in 
1664. He died at Boston, 1686. 

John Holman procured a grant of one hundred 
and ten acres adjoining Collicot (the Rowe farm), 
and settled there very early, and the property re- 
mained in his family nearly a century. The Stough- 
ton and Hutchinson lots occupied all the northeast 


| front of the town, excepting the space between Gul- 


liver’s Brook and a line crossing the road near the 
Swift house, which space was divided into three 
lots, fronting on the marshes,—the first or north lot, 
of one hundred and twenty acres, occupied by Wil- 
liam Daniels, who built his house near the Foye 


732 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








mansion ;' the second, of sixty acres, laid out by Ne- 
hemiah Bourne, a London ship-carpenter living at 


Boston, who never ‘occupied it, but returned to Eng- | 


land with Stoughton, and became a major in his regi- 
ment; the third lot, of fourteen acres, fronting on 
Gulliver’s Creek, laid out for Bray Wilkins, a Dor- 
chester man, who was licensed in 1638 to keep a 
ferry across Neponset, to facilitate the intercourse be- 
tween Boston and Mount Wollaston before the roads 
were made. 


The Massachusetts colony was at this time much | 


favored by Cromwell, for their early sympathy and 
co-operation in the revolution, while all the other 
colonies, adhering to the Stuarts, were punished with 
restrictions and embarrassments. An exemption from 
duties, and free trade with all the world, was permit- 
ted to Massachusetts, and this stimulated the business 
of ship-building. Several persons of this calling took 
up their residence here, in the east part of the town, 
such as William Salisbury, Anthony Newton, Walter 
Morey, and others. It is probable they were occupied 
in building small vessels (of thirty or forty tons) called 
shallops, much used about the bay in fishing and coast- 
ing trade, and they undoubtedly used the head of the 
tide on Gulliver's Creek, where the town still owns 
the landing, as such craft could easily be floated out 
at spring tides, and that location was more convenient 
to get the timber than the banks of the river. The 
residence of these persons was mainly in that vicinity. 

At this period the principal occupants of the place 
were located in the eastern section of the town, and 
the latter part of the time they were exempted from 
contributing to the support of the Dorchester Church, 
by reason of having provided themselves with religious 
instruction in conjunction with some persons from 
Braintree. No record exists of their place of worship 
or who taught them. It is probable that Stephen 
Kinsley—who was ordained with much formality as a 
ruling elder at Braintree in 1653, and had moved on 
to the Hutchinson purchase—first officiated in that 
place, which was the only public service held in the 
town until the erection of the first meeting-house, in 
1671, built on the land set apart and appropriated to 
that purpose by Robert Vose on a part of his farm 
(near Mr. Barnard’s). Mr. Kinsley had been an 


1 On Sept. 24, 1653, at a meeting of the Commissioners of the 
United Colonies, holden at Boston, recorded,—“ Having learned 
that the wife of William Daniels hath, for three years past, be- 
stowed much of her time in teaching several Indians to read, 
think fit to allow her £12 for the time past; and to encourage 
her to continue the same course, that more of the Indians may 
be taught by her, think fit to allow her £3 more beforehand, 
towards another year.” 


1 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
} 


| 


| 








inhabitant and representative of Braintree several 
years before he moved here, and he was the first rep- 
resentative of Milton. The petition for incorporation 
was drawn by him, and is among the archives of the 


| State, signed by himself, Robert Vose, and John Gill, 
as a committee of the inhabitants. 


The principal 
argument used was the necessity of providing legally 
for public worship. 

“The elders continued to be consulted in every 
affair of importance as long as the charter continued. 
The share they had in temporal affairs added to the 
weight they had acquired from their spiritual employ- 
ments, and they were in high esteem.” * 

There were a few scattered farms in other parts of 
the town. Samuel Wadsworth, a young man, son of 
a Plymouth pilgrim, moved here from Duxbury, and 
selected a large lot running from the centre of the 
town, to the southeast line, a mile or more from any 
other inhabitant. John Fenno, of Dorchester, occu- 
pied a lot near the burying-ground. Robert Badcock 
occupied a large lot between the river and the brook, 
next to Mr. Vose. All the west portion of the town 
was run out into lots, about sixteen hundred and fifty, 
and divided among the inhabitants of Dorchester, 
magistrates and ministers receiving large lots, and 
persons of less note small strips a mile long and hardly 
wide enough to build acorn-barn upon. Of these, the 
Brush Hill lots were first occupied, but there is no 
sufficient evidence of the presence of inhabitants there 
before the incorporation. 

The main landing-place on the river was originally 
designed by Mr. Stoughton to have been fixed where 
Mr. Brigg’s ship-yard was located, but was changed 
to its present site, near the falls, on petition of John 
Gill, in 1658. Four hundred acres of land in the 


' centre of the town was laid out for the benefit of the 


Dorchester Church, in 1659 ; afterwards divided with 
the Milton Church. 
The Neponset tribe of Indians were removed from 


_ their proximity to our settlement in 1656, and placed 


on a large tract of land at Punkapog, granted to them 
by the town of Dorchester, at the urgent solicitation 
of Mr. Eliot, who regarded the movement as essential 
to their welfare. 


‘“ T will now advert,” says Mr. Robbins, “‘ to another 


- subject which seems to belong to this period, and 


which by some may be considered too uncertain to 
A certain locality 
within our present borders has long been known, 


merit a place in our history. 


without any data as to the origin of the name, as 
Scotch Woods. The explanation I am about to offer 


* Hutchinson, vol. iii. p. 181. 








MILTON. 





733 





is unsupported by any record, and is entirely con- 
jectural with myself. In 1643, John Winthrop, J?., 
eame from England, and brought one thousand 
pounds’ worth of stock and divers workmen to begin 
He had formed in England a com- 
pany for this purpose. The General Court of Mas- 


an iron-work. 


monopoly for twenty-one years, freedom from taxes 
and trainings of the laborers, and a very liberal 


erant of the colonial lands to be made when the 


works were completed. The town of Boston was 
greatly interested in the undertaking, and the location 
of the works at Braintree was encouraged by a grant 
of three thousand acres of land, still belonging to 
Boston, at that place. This tract is the same land 
which was purchased seventy years afterwards, in 
1711, by Manasseh Tucker, Samuel Miller, and John 
Wadsworth, of Milton, and divided by the court be- 
tween Braintree and Milton at that time. The fifteen 
hundred acres attached to our jurisdiction forms the 
present Scotch Woods settlement. 
the largest stockholders of this iron company, re- 
siding in London, viz., John Beex and Robert Rich, 
chartered a large ship, bound to Jamaica, to touch at 
Boston and land there two hundred and seventy-two 
Scotch prisoners taken from a lot of eight thousand 
prisoners captured by Cromwell, Sept. 3, 1650, at the 
battle of Dunbar. The ship arrived at Boston in 
May, 1651, and landed the prisoners consigned to 


In 1651 two of | 








the agent of the iron-works, and their names are all | 


recorded in the Boston records.” 
In July of the same year the Rev. John Cotton 
wrote a letter to Cromwell, as follows : 


“ The Scots whom God delivered into your hands at Dunbar, 
and whereof sundry were sent hither, we have been desirous to 
make their yoke easy. 
diseases have not wanted physic and chirurgy. They have not 
been sold for slaves to perpetual servitude, but for six or eight 
years, as we do our own, and he that bought the most of them, 
I believe, buildeth houses for them, for every four an house, 
layeth some acres of land thereto, which he giveth them as 
their own, requiring three days in the week to work for him 


Such as were sick of the scurvy or other | 


_ that all Scotchmen and negroes shall train, 


thus originated the name, Scotch Woods, ever since 
attached to the spot. This supposition is confirmed 
by an act of the General Court, A.D. 1652, ordering 





referring, 
doubtless, to their first law exempting the laborers of 


the iron company from this duty. These persons 
sachusetts encouraged the enterprise by granting a | 


may have been employed in cutting wood or collect- 
The result of 
this operation was that after a large outlay of capital 
it was found that every pound of iron made cost more 
than two pounds imported from Europe; the com- 
pany failed, the sheriff seized their effects, and their 
daborers were dispersed and mixed up with the gen- 
eral population of the country. The land was prob- 
ably a conditional grant, and reverted to the town of 
Boston, from which corporation our townsmen bought 
it. 

The records of the town for nearly eight years from 
the beginning are missing, excepting that of a few 
births. Two years after the organization, Robert 
Vose made a deed of eight acres of land (for a meet- 


no . . 7 1 
ing bog-ore for the iron company. 


_ing-house and other ministerial purposes) to eighteen 
_ trustees, probably every church member or freeman 


in the town. No church organization was formed 
here till 1678, but the principal inhabitants were 
members of the Dorchester and Braintree churches. 
Of these eighteen persons eight have descendants 
still among us, and these families have inhabited the 
town during its whole existence, viz.: Robert Vose, 


Samuel Wadsworth, Anthony Gulliver, Robert Bad- 


_ cock, Thomas Swift, George Sumner, Robert Tucker, 


and Henry Crane. The first tax-list on record, of 


fifty-nine persons, is dated 1674, and the name of 


_ only one of our present families, Teague Crehore, 


is added to the above list of trustees in the interval 
from 1664 to 1674. Many of the lots in the west- 


ern part of the town were soon occupied, especially 


at Brush Hill. 


(by turns), and four days for themselves, and promiseth as soon | 
as they can repay him the money he laid out for them, he will | 


set them at liberty.” 


We infer from these circumstances that Beex and 
Rich, for themselves or the company, thinking to get 
some income from their land, which without laborers 
was unproductive and inconvertible, embarked in this 
speculation, and the mode of disposing of the prison- 
ers mentioned by Cotton was only a form necessary 
to satisfy the public mind in the matter, and the men 
were employed on this land belonging to the freighters 
of the ship in the way described in this letter; and 





George Sumner, whose father, William Sumner, of 
Dorchester, had drawn one of the large lots in that 
locality, occupied the same in 1662. 

Robert Tucker, who had resided more than twenty 
years at Weymouth, came and purchased several ad- 
joining lots. He brought a family of four sons and 
three daughters ; his oldest son twenty-two years of 


age. 





1 Governor Bradstreet writes, twenty years later, that some 
of the Dunbar prisoners were still in bondage. 

2 Robert Vose, John Gill, Richard Collicot, Anthony Gulliver, 
William Daniels, Robert Redman, Anthony Newton, William 
Salisbury, Stephen Kinsley, Samuel Wadsworth, James Hough- 
ton, John Fenno, Henry Crane, David Homes, Robert Tucker, 
Robert Badeock, Thomas Vose, Thomas Swift. 


734 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS, 





Thomas Swift, son of T. Swift, of Dorchester, mar- 
ried the only daughter of Mr. Vose, and is supposed | 
to have occupied a part of the Glover farm, conveyed 
to him by his father-in-law. 

Ten years passed from the date of the incorporation 
before a new meeting-house was built, the small ac- 
commodation for worship in the eastern part of the 
town being made to suffice. Mr. Joseph Emerson | 
officiated as the first minister for several years, under 
adverse circumstances part of the time. Great diffi- | 
culty existed in the currency. The whole town, and 
a part of the adjoining town of Braintree, with all 


their zeal for religious instrnction, could not raise- 
fifty-three pounds, or one hundred and seventy-five 
dollars, per annum, the stipulated salary. Mr. Emer- 
son, who at first was passed about from one parish- 
ioner to another, made shift to live without embar- 
rassment, but venturing to marry the daughter of the 
Rev. Edward Bulkly, of Concord, and establish a 
house of his own, ‘“ the country pay,” as it was called, 
in which he received most of his dues, compelled him 
to open a running account with every man in the 
parish. Misunderstandings ensued, rendering his po- 
sition disagreeable, and he accepted an invitation to 
settle at Mendon, and left the town in 1669. 

Some other occurrences, simultaneous with this 
period, which affected the whole colony, as well as 
our town, deserve mention. 

We had grown up into a vigorous community in a 
space of thirty-five years, not by the fostering care of 


the mother-country, but by her neglect and engross- | 


ing engagements elsewhere, although it must be con- 
fessed we did receive some encouragement from the 
Now, in 1660, all this | 
is over; the king is restored again, and some active 





partiality of Master Oliver. 


enemies of Massachusetts in England enter sundry 
complaints against us, and make the charge of various 


violations of the charter. The king appointed four 


commissioners, armed with full power, to come over 


and examine all grievances and correct all abuses. 
We had coined money without authority, encroaching 
on the king’s privilege; we had prohibited the exer- | 
cise of all forms of worship except our own, especially 
that of the English Church, and would not allow the 
privileges of citizenship except to professors of a 
certain creed; and then we had sheltered certain 
regicides, who had compassed the death of the king’s | 
father, and had committed various other misde- | 
meanors. 

The arrival of these commissioners caused much | 
anxiety, and all the skill and diplomacy of our wisest 
Finally, by 


giving up the matter of church membership as a 


men were used to parry these charges. 


_to be superior to those of the whites. 


_ gotiate with the Nipmug tribe. 


qualification of voters, promising to make no more 
pine-tree shillings, and making a sham effort to ar- 
rest the regicides, the commissioners went home, and 
the colony retained for a time longer the charter. 
This result, so earnestly hoped for, was aided greatly 
by sundry ship-loads of masts and other presents to 
the king. The great benefit to the colony was the 
extension of the right of suffrage, which till then had 
been confined to a small part of the community ; and 
the consent of the colony to tolerate in the future the 
service of the English Church, had the beneficial ef- 


fect of so far liberalizing the colonial government 


that no further prosecutions against other sects as 
heretical were enforced. The extreme rigor which 
characterized the first years of the colony was in 
some degree mitigated when our town commenced its 
corporate existence. 

Now commences a great struggle, which threatens 
the very existence of the colony,—Philip’s Indian 
war. Philip, a name given by the English to the 
second son of Massasoit, the sachem of the Pokanoket 
Indians, with whom the Plymouth Pilgrims enter- 
tained such friendly relations, was now at the head 
of the tribe living at Mount Hope,—a restless, am- 
bitious person, and possessed of much ability. He 
entertained the opinion that the English would soon 
control the whole country and destroy the native 
population, and conceived the idea that by the united 
action of all the native tribes they might be resisted 
or driven away. He cautiously enlisted the co-oper- 
ation of most of the other tribes of New England in 
his plan. ‘The matter was communicated to the au- 
thorities by one of Mr. Eliot’s praying Indians of 
Natick. 

All New England was aroused. The Indians had 
acquired great skill in the use of fire-arms, and the 
number of fighting men among them was supposed 
Philip ap- 
peared with a large force near Swanzey. But the 


_ hope of detaching some of the tribes from the alliance 
induced the government to send Capt. Edward Hutch- 


inson with a company of horse to Brookfield, to ne- 
Hutchinson had a 
farm at Marlborough, and was personally known to 
the chiefs of this tribe, and they designated him as a 
person they would treat with. By appointment he, 
with a part of his men, went to meet them in a wood 
or swamp, where a large body of Indians were con- 
Hutchinson and sixteen of his men were 
He was carried down to Marl- 


cealed. 
shot, mostly dead. 
borough, and died a day or two after. 

This settled the character of the struggle, and a 
war of extermination began, which lasted fourteen 








MILTON. 


735 





months, during which almost every man in New 
England capable of bearing arms was called into — 


service. The Indians appeared in force in every di- 


rection,—in the Old Colony at Scituate, Plymouth, | 


| 


and Rehoboth; on Connecticut River at Northamp- | 


ton and Springfield; in Middlesex at Groton and 


Sudbury ; also in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and _ 
| their way through the savage horde, and Wadsworth, 


Maine. Milton, being more sheltered than many 


other towns, became the refuge of several families | 


from more exposed places, some of whom are still 
here by their descendants. 
from Medfield, Roger Sumner and Ralph Houghton 


from Lancaster, and Thomas Davenport from Casco | 


Bay. 

The Neponset Indians at Punkapog did not appear 
to belong to the conspiracy; but, to make matters 
sure, the men of the tribe were all placed under the 
command of Quartermaster Thomas Swift, and re- 
moved first to Long Island in Boston harbor, and 
afterwards brought up to Milton. Maj. Gookin, in 
his Indian History, says that Mr. Eliot and him- 
self met every other week, in the winter of 1676, 


- death. 
Edward Adams came | 


| 





among the Punkapog Indians, who were brought | 
from Long Island and placed near Brush Hill, in 
Milton, under the care of Quartermaster Swift. They | 


came up late from the island, yet they planted some 


ground procured for them by Maj. Swift, and they | 


got some little corn. Their wives and children were 
there with them. 

The great interest to Milton in this affair arose 
from the death of Capt. Wadsworth and _ several 
Samuel Wads- 


young men belonging to the town. 





worth, already mentioned as an early inhabitant, soon | 
after his arrival married Miss Abigail Lindall, of | 


Duxbury, and spent most of his adult life here. 
was an active, intelligent person, named in the Dor- 
chester records before the incorporation of Milton, 
was always occupied with the affairs of the planta- 


tion and the town, zealous in church matters and the | 


military organization, frequently chosen selectman 
and representative, and also a justice to settle small 
causes. In the war of 1675-76 he was appointed 
captain of a company raised in this vicinity, partly 
in Milton, to serve the colony. 
Brookline, was his lieutenant. In April, 1676, he 
was ordered to move with his company to Marl- 
borough, to relieve Capt. Brocklebank, of Rowley, 
supposed to be in peril at that place. Wadsworth 
and his company arrived safe and unmolested. On 
the 21st of April news came to him that the Indians 
were burning the houses at Sudbury, the adjoining 
town. Wadsworth started with his company of 


eighty men to meet the foe. Seeing a few Indians, 


Big | 


John Sharpe, of | 


_ both over eighty years. 


he pursued them into a swamp, when suddenly, from 
all directions, emerged a cloud of savages, greatly 
outnumbering his force. He secured a retreat toa 
neighboring hill, which he successfully defended four 
hours, with the loss of five men only. His ammuni- 
tion was expended. The Indians set fire to the wood, 


when an attempt was made by the troops to force 


Sharpe, Brocklebank, and sixty-five men met their 
Fifteen only escaped to tell the tale The 
names of his Milton companions are not preserved. 
Capt. Wadsworth left five sons, all of whom were 
respectable men. His youngest son, Benjamin, be- 
came president of Harvard College, and erected a 
monument to his father, at Sudbury, which was re- 
newed, in 1852, by the State. 

The war ended in August, 1676, with the death of 
Philip by the hand of one of his own men. The In- 
dians had previously met defeat in every direction. 
Some of the leaders were executed at Boston; many 
prisoners were sent to the West India Islands and 
sold as slaves, and those who escaped fled to tribes in 
the West. 


ever disturbed the colony again, except as allies of 


No formidable attack from the natives 


our French neighbors in Canada or instigated by 
them. 

The year 1682 closed the career of two of the 
oldest inhabitants, Robert Vose and Robert Tucker,’ 
Mr. Vose is not mentioned 


/ in the Dorchester records until about the time of his 


purchase of the Glover farm in 1654; he was then 
past middle life, and his three children already of 
adult age. We have no means of knowing his antece- 


dents. His whole career here exhibits him as a 
public-spirited man, who had brought up his children 
with care, and who spared no efforts to establish our 
Mr. Tucker 


had been residing in Weymouth, and all his large 


community upon the surest foundation. 

family were doubtless born in that place. He came 
to Milton about the time of the incorporation, and 
purchased several of the lots laid out and drawn by 
the inhabitants of Dorchester at Brush Hill. 
selected by Mr. Vose as one of the trustees of the 


He was 


church lot, was selectman and representative, also re- 


1 Robert Tucker was at Weymouth about the time that town 
was incorporated, in 1635, and is believed to have accompanied 
a certain association which came to New England about that 
time with the Rev. Mr. Hull, from the town of Weymouth, in 
Dorsetshire, giving that name to Wessagusset. This conjecture 
is strengthened by the fact that several prominent families of 
John 
Tucker, a resident of Weymouth, represented the borough of 


the name of Tucker are inhabitants of that county. 


Weymouth and Melcom Regis in Parliament, twenty years in 
succession, previous to our Revolution. 


736 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





corder of the town. He was held in much esteem by 
his neighbors. He left a large family of four sons 
and four daughters, and his character and education 


during a long period exercised an important influence | 


here. His handwriting indicates a gentleman familiar 
with the pen. 

In 1680 the town was provided with a respectable 
house of public worship and a regularly organized 
church. 

In 1690 two sons of the town received their degrees 
at Harvard, viz., Benjamin Wadsworth and Joseph 
Belcher. 

Benjamin Wadsworth, youngest son of Capt. Sam- 
uel Wadsworth, was born at Milton in 1669, grad- 
uated at Harvard in 1690, studied for the ministry, 
settled at the First Church in Boston in 1696, and, 


after a pastoral service of thirty years, was elected to | 
a place | 





preside over his Alma Mater at Cambridge, 
which he filled with great acceptance twelve years, till 


his death, in 1737. His character is portrayed in a 


sermon by Rev. Thomas Foxcroft, and also more at | 


length by Rev. William Emerson. Dr. Chauncy 


speaks of him as “a man of good learning, most 





pious, humble, and prudent, and an excellent, plain, | 


pathetical preacher.” His death occurred at Cam- 
bridge. He left a widow, but no children.! 

Joseph Belcher, son of Joseph and Rebecca (Gill) 
Belcher, was born at Milton in 1668. He inherited 
a large property from his grandfather, John Gill, 
when he was fifteen years of age, was educated for 
the ministry, ordained and settled at Dedham in 
1693, where he officiated thirty years with much sat- 
isfaction, and died in 1723. His family of two sons 
and three daughters returned to Milton, and for a 
time occupied their paternal estate at Milton Hill 
(the Hutchinson property). The eldest son, Joseph, 
graduated at college in 1717, lived here in 1734, and 
was selectmman of the town. Their property at Milton 
Hill was sold about 1740 to Thomas Hutchinson, and 
the residue of the Stoughton purchase, being the vil- 
lage property, was sold to Jeremiah Smith in 1741. 
The family left the town at that time. 

Cotton Mather preached Mr. Belcher’s funeral ser- 
mon. He calls him “a tree of righteousness, who had 
all the fruits of the Holy Spirit growing upon them. 
Among the articles of his piety was conspicuous, well- 


' John Wadsworth, son of Deacon John and Elizabeth Wads- 





worth, of Milton, born in 1703, graduated at Harvard College 
the Bishop of London as deacon and priest, received 


in 1723, studied for the ministry, and was ordained at Canter- 
bury, Conn., Sept. 3, ;1729. 
Middleborough, separated from his parish, and returned to 
Milton in 1742, which was his principal residence until his 
1766. 


death, in He officiated in several other places pro- 


fessionally. 


He married Abigail Sproat, of 


| Miller. 


governed speech, and the management of the tongue, 
with which he prevented what the ancients consid-— 
ered as making half the sins of our lives, a gentle- 
manly temper and carriage, with a sweetness of dis- 
position which was a varnish upon these virtues, and 
added more lustre unto them.’ As a preacher he 
was greatly admired and followed. 

Oxenbridge Thatcher, the eldest son of Rev. Peter 
Thatcher, was born at Milton in 1681, educated for 
college by his father, entered at Harvard before the 
age of fourteen, and graduated in 1698. He is said 


| to have studied for the ministry, and, after preaching 


a few times, changed his calling, and engaged in trade 
at Boston, where he lived some twenty-five years, and 
was occasionally representative of that town. After 
his father’s death he returned to Milton, and occu- 
pied his place on Thatcher's plain some forty years. 
He represented Milton occasionally, and died here in 
1772, at the advanced age of ninety-one years. He 
is better known as the father of an eminent son, 
Oxenbridge Thatcher, the distinguished lawyer and 
patriot, who died at Boston in 1767, at the early age 
of forty-five years. 

John Swift wag the oldest son of Deacon Thomas 
Swift. He was born here in 1679, graduated at 
Harvard in 1697, and was settled as minister at 
Framingham, where he died, after a long service, in 
1745. 

Mr. Peter Thatcher, the second son of our minis- 
ter, was born in 1688, graduated at Harvard College 
in 1706, and, after studying the clerical profession, 
was ordained and settled in Middleborough in 1709, 
and continued there thirty-five years, until his death, 
in 1744. Rev. Thomas Prince, of the Old South 
Church, published his life, as an example of zeal 
and success as a revival preacher. 

Dr. Ebenezer Miller was the second son of Samuel 
at Milton Hall in 1703, was 
prepared for college by Mr. Thatcher, and graduated 
at Harvard: in 1722. He commenced the study of 
divinity at once, and soon manifested a bias for the 
A few gentlemen at 


He was born 


Episcopal form of worship. 
Braintree, with similar tendencies, proposed to estab- 
lish a church there, having assurances of aid from 
England for the furtherance of this project. For this 
purpose Mr. Miller was encouraged to proceed to Eng- 
land and procure Episcopal ordination (no Episcopal 
organization existing here). He was ordained by 
the degrees of Master of Arts from the University of 
Oxford in 1727 and Doctor of Theology in 1747, and 
was appointed missionary to Braintree by the Society 
for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. 








MILTON. 


737 





He returned, and forthwith entered upon his duties, | 


and continued there until his death, thirty-six years 
afterwards. Many persons of that persuasion in the 
neighboring towns attended his ministrations. It is 
believed he was the first native of the Puritan colony 
authorized to preach under the Episcopal form. 


early from Dorchester to Rehoboth, and during the 
Indian war, in 1676, to have left the latter place. 
Mr. Samuel Miller first appeared in Milton about 
1688, possibly led hither by the attractions of Miss 
Rebecca Belcher, with a nice jointure of sixty acres 





before a division took place, reserving, however, a 


large part of the best of it for their own posterity. 


Deacon Manasseh, the youngest son of Robert Tucker, 
was about fifty-seven years of age at the time of the 
purchase, and continued to reside at the old home- 


stead at Brush Hill till his death, in 1743, aged 
The Miller family are supposed to have emigrated _ 


of land on Milton Hill, all of which became his on | 


his marriage in 1690. 


He built his house on the lot | 


at that time (the house stood where Mr. Dudley’s resi- 


dence now is, and was taken down some fifty years 
ago), and there his numerous family were born. He 
was afterwards, in 1711, one of the Scotch Woods 


purchasers, and his eldest son, Col. Samuel Miller, | 
built his house there at an early day, and the prop- | 


erty continued in the family until the Revolution, 
when, in 1776, Stephen Miller, of the third genera- 
tion, a much respected inhabitant of our town, joined 
the royalist party and emigrated to the province of 


New Brunswick, where he lived more than forty | 


years, and died in 1817, aged ninety-one. 
numerous descendants, who are still among the most 
respectable inhabitants of that province. 
was the one now owned by Dr. Palmer. 

Allusion has already been made to the acquisition 
of the Blue Hill lands, in 1711, by the purchase, 
from the town of Boston, of three thousand acres 


His house 


He left | 


formerly granted to the iron company, and which | 


reverted to that town from breach of condition. 
grantees were Manasseh Tucker, Samuel Miller, and 
John Wadsworth, all of Milton. The court refused 
to annex the whole purchase to Milton, but decreed 
that it should be divided as to jurisdiction between 
the towns of Braintree and Milton, fifteen hundred 
acres to each. ; 

In addition to the foregoing, a large tract of land 
(doubtless a part of the new grant made to Dorchester 
in 1637), containing, perhaps, one thousand acres, 
bounded on the southeast by the Blue Hill River, and 
northwest by the old Milton line, was passed into our 
limits by consent of the town of Dorchester. This 
latter piece contains Houghton’s pond, and all the 
lands within our borders above the stone monument 
near the late Thomas Hunt's house. 

By these acquisitions, in 1712-13, the area of the 
town was extended about two thousand five hundred 
acres, nearly one-third of its present surface. 


Blue Hill purchasers sold a portion of their lands 
47 - 


The | 


The | 


| 
\ 


eighty-nine years; but his eldest son, Capt. Samuel, 
then about twenty-six years old, laid out a farm, and 
moved very soon to the new purchase. The same 
was done by young Samuel Miller, as already related, 
and one of Deacon Wadsworth’s sons occupied the 
lot next adjoining the old Wadsworth property. The 
remainder was soon sold to other persons, and has 
ever since formed an important section of the town. 

We have now, 1730, reached a new era in our 
history,—the ordination of another minister, the 
building of a new meeting-house, and a considerable 
accession to our taxable property by the settlement 
amovg us of sundry persons of wealth and importance 
from the neighboring town of Boston. 

The Rey. John Taylor, after preaching several 
months, was invited to settle here, and was ordained 
on the 13th of November, 1728. Mr. Foxcroft, of 
the Old South Church, Boston, preached the ordina- 
tion sermon, which is in print. 

Mr. Taylor was born in Boston in 1704, and was 
the son of Mr. John Taylor, who came to Boston 
from Wales in the latter part of the seventeenth 
century. Mr. Taylor, the elder, married Ann Wins- 
low, the daughter of Edward Winslow, of the Pilgrim 
family. (She survived her son, and died in Milton 
in 1775, at the advanced age of ninety-five years.) 
Shortly after the birth of the Rev. Mr. Taylor, his 
parents removed to the island of Jamaica, where they 
had four more children, viz.: Col. William Taylor, 
whose descendants are still with us, and three daugh- 
ters. Mr. Taylor, the father, died in Jamaica, and 
his widow, with her young family, returned to her 
native country. She educated her son John at Har 
vard College, where he graduated in 1721, in the 
class with Dr. Charles Chauncy, with whom he kept 
up an intimate friendship until his death. Two years 
after his settlement here he married Elizabeth, the 
daughter of Rev. Nathaniel Rogers, of Portsmouth, 
Mrs. 
Taylor died in 1735, at the early age of twenty-seven 
years, and some years afterwards Mr. Taylor married 
the sister of his first wife, Miss Dorothy Rogers, who 
survived her husband. Mr. Taylor left three sons 
and one daughter, Mrs. Ann Gilman, of Exeter. 

Mr. Taylor died here in 1750, at the age of forty- 
six years. 


The births of his children, as recorded in the Mil- 


N.H. They had three sons and one daughter. 


738 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





ton records, are,—John, born in 1731; Nathaniel, 
born in 1734; William, born in 1735; and Ann, his 
only daughter, born in 1732, married Nicholas Gil- 
man, of Exeter, State treasurer of New Hampshire, 
parents of Governor John Taylor Gilman, Nicholas 
Gilman, of the United States Senate from 1805 to 


1814, and Nathaniel Gilman, of the Senate of New | 


Hampshire. 

The new inhabitants referred 
the Governor of the province, Jonathan Belcher; the 
provincial treasurer, Mr. Foye; Col. Joseph Gooch, 
James Smith, Thomas Hutchinson, and others. I 
presume this movement was caused in a great degree 
by the uncertain condition of the Massachusetts cur- 
rency, which rendered real estate investments de- 
The Indian wars, and more 


to at this time were 


sirable for capitalists. 
particularly the wars with our French neighbors, who 
possessed the present British provinces of Nova Scotia 
and Canada,—wars precipitated upon the New Eng- 
land colonies by the complications of Huropean 
politics rather than any direct cause of quarrel be- 
tween the contending parties,—had involved the 
province in great indebtedness, which was followed 
by the usual expedients of paper promises. The 
precious metals had entirely vanished, and the whole 





currency consisted of provincial bills, for which no 


redemption was provided. Within ten years, ending 





| several important matters. 


scription of the wedding. His father died in 1717, 
having been many years member of the Council, and 
Jonathan is immediately chosen to fill his place, in- 
herits his fortune, and invests largely in lands in 
Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. About the 
year 1727 he purchased a considerable landed prop- 
erty here of Thomas Holman and Samuel Kinsley 
Soon after this he was 
sent to England, as agent of the province, to adjust 


(the present Rowe estate). 


In his absence occurred 
the death of Governor Burnet, at Boston; and Bel- 
cher, being in London, obtained the appointment of 
Governor of Massachusetts, and arrived at Boston 
His administration 
continued eleven years, and needs no comment, as it 


with his commission in 1730.7 


is a part of the provincial history. He soon began 
his improvements here, built his house, and laid out 
his grounds, much under the supervision of Col. 


Samuel Swift, second son of Deacon Thomas Swift. 


His style of living differed very much from the or- 


dinary mode of life here. His official position and 


fortune justified the maintenance of a large retinue 


of servants and equipages, and entertaining much 
company from abroad.’ His public duties prevented 
him from spending much time here, and the man- 
agement of his property devolved mainly upon his son 


| Andrew. 


with 1728, their value bad fallen one-half, and a pros- | 


pect of further depreciation was in full view. None 
of these parties continue among us by their posterity 
at the present day, but their improvements are still 


visible, and their presence here added value to prop- 


erty, gave additional importance to our community, | 


and they require a slight notice on this occasion. 


Jonathan Belcher, the son of Andrew Belcher, a | 


rich merchant of Boston, was born there in 1681. 
He was educated with care, and graduated at Har- 
vard College in 1699. 
chief hope of his father, after leaving college he trav- 


An exemplary youth, and the 


eled abroad, and spent six years in visiting various 
parts of Kurope, and during this time made the ac- 
quaintance of a young Hanoverian prince, who after- 
wards became king of England as George II., a cir- 
cumstance which influenced Belcher’s subsequent 
fortunes.’ He came home, and busied himself’ in 
his father’s mercantile operations. In 1706 he mar- 
ried the daughter of William Partridge, Lieutenant- 
Governor of the provinces of Massachusetts and New 
Hampshire, who then resided at Piscataqua, now 


Portsmouth. The newspapers contained a long de- 


1 At this time he formed an intimacy with Dr. Isaac Watts, 
the poet, with whom he kept up a continued correspondence till 
the death of the latter, in 1748. 





Governor Belcher was removed from his office in 
1741, principally by the influence of a powerful party, 
known as the Land Bank projectors, whose schemes 


he opposed. He was afterwards appointed Governor 


_of New Jersey, where he died, in 1756, after a service 


of ten or twelve years. He was the founder and pro- 


moter of Princeton University in that State, and 
President Burr preached his funeral sermon, wherein 
his virtues are highly exalted, and his valuable ser- 
vices in relation to the institution fully stated. His 
son Andrew continued in occupation of the family 


2 Governor Belcher seems to have had no dislike to a little pa- 
rade, although he is usually described as a very humble Christian 
gentleman. He came from England in the ‘ Blandford” frigate, 
his expected arrival having previously been announced, and 
great preparations made at Boston for his reception. Dr. Isaac 
Watts, the poet, an intimate friend of Belcher, wrote an ode of 
some ten verses on the occasion, which was printed in the 
News-Letter. I recollect two lines of them, which I saw in a 
newspaper many years ago. 

3 In May, 1740, Governor Belcher’s servant ran away, and 
was thus advertised : 

“The Governour’s Negro Juba haying absented himself, it is 
desired whoever may find him would convey him home. He 
had on when he went away a Gold laced Hat, a Cinnamon 
coloured Coat, with large flat brass Buttons, and cuffed with red 
Cloth, a dark coloured Waste-coat edged with a worsted Lace, 
leather Breeches, yarn Stockings, a pair of trimmed Pumps, 
with a very large pair of flowered Brass Buckles.” 








MILTON. 


739 





property in Milton many years, and often represented 
the town in the Legislature; he died here in 1771." 
In 1776 the Belcher house was burned. It was then 
occupied by the two Mrs. Belchers,—the Governor’s 
widow, an elderly lady, and Andrew’s widow, much 
younger, —both without children. They took refuge 
during the winter with their friend, Mrs. Forbes, then 
living at Brush Hill. Madam B. died soon after, 
and the younger lady returned to England. The 
estate then passed into the hands of John Rowe, Esq., 
a large capitalist of Boston. 

Mr. William Foye bought his property here of the 
Daniels family, in 1728. He was a native of Boston, 
son of a Huguenot Frenchman, was about fifty years 
of age when he came here, and had before employed 
himself in commerce. 


treasurer of the province, and filled that station dur-— 


ing part of Governor Belcher’s term. He died here 
about 1759, at an advanced age, leaving a widow and 
daughter, both of whom lived to a great age; also a 
son William, noticed among the college graduates. 


The daughter, Miss Elizabeth Foye, died here in 1807, | 


in her ninetieth year. Dr. Samuel Gardiner, who 


practiced physic here before the Revolution, married | 


Mr. Foye’s granddaughter, Miss Mary Cooper. 
Col. Joseph Gooch came to Milton, from Braintree, 
about the year 1740. He bought land of the Miller 


family, built the Churchill house on Milton Hill, and | 
The best account of | 


lived here some thirty years. 
him I have seen is in the diary of President John 
Adams (no friend of Gooch, certainly), being part 
of a letter written to Jonathan Mason. 
Gooch,” he writes, ‘a native, I believe, of Boston, 
had a considerable property, and was reputed to be 
very rich. He had been educated at the Temple, in 


England, and returned to Boston to practice law, but | 


had very little success. He had been a man of pleas- 
ure, and bore the indelible marks of it on his face to 


the grave. He was extremely ambitious, and the 


Rey. Mr. Niles, of Braintree, who was well acquainted _ 
with him, told me he was the most passionate man he | 


ever knew. Not succeeding much at the bar in Bos- 


ton, he had recourse to religion to assist him; he 


joined the Old South Church, to avail himself of the 


About this time he was elected | 


“ Joseph | 





} 








influence of the sisterhood and set up for represen- | 


tative of the town of Boston, but failed; and disap- | 


pointed of his hopes in Jaw and politics, he renounced 
the city, came up to Braintree, hired a house, turned 


churchman, and set himself to intriguing for promo- | 





1 His second son, Jonathan, graduated at Harvard College in 
1728, went to England and studied law at the Temple, resided 
some years in England, and afterwards served as Governor and 
chief justice of Nova Scotia, where he died in 1776. 


| 
| 
| 


| ple property. 


tion, both in military and civil departments. He in- 
terceded with the favorites of Governor Shirley, in 
this place, to procure him the commission of colonel 
in the regiment of militia, and an election for repre- 
sentative of the town in the General Court. He 
promised to build a steeple to their church at his own 
expense. Assiduous importunity was employed with 
the Governor to procure him the command of the 
regiment, but this could not be obtained without 
cashiering the colonel then in possession. Col. John 


| Quincey had been in public life from his early youth, 


had been nearly twenty years Speaker of the House, 
and many years member of the Council, and was as 
much esteemed and respected as any man in the 
Province. He was not only an experienced and ven- 
erated statesman, but a man of letters, taste, and 
sense. Governor Shirley was prevailed on, with great 
difficulty, to perform the operation of dismissing so 
faithful a servant of the public, and adopting one of 
so equivocal a character, and he said, some years 
afterwards, that nothing he had ever done in his ad- 
ministration had given him so much pain as removing 
so venerable a magistrate and officer as Col. Quincy. 
But the church party had insisted upon it so peremp- 
torily that he could not avoid it,—probably he dreaded 
their remonstrances to the Archbishop of Canterbury. 
These facts were current at the time Gooch was ap- 
pointed colonel and Quincy dismissed. 

Thomas Hutchinson, the last provincial Governor 
of Massachusetts, was long an inhabitant of Milton, 
and, until the political storm which preceded the Rev- 
olution began, was held in great esteem by all his 
He was the son of Col. 
Thomas Hutchinson, a rich merchant of Boston, of 


neighbors and friends here. 


great liberality and public spirit, and many years of 
the Council. Thomas (2d) was born in 1711, was 
carefully educated, and graduated at Harvard in 1727. 
At first he employed himself in mercantile business, 
but soon wearied of this pursuit, and betook himself 
He was first chosen 
a member of the House of Representatives in the 


to the study of law and politics. 


year 1737, and selectman of Boston in 1738. About 
this time, 1739, his father died, leaving him an am- 
He had married Miss Margaret Sand- 
In 1740 he was 
employed to go to England upon public business 


ford, of Newport, the year before. 


relating to our currency. He continued to represent 


the town of Boston in the House nine years, during 


three of which he filled the Speaker's chair. He 
was distinguished for eloquence and industry in the 
House, and soon acquired extensive influence. He 


was chosen into the Council in 1750, and became 


judge of probate for Suffolk County. In 1760 he 


740 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





was appointed chief justice of the colony and Lieu- 
tenant-Governor. Governor Bernard left the colony 
in 1769, and the duties of Governor then devolved 
upon Mr. Hutchinson. He received the commission 
of Governor the following year, and held this office 
until 1774, when he embarked for England, leaving 
his native land forever. 


He purchased, in 1743, of Joseph Belcher’s heirs, | 
one hundred acres of land on Milton Hill, and built | 


the house now occupied by the Russell family, and 
resided there a large part of the time for thirty years. 
He was very fond of rural pursuits, especially garden- 
ing, and, being active in his habits, was often seen 
helping his gardener in removing plants and grafting 
trees, and his social habits led him into friendly re- 
lations with most of the inhabitants. After.the mob 
invaded his house in Boston, in 1765, he spent most 
of his time here. 

The greatest service Governor Hutchinson ren- 
dered to the public was in writing the “ History of 
which is the most reliable source of 


” 


Massachusetts, 
information on that subject existing, and will per- 





petuate his name long after his political errors have | 


been forgotten. He had many active enemies among 


the leaders of the Revolution, who were never weary of | 
representing his errors, and not seldom in amplifying | 


them. 
side, was exiled from his native land, and his large 
He died at Brompton, 


near London, before the war ended, aged sixty-nine 


He certainly staked everything on the losing 


property was confiscated. 


ears, and his numerous posterity are still living in | 
? d Do 


England. 


character unimpeachable. 


His life was exemplary, and his private 


Among his personal effects, confiscated and taken 
from his house on Milton Hill, which were conveyed 
to Col. Taylor’s barn and sold publicly, were foand a 


from England, three years after he left here, wherein 
he says, “ I have advantages here beyond most of 
the Americans, but I prefer nata/e solum to all other, 
and yet hope I may settle peaceably again at Unquety 
Hill. I hope to live to see not only my Milton neigh- 
bors, but the people of the province in general, con- 
vinced that I have ever sincerely aimed at their true 
interest, ete.” 

James Smith bought, in 1734, of the heirs of 
Samuel Trescott, George Sumner, and others, several 
tracts of land at Brush Hill, adjoining the Dorches- 
ter Church lands, and built his house (the same now 
occupied by J. M. Robbins), and made many expen- 
Smith was a large capitalist of 
Boston, at that time about forty-six years of age, and 
had made great additions to his fortune by the busi- 
ness of refining sugar. His sugar-house stood next 
below Brattle Street Church, in Boston, and was the 
building occupied by Dalrymple’s regiment in 1769 
and 1770, known in history as Smith’s or Murray’s 
barracks, whence Capt. Preston’s company proceeded 
to State Street at the massacre of March 5th. He 
lived at Brush Hill most of the time for thirty-five 
years. His wife, who survived 
him, was Miss Elizabeth Murray, a Scotch lady of 
the Philiphaugh family in Selkirkshire. He died in 
1769. Drake, in his “ History of Boston,” has the 
following notice: “On the 3d of August, Mr. James 
Smith died at his seat at Brush Hill, Milton, at the 


sive 1mprovements. 


He had no children. 


_age of eighty-one; had been many years a sugar re- 








large mass of his private letters and papers, which | 


were sold by the finder to the State of Massachusetts 
for fifty pounds, and now are bound in several large 
folio volumes at the State-House (said to been dis- 
covered by the purchaser of some feather beds, in 
which they were concealed). 

Governor Hutchinson was accused of grasping and 
monopolizing public offices; but his nomination as 
chief justice was made at the solicitation of most 
of the prominent lawyers of the province, and his 
judicial career was highly successful, as he had, it was 
said, a remarkable power in clearly stating cases to 


finer in Boston, and his remains were brought into 
town and buried from the house of James Murray, 
Esq., in Queen Street.” In the Boston Gazette of 
Feb. 4, 1769, is the following: “ Last Thursday was 
married at Brush Hill (seat of James Smith, Esq.), 
in Milton, Rev. Jno. Forbes, of St. Augustine, to 
Miss Dolly Murray, daughter of Hon. James Murray, 
Ksq., of Boston.” Mr. Murray was the brother of 
Mrs. Smith, and resided some thirty years in Caro- 
lina as a planter, and was a member of the Council 


of that province. In 1765, having lost his wife and 


' several children, he moved to Boston with his two 


the juries; and he actually refused, for some time, 


the commission of Governor, on account of the ap- 
proaching troubles, and finally yielded to the solici- 
tations of the ministry, who kept the place vacant, 
waiting his decision. 


I have a letter written by him + 


surviving daughters, afterwards Mrs. Forbes and Mrs. 
KE. H. Robbins. 
Mr. Smith gave his whole property to his 
widow, who married Mr. Ralph Inman, of Cambridge, 
in 1771, on which oceasion she gave her Milton prop- 


Murray became executor to Smith’s 
will. 


erty to her two nieces. 

Oxenbridge Thatcher, Jr., who has already been 
alluded to, in speaking of his father, merits further 
notice. Born at Milton in 1720, he graduated at 
Harvard College in 1738, and studied law with Jere- 
miah Gridley, attorney-general of the province ; estab- 






a ee 





MILTON. 


741 





lished himself at Boston, and rose to distinction in 
his profession very soon. He was gentle in his man- 
ners, but very eloquent. 
and was one of the early movers in the Revolutionary 
struggle, although his life ended before his views were 


He soon enlisted in politics, 


realized. 
of Writs of Assistance, against the application of 


which Otis and Thatcher were engaged in 1761, says, | 


“Then and there was the first scene of the first act 
of opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain. 


Then and there the child Independence was born.” | 


Thatcher died of consumption, in 1765, at the early 
age of forty-five years. 

Samuel Swift, second son of Col. Samuel Swift, 
of Milton, was born here in 1715; graduated at Cam- 
bridge in 1735, and many years practiced law in 
Boston. President Adams speaks of him often in 
his diary. He says, in 1766, “‘ Spent the evening at 
Sam. Adams’ very socially with brother Swift.” 
Again, in 1812, in a letter to William Wirt, who was 
writing the life of Patrick Henry, he says, “ Among 
the illustrious men who were agents in the Revolu- 
tion must be remembered the name of Samuel Swift.” 
He died at Boston, in 1775, I believe unmarried. 

Nathaniel Tucker, youngest son of Capt. Samuel 
Tucker, of Scotch Woods, was born there in 1725, 
and graduated at Harvard in 1744. He studied for 
the ministry, and settled in New Jersey, where he 
married, and very early died, in 1748. He had a 
posthumous son, Nathaniel, born in 1748, who, with 
his mother, came to Massachusetts not long after. 
The widow became the wife of Samuel Davenport, of 


this town, and the son married a Miss Dalton, of | 


Boston, and was the father of Richard D. and 
Nathaniel Tucker. He died here in 1776. 

Seth Adams, the son of Edward Adams, Jr., was 
born here in 1713; graduated at Harvard in 1753, 


and died at his father’s house in 1736, aged twenty- | 


three years. 


Boston in 1716, was graduated at Harvard in 1735, 
went to Nova Scotia before his father’s death, where 
his relative, Jonathan Belcher, afterwards chief jus- 
tice, was settled. He became colonel of militia, and 
provost-marshal of Halifax, which office he held 
twenty-two years. He died there in 1771. 

Joseph Gooch, the only son of Col. Gooch, was 
born in 1728, and graduated in 1747. After his 
father’s death, Dr. Pierce says, he moved to Vermont, 
where he devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, and 
died there in 1811, aged eighty-three. 

Benjamin Pratt was born of humble parents, and 
after attaining adult age, by an accident lost his leg, 


Mr. Adams, in describing the great case — 





which circumstance occasioned an entire change in 
his career. He applied himself to study, entered col- 
lege at an advanced standing, and graduated in 1737. 
Robert Auchmuty, the eminent judge and admiralty 
lawyer, befriended him, instructed him in his profes- 
He 
soon rose to eminence, and took the first rank in his 


profession. 


sion, and gave him his daughter in marriage. 


He figured in law and politics about 
John Adams, in 
describing the court before whom was argued the 
case of “ Writs of Assistance,” by Otis and Thatcher, 
thus describes Pratt: ‘“ In a corner of the room must 


twenty years in Massachusetts. 


be placed wit, sense, imagination, genius, pathos, 
reason, prudence, eloquence, learning, science, and 
immense reading, hung by the shoulders on two 
crutches, covered with a cloth great-coat, in the per- 
son of Mr. Pratt.” 
of New York, where his consummate ability secured 
him the esteem of all parties. He died there in 1763, 
aged fifty-four. In 1755 he purchased one hundred 
and fifty acres of land at Milton Hill, and erected 
the house recently taken down by Mr. Brooks. His 
short and busy life left little time to enjoy his Milton 
property. His only child, Isabella, married Samuel 
Welles, of Boston, whose family held the property 
some seventy years. 

The latter half of the eighteenth century was a 


He was nominated chief justice 


very eventful era of Massachusetts history, and the 
occurrences of that time essentially affected this town. 
It embraced the Seven Years’ war, known with us as 
the old French war, ending in the treaty of Paris in 
1763. Then followed the long agitation preceding 
the Revolution, which ended by the occurrence at 
Lexington, the Fort Sumter of the Revolution. 
Then the long and bloody struggle, which ended at 
the treaty of Versailles in 1783, acknowledging the 
national independence, followed by the period of ex- 
haustion of five years, which preceded the adoption 


_of the Constitution, when we finally took rank imthe 
William Foye, Jr., son of Treasurer Foye, born at 


great family of civilized nations. During this period 
of thirty years the town added nothing to its material 
wealth and very little to its population, the whole in- 
There 


crease not exceeding one hundred persons. 


| were also other causes for the stationary condition of 


the town. 
ning held large tracts of unoccupied lands in the west- 
ern counties of Worcester, Hampshire, and Berkshire, 
made large grants to soldiers and to the heirs of those 
fallen in the Indian and French wars, and also large 
These regions were filled up by 


The province, which had from the begin- 


sales to speculators. 
men from the eastern towns. 
tion of the province showed a respectable increase, 


A frightful draft was 


The aggregate popula- 


but not the eastern section. 


742 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





made upon our population by the wars with the 
French. Massachusetts was regarded by England as 
a sort of Switzerland, where men were raised to fight 
the battles of others. Levies of five or six thousand 


soldiers upon a small population of two hundred | 


thousand occurred every few years. Every one of 


the old families of this town will find some of their | 


members among the victims of these struggles. 
When Governor Bernard called for a levy of six 
thousand men to accompany Lord Howe to Ticon- 
deroga in 1758, a country representative is reported 


to have made this short speech: ‘“ Whenever an _ 


Englishman has his toe trodden on in France, Massa- 
chusetts must send half a dozen regiments to Canada 
to avenge the insult. 


thing.” On the same occasion a committee of the 


House reported: ‘“‘ The whole world knows the ben- _ 


efits derived to Great Britain from the loyalty of the 
Colonies, and from the efforts of this Province in 
particular, which, for more than a century past, has 
been wading in blood and laden with the expenses of 
repelling the common enemy, without which efforts 
Great Britain at this day would have no Colonies to 
defend.” 


No coercion was requisite. More men 


offered on this occasion than were called for, Maj. | 
Stephen Miller and others of this town among the | 


number. The expedition was so popular that the 


province of Massachusetts erected a very costly mar- 


ble monument in Westminster Abbey to Lord Howe, | 


killed on the occasion. Massachusetts had also sent 


troops to the Spanish Main with Admiral Vernon, in 


1741, to capture the city of Carthagena, and also with | 


the Karl of Albemarle to Cuba, to capture the city of 
Havana, in 1762. 


The French war ends, and the whole domination of | 


The British 
colonies have now a little time to attend to their own 


France is swept from this continent. 


concerns. 
exhibited by the colonies in the recent struggle 
showed that the child had attained adult age, and 
might set up for himself. It was not altogether the 
small stamp tax upon deeds and bills of exchange, nor 
three pence a pound duty on tea, that occasioned the 
discontent. There were deeper causes than these at 
work, although they furnished our orators with fine 
materials for agitation. A long list of grievances was 
embodied in the famous Suffoik Resolutions, adopted 
in a county convention holden at Milton, in the house 
of Daniel Vose, Sept. 9, 1774, said to have been 
drawn up by Dr. Joseph Warren. 


I am heartily sick of this | 
| in March, 1776. 





enough are forthcoming, and the provincial treasurer 
can furnish paper promises without stint. Joseph 
Vose was chosen colonel of this district militia regi- 
ment in November, 1774. On the 27th of May, 
1775, after the affair at Lexington, Col. Vose collects, 
in Milton and Dorchester, a posse of fifty or sixty 
men, rushes down the harbor and burns the light- 
house, destroying all the hay at Nantasket and on the 
islands, much to the annoyance of Gen. Gage, who, 
besides twelve regiments of soldiers, had some thou- 
sands of horses to feed in the town, entirely sur- 
rounded by provincial troops. 

Col. Vose was soon appointed lieutenant-colonel in 
the Twenty-fifth (Greaton’s) Regiment, employed in 
the siege of Boston till the evacuation of the town 
He was then ordered to Canada, 
under Gen. Thomas, where the year was passed. In 
the spring of 1777 his regiment joined Washington’s 
army in New Jersey. Col. Vose returned home sick, 
in charge of the surgeon’s mate, and after some weeks, 
having entirely recovered, returned to the army, and 


was promoted to cdlonel of the regiment. 





Col. Vose served faithfully all the war, was present 
at the siege of Yorktown and the surrender of Corn- 
wallis, October, 1781, and in the corps of Lafayette, 
who writes to Washington in commendation of Col. 
After the peace he 
returned home, exchanged the sword for the plow- 


Vose’s services on this occasion. 


share, and spent the long evening of his life upon his 
native farm. 

Col. Vose had three brothers in the army. His 
younger brother, Elijah, attained the rank of lieu- 
tenant-colonel, and served during the war with credit. 


_ Moses and Bill were also employed in responsible sta- 


Some few persons thought that the vigor | 


tions. These gentlemen were all known to the elder 
members of the present community. ; 

The military spirit of Col. Vose has been revived 
in the two succeeding generations of his family. Col. 
Josiah H. Vose, his youngest son, entered the United 
States army before the war of 1812, and after a credit- 
able military career of thirty-four years, died in com- 
mand of his regiment at New Orleans, in 1845, at the 
age of sixty-one years. Edwin Vose Sumner, son of 
Elisha and Nancy (Vose) Sumner, grandson of Col. 
Joseph Vose, was a major-general during the late 
rebellion ; was born in 1796, spent his early youth in 
Milton, entered the army in 1819. He rendered bril- 


_liant service as a cavalry officer in Mexico, and was 


The affair of Lexington, in April, 1775, put an | 


end to oratory, arguments, and resolutions. Action 


, 
is the word, and men and money are called for. 


Men : 


sent by government, in 1853-54, to visit all parts of 
Europe to collect military knowledge. 

Job Sumner, son of Seth Sumner, of Brush Hill, 
was an undergraduate of Harvard College in 1775. 
When the operations of the university were disturbed 





MILTON. 


743 





by the presence of Washington’s army at Cambridge, 
“he laid aside his books and procured a lieutenant’s 
commission in Col. Bond’s regiment, and remained in 
the army through the war. He had attained the 
rank of major at the peace, and continued in the mili- 
tary service of the general government until his death, 
in 1794, which took place on board a packet-ship from 
Charleston to New York, where he was buried with 
much ceremony by the Freemasons, of which fra- 
ternity he was a prominent member, and also of the 
Cincinnati Society. 
memory may be seen in Trinity churchyard, Broadway, 
New York. He was grandfather of the late Senator 
Sumner. 


to military duty was less than two hundred, but the 


full quota of men was furnished during the whole war, © 


and sometimes more. 
Seventeen young men belonging to the town gradu- 


ated at Harvard College during the last fifty years of | 
They all became respectable | 


the eighteenth century. 
men, and some of them distinguished. 

John Miller, son of Samuel Miller, Jr.,and Rebecca 
(Minot) Miller, of Milton; born at Milton in 1733; 
graduated at Harvard College in 1752; 
minister of Brunswick, Me., 1762. He died on a 
visit to Boston, Jan. 25, 1789, traveling for his 
health. 

Benjamin Wadsworth, son of Deacon Benjamin 


A fine marble monument to his | 


} 


_ his death, in 1809. 





of the Revolution, and filled the office of judge of 
probate for Hampshire County many years, until 
He was a member, from Milton, 
of the convention which formed the Constitution of 
Massachusetts in 1779 and 1780. 

Edward Hutchinson Robbins, eldest son of Rev. 
Nathaniel Robbins, was born at Milton, Feb. 19, 
1758, where he passed his childhood. He was bene- 
fited by the instructions of Dr. Jeremy Belknap, who 
taught school at Milton two years after leaving col- 
He was partially fitted for college by Dr. Lem- 
uel Hayward, who also kept a grammar school some 
time at Milton. He entered college in 1771, in his 


lege. 


_ fourteenth year, and finished his collegiate course re- 
The whole number of persons in the town subject | 


spectably in 1775, occupying a room with his towns- 
man, Thomas Thatcher, afterwards minister of Ded- 
ham, with whom he continued an intimacy until the 
death of the latter in 1813. The last year of his 
college life was somewhat interrupted by the affairs 
at Lexington and Charlestown. After leaving col- 


lege he kept school at Dorchester for a year. In 1776 


_he entered the office of John Sprague, Esq., of Lan- 


ordained | 


caster, and commenced the study of the law. He re- 
mained a year at Lancaster, and in 1777 removed to 
Bridgewater, and continued his studies with Oakes 


Angier, then a distinguished practitioner. Ih 1779 


_ he was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice 


Wadsworth, of Milton, was born in 1750. He gradu- | 


ated at Harvard College in 1769, settled at Danvers 


in 1772, died in 1826, aged seventy-six; was in the 
ministry fifty-four years. 


Hon. John Ruggles, of Milton. 


His only daughter married | 


William Sandford Hutchinson, son of Governor | 


T. Hutchinson, was born at Milton, June 30, 1752. 
He graduated at Harvard Coliege in 1770, and died 


at Brompton, in England, Feb. 26, 1780, aged twenty- 


seven and a half years. 

Josiah Badcock, son of Nathan Badcock, was born 
at Milton in 1752; graduated at Harvard in 1772; 
settled at Andover, N. H.; ordination in 1783; ser- 
mon by Rev. B. Wadsworth. Died in 1851. He re- 
tired from the desk twenty years before his death, and 
lived quietly on his farm. 

Samuel Henshaw, son of Samuel, Jr.,and Waitstill 
Henshaw, was born at Milton in 1754; graduated at 
Harvard College, 1773 ; married Sarah, daughter of 
Nathaniel Swift, 1777. 
he subsequently married a daughter of the Rev. John 
Hunt, of the Old South Church. Mr. 
studied for the ministry at first, but relinquished that 
calling, and removed to Northampton about the close 


His wife died in 1781, and | 


Henshaw | 


at Milton. 
sent his native town in the convention which formed 
the He was the 
youngest member of this body, which contained 
nearly all the prominent men of the State, many of 


He was the same year elected to repre- 


Constitution of Massachusetts. 


whom were his friends through much of his after- 
life. He continued the practice of law at Milton till 
1785, during four years of which time he represented 
the town in the Legislature. He enjoyed the confi- 
dence of the community, and his professional business 
increased so much that he removed his office to Bos- 
ton, where all the courts of law for this sectionwere 
then held. In November, 1785, he married Miss 
Elizabeth Murray, who had been a resident of Milton 
for some years previously, and purchased the Gooe 

estate at Milton Hill, where he resided nearly twenty 
years, till he removed to Brush Hill in 1805, which 
became his residence for the remainder of his life. 
His habits were active, and he began to weary of the 
confinement of professional life, and soon employed 
himself much with other pursuits. He was among 
the early purchasers of the commonwealth’s lands in 
Maine, and was much occupied in settling and im- 
proving the lands, a subject of great interest to him 
all his life. In 1792 he was again chosen to rep- 


resent the town of Milton in the Legislature, and 


744 








continued to be re-elected ten years in succession, in 
nine of which he occupied the Speaker’s chair. How 
well he performed the duties and sustained the honor 
of that station is too well known to need any mention. 
His extraordinary exercise of memory and promptness 
in recollecting the persons and character of the mem- 
bers in the duties of appointment, his knowledge of 
parliamentary rules, and the local interests of the 
commonwealth, became proverbial, and were a great 
facility to the public business. During this period 
much of his time was employed in other public 
He was one of the commissioners for build- 


In 1796 


duties. 
ing the State-House, also the State prison. 


he was elected by the House to the United States | 


Senate, but the county of Essex urged the necessity 
of a practical merchant for the place, and the Senate 
made choice of Mr. Goodhue, a merchant of Salem, 
whereupon Mr. Robbins at once withdrew his name. 


In 1802 he was induced to accept the nomination of | 


Governor 
whom he had been much acquainted before. 


Lieutenant-Governor with 
He 
continued to fill the duties of 
this office till 1807, when the Democratie party 


came into power. 


was elected,’ and 


He was frequently employed in 
the service of the State in responsible places, such as 
mewber of the Board of War in 1812, commissioner 
for treating with the Eastern Indians, and for the 
management of Hastern lands, and filled the place of 
judge of probate for Norfolk County some seventeen 
or eighteen years. He never sought public office, 
and never occupied any place of profit, but was often 
selected for places requiring judgment and integrity 
by the appointing power. 
property, and faithfully executed many responsible 
trusts, but left no wealth behind. He belonged to 
the Federal school in politics, but was no zealous 
partisan ; firm in opinion, prudent in action, endowed 


with strong love of the human race, never weary of 


Strong, with | 


| ren. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








Rufus Badcock, son of George and Ruth Bad- 
cock, born at Milton in 1755; graduated at Harvard 
College in 1775. His death occurred in a Southern 
State, where he was employed in teaching, in 1793. 

Thomas Thatcher, son of Oxenbridge Thatcher, 
was born at Milton in 1757, and graduated at Cam- 
bridge in 1775. He was settled at West Dedham, 
and died in 1813, aged fifty-six. He was an eccentric 
man, of studious habits, unmarried, lived a retired 
life within his own parish, and was somewhat occu- 
pied in teaching. He was a member of the State 
convention to discuss the United States Constitution. 
He and his colleague, Fisher Ames, represented Ded- 
ham. ‘This instrument, now regarded as the sheet- 
anchor of our liberties, balanced in a state of uncer- 
tainty in the convention many weeks, and finally, in a 
House of three hundred and fifty-five, was adopted by 
the small majority of nineteen votes only. 

Jesse Tucker, son of Jeremiah Tucker and his wife 
Mary (Wadsworth) Tucker, was born at Milton in 
1758; graduated at Harvard College, 1778, and 
studied medicine with his kinsman, Dr. John War- 
He served with Capt. Manly as a surgeon in a 
public armed ship, was attacked by fever on the cruise, 


_and put on shore at Newfoundland, where he died in 
_ December, 1779. 


He inherited a competent — 


serving others, and rather negligent of his own in- | 


terests. Greatly esteemed by a very wide circle of 
friends, his opinion was much sought for and valued, 


and was always at the command of every one. His 


fine colloquial powers and social disposition rendered | 
his society very attractive. He was the zealous friend | 


of religion and education, long a member of the Mil- 
ton Church and of various associations for the dif- 
fusion of gospel truths. ‘To his personal efforts was 
mainly due the establishment of the academy in his 
native town. In his domestic relations the cheerful 
kindness of his nature was especially conspicuous. 
His death, which occurred Dee. 29, 1829, at the age 
of seventy-two, was greatly lamented by his friends 
and neighbors. 


Jeremiah 8. Boies, son of Capt. James Boies, of 
Milton, born in 1762; graduated at Harvard College, 
1783; was occupied in his father’s business of paper- 
making ; married Miss Hannah Clark in 1785. His 
father died in 1798, aged ninety-six, and bequeathed 
a handsome estate to his son. Mr. Boies became one 
of the earliest cotton manufacturers of Massachusetts, 


having originated the company at Dorchester, which 


_ successfully conducted this business for more than 
| forty years. 


Mr. Boies died at Boston in 1851, aged 
eighty-nine years. 

Nathaniel Johnson Robbins, second son of Rev. 
Nathaniel Robbins, was born at Milton in 1766, and 
graduated at Harvard College in 1784. He occupied 
his short life in commercial pursuits, traveling much 
abroad, and died at Milton in 1799, aged thirty-three, 
from the effects of a liver disease contracted in the 
British West Indies. 
person, and left a lasting impression upon the memory 


He was an agreeable, social 


of many of his contemporaries, some of whom sur- 
vived him forty or fifty years. 

John Murray Forbes was the son of Rev. John 
Forbes, a Scotch clergyman, who was stationed at St. 
Augustine while the colony of Florida was in pos- 
Mr. Forbes, the 
father, was married at Milton in 1769, to Miss 
Dorothy Murray, the daughter of James Murray, 


session of the British government. 








MILTON. 


745 





Esq. J. Murray Forbes was born at St. Augustine, — 
and came to Milton with his mother in 1773 ; was 
fitted for college by Dr. Samuel Kendall, of Weston ; 
graduated in 1787 in the class with John Q. Adams | 
and James Lloyd; studied law with John Sprague, | 
of Lancaster, and Pliny Merrick, of Brookfield, and 
began his professional career at Northfield in 1791. 
Afterwards he moved to Boston, and, associated with 
C. P. Phelps, practiced law in 1794-95. He was 
employed to go to France on business in 1796, and — 
spent most of his life abroad ; received the appoint- | 
ment of consul to Hamburg, 1801; chargé d’affaires 
at Copenhagen, 1810; minister to Buenos Ayres, 
1820, and remained there till his death, in 1831. He 


died unmarried. 


He was a gentleman of fine quali- | 
ties, and his protracted residence in foreign countries 
was held a great privation by numerous friends at | 
home. 

Solomon Vose, son of Col. Joseph Vose, was born | 
at Milton in 1768, and graduated at Harvard College | 
in 1787; studied law with Hon. Levi Lincoln, of 
Worcester, and commenced practice at Northfield, — 
Franklin Co., which town he frequently represented — 
in the State Legislature, and in 1805 he removed to 
Augusta, Me., where he died, much respected, in > 
1809. | 

Roger Vose, son of Robert Vose, of Milton, born | 
in 1763, and graduated at Harvard College; studied | 
law, and settled at Walpole, N. H., where he was in | 
practice many years. He served two terms as member — 
of Congress from that district. His death occurred | 
in 1841, when seventy-eight years of age. 

Charles Pinckney Sumner, son of Job Sumner, — 
was born at Milton in 1776; graduated at Harvard in 
1796; studied law, and practiced his profession in 
He served fifteen or twenty 
years as sheriff of the county of Suffolk, and died in 


Boston many years. 


1839, aged sixty-three. He delivered an eulogy upon 
the death of Washington, at Milton, Feb. 22, 1800, | 
which was published by the town. 


Her records are filled with the noble sentiments of her 
citizens, ever fired with the most patriotic ardor ; ever 
ready to show their faith by their works, and to let 
their light shine before men. ‘They were pioneers in 
the cause of freedom. Other communities might hesi- 
tate, the men of Milton never ! 

Turning to history’s page, we find that upon Oct. 
25, 1760, began the reign of George the Third. 

‘‘ He was narrow-minded, self-willed, jealous of his 
royal prerogative, and envious of others’ greatness, 
resenting all difference from his wishes on any public 
measure as a personal offense against the King.” 

June 9, 1756, war was declared against England 
by Louis XV. 
the Seven Years’ war, and known on this continent 
as the French and Indian war, ended Feb. 10, 1763. 

March 10, 1764, Grenville, then Secretary of State, 
proposed to pay a portion of the expenses of the war 
then closed by taxation of the American colonies. 

March 22, 1765, the Stamp Act was passed, im- 
posing duties on all newspapers, every law paper, all 


This war, called in European history 


ships’ papers, property transfers, college diplomas, and 
marriage licenses. 

October 24th of that year (1765) our forefathers 
assembled, and the following record of their doings 
on that day, we think, needs no further explanation : 

“At a Town Meeting legally warned and heid at 
Milton on thursday the 24" day of October 1765. 
1* William Tucker Esq was chosen Moderator. 2" ‘ly, 
the question was put whether the Town would instruct 
their present Representative respecting the Stamp 
Act, and it past in the affirmative. Voted: to choose 
a Committee to draw up instructions, Accordingly, 
Doct Sam! Gardner Dea Benjamin Wadsworth, and 
Lieut Jazaniah Tucker, were chosen, who withdrew 
and after a short time returned with the following 
Instructions, which the Town Unanimously Accepted, 
and voted that they be recorded in the Towns book, 
and an Attested Copy thereof be by the Town Clerk 
delivered to Stephen Miller Esq. our present Repre- 
sentative.” 

“Tnstructions by the Freeholders and other Inhab- 


_itants of the Town of Milton, to Stephen Miller Esq. 


OH AP THR DXSt PE. 


MILTON—( Continued). 


WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 


BY H. B. MARTIN. 
Few are the towns in which can be gleaned more 
interesting history in regard to matters relating to the 
Revolutionary period than in the town of Milton. 


‘their present Representative.” 


“Sir: Being sensibly affected with the calamitous circum- 


| stances to which this Country must be soon reduced by the exe- 


cution of the Stamp Act unless by some means relieved: we 
think proper in the present distressed conjunction of affairs to 
give you the following Instructions, 

{st That you promote and readily join in representing our 
Grievances to the King and Parliament in a suitable manner, 
and if Redress may be easily obtained it will be most accept- 
able to us; yet as the distress threatened must (if not pre- 
vented,) bring Slavery and Ruin, we expect you to promote and 


746 





join in any measures which may Relieve us, be the expense or 


consequences what it will. 
justice of a tax where we are not Represented, the sum that 
even the Distributors of the Stamps would have for their 
trouble, according to the best calculation that has been made, 
would be insupportable for us to pay in addition to our Annual 
Expenses and the great Debis that we have contracted in the 


for if we had no dispute as to the | 


| law directs; 


last War.—Now if we had been Represented in Parliament or | 


could have even been heard by our Agent, we can’t suppose that 
such an Immoderate Tax would have been laid on us, if it had 
been just to lay any: but if British Subjects in America are 


liable to be taxed otherwise than by their own Representatives, | 


and may not be allowed Trial by their own Peers, which by 
this Act we understand is the ease, they are as Distant from the 
Liberty of Englishmen as are the Slaves in Turkey. 

«ondly, That you discountenance as far as lies in your power, 
the late horrible outrages that have been committed in the town 


of Boston, and that you use your utmost endeavors that the | 


Offenders may be found out and brought to justice, and that 
restitution may be made by them and their Accomplices, if they 
have Estates sufficient, to the persons who have suffered by them. 
and we could wish that persons who desire to conceal such Of- 
fenders were obliged to make satisfaction in their stead, and if 
there are not Laws already Sufficient for Restraining such Dis- 
orderly persons we desire that you use your endeavors that 


Laws be made Sufficient for that purpose, so that all his | 


agreement, Oct. 17, 1769, that no goods should be 
sent from here till the revenue acts be repealed. 


Majesties Subjects in this Province, may have their Lives and 
properties secured, if they may be thought worth securing after 
the Stamp Act takes place. 

“3rdly, We expect that you Enquire by what Authority or 
whose advice it was that the Public money was appropriated 
for Raising Soldiers, without the consent and in absence of the 
General Court.” 


29 


eo“, 


1765, the 
Stamp Act was passed; the courts were closed; in 


As has already been stated, March 


the town of Boston outrages and riots were insti- — 


gated ; sworn officials were subjected to great indig- 
nities, insulted in every way possible (some tarred 
and feathered, and hung in effigy); the mob sacked 
and destroyed private houses and pillaged them. 

But the people of Milton were a law-abiding people, 
and, although they felt as deeply and keenly the 








wrongs and insults of Britain, they discountenanced | , : : : 
every measure for their country’s welfare, 


all such disgraceful acts as these. 
And so when in town-meeting assembled, on Oct. 
29 


22, 1766, their doings on that day amply testify to 
the high tone of the Milton of that period, and is a 


reminder to the people of to-day that a true man is 





ever considerate of others’ welfare,—and if we had no 


other record, the one simple case here cited would 


stamp the men of Milton of 1766 as nature’s noble- | 


men, a title of far more worth than any ever bestowed 
by George III. 
The record is as follows : 


“Ata Town Meeting legally warned and held at Milton, on 
Wednesday October 2224 1766. 

“1st Dea Benjamin Wadsworth was chosen Moderator. 

“2nily, The question was put whether the Town would give 
their Representative any Instructions, and it past in the 


Affirmative. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





“ 3rdjy, Voted to give him the following Instructions. 

“Milton Oct 2224 1766., At a meeting of the Freeholders, 
and other Inhabitants of the Town of Milton, qualified as the 
Voted: Whereas the Inhabitants of this Town 
have taken under consideration the clause in the warrant, re- 
specting the sufferers in the Month of August 1765, in the 
Town of Boston. 

“With the utmost Abhorance of any such Unjustifyable 
Proceedings by persons unknown, committed on the property of 
divers of our fellow subjects, a loss too much for any Individ- 
uals to bear in Civil Society, and it not being in their power to 
prevent ;—In Dutyfull respect to his Majesties Request, in 
Humanity and Generosity towards those Gentlemen who have 
suffered, that on the Application of such Sufferers to the Gen- 
eral Assembly in a parliamentary way, the Representative of 


| this town be directed in his best discretion to use his Influence 


that such Losses be made up and paid out of the Public Treas- 
ury, and that those persons who were Aiding and Assisting in 
Destroying the Property of Individuals in the Town of Boston, 
in the year 1765, Contrary to Law and Equity, should be 
brought to Justice, and Suffer accordingly.” 


August, 1768, the merchants and traders of Boston 
entered into an agreement not to import goods from 
Great Britain after Jan. 1, 1770, and made a further 


Consequently exports from England fell off to such 
an extent that English merchants were seriously in- 
jured. Lord North, perceiving this, proposed the 
removal of duties from all articles except tea. 

Oct. 4, 1769, a town-meeting was held in Boston, 
when was promulgated that noted document prepared 
by Samuel Adams, entitled an ‘‘ Appeal to the World,” 
wherein he says, ‘‘ We should yet be glad that the 
ancient and happy union between Great Britain and 
this country might be restored, but our rights are in- 
vaded, and until the Revenue Acts are A// repealed, 
the cause of our just complaints cannot be removed.” 

March 12, 1770, in town-meeting assembled, the 
citizens of Milton, ever ready to uphold and sustain 


“Voted: that the Thanks of this Town be given to the Mer- 
chants and Gentlemen of the Town of Boston, who have 
exerted themselves in so Spirited a manner for the Preserva- 
tion of the Liberties of America ;—That this Town will Exert 
their Utmost Endeavor to Support those Gentlemen while exer- 
cising their feeble efforts, (so called by their Enemies) to Pre- 
serve the Liberties of this Province; That this Town will never 
Purchase of; or have any Communication with, those persons 
that Import goods contrary to the Agreement of Merchants of 
the Town of Boston, until they have given full Satisfaction to 
those merchants and gentlemen that they have treated with so 
much Indignity; That this Town will prevent, (to the utmost 
of their power) the use of India Tea, Discountenancing its use 
in any one (except where it may be thought necessary for 
Health,) until the Revenue Acts, so much and so justly com- 
plained of shall be Repealed.” 


1772. Parliament having enacted laws of such a 
sumptuary and arbitrary character, so repugnant to 








MILTON. 


TAT 





the people of the province, and contrary not only to 
the charter, but to the fundamental principles of 
common law, among which was one making the sala- 


ries of the Governor and the judges to depend upon | 


a royal stipend, the inhabitants of the town of Bos- 
ton held a town-meeting in the fall of that year 
(1772), and after passing resolves respecting the 
grievances under which they suffered, the patriot 
leader, Sam. Adams, stood up and made that cele- 
brated motion which it was said “ gave visible shape 
to the American revolution.” 
The record says,— 


“Tt was then moved by Mr. Samuel Adams that a Committee 


of Correspondence be appointed to state the rights of the Colo- | which should always subsist between the three branches of the 


nists, and of this province in particular, as men and Christians, 
and as subjects; and to communicate and publish the same to 
the several towns, and to the world, as the sense of this town, 
with the infringements and violations thereof that have been 
made.” 


The motion passed by a nearly unanimous vote; a 
committee was appointed; the work to be done was 
divided between them; Adams was appointed to pre- 
pare a statement of the rights of the colonists; War- 
ren, of the several violations of those rights; and 
Church was to draft a letter to the other towns. 

Nov. 20, 1772, the committee, at a legal meeting 
“The state- 
ment of rights, and of grievances, and the letter to 


in Faneuil Hall, presented their report. 


the towns, were masterly presentations of the cause.” 


Committees of Correspondence were everywhere es- | 


tablished. How the town of Milton upheld Samuel 
Adams and his noble confreries of the town of Boston 
the following records amply testify : 

‘“* At a meeting of the freeholders and other inhabit- 
ants of the town of Milton, on Monday, the 4th day 
of January, 1773: 1st, the town made choice of 
Capt. Lemuel Bent for their moderator; 2dly, voted, 
to adjourn the meeting to Friday, the 8th instant. 

“ Atatown-meeting in Milton, upon adjournment on 





Friday, the 8th day of January, 1773, voted, to choose © 


a committee of five men to draw up instructions to 
give their representative; accordingly, Mr. John 
Adams, Col. William Taylor, Dr. Samuel Gardner, 
Capt. David Rawson, and Mr. Daniel Vose were 
chosen for said purpose. 


“Voted, to adjourn said meeting to Thursday, the 14th in- 
stant, to hear the report of said committee. 


“ At a town-meeting in Milton, upon adjournment 
from Friday, the 8th day of January, 1773, to Thurs- 
day, the 14th instant, the committee chosen on the 
8th instant to draw up instructions to their representa- 
tive report as follows, viz.: 


“To Mr. JostAn How, REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE TOWN OF 
Mitton. 


“Sir: We have heard read the Letter of Correspondence from 
the Town of Boston, with their proceedings, and find many 
Grievances there justly complained of; too many to be enu- 
merated here; but recommend that Pamphlet to your perusal. 

“ Whoever seriously considers the conduct of Administration, 
both at home and here, can hardly Entertain a Doubt, that a 
plan is formed to subvert this Constitution: First, the British 
Parliament making an act to raise a Revenue without the con- 
sent of the people by themselves or their Representatives, is a 
Grievance of the first magnitude. 

“Again: the great difference made between the trial of Sub- 
jects here and at home, in the ‘ Act for securing his Majesties 
dock yards, and other Naval stores,’ is a very great Grievance. 

“ Again: the Crowns making the Governor, Independent of 
the people, has a natural tendency to Destroy that Harmony, 


Legislature in a free state. 
“Again: the making the Judges of the Superior Court, De- 


| pendent on the Crown, and independent of the people whose 


lives and fortunes are so much in their power, is a great griev- 
ance, naturally tending to subvert justice between the King 
and Subject. 

“Sir: We Recommend to you that the Judges of the Superior 


Court have Salaries adequate to their merit and station, and 


that they be made as Independent as possible of the Crown and 
the people ; and furthermore we recommend and Enjoin you, to 
use your Interest and Influence in the House of Representatives 
as far as is consistent with the Rights of this people, to Petition 
his Majesty, &c. to remove all Grievances we labor under, and in 
the mean time in all our Difficulties and distresses, we depend 
upon your steadiness, prudence and Firmness: and that you 
give not up one jot or tittle of our Rights, but dispute every 


| Inch of ground with the Enemies of our Liberties and Free- 


dom. 
« Mitron Jan 14th 1773. 


‘“By order of the Committee, Jonn Adams, Chairman.” 


“The question was put whether the town will accept 
this report as instructions to their representative, and 
it passed in the affirmative. 


“Voted: That the Selectmen be a Committee to answer the 
letter of Correspondence from the Committee of the Town of 
Boston. 

“Voted: That the proceedings of the foregoing meetings be 
recorded in the Town Bovuk. 

“Recorded Pr AmMArtan Buake, Town Clerk.” 


We now come to the year 1774; every peaceable 
method known or thought of had been tried to induce 
Great Britain to give the colonies their just rights; 
their love for the mother-country was still warm in 
their breasts; they hated the thought of separation ; 
the glory of Britain was their glory, but they could 
not, would not, be her abject slaves. Still in their 
hearts lingered a remembrance of the Britain of the 
olden time, and a hope that justice might yet be done. 
And so the people of Milton once more met, resolved 
once again to try and obtain relief for the wrongs 
under which they suffered ; once more in a lawful way 
to state their grievances and to scek redress ; peacea- 


748 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





bly if possible, but with a determination redress to | for this town to come into respecting the situation of 


have, cost what it might. 

And here is the record of their doings; a record 
which needs not the encomium of any man, for it is a 
record the masterly drawing of which it may truth- 
fully be said that it may have been equaled, but never 
was excelled. 


The reader will bear in mind that this Declaration | 


of Independence promulgated by the men of Milton 
was drawn up in July, 1774, two years before that 


celebrated Declaration of the American Congress at | 


Philadelphia, and two months previous to the passage 
of the famous “ Suffolk Resolves,” clearly showing, as 
was before stated, that in freedom’s cause the men of 
Milton were pioneers. 

“At a town-meeting legally warned and held in 
Milton on the 27th day of June, 1774. 

“ Mr, Ebenezer Tucker was chosen moderator. 


“Voted: To choose a Committee of five persons to consider 
and determine upon some proper measures for this Town to come 
into respecting the situation of public affairs, and that said Com- 
mittee be enjoined to set forthwith, and report as soon as may 
be. 

“Voted: That said Committee be chosen by a written Vote: 
accordingly Capt David Rawson, Mr Ralph Houghton, Ama- 
riah Blake, Mr Oliver Vose, and Dea Joseph Clap were chosen 
as said Committee. 

“Voted: That Mr Samuel Henshaw Jr. and Dr Gardner, be 
added to the above Committee.” 


‘A paper was read wherein the late General Court 
recommend to this town to raise, collect, and pay to 
the Hon. Thomas Cushing, of Boston, the sum of £1 
18s. 10d. as their proportion of the sum of five hun- 
dred pounds, according to the last province tax, to 
enable the committee for this province—who are to 





meet the committees from the other colonies to delib- | 


erate and determine upon proper measures to be by 
them recommended to the colonies for the recovery 
and establishment of their just rights and liberties, 
and the restoration of union and harmony between 


portant trust to which they are appointed. 


“Voted: To raise the sum of £.3-0-0 by Contribution on the 
expected approaching Fast day for the above purpose.” 

After transacting various other business relating 
solely to town affairs, it was 

“Voted: That this meeting be adjourned to the 25th day of 
July next.” 

“At a town-meeting held by adjournment from the 
27th day of June, 1774, to the 25th of the next 
July. 


‘* The committee appointed at the last town-meeting 





to consider and determine upon some proper measures | 


public affairs, reported as follows, viz. : 


“We the Inhabitants of Milton, acknowledge George the 
Third to be our rightful Monarch; we feelingly Declare our- 
selves to be his true and loyal Subjects, and next to the Horrors 
of Slavery, we detest the thought of being separated from our 
Parent State: we have been wont to glory in our connexions 
with our Mother Country; our Hearts have been ever warm 
with filial affection, and we are ready and willing on all proper 
occasions to spend our Blood and Treasure in defence of his 
Majesties Crown and Dignity :—and we are Equally ready and 
willing to spend our ALL, in Defending our own religious and 
civil Liberties when invaded by any human Power ; 

“ We have been taught from our Mothers breasts, that our 
Freedom is a Jewell of Inestimable Value; that ‘one day, one 
hour, of Virtuous Liberty, is worth a whole Eternity of Bond- 
age ;’ that Free Government supposes that the conduct of affairs 


| may be enquired into, and spoken of with Freedom; that op- 
position in a loyal Regular way to measures which a person 


thinks wrong, cannot but be allowed ina free Government, for 
it is in itself Just, and also keeps up the spirit of Liberty,— 

“Accordingly we claim a right, especially in times of Public 
Trial, freely to speak against and Zealously to oppose any 
Measures, by whomsoever adopted, which are aimed at the De- 
struction of our Constitutional Liberties; which alter our good 
and ancient Usages, and which are designed to make us Slaves, 
for such measures are base and wicked, and ought to be re- 
sisted. 

“The Destruction of a free Constitution of Government though 
men see or fancy many defects in it, (whatever they design or 
pretend,) ought not to be thought of without horror, for the de- 
sign is in itself unjust, since it is romantic to suppose it legal : 
it cannot be prosecuted without the most wicked means, nor ac- 
complished but with the present ruin of Liberty, religious as 
well as civil, and whoever will thoroughly consider in what de- 
gree mankind are really influenced by reason, and in what de- 
gree by custom, may be convinced that the state of human 
affairs does not even admit an equivalent for the mischief of 
setting things afloat, and the dangers of parting with those Se- 


| curities of Liberty which arise from regulation of long prescrip- 


tion and ancient usage, 

** But in defiance of the Laws of God and society: in direct 
Violation of Sacred Compact, the British Parliament have as- 
sumed a power to alter and destroy our free Constitution of 
Civil Government, and to introduce any species of oppression 


| whatever. 


“Now that such pretended Omnipotency ought to be opposed, 


: eis ° : | when assumed by any set of men, unless they have infinite Wis- 
Great Britain and the colonies—to discharge the im- | zi Oe eae : ee 


dom to direct, and infinite Goodness to stimulate them to a 
righteous conduct is a dictate of common-sense, and whether 
these are predicable of the present British Parliament let God’s 
intelligent creation judge !—And being clearly of opinion that 
to withstand such Assumed Power, and to oppose in a regular 
way the Oppressive measures which are carrying into execution 
by such Power, is a Duty we owe to God, to ourselves, and to 
unborn millions ;— 

“We therefore RESOLVE, that we will unite with our 
3rethren, ‘The Sons of Freedom in America,’ in any proper 
measures that may be adopted to defeat the late cruel and op- 
pressive Acts of the British Parliament respecting America, and 
this Distressed Province in particular: to extirpate the idea of 
Tyranizing which is so fondly fostered in the bosoms of those 
in power, and to secure to ourselves and to Posterity our inval- 
uable Rights and Priviledges, 

“A Non-Consumption Agreement, we think the most rational, 








MILTON. 749 





as it is the most Peaceful, but as Committees from the several | 
Colonies on this Continent are soon to meet and ‘ to deliberate 
and determine upon some wise and proper measures for the re- 
covery and Establishment’ of American Liberties; and as we 
doubt not but the Wisdom of America will fix upon such right- | 
eous measures as will Eventually prove not only the Salvation | 
of this Extensive Continent, but also the Permanent Dignity of © 
Great Britain, 

“We therefore RESOLVE, to commit our cause under God, 
to them, and to adopt such Righteous measures as shall be by 
them recommended to the Colonies as necessary to regain and | 
secure our free Constitution of Government. 

“‘We wish them a seasonable and joyful meeting, and an 
happy union of sentiment: and may God Almighty direct and 
protect them. 

“We return our sincere thanks to the Town of Boston for 
their indefatigable and noble Exertions in the cause of Free- 
dom : and beg them still to watch upon the walls of our Jeru- | 
salem, and not to be weary in well doing. 

“Miron 25. July, 1774. 

“Davin Rawson, RatpH Hoventon, AMARIAH BLAKE, 
Oxiver Vose, JosepH CLAP, SaAmveL HensHaw Jr, SAML. 
GARDNER, Committee. 


“Voted: That said Report be read paragraph by paragraph, 
and the accepting or not accepting each paragraph to be put to 
vote separate; accordingly said report was read, and each and 


every paragraph was accepted. 

“Voted: That Capt David Rawson, Col William Taylor, Dr 
Samuel Gardner, Amariah Blake, and Mr Ralph Houghton, bea 
Committee to correspond with the Committees of Correspond- 
ence in the Towns through this Province and through America, 
as Occasion may require. 

“Voted, That the Committee send a letter to the Committee 
of Correspondence for Boston, thanking them for their Public 
spirit, and noble Zeal for the weal of America. 

“Voted, That the Town Clerk send an attested copy of the 
transactions of this Town respecting Public affairs to the Com- 
mittee of Correspondence for Boston.” 


With this record the space in this work allotted to 
Milton is full, which we regret, as the next record in 
chronological order would be an account of the pas- 
sage of the famous “ Suffolk Resolves.” 

These resolves, drawn up and presented by Gen. 
Joseph Warren, were read several times, and unani- 
mously adopted, paragraph by paragraph, at a con- 
vention of delegates of every town and district in the 
county of Suffolk (embracing at that time the terri- 
tory now known as the county of Norfolk), held at 
the house of Mr. Daniel Vose, in Milton, on Sept. 9, 
1774. They were forwarded to the Continental Con- 
gress then in session at Philadelphia, upon receipt of 
which, Sept. 18, 1774, they were then read, creating 
the wildest enthusiasm. (For copy of these resolves, 
see Frothingham’s “‘ Life of Warren.) Many other 
items of interest relating to Milton in the Revolu- 
tionary era could be adduced did space allow. 





_years before, in 1662. 


CHAPTER LXIYV. 
MILTON—( Continued). 


Ecclesiastical History—The First Congregational Society—The 
First Evangelical Society—The Second Evangelical Society 
—Lower Mills Baptist Church. 


The First Congregational Society.'"—Two hun- 


_dred years ago, on April 24, 1678, this church was 
formed. The town had been incorporated sixteen 


Two years after (1664), 
Robert Vose had deeded “ eight acres of land for a 


_meeting-house and other ministerial purposes, to 


eighteen trustees, probably every church member or 
freeman in the town,” and eight years later (1672) a 
meeting-house had been built, during the incumbency 
of Rey. Thomas Mighill, of Rowley, whose eight 
years of service closed here in 1677, and he settled 
That early church build- 
ing,” of which no known trace remains, stood not far 
from here, near where Mr. William P. Blanchard 
now resides, corner of Centre Street and Vose’s Lane. 


permanently at Scituate. 


2 


Previously to its erection, religious services had been 
held in the eastern part of the town, under the con- 
duct of Rey. Joseph Emerson. 
the currency worse than it is to-day, and poor Mr. 
Emerson, not “ passing rich”’ on fifty-three pounds— 
or one hundred and seventy-five dollars 


The times were hard, 





a year, 





_ 1Condensed from an able address delivered by Rey. Frederick 
Frothingham, Sunday, April 28, 1878. 

2 That this was not the first meeting-house erected in Milton 
appears from the following extract from the old town records: 

“At a town meeting the last day of September 1670 it was 
agreed by the towne vote that ther should be a convenient 
meeting-house for the townes use built neare about Goodman 
Vose his loked barre, & also that the old meeting house should 
be repaired to meet in this Winter and Seargeant W™. Blake, 
Seargeant Rob’. Badcock, Seargeant Sam. Wadsworth, Thom 
Swift, Antony Golliford and Robert Tucker was chosen by the 
towne to see the old house repaired as soon as they can and tu 
geat the new one built in one yeers time if they can.” 

The following votes show how the cost of the new meeting- 
house was provided for: ‘‘ Upon a training-day the 224 of Oct. 
1670 it was agreed by a vote of the Train Band and several 
other that were present that 6 acres of the Town Land should 
be Cleared of the Tim and wood to By nails & Glass for the 
new meeting-house.” 

The meeting-house was to be paid for by the proceeds of 
the wood from the above six acres. The town levied a rate of 
(fifty pounds) £50 towards the erection of the building. Each 
man could pay his share of that rate by cutting and hauling a 
portion of the wood to the town landing. Laid on the town 
landing it was reckoned at one shilling and three pencea cord! 
On Jan. 10, 1670/1, the town voted that if the 6 acres wood 
do not suffice to pay for the meeting-house, so much more shall 
be allowed out of the land “as will pay all the Rats for that 
building.” 


750 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





which his people were too poor to raise, “ made shift 
to live without embarrassment” by being “ passed 
about from one parishioner to another,” 
his marriage, difficulties arose, and, called to Mendon, 
he left the town in 1669. Not until the 24th of 
. > - : ae 7 fe 
April, 1678, was a church organized. The ‘“ princi- 
pal inhabitants were members of the Dorchester or 
Braintree Churches.” But on that day, solemn ser- 
vices being held in the meeting-house at Dorchester, 
Governor Leverett being present, but the rain and 
snow keeping away many of the magistrates, “ by the 


assistance of the elders and delegates from the churches | 


of Boston, Weymouth, Braintree, and Dedham,” this 


church was formed. ‘Twelve men “ of y* Brethren of 


Milton w" y® chh was Gathered,” of whom five were | 


members of the Dorchester Church, one of the Second 


Church, Boston, one of the Weymouth Church, and | 


five “admitted to covenant” at that time, joined 


themselves together there and united in the following | 


covenant: 


“ We whose names are subscribed, being called of God to Joine 


until, after | 





ourselves together in Chh communion, from our hearts acknowl- | 


edging our owne unworthynesse, of such a priviledge, or of y® 
Least of god’s mercys, & likewise acknowledging our owne dis- 
ability, to keep Covenant, with God, or to performe any spirit- 
uall duty, w° hee calleth us unto, unlesse, y° Lord Jesus doe in- 
able, thereunto, by his spirit dwelling in us. Doe, In y® name 
of Christ Jesus our Lord, & in trust & confidence of his free 
grace assisting us: Freely Covenant & bind our selues, solemnly, 
in y® presence of God hims. his holy Angells, & all his servants 
here present, y* wee will by his Grace assisting, Indeavour con- 
stantly to. walk together as a right ordered, Congregation of 
Christ, according to all y® holy rules of a Church body: rightly 
Established, so farre as wee doe already know it to be our duty ; 
Or shall further vnderstand it out of gods holy word: Promising 
first & aboue all, to give up ourselues & our ofspring unto y® 
Lord, God father son, & Holy-Ghost, y® only true and liueing 
God, & to Cleave unto him as our cheife & only Good, and unto 





| help us) to keep it forever, & where wee shall faile, y& to waite 


upon our Lord Jesus, for healing & pardon for his Names 
sake.” 


The names to this covenant are Anthony Newton, 
member of Dorchester Church; Robert Tucker, 
member of Weymouth Church; William Blacke, 
member of Dorchester Church ; Thomas Swift, mem- 
ber of Dorchester Church ; George Sumner, member 
of Dorchester Church ; Thomas Holman, admitted by 
covenant; Ebenezer Clap, member of Dorchester 
Church ; Edward Blacke, member of Second Church, 
Boston ; George Lion, admitted by covenant ; James 
Tucker, admitted by covenant; Ephraim Tucker, 
admitted by covenant; Manassah Tucker, admitted 
by covenant. 

For about two years they gathered around Rev. 
Samuel Mann, of Wrentham, driven thence by the 
Indian war, and afterwards returning to his people. 
Then came their own first minister, ‘ the never-to-be- 
forgotten” Peter Thacher, of whom, fifty years later, 
Cotton Mather says, “The precious flock at Milton 
obtained this gift of our ascended Saviour.” Six- 
and-forty years, from 1681 to 1727, he labored here, 
and “made his flight’ hence to “the comfortable 


_ chambers’ of God’s “house of many mansions” in his 


our Lord Jesus Christ as our only Saviour, our Prophit, Preist | 


& King, our spirituall head & Husband; & for y* furthering of | 


us to Keep y* blessed Communion with God & his son Jesus | 


Christ, & to grow up more fully herein, wee doe likewise prom- 
ise, by his Grace Assisting us to Endeavour ye Establishing, 
Be, My 

amongst ourselues of all his holy Ordinances, we hee hath ap- 


pointed for his Chh here on Earth, & to Observe all & Every of 


y™, in such sort, as shall bee most agreeable unto his will; Op- | 


poseing, unto y® utmost of our chh power y* Contrary. And | the same authority, “he fed his flock with two ser- 


lastly wee doe hereby Covenant & promise, to further unto y¢ 


utmost of our power, y® best spirituall good, of such other, & 


of all & Every One, y* may become members of y* Congrega- | 


tion, by mutuall Instruction, reprehension, Exhortation, Con- 
solation, & spirituall watchfulnesse, over one another, for good; 
& to be subject in & for y® Lord, to all y° Administrations & Cen- 
sures, of y® Chh, soe far as y® same shall be guides according 
to ye Rules of gods most holy word in a way of order peace & 
vnion; with all promising to walk orderly in a way of fellow- 
shipe, & Communion with all y® Chhs of Christ among us ac- 
cording to Rule. yt y® Lord may be one & his name one in all 
y® Chhs. 

“This Covenant wee doe by solemne act of Chh Confedera- 


U 


tion Enter into, with full purpose of heart (as y® Lord shall | 


seventy-seventh year. A man he was of uncommon 
gifts and acquirements, descendant and progenitor of 
a race of ministers,—‘‘ his grandfather was an eminent 
preacher at Old Sarum,’—and well fitted for the 
central position of influence assigned at that time in 
Massachusetts to the minister. He seems to have 
been physician to his people’s bedies as well as to 
their souls, spending, Says Cotton Mather, “in medi- 
cines, it may be some scores of pounds, and a great 
part of his yearly salary, which he freely bestowed 
’ ay, it may be, 

He for years 
preached to the Indians at Punkapaug, “a monthly 
lecture, & furnished himself with skill in their Ses- 
quipedalian language,” says Cotton Mather, ‘that he 
might be able to do it.” ‘On y° Lord’s days,” says 


upon the invalids among his people ;’ 
on those of all the country around. 


mons. The manna was rained no less than twice in 


every Sabbath. He many years kept up a monthly 
He catechised as an Angel of the little ones. 


He neglected not the pastoral visits.” 


lecture. 
“He often gave 
his presence at the private meetings of his neighbors, 
who met in course at one another’s houses for agree- 
able devotions. Among these he took a special cog- 
nizance of, and had a special affection to, the societies 
of his dear YOUNG MEN, and always manifested a very 
great joy to see his children walking in the truth ; 
and as great a care that they might none of them 








MILTON. 751 





decline from good beginnings. He would sometimes 
go to them, and preach to them, as well as pray with 


them; and one of the sermons which he bestow'd 


upon them, they were at the expence of publishing, | 
that they might enjoy it as their perpetual monitor. — 


ybok! 


It is entitled ‘THe PERPETUAL COVENANT. What 


an interesting glimpse is here of the life of that young | 
time! And it gives us no hint of the fireless churches, | 


in which the long services of worship and fast, ordi- 
nation and council, were held, sometimes lasting, 
especially those of ordination and installation, through 


a large part of the day,—no hint of the solitariness, © 
rudeness, and danger of the ways through which the > 
brave worshipers thronged to the house of public 
worship, on foot, on horseback; in wet weather, in | 
ox-carts; on snow-shoes or sledges in winter; and— 


whose very difficulty enhanced the sweetness and 
preciousness of the service and society of the house 
of God. 
for college, not a few of whom made a mark ‘in the 
history of New England. How he could stand it 
Mather answers by referring to bis “ travels” and “ the 


Besides all which, he trained young men 


exercise, than which the medicina gymnastica never 
prescribed a better. Thus, our ancient Peter held out 
so well, that even when he was old, he could gird 
So Peter 


Thacher lived and labored, in surroundings which 


himself, and go almost whither he would.” 


perhaps the poorest of Milton’s present dwellers would 
eall hard, but so richly and faithfully that, as Cotton 
Mather says, he and his people ‘“‘ were so far from 


being weary of one another, that their mutual en- 
dearments were never stronger and more /ively, than | 


at the time when his death translated him to the 
upper chambers.” 

“ Lamentabie animosityes & divisions,’’* as this fine 
brave soul calls them, had caused him to hesitate about 
accepting the “unanimous, frequent & affectionate 
calls’ which the Milton people gave him, and 


towards the close of his ministry they threatened to | 


reappear. A new and larger meeting-house was 
needed, and where to put it was a disputed question,— 
not finally settled till after many town-meetings and 
The town no 


On 


the admission of his son to church-membership in 


votings running through seven years. 
doubt had grown both in numbers and wealth. 


1715 he says, with a delicious unconscious parental 
exaggeration, “‘ He is 176 members in full communion 


admitted by myself,”* among whom he had recorded | 


‘“‘ Peo my Indian servant (though now a free woman ).” 
In 1724 he records ‘* Hagar my negro woman.” 





1 Chureh Record, in his own writing. 
* Milton Church Record, p. 6. 


At | 


| = 
_ the time of his death, twelve years later (1727), he had 
_admitted two hundred and fifty-three. The Lord’s 
| Supper was administered by him for the first time 
here* in 1681, June 19th, to “about fourscore com- 
municants.” This would imply a pretty large con- 
In the same period, on the other hand, 
he had “attended the departure of all the founders 
” most of them long-lived men and be- 
queathing longevity to their children, and, better 
than that, a character and quality simple, strong, 
and _ serviceable. The new church was not built 
till the year after his death. It stood near the 
road, in front of the spot now occupied by this Mil- 
ton Church. Its size was fifty feet by forty, and 
twenty-eight high, with a belfry, in which the town- 
meeting of April 3, 1729, voted to place “a bel” to 
weigh three and one-half hundred-weight “ orose”’ 
(three hundred and ninety-two pounds), the expense 
to be raised by “supscription.” The sound of that 
little ‘“‘church-going bell” might well be as modest 
and diffident as that of the gentle and beloved parson 
John Taylor’s voice, whose tones floated up into its 
vibrations. The town voted him liberty to cut tim- 
ber in the ministerial land*—of which it had two 
hundred acres set apart for the support of the min- 
istry, etc.—to build him a house; also that he shall 
have first choice of a place to build a pew for the 
ministry in the new meeting-house, and that his pew 
be built by the town. It was further voted that those 
_ who “draw pus shall sit in them themselves with so 
many of their family as conveniently can sit with 
them, and the rest of their family to be seated with 
the rest of the town.” 


gregation. 


of the town, 


_ In that meeting-house Mr. 
Taylor labored through the most of his ministry. 
Ordained Nov. 13, 1728, he died Jan. 26, 1749-50, 
“after above twenty-one years eminent service in y° 
ministerial office in y* Town of Milton.” His strength 
_ seems to have lain in his gentleness and worth rather 
than in self-assertion. A man apparently of real-eul- 
_ ture, by his contemporaries held “ remarkable for his 
high rank in the republick of letters,” he is described 
by Dr. Chauncy as “an agreeable, pleasant compan- 
ion, and a friend that might be depended upon,” but 
so shrinking that he would seldom preach from home, 
and would allow nothing of his to appear in print. 


Mr. Thacher’s private diary by Mr. 
McKean. He adds that the second celebration of the Lord’s 
Supper took place July 24th, after five weeks, and the third 
September 4th, after six weeks. 


3 This is quoted from 


£ The town records of Oct. 21, 1728, contain a vote in town- 
meeting ‘‘ that there should be wood cut in y® land needful for 
fire at Mr. Taylor’s ordination.” For what purpose this fire 

does not appear, as the practice of heating churches was not 
4 yeu. 


752 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





At his death Dr. Chauncy, by his orders, committed 
all his papers to the flames. 
him as “rather an agreeable than a great man, rather 
pretty and delicate in his sentiments and expressions 
than strong and nervous. 
not the strongest. Few were more universally be- 
loved while they lived, and lamented when dead 
among those of their acquaintance.” | 

During his ministry Deacon Manasseh Tucker, the 
last of the original twelve who founded the church, 
died, April 9, 1743. The church took the occasion, 
that earlier generation having passed away, on the 
sixty-fifth anniversary of its formation, to renew their 
“ Coy’ with God & one another, which They did 
accordingly,’ says Parson Taylor, ‘“ April 24", when 
the members of the C"® Male & Female manifested 
their Consent to their Fathers Cov‘ by standing up 
while I read It over with a small Variation as the 
Change of Circumstances required.” 

About thirteen months after Mr. Taylor’s death 


Mr. Nathaniel Robbins was ordained, Feb. 13, 1750 | 


—51. 


ning through four-and-forty years, closing with his 


A long and honorable service was his,—run- 


death, May 19, 1795,—a period heaving with the agi- 
tations of the Revolution. Mr. Robbins was a pa- 
triot. At the battle of Lexington, fought when he 
was fifty years of age, two of his brothers were in 
He seems to have been 
eminently a man of affairs, and in 1788 was sent by 
the town to the convention which adopted the 


Federal Constitution. 


Capt. Parker’s company. 


His practical wisdom showed 


itself in various ways. At his ordination a settle- 


| 


Dr. Chauncy describes | 


and the young, tender and faithful; is it wonder 
that he kept his church free from fanaticism and 
united and rational? How much he may have 


served to prepare for the changes that were to come 


His head was clear, though | 





_ and sold. 


ment of one thousand pounds old tenor—equal to five | 


hundred dollars—was allowed him, and a salary of | 


five hundred pounds, or two hundred and fifty dollars, 
per annum, and twenty-five cords of wood. 
bought land and built him a house and gradually ac- 
quired a considerable farm,—now owned by Col. H. 
S. Russell,—which doubtless was a faithful friend to 
him, as well as an abode of hospitality to many others 
in those distressful days. Then he showed rare tact 
putes. 
refused to call any man master on earth, or to sac- 
rifice truth to prevailing opinions, however conducive 
to popularity, to consideration, and consequence. Such 
candor and liberal principles were the more deserving 


of praise, since, in the first period of his ministry, Milter 
) 1iton,. 


such a spirit and temper were not common.” So, in 
preaching, “plain and pathetick ;” in prayer, apt and 
easy ; in charity, so large and just that he would not 
allow even the good in bad men to be forgotten ; 


in service to the unfortunate, the sick, the sorrowing, 


But he | 





In his preaching, says Thomas Thacher, “ He | 


spending their money before they raised it. 


| £5 2s. above the valuation. 
and skill in adjusting apparently unmanageable dis- | 


when the Unitarian controversy broke out, we may 
imagine, though can never know.! 

In the latter part of his ministry the question of 
a new meeting-house again arose. Hxactly why does 
not appear, for the town could hardly have recovered 
from the exhaustion of the Seven Years’ war, the 
Revolution, and the long depression before the adop- 
tion of the Constitution. Indeed, in the thirty-two 
years ending with 1783, Mr. James M. Robbins 
says, Milton added nothing to its wealth and little to 
its population,—“ the whole increase,” he says, ‘ not 
exceeding one hundred persons.” In 1785 its popu- 
lation did not exceed twelve hundred persons, with two 
A town-meet- 
ing, however, voted, Oct. 3, 1785, to build a new meet- 
ing-house sixty-six by fifty-two feet,—that in which 


hundred and sixty-seven ratable polls. 


we meet to-day. Take sixteen feet off its length and 
twelve off its breadth, and you will get an idea of the 
surface dimensions of that older building, in which 
for seven-and-fifty years—a united church, the one 
church of Milton—our fathers worshiped. The cost 
was to be raised by selling the old church at auction, 


selling the pews in the new one, and assessing the 


balance on the polls and estates throughout the town. 
And two years were to be devoted to the building of 
the church. In six weeks (Nov. 14, 1785) the pews 
on the lower floor, sixty-two in number, were valued 
Valued at £904, they sold for £1191 2s.; 
£287 2s. being thus bid for a choice. 
valuation set on a pew was £24; the lowest £11. 
The highest bid for a choice was £6 12s., by William 
Taylor ; the lowest, £3 12s., by John Crehore, Jr., 
and John Marshall. ‘Ten weeks later the twenty-four 
gallery pews were appraised and sold. Valued at 
£150,—the values ranging from £10 to £4,—they 
sold at £209 8s., the bids running from £1 10s. to 
The amount raised by 


The highest 


these sales was £1400 10s., and this before ground 
broken Those simple- 
minded fathers of ours apparently did not believe in 
Is not 
that pretty good doctrine to build a church upon? 


was for the new church. 


! During Parson Robbins’ ministry Whitefield preached in 
Ilis friends sought to get the meeting-house for him. 
But to this Mr. Whitefield is re- 
ported to have said that “true religion would not flourish in 
His preaching was 
held under the large tree which stood in front of the Foy house 
on Milton Hill, and which blew down in the memorable gale of 
1857. 


Robbins would not consent. 


Milton until they got a new minister.” 





MILTON. 





753 








On May-day, 1787, they began to frame the house. famous Dr. Pierce, of Brookline. But the town would 


June 19th they began to raise the frame. “ And 
altho four days ware Barely sufficient,’ says the 
record, “for accomplishing that important Difficult 
& Dangerous part of the Bussness yet as the Quantity 
of the Timber was Large and also very hevey as 
thare was No damage sustained or the most triffling 


accident hapned during the whol time these singular | 
Circumstances were generally Considered as evident © 
Tokens of the divin favour and supernatural Protec- | 


tion.” December 31st the committee in charge of 
the building “‘ ware agreeably entertained with the 
Exhibition of very elligant clock Presented as a do- 
nation to the Town by Mr. Edward H. Robbins.” ? 
On the first day of the year 1788 the new church 
building was dedicated. It had cost seventeen hun- 
dred pounds,—five thousand six hundred dollars. The 


not concur, and not till two and a half years after 
Mr. Robbins’ death was a new minister, Rev. Joseph 
McKean, ordained here. Young, bright, eloquent, 
and from childhood of uncommon promise,—a promise 
which his young manhood’s labors here did not disap- 


_ point,—he raised hopes for a long and excellent career. 





old church standing on the road was pulled down. | 


Mr. Robbins, on occasion of the dedication, was fur- people whom this goodly succession of ministers 


Tn | 


nished a new horse-hair wig and black gown. 
the spring,’ we are told, “every man in the parish 
brings a young elm-tree and plants it in the yard. 
The three Dutch elms before the door were brought 
from Brush Hill.”* The building stood sideways to 
the road and faced southwest. 


the west side, with sounding-board, according to the 
not always bad fashion of that time. Sixty years 
were to pass ere an organ’s voice should here be heard. 

Here the last eight years of Mr. Robbins’ ministry 
centred. 
Rey. John Pierce* (June 19, 1796), afterwards the 





1The record adds: “ This Butifnll Machine Justly Esteemed 
very ornimantal is really much more valuable on account of 
its use and Conveniency ; for while it serves to distinguish those 


artificial Periods of Time that measure and Constitute the ag- | 


gregate Term of univarsall Mortal Duration at the same time 
reminds us of the Constant and unintrupted Succession of those 


' those names are a revelation. 


It was open to the | 
roof, had galleries around, and a pulpit high up on | 


On his decease, in 1795, the church called | 


moments that will infailably & shortly reduce that Portion of | 


time alloted to mortals to one single point.” 
2 They were brought by Governor E. H. Robbins. 
were originally four. 


There 
The one nearest the southwest drive-way 


was blown down in the September gale of 1815. Like many other | 


trees which shared its fate at that time, it was replaced, and it 
flourished for about twenty years. In 1835, however, when the 
meeting-house was turned round, as it showed signs of decay 
and obstructed one of the approaches to the church, it was cut 
down. 


Of the other elms, more being offered than were required for | 


the yard of the church, Mr. William Taylor took the remainder 
and planted them on the opposite side of the road in front of 
his land, where they remain “ unto this present.” 


3 They who call the old times better than the new may find a | 


grain of comfort in the following “little story.’ Dr. Pierce 
used to say, in his jovial fashion, that Mr. John Swift was the 


cause of his not coming to Milton. Being a man of influence, 


he made such a fuss in the town that the town refused to ratify | 


48 


. 


_change that was to come. 


But a sharp attack of lung disease brought his min- 
istry to an end, after seven years of service, in 1804. 
After his recovery, Harvard College weleomed him to 
the Professorship of Oratory that John Quincy Adams 
had held, which for ten years he filled acceptably, and 
whence he went to Havana, in 1818, to die, at the 


_ early age of forty-two. 


In his theology Mr. McKean was not Calvinist but 
Arminian, preparing thus the way for the great 
But before naming his 
successor let us pause a moment to glance at the 


served. ‘Their story is largely 


“The short and simple annals of the poor.” 


We know little of them beyond their names. But 
They are history of 
the best kind. They tell, if not of attainment, of, 
better yet, aspiration. How quaint and how relig- 
iously suggestive !— Mindwell Tucker, Preserved Lion, 
Silence Lion, Waitsti/l Williston, Charity Liscum, 
Experience Tolman, Deliverance Trot, Recompence 
Wadsworth, Freegift Cogshell, Comfort Foster, Sub- 
mit Badcock, Hopestill Feild, Bethel Blair, Content 
Marah, Reform Knowlton, Supply* Vose. Surely 
the people that of themselves run to names like these 
are such as will have ‘“ Religion in Common Life,” 
if that be possible. They will not be empty and idle 
men or frivolous women. Indeed, “tramps” and 
idlers stood small chance of immunity at their hands. 
They builded ships and mills, and bridges and roads. 
In 1785, already seven mills kept the Neponset-at 
work,—one chocolate, one saw, one grist, one slit- 
ting, and three paper,—and orchards abounded, yield- 





the vote of the church in favor of inviting Mr. Pierce. And 
the weighty ground of Mr. Swift’s opposition was that he did 
not like Mr. Pierce’s stepmother. 

+T cannot forbear adding to this list of names that of ‘ Role 
on God,’”’ which was given to a son of John Cotton. Its owner, 
I am informed, became minister of Sandwich, Mass. This, 
however, is not given as one of the Milton names. 

A curious glance into the history of this class of names is 
afforded by an extract from the ancient record of the First 
Church of Dorchester. After mentioning that Wait Clap, 
daughter of Roger Clap, was baptized 24 1 mo 50,—i.e., March 
24, 1650,—the record says: ‘‘Louetenant Clap declared y*® 
Reason why he called his child Watt was because he did 
suppose the Fall of antichrist was not Farre off.” 


754 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





ing ample supply of cider. 
chief occupation, although even then the town began 


But agriculture was the 


to develop the character which marks it to-day. 
Milton furnished her full quota to the Revolutionary 
war, and more. When Boston, in the severe winter 
of 1780, was so blocked by snow as to suffer for fuel, 
Milton farmers came to its relief with heavy supplies 
from the woods of Milton and Quincy, carried ‘“ by 
way of the river on the ice to Boston.” And so they 
were “not slothful in business,’ because ‘“ fervent in 
Honorable names in 


the pulpit, on the bench, in council, at the bar, in 


spirit, serving the Lord.” 


business, and in war arose among them, and of noble 
women not a few. Seventeen young men graduated 
from this town at Harvard College in the last 
half of the eehteenth century, all of whom proved 
“respectable,” and ‘some of them distinguished.” 
Thomas Thatcher, in his sermon on Mr. Nathaniel 
Robbins, 1795, says, ‘This town hath been cele- 
brated for a pacifick temper and liberal sentiments, 
even from its first incorporation ; so that in the course 
of one hundred and fifteen years I never heard of 
one ecclesiastical council being called, on account of 
any religious grievance.” 

Twenty-eight months passed after Mr. McKean’s 
retirement before his successor was settled,—the Rev. 
Samuel Gile, ordained Feb. 18, 1807. He came to 
a very different Milton from that of one hundred and 


twenty-nine years before. The seething activities of 


those years of war at home and abroad,—religious | 


controversy, political agitation, the free breathing of | 


the free air of this new continent, the independent life 


and self-zoverned movement of society in New Eng- | 


A 
liberal spirit had grown up, which could no longer 
be subdued. 
tion of the monarchy in England, compelling the tol- 
eration of the Church of England in this colony, had 
paved the way for it. 


land,—all had made their impress on this town. 


The death of Cromwell and the restora- 


The Quaker agitation, cul- 


Roger Wil- 


minating in 1658, had helped to it. 


liams’ great brave call for freedom of conscience and | 


the separation of State from Church, furthered it. 
The English Acts of Uniformity certainly could not 
repress it. The question of the witches; the revival 
under George Whitefield; the protest of Methodist 


and Presbyterian, with Baptist, Quaker, and Episco- 


J 


| Calvinist ; they Unitarian. 





| Unitarian. 





And cer- 
tainly the war for independence and the upheavings 
of the French revolution could not fail of influence. 
Thus the very atmosphere of New England thought 
and life had changed. A town situated like Milton 
could not fail to show the change. Hence, although 
excellence of character and loyalty to conviction might 
insure to the new minister a hearty welcome to his 
post of duty here, and the cordial respect and good- 
will of all classes of the people-of the town,—yet that 
very excellence of character and loyalty to conviction 
might, when questions arose, and a “ parting of the 
ways” was reached, make separation inevitable and 


towns,—all did their share towards it. 


_ decided. And so it proved here. 


In 1809, within three years after Mr. Gile’s settle- 
ment, the rigid and the liberal tendencies in the © 
churches of Boston and vicinity came to an issue in 
the Second Church in Dorchester, where. Mr. John 
Codman had been settled the year before, Mr. W. H. 
Mr. Codman would 
not exchange with the ministers of the Boston Asso- 
ciation, although, as I understand, he had been, if he 
was not at that very time, a member of it. He was 
His disappointed people 
tried to move him, but in vain. ‘They wrote to the 
ministers with whom he did exchange, requesting 
them not to come; but come they would. Twice 
they dismissed him, but he would not go. At last 
they put a guard on the pulpit-stairs to prevent his 
entrance; but for all that he preached. So the con- 
troversy waxed, to be settled at last by those opposed 
agreeing to sell their pews and leave the parish. 


Channing preaching the sermon. 


Eleven years later, in 1820, the controversy reap- 
peared in the First Church in Dedham, but with a dif- 
ferent issue. There Mr. Lamson was settled, against 
the remonstrance of two-thirds of the church, as a 
The protesting two-thirds of the church 
members seceded, claimed to be the true church of 
Dedham, and carried their case before the Supreme 


Court. There it was decided against them. 


“Tt was laid down, that a church separating from a parish, 


| for any cause, lost its existence; that never in Massachusetts 


palian, against being taxed “to support the ministry | 


and repair the meeting-house,” which they did not | 


agree to; and, finally, of Murray, the preacher of the | 


new gospel of Universalism, added to their own theo- | 


logical controversies and the Boston influence, which 
did not allow the inhabitants generally to be taxed to 


support the ministry, as they were in the country | 


had a church a legal existence apart from a parish. The law 
knew of parishes as corporations, and deacons as corporations, 
and ministers as corporations; but the church proper was no 
corporation or guasi-corporation, and could not, therefore, hold 
property apart from the parish, whatever its faith.” 


Not the seceding church members, but the parish, 
had the legal right to the title, property, records, and 
furniture of the First Church of Dedham. 

This momentous decision, a decision opening its own 
opportunity of self-denial and martyrdom, bore fruit 
in the history of this first church of Milton. 





MILTON. 








755 





The new minister proved to be Calvinistic rather — 


than liberal, while the parish was preponderatingly 
liberal. Had Mr. Gile been left to himself, a rup- 
ture might have been avoided. Perhaps the wonder 
is that it did not come earlier. Not till twenty-one 
years after his settlement does the First Unitarian 
Society appear in the records of this parish (July 4, 
1828). It was composed chiefly of members of the 
parish whom Mr. Gile’s ministrations failed to satisfy. 
It met in the present high-school building, under 
the preaching of Rev. Charles Chauncy Sewall. 





It | 


appears as making overtures to this parish for an _ 


equitable division of the ministerial lands belonging 
to the parish. As negotiations proved fruitless, and 
as danger appeared of the alienation and loss of the 
- ministerial lands, the First Unitarian Society dis- 
solved, and its members resumed their place in the 
parish, and asserted their rights in open parish meet- 
ing. The question of exchanges was the point on 
Gile had agreed to exchange with ministers of the 
Boston Association. As division lines were more 
sharply drawn, it became increasingly difficult for him 
to do so; and yet the more urgently his people re- 


quired it. Nearly eleven years the question was agi- 


ing tree, because it must. The tree must enter on a 
more varied and richer life. The two branches were 
in it from the first, though bound up in the one trunk. 
Which of them is the true First Milton Church? 
Both claim so to be: which is correct? Could 
numbers settle the question, they would settle it in 
this one’s favor. Could Massachusetts law settle it, 
the decision would be the same, for it awards to this 
parish the title, records, property, and furniture of the 
ancient First Church of Milton. Could adherence to 
the theologic letter of the old covenant settle it, the 
verdict must go the other way. 

Thus, four-and-forty years ago, this ancient church 
became distinctly Unitarian. So it has continued 
until this day. 

One of its first acts, after the induction of a new 
minister,—Rev. B. Huntoon, installed Oct. 15, 1834, 
—was to adopt the New Testament “as the only 


_ Divinely authorized Creed for Christians, and an all- 
which discussion turned. At his settlement, Mr. | 


tated, terminating then in arrangements for a sepa- 


ration between him and his people. 
council” —7.e., a council composed of representatives 
of both parties—proving impracticable, an ex parte 


A “mutual | 


council, representing the majority of the parish, was | 
« | 


convened to consider and pass on the matter. It met 


| Lucretia Babcock, Moses Gragg 


at Mrs. Atherton’s tavern, Jan. 6, 1834, the house | 


now occupied by Mr. D. G. Hicks, on the corner of 
Canton Avenue and Atherton Street. 
presented the case for the parish. 
appear. The council, composed of Revs. Peter Whit- 
ney, of Quincy; John White, of West Dedham; Al- 
van Lamson, of Dedham; James Walker, of Charles- 


Horace Mann | 
Mr. Gile did not | 


sufficient rule of faith and practice.” Forty-eight 
persons signed their names to this acknowledgment, 
‘“‘beseeching Almighty God so to assist and direct” 
them “in discharging all the duties of this present 
life, that” they “ may obtain life Eternal through our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Of these forty- 
eight some are still present with us, though most 
have “ fallen asleep.” 

The following is the list: Benjamin Huntoon, 
Susan Huntoon, John Ruggles, Betsy Ruggles, Betsy 
Ruggles, Jr., Esther Soper, Lemuel Babcock, Jr., 
Rebekah N. Gragg, 
Edward Capen, Mary Capen, Nathaniel Davenport, 
Nancy Davenport, Jeremiah Crehore, Joann Crehore, 
Catharine Dunbar, Mary B. Clarke, Matilda Vose, 
Walter Cornell, Mary Cornell, Amy Batty, Stephen 
Babcock, Rufus P. Sumner, Susan Sumner, Samuel 


cD) 


_ Adams, Margaret L. Babcock, Charles R. Kennedy, 


town; Lemuel Capen, of South Boston; and Samuel | 


Barrett, of Boston, each of them accompanied by one 
deacon of his church, voted unanimously that Mr. 


Gile had lived in habitual violation of the under- | 


standing between him and his parish regarding minis- 
terial exchanges, and recommended that his connec- 
tion with the parish be dissolved. On Jan. 20, 1854, 
it was dissolved. He retired with his friends, and 
they formed the neighboring society, under the name 
of the “ First Evangelical Church, Milton,” in whose 
ministry he continued till his death, in 1836. 

Thus the old order of things came to an end, and 


anew order began. The time had come when the one 


Kphraim Hunt, Jr., Simon Ferry, Rhoda Ferry, 
John J. Low, Francis M. Clark, Eliza A. Clark, 
Lydia 8. Ford, Mary A. Clark, J. S. Foord, James 
Tucker, Thomas Snow, Lewis Davenport, Lucretia 
Babcock, Lydia Davenport, Dana Tucker, Rebecca 
Tucker, Nathaniel T. Davenport, Sarah Davenport, 


| Elmira Thayer, Elizabeth Simpson. 


must become two,—the one trunk dividing into two | 


branches. The division came as it comes in the grow- 


Soon arose agitation about a new meeting-house. 
The “ new wine,” perhaps, suggested “ new bottles.” 
But surely new bottles were not needed. Although it 
was voted to take down this building, better counsels 
prevailed, and contented themselves with turning it 
round and remodeling it, and setting off a portion of it 
for a Sunday-school room. A new clock was given by 
John J. Low, a chandelier and pulpit-lamp by Francis 
Low, and by Mrs. Low a damask curtain for the 


756 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





pulpit. Mr. Samuel H. Babcock gave a pulpit car- 
pet, chair, and Bible, and Miss Louisa G. Davenport 
one hundred and fifty dollars. All of these donors, 
except Miss Davenport, were citizens of other towns. 
On Dee. 9, 1835, the building was dedicated anew to 
God, with “solemn and interesting’’ services, the 
music led by Deacon Martin. In 1851 it received a 


| was given to Rev. Albert K. Teele, who accepting the 


invitation thus extended, was installed during the 
latter portion of that year, continuing his ministra- 
tions over the society for twenty-five years,.to the 
great acceptance of the parish, being released finally 
December, 1875, at his own desire, the society sorrow- 


_ fully accepting and acceding to his request that the 


new change; in 1868, a new organ; and, finally, in | 
| A 3 
_ him and them as pastor and people should terminate ; 


1871, another change, which made it as we see it 


to-day. Long may it stand, an emblem of the en- 


during, a symbol from the past, a silent voice speaking | 


the name of the All-Holy! 

Quietly, meanwhile, it has done its work, under 
the peculiar conditions of a widely-scattered and very 
shifting membership. Five ministers it has had 
since the new epoch in its history began,—Huntoon, 
Angier, Morison, Washburn, and the present pastor, 
Rev. Frederick Frothingham. 

The First Evangelical Society of Milton was 
organized in 1834, it being an offshoot, so to speak, 
of the old First Church, organized in 1678. 

By the records we find that Rey. Samuel Gile was 
ordained as pastor of the First Parish on Feb. 18, 
1807, and continued his ministrations with that so- 
ciety for twenty-seven years, when, on account of a 
difference of opinion on doctrinal points, Mr. Giles’ 
connection with the First Parish was dissolved Jan. 6, 
1834, those of the parish agreeing with him in senti- 
ment, or who were drawn to him by strong personal 
attachments, severing their relations with the First 


relations existing for a quarter of a century between 


kindlier relations than which on the part of both 
pastor and people never probably existed. 

Rey. Dr. Teele, although having resigned his charge, 
still continues a resident of the town, honored and 
beloved by all her citizens, and ever taking an active 
part in all good works. 

After an interim of six years, various candidates 
having been heard, the choice of the society fell upon 
Rey. Calvin G. Hill, the present pastor, who, installed 


/some two years since as Dr. Teele’s successor, is an 


| 
| 


Parish and forming a new society, now known as the | 
_he then withdrew, in other fields to labor, leaving the 


“ First Evangelical Society.” 

Mr. Gile continued his pastorate over the society 
thus formed until his decease, which occurred very 
suddenly on Sunday, the 16th day of October, 1836. 
At noon of that day, soon after reaching home, hav- 
ing officiated at the morning service apparently in the 
best of health, a trumpet from heaven sounded sum- 


moning him from the scenes where he was greatly 
beloved, not only by his own people, but by all the 


inhabitants. 

rev. Samuel W. Cozzens, who was called to suc- 
ceed the Rev. Mr. Gile, was installed May 24, 1837. 
He was a man of commanding ability, of great lit- 
erary attainments, and continued as pastor of the so- 
ciety for the space of ten years, when at his own 
request he received a dismissal, soon after removing 
Mr. Cozzens died at Medfield, Aug. 
7, 1875, being brought thence for interment in 
Milton. 

For some three years after the retirement of Mr. 


from the town. 


Cozzens the church was without any settled pastor, 


earnest worker in the Lord’s vineyard. 

The Second Evangelical Society of Milton was 
organized Nov. 9, 1843, in that portion of the town 
then known as the “Railway Village,” now called 
Kast Milton. Its house of worship was erected June 
18, 1846. For some eight years or more after its 
organization the society did not have a regularly set- 
tled pastor, preachers hired for a shorter or longer 
term ministering to the spiritual wants of the people, 
when the parish giving a call to the Rev. Edwin 
Leonard, he was ordained over the society March 
25, 1852, continuing with them some eight years; 


society without a pastor, and although some twenty- 
three years have since elapsed, and many are the 
preachers that have held forth to this congregation, 


no call has been given to any to permanently settle 


different clergymen officiating, when, in 1850, a call | 


over the Second Evangelical Society. 

The Lower Mills Baptist Church of Dorchester 
and Milton was organized Oct. 13,1882. Previous 
to its organization services had been held for nearly 
two years by an organization known as the Lower 
Mills Baptist Mission. Twenty-five members united 
in forming the new church. On Nov. 22, 1882, a 
council was convened from neighboring Baptist 
churches to recognize the church and ordain its 
pastor. Rev. George W. Bosworth, D.D., Secretary 
of Massachusetts Baptist State Convention, gave the 
address of recognition, Rev. O. P. Gifford, of Boston, 
preached the sermon, and Rev. A. T. Dunn, of Bos- 
ton, gave the right hand of fellowship. The pastor, 
Rey. Nathan Hunt, has had charge of the church 
from his ordination until the present date. During 
that time the membership has more than doubled, and 





MILTON. 


757 





the church has received many other signs of tem-_ 


poral and spiritual prosperity. A hall is still used as 
a place of worship, but efforts will probably be made 
at no distant day to secure a more suitable place. 


Ci As PT BR, aLexXey.. 
MILTON—( Continued). 


The Crehore Estate—The Sumners—The Wadsworths—The 
Vose Place—The Robert Tucker Place—The Oldest House in 
Milton—The Tucker House—The Billings House—The Blue 
Hills—The Foye House—The Hutchinson House—The Rob- 
bins House—-The Governor Belcher Place-—-Milton Cemetery 
—Detailed History—Different Purchasers—Ancient Inscrip- 
tions—Tombs. 


Ancient Homes and Estates.'—I can make out 
but five families who now live on land taken by their 
ancestors at the first settlement of this place. 
widow of John Crehore holds a part of the original 
Crehore estate. 
(Kingsbury Sumner) Perry live on land owned by 
their ancestors, the Sumners. 
cultivates, as his homestead, land which has been in 
his family from the earliest period of our history. 
The grandfather of the Hon. Charles Sumner was 
born and lived on some part of the Brush Hill 
Sumner estate. 

The Wadsworths, Jason, Thomas, Thatcher, and 


Josiah, live on land which has never been out of the | 


hands of their ancestors since it was first cultivated. 
The heirs of the late Col. Josiah H. Vose still 

occupy the place which has been owned by their 

family since 1654. And heirs of the late Mrs. Mary 


Boies Clark not only live on land owned by their an- | 


cestor, Robert Tucker, the first of the name in Milton, 


but it is probable that they live in the very house | 


that he built a short time before his death. In his 
will, made in 1682, he speaks of his ‘“ new house,” 


and as that, as Mr. Robbins thinks, is the house now | 
_ different points along the principal roads, and several 


standing next beyond the Robbins house, on Brush 
Hill, it must have been built as early as 1680, and is 
undoubtedly the oldest house in Milton. Next to it 
in age, and of a date not much more recent, is the 
Billings house. Both these houses are of a primi- 


tive order of architecture, and evidently belong to a 


| hundred inhabitants. 


The | 


present century, and was a favorite place of resort, 
especially at the cherry and strawberry seasons, for 
parties from Boston and the neighboring towns. The 
Blue Hills were more visited in those days than now, 
when the summit of Mount Washington is hardly a 
day’s journey from Boston. 

The other ancient houses in Milton belong to a 
later period, and to a much higher style of architec- 
ture. The Foye house, long occupied by Mr. Samuel 
Littlefield ; the Hutchinson house, better known to 
the present generation as the Russell house; the In- 
man, or Robbins house, on Brush Hill; and the Goy- 
ernor Belcher place (his house was burned in 1776) 
were not only in themselves among the finest in this 
neighborhood, but they have also associations of his- 
torical interest. 

Governor Hutchinson’s house, as Mrs. Robbins 
informs me, was confiscated after he fled from the 
country. 
passing from his hands, became the residence of 


It was purchased by Samuel Broom, and 


_ James Warren, whose wife, Mercy Warren, was the 


The heirs of Simon and Rhoda | 


| war. 


Mr. Rufus P. Sumner | 


author of a valuable history of the Revolutionary 
Thomas Lee, of Cambridge, owned it for a little 
while, and sold it to Patrick Jeffrey, who had married 


| Madam Haley, a sister of the noted John Wilkes, of 


England. Jeffrey's wife left him, and he died at his 
home in Milton, in 1812. The estate was afterwards 
purchased by Mr. Barney Smith, and is now owned 


_ by his grandchildren, the heirs of his daughter, the 
late Mrs. Lydia Russell, mother of the late Jonathan 





Russell. 

Milton Cemetery.—As no movement seems to 
have been made to secure a common burial-place in 
Milton until ten years after theeincorporation of the 
town, it follows that those who resided within the 
limits of “‘ Unquity” (a contraction of Unquityquisset, 
the old Indian name of Milton) before and after in- 
corporation, must have buried their dead in Dorches- 
ter, or by common consent have appropriated ene-or 
more places for this purpose within their own limits. 

At this time there doubtless were settlements at 


Twelve years after incorpora- 


tion, the records give one hundred and twenty-five 


period when building materials were plenty and labor | 


was scarce. The Billings house continued in that 
family for many generations. The house was widely 


known as a public-house before the beginning of the — 





1 Contributed by Rev. John H. Morison, D.D. 


tax-payers, from which may be inferred a population 
of from four to eight hundred or more. It is hardly 
probable that their only place of burial was the dis- 
tant cemetery in Dorchester. The supposition is that 
the inhabitants had used the field of Reedman (after- 
wards Redman) for this purpose, and thus were led to 
fix upon this place as the common burial-ground. 

The first notice found in the records respecting the 
“ Burying Ground” is as follows : 


758 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





“The 24 Feby. 1672. Robert Reedman was allowed to be 
payedd out of the towne Rate tene shillings to pay for forty 
rods of Land for the Burying Place apprised and staked out by 
Anthony Gulliver, William Blake, Robert Babcock. 
Reedman being present and consenting thereto—and was agreed 
betwixed the Towne and Robert Reedman that the towne should 
fence out this forty rods of land, with a sufficient stone wall, 
within two years, from Robert Reedman’s land.”— Town Rec- 
ords, vol. i. page 1. 


width on the road, and extended back about seven 


rods to the rear, or southerly side of the range of | 


tombs now in the central part of the ground, the most 


westerly tomb in the range being in the southwesterly | 


These tombs are the oldest in the 
ground, and are supposed to have been built about the 
year 1719, the town having voted at the March meet- 
ing of that year, ‘That Capten John Billing shal 


angle of the lot. 


have liberty to build a tomb in our Burying Place at 
the Direction of the Selectmen.” 

The ministerial tomb was probably built in 1729, 
it having been voted at the March meeting of that 
year, ‘That Mr. Oxenbrig Thacher should have lib- 
erty to build a Tomb in our burying Place for the 
Rever* Mr. Peter Thacher his Father deceased, and 
that Lieut. Henry Vose and Mr. Benjamin Fenno 
should order the place for said Tomb where there 
may be convenient room.” 

This tomb was not built on the Reedman lot. At, 
or previous to, this time a small addition was made 


In 1760, Madam Elizabeth Foye, and others, con- 
veyed to the town by a deed of gift half an acre and 


Robert _ SIX rods of Jand to enlarge the burying-ground. The 


only notice of this grant to be found upon us records 
or files of the town is as follows : 

At a town-meeting, held July 7, 1760, ‘ Voted to 
choose a committee to take security of Mrs. Elizabeth 


| Foye of a piece of land adjoining our Burying Place. 
The above-mentioned lot was about six rods in| 


Samuel Miller Esq. Benjamin Wadsworth and Mr. 


_ Josiah How was chose a committee for the above said 





on the easterly side, where the side avenue and min- | 4"* ay 
| Reign, Annoque Domini 1760. 


isterial tomb now are, by taking some ten or twelve 
rods from the adjoining land, at that time owned by 


Samuel Henshaw; but of this there is no record. 


As early as 1699: attempts were made to enlarge | 


| “Signed, Sealed and Delivered 


the burying-place, and in that year a committee was — 


chosen ‘“‘to treat with any person that shall appeire | 


to be the tru owener of the burying place fild as it is 
commonly called, for the obtaining an addition of land 
necessary to enlarge our burying place, or to treat of 
a price for the whole tracte. and to make their return 
to the Town at the next town meeting.” 

The “ burying place fild” is supposed to be all that 
part of the Amory lot purchased of ©. Breck 
T. Hollis, Jr., which lies northerly of an old line of 
wall where the land begins to slope off to the swamp 


and 


or low ground. Nothing appears to have grown out 
of this attempt to enlarge the ground, unless perhaps 
the small addition, where the ministerial tomb now 
stands, may have been made at this time. 
ceca to enlarge the ground were made again 
4, 1738, 1749, and 1751, but without success, 
the owners of the adjoining land (Samuel Henshaw 
and William Foye) declining to sell. 


purpose ; Voted that the said committee return ye 
hearty Thanks of this Town to Mrs. Elizabeth Foye 
for a grant of a piece of land to enlarge our Burying 
Place.” 

The original deed is lost. The following is a copy 
of it, taken from the “Suffolk Records,” lib. 97, 
fol 1132: 


“Know all men by these presents, that we Elizabeth Foye, 
widow, Elizabeth Foye, spinster, and Mary Cooper, widow, all 
of Milton in the County of Suffolk, from a Regard to the In- 
habitants of the said Town of Milton, and in consideration of the 
sum of one shilling paid us do Give, Grant, Bargain and Convey 
unto the said inhabitants half an Acre and six Rodsas staket by 
Mr. How of Land in Milton aforesaid, heretofore the Estate of 
Wm. Foye Esq. deceased, the same lying between the now Bury- 
ing Ground in said Milton, and Land lately sold to Mr. Josiah 
Howe of said Milton. 

“To have and to hold the said half an Acre and six rods as 
staket by Mr How, of Land unto the said Inhabitants for a 
burying Ground forever. 

“Tn witness whereof we hereto set our hands and seals this 


| first day of September, in the thirty-fourth year of his Majestys 


Exiz® Foye (and a Seal). 
EvizABeta Foye Jun™ (and a Seal), 
Mary Cooper (and a Seal). 


in presence of 
Benjamin Fessenden 
Mary Babbidge 
“The six rods between the 6 &7 line 
as also between the 11 & 12 line was 
done before signing. 
September the first A.D. 1760 Elizabeth Foye, 
Elizabeth Foye and Mary Cooper personally appeared and ac- 
knowledged the above Instrument to be their deed. 
““Sam!, Minuer, Jus. Peace. 


“SUFFOLK 88. 


“ FKeby. 4, 1762. 
and Examined. 


Received and accordingly Entered 
Pr Ezek! Gotpruwalt, Reg.” 


The Foye lot is situated on the westerly and south- 
erly sides of the Reedman lot, being bounded westerly 
by the easterly side of the central avenue of the pres- 
ent ground (old cemetery), and extending back some 
six or seven rods in the rear of the Reedman lot. 

At the time of the above enlargement the ground 
had become filled with graves, and the supposition is 
that a few burials had already been made upon the 
Foye lot. 

The next enlargement was made Sept. 15, 1794, by 
the purchase of three-quarters of an acre of land, at 





a 


MILTON. 


759 








the rate of twenty-four pounds per acre, viz.: half 
an acre and twenty-two and a half rods from the heirs 
of Deacon Howe, and seventeen and a half rods from 
Col. Joseph Vose. 

The Howe lot is directly in the rear of the Foye lot, 
extending back nine rods to the present southerly 
bounds of the old cemetery, and includes also a strip 
of land ten feet wide on the westerly side of the 
burying-ground, “to be reserved for a lane,”—which 
lane is now the central avenue. 

The Vose lot is a strip of land about a rod wide on 
the easterly side of the Foye and Howe lots, which 
was reserved for and is now occupied by tombs. 

April 21, 1837, Francis Amory, Esq., “in con- 
sideration of one dollar and divers other good causes,” 


conveyed to the town of Milton, for the purpose of | 


enlarging the ‘“ Graveyard” of said town, a lot of 
land adjoining the same, containing by estimation one 
acre and one quarter. This embraces that tract lying 
between the central avenue and the wall recently re- 
moved. 

Dec. 11, 1854, the town purchased of Charles 
Breck and Thomas Hollis, Jr., eighteen acres and 
one hundred and sixteen rods of land, for the sum of 
eighteen hundred and four dollars. 
the rear and on the westerly side of the old cemetery, 


embracing all of the “ Burying place fild,” and ex- | 
tending through the swamp and over the opposite | 


hill. 


This new lot, being long and narrow, and 


reaching an inconvenient distance from the main — 


entrance, required an additional avenue to the high- 
way. 
April 21, 1858, Joseph McKean Churchill, Esq., 


“in consideration of the sum of One Hundred and | 


twenty-five dollars, and from love and affection for my 
native town and the inhabitants thereof, in order to 
furnish a convenient access to the New Cemetery 
lately purchased and laid out by said town,” conveyed 
to the town a lot of land on the easterly side of Gun- 
Hill road, containing one acre, and opening the south- 
ern part of the cemetery to Gun-Hill road. 

For the purpose of straightening the wall on the 
easterly side of the cemetery, and bringing the wall 
of the new cemetery in line with that of the old cem- 
etery, C. M.S. Churchill, Esq., “from regard to his 
native town and in consideration of one dollar,” con- 
veyed to the town the necessary amount of land, by 
deed Feb. 10, 1870. 

At the March meeting, 1874, the trustees were 
authorized to purchase twelve acres of land lying on 


This tract lies in | 








the easterly side of the cemetery, and extending from | 


Center Street to the rear line of the grounds. 
The purchase was made at once ; the new grounds 


| Edward Adams, 


were inclosed and connected by avenues and paths 
with the old, and made ready for use. 

The whole amount of land now embraced in the 
cemetery is as follows : 


By survey of Thomas Crehore, 1794, 1 acre, 2 quarters, 18 rods. 
Amory, grant, 1837, lacre, 1 quarter. 

1854, 18 acres, 2 quarters, 36 rods. 
1858, 
1870, 
1874, 12 acres. 


Town purchase, 

J. M. Churchill, grant, 
C. M.S. Churchill, grant, 
Town purchase, 


1 acre. 
8 rods. 





Total, 34 acres, 2 quarters, 20 rods. 


First Purchase.—Within the old, original grounds 
is situated the Crehore lot, in which are tablets bear- 
ing ancient inscriptions, as follows: 


In memory of M's Ann Crehore, wife of M™ William Crehore, 
who died Mc 25th, 1797, Ai. 70. 


In memory of M* Jsaiah Crehore, who died Noy. 34, 1770, 
aged 77 years. 

Mrs Lydia Crehore, wife of Mt William Crehore, died Deemt 
6th, 1785, in the 26 year of her age. 


Here lies the remains of Capt. John Crehore, who departed 


| this life Feb. 2°, Anno Dom. 1775, aged 64 years. 


Here lies the body of Timothy Crehore, who died Aug. 15%, 
1739, in y® 734 year of his age. 

Here lyes y® body of Mts Ruth Crehore, she died June 27%, 
1750, in y® 824 year of her age. 

Here lies the remains of Dea® Timothy Crehore, who de- 
parted this life Dec. 26, Anno Dom, 1755, in y® 67" year of his 
age. 

Here lies y® body of Hannah Crehore, daughter of Deacon 
Timothy Crehore & M's Mary his wife, died Jan. 11‘, 1735, in 
y° 21st year of her age. 


Interred in this vicinity are the descendants of 
Teague Crehore, who settled in Milton about the year 


1645. 
The following is a record of ancient inscriptions on 


| all tablets in Milton Cemetery from 1687 to and in- 


cluding 1800: 


Erected in memory of Mt Seth Adams, who departed this 

life Oct ye 12th, 1782, aged 41 years. 
Stop, my friend, and think on me, 
I once was in this world like thee, 
Now I lie mouldering in the dust, 
In hopes to rise amongst the just. 

Here lies buried the body of Seth Adams, Bat? Art’, son of 
M: Edward and Mrs Rachel Adams. He died June the 26%, 
1736, in the 234 year of his age. 

Here lies buried the body of Mts Rachel Adams, wife to Mt 
She died Nov. the 14th, 1727, in the 424 year 
of her age. 

Here rests our Friend Mt John Adams, who departed this 
life June y® 11, 1790, aged 81 years. 

As corn maturely ripe is gathered home, 

So his remains are brought into the tomb, 

To sleep in silence till that glorious day, 
When Christ his light shall roll the stone away. 


760 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Here lies buried the body of Mt Edward Adams, who died When Christ shall call his children to the skies, 


Sept the 2294, 1743, in the 61st year of his age. | Then hope in glory with the saints to rise. 

In memory of Sarah Adams, dau of Mt John Adams & B. Adams, Sculptor. 
Sarah his wife, who died Jan. 28", 1766, aged 13 years & 10 In memory of Martha Bent, who died Dec. 4, 1766, in the 
mos. 66% year of her age. 


In memory of Seth Adams, son of M™ Lemuel Adams and Here lies y® body of Rachel Bent, wife to Joseph Bent; died 
Mrs Hannah Adams, who died Jan. 20, 1796, aged 11 years. July ye 5th, 1775, in y® 524 year of her age. 


In memory of Lemuel Adams, son of Mt Lemuel Adams & Here lies y® body of Joseph Bent, aged 52 years; died Mch 
Mrs Hannah Adams, who died Jan. 25%, 1796, aged 13 years. | 31st, 1728. 


In memory of M*s Sarah Adams, late Consort of M" John In memory of Mr Eben Bent, who died Sep. 10*, 1796, aged 


Adams, who died Noy. 16, 1774, aged 63 years. | 59 years. 
Death is a debt to nature due, | This bed, thy dust shall keep in peace. 
As she has paid it so must you. | In memory of Mts Melanda Bent, widow of Capt. Lemuel 
In life then strive to get prepared Bent, who died Oct. 20th, 1796, aged 67 years, 5 months. 


HEEB I IA LE E38 In memory of Nathaniel Bicknell, son of Mt Nathaniel Bick- 


Here lyes y® body of Eliphalet Adams, son of Mr John & | nell and M*s Elizabt his wife. He died July yé 27, 1775, in y® 
Mrs Sarah Adams. He died Feb. 5th, 1747, in’y® 5t2 year of. | 20th year of his age. 
his age. 


In youth, in time of health, my young friends, 
John, son of M* John and M's Sarah Adams, aged 20 months | prepare for death. 
& 10 ds, Dect August ye 28th, 1735. 
In memory of 2 Children of M* Nathaniel & M's Lucy Ar- 
nold, viz.: 


Here lies buried the body of M* Ebenezer Billings, who died 
Sep. 16, 1766, aged 47 years. 
In patience and meekness few did him excell, 
Faithful in Milton, where he did dwell; 
Reason we have, and fully trust, 
That his soul is among the just. 


Nathan, died Jan. 1t, 1792, in y® 6t year of his age; 
Betsy P., died May 34, in y® 34 year of her age. 
Here lie two children of M* Nathan and Mts Luey Arnold: 
John, died Dee. 31, 1795, aged 8 years 9 months; 
Betsey, died Dee. 15, 1794, aged 6 months Here lies buried y® body of Mt Joseph Billings, who departed 
Se} . g 8. | 

this life July y® 18, 1765, in y® 84 year of his age. 

M's Maria Billings, wife of Mt Ebenez™ Billings, who died 
December 19, 1785, in y® 40™ year of her age. 


Here lies buried the body of Mt John Badcock, Junr, died 
April 10%, 1767, aged 24 years. 


In memory of Mt Nathan Badcock, who died Jan. 29t, 1777, 
in the 60‘ year of his age Marian Billings, daug. of M™ Moses & M's Marian Billings, 
ie. 


i c th, 1732, a ths. 
Here lies the remains of M's Susanna Badcock, the late ami- gE eres co anon ‘ : : 
able Consort of Mt Nathan Badcock, who died Aug. 7th, 1774, In memory of M* Ruhanah Billings, wife of Mr Joseph 


aged 55 years. Billings. She died Feb. 2°, 1740, aged 54 years. 
In faith she died, in dust she lies, Here lies her rest in peaceful dust, 
But faith forsees that dust shall rise, Till God in glory raised the just. 
When Jesus calls, while hope assumes In memory of M* Amariah Blake, who died May ye 19t, 
And breaks her joy among the tombs. 1792, in y® 60% year of his age. 
Here lyes buried y® body of Mt William Badcock, who de- Dear partner of my mortal cares, 
parted this life Meh 18, 1772, aged 54 years & 4 days. I bid you all adieu, 
Beneath this stone death’s prisoner lies, I hope to meet above the Skyes 
The stone shall move, Death’s prisoner rise, You and your children too. 
When Jesus with almighty word In memory of Mts Susanna Blake, Consort of Mt Enos Blake, 
Calls his dead saints to meet their God. who died Aug. 16th, 1776, in the 29 year of her age. 


Sacred to the memory of M's Bathsheba Badcock, daut of Here lyes buried y® body of M™ William Blake, who died Oct. 
Mr William & M'* Hannah Badcock, who died April 28th, 1792, | ye 15%, 1736, in ye 415* year of his age. 
vet. 31 years. In memory of M's Bathsheba Blake, the wife of M™ Ziba 
When this vain life of care and trouble’s o’er, Blake, who died Oct. 6%, 1778, aged 51 years. 





We die to live, and live to die no more. I once did stand as thou dost now, 


Here lies y® body of Nathaniel Badcock, Juner, aged 34 | To view the dead as thou dost me, 
years; died January y® 224, 1718-9. | : But soon you'll lie as low as I, 
a4 
Here lies buried the body of Mt George Badcock, dec? Men | While others stand and gaze at thee. 


In memory of two children, only sons of Mt Enos and Mrs 
In memory of M's Mary Bates, widow of M* William Bates, | Rachel Blake viz: 
of Weymouth, who died Dee. 30%, 1799, aged 87 years. Lemuel, died Oct. 22¢, 1792, in the 14 year of his age; 
The sweet remembrance of the just | Stephen, died Oct. 74, 1792, in the 7 year of his age. 
Shall flourish when they sleep in dust. 


8%, 1734, in y® 46 year of his age. | 


Thus are those flowers wither’d in their bloom, 
Vive Mori. | By death’s cold hand brought early to the tomb; 
Erected in memory of Mt Samuel Bent, who died Dec. 14th, | But mark the goodness of the pow’rs above, 
1797, aged 26 years. | It can’t withhold them from redeeming love. 
Early I left my earthly home of clay, | They’re safely landed on the peaceful shore 
Which rests in silence till that great day, Where sin, disease & death are known no more. 








MILTON. 


761 








Ziba Blake, son of M* Ziba and M's Susanna Blake, died 
Aug. 24th, 1793, aged 13 mos. & 16 days. 
Tho’ young, yet not too young to die, 
Prepare for death immediately. 
Make sure of Christ while life remains, 
And death will be eternal gain. 


. 


Here lies buried the body of Mts Elizabeth Bodwick, who 
departed Noy. 224, 1758, in the 60 year of her age. 

Here lies buried y® body cf M* William Bodwick, Dec Oct. 
y® 15th, 1752, in ye 55 year of his age. 

Here lies buried the body of M* Alex™ Boies, who departed 
this life the 298 of Oct. 1773, aged 36 years. 

In memory of Mt James Boies, who died the 11 day of 
July, 1798, aged 96. 

This stone fixed here to hold in remembrance the place where 
the remains of M* James Nelson Boies are deposited, who died 
on the 24 day of July, 1782, anno etatis 215*. 

Here lies buried y® body of M's Elizabeth Boys, wife to M* 
Jeams Boys, daughter of Mt Jeremiah Smith, who departed 
this life Nov. y® 20%, 1763, aged 32 years. 

In memory of M* Josiah Brown. He died December y® 31%, 
1775, in y® 35 year of his age. 

Here’s interred Clarissa, daughter of M™ John & Polly Bussy ; 
died April 19%, 1796, zt. 19 months. 

Elizabeth Clap died Dect ye 20%, 1701, aged 37 years. 

Here lyes buried y® body of Deac® Nehemiah Clap, who de- 
ceased July y© 188, 1743, in ye 54 year of his age. 

Here lies buried y® body of Ensign Ebenezer Clap, died July 
30%, 1712, in y® 69 year of his age. 

George Clark, son of M™ George and Mrs Lydia Clark, Dor- 
chester, died Mc‘? 21st, 1770, aged 1 year. 


Seth Clark, son of Mt George & M's Lydia Clark, Dorchester, | 


died Jan. 13, 1771, aged 5 weeks. 


In memory of M's Lydia Clark, wife of Mt George Clark, of | 


Dorchester. She died M* ye 1st, 1776, aged 31 years. 
In the book of life divine, 
My God inscribe my name, 
There let it fill some humble place, 
Beneath the slaughtered Lamb. 


Here lies the body of Mt Thomas Cradock and Prusilla his 
wife and their daughter Ann, the wife of Mt Thomas Edwards, 
who departed this-life November 24, 1752, aged 24 years. 


Farewell forever then to all that’s gay ! 

You will forget to sing and I to pray, 

No more with cheerful songs in cooling bowers, 
Shall we consume the pleasurable hours. 

All joys are banished, all delights are fled, 
Ne’er to return, for A**’s dead. 


Here lies buried y® body of Mt Benjamin Crane, who de- 
parted this life June y® 24", 1771, in the 79 year of his age. 
In memory of Rebecea Belcher Crane, daug. of Mt Jeremiah 
& M's Rebecca Crane, who died Oct. 34, 1792, in the 8t year of 
her age. 
Here lies two children, sons of Mt Jeremiah & M's Rebecca 
Crane : 
Charles, died Sept. the 234, 1792, in the 6 year of his age; 
Jeremiah, died Oct. 14, 1792, in the 2 year of his age. 








Here lies the body of M's Abigail Crane, the wife of MF | 


Benjamin Crane. 
her age. 


She died June 4, 1755, in ye 57th year of 


In memory of M's Abigail Crane, wife of Mt Henry Crane, 
who died Sept. 24, 1795, aged 58 years. 
Could grateful love recall the fleeting breath, 
Or fond affection soothe relentless death, 
Then had this stone ne’er claimed a social tear, 
Nor read to thoughtless man a lesson here. 


In memory of M? Willam Crane, who died Noy. 10, 1785, in 
y® 41st year of his age. 

Isac Crane, son of M™ Isac & M's Pontas Crane, died Oct. 34, 
1727. ABtat 3 years. 

Also Enos Crane died Sep. 82, 1865, age 20 months. 

Here lies y® body of Mary Crehore, daugh? of Capt. John & 
Mrs Mehitable Crehore, died Oct. 224, 1748, in ye 218t year of 
her age. 

Ambrose Davenport, son of Mt Adam & M's Mary Davenport, 
died Sept. 14", 1787, aged 3 years and 3 months. 

Life is uncertain, death is sure, 
Sin’s the wound and Christ the cure. 


In memory of M's Elizabeth wife of Mt Lemuel Davis, who 
died Mch 28, 1795, in y® 424 year of her age. 
In memory of two children of Mt Lemuel and M's Elizabeth 
Davis, Viz. ¢ 
Sally Tucker, died Dee. 18, 1794, aged 5 months; 
Charlotte died Mch 224, 1795, aged 3 years. 
Here lies buried the body of M* John Dickerman, who died 
14% of August, 1729, in ye 64t® year of his age. 
Here lies y® body of Mary Fenno, dau’ to Benj & Mary Fenno, 
aged 22 years and 27 days. Dec‘ April y® 16t, 1725. 
Erected in memory of M™ Enoch Fenno, who died Sept 19, 


| 1796, aged 41 years. 


Adieu, bright soul, a short farewell! 

Till we shall meet in realms above, 

In pleasant groves where pleasures dwell 
And trees of life bear fruits of love. 


Here lies interred the remains of M* Joseph Fenno, who de- 
parted this life Jan. y® 19, 1767, aged 32 years. 
In the cold mansions of the silent tomb, 
How still the solitude, how deep the gloom, 
Here sleeps the dust unconscious, close confined, 
But far, far distant dwells the immortal mind. 


Here lies y® body of M? Robert Field, who died Jan. ye 224, 
1759, in y® 74 year of his age. 

Here lies buried y® body of Robert Field, died September 24, 
1719, in y® 67 year of his age. 

Here lies y® body of Mt Ebenezer Field, who died Dec™ y® 
15th, 1748, in y® 324 year of his age. 

Here lies y® body of Mary Field, wife of Robert Field, died 


| April y® 24, 1799, in y® 60 year of her age. 


Here lies buried y® body of Anna Field, y® wife of M* Robert 
Field, she departed this life y® 13 of November, 1728, in y® 44% 
year of her age. 

Mehetebel Field, y® daughter of Robert & Anna Field, aged 
3 days, died 21t of Sep. 1719. 

Here lies buried the body of M's Hannah Fuller, wife of Mr 
Benjamin Fuller, aged 30 years, died Dec" y® 15%, 1746. 


Here lyes interred the remains of M's Abigail Glover, the 


| Consort of Mt Elijah Glover, and daughter of Mt Samuel & M's 


She died Feb. 8t®, 1760, aged 84 years. 

Here lies buried the body of Mt Samuel Glover, who died Aug. 
24, 1761, in the 60‘ year of his age. 

Here lies buried the body of M™ Elijah Glover, son of Mt 


Mary Kinsley. 


762 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Thomas & Elizabeth Glover of Dorchester, who departed this life 


July ye 15t, 1770, in y® 45 year of his age. 
Stop here, my friend, and cast an eye, 
As you are now, so once was I, 
As Iam now so must you be, 
Prepare for death and follow me. 


Sacred to the memory of Dea. Cornelius Gulliver, who died 
Jan. Ld‘, 1808, aged 65 years. 

Mrs Ann Gulliver, wife of Dea. Cornelius Gulliver, who died 
Feb. 6%, 1806, aged 53 years. 

Also M® Elisha Gulliver, son of Dea. Cornelius and Mts Ann 
Gulliver, who died Oct. 31, 1799, aged 23 years. 

‘Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life: he that be- 
lieveth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” 

Here lies the body of M's’ Hannah Gulliver, widow of Mt 
Nathaniel Gulliver, she died June 1st, 1760, aged 80 years and 
4 months. 


Here lies the body of Mt Stephen Gulliver, who departed this 
life the ninth day of May, 1771, in the 40 year of his age. 
A soul prepared meets no delays, 
The summons comes, y® man obeys, 
Swift was his flight, and short the road, 
He closed his eyes and saw his God. 
The flesh rests here, till Jesus come 
And ealls the body to his home. 


Here lyes y® body of Mary Gulliver, wife to Jonathan Gul- 
liver, aged 34 years, & 8 months & 5 days, died February y® 16, 
1704. 

Here lyes y® body of M* Nathaniel Gulliver, who died March 
25th, 1743, in ye 68th year of his age. 

Here lies buried y® body of Anthony Gulliwer, aged 87 years, 
died Nov. y® 28th, 1706. 

Here lyes y® body of M'™* Hannah Gulliver, widow of Mr 
Nathaniel Gulliver, she died June 1st, 1760, aged 80 years & 4 
months. 

Erected in memory of Sarah Gulliver, wife of Jn°® Gulliver, 
who died Oct. y® 1st, 1799, aged 64. 

Here lies buried y® body of M* Caleb Hearsey, died Feb. 29, 
1755, in the 57 year of his age. 

Here lies the body of John Hearsey, who died Dee. 15t, 1725, 
in the 66‘ year of his age. 

Here lies the body of M's Hannah Hearsey, wife to Mt Caleb 
Hearsey, died April 4th, 1742, in the 40 year of her age. 

Dan! Hensher, son of Samuel & Waitstill Hensher, died Oct. 
y® 25, 1719, in y¢ 8 year of his age. 

Here lyes y® body of M* Daniel Hanshaw, who died August 


y® 25%, 1732, in ye 90" year of his age. 


Here lyes y® body of M's Waitstill Hanshaw, wife of Mr 


Samuel Hanshaw, she died May y® 17*", 1737, in y¢ 53 year of | 


her age. 

Here lyes y® body of Mary Hensher, wife to Daniel Ilensher, 
died November y® 19t4, 1719, in y® 83 year of her age. 

Abigail Holman, wife to Thomas Holman, aged 57 years, 
died March yé 1st, 170%. 

Here lies y® body of Patience Holman, aged 42 years, Dec 
June 29, 1713. 


Memento 


M ori 


Fugit 
Hora 


Here lies y® body of Mt Thomas Holman, aged 63 years, died 
August ye 4th, 1704. 





Fenno Houghton, son of Mt Elijah & Mts Mary Houghton, 
died Jan. 20, 1773, aged 1 year. 


Here lyes buried the body of M's Ruth Houghton, the wife 
of Mt Joseph Houghton, who departed this life May ye 234, 
1792, in the 50‘ year of her age. 


Here lies interred the mortal parts of Deacon Nathaniel 
Houghton, who died M¢ch y® 13t, 1732, aged 76 years. 


Cease tears, y® body of a friend 

Ye to y® grave do only lend, 

A common lot, here Christ has been, — 
Triumphant over death & sin. 

He has awoke, so shall the just, 

And gather up their crumbs of dust. 
Comfort, O friend, the gospel cries, 
Seed that is quickened always dies. 


Here lyes buried y® body of Mt’ Ann Houghton, wife of M* 
Joseph Houghton and daughter of Mt John & M*s Ann Wil- 
liams, who died July 14, 1773, in y® 224 year of her age. 

Here lies buried the body of Mt’ Deborah Houghton, y® wife 
of Dea. Nathaniel Houghton, who departed this life Feb. the 
27th, 1772, in y® 70 year of her age. 

In memory of M's Sarah, the wife of Mt Isac Howe, but 
lately the wife of Mt Lazarus Baker, she died Sep. ye 11, 
1755, in ye 615t year of her age. 

Erected in memory of M's Sarah Howe, Relict of Dea. Josiah 
Howe, who died Nov. 18, 1797, 4 81. 


Tired with the troubles & the cares 

A long train of four-score years, 

The prisoner smiled to be released, 

She felt her fetters loosed and mounted to her rest. 


Here lies the body of Mt Isac How, who died Sept. y® 7%, 
1769, in y® 55 year of hisage. An instance of sudden death in 
the midst of useful life. 


Dangers stand thick through all the ground, 
To push us to the Tomb, 
And fierce diseases march around, 
To hurry mortals home. 
But Ill repine at death no more, 
Vl cheerfully resign 
To the cold dungeon of the grave 
These dying limbs of mine, 
Since God and my Redeemer lives, 
Who often from the skies 
Looks down and watches all my dust, 
Till he shall bid it rise. 
Erected to the memory of Deacon Josiah How, who departed 
this life Oct. 34, 1792, in the 74% year of his age. 
Here stands his urn, 
He’ll ne’er return, : 
He’s gone to Christ above. 
His body’s dead, 
His spirit’s fled, 
His song’s redeeming love. 


Isac How, y® son of Mt Josiah & M's Sarah How. He died 
June 18th, 1752, in ye 34 year of his age. 

Josiah How, y® son of Mt Josiah & Mt’ Sarah How. He died 
June 19%, 1752, in y® 6 year of his age. 

John How, son of Mt Josiah & M's Sarah How, died Jany 224 
1755, in y® 3° year of his age. 

In memory of Samuel Maynard Humphrey, son of Mr? Na- 
thaniel & M's Martha Humphrey, who died Sept. 4, 1791, aged 
20 months. 


—— = 





Sh ete ee = ea = 








MILTON. 763 





In memory of Mts Rhoda Jones, the wife of Mt Joseph Jones, 
who died Oct. 4th, 1702, aged 55 years. 

Here lyeth y® body of Elizabeth Jones, daughter to Mt Tim- 
othy & M's Elizabeth Jones, died Dect 4th, 1740, in y® 21 year 
of her age. 

Here lyes y® body of M' David Jones, aged 45 years, died 
May yé 34, 1741. 

In the memory of M* John Keith, who died June 8*, 1796, 


aged 21 years. 
He whom the Lord doth free, 


The noblest freedom gains, 
Freedom from vice & misery, 
And sins of closing chains. 


Here lies the body of M's Abigail Kneeland, wife of Mt John 
Kneeland, died May 17, 1770, aged 33 years. 

The sweet remembrance of the just 
Shall flourish when they sleep in dust. 

Here lies buried the body of Mt John Kinsley, who died Sept. 
y® 13th, 1748, in y® 69 year of his age. 

Here lyeth the body of Capt. Samuel Kinsley, who departed 
this life Oct. ye 294, 1755, aged 58 years. 

In memory of M's Simeon Lamb of Charlestown, who died 
of the small-pox Sept. the 25, in the year 1792, and the 21% 
year of her age. 

Here lyes the body of Mts Hannah Lankester, Relict of Mt 
William Lankester, who died April 9t*, 1742, aged 79 years. 


Erected in memory of Miss Mary Mac Carnney, who died 
Jan. 4th, 1791, aged 20 years. 
Sleep in darkness till that glorious day, 
When Christ my light shall roll the stone away. 
In memory of Mary Milton, aged 23 years, died Feb. 8th, | 
1702. 
In memory of Mt John Newton, who died Feb. 16, 1774, in 
the 87" year of his age. | 
Here lies the body of Jerusha Park, who died Sept. 234, 1767, | 
age 17 days. Also the body of Sarah Park, who died Sept. 
17th, 1767, aged 11 days; children of Mt Edward & Mrs Jerusha 
Park. 
In memory of M's Ester Pierce, wife of Mt Charles Pierce, 
who died May 10, 1787, in ye 23 year of her age. 
Why mourn you thus, my relict friend & kin? 
Lament you, when I lose, not when I win. 


Here lies buried y® body of Chloe Pierce, daughter of M* | 





William and M's Unice Pierce, who died June 30th, 1774, aged 
8 weeks. : 


In memory of William Pierce, son of William & Mts Lydia 
Pierce, who died Dect 24, 1770, aged 3 years & 3 months. 
In memory of three daughters of Mt William & M** Unice 
Pierce, viz. 
Miss Deliverance Pierce, who died Sept. 5th, 1792, At 38 
years. 
Miss Martha Pierce, who died Feb. 10th, 1791, Ait 24 years, 
and 
Miss Unice Pierce, who died Oct. 10%, 1788, At 17 years. 
Lovers and Friends, Oh God ! 
By thy resistless frown, 
The gloomy vale have trod, 
And to the grave gone down. 





In memory of Deliverance Pierce, wife of Capt. William 
Pierce, who died April 28, 1748, in ye 49t" year of her age. 

Here lies buried y® body of M™ William Pierce, who died 
April 17%, 1731, in y® 724 year of his age. : 





In memory of Mr William Pierce, who died Feb. 1st, 1793, 
aged 65 years. 
Why do ye mourn departed friends, 
Or shake at death’s alarms, 
’Tis but the voice that Jesus sends 
To call them to his arms. 


Here lies buried y® body of M's Elizabeth Pierce, wife of Mr 
William Pierce, who died June 6%, 1735, in y® 67 year of her 
age. 

Here lies buried the body of M's Hannah Pitcher, y® wife of 
Mr John Pitcher, who departed this life Sept. y® 24, 1772, aged 
77 years. 


Here lies buried the body of Thomas Rawlins, aged about 70 
years. Departed this life July y® 7, 1693. 


Here lyes buried the body of Abigail Rawlins, aged 72 years, 
departed this life March y® 20%, 1711-12. 


In memory of Miss Esther Rawson, dauht of David Rawson 
Esq. & Mrs. Mary his wife, who died of y® small pox Oct. 27t, 
1792, aged 31 years & 6 months. 

Death a debt to nature due, 
Which I have paid and so must you. 

In memory of Miss Sally Rea, the daught of Mt Jeremiah 
Rea and M's Bridget his wife, who died Noy. 11t®, 1792, in the 
24th year of her age. 


Stop, my friend, and think of me, 
T once was in the world like thee, 
Now I lie mouldering in the dust, 
In hope to rise among the just. 
In memory of M's Mary Ruggles, the wife of Mt John Rug- 
gles, who died Nov. 234, 1773, aged 30 years. 
A meek and quiet spirit she possessed, 
And proved the religion she professed. 


Here lyes the body of Mt Thomas Shepard, Dect Sept. y* 


| 29th, 1719, in ye 87 year of his age. 


Here lyes the body of Mt Ralph Shepard, Dec? Jany y® 26%, 
1724, in ye 36 year of his age. 

Sacred to the memory of Benjamin Smith, paper maker, son 
of Mt Richard Smith of North Britain in the Shire of Aberdeen. 
He died May 6th, 1792, in the 37 year of his age. 

Could grateful love recall the fleeting breath, 
Or fond affection soothe relentless death, 

Then had this stone ne’er claimed a social tear, 
Nor read to thoughtless man a lesson here. 


Here lies the body of John Stimpson, aged 56 years, Dec 
Aug. y® 11%, 1732. 

In memory of Katherine Soper, wife of Samuel Soper, who 
died Feb. 17, 1776, in y® 224 year of her age. 

In memory of Katherine Soper, daughter of Samuel and 
Katherine Soper, who died Jany 16, 1769, in y® 5 year of 
her age. 

In memory of Mrs Elizabeth Sumner, wife of Col. Seth Sum- 
ner, who died May 9th, 1784, in the 488 year of her age. 

Life is uncertain, death is sure, 
Sin’s the wound, Christ the cure. 

Erected in memory of Mt Abijah Sumner, who died Feb. 24, 
1797, in the 84th year of his age. 

In memory of M's Harriet Sumner, wife of M* Benjamin 
Sumner, who died 14t® Aug. 1800, aged 28 years. 

No more, my friend, dont mourn for me, 
I’m gone into eternity, 

Make sure of Christ while life remain, 
And death will be eternal gain. 


764 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Here lyes y® body of M's Sarah Sumner, wife of M* Josiah 
Sumner, she died Dec. y® 11, 1741, in y® 25t year of her age. 


Here lies y® body of Ruth Sumner, daug. of M™ Ebenezer & 
Mrs Susanna Sumner, died May 24, 1754, in y® 215t year of 
her age. 

Erected in memory of Mt David Sumner, who died Noy. 11", 
1789, in the 72 year of his age. Also his 2°4 wife Mary Sum- 
ner, who died Dec. 25, 1821, in the 89 year of her age. 

In memory of Mt Jazaniah Sumner, who died May 6, 1778, 
aged 66. Also his wife M's Judith Sumner, who died Noy. 5%, 
1799, aged 68. 

So sleep the saints and cease to groan, 
When sin and death have done their worst, 
Christ has a glory like his own, 

Which waits to clothe their waking dust. 

Here lies buried the body of M* Benjamin Sumner, who de- 
parted this life May y® 28", 1771, in y® 88 year of his age. 

Here lyes y® body of Deacon George Sumner, aged 81 years, 
died y® 11t® day of December, 1715. 

Here lyes y® body of Joseph Sumner, son of Mt Benjamin & 
Mrs Elizabeth Sumner,*he died May ye 224, 1731, in ye 21st 
year of his age. 

Here lyes y® body of Mts Elizabeth Sumner, wife of M' Benj. 
Sumner. She died Oct. 34, 1735, in y® 50 year of her age. 

Here lyes buried y® body of Mt George Sumner, he died Dec. 
18th, 1732 


752, 


in y® 67t® year of his age. 

Here lyes buried y® body of Mary Sumner, y® widow of 
Deacon George Sumner, aged 47 years. Dec’ ye 15 of April, 
1719. 

Here lyes buried y® body of Deacon Roger Sumner, aged 66 
years, Dect May yé 26, 1698. 

Here lyes y® body of Mts Susanna Sumner, wife of Mt Eben- 
ezer Sumner, she died y® 7th of July A.D. 1760, in ye 47th year 
of her age. 

In memory of M's Susan Sumner, wife of Mt Jabez Sumner, 
who died in Child-bed May 1st, 1793, in the 40 year of her age; 
the child died at its birth. 

Here lyes y® body of M's Susanna Sumner, y® daughter of Mr 
George Sumner, Jun.dec’. She departed this life May 11, 1752, 
in y® 21st year of her age. 

Here lies buried the body of Mt George Sumner, died Aug. 26, 
1730, in y® 27 year of his age. 

In memory of M® Nathaniel Swift, who died May ye 13th, 
1767, in y® 47 year of his age. 

Here lies interred the remains of M's Ann Swift, the virtuous 
consort of Samuel Swift, Esq. She exchanged this life for a bet- 
ter May 19, 1762, in the 82 year of her age. 

Reader, remember thou art born to die, 
Hark from the grave to youth this is my ery, 
Withdraw, prepare, think, Act Accordingly. 

Luke xvi. 31. 

Here lyes y® body of M's Elizabeth Swift, wife to M* Thomas 
Swift, she died Dec. 12, 1756, aged 32 years. 

Here lyes y® body of Sarah Swift, wife to Deacon Thomas 
Swift, aged 75 years, Dec’ Feb. ye 4t4, 1717-8. 

Here lyes the body of Betsey Swift, daut of Mt John & Ms 
Elizabeth Swift, died Meh 25, 1774, aged 10 months & 29 
days. 

In memory of M"™ Rebekah Swift, the virtuous wife of Mr 
Nathaniel Swift, who died 6 Sept. 1793, Aut 70. 

The sweet remembrance of the just 
Shall flourish when they sleep in dust. 





Here lies interred the remains of Samuel Swift, Esq. who 
departed this life Oct. 13, 1747, aged 64 years. 
Who never did a slander forge, 
His neighbor’s fame to wound, 
Nor harken to a false report, 
By malice whispered round. 
Who to his plighted vows & trust 
Had ever firmly stood, 
And tho’ he promised to his loss, 
He made his promise good. 


Sacred to the memory of M's Judith Swift, wife of M™ Eben- 
ezer Swift, who died April 224, 1784, aged 55 years. 


I once did’st stand as thou dost now, 
To view the dead as thou dost me, 
But soon you’! lie as low as I, 

While others stand and gaze at thee. 


Here lyes the body of Lydia Swift, dau" to M Ebenezer & 
Ms Judith Swift, who died July 10, 1758, aged 4 years & 5 
months. 


Here lies buried y® body of Deacon Thomas Swift, aged 82 
years & 8 months. Died Jany ye 31st, 1717-8. 


Here lyes buried y® body of M* Thomas Thacher, son of Mt 
Peter Thacher, aged 28 years, who died Dec™ 19th, 1721. 


Mrs Theodora Thacher, y® daughter of Rey. Mr. John Oxen- 
bridge, Pastor of y® first Church of Boston, and wife of M* Peter 
Thacher, aged 38 years, 3 months & 23 days, was Translated 
from Earth to Heaven Noy" y® 18th, 1697. 


This Stone Sacred to ye memory of M*s Sarah Thacher, Con- 
sort of y® late Oxenbridge Thacher, Jr. Esq™. who died ye 3d 
of July, 1764, Ait 39. Demands from thee, oh reader, y® 
tribute of a tear to her memory, and a thought on thine own 
dissolution, 


In memory of M* Lewis Thomas, who died on his way from 
Boston to his parents Mt Hushai & M*s Lucy Thomas in Mid- 
dleborough, with the yellow fever, August 25%, 1798, in his 
28th year. 

Though the great God who reigns on high 
Hath doomed the race of man to die, 

Yet saints thereby are cleansed from sin, 
And in glory rise again. 

Here lyes buried y© body of M* Samuel Trescott, who died 
July 30%, 1730, in y® 84 year of his age. 

Here lyes buried y® body of M's Margaret Trescott, widow 
of Mt Samuel Trescott, she died March 19th, 1741, in ye 90 
year of her age. 

Luther, son of Samuel & Hannah Toplif, stillborn Noy. 16%, 
1734. 

In memory of Mary Paine Tufts, daughter of M? William & 
M's Peggy Tufts, who died Sept. 24, 1791, in the 24 year of her 
age, 

Sleep, sleep, sweet babe, and take thy rest, 
God called thee home, he thought it best, 
Wipe off your tears, your eyes let dry, 

We learn from this we all must die. 


Here lye buried the remains of Susanna Tucker, the wife of 
M' Jazaniah Tucker. She departed this life Oct. 24, 1776, in 
the 65 year of her age. 


Here lies interred the body of M's James Tucker, who de- 


| parted this life Dect ye 224, 1750, in y® 71% year of her age. 


Here lyes buried the body of Deacon Nathan Tucker, who 
departed this life Nov. 84, 1776, aged 58 years. 

In memory of Mts Mary Tucker, the widow of Mt Joseph 
Tucker, who died Oct. 7, 1792, in the 59 year of her age. 








MILTON. 





765 





In memory of M's Elizabeth, wife of Mt Samuel Tucker, wh 
died Mch 10, 1791, in y® 66 year of her age. ; 

In memory of Mary W. Tucker, daughter of Mt David & 
Mrs Mary Tucker, died Nov. 224, 1792, aged 12 years. 

Thrice blessed are the pious dead, 
Who in the Lord shall die, 

Their weary flesh as on a bed 
Safe in the grave shall lie. 

In memory of M* Joseph Tucker, who died May 224, 1789, 

in the 64 year of his age. 
To God I now resign my breath, 
And safely walk the vale of death, 
With Christ I’ve lived, with Him I'll die, 
And pass to immortality. 

Here lyes y® body of M's Waitstill Tucker, the widow of 
Dea® Manasseh Tucker. 
87 year of her age. 

Here lies y® body of Mrs Sarah Tucker, the widow of Mr 
James Tucker, she died Sept. y® 16, 1756, in y® 74 year of 
her age. 

Here lies the body of Deacon Manasseh Tucker, who died 
April 8th, 1748, in y® 89 year of his age. 

Here lyes y® body of James Tucker, of Milton, aged 77 years. 
Dec® Mar‘ ye 13th, 1717. 

In memory of Sarah Tucker, daughter of M™ Samuel & Mrs 
Elizabeth Tucker, who died Feb. 10‘, 1766, in y® 24 year of 
her age. 


Here lies buried the body of M* Manasseh Tucker, Jr., the | 


son of Deacon Manasseh Tucker, who died March 10, 1730, in 
the 424 year of his age. 

Ebenezer, son of Mt Ebenezer Tucker & Elizabeth his wife. 
He died Sept. 26, 1775, aged 10 years and 4 months. 


Here lies buried the body of Deacon William Tucker, who | 


departed this life Dec. ye 9t, a.p. 1771, in y® 64** year of his 
age. 
The sweet remembrance of the just 
Shall flourish when he lies in dust. 
His works of piety and love, 
Remain before the Lord,— 
Honor on earth & joys above 
Shall be his sure reward. 

In memory of Mts Mary Tucker, once y® amiable consort of 
Capt. Jeremiah Tucker, who departed this life Sep. y® 21s*, 1766, 
in y® 40 year of her age. 

In memory of Mt Samuel Tucker, who died May 26*, 1776, 
in y® 57 year of his age. 

Here lyes y® body of M's Rachel Tucker, wife of M*™ William 
Tucker. She died Jany 25, 1744, in y® 34 year of her age. 

Here lies buried the remains of Capt. Samuel Tucker, who 
departed this life Dect 25, 1758, in the 72¢ year of his age. 


Here lies y® body of Esther Tucker, dau™ to Mt Jazaniah & | 


M's Susanna Tucker. 
year of her age. 
Here lyes y® body of Mts Jean Tucker, widow of Mt Ebenezer 
Tucker. She died Feb. 17, 1743, in y® 57 year of her age. 
Here lyes y® body of Mt James Tucker, son of M* James & 
Mrs Sarah Tucker; he died Dect the 7, 1732, in y® 234 year 
of his age. 
In memory of Mt Thomas Vose, who died March ‘9, 1775, 
in the 36 year of his age. 
A soul prepared needs no delays, 
The summons comes, the soul obeys ; 


She died March y® 19, 1748, in ye | 


She died July ye 19th, 1755, in y® 13th | 


Swift in his flight and short the road, 
He closed his eyes and saw his God. 
The flesh rests here till Jesus come, 
And claim the treasure from the tomb. 
In memory of Moses Vose, who died Sep. 6th, 1793, aged 21 
years, 3 mon. 2 days. Also Elijah Vose, died Sep. 17%, 1774, 
aged 1 year 12 days. Sons of Moses & M's Hannah Vose. 
| In memory of M's Abigail Vose, Comfort of Mt Edward Vose, 
Decea‘, who died Sept. 8", 1778, in the 64" year of her age. 
Here lyes buried the body of Lydia Sumner Vose, daughter 
of Mt Benjamin & Mrs Esther Vose, who died May 6t%, 1779, 
aged 1 month. 


Here lyes y® body of Samuel Vose, aged 21 years and about 
9 months, Dec* Dec. 13th, 1717. 


William Vose, son of Mr Nathaniel & Mts Ruth Vose, died 
Oct. ye Sth, 1773, aged 1 year & 14 days. 
The sweet delights we here enjoy 
And fondly call our own, 
Are but short favors borrowed now 
To be repaid anon. 
*Tis God that lifts our comforts high 
Or sinks them in the grave, 
He gives, and blessed be his name, 
He takes but what he gave. 
In memory of M's Mary Vose, wife of Dea" W™ Vose, who 
died Oct. 25, 1792, in the 38t year of her age. 
| And their children, viz.: 
Edward Roger, died July 5th, 1783, Ait. 4 years. 
| Ebenezer, died July 25t2, 1783, at. 9 months. 
| Philena, died Oct. 20th, 1792, Ait. 11 days. 


| Here lyes y® body of Thomas Vose, son of Mt Josiah & Mrs 
Ruhamah Vose, died May 26, 1778, aged two months. 





To the memory of Mrs Lucy Vose, the second wife of Mt Ebe- 
She died May 30), 1797, aged 58 years. 

Religion against decay can arm, 

And ever lend mortality a charm. 


| nezer Vose. 


Here lyes buried the body of Esther Vose, daughter to Ben- 
jamin & M's Esther Vose, who died Jan. 28, 1771, age 1 year & 
2 months. 





Happy the babe who priveledged by fate 
To shorter labor and a lighter weight, 
Receives but yesterday the gift of breath, 
| Ordered to-morrow to return to death. 
| In memory of M? William Vose, who died May 13, 1776, in 
| the 44th year of his age. 
Charles Vose, son of Mt Benjamin and Mrs Esther Vose, died 
| August 34, 1793, aged 6 years. 
Here lies the body of Mr Elijah Vose, who departed this life 
| Nov. 5t, 1766, in the 58t® year of his age. 
Great God, I own Thy orders just, 
And nature must decay, 
I yield my body to the dust, 
To dwell with fellow clay. 
Hoping to see Thy lovely face, 
With strong immortal eyes— 
To feast upon Thy wondrous grace 





With pleasure and surprise. 
| Here lies buried the body of M* Edward Vose, who departed 
| this life May y® 31, 1770, in y® 50 year of his age. 

| In memory of M* Ebenezer Vose, who died O*t, 24, 1788, aged 


| 55. 
| The sweet remembrance of the just 


| Shall flourish when they sleep in dust. 


766 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Here lies buried Mts Eunice Vose, wife of Mt Ebenezer Vose, | 


who died June 20, 1707, in y® 31%* year of her age. 
A meek and quiet spirit she possessed, 
And practiced the religion she professed. 
In memory of Miss Polly Howe Vose, who died Dec. 7, 1797, 
aged 21 years. 
Though early made a sacrifice to death, 
With cheerful hope she could resign her breath; 
Her sickly form she now has left behind, 
And freed from all that could disturb her mind. 


In this grave lies buried Esther Vose, the late virtuous & amia- 
ble consort of Mt Nathan Vose. She departed this life Feb. 28, 
1775, in the 23 year of her age. 

A soul prepared needs no delay, 

The summons comes, the saints obey; 
Short was her life, but well improved, 
She closed her eyes and saw her God. 
Her flesh rests here till Jesus come, 
And claim the treasure from the tomb. 


Here lyes buried the body of Lieut. Henry Vose, who died Me» 
26th, 1752, in ye 87” year of his age. 

Here lies buried y® body of Capt. Thomas Vose, he departed 
this life ye 9" day of March, 1760, aged 62 years, 11 months & 


8 days. 
Stand still, reader, and spend a tear 


Over the dust that slumbers here; 
And, while you’re musing here on me, 
Think on the glass that runs for thee. 


Fanna Vose, daughter of M® Daniel & Mts Rachel Vose, died 
_ Sep. 9%, 1775, aged 3 months and 6 days. 
John Vose, Jun., son of Mt Joseph & M's Ruhamah Vose, died 


Sept. ye 11%, 1775, aged 10 months & 6 days. 


Here lies y® body of Mr Lemuel Vose, who died O°, 1st, 1764, 
in y® 34th year of his age. 

Here lies the body of Peter Vose, son of Capt. Thomas & 
Mrs Patience Vose, died Feb. 9, 1764, aged 18 years, 5 
months & 26 days. 

In memory of M's Patience Vose, Relict of M™ Thomas Vose, 
of Milton, and daughter of Joseph & Ruhamah Billings. She 
died April y® 34, 1800, aged 85 years. 

Here sleeps a Christian, full of faith and love, 
She lived in cheerful hope, resigned her breath 
To join her kindred spirits blest above— 

Reader, be such your life and such your death. 


Here lies y® body of Mt Jonathan Vose, who died February, 
1760, in y® 50 year of his age. 

Here lies interred the remains of M's Abigail Vose, widow of 
Lieut. Robert Vose, who departed this life Decem™ ye 28th, 1769, 
in y® 724 year of her age. 

The graves of all his saints he blessed, 
And softens every bed, 

Where should the dying members rest 
But with the dying Head. 





Here lies buried y® body of Lieut Robert Vose, who departed 
this life April 20%, 1760, in y® 67 year of his age. 


Rufus Vose, son of Mt John & M's Mary Vose, died Sep. y® 
18th, 1750, aged 18 mon. & 20 days. 

Here lies buried the body of Nathaniel Vose, Juni, who 
departed this life December 18, 1756, in y® 52 year of his age. 

Here lies y® body of Zebiah Uoce, dafter of W™ Uoce, aged 
17 years, died March y® 26th, 1718. 

Here lies y® body of William Uoce, aged 44 years, died Dec. 
ea Tal The 

Here lyes buried the body of Rubin Vose, son of Mt Nathaniel 
& Mrs Rachel Vose, died May y® 9t2, 1760, in y® 215t year of his 
age. 

Here lyes buried the body of M's Elizabeth Vose, wife to 
Lieut Henry Vose, who died Oct. y® 18, 1732, in y® 66% year 
of her age. 

In memory of M's Marian Vose, who departed this life Oct. 
25th, 1785, in ye 57 year of her age. 

In memory of Rachel Vose, dau of Mt Nath! & Mts Rachel 
Vose. She died Sept. ye 1st, 1775, aged 32 years. 

The sweet remembrance of ‘the just 
Shall flourish when they sleep in dust. 


Here lyes buried the body of M* John Vose, son of MF 
Nathaniel & Mts Rachel Vose, who departed this life Oct. 27%, 
1752, in y® 27 year of his age. 

Here lyes buried the body of M* Thomas Vose, son of Capt. 
Thomas Vose, deceased Aug. 16%, 1722, in y® 55 year of his 
age. 

Here lyes y® body of Eli Vose, son to Mt Thomas & Mrs Pa- 
tience Vose, he died Feb. y® 8h, 1749, aged 3 years. 

Mary Vose, daug" to Mt Jonathan & M's Mary Vose, died Noy. 
10th, 1744, in ye 4th year of her age. 

In memory of Mt Zephaniah Walker, who died July 8, 1775, 
aged 21 years. 

Come hither, mortal, cast an eye, 

Then go thy way, prepare to die. 

Here read thy doom, for die thou must, 
One day, like me, be turned to dust. 


Here lyes the body of M’s Elizabeth Wadsworth, the widow 
of Dea™ John Wadsworth. She departed this life May 6%, 
1766, in the 89% year of her age. 


In memory of Rey. M" John Wadsworth of Milton. Edu- 
cated at Harvard College. Ordained at Canterbury Sept. 17%, 
1728. Died at Milton June 15t, 1766, aged 63 years. 

Here lies buried, waiting for the coming of the Lord, the body 
of Mt John Wadsworth, only son of M™ John & M*s Abigail 
Wadsworth, who was suddenly removed (not without hope) 
from his lamenting friends into the invisible state, May 27, 
1752, in the 21% year of his age. 

Young man, your bones shall flourish as an herb. 


Reader, art thou also ready ? At such an hour as you think 


not, the Son of Man cometh. 
Here lyes y* body of Deacon Ebenezer Wadsworth, aged 56 
Dect Augt ye 1st, 1717. 
[The Oldest Stone in the Cemetery.] 
Here lyes y® body of Christopher Wadsworth, aged about 24 


years & 5 mos. 


| years, died y® 4t2 of December, 1687. 


Here lyes the body of Mt Edward Vose, Dect Jan. y® 29th, 
1716, in y¢ 80 year of his age. 
65 years. Dect May y® 18t4, 1712. 

Here lies buried the body of M's Waitstill Vose, widow of 
Capt. Thomas Vose, died Jany y® 8, 1727, aged 84 years. 


| 
| 
| 
Here lyes y* body of Abigail Vose, wife to Edward Vose, aged | 


| 
Joseph, son to Elijah & Sarah Vose, died Sep. y® 29, 1735, in | 
y® 4b year of his age. ‘ 


Hlere lies the body of Esther Wadsworth, wife of Benjamin 
Wadsworth. She departed this life July 24, 1777, in the 61st 
year of her age. 

She constantly manifested entire trust in God, through the 
merits of Jesus Christ, and the most animating and agreeable 


| apprehensions of the eternal world. 


A lovely faith can smoothe the face of death, 
Bid youth and beauty sacrifice their breath ; 


MILTON. 


: 


767 








Can tread the gloomy valley without fear, 
And part with all below without a tear. 


Here lies buried the body of Deacon Benjamin Wadsworth, 
who departed this life Oct. 17%, 1771, in y® 64 year of his age, 
having served in y® office of deacon in y® Church at Milton 28 
years; he lived respected and died lamented. 


How rich y® store’ of grace lay hid behind 
The vail of modesty, no human mind 

Can search, no friend declare, no fame reveal— 
Nor has this mournful pillar power to tell. 

Yet there’s a hastening hour, it comes, it comes 
To rouse y® sleeping dead, to burst y® tombs 
And set y® saints in view. All eyes behold, 
While y® vast records of y® skies unrolled 
Rehearse his deeds y* spread his worth abroad, 
Ye Judge approves & Heaven & earth applaud. 


Here lyes y® body of Elizabeth Wadsworth, y® daughter of 
Deacon Benjamin Wadsworth & M's Esther his wife. She died 
Feb. y® 14t, 1750, in ye 14™ year of her age. 

Here lies buried the body of Deacon John Wadsworth, son to 





| 4th, 1724, Ait. 59 years. 


tombs are given, and the names of those deposited 
therein appear as far as it has been possible to ascer- 
tain. The enumeration of the tombs commences at 


_ the northeast corner of the old cemetery. 


Rawson Toms.—Here lies buried the body of Mts Theodora 
Gulliver, the wife of Capt. Jonathan Gulliver, aged 54 years, 
died Dect. 7th, 1732. 

Here lies entombed the body of Captain Jonathan Gulliver, 
who departed this life July the 34, 1737, in the 78 year of his 
age. ; 

MInistERIAL Tomp.—Here ly the remains of M's Susanna 
Thacher (second wife of the Rev. Peter Thacher), who died Sept. 
Rey. Peter, first Pastor of the Church 
in Milton, who died Dect 17", 1727, in the 77 year of his age, 
and the 47 of his Pastorate. 

M's Elizabeth Taylor, wife of the Rev. John Taylor, who died 
April 17, 1735, At. 27 years. 

Rey. John Taylor, who died Jan. 26, 1750, in the 46th year 


| of his age. 


Capt. Samuel Wadsworth, who died Jany 31st, 1733, in y® 60 — 


year of his age. 

In memory of Abigail Wadsworth, dau to ye Rey. Mt Jo® 
& Mrs Abigail Wadsworth of Milton. 
1758, aged 23 years. 

When this you see, remember me. 

Sarah, daughter to Recompence and Sarah Wadsworth, aged 
12 years, 8™5 & 28 days. Dect April y® 17%, 1728. 

Here lies inter’d y® remains of Lieut. Samuel Wadsworth, 
who departed this life Nov. Anno Dom. 1754, in y® 69 year of 
his age. 


Here lyes y® body of Mts Mary Wadsworth, Relict of Deacon | 


Ebenezer Wadsworth, Dect Meh ye Sth, 1738, in ye 77 year of 
her age. 
In memory of Mts Sarah Weston, wife of Mt Abel Weston, 
who ied Jan. 15, 1797, in the 20 year of her age. 
Swift as the sun revolves the day, 
We hasten to the dead: 
Slaves to the wind we puff away, 
And to the ground we tread. 
Tis air that lends us life when first 
The vital bellows heave,— 
Our flesh we borrow of the dust, 
And when a mother’s care has nursed 
The babe to manly size, we must 
With usury pay the grave. 
Erected in memory of Mt John Willson, who deceased April 
17%, 1790, aged 19 years. 
Here lyes y® body of M* Peter White, who died Jan. y® 224, 
1738, in y® 77 year of his age. 
Here lyes y® body of Mary Wyat,! wife to Edward Wyat, 
aged 92 years, Dec’ Feb. y® 6, 1705. 
Sally Young, daughter of Mt John & M* Miletiah Young, 
who died Jan. 4, 1791, aged 5 years, 9 months and 7 days. 


Tombs in Milton Cemetery, 1883.—There are sixty- | 


four tombs in the cemetery. The proprietors of the 








1 The following, from the Dorchester Town Records, refers to 
Mrs. Wyat: 

“The Old widow wiate Bing 94 years of age and on that had 
Layd So many women that she was instrimintall for the brinin 
into the world on thousand on hundred and on Children.” 


She died Jan. y® 1%, | 











Edward Sherburn Taylor, aged 14 days, 1750. 

Samuel Gile, Jr., died Oct. 5, 1827, aged 18 years. 

Samuel Gile, D.D., died Oct. 16, 1836, aged 56 years. 

Mary H. Gile, wife of Samuel Gile, D.D., died June 25, 1862, 
aged 83 years. 

JosePxH Bascock Toms (S. H. Bascock, 1831).—Here lies en- 
tombed John Babcock, son of Joseph Babcock, who died Sep- 
tember 25, 1792, aged 6 years. 

Mrs Hannah Babcock, wife of Joseph Babcock, who died Feb. 
23, 1794, aged 46 years. 

Mrs. Grace Babcock, wife of Joseph Babcock, died Sept. 11, 
1810, aged 60 years. 

Joseph Babcock, Esq., died May 28, 1813, aged 67 years. 

Stephen Babcock, died Aug. 15, 1845, aged 67. 

Dantet Vose’s Tomp.—Here lies entombed M's Patience 
Holbrook, wife of Dr. Amos Holbrook and daughter of Daniel 
Vose, Esq., & Mts Rachel his wife, who died Mch 18th, 1789, 
Ait. 25. 

M: Jeremiah Smith, died April 16, 1790, Ht. 86. 

Mrs Rachel Smith, wife of Mt Jeremiah Smith, died May 8th, 
1791, At. 85. 

Daniel Vose, Esq., died Dee. 7, 1807, At. 67 years. 

Rachel, wife of Daniel Vose and daughter of Jeremiah & 
Rachel Smith, died Jan. 25, 1821, aged 84. 

Daniel Vose, son of Daniel and Rachel Vose, died May 29, 
1837, aged 58 years. 

Henry Gardner, born in the Old Province House, Boston, 
Aug. 2,1779; died June 19, 1858 :—his wife, Clarissa, daugh- 
ter of Dr. Amos Holbrook, born in Milton, Aug. 23, 1784; died 
in Dorchester Feb. 10, 1860. 

Their Children: Clarissa H., born Feb. 10, 1811; died July 
11, 1836. 

Matilda S., born Aug. 16, 1822; died Aug. 28, 1841. 


H. C., wife of Henry J. Gardner, born Sept. 6, 1818; died 
Sept. 2, 1869. 

Their Children: Elizabeth W. Gardner, born Noy. 11, 1851; 
died March 21, 1857. 

Henry G. Gardner, born Sept. 3, 1854; died March 31, 
1873. 

Frederick W. Gardner, born Jan. 9, 1846; died Jan. 30, 
1879. 

Clifford Gardner, born Feb. 5, 1857; died Aug. 20, 1879. 

Davin SumNer’s Toms.—Mrs. Althea Cain, wife of Mr. 
David Cain, died May 26, 1806, Ht. 79. 

Mr. David Cain, died Oct. 21, 1811, Mt. 72. 


768 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Mary D. Hobart, daug. of Moses L. Hobart & Betsey Hobart, 
died Aug. 24, 1808, aged 1 year. 

Toms or E. G. Tucker anp J. A. Crenore.—George Tucker, 
born at Milton, March 8, 1750; died (by accident) Jan. 19, 1805. 
His wife, Sarah [Glover], born at Milton, July 1, 1758; died 
May 22, 1833. 

Mary A. Atherton, first wife of Ebenezer G. Tucker, born 
at Stoughton, Noy. 19, 1805; died at Milton, Dec. 22, 1832. 

Anna T. Alexander (née Atherton), second wife of Ebenezer 
G. Tucker, born at Stoughton, April 5, 1804; died at Stough- 
ton, Oct. 1, 1875. 

Henry, son of E.G. & A. T. Tucker, born at Milton, July 
27,1835; died at East Boston, Jan. 5, 1861. 

Edwin, born at Milton, Sept. 27, 1837; died at Milton, Sept. 
14, 1841. 

Toms or Tuomas CREHORE. 

Tomes or CHARLES ADAMS. 

Toms or Tuomas Ho.tuis. 

Toms or Anner H. BowMANn. 

Toms or N. & S. Davenporr & J. Crenore.—Mr. Phineas 
Davenport, died Jan, 31, 1840, aged 67 years and 10 months. 

Mrs. Hannah Davenport, died Aug. 19, 1843, aged 62 years 
6 months. 

Miss Sarah Davenport, died March 7, 1858, aged 35 years 6 


months. 


Mr. Francis Davenport, died Feb. 4, 1857, aged 52 years 11 | 
| much beloved by all. 


months. 

Toms or Swirt Herrs.—Mr. Ebenezer Swift, died Jan. 17, 
1805, aged 80 years. John Swift, died Jan. 14, 1819. 
Swift, died Sept. 26, 1838. 


Toms oF DanieL Brices.—Entombed here, M's Jane Briggs, | 


wife of Mt Daniel Briggs, died Jan. 25,1791, At. 26. 


Miss Sophia Briggs, daug. of M™ D. & M's Jane Briggs, died | 


July 28,1796, At. 9 years. 
Martin, son of M* Daniel & M's 
Jan. 20, 1803, At. 12. 


Jane Briggs, was drowned 


Mrs. Alice Briggs, wife of Mr. Daniel Briggs, died Jan. 6, | 


1806, aged 40 years. 


Capt. Thomas Briggs, brother of Mr. Daniel Briggs, died | 


April 20, 1810, Bt. 52. 

Mr. Daniel, son of Mr. Daniel Briggs, died Oct. 15, 1814, 
aged 25. 

Mrs. Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Daniel Briggs, died Dec. 2, 1823, 
aged 49. 

Mrs. Nabby, wife of Mr. William Briggs, and sister of Mr. 
Daniel Briggs, died Nov. 14, 1815, aged 59. 

Mr. Benjamin C. Briggs, son of Daniel Briggs, died at Port- 
au-Prince, July 24, 1825, aged 25. 

Mr. Daniel Briggs, died at Milton, Aug. 11, 1825, aged 71 
years. 

Sophia S. B. Briggs, died May 10, 1832, aged 26. 

Mrs. Susanna Briggs, wife of Capt. Thomas Briggs, 
Noy. 14, 1848, aged 73. 

At Nevada City, California, July 19,1851, Mr. Martin Briggs, 
aged 47, son of Mr. Daniel Briggs. 

Mary S. Fisk, died Nov. 8, 1853, aged 56 years. 


died 


John | 








Capt. Nathaniel Thomas, died at Milton, Feb. 28, 1856, | 


aged 79. 

Jane Thomas, died Feb. 5, 1863, aged 77 years 8 months. 

Tomsp or Davenport & BiLLincs.—Entombed here, M's 
Mary Davenport, wife of Mt Adam Davenport, died Dec. 31, 
1793, At. 43. 

Ambrose Davenport, son of Mt Adam & M's Mary Davenport, 
died Feb. 28, 1795, At. 6. 


Elizabeth, Lydia « Jeremiah, children of Joseph & Rebecca 
Billings, aged 16, 9 & 3 years, died April, 1796. 

Hannah W. Davenport, wife of Eben. Davenport, died Sept. 
3, 1804, aged 27 years. . 

Mr. Henry Vose, Obt. March 26, 1808, Ait. 56 years. 

Mr. Joseph Billings, died Jan. 2, 1809, Ait. 54 years. 

Elizabeth L. Billings, died Jan. 1, 1810, aged 7 years, daugh- 
ter of Mr. Joseph Billings. 

Charles Joseph Billings, died Feb. 28, 1811, aged 20. 

Mr. Ebenezer Davenport, died Noy. 24, 1817, aged 47 years. 

Mr. Anthony W. Baxter, died Sept. 15, 1822, aged 50 years. 

Mrs. Hannah Vose, wife of Henry Vose, died Jan. 26, 1825, 
aged 73 years. 

Mrs. Rebecca Billings, widow of Joseph Billings, died Oct. 
22, 1835, aged 78 years. 

Mrs. Hannah 8. Billings, daughter of Rebecca & Joseph Bil- 
lings, died Oct. 19, 1862, aged 78 years. 

Mr. Ebenezer Billings, died March 11, 1837, aged 41 years. 

Mrs. Mary D. Billings, widow of Ebenezer Billings, died May 
11, 1864, aged 70 years. 

Children of Eben. & Mary D. Billings—Mary Rebecea Bil- 


| lings, died April 27, 1848, aged 20 years. 


Samuel James Billings, died Aug. 9, 1864, aged 41 years. 
Hammatt Billings, died Nov. 14, 1874, aged 56 years. 
Joseph E. Billings, died Aug. 15, 1880, aged 59 years. 

Mr. Adam Davenport, died Aug. 13, 1825, aged 81 years. 
Mrs. Mary Davenport, died Dec. 17,1837, aged 65. She was 


Tuayer Toms.—Abbott L. Thayer, died July 26, 18438, aged 
8 years. : 

Nancy R. Thayer, died Nov. 21, 1854, aged 64 years. 

Gideon F. Thayer, died March 27, 1864, aged 70 years. 

Uncle Lord, died Feb. 17, 1869, aged 82 years. 

Elizabeth Briggs, died July 22, 1874, aged 53. 

WituraAm Crenore Tomp.—Ruth Lyon, died Oct. 6, 1811, 
aged 30 years. 

William B. Crehore, died May 13, 1815, aged 50 years. 

Widow Chloe Crehore, died Aug. 29, 1814, aged 81 years. 

John Shephard Crehore, died Jan. 1833, aged 66 years. 

His wife, Hannah, died May, 1851, aged 86 years. 

Rebecea, wife of William B. Crehore, died Noy. 1854, aged 
89 years. 

Charles C. Crehore, died Feb. 12, 1879, aged 85 years. 

Toms or JAcop GILL. 

Coats Toms. 

Toms or Narwan Vose.—Mr. Edward Vose, died Aug. 7, 
1811, aged 26 years. 


Capt. Rufus Pierce, died April 7, 1812, aged 





Prerce Toms. 
60. 

Capt. Samuel Pierce, died Sep. 24, 1822, aged 50. 

Mrs. Elizabeth, widow of Capt. Rufus Pierce, died Aug. 17, 
1829, aged 72 years. 

William Briggs, born Noy. 15, 1760; died July 17, 1831. 

Jeremiah T. Fenno, died Jan. 26, 1845, aged 62. 

Elizabeth, widow of William Briggs, died Dec. 27, 1864, aged 


| 88 years. 


Margaret, widow of Jeremiah T. Fenno, died Aug. 14, 1857, 
aged 74 years. 
Hosarr Toms. 


Toms or Dr. Amos Hotprook.—Amos Holbrook, born Jan, 
23, 1754; died June 17, 1842. 

Jerusha Holbrook, his wife, born March 12, 1764; died 
Nov. 11, 1838. 

William E. Vincent, born March 2, 
1858. 


1793; died April 12, 





MILTON. 


769 





Toms oF JESSE SUMNER. 
CoPpELAND Tomb. 


Fouuier Toms. 





James Tucker Tomsp.—Susanna S. Talbot, died Aug. 17, 
1825, aged 17 years. 

Elijah Tucker, died Dec. 1, 1831, aged 67. 

Betsy Tucker, died Sep. 3, 1835, aged 71. 

Mrs. Rebecca Tucker, died Jan. 7, 1844, aged 40. 

Miss Sarah Tucker, died Noy. 29, 1849, aged 93. 

Mr. James Tucker, died Jan. 14, 1851, aged 84. 

Mary Tucker, died Feb. 11, 1867, aged 68 years 9 months. 


P. O. THacner Toms.—George M. Thacher, born March 5, 
1809; died June 2, 1858. 


George W. Thacher, 6th Reg. M. V. M., born June 16, 1837; | 


died at Fort Delaware, Del., Sep. 18, 1864. 

Samuel G. Williams, born Jan. 25,1795; died April 19, 1878. 

Peter Oxenbridge Thacher, a.p. 1826. 

On the 22d of February, A.p. 1827, were deposited here the 
remains of the Rey. Peter Thacher, D.D., Pastor of the Church 
in Brattle Square, Boston, who died Dec. 6, 1802, aged 51. 
And of Elizabeth, his wife, who died Jan. 26, 1816, aged 71 
years. 





James Brake Toms.—Deposited here the remains of Ann 


Grey Blake, died Oct. 2, 1813, aged 11 months. 
Mary Blake, died Oct. 10, 1813, aged 2 years 7 months. 
Susan Weld Blake, died Oct. 14, 1817, aged 19 months. 
James Blake, born March 13, 1780; died July 3, 1851, aged 
71 years, 3 months, 20 days. 
Mrs. Elizabeth Blake, born May 22, 1778; died Dec. 16, 
1855, aged 77 years, 7 months, 27 days. 
TomB OWNED BY THE Town or MILTON. 


Marx Hoxtircswortr Toms.—Charles Mark Hollingsworth, 
died Aug. 29, 1809, aged 4 years. 

Charles Mark Hollingsworth, died June 11, 1824, aged 14 
years. 

McLean Hollingsworth, died Sep. 15, 1825, aged 2 years. 

Leander Nelson Hoilingsworth, died Feb. 6, 1827, aged 18 
years. 

Mark Hollingsworth, of Brandywine Hundred, Delaware, 
died Feb. 27, 1853, aged 78 years. 


Waitstill Hollingsworth, died March 31, 1858, aged 78 years. | 


Maria Harvey Cornell, died Aug. 21, 1865, aged 48 years. 
George Hollingsworth, died March 20, 1882, aged 68 years. 


Toms or ApAms AND Bent (Naruanieu T. Benr).—Deposited 


here the remains of Josiah Bent, died April 26, 1856, aged 66 | 


years. 

Rev. Josiah Bent, died at Amherst, Mass., 
aged 42 years. 

Samuel Adams Bent, died Feb. 1854, aged 24 years. 

Susanna Bent, died Oct. 16, 1857, aged 81 years. 

Josiah Bent, Jr., died Nov. 9, 1862, aged 37 years. 

Emma Nelson Bent, died in New York, Jan. 15, 1862, aged 
7 years 3 months. 


READ AND GULLIVER Tows.—Lemuel Gulliver, obt. Jan. 4, 
1840, aged 80. 

Elizabeth Vose Gulliver, obt. April 19, 1839, aged 9 months. 

Mrs. Elizabeth, consort of Mr. Lemuel Gulliver, obt. July 11, 
1842, aged 71. 

Lemuel §. Gulliver, 
months. 

Abby V. Gulliver, obt. Sept. 18, 1853, aged 13 years 4 
months. 

Mrs. Emeline G. Gulliver, obt. Feb. 18, 1870, aged 58. 

Sarah E. Gulliver, obt. Nov. 17, 1870, aged 35. 

49 


obt. Jan. 6, 1849, 


Nov. 19, 1839, | 


aged 5 years 4 | 


READ. 


Asa Bullard, M.D., obt. May 1, 1826, aged 61. 
Abigail Bullard, obt. Jan. 19, 1832, aged 68. 

Caroline Bullard, obt. Nov. 16, 1839, aged 39. 
Edward Bullard, obt. Noy. 7, 1807, aged 9. 

Clarissa Read, born Sept. 5, 1785, died June 27, 1848. 


CrurcHiLtt Tomp.— 
“Tn my Father’s house are many mansions.” 
“Tn Christ shall all be made alive.” 
Asaph Churchill, died Jan. 20, 1841, aged 76 years. 
Mary Churchill, wife of Asaph Churchill, died Jan, 21,1859, 
aged 75 years, 5 months, 23 days. 
Juliette Churchill, died May 30, 1862, 
months. 
Mary Churchill, died Feb. 14, 1828, aged 16 years. 
Charles M. 8. Churchill, died Oct. 7, 1822, aged 3 years. 
“Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.” 


aged 49 years 6 


Toms or J. CAMPBELL. 
Toms or Baxscock, Fretps & ADAMS. 


BALpwin Toms. 


Evian Vose Toms. 


Toms or Joann McLean.—Hugh McLean, died December, 
1799, aged 75 years. 

Agnes McLean, died March, 1821, aged 82 years. 

John McLean, died Oct. 16, 1823, aged 62 years. 

Sarah Amory, wife of Francis Amory, died Oct. 8, 1828, aged 
49 years. 

Ann Lee, widow of John McLean and wife of William Lee, 
died Sept. 11, 1834, aged 60 years. 

Francis Amory, died July 6, 1845, aged 79. 

F. Amory, A.D. 1842. 


Toms oF DAnret L. GrBBens. 

Tomes or ExvisAn D, Witp.—Alpheus and W. Withington, 
1815. 

NATHANIEL TuckER Toms.—tL. Tucker, 1815. 

J. Rowe Toms. 

Sumner Toms. 

Morron Toms. 


Wuitney Tomes. 


Rogpins Toms.—Rey. Nathaniel Robbins, died May 19, 1795, 
aged 69 years. 

M's Elizabeth Robbins, died May 2, 1793, aged 61 years. 

Miss Lydia Robbins, died Aug. 31, 1786, aged 27 years. 

Mr Nathaniel J. Robbins, died May 7, 1799, aged 
years. 

Miss Sarah Hutchinson, died Dec. 5, 1788, aged$66 years. 

Edward H. Robbins, died Dec. 29, 1829, aged 72 years. 


Emmons Tome. 


33 


T. Hunt Tomes. 
WeEnNtTWoRTH Tomes. 
Baxter Toms. 

Myers Toms. 

J. V. MARSHALL Toms. 
Henpry Toms. 

O. T. Rogers Toms. 
WituiAM GLOVER Toms. 
Moses WessterR Toms. 
G. W. Haut Toms. 


Hurcarinson Tome. 


770 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Also three tombs located in the central part of the 
old cemetery, first purchase,— 

Frenno Toms.— Last. 

Mitier Toms.— Middle. 


Briiiies Toms.— West. 


These tombs are the oldest in the grounds, and are 
supposed to have been built about the year 1719. 

At the March meeting, 1719, the town voted, 
“That Capten John Billing shal have liberty to buld 
a Tomb in our Buring Place at the direction of the 
Selectmen.” 


CPAP SIE a lax Vel: 


MILTON—( Continued). 
BY H. B. MARTIN. 


Civil and Military — Representatives—Town Clerks — Town 
Treasurers—War of the Rebellion—List of Soldiers, ete. 


Representatives to General Court.—The fol- 
lowing is a list of those persons chosen by the inhab- 
itants of the town of Milton to represent said town in 
the Great and General Court from the year 1682 
down to the present time. 

The first record of the election of a representative 
to the General Court is in these words: 

“ 4 Town-meeting 16, 12 mon., 1682, the Inhabitants being 
orderly assembled, &c.—The freemen chose Ralph Houghton a 
deputie for the General Court.” 

The next item found upon the records relating to 
a representative to the General Court is as follows: 


“March 6, 1693. It was voted that Thomas Vose should be | 


cleared of his Province Rates, for his serving as Representative 
at the General Court.” At the said meeting “ It was voted that 
Thomas Swift should be abated four pounds out of his Prov- 
ince Rates, for his serving as Representative at the General 
Court.” 
sons Nathaniel and Edward, should be abated their Province 


Same date, “It was voted that William Blake and his 


and town rates, till he be paid eight pounds, fifteen shillings 
for his serving as Representative at the General Court, in the 
time between the revolution and this present government.” 


In the following order were chosen,— 


April 30, 1694, KE. Clap. May 17, 1708. Geo. Sumner. 
May 10, 1697. Wm. Blake. a an ky 0) ed f 

“ 13, 1698. Thos. Vose. sO 19, 1710. EB. Tucker. 

‘§ 00. = . co C65 ska lil es 

WU LOZ. . | 14, LAL2: ee 

Feb. 22, 1703. Geo. Sumner. co 185, UnL3. ee 
April 21, 1703. Thos. Vose. | © 18,1714. 
May 8,1704. “ ss str 195 LiLo. . 

«“ 14,1705. “ « “ 14,1716. «“ 


< 20: 1706. *° ts “20, 1717. J. Wadsworth. 








May 


ay 


19, 1718. 
18, 1719. 
9, 1720. 
13, 1720. 
22 1721, 
7, 1721. 
21, 1722. 
20, 1723. 
1724. 
1725. 


18, 
17, 
15, 1727 
13727 
13, 


1730 


22, 


1728. 
1729. 


1731. 
1731. 
1732. 
16, 1733. 
13, 1734. 
19, 1735. 
17, 1736. 
15, 1737. 
16, 1738. 
15, 1739. 
19, 1740. 
18, 1741. 
17, 1742. 
16, 1743. 
14, 1744. 
20, 1745. 
19, 1746. 
18, 1747. 
16, 1748. 
15, 1749. 


E. Tucker. 


“ 


. Eph. Tucker. 


“ “ 


. O. Thatcher. 
Eph. Tucker. 


“ “e 


“ce 


“ “ee 
“ “ 
“ we 


N. Clap. 
oe 

B. Sumner. 
“ee 


“oc 


Saml. Miller. 
Saml. Swift. 
Saml. Miller. 
of iz 
Saml. Swift. 
Saml. Miller. 


“ “ 


21, 1750.1 


22, 1751 


Ls bio2s 
16, 1753. 
15, 1754. 
14, 1755. 
19, 1756. 
18, 1757. 
24, 1758. 
16, 1759. 
14, 1760. 
20, 1761. 
17, 1762. 
16, 1763. 
16, 1764. 
5, L765 « 
21, 1766. 
20, 1767. 
16, 1768. 


17, 1769. B. Wadsworth. 
23, 1770 as 

21, 1771 “ 

15, 1772. Josiah Howe. 
IS lito. “E “ 

16, 1774. Steph’n Miller 


it 
“ “e 
Joseph Bent. 


Saml. Miller. 
“ “ 


“ce 


J. Tucker. 


“ee 


A. Belcher. 


Steph. Miller. 
J. Tucker. 


“ 


J. Wadsworth. 
. Jon. Gulliver. 


J. Wadsworth. 


| Sept. 22, 1774. Capt. D. Raw- 


son. 

Jan. 23, 1775. Capt. D. Raw- 
son.” 

May 22,1775. Capt. Daniel 
Vose.? 

| July 12,1775. Capt. Daniel 


Vose. 
May 21,1776. Eben. Tucker 
and Joseph Clap. 
May 22,1777. Eben. Tucker. 
June 29, 1778. Daniel Vose. 
May 17, 1779. Seth Sumner. 
June 28,1779. E. H. Rob- 
bins.* 
Aug. 9, 1779. A. Blake5 and 
Allen Crocker.6 


Aug. 9, 1779. S. Henshaw.* 


Jon. Gulliver. | 


May 22, 1780. es 
Oct. 10, 1780. «“ 
May 10, 1781. E. H. Robbins. 


A LIS2 a eee ce 
« 13, 1783. Seth Sumner. 
«13, 1784. E. H. Robbins. 
(2) iS 5 ie us 
ce LG, Wise 
May 14, 1787. Hon. 
Warren. 


James 


May 15, 1788. Joseph Blake. 


“ 41,1789..  “ «“ 
«10, 1790. Seth Sumner. 
emmy lyase © se 
, 7,1792. E. H. Robbins. 
“e 6, 1793. “e “ 


“ce 6, 1794. “e “ 
‘“ 6,1795. * «“ 
“ee 3; 1796. “e oe 
“ee 2, 1797. “ce oe 
ss TyAl0 Sime eee es 
oe 6, 1799. “ce “ec 
ss by L800 < ae 
£6. ASLO oe ss 
“ 3 1802. “ee “ 
“14, 1803. David Tucker. 
‘ 7 S04 nce LY 


“ 6, 1805. ve “ 
“ 55 1806. “ee “ 


“ee 4, 1807. “ “ce 

«2 1808 anaes aes 

“ee iW 1809. “ee “ 
May 7,1810. Wm. Pierce 


and Asaph Churchill. 

May 6, 1811. Wm. Pierce. 

“17, 1811. Jacob Gill. 
May 4,1812. A. Churchill 
and William Pierce. 

3, 1813. Jacob Gill. 
. 2, 1814. S. K. Glover. 
« 1, 1815. J. Houghton. 
& 6; 18163 "** s 


May 


o, 
‘ 


1 Voted not to choose a representative. 


° To Provincial Congress. 
’ To General Court, held at Watertown. 
* To State Convention. 


5 To Concord. 


ts DOP eee Ser 


. 


= 


— a 





MILTON. 


(ical! 





Nov. 14, 1836. E. J. Baker 
and Nathaniel Thomas. 

Nover lon l8e te IN: Thomas 
and James M. Robbins. 


5, 1817. J. Ruggles, Jr. 
“ 4, 1818. “ee ‘ee “ec 
“ee 3, 1819. “ “ce “ 
1, 1820.1 
16, 1820. B. Smith® and | 
J. Atherton.§ 
May 7, 1821.1 


Oct. 
and Nathaniel Thomas. 
Noy. 11, 1839. E. G. Tucker. 


Bs 6, 1822. B. Smith. ce USA 05 cea U3 
May 5, 1823. Barney Smith sé 8, 1841. Charles Breck. 
and William Pierce. ee 14, 1842. “¢ ss 


May 3, 1824. Barney Smith 
and William Pierce. 


Noy. 13, 1843. Thomas 
Wadsworth. 





May 2, 1825.1 Noy. 13, 1844.7 
« 1, 1826. F. Davenport.| “ 10,1845, S. Emerson. 
e¢ lS 2a ss jee lO e4Ge4 
a Dyls28.7 <6 ss | ‘“ 8, 1847. Jason Reed. 
May 4, 1829. John Ruggles, “ 13, 1848. G. W. Greene. 
and John Swift. | “ 12, 1849. Jason Reed. 
May 3, 1830. John Ruggles.; “ 11, 1850. “ & 
G aU ie ee ae ; “ 924, 1851. A. J. Mosher. 
Nov. 14,1831. James Camp-| ‘“ 8, 1852. No choice. 
bell and Thomas Hunt. | March7, 1853. J. M. Church- 
Noy. 12, 1832. John Ruggles | ill.8 
and Josiah Bent. | Nov. 14, 1853. Jason Reed. 
Nov. 11, 1833.7 ee LoS looters Wie Martine 
Nov. 10,1834. J. S. Foord| “ 6, 1855. S. Babeock. 
and Jason Houghton. | “ 4, 1856. Amos Poole. 
Nov. 9, 1835. Moses Gragg 


fT — a | 
and Jason Honghton. 


Eleventh Norfolk District. 


Nov. 4, 1857. Joseph M.j Nov. 6, 1866. George Vose. 
Churchill. 1867. None from Milton. 

1858. None from Milton. LSGSsy 1° £6 fg 

159. “§ “«  «& | Nov. 2, 1869. John Sias. 

Nov. 6, 1860. J. M. Robbins. «8, 1870. D. W. Tucker. 
«5, 1861. Samuel Cook. BG isyale é 

1862. None from Milton. 1872. None from Milton. 

1863. “ oe “ec 1873. “ec “se “cc 

Noy. 8, 1864. G. W. Greene. | Nov. 3, 1874. E. L. Pierce. 
“7, 1865. George Vose. 287 Ke 





Fourth Norfolk District. 


1876. None from Milton. 1880. None from Milton. 


TO Be Ce Viefoal, | a 
Nov. 5, 1878. H. E. Ware. | Nov. 7, 1882. H. B. Martin. 
eA, 1879. “ 6, 1883. J. W. Bradlee. 


Town Clerks.—The first record of the election of 
a town clerk in Milton is in these words: 

“ At a Towne Meeting the 10th of March, 1670- 
71, Thomas houlman was chosen to be the townes 
Clarke, to have the Towne book, and Record such Vots 
as the towne due from time to time legally pass.” 

The next record relating to the choice of a town 
clerk is as follows: ‘‘ Dec. 8, 1673, Robert Tucker 
was chosen Towne Recorder,” etc. By the records we 
find that he held the office until 1677, when John 


| 
| 


Nov. 12, 1838. E. G. Tucker 


from 1678 to 1682, when Ralph Houghton was 
chosen, and held the office for one year. 

1683, Thomas Holman was again chosen, and served 
until 1686, when John Kinsley was elected, who held 
the office until 1689, when Thomas Vose, Sr., was 
chosen, and held the office for two years; he was fol- 


lowed by Ebenezer Clap, who also served two years, 


} 


_and surrendered up the office as town recorder on 


T. | 


March 6, 1693, to Capt. Thomas Vose, who was upon 
that date chosen as town clerk. 

Capt. Vose was elected each successive year to the 
position of town clerk until 1708, when Ephraim 
Tucker was chosen annually to the office for a period 


_of twenty-two years; then came John Daniell, who 


served from 1730 to 1734. March 4, 1734, Nehe- 
miah Clap was elected, and held the office until Aug. 
1, 1743, when Ephraim Tucker was again elected, and 


held the office until his successor, Benjamin Wads- 


_ worth, was chosen, May 20, 1745. 


Mr. Wadsworth 
held the position for seventeen years, when he turned 
it over to Stephen Clap, March 14, 1763, who, in 
turn, vacated it in 1765, when Elijah Wadsworth was 
chosen ; he held the office three years, or until March 
14, 1768, when Amariah Blake was chosen, serving 
until 1779; then Samuel Henshaw served one year, 
when Amariah Blake was again chosen, serving until 
March 13, 1786, when John Ruggles was elected, and 
held the office twenty-one consecutive years, or until 
March 9, 1807; then James Foord was chosen to 
the position each year for seven years, finally relin- 
quishing the office March 14, 1814, upon being elected 
register of deeds for the county of Norfolk. 

Upon the retirement of Mr. Foord, March 14,1814, 
John Ruggles, Jr., was elected, and, what was some- 
what remarkable, held the office the exact period 
(counting in years) in which the same office was 
held by his father, namely, twenty-one years, or until 
March 9, 1835. 

Upon that date Nathan C. Martin was elected, 
holding the office four years. = 

March 11, 1839, Jason F. Kennedy was chosen, 
he also serving for four years, or until March 13, 
1843, when Jason Reed was elected, serving the town 
faithfully in that capacity for thirty consecutive years, 


or until his decease on July 13, 1873. 


Kinsley was chosen, who held the office one year, | 


when Thomas Holman was chosen, and held the office 








® Delegates to revise the Constitution. 
7 Voted not to send a representative. 
8 Delegate to Constitutional Convention. 


Henry B. Martin was appointed town clerk, pro 
tempore, in 1873, owing to the illness of Mr. Reed 
(he not being able to attend to the duties of the office), 
and acted in that capacity until the annual election of 
town officers, March, 1874, when he was chosen as 
town clerk, holding the office by virtue of the several 
successive annual elections up to the present time, 


January, 1884. 


772 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Town Treasurers.—It was long after the incor- 
poration of those towns that were settled at an early 
period in the history of the “ Province of the Massa- 
chusetts Bay” before the inhabitants made any selec- 
tion of a person to keep guard over the public moneys. 

A “ watch-dog of the treasury” was then unknown, 
—in fact, for many years after the settlement of the 
town the “ treasury” was a mythological nonentity. 


People in those days—‘“in the good old colony 


times””—were not burdened with riches; they did not 
lay awake nights contriving schemes and inventing 
modes to defraud the community, as some of their 
descendants have since done; it is true, that occa- 
sionally some enterprising merchant would “ rise with 
the lark” for the purpose of putting a little sand in 
his sugar, or a little water in his rum, but even those 
were not then common occurrences. 

As a matter of fact, what few treasures our revered 
ancestors had were laid up “‘ where neither moth nor 
rust doth corrupt, or thieves break through and steal.” 

Such being the case, although it may seem “ pass- 
ing strange’ to the men of to-day, nevertheless, al- 


though the town of Milton was settled in 1640 and | 


incorporated in 1662, the first item on record relating 


to the choice of a town treasurer is under date of | 
1733,—ninety-three years after the first settlement | 
| 1824, serving eleven years, or until March 9, 1835, 


of the town,—and is as follows : 

“March 12, 1733. Mr. George Badcock was 
chose Town Treasurer.” 

Under date of December 20th, the same year, is 
found this record: “It was put to Vote to the Town 
whether they would reconsider the vote of the choice 
of Mr. George Badcock to be Town Treasurer, he 
being infirm and unable to serve in that Office—and 
it past in the affirmative.” 





later, when the town, by a vote passed on March 10, 
1739-40, chose Nehemiah Clap, the then town clerk, 
to act also as town treasurer; Mr. Clap continuing to 
hold the position as town treasurer until his death, 
July 18, 1743, when Ephraim Tucker was elected to 
serve for the balance of the year. March 12, 1744, 
Benjamin Wadsworth was chosen town treasurer, 


‘serving that and the succeeding year; but at the an- 


nual March meeting of 1746, and again in 1747, we 
find this record: ‘‘ Voted, to have no Treasurer.” 
March 14, 1748, Benjamin Wadsworth was again 
chosen, and held the office for twenty-one consecutive 
years, or until March 13, 1769, when Josiah Howe 
was elected, serving until March 13, 1775. Then 
Amariah Blake held the position one year, when 
William Tucker was chosen, serving six years. 
March 11, 1782, Josiah Howe was again selected for 
the office, this time serving for three years, or until 
March 14, 1785, when John Ruggles was chosen, 
holding the office for many years, and upon his re- 
tirement being succeeded by his son, John Ruggles, 
Jr. They together retained and served the town in 
that capacity until 1821, a period of thirty-six years. 
March 12th of that year Jedediah Atherton was 
chosen to succeed Mr. Ruggles, holding the office 
three years, when Jesse Vose was elected, March 8, 


_ when Isaac Gulliver was chosen, serving four years. 


‘Tt was voted that the Selectmen succeed Mr) 


Badcock, that was chosen Town Treasurer, and to do 
the work his Office obliged him to do.” 
We have no reason to doubt but that the above 


vote and the instructions of the town to the select- | 


men therein embodied, were carried out to the let- 
ter, and to the full satisfaction of the towns-people ; 


and when we take into consideration that at that | 


period the Board of Selectmen consisted of five mem- 
bers. and that the whole amount raised for defraying 

’ ying 
all town charges during the year (exclusive of the 


March 11, 1839, Charles Breck was elected, holding 
the office for nineteen years, or until March 1, 1858, 
when Jason Reed was chosen, Mr. Reed holding the 
office until his decease, in 1873. 

Consequent upon the illness of Mr. Reed, in 1873, 
Charles Breck was by the selectmen appointed town 
treasurer, pro tempore, serving in that position until 
March, 1874, when he was again elected, and re- 
elected each subsequent year to date (1884). 


CHAPTER LX Vane 
MILTON—( Continued). 


War of the Rebellion.— A ppended are the names 


' of those soldiers who enlisted for the term of three 


ministerial tax) was but 160 pounds 11 shillings and | 


4 pence, it would not seem that the duties of the 


Board as disbursing officers were very arduous or | 


wearisome; and so we may suppose thought the 
staid citizens of “ ye olden time,” for by the records 
we judge that that duty devolved upon the board (as 
it had in all previous years) until some six years 


years, and who formed part of Milton’s quota, in the 
war of the Rebellion. 

The list is complete only as far as that the soldiers 
whose names are herewith given were accredited to 
Milton as part of her quota. Many names there are 
that should find place upon the Milton records, names 


of her honored and illustrious sons, who, living in 


MILTON. 


173 





other places at the outbreak of the war, enlisted and 
were accredited to the quotas of those towns or cities 
where they at that time resided. 

As an illustration I will here cite two cases which 
came within my knowledge. 


officer in the city of Boston was Louis N. Tucker ; 
the best drill-officer in the city of San Francisco was 
James Sewall Reed, both Milton boys, with that ardor 
and love of country which has ever characterized the 
They enlisted, and with 
great zeal entered into the arduous duties thenceforth 
devolving upon them, duties which but few men out- 
side of the regular army were competent or able to 


citizens of their native town. 





the raw recruits, who, in immense numbers, were 
swarming to do battle for their country; and thus, 
' mainly through the exertions and the important pre- 
paratory work by them performed, were sent to the 


for the Union. 

After months of laborious work thus performed 
they, too, started for the front, one to return with 
honorable scars received in defense of the old flag, 
the other dying upon the field of battle while gal- 
lantly fighting for his native land. 

The subjoined list is given in alphabetical order, 
without designation of rank: 


Allen, William 8., Co. C, 33d Regt. 
Angell, Moses E., Co. A, 14th Regt. 
Bacon, Albert J., Co. D, 35th Regt. 
Badger, Algernon S., Co. I, 26th Regt. 
Baker, Edward K., Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Bull, Lyman, Bat. D, Art. 
Barrington, John, Co. B, 18th Regt. 
Baxter, George O., Co. E, Ist Regt. 
Boale, William, Co. E, 7th Rest. 
Bent, George F., Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Blackman, Elbridge, Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Bradlee, J. Walter, Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Broad, Horace S., Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Bronsdon, Amos H., Co. A, 13th Regt. 
Bronsdon, Charles, Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Burditt, Charles E., Co. E, 1st Regt. 
Burditt, George W., Co. E, Ist Regt. 
Burleigh, N. G., band, 18th Regt. 
Chamberlain, James, Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Chamberlain, Patrick, Co. D, 22d Rest. 
Chandler, Jonathan H., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Clark, George E., band, 20th Regt. 
Clark, Philip C., Co. A, 18th Regt. 
Collins, Edward, Lieut. U.S.A. 
Cook, Charles W., Co. HE, 35th Regt. 
f ‘Corey, Stephen, Co. C, 27th Regt. 
Crossman, John G., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Collins, John H., band, 7th Regt. 
: Dalton, George W., Co. E, Ist Regt. 
Davis, Walter S., Co. F, 22d Regt. 


el le 


—— 


At the commencement of hostilities the best drill- | 


perform. Night and day they were employed drilling | 





front some of the most efficient troops that did battle © 








Dow, James E., Co. C, Ist Regt. 

Dyer, Andrew J., Co. C, 18th Regt. 
Everett, N. Stanley, Co. A, 13th Regt. 
Fessenden, William H., Co. L, lst Regt. 
Fisher, Herman, Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Fisher, William I., Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Forbes, William H., Co. E, 1st Cav. 
Gilbert, Wallace H., Co. F, 22d Regt. 
Graham, Charles H., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Gunnison, Edwin L., Co. A, 29th Regt. 
Grant, Everett A., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Hall, George W., Jr., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Hastings, Frank B., Co. D, 13th Regt. 
Hebard, Henry J. A., Co. A, 13th Regt. 
Hicks, David F., Co. B, 15th Regt. 
Holmes, Abraham, Jr., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Hopkins, Edward F., Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Hoyt, T. D. V., Co. M, Ist Cay. 

Hunt, Charles C., Co. I, 58th Regt. 
Hunt, Isaiah, Co. I, 35th Regt. 
Huntington, Edward L., U.S.A. 
Ingraham, Sewell §., Co. I, 24th Regt. 
Jones, John P., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Kirby, Patrick T., Co. I, 7th Regt. 
Kittredge, Henry G. W., Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Lacy, John, Co. I, 38th Regt. 

Leavitt, Albion E., Co. I, 26th Regt. 
Littlefield, Charles G., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Lord, George F., Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Lord, James F., Co. E, 7th Regt. 

Lord, William H., Co. L, 1st Regt. 
Loring, Abraham M., Co. H, 39th Regt. 
Lycett, James, Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Madden, Thomas, Co. H, 18th Regt. 
Mahoney, John, Co. E, Ist Regt. 
Martin, Albert T. B., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Martin, John W., Co. D, 24th Regt. 
MeWhirk, Alexander, Co. D, 24th Regt. 
Merrill, Thomas, Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Moses, George F., Co. B, 39th Regt. 
Moulton, George H., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Moulton, Luther, Jr., Co. I, 58th Regt. 
Moulton, Charles H., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Munroe, William, Co. F, 22d Regt. 
Murray, James, not stated. 

Murray, John, Co. E, 35th Regt. 
Myers, Nathaniel T., Co. M, Ist Cav. 
Myers, Samuel G., Co. D, Ist Cav. 
Nightingale, James H., Co. HE, 7th Regt. 
Nightingale, William H., Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Noble, Joseph A., Co. K, Ist Cav. 

Nye, Hiram T., Co. I, 38th Regt. 

Page, Chester S., Co. H, 39th Regt. 
Pearce, George W., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Pearce, Thomas L., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Parsons, Joseph A., Co. I, 26th Regt. 
Pickering, George H., not stated. 
Perkins, Stephen G., 2d Regt. 
Ransom, George H., 9th Bat. 
Raymond, George T., Co. I, 13th Regt. 
Robertson, James B., Co. H, 18th Regt. 
Rockwood, William 0. V., Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Rooney, Patrick H, Co. I, 26th Regt. 
Rowe, John F., Co. L, Ist Cav. 

Russell, George S., Co. H, 39th Regt. 
Scaff, John, Co. E, 7th Regt. 


774 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Seibert, John, Co. I, 26th Regt. 
Shannon, Edward, Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Sias, John (2d), Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Simmons, John D., Co. C, 33d Regt. 
Simpson, John E., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Skinner, Otis A., Co. I, 13th Regt. 
Spear, Jobn M., Jr., Co. D, 24th Regt. 
Spiller, James F., Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Sweeney, Terrence, Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Thayer, Frederick A., Co. E, 7th Regt. 
Thayer, Charles H., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Thayer, Samuel G., Co. E, 35tn Regt. 
Vose, George E., Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Whittier, Napoleon B., Co. EH, Ist Regt. 
Wigley, James, Co. I, 38th Regt. 
Williams, Claudius, Co. I, 38th Regt. 


The following were the enlistments for the nine 
months’ service : 


Alden, Samuel W., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Baker, Jonathan, Co. I, 42d Regt. 
Badger, William F., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Bartlett, Benjamin J., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Boden, William F., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Bolster, Charles, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Breck, Charles E. C., Co. B, 45th Rest. 
Brigham, William F., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Bronsdon, William B., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Caswell, Henry P., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Churchill, Joseph M., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Conklin, Edward D., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Cunningham, John J., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Cunningham, Patrick, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Cunningham, Peter, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Cunningham, William, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Davenport, Nathaniel T., Jr., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Delunnoy, Desire, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Dennison, Jeremiah, Co. B, 43d Regt. 
Dunican, Patrick, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Emerson, John H., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Halliday, George W., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Higgins, John, Co. B, 45th Regt. 

Hollis, Abijah, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Jewett, Jonas W., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Jones, Benjamin F., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Jones, Elbridge, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Leavitt, William S., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Littlefield, Henry W., Co. D, 45th Regt. 
Lord, Joseph B., Co. I, 44th Regt. 
Mathes, Daniel, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Merrill, William, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Moffatt, Elijah W., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Morrissey, John, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Morrissey, Thomas, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Morse, Alfred L., Co. E, 44th Regt. 
Murphy, James, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Niles, Jerome S., Co. C, 45th Regt. 
Nolan, Christopher, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Norton, Edward, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Ochs, Joseph, Co. B, 45th Regt. 

Pierce, George, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Shaw, Joseph A., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Skinner, George E., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Snow, Elbridge, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Snow, James H., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Thompson, James A., Co. B, 45th Regt. 


| 








Rooney, Bartholomew, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Vialle, James L., Co. G, 42d Regt. 
Ware, William, Co. C, 44th Regt. 
Wellington, Henry F., Co. B, 45th Regt. 
White, Edward P., Co. EH, 44th Regt. 
White, James E., Co. G, 44th Regt. 
Williams, Thomas, Co. B, 45th Regt. 
Williams, John M., Co. B, 45th Regt. 


CHAPTER LXViEE 


MILTON—( Continued). 


Town Hall—The Blue Hill National Bank—The Milton News— 
Post-Office. 

Town Hall.—The present town hall, one of the 
finest structures of its kind in the commonwealth, 
was dedicated on the evening of Feb. 18,1879. The 
building is a substantial structure of brick and stone, 
contains a spacious hall, capable of seating five hun- 
dred people in the body of the hall and two hundred 
in the gallery, and has also convenient offices for the 
various town officials, the whole fitted up with every 
modern convenience. The style of architecture is 
Gothic, and is artistic and pleasing to the eye. 

The announcement of the opening of the building 
drew thither a large number of visitors from all the 
country round about, and the scene was an animated 
one all the afternoon. The exercises of the dedica- 
tion in the evening, in spite of the very forbidding 
weather, were attended by an assemblage of the town’s 
people that crowded the hall. The exercises were 
opened by the Cadet Band of Boston, which gave the 
spirited “ Light Cavalry” overture, by Suppe. Col. 
Henry S. Russell presided, and, after brief remarks 
of congratulation on the success which had attended 
the enterprise of building the hall, called upon the 
Rev. A. K. Teele to offer prayer. The report of the 
building committee was read by its chairman, Mr. W. 
H. Forbes. It reviewed the history of the enterprise, 
and gave full particulars in regard to the cost of the 
The 


vote authorizing the appropriation of thirty-five thou- 


various parts of the work and other details. 


sand dollars for the work was passed by the town 
March 4, 1878, and the committee, consisting of 
William H. Forbes, George Vose, Edward L. Pierce, 
Samuel Babcock, Samuel Gannett, J. H. Wolcott, 
Albert K. Teele, Charles L. Copeland, and Horace E. 
Ware, was appointed to carry out the work. Mr. 
Copeland resigned, and his place was filled by James 
M. Robbins. Mr. Nathaniel J. Bradlee, of Boston, 


was employed as consulting architect, and the plans 








MILTON. 


775 





of Messrs. H. W. Hartwell and George T. Tilden 


were accepted. The contracts were awarded as fol- 
lows: Mason-work, W.C. Poland & Sons, of Boston ; 
carpenters’, Creesy & Noyes, of Boston; roofing, J. 
Farquhar’s Sons, of Boston ; copper-work, L. Cush- 
ing & Son, of Waltham. The two last-named con- 
tracts were afterwards included in that with Creesy & 
Noyes, as well as all glazing and painting, except the 
decoration of the two halls and the front entrance, 
which was done by W. J. McPherson, of Boston. 
The work on the cellar was begun June 3d, and the 
corner-stone was laid about the 10th of July. The 
work was carried on without interruption until its 
completion. The cost was as follows: Masons’ con- 
tract, $13,077.82 ; carpenters’, $14,924.56 ; painting, 


$550; architects, $1500; total for building proper, | 


$30,052.38 ; grading, gas-fixtures, furnaces, and sun- 
dries, $1458.58 ; total cost of the work, $34,959.09. 


chairman of the selectmen, received the keys from 
the committee, making brief remarks, after which 
followed an extended historical address by the Hon. 
Edward L. Pierce, which was listened to with great 
interest. 

Town-meetings were held until 1836 in the parish 
meeting-house, now belonging to the First Congrega- 


tional (Unitarian) society. In that and the succeed- 


ing year they were held in the stone meeting-house | 


In 1838 the town occupied | 


at the Railway Village. 
its first town house, then just completed, which cost, 
with land included, the modest sum of $2684.32, 


i} 
| 





and was paid for out of the surplus revenue which — 
the United States had divided among the States, | 


this commonwealth dividing its share among the 
towns. 
The Blue Hill National Bank of Milton, incor- 


porated in 1832, under the title of the “ Dorchester 


| 


and Milton Bank,” with a capital of $100,000, was | 


first located in the ancient town of Dorchester. 
In the year 1850 a gang of burglars, under the 
notorious Jack Wade, raided the institution, securing 


funds to the amount of some thirty thousand dollars ; _ 


as a large portion of the money thus taken was in 


bills of the bank, it was thought advisable to alter the 
name by which the bank was known ; accordingly, in 
the year 1851, by statutory provisions the name was 


changed to “Blue Hill Bank,” and some thirteen — 
years later, in conformity to a law passed by Congress — 


“for the establishment of a National Banking Sys- | 


tem,” the name of the bank was again changed, De- 
cember, 1864, to ‘‘ Blue Hill National Bank.” 
Congress by special act, 1881, authorizing the re- 


March, 1882, to its present commodious quarters in 
the Associates’ Building, Milton. 

Since its incorporation the bank has had the fol- 
lowing officers: Presidents, Moses Whitney, 1832 to 
1848; Hananiah Temple, 1848 to 1854; Asaph 
Churchill, 1854 to 1876; Eleazer J. Bispham, 1876 
to date (1884). Cashiers, Hananiah Temple, 1832 
to 1836; Joseph L. Hammond, 1836 to 1848; 
Eleazer J. Bispham, 1848 to 1876; Sarell J. Willis, 
1876 to date (1884). The capital at the present 
time is $200,000. 

The present board of directors are HK. J. Bispham, 
Laban Pratt, Henry S. Russell, Samuel Gannett, A. 
L. Hollingsworth, Joseph KE. Hall, and Horace EK. 
Ware. 

The Milton News.—The first newspaper published 
in Milton, bearing date April 29, 1882, was a venture 


"undertaken by Mr. Frederick P. Fairfield, of Boston, 
At the conclusion of the report, Mr. Babcock, | 


it being issued weekly, and bearing the title of The 
Milton News. After having published the above 
sheet some six months, Mr. Fairfield sold out his 
right, title, and interest to Mr. W. A. Woodward, the 
present proprietor. 

Post-Office.—The date of the first establishment of 
a post-office in Milton was January, 1803. The first 
postmaster appointed was Samuel H. Glover: date of 
appointment Jan. 1, 1803. He was succeeded by 
Moses Whitney, who was appointed Dec. 9, 1805. 
Gen. Whitney held the office until 1817, when he 
resigned in favor of his friend, Nathan C. Martin, 


| who was appointed Nov. 4, 1817, holding the office 


for nearly twenty-two years. Mr. Martin being about 
to remove from the town, resigned his trust in 1839, 
when Edmund J. Baker was appointed, April Ist of 
that year (1839), and held the position until Jan. 19, 
1844, when George Thompson was appointed. The 
appointment was held by him until May 29, 1849, 
when Nathan C. Martin again received the appoint- 
ment, occupying the position until his death, Aug. 
26, 1864, making the whole term of his incumbency 
some thirty-seven years. Upon Oct. 20, 1864, Louis 
N. Tucker received an appointment, but declined to 
serve, when Henry Pope was appointed, Jan. 12, 
1865, holding the office until his death, when his 
wife, Abigail F. Pope, was appointed, March 3, 1880, 
continuing in office until her decease, in 1883. July 
16, 1883, Henry A. Pope was commissioned, holding 
the position at the present writing (1884). 
Conclusion.—We can no more fittingly close our 
history of this grand old town than by quoting the 


following from an address delivered at the dedication 


of its town hall by one of her most eminent citizens, 


moval of the bank to the town of Milton, it removed | the Hon. Edward L. Pierce: 


776 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








“We have in the pleasant places where our lines have fallen 
blessings which came to us without effort or sacrifice of ourselves 
or our fathers. There are no four square miles in our country 
—perhaps, without exaggeration, we might add on the globe— 
more endowed with all that is attractive in scenery than those 
which are covered by our municipal jurisdiction. Here are no 
morasses, no pestilential districts, no blasted heaths, no wastes 
where allis parched, scraggy, and repulsive, no dead level weari- 
some to eye or feet; but the whole space filled with a pure and 
health-bringing air, which rises from the sea and descends from 
the hills, spread out in varied landscapes, diversified with eleva- 
tions and intervales, with forests and fields watered by unfailing 
brooks, and even the hills fed by perpetual springs. Here on 
our fair heritage are combined the Blue Hills to the south, from 
which came, according to Roger Williams, the Indian name of 
our beloved commonwealth, Massachusetts ; the Neponset River, 
flowing along our northern border, and the ocean view to the 
east. You who have journeyed in other lands, along the Cha- 
rente, the Loire, or the Arno, what fairer prospect have you seen 
than the eye sweeps as you stand on Milton Hill, looking on the 
river, as with changing tide it spreads outa broad lake, or with- 
draws to its narrow bed; on eminences crowned with villas; on 
villages nestling in valleys or covering elevations ; on church- 
spires testifying to Christian worship; on the islands and beacon- 
lights in the harbor of New England's metropolis; on ships 
departing and returning on their errands of commerce and 
civilization 7 

“ Looking southward on the same highway, the old Plymouth 
road, the eye glides along a scene hardly less picturesque which 
embraces the intervale and the hills beyond. Standing on Brush 
Hill, with no intervening obstruction between you and the Blue 
Hills, there lies spread out before you nature in one of her royal 
moods, a study worthy of some gifted artist. Passing on to the 
south, and ascending the hills themselves, which in a less modest 
nomenclature than ours would be classified as mountains, and 
there, on the summit, lies before you a magnificent panorama 
of cities, villages, mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, the ocean, 
where one may contemplate with reverence the works of the 
Creator, the intelligence of man, the life and growth of society, 
and the events of history which have transpired in successive 
generations within the bounds of the horizon. 

“Nor is the natural beauty of this township confined to such 
favored sites as these, but it is distributed among our farms and 
along our roads. I have seen the artist sitting by our longest 
brook, which rises in the Blue Hills, and, flowing through the 
Hobart woods, falls into the Neponset, sketching the overhang- 
ing branches, the old trunks, and the flowering meadows by its 
side, and placing on canvas beauties of which we live altogether 
too unconscious. Coming at the close of day from the railway 
station to my home, with the twin churches before me and the 
Blue Hills in the background, looking westward I have often 





paused to gaze on sunsets as finely colored as any I have ever | 


seen on Italian skies. We have, indeed, villas and lawns which 
art has constructed and spread out, but, better still, we have 
retained the primitive forest, where woodcock, partridge, quail, 
and rabbit still linger; we have highways not too broad and 
lined with graceful elms; we have still, and long may we retain, 
that freshness of nature which makes the charm of Milton as a 
home and place of rest. If some lover of nature gifted with 
imagination like Wordsworth, who glorified with sentiment the 
Lake district of England and peopled it with ideal forms, shall 
ever be born or come to live among us, he will find all about 
him food for his contemplative spirit and poetic genius. 

“Tt has been customary at dedications like this to review the 


history of the town from its settlement. But I decline a task 


formed by our townsman, Mr. Robhins. The chronicles of its 
churches have been written by two of its pastors and present 
citizens, the Rev. Dr. Morison and the Rey. Frederick Froth- 
ingham, both of whom are with us this evening. 

“Our town has been conspicuous for the good sense and solid 
character of its citizens, and in some epochs for names which 
When our fathers contended for ex- 
istence against Philip of Pokanoket, her Capt. Wadsworth fell 
bravely with his gallant and devoted band in the swamps of 


mankind will remember. 


Sudbury, and in a graveyard of that town is a monument with 
the inscription, ‘Captain Samual Wadsworth of Milton, his 
Lieut. Sharp of Brookline, and twenty-six other soldiers fight- 
ing for the defence of their country were slain by the Indian 
enemy and lye buried in this place.’ 
served their country with honor in the army of the Revolution 
and in the war with England of 1812, and theirs and other 
names of our citizens are among the recorded heroisms of our 


The Voses and Sumners 


civil war. In an early period this town gave a president to 
Harvard College in the person of Benjamin Wadsworth. Some 
of its citizens have been identified with the civil and judicial 
history of the State. 
some historic scenes, the preaching of John Eliot and George 
Whitefield, and the passage of the Suffolk Resolves in the 
house of Capt. Daniel Vose, drawn by Joseph Warren, and re- 
garded as the earliest organized demonstration for independence 
in the colonies. 


The town has witnessed within its limits 


“There has been a continuity in the life of this town rare in 
Growing in population by natural increase 
rather than by accessions from other places, there has been a 
steady flow of influence and character from one generation to 
another. Eight of the original trustees, to whom, in 1664, a 
tract of land was eonveyed for ‘a meeting-house and other 
ministerial purposes,’ have always since had and still have de- 
scendants in the town bearing their names, and in some instances 
living upon and holding, without break in the chain of title, 
their ancestral acres,—the Voses, Wadsworths, Tuckers, Sum- 
ners, Gullivers, Babeocks, Swifts, and Cranes. It has a remark- 
able record for longevity, including in successive generations 
an unusual number of inhabitants who have lived to fourscore 
years, and even passed in health and vigor far beyond that 
limit. 


municipal history. 


The long service of many of its clergymen signifies its 
Five active pastor- 
ates, those of Peter Thacher, John Taylor, Nathaniel Robbins, 
Samuel Gile, and John H. Morison, span a period of one hun- 
dred and sixty-seven years, of which those of Thacher and 
Robbins were each nearly half a century in duration. Three 
lives, always identified with the town, connect us with the early 
part of the eighteenth century. Nathaniel Robbins, the third 
minister of the Milton Church, lived from 1726 to 1795. His 
son, Edward H. Robbins, an early Lieutenant-Governor of the 
State, lived from 1758 to 1829; and we have with us this even- 


conservative and steady-going character. 


ing, next in the line, worthy alike of sire and grandsire, the 
Hon. James M. Robbins, who, at the age of eighty-two, is in 
the full enjoyment of his powers and active for the public good. 

“The tone of municipal life has been at all times sensibly 
For- 


tunate the people who have this advantage! thrice fortunate 


affected by the superior intelligence of leading citizens. 


the people who value and profit by it! The town has probably 
counted among its citizens, at different periods, more graduates 
of Harvard College than any one of similar population in the 
State, and their trained intellects and large views have been felt 
We greet this 
evening, as one of our most welcome guests, a representative of 
the ancient university, Mr. James B. Thayer, Royall Professor 
of the Dane Law Schoo!l,—no longer of us as a citizen, but always 


at all periods in its social life and public action. 


which at our second centennial anniversary was so well per- | of us as a friend,—whose scholarly tastes, neighborly offices, 








MILTON. 


117 





and beneficent activity in civic duties remain in fresh remem- 
brance. 


deserves mention. 
among our people, with no sharp divisions into sects, occupa- 
tions, and family groups. Wealth here is not supercilious and 
exclusive, but hospitable, open-handed, and sympathetic. There 
is little of poverty and dependence, but a general condition of 
comfort. There are no wide estates tilled by tenants, but, more 
than in most communities, each man is the owner of the house 
he lives in. As the result, there prevails a sense of self-respect 
and of respect for others. 

“In political controversies the vote of the town has been 
steadily for freedom, for the support of the government, and the 
honest administration of State affairs. In commemoration of 


| 


| 


the ratification of Jay’s treaty, by which Washington upheld | 


against clamor the peace of the country, an arch was erected 
over the bridge at the lower mills, at the instance of Capt. John 
Lillie, an officer of the army of the Revolution, then a citizen 
of the place, which bore this inscription, ‘We unite in defence 
of our country and its laws,’ a resolution to which the town and, 


may I be permitted to add, his descendants have ever since been | the Boston Law School since its foundation, a period 


loyal.” 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


EDWARD L. PIERCE. 


Edward Lillie Pierce, son of Col. Jesse and Eliza | 


8. Pierce, was born in Stoughton, Mass., March 29, 


1829. He received early instruction from his father, 


and was prepared for college in the academy at Bridge- | 


He was 
graduated at Brown University in 1850, standing in 
some departments at the head of his class, and carry- 


water and in a classical school at Easton. 


ing off an unusual number of literary prizes. His in- 
terest while still a youth in public and literary ques- 
tions is shown in his articles published in 1848-50 in 


passed nearly a year at Cincinnati, Ohio, in the law 


q __ | office of Salmon P. Chase, then a senator and since 
“There is another feature in the character of the town which | 


AP enidly spirit) of association: ‘prevails | chief justice of the United States, with whom from 


that time he maintained relations of friendship and 
confidence. In 1857, he published his book on “‘ Amer- 
ican Railroad Law,” which at once took a conspicu- 
ous place in legal literature, and was regarded by 
many lawyers and judges having special knowledge 
and experience in this branch of the law as the best 
In 1881 he published a 
new treatise on ‘‘The Law of Railroads,’ availing 


treatise on the subject. 


himself of the multitude of new cases though follow- 
ing largely his original methed. This is now deemed 
He also pre- 
pared for the railroad commissioners in 1874 an 
elaborate index of the “Special Railroad Laws of 
He has been one of the lecturers at 


the standard authority on the subject. 


Massachusetts.” 


_ of ten years. 





In 1857, Mr. Pierce took an active part in opposing 
the narrow and proscriptive policy towards citizens of 
foreign birth which was at that time strongly urged in 
Massachusetts ; and a valuable letter from him, filled 
with statistics and advocating the most liberal treat- 
ment of foreigners, was printed in the newspapers and 
afterwards extensively distributed in pamphlet form. 

Mr. Pierce continued in the practice of his profes- 
sion until the breaking out of the Rebellion. In 1860 
he represented his district in the National Republican 
Convention at Chicago, and supported the nomina- 
tion of Mr. Lincoln. In February, 1861, when the 


_ Massachusetts Legislature was considering the sub- 
| ject of modifying the ‘‘ Personal Liberty Laws,” he 


| 


the Democratic Review on “The Independence of the | 


Judiciary,” “The Executive Veto,” and “ Sir Thomas 
More,” and in his essay on “ the relation of education 
to wealth and industrial prosperity,” which was pub- 
lished in the “ Transactions of the Norfolk Agricul- 
tural Society” in 1852. From college he went to the 
Law School at Cambridge, where he was graduated in 
1852. 
tion to his studies that had marked his course in col- 
lege, and received the first prize offered to his class for 
an essay on ‘*‘The Consideration of a Contract.” In 
1853, he wrote an able and learned article for the 
Boston Post on “Secret Suffrage,’’ a question at that 


Here he displayed the same devoted applica- 


time of marked interest in the politics of Massachu- | 


setts, which was reprinted and widely distributed in 
England by the ‘‘ Ballot Society,” and referred to as 
authority in Parliament. 

At the beginning of his professional life Mr. Pierce 


appeared before a committee of the Legislature and 
made a vigorous and very able argument against the 
proposed changes, which was printed, and is known to 
have made a strong impression upon the committee, 
and was warmly commended by Governor Andrew and 
Mr. Sumner. 

In the very first week of the civil war, Mr. Pierce 
enlisted in Company L of the Third Regiment of the 
Massachusetts Militia, went to Old Point Comfort, 
and took part before the week was out in the destruc- 
tion of the Norfolk navy-yard. He performed his 
duties as a private soldier in all respects until July. 
when he was detailed to collect the negroes at Hamp- 
ton and set them to work on the intrenchments of 
that town. This was the beginning of the employ- 
ment of negroes on our military works. Mr. Pierce’s 
views on putting them into service as laborers and 
soldiers were in advance of those of the government, 
as may be seen in his article on ‘* The Contrabands at 


| Fortress Monroe,” published in the Atlantic Monthly 


778 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





of November, 1861, which at the time attracted 
much attention, being written nearly two years before 
Col. Shaw led the first negro regiment out of Boston. 
In December of the same year, Mr. Chase, Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, despatched Mr. Pierce to Port 
Royal to examine into the condition of the negroes 
upon the Sea Islands. It was a delicate service, for 
the government had as yet taken no position as to the 
In February, 1862, 


Mr. Pierce returned to Washington and made a very 


status of the slaves of rebels. 


able and exhaustive report in which he assumed the 
freedom of these negroes and the duty of the govern- 
ment to protect them. This report was published in 
the New York Tribune, and thence extensively copied 
both in England and America. One of the English 
papers, making a full abstract, entitled it ‘ Mr. 
The work which 
he had recommended was placed in his charge by the 


Pierce’s Ten Thousand Clients.” 


government with full authority, and in March, 1862, 
taking with him teachers and superintendents, nearly 
sixty in number, he again sailed for Port Royal, and 
entered upon this most difficult and important work. 
He oceupied the Sea Islands having nearly two hun- 
dred plantations and ten thousand negroes, planted 
fifteen thousand acres in cotton, corn and potatoes, 


had the negroes instructed in their duties and rela- 


tions, started the schools, and became as it were the | 


founder of a new State and a new civilization among 
the blacks. Largely owing to his suggestions, Freed- 


men’s Aid Societies were formed, through whose in- | 


strumentality a vast amount of good was accomplished. 


In June, 1862, Mr. Pierce made his second report | 


| 





to the government, setting forth what had been done. | 


These reports, afterwards reprinted in the Rebellion 


Record, were widely noticed and praised, both by | 


American and European journals. They were com- 


mended at that time by the Westminster Review, Earl | 


Russell in the House of Lords, the Revue des Deux | 


Mondes, and Gasparin, and later in the histories of | 


the Rebellion by Wilson and the Count of Paris. 
In the spring of 1863 he was again employed at the 
South on similar duty. The care of the negroes 
having been transferred to the War Department, he 
was asked to continue in charge under its authority, but 


declined. 


In 1883, he gave to the white and colored | 


people of St. Helena Island, 8. C., the scene of his | 


former labors, a library of eight hundred volumes of 


modern editions of standard works of history, biog- | 


raphy, travels, popular science, general literature, the 
best novels, and valuable books of reference. 


Mr. Pierce was on duty at Morris Island in August, | 


1865, when, without any previous request or knowl- 
edge on his part, he was notified of his appointment as 


collector of internal revenue for the Third Massachu- 
setts District, which office he held from October, 1863, 
to May, 1866, discharging its duties with the same 
fidelity and diligence which had heretofore marked 
his career. A vacancy occurring at this time in the 
office of district attorney for the district comprising 
Norfolk and Plymouth Counties, Governor Bullock 
at once appointed him to the position. He was 
elected by the people to the same office in 1866, and 
re-elected in 1868. In October, 1869, he resigned 
this office and accepted the position of secretary of 
the Board of State Charities, which he held until 
his resignation, in 1874. In his reports, as secretary 
of the board, besides the routine work of the office, he 
treated with fullness certain topics of permanent in- 
terest connected with crime and pauperism. Among 
them were those of ‘‘ Executive Pardons,” ‘“‘ Habitual 
and Juvenile Offenders,” and “ Out-Door Relief.” In 
his concluding report he reviewed foreign institutions 
and methods, giving the results of his observations in 
his visit to Europe in 1873. These papers are now 
consulted as authority on the matters which they dis-. 
cuss, and furnish the most thorough and exhaustive 
treatment of these important subjects which has been 
made in this country. 

In 1875 and 1876, Mr. Pierce was a member of 
the Massachusetts Legislature, and served on the 
Judiciary Committee, being its chairman the second 
year. Besides giving his attention to the ordinary 
business which falls to this committee, he originated 
and carried through a most important measure limiting 
and regulating municipal indebtedness, which is gener- 
ally regarded as one of the most salutary laws which 
has been enacted by the Legislature for many years. 

Mr. Pierce’s best known literary work is the “ Me- 
moir of Charles Sumner,” the first two volumes of 
which were published in 1877. ‘The author was spe- 
cially qualified for this duty intrusted to him as one of 
the literary executors of the distinguished statesman, 
having been during the whole of Mr. Sumner’s pub- 
lic life his close and intimate friend. This work of 
love was executed with rare discretion, excellent 
taste, and sound judgment. Seldom have the fune- 
tions of a biographer been performed so thoroughly 
and conscientiously. The narrative is perspicuous, 
full without diffuseness, lucid and animated, and free 
It is entitled to rank 
among the few great biographies. 

In 1880, Mr. Pierce delivered the oration before 
the Alumni of Brown University, the subject being 
“The Public and Social Duties of the College Grad- 


In this admirable address he discussed in a vig- 


from rhetorical pretension. 


uate.” 
orous and scholarly spirit the relations of educated men 


































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































ee 






































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































ibe 


A! 


PS 
WALL: 








| 


MILTON. 779 





to the community and the country, and enforced with 


| 
| 
| 


| 


power and earnestness the claim which the world has | 


to their best work and endeavor. Two years later he 
received from Brown University the degree of LL.D. 
He has ever kept up an interest in his A/ma Mater, 
and has been for two years the president of the associa- 
tion of its graduates in Boston and vicinity. 


From his youth Mr. Pierce has been a frequent | 


contributor to newspapers and periodicals. 


| 
Among > 


his papers and addresses not already mentioned are | 
_ lic men, to whose acquaintance his writings and ser- 


the following: ‘“ Report to Governor Andrew on the 
Condition of Massachusetts’ 


Monroe ;” 


Soldiers at Fortress | 
address delivered at the Town House in | 


Milton, Oct. 31, 1868, on “ The Two Systems of Gov- | 


? 


ernment proposed for the Rebel States ;’ 
February, 1874, before a committee of the Massa- 
chusetts Legislature in favor of rescinding the reso- 
lutions passed the preceding year censuring Senator 
Sumner for his course in the Senate with regard to 
the battle flags ; “‘ Speech on Municipal Indebtedness,” 
delivered before the Massachusetts House of Repre- 


speech in | 


Mr. Pierce has always taken an active part in public 
affairs. He was the originator of the public library, 
of which he has been a trustee since its organization. 
He gave, in 1879, the address at the dedication of 
the new town house, and in 1882 delivered the ad- 
dress at the dedication of the new town house in 
Stoughton, his native town. 

Mr. Pierce has several times visited Europe, where 
he has made extensive journeys, and has had the ad- 
vantage of personal intercourse with scholars and pub- 


vices were an introduction. His life has been a busy 
one, and although yet in his prime, with apparently 
many years of usefulness and honor before him, he 
has nearly realized in himself the ideal conception of 


the duty of the scholar to humanity, so finely por- 
_trayed in his address at Brown University in 1880. 


sentatives, April 9, 1875; ‘ Address at Milton on — 


Memorial Day,” May 30, 1870; speech at Faneuil 
Hall, June 27, 1876, on the nomination of Mr. 


Hayes as President; lecture before the Long Island | 
Historical Society at Brooklyn, N. Y., Dec. 18, 1877, | 


on “The Private Life and Literary Friendships of 
Charles Sumner ;” article entitled ‘A Senator's 
(Charles Sumner’s) Fidelity Vindicated,” in the 
North American Review, July-August, 1878 ; “ Ad- 
dress before the Suffolk Bar on George S. Hil- 
lard,” January, 1879; speech at the public dinner 
given to Carl Schurz in Boston, in March, 1881. He 
was the author of the resolutions of the Republican 
State Conventions of 1867, 1869, and 1872, and has 
been chairman of the committee on resolutions at 
different times. He again represented his district in 
the Republican National Convention at Cincinnati in 
1876, where he served on the committee on resolutions, 
and made an earnest speech against a proposition to 
exclude Chinese immigrants from the equality recog- 
nized by the Declaration of Independence. He was 
also a member of the Republican National Convention 
meeting at Chicago in 1884. He was appointed by 
President Hayes in December, 1878, assistant treas- 
urer of the United States, but declined the appoint- 
ment. As soon as he was old enough to be a voter 
he began to address popular meetings and write for 
the newspapers in favor of what was then known as 
the Free Soil party, and has continued from that time 
until the present (1884) to take part as a speaker and 
writer in political discussions. 

In Milton, where for many years he has resided, 


Sincere and loyal to his personal and political associ- 
ates, he has ever been true to his convictions of truth 
and duty. A vraceful, earnest, and convincing orator, 
a clear, forcible, and polished writer, of marvelous in- 
dustry and exhaustive power of research, few men of 
his age have accomplished so much work of varied 
character and importance. Much of his time from 
early manhood has been devoted to the interests of 
humanity, as illustrated in his long service in the 
political movement against slavery, in his work for 
freedmen, and in his connection with efforts for the 
improvement of prison administration and kindred 
reforms. 


LIEUT. HUNTINGTON FROTHINGHAM WOLCOTT. 


The name of Huntington Frothingham Wolcott, 
although he died before he had reached the age of 
twenty years, will be long remembered by many. He 
came of a family which had rendered public and 
conspicuous service to the country for two centuries, 
and almost as a boy he heard and heeded the call 
which summoned him to bear his part in preserving 


| the nation his ancestors had helped to found. 


Henry Wolcott, who emigrated from England and 


| was the ancestor of the family in this country, was 


the son of John Wolcott, of Tolland, in Somerset- 
shire, England, and was baptized in the adjoining 
parish of Lydiard St. Lawrence, Dec. 6, 1578. He 
married, Jan. 19, 1606, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas 
Saunders, of Lydiard St. Lawrence. He held a good 
estate in lands, as the title-deeds still in existence 
show, and was already passed middle life when, “ to 
avoid the persecution of those times against dis- 
senters,”’ he emigrated to New England, sailing, with 


780 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





his wife and three oldest sons, from Plymouth, Eng- | Lower House of the first General Assembly held in 


land, on the 20th of March, 1630, in the ship ‘“‘ Mary 


— Connecticut. 


and John,” of four hundred tons burden, Capt. | 


Squeb, master, in a company numbering one hundred 
and forty souls. They “came by the good hand of 
the Lord through 
preaching or expounding of the word of God every 


the deeps comfortably, having 


day, for ten weeks together,’ and arrived at Nan- 
tasket May 30, 1630, 
Roger Clap, thus describes their landing: ‘‘ When 


One of their number, Capt. 


of that great ship of four hundred tons, would not 


In 1643 he was elected a member of 
the House of Magistrates, as the present Senate was 
then styled, and to this office he was annually re- 
elected during life. In the year 1640 he appears to 
have visited England, where, by the decease of his 
elder brother without issue, he had inherited the 
family estate, and it was probably in the same year 


that he brought to this country his two daughters and 


| . . . . 
his son Simon, whom he had left as children in Eng- 
we came to Nantasket, Capt. Squeb, who was captain | 


bring us into Charles River, as he was bound to do, | 


but put us ashore and our goods on Nantasket Point, | 


and left us to shift for ourselves, in a forlorn place in 


this wilderness. But, as it pleased God, we got a 


boat of some old planters, and laded her with goods ; | 


and some able men, well armed, went in her unto | 


Charlestown, where we found some wigwams and one | 


house, and in the house there was a man which had 
a boiled bass, but no bread that we see. 
eat of his bass, and then went up Charles River until 


the river grew narrow and shallow; and there we | 
landed our goods, with much labor and toil, the bank | 
being steep ; and, night coming on, we were informed | 


that there were hard by us three hundred Indians. . 
In the morning some of the Indians came and stood 


But we did | 


land until the family should become settled in their 
new home. He died May 30, 1655. 

Simon Wolcott was admitted a freeman in 1654, 
at the age of thirty years, and Oct. 17, 1661, he 


_married Martha Pitkin, sister of William Pitkin, 


In 
1671 he sold his estate in Windsor, and moved to 
Simsbury, where he had received from the General 
Court a grant of land, and where, in 1674, he was 


attorney-general and treasurer of the colony. 


_ chosen a townsman or selectman, and was appointed 


to command the train-band, a position of danger and 


_ responsibility, as this was a frontier settlement, and 





at a distance off, looking at us, but came not near us. | 


But, when they had been a while in view, some of | 


them came and held out a great bass toward us, so we 
sent a man with a biscuit, and changed the cake for the 
Afterwards they supplied us with bass, ex- 
changing a bass for a biscuit-cake, and were very 


bass. 
friendly unto us. . . . In our beginning many were 
in great straits for want of provisions for themselves 
and their little ones. 


Oh! the hunger that many > 


suffered, and saw no hope in an eye of reason to be | 


supplied, only by clams, and mussels, and fish. 


But bread was with many a very scarce thing, and 
flesh of all kinds as scarce.” 

Such was the landing of this company of “ very 
Godly and religious people’ upon the bleak and bar- 


We | 
did quickly build boats, and some went a-fishing. | 
in 1714 he was chosen into the Council. 


ren coast of Massachusetts two hundred and fifty | 


years ago. 
the first list of freemen made in Boston, Oct. 19, 


1630. He received a grant of land in Dorchester, a 


The name of Henry Wolcott appears in | 


part of his estate being within the present limits of | 


the town of Milton, but in 1635, in the face of in- 


credible hardship and suffering, he moved to Windsor, 


Conn., with a considerable number of the Dorchester 


settlers. In 1637 he was elected a member of the 


| 


committee, twelve in number, which constituted the » 


King Philip’s war was then raging. ‘In 1675 the 
town was destroyed by the Indians, and Simon Wol- 
coit returned to Windsor, having lost all his property 
in this unhappy enterprise. He died Sept. 11, 1687, 
his death being hastened, according to his son’s ac- 
count, ‘by gloomy anticipations of the oppression 
and suffering which awaited the colonists under the 
coming administration of Sir Edmund Andros.”’ 

His youngest son, Roger, was born Jan. 4, 1679, 
and married, Dee. 3, 1702, Sarah Drake, of Windsor. 
He says in his autobiography, “I never was a scholar 
in any school a day in my life;” but he so well im- 
proved his slender opportunities for education that his 
He 
was chosen selectman in 1707, and two years after 
was elected a representative in the General Assembly. 
In 1710 he “ was put on the Bench of Justices,” and 


mind was early well stored with varied learning. 


He was 
appointed judge of the County Court in 1721, and 
judge of the Superior Court in 1732, of which court 
he afterwards became the chief justice. He was 
In 1745 he re- 
ceived a commission as major-general, and was second 
in command under Sir William Pepperell in the 
From 1750 until 
1754 he held the office of Governor of the colony. 


chosen Deputy Governor in 1741. 


famous Louisburg expedition. 


He wrote and published a volume of “ Poetical Medi- 


tations,’ more remarkable for their tone of piety and 
patriotism than for their rhythmic melody or smooth 
versification. He died in the eighty-ninth year of 


his age. 








MILTON. 


781 





His son, Oliver Wolcott, was born Nov. 20, 1726. | 
He was graduated at Yale College in 1747, and mar- | 
ried, Jan. 21, 1755, Lorraine, daughter of Capt. | 
Daniel Collins, of Guilford. He settled in Litchfield, | 
and was chosen representative of the town in the 
General Assembly. From 1774 to 1786 he was an 
assistant or councillor. He was chief justice of the 
Court of Common Pleas for the county, and was for 
many years judge of the Court of Probate for the 
district of Litchfield. He served in the militia in| 
every grade of office from that of captain to that of | 


major-general. ‘He was chosen a member of the | 
Continental Congress, and in July, 1775, was ap- | 
pointed by that body one of the Commissioners of | 
Indian Affairs, a trust of great importance, its object 
being to induce the Indian nations to remain neutral | 
during the war. In 1776 he signed his name to the 
Declaration of Independence, and from then until 
1783 he was constantly engaged, either in Congress 
or in the field, in furthering the national cause. 
From 1786 to 1796 he was annually elected Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, and in the latter year he was chosen 
Governor, which office he held at the time of his 
death, which came upon his seventy-first birthday, 
Dec. 1, 1797. His Alma Mater, Yale College, con- 
ferred upon him the honorary degree of LL.D. Such 
is a brief and imperfect record of the public services | 
rendered to his country during a time of danger and 
doubt by Oliver Wolcott. 

The youngest son of Oliver Wolcott was Frederick | 
Wolcott, who was born Nov. 2, 1767. He was gradu- 
ated at Yale College in 1786, with the first honors of | 
his class, and at commencement delivered the saluta- 
tory oration in Latin. He married, Oct. 12, 1800, | 
Betsey, daughter of Col. Joshua Huntington, of Nor- 
wich. She came of a family renowned in the annals 
of the State. Her grandfather, Gen. Jabez Hunting. | 
ton (Yale College, 1741) consecrated his wealth to | 
the cause of independence, and was appointed major- 
general of the entire State force. Three of her uncles 
attained the rank of general in the service of their 
country, and the name of Huntington was for gener- 
ations honorably known in the military and civil his- 
tery of the State and nation. Frederick Wolcott was 
appointed clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in > 
1793, and in 1798 clerk of the Superior Court of. 
Litchfield County. He was a representative in the 
General Assembly, and in 1808 he was chosen a 
Presidential elector. From 1810 to 1823 he was a 
member of the State Senate. In 1796 he was ap- 
pointed judge of probate, and this office he held until | 
his death, a period of over forty years. He was twice 
offered a nomination for the office of Governor by the 


honorable life. 


| 





party in power, but these nominations he declined, 
partly on account of his health and partly because 
through life he was little covetous of high office or of 
popular applause. A man of magnificent physique, 
of high literary attainments, of sterling integrity, re- 
spected and beloved by all, his memory is still cher- 
ished in the town where he passed his useful and 
He died May 28, 1837, at the age 
of seventy years. 

Oliver Wolcott, Jr., an older brother of Frederick 
Wolcott, succeeded Alexander Hamilton as Secretary 
of the Treasury in the cabinet of Washington, whose 
intimate friend he was, and, after leaving, in 1800, 
the cabinet of John Adams, he was for ten years 
Governor of Connecticut, as had been his father and 
grandfather before him. He was one of the leading 
Federalists when that party embraced the foremost 


intellects of the day, and added new lustre to the 


name he bore. 

J. Huntington Wolcott, the oldest son of Frederick 
Wolcott, was born in Litchfield, Aug. 29, 1804. He 
was early compelled to seek his livelihood, and coming 
to Boston with no capital save his own manhood and 


a name not unknown in the history of his country, 


he entered the employ of the distinguished mercantile 
house of A. & A. Lawrence & Co., in which firm, 
This 
firm bore a leading part in the development of the 


while still a young man, he became a partner. 


great manufacturing and commercial enterprises of 
New England, and, until its dissolution, its reputation 
was unsurpassed for probity, sagacity, and energy. 
To these interests Mr. Wolcott gave much of the 
active work of his life, and the added population and 
wealth which they have brought to New England are 
due in great measure to the men who had the fore- 
sight to perceive that the prosperity and power of 
Massachusetts, as compared with her sister States, can 
be maintained only by her higher skill in diversified 
During the war of the Rebellion, Mr. Wol- 
cott was treasurer of the Boston Sanitary Commission, 


industry. 


and has always exhibited an example of public-spirited 
He married, Nov. 12, 1844, 
Cornelia, daughter of Samuel Frothingham, of Boston, 


and liberal citizenship. 


whose ancestors, living for generations in Charlestown, 
belonged to the old Puritan stock of New England. 
She died in little more than five years after her mar- 
riage, and Mr. Wolcott married as his second wife her 
sister, Harriet Frothingham. 

In 1851, Mr. Wolcott bought an estate in Milton, 


and thus, after the lapse of two hundred and twenty 


years, became a citizen of the town in which his great- 
oreat-great-grandfather had first settled, after landing 
from the voyage of seventy days in the year 1630. 


782 





Wolcott descended, and to them, perhaps, he owed in 
part the impulse which led him to give his young life 


freely to his country. Born in Boston, Feb. 4, 1846, | 


he passed seven months of each year of his boyhood 
in Milton, and his strong love of nature and of 
country life made this the home to which his affec- 
tions always turned. As he passed from childhood 
into youth the unusual beauty and strength of his 
Of a 
physique of rare vigor and grace, of a pure and re- 
fined spirit, of a charm and dignity of manner which 
impressed themselves upon ali,—a leader in all athletic 


character were manifest to all who knew him. 


sports, a good rider and boxer,—of a manly and gen- 
erous nature, he was admired and beloved by all who 
knew him, whether they were his associates and com- 
panions at school, or the poor whose sufferings he 
was ever ready to alleviate. 

The opening of the war of the Rebellion found him 
a boy of only fifteen years; but as the conflict went 
on with varying fortune to the national cause, his 
nature was stirred to its lowest depths by the national 
call to arms, and he was eager to throw himself into 
the struggle which maintained the unity of the nation 
and abolished the disgrace of slavery. He was for 
two or three years commander of the battalion of his 
school, whose efficiency in drill and evolution received 
the high praise of Governor Andrew, and of the mili- 


tary officers who were from time to time invited to | 


review it. He studied carefully and thoroughly 
many works on military drill and tactics, and made 
himself an expert swordsman and a practised shot 
with the rifle and revolver. His earnest wish to bear 
his part in the conflict for national existence grew in 
intensity, and before he had reached the age of nine- 
teen years he received from Governor John A. An- 
drew a commission as second lieutenant in the Second 
Regiment of Massachusetts Cavalry, and was ap- 
pointed aide to Maj.-Gen. Alfred Gibbs. 
some weeks in the military camp at Readville, thus 


He passed 


becoming familiar with the routine of camp duty and 
discipline. In March, 1865, he joined the staff to 
which he had been assigned, which was a part of the 
command of Gen. Sheridan, and he thus took part in 
the toilsome and brilliant campaign which resulted 
in cutting off Lee’s retreat from Richmond, and com- 
pelled his surrender to Gen. Grant’s force. These 
were weeks of arduous marching and constant fight- 
ing. Lieut. Wolcott took his place side by side with 


veterans in the war, and his energy, coolness, and 





| Martin. 


Appomattox brought to an end this great civil war, 
and the grand review of the victorious army at Wash- 
ington celebrated the nation’s restored unity and the 
death of secession as a possible doctrine in American 
politics. In this review Lieut. Wolcott took part 
with the command to which he was attached; and 
some who saw him on that memorable occasion wrote 
after his death, which was so soon to follow, “It was 
impossible not to notice particularly young Lieut. 
Huntington Wolcott with his manly bearing and 
inspired face.” ‘ He seemed the ‘impersonation of 
one’s ideal of noble youth.” The painter, William 
M. Hunt, who has reflected honor upon American 
art, and who knew him well, wrote after his death, 
“He combined the character of the lovely boy and 
noble and devoted patriot and soldier in a more 
striking manner than any one I have ever known.” 
But on the very eve of that day of national re- 
joicing his system succumbed to the insidious hold of 
camp fever, contracted during his few brief weeks of 
arduous and exhausting service, and although ten- 
derly transported to his boyhood’s home in Milton, 
which he loved so well, he died June 9, 1865, in the 
prime of his mauhood, at the age of nineteen years 
and four months. <A few weeks before he went to 
the front he had said, ‘“‘ I should be glad to die for 
my country,” and this joy was given him, to lead a 
pure and unsullied life, and to die in the service of 
the nation to which he owed an inherited loyalty so 
fervid and strong. His memory will not soon fade 
from the recollection of those who knew him, and 
is perpetuated upon the memorial tablet in the town 
hall of Milton, and in the title of the Grand Army 
post of the town which has chosen his name to des- 


ignate its organization. 


NATHAN C. MARTIN. 

A history of the town of Milton would be incom- 
plete that did not contain the name of Nathan Cook 
Owing to circumstances beyond control we 
are unable to present our readers with a portrait, 
which we doubly regret, as in his younger days he 
was noted as being the handsomest man in Norfolk 
County. 

He was a noble specimen of manhood, portly and 


of regular features, very prepossessing in appearance, 


gallantry under fire elicited the special notice of his | 


commanding officer at the battles of Dinwiddie Court- 


House, Five Forks, Clover Hill, “* April 9th,” and “on | 


and in manner most courtly and genial. 

He was the son of Henry and Mary (Sessions) 
Martin, and was born in Woodstock, Conn., Oct. 25, 
1790. 








BROOKLINE. 


783 











His early education was such only as was afforded 
by the common schools of his native town, which at 
that period were kept only during the winter months. 


His opportunities, therefore, for instruction were small, | 


but such as they were he improved, so that by 
close application and study, and with scarcely any 
instruction, except what he himself was able to glean 
from books, he became a successful teacher, not only 
of the grammar school but in the teaching of music, 
and also of penmanship, his success was marked ; 


| 
schools for the instruction in those branches being 


taught by him not only in Milton, but in many of 
the surrounding towns. 

At the early age of seventeen he was employed to 
teach one of the public schools in his native town. 


In a very brief period his reputation as a teacher 


became so marked that in the following year a com- 
mittee from the town of Holland, Mass., waited upon 
him with a request to him to take charge of a school 
in that town. Leaving the paternal dwelling in 1808, 
he took up his residence in Holland, where he taught 
some two years with good success. 

Coming to Dorchester in 1810, to visit a townsman 
of his native place who was teaching there, he was 


offered a position as teacher of a school at the Lower | 


Mills Village (so called), which, upon accepting, he 
immediately entered with energy upon the work before 
him, teaching some seven years in the town with such 
success that upon his resignation the school committee 
gave him the highest praise possible by the statement 


that ‘for excellence in their studies, and for good | 


deportment, his school outrarnked any other school in 
the town.” 

In the year 1817, having resigned his position as 
teacher, he opened a store in Milton for the sale of 


general merchandise, which business he so ably con- | 
ducted that his friend, Mr. Benjamin Bussey (at that | 


period the richest man in Massachusetts), invited him 
to accept of a partnership with him in conducting 
a business enterprise in the city of Boston; but the 
offer, though a very advantageous one (one which, 
if accepted, was reasonably sure to bring him a com- 
He seemed to have had no 
desire for riches, but rather, caring naught for wealth, 
offered daily invocations to the Lord “ more of his 
grace than goods to lend.” 


petency), was declined. 


that probably no man in the town—albeit there were 
many that were college bred 





knowledge of the English classics. 





was somewhat remarkable, in all of which he served 
with credit to himself, and with satisfaction to the 
public. 

He was postmaster of Milton for thirty-seven years, 
judge of the District Court, major of the First Regi- 
ment Massachusetts Militia, deacon of the Third 
Religious Society of Dorchester (of whose choir he 
was leader for nearly thirty years), town clerk of Mil- 
ton, and a member of the school committee. 

In the early days of the temperance movement he 
enrolled himself as an ardent worker in the cause, and 
was for many years prominent in his efforts for the 
suppression of the evils resulting from the traffic in 
intoxicating liquors, delivering addresses in many 
places, ete. His sound sense made him a believer in 
moral as opposed to legal suasion, and as he believed 
so he taught. 

He left not riches, founded no professorship, en- 
dowed no institute of learning, but his whole life was 
spent in the service of his fellow-men. He died Aug. 
26, 1864, leaving a name which will ever be honor- 
ably inscribed in the annals of the town. 


CH AP THR LX X: 


BROOKLINE. 


BY BRADFORD KINGMAN. 


Topography of the Town.—Brookline is the 
most unique and picturesque town in the vicinity of 
the metropolis of New England. It lies in the ex- 
treme northeast corner of Norfolk County, in latitude 
42° 19’ 32” north, and longitude 71° 00’ 7” west 


of Greenwich, and was bounded on the northeast by 


| Charles River, on Cambridge and Boston, about one 


and one-half miles. In 1855 the northerly part of 
the town bordering on the river was ceded to Boston, 
so that the northerly bounds as now situated are the 


| south side of Brighton Avenue and the east side of 
St. Mary’s Street. 


On the east it bounds the Back 
Bay territory of Boston, about one-half mile, and 
southeast by Boston (formerly Roxbury) about two 


_and a quarter miles, and on West Roxbury about two 
His passion for study commencing in early life was | 
continued through middle age, and with such diligence | 


had a more intimate | 
_and on Brighton nearly two miles. 


The number of important official positions held by | 


him, fairly thrust upon him by his fellow-townsmen, 


and three-quarter miles ; on the southwest it is bounded 
by West Roxbury, about three-quarters of a mile, and 
on Newton about one mile; on the northwest it is 
bounded by Newton about three-quarters of a mile, 
It runs northeast 
and southwest about four and three-tenths miles, and 
southeast and northwest about one and two-thirds 


784 





miles. Previous to the setting off the northerly por- 
tion of the town the territory comprised four thousand 
six hundred and ninety-five acres ; since that time it 
contains four thousand three hundred acres, or about 
seven square miles, and has forty miles of roads. 
Hills.— Brookline is not what might be termed an 
elevated township, but like most towns near the sea- 


shore the land gradually rises from the water to the | 


interior till it reaches the highest point, which is 
Lyman’s, or Cabot’s, Hill, which is three hundred and 
thirty-six feet above high-water mark. 

That portion of the town included in Corey, As- 
pinwall, Fisher, and Gardner Hills, and the territory 


south and west from a line formed by Boylston Street, | 


from Hammond Street to the junction of Boylston 
and Heath Streets, and Chestnut Hill Avenue, thence 


across to corner of Dudley and Warren Streets, near | 


Robert C. Winthrop’s entrance or gateway, and from 


this point to Boston line, near Rockwood Street, ex-_ 


cepting the vicinity of Hammond Street, and between 


Hammond Street and Newton line, and the South | 


Street district, embraces about one-third of the area 
of the whole town, and is over one hundred and ninety 
feet above high-water mark. 

Among the highest elevations in the town are 


Lyman’s Hill, so called, situated between Boylston | 


and Heath Streets, on the south of Boylston and 
north of Heath Streets. On the east, at a short dis- 
tance, is the residence of Hon. Theodore Lyman, 
M.C., and formerly the home of his late father, Gen. 
Theodore Lyman,—a magnificent residence, with a 
lawn and location bearing a strong resemblance to 


many of the country-seats of distinguished men in | 


England. 


On the southerly side of the hill, known as the | 
White estate, is the residence and grounds of Walter | 


C. Cabot, which are quite extensive. 

Next in order is Hyde’s Hill, on the southerly side 
of Newton and nearly opposite Clyde Street. This 
hill is occupied as a farm by William J. Hyde, and 


is three hundred and nine feet above high-water mark, | 


The third highest hill is on the westerly side of 
South Street, nearly opposite Grove Street, near the 
standpipe of the Brookline Water-Works, which is 
three hundred and six feet in height. 


From this last-named point, running northwest and | 


southeast westerly of Newton Street, isa long range of 
highland called Walnut Hill, or Denny’s Hill, with 
an average height of two hundred and eighty-three 
feet. 

Another high elevation is that south of Goddard 
Avenue and north of Newton Street, two hundred 


and seventy-eight feet high, sometimes called Avon | 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





| 


Hill, but which has lately been known by the name 
_of Goddard Heights. This land has been owned in 
| the Goddard family for a long time, hence the name. 
| Abijah W. Goddard is the present proprietor. 

We next come to Corey’s Hill, a beautiful elevation 
of several acres in extent, all of which are cultivated 


to the summit. In 1869 an avenue was built over 
this hill to Brighton, that the many visitors might 
have an easier ascent to the top. A fine macadam- 
ized road-bed was thoroughly built, with paved gut- 
ters, and a plank walk laid for pedestrians. Previous 


This land has 


been owned in the Corey and Griggs families for a 


to this time it was only a rough path. 


long time, till of late new owners have appreciated 
Some 
have resorted thither upon the advice of their phy- 
sicians, and with satisfactory results to their health ; 
for, curious as it may appear, the air is warmer in the 
winter season by four to six degrees on the hill than 
in the valley below, while the cool, refreshing breezes 
This 
hill, from its peculiar position and prominence, is 
destined to become more and more sought after as a 
| place of residence by those who appreciate widely-ex- 


| the location and erected residences on the same. 


of summer are soft, cheering, and refreshing. 


tended views. 

On some fine afternoon in summer-time let the 
reader start from the easterly end of Summit Avenue 
on Beacon Street and by slow degrees make the ascent. 
As he nears the summit the prospect widens, till he 
sees a beautiful panorama spread out before him in 





nature’s loveliness at his very feet. Let us notice a 
few only of the many fine objects to be seen from the 
highest point on the hill. Looking to the southwest 
we see the famous Chestnut Hill Reservoirs, two 
picturesque sheets of water, with the unequaled drives 
around the same, the granite-arched entrance to the 
_inclosure, and the fine borders of granite, and grass, 
so charming to the eye. Farther to the left may be 
_ seen some of the other hills of the town, also famous 
| for their location and the views to be had from the 
_ same, as Aspinwall’s, in near proximity to where we 
stand, while farther away are Fisher’s, Lyman’s, 
Chestnut Hills, and Goddard Heights at the extreme 
south part of the town, and as we turn our eye still 
farther are the villages of Dedham, Hyde Park, and 
Roxbury Highlands, with their towering church 
Passing these and still farther 


| 





spires distinctly seen. 
away, our eyes catch glimpses of the Blue Hills of 
Milton, from which Massachusetts derived her name, 
and again to the north of these are Dorchester 
Heights, rendered famous in the Revolution, and 
then the full bay is spread out before you, with the 
white sails of large and smaller craft floating back 








BROOKLINE. 


785 





and forth on the blue waters, while steamers are lively 
bearing hundreds on excursions of pleasure to near 
and remote places, while now and then the majestic 
floating-palaces bound for foreign countries may be 
seen. Directly to the east may be seen the gilded 
dome of the State-House, with Beacon Street dividing 
the waters of the Back Bay, and the elegant resi- 


dences crowded on both sides of the same, also broad | 


Commonwealth Avenue, which, together with the 
many fine residences, public buildings, and churches 
in the new section of the capital city, makes a fine 
picture. 

To the left of the city we cannot fail to notice that 
ever-to-be-seen granite monument, standing on the 
ground rendered memorable by the battle of Bunker’s 
Hill. A little stretch of the vision to the north of 
this colossal structure are the cities of Malden and 
Somerville, and the towns of Everett, Arlington, and 
many others. Casting our eye to the left of the 
above-named places, we see the tall chimneys of Hast 
Cambridge, showing enterprise in the manufacturing 
business. 

To the north of where we now stand is the seat of 
learning named in honor of John Harvard, with the 
numerous buildings belonging to the same, while 
farther on to the westward may be seen the tower 
and cemetery of Mount Auburn, and the tall chimney 
of the United States Arsenal at Watertown, from 
whence, if it be near sunset, we may hear the gun 
and see the smoke of the powder. ‘To the north of 
this eminence, in the distant view may be seen the 
snow-capped White Mountains of New Hampshire 
rising majestically, also the towering ‘* Monadnock” 
is distinctly visible, while to the west in solitary gran- 


deur is the lofty ‘‘ Wachusett.” From this elevation 





over forty church spires may be counted. And while | 


we have named some of the many distant views, we 
will mention a few of those near at hand. With the 
exception of the rocky conglomerate ledge at Rox- 
bury, there are but few of the rough, ragged rocks or 


chitecture, and are embowered in groves of fruit and 
ornamental trees. The business portion of the town 
or village is a short distance to the southeast on the 
one hand, nestling at the foot of the mount, while on 
the east and north is the beautifully winding and cir- 
cuitous Charles River, up which Winthrop and his 
party made explorations, also the rural settlements at 
Longwood. The rear slope of this hill contains a 
natural growth of woods, while the surrounding pros- 
pect is beautified by evergreen foliage of many a 
shade, orchards laden with fruit, vintages bearing the 
ripening clusters, and if it chance to be late in au- 
tumn, all is lighted by the rich tints of the maple, 
birch, beech, and elm. Another and remarkable 
feature of the view is its uninterrupted distinctness 
in the lines of avenues and streets, all of which are 
clearly defined, while to the ocean the picture expands 
with equal breadth and beauty. Within a few years, 
on one of the large buttonwood-trees, which were the 
last of the many trees remaining on the summit of this 
hill, was a tin signal used by the United States Coast 
Survey as a point from which they made their calcula- 
tions. This drive over Summit Avenue was the fav- 
orite drive of Professor Agassiz. On his first visit 
to this place early in the afternoon, he was so charmed 
with the view that he remained till dark to take in 
the inexhaustible richness of the prospect ; for four 
succeeding days he took the same drive, and ever 
afterwards it was his most frequent place of visitation. 

President Eliot is often seen on horseback commun- 
ing with nature alone on this grand height, and is said 
to have pronounced this one of the most delightful 
spots in the country. 

One of our own townsmen, who has had an ample 
opportunity of observation, a gentleman of taste and 
culture, says, ‘“‘In all my travels in Europe tever 
have I seen so much loveliness as presents itself to the 


_ eye from the summit of Corey Hill. 


barren cliffs in this vicinity, but large, regular rolling 
_ every appreciative beholder, would be an attempt to 


swells of land, all crowned with verdure to their sum- 


mits, while their slopes are covered with fruit-trees. | 


The valleys between these hills are fertile, adorned with 
grass and grain of every kind, and flowers of every 
hue; gentle rills wind through the meadows, marking 
their courses by a fresher green and a belt of luxuriant 
growth,—these all blend in perfect harmony, and pre- 
sent a prospect fraught with all that is rich in agri- 


culture and pleasing in rural scenery. With this | 


charming prospect is spread before you the presence 
of hundreds of handsome dwellings, many of them 


of the “ Queen Anne” and Italian Villa style of ar- 
50 








Another has written: ‘To depict the beauties of 
this place, or to make manifest to others the inward 
emotions and ecstasies which well up in the bosom of 


portray that which is indescribable.” 


The air of the hill-tops is pure, 
The water is sparkling and clear ; 
No home hath the city, I’m sure, 
Like ours in the spring of the year. 

The next prominent elevation is that well known 
as the Aspinwall Hill, of little less height than some 
of the other eminences in the town, but none the less 
beautiful. This land is on the southerly side of 
Washington Street, and extends from Cypress Street on 
the east to Beacon Street on the west, and to the rail- 


786 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





TAS oe | eer ; ae, 
road on the south, and embraces something like ninety | A short distance to the southwest of the last-named 


acres of land, orfginally forming the Benjamin White 
farm. 


In 1788, Dr. William Aspinwall purchased about 


forty acres of the highest portion of the hill, and in| 


1803 erected the mansion-house on the same, now 
oceupied by a grandson of the doctor, of the same 
name. ‘The view from this mansion commands a fine 
landscape picture for miles around, and although not 
as high as some others, the scenery is delightful. 


Recent enterprise is developing portions of this hill, | 


by building superior streets and laying out the lands 
for residences, which we notice are now coming into 
market through the Aspinwall Land Company, an 
association organized for the purnose of placing some 
of the best land, for the erection of fine buildings, to 
be found in the town. The surface of this hill is well 
covered with wood, consisting of the sturdy oak, chest- 
nut, and walnut. 

Fisher’s Hill, sometimes called Henshaw Hill, is 
two hundred and forty feet high, and is near the cor- 
ner of Brighton and Boylston Streets, has a fine broad 
top, from which the view of the surrounding country 
is exceedingly elegant, and on account of the eleva- 


| 
| 
| 


locality is another high spot of land called “ Fair- 


_mount,”’ situated on the south side of Dudley Street, 





_ of the higher hills. 


| distinctive name of a river. 


and on the southerly side of the old Boston reservoir. 
The prospect from this hill, like all the hills in Brook- 
line, is fine, but quite limited in comparison with many 
The north side of this is covered 
with residences, and there are more fine locations here 
to be found. 

To the north of the village of Brookline, and near 
to the village of ‘‘ Allston,” is an elevation known as 
‘“‘ Babcock Hill,” on which is a mansion-house, which 
has formerly been occupied as a private residence, 
where at one time Holmes Hinckley, Esq., of the 
‘‘ Boston Locomotive Works,” had his home, and 
later occupied by Shadrach Robinson and the Hon. 
Alanson W. Beard, late collector of the port of Boston, 
but is now a hotel, known as the ‘“‘ Hawthorne House.” 

Rivers and Ponds.—The town of Brookline is 
well watered by numerous small streams, some of 
which are not of sufficient size to be dignified by the 
The principal stream is 


_ the well-known ‘ Charles River,’ which formed the 


tion and near proximity to the town, the Brook- | 


line Water-Works have erected a reservoir for the 


supplying water to her citizens. The ease with which 


the ascent may be made by carriage to the summit of | 


this hill makes it a place of resort for pleasure-driving. 


Among the lesser heights of the town may be men- | 


tioned ‘‘ Bradley’s” Hill, formerly called “ Walley’s” 
Hill, from Thomas Walley, who resided near the cor- 
ner of Cypress and Walnut Streets. Capt. Bradley 
purchased this property about 1820, and erected upon 
the same several small tenement-houses, or bought and 
removed thither old houses, till the settlement became 
notorious. 
Meeting-House” which he erected on the highest 
part of the hill, in which Capt. Bradley would imi- 
tate church worship from an old pulpit which he had, 
and from which he would hold forth on the Sabbath 
to a base crowd, and generally winding up the service 
by treating “all around.” This church, so called, was 
an old barn, with a spire erected on the same, so that 


north boundary of the town previous to the change 
of the line between Boston and Brookline in 1855. 
This river, which has been called ‘‘ Massachusetts,” 
—the Indian’s name of which was ‘‘ Quinobequin,’— 
rises in Hopkinton and Milford, and flows through the 
towns of Bellingham, Franklin, Medway, Medfield, 
Sherburne, Natick, Dover, Dedham, Needham, New- 
ton, Weston, Waltham, Watertown, Brighton, Brook- 
line, Cambridge, and Charlestown, to Boston Harbor. 
The tide extends up about four miles from Boston to 


Watertown. It is au exceedingly circuitous river, 


encircling in its course the larger part of the city of 


Our readers will not forget the “Sham | 


Newton, the centre of its channei forming the bound- 
ary line on the north, west, and south of that city. 


|The falling off from its natural direction at Dedham, 


and leaving one-third of the water to continue a route 


seemingly concordant with its general course, is a very 


seldom occurs in the history of rivers. 


a stranger would at once suppose it to be a church, | 


while it was only a carpenter-shop. 
oddity Mr. Bradley delighted. Just previous to his 
death a Mr. Hart purchased the premises and _ re- 
moved the buildings to other localities, and the land 


now belongs to the “Goddard Heirs.” This is a de- 
lightful spot of land, and will no doubt eventually be 
used for elegant residences. It lies just south of the 


railroad and Aspinwall Hill. 


In this kind of | 


extraordinary circumstance in its nature, and such as 
By this phe- 
nomenon the towns of Brookline, Boston, Brighton, 
Newton, Roxbury, Dorchester, and a strip from the 
towns of Dedham and Watertown, form an island, or 
rather are circumscribed by the waters of Charles 


| River, Mother Brook, Neponset River, and Boston 


Harbor. 
larly circuitous that in passing from Dover to Sher- 
burne over its bed in a straight line to its estuary or 
outlet is fourteen miles, while, taken by the serpen- 
tine course of its water, it measures thirty-eight and 


In one portion of this river it is so singu- 


' a half miles. 








BROOKLINE. 


187 





The next in order for size and importance is the 
well-known “ Muddy River,” having its source as an 


| 


outlet for “ Jamaica Pond” and “ Ward’s Pond,” in | 
Roxbury, and the ground around Chestnut Street, | 


runnng in a northerly and northeasterly direction © 


into the “ Back Bay,” sometimes called ‘ Charles 
River Bay,” the centre of the stream forming the 
boundary line between Roxbury (Boston) and Brook- 
line. The early settlement of the locality called 
“ Muddy River” was named from the fact that this 
river was naturally muddy, owing to its peculiar loca- 
tion. 
itants there were two landings on this stream, known 
as “Cotton Landing” and “ Aspinwall’s Dock,” where 
bricks and wood were landed. In order to a proper 
understanding as to how these docks were of use, 


the reader must bear in mind that the course of navi- | 
gation was unimpeded up this channel as far as the | 


bridge near the old railroad station. 
Another small stream commences in the vicinity of 


Chestnut Hill Reservoir, and following the line of the | 


At one time in the history of the early inhab- | 





New York and New England Railroad in an easterly | 


direction, it empties into Muddy River near the works 
of the Brookline Gas Company. 
its rise near W. B. Cowan’s farm and the vicinity 
of Warren Street, running in a northerly direction, 
and between the old reservoir belonging to the city of 


Boston, and Fairmount, and so on to the last-named | 


stream, near Cypress Street Station. 
The next stream has its origin in the easterly 
border of Brighton District, and follows in an easterly 


A small creek has | 


} 
| 
| 


| 


direction through the farms of the late James Bart- | 
lett and Deacon Thomas Griggs, but a short distance | 


north of Washington and School Streets, and through 
the land of Aspinwall, where it enters Muddy River, 
just south of “ Aspinwall Avenue.” 

There is also a small creek starting in the low 


ground near Beacon Street, in the late Marshal | 


Stearn’s (now William Stearn’s) land, and running 
northerly to “‘ Swallow Pond,” so called, at the corner 
of Freeman and Essex Streets, and from thence on to 


west of ‘‘ Cottage Farm Station.” 


hood Cemetery,” and uniting with the waters leading 
from “ Hammond’s Pond” at the southwest corner or 
outlet of the pond, and running southerly through the 
meadows to the west corner of Brookline, where there 
was a sufficient accumulation of water at Newton 


Charles River. 


through what is well known as “ Bald Pate Mead- 
ows,” through the south part of Newton by Palmer’s, 
through “ Brook Farm” to Charles River, near “‘ Cow 
Island.” This stream was known as “ Pond Brook,” 
or “* Palmer Brook.” 

A small stream known as ‘Smelt Brook,” having 


| its source in the northeasterly corner of Brighton Dis- 


trict, and then running northerly across Brighton 
Avenue and the Albany Railroad, it empties into 
This forms the boundary line be- 
tween Brookline and Brighton at the extreme north- 
west corner. 

Ponds.—There are but three sheets of water in 
the town, viz.: the original “ Boston Reservoir,” on 
Boylston Street, the “ Brookline Reservoir,’ on the 
summit of ‘“ Fisher’s Hill,” and one pond known as 
‘‘Swallow Pond,” sometimes called ‘ Hall’s Pond,” 
where it is said they have never been able to find any 
bottom. 

Trees and Shrubs.—William Wood’s description 
in the earliest settlement of New England well de- 
scribes this section : 


“Trees both in hills and plaines, in plenty be, 
The long liv? Oake, and mournful Cypris tree, 
Skie-towering Pines, and Chesnuts coated rough, 
The lasting Cedar, with the Walnut tough; 
The rosin-dropping Firr for masts in use; 
The boatman seeke for oares, light, neat grown, Sprewse, 
The brittle Ash, the ever-trembling Aspes, 
The broad-spread Elme, whose concave harbors waspes ; 
The water-spongie Alder, good for nought, 
Small Elderne by th’ Indian Fletchers sought, 
The knotty Maple, pallid Birtch, Hauthornes, 
The Hornbound tree that to be cloven scornes, 
Which, from the tender Vine oft takes its spouse, 
Who twinds imbracing armes about his boughes. 
Within this Indian Orchard fruits be some, 
The ruddie Cherrie and the jettie Plumbe, 
Snake murthering Hazell, with sweet Saxaphrage, 
Whose Spurnes in beere allays hot fevers rage, 
The diars [dyers] Shumach, with more trees there be, 
That are both good to use and rare to see.” 


Boundaries.—In 1632 considerable aceessions 


_were made to the town of New Town (now Cam- 
Charles River, into which it empties a short distance | 


bridge) by the arrival of Rev. Mr. Hooker and his 


_ company, numbering forty-seven in all, who removed 
Another stream rises in the low ground around | 
Hammond Street, and running southerly of “ Holy- | 


Street, in early days, to drive a water-wheel in the | 
saw-mill of Krosamon Drew, on the dividing line be- | 


tween Newton and Brookline; thence passing on 


from Mount Wollaston by order of court. They re- 
moved to New Town with the impression that New 
Town would be the metropolis of the colony. In 
May, 1634, scarcely three years from their beginning, 
they complained of straitness for want of land, espe- 
cially meadow, and requested leave to look for en- 
Mes- 


sengers were sent in different directions to explore, 


largement and removal, which was granted. 


and, from the flattering accounts about Connecticut, 
on the 4th day of September they asked leave to 


788 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





remove to Connecticut. The question of their re- 
moval occupied the attention of the court for several 
days ; the principal reasons for their removal were 
want of accommodations for their cattle. ‘“ So as they 
were not able to maintain their ministers, nor could 


they receive any more of their friends to help them.” 


| the summer of 1636, Mr. Hooker, Mr. Stone, and 


After hearing the argument the court put it to— 


vote upon the question of their removal to Con- 
necticut, and of the deputies fifteen were in favor of 
their departure and ten against it. 
and two assistants were in favor of granting their 
request, and the deputy and all the other assistants 
opposed to their removal. Upon this state of things 
there grew up great differences of opinion between 


And 


in consequence of the disagreement the whole court 


the Governor, the deputies, and the assistants. 


agreed to keep a day of humiliation to seek the Lord, 


The Governor | 


which was done, Rev. Mr. Cotton preaching the ser- | 


mon from the text Haggai ii. 4: “ Upon the strength 


of the magistry, ministry, and the people,” after which 
gistry, Y> people, 


things went on smoothly, and the congregation at 
New Town (now Cambridge) came and accepted of 


the enlargement of land that had previously been 


tendered to them by Boston and Watertown. 

The enlargements of land granted by Boston and 
Watertown to quiet the people in New Town (now 
Cambridge) were what is now Brookline, Brighton, 


about one hundred men, women, and children, com- 
posing the whole of Mr. Hooker’s congregation, left 
New Town, and traveled one hundred miles through 
a trackless wilderness to Connecticut. They arrived 
safely at Hartford, and laid the foundation of that city. 

When Rev. Mr. Hooker and his congregation re- 
moved to Hartford, the proviso that had been placed 


in the grant of land to them—viz., that the lands 


and Newton, excepting that portion which had pre- | 


viously been assigned to individuals. 
These grants, or donations, of land to New Town 
were made upon condition that Mr. Hooker’s com- 


pany should not remove, as appears by the following, © 


which is a true copy of the record,—Sept. 25, 1634 : 


“Also it is ordered, that the ground aboute Muddy Ryver, 
belonging to Boston, & vsed by the inhabitants thereof, shall 
hereafter belonge to Newe-Towne, the wood & Timber thereof 
groweinge & to be groweinge to be reserved to the inhabitants 


should revert to Boston if they remove from thence— 
took effect immediately, and a committee was appointed 
to settle the boundaries between New Town and 
Muddy River, who made the following report in 
April, 1636: 

“We whose names are underwritten, being appointed by the 
Court to set out the bounds of the New Town upon Charles River, 
do agree that the bounds of the town shallrun from the marked 
tree, by Charles River, on the Northwest side of the Roxbury 
bounds, one and a half miles North east, and from thence three 
miles northwest, and so from thence five miles Southwest; and 
on the Southwest side of Charles River, from the Southeast of 
Roxbury bounds, to run four miles on a Southwest line, reserving 
the proprieties to several persons, granted by special order of 
the Court. “WILLIAM SPENCER. 

““NicHoLtas DANFORTH. 
“WILLIAM JENNISON.” 


The above description was undoubtedly intended to 
restore the territory of Muddy River to Boston, or as 
much of it as the committee judged expedient. 

At the General Court, held March 2, 1638, 

“Tt is ordered that New Town shall henceforward be called 
Cambridge.” 

After the changing of the name of the town the 
report of the above-mentioned committee—Spencer, 


| Danforth, and Jennison—was not satisfactory, and 


of Boston, provided, & it is the meaneing of the Court, that if | 


Mr. Hooker & the congregacon nowe setted here shall remove 


hence, that then the aforesaid meadowe ground shall returne | 


to Waterton, & the ground att Muddy Ryver to Boston.” 

After the enlargement of New Town was settled 
(in April, 1635), Ensign William 
chosen to set out the bounds between New Town and 
Roxbury, whose report is as follows: 


Jennison was 


“The line between Roxbury and New Town is laid to run 
southwest from Muddy River near that place called ‘ Nowell's 
Bridge’ a tree marked on four sides, and from the mouth of the 
River to that place; the south side is for Roxbury, and the 
north for Newtown. 


“ WILLIAM JENNISON.” 
This line was intended to carry out the gift of 
Boston to New Town, by which the whole of Muddy 
River, more or less, became a part of New Town, and 


so remained nearly two years. In the early part of 


the towns of Boston, Muddy River, and Cambridge 
appointed committees Dec. 20, 1639, to settle the 


boundary lines. 
Here follows the doings of the said committee : 


“We whose names are underwritten being appointed by the 
towns to which we belong, to settle the bounds between Boston 
(Muddy River) and Cambridge, have agreed that the partition 
shall run from Charles River, up along the channel of Smelt 
Brook to a marked tree upon the brink of said Brook, near the 
first and lowest reedy meadow; and from that tree, in a straight 
line, to the great red oak, formerly marked by agreement, at the 
foot of the great hill, on the northermost end thereof; and from 
the said great red oak to Dedham Line, by the Trees marked by 
agreement of both parties this 2. 8. 1640 (August 2, 1640). 

“THOMAS OLIVER, 
“WILLIAM COLLBRON, 
“ For Boston, 

“RICHARD CHAMPNRY, 
“Joun BripGe, 
“GREGORY STONE, 
“JoserH ISAAC, 
“THomas MARett, 

“ For Cambridge.” 


ys 








ae a 


BROOKLINE. 


789 





The boundaries of the town of Brookline have, for 
the most part, remained as originally laid out by the 
different committees from the adjoining towns, and as 
agreed upon in 1639 and 1640. The _ principal 
changes that have been made were on the easterly and 
northerly borders of the town, adjoining Roxbury, 
Boston ; these have been varied several times. The 
first of any account was made in 1824, when a com- 
mittee was chosen to establish the boundary line be- 
tween Boston and Brookline. 
sisted of the mayor and aldermen of Boston, and the 
selectmen of Brookline, who proceeded to view the 
premises, and agreed upon the bounds. Upon the 
22d day of February, 1825, the Legislature ratified 


said agreement. 


This committee con- | 





The next change made was by the Legislature in | 


1844, the act having been signed Feb. 24, 1844. 
On account of the annexation of Brighton to Bos- 
ton, it became desirable that Boston should be joined 


to her own territory in Brighton. For this purpose — 


Brookline relinquished a portion of her land on the 
northerly borders of the town, adjoining Charles 


“Secrion 2. The said inhabitants hereby set off to the city 
of Boston shall continue to be a part of Brookline for the pur- 
pose of electing state officers and members of the executive 
council, senators and representatives to the general court, repre- 
sentatives to Congress, and electors of president and vice-presi- 
dent of the United States, until the next decenial census shall 
be taken, or until another apportionment shall be made; and 
it shall be the duty of the board aldermen of said city of Bos- 
ton to make a true list of the persons residing on the territory 
hereby annexed to said city, qualified to vote at such elections, 
and post up the same in said territory, and correct the same as 
required by law, and deliver the same to the selectmen of said 
town of Brookline seven days at least before any such election ; 
and the same shall be taken and used by the selectmen of Brook- 
line for such election, in the same manner as if it had been pre- 
pared by themselves. 

“Section 3. This act shall not be construed to divest or de- 
prive the town of Brookline of any legal rights of drainage 
which it now possesses. 

“Secrion 4. This act shall not take effect until accepted by 


| the city council of Boston. 


River, as appears by the following act of the Legis- | 


lature: 


“Aw Act to annex a portion of the Town of Brookline to the 
City of Boston. 


“Be it enacted, &c., as follows: 


“Section 1. That part of the town of Brookline contained 
within the line described as follows: beginning at a point in 
the centre of the channel of Charles River on the boundary 
line between the town of Brookline and the city of Cambridge, 
where the westerly line of St. Mary’s Street, in the town of 
Brookline, extended in a northerly direction, would intersect 
the said boundary line; thence running southwardly by the 
westerly line of said St. Mary’s Street extended to the scuth- 
erly line of Brighton Avenue; thance continuing in the same 
direction by the westerly line of St. Mary’s Street, to the north- 
erly line of Ivy Street; thence turning a little and running 


_ of Brookline is not devoid of interest. 


south-easterly by the south-westerly line of St. Mary’s Street, | 


and by the continuation of the same to the present boundary 
line between Boston and Brookline in the centre of the channel 


of Muddy River; thence easterly following said boundary line | 


to the present boundary line in the centre of the channel of 
Charles River; thence by the centre of said channel of Charles 
River to the point of beginning,—with all the inhabitants and 
estates therein, is hereby set off from the town of Brookline 
and annexed to the city of Boston, and shall constitute a part 
of the sixth ward thereof, until a new division of wards shall 
be made; and such territory so annexed shall form part of the 
county of Suffolk: provided, that the said territory and the in- 
habitants thereon, set off as aforesaid, shall be holden to pay 
all such taxes as are already assessed or ordered to be assessed 
by said town of Brookline for the present year, in the same 


“« Approved, June 18, 1870.” 


Again, in 1872, the Legislature was called upon to 
change the course of Muddy River for the purpose of 
public improvement, and for sanitary uses, etc. This 
act was approved April 27, 1872. 

Geology of the Town.—The geological formation 
Its principal 
features are of the amygdaloid or conglomerate rock, 
‘“ Brochant” 
describes this rock, so common in this vicinity, as a 
kind of * wacke,’’ a substance intermediate between 
basalt and clay, resembling indurated clay. A range 
of hills and ledge of this conglomerate species of rock 
extends from Chestnut Hill on the west to Cohasset, 
and towns on the South Shore. 

The rocky portions of Brookline are of the gray- 
wacke formation, and of moderate elevation. 

Graywacke is sometimes beautifully amygdaloidal, 
—that is, it contains numerous rounded or almond- 
shaped nodules of some other mineral. Such is the 
These rocks are commonly 


so common in Eastern Massachusetts. 


formation in Brookline. 
called “ plum-pudding stone.” 

In the westerly portion of the town, near where the 
ancient saw-mill formerly stood on Newton Street, and 
also on Hammond Street, are some beautiful speci- 
It is found in 

In that see- 


mens of “diorite,” or greenstone. 

rounded masses and in small quantity. 
tion of the town near the New Jerusalem Church on 
High Street, are occasionally found some clear, fine 


_ specimens of transparent quartz rock. 


manner as if this act had not been passed; and provided, fur- | 


ther, that all paupers who have gained a settlement in said 
town of Brookline, by a settlement gained or derived within 
said territory, shall be relieved or supported by said city of 
Boston, in the same manner as if they had a legal settlement 
in said city of Boston. 


In the extreme westerly portion of the town there 
is some slate rock, but not enough to make any note 
of, while just over the line is a large amount of that 
kind of rock, near Newton Centre. 

The graywacke stove, common in this town, fur- 
nishes a coarse stone only fitted for a common wall; 


790 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


! 


but sometimes its stratification is so regular, and its | 


grain so fine, that it is much used for underpinning 


stepstones, etc. 
quarried in Brighton near the line of Brookline, and 
in the ledge at Parker Hill. 

In the vicinity of Boston the graywacke occupies 


Fine specimens of this variety are | 


a basin, of which the Blue Hills form a southern | 


boundary, the porphyry hills of Lynn and Malden, a 
northern, and the greenstone ranges of Weston and 


Waltham a western, boundary. The argillaceous 


slate connected with the graywacke is all found along | 


the northern and southern sides of this basin, while 


the central portion of this basin, including Brookline | 


and Roxbury, are occupied by conglomerates and 
graywacke. 

Although this rock is prominent in the limits of 
Boston Highlands, this rock in no place rises to any- 
thing like mountain ridges, and for the most part it 
occupies extensive plains or gently undulating ground. 
Diluvium also is so abundant over every part of it 
that it is only occasionally, and at distant intervals, 
to be seen. Among these, the most noticeable in 
Brookline, and perhaps the best and most marked, is 
in the vicinity of the First Parish Church, where 
there are some fine samples, which are plainly to be 
seen. The next best is the ledge beyond the dwell- 
ing-house of Timothy Corey, near to the line of 


Brighton, and so on through the southerly part of 


Brighton and Newton to Chestnut Hill. 

On account of the low level, and the transported 
fragments spread over this rock in many places, it is 
But it is quite 
evident that it underlies nearly, if not all, of the sur- 
face of the town of Brookline and the immediate 
vicinity to the depth of seventy-five to one hundred 
feet at least. 


difficult to ascertain its exact limits. 


The bed-rock of this conglomerate mass 
may be seen in the gravel-bank at Babcock Hill, on 
Harvard Street, owned by John Gibbs and others. 
There may be seen one of the clearest proofs of the 
glacial drift in the striated surface of these rocks, 
showing it to have been the original surface of the 
rock previous to the deposits of the drift period. 
The material of which this hill is composed is not 
very different from the other hills in the town, but is 
a confused mass of pebbles, clay, and bowlders, with 
some sand. 

It is pretty well decided by those competent to 


judge, that at some time in ages past the whole of 


this section of country was covered with ice to the 
depth of from one to two thousand feet, hiding all 
trace of the earth’s surface, and that this field of ice 
crept over the same in a northwest and southeasterly 


direction. This mass of ice covered the highest hills, 





and in its course took everything with it that could 
possibly be moved, bearing in its folds large bowlders 
and various débris, polishing and grooving the tops 
As 
this mass of ice melted, the accumulation of stone 
and rubbish of every description that adhered to the 
same was deposited wherever it chanced to be, and 
The hills of Brookline 
and Boston also are the results of these deposits. If 
we penetrate to the centre of Corey, Aspinwall, or the 
other hills near by, we should find a mass of clay, 


of rocky hills in its onward course to the sea. 


oftentimes in large masses. 


pebbles, and bowlders mixed in the most confused 
manner, the matter remaining to this day just where 
it was left ages ago. Around these hills, and near 
the central core of till, we find beds of sand, clay, and 
The lowlands in the vicinity of the 


marshes, and elevated somewhat, are mostly sand and 


coarse gravel. 


gravel, from the washing and waste of the bowlder 
clay. The black peat, or soils of the low ground near 
the brooks and rivers, are of a more recent formation, 
and are composed of vegetable matter. 

Description of the Land.—The soil of Brookline 
and vicinity has from the early settlement of the 
country been of excellent quality for agricultural and 
horticultural purposes, as umay be seen from the fol- 
lowing letter, written in 1629, one year previous to 
the settlement of Boston, by Rev. Mr. Higginson to 
his friends in London: 

“T have been careful to report nothing but what I have seen 
with my own eyes. The land at Charles River is as fat, black 
earth as can be seen anywhere. Though all the country be, as 
it were, a thick wood for the general, yet in divers places there 
It is thought here is 
good clay to make bricks, and Tyles, and earthern pots, as need 
be. 


“The fertility of the soil is to be admired at, as appeareth in 
the abundance of grass that groweth everywhere, both very 


is much ground cleared by the Indians. 


At this instant we are sitting a brick kiln on work. 


thick, very long, and very high, in divers places, 

“But it groweth very wildly, with a great stalk; and a 
broad and ranker blade; because it never had been eaten by 
cattle, nor mowed by a scythe, and seldom trampled on by foot. 
It is scarce to be believed how our kine and goats, horses and 
hoggs, do thrive and prosper here and like well of this country. 
Our turnips, parsnips, and carrots, are here both bigger and 
sweeter than is ordinary to be foundin England. Here are stores 
of pumpions, cowcumbers, and other things of that nature. 
Also divers excellent pot herbs, strawberries, pennyroyal, 
wintersaverie, sorrell, brookelime, liverwort, and watercresses ; 
also leekes and onions are ordinarie, and divers physical herbs. 
Here are plenty of single damask roses, very sweet; also, mul- 
berries, plumbs, raspberries, currants, chessnuts, filberds, wal- 
nuts, smalnuts, hurtleberries, and hawes of white-thorne, near 
as good as cherries in England. They grow in plenty here.” 


The soil in this vicinity is mostly composed of 
the graywacke, of a deep brown color, and is among 
the best in the State, as it contains more calcareous 
matter than the slate variety, decomposes more readily, 








BROOKLINE. 7 


91 





and furnishes the best soil found over this formation | 


of rock. 


tile and well wooded upon the arrival of the English 
settlers, as we find the following statement as early as 
1633, that there was “good ground, large timber, 
and a store of marsh-land and meadow.” 
was “ arable ground and meadow.” 
While the land in most parts of the town is well 
adapted for the purpose above named, there is also a 


| 
| 
| 
| 


Here also | 
| brow of the hill. 


portion of country in the extreme southwest border of | 


the town which has not been of much use, and any | 


one visiting the city and riding for pleasure would be 
surprised to find within a circle of six miles from the 
State-House a place of such uncultivated territory. 
To the west of Newton Street there is an extensive 
tract of land which is comparatively an unknown re- 


gion. Once heavily timbered, the original forest was 


cut away, and no heavy timber has since been allowed | 
to grow there, yet it is an unreclaimed wild, covered | 


with birches, alders, red maples, and many trees of 
larger growth. 
were exterminated elsewhere, and foxes, muskrats, 
minks, owls, and other wild game have until re- 
cently, and do perhaps still, tempt adventurous sports- 
men to tramp through these rocky and swampy fast- 
nesses. 

The land lying hereabouts- on both sides of the 
street, both in Brookline and in Newton, to the ex- 
tent of several hundred acres, was in the year 1650 
conveyed by Nicholas Hogdon, of Boston and Brook- 
line, to Thomas Hammond and Vincent Druce. John 
Druce, his son, received it by will from his father. 


Bears lingered there long after they | 


Erosamon Drew, whose name is spelled in six dif- — 
ferent ways in old documents, came from Ireland in 
his youth. He married Bethiah, Vincent Druce’s | 


daughter. The elder Druce, who seems to have been 
a wealthy man for those times, left his son-in-law con- 
siderable property. 

A most curious and elaborate old deed, dated in 


1683, conveys a tract of sixty-four acres of woodland | 


for fifty-five pounds to Krosamon Drew, from “ Vin- 
cent Drusse and Hlizabeth his wife,” in which an im- 
. perfectly scrawled V for his name, and E for hers, are 
their only attempts at penmanship. 

John Druce was a soldier in Capt. Prentice’s com- 





show a slight curving bit of roadway near Newton 


_ line, diverging from the street on the left, and joining 
We judge that all the land in this vicinity was fer- 


it again at Newton line. 

The passer-by upon the street would scarcely notice 
the grassy entrance to this curve, and perhaps fail to 
observe, unless attention was called to it, an old roof, 
to be seen almost on a level with the street, below the 
Yet this curved bit of road was 
the original street or old road dipping down into the 
valley, for what good reason nobody now living knows, 
unless it was because down here was “ Erosamond 
Drew’s saw-mill,”’ and there must be a way to get to it. 

A brook, which is the natural outlet of Hammond’s 
Pond, flows through the swampy lot opposite and un- 
der the road. 
bushes and young trees of this swamp, which was 
once an open meadow, and was flowed at certain sea- 


It is nearly concealed by the rank 


sons of the year, by which means water-power enough 
was gained to run the saw-mill. 

Below the level of the road, down the declivity 
of the hill, and standing endwise to the now de- 
serted and grassy old roadway, is a low house’ (the 
roof of which was above mentioned) falling into 
It is not less than 
This was 
Erosamon Drew’s house, and over the brook close to 
it stood his saw-mill, and here all the sawing of boards 
for miles around was accomplished. The owner of the 


ruins, though still inhabited. 
two hundred years old, and perhaps more. 


saw-mill was evidently a thrifty and good citizen, as he 
held various offices of trust in the town, being one of 
the selectmen, assessor, a member of the grand jury, 
and one of the committee on building the first church. 

There were three sons of EKrosamon and Bethiah 
Drew, who died young, or at least unmarried. 

Ann, the only child of this parentage who lived to 
marry, was born in 1683. In 1710 she became the 
wife of Samuel White, Esq., and was the Madam 
Ann White of whom an account was given. 

Ann White, the only daughter of this marriage, 
became the wife of Henry Sewall, son of the chief 
justice of that name. 

One of her sons married into the Sparhawk family, 


of Cambridge. There are also descendants of one of 


the daughters still living bearing the name of Wol- 


pany, a troop of horse, in King Philip’s war, and in| 


July, 1675, was mortally wounded in the battle near 
Swanzey. He was brought home, and died in his own 
house ; he was but thirty-four years of age. His son 
John, who was but a child then, was probably the 
father of the doctor who settled in Wrentham. 


—cott and Ridgway. 


An examination of the new map of the town will | 


From one of the sons comes a 
branch of the Goddard family, so that there are still 
lineal descendants of Erosamon Drew in existence. 
An old deed of Isaac Hammond in 1693 conveys 
land bordering on the saw-mill lot to Erosamon Drew. 
By another deed in April, 1731, Drew conveyed ten 
acres of his land to his son-in-law, Samuel White, 





1 Since destroyed by fire. 


792 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


& 





“by reason and in consideration of the Love, good-— 


will and affection which he hath and doth bear toward 
him,’ which was certainly a very substantial proof of 
his satisfaction with his daughter’s marriage. 

This deed was witnessed by James Allen, the first 
minister of this town, and “ hugh scot; but Hrosa- 
mon Drew’s signature, alas, was only “his mark,”’—a 
round scrawl, for he could not write his name. 

The deed was acknowledged before ‘‘ Samuel Sewall, 


flows, and which were once rich with cranberry-vines, 
The old road down which 


are now all bush-grown. 


_teams drew heavy logs and took away the finished 


boards is so narrow, rough, and winding as to be 
At the side of the road, and near 
the end of the house, is a little patch fenced with 
brush, which was every summer blooming and gay 


almost unsafe. 


with purple amaranths and other well-kept flowers, 


| which lent a bit of brightness to the lonesome and 


J. Pacis,” and rounds off in sonorous Latin, “ Annoq 


Regnis Regis Georgius Magna Brittanica quarto,” ete. 
In August of the same year by another deed he 


gave his house and all his movable property to his 


son-in-law, wife, and two children for his being * help- 
ful to him in his old age.” In fact, from 1711 to this 
late date he seems to have been at short intervals be- 
queathing all his worldly goods to this beloved son- 
in-law. 


to be seen in Newton Cemetery. The last of the 


The gravestones of all the Drews are still | 


Drews was gone before the middle of the last century, | 


and large portions had been sold off the Druce and — 


Hammond property and that part of Samuel White's 
land which he inherited from his wife's father. 

In the Revolutionary times this great tract which 
still lies wild, was in the hands of Tories, who, it is 


said, secured some of King George’s cannon and hid | 


them in the thick woods, intending, 


time came, to use them for the royal cause. 


when the right 


that time never came, and the Tories were forced to 
escape to the British provinces, where they stayed 
It was sold and 
The 
old saw-mill came into the hands of one of the Jack- 


till their property was confiscated. 
divided among many owners, and so remains. 


son’s, and afterwards of Edward Hall, who formerly 
was a blacksmith on Washington Street. 

For many years Erosamon Drew’s old house was 
called “ the huckleberry tavern,’ because the tenant 
then occupying it was skillful in making a kind of 
wine from the abundant huckleberries of the sur- 
rounding pastures, and on election days and other 
festive occasions the scattering residents of the adja- 


But | 


otherwise neglected spot. ‘The picturesque old place 
is a fit one for the location of the scenes of a poem 
or a novel. 

Title to the Soil— When the success of the plan- 
tation at Plymouth had become well known through- 
out a large portion of England, it aroused a great in- 
terest in the cause of colonization, and preparations 
Between 1620 


and 1630 the number was small that came to New 


for emigration were made in earnest. 


England, and only a few settlements were made. 

In 1628 an energetic movement was made, having 
A patent? 
was granted to Henry Rosewell and others, convey- 


in view the settlement of Massachusetts. 


ing land lying between a line drawn three miles north 
of the Merrimac and a line drawn three miles south 
of Charles River, and extending east and west from 
the Atlantic to the Western Ocean. In the follow- 
ing year (1629) the number was enlarged, a royal 
charter obtained creating a corporation under the 


_name of the ‘‘ Governor and Company of the Massa- 


chusetts Bay in New England.” The territory of 


| Brookline, then a part of Boston, lies within this 


cent parts of Brookline and Newton often resorted | 


thither for the mild stimulants of society and huckle- 
berry wine. The old saw-mill was taken down about 
thirty years since, and time, with the slow fingers of 
decay, is taking down the old house. It was a curi- 
ous old place, the roof behind sloping almost to the 
ground.’ A part of the old flume and some of the 
stone underpinning of the saw-mill are still to be 
seen, 


The extensive meadows through which the brook 


' Destroyed by fire a few years since. 


grant, under this patent. 

The jurisdiction over and general property in the 
soil within the limits named in the above royal grant 
was conferred by the charter given to the Company of 
the Massachusetts Bay, while at the same time it was 
conceded by the colonial government that the native 
Indians had a prior right. In other words, the power 
given in the English charter was little more than a 
right or permission to purchase of the natives. | 

The usual course of proceeding in such cases was 
to obtain, from the chief or sachem of the .tribes in- 
habiting the territory wanted, a deed of release, which 
was based upon such consideration as might be agreed 
upon, the General Court confirming their title, or such 
conditions as they thought best. 

Thus we find, soon after the arrival of the early 
settlers with their charter, they commenced negotia- 


' tions with the natives, and procured a deed of release 


’ The original document is among the archives of the State 
at the State-House, 
“A perpetuity granted to Henry Rosewell and others of parte 


3oston, with the following indorsement: 


of Newe England, in America. Wolseley.” 








BROOKLINE. 


793 





from them, signed by “ Chickatabut,” chief of the 
Massachusetts tribe. the evidence of which we find 
in the following confirmatory deed given, over fifty 
years after their first settlement, thus establishing the 
fact that the same was honorably purchased and ami- 
cably arranged : 

INDIAN DEED. 


‘Go all to Mhome these prests. shall come. I Charles Josias, 
ALIAS JOSIAS WAMPATUCK, sone and Heire of Josias 
Wampatuck, late Sachem of the Indians Inhabiting the Massa- 
chusets in New England, and Grandson of Chickatabut, the 
fformer Sachem Send greeting :— 

“ForasmucH as I am Informed, and Well Assured from 
Severall Antient Indians, as well those of my Council as others, 
that upon the ffirst Comeing of the English to Sitt Downe and 
Settle in these parts of New England, my Above-named Grand- 
ffather, Chickatabut, the Chiefe Sachem, by and with the Ad- 
vice of his Councill, for encouragement thereof, upon Divers 
good causes and Considerations him thereunto moving. Dip 
give, grant, Sell, alienate convey and confirme unto the English 
Planters and Settlers, respectively and to their Severall and 
respective heires and Assignes forever. ALL THAT NECK, TRACT 
OR PARCEL OF Lanp, scittuate, Lyeing, and being, within the 
Marracuuserts Coxony, in Order to their Settling and Build- 
ing a Towne there: now knowne by the Name of Boston, as it 
is Invironed and Compassed by the Sea, or Salt Water, on the 
Northerly, Easterly, and westerly sides and by the Line of the 
Towne of Roxbury on the Southerly side, with all the Rivers, har- 
bours, Bayes, Creekes, Coves, flatts and appurtenances whatso- 
ever thereunto belonging. As also severall other outlands belong- 
ing unto the st Towne on the Southerly and Easterly sides of 
Cuar.es River. And the Island Called Deer IsLanp, Lyeing 
about Two Leagues Easterly from the said Towne of Boston, 
betweene Pudding-Point Gutt and the Broad Sound, soe called, 
s? Island containeing One Hundred and Sixty or Two Hundred 
Acres of Land more or less; with the privilidges and appurte- 
nances thereunto belonging. 


particular Alotments and other Conveniences, and given, Alien- 
ated, and Transferred, to and from one another, Haveing been 
peaceably and quietly possessed, used, Occupied and Enjoyed, 
for the Space of about ffifty and flive years last past by the said 
first Grantees y™ heires Successours and Assigns. And now 


stand quietly and peaceably possessed thereof at this day. 


Wuicu, saip Neck & Lanps have | 
since been Distributed and granted out among themselves into 








“WHEREFORE, I the say4 Charles Josias, alias Josias Wam- | 


patuck, Sachem and William Hahaton, Robert Momentauge, 


and Ahawton, Senior, my Councellors (by and wt! the allow- | 
| QuIETLY without any manner of Reclaime Challenge or Contra- 


ance and advice of William Stoughton and Joseph Dudley, 
Esq?s my Prochain Amy’s and Guardian’s), as well for the rea- 


sons and Considerations abovemencond as for and in Consider- | 


ation of a Valuable Summe of Money to me and them in hand 
welj and truely paid by Elisha Cooke, Elisha Hutchinson Esq’s, 
Mess's Samuel Shrimpton, John Joyliffe, Simon Lynde, John 
Saffin, Edward Wyllys, Daniel Turel Sent, Henry Allen, John 
Faireweather, Timothy Prout Sen", and Theophilus Ffrary, of 
Boston, afforesaid, for and in the behalft of themselves and the 


rest of the Proprietated Inhabitants of y¢ towne of Boston, above- | 
said the receipt of which stsumme of Money as ffulland Lawfull | 
Consideration, wee do hereby acknowledge to have received; | 


and thereof, and of every parte, and parcel thereof, doe ffully 
acquitt and discharge the s¢ Elisha Cooke, Elisha Hutchinson, 
Samuel Shrimpton, John Joyliffe, Simon Lynde, John Saffin, 


Edward Wyllys, Daniel Turel Sent. Henry Allen, John ffaire- | 





weather, Timothy Prout Sen™. and Theophilus Ffrary, and | 


every of them, their and every of their heires, Executors, and 
Administrators, & Assignes, forever by these Presents. Have 
& hereby Doe for the ffurther Confirmation and Ratification of 
the s4 Guift, grante, bargaine, or sale of the st Grand Sachem, 
Chickatabut, ffully, freely, and willingly, approve, ratifie, Estab- 
lish, Enfeoffe, and confirme the same; and Doe also ffully and 
Absolutely remise, release, and for ever quitt claime unto the 
said Elisha Cooke, Elisha Hutchinson, Samuel Shrimpton, John 
Joyliffe, Simon Lynde, John Saffin, Edward Wyllys, Daniel 
Turel, Sent. Henry Allen, John Faireweather, Timothy Prout, 
Sent and Theophilus Ffrary, theire heires, and assignes respect- 
ively forever, Soe farr as their owne severall and respective 
rights, and Interests, are or may bee: And farther, for and in 
behalf of the rest of the Proprietated Inhabitants of st Town of 
Boston and precincts thereof Severally and their several] and 
respective heires and assignes, for ever. According to the Sev- 
erall Interest, rights title and propriety which each person, re- 
spectively hath right unto, and now Standeth seized, and pos- 
sessed of, ALL THE AFORES? Neck & Tracr oF LAND, now called 
and knowne by the name of the Towne of Boston, and all other 
Lands whatsoever, within the st Township or precincts thereof, 
Easterly and Southerly of and from Charles River; with all and 
every the Houseing, Buildings, and Improvements thereupon, 
and on every part and parcell thereof; And the Island afores? 
called Deer Island, and the buildings thereon, with all Har- 
bours, Streams, Coves, flatts, waters, Rivers, Immunityes, rights, 
benefitts, advantages, Libertyes, privilidges, hereditame™s and 
appurtenances whatsoever, to all and every y® aforementioned 
premises belonging or in any manner or wise appurtencing: or 
therewi'®, heretofore or now, used, occupied, or Enjoyed; Also 
all the Estate, right, title, interest-property, claime & demands 
of me the $4 Charles Josias, alias, Wampatuck, and of all and 
every of my before named Councellors, of in and to the same 
and every part parcel or member thereof. To HAVE AND TO 
HOLD, all and singular the abovementioned Lands, prem- 
isses, and appurtenances every parte and _ parcel 
thereof unto them the said Elisha Cooke, Elisha Hutch- 
inson, Samuel Shrimpton, John Joyliffe, Simon Lynde, John 
Saffin, Edward Wyllys, Daniel Turel, Sen™ Henry Allen, John 
ffaireweather, Timothy Prout Sent and Theophilus ffrary, their 


and 


heires and assignes respectively forever for and in behalf of 
themselves, So far as their owne Severall and Respective rights 
and interests are or may bee therein; And further for and in 
behalf of y® severall and respective proprietated Inhabitants of 
y® st Towne and precinets thereof, their Severall and respective 
heires and assignes forever, According to the Interest, title, and 
proprietary, we? each person hath, or may have just right unto; 
and Standeth now Seized & possessed of; And to their onely 
proper use benefitt and behvofe forever. FREELY, PEACEABLY & 
diction of me the s Charles Josias alias Wampatuck and my 
above named Councellors or either or any of us our or either, or 
any of our heires, Executors, Administrators, or assignes and 
without any account, Reckoning, Answere Summe or Summes 
of money in time to come to be made, yeilded paid or done. 
Soe Tuart neither I the s¢ Charles Josias alias Wampatuck, my 
Councellors, our or either of our heires, Executors, nor any 
others by from or under me, us or them or any of them shall or 
will by any wayes or meanes hereafter have aske, claime, chal- 
lenge or demand, any Estate, right, title, or Interest of in or to 
y® premisses ; or any part, or parcel thereof. Burt, are and shall 
be utterly Excluded and forever Debarred from the same by 
vertue of these presents. ANp I the said Charles Josias, alias 
Wampatuck, and Councellors affores? for us and every of us, 
our and every of our heires Execut®s Administrators and sue- 
cessors respectively, Doz hereby covenant promise grant and 


794 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





oblige unto ye aforenamed Grantees their heires Executors Ad- 
ministrators and assignes by these presents, do warrant main- 
taine and defend the aforementioned premises, all and every 
parte, and parcel thereof unto them the s¢ Grantees their heires 
and assignes forever as aforesaid for and in behalfe of themselves, 
and.others the Proprietated Inhabitants according to their re- 


spective rights and Interests; Against all and every person and | 


persons whomsoever Lawfully claimeing or demanding the same 
or any parte and parcel thereof. AND at any time or times 
hereafter upon demand to give, pass, make ffull and ample re- 
lease confirmation, and assurance of all and every the s? 
premises, unto y®s? Grantees, their heires and assignes to y® uses 
afores?: and to doe and performe any other act or acts, device 
or devices in the Law necessary or requisite thereunto, as in 
Law or equity, can or may be devised, advised or required—In 
witness whereof I s? Charles Josias alias Josias Wampatuck,— 
William Hahaton—Robert Momentauge, and Ahawton Sent 
my Councellors, have hereunto Sett our hands and Seales y® 
Nineteenth day of March, Anno Domi, One Thousand Six hun- 
dred Eighty and ffoure, 1684/5, Annoq RR§ Caroli Secundi 
Anglie, &e XXXVII 
“CHarues A Josias. 
Signum 


“ AHAWTON m SENT 


“Signed, Sealed and Deliv- eur 
a) 
ered in presence of us. “ WILLEM HAHATO!. 
“Wriutiam WILLIAMS his 
“EE. LypDe. “ Ropert & MomMeENTAUGE. 
marke 
nO 
( five 
[seals 
° 3K. sk 


“Charles Josias & William Ahawton Jun™ in ye Behalf of 
himself and his father Ahawton, Indians, Acknowledged y® 
Aboves* writing to be their volluntary Act & Deed March 19 
1684, Coram 

Jas Russell, Assist 


“We underwritten Prochain Amyes and Guardians to Charles 
Josias, Sachem of the Massachusetts Do consent and approve of 
the Above s‘ confirmation of title and release of clayme. 

“ WILLIAM STOUGHTON. 
“JosepH DupLEy. 

“David, son & Heire of Sagamore George & in his right hay- 
ing some claym to deere Iland doth hereby for Just Considera- 
tion, relinquish his right to the Town of Boston, of all his right 
& claym thereto and consents to y® aboves’ Deed of Sale. As 
witness his hand & seal. 


“In presence of us WinL1AmM WILLIAMS. 
“ BENIMAN Dowspr. 


“ Boston ffebruary 18t 1708. Received and Recorded with the 


Or, ’neath the forest leaves that o’er them hung, 
They council held, or loud their war-notes sung.” 

The very first mention of the name of the locality 
known as Muddy River in history informs us that 
there were Indians here at the time when the Eng- 
lish settlers were coming over in 1632, and there 
is every reason to believe that the territory in and 
around Boston was at a much earlier period occupied 
by aborigines. These native occupants of the soil 
numbered about fifty thousand. They were divided 
into tribes, and each tribe subdivided into numerous 
smaller tribes. The Agawams occupied territory ex- 
tending from the mouth of the Merrimae River to 


| Cape Ann; the Wamesits, at the junction of the Con- 


cord and Merrimac Rivers, on the west side of the 
Merrimac, and on both sides of the Concord; the 
Nashuas, at Nashua; the Namaoskeags, at Amoskeag. 
The home of the Penacooks, or Pawtucket Indians, 
was in the Valley of the Merrimac and the contigu- 


ous region. 


The Massachusetts tribe dwelt around Massachu- 


setts Bay, and was under the government of the 


_ three thousand warriors. 


famous Chicatabut, who had under his command 
His dominion was bounded 
on the north and west by Charles River, and on the 
south extended as far as Weymouth and Canton, in- 


cluding this section. As before stated, these larger 


tribes were divided into numerous smaller divisions, 


and each had its sachem, or sagamore, kings and 
petty lords, each having a settlement of their own. 
It is supposed that one of these tribes occupied a se- 
cluded spot on a knoll in the centre of Longwood, 
then a primeval forest, and in the centre of the old 
On this 
spot the natives had about one-eighth of an acre of 
land, in square form, inclosed by palisades of cedar, 


Cedar Swamp, or Great Swamp, so called. 


_ around which was a ditch three feet in depth, and a 


Records of Deeds for the County of Suffolk Lib XXIV. t ffol | 


101, et se:— 
“pr ADDINGTON DAVENPORT, Regist’.” 


[Indorsed on the back] “ Josias, Sachem & other Indians, | 


Confirmation of the Town of Boston & Lands belonging. 
March 1684.” 


dat‘, 


Indian History. 


“There was a time when red men climbed these hills, 
And wandered by these plains and rills ; 
Or rowed the light canoe along yon river, 
Or rushed to conflict armed with bow and quiver, 


parapet three feet in height, with an opening or gate- 
way on each side, one of which was towards the 
swamp. ‘Traces of this ancient fort were visible as 
late as 1845, which were removed by William Amory, 
Esq., the owner of the estate, who erected a beautiful 
residence near the same. 

The following is an account of the Indian settle- 
ment by Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, as described in 
his address at the dedication of the new town hall, in 
Brookline, Feb. 22, 1873: 

“Tess than two years had thus passed since the birth, or 
certainly the baptism, of Boston, when the first recognition or 


mention of the locality in which we are interested to-day was 
entered in his journal by Governor Winthrop. That record, I 


_ think, is full of implication and suggestion as to the condition of 


the site on which we are now assembled, as well as in regard to 


| the immediate circumstances and surroundings of the Massachu- 











setts colony. Swarms of savages were still hovering around | 
them. ‘Ten sagamores and many Indians,’ we are told, were | 
assembled in this very neighborhood. A sagamore is second | 
only to a sachem, or king of the tribe, and the titles are some- | 
times employed indiscriminately. Ten sagamores would thus 

imply a large number of warriors under them. They were evi- | 
dently understood to be lying in ambush, the Governor’s phrase | 
being that our musketeers were dispatched ‘to discover, etc.’ 
John Underhill was the most trusted captain of that day, bear- 
ing very much the same relation to the Massachusetts colony 
which Miles Standish bore to the earlier but wholly distinct and | 
independent Pilgrim colony at Plymouth. Twenty musketeers | 
were sent with Capt. Underhill, more than twice the number 
which Miles Standish took with him when he was dispatched on | 
a similar expedition ten years before, and when he achieved his 
grandest victory, or what is called his ‘ capital exploit.” Every- 
thing indicated danger, or certainly the strongest apprehension | 
of danger, and before another week had elapsed, although this 
particular party of Indians had been ‘broke up’ or dispersed, | 
we find Governor Winthrop recording the gravest reasons for 





suspecting that a conspiracy existed among the Narragansett 
men and the Neipnett men, under pretense of quarreling with 


each other, ‘to cut us off to get our victuals and other substance.’ | 
And then the record proceeds: ‘ Upon this there was a Camp | 
pitched at Boston in the night, to exercise the Soldiers against 
need might be; and Capt. Underhill (to try how they would | 
behave themselves) caused an alarm to be given upon the quar- 
ters, which discovered the weakness of our people, who, like men 
amazed, knew not how to behave themselves, so as the officers 
could not draw them into any order. All the rest of the planta- 
tions took the alarm and answered; but it caused much fear and 
distraction among the common sort, so as some which knew of | 
it before [that is, which knew that it was a false alarm], yet | 
through fear had forgotten, and believed the Indians had been 
upon us. We doubled our guards, and kept watch day and 
night.’ 


“Such is the picture which Massachusetts and its principal 
town present to us, as we unfold the page which contains the 
earliest record of what is now called Brookline. There was 
plainly no settlement here at that day, or the Governor would | 
have sent that little army of musketeers to assist and rescue the 
inhabitants, and not merely to discover and break up an am- | 
bush of the natives. 
so? May we not well rejoice that there was no handful of 





Aud may we not well rejoice that it was 


scattered planters here to encounter the wild savagery of those | 
‘ten sagamores and many Indians?’ and that Underhill and his | 


BROOKLINE. 


| dians. 





twenty musketeers heard at Roxbury that they were already | 
Yes, my friends, let us thank God to-day that the | 


dispersed ? 
narrative of our beautiful village—I might rather say of its 
prehistoric period—does not open with a scene of massacre. 
Let us thank God that yonder river‘ Muddy,’ as it was called 
—was not crimsoned and clotted with the gore of either white 
men orred men. Let us thank God that our brook was not 
destined to be called ‘ Bloody Brook.’ 

“T do not undervalue the gallantry and heroism of those 
upon whom the dire necessity has been laid, whether in earlier 
or later days, to wield the sword and wage war to the death 
against an Indian foe. Brookline, as we shall presently see, 
has exhibited her full share of such heroism. I fully recognize, 
too, that a real and inexorable necessity has often existed for 
suppressing and punishing by force of arms the lawless ferocity | 


of the savage tribes. The early colonists must have abandoned 


their plantations altogether unless they were ready and resolved | 


to defend them at all hazards against the conspiracies and 
treacheries and mad assaults of the aboriginal race which sur- 


rounded them on every side. Even at this hour there may be 


795 





Modoes or Apaches uncontrollable except by force. But we 
may all still sympathize with the sentiment which was so ex- 
quisitely expressed by the pious John Robinson, in Holland, 
when he heard of the first great victory of Miles Standish, in 
which six Indians had been slain, ‘It would have been happy 
We 
may all rejoice to remember, also, that within a few months 
only of the date of this record about the Indians at Muddy 


River there arrived at Boston, and was immediately settled at 


if they had converted some before they had killed any.’ 


_ Roxbury, where the first planters of this village so long went 


for their Sunday worship, a godly minister from England, who 
made it his special mission, in the same spirit which had actu- 
ated those brave Jesuit priests in Canada, to Christianize and 
civilize the natives, and who, during the next thirty years, had 
not only preached to many of them, and taught many of them 
to pray, but had accomplished the more than herculean labor of 
translating the whole Bible into their language. No more 


| marvelous monument of literary work in the service of either 


God or man can be found upon earth than that Indian Bible of 
the noble John Eliot; nor can any of us fail to admire and ap- 
plaud the earnest and seemingly successful efforts for the in- 
troduction of a more humane and Christian policy towards the 
Indian tribes still left in our land by the illustrious soldier 
who has just been called again to the executive chair of the 
United States. There has been nothing more creditable to our 
country, since, for a similar exhibition of humanity in the re- 
moval of the Cherokees beyond the Mississippi, William Ellery 
Channing paid that most eloquent and most enviable tribute to 
Winfield Scott.! 

“Pardon me, my friends, for such a digression. 
to have traveled a long way out of our little Brookline record : 
but it has only been, after all, to explain and amplify the grati- 
fication I could not refrain from expressing, and which I am 
sure you all feel with me, that those ten sagamores and their 
followers were fairly dispersed before Underhill and his mus- 


I may seem 


keteers arrived here.”’ 


In 1617 a fearful pestilence prevailed among these 
natives of the forests, called by the French “ Les 
Hommes des Bois,’—‘‘ Men Brutes of the Forest,” 


resulting in the destruction of thousands of the In- 


“The people died in heaps, whole families 
and tribes perished, so that the living were in no wise 
able to bury the dead,” and for seven years afterwards 
the bones of the unburied lay bleaching on the ground 
around their former habitations. This epidemic is 
said to have been the yellow fever or smallpox. 

We may thus judge that at the time of the early 
settlement of Boston the natives had become so re- 
duced in numbers as to render occupation of the soil 
by the English settlers much easier than it would 
have been at an earlier period. In this immediate 
vicinity but little difficulty was had with the natives ; 
undoubtedly the famous friend of the Indians, well 
known as the “ Apostle” Eliot, had much to do with 
moulding the character of the natives from the rude 


| and barbarous life of the tribe into a more civilized 


and enlightened community. When he passed back 
and forth, as he did often, from Roxbury, where he 


1 Channing’s Works, vol. v. p. 113. 


796 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





was pastor of the church, to “‘ Nonantum Hill,” New- 


ton, his route from the Punch Bowl village was _ 


through Walnut and Heath Streets, Pond and Reser- 
voir Lanes, to Newton. On his way he often called 


at the Indian village or settlement of Praying Indians, 


which occupied the territory on the west side of | 
selected from their midst, usually five or seven, whose 


Brighton Street, known as the “ John Ackers farm,” 
including Ackers Avenue. 
to light in the tilling of the soil, and for many years 


Many relics are coming 





“ Alas for them! their day is o’er; 
Their fires are out on hill and shore” 


Allotments of Land.—Among the first acts of the 
citizens of Boston as soon as it became a municipality, 
was that of dividing the land out to different settlers. 
For that purpose a certain number of persons were 


duty it was to define the number of acres, amount, 


_and location of their lots. These persons were usually 


after the last Indians had disappeared from these | 


early scenes some aged remnants of the tribe who 


had removed to the far West visited these old graves | 
| 1634 and 1640: 


and most picturesque spots, and the land thereabouts | 


of their fathers. This locality is one of the wildest 


such as any one who had never explored would hardly | 


suppose could be found within the limits of such a_ ton, Mr. Bellingham, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Olyvar, Mr. Colborne and 


The. 


present lane is narrow, rocky, winding, steep, up hill | 


town as Brookline, and so near to Boston. 


and down vale, bordered with briers and gay with | 


wild flowers, or attractive with berries in their season. 
Although it is so secluded, since the Chestnut Hill 


Reservoir was built, every one should visit this lo- | 


cality. In the days when the many allotments were 


made, the “Great Swamp,” or “Jacob Ehiott’s 


Swamp,’ was often alluded to, which was adjoining | 


the above-named locality, leading from Ackers Ave- | 


nue to the reservoir. 
In the journal of Judge Sewall we find a statement 
under date of March 27, 1688, of “three Indian 


called ‘‘ overseers of the town’s occasions,” “ towns- 
men,” and ‘ allotters.” 
We here append a record of those granted between 


“10th moneth, day 18th (1634).—Att a generall meeting upon 
publique notice ; 
“ Imprimis :—It is agreed that Mr. Winthrop, Mr. Codding- 


William Balstone shall have power to devide and dispose of all 
such lands belonging to the towne (as are not yet in the lawfull 
possession of any particular persons) to the inhabitants of the 
towne, according to the Orders of the Court, leaving such por- 
tions in Common for the use of newe commers, and the further 
benefitt of the towne as in their best discretions, they shall think 
fitt; the lands hyred by the towne to be also included in this 
Order. 

“The 14th of the 10th moneth 1635.—At a genrall meeting 
upon publique notice : 

“ Imprimis :—It is agreed by general consent; that Mr. Wil- 
liam Colborne, Mr. William Aspynwall, Mr. John Sampford, 
William Balston and Richard Wright, or four of them, shall 


| lay out at Muddy River a suflicient allotment for a farm for our 


children being alone in a wigwam at Muddy River, | 


the wigwam took fire, and burnt them so that they all 
died.” 


mation. 


Where this wigwam stood we have no infor- 

As the principal settlement in the earliest 
days of this town was in, around, or west of the cen- 
tre, or west of the head of Cypress Street, so it was 
necessary to have a central position for a guard-house 


or fort in case of invasion. ‘The garrison-house for 


the protection of the inhabitants was located in the | 


rear of the old Caleb Clark house, at the corner of 
Cypress and Walnut Streets. It was a simple log 
house, with one door ; no windows except in the upper 
part of the house. The upper part of the house pro- 
jected over the lower three or four feet all around. 
In the floor of this projection were holes or scuttles, 
through which hot or cold water could be poured in 
case of fire, or in case the Indians came too near the 
This was the store-house or fort for the 


town, into which all the inhabitants gathered for 


building. 


protection from the savage foe in the event of an 
alarm. Whether this fort was ever attacked we know 
not. Thus much for the history of the times when 
our fathers began the settlement and the territory 


was somewhat occupied by the native Indians. 


teacher Mr. John Cotton: 

* Ttem :—It is agreed that Mr. William Colborne shall have 
his proportion of ground for a farm unto,him, laid out att Muddy 
River near unto and about his house which he hath there built, 
by the other four, before mentioned vizt., William Aspynwall, 
John Sampford, William Balstone and Richard Wright or three 
of them. 

“ Ttem :—That the two Elders Mr. Thomas Ollyver, and 
Thomas Leveritt shall have their proportion of allotments, for 
theire farming layd out at Muddy River by the before named 
five persons, viz., William Colborne, Wil iam Aspynwall, John 
Sampford, William Balstone and Richard Wright or four of 
them. 

“ Ttem :—That the poorer sort of the inhabitants, such as are 


/ members or likely so to be, and have noe cattell, shall have their 


proportion of allotments for planting ground and other assigned 
unto them by the Allotters, and layd out at Muddy River, by the 
aforesaid five persons or foure of them, and those that fall be- 
tweene the foote of the hill and the Water, to have but 4 acres 
upon a head and those that are farther off, to have five acres for 
every head, the plott to begin next Muddy River side: 

“The Ath of the 11th moneth called January 1635.—Item :— 
It is agreed that hereafter from this day none shall fell any 
Wood or timber at Muddy Ryver or any other place of private 
allottments but upon their owne allotments. 

“ Ttem :—That all such as have felled any trees in any the 
appointed place for private allotments shall eyther cart away 
the same within this six monthes or else the owners of the 
ground shall have it. 

“ Ttem :—It is agreed that every one shall have a sufficient 
way unto his allotment of ground wherever it be, and that the 
Inhabitants of the towne shall have libertie to appoint men for 






ee atlas SR grt i EMA Re RE 2 <a Sorel snd AAW y oh tae tA 


— 








BROOKLINE. 


797 





the setting of them out, as need shall require, and the same 
course to be taken for all comon High-ways both for the towne 
and countrie. 

“ The 23d of the 11th moneth 1635.—Att a generale meeting 
upon publique notice; 

“ Ttem :--That such of the poorer inhabitants whose allot- 
ments were other where, should have libertie for 3 years, to 
plant at Muddy Ryver where the rest doe plant, upon such 


part of their Allotments, as themselves are not able for the | 


present, to plant; they in regard thereof making their part of 


fence and leaving such fence as they doe make in due repara- | 


tion and not taking away any of the Wood or timber upon those 
allottments. 


Teacher, Mr. John Cotton, shall have unto his lott at Muddy 
Ryver all the ground lying betweene the twoe brooks, next 
to William Colborne’s allotment there and soe to the other 
end unto shortest overcut beyond the hill towards the north- 
west. 

“The 12th of the 10th moneth (1636).—Att a meeting this 
day of Thomas Olyvar, Thomas Leveritt, Willyam Hutchinson, 
Robert Keayne, John Newgate, William Coulbourne, John 





with Richard Bulgar and on the south East with Muddy River 
and North East with Beniamyn Ward : 

“2. Beniamin Ward, 12 acrs, bounded on the South-West 
with Edward Browne, on the North West with the Cedar 
swamp and on the South East with Muddy River, and on the 
North East with Jobn Cramme: 

“3. John Cramme sixteene acrs bounded on the southWest 
with Beniamin Ward, on the North East with the Cedar swamp, 
and on the south East with Muddy River, and on the North- 
West with Robert Houlton : 

“4, Robert Houlton sixteene acrs bounded on the south 
West with John Cramme; on the North West with the Cedar 


| swamp, and on the south East with Muddy River, and on the 
“15 of the 9th moneth 1636.—-Also it was agreed that our | 


Coggsehall, William Brenton, John Sanford and William Bal- | 


stone, it is agreed that Edward Belchar, William Talmage, 
Thomas Snowe, William Dewinge and John Arratt, the ser- 
vants of William Brenton, shall have their great Allottments at 


Muddy River, and also, our brother Robert Hull and Thomas | 


Wheelar: Also it is agreed that not above one dwelling house 
shall be built upon any one lott without the consent of the 
Towne’s overseers. 

“The 9th of the 11th moneth called January 1636.--Att a 


meeting this day of Thomas Olyvar, Thomas Leveritt, William | 


Hutchinson, Robert Keayne, John Newgate, William Coul- 


borne, John Coggeshall, William Brenton, John Sanford, and | 
| with Alexander Becke, on the North East with a little marsh at 


William Balstone—- 

“Tt is agreed that the Captaine Underhill shall have a great 
Allotment of 80 acrs of Upland and 20 acrs of marsh ground, 
in the most convenient place, after the laying out of the former 
graunted Allotments att Muddy Ryver. 

“Tt was further agreed that our brother Isaac Grosse shall 
have a great Allotment at Muddy River. : 

“The 7th of the 12th moneth called February 1636.—Att a 
meeting this day of Thomas Leveritt, William Hutchinson, 
Robert Keayne, John Newgate, John Coggeshall, John San- 
ford, Willyam Brenton and Willyam Balstone, 

“Tt was agreed that our brother Thomas Alcock shall have 
his great lott layd out at Muddy River. 

“Also that our brother Thomas Savage shall have seaven 


acrs of the marsh ground att Muddy Ryver, layd him out for | 


the keeping of his Cattle (being in number five) by our brother 
William Coulbourne and others. 

“29 of the 2d moneth, 1637.—Also it is ordered that the feild 
fences at Muddy Ryver shall be made sufficient before the 7th 
day of the next third moneth, by equall proportion of acrs 


upon the planters thereupon, in default of 12d. for every acre | 


then undone. 

“ The 2d of the 4th moneth 1637.—Also, that Thomas Flint 
hath allotted unto him 24 acrs of the marsh ground at the 
mouth of Muddy River, there to be layd out for him. 


North East with Jarrat Bourne: 

“5. Jarrat Bourne eight acres bounded on the South West 
with Robert Houlton, on the North West with the Cedar 
swamp and on the South East with Muddy River, and on the 
North East with John Bigge. 

“6. John Bigge eight acrs bounded on the South West with 
Jarratt Bourne, on the North East and South East with Muddy 
River Marsh, and on the North West with William Beamsley : 

“7, William Beamsly sixteene acrs bounded on the South 
East with John Bigge and on the South West with the Cedar 
swamp and on the North East with Muddy ryver marsh and 
on the North West with Thomasyn Scottua, widdow. 

“8. Thomasyn Scottua, widdow, sixteen acrs bounded on 
the South East with William Beamsley, on the South West with 
the Cedar swamp and on the North East with Muddy River 
Marsh and on the North West on Alexander Becke: 

“9, Alexander Becke eight acrs bounded on the South East 
with Thomasyn Scottua, widdow, on the South West with the 
Cedar Swampe and on the North East with Muddy River 
marsh and on the North West with Raphe Route, laborer: 

“10. Raphe Route twelve acrs bounded on the South East 


the mouth of Charles Ryver and on the Robert Reade on the 
north west. 

“11. Robert Reade eight acrs bounded on the South Hast 
with Raphe Route and the said little marsh, on the North 
East with Charles River running from thence towards the 
south West a quarter of a myle in length towards the sur- 
veyors marke and on Mathew Ines on the North west: 

“12. Mathew Ines eight acrs: bounded on the south East 
with Robert Reade, on the North East with Charles River of the 
same length towards the South West and on Anthony Hawker 
on the North West: 

“13. Anthony Hawker eight acrs: bounded on the South East 
with Mathew Ines, on the North East with Charles River and of 
the same length to the South West and on John Pemmerton on 
the North West: 

“14. John Pemmerton eight acrs: bounded on the South East 
with Anthony Hawker on the North East with Charles River 
and of the same length to the South West and on George Griggs 
on the North West: 

“15. George Griggs twentie and eight acrs: bounded on the 


os 


South East with John Pemmerton, on the North East with 


“ The 8th of the 11th moneth called January, 1637.—Also, | 
whereas att a Generall Meeting the 14th of the 10th moneth, | 


1635, it Was by generall Consent agreed upon for the laying 
out of great Allottments unto the then Inhabitants, the same 
are now brought in bounded as followeth :— 

“ Imprymis :—Edward Browne, eight acrs, bounded on the 
south west with Mr. Willyam Coulborne, on the North West 


Charles Ryver and of the same length to the South West: and 
on James Fitch and Richard Fitch on the North west: 

“16. James Fitch and Richard Fitch sixteen acrs: bounded 
on the South East with George Griggs and Edmund Jackson, on 
the North East with Charles River and on the North West with 
Watertowne and on Anne Ormesby, widdow, on the South 
west: 
bounded on the 
South East side and both ends, with the Cedar Swamp and on 
Nathaniell Woodward the elder, on the South West : 


“17, Anne Ormesby, widdow, eight acrs: 


798 





“18. Nathaniell W 
bounded on the South East with Anne Ormesby, the widdow, on 
the North East with the Cedar swamp, the South Hast side ex- 
tending 60 rodd and the North West side 80 rodd towards the | 
Southwest : | 

“19. James Johnson eight acrs: bounded on the South East | 
with Nathaniel Woodward, being 80 rodd in length; and on | 
Nathaniell Heaton to the Northwest. 

“90. Nathaniel Heaton twenty acrs: bounded on the South 
East with James Johnson, being 80 rodd in length, and on 
Edmund Jackson to the Northwest : 

“91. Edmund Jackson eight acrs: bounded on the South East 
with Nathaniel Heaton and of the same length towards the | 
North East and on the North West with James Fitch and Richard 
Fitch and on the Southwest with a Swamp: 

“992. Richard Bulgar twenty acrs: bounded on the South 
East with Edward Browne and on Mr. William Coulborne on 
the North East, with the Cedar Swamp and Nathaniel Wood- | 
ward, the North West side being 80 rodd in length: 

“93. Elizabeth Purton, widdow eight acrs: bounded on the 





South East with Richard Bulgar and of the same length towards 
the South West and North East and on William Salter towards 
the North West: 

“94 William Salter eight acrs: bounded on the South East 
with Widdow Purton of the same length to the South West and 
North East and on William Wilson to the North West. 

“95. William Wilson twelve acrs: bounded on the South 
East with William Salter and of the same length to the South 
west and North East and on William Townsend to the North- 
west : : 

“96. William Townsend eight acrs: bounded to the South 
East with William Wilson, on the North West with a Swamp, | 
by Mr. John Coggeshall’s Wigwam and William Dyneley : 

“97, William Dyneley foure and twenty acrs: bounded on | 
the South East with William Townsend, and on the North East | 
by the said Swamp, extending to the southwest, about 40 rodd 
in length and on Richard Tappin to the Northwest: 

“98, Richard Tappin, four and twenty acrs: bounded on 
the South East with William Dyneley and on the North Hast 
with the said Swamp, extending to the South West about 40 
rodd in length and on the North West to Newtowne, a small 





peece of land lying betweene. | 
“929. Francis Bushnall foure and twenty acrs, lying in the | 
forme of a Triangle: bounded on the South with William Coul- | 
borne and on the North East with Richard Bulgar, Widdow | 
Purton and William Salter and on Henry Elkyn to the North- 
west: 
“30. Henry Elkyn eight acrs: bounded on the South Kast | 


with Francis Bushnall and on the Southwest with Mr. Willyam 


Coulborne; being about 70 Rodd in length and on Richard 
Fairbancke to the Northwest: 

“31, Richard Fairbancke three and twenty acrs bounded | 
on the South East with Henry Elkyn and on the South end | 
partly with Mr. Willyam Coulborne, being 80 rodd in length on 
the Northwest syde : 

“39, John Mylam, fourteene acrs: bounded on the South | 
East with Richard Fairbancke, being 80 rods in length to the | 
South West and North East, and on Robte Walker to the North 
West: 

33. Robert Walker, fourteene acrs: bounded on the South 
East with John Mylam, on the Northwest with James Davisse 
and a fresh marsh by Newtowne, being 80 rodd in length to the | 
Southwest and Northeast : 

“234, James Davisse, tenn acrs: bounded on the Southeast 
with Robte Walker, on the North East with the said fresh 
marsh extending from it to the Southwest about 40 rodd, on | 





plus betweene: 

“35. William Pell, five and twenty acrs, bounded on the 
South West with Mr. Willyam Coulborne and a brook running 
betweene Mr. John Cotton and him on the Northwest syde 
being 80 Rodd in length: 

“36. Robert Reynolde five and twenty acrs: bounded on the 
South East with Willyam Pell, and John Cranwell and George 
Baytes, on the North West with Newtowne, being on the North- 
west syde, half a myle in length: 

“37. John Cranwell, ten acrs: bounded on the South Hast 
with Mr. John Cotton, on the North East with the said Fresh 
brooke and on the Northwest with Robte Reynolds and George 
Bay tes : 

“38. George Baytes fifteene acrs: bounded on the North Hast 
with John Cranwell, on the South East with Mr. John Cotton, 
and on the North west with Roberte Reynolds: 

“39. Philemon Pormont thirtie acrs: bounded on the North 
East with John Cranwell, on the South Hast with Mr. Thomas 
Leveritt and by a peece of ground lying between him and Mr. 
John Cotton, on the Northwest with Newtowne: 

“40. Robert Mear twenty acrs bounded on the North Hast 
with Mr. Thomas Olyvar, on the South East with Roxburie and 
on the Southwest with Captaine John Underhill, his land lyeth 
in the forme of a tryangle: 

“41, Edward Bendall, five and thirty acrs bounded on the 


| South East with Roberte Meares, on the North East with Mr. 


Thomas Leveritt, extending itself to the North West side about 
70 rodd in length and on Thomas Wardall to the South West: 
“42, Thomas Wardall twenty acrs: bounded on the south- 


| east with Edward Bendall, on the North East with Mr. Ley- 


eritt, extending itself on the North West side 80 rodd in 


| length: 


“43. Mr. William Blackstone fifteene acrs bounded on the 
South East with Thomas Wardall extending itself eighty rodd 
in length to the Southwest and North Hast, and on Robte Tytus 


| to the North West: 


“44, Robert Tytus twenty acrs: bounded on the South East 
with Mr. Blackstone; extending it self 80 Rodd in length to- 
wards the Southwest and Northeast and on William Courser to 


| the Northwest : 


“45, William Courser, tenn acrs: bounded on the South East 
with Robert Tytus, being 80 Rodd in length to the Southwest 
and North East and on Alexander Winchester to the Northwest : 

“46. Alexander Winchester twenty acrs: bounded on the 
Southeast with William Courser, being 80 Rodd in length to- 
wards the Southwest and North East and on Henry Burchall to 
the Northwest : i 

“47, Henry Burchall fifteen acrs bounded on the South Hast 
with Alexander Winchester being 80 Rodd in length to the 


| Southwest and North East and on Robert Turner to the North- 


west : 

‘48, Robert Turner ten acrs bounded on the South Hast with 
Henry Burchall, on the Northwest with Newtowne being 80 
Rodd in length to the Southwest and North Hast: 

“49, William Denning ten acrs bounded on the South Hast 
with Roxbury, being 80 Rodd in length to the Southwest and 
North East and on Joseph Arratt to the Northwest : 

«50. John Arratt. ten acrs: bounded on the South Hast with 


| William Denning being in length 80 Rodd to the South West 
| and North East and on Captaine John Underhill to the North- 


west: 

“51. Captaine John Underhill four score acrs: bounded on 
the South East with John Arratt being 92 Rodd in length on 
the North west syde : 

52. William Talmage fifteen acres: bounded on the South 





(8 eee ee eee —™————t 


(see 





BROOKLINE. 799 





East with Captaine John Underhill, being 80 Rodd in length 
to the Southwest and North East and upon Thomas Snow on the 
Northwest : 

“53. Thomas Snow tenn acrs bounded on the South East 
with William Talmage, being 80 Rodd in length to the South- 
west and North East and upon Isaack Grosse on the North- 
west : 

“54. Isaack Grosse fifty acrs: bounded on the South East 
with Thomas Snow, beinge 80 Rodd in length to the southwest 
and North East: 

“Mr. William Coulborne a hundred and fifty acrs, bounded 
on the North West by Francis Bushnall, Henry Elkin, Richard 
Fairbanck and William Pell, to the west by William Pell, to the 
south by a fresh brooke running betweene him and Mr. Cotton, 
to the North East by Edward Browne and to the East by Muddy 
River: 

“Mr. John Cotton, all the ground lying between the twoe 
brooks, next unto Mr. Coulborne’s Allotment, and so to the 
other end, unto the shortest Cutting over beyond the hill to- 
wards the North West, conteyning twoe hundred and fiftie aers, 
(be it more or lesse,) bounded on the North by the said fresh 
brook, on the West by John Cramme and George Baytes, on 
the South by a fresh brooke running between him and Mr. Lev- 
eritt and on the East by Muddy River: 
~ “Mr. Thomas Leveritt a hundred acres: bounded on the 
North by the sayd fresh brooke running betweene him and Mr. 
Cotton, on the West by Edward Bendalland Philemon Pormont: 
on the South by Mr. Oliver, the East end being a sharp angle, 

“Thomas Oliver a hundred acrs: bounded on the North 
with Mr. Leveritt, on the West with Roberte Meares; on the 
South with Rocksbury, the east end being a sharp angle: 


“ Mr. Thomas Oliver fifteen acrs of the same Marsh: bounded | 


on the South with Muddy River, on the West with Jarratt 
Bourne, the browes of his upland being 80 Rodd in length, and 
on the North with Mr. Leveritt : 

“Mr. Thomas Leveritt fifteen acrs of the same Marsh next 
adjoining, bounded on the South with Mr. Oliver, on the west 
with the browes of the Upland there being 80 Rodd in length, 
and on the North with Mr. Coulbourne : 

“Mr. William Coulborne tenn acrs of the same marsh, 


bounded on the South with Mr. Leveritt, on the West with | 


browes of the Upland, there being 80 Rodd in length, and on the 
North with Robte Walker: 

“Robert Walker five acrs of the same marsh: bounded on 
the South with Mr. Coulborne; on the West with the browes 
of the Upland there being 80 Rodd in length and ten Rodd 
broad : 

“And for the more cleare distinetions of all these, the 
Markes and Lymmitts of the survayors are extant : 


“The 19th of the twelfth moneth, called February, 1637.— | 


Also there is graunted to John Love to have a housplott and 
also a great Lott at Muddy Ryver: 


“ Also to Thomas Scottoe a great Lott at Muddy Ryver, for 


three heads : 

“Also, to brother Isaac Perry, a houseplott neere to brother 
Robte Walker’s and a great Lott at Muddy Ryver for three 
heads : 


“Also to Silvester Saunders a great Lott at Muddy Ryver | 


for two heads: 


“Also to Ralph Mason a great Lott at Muddy Ryver for six | 


heads. 


“The 16th of the second Moneth called April 1638.—Also a | 


great Lott is granted to Edmund Oremsby for three heads, at 
Muddy River: 

“Also to our brother, Thomas Wheeler, a great Lott at 
Muddy Ryver, for three heads: 








“ Also, to Jacob Wilson a great Lott there for three heads: 

“ Also, to Mawdit Inge, a great Lott there for three heads : 

‘Also there is granted to William Hudson the younger, a 
great Lott at Muddy Ryver for three heads. 

“ The 9th of the fifth moneth called July, 1638.—It was agreed 
that Robert Reynolds shall have five acrs of Marsh ground att 
Muddy River in exchange for five acrs of his upland there, to 
be laid out by Mr. Coulborne: 

“The 8th of the 8th moneth 1638.—At a meeting this day of 
Thomas Olyvar, Thomas Leveritt, Robert Keayne, William 
Coulborne, John Newgate, James Penneand Jacob Elyott, 

“There was granted to Mr. William Tinge the having of his 
great Lott at Muddy Ryver for Eight persons and Forty and 
twoe heads of Cattell, in present possession and thirtie heads to 
come, foure hundred aers and an hundred more: 

“24th day of the 10th moneth.—Also, Esdras Reade, a Taylor, is 
this day allowed to bee an inhabitant, and to have a great Lot 
at Muddy River, for 4 heads: 

‘« The 21 of the (1th Moneth, January 1638.—At a meeting this 
day of Thomas Olyvar, Thomas Leverett, Willyam Coulbourne, 
Robert Keayne, Robert Harding, James Penne, and Jacob 
Elyott, leave was granted to John Odlyn to make use of a peice 
of Marsh ground at Muddy River, conteyning an acre, lying 
against the third Lott there until the Towne shall see occasion 
for further disposing of it: 

‘* Also, this day, our brother Robte Scott, hath for the sume of 
£13 16s, sould 23 aers of Upland att Muddy River, that was our 
brother Richard Fairebanckes great Allotment, unto our brother 
Thomas Savage, his heirs and Assignes forever : 

“Further, at the same meetinge, it appeared by a Writing 
dated this same 18th day of 12th Moneth 1638, that Thomas 
Scottow, of Boston, Joyner, hath sold to Thomas Grubb of the 
same, all his six acrs of ground, lying at Muddy River ‘ad- 
joyning to ny Mother’s Lott there and which I bought of her :’ 

“The 25th day of the 1st moneth called March 1639.—Our 
brother, Mr. Gryffen Bowen hath a great Lott granted unto 
him at Muddy River. ; 

“Likewise our brother Richard Holledge hath «a greai Lott 
granted unto him there for three heads: 

“Further at this Meeting it appeared by a Writing, dated the 
first day of August, 1638, that Mr. John Underhill hath sur- 
rendered unto Mr. Thomas Makepeace of Dorchester, his house 
in Boston, with an hundred Akers of upland ground at Muddy 
River and tenn acrs of meadow or marsh ground there, and his 
share of Woodland in the Ilands, with a garding at the house 
and another behind Mr. Parker’s house, to the quantity of halfe 


| an Aker and somewhat more, and also neare half an Aker upon 


the fort hill, for the Some of an hundred pounds: 

“Tt is Also ordered that all the Corne feild fence at Muddy 
River shal be made sufficient before the 20th of this next 2nd 
Moneth, Aprill, upon penaltie of every Rodd then undone vit. 
viiid. And to be seene unto by our brethren John Audlyn and 
Edward Baytes. And for the Charge of the fence, the broken 


| up ground to pay for every acr three thirds thereof, and the 


unbroken up twoe thirds of the Charge of every Acr. 
“The 29 of the 5th moneth, July 1639.—There is granted a 


| great lot to our brother John Smyth, Taylor, at Muddy River, 


for three heads: 

“Also, John Leveritt hath granted unto him a great Lott at 
Muddy River for tenn heads: 

“30th day of the 7th moneth; Sept. 1639.—Also, to Mr. David 
Offley a great Lott at Muddy River for 15 heads: 

“ The 28th day of the 8th moneth October 1639.—Also a great 
Lott granted to our brother Nathaniell Woodward, at Muddy 
River for three heads: 

“ The 30th day of the 10th moneth, December 1639.—There is 


800 





graunted to Richard Sherman a great Lott for seaven heads att 
Muddy River if it be there to be had: 

“Also, our brother John Kenricke hath a great Lott allowed 
to him at Muddy Ryver for four heads: 

“Also our brother George Curtys hath a great Lott granted 
to him there for 2 heads: 

“At this day it was agreed that 500 aers at Muddy River for 
perpetuall Commonage to the Inhabitants there and the towne 
of Boston, to begin at the outer bounds of Mr. Hibbin’s Lott, 
and soe to goe into the Country, as the Land will afford, before 
any other allotments are laid outt hereafter: 

““Whereas at a former meeting there was granted to our 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


brother Thomas Scottoe a great Lott at Muddy River for three | 


heads, which as yet have not beene layde out, for him and that 
now he is inereased to fyve heads. He is, therefore, now al- 
lowed to have said Lott for five heads : 

“927th day of the 11th moneth 1639.—Also to Henry Messenger 
a great Lott at Muddy River for 2 heads: 

“Also to our brother Joshua Scottoe a great Lott there for 3 
heads: 

“Also to Thomas Painter, Joiner, a great Lott at Muddy 
River, for 4 heads: 

“ Also, there is further granted to Mr. William Ting, in regard 
that his great Lott at Muddy River is not yet layd out, nor 
could be in regard to the Bounders between Boston and Rox- 


bury were but lately determined, and that now the number of 
his Persons and Cattell are increased, there is further granted to | 


him an hundred acrs more, to be layd unto his Lott formerly 
granted, The Brethren’s Lotte and the Commonage there alredy 
granted being first layd out: 

“ Also, there is granted to our elder Mr, Thomas Olyvar all 
the fresh meadow belonging to Boston, lying under the foote of 
the great Hill at Muddy River, next Newtowne, bounds there. 

“Also there is granted to Mr. William Coulbron a parcell of 


fresh meaddowe adjoining to the little fresh brooke parting be- | 


tweene us and Newtowne bounds at Muddy River and Running | 


into Charles Ryver there: 

“ The 24th day of the 12th moneth February 1639.—Also, there 
is granted to William Blanton, Carpenter, a great Lott at Muddy 
River for 3 heads. 


“Also thereis granted to Leonard Buttles, bricklayer, a great | 


Lott at Muddy River, for 4 heads: 

“Also there is granted to ould Robert Wing a great Lott at 
Muddy River for 4 heads : 

“ The 30th day of the 1st moneth, March 1640,—-It is ordered 
that Mr. Willyam Coulbron and Jacob Elyott shall set out to 


brother John Odlin such quantity of Marsh ground at Muddy | 


River as they shall think Convenient for him, and shall Certify 
the same at the next towne’s meeting, that a pryce may be sett 
of the same, upon payment Whereof, the said Marsh ground to 
be granted to the said John Odlyn and to his heirs forever. 


| former graunt at muddy river, hath graunted him to be added 
_ thereto, five acres if it may be laid out adjoyning to his former 


“ Also Willyam Colbron and Jacob Elyott are appointed to | 


lay out the high Ways at Muddy River towards Cambridge. 

“ The 27 day of the 2nd moneth, April, 1640.—At a meeting this 
day of Mr. John Winthropp Governor, Mr. Richard Bellingham, 
Assistant, Captaine Edward Gibbones, Mr. William Colbron, 
Mr. William Ting, Mr. John Cogan and Jacob Eliott. 

“First, that William Hibbins should have his greate Lott at 
Muddy River (yt it be there to be had,) as neare his land he 
bought as may be, without wrong to others; and for this end 


Ordered, | 


_ Common towards the northeast, with Roxbury land towards the 


Mr. Colebron and Goodman Eliott are to vue the place and | 


Certify at the next meeting what may bee donne. 
“ Edward Grosse is graunted a lot for twoe heads at Muddy 
River, if it be there to be had after former grants are served: 


“John Odline is to have 8 Acres of Marsh at muddie river | 


for 4£ which he payd downe; and Ed Grubb six acrs there for 


a 


_3£; and Ben Gillum 10 aers for 5£; and Joh Davis 8 aers for 





4£, to be set out by Mr. Coleburne and Goodman Eliott after 
Mr. Hibbins is served: 

“The 25th of the 3d moneth called May 1640.—Also To Wil- 
liam Hibbins is graunted a parcell of meadowe at Muddy River, 
Containing by estimation about 10 Acres, inclosed by a greate 
swampe on the one side and greate Rocks on the other, pro- 
vided it fall not in any former graunt; if wee can better accom- 
modate him heare after, he is content to resigne his againe. 

“The 31st of the 6th month 1640.—Theodor Atkinsone is 
graunted his greate Lott for twoe heades, at muddie River, yt 
it be there to bee had after others are served that had their 
graunts before him: 

“The 26th of the 8th moneth 1640.—There is sould to our 
brother John Odline one Acre and halfe of marsh at muddy 
river adjoining the 8 acres formerly sould him for which he 
hath payd in hand 15s. 

“‘Also at the same meeting our brother Thomas Grubb and 
our brother Garrett Bworne are appoynted overseers of the 
fence at muddy river in the Common feyld to See it made by 
the first of Aprill; and in default of every Rod not then re- 
paired and made, the owners of the said land are to forfett 3s. 
4d p rod; and the said overseers shall have power to distraine 
for such moneys soe groing due: 

“Our brother Peter Oliver graunted unto him sixtie acrs of 
land at muddy river, if it bee there to be had; of the which 
there is graunted some marsh, if there be any there, always 
provided that those graunts before graunted are first served. 

“Our Brother James Oliver hath graunted to him 40ti acres 
at muddy river, if it be there to be had when those afore graunted 
are served. 

“There is at this meeting a bridg appoynted to be made at 
muddy river; Mr. Coleburne, our brother Eliott and our brother 
Peter Oliver are appoynted to see the same donne. 

“There is likewise granted, this day, to William Hibbins, 
three hundred acrs of land at muddy river, bounded by Cam- 
bridge line on the one side, Mr. William Ting’e on the other 
side and Dedhame line on the other, with the ordinary allow- 
ance for rockes &ce. 

“Our brother John Biggs hath sould unto him 4 acres of 
marsh, at Muddy River, for 10s. per acr, the former grants 
being made good: 

“Our brother William Talmage being layd out shorte of his 


graunt and bounding upon Cambridge line: 

‘Also he hath graunted him 3 acres of marsh at muddy river, 
paying therefor 10s. per acre if it be there to be had when former 
graunts are performed : 

“Our brother Ed Fletcher hath graunted him a greate Lott at 
muddy river, for three heads, the which is supposed was formerly 
graunted to him: 

“Tt is ordered at this present meeting that there shall be noe 
more land graunted at muddy river nor the Mount until such 
lands as are alredy graunted are layd out, and the residue of 
the land knowne what the aers are. 

“The last day of the 9th moneth 1640.—Mr. William Ting, 
his Allotment formerly graunted him at muddy river conteyning 
600 acres in all, is thus bounded: namely, with lands as yet in 


southeast; with Dedham land towards the southwest; and with 
land graunted William Hibbins towards the northwest: 

“28th of the 10 moneth 1640.—Our brother Mr. Wentworth 
Day, his suit for a lot at Muddy River: 

“Our brother Day desireth at Muddy River to have a Lott 
and the townse men have taken-it into Consideration : 





: 





BROOKLINE. 


801 





“The townsmen have taken into consideration likewise the 
sute of Miles Tarne for a Lott for five heads: 

© The 22d of the last moneth 1640.—Brother Courser of Bos- 
ton hath sould and resigned up his Lott at muddy river, it 
being 10 Acres, to our Brother Alexander Beck of the same 
towne. 

“29th of the First moneth 1641.—It is graunted that those 


Lotts formerly graunted our twoe Elders Mr. Oliver and Mr, | 


Leyveritt in the full proportion of land as it now lieth, shall by 
this order be confined unto them, although their Lotts doe 
amount to a greater quantity of land than was intended at the 
graunting thereof: 

“ The 26th of the 2nd moneth 1641.—Our brother Mr. Went- 
worth Day hath graunted unto him 100 acres of land for his 
great Lott at Muddy River, out of a parte of that land which 
was appoynted for the Comune. 

“There is graunted to our brother Henry Webb to purchase 
3 acres of marsh at muddy river if it be there to be had: 

“William Hibbins hath Confirmed unto him that fresh marsh 
which was formerly graunted him, at muddy river, valued at 
10 acrs formerly but proveth to bee about 18 acres bounded 
with a rock on one side and a great swampe on the other. 

“31st of the 3d month—Our brother Robert Turner is 
graunted that land which lieth betweene his lott and Cambridge 
nue line soe fare as the lemyts of his lot retcheth, it lieing 
along by the side thereof and noe further: 

“To our bro Thomas Scottua is granted a small quantity of 
salt marish lying betweene his great lott and Charles River. 

“The 7th of the 12th month 1641.—There is granted unto 
Robt. Reynolds three acres of marish at muddy river for which 
he is to pay six shillings eight pence unto the Town, according 


of the Aspinwall family and others. Then came the 
land of Rev. John Cotton, since passed into the hands 
of the Davis family. Next was Thomas Leverett, 
south of the Cotton estate, and bounded on the north 
by a brook. The other was the land between Thomas 
Leverett and Roxbury line. 

Early Settlement of Muddy River.—During the 
first seventy-five years of the settlement of Boston 
the territory comprising what is now known as Brook- 
line was known as ‘“ Muddy River,’ or “ Muddy 
River Hamlet,” otherwise called ‘‘ Boston Commons.” 
The name of Muddy River was given to it on account 


_ of a stream that formed the easterly boundary of the 


to what he should have payd for that parcell of marish which | 


was to be purchased by him at Hog [land but is now sold unto 
Thomas Marshall : 

“ This 4th day of 1st moneth 1642.—At a general town meet- 
ing upon lawfull warning, It’s Ordered that the residue of the 
Townes Lands not yet disposed of (excepting those that are 
layd out for commons at Boston, Braintry and Muddy River) 
shall be devided amongst the present Inhabitants (together 
with such as shall be admitted within two months now next 
following) and yt in this manner, vizt: a greater Proportion 
to them that have had lesse than their due, and the lesse to 
them that have had more and proportionable to them, that have 
had none and this is to be done by the select men chosen for 
the towne’s businesse.” 


We see by the foregoing list of allotments that the 
most of the land was in the hands of residents of 
Boston, and but a small portion of the names of pro- 
prietors of the soil are represented in the present 
population. The easterly section of the town had 
only five owners adjoining Muddy River, and run- 
ning westerly as far as the “great hills’ or there- 
abouts. 

Chief Justice Sewall was the largest owner, at a 
later period, who came into possession of his estate 
by marriage with a daughter of John Hull, the mint- 
master, including lands around ‘ Cottage Farm,” 
“Chapel Station,” “ Longwood,” and the “ Stearn’s” 
farm. Adjoining his estate on the south boundary 
was that of William Colborne, afterwards the estates 


of Aspinwall and Sharp, now owned by descendants 
51 


place, the water of which was somewhat turbulent. 

There is but little mention made of this place in 
the early history of the colony. The first we find in 
print is in ‘* Winthrop’s Journal,’ page 88, where 
mention is made of Indians heing assembled at that 
place, as follows : 

“Notice being given of ten Sagamores and many Indians 
assembled at Muddy River, the Governor sent Captain Under- 
hill with twenty musketeers to make discoveries; but, at Rox- 
bury, they heard that they were broken up.” 

It is supposed these Indians erected a fort in the 
northerly part of the town, near Charles River, which 
they were obliged to abandon. 

Again, we find in Wood's “ New England Pros- 
pect,” 1633: 

“The inhabitants of Boston, for their enlargement, have 
taken to themselves farm houses in a place called Muddy River, 


two miles from their town, where is good ground, large tim- 


ber, and store of marsh land and meadow. In this place they 
keep their swine and other cattle in the summer, whilst corn 
is on the ground, at Boston; and bring them to town in the 


winter.”’ . 

Also in Josselyn’s “Two Voyages to New Eng- 
land,” p. 162, published in 1675, is a similar account, 
Viz. : 

“Two miles from the town, at a place called Muddy River, 
the inhabitants have farms, to which belongs arable grounds 
and meadows, where they keep their cattle in summer, and 
bring them to Boston in the winter.” 

In an English account of “ King Philip’s War” is 
the following reference to Muddy River: 

“On 28th August, 1675, happened here, at eleven o’clock at 
The like was 


never known before. It blew up many ships together, that they 
bulged one another ; 


night, a most violent storm of wind and rain. 


some towards Cambridge; some to Muddy- 
Also, it broke down 


many wharves, and blew down some houses. 


river, doing much hurt to very many. 
Thereupon the 
Indians afterward reported, that they had caused it by their 
‘ Powow,’ that is ‘ Worshipping the Devil.’” 

The next notice we find of the place is found in 
volume one of ‘“* Winthrop’s Journal,” page 290, as 
follows : 


802 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








“Tn this year (1638), one James Everett, a sober, discreet 
man and two others, saw a great light in the night at Muddy 


River: When it stood still, it flamed up and was three yards 
square. When it ran, it was contracted into the figure of a 
swine. Jt ran as swift as an arrow towards Charlton! so up 


and down about two or three hours. They were come down in 
their lighter, about a mile, and, when it was over, they found 
themselves carried quite back against the tide to the place they 
came from. Divers other credible persons saw the same light, 
after, about the same place.” 


The editor of the “ Journal,” in a note, says of this 
phenomenon,— 


“This account of an ignis fatuus may easily be believed, on 
testimony less respectable than that which was adduced. Some 
operation of the Devil, or other power beyond the customary 
agents of Nature, was probably imagined by the relaters and 
hearers of that age; and the wonder of their being carried a 
mile against the tide became important corroboration of the 
imagination. Perhaps they were wafted, during the two or 
three hours astonishment, for so moderate a distance, by the 
wind. But, if this suggestion be rejected, we might suppose, 
that the eddy, flowing always, in our rivers, contrary to the 
tide in the channel, rather than the meteor, carried their 
lighter back.” 

The following description of Boston was given in 
1639. At that time Brookline was called ‘“‘ Muddy 
River Hamlet” and belonged to Boston: 

“ Boston is two miles northeast from Roxberry ; its situation 
is very pleasant, being a Peninsula, hembed on the South side 
with the bay of Roxberry, on the North side with Charles 
River, the marshes on the back side being not half a quarter of 
a mile over, so that a little fencing will secure their cattle from 
the wolves. The greatest wants be wood and meadow ground, 
which never were in that place; being constrained to fetch 
their building timber and fire wood from the islands in boates. 
It being a neck they are troubled with three great annoyances 
of wolves, rattlesnakes, mushketoes, etc.’’ 

The inhabitants of the hamlet of Muddy River re- 
mained under the care and jurisdiction of the town of 
Boston till March 29, 1686, at which time the subject 
of schools was brought to the attention of the parent 
town as follows, as appears on the early records of 
Boston: 

Muddy River, ‘‘ Motion for a schoole, referd to the selectmen 
to consider of & to make theire report of it to the Inhabitants 
at ye next towne meetinge.” 


March 29, 1686.—“ A Motion of the Inhabitants of Muddy | 


river for a writinge school for theire children was read at a 
publique meetinge of the Inhabitants of this towne the 8th of 
March 1683, 
that use & the selectmen apoynted to choose a place for the 
erectinge of a house:” 

In answer to said Motion, ‘It was voted that the selectmen 
take this matter into consideration and inquire into the reason 
thereof and represent it to the next General Towne Meeting 
what is necessary to be done therein.” 


We find nothing further in reference to any action 
of the town, neither any report from the selectmen. 
Thus matters remained till the 18th of December of 


1 Charlestown. 





and that theire town rates may be improved to | 





fairs by themselves, and desired more freedom. 


that year, at which time the president and Colonial 
Council, in answer to a petition from citizens of the 
hamlet of Muddy River, granted them exemption 
from town rates, and liberty to choose their own 
officers, thus practically becoming a separate munici- 
pality, although still belonging to Boston. 


“New ENGLAND. 

“By THE PRESIDENT AND COUNCILL OF HIS Masesties TER- 
RITORY AND DOMINION, AFORESAID &CA. 

“Wednesday Decembe. 8th 1686. 


“Present, the Honble. JosepH Duprey, Esq. President. 
WixuiAmM Sroucuton Esq. Deputie Prest. 
Epwarp RANDOLPH 
Waite WintHrop 
RicHarpd WHARTON 
JoHn USHER 
BARTHOLOMEW GIDNEY & 


| 
Esqrs. 
JONATHAN TYNG J 


“Tn answer to the petition of ye Inhabitants of Muddie 
River, prayinge to have libertie to erect a school &ca. upon the 
hearinge thereof, The President & Councill doe order, That 
henceforth the said Hamlet of Muddie River be free from 
Towne rates to ye Towne of Bostone, they maintaininge theire 
owne high wayes and poore and other publique charges arise- 
inge amongst themselves, And that within one yeare next 
comeinge they raise a school-house in such place as the two 
next Justices of the Countrie (upon a publique hearinge of the 
Inhabitants of the said Hamlet) shall determine as also maine- 
taine an able readinge and writinge Master there, from and 
after that day, and that the Inhabitants annuallie meete to 
choose three men to manage theire affaires” 

“ EpwarpD Ranpoupn, Seer. 
“A true coppie as attests 
“ BENJAMINE BULLIVANT 
“late Clerke of ye Councill. 
“ Muddyriver 

“ January 19th 1682. Ata full Meeting of the Inhabitants of 
Muddyriver they Voted the acceptance of the late grant of the 
president in council as the same was read and is expressed.” 


The acceptance of the above order one month after 
it had passed the Colonial Council, and the provision 
made for the maintenance of a schoolmaster, with 


the choice of Ensign Andrew Gardner, John White, 


Jr., and Thomas Stedman to “ manage theire affaires,” 
is the first item in the ‘“ Muddy River Records.” 

The privileges accorded to the early settlers were 
of short duration, as we find the following vote of the 
town of Boston, dated March 16, 1689-90: 


“Voted, that Muddy river Inhabitants are not discharged 


| from Bostone to be a hamlet by themselves, but stand related 
| to Bostone as they were before the yeare 1686.” 


A few more years rolled on. The people of the 
hamlet had increased, had been successful in their 
business, were in a better condition to regulate af- 
In 
1698 they applied to the General Court for a confir- 
mation of their former privileges, which the people 


| of Boston had attempted to deprive them of. 








——————————————— 


BROOKLINE. 


803 





“ To the Hon. William Stoughton, Lieutenant-Governor of Mas- 
sachusetts, the Honorable Council, and the Representatives in 
General Court assembled, 25th May,-1698: 

“The humble petition of the inhabitants of Muddy-river 
humbly showeth ; 

“Whereas in the year 1686, the Honorable Joseph Dudley, 
President, William Stoughton, Deputy President, and the Coun- 
cil, in answer to the petition of the inhabitants of Muddy-river, 
praying liberty for a school among them, é&c., did order, that 
the Hamlet of Muddy-river be free from Town rates to the 
Town of Boston, and other privileges, as in said grant, on the 
other side, may more at large appear ; 

“‘We, your petitioners, do humbly pray, that the said granted 
privileges may be confirmed unto the said Hamlet, with the ad- 
dition, that the inhabitants may choose such officers amongst 
themselves, as may assess the inhabitants their due proportion, 
as may be thought sufficient and expedient for defraying such 
necessary charges to said school, and other things; and that 
one constable may be chosen, who may be sufficiently impow- 
ered to collect the rates for the County and the Hamlet; and 
your petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray, 

“THOMAS GARDNER, ) Jn the name 

‘““BeNJAMIN WHITE, + oof the 

“ RoGER ADAMS, inhabitants. 


‘True list of the names given, 20 December, 1697: 

“Joshua Gardner, Joshua Child, Samuel Aspinwall, Peter 
Boylston, Nathaniel Stedman, Eleazer Aspinwall, Andrew 
Gardner, Thomas Woodward, Solomon Phipps, Ralph Shepard, 
Jonathan Torrey, George Bass, Joseph White, Josiah Winches- 
ter, John Devotion, Nathaniel Holland, Joseph Buckminster, 
Edward Devotion, John Ackers, Benjamin Whitney, Simon 
Gates, Thomas Stedman, Sen'., John Grosvenor, John Ellis, 
Joseph Gardner, William Sharp, John Parker ; 

“The persons whose names are here under written, are other- 
wise minded ; 

“Timothy Harris, Daniel Harris. 

“ Neuters.—John Winchester, Samuel Clark, John Druce, 
Erosamon Drew, Dorman Marean, Abraham Chamberlain.” 


What became of this petition, or whether any action 
was had upon the same, we have no information. 
The above petition was simply an aid to a former 


request, EUs aes, whieh had been revoked by | have Selectmen, and all other rights belonging to a Township, 


the town of Boston, might be restored. About two 

years from this date measures were taken to separate 

from the town and become independent. 
Incorporation of Brookline.—But a short time 


had passed when they were dissatisfied with exemp- | 


tion from taxation and the permission given them to 
manage their affairs in their own way, and they as- 
pired to be a town by themselves. 
11th of March, 1700, they sent a petition to the 
parent town to be a district or hamlet -separate from 
the town. 

This petition was not very favorably received by 
the town of Boston, and instead of listening favorably 
to their request, they rebuked them sharply for their 
presumption and reproached them for their ingrati- 
tude for past favors, and exercised over them all the 
authority they possessed in language as follows: 


Hence on the | 


| 
| 








| June 29, 1705. 


““At a public meeting of the Inhabitants of Boston upon 
Publick Warning according to law, held March 11, 1700,—1. 

“Upon the Petition of the Inhabitants of Muddy River to 
be a District, or Hamlet, separate from the Town for these rea- 
sons, following, viz., the remoteness of the situation, which 
renders them incapable of enjoying equal benefit and advantage 
with other of the Inhabitants of Publick Schooles for the in- 
struction of their children, relise of their Poor, and Repairing 
of their Highways. 

“Their petition being read and reasons given therein de- 
bated, It was voted in the negative, and that though they had 
not for some years been rated in the Town rate, yet for the 
time to come, the Selectmen should vote them in the Town Tax 
as the other Inhabitants, and as formerly they used to be, and 
for their encouragement it was voted that the Selectmen should 
provide a schoolmaster for them to teach their children to read, 
write and cypher, and order him his payment out of the Town 
Treasury. 

“A True Coppie as entered with the records of the Town of 
Boston. 

“ Examined per JosEPH Provt, 
© Town Clerk.” 


The treatment which their petition received at the 
hands of the people of Boston was such as to make 
the inhabitants of the hamlet the more determined to 
become separated. They accordingly resolved to 
apply to higher power, which they did in the follow- 


ing language: 


To his Excellency the Governor, Council and Assembly. 

“The humble petition of the Inhabitants of Muddy River. 
Humbly Sheweth, That they are a Hamlet belonging to Boston, 
have been lately settled there and sometime since in the year 
1686 being grown to a good number of inhabitants represented 
to the Government then in being, praying to be acquitted from 
paying duties and taxes to the Town of Boston, being then 
willing to bear their public charges of Bridges, Highwaies and 
Poor, and were accordingly then released and ordered to main- 
tain a Reading and Writing Schoole as the order annexed will 
show, which accordingly we have ever since done, and now 
further humbly pray that being grown to a greater number of 
good settled inhabitants we may be allowed a separate right to 


which may further encourage us as we are able to settle a min- 
ister and other benefits amongst us, and we shall ever pray. 
“ SAMUEL SEWALL, JR., 
“THOMAS STEADMAN, SEN’R, 
<“ THOMAS GARDENER, SEN’R, 
“ JosEPpH WHITE, 
“ BENJAMIN WHITE, 
“ JoHN WINCHESTER, SEN’R, 
“SAMUEL ASPINWALL, 
“ JostsH WINCHESTER. 


“Read in Council—The General Assembly sitting, June 17, 
1704, and ordered, That the Selectmen of Boston have a copy 
of this petition and be heard thereon at ye next Session of 
this Court. Isaac ADDINGTON, 

“ Secretary. 


“ November 1, 1704. In Council, Ordered, That the Select- 
men of Boston hee notified to attend on Saturday morning 
next, the fourth, current, November 4, 1704. 

In House of Representatives, 
Read and sent up.” 


““ Continued to next session. 


804 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The town of Boston continued to oppose the setting 
off the hamlet by every means in their power, as may 
be seen by the following documents : 


“At a meeting of the Freeholdars and other Inhabitants of 
the Town of Boston duly qualified and warned according to 
law, being convened at the Town House in Boston, the 12th day 


of March, 1704—5, did then and there chuse, Elisha Cook, Esq., | 


Elder Joseph Bridgham, Capt. Ephraim Savage, Capt. Bezour 
Allen, and Capt. Oliver Noyes,—To be a Committee to consider 
and draw up what they should think proper (on the behalf of 
this Town) to lay before the General Court at their next session 
relating to a petition of sundry of the Inhabitants of Muddy 
River, that the said District be dismist from the Town of Boston 
and be admitted to be a Town of themselves. . 
“ Attest JoseEPpH Prout, 
*€ Town Clerk.” 


ported the following : 





ing answer to the petition of the inhabitants of Muddy 
River: 


|“ To his Excellency, Joseph Dudley, Esq., Captain-General and 


Commander-in-Chief, and to ye Honorable, ye Council and 

Assembly. 

“The Answer of ye Selectmen and ye Committee of ye Town 
of Boston, to ye Inhabitants of Muddy River. 
“ Humbly Sheweth. 

“That they have been as easy in this Town as they could in 
reason desire. That they have not urged anything in their 
petitions to the contrary. This Town has never called on them 


| to support the ministry of the town as is usual in like cases in 


ye Country. They have not been enjoined to watchings and 
wardings, either stated or occasionally, which has layn heavy 
on ye body of the Town. That they have constantly had ye 


| nominations of their own officers ye town has usually confirmed. 
The committee having attended to their duty, re-_ 


| of ye Town. 


“The Committee appointed to consider and draw up what | 


might be thought proper to lay before the General Court re- | 


lating to a petition of sundry persons of Muddy River, praying 
to be dismist from the Town of Boston and admitted to be a 
town of themselves. 
that several sessions of the General Court had passed after the 
time set for the hearing thereof and that consequently the 
matter then fell, however if it be again revived by any new 
petition or order, we think it proper to lay before the Court the 
unreasonableness of their demand, they having been hitherto 


Upon perusal of the said petition observed 


defray their necessary public charges, many of which might be | 


enumerated, and the town charges, now increasing upon us and 
the body of ye town abounding with poor, and such as are not 
capable to defray, but rather greatly increase the charges for 
the Inhabitants of Muddy River at such a time, and being 
themselves now grown more oppulent and capable to be helpful 
to ye town, to be sent from us seems most unreasonable, and in 
them very ungrateful and may bea bad example to others to 


endeavor the like, and to Cutt the town into such shreds, as | 


will best suit themselves without any due regard to ye public 
Intrist, the charge of the Road upon ye neck is great and is 
still growing and ye petitions and Inhabitants of Muddy River 


have had more benefit and do more to increase the charge of | : 
| and Cambridge, and the whole Townshipp of Braintree, and 


that way, than all of the rest of the town. Several other things 
might be instanced which the Selectmen are well acquainted 
with and we think they ought (if the General Court see cause 
to proceed on the petition) to pray to be heard therein. 
““LIsHa Cook. 
“In the name and by order of ye Committee. 
“Tn council, June 15, 1705. 
“ Read and ordered a hearing before this Court, on Tuesday 
the 19th Currant. And that the Selectmen of Boston be noti- 


fied thereof. 
“TsAAC ADDINGTON, Secretary. 

“Sent down for concurrence. 
“ June 15, 1705. 
“June 20, 1705. 


ye premises Before this Court is Slipt. 


\ead in ye House of Representatives. 
iesolved that since the time of hearing of 
There should be a 
hearing thereof on /ryday next at three of the Clock in ye 
afternoon and that ye Selectmen of Boston be notified thereof. 


“Tuomas Oakes, Speaker. 
“Sent up for concurrence. 


“ Agreed to.” 
The selectmen of Boston having been duly notified 
agreeably to the foregoing order, submitted the follow- 


Upon ye desire and Regular motion for a Schoole in that part 
It has bin allowed them. That lately there has 
not been more levied on them (and not always so much) as would 
defray the charges incident in that Part of ye Town and when 
as they mention in ye petition, it would in them in time to 
support the charge of a stated ministry thereby importing ye 
present inability, which seems a very preposterous arguing. 
“The law requiring a settled ministry thereby as one quali- 
fication for a Township and some of the subscribers since ye 
signing have declared ye contrary Intentions. And that which 
makes this ye desire, the more unreasonable is that they have 
been hitherto supported by the Town, while they were not able 


supported by the Town while they were not able themselves to | themselves to defray ye public charges in too many instances 


to be enumerated. That it may be a precident of ill conse- 
quences to ye public to divide Townships into small slips of land 
rendering them weak and every charge a Burden, tending to 
starve learning and religion out of ye countrey, especially when 
no reason of state requires. Ye consideration of which we sub- 
mit to this honorable Court. 

“We humbly offer further to this honorable Court that such 
a separation is contrary to ye undoubted right and interest of 
Boston, there being 500 acres of land comon in that part of the 
Town, which is the Town’s right, but on a separation can be of no 
service to the Town. That the Town is very much straightened 
in its present boundaries by our former too easy concessions as 
was that of the Neck to Dorchester, or the Lane to Newtown 


would so much more if Muddy River so near to us should be 
separated from the Town. Stumney Marsh, &c., would have a 
precident to desire the same so that Boston would only be con- 
fined to this Isthmus of a mile long which was never thought 
sufficient bounds for a Townshipp, especially at this time when 
Boston is daily ye centre of all foreign poor, of saylors widows, 
and the refuge of our distressed neighbors from ye frontier who 
Insensibly grow upon us, so that upon the whole, we hope your 
Excellency’s honorable Court will not grant the Sd. petition. 
“June 22, 1705. 
“ Per order of the Selectmen, 
“ JosepH Prout, Town Clerk. 
“ EePHRAIM SAVAGE; > 
““Brzour ALLEN, 
“OLIVER NoYEs, 


>» Committee.” 


In consequence of the continued strenuous opposi- 
tion to the petition of the people of Muddy River, 
another petition was sent to the Legislature in the 
fall of 1705, signed by thirty-two citizens of that 
village, as follows : 








BROOKLINE. 805 





“To his Excellency, the Governor, Council, and Assembly, in 
General Court convened. The humble petition of the inhabit- 
ants of Muddy River, sheweth. 

“That at a session of this honorable Court, held at Boston 
on 13 August, 1704, the said inhabitants exbibited their hum- 
ble petition praying, that the said Muddy River might be al- 
lowed a separate village or peculiar, and be invested with such 


powers and rights, as they may be enabled by themselves to | 


manage the general affairs of the said place. Which petition 

has been transmitted to the Selectmen of the Town of Boston, 

that they may consider the same; since which your humble 

petitioners, not having been informed of any objection made 

by the Town of Boston, aforesaid, we presume, that there is no 

obstruction to our humble request made in our petition. 
“Wherefore we humbly beseech your Excellency, that this 

honorable Court will be pleased to proceed to pass an Act for 

the establishing of the said place a separate village or peculiar, 

with such powers as aforesaid, and your petitioners shall ever 

pray. 

Josiah Winchester. 

John Devotion. 

Joseph Gardner. 

Thomas Steadman, Jr. 

John Ackers. 

Josiah Steadman. 

Thomas Gardner, Jr. 

Ralph Shepard. 

Abraham Chamberlain. 

Peter Boylston. 

John Ackers, Jr. 

William Ackers. 

Benjamin White, Jr. 

Caleb Gardner. 

John Seaver. 

Henry Winchester.” 


“Samuel Sewall, Jr. 
“Thos. Gardner. ~ 
“Benjamin White. 
“Thomas Steadman. 
“John Winchester. 
“Samuel Aspinwall. 
““Kleazer Aspinwall. 
“William Sharp. 
“Edward Devotion. 
“Josiah Winchester, Jr. 
© John Ellis. 

“John Winchester, Jr. 
“Thomas Woodward. 


“___ Holland. 


«____ Gardner. 


“Joseph White. 


The prayer of the above petition was granted on 
the thirteenth day of November, 1705, as appears by 
the following record of the town grants : 


“Anno Regni Anne Regine Quarte. 

“Ata great and general Court for her Majesty’s Province of 
the Massachusetts Bay, in New England, begun and held, at 
Boston upon Wednesday, 15th May, 1705 and continued by 
several prorogations unto Wednesday, 24th October, following 
and then met, 13th November, 1705. 

“ In Council. 

“The order passed by the Representatives, upon the Petition 
of the inhabitants of Muddy River, a Hamlet of Boston, read 
on Saturday last, 

“Ordered, That the praier of the petition be granted; and 
the powers & Privileges of a Township, be given to the Inhab- 
itants of the lands commonly known by the name of Muddy 
River, The Town to be called BRooktyn; who are hereby en- 
joined to build a meeting-house, & obtain an able Orthodox 


Minister, according to the Direction of the Law, to be settled | 


among them, within the Space of Three Years next coming. 
“Provided, That all Common Lands, belonging te the Town 
of Boston, lying within the bounds of the said Muddy River, 
not disposed of, or alloted out, shall still remain to the Proprie- 
tors of said lands. 
“Which order, being again read, was concurred, and is con- 
sented to, 


“JosepH DupLey. 
“A True Copy Examined by me, 


“Tsaac AppINGTON, Secretary.” 


Origin of Towns.—The early history of this sec- 
tion of country has a peculiar charm to those who 
| are descendants of the early settlers, and they may 
_take just pride in the fact that this is one of the 
_ finest specimens of a New England town. The origin 
of these bodies politic has a curious and interesting 
It is believed to have been an institution 
| originating in and peculiar to the colonies, as nothing 
had existed like them in any of the older countries. 
The ‘ Hundreds” or Tithings of England may have 
suggested the idea, but those have a different purpose. 
They are for the purpose of civil and domestic police, 


| history. 


while the division of a territory into local districts, 
bounded by geographical lines, the inhabitants clothed 
with corporate powers and duties like the towns of 





_old Massachusetts, is an institution originating in 
the colonies planted here. It is highly probable the 
result, in part, of accident at first, like many other 
measures of the early settlers, while, later on, their 


wisdom, foresight, and good judgment led them to 
adapt their policy to the condition of the people. 
_ Many of the early towns simply had the name changed 
_ by order of the General Court, as, for example, ‘that 

Trimountain shall be called Boston,’ while other set- 
_tlements, in process of time, were allowed to organize 
and take on the form of town government on certain 
conditions, such as the support of the gospel, main- 
tenance of highways, and the general management of 


municipal affairs, and the support of free schools, 
The chief requisition in the incorporation of this 
town being the building of a meeting-house and the 


supporting of an “ orthodox minister.” 

“To be made a Town, then, in 1705, was to be 
admitted to an equal partnership in that great com- 
pany of Massachusetts municipalities, which were 
gradually but surely building up the Colony into a 
erand Commonwealth, fit to take its stand and do its 
whole share in establishing and upholding an Inde- 
pendent and United Nation. The old Colony of Plym- 


outh, with all its cherished Pilgrim associations, after 


| just threescore years and ten of separate existence, 
had been made a part of Massachusetts, only fifteen 
years before, under the new Provincial Charter. There 
were at that time about eighty-two towns in Massa- 
chusetts, not including such as have since fallen within 
the jurisdiction of Maine, or other adjoining States ; 
there are now, I believe, more than three hundred and 
forty. Brookline was the eighty-third, if my careful 
friend, Mr. W. H. Whitmore, has counted correctly ; 
and she was not slow in attesting her title to be in- 

cluded in this goodly fellowship. Her records, in- 

deed, afford ample evidence of the patriotism and 
| public spirit which have characterized her inhabitants 


806 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





in every memorable period from that day to this.”— 
Winthrop. 

The inhabitants having been duly organized and be- 
come a town, entered immediately upon the duties of a 
municipal corporation. The first meeting was held at 
the old school-house on Monday, March 4, 1706, and 

The 


the first business was to choose town officers. 
following is a record of the first town-meeting : 


“ Brooklin 1706 


“At a Meeting of the Inhabitants of Brooklin on Munday 
March 4th 1705/6 leagally warned 

“Voted that Peter Boylston should sarve as Counstable for 
this present yeare 

“Voted that five Select-men be chosen to manage the affairs 
The parsons chosen by vote of ye Inhabitants to 
serve as Select men for this present yeare were Leut. Thomas 


of this Town. 


Gardner Samuel Aspenwall John Winchester Josiah Winchester 


Mr Samuel Sewal 

“Voted that Josiah Winchester sen’r should serve as Town 
clark for this yeare instant 

“Voted that 3 mét parson be chosen for Assessors for this 
present yeare 

“Voted that Samuel Aspenwall Joseph Gardner and Rogger 

Adams should serve as Assessors for this yeare currant 

“Voted that Daniel Harris and Samuel clark should sarve as 
Tything-men 

“Voted that Hleazer Aspinwall Benjamin White jun’r and 
Robert Harris should serve as surveighers of High wayes 

“Voted that John Winchester jun’r & Edward Devotion 
should serve as fence viewers 

“Voted that Daniel Harris and Thomas Stedman jun’r should 
be overseears of the Common-Lands In Brooklin for this yeare 
Currant 

‘Voted that Nathaniel Holland and William Sharp should 
serve as Hawards or field-drivers for this yeare 

“At a Town Meeting of ye Inhabitants of Brooklin March 
25 1706 leagally warned 

“Voted that John Winchester sen’r should serve as an assessor 
for this present yeare in the Rome of Rogger Adams who refused 
to serve 

“Voted that there should be a Burying place in this Town of 
Brooklin. 

“Voted that the Burying-place should be on a spot of Land 
on the south side of the Hill in Mr Cottons farm pointing be- 
tween the two Roads if it can be attaind. 

“At this Meeting of the Inhabitants they were desired to 
manifest their minds concerning their Building a Méting-house 
In Brooklin and setling an Orthodox Minister there which 
proposal was declined by them and left to further considera- 
tion 

“Voted that twelve pound be levied by tax upon the Inhabit- 
ants of this Town for Repairing the School-House and for the 

1706. 
“John Winchester sen’x Samuel Aspenwal and Joseph Gard- 


Support of the School for this present yeare. 


ner being chosen Assessors of the province Tax to be levied on 
this Town for this present yeare, mad Oath to perform the work, 
and office of Assessors as the Law Directs adminisr to them by 
Josiah Winchester, Town clark, on March, 25, 1708 


Ecclesiastical History.— Attending Church in 
Roxbury.—On the 10th of December, 1672, the meet- 
ing-house belonging to the church in Roxbury, where 
the people of Brookline attended, needing repairs, it 














was, ‘“ after much debate with love and condescending 
one to another, concluded by Voate to build a ‘ nue’ 
meeting house as near the other as conveniently may 
be;” and on the 14th of April, 1674, the selectmen 
and the committee met at Sergt. Ruggles’, and “ there 
toke account of the number of hands that were hired 
In the con- 
struction of this building the people of Brookline 
contributed £104 5s., and worshiped there until the 
erection of their own church, in 1715, one-fifth part 
of the church being allotted to them, they having 
contributed in that proportion towards the parish ex- 
penses. 


to help ‘raze’ the nue meeting-House.” 


Here follows a list of the contributors: 


A List of the names and sums of our Brethren & neiyhbors of 
Muppy River that they contribute towards the erecting of a 


new meeting house in Roxbury. 








£ a, de ee Eh 
Thomas Gardner... 10 0 0 | John Clarke......... 3 0 0 
John White, Jr..... 10 0 0 | Edward Mills....... 0 10 0 
Peter Aspinwall.... 7 0 0 | James Clarke........ ay alt) 0) 
John Sharpe, Jr... 5 0 0 | Edward Devotion... 5 0 0 
Thomas Boistan.... 5 0 0 | Henry Stevens...... a 
Richard Wolford... 1 10 0] John Parker........ 1 10 0 
Andrew Gardner... 5 0 0 | Edward Keebe...... a0 0 
Joseph White....... 3. 0 0) Goodwife Keebe.... 0 10 0 
Moises Crafts....... 20) 0" Mrs: Mather 
Clement Corban.... 1 10 0 and ! ORO 
John Evens.......... 0 15 0 | James Rementon 
John Accers.......+. 1 10 0 | Thomas Woodward 0 10 0 
John Winchester... 3 0 0 | Goodman Winches- 
Robert Harrise..... 4 0) 0) ter iehcaecceeeeees ce 0 {) 
Jobn Harise......... 2 0 0 | Samuel Dunkin..... 1.10 0 
Benjamin Child... 2 0 0 —_ — - 
Denman Meriam... 1 0 0 Motalerccss eens eer tO Aeon) 


For many years previous to the incorporation of 
the town of Brookline the people subjected them- 
selves to great inconveniences before they were able 
to erect a house of worship, and united with a neigh- 
boring society. ‘Tradition informs us that they as- 
sembled regularly with the church in Roxbury, and 
according to the records of that church many were 
admitted members on equal terms with its own 
members, to partake of the benefit of gospel ordi- 
nances. 


“Tn the year 1698 the Select men of Roxbury with the Dea- 
cons being a commite choson by the Town of Roxbury for seat- 
ing people in the meting House they sent to the Inhabitants of 
Muddyriver to request of them to send sum Men to set with 
them selves In sd commitie to Act for and in behalf of the rest 
of the Inhabitants in that Respeet upon which motion the In- 
habitants of Muddyriver being notified did convean to gether 
to consider of this matter and cam to this result that they would 
chuse by voate three men and send to assist In managin the 
matter aforesaid. the persons chosen were Leut. Thomas Gard- 
ner. Sarg’t Benjamin White & John Winchester who met and 
sat with them at time and place appointed at which time it was 
demanded what Right and previledg the Town of Roxbury did 
aprehend that the Inhabitants of Muddyriver ought to injoy in 
sd Meting-house and it was Granted they ought to have a fifth 
part and accordingly to defrey one fifth part of the expens & 
charge that did arise for Repairing sd Metinghouse. at which 
place namely at Mr. John Rugglses house at ye Flower-de-luce 








BROOKLINE. 


807 





in Roxbury upon the 21 of February In the year 1699 thes 
three men chosen as a foresaid by the Inhabitants of Muddy- 
river did on behalf the Rest of the Inhabitants defray the fifth 
part of all past and present charges their part amounting to six 
pound & four shilings.” 

First Meeting-House in Brookline.— When the 
act of incorporation was passed it contained a clause 


the settling of an “able orthodox minister” within 
But, for reasons not stated, this act 


The 


first record having reference to the building of a 


three years. 
was not carried into effect till nine years later. 


meeting-house was 


March 2, 1713.—‘ Voted that three men be chosen and ap- 
pointed to surveigh the limits of this town and to find the cen- 


ter or middle thereof and to inquire where a Convenient Place | 
may be Procured whereon to build a meeting-house; as neare | 


the center of said Town as may be.” 

“Voted that Samuel Aspinwall, John Druce & Peter Boylston 
be appointed a Committee to Manage the afaire relating to the 
Meeting-house aforesaid.” 


Several places for building were proposed, but, 


owing to a disagreement, a committee of the General | 


Court was called to fix upon the location. 


“Ata Meeting of the Inhabitants of Brooklin. Regulerly 
assembled on December 24 1713. Mr Caleb Gardner jun’r did 
offer and tender freely to Give and bequeath raifie and confirme 
unto the Town of Brooklin above said. a piece of Land nigh to 
his dwelling House, Lyeing west ward therefrom on the left hand 
of the Road way Leading to Roxbury. where on to build a Meet- 
ing house for the Publick worship of God. 

“Voted that Leut. Thomas Gardnar Leut. Samuel Aspin- 
wall Mr Joseph White. Mr Thomas Stedman and Mr John 
Sever, be a Commite for the sd Town to treate with Mr Caleb 
Gardnar above sd about the Bounds of sd piece of Land, and to 


Desire of him a Legal Conveighance and Confirmation thereof | 


to sd Town. 

“Voted that the Meting-House aforesaid should be of the 
same Demensions with the Meting-House in the South-west part 
of Roxbury. 

“Voted that Leut. Thomas Gardnar. Leut. Samuel Aspinwall 
Mr Erosamond Drew. Mr Thomas Stedman & Mr John Sever be 
a Committee to Manage the Concern or affair of Building the 
above said Meeting-House.” 


The committee of the General Court decided upon 
the above location as the best, and no further opposi- 
tion was manifested. It must be borne in mind that 
at this time the cemetery lot on the south side of the 


road had not been purchased, and neither Cypress | 


Street nor the old ‘“ Worcester Turnpike” had been 
thought of. The spot where this old meeting-house 
stood is that now occupied by Mr. John Townsend as a 
stable-lot, formerly the old parsonage ground. 
“meting-hous spott” contained about one-quarter of 
an acre of land, and cost about fifteen pounds and 
eighteen shillings. The building stood with the side 
to the road, having entrances at the east and west 
ends, and a door in the centre of the front. 


This | 








On account of the extra expense incurred in the 
erection of the meeting-house, Dec. 2, 1713, it was 
“voted not to send a Representative to General 


_ Court,” as they were ‘too poor.” 


The frame of this church was raised Nov. 10, 1714, 
and the following anecdote is toid of the two builders, 


which enjoined the building of a meeting-house and | —Deacon Samuel Clark and Lieut. Isaac Gardner : 


“The young carpenters, when the frame was raised, 
played at leap-frog on the ridge-pole. They lived to 
be, the one eighty-one years of age and the other 
eighty-three, and each came to the same place of 
worship in his old age supported by two canes or 


| crutches.” 


The meeting-house was forty-four feet long and 
thirty-five feet wide. It originally contained but 
fourteen pews and several long benches. 
a gallery, and probably long benches therein for the 
children, who, in those days, never sat with their 
parents. Afterwards fourteen more pews were added 
on the floor and four in the gallery. There was no 
steeple to this house till the town voted, in Septem- 
ber, 1771, to build one. 

It is generally supposed that those who assisted at 
the raising had a pretty good time, with plenty to eat 
and to cheer, as was the custom at raisings in those 


There was 


days. It also appears there was some fault found, as 


may be seen in the following vote: 


October 31, 1715.— Att a Town meeting. Legally Warned 
that whereas a Demurr being raised among the inhabitants 
of the Town Concerning the cost and manner of the Dinner that 
was Provided att the Raising of the meeting House.” 
“Voted that they do Allow both of the cost and manner 
thereof.” 
“Our meeting-house—our meeting-house,— 
It stood upon a hill, 
Where autumn gales and wintry blasts 
Piped around it loud and shrill, 


‘“‘ No steeple graced its homely roof 
With upward-pointing spire ; 
Our villagers were much too meek 
A steeple to desire. 
“And never did the welcome tones 
Of Sabbath-morning bell 
Our humble village worshippers 
The hour of worship tell.” 


The pulpit was of oak, and upon it was kept an 
Over the pulpit 


hour-glass for measuring the time. 
was an immense sounding-board, a thing common in 
early days. A clock was a luxury not yet aspired to 
by the fathers of the town. 


May 16, 1715.—Voted, “that the committee shall lay the 
lower floor and gallery floors, fill the walls with brick and laithe 
& Plaister with lime, to set up all the Windows and Glaze them 
and to make and set up all the Doors, to be performed with con- 
venient speed, and that they shall also Clapboard the house 
throughout.” Also voted, the committee “shall glaze the win- 


dows with Diamond glase.” 


808 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The building having at length been completed, it 
was dedicated to public worship June 3,1715. Rev. 
Nehemiah Walter, pastor of the First Church in Rox- 
bury, and for several years colleague with the famous 
“ Apostle Eliot,” preached the sermon. Next came 
A principal part 
of the lower floor was divided into long seats, and 


the “ Seating of the meting-hous.” 


heads of families were located in situations remote 


from their respective households. The seats were 


arranged by persons appointed by the town for that 
purpose, respect being had to dignity, age, standing, | 


ete. 


“ March 12 1716 
line Legally warned: 


Att a meeting of the inhabitants of Brook- 


“Voted that the vacant room in the meeting house aforesd. 
whereon to erect pews be disposed of by sale to those persons 


who by a committe chosen by the vote of the town for that end, | 


shall think meet: and consequently a committe was elected : to 
wit: Josiah Winchester sen’r Erosamond Drew. Samuel As- 
pinwal. John Druce John Winchester Thomas Stedman & Ben- 
jamin White Jun’r. 

“The Committe Chosen to dispose of the vacant room in ye 
meeting house whereon to Erect Pews & to vallue the same 
having concluded that Affair made their return. And by order 
of the select men it is here Entered % me John Seaver Town 
Clerk May 1-1718 & is as followeth— 

“To Mr Sam’ll Sewall the sd committe ordered that he should 


have that spott or room next the Pulpit on the west. & vallued 


it at five pounds, who accepted thereof. 


“To John Winchester sen’r said committe ordered that he | 


should have the next spott or room westerly of mr Sewall’s & 
vallued it at four pounds & ten shillings who accepted thereof. 

“To Capt. Sam’ll Aspinwall the said Committe ordered that 
he should have that spott or room at the westerly Corner of the 
meeting house, & vallued it at three pounds and fifteen shillings 
who accepted thereof 

“To Lt. Thomas Gardner the said Committe ordered that he 
should have that spott or room between Capt. Aspinwall’s And 
the westerly Door of the meeting house and vallued it at four 
pounds & ten shillings who accepted yr of 

“To John Seaver the said Committe ordered that he should 
have that spott or room between the westerly Door of the meet- 
ing house & the stairs leading to the mens Gallerrie & vallued 
it at four pounds « five shillings who accepted thereof 

“To John Druce the said Committe ordered that he should 
have that spott or room on the left hand of the going up the 
stairs. into the mens Gallery & vallued it at three pounds & ten 
shillings who accepted thereof. 

“To Joseph Gardner the said Committe ordered that he 
should have that spott or room on the left hand of the coming 
in at the Southerly Door of the meeting house & vallued it at 
three pounds & ten shillings who accepted thereof 

“To Josiah Winchester sen’r the sd committe ordered that he 


should have that spott or room on the right hand of the coming 


| 
| 
| 
| 


women’s Gallery & the Easterly Door of the meeting house & 
vallued it at four pounds and ten shillings who accepted thereof. 
“To Ensign Benjamin White the said Committe ordered that 
he should have that spott or room on the right hand of the com- 
ing in at the east Door of the meeting house & vallued it at 
three pounds who accepted thereof, 
“To Benjamin White Jun’r the said Committe ordered that 


| he should have that spott or room between Ensign White’s and 





in at the southerly Door of the meeting house & vallued it at | 


three pounds & ten shillings who accepted thereof 


“To Thomas Stedman the said Committe ordered that he | 


should have that spott or room between Josiah’s Winchester’s & 


pounds and ten shillings who accepted thereof. 
“To William Sharp the said Committe ordered that he should 
have that spott or room between the stairs leading up into the 


Peter Boylston’s & vallued it at four pounds who accepted 
thereof. 

“To Peter Boylston the said committe ordered that he should 
have that spot or room at the North corner of the meeting house 
between Benjamin White’s and the minister’s Pew & vallued it 
at three pounds and ten shillings who accepted yr of 

“The said Committe appointed the minister’s pew to be next 


| the Pulpit on the right hand of the going up into the Pulpit on 


the North” 


When Hon. Jonathan Mason purchased the house 
formerly belonging to Deacon Benjamin White, now 
the residence of Hon. Theodore Lyman, he removed 
the old farm-house to make room for a new one in 
1809, and between the floors was found a paper con- 
taining the following account of the manner in which 
the congregation were seated on the ninth day of 
March, 1719, as follows: 


“Whole number of individuals seated, 66, of whom 28 couples 
were men and their wives. 

“In the men’s foreseat, in the body seats are seated Josiah 
Winchester, Capt. Aspinwall, Joseph Gardner and Edward De- 
votion. 

“Tn the second seat, are seated William Story, Joseph God- 
dard, Thomas Woodward, Daniel Harris and John Ackers. 

“Tn the third seat, are seated James Griggs, Samuel Newell, 
Abraham Chamberlain, Ebenezer Kendrick and Robert Harris. 

“Tn the fourth seat, are seated Thomas Lee, William Davis 
and Joseph Scott. 

“Tn the front foreseat in the gallery, are seated Caleb Gard- 
ner, Josiah Winchester, Samuel White, Henry Winchester, 
Joseph Adams, Robert Sharp, Thomas Cotton and Samuel Clark, 
Jun. 

“Tn the foreseat in the side gallery, are seated Joshua Sted- 
man, William Gleason, Dudley Boylston, Addington Gardner, 
John Taylor, Stephen Winchester and Philip Torrey. 

“In the second seat in the front, are seated Isaac Gleason, 


| John Wedge, Thomas Woodward, Jun., and James Goddard. 


“Tn the women’s foreseat, in the body seats are seated the 
wife of Josiah Winchester, sen., the widow Ackers, the wife of 
Joseph Gardner and the wife of EKdward Devotion. 

“Tn the second seat, are seated the wife of William Story, 
the wife of Joseph Goddard, the wife of Thomas Woodward, 
the wife of Daniel Harris, the wife of John Ackers and the 
widow Hannah Stedman. 

“Tn the third seat, the wife of James Griggs, the wife of 
Samuel Newell, the wife of Abraham Chamberlain, the wife of 
Ebenezer Kenrick, and the wife of Robert Harris. 

“Tn the fourth seat, the wife of Thomas Lee, the wife of Wil- 
liam Davis, and the wife of Joseph Scott. 

“Tn the front foreseat in the gallery, the wife of Samuel 


White, the wife of Henry Winchester, the wife of Joseph Adams, 
the going up into the women’s Gallery and vallued it at three | 


the wife of Robert Sharp and the wife of Samuel Clark, jun. 

“Tn the foreseat in the side gallery, the wife of Joshua Sted- 
man, the wife of William Gleason, the wife of Dudley Boylston, 
the wife of Addington Gardner, the wife of John Taylor. 











BROOKLINE. 


809 





“Tn the second seat in the front, the wife of John Wedge 
and the wife of James Goddard.” 


Second Meeting-House.—The old church edifice, 
after standing more than fourscore years, was quite 
inadequate to accommodate the increased population 
of the town. The congregation received quite a large 
accession, soon after Dr. Pierce’s ordination, of Dor- 
chester people who removed here, following their 
fellow-townsmen in whom they took a just pride. 
Among these were the Robinsons, Withingtons, 
Leeds, Tolmans, and others. 

The subject of building a new meeting-house was 
soon agitated, and some mischievous person, probably 
desiring to facilitate the matter, set fire to the old 
one. It was soon discovered and extinguished after 
some damage to one of the rear corners. 


May 16, 1804, it was voted to build a new meet- | 


ing-house on the site of the old one. 

This, however, was found to be impracticable for 
various reasons, and the vote was reconsidered. On 
the 5th of September of the same year it was voted 


to build the meeting-house on the spot occupied by _ 


the present house. 
In April, 1805, the corner-stone was laid. 


The frame was raised by the help of machinery in | 


a few days. 
Mr. Peter Banner, an Englishman. This man settled 
in Brookline, and for many years after his death his 
widow occupied the house in Aspinwall Avenue, until 
recently occupied by Mr. Melcher. 


: : | 
The new meeting-house stood fronting the street, | 
_ will come unto thee and I will bless thee.” 


with a grass-plat in front of it. 


It was sixty-eight feet long and sixty-four feet | 
wide, with a porch nineteen feet long and thirty-eight | 


feet wide. 
side of the porch, eleven feet square. 


cellar under the building, it being a rocky foundation, 
_play-house for the pastor’s children for many years. 


and the house was raised up a little from the ground, 


The architect and master-builder was | 


There were lobbies or anterooms each 
There was no | 





and openings on either side in the underpinning af- | 


forded space for ventilation. 
The height of the house was thirty-five feet and 


six inches from the foundation to the eaves. The 


spire measured one hundred and thirty-seven feet | 
| ancient pewter christening basin, from which Mr. 


from the ground. 


There were seventy-four pews on the floor and four-_ 
teen in the gallery. Afterwards, during Dr. Pierce’s | 


ministry, some improvements were added. No pro- 


vision was ever made for warming the old church, and | 


the women carried foot-stoves with them. 





The new | 


church was warmed by two square-box stoves in which | 


wood was burned. The pulpit and the caps of the | 


pews were made of Southern cherry-wood, contrib- 
uted by Stephen Higginson, Jr. 


The bell, which was cast in London and weighed 
one thousand pounds, was given by Hon. Stephen 
Higginson, father of the above. 

Mr. John Lucas, who lived nearly opposite the 
Reservoir, gave four hundred dollars, out of which 
was purchased a clock. 

Richard Sullivan, Esq., who lived on the place now 
owned by Mrs. Bowditch, gave a hundred and fifty 
dollars for the stone steps. 

Mr. Thomas Walley gave an elegant pulpit Bible 
valued at thirty-six dollars. 

Mr. David Hyslop gave a baptismal basin, which 
cost forty-seven dollars. 

The whole cost of the house was eighteen thousand 
Some additional expenses 
(of furnishing probably) brought the amount up to 


and eighty-three dollars. 


twenty thousand one hundred and ninety-three dol- 
lars, and the whole was apportioned on the pews, 
which were sold at auction. 

No pew on the first floor was priced at less than 
one hundred and sixty dollars, and none in the gallery 
at less than one hundred and ten dollars. The highest 
cost of a pew, including a bonus paid for a choice, was 
five hundred and twenty-five dollars, 

Dr. Pierce preached a valedictory sermon on leay- 
ing the old house, June 8, 1806. 

The valedictory sermon was from the text, ‘ Lord, 


| [have loved the habitation of thy house and the place 
_ where thine honor dwelleth.” 


The dedication sermon, June 11, 1806, was from 
the words, “In all places where I record my name, I 


The next day the work of demolishing the old church 
commenced. The ancient pulpit, which had been faith- 
fully pounded and belabored by the fists of the ener- 
getic Mr. Jackson, was denuded of its upholstery, and 
carried into the parsonage attic, where it served as a 


The hour-glass, whose sands had run through many a 
tedious hour for the unfed souls in the old house, or 
had needed turning only too quickly for the more 
devotional, now served its time in fleeting minutes 
among the attic treasures of the little ones. The 
Jackson had bathed the infant brow of many a now 
gray-haired father and mother of the town, was turned 
to domestic uses in the pastor’s house. 

The ancient church for many years, instead of hav- 
ing a sexton, was taken care of by a slave belonging 
to the Sewall family, as Henry Sewall’s bill against 
the town for the services of his “slave Felix” in that 
capacity is still in existence. 

The first white sexton of whom we can gather any 


810 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





account was a man named Blanchard, who lived in a | 


little house on the Aspinwall estate, close to Wash- 
ington Street. He was succeeded, if we are correctly 
informed, by Capt. Benjamin Bradley, who served for 


many years in that capacity after the second meeting- 
house was built. 


In 1829 or 1830, Mr. Elisha Stone succeeded Capt. | 


Bradley as sexton of the church, which office he filled 
for thirty years. 


was the only undertaker and constable in the town for 
He lived to lay away all but two of his 
own large family in the cemetery whither he had car- 


many years. 


ried so many of our townspeople, and where he at 
last was borne, worn out with the infirmities of age. 

Previous to Dr. Pierce’s time there had been pre- 
sented at various times to the First Church four silver 
tankards. One was the gift of Edward Devotion, in 
1744; one the gift of Miss Mary Allen, daughter of 
the first minister, in 1750; one was given by Miss 
Ann White, and one by Mrs. Susanna Sharp in 1770. 
In the same year two silver cups were presented by 
Thomas and Mary Woodward, and two more were 
given by William Hyslop in 1792. ‘This ancient sil- 
ver is still the property of the church, just as it was 
presented. 

In addition to these, two silver cups were presented 
by Miss Prudence Heath, in 1818, and two by Deacon 
Robinson and wife the same year. 

Third Meeting-House.—The meeting-house and 
the minister grew old together. There would have 
been something incongruous in the building of a 
modern church, with stained-glass windows and new 
and fashionable appointments, while Dr. Pierce was 
the only minister. The house and the minister were 
in perfect adaptation to each other. Many regretted 
that the fine, substantial old edifice should be taken 
down. It much resembled Dr. Putnam’s church, on 
Roxbury Hill, and might have been as well preserved 
till the present day; but there being no cellar under 
it, furnaces could not be introduced, and it was not 
thought advisable to refit a building which must be 
warmed by stoves. It was also difficult for Mr. Knapp 
to preach in it. In 1848 the new church at present 
standing was built. 
was laid June 1, 1848. 
Dee. 1, 1848. 
by Dr. Charles Wild, in the spring of 1849. 

First Church of Brookline.—This church was or- 
ganized Oct. 26,1717, and the following covenant 
was read and adopted : 

“We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, apprehending 
ourselves called of God to join together in church communion, 


The corner-stone for a new church | 
The dedication took place | 
The shrubbery around it was set out | 


He was a plodding but faithful cit- 
izen in the duties not only of his office as sexton, but 





acknowledging our unworthiness of such a privilege, and our 
inability to keep covenant with God, unless Christ shall enable 
us thereto, in humble dependence on free grace for divine as- 
sistance and acceptance, do in the name of Jesus Christ, freely 
covenant and bind ourselves to serve the Lord, Father, Son 
and Holy Ghost, cleaving to him as our chief good; and unto 
our Lord Jesus as our only Saviour, prophet, priest and king 
of our souls, avouching the Lord to be our God, and the God 
of our children, whom we give unto him, counting it a high 
favour, that the Lord will accept of us, and our children with 
us to be his people. 

“We do also give ourselves unto another in the Lord, cove- 
nanting to walk together, as a Church of Christ, in all the 
ways of his worship, according to his word; promising in 
brotherly Love, to watch over one another’s souls, and to sub- 
mit ourselves to the discipline of Christ in his church, and to 
attend the seals and censures, or whatever ordinances Christ 
has commanded to be observed by his people; beseeching the 
Lord to own us for his people, and to delight to dwell in the 
midst of us. That we may keep our covenant with God, we 
desire to deny ourselves, and to depend on the free mercy of 
God and merits of Christ; and, wherein we fail, to wait on him 
for pardon, through his name, beseeching the Lord to own us, 
as a Church of Christ, and to delight to abide in the midst of 
us.” 


This covenant was read in public, and the church 
gathered by the Rev. Ebenezer Thayer, pastor of the 
Second Church of Christ in Roxbury, Oct. 26, 1717, 
At that time 
seventeen males and twenty-two females were united 
in church fellowship. 


one hundred and sixty-seven years ago. 


List of the original members of the First Church in 
Brookline, Oct. 26, 1717 : 


Males. 

James Allen. Joshua Stedman. 
Thomas Gardner. John Winchester. 
John Winchester. Caleb Gardner. 
Joseph White. Benjamin White. 
Josiah Winchester. Samuel White. 
Samuel Sewall. Amos Gates. 
William Story. Ebenezer Kenrick. 
Joseph Goddard. Addington Gardner. 
Thomas Stedman. 

Females. 


Sarah Winchester. 
Abiel Gardner. 
Ann White. 
Hannah Kenrick. 
Tryphena Woodwar 
Eunice Clark. 
Mary Gardner. 


Mary Gardner. 
Joanna Winchester. 
Hannah White. 
Mary Winchester. 
Mary Boylston. 
Sarah Stedman. 
Desire Ackers. 
Hannah Stedman. Susanna Gardner. 
Elizabeth Boylston. 
Elizabeth Taylor. 
Francis Winchester. 


Rebecca Sewall. 
Abigail Story. 
Mary Stedman. 


The deacons of the First Church in Brookline have 
been as follows: 


Thomas Gardner, elected Dec. 7, 1718. 
3enjamin White, elected Dec. 7, 1718; resigned Feb. 12, 
1749. 

Samuel Clark, resigned Feb. 12, 1749; died May 7, 1766, 


age 81. 








BROOKLINE. 


811 





Thomas Cotton, dismissed to Pomfret. 

Ebenezer Davis, elected Feb. 19, 1749; resigned April 5, 
1770; died Sept. 30, 1775, age 72. 

Joseph White, elected Feb. 19,1749; resigned April 5, 1770; 
died Aug. 19, 1777, age 75. 

Elisha Gardner, elected April 15, 1770 ; resigned Dee. 2, 1792; 
died Jan. 29, 1797, age 70. 

William Bowles, elected April 15,1770 ; dismissed to Newton, 
‘Sept. 20, 1772. 

Samuel Clark, elected Feb. 27, 1797; died March 29, 1814, 


age 61. 

John Robinson, elected Feb. 27, 1797; died Jan. 13, 1855, 
age 92. 

Joshua Child Clark, elected May 1, 1814; died July 4, 1861, 
age 80. 


Abijah Warren Goddard, elected Oct. 17, 1856. 

Benjamin B. Davis, elected Oct. 17, 1856; died Aug. 22, 
1877. 

First Church.—The church having been organized, 
and the meeting-house completed, the next in order 
On the 23d of July, 1718, 
“to seek 
divine direction in the ordination of a minister.” 
Rev. Dr. Cotton Mather and Rev. Dr. Colman offi- 
ciated on that occasion. 

Dec. 10, 1716, the following vote was passed, viz. : 


was to choose a minister. 
a fast was observed in the new church 


“Att a meeting of the Inhabitants of Brookline legally 
warned, chose mr James Allin to be our settled minister in sd 
Town. 

“Voted to give mr Allin 100 pounds gratuity for settlement 
& 80 pounds Sallary.” 

On the 18th of February, 1717, the following per- 
sons were chosen to treat with Mr. James Allen, viz.: 
Lieut. Thomas Gardner, John Winchester, Joseph 
White, Ensign Benjamin White, Josiah Winchester, 
Capt. Samuel Aspinwall, and Erosaman Drew. 

Mr. Allen having accepted the call extended him, 
he was ordained Nov. 5, 1718, as their first pastor. 
Rev. Benjamin Colman, D.D., and Rey. Benjamin 
Wadsworth, D.D., made the prayers on that occasion ; 
Rev. Cotton Mather, D.D., gave the charge, Rev. 
Jeremiah Shepard, of Lynn, gave the right hand of 
fellowship. Mr. Allen preached his own sermon, as 
was customary in the early days of the church settle- 
ments: text, Matthew xxiv. 45, 46, 47: “ Who 
then is a faithful and wise servant ?”’ 

Rev. James Allen was the son of Peter and Mary 
Allen, born in Roxbury, Mass., June 5, 1692; grad- 
uated at Harvard College, 1710. 
piety and talents. 


He was a man of 


ministry he and his people were happily united. Dur- | 
ing the troublous times which deeply agitated the | 


churches in this region just before the middle of the 
last century, he was active in the new measures which 
But from certain causes, to such 
excesses did it lead, that he, who had during its 
progress considered it as the work of God, in a public 


were then pursued. 


For the greater portion of his | 





and explicit manner ascribed it to a very different 
origin. This led many to join a new society, which 
had for its pastor Mr. Jonathan Hyde, a zealous but 
illiterate layman from Canterbury, Conn., who was 
ordained Jan. 17,1751. Mr. Allen preached in this 
town for about twenty-eight years. He lived on the 
south side of Walnut Street, nearly opposite Cypress 
Street, where he died of a lingering consumption, 
and was buried in the Brookline Cemetery. The 
character of Mr. Allen, as given by his contempora- 
ries and by others who were well acquainted with 
him, is that of a pious and judicious divine, and the 
seven publications of his do honor to his head and 
He died on the 18th of February, 1747, 
aged fifty-six. 

The printed works of Mr. Allen were : 

1. “A Thanksgiving Sermon.” Psalms exvi. 12. 
Nov. 8, 1722. 

2. “Tbe Wheels of the World Governed by a Wise 
Providence.” Ezekiel i. 15-16. 1727. 

3. “The Doctrine of Merit Exploded and Humility 
Recommended.” Luke xvii. 10. 1727. 

4, “Thunder and Earthquake, a Loud and Awful 
Call to Reformation.” Isaiah xxix. 6. A fast-day 
sermon occasioned by the earthquake in 1727. 

5. “ Evangelical Obedience the Way to Eternal 
life.” A sermon to a society of young men in Brook- 
line. Matthew xix. 16-17. 1731. 

6. “The Eternity of God, and the Short Life of 
Man Considered.” A sermon on the death of Samuel 
Aspinwall, A.M. Psalms cii, 11-12. Aug. 13, 1732. 

7. “ Magistracy an Institution of Christ upon the 
Throne.” 
1744. 

After the decease of Mr. Allen, Rev. Mr. Walley, 
who had been supplying the pulpit during Mr. AlI- 
len’s last illness, preached occasionally, and May 13, 
1747, the following was the action of the town: 


his heart. 


An election sermon. Isaiah vi. 1. May 30, 


“Voted that the Town Desired to hear some other Ministers 
besides Mr. Walley 
“Voted that the Select Men are to Provide three young Min- 


| isters to preach two Sabbath Days Each Namely Mr. Wally Mr. 


Checkly and Mr. Hale.” 

May 18, 1747. ‘‘ Voted that the Select men are to procure Mr. 
Stevens and Mr. Harrington to preach two Sabbath Days 
Each” 


Several candidates supplied the pulpit till Feb. 12, 
1748, when the town voted as their ‘“ choise’ Rev. 
Cotton Brown, of Haverhill, Mass., who was ordained 
their pastor, Oct. 26, 1748. Rev. Mr. Cotton, of 
Newton, and Rev. Mr. Walter, of Roxbury, offered 
prayers; Dr. Appleton, of Cambridge, gave the 
charge; Rev. Mr. Townsend, of Needham, gave the 
right hand of fellowship ; Rev. Samuel Cook preached 


9 


~/ 


81 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





the sermon from 2 Timothy ii. 2, which was published. 
So short was his ministry that his people hardly had | 


an opportunity to become acquainted with him before | 
He died | 


Rey. Cotton | 
Brown was the son of Rev. John and Joanna (Cotton) 


he was summoned to the world of spirits. 
of a violent fever, April 13, 1751. 





Brown, and grandson of Rev. Rowland Cotton, of | 
Sandwich, Mass., and a lineal descendant of Rev. | 
John Cotton, of Boston, who formerly held a large | 
amount of land in Brookline, among the earliest allot- 
ments. He was born in Haverhill, Mass., about 1726, | 
graduated at Harvard College, 1743. 
gaged to Mary Allen, a daughter of his predecessor, 
Mr. Allen, and the house known as the “ Walley” | 
house was erected for him to live in. 
lady, however, died in 1750, and he died in 1751, at 
the early age of twenty-five, having been pastor two 


He was en- 


years, five months, and eighteen days. 

The eminent Dr. Cooper, of Brattle Street Church, 
spake thus of his character at the time of his decease : 

‘‘ He was a gentleman, who, by the happiness of his 
genius, his application to study, and taste for polite 
literature, his piety and prudence, his sweetness of 
temper and softness of manners, had raised in his 
friends the fairest hopes, and gave them just reason 
to expect in him one of the brightest ornaments of 


society and a peculiar blessing to the church.” 
Mr. Brown was buried in Brookline Cemetery. | 
Rev. Samuel Haven, afterwards of Portsmouth, | 
N. H., from 1752 to 1806, was invited to settle as 
pastor, but did not accept their offer. 


Subsequently Rev. Robert Rogerson, a foreigner, © 
received a call from the church and parish, which he | 


accepted. But certain difficulties arising among the 
He | 
afterwards became pastor of a church in Rehoboth, 
Mass., where he passed a long life in the ministry, | 
highly beloved, respected, and eminently useful. 


The next clergyman 


people, he was dismissed by a council in 1753. 


who accepted a call to the 
Mr. Nathaniel Potter, of 
was ordained pastor of the 


Brookline church was 
Elizabeth, N. J., who 
church Nov. 19, 1 
nection three years and a half. 


ladda 


755. He remained in this con- 


called from a distant city, without credentials, and was 


as hastily settled. Of him Dr. Pierce remarked in an 
anniversary sermon, that “though professedly ortho- | 
dox in faith, he was destined, during a short ministry, 
to give woeful emphasis to the apostle’s monition, 
‘Lay hands suddenly on no man.’” 

A bill presented to the town by Deacon Elisha 
Gardner for the expenses of this man’s ordination 
possesses a curious interest when viewed with modern 
eyes: 


The young | 





_ he had often preached. 


“to monney Pad at The ordanation. 


Oldbben ON. cep seses desesek cen Pectaesiene sols £6.0 00 0 
OMEN UM slese steeee soacooc S00 pelle Wake 0 
COSINE AG asecescsscsocsaneceooewerseas aes Sl. 0: 6 
LOMSPUC Outecenncats-cecleecuscnceieescecans 
LotUTrcesy (turk YS?) .c.sscececcoecesse 3 0. 0. 0 
LOMO Sse eenamenceiccicns dese sataaicceee cent Meets 0 
COMPORKeneewssens ces cocceces Secsleciseansiis 3.0 4 6 
LOCTAMDTCS!: -sesce catecsnachesesscess 008 0 
LOMPUGIN GE PANSicccoeseeeeieevca\eneesicies OP 0 
£18. 0 2 6” 


Of this charge the selectmen ordered the paying of 
£2 8s. 4d., and probably the society paid the rest. 

Ordinations in those days evidently involved the 
consideration of material as well as spiritual wants 
for the time being. 

Agreeably to his request, he was dismissed June 
17, 1759. He delivered a discourse, Jan. 1, 1758, 
from Jeremiah viii. 20, entitled ““A New Year’s 


| Gutts2 


Immediately after the departure of Mr. Potter the 
They 


church proceeded to select another pastor. 


_were not long without a regular supply for their 


pulpit, as on the 24th of December the church and 
parish were united in their choice of Rev. Joseph 
Jackson to be their pastor. A call was extended to 
him, who was then a tutor in Harvard College, where 
The following is the letter 
of acceptance of the call: 


“Mr. Jacksons Answer 
“CamBrinGEe Feb’y 2 1760 


“To the Church & Congregation in Brookline 

“My Christian Friends and Bretheren. 

“Having by a Committe appointed by you for that purpose 
received an account of your proceedings with regard to the set- 
tlement of a Minister, and that the great nead of the Church, 
has disposed your hearts to make choice of me however un- 
worthy, to take the pastoral charge over you, and to desire my 
answer to your kind Invitation 

“This is therefore in answer to said invitation to inform you: 


| that being deeply sensible of the difficulty and importance of a 


right discharge of the Ministerial office, and from such light as 
I have been able to obtain, I find inyself disposd to accept of 
your invitation, with this Proviso, that it shall pleas’d to engage, 


| in case, that Contribution which was Voted shall in any year 


He had been hastily | 


fall short of thirteen Pounds, Six Shillings & Eight pence, that 
you will yearly during the time of my being your Pastor, Make 
up such deficiency, so as to make a sum equal to thirteen Pounds, 
Six Shillings & Hight pence ( annum which Sum I have been 
informed by certain Persons they supposed the condition would 
amount to. 

“T ask this not from any desire of making a large estate or 
living in extravagance at your expense but on the other hand, 
that I may be so supported as to give myself wholly to the work 
of the Ministry without any incumbrance on my worldly Affairs 
—And also that fixing the said Sum may serve to prevent any 
future uneasiness, which Tho. I have no reason to expect from 
you in particular, might Nevertheless possibly happen If I 
Your compliance 
with this alteration in your offers [ may rather expect, by being 


Should hereafter be necessitated to ask it. 


informed in conversation that it was Very likely the Town would 
comply with it, and also from that kind & generous disposition 








BROOKLINE. 


813 





you have already discovered to wards me. Thus my friends, I 
should choose to Settle among you, to spend & be spent for you, 
together with my reasons therefor, which I apprehend are no 
ways inconsistent with that Christian spirit which I desire to 
exercise to wards you nor with the Character of a Minister of | 
Jesus Christ. 

“And now may God so overrule your proceedings as shall 
most effectually tend to advance his glory & the welfare of your 
immortal Souls. 

“Tf he should so order it, that I should be your Pastor, may 
I have grace given me from above so to impart to you in spir- 





itual things as that you may never have occasion to repent of 
bestowing on me these that are temporal That the divine bless- 
ing may always rest upon you, and that you may have direction | 
from Above in all your proceedings, is the earnest Prayer of 
him who wishes your welfare in this and the coming world | 


“ JosEPH JACKSON” 


On the 3d of March, 1760, Moses White, Isaac | 
Winchester, Elisha Gardner, and Joshua Boylston | 
were chosen a ‘“ Com’ty to provide for y° Counsel ;— 
and the sum of Ten pounds to be assessed on the in- 
habitants to defray the charges of Said Ordination.” 
After the usual preparation, Mr. Jackson was regu- 
larly ordained on the 9th of April, 1760. The Rev. | 
Seth Storer, of Watertown, and Rev. Dr. Ebenezer 
Pemberton, of Boston, offered the prayers; Rev. Dr. | 
Nathaniel Appleton, of Cambridge, gave the charge ; 
Rev. Samuel Checkley, of Boston, gave the right 
hand of fellowship; Rev. Dr. Samuel Cooper, of 
Boston, preached the sermon (from 2 Tim. i. 7), | 
which sermon was published. 

Rev. Joseph Jackson was born in Boston about 
1734, graduated at Harvard College in 1753 (com- 
menced preaching soon after), and for several years 
was tutor in that institution. 

“The great Parent of man, and the Supreme Dis- 
poser of all, was pleased, in his discriminating good- | 
ness, to favor Mr. Jackson with shining mental 
powers, which under the advantages of a collegiate 
education, were much enlarged. He was quick of 
apprehension, clear in perception, and in the compre- | 
hension of his understanding or soundness of judg- 
ment few excelled him. He was wonderfully endued | 
with talents which qualified him for the important 
work of the Gospel ministry, and made him a burn- 
ing and shining light in this part of the vineyard of | 
the Lord,—whose praises is in all our churches.”’ 

He ever sustained a fair moral character, worthy of 





imitation: his regularity and uniform punctuality 
were remarkable traits in it. Those well acquainted 
with him must have seen his amiable deportment in | 
the several relations of life—as a faithful, tender 
husband, an affectionate father, a just and equal | 
master; as a friend, true to his professions, safely to 
be confided in; as a minister, diligent, laborious, | 
skillful, 


aiming, in his discourses, to inform the | 





mind, affect the heart, and regulate the conduct. 


| Few composed their sermons with so much ease, and 


yet so pertinently. He was a scriptural, intelligent, 
and edifying preacher, and judiciously noticed the 
dispensations of Providence for the instruction and 
benefit of his hearers. Above all, he was a man of 
piety and true devotion,—a sincere disciple and ser- 
vant of Jesus Christ. He was an example in word, 
in conversation, in charity, in faith, in purity, and in 
all the virtues which adorn the Christian and minis- 
So he lived, and when he died he 
received the glorious reward of those who are faithful 
to the end. He died July 22, 1796, in the sixty- 
second year of his age, and in the thirty-seventh year 
of his ministry. 

Rey. Jacob Cushing, of Waltham, Mass., preached 
a sermon at his funeral, July 25,1796, from the text 
Luke xii. 35-37, which sermon was published. 

The proceedings at the ordination of Mr. Jackson 


terial character. 


_ were somewhat like his predecessor, and the bill of 


expenses was more than double the appropriation, as 


_ may be seen by the following bill :* 


“ Brookline, 1760. Elisha Gardner’s accompt to providing 








| at the Ordination of mr. Joseph Jackson. old tenor 
to cash for Sundries at the ordination...............066 £14. 00. 0 
to cash for crambres and Ross water ......sceceeeceseees 2 0050 
to cash for butter and Eggs and Pickels.............+. 2. 15. 0 
to cash for to pay the Cakes.....0.0..cssccsesssscsseseeees 6. 00. 0 
ee Ale Aye (0 


Errors Excepted. 
Allowed by the Selectmen.” 


It appears by the above bill that the rum and sugar 
were omitted in this bill, but probably ‘‘ Ross water” 
served the purpose instead. 

It seems that the church needed some repairs, and 


| that, as they were to have a new minister, they must 


put the building in good order. The following bill 


_ was presented two days after the ordination : 


“Aprel the 11 Day 1760. 


for work Brookline Meeting house on the Pulpit 
Laying a floore in the Same and Raising the 


Same and Paint and Painting, for weather Lows dd 
Boairds and Doore.......0. ssececoes sececcscecssoccscoes cenees 2.— 2,.-8 
caseings for one End of the Meetting hous............... 0.— 5.4 
for a Lock for the Doore and a Paire of...... . soteseensace 9.—4 
HiNGeS ......c0ccesccceee cesses sences cocescesccss roccerccesecsesseeses 5.-9 


for three Bolts and three Quarters of a hundred of 





Board Nails) scccercccscssse Diane rasWoawoniedaucciedectemalsecsls tases 4.8 
for the Doors and Step. Except ArrowS........-.ssseeeees 1.-10.-0 
£4.-17.-9 


“ EBENEZER THWING.” 


A year later was the following: 


“ BrookuinE March 19, 1761. 


“The Select men of Brookline in Behalf of ye town to Joshua 
Davis Dr. Decem 16th 





1 A common occurrence at the present day, to exceed appro- 
priations. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





814 
To a Shutter for the Meting-house & a Draw for 
ye Bible Puting up ye SaMe........-....ccescaeesccsecees £0.-— 5.-4 
To a bench for the School and mending seats......... 5.4 
10.-8 


“Errors Excepted 
“Josnua Davis.” 

Mr. Jackson married Hannah, daughter of John 
Avery, Esq., of Boston, and had two children, a son 
and daughter. Sarah Atherton 
Thayer, of Braintree; second, Stephen Thayer. 
His son, Joseph, graduated at Harvard College, 
1787; student of medicine at Portsmouth, N. H., 
where he died, Aug. 19, 1790. 
Oct. 2, 1800. 

After the death of Joseph Jackson, at a meeting 
of the town held Aug. 29, 1796, Dr. William Aspin- 
wall, Isaac 8. Gardner, Esq., and David Hyslop were 
chosen a committee to supply the pulpit. The first 
person called to preach on probation was Rev. John 
Pierce, A.M., of Dorchester, Mass. Previous to this 
time a Rev. Mr. Merrick, a resident of Brighton, 
and a native of England, and Rev. Thomas Craft, of 
North Bridgewater, who had been dismissed from 
Princeton, Mass., and others, supplied the pulpit. 
On the 2d day of October, 1796, Dr. Pierce preached 
his first sermon to Brookline people, preached four 
Sabbaths, and then went to Quincy to fulfill a prior 
engagement. Rev. James Hawley supplied the pul- 
pit till the return of Mr. Pierce. On the 27th of 
November, 1796, he resumed preaching in Brook- 
line, and at the end of a few weeks, after preaching 
ten sermons, the church held a meeting in the old 


married, first, 


brick school-house, and passed the following votes : 


1. “Voted to proceed to the choice of a gospel minister to 
settle in the town by written Votes.” 

2. “Voted To choose a committee to wait upon the selectmen 
with a copy of the votes passed at this meeting and request 
them to calla Town Meeting, to know whether the Town ap- 
prove of the choice the church have made of Rev John Pierce 
fora gospel minister to settle in this town, and will unite in 
making adequate appropriation for his Support.” 

3. “Voted, That Messrs Samuel Clark—Ebenezer Davis, and 
David Hyslop be a committee for the above purpose.” 

4. “Voted, To choose a committee to be joined with such, as 
the congregation may see fit to appoint, to wait upon Mr. John 
Pierce with a copy of the Votes of the church and congregation 
and invite him to settle in this town, and be our minister.” 

5. “Voted, That Messrs William Aspinwall, Isaac 8. Gard- 
ner and David Hyslop be a committee for the above purpose.” 

“Attest, Isaac 8. GARDNER, 
“Clerk to the church.” 


“ Decem’r 20. 1796. 

“At a meeting of the inhabitants of the Town of Brookline 
holden on the 20th Day of December 1796. for the purpose of 
knowing whether the Congregation would concur with the 
choice the Church made at their meeting holden on the 13th 
Inst. of Mr. John Pierce for a Gospel Minister to settle in this 


own; 


The mother died | 





“Also to know whether the Town will make appropriation 
for his settlement and Salary &e. 

“Wm. Aspinwall Esquire was chosen Moderator. 

“The Inhabitants gave in their votes and upon counting the 
same it appeared that Mr. John Pierce was unanimously 
chosen. 

“Voted unanimously to give Mr. John Pierce Five hundred 
Dollars as a Gratuity or settlement. 

“Voted unanimously, to give Mr. John Pierce four hundred 
Dollars and sixteen Cords of wood Deliv’d at his Door, or one 
hundred & six Dollars sixty six tenths & seven mills, in lieu of 
the wood, also the use of the Parsonage House Barn &.C. an- 
nually, for his salary so long as he shall continue to be our Min- 
ister—provided he shall accept Our invitation to settle with Us. 

“Then Stephen Sharp and Mr. Ebenezer Heath were chosen 
a Committee to Join the Committee Chosen by the Church, to 
wait on Mr. Pierce, with a Copy of the proceedings of the 
Church and Congregation, and invite him to settle in this Town 
and be Our Minister. 

“Then the Meeting was Dissolved. 


“Attest STEPHEN SHARP Town Clerk.” 


“ February 6, 1797. 

“At the meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town of Brook- 
line, at the brick School house, warnd & assembled according to 
Law—For the purpose of receiving the report of the Committee 
appointed to wait on Mr. John Pierce & acquaint him of the 
proceedings of the church & congregation, and to transact & do 
any thing relative to the Settlement of a Minister. 

“Stephen Sharp was chosen Moderator. 

“Mr. Pierce’s answer being read a copy of which is as fol- 
lows. viz. 

“ To the Church and Town of Brookline 
“Christian Friends 

“ Tfaving taken your proposals into serious and attentive con- 
sideration, and sought such counsel and direction, as the im- 
portance of the subject demands, I take this opportunity to 
inform you that I accept your invitation to settle with you in 
the ministry. 

“As to that part of the terms, which you have left optional 
with me, my choice is to receive the wood. 

“From the kindness you asa town, have always discovered 
towards your ministers as well, as from the unanimity, which 
has marked all your proceeding respecting me, I trust you will 
ever make provision for my comfortable support ‘so long as I 
shall continue to be your Minister.’ 

“That your brotherly love may continue «& increase, that no 
root of bitterness springing up may disturb your harmony, that 
you may grow in grace, in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior 
Jesus Christ, and improve in every Christian virtue, is the fer- 
vent wish and shall ever be the constant aim of 

“your servant 
“in the Lord 
“Joun PIERCE. 
“ CAMBRIDGE, January 31st, 1797.” 


Dr. Pierce was regularly ordained March 15, 1797. 
There were present representatives of twelve churches, 
us a council, convened for the purposes of ordination. 
After an introductory anthem, the male members of 
the church were asked if they wished to accept of 
the Rev. John Pierce as their pastor. An affirmative 
reply was made, when the candidate made the follow- 
ing response : 

“In the same public manner you, my Christian 


\ 








BROOKLINE. 


815 








friends, again invite me to settle with you in the min- 
istry. I renew my acceptance. My inexperience in 
the sacred profession I have undertaken fills me with 
painful emotions hitherto unknown. I cannot with- 
hold my most earnest wishes, as it is the subject of 
my constant prayers, that the solemnities of this day 
may cement a union which may both promote the 
cause of religion and conduce to our mutual happi- 
ness.” 

Rey. John Bradford, of Roxbury, led the service 
in prayer. The sermon—text, 1 Corinthians ii. 10- 
15—was by the Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, of 
Dorchester, of whom it is said he preached his first 
and his last sermons in this town. Ordaining prayer 
was by Rev. Peter Thacher, D.D., of Boston. The 


charge was by Rev. Jacob Cushing, of Waltham. 


Right hand of fellowship was tendered by Rev. | 


Eliphalet Porter, of Roxbury, of the church where 


our fathers formerly worshiped. The concluding 


prayer was by the Rev. William Greenough, of the | 


Second Church in Newton, the exercises closing with 
an anthem, ‘“‘ Arise, Shine, O Zion,” etc., under the 
leadership of Isaac S. Gardner, Esq. 

The history of the First Church or the town 
would not be complete without an account of the 
Rev. Dr. John Pierce. 
any other person to give character to the habits and 
life of early Brookline. On one occasion a neighbor- 
ing clergyman, the Rev. Dr. Putnam, said, “ As I 


He perhaps did more than 


understand it, Dr. Pierce is Brookline, and Brookline | 


is Dr. Pierce,” in 1797. Rev. John Pierce, D.D., 


the son of John and Sarah (Blake) Pierce, was born | 


in Dorchester, Mass., July 14, 1773. His father 


was a shoemaker, an honest, intelligent, religious | 


man; died Dec. 11, 1833, aged over ninety-one years. 
From his earliest childhood he had an earnest desire 
to become a minister. He commenced to study Latin 
with the same woman who taught his mother, and in 
1789 entered Harvard College, graduating with high 
honors in 1793, with an excellent reputation as a 


scholar. After leaving college he was assistant pre- 


ceptor of Leicester Academy for two years. In 1795 | 


) 





cheerfulness and benignity.” His hair from his early 
manhood was almost white, and became beautiful in 
its snowy whiteness long before he was old. He 
remarked during his last sickness that for forty years 
he had not known what it was to have a physical in- 
He had always had a habit 
of rising early, and either sawing or splitting wood or 
working in his garden for two hours or more before 
breakfast. He was so vigorous a walker that, when 
on an exchange anywhere within six or seven miles, he 
used to go out and back on foot, and without fatigue. 

He was temperate both in eating and drinking, 
and economical without a shade of meanness or 
miserly tendency. 

In March, 1849, Dr. Pierce was seized with a 
sharp, sudden illness. Relief was obtained, but not 
He continued to suffer great pain, and, as 
weeks passed on, seemed gradually failing. During 
his long ministry he had lost only thirteen Sabbaths 
by ill health, and several of those were in 1805, when 
he had a rheumatic fever. 


firmity worth namine. 


a cure. 


He belonged to a long-lived family, and though at 
an age when most men grow infirm, he was as elastic 
and vigorous as a boy till the day of his first attack of 
illness. 

All was done that love and skill could suggest to 
arrest the course of the disease, but in vain; and it 
soon became apparent that the beloved pastor and 
friend of the people was soon to be called away. Un- 
used as he was to illness, there was no irritability or 
impatience, and with unfailing serenity and cheerful- 
ness he waited for the end. In August of that year 
a new organ was placed in the church, and on Satur- 
day, the 18th, there was a trial of the instrument. 


This was, of course, an event of great interest to 


} . A 
one so fond of music as the doctor; and though he 


was too feeble to walk or ride, he was carried in his 
chair by some of his young friends to the chureh, 
There he read some passages from the Scriptures and 


a hymn, joining heartily in the singing. At his own 


_ special request the tune sung was “ Old Hundred,” 


he commenced the study of theology with Rev. Thad- — 


deus Mason Harris, of Dorchester ; 


e ) 


Boston Association, Feb. 22, 1796, and preached for 


approved by the | 


the first time in his native town March 6th, the same | 


year. At the close of the year 1796 he became a 


tutor in Harvard College, where he remained four | 


months, and while there was called to settle in the 


town of Brookline, where he spent the remainder of | 


his days. He died Aug. 24, 1849, aged seventy-six 


years. Dr. Pierce was a fine-looking, tall, large- 


framed man, with a countenance “beaming with | 


which Dr. Pierce used to say was “the best tune that 
ever was written or ever would be.” 

All rose and sung the hymn standing, except the 
doctor himself, who playfully asked that the old pastor 
be excused, as he no longer belonged to “ the rising 
generation.” 

He was borne to his home by the same loving 
hands, never to be carried out again till he was 
earried for burial. Daily, however, he received the 
visits of a host of friends, who came laden with 
flowers, fruits, or other proofs of their affection, and, 
in the words of another, “wealth never purchased 


816 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





and power never won attentions of all kinds so devoted 
and loving as were gladly rendered without stint, and 
in constant anticipation of his slightest wishes,” not 
merely from his own society or townspeople, but 
from all sects and many towns and the neighboring 
cities. 

Dr. Pierce failed very rapidly after his visit to the 
church at the trial of the organ, but retained pos- 
session of his faculties and consciousness until the 
evening of Thursday, August 23d. 

His last words were spoken that evening to Mr. 
Shailer, who with the family and two or three near 
friends were present. 
respecting the petition which he should offer for him 
in the evening prayer, to which he replied, “ Entire 
submission to the Divine will.’ He never spoke 


dition of the members of his society, there were none 
to charge him with partiality, none to doubt his 
friendliness and ready sympathies. 

His memory has been kept fresh, and is still dear 
to all who knew him, and the recollections of the hal- 
lowed months of beautiful serenity and peace and 
faith which made his sick-room like the threshold of 
the heavenly kingdom have been a ministry of holy 
influences to many souls. 

In the words of his colleague, in his funeral dis- 


course, “Simply thus to dwell upon the life of a 


Mr. Shailer made an inquiry | 


again, but still reclining in the chair which he had | 


occupied for weeks without lying down, he quietly 
breathed his last at half-past eleven, in the forenoon, 
Aug. 24, 1849, aged seventy-six years. 


_ that of the Bible. 
No one has any moral right to do for him that 


which he always refused to do for himself—class him | 


anywhere as a theologian. He must be simply known 
as an “ eclectic Christian,” to use his own terms; and 
if this phrase is indefinite, it must be remembered 
that it has all the precision which he desired. 
one point we may, however, be very explicit. 


On 
He set | 


his face like a flint against every form of sectarian | 


exclusiveness and bigotry, and was only intolerant 


towards those who ventured to judge any body of | 


believers in Christ, and to deny them the Master’s 
’ ry 


name. 


Towards some views—more or less prevalent in | 


New England of late years—he might have failed a 


little in preserving that “charity which is not easily | 


provoked ;’ but on the whole, his Catholicism was a 


marked trait in his character, which, often severely 


tried, was seldom found wanting. He was an earnest, 


plain preacher ; dealing generally with practical sub-— 


jects, without seeking originality of thought or being 


remarkable for any graces of rhetoric. 

But his style was that of former days; and few 
men have retained so much of their early acceptable- 
ness in the pulpit, owing to the impression he made 
upon his hearers of his own deep sincerity and un- 
feigned piety. You felt that he believed with his 
whole heart and soul everything he said, and was 


thoroughly in earnest. It was, however, by the daily 


beauty of his life as the faithful pastor that Dr. | 


Pierce won the confidence and affection of his people 
. . . With the same hearty simplicity he visited the 
rich and the poor, the refined and the unlearned, and 


though there were wide diversities in the social con- | 


good man is better than to have entered into a dis- 
cussion of the mysteries of Godliness.” 

‘“‘ He uniformly refused to be classed with any sect 
whatever, or to take any names except those of a 
‘Congregationalist? and a ‘ Christian.” He seldom 
preached doctrinal sermons. He had no taste for 
controversy, and hardly ever indulged in expressions 
of his belief clothed in any other phraseology than 
For any party to claim him as a 
member on account of his opinions would be showing 
a sad want of respect to his memory, and an utter 
disregard of his feelings and wishes when alive.” 

The funeral solemnities took place at the church on 
the afternoon of the 27th. 

The body was borne from the parsonage to the 
church by the same young men who had carried him 
thither a week before, attended by eight clergymen as 
pall-bearers. Rev. Mr. Shailer read the Scriptures, 
the venerable Dr. Lowell, of Boston, offered the prayer 
(in compliance with the special wish of Dr. Pierce), 
and Rev. Mr. Knapp, his colleague, delivered the dis- 
course. ‘The last message of the dying minister to his 
people was so beautiful that we give it as repeated by 
Mr. Knapp on this solemn occasion : 

“When you gather with my friends around my 
remains,” he said, ‘read to them those cheering 
words of Jesus, ‘1 am the resurrection and the life; 
he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet 
shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth on 
me shall never die.’ And say to my people,” he con- 
tinued, “ my faith and hope are there; that I do not 
feel that I shall ever die, but only pass on to a higher 
life. And beseech them,” he added, “ beseech them, 
if they love me, and would express their love, to do 
it by remembering me while they seek Christ as their 
Saviour and strive to live as his disciples.” 

A simple white monument just within the cemetery 
wall marks his last resting-place. 

Dr. Pierce married, Oct. 31,1798, Abigail, daughter 
of Joseph and Jemima (Adams) Lovell, of Medway, 
Mass., who had been a pupil of his while preceptor 
at Leicester Academy. She died July 2, 1800, leav- 








i eS Ss ee a 0 eee eee 


BROOKLINE. 


817 





He 


ing a son, who died at the age of two years. 


married a second time, May 6, 1802, Lucy, daughter | 


of Benjamin and Sarah (Homes) Tappan, of North- 
ampton, Mass., by whom they had ten children, viz. : 
Sarah Tappan, Elizabeth, Abigail Lovell, Lucy, Fero- 


line Walley, John Tappan, Robert, William Blake, | 


Benjamin Tappan, Mary Wilde. The widow died at 
Brookline, Feb. 12, 1858. 


Sermons and addresses by Rev. John Pierce : 


] 
| 





1. Discourse on the Mystery of Godliness, at Med- | 


field, Oct. 8, 1797. 

2. Eulogy on Washington, Feb. 22, 1800. 

3. Discourse on a Christian Profession, at Brook- 
line, 1800. 


Newbury, Sept. 19, 1804. 


continued to preach for seven years. 


College, July, 1847. In April, 1847, Dr. Pierce 
asked that a colleague might be settled with him. 
On the 10th of August of that year, while Mr. Knapp 
was in the Divinity School, he received a call to be- 
come a colleague pastor with Rey. Dr. Pierce, which 
call was accepted, and Mr. Knapp was publicly or- 
dained as their colleague pastor, Oct. 6, 1847, and 
He was much 
esteemed as a pastor, and was succeeded by Rev. Dr. 
Frederic H. Hedge in October, 1856. Dr. Hedge, 
son of Professor Levi Hedge, of Cambridge, was 
born Dec. 12, 1805; graduated at Harvard College, 
1825; settled in West Cambridge, Mass., in 1828; 


pastor of a Unitarian Church in Bangor, Me., 1835 
4. Sermon at installation of John 8. Popkin, 


5. Century sermon from incorporation of Brookline. | 


Nov. 24, 1805. 

6. Valedictory sermon, old meeting-house, June 8, 
1806. 

7. Dedication sermon, new meeting-house, June 
11, 1806. 

8. Sermon at gathering of Second Church, Dor- 
chester, Jan. 1, 1808. 

9. Valedictory sermon, Burlington, Vt., Jan. 9, 
1817. 

10. Sermon at ordination of Samuel Clark, Prince- 
ton, June 18, 1817. 

11. Century sermon, church in Brookline, Nov. 9, 
1817. 

12. Dudlean Lecture on Errors of Church of Rome, 
at Cambridge, Oct. 24, 1821. 

13. Sermon at ordination of Rev. Benjamin Hun- 
toon, Canton, Jan. 30, 1822. 

14. Sermon, “ Second Century,’ Dorchester, June 
17, 1830. 

15. Charge at ordination of Rev. T. B. Fox, Aug. 
oy Sol. 

16. Sermon in Liberal Preacher, February, 1835. 

17. Reminiscences of Forty Years, Brookline, 
March 19, 1837. 


mayor, at Boston, Nov. 25, 1845. 
19. Address at opening of town hall, Oct. 14, 
1845. 


_bored for sixteen years. 


to 1850; pastor of Westminster Church, Providence, 
R. L., 1850 to 1856; from October, 1856, to 1872, 
pastor of the First Church, Brookline, where he la- 
Dr. Hedge married Lucy, 
daughter of Rev. Dr. John Pierce before mentioned. 


_He is now a professor in Harvard College, Cam- 


| remained 1871-72. 


_ be said to date from 1805. 


bridge. 

Rev. Howard N. Brown is the present pastor, son 
of Mather C. and 8. A. Brown, born in Columbia, 
N. Y., May 11, 1849; fitted for college at Whites- 
town, N. Y.; studied at Harvard College Divinity 
School, and was ordained at Ilion, N. Y., where he 
Settled in Brookline, Sept. 1, 
LS: 

Baptist Church.—The origin of this church may 
In that year Mrs. Beu- 
lah Griggs, a member of Rev. Dr. Pierce’s church, 
and the mother of Deacon Thomas Griggs, now liv- 
ing at the age of ninety-six years (in 1884), in- 
“ Father 
The first service 


1806, 


vited Rev. Joseph Grafton, well known as 
Grafton,” to preach in Brookline. 
was held in Thomas Griggs’ house Oct. 27, 


from the text, “Fear God and keep his command- 


ments.” And the result of this meeting may be 
said to have been the birth of the present church. 


Those who held Baptist views in this town previeus 


_to 1827 were in attendance on church worship in 


18. Address at funeral of Thomas A. Davis, | 


want. 


20. Address at Brookline jubilee, fifty years, | 


March 15, 1847. 


21. Disciples called Christians, , Religious Maga- 


zine, August, 1848. 
22. Election sermon, Jan. 3, 1849. 
Rev. Frederic Newman Knapp, son of Jacob 


Newman Knapp, of Walpole, N. H., graduated at | 
(Harvard College) 1843, Divinity School Harvard ' erected, which was ready to occupy in March of the 


52 


Newton, Cambridgeport, and Roxbury. During this 
year meetings began to be held in private houses, 
the preachers of neighboring towns supplying the 
In June of that year the first concert of 
prayer for foreign missions was held in the house of 
Edward Hall, at the corner of Washington and 
School Streets. 


services increased beyond the means of private houses, 


The number of attendants on the 


and in the month of February, 1828, a lease of a 
lot of land where “ Joyce’s” building now stands was 
secured, and a chapel twenty-six by thirty-six was 


818 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





same year. Qn the 5th of June, 1828, thirty-six 
individuals—eleven brethren and twenty-five sisters 
—were regularly recognized as the “ Baptist Church 
of Brookline.” 

Names of members constituting the church : 

Brethren. 

Elijah Corey, Jr. 
David Hart. 
Samuel C. Davis. 


Thomas Seaverns. 
Arthur Sumner. 


veacon Elijah Corey. 

Deacon Timothy Corey. 

Thomas Griggs. 

David Coolidge. 

Daniel Sanderson. 

Thaddeus Graves. 

Sisters. 
Mary Irving (2d). 
Mary Pool. 
Harriet F. Griggs. 


Beulah Griggs. 
Mary Corey (1st). 
Nancy Pierce. 
Mehitable Stone. 
Lucinda Reckard. 
Sarah Richards. 


Maria Griggs. 
Helen Maria. 
Sarah Hall. 

Kliza May. 

Mary Ann Corey. 
Lydia Pierce. 
Matilda Ellis. 


Sarah Griggs. 


Margaret Simmons. 
Elizabeth Griggs. 
Eliza Hart. 

Susan Coolidge. 
Mary Corey (2d). 
Elizabeth Corey. 
Susan Cheever. 


Rebecca Stetson. 
Almira Sanderson. 


‘‘The above-named brethren and sisters were regu- 
larly dismissed and recommended by their respective 
churches, and constituted agreeable to their request 
into a church by the name of the Baptist Church in 
Brookline, on June 5th, 1828.”—Chureh Records. 

At the expiration of one month after the organiza- 
tion of the church, it became evident that increased 
accommodations must be had. Accordingly, five gen- 
tlemen deeply interested pledged themselves to pay 
for a new church, viz.: Deacon Elijah Corey, forty 
per cent. ; Deacon Timothy Corey and Deacon Thomas 
Griggs, twenty per cent. each; and David Coolidge 


and Klijah Corey, Jr., ten per cent. each. The corner- | 


stone was laid Aug. 15, 1828, and the new church was 


built and dedicated Nov. 20, 1828. The chapel was 


converted into a parsonage, which now stands the | 


first building south of the new church on Harvard 
Street, and is occupied by Thomas 8. Brown. 


| 








Driver, a student at Andover Theological Seminary, | 


was recognized as pastor, continuing till November 


following. The next pastor was Rev. Joseph An- 


drews Warne, D.D., of London, England, a graduate | 


of Stepney College, recognized April 14, 1831, and 
preached his farewell sermon Jan. 29, 1837, and 
soon after was recognized pastor of the Third Baptist 
Church in Providence, R. I. During the past few 
years he resided on his farm at Frankford, Pa., a sub- 
urb of Philadelphia, where he died March 10, 1881. 


He is said to have been “ mighty in the Scriptures,” 


| 1877. 
On the 25th of March, 1830, Rev. Joseph M. 


and was highly esteemed and his memory affection- 
He was a man of great force of will 
and of marked logical power. In his purchase of © 
land he was remarkably fortunate, so much so that 


ately cherished. 


by shrewd management he became the possessor of a 
comfortable property. Having no children, he gave 
his property, amounting to forty thousand dollars, to 


_the Baptist Missionary Union, reserving a small in- 


come only during his life. 

Following Mr. Warne was the long and faithful 
pastorate of Rev. William Hosmer Shailer, D.D., of 
Haddam, Conn., where he was born Nov. 20, 1807. 
He was the son of Smith and Lucinda (Shailer) 


Shailer. o, and 


His early life was spent in teaching, 


| pursued a course of study preparatory to entering Wil- 


braham Seminary; afterwards entered the institu- 
tion at Hamilton, N. Y., now known as Madison 
University, where he graduated in 1835; studied 
theology in the Newton Theological Institution nearly 
one year. In December of that year he assumed 
control of the Literary Institute at Suffield, Conn. 
He was ordained at Deep River, Conn., Feb. 26, 1836, 


_and thus was teacher as well as preacher for about 


one and one-half years, when he accepted a call from 
the First Baptist Church in Brookline, commencing 
his labors there Sept. 1, 1837. 
secretary of the Massachusetts Baptist Association ; 


For ten years he was 


for thirteen years was secretary of the American 
Baptist Missionary Union, and seven years member 
of its executive committee. He was always deeply 
interested in the work of education, rendering valu- 
He became a 
trustee of the Newton Theological Institution in 
1853, an office which he held till his decease. In 
December, 1853, he accepted an urgent call to settle 
with the First Baptist Church in Portland, Me., com- 
mencing his duties there March 19, 1854, preaching 
his farewell sermon to the Brookline Church Feb. 26, 
1854. 
nearly twenty-four years, and resigned in August, 
He died in Portland, Feb. 23, 1881. For 
nearly all the time he lived in Portland, and one of 


able service in the public schools. 


He was pastor of the church in Portland for 


the board of managers the larger portion of the time. 
For twenty-five years was a trustee of Colby Univer- 
sity. In 1858 he became editor and proprietor of 
Zion's Advocate, which position he retained until 
1873. A school building in the city of Portland 
was named Shailer School, as an appreciation of his 
services in the cause of education. 

He was indeed a ‘born teacher and leader of men, 
as well as an accomplished Christian preacher and 
pastor.” ‘Always gentle in spirit, as he was wise, 
discreet, and true.” 














BROOKLINE. 


819 








The year following the settlement of Mr. Shailer Portsmouth, N. H., eleven years; in Brookline six- 


the old house of worship was enlarged and remodeled 
throughout. 
After the resignation of Dr. Shailer, Rev. Nehe- 


miah M. Perkins, of Waterbury, Conn., was recog- | 


nized as pastor May 20, 1855. ‘This relation con- 


tinued till August, 1858, when, his health failing 


him, he was compelled to resign. ‘‘ He was an able 
and scriptural preacher.” It was during the pastorate 


of Mr. Perkins that the present house of worship | 


was commenced, though he did not remain to see it 
completed. 


The next pastor was Rev. William Lamson, D.D., 
who came here from Portsmouth, N. H., in answer 


to a call dated November, 1859. He preached his 
first sermon in Brookline Oct. 16, 1859, from the 
text, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his 
righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto 
you.” His first service as pastor commenced Dec. 4, 
1859; sermon from the text, “The Lord taketh 
pleasure in them that fear Him, in them that hope 
in His mercy.” 
held Jan. 29, 1860. 
was by Rev. Baron Stow, D.D., of Boston, who had 
been a predecessor of Dr. Lamson, of Portsmouth, 
N.H. The fifteen years he passed in Brookline were 


_ teen years. Resigned his pastoral charge in February, 


1875, on account of ill health, and retired to spend 
his last days at Salem and Gloucester. He died at 
the last-mentioned place Nov. 29,1882. On the 7th 
day of November, 1837, he married Eliza Wonson, 
daughter of Capt. Samuel and Lydia (Greenleaf) 
Giles, of Gloucester, Mass., and had one son, Samuel 
Giles Lamson, who was a paymaster in the army 
during the Rebellion, and lost on the steamer 
“ Ruth,” which was burned on the Mississippi in 
August, 1863, at the age of twenty-three years. 

In December, 1875, the church and society united 
in a call to Rev. Henry C. Mabie to become their 
pastor. He entered upon his work Jan. 1, 1876, 
and was publicly recognized January 13. The ser- 
mon on that occasion was by Rev. A. J. Gordon, 
D.D., of Boston. 

The present pastor, Rev. John Billings Brackett, 


D.D., was recognized in May, 1880. He was born 


| in Woburn, Mass., Dec. 31, 1835; fitted for college 


The services of recognition were | 
The sermon on that occasion | 


of uninterrupted harmony, and his memory is ten- | 


derly remembered for his friendships and pastoral 
watchfulness of his people. Not only was he highly 
respected and loved by his own people, but he was a 
man of the community. He had no enemies. Often 


was he called into public positions to look after the 


schools in the town, and as a trtistee of the public 


library, looking after its interests with a zealous care. 
The church placed the following on record of his 
character and services: “ An eloquent and faithful 
preacher, he shunned not to declare the whole counsel 
of God; an affectionate pastor, he was beloved by his 


flock ; a wise and safe counsellor, his praise was in — 


all the churches.”’ 
liam and Sally (Richardson) Lamson, who was of 
New Boston, N. H., who removed to Danvers pre- 


vious to the birth of Dr. William Lamson. He was 


Dr. Lamson was the son of Wil- | 


at Phillips’ Academy, Andover, Mass. ; graduated in 
1853 ; graduated at Brown University, 1857 ; took a 
theological course in Newton Theological Institution 
two years; first settled as pastor in Poughkeepsie, 
N. Y., from July, 1859, to November, 1865; pastor 
of First Baptist Church of Brooklyn, E. D., from 
November, 1865, to April, 1873; in Lynn, Mass., 
from April, 1873, to February, 1878; in Charles- 
town, Mass., from February, 1878, to May, 1880. 
He was honored with the degree of D.D. by the Uni- 
versity of Rochester, N. Y., in 1871. 

List of deacons of the First Baptist Church, 
Brookline: Elijah Corey, 1828; Timothy Corey, 
1828; Thomas Griggs, 1828; Daniel Sanderson, 
1846; William H. Jameson, 1855; George Brooks, 
1855; Thomas Seaverns, 1863; Samuel C. Davis, 
1869; Austin W. Benton, 1874; George F. Joyce, 
1874. 

Church clerks: Thomas Griggs, 1828; Andrew 
H. Newell, 1850: James Edmond, 1853; George F. 


| Joyce, 1872; Benjamin F. Baker. 


born in that part of Danvers, Mass., known as the | 
Port, Feb. 12, 1812; fitted for college at the South | 


Reading Academy (Wakefield); entered Waterville 
College with the class of 1835, and became a tutor in 
that institution. Ordained at Gloucester, Mass., June 
7, 1837. Resigned his pastoral charge July, 1839, 
and took a two years’ course of study in the Newton 
Theological Institution. 


Superintendents of Sabbath-schools: Daniel San- 
derson, Thomas Griggs, David R. Griggs, Julius S. 


bolo] Do") 


Shailer, Benjamin H. Rhoades, David R. Griggs, 


| George Brooks, H. Lincoln Chase, David Bentley, 


From October, 1841, to_ 


July, 1848, pastor of the same church in Gloucester. | 


He was settled in Thomaston, Me., two years; at 


George Brooks, H. Lincoln Chase, Thomas 8. Brown, 
the present superintendent. 

“Englewood” is the name of a small chapel built 
by Francis F. Morton, Esq., on Englewood Avenue, 
near the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. Mr. Morton, as- 
sisted by Thomas S. Brown and others, is active in 
providing for the wants of that immediate locality. 


820 


‘ 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The Sunday-school is now in a flourishing condition. | 


Services are held on the Sabbath at three P.M., and 
a prayer-meeting Wednesday evenings. 

Harvard Church.—Early in 1844 many people 
who had been worshiping with the First Church and 
in various places out of town, united for the purpose 
of erecting a house of worship of their own as an 
Evangelical Congregational Church. They immedi- 
ately erected a house on the corner of Washington 
aud School Streets, which was dedicated August 26th 
of that year. The sermon on that occasion was by 
Rev. Edward N. Kirk, D.D., of Boston. On the 
same day a church was organized of twenty-seven 


persons. 


The church records also show that a communion | 


service was presented to the church by Mr. T. C. 
Leeds, a baptismal vase by Mrs. Anna French, and a 
Bible by Mr. J. B. Kimball, and a vote of thanks was 
passed to them respectively for their very acceptable 
presents. 

May 21, 1845, the church extended a unanimous 
invitation to Mr. Richard Salter Storrs, Jr., of the 


Andover Theological Seminary, to become the pastor. | 


He accepted the call, and was ordained October 22 


| 
| 








ensuing, Rev. R.S. Storrs, of Braintree, father of the | 


pastor-elect, preaching the ordination sermon. 

On the 27th of October, 1846, the pastoral rela- 
tion existing between Mr. Storrs and this church was 
dissolved by a mutual council, in order to an accept- 
ance by the pastor of a call from the Church of the 
Pilgrims, in Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Nov. 13, 1846, the church unanimously invited 
Rev. Joseph Haven, Jr., of Ashland, to the pastorate. 
He accepted the invitation, and was installed Dec. 
31, 1846. 
Professor Ralph Emerson, D.D., of Andover. 

On the 12th of December, 1850, Mr. Haven having 
received the appointment to the professorship of Moral 
Philosophy in Amherst College, the relation between 
him and the church was dissolved by a council con- 
vened for the purpose. 


Deacons. 
Elected. Term expired. 
Otis Withington, Nov. 18, 1845; Sept. 20, 1858. 
John Dane, Jan. 1, 1846; died June 30, 1854. 


18, 1870. 


21, 1857. 


July 24, 1854; resigned March 
Nov. 24, 1854; 


John H. Dane, 


Lewis T. Stoddard, Sept. 


The sermon on this occasion was by Rev. | 


John N. Turner, Sept. 20, 1858; resigned April 29, 1864. 

William Lincoln, Sept. 20, 1858: Sept. 16, 1861. | 
Re-elected July 17, 1864; Jan. 20, 1873. 
Re-elected Jan. 20, 1873; Jan. 20, 1877. 


20, 1877, for 4 yrs. 
20, 1861; resigned Sept. 
20, 1861; resigned Sept. 


Le-elected Jan. 
James R. Burditt, 
Charles B. Dana, 
Geo. L. Richardson, July 


21, 1863. 
15, 1862. 


2, 1872. 


Sept. 
Sept. 
17, 1864; resigned Feb. 


Elected. Term expired, 

Horatio S. Burdett, June 11, 1869; Jan. 20, 1873. 
Re-elected Jan. 20, 1873; Jan. 17, 1876. 
Re-elected Jan. 17, 1876, for 4 yrs. 

Edward I. Thomas, June 25, 1869; Jan. 20, 1873. 
Re-elected Jan. 20, 1873; Jan. 18, 1875. 
Re-elected Jan. 18, 1875; Jan. 20, 1879. 
Re-elected Jan. 20, 1879, for 5 yrs. 

William H. Cooley, Jan. 20, 1873; Jan. 19, 1874, 
Re-elected Jan. 19, 1874; Jan. 21, 1878: 


Re-elected Jan. 


21, 1878, for 5 yrs. 


Oliver H. Hay, Jan. 20, 1877, for 5 yrs. 
William Lincoln, re-elected 6 years from Jan. 17, 1881. 


Horatio S. Burdett, ‘‘ 5 UG Jan. 19, 1880. 
Edward I. Thomas, * 6 of Jan. 20, 1884. 
Denison D. Dana, oo 6 ee Jan. 25, 1880. 
John K. Marshall, “ 6 i“ Jan. 21, 1883. 
Jacob P. Palmer, elected 5 ss Jan. 15, 1883. 
Clerks. 
Elected. Resigned. 
John N. Turner, Aug. 23, 1844; Aug. 16, 1854. 
George F. Stoddard, Aug. 16, 1844; Sept. 15, 1856. 
C. F. Huntington, Sept. 15, 1856; Oct2 se 22a be. 
Edward I. Thomas, Oct. 22, 1863; Sept. 19, 1864. 
C. F. Huntington, Sept. 19, 1864; Feb. 12, 1869. 
Henry B. Eager, Feb. 12, 1869; Jan. oS itive 
C. W. Wrightington, Jan. 15, 1877; Jan. 20, 1879. 
| H. Edward Abbott, Jan. 20, 1879. 

Treasurer. 
Henry B. Eager, elected Feb. 2, 1872. 

Auditors. 

Elected. Resigned. 

Edward I. Thomas, Feb. 2, 1872; Jan. 15, 1877. 
John A. Howard, Jan. 15, 1877. 


Superintendents of the Sabbath-School. 


| John Dane, from its formation to his death, June 30, 1854. 


S. I. Lovett, from July 21, 1854, to Aug. 15, 1855. 
My g 


George F. Homer, ‘© Aug. 15, 1855, to Sept. 21, 1857. 
J. Emory Hoar, «Sept. 21, 1857, to May 7, 1858. 
Charles B. Dana, «May 7, 1858, to Sept. 28, 1859. 
George F. Homer, “Sept. 28, 1859, to “~~ 17, 1860: 
Charles B. Dana, a 28, 1860, to: 2 Gye oir 
John H. Dane, ss ce 16, 1861, tor “sei soos 
William Lincoln, s «6 “21, 1863;to: SS Op usbas 
George F. Homer, 3 “« 19, 1864, to ‘ 24, 1868. 
George W. Merritt, “‘ “21, 1868, to Feb. 1, 1873. 
Charles G. Chase, Jan. 20; 1873: 


March 21, 1851, the Rev. Matson Meier Smith, of 
New York, was unanimously called to the pastoral 
charge, and, having accepted the invitation, was in- 
stalled by an ecclesiastical council, June 5, 1851. 
The installation sermon was preached by Rev. R. 
Salter Storrs, Jr., of Brooklyn, N. Y. 

In November, 1858, Mr. Smith resigned the pas- 
torate, having accepted a call from the First Congre- 
gational Church in Bridgeport, Conn., and on the 23d 
of that month was dismissed by a mutual council 
convened for that purpose. 

Oct. 20, 1859, the church gave a unanimous call 








BROOKLINE. 821 





to Rev. J. Lewis Diman, of Fall River, which was 


accepted, and he was installed March 15, 1860, Rev. | 


Thatcher Thayer, D.D., of Newport, R. I., preaching 


the installation sermon. 


debt, and in June, 1874, by the adoption of the present 
constitution, Harvard Church was established a free 
church forever, in accordance with the desire of its 


| chief benefactor, Mr. Hall. 


Invited to the professorship of History and Polit- | 


ical Economy in Brown University, Rhode Island, in 
1864, Mr. Diman accepted the call, and a mutual 
council, convened June 29th of that year, dissolved 
his pastoral relation to the church. 


April 10, 1865, Rev. C. C. Carpenter, of Birming- | 


ham, Conn., was invited to the pastorate. He ac- 
cepted, and was installed June 29,1865. Rev. Wil- 
liam M. Barbour, then of South Danvers, preached 
the installation sermon. 

In 1867, Mr. Carpenter resigned on account of ill 
health, and was dismissed by a mutual council Sep- 
tember 18th of that year. 


Sept. 24, 1868, the church invited Rev. C. Maurice | 
Wines, of Rochester, N. Y., to become its pastor, and | 


he was installed Nov. 12, 1868. The sermon was | 


preached by Rey. E. C. Wines, D.D., of New York, | 


father of the pastor-elect. 

Feb. 20, 1870, Mr. Wines resigned his office, and 
a mutual council, on April 27, 1870, dissolved the 
pastoral relation. 

The time having now come when the growing 
demands of the community called for a new church 


of worshipers, and with more conveniences for service, 


That good Providence which had brought the 
church to this happy condition continued to bless it 
by providing for it a pastor in the person of Rey. 
Reuen Thomas, Ph.D., of Wickliffe Chapel, London, 
who was installed its minister May 4, 1875. Thus 
has the “little one become a thousand,” and may it 
not hope that the Lord has reserved for it a history 
of blessing which shall exceed the past as far as the 
glory of the latter temple surpasseth that of the former. 

There is connected with this church a large and 
flourishing mission department, called the ‘“ Bethany 
Sunday-School.” 
noon and Thursday and Saturday evenings, under the 


Meetings are held on Sunday after- 


direction of Deacon John K. Marshall, superintendent, 
and Deacon Dennison D. Dana, assistant superintend- 
These meetings are held in Goddard Hall, and 


are intended to reach the masses, or a class of people 


ent. 


who have no regular place of worship, who are always 
welcome. These meetings are well attended, and are 
doing a great work in providing for a large population. 

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.—At the junction 
of St. Paul Street and Aspinwall Avenue may be 


'seen an elegant architectural structure which has 
edifice in a more central location for a greater number | 


the society voted to build. An eligible lot was secured | 


at the corner of Harvard and Marion Streets, and the 
corner-stone of the new church was laid with appro- 
priate ceremonies July 6, 1871, interesting addresses 
being made by Rev. Nehemiah Adams, D.D., of 
Boston, and Rev. Albert E. Dunning, of Boston 
Highlands. 

In May, 1873, the present beautiful edifice having 
been completed, was dedicated with appropriate ser- 


often been the object of admiration. Approaching it 
from any point, but particularly from Harvard Street, 
is one of the finest views to be found in this vicinity. 
Not as expensive as some buildings used for churches 
is this, but taking the peculiar location, the gray- 
stone walls and tower, with the dark clustering vines 
which almost conceal the walls in midsummer, to- 
gether with the beautiful scarlet and crimson foliage 


of the autumn months, covering porch and gable, 


vices to the worship of Almighty God, Rev. R.S. | 
Storrs, D.D., of Brooklyn, N. Y., preaching the ser- | 


mon. 
progress had tested the liberality and devotedness of 
the society to a remarkable degree. The work, how- 
ever, under the care of large-hearted men, inspired by 
the genius and taste of that eminent artist, Edward 
Tuckerman Potter, Esq., had so far surpassed the 
original design as to have become encumbered with a 
debt of sixty thousand dollars. To free it from this 
threatening embarrassment many liberal-hearted men 
came forward with generous donations, which, being 


lars by Martin L. Hall, Esq. (who had before been 


Thus was completed an enterprise which in its | 





among its largest contributors), swept away the entire | 


renders the whole pleasing to the eye, and displays 
good taste in the originators of the same. The build- 
ing and surroundings form the most pleasing and pic- 
turesque bits of scenery to be found in this region, re- 
minding the beholder of the many fine landscape views 
of the English seats and rural scenery of England. 
The first meeting for church worship by this society 
was held in the town hall on the second Sunday of 
July, 1849. Prominent among the earliest members 
were Eliakim Littell, James S. Amory, Harrison Fay, 
Augustus Aspinwall, William Aspinwall, Theodore 
Lyman, Frederic P. Ladd, Moses B. Williams, John 
Shepherd, James S. Patten. Rev. Thomas M. Clark 


| officiated as pastor for a few Sabbaths during his 
crowned with the princely gift of forty thousand dol- 


vacation. Rev. William Horton, of Newburyport, 
was the first settled pastor, who remained for three 
years, the society steadily increasing in numbers all 


822 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





the while. In the latter part of 1850 active meas- 


ures were taken towards building a church. <A sub- | 


scription was started, the following persons con- 
tributing, viz.: Harrison Fay, Augustus Aspinwall, 
James S. Amory, Moses B. Williams, John S. Wright, 
Benjamin Howard, Theodore Lyman, William Apple- 
ton, and others. Mr. Fay gave five thousand dollars ; 
Mr. Aspinwall gave the Jand on which the church 
stands and two thousand dollars. 
time was worth about fifteen hundred dollars. 
amount of twelve thousand dollars being subscribed, 
was sufficient for the body of the church, Mr. As- 
pinwall and Mr. Fay building the tower in equal 
thousand dollars 


amounts, costing thirteen more, 


making twenty-five thousand dollars the total cost. 


The bell, costing nearly one thousand dollars, was | 


presented by Timothy C. Leeds, a native of this town, 
then a resident of Boston. 

The building committee were Harrison Fay, Au- 
gustus Aspinwall, and Moses B. Williams. Richard 


Upjohn, of New York, was the architect. The build- 


ing is of stone, built in the most substantial manner. 
In May, 1852, Rev. Mr. Horton resigned his posi- 
tion, and Dr. John Seeley Stone, of Brooklyn, N. Y., 


formerly of St. Paul's Church, Boston, accepted a_ 


call as his successor. 
consecrated in December, 1852, and Dr. Stone en- 
tered upon his duties as rector. He continued here 
about two years, and resigned in the fall of 1862 to 
accept a professorship in the Episcopal Theological 
Seminary in Philadelphia, Pa. After a few mouths, 
Rey. Francis Wharton, D.D., of Kenyon College, 
Ohio, was installed as rector. 
summer of 1869, when he resigned, and the following 
spring (1870) Rev. William W. Newton, a quite 
young and talented man, was installed. 


During the pastorate of Dr. Stone, in 1857, a | 


chapel was erected near to the church, to complete 
which the ladies of the parish contributed four thou- 
sand dollars. Mrs. Sarah P. Rogers, of Boston, con- 
tributed one thousand dollars towards the same on 
condition that it should contain a mural tablet in 
memory of her daughter, who died in Cairo, Egypt. 
In compliance with the above condition a beautiful 
marble tablet in bas-relief, with a tasteful design 
representing Mary sitting at the feet of the Saviour, 
under which are the words, ‘“ Mary sat at Jesus’ feet 
and heard his word;” also an inscription commemo- 
rating the death of Mrs. Rogers and her daughter, 
as follows: 
“Sacred to the memory of Sarah P. Rogers. 


Aged 56 years, who died 
in Boston, Feb 24, 1858. 


The land at that | 
The | 


The new church was formerly — 


He continued till the | 


| And of her daughter Sarah, 
Louise Rogers, 
Aged 19 years, who died 
in Cairo, Egypt, March 16, 1856.” 





In the easterly end of the church is a memorial 
_ window, in the chancel, placed there by the children 
of Dr. William Aspinwall as a memorial, which bears 
_ the following inscription : 
“Tn Memoria h’on Guliemus Aspinwall. 
Pat III. Inn. M.D.CCCXLIII. Ob XVI. Aprilis 
M. D. CCCXXITII.” 
To the right hand of Dr. Stone’s memorial tablet 
is a window containing a figure of St. John in 
stained glass, with the following words accompanying : 


“To the glory of God 
and in memory of 
William Chadbourne” 


_ On the north side of the church, near the organ, is 
a black marble tablet with gilt letters, on which is the 
| following inscription : 


“To THE MEMORY 
of 
1805.4+Harrison Fay.+1882. 
One of the Founders of this Parish 
A Warden for twenty one years, 
its constant friend 
And liberal benefactor. 
and 
A faithful worshipper with its people 
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation.” 


At the easterly end of the church, on a polished 


| 
| metallic plate, may be found, to the memory of their 


pastor, 


“Rev. John Seeley Stone, D.D., Rector of this Parish,+1852 
to 1862. 
Powerful as a Preacher The members of the 
church on earth ought 
to regulate the whole 
course of life, Association 
habit, and feeling with 
reference to future 
membership in the church in 
Heaven The true church here. 
They are both parts of one 
and the same communion. 


beloved as pastor. 

He was remarkable for 
the length and character 
of his services to the 
American Episcopal Church 
in which he was born 
and nurtured 
This tablet affectionately 
dedicated to his memory 
And to the Glory of God 
may best serve its purpose 


and fellowship. The earthly 
passes, into The heavenly 

by recording his own is more than a type of the 
Glorified Church there. . 


Died, Jan 13. 1882.” 


impressive words. 
Born, Oct 7. 1795. 
New Jerusalem Church.—Previous to 1852 a 
few members of the Boston society of the New 
Jerusalem, in Bowdoin Street, Boston, who were 
residents of Brookline were obliged to go to Boston 
Re- 


ligious services commenced in private houses, and the 


or to have meetings of their own nearer home. 


Sunday-school was held in the parlors of the mem- 





——— Pape a 


BROOKLINE. 823 





bers, and sometimes a public conveyance was procured | 
to carry them to their church in the city. At length 
the members increased, and in 1852 these members 
commenced church worship in the town hall. In 
April, 1857, a society was organized. Their first pas- | 
tor was Rev. Tiley Brown Hayward, a graduate of 
Harvard College, 1820. He remained here till 1861. 
He was succeeded by Rev. John C. Ager. In 1862 
a new temple was erected at the corner of High and 
Irving Streets. Mr. Ager continued here till 1864, 


at which time he was called to the pastorate of the | 


New Jerusalem Church in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was 
succeeded by Rev. 8. M. Warren. Mr. Warren being 
called to Europe, Rev. Abiel Silver supplied their pul- 
pit during his absence. Rev. Warren Goddard, Jr., 
of Brockton (born Oct. 10, 1849), was the next pas- 
tor, who is now in Providence, R. I. Rev, Willard 
H. Hinkley, of Baltimore, Md., came to town in 
1881, and was installed as their pastor. The church 
is a neatly constructed building of stone, in the Eng- 
lish-Gothic style, capable of holding about two hun- | 
dred and fifty people. Its interior finish is of oak, | 
open to the roof, has an organ in the rear of the | 
chancel, pastor’s room on one side, and library-room. 
The building sits east and west, with a pulpit at the - 
east end and a depository for the Word in the centre, | 
at the back of the chancel. 

In 1882 this society erected a commodious two- 
story parsonage on the same lot on which stands the | 
church. This society is now in a prosperous con- 
dition. ; 

St. Mary’s Church of the Assumption.—This 
church belongs to the diocese of the Most Reverend 
Archbishop J. J. Williams, of Boston. The first | 
Catholic services in this town were held in Lyceum 
Hall. The first record being July 30,1852. In_ 
1854 the church on Andem Place was erected, and 
the first services held there on Christmas-day of that 


year. Rev. Michael O’Bierne was the first priest of 


_ the parish, who was succeeded by Rev. Joseph M. 


Finotti, in 1856. The church increased in numbers 
so rapidly that an assistant was necessary, and Rey. 
J. C. Murphy was associated with him as colleague. 
Father Finotti closed his labors here at Easter, 1873, 
leaving the parish in the care of Rev. Patrick F. 
Lamb. He was extremely popular, and devoted 
much time in the interests of young people. His 
health soon gave out, and he removed to the South in 
the hope of restoration. Rev. A. J. Molinari took 
charge of the parish for five months, during the 
absence of Mr. Lamb. But he died on his way home, 
in New York, July 2, 1873, and his body was buried 


from St. Mary’s Church, an immense congregation 


and quiet underneath the building. 


being in attendance at the services. Following Mr. 
Lamb was the present pastor, Rev. L. J. Morris, who 
began his pastoral labors July 19, 1873. Father 


| Morris was born in Lowell, Mass.; educated in the 


common schools of that city; afterwards went to 
Montreal College, and later to St. Charles’, in Balti- 
more, Md., where he remained four years. He was 
then sent to St. Joseph’s Seminary, Troy, N. Y., 
where he completed his philosophical and theological 
studies, and after a four years’ course he was ordained 
May 22, 1869, and was sent to Waltham, Mass., as 
curate, where he remained for four years, and from 
thence was placed in charge of the church in Brook- 
line. 

In consequence of a pressure for larger accommo- 
dations, land was purchased of George F. Homer, on 
Harvard Street, for a new church in October, 1873, 


containing 57,000 feet, for $27,000, to which was 


added, Aug. 10, 1878, 25,000 feet more at the cor- 
ner of Linden Place and Harvard Street, of A. L. 
Wood, for the further sum of $13,400, making in all 
82,000 feet, at a cost of $40,400. On this very 
desirable lot of land a new and elegant brick church 
with freestone trimmings has been erected, capable 
of holding 1200 people, the principal entrance being 
from Linden Place. The corner-stone was laid July 
19 with proper ceremony. The dedication of the 
new church was Oct. 1, 1882. The architects were 
Messrs. Peabody & Stearns; the house cost about 
$80,000. This church has a much larger attendance 
of church worshipers than any other church in the 
town. 

Christ’s Church.—Those of our readers who are 
accustomed to travel in the steam-cars to Boston, 
cannot fail to have noticed a large stone building with 
paneled walls, and having a large square tower, making 
a fine appearance, near to Chapel Station. This build- 
ing was erected by Hon. David Sears, at a time when 
that section of the town had no facilities for church 
worship. It was erected about 1860, at the private 
expense of Mr. Sears, with the hope and expectation 
that people of all denominations would congregate 
here for church worship. Mr. Sears prepared a lit- 
urgy, or book of worship, in which he gives his own 
ideas on religious subjects. The plan, which was 
purely original in the mind of the projector, has not 
succeeded as he might have thought it would, and it 
now stands as a memorial of the kind wishes and 
good intentions of, and serves as a monument to the 
memory of, the originator, whose remains lie in peace 
Worship was 
sustained for a time here, but was at last given up. 
We cannot give a better idea of the intentions of the 


824 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





proprietor than to quote his own words in the “Chris- | Robert Amory. The first service in the church was 


tian Liturgy and Book of Prayer,” viz. : 


© The Christian Liturgy. 

“The purpose of Christ’s Church in Brookline, Longwood, 
a Gospel Church, the first of the Union of Churches in the Spirit 
of Charity—is to provide a Liturgy which shall comprehend 
those doctrines, and those only, which are essential to guide the 


mind in aright worship of God. It is obvious that men who 


differ as to the origin of sin, or as to the precise nature of the | 


atonement, may nevertheless equally love God, and may be alike 


grateful to him for his mercy, and desire his approval, and seek | 


his will, and adore his infinite perfections. They may differ on 
many theological questions, and yet may have the same senti- 
ments of devout trust and reverential gratitude, and may equally 
feel the need of Divine help. 
is essential to devotion, why may they not unite in religious 
worship? If they will abstain from obtruding into the act of 
worship those theological speculations which have no necessary 
connection with it, why may they not bow together before that 
God which they all adore? 

“The Liturgy of the Church of America professes only to 
give expression to those feelings which should be in man’s heart 
It would leave the theological ques- 
tions on which sects divide to be settled by each individual in 


when he looks up to God. 


his own way, while it would draw all Christian people together 
in the sentiment and offices of devotion.” 

This house was modeled after a church in Col- 
chester, England, and is situated on Colchester Street, 
Longwood. 

Church of our Saviour.—This church is famous 
for its neat and attractive appearance, situated as it is 
in one of the finest sections of the town, at the corner 
of Monmouth and Carleton Streets, but a short dis- 


tance from Chapel Station; not only is it tasteful in | 


its external appearance and surroundings, but it is 
also exquisite in its internal appointments. It is built 
of broken stone, with hammered granite trimmings, 
having a tower at the easterly end of the same. This 
parish was organized Feb. 19, 1868. Amos Adams 
Lawrence and Dr. William R. Lawrence erected the 
building as a tribute to the memory of their father, 
Amos Lawrence,—an exceedingly appropriate and 
beautiful expression of their regard for one whose 
memory they delight to cherish. 


The marble tablet on the west wall of the church is | 


as follows: 

“This Church is built in memory of Amos Law- 
RENCE, by his two Sons. 
March 22, 1868.” 


-<-; 


The organ, built by Messrs. E. & G. Hook, was | 


presented by Mrs. Amos A. Lawrence in memory of | 


her 


Mrs. F. W. Lawrence. 


mother. 
Prominent among the mem- 
bers of this society are the various branches of the 


Lawrence family, the prime movers in its organization, | 


S. H. Gregory, Samuel L. Bush, the late Commodore 
g 


We 


George 


If they may thus agree in what | 


Divine service first held | 


The baptismal font was the gift of | 








Blake, William C. Hichborn, and Dr. | Gill, Rev. William G. Leonard. 


- March 22,1868. Rev. Elliott D. Thompkins was the 


first rector. The consecration of the church was by 
the late Bishop Eastburn, on the 29th of September, 
1868. The second pastor was Rev. Frank L. Norton, 
the present dean of the cathedral at Albany, N. Y. 
Present officers of the church: The rector is Rev. 
Reginald H. Howe; Wardens, S. L. Bush, S. H. 
Gregory; Vestrymen, Amos A. Lawrence, W. L. 
Chase, A. P. Howard, William H. Lincoln, Francis 


_W. Lawrence, John Wales, Thomas P. Ritchie, 


Charles Thorndike, Hammond Vinton, G. F. Clarke, 
J. L. Carter; Clerk, Hammond Vinton; Treasurer, 
J. L. Carter; Sexton, A. B. Marston. 

This society have an elegant stone chapel, used for 
evening meetings, and rooms for the various benevolent 
and charitable objects of the church. Connected with 
this church is a guild established in 1880, a parish 
aid society, and a church temperance society, beside a 
Sunday-school numbering about one hundred. The 
number of communicants of the church is about one 
hundred and sixty. 

Washington Street Methodist Episcopal 
Church.—The first attempt to establish a Methodist 
church in Brookline was in the early part of 1873. 
Three persons from other places saw an opening for, 
and the need of, a Methodist Church where people 
could worship in their own way in this town. They 
united with two others and purchased the building 
formerly belonging to the Harvard Congregational 
society, at the corner of Washington and School 
Streets, for the sum of twenty-four thousand five hun- 
dred dollars. 
manner, and dedicated to public worship soon after, 
and the Rev. E. D. Winslow, of Newton, was ap- 
pointed by the New England Conference as their pas- 
tor. Bishop Simpson preached the dedication sermon 
from 1 John iv. 19. A Sunday-school was connected 
with this church of about one hundred members. 


The church was refitted in an attractive 


_In 1876 the society sold the house, and worshiped 


in the town hall till May, 1879, when land was pur- 
chased for a church nearly opposite their first build- 
ing, on the corner of Washington and Cypress Streets, 
and a new church was built by William Wood, which 
was dedicated in September, 1879, costing two thou- 
sand six hundred and fifty-seven dollars and ninety- 
one cents, Mr. Wood presenting the stained-glass 
windows and pulpit. The following are the preachers 
who have supplied since the commencement: Rev. E. 
D. Winslow, Rev. Mark Trafton, Rev. W. S. Robin- 
son, Rev. Henry Witham, Rev. M. V. B. Knox, Rev. 
KE. R. Watson, Rev. William McDonald, Rev. Joshua 
Enoch Doran is 








——EEEEeE—EEE=—— 


——————— 


BROOKLINE. 


825 








superintendent of the Sabbath-school, William Wood 
secretary and treasurer of the society. 


Schools.—It will be seen by the vote allowing 


Muddy River to manage their own affairs as early 


as Dec. 8, 1686, provision was made for educating © 
the young, viz.: Ordered, “ That henceforth the said | 


Hamlet be free from Town rates to Boston, they rais- 
ing a School-House and maintaining an able reading 
and writing master.” The above act was accepted at 
a full meeting of the inhabitants on the 19th of Jan- 
uary, 1686-87, also the sum of twelve pounds raised 
for the maintenance of said school. What kind of a 
building was used for a ‘Scholl hous” we are not 
told, but we find that on the 28th of May, 1697, it 


needed repairs. Also, on the same day, it was 


“ voated that Mr. John Searl should tech school in | 


sd Muddyriver from the first Munday in may 1697 
until the last day of February 1697” (?). 


The first school-house erected by the “hamlet” of | 


Muddy River was situated on the ground now occu- 


pied by the block of houses of Arthur Williams on | 


School Street, then known as “ School-house Lané.” 
The lane was narrow, not much more than a cart road, 
and bordered on either side by a low stone wall over- 
hung by trees, and on the east side by a thick, natural 
hedge of barberry-bushes, which nearly concealed the 
wall. 

A school was kept in this lane from a very early 
period, probably the only school in the town while it 
was a part of Boston. 
a very small and low, square, hipped-roof building, 
on the spot above mentioned. Some of the oldest 





The original school-house was | 


inhabitants can just remember it as a mere hovel 


going to ruin in their early childhood. 

The second school-house was the same style of build- 
ing, a little larger, and stood on the spot now forming 
the corner of School and Prospect Streets. We have 
been informed that this bit of ground was given to 
the town for a school-house lot forever by one of the 
early Davis families. 

The arrangements in and about this ancient edifice 


of learning for the accommodation of teacher and | 


pupils would hardly satisfy modern tastes and require- 
ments. 


On each side of an alley through the middle of the — 
_ will forget their hardness? We have heard mention 


room the seats were arranged facing the alley, like 
were long, narrow 


benches, with a plank supported upon legs, running 


seats in a street-car, only they 


the whole length of the room (except a space for ad- 
mission at the ends), and this plank served the pur- 
A sort of drawer underneath served 
The 


pose of a desk. 
to hold the books, which were not numerous. 


Bible, the Psalter, the Spelling-Book and the Arith- | 


metic being all that were used, and not all those at 
once. Perhaps they feared softening of the brain. 
The teacher’s desk was in the left hand corner farthest 
from the door, and the right-hand corner was occupied 
by an immense fireplace with a chimney to match. 
The clothing was hung on the wall, in the absence of 
a clothes-closet. 

The wood, of cord length and often unseasoned, 
was deposited outside the school-house, and autumnal 
The 
winter school, taught by a man, used to begin with 
the Monday after Thanksgiving, and the boys took 
turns, week by week, in sawing and splitting the wood 
Friction-matches were one of 
the blessings reserved for modern times, so the luck- 


rains and winter snows fell unchecked upon it. 


and making the fire. 


less wights who made the fires had to bring live coals 
in an iron skillet, kept for the purpose, from ‘‘ Squire 
Sharp’s,” the nearest neighbor, and for some time the 
schoolmaster. 

‘Squire Sharp” was teacher of the winter school 
several years, as was also Dr. Aspinwall. Three 
teachers by the name of Allen (not brothers) also 


served for several winters. One of them was after- 


_wards president of Bowdoin College, Brunswick, 


Me., and another became subsequently a Unitarian 
clergyman. 

Among the female teachers of those days were two 
sisters, Nabby and Joanna Jordan, who lived with 
their parents in the little house. Many good peo- 
ple, now far advanced in life, learned their A, B, C 
in that little old building of Miss Nabby or Miss 
Joanna. Another of the female teachers for many 
successive years was Miss Lucy Aspinwall. 

The school-house was built two stories high, with 
a place for clothing in the entry and a little room for 
fuel in the rear of each room. A platform ran across 
the end, on which was the teacher’s desk, opposite to 
the door. The seats were arranged to face the teacher, 
six in a row, the desks being all under the same 
board for one row, but separated inside from one 
A square box-stove for wood heated each 
room. On each end of the platform were three more 
seats, and in front of the desks a narrow board was 


another. 


placed a few inches from the floor for a seat for the 
little children. Who that ever sat upon those seats 
made of ‘the soft side of a plank.” That there was 
no soft side to those planks none who sat there will 
deny their testimony. Poor little urchins of four 
years and upwards sat there from nine to twelve in 
the forenoon and from one till four in the afternoon, 
summer and winter, to read the alphabet once through 
from A to Z each half-day, with five minutes’ recess 


826 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





only in each session, and a smart application of the 
rattan or ruler if they turned round or whispered. 
For many years the town appropriated money for 
two terms of school in the year, three or four months 
each, in summer and in winter. 


| 
| 


The people of the 


district then contributed somewhat more that a few . 


weeks might be added to the terms. Thus the schools 
were kept nearly as many weeks in the year as at 
present, only the vacations occurred in the comforta- 
ble weather of fall and spring when the children were 
in good condition to study, and through the whole of 
the sweltering dog-days teachers and pupils were kept 
at their tasks. 


The first school-house built by the people of the | 


town, unaided by Boston, stood on the hill, on the 
triangular piece of ground where Warren and Walnut 
It was probably a 
small wooden school-house, but it must have served 
An ancient bill pre- 
sented to the selectmen for repairs on this building is 
a curiosity. 


Streets diverge, near the church. 
for a hundred years or more. 


It reads as follows: 


December ye 6.1758. 
to work don at the Skul hous 
to shinggeling the ruf and finding 15 shingels, and nales and 
Lime to pint it, P20 
to Laying the harth and finding 60 ty bricks and wheling 12 


whelborrers of Durt to Ras it. 2.00 
Lathing and plastern Severl plases 0.1.0 
Moses Scott 4.00 


We do not find Mr. Scott’s arithmetic or spelling 
to indicate that he ever spent much time in the “ Skul 
hous,’ except in the exercise of his calling as car- 
penter. The indorsement of the selectmen on the 
back of the bill orders the town treasurer, Jona Win- 
chester, to pay him ten shillings and eight pence for 
his work. Another old bill, presented by a female 
teacher, who probably taught in School Street, affords 
a similar anomaly : 


ing School fore months from the seventh of June 1760, at 
twenty six shillings and Eaight pence per month. 5.68.” 


on which the indorsement reads: 


“allowed twenty four shillings pr. month In Consideration 
of her haveing a great number of Schollers & there being but 
one school Kept.” 


We have known of instances where an increase of 
the number of scholars did not secure a corresponding 
increase of salary, but hope the above is the only 
instance on record of an abatement being made for a 
similar reason. Perhaps, however, the deficiency was 
made up by a tax on the pupils. 


This build- 


spot was of brick, and was built in 1793. 





ing was the Alma Mater of many, if not most, of our 
present middle-aged and elderly townspeople. It was 
a square, hip-roofed building, fronting eastward, with | 
out-blinds, porch or shed, and here school was kept, 
always by a male teacher, from April to November. 
Then it was closed, and the winter school for many 
years was kept by “the master’ in the School Street 
school-house. Another school was also kept during 
the same time in a small wooden school-house on 
Heath Street, nearly opposite the present one. 

The brick school-house was not an important build- 
ing in town merely for its service in school uses, but 
it was also used for town-meetings from the time it 
It was at 
the brick school-house that the people of the town met 
to form a procession on the occasion of the funeral 
From 
thence they marched to the church, then standing in 


was built as long as it remained standing. 


services in honor of George Washington. 


what is now the garden of the parsonage, and listened 
to the eulogy delivered by Dr. Pierce. 

After the close of the second war with Hngland the 
town began to grow more rapidly. Several gentlemen 
came here and built fine houses, and there was a gen- 
eral increase of prosperity. The subject of building 
a town-house began to be discussed, but met with con- 
siderable opposition from old citizens, who thought 
the school-house had been good enough for them and 
their fathers, and ought to suffice for the coming gen- 
eration. However, the more enterprising carried their 
point at last so far as to get a vote to build a town- 
house. The next thing to be considered was the place 
The brothers John and Lewis 
Tappan and Mr. Joseph Sewall had built stone houses, 


and it was proposed to build a stone town-house. 


and the material. 


This was opposed, of course, as wonecessary extrava- 
gance by the men who thought the old school-house 


was good enough. But once more enterprise tri- 


_umphed, and the building was decided upon, as well 
“The Town of Brookline Depttor to Mary Bowen for Keep- | 


as the location. This was the origin of the building 
known as the old stone school-house, still standing next 
the Unitarian Church. 

The contract for building it was let out to mechanics 
from Roxbury; but the work is said to have been 
badly done. The building was completed in 1824, 
and dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on the 
Ist day of January, 1825. 

The lower room was fitted for a school-room, and 
the old brick school-house was taken down the same 


year. On the spot where the building stood, at the 


site of the door, an elm-tree was planted by Mr. 


| Ebenezer Heath, and it still marks the spot. 
The next school-house of which we hear on this | 


The 
old plan of keeping the school a part of the year in 
that neighborhood and changing to School Street in 





b 
- 
H 





BROOKLINE. 


827 





of population soon made it necessary to have a school | 
_ completely fitted and enlarged, and is in a flourishing 


the year round in that part of the town. 

For several years the town hall, on the second floor 
of the building, was a popular place for singing-schools, 
political meetings, and lyceum lectures. About the 


year 1832, Mr. Isaac Thayer, who had rushed like a_ 


comet into the quiet atmosphere of Brookline and 
left his trail along the horizon for some time after 


his departure, started the idea of a series of lyceum | 


lectures. A company was organized as the Brook- 
line Lyceum Society, and for several winters the hall 
was filled with the élite of the town on these occa- 
sions. 

On alternate weeks a debate was held instead of a 
lecture. 
season created much discussion and awakened great 
interest. An impulse was given to intellectual growth 
by the lyceum lectures which was felt throughout the 
town. Quiet farmers who scarcely read anything be- 
fore but the Bible and the almanac were roused into 
new mental life. A premium of ten dollars was of- 
fered by the Lyceum Society to the person who should 
remember and be able to repeat the most of any lec- 
ture heard. A daughter of Deacon Joshua C. Clark 


was the successful competitor. 


A course of lectures on phrenology the first | 


winter continued for a while longer, but the increase | when it became private property. A select private 


school is now kept in this building, which has been 


condition under the care of Miss Carrie L. Rideout, 
formerly a teacher in the public schools of Brookline. 

The present High School building is at the corner 
of School and Prospect Streets, and near to the site 
of the first school in the town. 

Classical School—In 1823, Rey. John Pierce, 
Richard Sullivan, Elisha Penniman, Henry Colman, 
Henry A. 8. Dearborn, Henry Oxnard, Charles Tap- 
pan, Lewis Tappan, John Tappan, William Raymond 
Lee, John Robinson, Oliver Whyte, Elijah Corey, 
Timothy Corey, Thomas Griggs, Samuel Craft, David 
8. Greenough, Jr., Joseph Sewall, Ebenezer Craft, 
James Leeds, Ebenezer Francis, Ebenezer Heath, 
Augustus Aspinwall, and Dr. Charles Wild were 


_ incorporated as the Brookline Classical School. 


A building was erected on Boylston Street, now 
Dr. Shurtleff’s house, where a school was kept for 


boys. The first teacher was David Hatch Barlow, 


followed by Gideon F. Thayer, the founder of the 


The first public high school in Brookline was | 


_opened in this building in May, 1843, under Mr. 


Benjamin H. Rhoades, a graduate of Brown Univer- 
sity, now librarian of Redwood Library, Newport, 
R. I. The second town hall was built in 1845. 


| Aurelian,’ and other works. 


His assistant teacher, James Pierce, a young man | 


of great promise and much beloved, though a native 
of Dorchester, was related to Brookline families and 
well identified with its interests. 

He was preparing to enter the Unitarian ministry 
when his health failed, and a trip to Europe was ad- 
vised. 
in the sea. 


On the return voyage he died, and was buried 
Many hearts sincerely mourned his loss 
and still tenderly cherish his memory. 

Mr. Rhoades was succeeded by Hezekiah Shailer, 
a brother of Rev. W. H. Shailer, who was then min- 
ister of the Baptist Church in this town. He was 
called a good disciplinarian, as those who experienced 
the shakings which he gave in a quiet way after 
school were usually reduced to submission as effectu- 
ally as if they had been experimented upon with the 
“clapper” of his ancient predecessor. 

Mr. Shailer was succeeded by Mr. John Emory 
After 


the school was removed to its present location the 


Hoar, the present teacher of the high school. 


old stone building continued in use for primary 
schools until sold by the town a few years since, 


Chauncy Hall School, Boston. This school usually 
had from thirty to forty pupils, and was continued 
till about 1837. 
a year or two with varied success. 


After that time it was continued for 
George B. Emer- 
son, the well-known educator, became the next owner, 
residing here for two years, and during that time 
spent a winter in Boston, having leased his house to 
William Ware, author of.‘ Zenobia,” “ Last Days of 
The first named above 
was written in the parlor of that house. 

Lucius V. Hubbard, Nathaniel Ingersoll, David 
Fosdick, Jr., Thaddeus Clapp, Luther Farrar, and 
Samuel Rogers, who afterwards became a physician 
in Roxbury, taught in this school at different. times. 

Devotion Fund.—Two persons have made dona- 
tions for schools in the town at different times. Ed- 
ward Devotion, who by his will, dated 1743, left the 


_ following to the town of Brookline: 


“Ttem: in case my Hstate prove to be sufficient to pay my 
Just Debts, Funeral Charges and the aforementioned Legacies 
and there should be any overplus left then my will is and I 


| hereby give the sd overplus to the Town of Brooklyn towards 


Building or Maintaining a School as near the Centre of the 
said Town as shall be agreed upon by the Town. But if the 
said Town cannot agree upon a Place to set the said School 
upon then my Will is that the said overplus be laid out in pur- 


| chasing a Wood Lott for the use of the School and the ministry 


of said Town forever.” 


The sum of money, which at the time of its being 
received in 1762, amounted to “£739 4s. lawful 


| money” for the use of schools, was borrowed by the 


State during the Revolutionary war, and when it was 


828 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





paid back to the town it was in depreciated Conti- 


nental currency. It was put at interest, however, 
and in 1845 had accumulated to the 
$4531.01, which was appropriated to the building of 


the town hall, which was to have two school-rooms 


amount of 


in it. 

Hyslop Donation.—Jan. 4, 1793, “ Voted to accept 
the Donation of William Hyslop Esquire for the pur- 
pose of Building a School House on, or near the spot 
where the Old School House in the middle of the 
Town stands.” 

“ Voted, that the Town Sensibly imprest with the 
(the) great obligations they are under to William 


Hyslop Esquire, for his generous Donation for the 
purpose of Building a School House in said Town | 
for the Incouragement and promotion of Learning 


among the Youth of the Rising Generation, Sin- 
cerely Return him their thanks.” 

College Graduates.—John White, A.M., son of 
Joseph and Hannah White; graduate Harvard Col- | 
lege, 1698 ; ordained pastor of church at Gloucester, | 
Mass., April 21, 1703; died Jan. 16, 1760. 

Ebenezer Devotion, A.M., son of John Devotion; | 
graduate Harvard College, 1707; taught school 
1709; ordained pastor of a church at Suffield, Conn., 
June 28, 1710; died April 11, 1741, aged fifty- | 
seven. 

Edward White, A.M., son of Benjamin and Han- 
nah (Wiswall) White, graduate Harvard College, | 
1712; was a farmer, justice of the peace, major in 
the militia, and representative to the General Court, 
town clerk, selectman, moderator of the town-meet- | 
ings, town treasurer, and other public offices ; died | 





May 29, 1769, aged seventy-six. 

Andrew Gardner, A.M.; graduate Harvard Col- | 
lege, 1712; ordained at Worcester, Mass., 1719, 
and dismissed Oct. 31, 1722; installed at Lunenburg, 
Mass., May 15, 1728, and dismissed Feb. 22, 1732. 
Soon after his dismission he retired to one of the 
towns on the Connecticut River, in the State of New | 
Hampshire, where he died at a very advanced age. 


Samuel Aspinwall, A.M., son of Lieut. Samuel 
and Sarah (Stevens) Aspinwall, born Feb. 13, 1696; 
died Aug. 13, 1732, aged thirty-seven. We find the 
following in the New England Weekly Journal, No. 
283 : 

“BrRookuine, Aug. 21. 

“On the 13th inst died here, Mr. Samuel Aspinwall, of this 
Town, in the 37th year of his age, after between six and seven 
years illness. He commenced Master of Arts, in Cambridge, 
1717, and was designed for the ministry; but discouraged by 
inward weakness; which after he had been for some little time, 
settled here, so advanced, as to take him off from business, and, 
at length, proved fatal. He was a gentleman of bright parts, 
natural and acquired, a strong memory, quick wit, and solid 


= 
judgment, pleasant in his conversation, a steady friend, and a 
good christian.” 


A funeral sermon was also published on the ocea- 
sion of his death by Rey. James Allen, in which he 
gives him an excellent character. 

Rev. Ebenezer White, A.M., son of Deacon Ben- 
jamin and Margaret (Weld) White, was born March 
29,1713; graduate Harvard College, 1733 ; ordained 
minister at Norton, Mass. (now Mansfield), Feb. 23, 
1737; died Feb. 18, 1761. 

Jonathan Winchester, A.M., son of Henry and 
Frances Winchester, born April 21, 1717; ordained 
at Ashburnham, Mass., April 23, 1760; died Novy. 
27, 1767, aged fifty years. 

Henry Sewall, son of Samuel and Rebecca (Dud- 
ley) Sewall, born March 8, 1720; Harvard College, 
1738 ; a farmer and justice of the peace; died May 
29, 1771, aged fifty-one. 

John Druce, A.M., son of John and Elizabeth 
(Bishop) Druce, born July 13, 1709; Harvard Col- 
lege, 1738; became a physician and settled in Wren- 
tham, Mass., and had a family. 

Charles Gleason, A.M., son of William and 
Thankful (Trowbridge) Gleason, born Dec. 29, 1718; 
graduate Harvard College, 1738; ordained at Dud- 
ley, Mass., Oct. 31,1744; died May 7, 1790, aged 
seventy-two. 

James Allen, son of Rev, James and Mehetable © 
(Shepard) Allen, the first minister of Brookline, born 
Sept. 20, 1723; Harvard College, 1741; died in 
December, 1749, aged twenty-six. 

Benjamin White, A.M., son of Maj. Edward and 
Hannah (Wiswall) White, born Oct. 5, 1724; Har- 





_vard College, 1744; a farmer in Brookline, justice of 


the peace, and for many years represented the town 
in the General Court; afterwards a member of the 
Governor’s Council; he died May 8, 1790. 

Isaac Gardner, A.M., son of Isaac and Susanna 
(Heath) Gardner, born May 9, 1726; Harvard 
College, 1747; a farmer in Brookline, justice of the 
peace ; killed by the British troops while on his re- 
turn from Lexington on the memorable 19th of 


| April, 1775. 


Hull Sewall, A.M., son of Henry and Ann 
(White) Sewall, born April 9, 1744; Harvard 
College, 1761; died Nov. 27, 1767. 

Samuel Newall, A.M., son of Henry and Ann 
(White) Sewall, and grandson of Chief Justice 
Sewall, born Dec. 31, 1745; lived single, a counselor- 
at-law, in Boston; became a refugee from his coun- 
try, proscribed in the banishment act of 1778, and 
passed the remainder of his life in Bristol, England, 
where he died, May 6, 1811, aged sixty-six years. 








His estate in Brookline, inherited in right of his 


mother, was forfeited by Jaw, and afterwards purchased 
by the late Mr. John Heath. 

William Aspinwall, A.M., M.D., son of Lieut. 
Thomas and Joanna (Gardner) Aspinwall, born May 


23, 1743; Harvard College, 1764; was a physician | 


in his native town, besides a successful public man, 


often filling positions of confidence, as representative, | 


senator, and councilor; he died April 16, 1823, aged 
thirty. 

Isaac Winchester, son of Isaac and Mary Winches- 
ter, born Aug. 5, 1743; Harvard College, 1764, 
died in the Continental army. 

Henry Sewall, A.M., son of Henry and Ann 


(White) Sewall, born Jan. 19, 1749; Harvard | 


College, 1768; died Oct. 1772, aged twenty-four. 

John Goddard, A.M., son of John and Sarah 
(Brewer) Goddard, bern Nov. 12, 1756; Harvard 
College, 1777; a merchant in Portsmouth, N: H., 
and also a senator and representative in the New 
Hampshire Legislature; he died Dec. 18, 1829. 

Elisha Gardner, son of Elisha and Eunice (Searle) 
Gardner, born Dec. 27, 1766; Harvard College, 
1786; engaged in mercantile pursuits; died in 
Savannah, Ga. 

Caleb Child, son of Child, born March 13, 
1760; Harvard College, 1787; he was a physician. 





Joseph Jackson, son of Rey. Joseph and Hannah 


(Avery) Jackson, the fourth minister of Brookline, 


born Oct. 27, 1767 ; graduate Harvard College, 1787 ; 
died Aug. 19, 1790, while pursuing his medical 
studies at Portsmouth, N. H. 

Wiliam Aspinwall, M.D., son of Dr. William 
and Susanna (Gardner) Aspinwall, born in 1784; 
Harvard College, 1804; a physician; died, while 
practicing his profession in his native town, April 7, 
1818, aged thirty-four. 

Col. Thomas Aspinwall, A.M., son of Dr. William 
and Susanna (Gardner) Aspinwall, born May 23, 
1786; Harvard College, 1804; lawyer in Boston; 
colonel in the army in war of 1812; lost an arm in 
an engagement on Lake Erie; was consul at London 
for years; died Aug. 20, 1876. 

Rev. Samuel Clark, A.M., son of Deacon Samuel 
and Mary (Sharpe) Clark, born July 8, 1782; Har- 
vard College, 1805; ordained at Burlington, Vt., 
April 19, 1810; resigned on account of ill health; 
died May 2, 1827, aged forty-five. 

Isaac Sparhawk Gardner, A.M., son of Gen. 
Isaac Sparhawk Gardner and Mary (Sparhawk) Gard- 
ner, born April 9, 1785; Harvard College, 1805; 
teacher; went to Georgetown, D. C., and thence to 
Frankfort, Ky. 


BROOKLINE. 829 





Samuel Jackson Gardner, A.M., son of Caleb 
and Mary (Jackson) Gardner, born July 9, 1788; 
Harvard College, 1807; a lawyer, residing in 
New York City; died July, 1864, aged seventy- | 
SIX. 

John Tappan Pierce, A.M., son of Rev. John and 
Lucy (Tappan) Pierce, born Dec. 14, 1811; Har- 
vard College, 1831; ordained as an evangelist Sept. 
15, 1836. 

William Penniman, son of Elisha and Sybil 
(Allen) Penniman, born 





; Harvard College; 
died while contemplating the study of divinity, aged 
twenty-two, Feb. 13, 1832. 

Nathaniel Bowditch Ingersoll, A.B., son of Na- 
thanicl and Ingersoll, born ; Harvard 
College, 1834; died a youth of promise, May 31, 
1836, aged twenty-two. 








William Parsons Atkinson, A.M., son of Amos 
and Anna Greenleaf (Sawyer) Atkinson, born Aug. 
12, 1820; was a teacher; Harvard College, 1838 ; 
professor in Institute of Technology, Boston. 

Edward Augustus Wild, A.B., M.D., son of Dr. 
Charles and Mary Joanna (Rhodes) Wild, born Noy. 
25, 1825; Harvard College, 1844; a physician in 
successful practice in his native town till the war of 
the Rebellion, 1861; he entered the army as captain, 
and retired as brigadier-general in the United States 
service. (See Military Record elsewhere. ) 

GRADUATES OF Brown UNIvVeErRsIty.— Luther 
Metcalf Harris, M.D., son of John and Mary (Niles) 
Harris, born May 7, 1789; 1811 studied medicine 
in Roxbury with Dr. Lemuel Le Baron; commenced 
practice at Fort Independence in 1814; removed to 
Orford, N. H., in March, 1815; removed from 
thence to Jamaica Plain in 1820, where he was suc- 





cessfully engaged in his profession till his death. 
He was also the author of the “ Harris Family 
Genealogy.” 

Rev. William Leverett, A.M., son of William and 
Lydia (Fuller) Leverett, born Jan. 25, 1800; grad- 
uate Brown University, 1824; settled pastor of Dud- 
ley Street Baptist Church, Roxbury, June, 1825; 
resigned July, 1839; installed pastor of Second Bap- 
tist Church, East Cambridge, Oct. 4, 1840. and re- 
signed in 1849; after a short pastorate at New Eng- 
land Village, Grafton, failing health compelled him to 
retire from the ministry. 

Washington Leverett, A.M., son of William and 
Lydia (Fuller) Leverett, born Dec. 19, 1805; Brown 
University, 1832; became a professor in Shurtleff 
College, Upper Alton, Ill. 

Warren Leverett, A.M., son of William and Lydia 
(Fuller) Leverett ; graduate Brown University, 1832 ; 


830 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





twin-brother of Washington above named ; professor | 
in the same college. 

George Griggs, A.M., LL.B., Harvard, son of | 
Joshua and Lydia Fuller (Leverett) Griggs, born | 


at Brown University, 1837; an | 





; graduated 
attorney and counselor in Boston and Brookline. 

James Andem, A.B., son of Moses Andem; 
graduated at Brown University, 1845 ; ordained pas- | 


tor of Baptist Church, Dighton, Mass., Nov. 13, 1845; | 


pastor at North Bridgewater (now Brockton), Jan. 
10, 1850. 

Augustine Shurtlef?, A.M., son of Dr. Samuel At- | 
wood and Eliza (Carleton) Shurtleff, of Brookline, | 
born Aug. 24, 1846; fitted for college under the in- | 
struction of Rev. Dr. William H. Shailer; entered 
Brown University, 1842; graduated, 1846; studied 
medicine with his father, andin the Tremont Medical 
School, Boston, and Harvard Medical College, two | 
years, New York Medical University, one year; re- 
ceived the degree of M.D. from Harvard, 1849; in 
1850 attended medical lectures in Paris and visited | 
the French hospitals ; opened a medical office in Bos- 
ton for a few months, and then removed to Brookline, | 


his present residence. 

Hezekiah Shailer, son of Smith and Lucinda | 
(Shailer) Shailer, was-born in Haddam, Conn. ; fitted | 
for college with Rev. Dr. Shailer ; graduated at Brown | 
University, 1846; immediately chosen teacher of the | 
high school in Brookline; taught six years; after- 
wards engaged in the book business as a partner of | 
Sheldon & Co., in New York; killed by lightning at | 
Haddam, Conn., July 9, 1878. 

GRADUATE OF THE COLLEGE oF NEW JERSEY, 
Princeton, N. J.—Caleb White, son of Benjamin 
and Sarah (Aspinwall) White, born March 10, 1741; 
graduate Princeton, N. J., 1762; died Dec. 16,1770, 
aged thirty years. 





A List of Students prepared wholly or in part | 
for College at the Brookline High School.— Bacon, 
Horace, graduate Harvard College, 1868; merchant | 
in New York. 

Baker, Edward Wild, graduate Harvard College, | 
1882. 

Beard, Amherst W., entered Harvard College, 1871. 

Benton, Edward A. R., graduate Harvard College, 
1875; entered Brown University, 1870 ; afterwards 
Ph.D. ; geologist ; resides in Newton. 

Bixby, Charles Lee, graduate Harvard College, | 
1861; merchant in Boston; resides in Newton. 

Bixby, William Herbert, West Point, 1870; in- | 
structor at West Point. 

Bowditch, James H., graduate Harvard College, | 
1869; landscape gardener. 


Bradbury, Charles Brooks, graduate Harvard Col- 
lege, 1858 ; teacher in New York. 

Brett, Henry, graduate Harvard College, 1869; 
civil engineer ; resides in Calumet, Mich. 

Briggs, Frederic M., graduate Harvard College, 
1879; physician in Boston. 

Bush, Franklin Leonard, graduate Harvard Col- 
lege, 1864; Episcopalian clergyman. 

Cabot, Franklin, entered Harvard College, 1877. 

Chandler, Alfred Dupont, graduate Harvard Col- 
lege, 1868 ; lawyer in Boston; chairman of Board of 
Selectmen, Brookline, 1884. 

Chandler, Sumner C., entered Harvard College, 
1871; lawyer in Boston. 

Chapin, Horace Dwight, graduate Harvard College, 
1871; lawyer in Boston. 

Chase, Henry Lincoln, graduate Harvard College, 
1882. 

Chase, William Leverett, graduate Harvard Col- 
lege, 1876; merchant in Boston. 

Clark, George Clinton, Amherst College, 1858 ; 
merchant in Chicago ; became professor in a college 
in Chicago and president of education in that city. 

Cobb, Albert Wheelwright, graduate Harvard Col- 
lege, 1872 ; lawyer in Chicago. 

Creesy, Franklin L., graduate Harvard College, 
1882; student in law school. 

Cutler, Arthur Trufant, graduate Harvard College, 


| 1871; merchant. 


Cutler, Herbert Dunning, 
lege, 1869. 

Deane, Henry Ware, graduate Harvard College, 
1869; was a teacher in Boston; died 1875. 

Dow, Edward Scott, graduate Harvard College, 
1883; student in Harvard Medical School. 

Edgerly, John H. W., graduate Harvard College, 


eraduate Harvard Col- 


| 1883. 


Fay, Clement Kelsey, 
1867 ; lawyer in Boston. 

Ferris, Edward Mortimer, graduate Harvard Col- 
lege, 1874. 

Ferris, Lynde R., graduate Harvard College, 
1883. 

Geddes, James, Jr., graduate Harvard College, 


graduate Harvard College, 


| 1880. 


Gooding, Alfred S., graduate Harvard College, 
1877; minister in Brunswick, Me. 

Goodnough, Benjamin F., graduate Harvard Col- 
lege, 1883; A.B. 

Goodnough, Zanthus Henry, graduate Harvard 


| College, 1882. 


Henry, Bertram Curtis, entered Harvard College, 


' 1882. 





BROOKLINE. 


831 








Hoar, David Blakely, graduate Harvard College, 
1876; lawyer in Boston. 

Hobbs, Marland Cogswell, entered Harvard Col- 
lege, 1881. 

Homer, William Bradford, entered Amherst Col- | 
lege, 1863; graduated at Military Academy, West 
Point. 

Howe, Archibald Murray, graduate Harvard Col-_ 
lege, 1869; lawyer in Boston, residence in Cam- 
bridge. 

Joyce, George Frederick, Jr., graduate Harvard 
College, 1881 ; teacher. 

Kirby, Frederic W., entered Harvard College, 
1868 ; architect in Boston. 

Lincoln, Albert L., Harvard College, 1872 ; lawyer | 
in Boston ; special justice of police court in Brookline. 

Lincoln, James Otis, graduate Harvard College, 
1873. 

Lincoln, Roland Crocker, graduate Harvard Col- 
lege, 1865; lawyer in Boston. 

Long, Joseph Mansfield, entered Harvard College, 
1881. 

Loring, Robert P., graduate Amherst College, 
1874; physician; now student of theology at New- 
ton. 


Mahan, James Francis, entered Harvard College, 
1879. 

Marston, Edward Chandler, entered Harvard Col- 
lege, 1881. 

Mason, Allan Gregory, entered Harvard College, 
1882. 

Mason, John Whiting, graduate Harvard College | 
with highest honors, 1882, and is now student at law. — 
Morse, James Herbert, graduate Harvard College, 

1863; teacher in New York. 
Parsons, Theophilus, 
1870; manufacturer. 
Poor, Henry William, 


graduate Harvard College, 


graduate Harvard College, 
York. 
graduate Harvard College, | 


1865; merchant in New 

Reed, Chester Allyn, 
1881. 

Ritchie, John, graduate Harvard College, 1861; 
manufacturer of philosophical apparatus. 

Robinson, James Arthur, entered Harvard College, 
1877 ; physician in Taunton. 

Shurtleff, Carlton Atwood, graduate Harvard Col- 
lege, 1861; medical cadet in army at Vicksburg; 
died, 1864. 

Smith, Walter Bugbee, graduate Harvard College, 
1870; mechanical engineer. 

Soule, Charles Carroll, graduate Harvard College, | 
1862; major in army, afterwards in business in St. | 
Louis, now publisher and bookseller in Boston. 


Soule, Richard Herman, graduate Harvard College, 
1870; mechanical engineer. 

Stearns, John Joseph, Boston University, 1881 ; 
teacher. 

Stoddard, John Lawson, graduate Williams Col- 
lege, 1872; studied divinity at Yale College, now 
public lecturer, and resides in Brookline. 

Stone, Milton J., entered Harvard College, 1881. 

Slyck, Van, Henry Switz, entered Harvard College, 
1877. 

Taylor, William H., Yale College, 1878; resides 
in New Mexico. 

Turner, Nathaniel Dana, entered Harvard College, 
1857. 

Waldo, Charles Sidney, graduate Brown University, 
1874. 

Waldo, Clarence H., entered Brown University, 
1875. 

Wallace, William, Jr., entered Harvard College, 
1879. . 

Ward, Langdon Lauriston, graduate Amherst Col- 
lege, 1879. 

Warren, William Ross, graduate Harvard College, 
1883 ; in business in New York. 

Wellman, Franklin Lewis, graduate Harvard Col- 
lege, 1876; lawyer in New York. 

Wellman, Henry Cleveland, graduate Harvard Col- 
lege, 1865; died, 1866. 

Wells, Benjamin, graduate Harvard College, 1876 ; 
teacher in Providence, R. I. 

Wetmore, Sidney, graduate Harvard College, 1877 ; 
lawyer in Boston. 

White, William Howard, graduate Harvard College, 
1880 ; lawyer. 

Williams, Charles A., graduate Harvard College, 
1872; lawyer in Boston. 

Williams, Edward Tufts, graduate Harvard College, 
1865; physician in Boston. 

Williams, Harold, graduate Harvard College, 1875 ; 
physician in Boston. 

Williams, Moses, Jr., graduate Harvard College, 
1868 ; lawyer in Boston. 

Wilson, William Griggs, graduate Harvard Col- 


i. 
favo} 


| lege, 1862; lawyer in New York. 


Withington, Charles Francis, graduate Harvard 
College, 1874; teacher; now physician in Boston. 

Wrightington, Stewart, entered Harvard College, 
1884. 

Students who were in the School of Technology 
from the Brookline High School.—Lincoln, Edwin 
H., civil engineer in Boston. 

Aspinwall, Thomas, civil engineer in Boston. 

Fisher, William B. 


832 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Haseltine, William, with Boston and Bangor Steam- 


boat Company, Boston. 


Gooding, Charles S., mechanical engineer in Boston. 
Cobb, Henry Ives, architect in Chicago. 


Getchell, Alice M. 
Pierce, Dean. 


Bowditch, Fred C., conveyancer in Boston. 


Harris, Charles A. 
Wellman, Willard A. 


Wilder, Burt G., professor in Cornell University. 


LIST OF PERSONS ENGAGED AS SOLDIERS FROM 


THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE IN THE LATE REBEL- 


LION. 
Gen. Edward A. Wild. 
Lieut. Wm. L. Candler. 
Lieut. Chas. L. Chandler. 
Joseph W. Funk. 
Charles D. Cates. 
Lyman C. Stephens. 
Wentworth Wilson. 
Julius A. Phelps. 
Charles McIntosh. 
Benjamin F. Baxter. 
Lewis G. Getchell. 
Win. Henry Trowbridge. 
John C. Withington. 
George H. Stone. 
Alonzo B. Langley. 
Joseph Turner. 
Luther H. Gilman. 
Mark B. Mulvey. 
George W. Funk. 
J. Frank Getchell. 
George A. Bailey. 
John E. Kelley. 
Fergus B. Turner. 
Charles B. McCausland. 
Charles Townsend. 
Timothy Goulding. 
William J. Bell. 
Clarence H. Thayer. 
John R. Caswell. 
Charles A. Dwyre. 
Michael P. Mulrey. 
Daniel W. Simpson. 
Herbert S. Barlow. 
William Gregory. 
William Hughes. 
James Gaffeney. 
John T. Robinson. 
Francis Doyle. 
Francis H. McIntosh. 
John Lynch. 
John J. O’Connell. 
Michael Gaffeney. 
William Bowes. 
James C, Withington. 
Augustus Waterman. 
Frank Howe. 
Patrick Reardon. 
John Wilson. 
Edward Stevens. 
John Young. 


John Malone. 

John Cosgrove. 
Wilder Dwight. 
Freeman Fernald. 
Malcolm G. Kittredge. 
Charles 0. Hallett. 
John A. Pratt. 
William H. Ela. 

John Murphy. 
Charles A. Moor. 
Daniel H. Purrington. 
Richard Leahy. 
Henry Learnard. 
James O’Brien. 
Theodore Hanley. 
Thomas Dillon. 
Michael Lynch. 
James Kent Stone. 

H. V. D. Stone. 


John Lawton, 


Bernard Kaiser. 
Charles E. Maynard. 
Maurice lL. Cooley. 
Orrin W. Bosworth. 
Julius Pauzlaff. 
Fritz Goetz. 

Charles Roser. 
Frank J. Cleves. 
Andrew J. Moore. 
Daniel Hill. 

Joseph Sayward. 
James Welch, 
Francis Shattuck. 
Augustus Mitchell. 
Martin Heinlein. 
Andrew Heinlein. 
Paschal Barrill, Jr. 
B. F. Whitehouse. 
John MeGettrick. 
Charles F. Fernald. 
John E. Farrington. 
Martin Dailey. 
William Fogerty. 
John McGowan. 
George Johnson. 
Miles Murphy. 
Robert Murray. 
Benjamin FE. Cartret. 
Kdward F, Allen. 
James Daley (2d). 





Augustus N. Sampson. 
George E. Bates. 
Albert B. Whiting. 
Jobn Cusick. 

Edgar James Hobson. 
Henry Bell. 

Robert Bowes. 
Charles F. Neal. 
Horace EB. Smith. 
Warren Handy. 

John E, Kelly. 
Francis McNamara. 


Benjamin F. Hanaford. 


Charles E. Griswold. 
Charles H. Perry. 
James P. Stearns, 
Horace P. Williams. 
Thomas G. Warren. 
Edward Perry. 
Arthur Kemp. 
Michael MeGrath. 
Alonzo Bowman, 
Michael Canty. 
Michael Campbell. 
Timothy Kennedy. 
John Sweeney. 
William Sullivan. 
James A. Fisher. 
Bartholomew Cusick. 
Frederick Hutchings. 
Eliphalet F. Winter. 
A. W. Morse. 
George E. Archer. 
James A. Dale. 


William E. Richardson. 
Benjamin B. Edmands. 


Henry H. Fuller. 
John E. H. Chase. 
Joseph H. Dwyer. 
George W. Babb. 
George H. Bacon. 
Albert A. Pope. 
Stephen W. Adams. 
James H. Pike. 
Edward L. Sargent. 
tobert Murphy. 
James 8. Arthur. 
Charles J. Worthen. 
Henry H. Shedd. 
David J. Mixer. 
Otis A. Foster. 
John W. Seward. 
Edmund Russell. 
William H. White. 
Maurice Haley. 
Robert W. Bruce. 
ILorace Hl. Goodwin. 
William H. Douglas. 
James O. Joslyn. 


Casper Crowningshield. 


Louis Cabot. 

William H. Bartlett. 
James W. Sinclair. 
Amasa D. Bacon. 
Luther L. Esterbrook. 
John C. Frost. 


Augustus S. Alden. 
Lewis R. Allard. 

Oscar F. Glidden. 
William G. Rollins. 
Simeon G. Richardson. 
Edward H. Church. 
Edwin T. Atwood. 
Lyman W. Temple. 
Otis N. Harrington. 
Frederic F. Brown. 
William H. Starkweather. 
Stephen H. Johnson. 
Asa L. Gowell. 

Samuel Abell. 

Daniel D. Adams. 
Benjamin E. Corlew. 
William H. Fitzpatrick. 
Charles E. Pierce. 
John T. Goodwin. 
Daniel Webster Atkinson, 
Henry L. Wheelock. 
Willard Y. Gross. 
Henry Orcutt. 

Mears Oreutt. 

Hiram P. Ring. 
Llewellyn Ham. 
Charles G. Colbath. 
Jobn C. Wilkins. 
William Dwight, Jr. 
Charles T. Dwight. 
Howard Dwight. 
Nicholas Eagan. 
Charles Manny. 
William Nichols, surgeon. 
George M. Rollins. 
George G. Stoddard. 
Charles E. Rollins. 

J. Nelson Bogman, 
Frank L. Boyden. 
William C. Richardson. 
Gershom C. Winsor. 
Sidney Heath. 

James H. Robinson. 
Henry B. Seudder. 
Eustis C. Hubbard. 
Frank H. Scudder. 
George A. Higgins. 
Frank Fitz. 

E. Clifford Walker. 
John Burnham. 
William T. Eustis. 
Frederic Dexter. 
Alfred Winsor, Jr. 
George A. Slack. 
Edward B. Richardson. 
Joseph H. Wellman. 
S. W. Richardson. 
George H. Adams. 

Otis 'T. Morrill. 
Edward C. Cabot. 
John Leonard. 

Albert R. Howe. 
Charles C. Soule. 
William F. Hall. 
Jeremiab McCarty. 
Thomas Britt. 








BROOKLINE. 833 








William Johnson. 
George B. Chamberlain. 
George F. Dearborn. 
William L. Wellman. 
William H. Batson. 
A. Cowan. 

H. G. Porter. 
Osavius Verney. 
John Ayres. 

Joshua W. Carter. 

J. H. Chamberlain. 
John W. Clark. 

W. Gould. 

Edward W. Griggs. 
Nathaniel P. Harris. 
William McCarthy. 
Mark W. Sheafe, Jr. 
Warren Simons. 
Daniel P. Sawyer. 
William H. Warren. 
Charles T. Chandler. 
Charles L. Perry. 
John H. Whitney. 
Charles H. Whitney. 
John C. Woodward. 
Horace E. Whitfield. 
George Pope. 

G. O. Fessenden. 
Charles A. Wilkinson. 
Thomas L. Smith. 
Julius Kuhlig. 

Jacob Miller. 
Benjamin F. Higgins. 
John S. O’Brien. 
Thomas Maloney. 

R. B. T. Dowdaney. 
William H. Steele. 
Harry Hazelhurst. 
Isaac N. Bridge. 
Robert G. Bridge. 

C. M. Schafer. 

Emil Dupont. 

Luther J. Nason. 
Charles B. Spencer. 
Joseph H. Wellman. 
William Johnson. 
Daniel Sweeney. 
William F. Robinson. 
Frank Bryant. 
William H. Bradford. 
Pierce E. Penniman. 
Isaac F. Lobdell. 
George Cook. 

Henry A. Ferrie. 

H. A. Morrill. 
Diomes Rosaline. 
Trustworthy L. Moulton. 
William Ragin. 

E. H. Johnson. 

John P. Treat. 
James Kingsmill. 
James Hamilton. 

8. F. Douglas. 

James Sherman. 
George Brown. 

John Saunders. 


ro 
ao 


Edward Harris. 
Charles Raynold. 
Albert McDonald. 
Joseph Dykes. 
Charles Boston. 
Patrick Carey. 
Lewis Osley. 

Frank Seaverns. 
George Perry. 

John C, Baker. 

E. V. Noyes. 
Learned Purcell. 
John Keenan. 
James M. Richardson. 
T. W. Warren. 

John Allen. 

Henry Bacon. 

Lewis Henry Ballard. 
Sidney Barstow. 
Edmund D. Barton. 
Thomas Bell. 

Oliver C. Bixby. 
Benjamin M. Bond. 
John Brown. 

John H. Brotherson. 
William B. Butterfield. 
Thomas Carroll. 
Mathew Casey. 
Augustus Chapman. 
Moses M. Chase. 
Thomas Cleary. 
Alexander H. Clapp, Jr. 
Elbridge G. Collins. 
William Collins. 
William B. Cowan. 
James H. Crowell. 
Thomas Cusick, 
William Dalton. 
James Davenport. 
George Dimond. 
Walter Calvin Dimmock. 
William Driscoll. 
Michael Flannery. 
John Fizzell. 
Patrick Gallagher. 
William Gallagher. 
James H. Gartside. 
Charles H. Granville. 
Charles H. Godkin. 
Robert Gray. 

Alex. Francis Green. 
Cornelius R. Guptill. 
John Hagenah. 
William Haley. 
John C. Hardy. 
David Harris. 
George W. Harris. 
James W. Harvey. 
George A. Higgins. 
Charles H. Hollis. 
Joseph Hopkins. 
David Howe, Jr. 
Henry Jenkins. 
Jeremiah Kellogg. 
Albert Lanyninder. 
Thomas Logan. 





Sewall C. Maynard. 
Edward Maloney. 
Daniel McAllister. 
Thomas McCabe. 
John McClellan. 
Edward McClinchy. 
Onslow McLaughlin. 
Nelson McNonagle. 
Patrick Moriarty. 
James Merrill. 
Alfred Mitchell. 
Owen O. Flynn. 
Charley Olsen. 
Lewis C. Oulman. 
James Penderghast. 
Edward S. Perry. 
Henry R. Peterson. 
Joseph P. Pond, Jr. 
Thomas Powers. 
John Quinlan. 
Samuel S. Reed. 
James Henry Rice. 
James Rice. John Saunders. 
Henry F. Ross. Edward N. Selfridge. 

Col. Theodore Lyman was on Gen. Meade’s staff. 

Carlton A. Shurtleff, medical cadet. 

Edward S. Philbrick was employed by the government at Port 
Royal, S. C. 


Memorial to the Memory of our Patriotic Dead. 


—The list of names as they appear on the tablets is 
printed below: 


William Samuels. 
William B. Seymoure. 
Alfred E. Smart. 
Asa W. Smith. 

John Snow. 

John Sylva. 

James Tarby, Jr. 
Matthew Towle. 
Jeremiah Toomey. 
Eugene C. Walker. 
James T. Walsh. 
Patrick Ward. 
Charles F. Webster. 
Thomas Whalen. 
Samuel White. 
Burnham C. Clark. 
Horace W. Chandler. 
Isaiah 8. Coombs. 
Joseph Cole. 
Thomas Devine. 
Richard Harrington. 
T. E. Richardson. 


HENRY ALBERS. 


| 32d Mass. Inf. Died March 30, 1865, Washington, D. C., of 


wounds received at Petersburg, Va. 
DANIEL W. ATKINSON. 


10th Mass. Battery. Killed Oct. 27, 1864, Hatcher’s Run, Va. 


JOSEPH BAINS. 
U.S. Navy: Steamer Mocecassin. Died Feb. 2, 1865. 
GEORGE BAKER. 
32d Mass. Inf. Died on the march in Virginia, Sept. 11, 1862. 


HERBERT §. BARLOW. 


| Ist Mass. Inf. Killed accidentally Jan. 31, 1862, Budd’s Ferry, 


Md. 
PASCHAL BARRELL, Jr. 


| 2d Mass. Inf. Died of wounds, May 12, 1863, received at Chan- 


cellorsville, Va. 
OLIVER C. BIXBY. 
58th Mass. Inf. Killed July 30, 1864, Petersburg, Va. 
J. NELSON BOGMAN. 
3d R. I. Artillery. Died. 
ROBERT BOWES. 
17th Mass. Inf. Drowned May 10, 1862, Newberne, N. C. 
JOSEPH BURKE. 
59th Mass. Inf. Killed May 12, 1864, Spottsylvania, Va. 
GEORGE C. BURRILL. 
Ist Lieut. 59th Mass. Inf. Killed May 8, 1864, The Wilder- 
ness, Va. 
CHARLES L. CHANDLER. 
Lieut.-Col. 57th Mass. Killed May 24, 1864, North Anna 
River, Va. 
MOSES M. CHASE. 
Corp. Co. G, 2d Mass. Heavy Artillery. Died in Andersonville 
Prison Sept. 13, 1864, 


834 


- HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





JOHN W. CLARK. 
Ist Mass. Battery. Died Oct. 4, 1862, Bakersville, Md. 
THOMAS CLEARY. 
Died April 13, 1864, Annapolis, Md. 


ELBRIDGE G. COLLINS. 
2d Mass. Heavy Art. 


56th Mass. Inf. 


GEORGE COLLINS. 


Co. B, 2d Mass. Infantry. Died March 26, 1865, at Goldsboro’, 


iNerCs 
JOHN B. CUSICK. 
Killed June 16, 1864, Petersburg, Va. 
JAMES A. DALE. 


28th Mass. Inf. 


Corp. 33d Mass. Inf. 
May 15, 1864, at Resaca, Ga. 

THOMAS DILLON. 

Killed Sept. 17, 1862, Antietam, Md. 


HOWARD DWIGHT. 
Capt. 4th Missouri Cav. 


2d Mass. Inf. 


Boeuf, La. 


WILDER DWIGHT. 
Lieut.-Col. 2d Mass. Inf. 


ceived at Antietam, Md. 
HENRY P. EDGAR. 
U.S. Navy. Died in hospital, Jan. 28, 1864. 
CHARLES FREEMAN FERNALD. 
Co. H, 2d Mass. Inf. Died May 3, 1863. 
JAMES M. FOSS. 
Sergt. 59th Mass. Inf. Died Nov. 5, 1864, New York City. 


ELISHA T. FRENCH. 
Corp. Co. G, 2d Mass. Heavy Art. 


ence, October, 1864. 
JOSEPH W. FUNK. 

11th Mass. Inf. Died Oct. 16, 1864, Washington, D. C. 
J. FRANK GETCHELL. 

Corp. Ist Mass. Inf. Died Feb. 3, 1865, Falmouth, Va. 
LOUIS G. GETCHELL. 

Ist Mass. Inf. Killed June 25, 1862, Fair Oaks, Va. 
CHARLES H. GODKIN. 
2d Mass. Heavy Art. Died Oct. 3, 1864, Andersonville, Ga. 


HORACE H. GOODWIN. 
Ist Mass. Cav. Died Feb. 3, 1864, Washington, D. C. 
CHARLES E. GRISWOLD. 
Col. 56th Mass. Inf. Killed May 6, 1864, The Wilderness, Va. 
OTIS N. HARRINGTON. 
Ist Sergt. 10th Mass. Battery. Died July 30, 1863, Washing- 
ton, D.C. 


NATHANIEL P. 
Sergt. 45th Mass. Inf. 


HARRIS. 
Died June 19, 1863, Newberne, N. C. 
JOHN HAYMON. 
56th Mass. Inf. Killed July 30, 1864, Petersburg, Va. 
FRANCIS G. HOLMES. 

U.S. Navy, Steamer Tuscombia. Died of wounds May 18, 1863. 
TIMOTHY KENNEDY. 

Killed Dec. 18, 1862, Fredericksburg, Va. 
JOHN KILROY. 

Died June 14, 1862, Hilton Head, S. C. 


WILLIAM H. KINNEY. 
U.S. Navy, Steamer Benton. 


28th Mass. Inf. 


Corp. 28th Mass. Inf. 


Killed in action, April 29, 1863. 
MALCOLM G. KITTRIDGE. 


Died Sept. 14, 1864, Andersonville, Ga. 


Died July 1, 1864, of wounds received 


Killed May 4th, 1863, near Bayou 


Died Sept. 19, 1862, of wounds re- 


Died a prisoner in Flor- 





2d Mass. Inf. Killed May 3, 1863, Chancellorsville, Va. 





FREDERICK KNIBBS. 
58th Mass. Inf. 


wounds received 
SAMUEL G. LAMSON. 
Paymaster’s Clerk, U.S. A. Died Aug. 4, 1863, on Steamer 
Ruth. 
JOHN LEE. 
Died June 21, 1865, on Steamer Ashland. 
WILLIAM LYNCH. 
Corp. 28th Mass. Inf. Died of wounds Jan. 3, 1863. 
JAMES McCALLEY. — 
Died May 29, 1864, Arlington Heights, Va. 
EDWARD MALONEY. 
56th Mass. Inf. Died June 138, 1864, City Point, Va. 
JOHN MEAD. 
16th Mass. Battery. Died Jan. 28, 1865, New Brunswick, Va. 
OTIS S. MERRILL. 
Died March 2, 1863, Newberne, N. C. 
JAMES MILES. 
2d Mass. Cav. Killed Feb. 22, 1864, Drainsville, Va. 
PATRICK MORIARTY. 
56th Mass. Inf. Died Oct. 14, 1864, Danville, Va. 
MICHAEL MORRISSY. 
U.S. Navy: Steamer W. G. Anderson. Died Dec. 14, 1861. 
ABEL W. MORSE. 
Killed June 8, 1864, Bethesda Church, Va. 
ROBERT S. MURRAY. 
Corp. 12th Mass. Inf. Killed Sept. 17, 1862, Antietam, Md. 
JEREMIAH O’BRIEN. 
Killed May 16, 1864, Drury’s Bluff, Va. 
MICHAEL O’NEIL. 
Killed July 13, 1863, Donaldsonville, La. 
JULIUS A. PHELPS. 
Killed June 30, 1862, Glendale, Va. 
SAMUEL S. REED. 
2d Mass. Heavy Art. Died Sept. 8, 1864, Andersonville, Ga. 
CHARLES E. ROLLINS. 
44th Mass. Inf. Killed Nov. 2, 1862, Little Creek, N.C. 
HENRY L. ROSS. 
56th Mass. Inf. Killed May 6, 1864, The Wilderness, Va. 
CARLETON A. SHURTLEFF. 
Invalided at the Siege of Vicksburg, Miss. 
Died June 26, 1864, Brookline. 
GEORGE T. STEARNS. 
22d Mass. Inf. Died July 5, 1864, Washington, D. C., of wounds 
received in The Wilderness, Va. 
HENRY V. D. STONE. 
2d Lieut. 2d Mass. Inf. Killed July 3, 1863, Gettysburg, Pa. 
JOHN GORHAM THAYER. 
Capt. Ist Mass. Cav. Died Dec. 28, 1864, Sacramento, Cal. 
WILLIAM H. TROWBRIDGE. 
Ist Mass. Inf. Died July 6, 1862, Malvern Hill, Va. 
JOSEPH W. TURNER. 
Ist Mass. Inf. Died June 21, 1862, Fair Oaks, Va. 
THOMAS G. WARREN. 
22d Mass. Inf. Killed June 18, 1864, Petersburg, Va. 
AUGUSTUS WATERMAN. 
Ist Mass. Inf. Died Feb. 12, 1865, Searsport, Me. 
CHARLES F. WEBSTER. 
Co. G, 2d Mass. Heavy Artillery. 
1864, 





5th Mass. Cav. 


59th Mass. Inf. 





44th Mass. Inf. 


32d Mass. Inf. 





24th Mass. Inf. 
30th Mass. Inf. 


Ist Mass. Inf. 


Medical Cadet. 


Missing in action, April 20, 


Died May 24, 1864, Fredericksburg, Va., of 


| 











BROOKLINE. 





HENRY W. WELLS. 
Ensign U.S. Navy. Lost at sea, Dec. 31, 1864. 


THOMAS WHALEN. 








22d Mass. Inf. 


Killed May 10, 1864, Laurel Hill, Va. 


CHARLES H. WHEELWRIGHT. 
Surgeon U.S. Navy. Died July 30, 1862, Pilot Town, La. 


RICHARD H. WYETH. 


3d Mass. Cav. 


Died while a prisoner, 1864. 


The following-named persons, residents of the town 
of Brookline, were engaged in the United States 


naval service : 


John 8. G. Aspinwall, assist- 
ant engineer. 

Charles L. Bixby, coast sur- 
vey. 

Danforth. 

Joseph F. Green, captain. 

William H. Gilson. 

Winslow L. Hallett. 

Frederic Hutchers. 

Stephen Longfellow, coast sur- 





vey. 
Patrick Mitchell. 
John O'Dea. 


Sailors in the 


Inited States Navy credited to Brookline 


Charles 5. Pine. 
Thomas O. Selfridge, captain. 


Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr., lieu- 


tenant. 
George G. Stoddard, lieuten- 
ant of marines. 
George Treadwell. 
Henry W. Wells, 
mate. 
Richard Soule. 
Terrance Gallagher. 
Patrick Linney. 


master’s 


1861 





to 1865. 


Ashton, George E. 
Antonio, George. 
Armitage, Thomas B. 
Ayer, Edward H. 
Anderson, John. 
Adams, William W. 
Altham, George. 
Borden, Nathaniel A. 
Blake, Samuel. 
Byron, William E. 
Brown, John E. 
Bliss, Frederick. 
Barrett, Richard. 
Berry, James T. 
Boyden, John. 
Burk, John. 
Byrnes, James. 
Bains, Joseph. 
Burns, Patrick. 
Baring, James. 
Butler, Winthrop. 
Bruce, W. G. 
Brigham, Frank W. 
Brickett, George F. 
Belmano, F. C. 
Bigelow, B. F. 
Blackmer, John. 
Burleigh, Daniel C. 
Castono, Admirian. 
Cage, Henry. 

Cloth, William P. 
Cross, Richard. 
Coffin, Benjamin A. 
Chase, James W. 
Curran, Daniel. 
Came, Lewis. 
Clancy, Paul. 


Conner, John C. 
Cutter, Sebastian. 
Carr, George W. 
Cloutman, Henry. 
Coburn, George M. 
Cunningham, Michael. 
Callahan, Thomas. 
Callahan, John. 
Curtis, Frank. 
Cunningham, Thomas A. 
Campbell, William H. 
Corrie, Robert. 
Colby, Edward P. 
Callahan, E. J. 
Downey, Jeremiah. 
Devoe, Cornelius. 
Doyle, Cornelius. 
Dunn, James. 

Dunn, James T. 
Daley, Timothy. 
Dailey, John. 
Donald, David. 
Eldridge, Joshua H. 
Ewer, George W. 
Edgar, Henry P. 
Evans, George. 
Ellis, Francis E. 
Edwards, Henry D. 
Edwards, Shubale P. 
Fallon, Michael. 
Franklin, Benjamin. 
Faber, Henry D. 
Fisher, Erastus E. 
Faber, John W. 
Fitzgerald, Florence. 
Frisbee, John B. 
Fay, John. 








835 





Fisher, William. 
Franklin, David B. 
Fenner, Erastus L. 
Flynn, Patrick. 
Flug, Rufus A. 
Fernands, Mans. 
Fisney, Thomas. 
Fay, Thomas L. 
Gillispee, William. 
Gruce, William. 
Gross, Amasa J. 
Griswold, John N. 
Gordon, Henry. 
Gould, Charles H. 
Garvin, William. 
Hartford, Hiram E. 
Heher, Patrick. 
Holmes, Francis G. 
Holbrook, William. 
Hartigan, David B. 
Hogan, Michael. 
Harris, William. 
Hart, Daniel. 
Harlow, Michael. 
Hazen, Edward L. 
Holland, Jeremiah. 
Harrington, John. 
Ignases, Raphael. 
Jordan, William. 
Johnson, John. 
Joyce, Thomas. 
Kinney, William H. 
Kavill, Henry. 
Keene, Patrick. 
Kruger, Henry J. 
Lehey, Thomas. 
Landrigan, William, 
Mahoney, Timothy. 
Millett, William. 
Manwarring, Wilson. 
Mahon, John. 
Myron, Henry. 
Morrissey, Mike. 
Merrill, Marcellus R. 
Martin, John. 
McDermot, Patrick. 
McCann, Thomas. 
McGrath, Daniel. 
Mullen, Thomas. 
McDonald, James. 
McElhone, Hugh. 
Moore, Samuel. 


Nolan, John. 
Newell, Michael. 
Neil, John. 

Nash, Peter. 

Nolan, John. 
Nolan, John. 
O’Sullivan, Thomas. 
Pike, Walter. 
Pinkham, Thomas H. 
Quinlan, Michael. 
Quirk, William. 
Rogers, John. 
Russell, Brightman. 
Sullivan, Michael. 
Stephens, Peter E. 
Sterling, Hiram. 
Stickney, John S.R. 
Stephens, Joel L. 
Swarez, Manual. 
Sampson, Edward. 
Sullivan, Daniel. 
Sullivan, Jeremiah. 
Sullivan, John. 
Spencer, Charles E. 
Smith, James W. 
Sullivan, Jeremiah. 
Sheean, Dennis. 
Smith, John. 
Sheldon, George. 
Trask, Moses H. 
Tucker, Hiram. 
Thorner, William. 
Todd, Joseph. 
Treadwell, Frank. 
Traynor, Alfred. 
Todd, Samuel. 
Venton, Henry. 
Wood, Samuel. 
Wornell, Jeremiah. 
Wright, James. 
Waltz, Jacob. 
Williams, Charles. 
Williamson, Anthony W. 
Whitney, Patrick. 
Welsh, Michael. 
Watson, Joseph. 
West, William C. 
Wilson, John. 
Whatson, James. 
Williams, George. 
Walton, John. 


LIST OF SELECTMEN. 


From the Incorporation of the Town of Brookline, Mass., to the 
Present Time. 


Lieut. Thomas Gardner, 1706, 707, 711, 


12 


Samuel Aspinwall, 1706, ’07, ’11, ’12, 14, ’15, 16, ’17, ’18. 
John Winchester, 1706, 07, 708, 709, °10, ’11, 716, 725, ’26, ’33, ’37, 


Benjamin White, 1706, ’17, 718 


IQ 
> AT, 


98, 729, °30, ’31, 32. 


| Thomas Stedman, 1707, 08, ’09, 710, 713, 716, 718. 
Samuel Sewell, 1706, ’08, 709, 710, ’12, ’14, °15. 


Erosamond Drew, 1713. 
Josiah Winchester, 1713, ’14, ’ 
John Seaver, 1715, 718, ’37. 
Joseph Gardner, 1719, ’20. 


Wie 


836 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Lieut. Henry Winchester, 1719, ’20, ’21, ’22, ’23, ’24, ’25, ‘36, 
740. 

Capt. Caleb Gardner, 1719, ’20, ’21, ’22, ’25, ’27, 28, ’29, °30, 731. 

James Griggs, 1721, ’26. 

Peter Boylston, 1722, ’25, ’24. 

Samuel White, 1723, ’24, ’25, ’34, ’35, 736, ’39, 40, "41, ’42, 43, 
44, 745, °46, 747, 748, 749, °50, ’51, 752, 753, 56, *57. 

Isaac Gardner, 1725, ’33, 737, 745, ’46, *47. 

Capt. Robert Sharp, 1726, ’27, ’28, ’29, 32, ’34, 35, ’38, 739, ’47, 
48, 749. 

Deacon Thomas Cotton, 1730. 

Abraham Woodward, 1731, *34, *35, ’43, 750, 751, ’54, 755, 756, 
57, 758, 59. 

Elhanan Winchester, 1751, ’32. 

Capt. Edward White, 1733, ’36, 40, °42, °48, ’47, °52, °53. 

Samuel Clark, 1733, 36. 

Joshua Child, 1733. 

William Gleason, 1738, *39. 

Capt. Benjamin Gardner, 1738, °55, ’56. 

Col. Thomas Aspinwall, 1738, °41, 42, °44, ’45, °46, ’47, °48, 
1585 265 95) 0» 

Nathaniel Seaver, 1738. 

William Davis, 1741. 

Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, 1744. 

Deacon Ebenezer Davis, 1750, ’51, 759, 760, 61, 62, 63, 764, 
766, °85, °86, 791, 792. 

Henry Sewall, 1752, ’53, ’60, "61. 

Jonathan Winchester, 1754, ’55, ’56, ’57. 

Nehemiah Davis, 1754, *59. 

Deacon Joseph White, 1756, 758. 

Jeremy Gridley, 1760, ’61, ’67. 

John Harris, Jr., 1760, ’61, 62, ’63, 64, ’65, 66, °67, 68, 
94, 795, 

Isaac Gardner, Jr., 1760, 61, ’62, 63, ’64, 765, ’66, ’67, ’68, 
Tiling ay eos 7O0s 


49, 


69, 


69, 


Capt. Benjamin White, 1762, °63, ’64, °65, 66, ’67, "68, ’70, ’71, 


MDa Mos Asm MOy ie MO US, ose Ol Oz. 

Capt. Robert Sharp, Jr., 1762, °63, °64, °65, 66. 

Maj. Moses White, 1765, ’78, ’79, 783, ’84, 787, ’88, ’89, 90. 

Capt. John Goddard, 1767, 68, ’69, 74, ’76, ’78, ’80, ’81, 
785, °86, 793. 

Thomas Griggs, 1768, °69, ’75, °76. 

Elisha Gardner, 1769, ’77. 

Isaac Winchester, 1770. 

Isaac Child, 1770, ’71, ’72, ’73, 774, °75, 776. 

Maj. William Thompson, 1777, ’80. 

Capt. Timothy Corey, 1777, °93, ’94, °95. 

Elhanan Winchester, 1778. 

Capt. Samuel Craft, 1778, ’79, ’87, ’88, *89, ’90, *99, 1800, ’01, 
402, 703, 704, 205, ’06, 707, 708,709. 

Stephen Sharp, 1779, ’83, ’84, ’93, ’96, °97, ’98, 99, 1800, ’01, 
2028203, 10450200 522065,20.750°08,.709) 210) P11) 712,;213: 

Capt. William Campbell, 1780, ’81, °82. 

Caleb Craft, 1783, ’84, ’91, 792. 

Daniel Dana, 1785. 

Deacon Samuel Clark, 1787, ’88, ’89, 790, 799, 1800, ’01, 702, °03, 
04, 705, 06, 07, 708, ’09. 

Isaac S. Gardner, 1791, 792, 796, ’97, ’98, 1814, 715, 716, 717. 

Nathaniel Winchester, 1794, ’95. 

Capt. Joseph Goddard, 1796, ’97, °98, 1805, 711, 22135145. 1; 
UG ealife 

Deacon John Robinson, 1805, 706, ’07, 708, 710, 711, 712, 713, ’14, 
715, 716, 717, 718, 719, ’20, 21, ’22, 723, °24, 25, ’26, ’27, 728, 
29, 30, °31, ’32, 733, ’34. 

Eliphalet Spurr, 1807, ’08, 710. 

Nathaniel Murdock, 1818, 719, ’20, ’21, ’22, ’23, ’24. 


82, 





| 
| 


Oliver Whyte, 1818, 719, ’20, ’21, ’22, ’23, ’24, ’25, ’26, ’27, 728, 
?29, 730. 

Ebenezer Heath, 1825, ’26, ’27, ’28, ’29. 

James Leeds, 1830, ’31. 

John Hayden, 1831, 732, ’34. 

Charles Stearns, Jr., 1832, 733, ’34, ’35, ’36, 737, ’38, 39, 740, 41. 

John Thayer, 1833. 


| Daniel Sanderson, 1835, 736, ’37. 


Abijah W. Goddard, 1835, ’36, ’37. 
Reubin Hunting, 1838. 

John W. Bass, 1838, 739. 

James Robinson, 1839, 40, *41. 
Benjamin B. Davis, 1840, ’41. 

Daniel Sanderson, 1842, ’43, ’44, ’45, °47. 
David Coolidge, 1842, ’43, 744. 

Thomas Griggs, 1842, 743, 744. 


| Marshal Stearns, 1845, 746, 749, 755, ’56, ’57, ’58, 759, 760, 61, 


’62,, 763, 764, ’65, *66. 
James Bartlett, 1845, ’46, ’47, ’48, ’49, 50, °51, 753, 54, 755, 56, 
757, 758,59, °60, “61, *62, 763, 764, °65,'166, cOvOs.mous 
Hugh M. Sanborn, 1846, ’47, ’48. 
Bela Stoddard, 1848. 
Samuel Craft, 1849. 


| Jerathmeel Davenport, 1850, ’51, ’52, 753. 
65, | 


William Dearborn, 1850, 751, 752. 
David S. Coolidge, 1852, ’53, 754. 
John C. Abbott, 1854. 

Howard S. Williams, 1855, ’56, 757, 
Willard A. Humphrey, 1858, 759. 


58, °59.1 


| Thomas Parsons, 1858, 59, °60, 61, 62, °63, ’64, 65, ’66, 67, 768, 


69, °70, °74, °75. 

Edward R. Seccomh, 1860, ’61, 62. 

Nathaniel G. Chapin, 1860, ’61, 762, 63. 

William J. Griggs, 1863, °64, ’65, ’66, 67, ’68, ’69, ’70. 

Edward §. Philbrick, 1864, °65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69. 

Horace James, 1867, ’68, 69, ’70, ’71, 772, ’73, ’74, ’75, 776, 
791805781, 2825 

Charles D. Head, 1870, ’71, ’72, ’73, °74, °75. 

Augustus Whittemore, 1870. 

William Aspinwall, 1871, ’72 


78, 


(4. 
Charles K. Kirby, 1871, ’72, ’73, °74, ’75. 


| James W. Edgerly, 1871, ’72, ’73, ’78. 


Daniel D. Brodhead, 1873. 
Austin W. Benton, 1874, ’75. 


| William I. Bowditch, 1876, 77, °78.2 


James M. Codman, 1876, 77. 

Francis W. Lawrence, 1876, ’77, ’78, ’79, ’82, °83, °84. 
Marshall Russell, 1876, ’77. 

Oliver Whyte, 1877, ’78, ’79, ’80, 781, ’83, ’84. 
Moses Williams, Jr., 1879. 

Rufus G. F. Candage, 1879, ’80, 781. 

Charles H. Drew, 1880, ’81, ’82, ’83. 

Roland C. Lincoln, 1880, ’81. 

William D. Coolidge, 1882. 

Nathaniel Lyford, 1882. 

Charles F. Spaulding, 1883. 

John K. Rogers, 1883, ‘84. 

Alfred D. Chandler, 1884. 

James B. Hand, 1884. 


! Voted to have five selectmen in 1858, which has been the 
custom of the town to the present time. 

* In 1876 the selectmen were overseers of the poor, survey- 
ors of highways, a special board of health having been elected. 

In 1877 the selectmen, surveyors of highways, and board of 
health were one board. 











BROOKLINE. ' 


837 





ASSESSORS. 


From the Incorporation of the Town of Brookline, Mass., to the 
Present Time. 


Samuel Aspinwall, 1706. 
Joseph Gardner, 1706. 

John Winchester, Sr., 1706, 07. 
Lieut. Thomas Gardner, 1707. 
Ensign Benjamin White, 1707. 

We find no record of any election of assessors for the town 
between 1707 and 1712. 
thorized and appointed to Assess on the property,” and from 
1712 to 1737 the selectmen performed the duties of that office. 
Capt. Robert Sharp, 1738. 

Benjamin Gardner, 1738, ’43. 
Thomas Aspinwall, 1738. 

Selectmen elected assessors, 1739, ’40, ’41, ’42. 
Ebenezer Davis, 1743, ’44, *47, ’48, °53, ’°92. 
Nathaniel Seaver, 1743, ’44, *47, ’48, *53. 
Samuel Craft, 1747, 748. 

William Davis, 1753. 

Selectmen elected assessors, 1749, °50, ’51, ’52, 754, 755, °56, 
757, 758, ’59, 760, 61, ’62, ’63, 64, ’65, ’66, ’67, 68, 769, 70, ’71, 
72, 713, 774, 75, 776, ’77, 778, 779, 780, ’81, 82, *83, 784. 
List of Selectmen for names.) 


In that year the “Selectmen were au- 


2? 


(See 


No election of assessors in the following years, viz.: 1785, 
786, °87, 788, °89, 790, °91, 792, *93, 794, 795. 

Selectmen elected assessors, 1796, ’97, ’98, 99, 1800, ’01, ’02, 
703, 2045705, 706; 7, 208, 709, 710, 711, 712, 2135714, 715, 716, 717, 
718, 7195 720, 721,722, °23, 724, ?25, 726, ’27, °28, °29, 730, 31, 732, 
733, 734, 735, °36, ’37, ’38, °39, ’40, 41. 

Since 1796 up to 1856, the selectmen were elected to serve as 
assessors. From the last date they were annually elected, 
separately. 


Charles Stearns, Jr., 1842, ’43, *44, °45, ’46, ’47, ’48, 749, ’50, 


"51, 753. 
Samuel Philbrick, 1842. 
Seth T. Thayer, 1842. 
Abijah W. Goddard, 1843, ’49. 
Timothy Corey, 1843, °44, 
Isaac Cook, 1844, ’45, 4. 
Jesse Bird, 1845, *46. 
Thomas Griggs, 1847, ’48, ’49, °50, ’51. 
Royal McIntosh, 1847, ’48. 
John N. Turner, 1850, 51, ’60, ’61, ’62. 
William I. Bowditch, 1852, ’70. 
A. H. Newell, 1852. 
William A. Humphrey, 1852, ’53, °54, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59. 
Augustus W. Seamans, 1853, ’54. 
James Robinson, 1854. 
Jerathmeel Davenport, 1855, ’56, ’57, °58, 59, ’60, ’61, ’62, ’63. 
Frederic J. Williams, 1855, °56, 757. 
William H. Jameson,! 1855, °56, 757. 
Thomas B. Hall,1 1855, 756, ’57, ’58, ’59, 760, ’61, ’62, ’63, 64, 


a0by 66, 67, 68,09, "70,71, 772, 73, °74, °%D; 76, 77, 778. | 


George Craft, 1855, *56, ’57. 

William B. Towne, 1863, ’64, ’65, 66, ’67. 

Albert W. Smith, 1864, ’65, 66. 

Austin W. Benton, 1867, ’68, ’69, 70, ’71, ’72. 

Marshal Stearns, 1868, ’69. 

William Aspinwall, 1871. 

William Lincoln, 1872, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76, ’77, ’78,’79, ’80, ’81, 
82, °83, 84. 





| 
| 











1 During the years 1855, ’56, ’57, these men were assistant | 


assessors only. 


Frederic W. Prescott, 1873, ’74, °75, ’76, °77. 

Rufus G. F. Candage, 1873, ’84. 

J. Anson Guild, 1878, ’79, ’80, 81, 82, ’83, ’84. 

William D. Coolidge, 1879, ’80, ’81, '82, °83. Nominated, but 
died before election (1884). 


TOWN CLERKS. 


From the Date of Incorporation. 


| Josiah Winchester, Sr., 1706, ’07, ’10, ’13. 


Samuel Sewall, 1708, 709, 712, 14, ’26. 
Thomas Stedman, 1711. 
John Seaver, 1715, 716, 717, 718. 


| Edward White, 1719, ’20, ’21, ’22, ’23, ’24, °25. 


Samuel White, 1727, ’28, ’29, ’30, ’31, ’32, 733, 734, 735, 736, 737, 
738, °39, 40, 41, 742, 743, 44, 745. 
Henry Sewall, 1746. 


| Ebenezer Davis, 1747, ’48, 49, 751. 


Henry Davis, 1750. 

Jonathan Winchester, 1752, °53, ’54, 755, 56, ’57. 

Isaac Gardner, Jr., 1758, 759, ’60, ’61, 762, ’63, ’64, 65, 766, ’67, 
1685769 200, cUlei2 alo, Way 10os 

Stephen Sharp, 1776, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’86, ’87» 
788, 789, 790, *91, 792, 798, 794, 795, 796, °97, 798, 799, 1800, 
701, 702, 703, 704, 705, 706, 707, 708, 709, 710, *11, 712, 713. 

Oliver Whyte, 1814, ’15, 716, 717, 718, 719, ’20, ’21, ’22, ’23, 724, 
2.5, °26, °27, °28, ’29, 730, 731, 732, 733, 734, 735, 736, 737, 738, 
739, °40, 741, 

Otis Withington, 1842, °43, °44, *45. 

Artemas Newell, 1846, °47, ’48, 49. 

William Aspinwall, 1850, 751. 

Benjamin F. Baker, 1852, 753, *54, ’55, 756, *57, ’58, ’59, ’60, 
761, 62, ’63, 764, ’65, 766, 67, 68, 69, ’70, 71, ’72, ’73, 74, 
75,776, °77, ’78, 779, 780, ?81, 782,783, 784. 

Much of the time previous to 1849 the town clerk held the 
office of treasurer, as may be seen by comparing list of names. 


TREASURERS OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE. 
From the Date of Incorporation. 


Samuel Sewall, Jr., 1707, 708, 09, °10, °11, ’12, 714, ’15, 718, ’26. 

Josiah Winchester, 1713, 716. 

Joseph Goddard, 1717. 

Edward White, 1719, ’20, ’21, ’22, ’23, ’24, 725. 

Samuel White, 1727, ’28, ’29, ’30, ’31, ’32, ’33, 734, 735, ’36, ’37, 
738, ’39, ’40, ’41, *42, 43, 744, 745. 

Henry Sewall, 1746. 

Ebenezer Davis, 1747, ’48, 49, ’51, ’68, 769, 770, ’71, ’72. 

Henry Davis, 1750. 

Jonathan Winchester, 1752, °53, *54, °55, °56, °57. 

Tsaae Gardner, Jr., 1758, °59, °60, °61, 62, 63, 64, °65, ’66, 767, 
70. 


| Benjamin White, 1773, ’74, 75, ’76, ’77, ’78, °79. 


Maj. William Thompson, 1780. 
Dr. William Aspinwall, 1781, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, 86, 87, ’88, 89, 
90. 

Stephen Sharp, 1791, ’92, °93, ’94, ’95, ’96, ’97, 98, ’99, 1800, 
701, 702, 703, 704, 705, 706, 707, 708, 709, 710, 711, 712, 713. 
Ebenezer Heath, 1814, °15, 716, ’17, 718, ’19, ’20, 721, ’22, ’23, 

1245720, 726, 12, 28% 
Oliver Whyte, 1829, ’30, ’31, ’32, ’33, 34, ’35, °36, ’37. 
Artemas Newell, 1838, ’39, 40, ’41, ’42, 743, ’44, °45, ’46, 47. 
Stephen S. C. Jones, 1848. 
Moses Withington, 1849, ’50, ’51, °52, ’53, 754, ’55, 56, 757, ’58, 
759, °60, ’61, 762, ’63, *64, °65, ’66, ’67, 68, °69, ’70, *71, ’72, 
73, 74, °75, °76, ’77, °78, °79, 780, ’81, ’82, ’83, 784. 


838 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 











NAMES OF MODERATORS OF THE ANNUAL TOWN- March 7, 1768. Ebenezer Davis. 
MEETINGS. oe 6, 1769. William Hyslop. 
fy pe : Peete aaeak 
From the Incorporation of the Town to the Present Time, with re i se CEE Benjamin L Tite: 
the Date of the Meeting. y 2. 1772, re iG PP 

March 4, 1706. } “ L 1773. « “ “ 
5S 3, 1707. | ‘“ 7, 1774 ““ “ “ 
cs 7, 1708-9. | 7; 6,1775. § “ “ 
oa 6, 1709-10. | “11, 1776. Stephen Sharp. 
ee 5, 1710-11. In these years the name of “ 17,1777. William Thompson. 
< 3, 1712. r the presiding officer is not re- “ 2, 1778. Hon. Benjamin White. 
“ 2,1713, | corded. “ 29,1779. John Goddard. 

% 1, 1714 | & 6, 1780. Col. Thomas Aspinwall. 
“21, 1715. | “ 5, 1781. Benjamin White. 
PE oy AlGy <9, 1789. “ “ 

SAS ITLL) “3, 1783. John Goddard. 

March 3, 1718. Josiah Winchester, Sr. “ 8, 1784. Capt. William Campbell. 
“2, 1719. Edward White. & 7, 1785. Deacon Elisha Gardner. 
“  9,1720. i “ 6, 1786. John Goddard. 
pee Gy tial a £ aN ei ec 
“5,1722, “17, 1788. Col. Thomas Aspinwall. 
ee cores s “ 16, 1789. John Goddard. 
bts a 2 aa * 15, 1790. Col. Thomas Aspinwall. 
A Se aa e “14, 1791. John Goddard. 
£6 7, 1726. Samuel Sewell, Jr. “ 5, 1792. « “ 

Sige NO MLZ dee ch MD A 1708. nee “ 

se 4, 1728. Samuel White. « 3,1794. « “ 

se 3, 1729. 3 a ce 9, 1795. Isaac S. Gardner. 
“ 2,1730. it “14, 1796. Hon. William Aspinwall. 
ss 1, 1751. Capt. Caleb Gardner. “ 6,1797.  “ “ “ 
w 6, 1752. Capt. Edward White. © 12, 1798. Stephen Sharp. 

es 5, 1733, Samuel White. a 4, 1799. fs ee 

TRAC SA Ir Eom - STO AS00L wes “6 
«8, 17385, ~ Sp 29 S'S Ole were’ ai 

Seas OeniraGee | fe Ee a a yee . 

SCM lisvan “Sela e “14,1803, «© 
“6, 1738 7 - 6 AD 18047 4 < 
“5, 1789. 3 og 11, 1805. 66 
“8, 1740 re £ « 10,1806. * a“ 

Ce 22, 174r, s ce OVS Ose ‘6 

se, Ub Aiazs 9S 7 (Casa s0Ss mf a 

sf 7, 1743. Maj. White. “ 6, 1809. “ “ 

* 5, 1744. Samuel White. ce M2 1810: “ “ 
“4,1745. is Co SLi: a 

ee 3, 1746. sc ag “ 9, 1812. “ “ 

ee 2, 1747. ss “ “ 8, 1813. “ “ 

is 7, 1748. ie e «14, 1814. Isaac S. Gardner. 
pee Os 740.4% * = ae Gia) Unie aut di 

Wt 5, 1750. My “ CT 4, 1816. “ « 
Kiril pun. €¢ ss “ Sc uSi7. “ “ 

i 2, 1752. * i Scar Dhe2 FS Ota mice Bs 

Fé 5, 1753. ‘ % fe 1, 1819. Deacon John Robinson. 
sf 4, 1754. Jonathan Winchester. “& 6, 1820. nc . ws 
a 3, 1755. ce #6 “ 5, 1821. “ “ “ 
“¢ 1, 1756. Samuel White. “ 4, 1822. “ “ “ 
- 7, 1757. a “ 3.18238. << is di 
ue 6, 1758. Edward White. “ 1, 1824. “ “ “ 
«¢ 1759. Jeremiah Gridley. ‘“ 72 1825; “ “ “ 
de 3, 1760. G: ce “ 6, 1826. “ “ “ 
“2, 1761. a » oo Sb S279 44 if 
«22, 1762. Ebenezer Davis. 7 3. 1828. “ “ “ 
+ 7, 1763. Jeremiah Gridley. | “ 2, 1829. ‘“ “ “ 
& 5, 1764. Ebenezer Davis. “ ip 1830. “ “ “ 
ce 4, 1765. #6 ae “ 7, 1831. ‘“ Ts ‘ 
as 3, 1766. Jeremiah Gridley. | “ 5, 1832. “ «“ “ 
ee 2; 1767. sé oe “ 3, 1833. “ “ “ 











BROOKLINE. 


839 





March 3, 1834. Deacon John Robinson. 


“ 2, 1835. ve a “ec 
“ce il 1836. “e ““ “ 
SY Negigarate ee s 
“e 5, 1838. “ “ce “e 


“« 4.1839. “ 
“« 91840. « 


Thomas Griggs. 
“ee “ec 


“ce if 1841. “ce “cc “ 

ee 7, 1842. « Abijah W. Goddard. 
“ 4, 1843. “ec “ee “ec 

oe 4, 1844. «Daniel Sanderson. 
“cc 3, 1845. “cc a “ce 

“ce Zs 1846. “e “ce “ 

#6 1, 1847. Marshal Stearns. 

se 6, 1848. James Bartlett. 

ss 5, 1849. George F. Homer. 

a 4, 1850. William I. Bowditch. 

Gs TI. Nou Es # 

“ 8, 1852. “ “ 

«14, 1853. John Howe. 

«20, 1854. William I. Bowditch. 

“ 19, 1855. « «“ 

Sel L856: 6 - 

“ 16, 1857. “ee “cc 


99, 1858. Theophilus P. Chandler. 


«29, 1859. William I. Bowditch. 
“26, 1860. se cs 
«25, 1861. James Murray Howe. 
“ 24, 1862. “ ““ “ 
«23, 1863. William I. Bowditch. 
«21, 1864. George F. Homer. 

se: 20; 1865. ¢ fg 

co 19; 1866: a & 
«18, 1867. William I. Bowditch. 
ce 28, 1868. hs “4 

ce 22;, 1869. os oe 

a PaO E sds “ « 


“ 97, 1871. 
“ 95, 1872. 


George F. Homer. 
Charles H. Drew. 


co SL, 1873: ee a 
“94, 1874. «“ «“ 
S22 Sid. se = 
«20, 1876. William I. Bowditch. 
97 1877. «“ « 


“< 96, 1878. 
“ 95, 1879. 
“ 30, 1880. 
“ 14, 1881. 


William Aspinwall. 
Charles H. Drew. 
William I. Bowditch. 
George M. Towle. 


“f 6, 1882. Rufus G. F. Candage. 
“ce Gp 1883. “ee “e ae 
Feb. 15, 1884. Moses Williams. 


| 
| 
} 
} 
| 
| 


times, thirteen in succession, between 1800 and 1813. 
Deacon John Robinson, the tanner, was elected thir- 
teen times between 1819 and 1834. He was also a 
selectman for thirty years. The four Whites—EKd- 
ward, Samuel, and Benjamin Sr. and Jr.—served 


altogether twenty-nine years. 


Of Dr. William Aspinwall, who was nine times 
elected our representative, between 1790 and 1800, 


_ Mr. Winthrop, in his town hall address, said, “‘ No 








Brookline Representatives.— Forty-one men have — 


been chosen representatives from Brookline. The first 
was in 1709, the last in 1883,—a period of one hun- 
dred and seventy-five years inclusive. 
to be thirty-six years in that period when no repre- 
sentative was chosen, either because the law did not 


There appears 


require it, or because there was no choice during > 


those years when a majority vote was required, or 
because the town could not afford it, when by law 
representatives were paid by the town, or because of 
other reasons not of record or not now apparent. 
Stephen Sharp was elected representative fourteen 


actually too poor to send a representative. 


name of his period—in Brookline history, certainly 
—has been more honored, or more worthy of being 
honored, not always the same thing, than that of the 
late Dr. William Aspinwall, so long an eminent 
physician of the town, and who, while devoted to 
the duties of his profession and to the interests of 


his native place, found time to serve the State with 
| distinction as a member successively of both branches 


of the Legislature and of the Executive Council.” 
Dr. Aspinwall died April 16, 1823, at the age of 
eighty. 

Elections were in April, May, or June until the 
year 1832, when the time was changed to November. 

In 1714 the town put it on record that it was 
Now 
(1883) the single item of the annual interest on the 
town debt is nearly sufficient to pay for two-thirds of 
the whole body of representatives,—two hundred and 
forty in number. In 1714 Brookline staggered “ upon 
Acc’t of their building a Meeting House and the great 


charges thereof.” At present the average annual ex- 


| penditure of money in Brookline since 1870 has been 
$472,144. Brookline, with only eight thousand peo- 


ple, now requires more money annually than the city 
of Boston did in 1822 with over forty thousand inhab- 
itants, the sum spent that year in Boston being only 
$249,170. 

Brookline has a taxed capital of $25,000,000. It 
pays a larger State tax than all Barnstable, Dukes, 
and Nantucket Counties combined, more than all 
Hampshire County with its twenty-three towns, more 
than all Franklin County with its twenty-six towns, 
and more than either one of the cities of Salem, 
Lynn, Somerville, or Taunton. Where the interests 
of so much property are involved Brookline now owes 
it to itself and the commonwealth to select its repre- 
sentatives with care. 

In very early times the compensation was what the 
town chose to vote, each town being obliged to pay its 
own representative. In 1710 Brookline voted three 
shillings a day to John Winchester for sixty-four days’ 
service. 

It appears by Senate document No. 11, 1879, that 
for a considerable period prior to 1858 the compensa- 


840 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





tion of each legislator was determined by itself, and 
from 1830 to 1857 inclusive it had uniformly been 
at the rate of two dollars for each day’s attendance, 
with mileage at the rate of one dollar for every five 


In 1858 
an act was passed fixing compensation at three hun- 


miles’ travel, one way, once in each session. 


dred dollars for the’ regular session, with mileage at | 


the same rate as above; 
force until 1865, when it was repealed without the 
substitution of any other provision, and from that 
time to 1871 each Legislature fixed its own compen- 
sation. In 1866 it was four dollars per day, and 
from 1867 to 1870 inclusive five dollars per day, with 
mileage as above stated. In 1871 the compensation 
was fixed at seven hundred and fifty dollars, with 
and so remained until 1876. In 
1875 it was provided that mileage should consist in 
the actual expenses paid for travel, once in each ses- 


mileage as above, 


sion, each way. In 1876 the compensation was re- 


duced to six hundred and fifty dollars, and at present 
by the public statutes it is five hundred dollars for 
each member of the Senate and House, and one dol- 
laa for every five miles’ travel from his place of abode, 
once in each session. 


LIST OF REPRESENTATIVES TO GENERAL COURT. 


John Winchester, 1709, 10. 
Josiah Winchester, 1711, °13, °17 
Samuel Sewall, Jr., 1712. 

Lieut. Thomas Gardner, 1718. 

1714, May 17. “Voted. In that upon Deliberation the Inhabit- 
ants Declined sending a Representative upon the Acc’t of their 
Building a Meeting House and the Great charges thereof for 
such a Poor Little Town. We the Inhabitants do desire and 
pray this Hon’d House would Exeuse us this year.” 

1714, Nov. 29. ‘* Att a Town Meeting, Legally Warned, To 
choose a Representative. The Inhabitants Declined sending 
Desireing still further to be Excused by the Great and 
General Court.” 

1715, May 16. 
Voted that the inhabitants decline sending a representative 
this year by reason of the charge that will arise upon building 
ye meeting house.” 

1716, May 8. “ Att a meeting of the inhabitants of Brook- 
lyn Legaly Warned, the inhabitants Decline choosing a Rep- 
resentative.” 

No record for 1719. 

No record for 1720. 
Edward White, 1721, 

No record for 1725. 
Samuel White, ee "29, 730, 735, 736, 73 

1728 


3enjamin White, 1] 


one. 


°22, ’23, ’24, °26, 41, 42, °47. 
1, 739, 743, °44, °49. 
No record, 
17: ] 
No record, 1732, ey 
Voted not to send, 17 
No record, 1738. 
Voted not to send, 1740. 
No record, 1745. 
Voted not to send, 1746, 
61, 62, 63, 64, 65, ’66. 


48, °50, 751, 52, 753, °54, ’58, ’5Y, 60, 


and this law remained in | 


“Att a Town Meeting Legally Warned, | 
| Rev. F. H. Hedge, 1857, ’58,- 
208, 








Jeremiah Gridley, 1755, ’56, °57, ’67. 
Capt. Benjamin White, 1768, *70, ’71, ’72, 73, 
Deacon Ebenezer Davis, 1769. 
John Goddard, 1776, ’84, °85, ’86, 
Elhanan Winchester, 1777. 
Col. Thomas Aspinwall, 1778, ’°79, ’80. 

Voted not to send, 1782, °93. 
Dr. William Aspinwall, 1790, ’91, ’94, °95, 96, ’°97, 798, °99. 
Stephen Sharp, 1800, ’01, 02, *03, 04, °05, 706, ’07, 708, 709, 710, 

711, 712. 
Isaac S. Gardner, 1813, *14, ’15, *16, 717, 718. 
Deacon John Robinson, 1819, *20, ’21, ’22, 723, 
430; 73, 782, -o5% 

Deacon Joshua C. Clark, 1828, ’29. 

Voted not to send, 1834. 
David R. Griggs, 1835 
Deacon Thomas Griggs, 1836, °37,°38. 

No choice, 1839, 
Henry J. Oliver, 1840. 

Voted not to send, 1841. 
Deacon Thomas Kendall, 1842, °43, 44. 

No choice, 1845, °46. 
John Howe, 1847, °48. 
Marshal Stearns, 1849. 
William Aspinwall, 1850, “OL. 
Willard A. Humphrey, 1852 2, 753. 
David Wilder, Jr., 1854. 
John N. Turner, 1855. 
Abijah W. Goddard, 1856, ’68. 
Thomas Parsons, 1857, ’58, 59, °6 
Edward R. Seccomb, 1860. 
James Bartlett, 1863, °64. 
John W. Candler, 1865. 
George F. Homer, 1866. 
Alanson W. Beard, 1869, ’70. 
Austin W. pee 1871, *72. 
Moses Williams, Jr., 1873, ’74, 75. 
Edward I. ee 18765 770,085 2095, 80s 
Rufus G. F. Candage, 1881, *82, ’83. 
Benjamin F. Baker, 1884. 


°74, 775,81, *83. 


"87, °88, ’89, °92. 


"24, °25, 726, ’27, 


1, 62, ’67. 


TRUSTEES OF BROOKLINE PUBLIC LIBRARY, FROM 
1857 TO 1883. 

58, °59, °60, °61, 

79, 273, P74, 


Thomas Parsons, 1857, 
1617, 708,69), 4105 “il 
Sil, 782, 283. 


"62, °63, °64, 65, 766, 
75, 76,77, °78, 79, °80, 


20 60, °61, 

Amos A. Lawrence, 1857, 59, °60, 

William I. Bowditch, 1857, ’58, *59, 76 
e242 

Benjamin F. Baker, 
766, 767, ’68, ’69, 

James Bartlett, 1857, 

Marshall Stearns, 1857. 

Edward A. Dana, 1857, °58, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68. 

T. P. Chandler, 1857, ’58, ’59, 760, ih , 762, Be; Bee 65, 66. 

John N. Turner, 1857, °58, 759,.°60, ’61, °62; 7 

James M. Howe, 1857, *58, ’59, ’60, ’61, ’62. 

Edward Atkinson, 1857 


62, °63. 
61, °62. 
0, ’61, 67, 68, °69, °70, 


1857, °58, 59, 60, 61, °62, °63, °64, °65, 
70, 71, °72, 773, °%4, 280; Bi, °82, 2838 


George F. Homer, 1858, ’59, au Me 62, ’63, 764, 65, °66, 767, 
LOS OO a0, Wile ti oomMosme Laan. (Ds 
| hanes Aspinwall, 1858, ’59, ve 61, °62, ’63, 764, °65, °66, ’67, 
85095 0, de wee on aes 15, "79, °80, 7°81, 7825 783; 


eee A. Dupee, 1858, ’62. 
E. C. Emerson, 1859, 60, ’61, 62, ’63, °64, ’65, °66, 67, ’68, 769. 
William A. Wellman, 1859, 60, ’61, °62, °63. 








on 


SO Ag LOL TEE EL ne 


BROOKLINE. 


841 





Charles U. Cotting, 1863, “64, °65, ’66, 67, ’68, ’69, 70. 

Rey. J. L. Diman, 1863, ’64. 

William D. Philbrick, 1863, ’64, 65, 66. 

John W. Candler, 1864, ’65, 66, °67, ’68, 69, ’70, ’71, ’72, 773. 

Rey. William Lamson, 1864, ’65, ’66, ’67, 768, 69, ’70, ’71, ’72, 
73.74, °75, °76. 

J. I. Shedd, 1864, ’65. 

Charles D. Head, 1866, ’67, ’68, ’69, °70, °71, ’72, ’7 
ROWE MSs) AE o0, TOL, “82, Bo. 

John C. Abbott, 1867, ’68, °69, ’70. 

Dr. Augustine Shurtleff, 1869, °7 
“tly “Utey Thy ASUS HIG ee SBS 

Edward C. Cabot, 1870, ’71, ’72, °73, ’74. 

Dr. Robert Amory, 1871, 772, ’73, °74, 775, ’76, ’77. 

eG LH. Candace, 1871, 72; 773, 14, 77.5, 276, 277, 08; 209, 80; 
tL ees asa} 

Robert S. Davis, 1873, ’74, ’75. 

George M. Towle, 1874, ’75, ’76, ’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83. 

James M. Codman, 1875, ’76, ’77, ’78, ’79, 80, ’81, 82, 83. 

Alfred D. Chandler, 1875, ’76, ’77. 

Charles H. Drew, 1876, ’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, °82, ’83. 

John Wells, 1876. 

Clement K. Fay, 1876, ’77, ’78. 

Rev. Howard N. Brown, 1877, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83. 

Henry V. Poor, 1877, ’78, ’79. 

Henry M. Whitney, 1878, ’79. 

James P. Farley, Jr., 1878, ’79, ’80. 

Thomas H. Talbot, 1880. 

Dr. T. E. Francis, 1881, ’82, ’83. 

William B. Haseltine, 1881, ’82, ’83. 


3, °74, °75, 


, 71, °72, °73, 74, °75, 776, 


| 
TABLE OF VALUATION, EXPENDITURES, RATE OF TAXATION, AND DeEpT | 


OF THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE, FROM Fes. 1, 1847, ro Fes. 1, 1883, 
INCLUSIVE. 


Expenditures TotaliValuee 


Dave. for the Year Debt, Feb. 1. : : Tax on 
Ending Feb. 1. Hon, May 1- | sida: 
1847 $9,335.14 $2,156.43 3,909,200 $2.3 
1848.. 10,189.22 6,333.68 4,708,800 1.85 
1849... 10,570.06 6,163.76 5,385,600 2.00 
1850... 10,977.41 5,163.76 5,382,000 2.10 
1851... 12,956.13 3,163.76 5,945.600 2.30 
1852... 28,653.14 13,163.76 6,419,320 2.50 
1853... 21,626.55 12,500.00 7,185.600 2.50 
1854... 22,417.54 15,160.40 8,414,170 | 3.80 
1855... 59,284.29 43,500.00 8,776,500 | 4.50 
1856... 47 432.06 41,500.00 9,302,000 | , 3.90 
1857... 52,869.03 50,500.00 9,569,310 | 5.30 
1858... 71,361.71 61,700.00 | 9,217,300 | 5.00 
1859... 48,827.25 57,700.00 | 10,320,900 | 5.80 
1860... 66,709.96 60,200.00 | 10,799800 | 5.50 
1861... 61,665.54 53,200.00 10,910,100 | 6.50 
1862... 62,807.54 48,200.00 10,702,600 | 6.20 
1863... 122,362.22 88,200.00 | 11,005,200 10.00 
1864... 182,143.03 101,905.96 | 9,667,800 | 10.00 
1865... 163,548.75 124,655.96 | 10,185,800° | 10.00 
1866... 164,645 57 104.405.96 | 10,175,800 | 10.00 
1867... 129,007.02 77,655.96 13,801,200 8.00 
1868... 151,894.97 79,205.96 14,870,700 | 6.20 
1869... 175,856.11 98,505.96 16,313,700 9.00 
1870... 242,084.91 155,405.96 18,948,300 | 7.50 
1871... 317,087.83 245,800.00 20,879,700 9.70 
1872... 473,843.18 473,800.00 29,413,914 8.70 
1873... 453,660.31 581,800.00 28,476,000 11.50 
eye 591,360.49 816,704.16 27,940,200 11.50 
1875... 985,605.68 1 1,346,958.00 27,809,100 11.60 
1876... 569,192.86 1 1,395,350.00 27,497,000 12.20 
TEA fas 389,455.91 1 1,368,350.00 | 24,968,690 12.50 
TST 502,451.5112 1,468,350.00 | 24,944,000 12.50 
S79... 436,463.3712 1,444,350.00 22,586,300 12.10 
1880... 434,882.79 1 1,451,350.00 22,493,900 12.60 
1881.. 403,412.99 1 1,442,554.66 22,869,700 12.00 
TSS" ..| 396,189.53 1,439,550.00 23,723,300 10.80 
1883.. ..| 414,328.86 1,360,850.00 24,842,800 | 123 
1884 | 482,793.95 1,318,950.00 25,822,900 11.50 








1Of which, for water in 1875, $391,547.48 ; debt, $400,000. 1876, 
$82,777.52; debt, $475,000. 1877, $16,576.22; debt, $500,000. 1878, $10,- 
270.51; debt, $500,000. 1879, $9,314.99. 1880, debt, $543,000. 1881, debt, 
$41,000. 


2 For sewers in 1878, $140,282.35; debt, $125,000. 1879, $19,963.79. 


Longevity in Brookline.—Without considering 
_the mortality returns of Brookline as compared with 
| those of other municipalities in the State, to be found 
in town reports and daily papers from time to time, 


some statistics are here given on Jongevity, as shown 
_in the advanced years attained by more than three 
hundred and fifty persons who have died in Brook- 
line at the age of seventy-five years and over. The 
_ table given below, which is the most complete known, 
| has just been compiled from the First Parish records, 
from the town records, from tablets and tombstones, 
_ and from private sources of information. 
| Sir Henry Holland, appointed physician in ordi- 
| nary to the queen of England in 1852, writing on the 
‘practical question how vitality may best be main- 
tained and prolonged into old age,” observes, that 
“we must look mainly to four general conditions, 
which may be said to include all that is most essen- 
tial to the fulfillment of this problem. These are: (1) 
_ Air—as belonging to respiration; (2) Aliment; (3) 
Exercise of the body; (4) Exercise of the mental 
functions.” 

We have hardly space to examine how far one or 
more of Sir Henry’s conditions served to prolong the 
lives of the several persons whose names are here 
The venerable Mrs. Mace, 
who heads the list as a centenarian, lived on School 
| Street, in the house where Mr. P. W. Pierce now 
resides ; she was the mother-in-law of Alexander H. 


given, nor do we know. 


Clapp, the village postmaster in President Franklin 
Pierce’s administration. She died of influenza. It 
is odd that the borders of the brook from Harvard 
Street, by School Street to Park Street and so on, 
which at the lower end are now of a doubtful sanitary 
condition, should be the places where several of the 
oldest people have lived and died, such as Mrs. Mace, 
at the age of one hundred years; Deacon John Rob- 
_ inson, at the age of ninety-one years, who was a select- 
man for thirty years, from 1805 to 1855, and nine 
| times our representative; Mr. William Rice, at the 


age of ninety-one years; Mrs. Esther P. Chandler, 


_at the age of ninety years; and among the living, 


Deacon Thomas Griggs, who was three times our rep- 
_ resentative, in 1836-38, now in his ninety-sixth year, 
and the oldest person in town. Miss Anna Dana, 
who has outranked all our spinsters in point of lon- 
gevity, passed most of her life in a building which 


_ once stood between the present public library and 
_ Mr. John Gibbs’ house. Her great age may illustrate 
Dr. Holland’s first condition, that of ‘ air—as belong- 


| ing to respiration ;” for she is said to have kept her 





attic window, above the stairway, open at all seasons 


| for forty years. When ninety the window was nailed 


842 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





down against her will. When ninety-two she 
died. 


The number of instances of extreme longevity in 
the lower lands of Brookline seems remarkable. But 


the condition of these lowlands is changing with the | 
Many citizens can now re- | 
_the salubrity of the air or the general healthfulness 


growth of population. 
member the baptismal immersements in Muddy River 
not far from the present Downer Street settlement, 
where the thought of such a rite nowadays causes a 
shudder. 


Vigorous out-of-door exercise aided longevity with | 
Capt. Robert Sharp's activity cost him his 
life when he fell from a load of hay in July, 1765, | 


many. 
at the age of seventy-eight. He was a prominent 
citizen and a large land-owner. 

Negro servants, of whom there were many, died at 
a good age, such as Cesar, at eighty, in 1792, and 
Dinah, at seventy-five, in 1803. 

Women in Brookline, as in many other places, 


have outlived the men. The list given below includes — 


three hundred and fifty-four persons, two hundred 
and ten women and one hundred and forty-four men, 
or sixty-six more women than men, who died in this 
town at the age of seventy-five or over. Between the 
ages of ninety and one hundred there are twenty-five 
women and only eight men, or over three times as 
Married women have outlived 
single women nine to one. 


Many women as men. 


Some persons on the list have lived but a short time 
in Brookline, having come to the town late in life. 
On the other hand, many who have lived in Brook- 
line to an advanced age, and whose names may be 
expected, have, for various reasons, moved away in 


their declining years, and their deaths are recorded | 


elsewhere. 

It is common to say of a person who dies, for in- 
stance, between seventy-nine and eighty years of age, 
that such a one is eighty ; and many whose ages are 


here given in years only, were undoubtedly some days | 


or months younger than stated. 








Our local records are not, and never have been, | 


complete ; the printed forms vary with different gen- 


erations, and are still deficient in omitting the hus- 


band’s name of a deceased wife or widow. The town 


records make no pretensions to fullness prior to 1845. 


The First Parish records have no entry of deaths 


before 1761. 
appear to begin about 1721. 
early times citizens of Brookline were buried in the 
Roxbury cemetery 6n Washington Street, at the cor- 
ner of Eustis Street. Under these circumstances the 
names of many persons who survived the age of 
seventy-five years cannot be obtained. 


The tombstones in the old cemetery | 
It is said that in very | 


The list is arranged according to ages, and where 


_two or more are of the same age, then chronologi- 


cally. Errors undoubtedly exist; any one who has 
ever attempted such a compilation will understand 
this. 

We are not aware that any person seriously doubts 


of Brookline, but here is a record, now for the first 
time revealed, which is as significant as it is interest- 
ing in support of the fact. 

The population of the town is, for comparison, 


important. 
By the Colonial Census, in 1776, it was........ 502 
“United States Census, in 1790, it was. 484 
be ee “ce “se 1800, “ 605 
“ec “e “ce “ee 1810, “ce 784 
‘ “cc “ee “ce 1820, “e 900 
“ “ce “ “ 1830, “ 1043 
“ “ “cc “ 1840, “cc 1365 
“ “ “ee “ee 1850, “ce 2516 
“ce “c “ce “ce 1860, “ce 5164 
“ “cr “ee “cc 1870, “ 6650 
oc ““ “ee “ce 1880, “ce 8053 


List oF PERSONS DECEASED IN BROOKLINE AT SEVENTY-FIVE 
YEARS OF AGE AND UPWARDS, FROM THE EARLIEST RECORDED 
TIMES TO Sept. 15, i883. 





Age. Name. Date of Death. 
Ys Mm. de 
100— 1-18 Reuel, w. of Abram Mace............ Dec. 31, 1850 
97- 4— 3 Mrs. Elizabeth [Duncan] Carter....Oct. 3, 1864 
97 Mr. Via phi. .scecece aomeneeons Feh. 27; 17/05 
96 Elizabeth [Nyben] w. of Daniel 
Driscolliecesccocsiecaceccnssscocemeoreeees Feb. 8, 1874 
96 Mrs. Ellen [Nyhen] Culinan......... May 25, 1876 
95-11-28 Samuel Townsend...................-...-March 2, 1877 
95— 7= 6 Benjamin Goddard...... ....s.s-ecsrses Oct. 26, 1861 
94 Sarah, w. of Benjamin White ....... Sept. 11, 1801 
94 Mrs. Mary [Cavanagh] Flannigan.Sept. 7, 1833 
93-— 5 Charlest Stearns... .:.c-csscessacseseeere Feb. 16, 1864 
3- 8-28 Mrs..Hannah B, [Friend] Plimp- 
HON; wve cs scejscesessech seeteeseeesjeseneee Oct 9, 1873 
93- 0-19 Mrs. Ann [Shahan] Wilson........... Nov. 23, 1870 
92—- 1- 6 Elizabeth, w. of Timothy Corey....Nov. 18, 1837 
92- 1- Miss; Anna. Dand..s:...ccyesccesee notes: Feb. 9, 1847 
92 Thankful, w. of Benjamin White...Nov. 17, 1836 
92 Mary, w. of Caleb G. Gardner...... Oct. 10, 1851 
92 Catherine [Brown] w. of Benjamin 
Goddard): s.c.cct.cocesonce socevecesoeeees April 1, 1881 
91-11—- 6 Mrs. Catherine [Drawny] Lavery...July 26, 1871 
91-10=14 “Moses! Hadley... .:....0ssc.csescleocsevonche Feb. 5, 1872 
91- 6 John WRODINSON: ee. cesseessecicoveveorees Jan. 13, 1855 
O1— 3-18) AWialliampRices..concesscocedenecenecerseens Feb. 27, 1879 
91- 3-16 Eliza, w. of Oliver Whyte............ March 17, 1871 
91- 3 Mrs. Joanna Downes Jordan......... Jan 7, 1882 
90- 9-10 Lucy, w. of David R. Griggs........ April 20, 1883 
90— 7—- 2 Sarah, w. of Deacon Thomas Ken- 
Gt easter eres rerriocadeccopasonconcdet June 13, 1870 
90-— 3-12 Dr. Walter Channing..............00«- July 27, 1876 
90-— 3-10 Bulah, w. of Samuel Griggs.......... Aug. 21, 1847 
90— 2-25 Eliza [Babcock] w. of Capt. Inger- 
SOll cstenatusceccesercesnesecccestie centers May 9, 1870 
90- 1-13 Lois, w. of John Warren.............. Feb. 4, 1878 
90- 0-23 Esther| Parsons] w. of Peleg Chand- 
LOY sds ccesccisecevsceajestewcsccessacciteterees Feb. 10, 1865 
90 Ann, w. of Samuel White............. Feb 12, 1774 
90 Mrs. Catherine | Moran] McLauth- 
NIMs ccacce en ntesecetetcsconsteowonconiecesere July 5, 1878 
90 Mrs. Ann L. [Prince] Jewett......... July 11, 1881 
89-10 Jane, w. of Capt. Isaac Cook......... Dec. 24, 1873 
89- 8-17 Sybil, w. of Elisha Penniman....... Aug. 7, 1875 
89= i=" 5 William) P Page\.-.-..ccecesoccassecess Oct. 23, 1878 
89 Mirs. Ruth Adams: ccccess sceocsneciotens Nov. 19, 1762 
89 JOShus StCAMAN'..-ccens svete oselene ces Dee.! 11, 1762 
89 Mrs. Craft [‘* Mother of Deacon 
Davis d.cseoncees sccstaieacecosseteeet Jan 13, 1763 





843 








85-10-15 
85-10-15 
85-10 
85-10 
85-— 7-25 
85-— 6- 6 
85-— 6 
85— 4-14 
85- ae 
85— 2 

85 

85 

85 

85 

85 

85 

85 
84-10-20 
84-10 
84— 7-15 
84— 4-22 
84— 3-21 
84— 3-16 
84 

84 

84 

84 

84 

84 

84 

84 
83-11-17 
83-11 
83-— 9-27 
83— 9-12 
83- 9 





BROOKLINE. 
Name. Date of Death. | Age. 
| y. m. d- 
Mrs. Rebecca Child..............+0+ -Nov. 26, 1802 | 83- 8-10 
Mire Galebh@raitesccasssccsccscocciocerssse: Aug. 2, 1838 | Bee 6-18 
James M. Blaney...... 22-00 ..cscesesseses March 31, 1880 | 83-— 4-20 
Mrs. Sally B. [Clark] Nickerson Sees March 16, 1868 | 83- 4 
GH MDD MG Wiewatsccednecsetanasscisavesacesia== May 14, 1881 | 83- 0- 2 
Mhompson! Whayer-sc.ccs-s\cccocesecrenesn March 7, 1861 | 83 
Miss Many boyIston!..c-- cesses eaneraes Oct. ie Teale || ee! 
WHOMAS WICC seks. csc csevesccsevesscevecssss Dec. 14, 1867 3 
Miss Mary Stanton........ BosoANeReCOCOn July 16,1878 | 83 
Mrs. Mary [Rohan] Donlan........... Dec. 21, 1882 | 83 
Lucy [Stearns] w. of Elijah Corey...May 4, 1874 | 83 
Mrs. Sarah [Coburn] W enw Scereness April 28, 1870 | 83 
David Coolidge.......... RecsiecassessNOWe ON, Ls ON| mcs 
Mrs. Henrietta D’ Aubert. Seeseccnamesance Sept. 14, 1874 | 83 
Joseph Hunnewell.. soqeceee ee March 29, 1875 | 82-11 
Cornelius ane Beneet cabs Seoteso reese March OES) S2—L0= 2 
Mrs. Doreas [Gardner] Arnold socno00s May 7, 1871 | 82- 9- 1 
Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, F.R.S............March 1, 1766 | 82— 7-14 
Abigail, w. of Timothy Harris. nooorece Sept. 9, 1767 | 82-7 
Mrs. Abraham Woodward.............. June 27,1771 | 82- 6 
Mrs. Thomas Woodward....... ........April —, 177 82-5 
DOWMAH ALIS. ssccccccnccaselsoscewecccccaee Feb. 3, 1796 | 82— 4 
IMTS reland ec cccsesesseceescee es assecenet April 17,1796 | 82- 3 
Mist sara rTrOW Di ecssecesscesaciececesiecs Feb. 17, 1825 | 82 
Patrick Meliaurhilinve..c...s<c-s20-o0-0=0 Nov. 13, 1881 | 82 
Theophilus R. Marvin.................00. May 9, 1882 | 
Mrs. Mary [Lewis] Caswell............. June 4, 1874 | 82 
Mehitable M. [Dawes] w. of Samuel 82 
GOd dard reencesecerenlecneosecsersiceeene’s Sept. 27, 1882 | 82 
Frances, w. of Henry Winchester... Nov. 21, 1765 | 82 
Mrs. John Elan Sweecesicneeeslecesonsecesoct Sept. 10, 1774 | 82 
Elizabeth, w. of Capt. Samuel Par- 82 
GEIGS Casewceeaesnacaircssecusclssseesisesewoss Jan. 6, 1814 | 82 
Rachel, w. of Roswell Clapp.......00. June 16, 1854 | 81-11 
Mrs, Tabitha [Kidder] Laughton.....April 23,1859 | 81-11 
Danielle Cartityicesrassss---sstesecscneees Dec. 8, 1870 | 81-10- 8 
sRONMIS-eWirtolteecessess'ssscsntes/s-eacsasens June 29, 1874 | 81- 9- 1 
Mrs. Hannah) Horanecs..::.-..+-:¢2ses- Jan ig 1876 | 81- 8 
John Murphy........ Rennncacdescoccieocses Nov 5, 1880 | 81- 6-15 
Mrs. Margaret Boyle.............sccsee«s July 25, 1883 | 81- 6 
Mrs. Nancy {Jackson} Webster. LAnneoon March 12, 1861 | 81- 4-10 
Mrs. Susannah [Bradford] Parker...Feb. 11, 1881 | 8I- 4 
Voli) God dardsssecssescesincencsastaoctecees April 13, 1816 81-3 
Hannah [Seaver] w. of John God- 
(EUR caqandocnconauD coscoctno oscecanconioa May 31, 1821 | 81- 2 
Parley OPM. csssesccisesessscleeoscseee June 12,1867 | 81 
Mrs. Elizabeth [McGuigon] Mc- | 81 
(ital Wissreccsecaects cecsccticcsetcess ene ie ence Sept. 1, 1879 | 81 
Capt. Joseph Goddard..............ss00 Dec. 10,1846 | 81 
iMiliy BHR OTC Yycoecocossoctesicccescosajsescesees May 13, 1859 | 81 
eter banneksscaccssssncsseccavcscsrcnse es July 5, 1835 | 81 
OHanlesiGOdG ard tacesccscseccssesclteeues Jan. 29, 1883 | 81 
Capt. Isaae Cook........ Seana secetaeneece March 20, 1865 | 81 
Mrs. Mehitable [Bigelow] Adams....Nov. 11,1877 | 81 
PONMIS CAVE caste cceces ceseceticw<ssriss ce se Dec. 12,1756 | 81 
Jerusha, wife of Dr. Zabdiel Boyls- | 31 
WOW epee ot eciceccnccciseecscbecroctvoceeses April 15, 1764 | 81 
Mrs. Major Edward White............. Dec. 31,1780 | 81 
William) Hiyslop\s-s:cocserccs sealacrecetes Aug. 11,1796 | 81 
Abraham @CKSONEstsccsecsecessccsece dan, 15,1807 | 81-11-25 
Mrs eianm whwlopes:-csceccocece'once= sae July 9, 1847 ; 80-10-25 
Simon) McMahon::...2s. sescesessisscscooes Jan, 22, 1882 
Charles Stearns............ cosa coco soon0t Oct. 24,1879 | 80-— 9-24 
Miss Eliza Murdock............ paceaneee Oct. 8, 1880 | 80- 9-21 
Mrs. Betsy [Bennett] Fuller........... July 15,1859  80- 9-21 
Eliza [Eliot] w. of Benjamin Guild.July 24,1874 | 80- 7-17 
Gauistavusy Black.scrsssessccstecesscossss © Jan. 22,1881 | 80- 7- 4 
Miss Mary Ann Rice......... pacledosaceced April 19,1870 | 80— 4-19 
Mrs. mi ATUL DS ssccscoccsasaes ss.co ses Nov. 8, 1767 | 80- 2-21 
Mrs. Esther Harris...............0.......NoV. 6, 1801 | 80- 1-21 
WallebCraftsc....cssjcsccsesccieoteesesscocese Jan. 8, 1826 | 80- 1- 2 
WilliamUNe Roads ttstscccesesccscneesss Feb. 16,1853 | 80- 1 
AMUGl Iso LEsCObtsisccecscrcsseoncacers Feb. 7, 1857 | 80- 0-23 
Jamess Mitchells recesses ccescecsccelcceses April 14, 1879 | 80 
SOHMPHOGANssssscescesseseeccsesecscones Sept. 2, 1881 | 80 
Luke Mooney occouson 1 CQCecs BOBEAOaSeCCEuO Jan. 10,1883 | 80 
Hannah [ Heath] w. of John Howe. -April 3, 1883 | 80 
Hemmry? WinCOlns.2.:.0<es.\cccsessssicscoceese May 11, 1882 | 80 
Susan [Wheelwright] w. of John | 80 
Candlerecsscecssssasecetcecteece senescence Aug. 23,1882 | 80 
Mrs. Susan G. H. [Griggs] Jackson. Nov. 10, 1873 | 80 
Dawid. Ws Griggee.s...c0sseessscsescseeees March 5, 1870 | 80 


Name. 


Samuel Goddard..................000-..... March 
Benjamin B. Davis................000-.--/ Aug. 
MrsSanah Chenery -...:.c-s: cscsssee Dec. 
Hredencks Cabot ja.acens-scerescserotanes June 
Miss Elizabeth Bowditch Martin.....May 
ID TOS MATIN) MRO caeeasaneeniatassanasiccnecer=s June 
WaNvelpllanniGowasearesiiec(casnesacaes cede se Dee. 
ig aa.c Gand nsrcpesscsans[-se-anee-secieeteor March 
Mary Russell, w. of Geo. Searle....../ April 
Elizabeth, w. of Luther Thayer...... Jan. 
George Thompson ........-..seeesceseeees March 
Abigail, w. of Samuel Woodward....May 
BHOMAS NEU sssssdlacscessscaacanciescence= Oct. 
John Reardon :scsescstecccccesss--aste tees May 
Mrs. Hannah [Brough] Wallace...... May 
Mrs. Rhoda [ Hunting] Seaverns......Feb. 
Mrs. Elizabeth [Ashby] Putnam...... Dec. 
Mrs. Fannie [Linnell] Taylor......... Aug. 
Mrs. Sarah Goodnough.................. Feb. 
Miss Susan Heath...........-.00sscscese- March 
Mrs. Sarah H. [ Power] Johnson nocnOc May 
Mrs. Mary B. Blaney............00.s000. Sept. 
Mrs. Mary M. [Lovell] Loring........ Feb. 
Ebenezer Sargent.............006 ssseess. Sept. 
Abigail [Woodward] w. of Ephraim 
VW Tio océgadoccas dsacsanacnouaacoen asaco Feb. 
Wid OWAVO0U cceccccrecscccalessesrtssseraees Jan. 
Ann, w.of Benjamin French.......... Oct. 
WanielePertyencesaccessstiecssssaneacsecers Oct. 
Nancy F., wife of Charles Stearns...Aug. 
Mrs. Abigail Tolman................s00e Dec. 
Mrs. Mary [McKinnon] MeMillen...June 
Mrs. Abby A. [Beale] Quinney........ Oct. 
Peter Hazeltine Green...........02.s000 Oct. 
Mrs. Caroline [Adams] Cook.......... June 
Miss Sarah S. Gardner............-s000 April 
Mrs. Rebecca [Mann] Newell......... Feb. 
Miss Harriet Etheridge...............-. June 
Deborah, w. of Benjamin Seaver.....April 
Miss Eunice AMES se csseese ces sestasecces May 
Mrs. Hannah [Dotan] Burrill ss0006¢ Aug. 


Mrs. Elizabeth C. [Jones] Reynolds. Feb. 
Susannah [Stone] wife of Jabez 


Wishetacccccsclessocorsstnces wacestes e2-5--0aN. 
MassvAmn Hs Heathis-..cesslsccseoses ess May 
Deacon Samuel Clark............-ssee00 May 
SOlOMOMMEIN eee cccsstocescccsesesesicnsens July 
SOhMMEATE Stace sceeesececetsesr actecssecars Dec. 
Patty, w. of Benjamin Hill............ April 
Miss Molly Jackson..............0.+000 March 
Robert JANSON Ee s-+s2.-cecssccssslsoscsosss Noy. 
Lydia, w. of Nathaniel Murdock.....Sept. 
Mommas! Mendallisseecccleco-encssocsose <= Oct. 
Lucy, w. of Joseph White.............. March 
Thomas) Ooley/.o-..cc)-scsesasecceessecse= Dec. 
Mrs. Mary Ann [Dudley] Brackett..April 
CalvingKnowilton=-ss-cc-scesessecneeenss Jan. 
IMu-ssAmm aiitcltellisssocneesensescieeese sss Dec. 
Mrs. Sarah P. A. [Rust] Jones...... July 


Patience, w. of Enos Withington.... April 


Mrs. Elizabeth [Ricbards] Ken- 

TU CKe aes sconcclcccacececmsccccscssseresosess Nov. 
Joshua Whilds! Clarks-..cec-oseccsscosses July 
Mrs. Eunice Stedman..............se0«-- March 
iaCOb) HOMCrs-..csssccevercssionccsscceseeas March 
Mrs. Sarah [Warren] Spalding...... Jan. 
Dr. Samuel A. Shurtleff................- Feb. 
Mrs. Sally [Root] Van Slyck......... May 
Wiallram: CHichborntwswcss.scsstecsceceees: Sept. 
Mrs. Mary [Bartlett] Clark...........May 
Peter sRichardsOns. cs, cstsessosccscscses March 
Mrs. Mercy [Rose] Newell.............. March 
Joseph V. Bacon.......00..cosseees reeves May 
JOnNACKELS .scscescccses~ Sacsnsesiovevcesen® Jan. 
Susannah, w. of Robert Sharp......... Jan 
John Ellis Ls cue ai dcseacusssoctecececiccce esses Dec. 
Jenny, servant of Isaac Winchester..Jan. 
Miss Betsy Chamberlain.............+-. Dec. 
WaeSaleecsetcececcnsceecsscinececcseconcescenes March 
Hramike OwNietlisccsc/es<cssescccsacceccien sees Nov. 
Widow Mary Jackson..........00+seeee. Oct. 
Sarah Williains—at Mr. Heath’s.....Oct. 


Date of Death. 


13, 1871 
22, 1877 
21, 1880 
1869 
1875 
—, 1735 
Dee liveves 
11, 1767 

3, 1836 
16, 1853 

9, 1855 
20, 1855 

2, 1881 
1883 
1881 
1863 
2, 1870 
F, 1875 
3, 1845 
24, 1878 
22, 1860 
15, 1874 
1878 
iyepll 


17, 1792 
4, 1798 
0, 1849 
7, 1853 
4, 1855 
7, 1858 
6, 1881 
1, 1882 
19, 1862 
1883 
1879 
4, 1867 
4, 1873 
26, 1851 
12, 1862 
1870 
15, 1879 


8, 1875 
15, 1878 
7, 1766 
1792 
15, 1831 
1847 
22, 1847 
1849 
24, 1850 
1850 
15, 1856 
1868 
9, 1877 
1878 
1880 
6, 1883 
13, 1853 


5, 1861 
4, 1861 
13, 1835 
23, 1869 
25, 1877 
1873 
7, 1878 
1880 
1873 
15, 1878 
2, 1875 
5, 1867 
16, 1712 
4,177 
1770 
5, 1771 
26, 1778 
26, 1792 
5, 1792 
21, 1810 
Tage 


844 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 











Age. Name. Date of Death. ; Age. Name. Date of Death. 4 
y. m. d | Ys m. d. | 
80 William Aspinwall, M.D............... April 16,1823 | 77 Susannah, w. of Isaac Gardner....... Aug. 18, 1768 / 
80 Thaddeus Jackson. ..........sscseeceeres Oct. 12, 1832 | 77 Mrs. Elizabeth Boylston............. ..Aug. 19, 1776 | 
80 MirsseA'd ane B RDGOCK..cccccceseccsse scene May 15,1858 | 77 Margaret [Williams], w. of Thomas ‘ 
80 Miss Prudence Heath...............00008 March 9, 1839 Griggs... s-corceseseNept. LIP MIS00 ji 
80 Ebenezer Heath... ...0:.cacsesseseceses Feb. 26, 1845 | 77 Lucey, widow of ‘Col. ‘Thomas Aspin- j 
80 Samuel G. Perkins, Esq. [on his wall.. seesiesessscessesesae NOME Oy muse 

[privet] 86 Fy 7 eeeepeocdoeoodceds: UaneD BaDKaG Oo May 24,1847 | 77 Capt. Adam Babebok.12. adeetwe Sept. 24, 1817 | 
80 Thomas Waldron Sumnet............00. May 29,1849 | 77 Mrs; Mary Dennie..s.cecsc<csvneserameens Sept. 7, 1819 
80 Mhomas Hold enin..ceshesccstssdecicc-wseses Nov. 28, 1849 | 77 Martha, w. of Josiah Woodward......Dec. 25, 1840 
80 Lucy, w. of James Holden.............. Feb. 2, L851) 77 Rebecea, wife of Daniel Perry........ Nov. 15, 1851 } 
80 Ly diss w. of Nathaniel Wright....... Sept. 18,1854 | 77 John Moreland: cc-esceeseeeeee eleseceacen March 21. 1856 \ 
80 Mrs. Hannah Murray........scccceseeeee Nov. 19,1856 | 77 Mrs. Mary Tolman..............:. pocecc June 6, 1865 ‘ 
80 Lucey, widow of Dr. John Pierce...... Feb. 12,1858 | 77 Mrs. Rhoda B. [Lardbee] Powers....Dee. 8, 1871 
80 Obey mip tons sc cartencesclosicceseeescieneer April 13, 1863 | 77 Mrs. Ellen [Ahern] Dwyer............Jan. 1, 1880 
80 Mirs. Many ALS Brig esicceccossssecteases March 12, 1864 | 76-10-17 Francis Fisher.............ssecsssseccseees Aug. 1, 1871 
80 Mrs. Margaret Elliott... ‘ ssuly, 15,1865 1 76-10= 9 Harrison Pay ....cccsiccreeceeseneseteeetes July 1, 1882 
80 Mrs. Ruth [Greene | Bailey ......--..March 7, 1867 | 76-10- 5 Mrs. Mercy [Philbrick] Pettingill...April 1, 1863 
80 Mrs. Mary [Power] Clancy............ Oct. 12,1868 | 76- 8-14 Hannah, wife of Studley Sampson...Nov. 29, 1848 
80 Miss Catherine Campbell............... May 13,1876 | 76— 8-10 Miss Sarah Kitteredge......... 0.00.80. 6, 1871 
80 Mrs. Margaret Doyle ................000 Dee.) 14,1877 || %6— 7— 1 Caleb Crafty. cc20 3.2. cwsenjeencsielscaceeses July 11, 1860 
80 Mrs. Rosanna [Killain] Malone...... Jan. 4, 1878 | 76- 4 Miss Eliza Gardner...........0000.-sessses Nov. 26, 1870 
80 MirsssMaryyllynleecsccsestscssdderesesnee seer 2, 1881 | 76= 3-28 Hom. Seth Ames\..2...-. .csccscseseesesse Aug. 15, 1881 
79- 7 William T. Eustis. .......0. ..000 .May 45,1874 | 76- 3-24 Mrs. Maria H. [Salt] Laighton...... Jan. 16, 1883 
79- 6-24 William Clark Tyler... sosprecesscoccsensens March 22, 1882, | 76= 3-21 Augustus A. Hayes........0.cciesecsseoee June 21, 1882 
79- 6 Mrs. Mary [Gardner] Corey............ March 3, 1862 | 76- 2 Mrs. Susannah [Johnstone] Mathe- 
79- 6 Mrs. Tiucy G. Dawes=.......0:seccscacces March 3, 1877 SOD stoccccccisserscossiscsseesesicseecescsecee Sept. 4, 1876 
79— 4-21 Mrs. Jane [Walker] Summer ......... Aug 2451880") 76—1-10) John Pierce, DoD eit. ..ceccsnecoreeeesests Aug. 24, 1849 
79- 3 Mrs. Phebe [Caswell] Long............ Nov. 18,1869 | 76- 0- 5 SamuelJ.Gardner.... ........... 5 050000 July 14, 1864 
79- 1-13 Mrs. Mary [Holmes] Churchill........June 26, 1883 | 76 Edward Devotion............ sesleceeseeee Nov. 7, 1744 
(O—ol— on HNISHaStONG.scorccossaseonleccecncescosoesve Dec. 22, 1867 | 76 Capt. John Winchester...... ssaleseaeniers Sept. 27, 1751 
79 Sarah, w. of John Seaver............... March 20, 1747 | 76 Samneluwihiters..cte.cacsatecnedecessetes April 9, 1760 
79 Mrs. Samuel Sewalli... coc. cacosseos0APril 4, YAH 7A) Susannah, wife of Isaac Gardner.....Aug. 18, 1768 
79 Mrs. Capt. Robert Sharp............+4. Jan. 4,1770 | 76 Major Edward Wihit@s:.-..c-ccssseseseeee May 29, 1769 
79 Mary, w. of Nehemiah Davis......... June 19, 1786 | 76 Thomas Aspinwall ............cc.cec¥osses June 1, 1774 
79 DOSMMaAPDOVIStOMesccdccie-eas seleccoscescesse Nov. 1, 1804 | 76 Mrs) SamueliClark...c.s.cccssscseesneesa June 9,1775 
79 Susanna, w. of Joseph Davenport...May 27, 1841 | 76 William: Ackers?..:....:csccccesesvestesevss OC 9, 1794 
79 Elizabeth H., w. of Ebenezer Thayer.Dec. 14, 1852 | 76 Daniel Danaccncccscessesccscccosescceseenber Sept. 23, 1803 
ig Mrs. Mary [Moore] FAN ClSesseceescess April 16, 1864 | 76 Mrs. Jonas Raymond........... Bacoornies Oct. 16, 1809 
79 Roberty MuUrrayjencencesccdessssssceaes seer Sept. 21,1868 | 76 Jonathan Dana........ Dobouoecraacnood cha Dec. 21, 1812 
78-10 Lewis Slacks.:.2.scc.cscssesscsssossseeses Jan, 11, 1883 | 76 Mrs’) SamuelliClarkst.cc..cscsncacissseceines April 14, 1829 
78— 9-16 Miss Eliza Ann Guild...............008- Jan. 24,1868 | 76 WalliamvAckerss2.ccss.ccscclscesse=ehactes July 14, 1841 
78- 9 SAMUS C DO besescatNacsscssscscsssasieseess Sept. 3, 1863 | 76 Mehitable, w. of William Ackers....Dec. 23, 1843 
78— 8-19 Mrs. Catherine [Davis] Lee............ July 2, 1870 | 76 John Hayden........ sereresesenes Sosaced July 15, 1844 
W8— 15-02) Benjrmin |Waillise...csscessscosiaceessosaees July 28,1870 | 76 Sarah, w. of Thomas Kenrick......... Sept. 23, 1845 
78- 7- 3. Mrs Polly [Chamberlain] Johnson...Aug. 23, 1877 | 76 Mary, w. of John Irving ....... eecaess March 31, 1848 
78- 6-28 Mrs. Sarah [Richardson] Crafts...... Nov. 22,1861 | 76 Joseph White.. soeicosensene March) -2aulSo0) 
78- 6-20 Mrs. Lucy [Smith] Babcock............ Feb. 14, 1877 | 76 Mary w. of Josiah Warren. Rate asacese March 21, 1853 
78— 6 Bdward AM Walligms? <scccoussesssneor es Sept. 11,1871 | 76 Mrs. Pauline Whitney... secvesssossUNGU Mommisaig 
UO O— Loe NADA ME DCs. cacesscejcceee sees cocnees es Feb. 8, 1863 | 76 Mary [Jackson] w. of Henry Lee....June 1, 1860 
78— 3-30 Mrs. Margaret [Spurr] Williams.....Sept. 1, 1876 | 76 Eliza Buckminster, w. of Thomas 
Oo e LH ZOKIC] OaWillscssccccstuccescsccicecseesooce Dec. 13, 1870 TiOO:. vassecvcicecdoececess scence sencceentae June 22, 1864 
78— 3-14 Mrs. Sarah [Boyle] Nesbit............. Nov. 2;,1867 | 76 WalliammAppletont..-....cccs-ssccassneuns May 31, 1864 
NS —el— 2m MTS LIU CVS Dit nc scacscicceseeetorercsens'es Oct. 28,1879 | 76 George: Babcockiscscsccssccscceccisessesucs Jan. 5, 1868 
78— 2-13 Thomas Celfe...........:c00scscsseseeseees April 28, 1863 | 76 Mrs. Elien Mahan...........:scessssceees .- Dec. 2, 1868 
GSU =A EOL SO UW ce ECIT UM .csceseesscsces stepson Noy. 21, 1867 | 76 Mrs. Caleb Clark. 2.02. cacsctecensslecivacs May 22, 1871 
78- 0-27 Mrs. Persis [Hutchins] Hurd......... Aug. 12,1879 | 76 Anna Greenleaf, w. of Amos Atkin- 
78— 0-16 Ben AMIN BLUCCs.s.0s)cceeeescs cccesessetes May 19, 1881 SOM Ascccecotastrccaceuecseeecceronoreeeter Sept. 29, 1871 
78 Capt. Robt. Sharp—Fall from a load 75-11-11 Thomas Curry............ PRE caoeeEOs BoCD0G May 25, 1880 
Olgliayiepsecccsclecavecserlacesecceslicccoe se July 18,1765 | 75- 9 Reuben Smiths cc ccscecorcssssece test ecess Jan. 20, 1861 
78 Gulliver Winchester’s mother......... May 4,1768 | 75- 8-5 Nehemiah Merritt...............ccecssee- Dec. 31, 1871 
7 INGHOMIA DMD AVIS hescescsescesviecscsasetss Jan. 5, 1785 | 75- 8— 2 Jonathan Stodder...... .....00.,.00ceceee March 2) 1866 
78 REVeMONACNAN MEL YAO. sccnescccsccceecess June> #4551787 )| 75=.6—="8 Stephen Ps Webb: ...ccccccsssresccissnsee Dec. 28, 1879 
78 Kate, w. of Cuffy Hill [servants of 75- 6 Moses JONES! circ esesiessseesseses isdoceses Feb. 9, 1862 
Madam Samuel White]............... Nov. 8, 1792 | 75- 5-24 John G. Dap PAN ec occesccces eoecweisecesctlne Aug. 29, 1883 
78 ISIS EA O19 Uh gee re an July 14,1825 | 75— 5- 5 William Dwight.........ccsssscsssseseeees Sept. 20, 1880 
78 Mis:* Jaco builervey:..c.scs-<0cce~sesveses April 11, 1826 | 75- 4-17 Mrs. Mary W. Brambhall................. Dec. 30, 1878 
78 Mary Sack SOWsssscscccelsckecssnalse'esereess Jan. 2, 1841 | 75- 4-10 Warren White..............c00-eceesseeeeApril 30; 1866 
78 Elizabeth Saunders, w. of Jacob | 75-4 Hoentiy Uphariesctcccecscessc aisavenersees April 25, 1875 
BUSES recs encosssese ces seceesercente sopieset Jan. 4, 1847 | 75- 3 James! Bentty vescecsseccesaecacssscuseesses Sept. 7, 1882 
78 Mrs. ‘Thomas’ Perkins: 5..<.5 vecess sess Sept. 11,1848 | 75- 2- 8 Mrs. Isabella [Porter] Homes......... July 3, 1863 
78 Mrs. Honora [Curley] Moran......... Nov. 27, 1863 | 75- 2 Mrs. Experience [Jackson] Wood- 
78 Mrs. Catherine [Hassett] Hickey.....Feb. 3, 1870 Wal Ciencmeesorsscleccctencscosccecasieteenenee April 30, 1864 
77— 8-16 Mrs. Mary Jane [Fourquet] Jenkins.Jan. Tr LOOLyiieio—U0=15) JobntHowe:.ccs..scccsessconcotrrcccc sence April ay 1867 
i 8— 15) eDaniel /Worthley:.c..<¢c..05s+-ccstsacsse Aug. 12,1875 | 75 JOSIAhh Winchestorss.csceseorscecolesseee Feb. 22, 1728 
77- 7-13 Augustus elt Poeceeceon iu lha wees slogan inde Mrs. Hlhanan Winchester......... 000 March 27, 1768 
77-7 Eliza, w. of Dr. Samuel A. Shurtleff. May 31, 1878 | 75 Thomas Woo0dward........000 sesees eecsee Os 30, 1768 
77- 6 Mrs. Puah GEfay. den] Johnson........./ Aug. 12,1856 | 75 Deacon Joseph White...........csesceees Aug. 19) 1747 
“i— 6 Sylvanuss Bramhall)... jevesvesssecscsees Sept. 11, 1876 | 75 Dinah, Negro servant of Caleb Craft. April 20, 18038 
77— 4-16 Mrs. Lucinda [Barrett] Edgerly...... Oct. 12,1876 | 75 Jacobs Hustiess:cccvensen mite eee Aug. 22, 1834 
77-— 2-17 Miss Susannah Gardner..............06+ Nov. 23, 1877 | 75 Abigail Center.. aC ssoccsses DOC. LOS Sail 
77 Miss Prudence Savage..................May 20,1762 | 75 Mehitable, w. of William Ackers...... Dee. 33; 1843 
77 isaac! Childs. ccusdsacsdeciecveoss-sicceecsens Sept. 12,1765 75 Mrs. Jane [Gilbert] DePeyster........ Oct. 28, 1869 




















BROOKLINE. 845 
Name. Date of Death. Mermanme WanrdOnes.<sescsscencserscaseeesoncse ss eae ee 
DOMME EMA Btesstaselseacssscsiccascendianenss codes 3 3 
Mrs. Sarah Kerrigan..........ssee0-+---March 31, 1871 | Joseph Davis....... Saneadenieaesenieseceaas acco 3 3 
75 Thomas Chamberlain.............. wasasas June 16, 1873 Roger Adams (gon)............ ne eee, 0 — 
75 WMirss Wary -Daliyss:<.cess sececececeessceses Nov. 10, 1873 Henry Segar...............00. ACEC Sececsersay’ oO 2 
75 Mrs, Ellen [Moanlige) McCarthy... . April 26, 1875 How BOyIstOn ss. .csrsesesee deaelecredelsvlesscusesrsse 4 4 
75 JohmArMesdale..s...cese sess. pe csncdeass Jan. 6.1882 | eNLON sr Keaeeeencceswasceloecoseseslenescsnecl ine coodcé 3 3 
75 Hd ward RYAN. -ccc-ce---sesconvaccoseose-- April 20,1882 Jno Winchester, Jun..........0.sseceeeer serene 3 3 
{ Brookline Chronicle. | SiMOM GALES =.cac.ccceetasscecesces rece Seaneeeauee 3 6 
NOPD TUSOsacccssscossseswesssccassiacecccsessens stce 3 3 
LIST OF DEATHS FROM 1760 TO JAN. 1, 1806. Sample elect (COM) sescceceseseacnses== tesserae nl n() eee 
Gi ee 4 My aha pees Mae 3 WDA IS. . cceces ccceves\cccesssecierccss eos torssnees 2 2 
i1V/(j| eee eee 7 1784 a, 4 Ge Hammond -\ocacccseccstesasisscsrscsssececcccsess 2 2 
1762...... pee eee 8 1785 Pare se Jon AVOSANAGL c.s0,cecccrese cocescces cotecsces's Z 2 
Goh 3 1786 NG NathamielliStedmant.2...cescsess¢-- snc teese= <x 3 3 
Weitere s 8 1787 eee oes Uriah Clarke newly come...............s-csee. as np 
iGo wks 1 fi eee ee ea 4 | IROSCOMANIGAUG Wises -c-essiecsecceccisveesec=mineeteece 2 2 
1766 Sor ty 1789. .....ccceseonvoes 6 | Ye namse of y® inhabitants of muddi river taken yis. 21 of 
LU Sy (Srnoncoetiose pec 14 1790 Scoanoen | August, 1674, as yey are ratable for age 
WO Geese sseteseses seo ea! 1791 3 John Whit senior, and a sery*. 
MEO wenseavss scons sexe 10 UiQ2 se. spon, iti) Jamse Clarke senior 
GUO: cccse cr doce sus a eal é DSi sess caeessee le 2 7 Edward Milse 
igiiliewsseccessacceseok 12 Wil ee eeoacésa.cs000C + Benjamin Whit living with his father. 
MW iidieeceens ce tose one's 13 Wid Sous aseacnaneneees 3 John Ackars 
Wilidserdedesevedsscees 5 Wi9GS ccececcectescass 11 | Nathaniel Stidman 
Thi Aveceser Scie ove oxe'ce 11 TV AN ie nseshe BensBeococe 2 | Timothy harris at his owne hand 
Miidarewcesconcacseses 20 17 be oat Qoeoncoc ao 24 |  Erassaman Drue at his owne hand 
Lf 1k cneceoconsscsose 16 TRE bocecncaencacos o6 6 | Daniel Harris with his father 
UP lcecnaaon eonseeoe 10 1800..........0s noooee 5 ,  Jamse Clarke junior, servant to Thomas gardiner senior 
Wd swnctvesnessexesss 13 NSO erevececcas-c- case 8 Robart grundi servant to Peeter Aspinwall 
Wii Ds weessese 4 NBO 2M eteccsececerses 13 | Ephrim “Child with his father 
1780 ne i US OSs ccacccecsccesncee 9 | Rodgars Addams at his owne hand 
NW ioieewesesstesesseeae 5) NS VAeecererssnrena== 9 Joseph Pemberton servant to Thomas gardiner, Junior. 
WS2epsnecccscecsss ess 4 SU Seeeessesdeseceesss 7 John Clarke with his father, 
Under 2 years......... vajeecees 57 | Between 50 and 60........... 19 | Josias Winchester with his father : : 
Between 2 and 10............ 29 | fe G0fand yi Uesccssceocs 35 | Joseph -— servant to thomas gardiner, et) 
ee 0 anid 0... paid te rOrand’S0laic 46 | John Hudson, servant to Thomas gardiner, junior 
“ 90 and 20 39 | PP 80 and 90 19 | John Semison servant to Andru gardiner 
n'ai and 40... 93 Cs 90 and 100 ome Tart 3 | John Corbin, with his father 
GD and 8022222, 29 | Ages not mentioned... 24 | ‘Thomas Milge servant to Jamse Pemberton 


One was killed in battle; 138 died of disease. 


Previous to 1805, about one-sixth died of consump- | 
tion, which was the prevailing disorder. The aver- | 
age number of deaths has been about 15 in every two | 


years, or 7 one year and 8 the next, alternately. Of 
the number specified above, precisely one-half lived 
beyond 40 years of age, one-quarter lived to the age 


of 70 years, and 1 in 10 lived to the age of 80 years. | 


MUDDY RIVER RATE FOR 1674. 


Country. oe n. 


ohm WihitesSeniOrscas..ccss- secocccceeerssees. LO 14 
John) \Wiinchester,-SenlOr..-c.cses.s<see ee eeee=e 7 
Isaac Stedman..........00. Wesrewevocssseoevessecs 3 
Rrehanrduw O0lfOrsccccccsciecececoss ocsceceenseeace 3 
Goodman) Drusé...c.c..5..<s-se6s Rcescocsueees sit 
MG WATUP KAD DIC scctescescecesc:csscee acefeceecerece 3 
FGMIYIS LC VEMS.cesccessv-ctecessicccevesesiecdceness 8 
ClementiCorbina..cccs-ccst te csecaes os cseensceses 3 
SOUMB SHAT HC ssecesceecslorcesssenoeascctcncsedecset 

IR GHerPASPINWallccccscecssestsiesetersee/sesecesss's 6 
Thomas Gardiner, sent 
AMOS wEACIUDERLOM tacescoccicsces/ccececceaenerescs 8 
Andrew Gardiner......... ceene CEO COBOL EEE 3 
Tho Gardiner, Junt 
Jno White, Junior 


Cece teens ween eee ee wees eseneee 


JOS AWihHItOeessceseas Scaectceccccace Woosedce ceceues 
JmorAcres! (ZONE)... ccceseeese sss core ss ceassesess 
Sam Dunean......... Fioeecceascisesenessslescestese 
INGE D eViOllOD: css ceneuesssstecccsses sel cone tes cees 


3 

4 

3 

3 

3 

8 
Wino Parker scc-cccse, ssccsces sseescwesjsecesocsenese 4 
Hondas; WOO Ward ....c..ccis<cceveso1e Gosases sess 
0 

3 

4 

4 

3 

2 


_ 
fer) 
— 
Wie DWWWWhRWWOMOARMwWNOWHRWWAT 


Nathaniel Wilson (gone)............ 
TPHOUStEAMAN vecscacsscscwocsdocecssecce wen eeevorce 
Ben: Childscss.ccsss.ccse ee sesneees eca'evvereateseses 
Robert) Harriss..cssocecesesschesssecs seavssavecess 
Jno Harris..... sedeslveecsscesisccesse ve sseesisesses 
Timothy Harris............. COCCUSOCOS deacencacto 


TC a Cy 


William Peacock servant to Jamse Pemberton 
William Willis servant to Joseph Whit. 

Obediah Wheatton servant to thomas gardiner, senior 
John Clarke living at bucmasters (7) farme 

Simon Gatse at Mester Scottose farme. 

Isaac Wilson servant to John whit, Junior. 

John Case servant to Thomas gardiner senior. 


OWNERS OF DWELLING-HOUSES IN BROOKLINE, 1740, 


Solomon Hill. Capt. Benjamin Gardner. 
Capt. John Winchester. Joshua Stedman. 
Samuel Sewall. Ebenezer Kenrick. 
William Gleason. Nathaniel Hill. 
Capt. Robert Sharp. John Pruce. 

—— Clark. Abraham Chamberlain. 
Thomas Aspinwall. Abraham Woodward. 
Deacon Thomas Cotton. Hugh Scott. 

Major Edward White. James Griggs. 

John Ellis. William Davis. 
Nathaniel Shepard. John Harris. 

Capt. Samuel Croft. Isaac Child. - 
Isaac Winchester. Joshua Child. 

Rey. James Allen. Timothy Harris. 
Deacon Samuel Clark. John Harris. 
Nathaniel Gardner. Daniel Harris. 
Solomon Gardner. John Newell. 

Dr. Zabdiel Boylston. Andrew Allard. 
Nathaniel Seaver. John Woodward. 
William Ackers. Christopher Dyer. 
Isaac Gardner. Thomas Woodward. 
John Seaver. Nehemiah Davis. 
Samuel White. John Goddard. 
Joseph White. Henry Winchester. 
Deacon Benjamin White. Elbanan Winchester. 
Joseph Adams. John Seaver, Jr. 
Nathaniel Stedman. Dudley Boylston. 


Ebenezer Sargeant. 


846 





| VALUATION OF Muppy River, 1687. | 


InOSOPHWWIDILOs-coccecniseasesleosseaens 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








Joshua Griggs. 

William Marshall. 
Samuel Griggs. 
Edward K. Wolcott. 
Col. Thomas Aspinwall. 
Robert Sharp. 

Stephen Sharp. 

Dr. William Aspinwall. 
Ebenezer Davis. 
Benjamin Davis. 

John Howe. 

Josiah Jordan. 
Thomas White. 

Eleazer Baker. 


Thomas Gardner, Sent 
John White, Sen’........... Seesess 
Peter Aspenall, Sen’.............0. 
John Winchester, Sen"............ 
TRG) deveined a Iie ae ee aean anardclaceake 
POUYICELDTTIS. vocest acessceccecseccsce 
KV MOCK We EL ALTIS:sc0cccsss oossece ce 
Joseph Davis 
amieleEarris:.-.2sess cccsscesaieecess 
Dorman’ Marrean....sc.ccccscssccss 
Josiah Winchestel..:..:.<¢ s<0..sses 
HITASMOSTD TO Wesceseccicdvess acesseees 
Uriah Clarke 


penne seeees 


Thomas Gardner, Junt............ 
VOSMUA GQATANET 3. cc-stse cas -aeses| 
Benjamin. W hite....2..-<es-cs5.se- 





| Sammiuell Clarke: ...... 02.20. .0-00. 


| Nathaniel Stedman and mother. 


| William Parker 
| Joshuah Kibbey.......0... ccccssess | 


Robert Sharpe.:...sccee-cdnscssceses 





\pAbraham Parker. ...<ssrse<sssese sel 


OU DUOSION ec. cccccussicevecsiecens | 
George Barstowe.............c.0000 
Thomas Woodworth | 
VVTINTAIMUVV EMIS nocccacemecssaceeren| 


ODN PATON. cconccvecscsessctiosasas | 
' Clemment Corbin 


OP OrPA COMM Sh. <.2.teccsesecsicosens | 
Jonathan Torry 
Joseph Gardner...... ..csecooee soe 


Neen ee ce eees enone 


Daniel Huley 
Joseph Buckminster......... ...66+ 


Hee ee ree teen we wanes 


Tenet teens wwe eeeees 


Joshua Child 


Henne wwe w ee ween tenes 


Thomas Boylstone...........-.e00e- 
SIMO, Gates .ces.cccs ceecescs ordeaces 
Thomas Burton 


MOUMEW NICS, DUNT s..cdeccdeocccaces 





George Wood ward......... ....c-0«. 
John Walworth 
POOMECIATKC cc accccvedsetiesccctcasses 
John Winchester, Jun’........ was 


[SO MIM OS OL AY LONssrscssrwcatessyrocsteses | 








John Goddard. 
John Lueas. 
William Ackers. 
Tsaae 8. Gardner. 
Ebenezer Heath. 
John Heath. 
Jonathan Jackson. 
Jonathan Mason. 
Benjamin White. 
Caleb Gardner. 
Ebenezer Richards. 
Jonathan Hammond. 
Thaddeus Hyde. 
Ebenezer Webb. 


OWNERS OF DWELLING-HOUSES IN BROOKLINE, 1796. 





Caleb Craft. 
Thaddeus Jackson. 
Abraham Jackson. 
Jacob Hervey. 

Elisha Whitney. 

John Harris. 

Elijah Child. 

Widow Elizabeth Harris, 
Dr. William Spooner. 
John Corey. 

Joseph Goddard. 
Nathaniel Winchester. 
Hon. George Cabot. 
Joshua Boylston. 


Jonathan Dana. 
James Holden. 
Capt. Cobb. 
Daniel Dana. 
Ziphion Thayer. 
Jonas Tolman. 
Capt. Samuel Croft. 
John Robinson. 
Enos Withington. 
Major 
Capt. Timothy Corey. 
Edward K. Wolcott. 
Samuel Clark. 

The Parsonage. 
David Hyslop. 





Gardner. 













































































S | | sS | 
| a | = | 2 | 7 5 2 ; . 
S Big Nee.) ie | 8 Z| 8 
3 ese ee b ie Meee luce er = : z 
S | eee icsee dit dese ten 5 a mle 
a me oo 3 a Sa & a a = 
: Sr Ce aca es 3 | 3 /s en Neale = 
co) Eat g | & ron pe a aS (es i ie a 
ey ager oS (ieee Bes [ere I Oy ee Teale Ne ec ae 
= = Se 3 Eis} e = ® 3 a} | © o = 
2 eS i) wei te le ; © > a > = = 
8 an ey s Bn oS Paks iS q | & PS 7 
3 | 3 ees By yea a eeneeeie |) | ee on eee ee = 
Bilt | Bog |e 1 Sey ee) ails 7 See) (ete ee 
Biag|/&@|/6/a/e |ale |a8 |8 |2"| & \-2° ieee 
10. 58. 5. | 5. | 50s. | 40s. lPa\5s 3. | 30s. | 108. | 20s: | 206. | 
al] Gel | ine 4 De) hes DD aes | 4 |05 5% 
1h eS ee Wears hy one - aS ow 3°) 0° 2062 
2 | 30 | 20 3 ihe te?) 3 24 | 5 raids: Wee 
1 ane 2 1°) || aD 5 1 | SDs OS ana 
a eee. sl, 12 2 ae > i PANO are 
pala 3 GF tsi | ¥ 1 12a 31 110 ee Be 
1 | ie | 2 0 298 
Pyle es of S| nee 5° Oat 10 
tot a ian Naa ail 2. | 0.4. ae 
rales a . a » 5) Olegs 
AN ele econ a ood 3 1 1 a. | se 2) 005) Ty 
1 LOR || 250 lee) i Snes eo 2 ii 3/05 12 
227A LOM sly Oe ly cek lp oo Be nee 2 3 3 |07 4 
TV 8 Glli2s N23 2 | 1 2 |04 8% 
1 5 40 4 Voie ge 2 a 4 1 05 33 
2/15 | 8 5 ais 2 . 1 1 3 |07 10 
1 hi adiset lace 2 1 2 2 1 iba Mace . |04 34 
el gm, Wie an |e 6 3 4 3 | 12 | 2 108 9 
1 on Pea ere PA s | ae aa = OPIS 
De glo M40) | 22h 625 Ee eee 1 | 18. |) 2c) cy Ba Oe 
1) 16: 2) go a2 4 DO winee 1 irl eM eas: 2 722) Ona 
De, 66e0 cadre 1 1 | 12 2105 43 
] ao eh | é | me tk 6) 
I a Mictan 1g Oa em ete MA Ieee | 0 2e9 
1 M4 ae Salle one | S 1 10") "2 i Ze Gs 
1 | 50 10 es | 2 hee ae 12 ) 24 0S 
1 SP owes yA Va | | 0) 2048 
Tech etal haha | ae eee aa wes NOs 
1 | 20 Br See hee See ee Pa 1 y | 4 2 NO Sans 
I aie | | }01 8 
1 AG RT| ase ee = eee (O01 8 
eo 4 co ie Ae Pee hie Vy el 3 1 0 6s 
] | | a OnE Es 
PEEP SN, socket. & me (ere Be | oes Ob ens 
2 64 | 40 | 2 See 2 1 16 NO es 
L es = 0) tes 
AN re 4 | | ‘ | 2 LOMO 10 
141.6: ‘|, 20 2 1 if 42 2 a Ce Se ONegae 
1 3 | 30 6 2 2 4 | 40 2 4/0811 
be ere r220 1 ss P Ly was 2/03 6 
2 | 19% | 30 Styall 25) 2 Beesieo 1 15am 5 |0 8 104 
] 22 | 40; 2 | 6 3 | 3 3 20 2 1 2 |}09 4% 
1 eee Weewwete ° | ee Za os | pets: oo | oP; 10 1 8 
[aa ate) 2) ae I ane 3 | 16 | 2 3 |07 O08 
1 Sisis | Wades ae | oH | | | 0 1 8 
Py d | 2 le l02 9 
1 Nhe ee OMIews 
1 a a wu “s ss = | 2) | Opes 
1 alee 12t e ae 3 sa 2a es 1 2 WONG Ox: 
1 5 ae es | ea 102 6 


























BROOKLINE. SAT 





The Revolution.—One of the most important and 
interesting periods in American history, one in which | 
the several towns acted a conspicuous part. They 
were the nurseries of the great Provincial Legislature, 
and it is not too much to say they were equal to the 
day and circumstances. The citizens of Brookline, | 
whether we judge of the individual or of their acts 
as recorded, were certainly not lacking in patriotism. 

The records of the town during the Revolution are 
full of resolves and votes that render their action 
worthy of perpetuity. 

Of the causes by which Hngland lost her colonies 
and America gained her independence sufficient has 
been published, so that we need only refer to records, 
the first of which is dated Dec. 15, 1767. A town- 
meeting had recently been held in the town of Boston, | 





at which a resolution was passed to abstain from all 
(foreign) ‘“ superfluities,’’ copies of which were for- 
warded to all the towns in New England. 





The articles considered as superfluous were tea, 
glass, paper, and painters’ colors, on which had been 
placed an impost duty on all brought into the colonies, | 
which gave great dissatisfaction, amounting to indig- 


nation throughout the country. A tax had been 


placed on tea of three pence per pound, and the fol- 
lowing is the first action by Brookline on the memo- 
rable acts of the British Parliament : 


“ Decem’r 15th, 1767. At A Meeting of the Freeholders & 
other Inhabitants of the Town of Brooklyn Legally Assembled 
at the Meeting-bouse on Tuesday ye 15th of Decemb’r, 1767 
Chosen Moderator 
“Voted Unanimously That this Town will take all prudent 


“Voted Isaac Gardner Esq’r 


and Legal Measures to promote Industry, Occonimy & Manu- 


factures in this Province & in any of the British American 
Colonies and will likewise take all Legal Measures to Discour- 
age the Use of European Superfluities. 

‘Voted To Choose Five Persons Viz William Hyslop Esq’r 
Capt. Benjam. White Isaac Gardner Esq’r Mr. John Goddard 
and Mr. Samuel Aspinwall be a Committee to prepare a form 
for Subscription against Receiving of those European Super- 
fluities and make Report at the Adjournment of this Meeting. 

“Voted To Adjourn this Meeting to Tuesday the twenty- 
Ninth Day of Decem’r at two, o’Clock, afternoon, at which the 
report of the committee ‘being Red,’ Samuel Aspinwall, Wil- 
liam Ackers, and John Goddard were chosen to view the report 
to the Freeholders and other Inhabitants, in order for them to | 
signe if they think propper.” | 





At a town-meeting held in Boston, Nov. 2, 1772, | 
upon motion of Samuel Adams, it was voted, ‘“‘ That 
a committee of Correspondence be appointed, to con- 
sist of Twenty one persons, to state the rights of the | 
colonies and of this province in particular, as men, 


as Christians, and as subjects; to communicate and _ 


publish the same to the several towns in this province 
and to the world, as the sense of this town, with the 
infringments and violations thereof that have been, | 


or from time to time may be made: also requesting 
of each town a free communication of their sentiments 
on this subject.” 

This letter from the Boston Committee of Corre- 
spondence called upon the several towns to “stand 
firm as one man,” and expressed a confidence, that 
regarding themselves, and the rising generation, they 
would not suffer them ‘to doze, or sit supinely in- 
different, on the brink of destruction, while the iron 
hand of oppression was daily tearing the choicest fruit 
from the fair tree of liberty.” This was the begin- 
ning of that internal organization by committees of 
correspondence that spread through the towns and the 
colonies, and constituted the first stage of the Amer- 
ican Revolution. 

In response to the above-mentioned action of Bos- 
ton, a town-meeting was soon after held in Brookline, 
with the following result : 


“ Decem’r ye 11th 1772. Voted William Hyslop Esq’r Chosen 
Moderator 

“To Choose a Committee to take under Consideration, the 
Violations & Infringments of the Rights of the Colonists & of 
this Province in particular; and make Report at the Adjourn- 
ment of Said Meeting 

“Voted To Choose 7 Persons for the Above Said purpose 
Viz. William Hyslop Esq’r, Isaac Gardner Esq'r, Deacon Ebe- 
nezer Davis Capt. Benja’n White Mr. Isaac Child Mr. John 
Goddard & Mr. John Harris 

“Voted That the a foregoing Committee be a Standing Com- 
mittee of Communication & correspond with the Town of Bos- 
ton & any other Towns on the Subject of our Present Diffi- 
culties 

“Voted That the a foregoing Committee gives Instructions 
to their Representative Respecting the Violation of the Rights 
of this Province 

“* Decem’r ye 28th 1772 William Hyslop Esq’r Chosen Mod- 
erator 

“The Town after Receiving the Report of Sd Committee, at 
Sd Adjournment the Following Votes were passed by the Town 
unanimously at as full a meeting as Usual Viz. 

“Tt. Voted that the Rights of the Colonists, and this Proy- 
ince in particular as men as Chrystians, & as Subjects, as Set 
forth in the Said Votes & Proceedings of the Town of Boston, 
are in the Opinion of this Town well Stated & appear to be 
founded on ye Laus of Nature Divine Revelation, the British 
Constitution, and the Charter of this Province 

“2d. Voted that the Infringment & Violation of those 
Rights, as also Set forth therein are in the Opinion of this 
Town great Grievances which this People have for years past 
been burdened with, and for the Redress of which Petitions & 
Remonstrances have been made but hitherto in Vain 

“3d. Voted The Raising a Revennue within this Province 
by an assumed Power in the Brittishe House of Commons, to 
give and grant our Money without our Consent & appropri- 
ating the Money so Raised for the Support of the Government 
of the Province and the Payment of the Charges of the Admin- 
istration of Justice therein so repugnant to the first Principles 
of a free Constitution and the obvious meaning & Spirit of the 
Royal Charter of this Province 

“4th. Voted that an Establishment for the Support of the 
Govonor of the Province, and the Judges of the Superior Court, 


848 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





&c. (if the latter be already made as we have Just réason to 
apprehend) to be paid out the Monies raised as aforesaid, in- 
dependent of the free Gifts and Grants of the Commons of 
this Province are in the Opinion of this Town leading and 
alarming Steps towards rendering the whole executive Power 
independent, of the People, and setting up an despotic Goy- 
ernment in the Province. 

“5th. Voted that the Representative of this Town be and 
hereby is instructed to exert his utmost Powers ‘and Abilities 
in the General Assembly with constant Perseverance in pro- 
moting such Measures there as will speedily and effectually to 
Remove these and other intolerable Grievances enumerated in 
the aforesaid Votes and Proceedings of the Town of Boston. 

“6th. Voted that the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the 
Town of Boston in thus clearly stating our Rights, and hold- 
ing up so many of our Grievances in one View, have done an 
acceptable Service to this Town and Province and that the sin- 
cere & hearty Thanks of this Town be hereby given to them 
therefore 

“7th. Voted, that there be Committee now Chosen to Write 
to the Committee of Correspondence in Boston and communi- 
cate to them a true attested Copy of the foregoing Votes, and 
also further correspond with said Committee of Boston or any 
other Towns if they shall think it needful. 

“then the Town made choice of the following Gentlemen for 
the purpose aforesaid, Viz William Hyslop Esq’r Isaac Gard- 
ner Esq’r Deacon Ebenezer Davis Capt. Benjamin White Mes- 
sieurs Isaac Child John Goddard & John Harris. 

“ Attest. Isaac Gardner Town Cler.” 


The following is a copy of a letter written to the 
committee at Boston : 


“To the Committee of Communication & Correspondence at 
Boston. 

“Brookiyn January 4, 1773 

“Gentlemen, 

“The Freeholders and other Inhabitants of this Town at a 
meeting Legally assembled upon the 28th of Decem’r last by 
adjournment, having duly considered a Letter from the Town 
of Boston, directed to the Select Men of this Town, accom- 
panied with a State of the Rights of the Colonies, and of this 
Province in particular, as also a List of the Infringments of 
their Rights to be communicated to this Town, take this Opor- 
tunity to Return you our hearty and unfeigned Thanks which 
was Voted by said Town; for the early Care that you took in 
clearly and Truly Stating our Rights and Priviledges and mak- 
ing manifest the many and glaring Violations and Infring- 
ments there of, which if not speedily prevented must inevitably 
ruin the Constitution of this Province as Settled by the Charter 
granted by King William and Queen Mary of glorious Mem- 
ory, and also that this Town think themselves happy in being 
always ready to add their Mite to wards with-Standing any 
arbitrary despotick Measures that are or may be carried on to 
overthrow the Constitution and deprive us of all our invaluable 
Rights and Priviledges which are & ought to be as dear or 
dearer then Life it selfe. 

‘We have inclosed you a Copy of the Votes and Proceed- 
ings of the Town so far as we have gone. 
in the Kingdom of Men direct all our Counsels, & grant Sue- 
cess to all our Lawful Endeavors, that are or may be taken for 
the Preservation of the civil & religious Rights & Priviledges, 
So as that 
we the Children of so worthy Progenitors may be enabled to 


of the Colonies & of this Province in particular. 


transmit to our Children those invaluable Rights & Priviledges, 
as we had them transmitted to us. they were many times in 


Trouble on various Accounts, and in their affliction they eryed 


May he that ruleth | 





to God, and he delivered them; and if we their Children fol- 
low their Example, may depend upon the same Success they 
had: which God grant may be the Case with us in our Present 
Difficulties. 

““We wish all Prosperity to the Town of Boston and may 

unerring Wisdom direct all her Consultations and Counsels. 
“We are with Great Respect, Gentlemen, 
“Your Friends and Servants, 
“Tn the common Cause of our Country, 
“William Hyslop per Oyder 
“Attest Isaac Gardner Town Clerk 

“ Nov’r ye 26th 1773 Voted Capt. Banja White Choosen 
Moderator 

“Voted To Chose a Committee 

“Voted That the Committee of Correspondence of this Town 
be the Committee with the Addition of Four other Gentlemen 
Viz Major Wm. Thompson Capt. Elisha Gardner. Capt. Thos. 
Aspinwall & Leut. John Heath are desired to git all the Intel- 
ligence from the Committee of Corrispondence of the Town of 
Boston Respecting the Landing & Sale of the East India Com- 
pany’s Tea and make Report to the Town at the Adjournment 

“Voted That this Meeting be Adjournd to Decemb’r ye 1t 
at 3 Clock P. M. 

“At A meeting of the Freeholders & other Inhabitants of 
the Town of Brooklyn on Adjournment from Nov’r ye 26th to 
Decem’r ye Ist following & then meet, and 

“Voted that the Town Clerk Transmit a Copy of ye Resolves 
to the Committee of correspondence for thee Town of Boston 

“Ata Meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town of Brooklyn 
from Friday the 26th To Monday the 29th of Nov’r To con- 
sider what was propper for this Town to do, relative to the 
large Quantitys of Tea belonging to the India Company, hourly 
expected to arrive in this Province, Subject to any American 
Duty 

“Tt. The Town came unanimously into the following Resolves 
Viz. That the Act of the British Parliament imposing a Duty 
on Tea, payable in America, for the Express purpose of raising 
a Revenue, is unconstitutional, has a direct Tendency to bring 
the Americans into Slavery, and is therefore an Intolerable 
Grievance. 

“Oly. That this Grievance which has been so Justly com- 
plained of by the Americans, so far from being redressed, is 
greatly aggravated by another Act, passed in the last Sessions 
of Parliament for Benifit and Relief of the India Company, 
permitting them to Export their Teas to America or Forring 
Parts, free of all custom and Dutyes usually paid in Great 
Britian, but Subject to the Duty payable in America; thus have 
the Parliament discovered the most glaring Partialty in making 


| one & the Same Act to operrate for the Ease & Convenience of 


a Few of the most opulent Subjects in Britian, on the one hand, 
and for the Oppressions of Millions of Freeborn & moast loyal 
Inhabitants of America, on the other. 

“3ly. That the last mentioned Act, can be considered no 


_ otherwise than as Subtle Plan of the Ministry to ensnare and 





enslave the Americans, and that whoever shall be instrumental 
in carrying the Same into Execution, is in the Judgement of this 
Towne, an inevitable Enemy to this Country 

“Aly. That Richard Clark & Son, and Thomas & Elisha 
Hutchinsons of Boston (who brought themselvas into Contempt 
by their Conduct inthe Non Importation Time) and the other 
Persons appointed Consignees of the India Company’s Teas in 
Boston, have by their repeated Refusal to Resign their Appoint- 


| ment and send Back the Said Teas manifested to the full con- 


viction of this Town—their utter Disregard to the interest and 
welfare of this their native Country, to which Such unfeeling 
Wretches are a Disgrace and have discovered the most Sordid 








BROOKLINE. 


849 





Attachment to their private Interest, and have in curred the | 
highest Displeasure of the good People of this Province in gen- — 
eral, & of the Inhabitants of this Towne in particular who are 
determined to afford them not the Least Favour or Protection 
now that they are become Fugitives from the Just Resentment 
of their affronted Townsmen 

“5ly. That we fully approve of the Proceedings, & Reso- 
lutions of the Town of Boston on this Alarming Occasion and 


while we see them Earnestly consenting for the general Lib- | 
erty of America, Should we fold our Armes & Calmly look on | 
we should be Justly chargeble with the most shameful Supene- 
ness & criminal Neglect—therefore Resolved. 

“6ly. That this Town are ready to afforde all the Assistance in 
our Power to the Town of Boston, and will hartily unite withthem | 
and the Other Towns in this Province to oppose and frustrate this 
most detestable and dangerous Tea Scheem and every other that 
shall Appear to us to be Subversive of the Rights and Liberties 
of America, and consequently dishonorably to the Crown and 
Dignity of our Sovereign Lord the King. 

“7ly. That whoever shall hereafter presume to import any 
Teas into this Province while Subject to the Odius Duty Shall — 
be considered and treated by this Town as an Enemy to his | 
Country. 


“A True Copy Attest Isaac Gardner T. Clerk 
“ July ye 29th 1774 At A meeting of the Freeholders & other 
Inhabitants of the Town of Brooklyn Legally Assembled 


“Voted. That this Town will unite with the other Towns in this 





Province in every rational and Justifiable measure to recover 
and maintain our invaided rights and will come into Such Com- | 
mercial Agreement, as may be Recommended by the General 
Congress 

“Voted That this Meeting be Adjourned to Octo’r ye 11th, | 
at Five of the Clock in the Afternoon.” ; 


At this time the non-importation agreements which 
had been made in the colonies and rigidly observed, 
especially that relating to tea, began to affect the com- 


mercial interests of Great Britain, and, as a method 
of punishment to the colonies, the East India Com- 
pany were permitted to export its teas free of all duties _ 
in England ; thus enabling them to reduce the price 


of the same in the colonies, on which a duty must be | 
paid. A firm resolution was adopted by the com- 
mittee that the tea should be sent back to England. © 
On the 28th of November, 1774, the ship ‘“ Dart- 
mouth,” with tea on board, arrived in Boston, and 
soon two other ships having as cargo the forbidden 
commodity. The tea fever ran high, and the Com- 
mittees of Correspondence not succeeding in sending 
it back, determined it should not be landed. Accord- 
ingly, after all attempts had failed, a party of people 
disguised as Indians proceeded to the dock where | 
the vessels lay, and in a short time three hundred and — 
forty-two chests were broken open and their contents 
emptied into Boston harbor. This was the crisis of the 
Revolution, and it was boldly met, all the towns in | 
the vicinity of Boston bearing an important part. 
Hutchinson says it “ was the boldest stroke which 
had yet been struck in America.”’ 
54 


Brookline was one of the five towns whose com- 
mittees were summoned by Samuel Adams to meet at 
Faneuil Hall at a mass-meeting on the 29th November, 
viz.: Cambridge, Brookline, Roxbury, Charlestown, 
and Dorchester. A convention had been held at Col. 


_ Doty’s, in Stoughton, on Tuesday, the 16th of August, 
1774, to consult what measures were proper to be taken 


by the people of the county at this most important and 
alarming crisis of our public affairs, but as some of 


the towns had not appointed delegates, it was thought 


best to adjourn and give further notice to those towns 
This was: called a “County Con- 
gress,” and to show contempt for the “ Act of Par- 


not represented. 


liament touching town-meetings.”’ The meeting ad- 


_journed to meet at Dedham on the 6th of September. 
~The towns now comprised in Norfolk County since 


1793 then belonged in Suffolk County, including 
Hingham, now in Plymouth County, numbering 
This meeting was held at Richard Wood- 
ward’s tavern, on High Street, in Dedham, opposite 


nineteen. 


the monumental stone in the court-house yard, and on 
the spot where Fisher Ames, who was then sixteen 
years of age, was born; and it seems as though the 
dream of Nathaniel Ames, his father, was about to be 
realized, ‘‘ when the celestial light, directed by the finger 


of God, should disperse the shades of darkness, and the 


face of nature reflect the progress of science and the 
arts in their pathway hence to the western ocean.” 
At this convention a large committee was chosen to 


' mature the business, after which they adjourned to 


meet again at the house of Daniel Vose, in Milton, 
where on the 9th of September, 1774, Gen. Warren 
reported to the Convention the famous “ Suffolk 
Resolves” which he drafted, and which, Frothingham 


_ says, “‘set government at defiance; and Congress, by 


approving these resolutions, virtually raised the stand- 


ard of rebellion, and set the colonies in hostile array 


against the parent State.’ At the Continental Con- 
gress, held at Philadelphia Sept. 4, 1774, the approval 
of these resolves was the first business in which they 


_ engaged, and became the basis of their future action. 


This was an exciting time; the cause was the na- 


_ tion’s ; all eyes were directed to Boston ; a hostile fleet 


was in her harbor ; British troops paraded her streets ; 


_ the common was dotted with tents of an army; can- 


non were placed in the most commanding positions. 
Her port was closed, commerce was paralyzed, stores 


_ were shut, and many had been reduced from affluence 


to poverty ; but notwithstanding all this the “Sons 
of Liberty” knew no despair, they bade the citizens 
of the beleaguered town— 


‘* Be not dismayed 
Though tyrants now oppress, 


850 HISTORY OF NORFOLK 


COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Though fleets and troops invade, 
You soon will have redress ! 

The resolution of the brave 

Will injured Massachusetts save.” 


“ Sept. ye 1t 1774. At A Meeting of the Freeholders & other 
inhabitants of the Town of Brookline Mett 
“Voted Major William Thompson Choosen 
<< Voted To Choose five Persons as Delegates to Appear and 
Act in behalf of Said Town at a County Convention for Suffolk, 
to be held at Deadham, the 6th Day of this Instant September ; 
or at any other Convention to which they may be invited, 
“The Gent’m Committee are as follows Viz. Major William 
Thompson Capt. Benj’n White Isaac Gardner Esq’r John God- 


Moderator 


dard & Capt. Thomas Aspinwall 

“Voted To Choose five Gentlemen as a Committee Viz. Mr. 
John Goddard Capt. Benjamin White Major William Thomp- 
son Mr. Isaac Child & Capt. Elisha Gardner, to Examine into 
the State of Said Town as to There Milatary preparations for 
War, in case of a Suden attack from our Enemies, and make 
Report at the Adjournment of this Meeting 

“Voted Whether Saide Town will indemnify and save Harm- 
less any Town officers who shall incur any Penalty by refusing 
to comply with any Requisitions made to them in consequence 
of the New Acts & Regulations intended to be obtruded on this 
Province, and it Past in the Affermative to indemnify & save 
Harmless any Town Officer or Officers 


“Voted To Adjourn this Meeting to the Eight Day of Sept’r | 


Instant at five of the Clock P. M.” 





“ Sept’r ye 27th 1774 At A Meeting of the Freeholders & other | 


Inhabitants of the Town of Brooklyn Legally mect by adjour 
Choosen Moderator 

“Voted Capt. Benjamin White choosen Representative 

“Voted To Choose three Persons to draw up Instructions for 
Their Representative Viz Doctor William Aspinwall Major 
William Thompson & Mr. John Goddard 
as follows Viz: Capt. Benjamin White, The Town of Brooklyn 
having Choosen you to Represent them in a general Assembly to 


“Voted Isaac Gardner Esq’r 


The Instructions are 


be conveaned at Salem on Wednesday 5th Day of October next, 
think it necessary to give you the following instructions Viz. 

““« That you firmly adhere to the Charter of the Province and 
that you Acknowledge no other persons as Counsellors for this 
province but those who were elected by the General Court in 
May last, that you reject & disclaime all those who assume to 
Act as Counellors by mandamus and that in your Representa- 
tive Capacity you do nothing that can be construed in the least 
as an acknowledgment of the validity of the late oppressive 
Acts of Parliament—and as we expect A faithful Adberence to 
the Charter & Constitution of the Province will soon procure 
the Dissolution of the House of Representatives we hereby im- 
power you to meet the Deligates from the other ‘Towns in the 
Province at a provincial Congress to be held at Concord or else 
where on Tuesday ye 11th of October and in behalf of this 
Town to act & unite with them in all such measures as shall 
appeare to you to have a tendency to promote the welfare 
of this Province and to recover & secure the Just Rights and 
liberties of America.’ 





“Voted That the Town do approve of the a foregoing In- | 


structions and that the Town Clerk do deliver an attested Copy 
of the Same to the Representative 

“Voted To Choose two Delegates Viz Major Wm. Thompson 
and Mr. John Goddard to attend in the Provincial Congress, 
to be held at Concord on the Second Tuesday of October next 
in conjunction with the Representative of Said Town, we hereby 
impower you to meet the Delegates from the other Towns in 
the Province and in behalf of this Town to act & unite with 


forcing the Continental army. 


them in all Such Measures as shall Appeare to you to have a 
tendency to promote the Welfare of this Province and to re- 
cover & Secure the Just Rights & Liberties of America.” 


A meeting was held in Philadelphia, Sept. 4, 1774, 
in which all the colonies were represented, in which 
the famous “ Bill of Rights” and other resolutions 
were passed, and the following meeting was called, 
that the citizens of Brookline might give their ap- 
proval and indorsement of the same: 


“Nov’r ye 17th 1774 Voted, To see wheither the Town Ap- 
prove of the Measures that are come into by the Continental 
Congress and will abide by the same, and it passed in the Affer- 
mative Unanimously. 

“May ye 29th, 1775 Voted to Elect one person as a Delegate 
to meet the Provincial Congress, Appointed to be held at 
Watertown on wednesday ye 31th of this Inst. may & so from 
time to time for & During ye term of six Months 

“ Voted that Capt Benja’n White meet ye Congress as Above 
mentioned, 

“ Dee ye 21th 1775. Mr. Goddard in ye Chair 

“ Voted as an acknowledgment to the Army for thair Good 
Services, that Hach and Every officer & Soldier Belonging to 
this Town, who has served in ye Continental Army shall be Ex- 
cused from paying his Poll Tax as Residents of this Town for 
this Present Year, and that the assessors be Directed not to 
Assess the Same Upon Sd Officers and Soldiers, but upon the 
Estates of the Inhabitants in General, 

“Jan. 31th 1776 Mr. Isaac Child Chosen moderator 

“ Maj’r Wm. Thompson Chosen Clerk for the meeting 

“Voted that this Town will Raise ten men toward, Rein- 
Conformable with the Resolu- 
tion of the General Assembly Dated Jan. 19th 1776 

“Voted that as an Encouragement to Such of the Inhab- of 
this Town as shall inlist themselves to Reinforce the Conti- 
nental Army for two, months, and to Enable them to Equip 
themselves fully for said Service, this Town will Allow and pay 
to Each man So Enlisting the Sum of forty Shillings. Lawful 
money upon his producing a Certifycate that he has Joined the 
army and passed muster, and also, that he is provided with a 
Good fire arm, Blanket, Bayonet and Cartridge Box. 
able to the printed form of the Enlistments. 

“Voted that Colo. Aspinwall Capt. Timothy Cory and Mr. 
Samuel Craft be a Committee to Enlist Ten of the Inhabitants 


Agree- 


| of this Town for the above Sd Service, and in Case that Num- 


ber of Inhabitants, Should not Enlist, then to agree with any 
other persons on the Kasiest Terms they Can, not to exceed the 


| allowance of forty Shillings Each man. 


“ March With 1776 Lieu. John Heath Lieu. Caleb Croft and 
Capt. Timothy Cory. Chosen a Committee of Correspondence 
Inspection and Safety for ye Ensuing Year. 

“ Voted that this meeting be Adjourned without Day. 

“Attest Stephen Sharp Town Clerk” 

“ May 20th 1776 Voted to Elect and Depute one person to 
Serve for and Represent Sd Town in the General Assembly of 
this Colony the Ensuing Year. 

“Mr. John Goddard Chosen to Serve for and Represent Sd 
Town in Sd Great and General Assembly. 

“ Voted to advise the Person, Chosen to Represent this Town 
in the next General Court, that if the Hon. Congress Should, 
for the Safety of the American Colonies, Declare them Inde- 
pendant of the Kingdom of Great Briton, that we Sd Inhab- 


itants will Solemnly Engage with our Lives and fortune to 


| Support them in the measure, 


“ Attest, Stephen Sharp Town Clerk” 








BROOKLINE. 


851 








“ July ye 9th 1776 Att a Meeting of the Inhabitants of 
Brookline Legally meet 

“Mr. John Goddard Chosen Moderator. 

“Voted that Six pounds Six Shillings and Eight pence be 
Giv’n to Each able Bodied Man that will Enlist into the Cana- 
dian Service in addition to the Bounty of Seven pounds that is 
allready Granted by the General Court 

““Voted That Capt. White Leiut Craft and Leiut. White be a 
Committee to go to the Several parts of the Town to see what 
men may be Rais’d for the Cannadian Service, and Report 

“Voted that this meeting be adjournd to ye 11th of July 

“ July ye \Ath Voted that a further Sum be given to Hach 
man that will Engage in the above mentioned Service, So as 
to make the above Mentioned Sum 50. Dollars Each man 

“Voted that Mr. Aaron Child Col. Thomas Aspinwall, Mr. 
Nath’] Seaver, Mr. John Coburn and Major William Thompson, 
be a. Committee to hire men to Enlist for the above Service. 

“Voted that the Selectmen be a Committee to hire money 
for the above mentioned purpos 

“Voted that this Meeting be adjournd to the Day and hour, 
that the Commanding officer Shall call the whole militia of 
this Town together 

“at an Adjournment Thursday July 18th 1776 Maj'r Wm. 
Thompson chosen moderator, Mr. Goddard being absent by 
Sickness 

“Voted that this Town will give Five pounds more in addi- 
tion to the Bounty Voted at a former meeting, to Every Man 
who Shall Enlist into the Cannada Service 

““ Voted that the Men Called for from this Town be Draughted 
with Liberty to take the Bounty or pay the Fine 

“Voted that this meeting be Dissolved 

“Sepvr ye 23d 1776—At a Meeting of the Inhabitants of 
Brooklyn 

“Mr. John Goddard Chosen moderator 





“Voted to Raise a Sum of money to hire the Quoto of men | 


which this Town is now call’d upon to Raise 

““Voted—that four pound pr month over and above the Con- 
tinental pay be paid to Each man that Shall Engage in the 
Present Service agreeable to a Late act of the General Court, 

“Ata Legally meeting of ye Inhabitants of Brooklyn Nov. 
26th 1776. 

“The Hon’ble Benjamin White Esqr. was Chosen moderator 

“The Act of ye General Assembly for Enlisting or compel- 
ling a Quarter part of ye Inhabitants (as therein described) to 
be in readiness to march at a minutes Warning, to reinforce ye 
Continen-Army, in any of ye united States, and to Serve 
therein for ye term of three months, being read, and a motion 
made to appoint a Committee to consider and report forthwith 
what method is advisable for this Town to take in order to 
Encourage this Towns Qouto of Men, to Enlist in ye Sd Ser- 
vice Mr. John Goddard, Col. Thomas aspinwall, and Maj’r 
William Thompson was chosen a Committee for that purpose, 
who having withdrawn and deliberated an there charge, re- 
ported by recommending to ye Town to pass ye following Vote: 
if approved—to wit 

“Voted, ‘That Every able Bodied Man belonging to this 
Town who shall Enlist for ye present reinforcement to ye Con- 
tinental army, Shall as an Encouragement, receive from this 
Town, three pounds per month, in addition toye wages Allowed 


by ye General Assembly, from ye time of marching to ye time | 


of discharge, provided they should march and join the Conti- 


nental Army, Hither at or near New York or Ticonderoga and | 


if this Nncouragement should not induce the Number of men 
this Town is to furnish—to Enlist by next Thursday Evening, 
those Orders of Men Authorized to appoint this Towns Quota, 
for that service may proceed to Draw that Quota, agreeable 





to Act of Assembly, that one half of ye money now voted be 
paid ye men at marching and ye other half on there return and 
that ye money for this purpose be hired by ye Select Men, and 
that ye Assessors be Empowered to Assess ye same, in ye same 
manner other Assessments are made in this Town, at ye next 
assessment’ 

“The above Vote having been read, and proposed passed in 
ye Affermative—and ye Meeting Dissolved” 

“* Feb. ye 18th 1777. Mr. John Goddard Chosen Moderator 

“Voted Unanimously that this Town will Give Twenty four 
pounds L m. y. over and above ye Bounty offered by the Conti- 
nent and this State, to Every able Bodied man who Shall 
seasonably Enlist for this Towns Quota into ye Continental 
army During ye War or for ye Space of Three years the money 
to be paid upon Each mans producing a Certificat of having 
passed muster 

“Voted that Maj’r William Thompson, Mr. John Heath & 
Mr. Thomas Griggs be a Committee to hire ye money in behalf 
of ye Town for ye above purpose and to apply ye same to ye use 
afore Sd as soon as may be needful and to be accountable to ye 
Town for ye same 

“Monday May 26th 1777 ‘The Inhabitants of this Town 
having considered the Resolve of the last Assembly of 5th 
May, recommending to the several Towns, to instruct their 
Representatives, in one Body with the Councill, to form a new 
Constitution of Government. Voted that they do not give their 
Assent that the Representatives and Councill should form a 
Constitution but Recommend that a Convention should be ap- 
pointed by the People for that express Purpose, and that only, 
as soon as practicable” 


Elhanan Winchester was chosen representative. 


“Voted that the Sum of Fifteen pounds fifteen shillings be 
paid out of the Town Treasury, to Captain Thomas White, 
which Sum he advanced and paid as Bounty to three men, 
namely James Woods, Samuel Marian, and Gershon Hide, who 
enlisted for this Town’s Quota of Militia, and lately marched 
to the Aid of Rhode Island State. 

“Upon the Question, whether this Town will allow and pay 
a Gratuity to John Spear, Caleb Garder, Silas Winchester & 


| William Davis, who enlisted without Bounty and continued in 


the Army untill the disbanding thereof in December last, voted 
in the negative 

“The Committee appointed 18th of February last, to pay 
the Bounty of Twenty Four-pounds granted by the Town to 
each Man who should enlist. for this Town’s Quota, into the 
Continental Army, reported that by an order of the Selectmen. 
(dated 27th March last) they received of the Town Treasurer, 
the Sum of Three hundred & eighty four pounds which they 
paid to Col: James Wesson by order of Sixteen Men who en- 
listed into his Regiment. namely, Jeremiah Clark, George Dun- 
lap, Elijah Mills, Charles Winchester, Lambert Smith, Ezekiel 
Crane, Henry Tucker, Christopher Higby, Hugh MecKoron, 
Oliver Yan, John Burton, John Sinclair, John Hambleton, 
Nathaniel Rose, John Butler, and Stephen Eldrige The 
said Committee also laid before the Town the Order signed by 
those men, with Col. Wesson’s Certificate that they had en- 
listed for this Town and passed Muster, also his Receipt for 
said Sum; Whereupon it was voted that said Committee had 
performed their duty, and that they be discharged of the afore- 
said Sum of three hundred and Eighty four pounds. 

‘‘Upon motion, voted that the Thanks of this Town be given 
to Col. James Wesson, for the good Service he has rendered the 
Town by enlisting the aforementioned Sixteen Men for this 
town, and that the sum of Six Pounds be paid him as a further 
acknowledgement for that Service.” 


852 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





, “ Friday August 15th 1777. Mr. John Goddard was chosen 
Moderator 
“On a motion made, voted that a Committee be appointed to 
Enlist eight men, for this Towns proportion of Militia ordered 
to reinforce the Northern Army to serve till the end of Novem- 
ber next 
“Voted that the Committee consist of Five Persons 
“Voted that Capt. Thomas White, Lieut: Caleb Craft, Mr 
Moses White Col: Thomas Aspinwall & Mr. Samuel Croft serve 
on this Committee 
“ Voted that it be left to the Discretion of said Committee to 
promise such Bounty to encourage eight men to engage in the 
aforementioned Service, as they shall judge reasonable and 
proper, and that the Town will abide by and fulfill the Agree- 
ment of Said Committee 
“Voted that the Committee make Report of their doings at 
the adjournment of this meeting 
“Voted that this meeting be adjourned to Monday next the 
18th of August at 5 o’Clock afternoon—and was accordingly 
adjourned” 
“ Monday August 181777 The Committee reported that they 
had enlisted eight Men to serve in the northern Army to the 


End of November next namely John Me. Ilvaine, William | 


Davis, John Speer, Benjamin Winchester, John White, Joseph 
Caswall, William Me. Ilvaine and Joseph Brown, or Silas Win- 
chester in the room of Joseph Brown, upon the promise of 
paying Thirty Pounds Bounty to each man whereupon. 

“ Voted that the Town accept the report of the Committee 





can, whenever they may be called for; The Committee to be 


allowed a reasonable Consideration for their Service 


“Committee of Correspondence &¢ a. William Thompson, 
Mr. Isaac Child, Capt. Timothy Corey, Mr. Elisha Gardner, 
and Mr. Stephen Sharp, were chosen to be a Committee of 
Correspondence Inspection and Safety for the year ensuing” 

“Monday April 27. 1778 Major William Thompson was 
Chosen Moderator. 

“In Compliance with a recommendation of the Committees 
of Fourteen Towns in the County of Suffolk and Two Towns 
in the County of Middlesex met in Conference at Dedham on 
Tuesday the 14th day of April Current 

“Voted the Major William Thompson, Mr. Nehemiah Davis, 
and Mr, Isaac Child be a Committee in Behalf of this Town, to 
proceed to Dedham to meet the Committees of other Towns 
who may assemble there tomorrow at nine o’Clock, to confer 
and consult together, upon the Form of Government lately 
offered to the People of this State for their approbation or dis- 
approbation, and maturely to consider and advise whether the 


| Same is Calculated to Promote, in the best manner attainable, 


the true and Lasting Happiness of the People of this State, 
and to secure to them and their Posterity those Just Rights 
Liberties and priviliges which as a Free People they are en- 
titled to and by the favor of providence have so happy an 
oppertunity of affecting, also to consider and advise upon any 
other matter or thing that may concern this Town, County, or 


| State and to report the result of their Deliberations, to this 


“Voted, that the Sum of Two hundred and forty pounds be | 


hired for the purpose of paying the aforesaid Bounty, and that 


the Selectmen be empowered to hire the same in behalfof the | 
‘Town, and to pay the same into the Hands of the Committee | 


for the above purpose, as soon as requisite 


“Voted that the Selectmen be empowered to hire the further _ 
Sum of Fifteen pounds, to procure Canteens for those eight | 
| wall and Stephen Sharp be a Committee to attain an account of 
' all the charge this Town has ben at in paying Bountys or Ex- 
| traordinary Wages to these persons who have engaged and 
_ Servd or may serve, for this Town as Soldiers in the Continental 


men, and to pay the Subsistence of two pence per mile for their 
Travel to the Army 

“Voted that this Meeting be dissolved 

“Attest William Thompson 

“ Monday November 10: 1777 Mr. John Goddard chosen 
Moderator 

“Voted that the Town will allow and pay Seventy nine 
pounds four shillings, which Sum was paid by the Militia Ofi- 
cers of this Town as Bounty to Four Men who enlisted to Serve 


Town Clerk” 


on the late Secret Expedition. 

“Voted that this Town desire and direct Mr. Elhanan Win- 
chester their representative to promote an Enquiry into the 
Causes of the failure of the late secret Expedition” 

“ Thursday February 12. 1778 
inated & voted. Moderator. 

“Voted that Lieut Caleb Craft, Lieut Abram Jackson, and 
Mr. Stephen Sharp be a Committee to hire on the most reasona- 
ble Terms they can, at the Charge of the Town, those three 
Militia Men who are now ordered from this Town to do military 
Duty in the Town of Boston for three months—also that the 
same Committee be authorized and empowered, in the same 
manner to hire whatever men may, by lawful Authority, be 
ordered upon Military Duty from this Town, hereafter untill the 
further order of the Town, and that the Committee be allowed 
a reasonable Reward for their Service” 

“ Monday March 2. 1778 
was chosen Moderator. 

“Voted that Doctor William Aspinwall Mr. Joshua Boylston, 


The hon’ble Benjamin White Esqr. 


Mr. Eleazer Baker, Mr. Robert Sharp and Mr. Joshua Winship 


Mr. John Goddard was nom- | 


Town at the adjournment of this Meeting or at the next Town 
Meeting” 
“ Brookline Thursday May 21.1778 Col. Thomas Aspinwall 


was Chosen to Represent this Town in the General Court for 


the Ensuing Year 

““Maj’r William Thompson was then Chosen moderator of 
this meeting. 

“Voted that Maj’r Willam Thompson, Col. Thomas Aspin- 


army, Expeditions & Guards 

“Upon reading and considering the proposed new form of 
Government: Voted that the same is not calculated and adapted, 
to promote and secure in the best manner attainable, the True 
and lasting Happiness and Freedom of the People of this State 
that it is essential to a Constitution designed for that most 
important and desirable End, that a full and express declara- 
tion of the Rights of the People, be made a part thereof, and 
that the Powers of Rulers Should be accurately definend and 
properly Limited; that as the Form Proposed is almost totally 


_ deficient in those respects and imperfect and intricate in many 


be a Committee to hire any men that may be ordered from this | 
Town, upon military Duty on the most reasonable Terms they | Isaac Child Maj’r Will’m Thompson & Mr. Abijah Child bea 


parts, it ought therefore to be rejected, and this Meeting con- 
sisting of forty five voters do unanimously and absolutely 
reject the same 

“ Then the Meeting was dissolved 

‘Attest Stephen Sharp Town Clerk.” 

“Thursday May 13th 1779 Voted to accept the committee’s 
report. Chosen Last Town meeting to examine the claims of 
Such persons as had done Extra military Duty & had no con- 
sideration made . 

“Voted that Capt. Thomas White Lieut. Daniel White Mr. 
E. Kitchen Woleott Mr. Ebenezer Davis & Mr. Jonathan Dana 
be a committee to hire Soldiers until the next Town meeting.” 

“© Wednesday June 30th 1779. Mr. John Goddard was chosen 
moderator 

“Voted that Capt. Timothy Corey Mr. John Goddard, Mr. 


| 
| 
| 





BROOKLINE. 853 





Committee to hire the number of men the Town is now Call’d | 
upon to raise | 
“ Voted that the Selectmen procure Such a sum of money as 
Said Committee Shall find necessary in order to hire Sd Sol- 
diers and that the Town Treasurer give his Obligation in be- | 
half of the Town for ye Same 

“Capt'n John Goddard was Chosen to meet a proposed Con- 
vention of Deligates from the Several Committees of Corespond- | 
ence &. c. in this State at Concord on Wednesday the 14th of 
July next for the purpose of Carrying into Effect the attempt | 
of Appreciating our money—then the Meeting was adjournd 
without Day 





“ Attest Stephen Sharp Town Clerk.” 

“ Brookline Tuesday August 3d 1779 Capt'n John Goddard 
was Chosen Moderator 

“A Copy of the Proceedings of the Convention at Concord | 
being read Voted—That wee approve of the Resolutions of the | 
Convention at Concord, on the 14th of July last, & that wee 
will Take Suitable measures to carry the Same into Execu- | 
tion 

“Upon motion made Col. Thos. Aspinwall Mr. Isaac Child, | 
Maj’r Wm. Thompson, Capt’n Wm. Campbell & Capt’n John | 
Goddard, were Chosen a Committee, to regulate the prices of 


Such articles as are not mentioned in the Proceedings of Said | 
Convention 

“Maj’r Wm. Thompson was Chosen to represent Said Town | 
in a Convention at Cambridge on the first day of Sept’r next 
for the Sole Purpose of forming a new Constitution 

“Voted that this meeting be Adjourn’d to Monday the 9th 
Inst at four a Clock in the Afternoon” 

“Monday August 9th 1779 Capt John Goddard was chosen 


to Represent the Town in the Convention at Concord on the first 
Wednesday in October next 

“Voted that this meeting be adjourn’d to monday the 23d 
Inst. at four a Clock in the afternoon—and was adjourned ac- 
cordingly” 

“ Monday August 23d 1779 Voted that it be left with the | 
Committee to affix the Prices of Such articles as are not men- | 
tioned in the Proceedings of the Convention at Concord, til after 
the County Convention at Watertown” 

“Monday Octo’r 11th 1779 Col Thom’s Aspinwall Chosen 
Mode’r Voted that this meeting be adjournd to Jonathan 
Dana’s where being meet, Voted that Maj’r Wm. Thompson, 
Mr. Isaac Child, Dea. Elisha Gardner, Capt’n Wm. Campbell, 
& Mr. John Heath be a Committee to hire the number of men | 
the Town is now Call’d upon to Raise to Reinforce the Conti- . 
nental Army for three months 

“then the meeting was adjourned without Day” 

“ Monday May 15th 1780 Ata legal Meeting of the Inhab- 
itants of the Town of Brookline at the Meeting House—the 
Selectmen moderators. 


“The Constitution or form of Government Agreed upon by 
the Dalegates of the People of the State of Massachusetts Bay, 
being read, the Meeting was adjournd till two o Clock in the 
afternoon, then being Meet | 

“Then the form of Government was taken under Considera- | 
tion and Assented to as far as the 10th article in Chapter 2d 
Sect’n Ist Except the following Articles, Viz. the third Article 
in the Bill of rites Assented to by thirty nine Voters, Hight 
dissented proposing this amendment, that Every Estate in the | 
Town Should bear an equal Proportion of the Charges that arise | 
in Maintaining the Congregational Minister in that Town where 
the Estate Lays 

“The 2d Article in Chapter 2d Sect’n Ist Assented to by 
twelve, Twenty one for this with this Amendment, Dealing the 
word Christian and Puting in Protestants 








“Chapt’r 2d Sect Ist—15th Article Assented to provided the 
Salaries be not Established while the present War and Scarcity 
Lasts—because it would require at least a Double Sum for an 
Honorable Support in Such Times as the Present to what would 
be necessary in Times of Peace and Plenty and no Provision is 
made for lessening any Salarys once Established, therefore til 
the return of Peace and Plenty as before the War, the Salarys 
Ought to be granted yearily—the grants to be made among the 
first acts of the Gen’] Court Every year 

“Then the Meeting was adjournd til to morrow Morning at 
Hight OClock in this Place 

“ Attest Stephen Sharp Town Clerk” 

“ Tuesday May 16th 1780. Capt. John Goddard Moderator. 

“Then the Remaining part of the form of Government which 
has not been Considered was taken Under consideration and 
Assented to Except the Ist 7th and 10th Articles in Chapt’r 
6th to which the following Alterations were proposed. Viz 
twelve Voters for the Ist Article as it Stands, twenty one for 
Dealing the word Christian and putting in Protestant—twenty 
six Voters Accept the 10th Article as it Stands four do not Ac- 
cept it. 

“7th Article Assented to with this Alteration, Dealing the 
word twelve and putting in three, and that Only in time of 
War, Rebellion or Invasion 

“Then Col. Thom’s Aspinwall, Mr. Caleb Croft. Mr. John 
Harris Jun’r Mr. Nehem’r Davis, and Mr. Edward Kitchen 
Wolcott, were Chosen a Committee to take under Consideration 
and determine what method Shall be taken to Ascertain the 
Quantity and Value of the land in Said Town, in order toa 
more Equatable Assessment thereof, and make report at the 
next meeting 

“Voted that this meeting be adjournd to Wednesday Sennet 
at eight a Clock in the Morning at this Place 

* Attest Stephen Sharp Town Clerk.” 

“ Brookline June 5th 1780. Capt. John Goddard Moderator 

“Voted that the Town approve of the Proceedings of the 
Committee of Correspondence Inspection and Safty respecting 
the Petition of Mr. John Green to the Gen’l Assembly to attain 
possession of the forfeited Estate of Henry Holton, and that the 
Town Confirm and approve the reasons and objections the said 
Committee offerd Said Assembly against the Granting of Said 
Greens Petition. 

“Also Voted that the Representative of this Town in the 
Gen. Court be directed to oppose the Grant of Said Estate, or 
any part of it to said Green in Consideration of his acct. of Ser- 
vices for the Kings Custom Houses—and that the Committee of 


| Correspond’e be desired to take Such further Steps as they Shall 


Judge proper in the name and behalf of the Town to prevent 
the said Green’s Obtaining possession of Said Estate, or any part 


| of it 


“Voted that such Persons as have any Papers relative to 
Soldiers Milage Travelling Fees &.c. Due to the Town, are 
Desired to Deliv’r Said papers to the Commttee appointed to 


| Collect said Milage money 


“Voted that all persons that are Posses’d of any Papers that 
are Necessary to the Committees making a report of the Debt 
and Credit of the Town be Desired to Deliver Said papers to 
the Committee appointed for that Purpose” 

“ Brookline July 3d 1780. Maj’r Wm. Thompson was chosen 
Moderator. 

“Voted that Doct’r Aspinwall, Mr. Gulliver Winchester an 
Dene’n Gardner, be a Committee to go round the Town to see 
who will Advance Money for the purpose of hireing men for 
Military Service, and Receive the same and Deliver it to the 
Treasurer, and that those persons who ady’ce more than thare 
proportionable part be allowed Interest for the Same. 


854 HISTORY OF NORFOLK 


COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





“Voted that this Meeting be adjournd to next Thursday 
Six o Clock afternoon at Mr. Jonathan Dana’s.” 

“Thursday July 13th 
Chosen Moderator 

“Voted that Capt White be desired to Issue his Warrant to 


1780 =Maj’r William Thompson 


warn the Training Band and alarm list to meet to Morrow | 


afternoon at five a Clock in this place in order to raise the Re- 
mainder of the Town’s Quota of Men by draft if they cannot 
be Raised any other way be fore that time and that Notice be 
given that such persons as shall not attend the meeting be the 
first Drafted 

“Voted that this meeting be adjournd til to Morrow after- 
noon at five a Clock in this place” 

“ Friday July 14th 1780. Maj’r William Thompson Mod- 
erator. 

“Voted that a Committee be chosen to go round among the 
People in the present meeting to see who will advance money 
for the purpose of hiring Meen—Voted that Doct’r Aspinwall & 
Dea. Gardner serve on Said Committee,—Voted that Col. As- 
pinwall Capt. White and Mr. Ackers be a Committee to go 
round among the People present to see if any Incline’ to In- 
gage to serve as soldiers for the Town 

““Voted that this meeting be adjournd to Mr. Bakers im- 
mediately where being meet. 

“Voted that the Town will not give more than fifteen Hun- 
dred pounds pr. Man for the Militia which are Call’d for for 
three months provided the Town holds the State pay, and 
thirteen hundred Pounds if the Soldiers holds the States Pay. 
and that the Committee do not give that sum after next tues- 


day, and that Mr. Gulliver Winchester, Deac’n Gardner, and | 


Doct’r Aspinwall. be a Committee to hire Sd men in room of 
the former Committee for that purpose who Decline to Serve in 
that office 

“Voted that the Thanks of the Town be given to miss Mary 
Boylston for three Silver Dollars given by her for the In- 
couragement of Such Men as Shall Ingage to serve as Soldiers 
for the Town 

“Voted that this Meeting be adjournd til next Tuesday 
Evening seven a Clock at the School House” 

“ Fryday Septr 29th 1780 Col. Thomas Aspinwall Chosen 
Moderator. 

“Voted that the Sum of Eighteen Thousand Hight Hundred 
and forty one pounds be raised by a tax on Polls, Real and 
Personal Estates of the Inhabitants of this Town, and Non 
resident Possessors for the Purpose of Purchasing Supplys for 
the Army and that the surplus (if any bee) bee applyed as the 
Town shall hereafter Direct 

“Voted that said sum be Assessed, Collected, and paid 
into the Hands of the Town Treasurer by the 20th of Octo’r 
next” 

“ December 26th 
Moderator. 


1780. 





“Voted that Mr. William ackers, Mr. Abijah Child and Mr. | 
Isaac Gardner be a Committee to Ingage the Men this Town is | 


call’d upon to raise, to fill up the Continental Army on the | 


most Reasonable terms they can, and report at the next Town 


Meeting 
“Voted that the sum of twenty five Thousand pounds be 


raised for the purpose of procuring the Quantity of Beef this | 


Town is Call’d upon to Supply the Army with” 
“Thursday Janry 4th 1781. Maj’r William Thompson 
Moderator. 
“Voted that every Town Inhabitant be authorized to hire 
any Soldiers to serve for three Years or during the War for 
this Towns Quota for the Continental Army—and that Every 


Inbabitont that shall procure a man shall be allowed four Dol- 





lars for his Trouble, and that the Town will pay each Soldier 
who shall engage in that Service as much more than the Pub- 
lick pay as to make up his Wages to six pounds pr Month 
during the Time he shall continue in actual Service and that 
each Soldier be paid sixty Dollars in advance towards his 
Wages, and shall also be paid whatever shall be due to him 
from the Town at the end of every six Months, and if not paid 
within twenty Days after application by themselves or agents 
then to be allowed ten percent Interest from the Time of ap- 
plication til paid” 

“ Brookline Monday Jan’ry 8th 1781. 
son Moderator 

“Voted that Col. Thom’s Aspinwall, Mr. Moses White, Mr. 
Sam’el Croft, Mr. Caleb Croft, Mr. Isaac Child, Mr. Joshua 
Boylston, Capt. Timothy Corey, Mr. Caleb Gardner Mr. Nath’el 
Seaver and Mr. Ebenez’r Davis, be a committee for the purpose 
of hiring this Towns Quota of men into the Continental Ser- 
vice.” 

“Monday March 5th 1781 
chosen Moderator, 

“Voted to adjourn this meeting til half after two 0 clock 
this afternoon in this place—being Meet according to ad- 
journment—Voted that the Tax for hiring Soldiers into the 
Continental Army, be paid in paper Money at the rate of Sey- 
enty five paper Dollars for one Silver Dollar, and that the 
Treasurer be desired to Exchange the same for hard Money if 
needed. 

“Voted that Mr. Samuel Croft be desired to take care of the 
Stock of Arms and ammunition or any other article or articles 


Maj’r William Thomp- 


Benjamin White Esq’r being 


that belong to this Town.” 

“ Wednesd’y March 14th 1781. 
Moderator 

“Voted that the Vote pas’d the 3d day of Janr’y last Respect- 
ing hiring Soldiers into the Continental Army for three years, 
be Reconsided, and that the Committee be desired to procure 
the men on the best terms they can” 

June 29th 1781. Mr. John Goddard Chosen Moderator 

“Voted that the Sum of Six Hundred Silver Dollars be As- 
sessed on Polls, Real and Personal Estates. of the Inhabitants 
of this Town, and Non resident Possessors, for the purpose 
of Purchesing this Towns Quota of Beef for the Continental 
army, agreeable to a Resolve of the General Court of the 22d 
Inst 

“Voted that Mr. Moses White, Mr. John Coburn, and Mr:- 
Ebenez’r Davis be a Committee to purches Said Beef” 

“July 3d 1781. Voted, Esq’r White chosen Moderator 

“Voted that the Town Indemnify and clear the Select Men 
from all charge that may arise by Reason of their not proceed- 
ing to Draught a Man out of each Delinquent Class, agreeable 


Benj’n White Esq’r being 


| to order of Court of the 16th June last. 
Capt'n William Campbell Chosen 
| curing this Towns Quota of Men to serve in the Continental 


“Voted that all charges that have arisen or may arise in pro- 


Army for three years, be Assessed on the Town in the same 
manner other Town Charges are assessed, provided the Delin- 
quent Classes procure their Deficient Men by the thirteenth Day 
of July Current. 

“Then the Meeting was Dissoly’d 

“Attest Stephen Sharp Town Clerk” 

“ July \7th 1781. Doct’r William Aspinwall chosen Moder- 
ator, 

“Voted that the Inhabitants of the Town be Classed in Hight 
Classes in order to procure Eight’ Men to go to Rhode Island 
and West point that Hach Class be oblig’d to procure one Man 


; and pay him, each one in proportion as shall be determined by 


the Assessors, and that the Assessors be directed to Assess each 
Class such a Sum to pay said Man as the Majority of the Class 





BROOKLINE. 


855 








shall Desire — and that one Class be not allowed to hire a man 
out of any other Class before the twenty second Instant, unless _ 
Said Class has Procured a man, and if it shall hereafter appear | 
that any one or more Classes, do not procure a Man and thereby 
Incur a Penalty, that Said Class shall be excus’d from paying | 
more than the highest price given for any of the Men, if they 
make it appear to the Sattisfaction of the Town that they have | 
Collected their Money in proper Season, and taken Suitable 
pains to procure Said Man, and whatever Class shall first pro- 
cure a Man to go to Rhode island and Inform Benj’n White 
Esq’r thereof, shall have the benefit of Said man for their | 
Class” | 

“ Monday June 17th 1782. Mr. John Goddard Moderator | 

“ Voted that Mr. E. Kitchen Wolcott, Mr. Joshua Boylston | 
and Mr. Robert Sharp be a Committee to make a further in- | 
quiry into the accounts of the Committee for Purchasing Beef 
for the Army for the year 1781, and Report there on at the 
next Town Meeting” 

“ Monday July 8th 1782. Hon. Benj’m White Esq’r 
erator, | 

“The Vote being put, to see if the Town will take any other 
Method, to raise five Meen to Serve three years in the Conti- 
nental Army, besides Classing the Inhabitants as Directed by 
a Res’lv of the General Court of the Ist Day of March last 

“Voted in the Negative 

“Then the Meeting was adjournd without Day 

“Attest Stephen Sharp Town Clerk” 


Mod- | 


“ Sept’r 26th 1782 Hon'ble Benj’n White Esq’r Chosen Mod- 
erator. Voted to hire five Men now called for to go to Nan- | 
tasket,—Voted that Mr. Nath’el Winchester Deac’n Gardner | 
and Mr. Daniel White, be a committee to hire Said men on the 
most reasonable terms they can, and that the Town relieve said 
Men in six weeks from the time of Inlistment, if they desire it, 
—Voted to Indemnify the Selectmen from all charges that may 
arise by reason of their not proceeding to draught said men | 
agreeable to the Melitia Law” 

“ Fryday January 12. 1787 
Moderator 

“Capt'n Moses White. Lieut. Sam’ll Croft, and Col. Thom’s 
Aspinwall were chosen a Committee to hire Eleaven men to 
serve as Soldiers for this Town, and to Remain in Publick Ser- 
vice 30. Days from the 23d Inst,—upon the most Reasonable | 
terms they can—Mr. John Heath Mr. Nath. Winchester and 
Mr. Benja. White were Chosen a Committee to hire a Sum of | 
money in behalf of the town for the purpose of hiring Sd Men 
—then this meeting was adjourn’d to Tuesday Evening next | 
at Six a Clock at the Grammar School house” 

“ January 16th 1787 Inst Capt. Moses White Moderator— | 
Voted that the Committee Viz Mr. John Heath Mr. Nath. Win- 
chester, and mr. Benjamin White, who were chosen a Commit- 
tee the 12th Inst to hire money to Raise Soldiers be impowered 
& they be hereby impowered, to hire the Sum of Forty pounds | 
for Sd Purpose and that the Town Treas’r be Directed to give 
his Obligation in behalf of the Town for Sd Sum. Likewise 
that Sd Sum be Assessed with the next Town Rate—then it 
was Voted that this meeting be adjournd to next Thursday | 
Evening at Six a Clock in this place, and was adjournd ac- 
cordingly | 


Capt’n Moses White chosen 


from the Towns in this state at the state house in Boston, on 
the Second Wednesday of Jan. next, for the purpose of taking 
under consideration the Form of Government for ye United 
States” 


LIST OF MEN WHO TOOK PART IN THE REVOLUTION 
FROM THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE, 


‘““A Muster ROLE of the Company, under the Command of 
Captain Timothy Corey, in Col. Baldwins Regiment to the first 


of August, 1775. 














| | 

Timothy Corey........... | Brookline... April 26 | 97 | Capt. 

| Thomas Cummings..... Needham...) May 1 92 | Ist lieut. 

| Jonas Jobnson...........| Brookline...) April 26 | 97 | 2d lieut. 
Jacob Whitney........... | Roxbury..... J | 97 | Sergt. 

Weagolin Carles scccecsssceses Dedham..... @ Sital wes 

| Ezekiel Crane............ | Brookline... és OTe ice 
Samuel Draper........... | Newtown ...| << 96) 
Adame LR On escecces+sces | Dedham..... es | 97 |Corporal, 
John Blundin............ | Brookline...) s DE so 
Andrew Lewis... ......... | Dedham..... s Oi se 
Abner Whitney.......... | Newtown... se | 97 ee 
Winter Boston........... Roxbury..... May 1 | 92 | Drummer. 
Edward French......... | Stoton........ May 28 | 65 | Fifer. 
DIOHM PALS eTem. seca e sce | Brookline... April 26 | 97 | Private. 
James Beamis............ Sudbury..... e Cha ee 
John Broadrick......... Brookline.. ef Byles 
MimothtyChildezecscsones | Newtown ...| ss on 
Thomas Champney...... Brookline... ie 97 “ 

| Daniel Coolidge......... | Roxbury.....| Ss } Or Nc 

| William Davis........... | Brookline... iy 97 6 
George Dunlap.......... US oe 97 ee 
John Fenelley............ | Go eee oe OuRIr tess 
Mbhomilas: Hiskew..+c.<cosse Newtown... May 8 S57 iene 
Caleb Gardner...........; Brookline.... April 26 | 97 Sf 
James Greley............ Roxbury..... May9 | 84 ee 
Stephen Whitney....... | Newtown... April 26 | 97} “ 
Joseph Wilkinson....... Dedham... veccess Bnet ence £6 
Thomas Seaver. ......... Roxbury..... May 12 | 59 ee 

| PJOHNIGTECN.. -sccccacsce se Brookline...) May 30 | 63 ce 
Thadeous Hide........... | & ...| April 26 | 97 [amc 
WAbneCreELOLG:cosnsceseeess fee ies a | 97 se 
Aaron Jackson......-++. Newtown May2 (91 | 6 
Enoch Jackson .......... ss “ HOF | eee 
Jonas Jackson.........:. o ce 91 ss 
William Jackson........ CO zane Mayas Vind ss 
Wiilliamap ing. .cccccees Brookline...) April 26 | 97) “ 
Samuel Lewis............ Roxbury...... April 27 | 96 ee 

| Timothy Lewis........... oh i: | 96 au 
John Mellvaine..........| Brookline.... April 26 | 97 Cs 
Hijabs Mills ssesccscsseceee pass sf | 97 ef 
Phillip Marchant....... ef ...| May 6 | 87 “ 
Jesse Jackson............ Newtown ...| May 17 | 76 se 
Samuel Merean.......... Brookline ..; April 26 | 97 | ce 
Edward Merean......... Newtown...) May 6 87 | 
David Nutting...........| Brookline... April 26 | 97 yy 
Ephraim Payson........ 72 ugee is (90). © 

| Elnathan Pope........ ..-| Plainfield...| 6 | 97 ‘ 

| Jacobe Reed!cs..cs...ce- Brookline.... May 1 | 92 © 
John Spear.......-.+..-- Sees A pT Gn 9.0 ut 
John Smith............ Ses re .| May 1 92 «¢ 

| Jeremiah Smith........ ss AAA ‘é 192i: \rane 

| Lambert Smith.......... se a D2 hl nce 
Write ySNOWeewsasiaciescees Woburn..... May 9 | 84 a 
HizraPild ent. .....scco.+s2 Stoton........ May 18 | 75 sf 
Timothy Whitney......., Newtown...| April 26 | 97 see 
Peter Walker.............) Roxbury.....| May 1 | 92 fe 
Isaac Winchester........ Brookline...| “ | 92 on 
Charles Winchester....., OS ce ss 92 ss 
Silas Winchester......... | 66) tees Aprilizou nor . 
Ephraim Whitney...... | Newtown... ce 97 < 


“Attest Stephen Sharp Town Clerk” 


| 
“ Monday March 19th 1787 Voted, that the Town Treasurer | 
be Directed, and he is hereby Directed, to pay the Soldiers that | 
went for this Town to the Western Expedition, Out of the first | 
money he Receives” 
“ December 10th, 1787, The Rev’d Joseph Jackson was chosen 
a Delagate to Represent this Town in a Conven- of Delegates | 





“In Council, Feb. y® 177 Read & allowed & ordere4 That 
a warrant be drawn on y® Treast for £287. 12/ in full of this 


date. 
“ Perez Morton, 


** D py Secry.” 


856 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





““A Muster Roll of the Militia Company in Brookline who 
marched against the Ministerial Troops on y® 19 April, 
under y® command of Capt Thomas White in Col William 


James Winchester. 
Nath! Winchester. 
Sam’! Winchester. 


Jacob Sharpe. 
Robert Sharpe. 
Stephen Sharpe. 


Heaths Regiment, and their time of service to y® 12 day 


of May. 
Capt Thomas White. 
Ist Lieut Caleb Craft. 
2d Lieut Dan! White. 
Sergt Moses White. 
« Abijah Child. 


‘© Timothy Corey.* 


John Alger.* 
Jonathan Baly. 
Eben’r Bartlett. 
John Blandin.* 
Joshua Boylston. 
John Broaddrick.* 
Joseph Brown. 
Thomas Champney.* 
Aaron Child. 

Daniel Child. 


Sergt Samuel Griggs. 


Corp! Caleb Gardner.* 


«John Harris Jr. 
“Daniel Dana Jr 


Fifer Isaac Gardner 


Drum’r Benj Larnard. 


Privates. 


Enoch Fisk. 
Benj Gardner. 
Elijah Gardner. 
John Griggs. 
Joseph Griggs. 
Joel Hagar. 
Just Harrington. 
Michael Harris. 
Phin Hammond. 
Jobn Heath. 





| May 12th, and then returned home. 


Nathaniel Seaver. 
John Spear.* 

Benj Stratton. 
Gideon Tower. 
Archibald Wares. 
David Whitcomb. 
Benjamin White Jr. 
Edward White. 
Samuel White. 
David Winchester. 


Silas Winchester.* 
Amos Winship. 
Joshua Winship. 
Royal Wood. 

Josh Woodward. 
Jon® Warner. 

Esq? White’s “ Peter” 


“  Gardner’s ‘* Adam” 


Joshua Boylston’s “ Prince” 


This company served twenty-three days, ending 


Those having 


a star opposite their names, after serving seven days, 
enlisted in the Continental army. 


| “Pay Roun for a Party of Militia Commanded by Lieut Caleb 
Craft, Dorchester Heights from July 4th to the 28th Inclu- 
sive, 1778, Belonging in Col. Macintoshes regiment. 


Calebi@rattstc.cccs cessor saceesestecs 

















July 4. July 28. 25 
Isaac Child. Amos Hide. | HHleazt Graves .ccscosteaeecseseeesesees eG! COMTIS: 13 
Phinehas Child. Thaddeus Hide. | William Gridley eecaecces seevce ceecevie Us a3 S285 24 
S 1 Child Artin hee Hamund JWieldissccccssc ose scnessccees ey 2:1 Pigs 15 
Sl oa ne ote | William Lewis......... Re ees. «4 “18 unt 
Solomon Child. Abrah™ Jackson. |e Bowers DOtim sssscsoes cerwiecctes Bs TG}. 15 
Samuel Clark. Thad Jackson. | Benjamin Badanah ROCCE CORTE OO, POCEDCOCCION LS 25 
foun Coburn. Tonaselohn son: Te pe Beeeee SRCCRBOROGOReEDe ocosboaucoce ees an 
Samuel Coburn. Moses Johnson. Solin, Whitgornbi, sess ceseccelsceee oh ee 25 
James Coolidge. Jonathan Jones. |e Ephraim Man nsssessc.ccccesecseseseet July 5. Sons 24 
Benjamin Cox. William King.* | wie Menu se eeeceee cccceccce sence ee 5. seen a 
Ss ; we ; ee OSE Ph WANIAMS, ccseccscceecessieccstone acesess cuss a eecees cee 
Mu a Cox: Baniabas:Mansrd | Stephen Knight.............. Henoouae pees sodos66 24 
Samuel Craft. Jonathan Marbel. | Benjamin Baxter...c.cscssctescaeson) | VOU EN July 18. 12 
Ezekiel Crane.* John MeAlvain.* WP eOhMUWaS Wells. tec sc ccscrecehteswoates | P ss 28% 20 
Joseph Dana. NatheMicariam | J OSCPHiGOrencresscsciecacecessiescsseste sta OE S28: 20 
ee) fe ee | Elnathan Whitney. s..scose+ soscosees «9, TB. 0 
enter ene Samuel Meriam.* | Ebenezer Weld.......06...000+ susiidlec Soesectestes Gets, 10 
Samuel Davis.* Elijah Mill.* Ebenezer Scott.......... ececest lessees eorarsccstee «28. 20 
William Davis.* David Nutting.* Samuel Cotter... .....sccossssocsesecs | ccsessiesene SUS: 10 
Cia te - ‘“ 
Thaddeus Dean: David Oawton, JHCOW/ CumMInNs.-<.-scencsecorenecness July 10 24, 15 
Z = ¥ Pp Asa UPAY SOM Awacledccsescriccceesecevers SOs CS LSs tf) 
George Dunlop.* Ephraim Payson.* JIRIMNCS, Giawsetcccsuectevevssssoesevnesee ces > sally, GF Ife 9 
John Fineey.* John Sampson. WiallliamiSbanprcscrewsetesctcsssesess Ky S288 17 
A Return of the men in the Continental Army for the Town of Brookline. 
Sse = ak 28 tt’ a = nie i eee ut ee 
NAMES Town. | Enlisted. | Captains. Colonels. | Time. State. 
HCLOMMIA UNO IAL sc vscecessworestieseescescassens Brookline. | Brookline. | Pettengill. | James Wesson. | Three Years. | Massachusetts. 
CeOnmerUN api cccascen sosecsesisesscelscssosees oe | “ | Cogswell. ly E 
Hefei ala cet cr cde oes aahos eet es | «“ | e “ | a 
eChanles Winehester........s0ssscsc0 sosscs0s sf os | Childs. ss oe “s 
WaMbSrbi OMIT 22, syscsccseeves sascsssceecs vsee fs es | ce ‘ ‘ es 
WHIZ E KIO CLAN Otessccrtscccesclesseas calas nee ooars' 6 ce ce “ se | ec 
Meninygbuckernaccvascresscetuesesser: cstaiieates cs i | Cogswell. | sf | Ss 
Olivieri cecesances castes vectscsiesececccscnsect “ | Pettengill. Z - ss 
ODDIE ULLON cet vesacscvesciesesssoeeisucesstecse ¢ os | s os Le ie 
VOMMEMING Alsteecsecssctcecessssicssnscccoesesss : s Cogswell. sf | oe s 
Johny Hamilton. :.0.s0cceceeces cove cotarec cous ‘ § | Pettengill. | ee | cs gs 
Christopher Highee.c:<.vsnscctensecs vececeses f ms i ss | sf | < 
nee MG wn tcc. ccsccrceseecusceseetenss-t as es “ ‘f | sf s 
INST AMIE] UOSCssccncsescacesid-csbes vocesscveess ai My oy es * 
VONNMB UCL ites scasccass seecosssseseuseesetes = ee ie Ed | ie “6 
puep hon Wldrid Gees. s.sccessecclssescesceseeess ss s ss ef | wy ee 








“John Blundin, in ye Light Horse Company. [Names of companies encamped at] “ Sewells Point,” Brook- 


“Thomas Champney, in ye Train Company. line, in 1775: 
“Thomas Bushel, in Col. Henry Jacksons Regiment. 
“Jonn Phenesy, in Col. McField’s Reg- | 


“Capt. Timothy Corey’s Company, Col. Loammi Baldwins 
Regiment, Sept. 27, 1775. 

“Capt. Thomas Cogswells Company, Col. Loammi Baldwins 
| Regiment, Sept. 27, 1775. 


Bailey’s, Capt. 
iment. 
‘Peter Solomon, goeth for Princeton. 








BROOKLINE. 


857 





“Capt. Joseph Pettengills Company, Col. Loammi Baldwins | 


Regiment, Sept. 27, 1775. 


“Capt. Thomas Mighills Company, Col. Loammi Baldwins | 


Regiment, Sept. 27, 1775. 
“Capt. Ezra Badlams Company, Col. Gridleys regiment. 
“Men enlisted from Brookline in the army, 1781: 
“Ebenezer Dean, May 18, 1781. 
“Josiah Jordan, Apr 19, 1781. 


“Jacob Harvey, Apr 23, 1781. 
“Nathaniel Blanchard, June 30, 1781. 
“Asaph Bisbee, July 16, 1781. 
“Noah Sturtevant, July 16, 1781. 
“Joseph Wright, July 16, 1781. 
“Joseph Morrill, Aug. 4, 1781. 
“Josiah Ladd, Aug. 17, 1781. 





| 
| 





NAMES. | ee Date of Discharge. wiles ot ge ela | Amount of Wages, 
| Benjamin Morse............ July 16. January 16. 220 6 11 £12 14s. 8d. } 
MeVOsinbudordanises.cceseccetesiseeelss toctoes July 1. December 25. 220 6 6 ies | 
| Thomas Ryan.......secsesseeessesseeeee veces May 10. November 10. 220 6 11 12 14 8 

PNG MPA BIN Secececsecesasseserseseceatecereesss June 8. December 8. 220 6 11 1214 8 | 
jelincrease ND AVIS. ...-ssccennsseocsescpesieeee'ss June 8. December 6. 220 69 L222 Ss 
ee lbOMUCI KIN Go<>,:c0ssccceresevaswseecceenices June 11. December 11. 220 6 11 1214 8 | 
ACODMELATVCYioceceecaccorascss se ecececesssae| July 31. December 15. 220 4 26 914 8 


| 
| 
| 
| 


i 


Beginning of the Present Century.—Up to the 
latter part of the last century, or the commencement 
of the present, the people of the town were depend- 
ent upon the products of their land, and were of 
the thrifty sort of farmers. About that time a new 
order of things commenced; the attractions of the 
place drew many people from the large and thickly- 





populated towns, who were desirous to retire from the — 


noise and bustle of active commercial life and to 
seek a home in the country, for this was then a good 
specimen of a country town. 


The elegant native | 


forest- trees, the elevated lands, the rich soil, the near- | 


ness to the seat of government, and many other ad- 
vantages, soon attracted the attention of wealthy 
people of other localities. Among the first, if not 
the first, of this class was Hon. Stephen Higginson, 


a native of Salem, a leader in the politics of Massa- | 


chusetts, and a merchant of Boston, who purchased 
thirteen acres of land, formerly used by Ebenezer 
Richards for a sheep-pasture, for the sum of one 
hundred and twenty dollars an acre, upon which he 
erected an elegant dwelling-house. 
an elevated and beautiful spot, commanding a fine 
view of Boston and the many islands, while near at 
hand, as if to lend a charm to the scene, are the 
placid waters of the old Boston Reservoir, of irreg- 
ular elliptic shape, the surface water covering twenty- 
two and one-half acres, and containing one hundred 
million gallons. This land is on the heights near 
Warren and Heath Streets; it was afterwards owned 
and occupied by Dr. John C. Warren, who did much 


to beautify the same. A portion of this land was 


This locality is 


oem 


£88 13s. 4d. | 





Selectmen 
of 
Brookline. 


{OB Wuirr, 
“JoHN GopDARD, 
““W. CAMPBELL, 

“The original sworn to before 

“STEPHEN SHARP, Town Clerk.” 
sold to William Appleton, Esq., M.C., who was for- 
merly president of the Boston branch of the United 
States Bank, also of the Massachusetts General Hos- 
pital and Provident Institution of Savings, ete. Mr. 
Henry Upham afterwards occupied Mr. Appleton’s 
place, and the Warren mansion has since been occu- 
pied by George Bacon, and now by Augustus Lowell, 
Esq. Following the above-named Higginson were 
the families of Hon. Jonathan Mason, M.C., a stu- 
dent of President John Adams, counselor-at-law, 
member of the State Legislature, and member of the 
Governor’s Council, who purchased the farm of Moses 
White on Heath Street. Benjamin Guild, Esq., next 
purchased the house, and afterwards sold the same to 
Gen. Theodore Lyman, the well-known founder of the 
Farm School at Westborough, who pulled down the 
old house and erected the present mansion, now 
owned by his son, Hon. Theodore Lyman, member of 
Congress from this district. 

Next in order, and near to the estate of Dr. War- 
ren, was the residence of Hon. George Cabot, M.C., 
who was Secretary of the Navy under Washington, 
afterwards president of the Boston branch of the 
United States Bank. He was a retired sea-captain. 
Stephen Higginson, Jr., succeeded Mr. Cabot in this 
home, who sold to Capt. Adam Babcock, afterwards 
purchased by the late Samuel Goddard. The land 
owned and occupied by John L. Gardner, Ksq., was 
part of this estate, and was sold to Mr. Gardner by 
Capt. Ingersoll, a son-in-law of Capt. Babcock. Op- 
posite to the estates of Messrs. Appleton and Warren, 
on Warren Street, was the old-time mansion of the late 


858 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Col. Thomas H. Perkins, who was formerly president | 
of the Boston branch of the United States Bank, 
member of the State Senate, active in establishing 


the Massachusetts General and the Insane Hospitals, 
contributing eight thousand dollars to its funds, and | 
was a patron of the Blind Asylum, for whom it was 


named; also of the Mercantile Library Association 





and Boston Athenzeum. Adjoining this estate, on 


the west, was the residence of the late Samuel Cabot, | 
built in 1806, which gave way but a few years since | 
to the present mansion of William Gray, another of 
Boston’s merchants. Did our space permit we might, 
with equal justice, mention a long list of persons emi- 
nent in the various walks of professional and mercantile | 
life. Prominent among whom were John E. Thayer, 
Nathaniel I. Bowditch, Richard Sullivan, Samuel G. 
Perkins, Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, James S. Amory, | 
Thomas C. Amory, Amos A. Lawrence, William R. 
Lawrence, George B. Blake, Ignatius Sargent, Wil- 
liam Dwight, David Sears, Barthold Schelesinger, 
Edward C. Wilson, William I. Bowditch, William 
Aspinwall, Samuel Goddard, Thomas Parsons, Eben 
Wright, John W. Candler, and many others. 

While among those who have held or do now own 


large estates in various portions of the town may be 
mentioned Benjamin White, Ebenezer Francis, Amos | 
A. Lawrence, William R. Lawrence, David Sears, 
Charles Stearns, Marshal Stearns, Charles H. Stearns, | 
William Stearns, Thomas Griggs, Timothy Corey, 
Elijah Corey, Abijah W. Goddard, William Aspinwall, | 
Col. Thomas Aspinwall, George Babcock, James Leeds, | 
Ebenezer Davis, George B. Blake, Ignatius Sargent, 
William I. Bowditch, Moses Jones, William Dear- 
born, and others. 


At a later date than the above the names of White, | 
Griggs, Lawrence, Stearns, Goddard, Corey, Withing- 
ton, Thayer, Davis, Sargent, Sharp, Craft, Coolidge, 
Sears, Perkins, Cabot, and others, appear as among | 
The Win- 


chesters, Aspinwalls, Buckminsters, Gardners, and 


the largest land-owners of the town. 


Whites were perhaps the largest and the oldest land- | 
owners. 





The earliest settlers were agriculturists, 
their first business being to clear the primitive forests 
and prepare the land for the first crops. They were 
men of great physical powers, resolution, and stability | 
of purpose, and applied their energies of body to clear- | 
ing and improving their township, and if we may | 
judge of the results of their efforts, they were faith- | 
ful to their callin The nearness to the capital of | 


the State made it the natural locality for the raising | 


or 
o 


of produce of all kinds; a great opportunity was 
presented to grow and increase in wealth, as well as _ 
to improve their land, and this was brought about by | 


hard labor and strict frugality, which lent its aid in 
the work. 

There was a ready demand for all kinds of vege- 
tables and fruit, large and small, and this town con- 
tributed largely to supply the want. 

The Town as it Is.—Of the present aspect of the 
town, with all the various changes since the com- 
mencement of this century, much has been said and 
published, some of which are wel! worth noticing. 
The learned and well-known editor of Winthrop’s 
Journal pronounced Brookline to be the most beauti- 
ful village in New England. For local scenery, rich 
cultivated fields and gardens, and green-house pro- 
ductions, for continually increasing costliness and 
taste in its public and private buildings, the praises of 
this town resound far and wide, and this is but the 
echo of the sentiments generally expressed by persons 
of taste and observation. 

On a hot summer’s day many years since, a seaman’s 
preacher, after regaling himself in a beautiful grove 
behind the First Church, in the course of his sermon 


' said, “I know not, my friends, how you can hel 
| ; Yi ¥ p 


being Christians, for you already live in paradise.” 

In the summer of 1860, when the Prince of Wales 
was on a visit to this country, among the many re- 
ceptions given him was that of the city of Boston. 
The Prince alighted at the Cottage Farm Station in 
Longwood, where he was received by the city govern- 


ment. When he arrived at the station previous to 


seating himself in the carriage provided for him, he 
took a look at the surroundings of the town, and ex- 
claimed in the writer’s presence, “ Of all the country 
he had passed through, none had reminded him so 
much of the scenery of Old England as that around 
here.” 

A modern poet, in the ‘“‘ Poet’s Tribute” in 1840 
contributes the following lines: 


““T have revisited thy sylvan scenes, 
Brookline! in this the summer of my day. 
Again have reveled in thy lovely vales, 
And feasted vision on thy glorious hills; 
As once I reveled, feasted, in the spring: 
Of careless, happy boyhood. And I’ve bowed 

Again within thy temple, and have heard, 

As though time’s footfall had these years been hushed, 

Thy patriarch pastor’s lips, like dew, distill 

Gentle instruction. And the same is he, 

As to young love and reverence he was, 

My cheerful friend, benevolent, and good. 

The same thy hills and dells, those skies the same 

Of rich October; such as only bend 

Over New England; and the same gray walls, 

Reared in New England’s infancy, are those 

Which charmed imagination. Thou art fair 

And beautiful as ever. Fancy deems 


Thy sweet retreat excused the common doom 


' 
| 
4 

i 
) 
' 
: | 
¥ ‘ 

; - 
' 
’ 

= Pe ee 








"SSVM ‘ANITNOOUE 
‘FONAUMVT “VY SOMW JO JONAGSAY 


































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































BROOKLINE. 


859 








Caused by the fall, as if the Architect 
Were willing, by such specimen, to show 
What Eden, in its primal beauty, was.” 


“T think that no one will dispute that Brookline was for a | 


long time pre-eminent in the little cordon of towns which have 
so long constituted the exquisite environs of Boston, emboss- 


ing it with a rich and varied margin of lawn and Jake and | 


meadow and wooded hill-side, and encircling its old ‘ plain neck,’ 


as William Wood called it, in his ‘New England Prospect,’ with | 
I think no one | 


an unfading wreath of bloom and verdure. 
will dispute her claim to have given the earliest celebrity to 
those environs for rural culture and beauty. 
other countries, or from other States, carried home with them 


| 





Visitors from | 


a deeper impression of the charms of this spot and its sur- | 


roundings than of any other region in New England; and 
when the well-to-do Bostonian, before there were any railroads 
or steamers to whirl him off to Scotland or the Alps, or even 
to Newport, or Saratoga, or Niagara, for his summer vacation, 
desired to get a breath of pure air, or a glimpse of green fields, 


or a scent of fresh flowers, by an afternoon’s drive, the horse’s | : Ts 
3 é _ Brookline Village. 
head was turned first, and last, and almost all the time, towards | 


Brookline, by the way, perhaps, of Pine Bank! and Jamaica 
Pond. Nature had done much, but cultivation and taste had 
hardly done less, in producing this result. 
ticulture find earlier or more successful votaries than here. 


Nowhere could there be sought and found more exquisite flow- | 


|‘ Hall’s Pond,’ at the end of Essex Street; then, 
_ taking down some bars, one could ride or drive over 


ers or more delicious fruits, in season or out of season, in the 
open air or under glass. Nor was experimental Agriculture 


without its early and devoted followers here. Meantime there 


was an elegant and distinguished hospitality to be enjoyed in | 4. : ¢ 
nas rae eS a a2 ' direction as the roads do now, to the Aspinwall house, 
Brookline homes, then filled by men of large acquaintance 


and of larger hearts, to say nothing of accomplished and beau- 
tiful women, to complete the attraction. 

“T do not forget that there were individual instances of the 
same sort of homes in Dorchester or Milton, in Roxbury or 
Jamaica Plain or Dedham, in Brighton or Watertown or Wal- 
tham. Still less do I forget that almost all these places have 


Nowhere did Hor- | 





and borders of grass) was a tract of land containing » 
three hundred and fifty acres which once belonged to 
the estate of John Hull, the ‘ mint-master,” and 
afterwards came by inheritance to Chief Justice 


| Samuel Sewall, who married a daughter of Mr. Hull. 


This was well known as “ Sewall’s Farm.” These 
lands embraced the territory between Aspinwall’s and 
Sharp’s land, on the south, to Pleasant Street, on the 
north, and from Harvard Street, on the west, to 
Charles River. 

Previous to the building of the mill-dam, in 1821, 
there was no public road leading to what is now called 
The name of 


Longwood was given to this section on account of the 


‘‘Tongwood” and “ Cottage Farm.” 


long line of beautiful woods on the rolling ridges of 
land which extended from Charles River nearly to 
In 1850 Beacon Street was built 
through this land, which was chiefly owned by Messrs. 
Up to that date, in order to 
pass through this vicinity, it was necessary to enter 


Lawrence and Sears. 


where is now “ Cottage Farm Bridge,” going towards 


_the cart-paths, which ran very much in the same 


been catching up with Brookline—perhaps outstripping her | 


—in all these particulars; and that both Horticulture and | 


Agriculture may now look elsewhere for more than one of their 
highest illustrations and their most conspicuous disciples. I 
speak of half a century sometime closed, during a part of 
which, certainly, Brookline enjoyed a prestige for culture and 
beauty, which might almost have entitled her to that appella- 
tion of ‘a Peculiar’ for which her old inhabitants petitioned. 
“Let me not be thought too much disposed to narrow the 
limits either of time or space within which the special graces 
and attractions of the town were to be witnessed. But I have 
sometimes thought that there was a little circle of our territory, 
from which had emanated, in successive years, as many good 
influences and examples, in the way of philanthropy and be- 
neficence, of kindness and hospitality, and of every refined 
culture which pertains to rural enjoyment or improyement,— 





the culture of the field and of the garden, of the manners and | 


of the human heart,—as from any spot of equal circumference 
on any part of the globe. 
have lived men of wide distinction in every walk of life, some 
of whose names are associated with the foremost places of the 
State or the Nation.”—Hon. Robert C. Winthrop. 


Longwood.—In the northeasterly portion of the 
town of Brookline (now thickly dotted with elegant 





1 The residence of James Perkins. 


Within or around that little circle | pa é 4 
_and Dr. William R. Lawrence in 1850, who erected 





villas and handsomely laid-out grounds, with walks | house. 


| structure, built about 1689. 


The Sears land 
lies west of the Cottage Farm, and is beautifully situ- 


near St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. 


ated and laid out. When the mill-dam was completed, 
several enterprising merchants of Boston, thinking 
that land in Brookline would be greatly enhanced in 
value, bought farms adjacent to the new avenue in 
Brookline and Roxbury containing about five hundred 
acres. Prominent among these purchasers were the 
Thorndikes, David Sears, and Ebenezer Francis, but, 
as the new thoroughfare was a toll turnpike, there 


_ was not that demand for land that there was in many 


other places. About thirty years since one of the 
owners, David Sears, began to improve his lands by 
laying out streets, setting out trees, and building 
In 1820, Ebenezer 


Francis purchased two farms which had previously 
One contained about 


houses on both sides of the river. 


belonged to the Sewall estate. 
sixty acres, known as “ Cottage Farm,” the other was 
designated ‘Maplewood Farm.” ‘Cottage Farm” 


was purchased by Messrs. Amos A. Lawrence, Esq., 


residences on the same, which they now occupy. The 
name of “Cottage” as applied to the farm above was 
derived from the fact that the estate now owned by 
Dr. William R. Lawrence had on it the ‘“ Sewall” 
It was a small old-fashioned gambrel-roof 
It was torn down, to- 
gether with two barns, to make room for a modern 


‘ 


860 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








residence, in 1851. The ground from this farm to | 
Brookline Village was mostly in grass. 

There are several historical associations connected 
At Cottage Farm Sta- 
tion, in the Revolution, was a very extensive fort, 


with this part of the town. 


known as Sewall’s Fort, which commanded Charles 
River. Col. Thomas Aspinwall was the commander | 
of the fort. 
stronger than many of the other forts of the Ameri- 


This was nearly quadrangular, and was | 


can army, having six guns, and had accommodations 
for more troops than most any other during the siege | 
of Boston. Col. Thomas Aspinwall had the com-— 
mand of the Sewall Fort during the Revolution. 
The building of the mill-dam, and afterwards the cut- | 
ting through for the Boston and Albany Railroad, 
nearly destroyed these works, though a portion re- 
mained till 1852. 

Col. Prescott’s headquarters were at the Walcott | 
house, now occupied by Charles H. Stearns. Walcott | 
took sides with the colonies, while the Sewalls did not. 

On the south side of Muddy River, near St. Mary’s 
Street, was a three-gun battery, one of a line of’ bat- 
It was on 
the land now owned and occupied by Amos A. Law- 
rence, Esq., and where that elegant grove of trees now 


teries surrounding Boston in the siege. 


stand, that Col. Prescott’s regiment had its headquar- | 
ters, also a Rhode Island regiment, after the battle | 
of Bunker Hill. 
evacuation of Boston by the British, about nine 
On the land of Mr. Lawrence, 
when he purchased his estate, were the ovens used 
by the occupants of Sewall’s Fort, which were long 
since removed. 


Here they remained until the 


months afterwards. 





The well which supplied the army | 
with water is at the entrance of the drive-way, on 
Dearborn’s lumber wharf. 

This and the other objects of Revolutionary interest _ 
were pointed out to the late Judge William Prescott | 
(the father of William H. Prescott, the historian), by 
his father, the colonel, not many years after the war ; 
and later, when Mr. Ebenezer Francis owned these 
farms, Judge Prescott went with him and pointed | 





out these localities, and Mr. Francis (whose father | 
was the first general officer killed in the Revolu- | 
tionary war) took such an interest in these things | 
that he went over the ground with Mr. Amos A. | 
Lawrence, after he had sold the land to him and his | 
brother in 1850. 

On the grounds of Amos A. Lawrence stands an 
old and very large pear-tree, the date (1689) of which 
is inferred from the fact that it bears the button-pear | 
which is mentioned by Judge Sewall in his diary as | 
having been planted in his garden in Boston ; besides, | 


it bears evidence of great age. There were two of | 


land, and settled in Watertown in 1635. 


these trees in 1850, one of which was destroyed by 


_a gale about twenty years later. 


The Boylston Place.—One of the most interesting 
spots in Brookline is the Boylston place. On it stands 
a large, old-fashioned wooden house on Boylston 
Street,’ opposite the westerly end of the reservoir, 
now owned by Henry Lee, Esq., which was known 
for many years as the old ‘“ Boylston” house, after- 
wards, for many years, as the “‘ Hyslop” place. It is 
one of the most interesting historical places in the 
town. 

Thomas Boylston came to this country from Eng- 
His son 
Thomas, born in that town in 1644, became a sur- 
He took an active part in the Narragansett 
He married Mary Gardner, of Muddy River, 
in 1665, and settled upon the place which we are de- 
scribing, and from that time forward the Boylstons 
were identified with Brookline. There were twelve 
His son Peter inherited 
One of the daughters (Susanna) 
married John Adams, of Braintree, and was the 
mother of John Adams, second President of the 
United States. The second child of Dr. Thomas 
Boylston was the eminent Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, born 
in 1680, who acquired wide celebrity, and at first a 
most unenviable one, by the introduction of inocula- 
His memoir has been written, 

The smallpox was making 
fearful ravages in Boston in 1721, when the Rev. 
Cotton Mather communicated to Dr. Boylston an 
account of the transactions of the Royal Society re- 
Instead 
of allowing the disease to be taken in its natural way, 


geon. 
war. 


children of this marriage. 
the homestead. 


tion for the smallpox. 
and is full of interest. 


specting inoculation as practiced in Turkey. 


the chances being that more than one-sixth of the 
patients would die, the matter was forestalled by pre- 
paring the system for it by medical treatment, and 
then scarifying the skin and applying the virus under 
Under inoculation it was seldom that a 
The practice was not even be- 
gun in England when Cotton Mather suggested it to 
Dr. Boylston for experiment. He introduced the 
subject to the attention of other physicians in Boston 


a nutshell. 
patient lost his life. 


and vicinity, and was met with violent opposition ; 
the medical men, both in this country and in England, 
taking the ground that it was a crime, which came 
under the classification of poisoning, while the clergy 
preached against it, and wrote pamphlets, arguing 
that the smallpox was a judgment from God for the 
sins of the people, and that to try to check its sway 
would only “ provoke him the more.” . 


! This street was named in honor of the Boylston family. 


HULA AAS il 
Hil i | II 
iil 





























\\ 
\\ 


hi 


ae ee See 


ae 





" "SSVM “JNITNCOUG 
37 AUNEM JO ALVACOU 














































































































































































































































































































sSZOVIG NOLSTAOG,, 





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































1k 
ie 





a AAA Wh HHH 
Hee 


| 


fl 




































































7 





BROOKLINE. 


861 





A sermon was preached by a Rev. Mr. Massey, in 


1722, against ‘“‘ The Dangerous and Sinful Practice | 


of Inoculation,” from the text, “So Satan went forth 
from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with 
sore boils from the sole of his foot until his crown,” 


from whence he argued that the Devil was the first | 


inoculator and Job his first patient. Some fifty years 
afterwards an epigram appeared in the Monthly Mis- 


cellany on this sage opinion of the Rev. Mr. Massey, | 


as follows: 


“We're told by one of the black robe 
The Devil inoculated Job ; 
Suppose ’tis true, what he does tell, 
Pray neighbors, did not Job do well ?” 


The inhabitants of Boston and vicinity became so 
excited that men patroled the streets with halters in 
search of the doctor, threatening to hang him to the 
nearest tree. ‘The doctor was secreted fourteen days 
in his own house in a hiding-place known only to his 
wife. 
searched for him by day and by night without suc- 


cess. One evening a hand-grenade was dashed through 


the parlor window where his wife and children were | 


sitting. Fortunately, the fuse was knocked off against 
a piece of furniture and the family escaped death. 
The doctor could only visit his patients in the night 
and in disguise. Yet notwithstanding all this violence 
he was brave enough to persevere with his experi- 
ments, being sanguine of’ success. 
own child and two servants, and though they all had 


During this time the house was repeatedly | 





He inoculated his | 


the disease mildly and recovered, the authorities of | 


Boston summoned him before them to answer for his 
practice. He underwent repeated examinations, and 
received insults and threats. During the year, how- 
ever, he inoculated two hundred and eighty-six per- 


sons of all ages, from infancy to old age, of whom 


{ 


only six died, while of five thousand seven hundred © 
and fifty-nine who took it in the natural way during | 
the same period, eight hundred and forty-four died. | 
The success of the practice was established, but the | 
opposition did not cease. During this time the doctor | 
was in correspondence with the court physician in | 


England, Sir Hans Sloane, and was invited to visit 
London. 
arrival he was treated with great attention and was 
made a “ Fellow of the Royal Society,” the first 
American thus honored. He remained in England a 
year and a half and then returned. 

As he grew somewhat infirm with years, he retired 


This invitation he accepted, and on his _ 


and very successful in improving the breed of vari- 
ous domestic animals, especially horses, for which his 
farm became celebrated. He often broke the animals 
himself, being a fine horseman. His biographer 
speaks of him as having been seen in Boston, after he 
was eighty-four years of age, riding a fine colt he was 
breaking. 
practiced. This custom prevailed till it was super- 
seded by vaccination as practiced by Dr. Waterhouse 
in Cambridge, and Dr. Aspinwall in Brookline. He 
died at the age of eighty-seven, and was buried in 
Brookline Cemetery. His epitaph is said to be a just 
and appropriate one : 

‘‘ Sacred to the memory of Zabdiel Boylston, Ksq., 
and F.R.S., who first introduced the practice of in- 
oculation into America. 


He lived to see inoculation universally 


Through a life of extensive 
benevolence, he was always faithful to his word, just 
in his dealings, affable in his manners, and after a 
long sickness, in which he was exemplary for his pa- 
tience and resignation to his Maker, he quitted this 
mortal life in a just expectation of a happy immor- 
tality, March Ist, 1766.” 

It is said that, Dr. Boylston in his will bequeathed 
his house and farm to the town as a home for the 
poor on certain conditions, to which one of his rela- 
tives was expected to accede, but this not being com- 
plied with, the town missed the donation. 

From Dudley Boylston, a brother of the doctor, 
who married Susanna Gardner, descended the first 
wife of the late Deacon Joshua C. Clark. Her daugh- 
ters are the last of this old family in Brookline. 
From Thomas, another brother, descended Thomas, 
who died in London, a wealthy merchant, who made 
bequests to the city of Boston. 
ried a Hallowell. One of her sons became an admiral 
(Sir Benjamin Hallowell) of the British navy. An- 
other of her sons, preferring the family name of his 


His sister, Mary, mar- 


mother to that of his father, changed his name to 
Ward Nicholas Boylston. 
London, acquired great wealth, and was distinguished 
for his liberality. 


He became a merchant of 


He returned to his native place and 
lived for several years in Roxbury, and afterwards in 
Princeton. 

He gave large bequests to many charitable enter- 
prises, and munificent donations to Harvard College 
and the Boylston Medical Society and Library. 

Thomas Boylston, the son of another brother, set- 


tled in School Street, Boston, and was identified with 


from his profession, which had kept him much in | 


Boston, and devoted himself to his farm in Brookline, 


which he bought of his brother Peter, and on which | 
he built the present house. He was greatly interested | on condition that the church officers would allow his 


Brattle Street Church. 
at Harvard College. 
purchase the homestead of his ancestors in Brookline 


He endowed a _ professorship 
He dictated his executors to 


and convey the same to the First Church in this town, 


862 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





which he should pay a rent of ten pounds annually 


to the church. The estate was to be entailed in the 


male line from this heir in the same way from gener- | 
ation to generation, and failing the heir who should | 


have the right to live upon it, it should go to the 
church. But the property was in the hands of Mr. 
William Hyslop, who had bought it of the doctor’s 
heirs, and the Brookline Church never received the 


intended bequest, neither did Joshua Boylston ever 


have a male heir, and with him the family name 
became extinct in Brookline. 

Mr. William Hyslop, the purchaser of the Boylston 
house, was a native of Scotland. He came to this 
country in his youth, and began business as a peddler 
of dry goods, which he carried from house to house 
in a pack upon his back. He was very successful in 
this humble beginning, and having invested money 
in goods at a fortunate time and way, he was able to 


enter the dry-goods trade still more extensively, and | 


became very wealthy. 


He had a son of the same name, the one mentioned | 
as having lived for some years in the house now occu- | 


pied by Mr. Chapin, a son David, and one daughter, 
Elizabeth, who became the wife of Governor Increase 


Sumner. 


There was a Scotch Presbyterian clergyman with | 


whom Mr. Hyslop was acquainted in the old country, 
who emigrated to Massachusetts with twenty or more 
of his parishioners, and settled in Worcester. His 
name was Abercrombie. 
time in Worcester, Mr. Abercrombie removed with 


his people to a more congenial situation on the Pel- 


ham hills. When this good man could number eleven — 
Hyslop returned after the war was over, and died in 


‘olive plants round about his table,” he was suddenly 
left a widower. The youngest had been named Me- 
hitable, for Mrs. Hyslop, and when the little girl was 
six years of age Mr. Hyslop adopted her as his own, 
and she remained in his family till her marriage. Mr. 
Hyslop’s business called him occasionally to Hurope, 


and on his return at one time he brought with him a | 
slab, or pier table, which was supported by a pair of | 


large spread-eagles, the claws of which each clasped a 
round ball. 
dows. This was a highly ornamental piece of furni- 
ture for those days, and as such was much admired 
and prized. When the Revolutionary war broke out, 
Mr. Hyslop was in Europe, and the contingencies of 
the war were such that he could not return till it was 


While the British 


troops occupied Boston a great alarm was one day 


over without imperiling his life. 


created in the upper part of Brookline by a man, who 
rode up the old road furiously on horseback, telling 


nephew, Joshua Boylston, to live upon the place, for 
_ church green. 





After a residence for some 


| now living. 


It was placed between the parlor win- | 


all whom he met that the British troops were at the 
This was at the green in front of the 
church on Roxbury Hill, but the people of the upper 
part of this town naturally enough supposed that the 
Brookline church green was meant, and great was the 
terror that ensued. The first impulse was to flee for 
safety, the second to carry off something valuable, but 
like distracted people at a fire, who throw mirrors out 
of the windows and carry mattresses carefully down- 
stairs, they seized upon anything but what the British 
would have taken had they come. 

The table with the spread-eagles was hurriedly 
wrenched from the wall and laboriously carried up 
into the woods, which then covered the whole hill 


_ back of the house, and there buried by the servants. 
The little adopted daughter was not to be outdone by 


the rest of the family, and she secured a new pair of 
red bellows which hung beside the fireplace, and never 
let them go during the flight and the temporary ab- 
sence. 

Colonial troops were afterwards quartered in the 
house, and the family took refuge in Medfield from 
When a return was safe and 
the buried eagles were dug up for restoration to their 
It was mended and 
the table replaced, being fastened to the wall with 


the fortunes of war. 
proper place, one was broken. 
nails instead of screws, thus making the thing legally 


Not 


many years ago the eagles were claimed by Governor 


a part of the house, and not a movable article. 
Summer's descendants as a part of their inheritance, 
but it was shown that they were a part of the house, 
They remained 
there at the last accounts, and are an appropriate 


Mr. 


and the demand was not allowed. 
adornment for the ancient and curious house. 


1796, aged eighty-five years. 

His son David This 
singular man is well remembered by many persons 
He was lame, of uncouth figure, and 
such excessive homeliness of countenance as is seldom 
He also had 


an impediment in his speech, or rather never learned 


inherited the homestead. 


seen, amounting almost to hideousness. 


to speak plainly, always articulating his words like a 
little child, and the order of his mind being below 
But 


he inherited great wealth, and this consideration in 


the average, he never acquired much education. 


the eyes of many counterbalanced all his defects. 
““Q what a world of vile, ill-favored faults 
Look handsome in three hundred pounds a year.” 

He found a wife notwithstanding his personal pe- 
culiarities, was left a widower, and when quite ad- 
vanced in years married a lovely young girl of great 
personal beauty, who was sacrificed to her father’s 











BROOKLINE. 


863 





ambition for wealth. Mr. Hyslop was not a bad man, 
however, but his singularities were a source of annoy- 
ance or amusement to all with whom he had any deal- 
ings. He had a strange aversion to music of all kinds, 
and especially to the instruments used at church and 
the anthems so much practiced in those times, and 
which he always called “tantrums.” He would not 


attend church on Thanksgiving-days, on account of 


the “tantrums” which formed a prominent part of the | 


service. Soon after the old gentleman brought his 


young bride to Brookline a bassoon was added to the | 


orchestra at church by Capt. Robert Davis, who played 
well. Mrs. Hyslop lingered one Sunday after service 
to hear the choir practice a little, while her husband 


went out for his horse. As soon as he was ready, 


however, he made his appearance at the church door, © 


and beckoning to his wife, he called out loudly in his 


broken speech, ‘Jane! tome! tome along! Don’t 


tay there to hear the bagpipe.” 

It was his custom to make a long prayer every 
morning before breakfast, at which every member of 
the household was requested to be present. He always 
prayed with his eyes open, and the consequence was 
that material things and spiritual were apt to get de- 
cidedly mixed. On one occasion, while thus praying, 
he happened to see through the open door into the 


bread-trough, a rake or a halter, would be liable to 
spend a season in the “iron ’tudy.” His peculiar ideas 
were also evinced in the management of his fruit. 
The place abounded in choice fruit, especially peaches, 
plums, and cherries. These he could not use, would 
not sell, and did not give away. Bushels upon 
bushels of the finest fruit lay and perished under the 
trees every year. 

There were two daughters and one son by this mar- 
riage, and both the former died in childhood. The 
son, who was a fine lad, lived till within a few days of 
his twenty-first birthday. 

While John Adams was President of the United 
States he came to Brookline, and was the guest of 
Hon. Jonathan Mason, who lived on what is now Col. 
Lyman’s place. While there he spoke of the last 
time he had passed along that road as riding on horse- 
back carrying his mother on a pillion behind him. 

He never lost his interest in this home of his an- 
cestors, and in 1821, when he was very aged and so 
infirm that he was unable to walk without assistance, 


_ he expressed a wish to visit once more the old place 


kitchen a monkey which he kept making free with the — 


sausages which had been set frying before the morning 
worship began. Pausing in the prayer, he interpolated 
a direction to “‘ Hetty” that the sausages should be 
protected, and went on with his prayer without the 
slightest perception of anything ludicrous in the situa- 
tion. His remark must have had a peculiar effect on 
those who had not observed the performance in the 
kitchen. 


In the third story of the house at the southwesterly | 


corner was a small room, which was dark and only ac- 
cessible through another room, and not easily noticed. 
(Perhaps this was where Dr. Boylston was secreted 
from his enemies. ) 

This room Mr. Hyslop called his “iron ’tudy,” and 
it was the only study he ever made use of. 
he hoarded up all the old iron he could collect on the 


In this | 


premises, and quantities of other things useful and | 


useless. The key he always carried with him. 


ticles of daily domestic use would disappear. 


Tn- 


Ar- | 


quiries and search would be of no avail. After weeks | 


or months perhaps, the proposal often before made, 
that he should look in his “iron ’tudy” for the miss- 
ing article, would result in the restoration of it, as 
composedly returned as if no inconvenience had arisen 
from its absence. 


Anything on the place, from a silver spoon toa 


where his mother was born, and where his grand- 
parents had lived and died. 

Accordingly, Mr. Hyslop made a dinner-party, and 
invited the venerable ex-President, Governor Brooks, 
Gen. Sumner, and other distinguished guests. It was 
a grand affair, and passed off with great éclat, but 
there was something pathetic in the sight of the almost 
helpless old man, supported by his grandson, going 
feebly about the place and taking a last look of scenes 
once so familiar to his boyhood. 

The following letter from the elder John Adams, 
President of the United States, to his cousin gives a 
fine description of the surroundings of the old mansion 
on the occasion of his visit : 


“ MontTeziLLo, September 16th, 1820. 
“My DEAR coustN BoyLston: 

“O that I had the talent at description of a Homer, « Milton, 
or a Walter Scott. I would give you a picture of all that Ftave 
visited, with more pleasure than I should Mount Irea or Monte- 
cello. 

“Mr. David Hyslop has been importuning me for seven years 
to dine with him in Brookline. I have always declined till last 
Wednesday ; when taking my grandson George Washington Ad- 
ams, for my guide and aide de camp, I went to visit the original 
habitation of the Boylstons—where my mother was born, and 
where she carried me frequently in my infancy, and where I 
used to sport among the fine cherrys and Peaches and Plums and 
Pears as well as among the flowers and roses on that fertile spot 
or garden. It is more than seventy years since I set my feet 
upon that hill. Indeed my mother seemed to have an aversion 
to visiting or thinking of it after her father sold it to his brother 


Dr. Zebdial Boylston, and removed into Boston. There are 


| ancient trees Elms and Button-woods some of which I seem to 


j 


remember; but I have inherited the feelings of my mother. 


864 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The weather was very fine and I know not that I ever passed a 
pleasanter day; I ascended the Hill which is exuberantly fertile 
to the very top where there is a handsome summer house to the 
roof of which I mounted where are convenient seats and suffi- 
cient railing from whence your Wachusett is plainly seen; and 
even your own mansion House was visible through a prospect 
glass, at least George imagined he descried it. 
tion my imagination was exalted almost to extasy, a prospect 
nearly as vast as that from Wachusett opened all around me. 


Land and sea conspired together to produce an assemblage of 


beauties. The grand city of Boston and the Town of Charles- 
town; The Castle the Islands, the Rivers the Ponds of Water, 
the Orchards and the Groves were scattered in such profusion 
over this great scene that | was lost in admiration of its variety. 


And to add to its sublimity in my estimation Whites Hill was | 
full in view, the seat of my Great Grandfather and the Birth | 


place of my Grandmother; All these lands have passed into the 
hands of other families and other names. I said to Mr. Hyslop, 
‘Tf I was worth money enough on the face of the whole earth 
I would buy it of you.’ Your uncle Nicholas was well born, he 
had a soul bien née, but Thomas had not; otherwise he would 
certainly have purchased it and given it to you. We hada very 
agreeable Company at dinner; very good cheer and very pleas- 
ant sociability. But there I took my final farewell of Boylston 
and Whites Hill. 
sirous that my Father should purchase it when it was sold to 
Dr. Boylston, and my mother was very desirous that he would. 
But my Father was a very cautious man—had a great aversion 
to being in debt, and although my Grandfather was willing to 
take his bond for the purchase, and wanted only the interest of 
the money, my Father was afraid he should not be able to ac- 
And now I fear 


My Grandfather and Grandmother were de- 


complish and fulfil so large an engagement. 


the estate has departed from the name and the blood forever, | 


unless you will purchase it, and give it to your son or grandson. 

“Thus much for family vanity and family mortification— 
Now for Politics and Legislation. I hope you will attend the 
Convention and come up to Montezillo and talk with me and I 
with you about Plato and Solon and Lycurgus. I shall rejoice 
to see the name of Boylston among the members of that Con- 
vention, as that alone will be sufficient to preserve it. 

“George who bears his honours meekly, is now humbly 
employed in writing this letter for 
“Your affectionate Cousin, 

“ Joun ADAMS.’ 


’ 


(Signed) 


Mr. Hyslop died in 1822 
and thus ended the Hyslop name. 

His widow married again, her second husband being 
Mr. John Hayden. She 


survived her husband, and at her death the Hyslop 


at the age of sixty-seven, 


There were no children. 


wealth, which comprised much real estate in Roxbury 


On that eleva- 


| 
| 








Privates. 


David Smith. 
Thomas Farnsworth. 
Charles Stearns, Jr. 
Joshua Loring. 
Joseph Goddard. 
James Holden. 
James Whidney. 
Edward Hall. 
Artemas Fairbanks. 
Charles Leavitt. 
Nathaniel Talbot. 
William Atwood. 
William M. Tennant. 


John Graves. 
George Morse. 
Samuel Townsend. 
Jonathan 8. Ayres. 
Samuel Williams. 
Amasa Jackson. 
William Otis. 
John Warren. 
Joseph Whitney. 
Jobn Vose. 

David Colby. 

Eli Hunter. 
George Richardson. 

This company was located at Fort Independence. 
Timothy Corey was captain of this company. There 
was but little to do except guard duty, and nothing 
of special interest to mention in connection with 
their duties. There were others enlisted in the gov- 
ernment service at this time from this town of which 
we have no data. There is one, however, worthy of 
special notice, who did valiant service at Lake Krie 
and lost an arm. The particulars can be better de- 
scribed in the following letter, showing the patriotism 
of our late esteemed fellow-townsman, Col. Thomas 
Aspinwall : 

“WILLIAMSVILLE, N. Y., 
“1 Mites FRoM BuFF®, 
“Oct. 1, 1814. 
“My Dear FatHEerR,— 

“You must excuse my silence since I have been on this fron- 
I arrived the last of July, and immediately repaired to 
Fort Erie, and assumed the command of Gen! Scott’s brigade, 
which I continued to command until a few weeks since, when 


Gen! Miller was placed in command of it. I superintended its 
operations on the 15 Aug., when the fort was stormed, and had 


tier. 


the pleasure of seeing the whole of it perform its duty most 


| gallantly, and essentially contribute to the glorious result of 


that contest, which, with a loss of about 80 in killed, wounded, 


| and missing on our part, diminished the force of the enemy 


and Chelsea, as well as the place in Brookline, went 


to the heirs of Elizabeth Hyslop, and by them the 
homestead was sold to Henry Lee, Esq. 
War of 1812.—During the war of 1812, or the 


about 1300 men. 
in presuming on our ignorance of the art of war. 


Such was the consequence of their madness 
From the 
5 of August our Camp was bombarded and cannonaded inces- 
On the 13 & 14 they threw about 800 or 1000 shot 
and shells upon us each day, and, having succeeded in ex- 


santly. 


ploding a small and almost empty magazine, on the evening of 
the 14t" were induced to attack in four columns next morning 
at 2. The night was wet and dark, and the soil, being of clay, 
made it difficult for us to keep up to our new works, Three of 


| their columns only came near us, and two of those were engaged 


| soas to keep us all continually employed in labor. 


second war with Great Britain, Brookline did her | 


part in furnishing her proportion of men for active 


service. A company was sent from this town, of 


which the following is a muster. roll : 
Mens names who were detached, Sept. 18, 1814, by order 
of Col Joseph Dudley, for the defence of the State. 
Lieutenant, Robert S. Davis; Ensign, Thomas Griggs; Ser- 
geant, Daniel Pierce; Fifer, Thomas Chubbuck. 


This 
cannonade and bombardment was continued until the 17 Sept., 
We were 


by my brigade and the artillery of the adjacent works. 


also harassed by continued alarms at night, so that for six 
weeks I seldom got more than 3 or four hours’ daily repose, and 
never undressed or even pulled off my boots except to wash my- 


self and change my clothes. My tent was often struck by frag- 


, ments of shells and by musket-balls from their shrapnells, and 


the tents almost in a range with mine and their batteries often 
perforated by cannon-balls, that I thought myself preserved 
only by a special protection. I had during this period hardly 


time to write a line to Louisa, and, had her health been firm, I 














BROOKLINE. 


865 





should not have done that. The enemy continued to receive 
reinforcements, and to strengthen and multiply their batteries, 
The Gen! had learned 
that their defences were open on their right flank, although 
they supposed a swampy, perplexed wood was a sure protection 
Iie caused to be cut thro’ part of the 
wood a road communicating with an old concealed overgrown 


until they had four ready to play on us. 


against us on that flank. 


cross road leading toward the right and rear of their batteries. | 


He had ascertained that their main camp was two miles back, 
and the path from it narrow, obstructed, and muddy, so that 
they could not send in season to support the light brigade of 
1500, that was stationed at the batteries, in case it was sud- 
About 1500 of our militia, with the riflemen, 


volunteers, and 23 Reg*, were in the forenoon of the 17 cau- 


denly attacked. 


tiously pushed on through the new road, and Miller’s brigade 
(late Scott’s), of which my Regt composed the van, was, unper- 
ceived by the enemy, introduced into a deep revine between the 
fort and the front of their lines, ready to storm their batteries 
the moment the signal announced our troops to have gained 
their rear. The Gen! at last, just as a heavy shower of rain 
had ceased, ordered us to march. We started immediately, and 
passed through the wood, driving in their sharp shooters, sen- 
tries, and guards, until I had arrived within 20 paces of their 
breastworks, where, as I was passing along the front of the 
first platoon to give it a concerted direction to the right, I re- 
ceived a musket-shot above the elbow of the left arm, which 
completely carried away about an inch and a half of the bone. 
I, of course, had no further part in the active duty of that day, 
which terminated in our complete success, except as to one of 
their four batteries. Their cannon, mortars, and howitzers 
were spiked, the carriages cut to pieces, their large magazine, 
containing upward of a 1000 24-lb. cartridges and several bar- 
rels of powder, destroyed entirely, excepting 500 cartridges let 
off. They lost, according to the repeated accounts of several of 


their soldiers, who deserted at different periods since the action, | 
1182 men, of whom we have 385, including 12 officers, 2 of whom | 


are majors, and should have had upwards of 500 had not sev- 
eral bodies of prisoners been entrusted to militia officers, who 
followed, contrary to express directions, the only route they 
knew,—the circuitous new road by which they came,—and were 


taken with their prisoners by the enemy. The surprise would 


have been complete had not a drunken Lieut., late of the regu- | 


lar army, with a body of militia, raised an Indian yell three 
minutes before he got in sight of the enemy. 


notice to prepare, and corrected their mistake in supposing our 
{ 


men, whom they had partially seen, to be the English coming 
to relieve them in the tour of duties at the batteries. The con- 
flict was the hardest, and the fight, during the time it lasted, 
the most furious and desperate, that has occurred this war. The 
soldiers climbed, guns in hand, over the tops of the block-houses, 
bayonetting all that opposed them, and rushed in half platoons 
into redoubts defended by companies. Two soldiers attacked a 
block-house, which, to their surprise, they found defended by a 
german major and his party. The Major’s party rose, ordered 
them to surrender, and the Major told a soldier to take them to 
the rear, to which at that moment he turned his head, and dis- 
covered there an advancing party of our men. ‘Gentlemen,’ 
said he, in broken English, to the two soldiers, ‘I surrender. 


Your are at dibertee, & I am your prisoner,’ and with the great- 


est good humor gave up his sword, and ordered his party to lay | ‘ 
' Revolution, was a two-story hipped-roof house, to 


So much terrified and astonished at our 
boldness were the English that it is reported by deserters that 
Gen! De Watteville exclaimed to Gen! Drummond that they 
were surrounded and must surrender. 


down their arms. 


In two days after the 
battle not an Englishman was near us. They raised the siege, 
and precipitately decamped in the night, just at our tatoo. We 


55 








This gave them | 





sent out some parties to harass them, and compelled them to 
burn a magazine of stores some distance down the Niagara 
river, and have since taken a dragoon picquet of 8 or 10 men. 

“T shall be able to begin to travel home slowly in about 10 
days, and shall, with the blessing of God, soon see you all. 
After being wounded I walked back to my tent, and in about 
an hour had only one arm, a circumstance which does not af- 
flict me, my dear father, and must not you. But let us both 
thank God that he has so formed us that you have lived almost 
all your life happy & respectable, notwithstanding the loss of 
an eye, and I may spend the remainder of my life in the same 
manner with the loss of a limb, of all the most conveniently 
spared. I have been so blest hitherto that it would be the 
deepest sin to murmur against this dispensation of Providence. 
My bodily pain has been what you have always known to be 
The Dr. Lovell says it will 
Give my love, my dear father, to 
all my friends, brothers and sisters, and believe me still your 
THOMAS. 

““T write with some difficulty because the paper moves under 
my pen, as I have no left hand to steady it.” 


usual in such cases, and no more. 
make a very good stump. 


affectionate son, 


‘‘Punch Bowl” Tavern.—The changes in the 
appearance of our town, especially in the thickly set- 
tled portions of it, have been so great within a few 
years past as almost to perplex former residents who 
return to it, and as many inhabitants now living here 
can remember still greater changes, it has been sug- 
gested that some description of the town in the earlier 
part of the present century, and some account of the 


| progress of its subsequent changes, might be interest- 


ing to many of the present residents. 

On the 26th of the Eighth month, 1640, a bridge 
was ordered to be built at Muddy River. ‘“ Mr. Col- 
bourne, our brother Eliott, and our brother Peter 
Oliver were appointed to See the Same donne.” This 
was probably the first highway leading into this sec- 
tion of country and the first road to Boston. From 
that time to the time of building the mill-dam the 
present Washington Street was the only road to Bos- 
ton in this direction, the heavy teaming from the 
country towns west of us came through Brookline. 
There was an immense amount of travel of this kind, 


_as there were no railroads then in existence, and thus 


the ancient “ Punch Bowl’’ Tavern was a necessity of 
the times ; here all the teams stopped for “ refreshment 
for man and beast,” and this old building as a nucleus 
gathered around itself the village which took its name. 
Even to this day this place is remembered by old men 
in New Hampshire, Vermont, and the back towns of 


| this State as “the Punch Bowl Village.” 


The original house, built long before the war of the 


which, as increasing patronage made it necessary, the 


_ proprietor made additions from time to time, by pur- 


chasing old houses in Boston and vicinity and remov- 


ing them hither. The result was in the aggregate a 


(alee) 


866 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





curious medley of old rooms of all sorts and sizes, con- 
nected together in a nondescript manner, and present- 
ing an architectural style which, if we might apply a 
geological term to it, we should call a conglomerate. 
This old tavern and its outbuildings occupied all 
the space on the street, from the brick blacksmith- 
shop near the corner of Pearl Street to the provision- 
store of Brown Brothers. It was of a yellowish color, 
and had a seat running along the front under an over- 
hanging porch, or rather projection of a part of the 


second story, where loungers congregated to discuss | 


the news of the day. In front of it and near each 
end was a large elm-tree ; under the westerly one stood 


apump. This tree and pump remained until within 


a few years, the other was long ago destroyed. The _ 


ancient sign, suspended from a high, red post, gave a 
name to the tavern and the village, and swung its hos- 


pitable invitation creaking in the wind for probably | 


nearly a hundred years. The design was a huge bowl 
and ladle overhung by a lemon-tree, resplendent with 
fruit, some of which lay around the bowl, as if fallen 
from the tree. 


_ street above and below the tavern, from what is now 





Here the selectmen of the town used to have an 


annual supper, and on one of these occasions the old 
building came near being destroyed by fire. 


They | 


had sat round the table smoking, after the repast, and 
liam Aspinwall, Edwin Grover, Charles E. Abbott, 


probably dropped fire upon the table-cloth, which was 


gathered up and thrust into a closet by a servant. | 


Soon after retiring the family were wakened by the 
smell of smoke, and flames arising from the closet 
burst through to the chamber overhead, where the 
landlord’s children slept. The frightened children 
rushed out in their night-clothes to the neighbors’ 
houses; the night was bitterly cold, and the ground 


covered with ice, and but for the landlord’s prompt-_ 


ness and presence of mind the whole establishment 
Without 
stopping to put on a single garment, just as he sprang 


would have been speedily reduced to ashes. 


from his bed, he gave the alarm and seized a bucket 


of swill, which he dashed upon the burning mass in | 


the closet, closed the doors carefully after him, and 


brought water from the pump, directed the labor of 


others who came with their buckets, and put the fire 
out and saved the building, though the flames actually 
reached the attic. There was at that time an engine 
in the village, kept in a house which stood in what was 


the front yard of the Oliver Whyte estate. It was 


owned by Brookline and Roxbury in common, as the | 


south side of the street from Village Lane to the ereek | 


below Pond Avenue was then a part of Roxbury. | 


The extent of the patronage of the old ‘ Punch Bowl” | 


may be roughly estimated from the fact that it was 
common for a row of teams to occupy the side of the 


| 


Harrison place, to the gas-works, in a continuous line, 
while the men and horses were being fed and rested. 

The mill-dam, the bridges, and the opening of the 
Worcester Railroad at last took all the business away 
from the old “ Punch Bowl.” It was bought by Mr. 
Isaac Thayer about 1830 and torn down. Much of 
the material was of solid oak, and was used in build- 
ing nine houses which he erected on the site of the 
old buildings. 

The old house owned by the Gas Company, situated 
on the corner of Brookline Avenue and Washington 
Street, where the Gas Company’s office now stands, 
was kept as a tavern for several years with the sign of 
the “Punch Bowl,” but it had little except local 
patronage, and that of the lowest sort, and was finally 
given up. 

Police Court.—Under the old law, previous to 
1857, justices of the peace had jurisdiction of crim- 
inal cases. About that time there was a law for the 
designation of a certain number of persons out of the 
justices of each county as trial justices for the trial 
of criminal cases. 

As justices of the peace, William Aspinwall and 
Those who 
have held the appointment of trial justices were Wil- 


Artemas Newell were the principal ones. 


William B. Towne, Bradford Kingman, and Charles 
H. Drew. 

In May, 1882, the General Court authorized a 
Police Court to be established in Brookline, for civil 
and criminal business. The first court held was in a 
room at the police station. Soon after this the county 
of Norfolk fitted apartments for the use of the court, 
consisting of a commodious court-room and a room 
for the justices, containing a library, and having con- 
nection with the police department, so that the facil- 
ities of doing business are now as complete as any to 
be found in the county. ‘The new apartments were 
used for the first time Sept. 1, 1882. The justices 
are Charles H. Drew, justice; Charles F. Perkins and 
Albert L. Lincoln, special justices ; appointed in May, 
1882. 

Masonic.—Beth-Horan Lodge of Free and Ac- 
cepted Masons. Although many brethren of the 
Masonic order affiliated with the lodges in Boston 
and Roxbury, and were residents of Brookline pre- 
vious to 1870, it was not till that year that a lodge 
was established here. The following persons peti- 
tioned for a charter: William Aspinwall, George F. 
Homer, Benjamin F. Baker, James W. Edgerly, 
R. G. F. Candage, Benjamin B. Davis, Charles K. 
Kirby, Nathaniel C. Towle, George M. Towle, Charles 








BROOKLINE. 


867 





yi shes Ai 
O. Foster, Cyrus W. Ruggles, William K. Melcher, | Andrew Noland, Thomas T. Robinson, F. M. Bond, 


Charles H. Drew, John W. Candler, Charles W. Cot- | 
_E. N. Gutterson, C. W. Morse, and David B. Van 


ting, and George J. Fisher. The first Master was 
George F. Homer. The name of the lodge was 


adopted in commemoration of the cities of Beth-— 


Horan rebuilt by King Solomon. The first lodge- 


room was in Lyceum Hall building, but after a few 


years that was found inadequate, and the lodge fitted 
up commodious apartments in the brick block at the 
corner of Harvard and School Streets, which it still 
occupies. This lodge is in a prosperous condition, 
and its Masters have been as follows: George F. 
Homer, Benjamin F. Baker, James W. Edgerly, 


R. G. F. Candage, John Emory Hoar, and Dr. | 


Thomas W. Clement. 
The Grand Army of the Republic have an or- 


ganization in this town under the name of Charles 


L. Chandler! Post, No. 143. The post was organized, | 
The fol-_ 


the date of the charter was Jan. 24, 1871. 
lowing are the charter members: George P. Richard- 
son, Milton J. Stone, James Sinclair, Willard Y. 
Gross, George W. Funk, Leo Bertsch, Bradford P. 
Cook, Arthur Kemp, John McAndrews, Francis H. 
Melntosh, John P. Loftus, Horace N. Fisher, Wil- 
liam Bowes, W. W. O'Connell, Fergus B. Turner, 
Samuel D. Edwards. 

Royal Arcanum.—Sagamore Council, No. 181, 
was organized in Brookline, Mass., Oct. 19, 1878. 
Charter members,—R. G. F. Candage, Benjamin F. 
Baker, David B. Van Siyck, M.D., Thomas T. Rob- 
inson, George E. Everett, T. W. Clements, James W. 
Edgerly, Charles A. Bowditch, Jos. G. Stearns, A. G. 
Sanborn, David Bentley, George F. Brown, Ira B. 
Cushing, M.D., George W. Stearns, Fergus B. Turner, 
Francis H. Bacon, Charles B. Farnum, J. H. Boody, 
William S. Cutter. 

Knights of Honor.—Brookline Lodge, No. 459, 
instituted Feb. 8, 1877. Charter members,—C. H. 
Hackett, R. K. Sawyer, W. S. Brown, James Harri- 
son, R. D. Mills, E. S. Milliken, G. T. Defrees, A. E. 
James, HE. W. Packard, W. M. Bellows, Solomon Burt, 
W.H.M. Bellows. The officers for 1884 are as fol- 
lows: P. D., J. H. Allen; D., M. F. Kenrick ; V. D., 
J. F. Hutchins; A. D., C. H. Wilson ; Chapl., W. M. 
Bellows; Rep., E. W. Packard; Fin. Rep., A. E. 
Kenrick ; Treas., E. N. Gutterson; G., A. E. James ; 
Guard, E. G. Brooks; Sent., L. S. Lyon. 

American Legion of Honor.—Corey Hill Coun- 
cil, No. 33. Charter members,—Levi Doran, Alfred 
Kenrick, Jr., William S. Brown, Alfred B. Tyrell, J. 
H. Boody, George L. Newcomb, A. McCullough, 


1 This post was named in honor of one of Brookline’s earliest 
patriots in the Rebellion of 1861. 


Charles E. Rogers, E. W. Packard, A. G. Sanborn, 


Slyck. 

Sons of Temperance.—Pierce Division, No. 86. 
Instituted March 27, 1861; charter surrendered in 
1884. 

Brookline Savings-Bank (incorporated Feb. 24, 
1871).—The first regular meeting of this institu- 
tion was held on the 20th of April, 1871, for organ- 
ization. Amos A. Lawrence, president; Charles U. 
Cotting, Alanson W. Beard, and Edward Atkinson, 
vice-presidents; William A. Wellman, George F. 
Fabyan, Alfred Kenrick, Jr., Martin Kingman, Austin 
W. Benton, Charles H. Stearns, Phillip Duffy, Wil- 
liam I. Bowditch, Charles D. Head, John W. Cand- 
ler, Moses Williams, Jr., trustees. The business 
commenced in the building owned by John Gibbs, 
corner of Washington and School Streets. It is now 
in “ Colonnade Block,” on Washington Street. The 
present officers are William H. Lincoln, president ; 
William E. Lincoln, secretary and treasurer. 

The Press of Brookline.—Bradford Kingman 
was the pioneer in the newspaper enterprise in Brook- 
line. His paper was entitled the Brookline Tran- 
script. The first number was dated Oct. 15, 1870, 
and ended with May 31, 1873. The file of this 
paper contains a great number of historical articles, 
under the titles of ‘ Recollections of Brookline,” 
‘“‘ Historical Sketches,’ and ‘ Brookline as it was.” 
Those under the last title numbered nearly one hun- 
dred, which were the basis of a work afterwards pub- 
lished in a volume and sold by subscription entitled 
‘* Historical Sketches of Brookline.” 

The next attempt to sustain a paper was July 4, 
1875, when the /ndependent was started. This was 
published by a club having a special object, and run 
but a short time. Dr. N. C. Towle was a manager. 

The Brookline Chronicle commenced May 9, 1874, 
by W. H. Hutcheson. 
the same July 10, 1875. 
Wing, Nov. 4, 1876. 
cent, Jan. 27, 1877. 

Feb. 1, 1878, Alexander 8. Arthur purchased the 
paper, and published it till July 1,1879, when Charles 
A. W. Spencer became a partner, under the firm-name of 


Wing & Arthur purchased 
Arthur sold to Murray M. 
Wing sold to Charles M. Vin- 


Arthur & Spencer, who continued together until May 
14, 1881, when Mr. Spencer purchased Mr. Arthur’s 
interest, and became sole proprietor to Jan. 1, 1883. 
At that time Eliot F. Soule was admitted partner, who 
continued to Nov. 1, 1883. Mr. Spencer has since 
that date been editor and proprietor. 

On the Ist day of January, 1881, the paper was 


868 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








of the title. It is a fine-looking and well-patronized 


paper. 
ing-office for publishing and printing his paper, as 
well as for book and job printing. 


Libraries.—In the year 1825 a few individuals | 


were associated together for the purpose of procuring 
a library of books for mutual improvement. 
were organized with Rev. Dr. John Pierce as presi- 
dent; Deacon Otis Withington, secretary; Oliver 
Whyte, librarian ; and Deacon John Robinson, treas- 
urer, with a board of trustees. Rules and regulations 
were adopted Dec. 27, 1825. 
dollars per year the first two years, and two dollars 


The terms were five 


per year after that time. 
the house of the librarian, and was open for delivery 
of books on the first and third Saturdays of each 
month, from three to four o’clock P.M. 
were at one time kept in the shoe-store of James 


Leeds, nearly opposite to the present hook-and-ladder | 


house on Washington Street. 
In 1827 a printed catalogue was issued for the 


They | 
_ devoted to library uses in 1867. 


The library was kept in | 
_ furniture and furnishing, cost about forty-five thousand 


The books | 


Mr. Spencer has a completely furnished print-_ 





| 


| 


: ‘ Ba | . ; ; ran. 
changed to a quarto and the word Brookline left out | taxation for this purpose. A suitable place was pro- 
vided, and arrangements were made so that the Public 


Library was opened for the delivery of books to the 
citizens of the town Dec. 2, 1857, in a single room 
in the town hall, which was afterwards increased to 
four rooms; but having outgrown their limits, meas- 
ures were taken to provide better accommodations, 
which resulted in the erection of the present building 


Land was purchased of Messrs. Henry Collins, 
Charles Chase, and John Gibbs on Washington 
Street. The entire lot, containing sixty-five thou- 
sand feet, was graded, fenced, and provided with 
avenues and suitable walks, making it very attractive. 
The building was completed in 1869, and, with the 


dollars. The architect was Louis Weissbein, Esq., 
of Boston, and the contractors for the work were as 
follows: mason-work was done by Horace James; 
carpenter-work, by Nathaniel Lyford; freestone trim- 
mings, etc., by E. I’. Meany; granite, by Frederick & 
Wield; cellar, by James Driscoll; painting, by Ben- 


use of members, which contained twelve pages of jamin F. Baker; gas-fixtures, by M. W. Pierce & 


matter, and the titles of between two hundred and 
fifty and three hundred volumes. This may be said 
to have been the first library in the town. 

In 1865 there was a collection of works on agri- 
culture in the town, owned by about eighty sub- 
scribers, which had been deposited with the town 
library in the original apartments at the town hall. 
There were one hundred and seventy-three volumes 
in an elegant black-walnut case, and the association 
was known as the Brookline Agricultural Library. 


During the year above named the proprietors pre- | 


sented the case and contents, as above stated, to the 
town, and the same forms a portion of the agricul- 
tural department in the Public Library. 

Brookline is believed to have been the first town 
in the commonwealth to avail itself of the general 
statute authorizing cities and towns to raise and ap- 
propriate money for founding and maintaining public 


libraries. At the annual town-meeting, held March 


| a marked success. 





16, 1857, the subject was introduced under an article | 


in the warrant, and referred to a committee, consisting 
of Edward A. Dana, Abijah W. Goddard, Samuel 
Philbrick, George F. Homer, and Charles Follen. This 
committee reported at the adjourned town-meeting, 
March 30, 1857, and upon their recommendation the 
town promptly voted to establish a public library, and 
appropriated for its foundation and commencement 
the sum of nine hundred and thirty-four dollars, 
being the rate of twenty-five cents per ratable poll. 
These sums were all that could be legally raised by 


Co.; heating apparatus and tinning, by Kenrick 
Brothers. 

The library hall has a capacity for fifty thousand 
volumes, a commodious reading-room, librarian’s room, 
trustees’ hall, committee-room, and six other rooms, 
with accommodations for all the working departments 
of a successful public library for the present and for 
a long time to come. These rooms were opened to 
the public Oct. 13, 1869, and the delivery of books 
commenced on the 18th of the same month. 

From that date to the present the library has been 
The first librarian was Mr. John 
Emory Hoar, who took a great interest in the institu- 


tion from the commencement. Since the Ist of De- 


| cember, 1871, the library has been under the charge 


of Miss Mary A. Bean, who brought to the office of 
librarian qualifications which it is the lot of but a few 
to possess, in the thorough knowledge of books and 
literature generally and an extensive experience in the 
catalogueing of books, which is now an art requiring 
hard study, experience, and talent to insure success. 
Under the supervision of Miss Bean and her two as- 
sistants, the Misses Wood and Lanman, the library 
bids fair to be among the leading institutions of its 
size in the country. 

As the growth of the library has been somewhat 
rapid, increasing at the rate of one thousand volumes 
or more per year, we append a table showing the 
number of volumes and the circulation from its com- 


' mencement to the present time. 








BROOKLINE. 


869 





Table showing Statistics of Growth and Circulation, from Dec. 
2, 1857, to Feb. 1, 1884. 





| Nl 
| 








Report. | Year. No. of Vols. Circulation. 
| | 
oan ee 

Established | 1857 TAKIN) 9 Ns eeecdce 
Ist | 1858 2,138 2,000 
2d 1859 2,856 10,108 
3d 1860 4,118 11,000 
4th 1861 5,751 11,619 
5th 1862 5,360 14,022 
6th 1863 6,239 15,005 
7th 1864 6,817 17,575 
8th 1865 7,520 19,206 
9th 1866 | 8,502 19,793 
10th 1867 | 9,026 19,103 
11th 1868 9,687 18,011 
12th 1869 | 10,500 18,144 
13th 1870 | 12,000 D2eooll| 
14th 1871 135552 33,393 
15th 1872 } 14,448 17,889F 
16th 1873 15,593 37,105 
17th 1874 16,669 50,120 
18th 1875 17,893 37,9497 
19th 1876 19,323 42,427 
20th 1877 20,282 45,619 
21st 1878 21,416 50,427 
22d 1879 22,925 44,7364 
23d 1880 24,018 50,435 
24th 1881 25,181 44,585 
25th 1882 26,158 45,565 
26th 1883 27,089 48,852 
27th 1884 28,062 | 50,608 





* Librarian’s report says, ‘‘ A little less than 11,000 vols. have been 
delivered.” 

+ Library closed several months in summer for rearrangement. 
above figures date from the reopening, Sept. 11, 1872. 

{ Change in town by-laws, requiring reports to be returned Feb, 15» 
cut short the library year. 

2 Library closed two months for examination and cleaning of books. 


The 


While the success has been so marked in the past, | deficient in those social advantages which would be 


and the influence that has gone out from the estab- 
lishment of such an institution has been so great, the 
citizens of the town are to be congratulated upon 
the acquisition of such high privileges as they now 
enjoy. 

In this connection we cannot fail to notice and 
duly appreciate the great liberality that has been 
shown towards the library enterprise from its begin- 
ning. The reports and records show that there has 
never been a year in its history when books and 
pamphlets have not been generously and freely be- 
stowed. 

The following gifts of money have been given to 
the library, viz. : 

John 8. Wright, in June, 1861, $100. 

James M. Howe, in February, 1863, $100. 

Mrs. Samuel Philbrick, May, 1864, $1000. 

Abijah W. Goddard, July, 1869, $100. 

John L. Gardner, January, 1871, $10,000. 

John L. Gardner, November, 1873, $1000. 


Brookline five thousand dollars for the benefit of the 
town library, to be placed on interest, and such interest 








| Hall.” 


| to the character and management of the board of 


| forever applied to the increase of said library by the 
_ purchase of books of standard value.” 


Numerous smaller sums of money, varying from 
ten to fifty dollars, amounting to several hundred dol- 
lars, were contributed during the early years of the 


| library. 


One of the leading features in the library, and a 
valuable portion, is the reading-room, where may be 
found magazines and periodicals and many newspapers 
readily accessible, in what has been named “ Gardner 
Much of the success of this institution is due 


trustees, who are selected with reference to their 


_ fitness for the duties of such institutions, persons of 


culture, education, and good taste,—the requisites for 
good managers,—some of whom devote a large por- 
tion of their time to its interests. 

Town Hall.—The necessity of a new town hall, 
to meet the growth and increasing demands of our 
people, had become so apparent, that at the annual 
town-meeting of the citizens, held on the 28th: of 
March, 1870, a committee was appointed to con- 
sider the subject, and to report in regard to the same 
at the adjourned town-meeting. The committee, at 
their first meeting, without previous conference, 
found themselves a unit in favor of the immediate 
erection of a tasteful, commodious, and substantial 
edifice for this purpose. The committee were also 
impressed with the fact that the town was seriously 


derived from the possession of such a building. Their 
report was accepted, and the same persons were con- 
stituted a building committee, viz.: William A. Well- 
man, Charles U. Cotting, John C. Abbott, Charles 
W. Scudder, William Aspinwall, Augustine Shurtleff, 
William K. Melcher, William Lincoln, and Martin P. 
Kennard. The town appropriated the sum of one 


_ hundred thousand dollars, and placed the same at the 


disposal of the committee, who were authorized to 
issue the bonds of the town, payable in twenty years. 
At a subsequent meeting fifty thousand dollars were 
added to the appropriation, for which sums the bonds 
were negotiated at six per cent., at their par value, 
and a sinking fund has been provided for their redemp- 
tion. 

The first duty of the committee was to invite plans 
and sketches, with the understanding that the author 
of the accepted design should be employed as the archi- 
tect. All were requested to sign their designs with a 


| motto, and inclose their names in an envelope, to re- 
The will of Martin L. Hall gives “to the town of 


main until the choice was made. Sixteen designs 
were offered, and after very careful study and con- 


sideration the one with a red seal was chosen, and dis- 


870 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








closed the name of the author to be 8. J. F. Thayer, 
Ksq., of Boston. The contract for the masonry was 
taken by Messrs. Adams & Barstow, of Boston ; and 
for the carpenter-work by our townsman, Mr. Wil- 
liam K. Melcher. 
was laid, in the presence of the town officers, May 23, | 
1871. 

The structure is upon the site of the old town hall, | 
which was removed to Prospect Street. This is the | 
third hall the inhabitants have built for town pur- 
poses. The first was dedicated Jan. 1, 1825, a small 
stone building, afterwards used for the high school, 


The corner-stone of the building 


and now standing on Walnut Street, near the First 
Church. 
tober, 1845, twenty years after the first ; and the late 
venerable Dr. Pierce, in his address on the occasion, 


The second was opened on the 14th Oc- 


remarked, ‘* The progressive improvements of modern 


times render it not improbable that, when this beau- 
teous fabric shall grow old, it may give place to an 
edifice which shall as far exceed this as the present 
is superior to the rude structures of former times.” 
In style, this structure is a secular Gothic, well 
fitted for a building designed for municipal uses. The 
principal fagade has three entrances, divided by pol- 
ished granite columns with carved capitals, the whole | 
being covered with an arch resting upon solid abut- 
ments, and forming above the entrance a large window, 
which is divided by granite mullions. Above this 
window, and nearly in the centre of the front, is an 
arcade inclosing several windows, which are separated 
by short granite shafts. Still higher is the cornice, 
ornate in character, and somewhat above the general 
level. The centre of the front rises to a height of 
one hundred feet, being higher than any other portion 
of the structure. The roof is slated in green, red, 


The building is 


-and purple, in ornamental style. 





three stories in height, and constructed of rose-colored | 
granite from Dedham, and trimmed with light-gray 
hammered granite from Blue Hill, Me., having a 
massive base of the same material, while the body is 
quarry-faced. The ground-floor is a rectangle, ninety | 
feet in width by one hundred and thirty-six feet in 


length, each side being recessed ten feet, and fifty-six 
feet of the centre front projecting, giving an extreme 


width of ninety feet, and extreme length of one hun- 
dred and forty-six feet. The first floor is seven and | 
one-half feet above the grade of the location, and is 
divided into corridors, offices, and a hall. Entering 
by the main door-way, we pass through the vestibule, 
thirty-nine feet long by thirty in width, with a tile | 
floor. In this vestibule, and on either side of the | 
entrance, are the staircases leading to the second story. 


Beyond this is a corridor fifteen feet in width, extend- | 





ing back half the length of the building, where it 
meets another corridor running at right angles with 
it, and giving an entrance on Prospect Street, through 
a carriage-porch. On either side of the main corridor 
are three rooms, twenty-three feet width, for the use 
of the town officers. At the rear of the main corridor 
is the lower hall, in the rear of the building, which 
will seat between five and six hundred persons, and is 
designed for political and other meetings, which do 
Ascending the broad 
staircases, we enter this hall, which is sixty-five and 
one-half wide by ninety-two and one-half feet in 


not require the larger hall. 


length ; and it will seat between twelve and fourteen 
hundred persons. Its form is an elongated octagon. 
The walls are thirty-seven feet in height, the ceilings 
extend into the roof sixteen feet, giving in the centre 
a height of fifty-three feet. The decorations and 
windows were done by McPherson & McDonald, of 
Boston. 
like to the hall, and is lighted by a large window, in 
which are placed the coat of arms of the United States 
and of the State, both in medallion. The building 
is heated by indirect radiation of steam, under the 
direction of T. S. Clogston, of Boston. 

The character of the work is completed in the 
spirit of the liberality of the town. 

An able address was delivered on the occasion of 
the dedication of this hall by Hon. Robert C. Win- 
throp, which has been published in pamphlet form. 

At the conclusion of Mr. Winthrop’s address, the 
following original ode, written by Miss Harriet F. 
Woods, written for the occasion, was sung by the 


Choral Club : 


The main vestibule is decorated in a style 


“ODE. 
“ Written for the occasion by Miss Harriet F. Woods. 


“ Beneath this noble roof we stand, 
Where skill has reared these massive walls, 
And beauty from our Father’s hand 
Streams in where’er the sunlight falls. 


“ Here, as the years shall come and go, 

Proud Eloquence with lofty strain 
Shall set the listening heart aglow, 
And nerve to noble deeds again. 


“Here Music, tuned to fine accord, 
From voices yet unborn, shall ring; 
And grand, triumphant strains be poured 
From brazen throat and vibrant string. 


“Tere may the rich man and the poor 
Combine to wield the ballot’s might ; 
Contend for truth which shall endure, 
And cancel every wrong with right. 


“Long may our town’s unsullied name 
Our fair and proud possession be, 
And none but honest patriots claim 

The honors of the brave and free.” 












































































































































































































































i 


NN 








SIE 


Liepee 





y) 
} 
i} 
My 


i) 


if 
HK 
i! 


Wi 
Wy) 


y 


} y} 

WY ME 

Hy} ) fi 
YY} 


) 
Wh | 


-~ 
SQ 
NV 
\ 
\ 
x 


{ 
NK! 
Wi) 
wn) 
Ai 
Wy 
Wh 


i 


| 








BROOKLINE. 


871 








STATISTICAL ACCOUNT 


Of the Industry and Products of the Town of Brookline for the 
year ending April 1, 1845. 








ing line: Thomas (4), Ichabod (3), Joseph (2), 
Thomas (1). 

We first find Thomas (1) an early inhabitant of 
Roxbury in 1639, whose wife was Mary, who died 
that year, leaving two sons, John and Joseph, and a 
daughter, who died in 1645 at the age of twelve years. 
He married, second, Mary Green, Aug. 26,1640. He 
died after a lingering sickness May 23, 1646. The 
inventory of his estate was made the 25th of the 
third month, 1646. He had an allotment of two 
parcels of land at Muddy River previous to 1639. 

Joseph, the youngest son of Thomas and Mary 


| Griggs, came from England ; born about 1625 ; became 


a member of the church in Roxbury June 20, 1653 ; 
freeman, May 18, 1653; married Mary, daughter of 
Griffin Crafts, of Roxbury. She died June 30, 1653. 
He then married Hannah, daughter of Samuel and 


/ Anna Davis, Nov. 8, 1654, and had eight children, 





viz.: (1) Samuel (born 1656, died 1657), (2) Mary 
(born 1657, died young), (3) Hannah (born 1659), 
(4) Joseph (born 1661), (5) Benjamin (born 1668), 
who removed to Connecticut, (6) Joanna (born 
1672), (7) Ichabod (born Sept. 27, 1675), (8) Mary 
(born 1682). The mother died Jan. 9, 1683. 

This family resided in what was known as “ Rox- 
bury Precinct,” or “ Punch Bow! Village.” The 
father died Feb. 10, 1714/15, aged ninety years. He 
joined with his brother in conveying land to Hugh 
Thomas Feb. 16, 1652,—land in Roxbury. He and 
his wife conveyed to John Hull land in that part of 
Muddy River called the ‘‘Common Field.” Also 
land sold to George (Basto) Barstow, Feb. 23, 1699, 


'in “ Boston Fields,’ bordering on land of Edward 


and John Devotion, the well-known early settlers. 


2600 pairs of ladies’ yarn hose, valued at............. $1,200.00 
Saddles and harness manufactured...............060 525.00 
Wagons, sleighs, and other vehicles......... shooeAcocre 4,000.00 
Cabinet-ware manufactured...............00. see secceess : 300.00 
3400 hides tanned, value of leather..............s0006 17,800.00 
Capital employed in tanneries..........seceeceesescovees 24,000.00 
612 pairs of boots and 210 pairs of shoes, valued at 3,520.00 
163 cords of firewood, prepared for market.......... 1,059.50 
PMP OLSSS eV CO LAL vee soydsmanacesiasict ciosceteseiclomasieseess 20,400.00 
63 pairs of oxen @ 585 per pair...........ecceeceeeeees 5,355.00 
256 cows, valued @ $25 each............cecceevscersoes 6,400.00 
362 swine...... eb sa05500.co0n00 S000 .caceunto ce0seo an BoaAacOS 5,430.00 
1225 bushels of Indian corn............ pedcoacreaaecan Sec 857.50 
AU OsOUSHelS| OL TY Ors. .cjccescesseiaeceedoscccseseve concedes 1,425.20 
HS GRO USHelsOLarleyics..s.ceesesicsovosessicesccccecicerceceee 84.40 
30,869 bushels of potatoes..........cseccseesecsensceceeees 12,347.60 
1789 tons of hay......... Sopsa0040 oodogcoos HdGENBIES HeOSOSSOE 25,046.00 
MO SepOUNGS Of (DULLET...ccc.se)-sceseeseieceescioeeesseenssls 271.44 
MOMOS Pounds Of NONCYicc-cceasleocses scvsee sce sesecesosses 214.00 
1233 barrels of string beans @ $1.50...........2.0006 1,834.50 
2560 barrels of green peas @ $2.00............ .e000 « 5,120.00 
2288 barrels of cucumbers @ 1.00.................0006 2,283.00 
2074 barrels of beets @ BL.25.........cescesecoescoeses 2,592.50 
1674 barrels of onions @ $1.25.............00.ssscessees 2,092.50 
1222 barrels of parsnips @ 1.25..............cesesecees 1,527.50 
5220 barrels of green corn @ $1.00.............seeee0 5,220.00 
1995 bushels of tomatoes @ 50 cents..........0. e000: 997.50 
15,880 bushels of turnips @ $1.00............ ceceeeeee 2,646.67 
296 tons of squashes @ $15....... ne codouscuanoncechoodc 4,440.00 
14¢ tons of peppers @ B60............00-ceccsves apedoodc 847.50 
AQATGOMS Oly CATLOLS)(G)\ POr.ccccjescecscesesoscecosscceaesass 1,632.00 
2993690) cabbages/ QS CeNtS..2-.5 .c2.ce.0sceccos cvvensess 7,669.50 
Celery and horseé-radish valued at............c0ee seco 2,917.00 
Karly salads and greens valued At........0.....6- eevee 4,255.00 
Melons of different varieties.................000s esceceese 2,437.00 
LAST DSTI eodog Boga ge00 SCECOCaOT Ga0020000 000000 OCOOCCOIOLEIOC 2,244.00 
Shell beans and other small articles ..............0e000+ 575.00 
FRUITS. 
15,913 barrels of apples, valued at $1.25.............. $19,891.25 
BD ae] SiO fe p CALSs..secicdescace-i-de- es eonsesseatscessessss 2,784.00 
134 bushels of peaches @ $2Z...... 0.00. ..-scesseccseccors 268.00 
222 bushels of plums @ $3.............. ep doecod coanecccs 666.00 
1539 bushels of cherries @ $2.50.............cseereoree 2,847.50 
Avo bushels of currants (@)$2%.. ....c0s0 cocesceesroesoe 950.00 
ZoOMbUShels of Guinces (G)/h2.<c.-..scc-secessesiseceoses . 500.00 
12,309 boxes of strawberries @ 20 cents............. 2,461.80 | 
4956 boxes of raspberries (@ 25 cents...........ceee0s 1,239.00 | 
12,470 pounds of grapes (@ 50 cents.........:00.0000 6,235.00 
HOtonsvof rye straw (@) PLO. 2 .c2...sccescesscerseissssse 1,100.00 
NOAA barrelsiOf Cideri(@) Pli..c...cee.c0sececcesccessovcce 1,044.00 
Dee UNA ILONE OLS eoccacdeccecsisaseseisesvessoociacessesse 15,573.33 








Total. cccccessess 


CENSUS OF 1875. 
Dwelling-houses ........... 1095 | Population.......seeee 6675 
Dwellings occupied....... 1065 | Ratable polls............... 1720 
Dwellings unoccupied.... 30 | Legal voters................. 1247 
Ii mre te occ 828 5c 1338 | Naturalized voters......... 432 
Ist OStaesotes scariescaassee (2 9021| AUIONS.:scsseressccterveccecees, OLD 
HGINDLENsesccnceterssees ses ec 3713 | 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


THOMAS GRIGGS. 

Deacon Thomas Griggs, the son and fourth child 
of Samuel and Beulah (Hammond) Griggs, was born 
in Brookline, Mass., April 5, 1788, and is the sixth 
in descent from his paternal ancestor in the follow- 





Mr. Griggs being an early resident of Muddy River, 
and being perfectly familiar with all the estates in and 
around his home and Roxbury, was once called upon 


| to settle a dispute in reference to a division fence that 


used to run from about where ‘‘ Chapel” Station now 


is, and so along the edge of the upper land, where 
was formerly a road leading to ‘“ Sewall’s Fort.” We 


| give it as we find it, in the following deposition, dated 


Jan. 21, 1709 (Suffolk Records 24, p. 279): 


“ Jos. Griggs, of Roxbury, aged about 85 years, testifieth and 
saith that about three score years since he settled at Muddy 
River, now called Brooklyne, and has lived there and at Rox- 
bury ever since, and in all that time has been very well ac- 
quainted with that tract of land, now in farms and propriety’s, 
viz., Capt. Sewall, the late Deacon Elliotts, Devotions, Clarks, 
and others lying in Muddy River aforesaid, which was com- 
monly ealled a common field butting on the salt marishes. As 


| to the fence, or enclosure of said common field this deponent 


very well remembers that those persons that owned the upland 
were at the whole and sole charge of the outside range of fence 
the marish owners refusing to pay any part of the charge, and 


872 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSET''. 





at a meeting of the upland and marish owners about ie years 
since the marish-men representing their design to fence the 
marish from the upland, desired the upland owners to do their | 
proportion, but the upland owners utterly refused it for the 
that if they 
would fence out the marish they must do it at their own cost, 


reason above mentioned and told the marish owners 


and this depont has never known or understood that the upland 
owners ever bore any proportion of the charge of fencing off 
the marish, but that they did at all times maintain the outside 
range of fence, and the marish-men were at the charge of fencing 
the parish from the upland. 

“JosrepH Griaes, Jan. 21, 1709.” 


Mr. Griggs’ name is also attached to a memorial 
with forty others, inhabitants of Roxbury, headed by 
the autograph of their pastor, Rev. John Eliot, ad- 
dressed as Christian patriots to the honored Governor 


and the Deputy Governor, together with the rest of | 


the honored magistrates and House of Deputies of 
Massachusetts, requesting and encouraging the Gen- 
eral Court to stand fast in upholding the franchises of 
the people, and the liberties of the churches of that 
colony, then menaced by its enemies, and by the re- 
He was a 
deputy to the General Court or representative of Rox- 
bury in 1681, and selectman of that town in 1677, 
1680, 1683, 1687, and 1688. 

As a member of that board he was active and effi- 


cently restored monarchy of England. 


cient in procuring a grant of land from the Legisla- | 


ture to establish the town of New Roxbury, now the 
town of Woodstock, Conn. At the date of the grant, 
in October, 1683, it formed a part of Massachusetts. 

He was a grand-juryman in 1689. He was joint 
owner in a grist-mill previous to 1739, and sold to 
Joseph Belknap, who proceeded to use the water- 
privilege in such a manner as to damage the citizens 
of Brookline and Roxbury, in neglecting to do as 


much grinding as was necessary for home consumption. 


Accordingly, application was made to the selectmen, 
who had control of the same, that they should in fu- 
ture be limited in the amount of water to be drawn 
from their fountain-head. 

We have seen that Mr. Griggs enjoyed the confi- 
dence and esteem of his fellow-citizens, and was often 
intrusted with the management of public affairs to a 
greater or less extent throughout a long and useful 
life, and died in a ripe old age. 

Ichabod, the great-grandfather of the subject of 
this sketch, and Margaret, his wife, had nine children, 


as | 


| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 








' where his nine children were born. 


(1) Soh, 1744; (2) haber 1745. (3) Moses: 
1747; (4) Thomas, 1750; (5) Samuel, 1753; (6) 
John, 1756; (7) Joseph, 1760; (8) Joshua, 1763; 
(9) Sarah, 1765; (10) Nathaniel, 1770. Thomas, 
the father, settled in the lower parish of Roxbury, 
now a part of Brookline. He was a cordwainer, built 
a house and worked for many years at his trade, in 
what is known as the “ Downer House,” which he 
built. He afterwards sold this estate and purchased 
the one now owned and occupied by the late Deacon 
David Coolidge, on Harvard Street. On this farm 
he passed the remainder of his days, and where he 
died July 7, 1782. Moses, the father of the late 





David R. Griggs, settled in the edge of Brighton. 


Thomas removed to Sutton, Mass. 

Samuel Griggs, son of Thomas and Margaret ; born 
Dec. 23, 1753; married Beulah, daughter of Daniel 
and Lucy Jones (Hammond), of Newton, Mass., Dee. 
7, 1780, and had nine children, viz.: (1) Joseph, 
1781; married Sarah Fuller, of Needham; (2) Sam- 
uel, 1784; married, first, Caroline Bacon, second, 
Abigail Saurin; (8) William Jones, 1786; died Oct. 
24,1804; (4) Thomas, 1788 ; married Harriet Fuller, 
of Needham ; (5) Susanna, 1790; married, first, Dea- 
con Aaron Hayden! of Eastport, Me. , second, Ephraim 
Jackson, of Newton; (6) Lucy, 1792; married David 
R. Griggs; (7) John, 1794; married Sarah Williams ; 
(8) Stephen, 1796; married Caroline Fish; he was 
drowned at Rockport, Mass., Aug. 16, 1850; (9) 
Margaret Williams, 1800; married Henry Wood, of 
Boston. The father died Jan. 16, 1814, aged sixty 
years. The mother died Aug. 21, 1847, aged ninety. 

Samuel Griggs settled on the homestead, which has 
It 
was purchased of Capt. John Winchester, and was 
A grandson of 


his, William Jones Griggs, now owns 


from the earliest days been in the Griggs family. 


and occupies 


the farm, which is under a high state of cultivation. 
Joshua, the father of George Griggs, Esq., resided on 
_the Deacon David Coolidge farm. — 


He had eight 
children. Nathaniel married Joanna Aspinwall, and 
settled in Brighton. 

Deacon Thomas Griggs, son of Samuel and Beulah 


(Hammond) Griggs, married Harriet, daughter of 


viz.: (1) Hannah, 1702; (2) Samuel, 1704; (3) | 
Klizabeth, 1705; (4) ocentt 1708; (5) Esther, 
1710; (6) nie 1712; (7) Nathan, 1714; (8) 


Thomas, 1715/16; (9) Ichabod, 1718. 
Thomas, the eighth child of Ichabod and Margaret, 
was born Feb. 25, 1715/16; married Margaret Williams, 
of Roxbury, Sept. 1, 1743, and had ten children, viz. : 


| Watertown ; 


Jonathan and Mary (Broad) Fuller, of Needham, 
Mass., Feb. 9, 1819, and had seven children,— 

1. Caroline Griggs, Jan. 27, 1820; married David 
Sullivan Coolidge Jan. 6, 1841, and had one Henry 
Coolidge, Jan. 6, 1842; married Hattie Russell, of 
ii., Walter Coolidge, Feb. 23, 1844; mar- 
ried Georgie Robinson, of Brooklyn, N. Y.; iii., Har- 
riet Coolidge, Feb. 20, 1847 ; iv., Ellen Coolidge, Feb. 
' 9, 1850. 











BROOKLINE. 


873 





2. William Jones Griggs, June 6, 1821; married 


Mary Eaton Gipson, of Boston, Jan. 14, 1864, and | 


had four children,—i., Mary Ellen Griggs, May 5, 


1866; ii., Sarah Louisa Griggs, March 18, 1868; | 


iii., Lucy Anna Griggs, Jan. 13, 1870; iv., Walter 
Allan Griggs, Feb. 25, 1871. 

3. Mary Jane Griggs, Sept. 18, 1822; married 
Hezekiah Shailer, of Haddam, Conn., Aug. 10, 1847, 
and had,—i., Emma Jane Shailer, Aug. 13,1848 ; died 


in New York, May 11, 1864; 1, William Griggs 


_ Coolidge’s store. 


Shailer, Dee. 24, 1850; iii., Cora Louisa Shailer, | 


Aug. 3, 1862. Mr. Shailer died July 9, 1878. 

4. Ellen Griggs, May 5, 1824; married Charles 
Jewett Saxe, of Highgate, Vt., born March 24, 
1814; married Feb. 22, 1853 ; children,—i., Charles 
Jewett Saxe, born Feb. 21, 1855, died July 11, 1862 ; 


ii., William Arthur Saxe, May 3, 1857; iii., Thomas | 


Edward Saxe, July 6, 1860; iv., John Walter Saxe, 
Dec. 2, 1863; v., James Alfred Saxe, Dec. 2, 1863; 


vi., Mary Ellen Saxe, Dec. 17, 1865. Mr. Saxe, the | 


father, died Oct. 1, 1867, at Troy, N. Y. 

5. Thomas Baldwin Griggs, May 1, 1826; married 
Ann Elizabeth Stearns, Dec. 11, 1851, and have five 
children,—i., Annie Beulah Griggs, July 27, 1853; 
ii., Margaret Wood Griggs, May 15, 1855; iii., Sarah 
Louise Griggs, born March 22, 1861, died Aug. 31, 
1867 ; iv., Thomas Griggs, Dec. 13, 1863 ; v., Harriet 
Fuller Griggs, Nov. 21, 1867. 


acres or more of land, which extended from Harvard 
Street to the top of Corey Hill, by purchasing the 
interest of the other heirs to the estate. At one time 
he was the owner of over one hundred acres of land, 
including the land extending from his residence to 
At the time of his ownership of 
Corey Hill, the ‘north side was covered with a large 
growth of ‘“savins,” or cedar-trees (Juniperus Vir- 
giniana), which he caused to be removed, and the 
land prepared for cultivation. Mr. Griggs also cleared 
the lowland in the rear of his present residence on 
Washington Street, from Park Street to land of the 
late Deacon John Robinson. This land consisted of 
alders, barberry-bushes, and every other kind of swamp 
bushes, where now may be seen the most fertile land 
in Brookline. 

The early boyhood of Deacon Griggs was quite 
uneventful. The school privileges of his day consisted 
of four months in the winter season, interspersed in 
summer with agricultural employment. He early ac- 
quired habits of industry, was earnest and honest, 
calm and deliberate, in all matters of judgment, of a 
quiet and retiring disposition, unassuming in his de- 
portment, never sought to be conspicuous. In polities 
he was a Whig and Republican, firm and unwavering 
in his convictions of duty, never seeking public office, 


_ but has merited and often enjoyed the confidence of 


6. Amanda Griggs, May 26, 1828; married Heze- | 


So 
kiah Smith Chase, of Boston, Dec. 30, 1858; chil- 
dren,—1i., Hezekiah Chase, June 11,1861; i1., Marion 
Chase, March 2, 1869. 

7. Francis Henry Griggs, Nov. 14, 1834; married 
Candace Watson, of Liberty, Ind., Oct. 8, 1861; 
children,—i., Elizabeth Hasselman Griggs, April 22, 
1866 ; ii, Thomas Watson Griggs, Feb. 14, 1875. 
Mr. Griggs is a banker, and resides in Davenport, 
Towa. 

The wife of Deacon Thomas Griggs died Aug. 13, 
1867, aged seventy years, twenty-six days. 

Mr. Griggs is a fine specimen of the good old 
English stock, of an active, enterprising, and indus- 
trious race. Having been born in a time when the 
means of acquiring anything more than a common 
education were exceedingly limited, his time was 
mostly occupied in promoting the interests of his 
father’s farm, which consisted of the usual early rising, 
plenty of work, and no play kind of a boy’s early life 
He has ever followed the life of a 
farmer, in which he has been successful, and now in 


in the country. 


his extreme old age attends personally to conducting 
the affairs on his land. He became possessed of the 
old homestead of his father, which consisted of forty 


his fellow-citizens. He has been selectman, assessor, 
moderator of town-meetings, member of the school 
board, and representative to the General Court. 
During the war of 1812 he commanded a company 
at Fort Independence, in Boston Harbor, doing good 
(See roll.) 

He has ever been a law-abiding citizen, a valued 
friend and neighbor. 
twenty-six his father died, leaving a widow and sey- 
Upon Thomas devolved the duty of 
Five years later the sub- 


service. 
When he arrived at the age of 


eral children. 
conducting the large farm. 
ject of this sketch assumed the duties of married life, 
by bringing to the family circle an estimable lady, one 
who was his companion and life for forty-eight years, 
who became the mother of seven children, most of 

There are also twenty-two 
Mrs. Griggs was a most es- 


whom are now living. 
grandchildren living. 
timable and valued lady, a very devoted mother, a 
member of the Baptist Church, in which she was 
ever actively interested, and was always doing good 
when an opportunity presented itself. 

In 1810, Mr. Griggs commenced attending the 
First Baptist Church in Newton, Rev. Joseph Graf- 
ton pastor ; was baptized and united with this church 
in December, 1817. During that month he, with 


| twenty-two others, removed their church relation to 


874 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


Cambridgeport, Mass., for the purpose of constituting | 


a Baptist Church in that place. He remained there, 
under the preaching of Rev. Bela Jacobs, for four 
years. In March, 1821, he, with others, helped to con- 
stitute the First Baptist Church in Roxbury, uniting 
with the Boston Baptist Association. 


appointed deacon, and remained worshiping with 


them for seven years, under the ministry of Rev. | 
Joseph Eliot for three years, and Rev. William Lev- 


In 1828 he, with three others, 
feeling desirous to have a church nearer home, took 


erett for four years. 


measures to introduce church worship in Brookline. 
On the 5th day of June, 1828, a Baptist Church was 
constituted in Brookline, principally under the influ- 
ence of Mr. Griggs, assisted by Elijah and Timothy 
Corey. 
has continued in that office for forty-six years, an 


Mr. Griggs was one of its first deacons, and 


honest and worthy church officer. 

We are happy to record the fact which appears 
from his whole course of life, that of the deep re- 
ligious principle, firmly implanted within him, of doing 
good; the sacrifice made by him in riding six or 
more miles to attend church, and assist in organizing 
others that they might also receive similar benefits. 

In 1834, Mr. Griggs erected the house where his 
son, Deacon Thomas B. Griggs, resides, and occupied 
the same for about twelve years, when he removed to 
his present residence on Washington Street, where he 
purchased five acres of land in 1844, and built his 
house in 1847. 


When we consider that Mr. Griggs has been troubled — 


with rheumatism for fifty years, it is wonderful to 
witness the activity with which he daily moves about 
on his farm, looking after its interest with the ardor 
of a much younger person. 

Mr. Griggs is an amiable, pleasant, warm-hearted, 
kind old gentleman, blessed with a cheerful disposition, 


grandchildren, and is passing his later years with | 


honor and happiness. He resides on one of the prin- 


cipal thoroughfares of the town. Financially he has 
been a success, promptly meeting his engagements, 
running no bills, paying every one promptly. He has 
avery accurate and strong memory, reciting things 
that happened seventy-five years since as though of 
the past year. 


Here he was | 








His impressions of events which oc- | 


curred about 1800 have been readily given to the | 


writer (who has had much oceasion to refer to him 
for historical data), and are always clearly and fairly 
stated. 


receiving just what was right. 


In money matters always exact, giving and 
In short, he has done 


his work well, never shrank from duty, and his labors | 


have been crowned with success. 





Those who have witnessed his prompt and steady 
attendance on church worship on the Sabbath-day, at 
the age of ninety-six, riding in his carriage regularly, 


_ have only wished him a much longer life, and a happy 


one for years to come. 
“The thought of death has no shadow of gloom 
to him, for he knows the end of his journey is nigh.” 


DR. CHARLES WILD. 


Dr. Charles Wild, the subject of this notice, was 
the son of Abraham and Susanna (Pitman) Wild, of 
Boston. He was born Jan. 15, 1795. His father 
was of good old English stock, and his descendants 
have done no discredit to the name. In early days he 
attended such common schools as the times afforded ; 
fitted for college at the Latin school in Boston (where 
he received a Franklin medal in 1805), and entered 
Harvard College in 1811, graduating in the mem- 
orable class of 1814, of whom William H. Pres- 
cott, the historian, President Walker, of Harvard 
College, Hon. Pliny Merrick, the late justice of the 
Supreme Court of Massachusetts, and other equally 
prominent men, were members. He received the 
degrees of A.M. and M.D. in 1817. He studied 
medicine in the Harvard Medical College in Boston. 

Soon after graduating, on the 10th of April, 
1818, he came to Brookline, for the purpose of prac- 
ticing his profession, and was an inmate of the family 
of Mrs. Croft, on Washington Street. 
became well known, entered upon an extensive patron- 


He very soon 


age, which he continued for upwards of forty years, 
enjoying the confidence of his fellow-citizens in an 
eminent degree. At the time of his starting in life, 


Dr. William Aspinwall, then the popular physician 


_of the town, was gradually giving up his professional 
and is surrounded by many affectionate children and | 


labor, and a son of his (of the same name) had died, 
thus leaving the field almost wholly to himself. Ina 


_ short time Mrs. Croft, the lady with whom he boarded, 


gave him about two acres of land on the south side of 
Washington Street, on which he immediately erected 
a dwelling-house, the same now standing, which he 
sold to Deacon William Lincoln, and later owned by 


Stephen D. Bennett, Esq., adjoining the Blake place 


He 


married at the age of twenty-four years, and became 


on the west, and the Craft estate on the east. 


a valued citizen, a public-spirited man, interested in 
the welfare of the community. He was an active 
member of Rev. Dr. Pierce’s church, a regular attend- 
ant on his ministry, and a member of the choir, and 
before the organ was used in that church he played 
the flute. The doctor was one of the old school for 

















BROOKLINE. 


875 





more than twenty years of his life, a member of the 
Massachusetts Medical Society, 1828. Those who 
had occasion to require the services of a physician 
can remember well his tall, well-formed figure, his 
firm tread, the deep guttural voice which seemed to 
come from cavernous depths, and the look of those 
eyes from behind his spectacles while he mixed those 





powders in a tablespoon. 
amount of calomel, jalap, and rhubarb, picra, ipecac, 
and antimony which the people of past times have 
taken, no wonder that so many have been added to 
the number of those who have filled our cemeteries. 
In the visits of the doctor, after he had prescribed 
for the patient, if there were any children in the 
family, he would amuse them by catching flies and 


doctor was of a kind and sympathetic nature, a good 
His curious speeches and odd ways sel- 
dom gave offense to any one, and his warm-hearted 
cheerfulness was better than medicine to dispel the 
blues. 
when he had anything he considered too good to lose, 
he would give the benefit of it to his friends. On 
entering a house he had a breezy way of stamping off 
the snow or dust, making noise enough for three per- 
sons, then, throwing his overcoat aside and his muffler 
that he wore around his neck, he would let his saddle- 
bags to the floor with an earnestness that indicated 


counselor. 


Always enjoying the ludicrous side of life, 


business. The salutations of the doctor on leaving a 
house were as unique as his entrance, and were often 
of the following description : ‘‘ Now, if you can’t sleep 
well, and don’t know what to do, you can amuse your- 
self with taking an emetic.” 

While the doctor never sought public office, he was 
often called to fill public positions for several years ; 
was a member of the school committee of this town, 
and often presided at public meetings. For a great 
while he was the principal justice of the peace of the 
time. Having early joined the Masonic fraternity, 


he became an enthusiastic and active member, and was 


In 1839 the doctor’s attention was drawn to Hahne- 
| mann’s new system of medical practice, then first heard 
of in America, and he was ready to give it a fair trial, 
and at length became a firm believer in its truth and 
efficacy, and had a wonderful faculty in carrying 


others along with him in his new field. He over- 


came the old prejudices, and met with wonderful suc- 


cess in his practice. 


The second meeting of the physicians who were 
the pioneers in the new system of homceopathy was | 


held at the house of Dr. Wild on the 16th of February, 
1841, when the constitution and by-laws of the Mas- 


When we think of the | 


telling them droll stories and playing with them. The | 


a leader in the Washington Lodge located in Roxbury. | 








sachusetts Homeeopathic Fraternity were adopted, and 
he at one time was the president of the same. Soon 
after the doctor had begun his new treatment, Miss 
Amanda M. Corey, afterwards the wife of James M. 
Edmond, who had been a patient of his, then a school- 
girl, very bright and original, wrote the following 
lines, which were always very amusing to the doctor: 


ILLI, CUI CARMINA APPLICENT.} 


A son of Eseulapius comes, 
I hear his chariot wheels ; 

The very sound my soul benumbs, 
A shiver o’er me steals. 

Ye muses, aid me if you can, 
Ye sundry settled bills, 

In self-defense to sing the man 
Of gallipots and pills! 


Ye classic bards of olden days, 
My vacant soul inspire; 

Ye smiling ghosts of comic lays, 
Awake my sleeping lyre. 

Desert your graves in winding-sheets, 
Diseases, fierce and grim ; 

Ye aches and pains your dark retreats 
Forsake, and sing of him. 


Ye memories of departed pills, 
Of bitter powders too, 

Support my shrinking soul that fills 
With horror at the view. 

Ye spirits all of tuneful rhyme, 
Where’er ye chance to be, 

Come, mount Parnassus’ heights sublime, 
And sweep the lyre for me. 


Come, sing the Hommopathie knight ; 
Describe him, as he comes 

To kindly give the aching wight 
A dose of sugar-plums ! 

Who banishes disease and woe, 
And contradicts the song, 

“Man wants but little here below, 
Nor wants that little long.” 


Come, sing capacious pockets crammed 
With roots the fields supply, 

That in the sounding mortar jammed, 
Diseases stern defy. 

The names that on his vials wrote, 
In goodly rows appear, 

That choke the rude, contracted throat, 
And stun the vulgar ear. 


But most of all, his awful eves 
That pierce my very soul ; 

That sean my feelings as they rise, 
And penetrate the whole. 

For eyes and “specs” together, strike 
The very seat of life ; 

And scare my timid spirit, like 


A keen-edged carving-knife ! 








1 To him to whom the song applies. 


876 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK 





But, lo! his steed is at the gate, 
And he is at the door; 
Be steady now, my whirling pate, 
Ye shaking nerves, give o’er. 
He doffs the frightful rubber coat 
That darkly shrouds his form, 
And, fastened tight beneath his throat, 
Defies and scares the storm. 


He leaves his cap and gloves below, 
Arise, my longest hairs! 

For now, with solemn step and slow, 
I hear him on the stairs. 

Two ponderous volumes in his hands 
This second Galen brings, 

And by the couch of sickness stands 
A man of mighty things. 


And now he reads those mystic books, 
Enlighteners of disease, 

And grasps his patient’s wrist, and looks 
Profound as Socrates. 

Prescribes a dose, then lifts his eyes 
And fastens them on me; 

My blood runs cold, my spirit dies, 
So terrible is he! 


Ye pitying muses, one and all, 
That e’er on mortals smiled, 

O teach me how to break the thrall, 
The spell of 





And if the task of serving you 
Apollo e’er assigns, 

It shall be hers, life’s journey through, 
Who perpetrates these lines. 


Dr. Wild married Mary Joanna Rhodes, of North 
Providence, R. I., Dec. 29, 1819. 

Children.—1. Charles William Wild, born June 
10, 1822, married Mary Araminta Scales, of San 
Francisco, Cal. 

2. Susanna Seraphina Wild, born Dec. 17, 1823, 
married George Augustus Wood, of Philadelphia, 
Pa., March 22, 1843. 

3. Edward Augustus Wild, born Nov. 25, 1825, 
married Frances Ellen, daughter of John Whiting 
and Marian (Dix) Sullivan, of Boston, June 12, 
1855; no children. 

4. Laura Matilda Wild, born Jan. 23, 1828, mar- 
ried Rev. Joseph H. Phipps, of Framingham, Mass., 
Jan. 1, 1849; resides at Kingston, Mass. 


5. Mary Heath Wild, born May 6, 1829, married | 
Kdward Jarvis Cushing, of North Providence, R. L., | 


May 22, 1850. 

6. Catherine Wheaton Wild, born July 26, 1832. 

7. Emily Caroline Wild, born July 14, 1834, died 
Sept. 18, 1835. 

8. Walter Henry Wild, born June 19, 1836, mar- 
ried Helen M. Conkling, of Springfield, Mass., 1866. 


Do) 


Capt. Walter H. Wild, A.D.C. and A.A.I.Gen., en- 





COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








listed in the First Rhode Island Battery (three 


_months’ service) April 21, 1861; time expired July 
| 21, 1861, but continued in service till August 3d; 


re-enlisted in a battery which was afterwards iucor- 
porated in the Third Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, 


Feb. 22, 1862; was discharged to accept promotion 


_as second lieutenant in Gen. Ullman’s brigade (colored 


troops) Feb. 25, 1863, and mustered in as such March 
7, 1863; promoted to first lieutenant in Fifty-fourth 
Massachusetts (colored) Volunteers Feb. 23, 1863 ; 
appointed aide-de-camp on Gen. Edward A. Wild’s 
staff May 14, 1863; promoted to captain of Second 
North Carolina Colored Volunteers (afterwards the 
Thirty-sixth United States Colored Volunteers) Aug. 
14, 1863, and continued as A.D.C. on Gen. Wild’s 
staff; detailed as A.A.I. Gen. Dec. 25, 1863. 

9. Lydia Greene Wild, born May 27, 1840, died 
Aug. 6, 1840. 

Dr. Wild died at North Providence, R. I., Feb. 3, 
1864. 


GEN. EDWARD A. WILD. 


en. Edward A. Wild was the son of Dr. Charles 
and Mary Joanna (Rhodes) Wild, of Brookline, Mass. 
He was born Nov. 25,1825. After the usual advan- 
tages in the schools of his native village and the clas- 
sical school in the town, he fitted for college under 
the private instruction of Dr. Samuel Rogers, of Rox- 
bury; entered Harvard College in 1840; graduated 
in 1844, receiving the degree of A.B. in due course ; 
A.M., in 1847; studied medicine with his father 
and in the office of Dr. A. E. Cotting, of Roxbury, 
and at Harvard Medical School, in Boston, also at 
Jefferson College, Philadelphia, Pa., where he re- 
ceived the degree of M.D. in 1846; commenced 
practice in 1847,in Brookline, and became a mem- 
ber of the Massachusetts Medical Society, May 23, 
1850, and was the orator at their annual meeting in 
1859. Oct. 1, 1848, he went to Paris to study and 
visit the hospitals of that city. While there he 
started on a pedestrianizing tour through Italy and 
Switzerland. Italy at that time was torn with a 
threefold war: Rome was contending against Naples ; 
then came the invasion and occupation of Rome 
(which had then been temporarily a republic), while 
the North of Italy was in active turmoil and strife 
against the Austrians. At the Romano-Neapolitan 
frontier he was arrested and closely searched by the 
troops on both sides of the line, each taking him for 
a spy for the opposite side. 
At Terracina he was taken before Garibaldi, then 
in command, who very quickly discerned his true 














































































































\ 
XY 


AAR) 
NYY 


NYY 
Ny 
x) 


\\ 














{ 
j 
t 
! 
! 
] 
| 
| 








BROOKLINE. 


877 





character and liberated him. 
magna, he was arrested as an Austrian spy, mobbed 


and roughly maltreated, and had a fortunate escape | 
| a single drill. 


with bis life. On Lake Garda he was arrested at 
midnight as a robber, and up the river Po seized as 
a deserter from the Austrian army, and had many 
other exciting adventures, some neither safe nor 
agreeable. The experience he met with during this 
excursion gave him the first ideas of the horrors of 
war, and an opportunity to witness the devastation 
of, and the destructive effects of, battles and bombard- 


ments. He returned to Brookline Jan. 1, 1850, and 


resumed the practice of his profession, which he con- | 


tinued till June 12, 1855, when he married and 
sailed direct for Constantinople, and immediately ten- 


eaor tint cies Ree | 








dered his services in aid of the Turkish army, and re- | 


ceived a commission as surgeon of artillery (Hekim- 
bashi), with the rank and pay of lieutenant-colonel, 
and assumed the name of ‘ Kholoussy Bey.” 


In the course of his professional duties he visited | 
battles of Bull Run and Williamsburg, and several 


the ports of Samsoun-Sinoub (Sinope), Trebizond, 
Batoum, Redout Kaleh (Kemhal), Sokhoum, Kaleh. 
He was attached to the army corps of Omer Pasha, 
commander-in-chief of the Turkish forces in the 


field, and passed the winter near Sokhoum, in the 


foot-hills of the Caucasus, occupying the hospital | 


buildings captured from the Russians. 
was arranged, he continued in charge of extensive 
military hospitals for months at Trebizond, where 


After peace | 


were gathered the numerous sick and disabled, the 


residuum of the war. On leaving the service, iv addi- 


tion to the war medal (Sefer Nishani) he received | 


from the Sultan Abdul Medjid the decoration of the 
Medjidieh, with its accompanying Berat (diploma), 
together with an autograph letter from Omer Pasha 
recommending him for that high honor. This was 
Dr. Wild’s wedding tour, so that in company with 
his wife he visited Trebizond and the banks of the 
Bosphorus, and, after a long sojourn in Constanti- 
nople, the Gulf of Nikomedia (Isnikmid), the islands 
in the Marmora (Prinkipo), and the Troad. Return- 
ing homeward he visited Greece and the Isles of the 
Archipelago, and stayed at Malta—where he was in- 
itiated into Freemasonry, taking three degrees in St. 
John’s Lodge—Malli, Sicily, and a long time in Italy 
in 1857. 

Immediately upon his arrival home he resumed the 
practice of his profession, in which he was successful, 
and was fast growing in popularity, and gave to the 
public the benefits of an extensive experience in the 


military hospitals, as well as the more complete study — 


of medicine in the hospitals of Paris. For ten years 


prior to the commencement of the Rebellion, Dr. 


Wild having a natural fondness for military drill, had 
been an active member of the Boston Independent 
Corps of Cadets, and during that time never missed 
When the demand came from the 
government for men to assist in protecting our coun- 
try from the assaults on the liberties of the people, 
the doctor was not only fully prepared himself, but he 
commenced to prepare others for actual service in the 


field. 


had long foreseen that something of the nature of a 


Dr. Wild was a highly-intelligent person, and 


struggle must ensue, and had a full appreciation of 
A full 
company was raised, of men mostly from Brookline 


the magnitude of the war then impending. 


and Jamaica Plain, through the instrumentality of 
Dr. Wild, who was commissioned as captain of the 
same by Governor Andrew on the 22d of May, 1861. 
This company formed a part of the First Massachu- 
setts Regiment of Volunteers, and entitled Company 
A, being the first regiment of the three years’ troops 
to go to the seat of war. After being engaged in the 
ba) 
lesser combats, including the siege of Yorktown, he 
was permanently disabled by a bullet at the battle of 
Seven Pines, on the field of Fair Oaks, Va., June 25, 
1862. Returning to Massachusetts, he was placed in 
command of a camp of recruits at Lynnfield. While 
in camp he was promoted by regular grades to colonel 
of the Thirty-fifth Massachusetts Regiment of Volun- 
teers, Aug. 20, 1862, and two days after he pro- 
ceeded with his regiment to Washington, his arm 
still disabled and in a sling, and in three weeks was 
in front of the enemy, in Gen. Burnside’s corps, at 
the battle of South Mountain, where he lost his left 
On that day, 
and three days later, his new regiment distinguished 
itself by their steady, determined bravery, worthy of 
veteran troops. 


arm, amputated at the shoulder-joint. 


When partially recovered from the loss of his arm, 
the colonel returned to Massachusetts, Dec. 1, 1862, 
where, while recovering from his wounds, he assisted 
Governor Andrew in organizing colored troops, the 
On the 24th of April, 
1863, he was appointed by President Lincoln a brig- 
adier-general of volunteers, and soon after proceeded 


pioneer work in that line. 


to North Carolina, where he raised a brigade of col- 
ored troops from among the fugitive slaves in that de- 
partment, having his headquarters at Newberne. 
While here he gave much time and labor to the care 
and permanent provision of the colored families, by 
On the 30th of July the general 
took a large number of raw colored troops to South 


colonizing them. 


Carolina, where they did valuable and valiant service 


in the siege of Charleston. Three months later, leav- 


878 





ing his troops at Charleston, he returned to his re- 
cruiting work at Newberne, N. C., also in Virginia. 
Jan. 18, 1864, Gen. Wild was placed in command 
of the district of Norfolk and Portsmouth, which be- 
sides his military labors involved large civil duties in 
the government of those two cities, filled as they were 
with a hostile population. On the opening of the 
spring campaign, in May, 1864, he joined the Army 
of the James, in command of his colored troops, 
where he continued, participating im the siege opera- 
tions against Petersburg and Richmond until their 
fall. 


mand of a division, containing three brigades of in- 


During the last three months he was in com- 
fantry, beside cavalry and artillery, heavy and light. 


composed wholly of colored troops. 

On the 3d of April, 1865, he went into Richmond 
as “ Jeff Davis” went out. 
nally recruited by the general being the first infantry 


Some of the slaves origi- 


to enter those ‘‘ sacred precincts.” 

After the close of the warlike operations, he served 
in the Freedmen’s Bureau in Georgia, and was finally 
mustered out of the United States service, Jan. 15, 
1866. 
pled to return to the practice of his former profession, 
he turned his attention to mining, in which he is still 
engaged. 
fields of Nevada, California, Utah, Colorado, and Lake 
Superior (Canada side). 

It is no more than due to Gen. Wild to state that 
when he first enlisted into the army he enjoyed the 
highest esteem and confidence of all who were ac- 
quainted with him in his Massachusetts home.  Par- 
ticularly did he enjoy the confidence of Gov. Andrew, 


The general finding himself too much crip- | 


His experience and travels embrace the _cheer in the hours of sickness have done so much, 





who was a warm personal friend during the Rebellion. | 


When he entered the service he had been engaged 
in the Turkish army, and his experience there was 
of great value to him at home. Of an impulsive 
nature, fired with patriotism and intense enthusiasm, 
His 


record fully confirms the statements made, and we 


he gave his entire powers into the service. 


want no better illustration of his bravery than that 
at Wilson’s Wharf, on James River, Va. 
in command of an important outpost at the above 


but the example to his men was of the best. 


_ intoxicating liquor. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





He (Gen. Lee) thinks he has troops enough to carry the position, __ 
Should they surrender, they will be turned over to the authori- __ 
ties at Richmond, and treated as prisoners of war. Should they 
refuse, Gen. Lee will not be responsible for the consequences. 
“Very respectfully your obt. servant, 
“R. J. Mason, Major & A. T. G. 
“To Brig.-GENERAL WiLp, Commanding Federal Troops.” 


The reply of Gen. Wild was in the following laconic 
manner : 
“We will try it. 
“Ep4, A.Wibp, Brig.-Gen. Vols.” 


Indorsed on the back of the demand, and returned 
to Gen. Lee. And “try it they did, with the Union 
army victorious, saving an important position to the 


|“ Army of the James.” 
This being a portion of the Twenty-fifth Army Corps, | 


Not only was Gen. Wild a good and brave soldier, 
Promi- 
nent among his many good qualities was that of 
enforcing principles of abstinence from the use of 
In this he set an example by 
his own entire disuse of liquor of any kind. During 
his whole service in the United States army he never 
touched any intoxicants, even toa glass of cider or 
lager beer. 

Finally, those who remember Gen. Wild as a 
citizen regard him as one of integrity, and a manly, 


good man. Those to whom his words of comfort and 


While 
those under whose care they were as soldiers in the 
army, all unite to speak of him in the kindest terms 


remember him with the kindest affection. 


as a brave and good officer. 


ELBRIDGE WASON. 


The subject of this sketch is a descendant in the 


fourth generation from James Wason, who was born 


While | 


locality he was surrounded by a greatly superior force | 


of cavalry under the command of Maj.-Gen. Fitz- | 


Hugh Lee, and was summoned to surrender, but he 
replied in the following brief manner: ‘* We will try 
it,’ and after a desperate fight his trusty negroes beat 
off the enemy. 


The following is the demand: 
“May 24, 1864. 


in the parish of Bellemanus, County of Antrim, Ire- 
land, in 1711. He married at Portsmouth, N. H., 
Hannah Caldwell, Nov. 30, 1736, by whom he had 
seven children,—James, Samuel, Thomas, Betsy, 
Nancy, Isabel, and Sarah. 

Lieut. Thomas Wason, son of James and Hannah 


| Wason, married Mary, daughter of Robert Boyd, 


of Londonderry, N. H., Dec. 1, 1772, and had eight 
Boyd, James, 


children, — James, Mary, Thomas 


| Robert, Sarah, Thomas Boyd, and Hannah. 


“By command of Maj.-Gen. Fitz-Hugh Lee, I am sent to | 
' George Austin. 


demand the surrender of the Federal troops at Wilson’s Wharf. 


Deacon Robert Wuason, son of Lieut. Thomas and 
Mary Wason, married Nancy, daughter of John and 
Elizabeth (Batchelder) Batchelder, Dec. 26, 1808, 
and had nine children, viz.: Elbridge, Louisa, Hiram, 
Nancy, Mary, Robert Boyd, Adeline, Caroline, and 











; | 
ha , 


BROOKLINE. 


879 





Elbridge Wason, son of Deacon Robert and Nancy 
Wason, married Mary (born June 30, 1809), daugh- 
ter of Samuel and Mary (Gardner) Stickney, of Bos- 
ton, April 21, 1851. She died Aug. 15,1863. He 


married, second, Mary Isabella (born May 30, 1835), — 
daughter of Hon. Leonard and Mary Isabella (Dickey) | 


Chase, of Milford, N. H., May 17, 1865, and have 


Mary Isabella Wason, born Jan. 11, 1867, and Leonard | 


Chase Wason, born Aug. 5, 1868. 


26, 1809. 
whom lived to become useful members in society. 


tributing his share of manual labor upon his father’s | 
Here it was, under the care of kind parents, | 


farm. 
with an early religious training, that he developed 
that strong character for manliness and integrity 
which has ever characterized his more matured years. 
His advantages for school education were such as the 
life of a country farmer usually affords. A brief at- 
tendance in the village school of his native town, sup- 


plemented by a course of study at Derry Academy, | 


prepared him for the higher privilege of teaching 
school in Windham, and afterwards in Amherst, N. H. 
In December, 1831, being desirous of seeing some- 
thing of life outside of his native village, he visited 
Boston, where he remained for a short time, and 
while there he was induced to embark in business. 
On the 8th of March, 1832, he removed to Boston, and 
immediately entered upon the duties of clerk and sales- 
man in the wholesale West India goods store of the 
well-known firm of Pierce & Goodnow, at 29 South 
Market Street. 
the firm was dissolved, but he continued with Mr. 


Goodnow for the term of five years, at the expiration — 


of which time he entered into partnership with his 
cousin, William Wason, on Blackstone Street, where 
he remained till August, 1837. On the first day of 
September of that year a new partnership was formed 
with Henry Peirce, under the firm-name of Wason & 
Peirce, wholesale grocers, at 61 Chatham Street. At 
the end of eighteen months Mr. Rufus Clement, of 
New London, N. H., was admitted a partner in the 
business, under the firm-name of Wason, Peirce & Co. 
Mr. Clement retired from the firm April 1, 1848. 
Soon after this, Robert Boyd Wason, a brother of 
the senior partner, was admitted to the firm. 
A. Wadley, who had fora long time been book-keeper 
for the firm, was a partner for about ten years, re- 
tiring on the Ist day of January, 1865. At this 
time Henry E. Peirce, son of Mr. Henry Peirce, 
became partner, the firm-name remaining the same 


through the various changes. The present members 


merchants worthy of emulation. 
. ° . ° oO | 
His early days were spent in his native town in con- 


At the end of one and a half years” 


George | 


are Elbridge Wason, Henry Peirce, and Robert Boyd 
Wason, who are still actively engaged in the same 
business, and in the store where they began in 1837. 
Commencing business at a season when the country 
was laboring under a severe financial depression, the 
success of this firm has been remarkable, and is largely 
due to the promptness with which everything has 
been done, the meeting every obligation, and con- 


ducting business in honesty, and with the manly 
Mr. Wason was born in New Boston, N. H., Sept. | 
He was the eldest of nine children, all of | 


purpose of dealing justly with all people. A truly 
remarkable example of the integrity of Boston’s best 
In politics Mr. 
Wason has ever been of the Whig and Republican 
order, a firm and stanch supporter of the government, 
and a firm believer in a liberal orthodox religion, and 


is a member of the church under the pastoral care of 


| Rev. Reuen Thomas, Ph.D. 


Although Mr. Wason has for a long time been 
away from the scenes of his early boyhood, he has 


ever been attached to his native town, and still holds 


the same in kind remembrance. He came to Brook- 


line in August, 1858, and purchased the estate at the 


corner of Harvard Street and Alton Place, where he 


now resides. He was one of the principal movers 
and contributors in the erection of the new and ele- 
gant stone temple near his residence, known as Har- 
vard Church, and has served as a member of the 
Prudential Committee of the same. In his private 
life he is domestic in his habits, fond of home, of a 
social temperament, gentlemanly in his deportment 


and intercourse with the public. 





HENRY PEIRCE. 

Henry Peirce was born in Waltham, Mass., Oct. 2, 
1807. 
Peirce, who came from Norwich, Norfolk County, Eng- 
land, a short time prior to his admission as freeman 


His first ancestor in this country was John 


of Watertown, Mass., which admission bears date 
1637/8. 
1586, as he was forty-nine years old at the time he 


This John Peirce was born probably in 


applied for permission to “pass into Boston, New 
England, to inhabit.” 

John’s son, Anthony, who preceded his father to 
America by a few years, was born in 1609, and was 
admitted freeman of Watertown, Sept. 3, 1634. The 
date of his arrival in this country was 1630, pre- 
sumably with the company of Sir Richard Salston- 
stall. 

The father of Henry Peirce was named William. 
He was educated at the common schools, and was a 


880 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





farmer and stone-mason. He was a private and cor- 
poral for three years in the Revolutionary war. He 
was but fifteen years of age when the war broke out, 
and was stationed during his term of service among 
other places at Cambridge, West Point, and Philadel- 


phia. He underwent in common with others many 
hardships, and was honorably discharged, receiving | 
for many years a pension. He was a patriotic, liberal- 
minded man, honorable in all his engagements, loved 
and respected by all. He died in Waltham, Sept. 4, 
1825, aged sixty-five. 

Henry’s mother was Phebe Manning, born Nov. 
10, 1766, died Oct. 13, 1851. She resided with 
her parents in Charlestown at the time of the battle 
of Bunker Hill, and was among those who fled for 
safety from their burning homes. She was then nine 
years old, and often in after-years told the story of | 
her flight. She used to relate that, being ready to | 
drop with fatigue, she exclaimed, “ If they kill us, let 
‘em kill us, for I can’t go any farther.” 

No.man could have a better mother than had 
Henry Peirce. She had a firm and independent 
mind, full of probity and self-reliance. She gave her | 
years to her large family, and lived to see her sons | 
grow up to regard her with veneration. | 


Henry married, Jan. 21, 1833, Louisa Adeline 


Bayley. She was born in Rumney, N. H., March 1, 
1807; died in Brookline, Mass., March 22, i879. 


She was the daughter of Simon and Salina (Ramsay) 
Bayley, and descended from Richard Bayley, of Row- 





ley, Mass., the first of his name in this country. 
They had four children,—1. Henry, born Oct. 25, | 
1833 ; died Nov. 30, 1833. 2. Henry Edgar, born 
April 13, 1835; died Aug. 26, 1881; married, Dec. 
3, 1863, Ann Eliza Holt. 3. William Oliver, born | 
Sept. 4, 1857; unmarried. 4. Helen Louisa, born 
Feb. 21, 1843; died April 6, 1855. 

The subject of this sketch is widely known as a> 


business man. The old church-going freeholders of | 





his race in early times had not in all their line a 
more perfect representative of stanch, steadfast, manly | 
integrity than he. His education was of the com- | 


mon school. His knowledge has been gained and | 
his character formed in the conflicts of the world of | 
business. He began his labors with George Mur- | 
dock, a grocer of his native town. For seven years | 
In 1828 he 


went to Lowell, a town then rising in importance, and 


he performed the duties of his place. 


engaged in the baking business. There for nearly 
nine years as partner in an enterprising and success- 


He 


came to Boston in 1837, entered into partnership 


ful firm he exercised his abilities and industry. 


with Elbridge Wason, and began business as a whole- | 


sale grocer at 61 Chatham Street, where he has re- 
mained to the present time (1884). For nearly fifty 
years Henry Peirce has kept the even tenor of his 
way. Not exempt from losses, at times large, nor 
from all the countless stringencies and struggles inei- 
dent to the prosecution of a widely-extended business, 
he has always met his engagements, fulfilled every 
obligation, and wherever known has met with that 
confidence and respect which purity of life and 


honesty of purpose must ever inspire. He removed 


| his residence from Charles Street to Brookline in 


1860, where he now lives filled with good will towards 
all honest men, content to claim only for himself the 
merit that belongs to good intentions and manly 
effort. 
to enjoy that competence he has so fairly and honor- 


His numerous friends hope he may live long 


ably earned. 

Before closing this sketch it may be well for all 
who read these lines to reflect how large a volume 
might be made in recording the career of a man like 
Henry Peirce, who is only a type of the straight- 
forward, high-minded Boston merchant. Such as he 
labor not for wealth alone, nor for business reputa- 


tion. They have not the hope of the brilliant prizes 


of public life to sustain them in their struggles 


through the dark days of business adversity. More 
or less consciously they work because they feel it to 
be a duty. They have too much self-respect to waste 
their time in frivolous pursuits. Long after they 
have obtained a pecuniary independence they labor 
on, feeling that the world must somehow be better for 
their labor. And what burdens such men bear! 
Who that has not experienced can fitly portray them ? 
Sneered at often by those they help the most, they 
rally in times of distress and give the fruits of their 
toil to lift the world to a higher plane, knowing that 


| the approval of the “still small voice” must be their 


sole reward. 


THOMAS PARSONS. 


Thomas Parsons was born in Boston, Mass., July 
25, 1816. He was the son of Charles Chauncy and 
Judith (Parsons) Parsons. His grandfather was Chief 
Justice Theophilus Parsons, of Newburyport, Mass., 
who married Hlizabeth Greenleaf. The mother of 
Thomas Parsons was the daughter of Capt. Thomas 
and Judith (Kinsman) Parsons. 

In 1850, Mr. Parsons purchased the estate known 


-as the “Cabot Farm” and ‘“ Amory Place,” upon 


which was an old house, which he removed in 1852, 
and erected a house upon the same site, where he now 










































































OP?FV1tc T APIS o7e7sd 


“7 





BROOKLINE. 


881 





resides most of the time, passing the summer months 
in Mattapoisett, his residence running to the water’s 
edge. 

The subject of this sketch is a lineal descendant, 


on both his father and mother’s side, from Rev. John | 


Robinson, of Leyden. Asan heirloom he has a side- 


board in his possession brought over to this country — 


by a son of the Rev. John Robinson. Mr. Parsons 
was educated in the common schools of Boston, and 
fitted for college in the Public Latin School of Bos- 
ton; entered Harvard College at the age of fourteen 
years, but owing to ill health was obliged to leave 
with only a partial course. 
counting-room of Benjamin Rich & Son, East India 
merchants, where he served his term of apprentice- 
ship, and then entered into business with his father, 
who was a merchant and owner of freighting ships, 
where he remained till 1865. 
ested in many corporations. He is president and 
director of the “ Lyman Mill,” at Holyoke, Mass. He 
became a resident of Brookline in 1848, and has always 
He 


has been selectman for sixteen years, many years chair- 


taken a great interest in the welfare of the town. 


man, member of the school committee the same num- | 


He 
was an original member of the ‘“ Brookline Public 
Library,” and is now one of the trustees. Most of 
the time he has been president of the same. He rep- 
resented the town in the Legislature for six years, 
He was 
a member of the Committee on the Revision of the 
Revised Statutes in 1859, on the Valuation Committee 
in 1860. Appointed on the Board of Prison Com- 
missioners by Governor Rice, and again by Governor 


ber of years, acting as chairman of the same. 


serving on the Finance Committee five years. 


1854 he was appointed as justice of the peace. 


He then entered the | 


He is at present inter- | 








church, as were his wives and most of bis children. 
He died Dee. 9, 1685, and was buried on the 11th, as 
appears by John KHliot’s record, in the possession of 
the New England Historical and Genealogical Society ; 
the date is erroneously given as the 22d December in 
the Report of the Record Commissioners of Boston. 

His grandson, Ebenezer Davis, a blacksmith, made 
large purchases of lands in various places and settled 
upon the Brookline property, which he purchased in 


| 1746 of Thomas Cotton, of Windham, Conn., for 
| £4500. 


This estate of ninety-five acres was sepa- 
rately described in three lots, and embraced the prin- 
cipal portion of what is now the village of Brookline. 

Ebenezer Davis died in 1776; his will was pro- 
bated March 4th of the same year. Although he 
had disposed of considerable real estate, what he left 
is worth recording, as his inventory indicates the value 
of lands in this county at that period: 


“House, Land and one half the other Build- } 
ings on Easterly side of Cambridge Road | 


and the Hill pasture on the Northerly { gly 
side of said road, apprized at............... J 
House, Land &e lying southwardly and ad- | 
joining Watertown Road, with one half | 1299 
the buildings on the other side of the | ray 
Road sthe) House excepted... 2-:...csccsese J 
| Four and a half acres salt-marsh.............-s.0+ 45 
Four acres of salt marsh in the Great Marsh... 40 
| Thirty Eight Acres of land bought of Mary ) 550 
IWanchestensesrcers ccc tctstescs soeee coereceneet j 32 
A tract of Land in Troublesome Swamp ea 60 
Call Edi) eosssceewsssesstecasslesessescsececenae cee 
A House, Farm and other buildings in Rox- } 1000 
DUM Aneta ntcneterestesenas sonendeoenesen aseseaeens J 
ABWiood-lotpime*hOxDOY. cccecccnanacsesesercssates sect 112 
Two Acres Salt Marsh in Roxbury.............. «. 20 
AC Wood-lotein -Needham.......--scacsse-<easacaeees 66 13s. 4d. 
A wood lot in Newton bought of John Ham- } 175 
MON Gitcseesensine aa ceeaclonceesnonscien donee seacenecnsa J £3 
Another in ditto, Three & one half Aeres........ 52 10s. 
A Farm in Newton under the improvement ce 400 
Mir osepht Wintte)..c.ca-c\:sneqtasessenmnies sacle 


| A House, Land and other buildings in the) 
Talbot, and chairman of the same for six years. In > 


In 1847 he married Martha Watson, daughter of | 


Henry P. and Charlotte (Bicknell) Franklin. Mr. 
Franklin was a merchant and wealthy manufacturer 
in Providence. The children of Mr. Parsons are 
Elizabeth, Theophilus (a graduate of Harvard Col- 


lage, 1870, now engaged in manufacturing in Holyoke, | 


Mass. ), Charlotte, and Lucy. 


THE DAVIS FAMILY OF BROOKLINE. 


BY W. E. WEBSTER. 


The New England progenitor of this family was 
William Davis, who came from Wales in his early 





lips. 


youth and settled in Roxbury, where he was married | 


three times. He was a member of the Apostle Eliot’s 
56 


Town of Waltham under the Improve-} 306 13s. 4d. 


ment of Mr. Matthias Collins.............. J 





£5709 16s. 8d. 





Total Real Estate, value............... 


Two items of his personal estate were, “ A Silver 
Tankard, valued at £18 13s. 4d. and Six Hives of 
Bees, valued at £3 15s.”’ ¢ 

This tankard is still in the possession of the family 
(the bees are not). On the curve of the handle, in ac- 
cordance with the custom of the olden time, appear 
the husband’s and wife’s initials with that of the 

D ’ 
family, thus, E + S, meaning Ebenezer and Sarah 
Davis. It bears the stamp of “J. Hurd,” the famous 
goldsmith of Boston, whose daughter married Mr. 
Walley, and was the grandmother of Wendell Phil- 
A son, Nathaniel Hurd, succeeded his father ; 
he also struck his stamp upon it, simply the word 
“ Hurd.” He was an artist of great taste in heraldic 
engraving, and by a mistake not uncommon at that 


882 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





time, engraved another family’s armorial bearings 


upon this tankard,—that of the Davisons, instead of 


the Davis family of Carmathan, Wales. 


An impres- 


| 


sion of the Davis family seal is upon the will of Icha-_ 


bod Davis, in registry of deeds in Suffolk County, 
A.D. 1754,—he was son of the original immigrant, 
whose will has been lost,—this was observed by J. C. 
J. Brown, of the Committee on Heraldry of the New 
England Historical and Genealogical Society, while 
making an examination of the heraldry on wills in 
Suffolk Probate Court. 

Ebenezer Davis’ will was quite long, and very par- 
ticular in relation to the division and distribution of 
the estate, and very regardful of all his descendants. 
His daughters, Hannah, Sarah, and Elizabeth, were 
the wives respectively of Matthias Collins, Joseph 
White, and Joseph Craft. 


“ Negro man Sambo his freedom.” 


To Ebenezer Davis, his grandson,—who was the | 
grandfather of the subject of this sketch,—he gave 


the first item on the inventory, until his sister Sarah 


was twenty-one years of age, when she was to have | 


two hundred pounds; and the real estate was to be 
equally divided between brother and sister ; but Eben 


and Benjamin, another grandson, were to have the 


In a codicil he gives his | 


| 


| 
| 





woodlands in Cambridge, Brookline, Newton, and | 


Needham. The distribution to other children and 
grandchildren is not specified here, as this refers only 
to the line of Robert Sharp Davis. 


A great-grandson of the Ebenezer Davis who set- 


tled in Brookline was named Robert Sharp Davis. | 


This Robert Sharp had the following-named children, 
a brief sketch of whom will here be given: Samuel 
Craft, Robert Sharp, Phineas Stearns, Sarah, and 
Lucy. 

Samuel Craft Davis was born in Brookline, Feb. 
18, 1809, and died in Boston, Oct. 15, 1882. 
1854, Mr. Davis went to St. Louis, where he estab- 
lished the well-known dry-goods importing and job- 
bing house of Samuel C. Davis & Co., in which he 


remained the senior partner until his death. He was 


In | 


an industrious and sagacious man, and eminently suc- | 


In 1840, Mr. Davis married Caro- 
line Tilden, of Brookline, by whom he had the follow- 


cessful merchant. 


ing children: Samuel Craft, a lawyer, born March 10, 
1842; died Oct. 10, 1874; John Tilden, born Sept. 
13, 1844; now a partner in the house of 8S. C. Davis 
& Co.; also one son and one daughter who died in in- 
fancy. Samuel Craft Davis, Jr., married Sarah Shurt- 
leff Shaw, of Boston, June 19, 1866; John Tilden 
Davis married Maria Jane Filley, Feb. 20, 1867. 
tobert Sharp Davis, whose portrait accompanies 


this sketch, was born in Brookline, Jan. 1, 1811, and | 


died in the same town, Feb. 23, 1875. About the 
year 1825, Mr. Davis entered the employment of the 
well-known publishing firm of Crocker & Brewster, 
of Boston, a firm which remained the same, both in 
style and partners, for more than half a century. 
After remaining a few years with Crocker & Brewster, 
he became a partner in the firm of Lincoln, Edmands 
& Co., and in 1835 succeeded them. From that time 
he carried on the business of publishing school-books 
in Boston with uninterrupted success until his death, 
—a period of forty years lackinga fewdays. Among 
his most prominent publications were the mathemati- 
cal works of the eminent author, Benjamin Greenleaf, 
books which are believed to have been in more uni- 
versal use than any similar works ever published. In 
1837, Mr. Davis married Mary Shannon, of Ports- 
mouth, N. H., by whom he had the following chil- 
dren: Mary Shannon (Mrs. W. E. Webster), Lucy 
Stearns, Sarah Comstock, Laura Wood (Mrs. T. R. 
Shewell), Caroline Elizabeth, and Langdon Shannon, 
who married Héléne Bartlett O'Leary, Nov. 9, 1880. 

Phineas Stearns Davis (named for hi§ great-grand- 
father, who was one of the famous Boston tea-party) 
was born in Brookline. For many years he was éon- 
nected in business with his brother Robert. He was 
an active member of the militia for more than twenty 
years, holding various commissions, including that of 
brigadier-general. At the breaking out of the war 
for the suppression of the Southern Rebellion, Gen. 
Davis, after serving several months upon a commission 
for the examination of candidates for positions in the 
military service, accepted the command of the Thirty- 
ninth Regiment, in which position he served with 
distinction until July 11, 1864, when he was killed 
by a rebel shell in front of Petersburg, Va. He was 
a brave and patriotic man and an accomplished officer. 
April 26, 1847, he married Elizabeth Lambert, by 
whom he had the following-named children: Nannie 
Sophia, Charles Lambert, Elizabeth Lambert (Mrs. 
A. J. Ward), and Agnes Andrews. 

Sarah Davis was born in Brookline, Sept. 24, 
1812; married Rev. Grover Smith Comstock, June 
24, 1834; had the following children: Lucy D., 
Oliver C. (who was killed in the war for the Union), 
Mrs. Comstock 
went to Burmah as a missionary and died there. 

Lucy Stearns Davis was born in Brookline, Jan. 
26,1816; married Daniel H. Rogers, Sept. 21, 1843; 
had the following children: Sarah C., Clara Lavinia, 
Elizabeth S., Mary D. 

The Davis family are descended in a maternal line 
from Robert Sharp, a youth of twenty, who came 
from England in the ship “ Abigail,’ in 1635. 


Robert Stearns, and Grover Samuel. 


























BROOKLINE. 


883 





Robert Sharp stopped a while at Braintree, then at 
Rehoboth, and in 1650, with Peter Aspinwall, he | 
purchased the large farm of William Colburn, at | 


Muddy River. By his wife Abigail he had one son, 
John, born March 12 
Abigail and Mary. John married Martha, daughter 
of Robert Vose, of Dorchester (Milton). John was 
a valiant soldier in King Philip’s war, and was killed 
in the Sudbury fight, while lieutenant in Capt. Wads- 





| Bradford,” 


worth’s company, in April, 1676. His widow married | 


Joseph Buckminster, from whom the distinguished 
persons of that name were descended. John Sharp 
had a son Robert, who perished in an expedition 
against the Indians in Canada. This Robert had a 
son Robert, who was a thrifty man, and became a 
large Jandholder in Brookline. He died in 1765, 
leaving a son, Robert, and four daughters. The fourth 
Robert married Sarah Payson, of Roxbury, by whom 
he had ten children, and from one of these children 
(Lucy), who married into the Davis family, was 
descended Robert Sharp Davis, the subject of this 
sketch. 





BRADFORD KINGMAN. 

Bradford Kingman is the son of Josiah Washburn 
and Mary (Packard) Kingman ; 
portion of the town of North Bridgewater (now 
Brockton) called “ Campello,” Jan. 5, 1831; came to 
Brookline, May 1, 1856. He is a lineal descendant 
in the seventh generation from Henry Kingman, an 
early settler of Weymouth, Mass., 
Weymouth, England, in 1635 
course of study in the common schools of his native 
village he attended the Adelphian Academy, under 
the charge of Messrs. Silas L. & L. F. C. Loomis, in 
the central village, and afterwards in the Williston 
Seminary at Hast Hampton, Mass. 
Lyman Mason, Esq., of Boston; attended lectures of 
the late Professor Kmery Washburn, at Harvard Col- 
lege; and was admitted to the Suffolk bar in Boston 
April 21, 1863. Appointed justice of the peace by 
Governor Andrew, Jan. 22, 1864; and was trial 
justice for criminal cases for Norfolk County several 
years, notary public for the same county, and is now 
an attorney- and counselor-at-law, resident of Brook- 
line. He is also commissioner of deeds for several 
New England and Western States. 


who came from 


was born in that | 


After the usual | 


Studied law with | 


| 


In addition to the duties pertaining to the legal | 
profession, Mr. Kingman has given much attention | 


to the study of local history. 
a “ History of North Bridgewater, Massachusetts,” 


In 1866 he published | 








| 


Brookline,” soon to be published. He is also a fre- 
quent contributor to magazines and newspapers. In 


October, 1870, he started the first newspaper ever 


_ published in the town of Brookline, known as the 
, 1643, and two daughters, | 


Brookline Transcript, of which he was the editor 
and proprietor for over two years. Among his con- 
tributions are the “ Memoir of the Late Deacon Lewis 
of Plympton, Mass., “ History of An- 
’ published in the “‘ History of Essex County,” 
also “‘ History of North Andover” in the same work. 

Mr. Kingman married Susan Bradford, daughter 
of Capt. Thomas and Susanna (Bradford) Ellis, of 
Plympton, Mass., Jan. 1, 1852, a direct descendant 
of Governor William Bradford, of Plymouth, Mass., 
in the eighth generation. They had one daughter, 
Carrie Parker, born July 15, 1858; died Sept. 18, 
1859. 


dover,’ 





GEORGE BATY BLAKE. 


The branch of the Blake family from which the 
subject of this sketch descended was first established 
in New England in the person of William Blake (a 
near relative of the famous English admiral, Robert 
Blake), who landed at Nantasket, May 30, 1630, and 
soon after fixed his residence at Dorchester, Mass., in 
that part now called Milton. 

George Baty Blake, the youngest of nine children 
of John Welland and Abigail (Jones) Blake, was 
born at Brattleborough, Vt., May 19, 1808. 

His grandfather, Joseph Blake (born Feb. 5, 1739 ; 
died July 21, 1818), was a heutenant in the army at 
an early age, and saw some service at Crown Point. 
He married for his first wife Deborah, daughter of 
Samuel Smith, a physician of Sandwich, Mass., her 
mother, Bethiah Chipman, being reported by tradi- 
tion to be a direct descendant of John Carver, the 
first Governor of Plymouth Colony. 

His father, John Welland Blake, Esq., a lawyer OF 
profession, was one of the early settlers at Brattle- 
borough, 
1790. 
place, represented the town in the State Legislature, 


having established his residence there in 
He was one of the first postmasters in this 


_and was at one time a large owner of real estate in 


the vicinity. 
He married, May 24, 1790, Abigail, daughter of 
Judge Daniel Jones, of Hinsdale, N. H. She died 


| Dec. 14, 1808, within a few months after George's 


birth, and his father Oct. 27, 1818. 
George, thus early left an orphan, was nursed and 
eared for during his infancy in the family of Maj. 


| Stephen Greenleaf, a highly-respected citizen in the 


pp. 696, and is engaged in preparing a “ History of | West Village of Brattleborough, and in after-years 


884 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





he held the memory of this estimable man and his 
family in grateful remembrance. 

Subsequently he lived at the homestead until the 
age of thirteen. His eldest sister, Anna Sophia, who, 
in 1814, married Henry Cabot, son of Hon. George 
Cabot, of Boston, had charge of the household during 
George’s childhood, until her removal to Boston upon 
her marriage, and there lived until her death, in 1845. 


Mrs. Cabot is well remembered in Boston society of | 


the time for her personal charms and winning social 
graces. 

After the death of his father, George was for a few 
years particularly under the charge of his brother, 
John Rice Blake. These brothers long survived the 
other children, and were for twenty years or more 
partners in the banking business, which George 
undertook about the year 1850, in Boston, and to 
which the energies of the remaining years of his 
life were chiefly given. 

Although George’s father had been 
man of considerable wealth for the period, at his 
death the family were left quite poor, so that when 
Mr. Dickerman, a dry-goods dealer from Boston, who 
chanced to see George, then a lad of thirteen, in 
Brattleborough, offered him a place in his store, the 
family gladly availed themselves of the offer, and the 


at one time a 


boy went to Boston. 

He lived at first with his sister, Mrs. Cabot, in 
High Street, Boston, and for two or three years re- 
ceived from his brother John and this sister fifty 
dollars a year, which was the only pecuniary help he 
ever received. 

He was in Mr. Dickerman’s employ a few years, 
and went thence to his brother-in-law, Edward Clarke, 
of the firm of Edward Clarke & Co., dry-goods im- 


porters, and before he was twenty-one years of age 


Mr. Clarke took him into the firm as partner, and he | 


went at once to England to buy goods. From this 


time, in 1828, he was constantly going to England 


and the continent of Europe in the pursuance of his 
business, making many acquaintances and some life- 
long friendships. 

Among others, he thus became acquainted with 
the late George Peabody, at that time a buyer of 
dry-goods for his Baltimore firm, and afterward long 
resident in London, with whom Mr. Blake continued 
in warm relations of friendship until Mr. Peabody’s 
death, and for several years their respective firms had 
extensive business relations. 

May 24, 1833, Mr. Blake married his cousin, Anna 
Hull, daughter of Joshua Blake, of Boston, a promi- 
nent and successful merchant, doing business with 
the Mediterranean ports. 


] 
| 


father’s house in Winthrop Place, by the Rev. F. W. 
P. Greenwood, of King’s Chapel, at which church 
Mr. Blake then, and during his whole life, attended 


service, acting for several years as vestryman, and 


| by the need of revenue. 








always taking a deep and lively interest in the church 
and its several clergymen. 

During his earlier visits in England, Mr. Blake 
made the acquaintance of Richard Cobden, the dis- 
tinguished English statesman, then, about the year 
1835, partner in a cotton-printing establishment near 


| Manchester, where he had built up a prosperous 


business. Mr. Blake at this time bought goods of 
Mr. Cobden, and had a great admiration for the 
qualities which later won him such distinction as a 
legislator and political economist. 

Mr. Blake gave full adherence to Mr. Cobden’s 
free-trade views, and was always of the opinion that 
for any country customs duties were only to be justified 
He recognized, however, 
for the United States that reform in this direction, in 
justice to large vested interests, must be somewhat 
gradual; but he looked confidently to absolute free 
trade as the true policy for all nations, and he believed 
that, under such a free interchange of commodities, 
the United States would soon become cotton manu- 
facturers for the world. 

Mr. Blake had nine children, of whom the first two 
died in infancy, and the seventh, Henry Jones Blake, 
died Oct. 11, 1880. He served as lieutenant in the 
United States navy during the war of the Rebellion, 
and had an exceilent record in the important engage- 
ments in which he participated. 

The youngest son, John Welland Blake, bearing 
the name of his paternal grandfather, died in 1861, 
aged nearly fifteen years. 

The other children, three sons and two daughters, 
are still surviving in the year 1884, and all the sons 
were for years partners in their father’s firms in Bos- 
ton, New York, and London. 

This business is still continued by the sons and 
their associates, selected by Mr. Blake, essentially as 


established by him. 


They were married at her | dry-goods. 


Mr. Blake, after leaving the firm of Edward 
Clarke & Co., formed a copartnership for the importa- 
tion of dry-goods with Mr. William Almy, under the 
firm-name of Almy, Blake & Co., and during this 
time, and subsequently, he continued his frequent 
passages to Kurope, having crossed the Atlantic up- 
wards of eighty times during his life. 

He next formed a copartnership with the late David 
Nevins and Edward H. R. Lyman, under the firm- 
name of George b. Blake & Co., also importers of 
Mr. Lyman still survives, being a resi- 





| 
| 
. 
. 





BROOKLINE. 885 





dent of Brooklyn, N. Y., and has recently retired 
from active business after a long and most successful 
mercantile career in connection with the well-known 
firm of Messrs. A. A. Low & Brothers, of New York, 
in the China trade. 

About the year 1846, Mr. Blake’s health, which 
had always been delicate, failing him, he was obliged 
to retire from active business, and in the spring of 
1847 he bought an estate in Brookline, near Boston, 
where he resided during the remainder of his life, 
excepting the winters of the last few years; these 
were passed at his home in Boston. 

During this three or four years’ interval in his 
active business career, Mr. Blake became a director 
in the Boston and Worcester Railroad Company, and 
took a most active interest in the affairs of that cor- 
poration, giving much of his time and energy to the 
development of its growing business. He was one 
of the very earliest to favor and promote the joining 
of this railroad with the Western Railroad. 

The first steps taken by this corporation towards a 
rail connection with Hast Boston were chiefly insti- 
gated by Mr. Blake, at a time when few foresaw the 


Originally a Whig in politics, and voting for Henry 
Clay in the Presidential election, Mr. Blake early sym- 
pathized in the views of Garrison, Sumner, and the 
others who looked upon African slavery in the United 


| States as a barbarism. 


| 


prospective erowth of the export trade from the West, | 


which his sagacity enabled him to anticipate. 

The construction of the Brookline Branch of the 
Boston and Worcester Railroad was also largely due 
to his energy and foresight. 

In 1850, Mr. Blake associated himself with Mr. 
Addison Gilmore, president of «the Western (now 
Boston and Albany) Railroad, and Mr. George Cabot 
Ward, son of Thomas G. Ward, Boston agent of 


Messrs. Baring Brothers & Co., of London, for the | 


prosecution of a foreign and domestic banking busi- 
The firm-name was Gilmore, Blake & Ward. 


ness. 


Mr. Gilmore dying very suddenly shortly after this | 


firm was established, the name was changed to Blake, 
Ward & Co., and later to Blake, Howe & Co. 

At this time his brother, John Rice Blake, came 
from Brattleborough and joined him as a partner, the 
firm-name being later changed to Blake Brothers & 
Co., the three eldest sons joining as partners about the 
year 1860. 

One of the leading aims of Mr. Blake throughout 
his business career was to advance in every possible 
way the commercial interests of Boston. He was 
largely instrumental in securing and maintaining the 
regular visits of the Cunard steamers to that port. 


With many other law-abiding citizens of Massachu- 
setts, his sense of justice was shocked by the enforce- 
ment of the fugitive-slave law in Boston in returning 
Anthony Burns to servitude. He endeavored to pre- 
vent this, by offering, through a friend, to buy Burns 
of his owner, who then refused to sell his property at 
any price. 

When the State of Massachusetts was rapidly for- 
warding troops for the suppression of the Rebellion, 
and was incurring a large debt for bounties and other 
war expenses, the money market had become exceed- 
ingly active, so that the State, for providing money 
on their notes having a few months to run, paid as 
high as twelve per cent. per annum. 

At this time it became necessary for funding its 
indebtedness that the State should promptly secure 
some three or four millions of dollars. This was 
finally done by a sale to Mr. Blake’s firm, by Gov- 
ernor Andrew and his Council, of three millions of 
dollars of five per cent. sterling bonds, and Mr. Blake 
was appointed by the State authorities agent for the 
State, with authority to domiciliate the loan with 
either of several London banking firms selected by 
him, foremost among whom were the Messrs. Baring 
and Rothschild. 

Mr. Blake went at once to London on this mission, 
but found the time most unfavorable for such negoti- 
ations, the Bank of England having suddenly advanced 
the rate of interest to ten per cent. He, however, 
finally succeeded in making arrangements with the 
Messrs. Baring, through whom the loan was success- 
fully negotiated. 

Mr. Blake always felt that the deserved high credit 
of Massachusetts was largely due to the high integrity 
and strong sense of Governor Andrew, in insisting 
upon gold for the payment of both principal and in- 
terest of the funded debt of the State throughout the 
general suspension of specie payments in the United 
States during the Rebellion. 

Possessed of a character of unswerving integrity, 
Mr. Blake stood as an example of the highest com- 


_ mercial honor, and the many young men whom he 


During the civil war he was always most warmly 
interested in the preservation of the Union, and ac- | 


tively aided, both with his purse and by personal ser- 
vice, the Sanitary Commission and other organizations 
for the relief and welfare of the soldiers. 


educated during his long business career all testify 
to the warm interest which he took in lending a 
helping hand to those who needed his assistance. 
Devoted and affectionate in his family, it was per- 
haps in the home circle that his character appeared 


‘to best advantage, and those who were in the habit 


886 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





of meeting him there will ever cherish the pleasant 
memories of his sprightly humor and friendly interest. 

Reverent and devout by temperament, he was a_ 
regular attendant upon religious services, and, al- 
though he never identified himself with the church 
by active membership, his whole life testified to his 
sincere and earnest belief in the truths of Christianity. 

Mr. Blake died at his residence in Brookline, Aug. 
6, 1875, his death resulting from an attack of paral- 
ysis at his office in Boston two days previous. He 
was interred in the family burial-lot at Mount Au- 
burn Cemetery. 

His wife died two years before, June 7, 1873, at | 


the Brookline home. 


EXTRACTS FROM OBITUARY NOTICES PUBLISHED 
IN THE BOSTON NEWSPAPERS. 


Boston Globe, Aug. 7, 1875. 


“GrorGeE Baty BLAKE. 


“The announcement of the death of George Baty Blake, the 
senior member of the firm of Blake Brothers & Co., bankers, 
will cause a wide-spread feeling of sorrow in the business and 
social circles of Boston. It is not often that we are called upon | 
to record the death of a Boston merchant who has quietly and 
unostentatiously promoted the substantial interests of this city 


in the effective manner which was characteristic of Mr. Blake. 


... George Baty Blake was a strong man, one whose clearly- 
defined individuality and indomitable will would have made 
his power, nerve, and brain felt in any walk in life which he 
might have chosen. 


“Tn both the dry-goods trade and the banking business he 


was very successful, although through nearly his whole life he 
labored with the disadvantage of a physical infirmity which 
would have paralyzed the efforts of men with a weaker will or 
a less active brain. 

“What he has done for Boston can hardly be summed up in 
a few words or particularized in any special manner, since | 
one of the leading aims of his life has always been to advance 





her interests. He was early a director in the Boston and Albany | 
Railroad, where his ripe judgment and eminent business quali- | 
ties were utilized to advance the interests of the road and of 


Boston. 


He was also largely instrumental in securing the reg- 
ular visits of the European steamers to this port, and in numer- | 
ous ways used his utmost influence to promote Boston’s welfare. 

“During the darkest days of the war Mr. Blake never lost 
courage, but remained firm in his conviction and hope that the 


Union would be preserved intact, and he was, in those trying 
times, ever self-sacrificing, patriotic, and generous in upholding 
the cause he believed in so thoroughly. 

“Mr. Blake was a man of the strictest integrity, was upright 
in all his dealings with men of all classes, and gentlemen who 


have dealt with and associated with him more or less for a quar- 
ter of acentury, or more, speak in the highest terms of his busi- | 
ness capacity and fidelity to principle, fairness, and justice. 

«. . . Boston has certainly lost in Mr. Blake one of her 
most positive, self-reliant, and enterprising business men,—one 
who achieved where many others failed, and one whose integ- 


rity, industry, and perseverance may well be copied by the 


younger business men of this city who are coming into the 
places he and others like him are vacating as the weeks, months, 
and years pass on.” 


Boston Daily Advertiser, Aug. 11, 1875. 

“The recent removal by death of Mr. George Baty Blake 
from business circles will turn back the memories of many 
men over the last fifty years of the commercial history of 
Boston. 

“The youngest of nine children of a highly respectable 
family in Brattleborough, Vt., he came to Boston in 1821, with 
nothing but his own exertions to depend upon. 

“Amid the numerous temptations which a city life offers to 
young men, he kept himself pure and his moral character free 


| from reproach. 


“ His aspirations were high, and were aided by an innate re- 


finement which distinguished him through life. His manners 


| and bearing were always those of a gentleman, and nothing 


coarse or vulgar ever found favor with him. 
“Probably there is no society in the world where the Hng- 


| lish language is spoken in which Mr. Blake would not have 
| borne himself with credit. 


In 
the long course of his business career he never failed to meet 


“Of his commercial sagacity there is no need to speak. 


| his engagements promptly, and during the years in which he 
ores J to) y 


acted as director of the Boston and Worcester Railroad his 
judgment, energy, and decision were such as to command the 
respect of his associates in an unusual degree. 

“Mr. Blake delighted to select young men, to give them a 
chance of advancement and to feel that they owed their success 
to him. 

“During an acquaintance of nearly thirty years, of which 
seventeen were passed in close and daily intercourse, the writer 
of this notice never received from him a harsh or unkind word. 

“To his inferiors in station he was uniformly kind and cour- 
teous, a fact to which many attached dependants can bear wit- 
ness. 

“Tn his family relations he was affectionate almost without 
limit, and as a father at once indulgent and firm. 

“Without theological bigotry, Mr. Blake was decidedly a 
religious man. His attendance at church was regular, and quite 
as much from pleasure as duty. He has often been heard to 
speak with emotion of sermons which especially pleased him. 
His reverence for sacred things, though unostentatious, was 
real, and any man who acted from conscientious motives was 
sure of respectful treatment from him. 

“He professed to be, and we believe was, governed by a sense 
of responsibility to a higher power. 

“We are quite sure that his descendants will attach less value 
to the pecuniary inheritance which devolves upon them than 
to the memory which they can thus cherish and hold in honor.” 


JEREMIAH GRIDLEY. 


Jeremiah Gridley, or “ Jeremy,” as he was famil- 
iarly known, or “ Uncle Jerry,” was born in Roxbury 
about 1703, and was a brother of Col. Richard Grid- 
ley, the famous engineer during the Revolutionary 
war. It has been a source of dispute as to where 
he died. ‘Tudor, in his life of Otis, says he was a 
Boston inhabitant and died there. Dr. Eliot, in his 
biography, says he died in Boston, and further, ‘ that 
his legal knowledge was unquestionable,” and adds that 
‘“he died poor because he despised wealth.” 

The records of the town of Brookline say he died 


there Sept. 10, 1767, aged sixty-four years. He 





SS 
a i 
wr = as 
oo 
«a ae Bey, 
Pets 
ws 7H 





_ 





GG Ft 


BROOKLINE. 


887 





—__——- 


was a graduate of Harvard College, 1725. In 1731, he | Mr. Gridley was a prominent member of the 


became editor of the Rehearsal, a weekly newspaper | 
First Lodge, May 11, 1748, and its Grand Master 


He was also engaged as an 


published in Boston. 


assistant in the grammar school in that town. He | 


studied theology and became a preacher of the gos- 

pel ; afterwards studied law, and became one of the | 
most distinguished lawyers of his day. He had a 

very accurate and extensive knowledge of his profes- | 
sion, of great ability, an easy and graceful writer, | 
and was fully imbued with the spirit of classical lit- 
erature. He had a very extensive and well-selected 
library of classical works, and was familiar with their 


contents. He acquired a great reputation in his pro- 
fession, and is now alluded to as the “‘ Webster of his 
day.” He had a powerful, clear, and discriminating 
mind. Asa speaker, he was exceedingly rough, un-— 


graceful, hesitating in his manner, but energetic and | 
impressive in his peculiarly emphatic use of language, 
and when addressing the court his manner is said to 
have been rather magisterial than otberwise. 
The records of Brookline bear witness of the fre-— 
quency with which her citizens called him into posi- 
tions of trust and importance, and from 1755 to the | 
year of his death he was often moderator of their 
town-meetings, and was their representative to the | 
General Court in 1755-57 and 1767. He was | 
elected selectman and assessor in 1760-61 and 1767. 


He was also one of the committee having in charge 
the Edward Devotion fund, left for the schools of the | 
town of Brookline. 


In 1742 he was chosen attorney-general of the 
province for one year, and in 1767 he was appointed 
to the same office by the Governor and Council. 


Besides his civil offices, he was a colonel in the | 
First Massachusetts Militia, which included Brook- | 
line. 


In 1743 the American Magazine and Historical 
Chronicle was started, and it is said Mr. Gridley was — 
the editor. 

His eminence in his profession rendered his office 
a favorite place of resort for students, and some of | 
the most distinguished lawyers in Massachusetts re- 
ceived their professional education under his instruc- | 
tion, among whom may be mentioned Chief Justice | 
Pratt, James Otis, Oxenbridge Thacher, and William | 
Cushing. 

Mr. Gridley was ranked with the Whig party of | 
that day, but having argued the cause of Writs of 
Assistance, he lost the confidence of his political 
friends. 

John Adams was presented to the court at Boston 
for admission to the bar, and, on the motion of Mr. 
Gridley and his recommendation, he was admitted. 


Masonic fraternity, having been a Master in the 


Oct. 11, 1754. 

Mr. Gridley was a man of fine social qualities, and 
beloved by all those connected with him by social or 
domestic ties. 





CAPT. RUFUS GEORGE FREDERICK CANDAGE. 


Capt. Rufus George Frederick Candage, the sub- 


_ ject of this sketch, was the son of Samuel Roundy 


and Phebe Weir (Parker) Candage, born in Blue Hill, 


| Me., July 28,1826. The name of Candage was orig- 


inally “Cavendish,” and later ‘‘ Candish,” and now 
Candage. Among the early settlers of Massachu- 
setts we find John Candage a ship-carpenter and 
landed proprietor at Charlestown, Mass., in 1660, 
afterwards at Marblehead, Salem, and Lynn, in all of 
At Marblehead, 
Mass., in 1691, Thomas Candage was engaged in the 
All of this name are descendants 
of the early name of Cavendish, of good old English 
blood. In 1766, James Candage, Jr., first settled in 
Blue Hill, Me. His father, James, and wife, Eliza- 


which towns this name appears. 


fishery business. 


_ beth, soon followed, in 1769, and took up his residence 
| at that place. 


James, Jr., was born May 9, 1753; married Han- 


_nah (born Aug. 4, 1753), daughter of John Roundy, 


who also settled at Blue Hill in 1762. He died in 
1818; she died in March, 1851. He, with Joseph 
Wood, and their families, all of Beverly, Mass., 
became the first white settlers of Blue Hill. The 
children of James, Jr., and Hannah (Roundy) Can- 
dage were: (1) Elizabeth, born Sept. 16, 1775; (2) 
Gideon, born March 17, 1778, died Oct. 26, 1782; 
(3) Samuel Roundy, born Jan. 15,1781; Phebe Weir 
Parker; (4) Gideon, born Aug. 18,1783; (5) Sarah, 


_ born Jan. 4, 1786; (6) James, born April 30,1788, 


died Aug. 1, 1798; (7) Azor, born April 8, 1791; 
(8) John, born Dec. 21, 1793, died Dec. 20, 1798. 
Samuel Roundy Candage, the father of Capt. Can- 
dage, married, Feb. 29, 1816, Phebe Weir, daughter 
of Simeon and Mary (Perkins) Parker, and grand- 
daughter of Hon. Oliver Parker, of Castine, Me., a 
judge of the Court of Common Pleas from 1800 to 
1815, who was a native of Worcester, Mass., 1728. 
The children of this marriage were: (1) Simeon 


| Parker, born Nov. 21, 1816, died Dec. 31, 1842; lost 
_at sea; (2) John Walker, born March 15, 1818, died 
| April 20, 1822; 
' 1819, died at Fortune Island, one of the Bahamas, 


(3) James Roundy, born April 8, 


888 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Nov. 14, 1856; (4) Samuel Parker Brooks, born 
Jan. 
Parker, born Oct. 26, 1822, died Jan. 30,1878; (6) 
Dorothy Perkins, born Feb. 16, 1825, died Aug. 28, 
1826; (7) Rufus George Frederick, born July 28, 
1826; (8) Samuel Franklin, born Jan. 21, 1828, 
died May 7, 1863, at Honolulu, Sandwich Islands ; 
(9) John Brooks, born June 24,1829, died July 23, 
1870, at Australia; (10) Mary Perkins, born Aug. 


25, 1821, died Sept. 1, 1826; (5) Robert | 


12, 1831, died Sept. 4, 1831; (11) Hannah Roundy, 


born Aug. 12, 1831, died Sept. 4, 1831; 
Charles Edward, born April 20, 1833, died April 14, 
1862, at Honolulu, Sandwich Islands. The father 
died Dee. 23, 1852. 


the only one living. Seven of these children grew to 
manhood, and became commanders of vessels in the 
merchant service. Capt. R. G. F. Candage married, 
first, Elizabeth Augusta, born Jan. 17, 1829, daughter 
of Elijah, Jr., and Mary (Richards) Corey, of Brook- 
line, Mass., May 1, 1853. The wife died Nov. 18, 


1871. , He married, second, Ella M., daughter of | 


Benjamin and Sarah K. (Hall) White, of Revere, 
Mass., May 22, 1873. Children: (1) George Fred- 
erick Candage, born May 25,1874; (2) Ella Augusta 
Candage, born Nov. 1,1875; (3) Phebe Teresa Can- 
dage, born Oct. 12,1877: (4) Robert Brook Can- 
dage, born Dec. 23, 1878; (5) Sarah Hall Candage, 


vv, 


born Dec. 25, 1880, deceased; (6) Sarah Caroline | 


Candage, born Feb. 2, 1882. 
Capt. Candage passed the first twelve years of his 
life on his father’s farm and in tending the saw-mill 


near by, attending school three months in the sum- 


Upon | 


mer and two or three months in the winter. 
arriving at the age of twelve, his father requiring his 
services in the mill and on the farm, he had to con- 
tent himself with three months’ schooling in the 
year for five years, to which were added two terms in 


(12) 


The mother died Oct. 2, 1850. | 
Of this large family, the subject of this notice is | 








a cargo of paving-blocks. This was at the age of 


twenty-four. From thence he commenced on foreign 
voyages, the first being to Valparaiso, Chili, Jan. 18, 
1851. 

He has made three voyages around the world; 
eight voyages round Cape Horn to the westward, and 
five to the eastward, making thirteen times both ways 
that he has doubled that cape. He has made several 
voyages to San Francisco, three to Callao and the 
Chinchas, three to China, two to Australia, three to 
In all he has sailed over three hundred 
thousand miles of ocean. 

The following vessels are some he has sailed in: 
Sloops, ‘‘ Fame,” “ Pink,” and “ Credit ;’ schooners, 
‘“‘ Passamaquoddy,”’ “ Edward,” ‘“‘ Zodiac,” and “ Zu- 
lette;” half-brigs, ‘‘ Curagoa,” ‘ Delhi,” ‘ Tavella,” 
and ‘* Hquator ;” square-rigged brig, “ Pioneer ;” bark, 


India, ete. 


‘Chesapeake ;” ships, “ Kentucky,” “Java,” ‘“ Towa,” 
“ Hoogly,” ‘ Wizard,” “ Jamestown,” “ Electric 
Spark,” and ‘“ National Eagle.” 

The ports visited and voyages made by Capt. Can- 
dage during his quarter of a century of sea-life are as 
follows : 

Ports in Maine —Blue Hill, Orland, Calais, East- 
port, Hast Thomaston, St. George, Boothbay, Port- 
land, ete., and Portsmouth, N. H. 

Ports in Massachusetts.—Gloucester, Salem, Dan- 
vers, Beverly, Boston. 

Other Ports in United States.—New York, Phila- 
delphia, Baltimore, Alexandria, Va., Hampton Roads, 
Norfolk, Charleston, 8S. C., Mobile, and New Orleans, 
and Sisal, in Yucatan. 

Ports in the West Indies.—Bermuda, St. Martin, 
Cardenas, Cuba, Kingston, Falmouth, and Montego 


| Bay, Jamaica. 


the Blue Hill Academy, and that completed his early | 


education. His father having been a mariner in his 
early life, and all his older brothers following the sea, 
he chose the same occupation, and determined on 
seeing the world. When he arrived at eighteen he 
started on his career for life as a mariner, sailing 
between Boston and ports of Maine, and gradually 
going farther from home, all along the whole coast of 
the United States, visiting all the principal ports. We 
soon find our young friend engaging in longer voyages, 
and to foreign countries, and in course of time his old 
friends built a vessel for him, a brig, named the 
‘““Kquator.” It was while at home at this time that 
his mother died quite suddenly. The first voyage of 
our young captain was from Blue Hill to Boston, with 


Mediterranean Ports.—Gibraltar, Malaga, Port 
Mahon. 

European Ports.—Cork, Liverpool, London, Leith, 
Neweastle, Shields, Glasgow, ete., Cherbourg, and 
Havre. 

South American Ports.—Rio de Janeiro, Monte- 
video, Valparaiso, Callao, and Chincha Islands, Pisco. 

Northwest Coast of America.—San_ Francisco, 
Port Townsend, Port Ludlow, and Port Gamble, 
Puget Sound. 

Oceanica.—Sandwich Island, Baker’s Island, and 
in Australia, Adelaide and Melbourne. 

China.—Shanghai, Tsung-Ming, Woo-Sung, Hong- 
Kong, Whampoa, Canton. 

India.—Angie, Java, Calcutta, and Bombay. 

Many of these ports were visited several times. 
The last voyage made at sea as commander was in 
the ship ‘“ National Hagle,’ of which he was part 








BROOKLINE. 


889 





owner, arriving in Boston from Liverpool, England, 
in May, 1867. He gave up seafaring life and_be- 
came a resident of Brookline, June 1, 1867, where 
he now resides. 

Capt. Candage has frequently been elected to fill 
offices of trust and responsibility, and still holds 
several public positions. 
of Doric Lodge, F. and A. M., New York City, 1853 ; 


He was elected a member | 


| 


member of American Shipmasters’ Association, 1861 ; _ 


Boston Marine Society, 1867; president of the same, 


1883. The same year was treasurer of Boston Fire- | 


Brick and Clay Retort Manufacturing Company. In 


1873 elected president of the same; 1868, marine 


inspector of the “ Record of American and Foreign 
Shipping.” 
spector by the Boston Board of Marine Underwriters ; 
held that office ten years. 
of the school committee of Brookline for five years 
(three years chairman) ; also trustee of Public Library. 


The same year appointed marine in-_ 


In 1871 chosen member | 


In 1872 elected assessor of town of Brookline, and | 


declined. in 1876, one of the managers of Boston 
Port and Seaman’s Aid Society ; resigned in 1883. 
In 1877 was elected a member of the New England 
Historic Genealogical Society ; regent of the Saga- 
more Council, Royal Arcanum, of Brookline. In 
1880-82, selectman of Brookline. In 1881, treas- 
urer of Boston Seaman’s Bethel Relief Society, and 
president of Boston Terra Cotta Company ; president 
of Massachusetts Safety Fund Association. In 1882- 
83, representative to the General Court from Brook- 
line; was on Committee on Harbors and Public Lands, 
and Committee on Rules. In December, 1882, he was 
appointed surveyor for the Bureau Veritas of Paris, 


surance Company of Boston. In March, 1884. he 
was elected assessor of the town of Brookline. 


COL. THOMAS ASPINWALL. 


Col. Thomas Aspinwall, the son of Dr. William and 
Susanna (Gardner) Aspinwall, was born on the old 
‘« Aspinwall homestead,” in Brookline, Mass.,—which 
has been in that family since 1650,—May 23, 1786. 
He received his early education at the common 
schools of that town, and fitted for college at Leicester 
Academy. He entered Harvard College as a sopho- 
more in 1801, in the same class with his brother, Dr. 
William Aspinwall, Jr., who became a physician, but 
died when a young man, in 1818. He took his 
degree of A.B. in 1804, and received the high honor 
of Latin salutatory at commencement. Three years 
later he delivered the Latin oration on receiving the 
degree of A.M. Immediately upon graduating he 
entered the law-office of William Sullivan, Esq., in 
Boston, and in due time was admitted to the Suffolk 
bar, and became the law partner of Mr. Sullivan. 

It was about this time he became a member of the 
‘“‘Tndependent Cadets’ of Boston. This corps was in 
constant training, as war had been threatened long 


_ before 1812. Immediately after Madison’s war procla- 


France, for district of Massachusetts and Rhode Is- | 


land. 
ernor Long was to appoint Capt. Candage a justice of 
the peace ; 1883, president of the Boston Marine 
Society. 


He has always been interested in matters of public | 


In January, 1883, the last official act of Gov- | 


| 


improvements, and in the general welfare of the com- | 


munity, having often presided as moderator of town- 
meetings, chairman of the Republican town com- 


_ storming of the British intrenchments. 


mittee for eight years, and being a member of the | 


Republican State Central Committee from Second 


Norfolk District, beside delegate to many State, | 


Congressional, county, councillor, and senatorial con- 
ventions. 


In 1877-79 he was W. M. of Beth-Horan Lodge of | 


F. and A. M., of Brookline, and since that time 
Being a member of the Baptist Church, 
he has held several offices in the same. 


Chaplain. 
He is now a 
member of the Thursday Literary Club. For seven 
years he has been a director of the Franklin Fire In- 





mation was issued, Col. Aspinwall, who was then adju- 
tant with the rank of captain, applied for a commis- 
sion in the army of the United States, and was soon 
appointed a major of the Ninth Regiment of Infantry, 
which he was largely instrumental in recruiting and 
With this regi- 
ment he entered the service, and served his country 


in its efficiency of training exercise. 


manfully, faithfully, and gallantly. He was in several 
actions. He was at Sackett’s Harbor in 1813, and for 
his bravery there he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel. 
On the 10th of August, 1814, when the British 
assaulted Fort Erie, Col. Aspinwall commanded 
‘“‘Scott’s Brigade,” and on the memorable 17th-of 
September following he led Miller’s column at the 
It was on 
this occasion that he lost bis left arm. 

The volunteers of the year 1813 from what are 
now the four Bridgewaters, Haston, Stoughton, Can- 


_ton, and Sharon, all enlisted in Col. Aspinwall’s 


regiment, and whenever any of the soldiers talked 
over the matters of the battles of that year and Col. 
Aspinwall’s name was mentioned, their countenances 
would brighten, and all bore ample testimony to his 
bravery as a soldier and to his great ability as an 
officer. He outlived all the soldiers in his command. 

It is said that at the battle of Sackett’s Harbor the 


890 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





British troops were veterans, and that, knowing Col. | 
Aspinwall’s regiment and the other regiments were 
new levies, they determined to frighten them from 
their position taken in some new log barracks in an 
open space near the town, and for that purpose the 
British troops marched up to the new levies and made | 
desperate efforts to dislodge them, and the battle was 
fought for more than an hour by a portion of both | 
armies discharging their muskets in each other’s faces. 
During this action neither Col. Aspinwall nor his men | 
budged an inch. ‘The stentorian voice of their leader 
could be heard encouraging his men amid the roar of 
musketry almost in his face and eyes. 

Peace was soon after declared, the army was re- 
duced, but Col. Aspinwall was tendered a permanent 
position ; but considering the life of a soldier in time 
of peace an indolent life, and the only service being 


on the frontier, he decided to retire to active civil 
life. 
turned to the practice of his profession. 


He therefore resigned his commission and re- | 


Soon after he had re-established himself he was | 
appointed consul and agent of claims at London, in 
June, 1815, and immediately entered upon the duties 
of that consulate January Ist following. He con- 
tinued to perform the duties of that office with exem- | 


plary fidelity and to the acceptance of all whose duties | 
required his agency, until the 2d day of August, 1853, 
when President Franklin Pierce called him home 
without assigning any reason, but which really was 
to make room for one of his political friends. During 
the interval of time in which he was in office it was | 


pleasant to mark the universal respect and cordial | 
good will which existed towards him. 

In 1854 he returned to America and took up his | 
residence in Boston, where he resided till his death. 
Previous to his leaving London, Messrs. Baring | 
Brothers & Company, George Peabody, Nathan Meyer, | 
Rothschild & Sons, and thirty-three other firms and 
individuais presented Col. Aspinwall a token of their 
regard and respect in an elegant service of plate, ac- 


companied by the following letter : 


‘“ Dear Sir,—Having been informed that you are about to 
return to your native country, we cannot allow you to depart 
without offering you the expression of our sincere esteem and 
regard ; and we avail ourselves of the occasion to tender you 
our best thanks for your uniform courtesy and kindness in all 
our intercourse with you during a long period, in which you 


have filled the important post of consul-general in this city. 


“You have administered the arduous duties of your office 
with dignity, ability, and integrity unimpeached; you have 
lent a willing and patient attention to appeals for relief in all 
cases of distress, granting freely ycur counsel and your money, 
inviting others to aid you when needful. Wishing to mark our 
sense of your merits and of the efficiency with which you have 


discharged your duties by some lasting memorial, we request 


your acceptance of a service of plate; and permit us at the 
same time to offer our best wishes for the future health and 


_ happiness of yourself and of your family. 


“ Lonpon, December, 1853.” 


Col. Aspinwall was not only a venerable patriot 
and learned in military science, but was well versed 


_in the history of the country, and was always ready 


to communicate his information to others. He was 


an active and useful member of the Massachusetts 


Historical Society, having been elected a correspond- 
ing member during his residence in London, in July, 


| 1835, and soon after his return home, in 1855, he was 


chosen a resident member. At the time of his death 


| he had been connected with this society longer than 


any other member. He served the society on the 
standing committee for four years, and was one of the 
publishing committee during the publishing of three 
volumes of their collections. 
from 1862 to 1870. During his resident member- 


ship he made valuable contributions to the collections 


He was vice-president 


_of the society, such as the papers on the Narragan- 


sett Patent, and on William Vassall, also his tribute 


_to his much cherished friend, Gen. Winfield Scott, 


on the occasion of his death. 
In the ninth and tenth volumes of the fourth series 


of the society’s collections may be found a large col- 


lection of valuable material gathered during his resi- 
dence in England, entitled ‘The Aspinwall Papers,” 
which will ever keep his name in fresh remembrance 
These 
were edited and annotated after he had reached his 


in the minds of his friends and the public. 


eighty-fifth year. 

Upon the breaking out of the Rebellion in 1861 
he tendered his services to Gen. Scott, at the age of 
seventy-five, which were not accepted, but during the 
progress of the war he ever manifested a lively in- 
terest in, and kept himself informed of, all that was 
going on,-—the movement of the armies, ete. 

The following resolution was passed by the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society in testimony of the respect 


| with which he was regarded by that learned body : 


4 

“« Resolved, That in the death of the venerable Thomas Aspin- 
wall this society has lost one of its oldest and most respected 
members, to whom we are indebted for important and valuable 
services, and whose memory is worthy of being cherished as 
that of a gallant soldier in his youth, a faithful publie servant 
abroad in his manhood, and a useful and patriotic citizen at 


| home in his more advanced years.” 


In January, 1873, Col. Aspinwall’s health began to 
give way to infirmity, although he was seen daily on 
the streets of Boston for exercise, but recognizing 
scarcely any one outside of his family, and remember- 


ing but little or nothing of things of the past. 


His sickness was but of a short duration, only four 














BROOKLINE. 


891 





days and a half was he confined to his bed. His last 
hours were so calm and peaceful that one could hardly 
notice when he breathed his last. He died on Friday, 


the 11th day of August, 1876, at his residence, 33 | 


Hancock Street, Boston, aged ninety years, two 
months, and nineteen days. His funeral took place 
at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, in Brookline, on 


Monday following his death, at four o'clock in the 


afternoon. The church was well filled with relatives 
and friends from Boston and elsewhere, and by prom. 


inent citizens of the town generally. 


The funeral services were conducted by the Rev. | 





J. G. Littell, of Wilmington, Del., in the absence of | 


the pastor. 


service at the church the body, which was placed in | 


an elegant casket, was taken in charge by the follow- 
ing pall-bearers: Hon. George Tyler Bigelow, ex- 


Maj.-Gen. H. W. Benham, United States army ; Hon. 


| in their commendations. 


Josiah Quincy, Hon. Leverett Saltonstall, Amos A. 


Lawrence, Esq., and Samuel S. Shaw, Esq. 


The remains are in the family lot in “ Walnut | 


Hills’’ Cemetery, Brookline. 


DR. WILLIAM ASPINWALL. 


here be remembered that the first course of anatom- 
ical lectures ever given in this country were delivered 
only four years previous to that time, in that city, by 
Dr. William Shippen. The following certificate from 
Dr. Shippen shows the estimation of the ability of 
Dr. Aspinwall : 

“This may Certify, that Mr. William Aspinwall has attended 
with uncommon diligence my course of Lectures on Anatomy 


and Surgery, also my course of midwifery, which, added to his 
close attention to all the other medical lectures, and to the prac- 


| tice of the Pennsylvania Hospital, has amply fitted him to 


practice physic, surgery, and midwifery with credit and repu- 
tation. 
irreproachable conduct since his arrival in Philadelphia, to be 


I can with pleasure add, that he promises fair, by his 


° : | in every other respect a useful and agreeable member of society. 
Immediately upon the conclusion of the | ee) sf een he Seeks ya a : ba 


“PHILADELPHIA, 27 May, 1769.” 


Professors Kuhn and Morgan are no less explicit 
The following certificate of 


chief justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts ; _ Professor William Bond also confirms the foregoing 


opinions, after Mr. Aspinwall’s attendance upon his 
course of clinical lectures : 


“He has, on these and many other occasions, given me so 
many proofs of his capacity, assiduity, and improvement in the 
healing arts, that I with pleasure give him this testimonial of 
my esteem and affection ; and do hereby recommend him, on my 
good faith, to the publick, as a judicious young physician and 


| surgeon, who has taken indefatigable pains in acquiring a 


The subject of this notice was the son of Thomas — 
_turned to his native town, and immediately com- 


and Joanna (Gardner) Aspinwall, born in Brookline, 
May 23, 1743, on the farm where five generations of 


the name have lived, which building is now standing, | 


and is owned by one of the Aspinwall family, a name-— 


sake of the doctor. 
distance from the spot where Peter the ancestor 
resided for a short time during the building of this 


The old house is but a short | 


knowledge of the different branches of his profession.” 


Having completed his course of medical studies 
and attendance on lectures in Philadelphia, he re- 


menced a course of successful practice at the age of 
twenty-six, which soon extended far and wide, often 
requiring a journey of forty miles to visit his patients. 
These he usually performed on horseback, carrying 


_ his medicines in saddle-bags,—a custom in early days, 


house, and is on an avenue named in honor of the | 


family. Dr. Aspinwall fitted for college under the 
direction of Rev. Amos Adams, pastor of the “ First 


Church in Roxbury,” entered college in 1760, and | 


graduated in 1764, receiving his degrees of Master | 


and Bachelor of Arts in their usual order. Among his | 


classmates we may mention Bishop Parker, Governor 
Strong, of Massachusetts, and Shearjashub Bourne, 
a member of Congress. Immediately upon leaving 
college, having decided on the medical profession as 
one for which he had a decided preference, he entered 
the office of, and pursued his studies with, the justly 


and highly-celebrated Dr. Benjamin Gale, of Killing- 


worth, Conn., completing his education at the hospital — 


in Philadelphia, where he received the degree of 
doctor of medicine in the University of Pennsylvania 
about 1768. 
tures in that city in the winter of 1768-69. 


He attended a course of medical lec- 


Tt will | 


when apothecary-shops were not as numerous as they 
are to-day. 

At the breaking out of the war of the Revolution 
an enthusiastic impulse seized upon the doctor to such 
a degree that all personal and professional considera- 
tions were lost or forgotten in that all-absorbing and 
patriotic sentiment which had led thousands to rally 
to the country’s rescue. Being young, ardent, and 
patriotic, he went with the Brookline men, “ not 
standing on the order of their going,’ not by the 
road, but by the shortest way, as the bee flies, across 
fields, jumping fences, and over the river, and were 
soon in Cambridge, and joined those who saw the 
enemy safe in Charlestown. In the skirmish at Cam- 
bridge the doctor was actively engaged in the combat. 
In this skirmish Capt. Isaac Gardner was _ killed, 
On 
Dr. Aspinwall’s return to Cambridge, he sought and 
found the body of Capt. Gardner, and had it carried 


pierced by twelve bullets and bayonet wounds. 


892 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





from the field to his afflicted family, which consisted 
of a wife and eight children. Dr. Aspinwall early 


| 
| 


applied for a commission in the army, but his personal | 


friend, Dr. Joseph Warren, afterwards Maj.-Gen. 


finally decided to serve his country in the medical 
department. He was appointed surgeon in Gen. 
Heath’s brigade, and very soon became deputy di- 
rector in the hospital at Jamaica Plain. 

His appointment as surgeon of the hospital at 


Roxbury by the Congress of the colony of Massa- 


chusetts Bay bears the autograph of James Warren, | 


president, and is dated at Watertown, June 28, 1775. 
On the 19th day of August, 1775, he was surgeon 
to St. Thomas’ Hospital, otherwise known as ‘“‘ Amer- 
ican Hospital.” 

The deep personal interest which he took in the 
war between the two nations acting upon a mind 
deeply imbued with a sense of his country’s wrongs, 


gave strength and tone to his sentiments that were | 


of immense value to him in the later part of his life. 


Dr. Aspinwall’s language on political subjects was | 
oD fo) 


bold and strong, his creed being that of a Democratic- 
Republican. In the unhappy scenes of party excite- 
ment he not only unwaveringly adhered to what he 
deemed original and fundamental principles, but he 
aimed to preserve a good conscience, and to do jus- 
tice to the honest opinions, the pure motives, and un- 
doubted integrity of his opponents. He was not a 
political persecutor, and when he was in the councils 
of the State resolutely declined acting with his coad- 
jutors, who were disposed to drive from office incum- 
bents whose only fault was what they deemed politi- 
cal heresy. 

Soon after the death of Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, also 
a native of Brookline, that eminent and distinguished 
physician and first inoculator of smallpox in America, 
Dr. Aspinwall established himself in that undertaking, 
and erected hospitals for that purpose on his own 
estate, one of which has been standing within the 


One of 


memory of a person now living in this town. 


these pest-hospitals was on the left-hand side of As- | 
| ready to conclude that it is a mild species of smallpox, hitherto 


pinwall Avenue, between Toxteth Street and the rail- 


road bridge. Another was near to the corner of Perry | 


Street and the same avenue. He was very success- 
ful in his treatment of cases of this disorder, and his 
fame soon spread to a great distance. His practice 
was the inoculation of the genuine article of small- 
pox virus, so as to bring about the disease by desigh, 


and have it treated scientifically, instead of awaiting 


in expectation of receiving it, and being in constant 
dread and fear of the contagion. Probably there was 


no physician in the United States who had inocu- 


lated so many persons as Dr. Aspinwall, and no one 
who had acquired such a celebrity in the treatment 
of this malignant disease. In 1788 the doctor was 


allowed to keep an open hospital by vote of the town, 
Warren, dissuaded him from this pursuit, and he 





inoculation by Dr. Waterhouse, of Cambridge. 


as appears by the following: 


“Voted, that Doet® William Aspinwall have Liberty and he 
is hereby Granted Liberty to continue Inoculating with the 
Small Pox as Usual.” 

To this hospital large numbers resorted, and from 
which they returned with warm expressions of satis- 
faction. 

Dr. Aspinwall continued in the successful treat- 
ment of this disease till the introduction of vaccine 
He 


had made ample accommodation for an enlarged prac- 


‘ 


tice, and established what might have been justly 
deemed a sure foundation for prosperity when vac- 
cine inoculation was first introduced. He well knew 
that if vaccination possessed the virtues ascribed to it 
his schemes of fortune and usefulness arising from in- 
oculation were at an end, he should be involved in a 
loss, and his anticipations of a fortune be blasted. But 
asan honest man and faithful physician, he deemed it 
his duty to inquire into the efficacy of the novel sub- 
stitute. With the utmost alacrity, therefore, he gave 
the experiment a fair trial, promptly acknowledged 
its efficacy, and relinquished his own establishment. 
An article published in the Medical Intelligencer 
from Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse well illustrates the 
honesty of Dr. Aspinwall, which is as follows: 


“The late Dr. Aspinwall, a man of great sagacity, and un- 
commonly well grounded in the principles of his profession, 
gave evidence of it on the first sight of a vaccine pustule. I 
had invited all the elder physicians of Boston and the vicinity 
of Cambridge to see the first vaccine pustules ever raised in the 
New World. 
usual eruption on the skin; all but Dr. Aspinwall, whose atten- 


They gave them the ordinary inspection of an un- 


tion was riveted on the pustule, its areola and efflorescence. He 
came a second time, and viewed the inoculated part in every 
light, and reviewed it, and seemed loath to leave the sight of 
it. 
edly, ‘This pustule is so like smallpox, and yet it is not small- 


He seemed wrapped in serious thought, and said repeat- 


pox, that, should it, on seabbing, take out a part of the true 
skin, so as to leave an indelible mark or pit behind, I shall be 


unknown here.’ 

“He had been in the habit of examining the smallpox pimple 
and pustule through glasses, to see if it had taken, and he re- 
marked that they were peculiar, unique, and unlike any erup- 
tion he ever saw, but this kine pock came the nearest to them. 
Some time after I gave him a portion of the virus, to make his 
own experiments and observe the progress of its inoculation 
and coincidence of the constitutional symptoms, when he ob- 
served that its progress, febrile affection, and mode of scabbing 
were very dike smallpox, and so of the indelible mark left on 
the arm, yet throughout the whole visible affection different. 
To crown the whole of his honorable conduct, he, some time 
after, took all those of my family whom I had vaccinated into 








BROOKLINE. 


893 





his smallpox hospital, the only licensed one in the State, and 
there tested them to his satisfaction, and one to the verge of | 
rigid experiment, and then he said to me and to others, ‘This | 
Asa man of humanity | 
T rejoice in it, although it will take from me a handsome annual 


new inoculation of yours is no sham. 


income.’ 
superior intelligence, generosity, and honor as to excite my es- 


His conduct throughout was so strongly marked with 


teem and respect, and [ accordingly dedicate this effusion of 
gratitude to the memory of the Hon. William Aspinwall, M.D., 
a gentleman, respectable in public life as a counselor, and an | 


honor to his profession as a physician.” 


Of Dr. Aspinwall’s religious life it may with truth 


be said he was always religious, and at an early age 


made a public profession of religion, and was always 





present at public worship, unless professional duties 
prevented. He was ever ready to impart religious as 
well as medical counsel at the bed of sickness, and for 
his holy faith he always had the most profound respect. | 
Under bereavement, infirmity, or sickness, his religious 
principles yielded him firm support and buoyed him 
above the vicissitudes of life. During a confinement | 
of several of the last years of his life, when deprived 
of his sight, the religion of Jesus Christ was his sup- 
port and consolation. It was the theme of bis dis- 
course, and he considered his testimony in its favor 


the best legacy he could leave to his children. 
Dr. Aspinwall was endowed with a strong intellect | 
and a resoluteness that shrunk from no labor or duty. 
He was an example of perseverance amidst untoward 
circumstances and of accommodating them to his pe- 
culiar situation. To young physicians his example | 
holds out encouragement, that economy, integrity, | 
constant industry, and unremitting study of his pro- 
fession will finally succeed, and brine reputation and 
competence. few men in any profession have sacri- 
ficed so small a portion of their lives to pleasure or 
to inaction as he. His was a life of incessant toil. 
As an instance of his devotion to his professional 
business is the following anecdote by a friend. One 
day, on returning home from a round of visits, he 
found at his table one of his college mates, whom he | 
had not seen since they were at Cambridge together, | 


In 


the midst of their delightful intercourse a message 


and whom he could probably never meet again. 


came for Dr. Aspinwall to visit a sick person ten miles 

distant. 

his friend, mounted his horse, and hastened away. 
Says one who knew him well,— 


Without the least delay he took leave of | 


“T have a clear recollection of my terror when, sixty-four | 
years ago, a very old man, with but one eye,—he seemed to be 
a very old man, though he was but fifty then,—came towards 
me, with a little glittering weapon in his hand, as I sat in my 


nurse’s lap. 


Thad the promise of a cake of gingerbread if I , 
behaved well, and so I sat still and suffered him to make a | 
I had been carried from Boston to 

Brookline to be inoculated for the smallpox at the hospital — 


little incision in my arm. 


| and deprived him of his sight. 


there, and there we were to remain for several weeks, until the 
affair was well over, when, after having been thoroughly smoked 
and purified, we were again to go forth into the world. 

“These associations were but short-lived, however, for this 
old man with but one eye really seemed to see farther into the 
hearts of little people than most of people who have two, and 
to have a master-key to their very souls. He carried me in his 
arms about his farm, and showed me his calves and pigs and 
poultry ; told me some very pleasant stories, and gave mea 
puppy; in short, I became so fond of him that I asked my 
mother to say to him that he might inoculate me as often as 
he had a mind to; and when at last the time of our departure 
arrived, and we had been smoked all around, and he kissed me 
as he put me into the carriage, I bawled out loud; and I truly 
believe the good old gentlemen was gratified by this unmistaka- 
ble evidence of my affection.” 


He further adds: 


“My recollections of Brookline do not quadrate with its pres- 
ent appearance; my reminiscences of it are of groves, and lawns, 
and orchards, and some noble elms around the preparatory, as 
it was called,—more trees and fewer houses. 

‘“Upon the whole, my recollections of Brookline and of my 
residence at the hospital are very pleasant, and the impression 
of all Tsaw and heard must have been forcibly made; for by 
the assistance of a sort of Swedenborgian memory I can get up 
a very respectable resurrection of Dr. William Aspinwall at any 
time, just as he stood bending benignantly over me sixty-four 
years ago. I must have had rather a severe time of it, for I 


| was blinded by the disease for more than a fortnight; during 


which my principal distress arose from my inability to see my 
new puppy- 
forted me, telling me that I was much better off than he was, for 
in a very few days I should certainly see again as well as before 


The good doctor often sat by my side and com- 


with both of my eyes, but that one of his was closed forever. 
“Dr. Aspinwall was about six feet in height, strongly built, 


| and without any tendency to corpulency, even in his latter 


days. When a boy he entirely lost the use of his right eye 
in a manner which it may be well for young people to compre- 
hend and remember. He had drawn his arrow to the head, 


when the notch escaping from the bow-string, the weapon was 


| forced backward into his right eye, and utterly destroyed that 


But in 
his old age he was even deprived of the sight of the remaining 


organ. When I first saw him his left eye was perfect. 


eye by disease. His powers of vision were undoubtedly im- 
paired by the too excessive use of his only eye, to such an ex- 
tent that it brought on a disease which terminated in a cataract 
A few years previous to his 
death Dr. Nathan Smith, a professor in the medical schoo!s at 
Yale, Dartmouth, and Bowdoin Colleges attempted to remove 
the cataract, but was unsuccessful, and thus the glimmering 


light that remained was totally extinguished. This calamity 


| he endured with that characteristie resignation for which this 
| excellent Christian had ever been remarkable under all and 


every trial of his life. Heconsidered it a merciful dispensation 
in his Maker to suspend his labors and give him leisure and op- 


portunity, which during a very active life he had too seldom 


| enjoyed, for religious reflection and preparation for death. 


By a daily exercise of body and mind he preserved both in 
full vigor. His curiosity about public events and daily oceur- 
rences continued, and some of his last thoughts were upon his 
country, its prosperity, its improvement, its distinguished men, 
its relation with foreign powers. He was anxious that wise and 
good men should bear sway in our land, and that the intel- 
lectual, benevolent, and religious institutions received from our 


forefathers should be perpetuated.” 


894 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





While his professional duties consumed so much of 


his time, he was also not unmindful of what was doing | 


in his native town, the birthplace and place of burial 
of so many of his kindred. He devoted time to its 
interests, and the records of the town abound in evi- 
dence of the respect and confidence reposed in him, 
by electing him to various positions of honor and re- 
sponsibility in the gift of the town. He represented 
the town of Brookline in the State Legislature several 
years, and was thrice elected State senator for Norfolk 
County, beside having been called to advise in the 
Council of the State of Massachusetts. He was so- 
licited to become one of the justices of the Court of 
Common Pleas, but declined the honor, and retired 
from public employment. He was a justice of the 
peace throughout the commonwealth, and member of 
the Massachusetts Medical Society. In each position 
he was faithful to his constituents and to the public 
weal, as well as unwavering in his political creed. 

In 1788, Dr. Aspinwall purchased forty acres of 
land of Benjamin White, including the prominent 
and high hill on the south side of Washington Street, 
upon which he erected the present mansion-house in 
1805, and the same has been occupied by his children 
and grandchildren since his decease, and is now in 
possession of his grandson and namesake, Hon. Wil- 
liam Aspinwall. At the time the doctor purchased 
this estate there were but few houses in sight where 
At the lower 


slope of the hill there formerly stood an old house 


now they may be counted by dozens. 


owned and occupied by Francis Blanchard, the first 
sexton of the “ Brookline Meeting-House,”’ when there 
was but one in the town. 

On the 16th day of April, 1 
rendered all that was near and dear to him on earth 


299 


825, he peacefully sur- 


and departed to dwell in a mansion on high. 


WILLIAM ASPINWALL. 


William Aspinwall, the son of Col. Thomas and 
Louisa Elizabeth (Poignard) Aspinwall, was born in 
London, England, Feb. 16, 1819. Educated 


private boarding-school at Hammersmith, near Lon- 


in a 


don, till nearly fourteen years of age; passed a few | 


months at William Well’s school in Cambridge, Mass. ; 
entered Harvard College August, 1834, graduated 
A.B., 1838; entered the “ Dane” Law School the same 
year ; studied law two years ; took the degree of LL.B.; 
was one year in 
Dexter and George William Phillips; admitted to the 





Portland, Me. (who was a nephew of Rufus King, 
United States senator from Massachusetts, and after- 
wards from New York, and minister to Great Britain). 
Mr. Aspinwall was town clerk of Brookline, 1850 and 
1851 ; representative to the General Court, 1851-52 ; 
delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1853; 
senator from Norfolk County in 1854; trial justice, 
1857-60; resigned in 1860; trustee of the Public 
Library, 1858-75, 1878, 1884; assessor, 1870, re- 
elected 1871, and declined; selectman, 1871-72; 
water commissioner, 1873. 


EDWIN GROVER. 

Edwin Grover, son of Simeon and Abigail (Hagar) 
Grover, was born in Newton, Mass., March 24, 1835. 
His early education was in the public schools of the 
town, Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., and Kim- 
ball Academy, Meriden, N. H., from which he entered 
Harvard College in the class of 1857, from which he 
graduated with high rank. Soon after graduating he 
taught school in Jamaica Plain one year, studied law, 
and was admitted to the bar in May, 1859, and to the 
New York bar in December following. During his 
leisure hours in that city he occupied his leisure time 
writing editorially for the New York Times and the 
Philadelphia Inquirer, and with private pupils. On 
his twenty-fifth birthday, March 24, 1860, he mar- 
ried Anna M., daughter of Thomas and Julia A. 
(Hathaway) Porter, of Lawrence, Mass., formerly of 
Taunton, Mass. In August, 1861, returning to 
Massachusetts, he selected Corey Hill as a place of 


_ residence, on which he erected the first house built on 


that eminence. The place is now owned and occu- 
pied by George F. Fabyan. This place Mr. Grover 
began to occupy in February, 1862, and immediately 
commenced upon the successful practice of his pro- 
fession in Boston. In the early part of 1863 he was 
appointed trial justice for the county of Norfolk, and 
entered upon its duties immediately. He had a large 
and lucrative practice, and enjoyed the confidence of 
the citizens of Brookline and vicinity, and was fast 
gaining in popularity as an able and successful lawyer. 


Among his clients were the extensive boot and shoe 


_ house of I’. and KE. Bachellor & Co., of Boston, for 


'whom he, on the 14th day of December, 1863, 


the law-office of Hon. Franklin | 


started on a journey to the South and West to 
collect and adjust settlements amounting to several 


When at Duvall’s Bluff, 


hundred thousand dollars. 


| Ark., on White River, on his way to Little Rock, he 


Suffolk bar in 1841; became a resident of Brookline | 


in 1847; married, Jan. 11, 1848, Arixene Southgate 
Porter, third daughter of Richard King Porter, of 


| 


was taken suddenly ill with congestion of the liver, 
where, after an illness of three or four days, he died, 
Jan. 29, 1864, on board the steamer “ Polar Star.” 





HYDE PARK. 


895 





CH AP DER LX X. 


HYDE PARK. 


BY EDMUND DAVIS. 


streets and avenues. West of the Boston and Prov- 
idence Railroad the surface again swells into slight 
knolls and elevations, upon which stand many fine 
residences. This portion is known as Sunnyside. 
And still farther beyond this is a considerable tract 


of hilly and rocky territory forming a part of the 


_ rugged, woody wilderness, known as Muddy Pond 


HypE Park lies in the eastern part of the county, 
and is about seven miles from the State-House in 
Boston. It is bounded on the north by the part of | 
Boston which formerly constituted the town of West 
Roxbury, on the east by the part of Boston which — 
was formerly Dorchester, on the southeast and south © 
by Milton, and on the west by Dedham. ‘T'wo lines 
of railroad—the Boston and Providence, and the 
New York and New England—run through it, being 
about one and one-third miles apart where they enter 


the town on the northeast, and gradually approaching 





and crossing each other on the southwest, near the 
Dedham line. There are seven stations within the | 
limits of the town, four on the Boston and Provi- | 
dence Railroad, and three on the New York and 
New England Railroad. The Neponset River flows | 
through the town in a course approximately parallel 
with the railroads, part of the way forming the bound- | 
ary between it and Milton. Mother Brook, a water- 
course partly a stream and partly a canal, leading 
from the Charles River, enters the town on the west 





and empties into the Neponset near the centre of the 
town. Further natural drainage is afforded by a 
small brook running toward the northeast and emp- 
tying into Stony Brook, which has given our neighbors | 
of Boston so much trouble and expense. 


The area of the town is two thousand eight hun- 
dred acres, of which about two hundred acres are 
devoted to streets or ways. This fact argues a pretty 
close settlement, which is, indeed, the case, there being 
twelve hundred and sixty-five houses, containing up- 


wards of eight thousand inhabitants. 


The surface of 
the land is somewhat diversified by hill and plain; | 
enough so to please the eye, without causing much 
inconvenience to road-makers or builders. None of 


the hills are so high that they cannot be easily sur- 


mounted; none of the valleys so low that good drain- 
age cannot be obtained. Between the railroads the | 
surface is for the most part quite level, the beautiful 

little eminence of Mount Neponset being the most 
noticeable exception. Hast of the Neponset River 

the land rises somewhat abruptly, forming Fairmount — 
Heights, the place where the pioneers of this new 
town first founded their homes, and which to-day is 
closely covered with pleasant and in some instances 
elegant residences bordered by wide and well-shaded | 


Woods. These extend far beyond the town limits 
and into Dedham and Boston. ‘They are a favorite 
resort of pleasure-seekers, traversed as they are in all 
directions by numerous wood-roads, and it has been 
well said that, ‘“‘ immersed in this maze of sylvan de- 
lights, one hardly realizes that he is within a few 


miles of the metropolis of New England, and requires 


but little imagination to persuade himself that he is 
among the primeval forests of Maine.” 

Readville is the name of the southeast portion of 
the town, and is for the most part a level plain, not 
so closely built over as the other parts of the town. 
In this section, however, and the territory adjoining 
it, the greater part of the manufactories are located. 
A branch railroad to Dedham Centre leaves the Bos- 
and Providence Railroad here. Towards the 
northeast part of the town, on the same railroad, are 
the pleasant and thriving districts of Hazlewood and 
Clarendon Hill. Opposite the former, at about a 
quarter of a mile’s distance, on a gently rising hill, 
stands the residence of Mr. Henry Grew, the house 


ton 


_ and its grounds on the sloping hillside, backed by the 


forest, forming a charming landscape. Still another 


small village is clustered around the paper-mills of 


Messrs. Tileston & Hollingsworth, at the eastern ex- 
tremity of River Street, and near the River Street 
Station, on the New York and New England Rail- 
road. These several districts, though thus distin- 
guished by distinctive names, are by no means isolated 
and separate villages; one touches upon another, the 
rows of houses continue unbroken, and there is 
nothing in the way of unoccupied territory to mark 
the end of one section or the beginning of another 
The town is compact, and its divisions thoroughly 


_ welded together. 


Hyde Park is a town of to-day, and its history is 
the history of to-day. Incorporated in 1868, any- 
thing which is to be said about it prior to that time 
belongs to the history of those adjoining towns from 
whose territory it was made up. The writer is thus 
deprived of the greater part of that material which 


age in the subject affords. As mists and vapors in 


_the atmosphere lend to the outlines of objects at a 
are 4 . 

distance more graceful and pleasing, and at the same 
time larger and more imposing, proportions, so the 


mists of time constitute media through which the 


896 





men and events of long ago, though indistinct and 
shadowy, seem all the more grand and impressive. 
To the writer of to-day the attributes of his con- 
temporaries are unmistakably human and personal ; 
current events, though interesting, uninvested with 
special significance. It requires the halo of time, 
the attribute of remoteness, to take from any act its 
selfish and personal bearing, and leave alone conspicu- 
ous in it its effect upon subsequent events, and its 
influence upon the weal or woe of individuals or com- 
munities. 
those long since passed away as springing from motives 





The mind loves to contemplate the acts of | 


grander and more prophetic than what we are willing | 


to concede to the actors of our time, and to trace | 


with laborious ingenuity, among the events succeed- 
ing those acts, indications here and there of results 


attributable to the far-sighted energy or self-denying 


sacrifices of the men of yore. We imagine a condi- 
tion of things, material and intellectual, greatly differ- 
ent from that of the present, and in the toils, priva- 
tions, and struggles of our ancestors discern a poetry 
and charm which they, probably, never dreamt of. 
We spiritualize the old, we rigidly keep the new 
down to hard practicality. 

Yet in this brief review of Hyde Park as it is to- 


day, after its short existence of less than a score of | 


years, it will be necessary to go a little beyond its 
corporate life and examine these influences to which 
it owes its being and the circumstances and surround- 
ings which attended its inception. 

One standing to-day upon the top of any of the 
small eminences which diversify the surface of the 
town, may, if the atmosphere is clear, sweep with his 


eye the lower harbor of Boston on the east, the Blue | 


Hills which skirt the horizon in the southeast, the | 


valley of the Neponset to the south glimmering | 


through the green meadows, and to the west and 
north the elevated lands of the neighboring towns, 
while at his feet lie in thick profusion the hundreds 
of houses and miles of streets and avenues which go 
to make up the town of Hyde Park. 
churches, belfries, and tall chimneys of manufactories, 


The spires of 


the smoke of locomotives, and long lines of railways 
arrest the eyes, the hum of travel and traflic rises to 
the ear. 
eight thousand souls is manifest to the senses. 

But far different was the view which awaited the 
anxious vision of the examining committee of pioneers 
in 1856; then, indeed, the hills, the rivers, and the 
high lands were to be seen in the distances, but nearer 


at hand little to mark the presence of man. There 


Everything betokening the presence of | 


was then no considerable village on the line of the | 


Boston and Providence Railroad from Jamaica Plain 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


to the Canton viaduct. The territory between was 
spread over with farms, woodland, and the meadows 
which fill the basin of the upper Neponset. All of 
human habitations in sight were a few farm-houses 
along the road leading from Dedham to Dorchester, 
and the small hamlet around the old cotton-factory at 
Readville. This tract was mostly in a state of nature, 
a great portion of it covered with the pine, the cedar, 
and the birch, with here and there a solitary farm- 
house, surrounded by a small clearing, its occupants 
quietly pursuing their pastoral lives almost within 
sight of the steeples of Boston, and little .dreaming 
of the change which was so soon to come over the 
scenes with which they had been so long familiar. 
The highway leading from Dedham to Dorchester, 
a narrow lane rather than road leading out from this 
highway westerly into West Roxbury—a road from 
Milton to Dedham, and one from this last to a point 
on the Dorchester highway at the old cotton-mill in 
The 
line of railway then called the Midland (now the 
New York and New England Railroad) had suc- 
cumbed to the weight of financial difficulties and was 
not in operation ; the Boston and Providence Rail- 
road had a depot only at Readville, and not more 
than half a dozen trains per day stopped there. 
The cotton-mill at Readville, and the old Sumner 
Mills, which had passed into the hands of Tileston & 
Hollingsworth, were the only manufacturing activities. 


Readville-—-were the only avenues of travel. 


The following extract from an address delivered at 
the first annual banquet of the town officers of Hyde 
Park, March 9, 1872, by the venerable Henry Grew, 
one of the town’s oldest as well as most esteemed 
citizens, presents such a graphic and truthful portrait- 
ure of the condition of things at and shortly before 
the time under consideration as to fully justify its 
insertion here : 


“Having purchased a few acres of land in the summer of 
1846, [ commenced building a house, and moved to this place, 
then a part of Dorchester, on the first day of May, 1847. At 
that time most of this territory was occupied by farmers. 
There were on River Street (the old highway between Dorches- 
ter and Dedham), within a range of a mile ora mile and a half, 
about ten houses, most of them small and occupied by farmers, 
with two exceptions, one a blacksmith and one a wheelwright, 
Also Sumner’s 


, 


with a population not exceeding fifty persons.’ 
mills and a few small tenements occupied by their operatives, 
and a small school-house near the same. *‘ These were the only 
settlements in Dorchester. On the easterly side of the Nepon- 
set River, which was the boundary line between Dorchester and 
Milton (now Fairmount), all was woodland and pasture, the 
first settlement in that part of our town having commenced in 
1855 or 1856. 


forest-trees ; on the northerly side, in West Roxbury, were three 


West of my house was an unbroken range of 


farms. My nearest visiting neighbor was 24 or 5 miles distant. 
I was almost literally surrounded by woods, and my friends in 








HYDE 


PARK. 897 





Boston were much surprised at my going to such a wild and 
lonely place. There was, however, the Boston & Providence 
Railroad, on which cars passed within half a mile of my resi- 
dence, running three times a day each way, to and from Boston. 
There was no station between Forest Hill and Readville; occa- 
sionally the cars stopped at the crossing at West Street to take 
or leave passengers. After a while some of the trains stopped 
at Kenney’s Bridge (now Hyde Park Station), but passengers 
were few, perhaps ten or twelve in the course of a week. No 
house of shelter or station-master. The signal for stopping 
the cars by daylight was made by the turning of a signal 


board by the passenger, and after dark by the swinging of a | 


lantern.” 


The region more particularly described in the fore- 
going address was known in “ ye olden time” as Dor- 
chester Commons, and was used as a common pasture 
for cattle by the inhabitants of that venerable town, 
and was then a wild and wholly uncultivated tract, 


tion of it was embraced in the land granted to Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Stoughton, of Dorchester, in colonial 
times, and referred to by him in his will as “my farm 
which is beyond the Mother Brook.” How far this 
farm extended is now an unsettled question, but un- 
doubtedly it reached beyond the present limits of the 
town southwardly along the Neponset River, and 
through the easterly part of Readville, and probably 


embraced a goodly portion of the Fowl Meadows, that 


sort of land in the early days of the colonies being 
apparently far more prized than upland. The Gover- 
nor had a farm-house somewhere on this farm, but 
where has not been determined. It is believed by 
many to have been on or near the site of the old 
Sprague Manor-house, itself a building dating back 
to near the time of the Revolution. ‘ Dorchester 
Commons” was gradually sold or parceled out into 
farms. In 1846 three of these farms, containing 
about two hundred acres, and including what is now 
the most thickly settled and valuable part of Hyde 
Park, were purchased by three men, who proposed to 
build upon and occupy them. 
erected, one the stone edifice, corner of Gordon 
Avenue and Austin Street, formerly known as the 
Lyman House, lately the residence of Charles A. 
White, and now owned and occupied by Col. Jobn B. 
Bachelder, the Gettysburg historian; the other was 
the old homestead of Gordon H. Nott, whose enter- 


prise and liberality were largely contributory to the | 


early growth of this town. These three individuals 
then sold the remainder of their purchase to the 
Hyde Park Land Company. This company made 


some improvements and disposed of some of its land, | 
The. 


but little was accomplished by it before 1856. 
earliest recorded sale of some one hundred acres of 


the Commons was for five pounds colonial. The above 
57 


Two houses were | 





| cotton-mill there. 
covered with trees, shrubs, and undergrowth. <A por- 


sale to the Hyde Park Land Company was for the 
expressed price of twelve thousand dollars, or about 
sixty dollars per acre. Within the last fifteen years 
considerable parcels of the same land, without build- 
ings, has changed owners for a consideration of 
seventy-five cents per foot, and in two instances for 
one dollar per square foot. 

The portion of the town taken from Dedham was 
formerly known as “the Lower Plains,” a title suf- 
ficiently descriptive of its topographical character- 
istics. Away back a large part of it was owned by 
one Damon, in memory of whom the school-house 
now in that locality received its name. About 1850 


_it was named -by its inhabitants Readville, in honor 


of Mr. Read, who was the principal owner of the 
About this mill were some score 
of houses and tenements; and farther away, but still 
within the district, were perhaps half a dozen other 
residences, among them the homestead of D. L. 
Davis and that of the late William Bullard, both on 
the Milton road, still occupied by the then owners or 
their descendants, and the handsome and, for those 
days, elegant French cottage of William 8. Damrell, 
then member of Congress. This stood, with ample 
and pleasant grounds around it, on a low hill rising 
back from the pond caused by the mill-dam. It is 
now owned and occupied by E. A. Fiske. Mr. Dam- 
rell, as the only Congressman ever resident upon soil 
now included in our town, claims more than a passing 
notice. He was an intense anti-slavery man, bold 
and fearless in the expression of his convictions, a 
warm friend and supporter of Sumner, Banks, Hale, 
and the other foremost champions of human liberty. 
He was of indomitable will, and resolutely attended 
to his public duties during the years immediately 
preceding the Rebellion, although so disabled by 
paralysis of the lower extremities, occasioned by 
lead-poisoning, as to require the assistance of a person 
Three 
of his sons served in the army of the Union during 
the civil war. One died in the service, another died 
after the close of the war from disease contracted in the 
service; the third and only surviving member of the 
family is Maj. A. N. Damrell, Engineer Corps, U.S.A. 

In 1856, the time when the first of those enter- 
prises which caused the growth and development of 
Hyde Park was begun, Readville contained the bulk 
of the population within its limits. 


upon either side to move from place to place, 


Fairmount was the spot selected for the experi- 
ment, and the credit of the first suggestion of, and of 
the greatest activity in pushing forward, the particu- 
lar plan which led to the settlement there must be 
awarded to Alpheus P. Blake. 


898 





He was then a young man, employed in Boston, 


| profit. 


poor in everything but a vigorous brain and iron de- | 
_ pany under the title of “ The Fairmount Land Com- 


termination. His occupation brought him into con- 
tact with others who, like himself, had business in 
the city, and whose means did not permit them to 
procure satisfactory homes for their families there. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





The remainder of the associates, however, to 
the number of twenty, ‘stuck,’ formed a trust com- 


pany and Twenty Associates,” purchased one hundred 
acres off the back part of the farms of the dwellers 


~ upon the Brush Hill road in Milton, and on the 15th 


He conceived the project of forming an association of | 


these men, and, uniting their slender means into a 
common fund, acquiring therewith on more favorable 
terms sufficient land in some one of the outlying 
towns to afford each member ample space for a coun- 
try home at reasonable cost, and within easy access 
to his place of business. Previous to this attempts 
to build up villages on some of the many unoccupied 
fields and hillsides in the region around Boston had 
been frequently made, and generally with entire want 
of success. But in most, if not all, these enterprises 
the lands had been acquired and put upon the market 
by men who looked only to the money profit to them- 
selves, and had no intention of personally being resi- 
dents of the settlements which they tried to incubate. 
Mr. Blake believed and argued that a body of men 
seeking homes for themselves in the spot which they 
might select would deserve and meet with entire suc- 
cess. He personally visited and inspected many lo- 
calities in the suburbs, and was most attracted by the 
possibilities of this vicinity. He desired to secure 
the tract between the Boston and Providence Rail- 
road and the Neponset River, but found this already 
in the possession of men who had so exalted an opin- 
ion of its prospective value as to put their estimate of 
its present worth entirely beyond his means. His at- 
tention was thus, perforce, directed to the hill-slopes 
on the opposite banks of the river. 
getting a reasonable price fixed upon what he wanted, 
and then talked the matter up so well among his 
friends as to effect a formal organization of a number 
of them at a meeting held Sept. 1, 1855, at the resi- 
dence of one of the members on Revere Street, Bos- 
ton. Mr. Blake was made president of the company 
thus formed, and a committee was appointed to ex- 
amine the locality suggested by him. Although the 
Midland Railroad then occupied the location now of 
the New York and New England, it was bankrupt 
and not in operation ; so the investigating committee 
were obliged to go to Mattapan, on a branch of the 
Old Colony Railroad, and thence walk some two 
miles to their destination on Fairmount Hil!. 

This experience, with the wild appearance of the 
country it was proposed to acquire and subjugate, so 
discouraged several of the committee that they in 
disgust abandoned both the place and the enterprise, 





| 
| 


He succeeded in | 


day of May, 1856, the first blow toward the erection 
of the first house in Fairmount was struck. This 
building is the one now standing on the corner of 


| Beacon Street and Fairmount Avenue, at present oc- 


cupied by G. H. Peare. Henry A. Rich, David 


| Higgins, and William H. Nightingale were the first 


mechanics. The latter died some years since; the 
two former are still among the prominent residents of 
our’ town, Mr. Rich having been its collector the 
greater part of the time since its incorporation. It 
was the plan of the twenty associates that each should 
build and occupy a residence in the new territory. 
Most, if not all, of them did so, and three of them, 
Messrs. Fisk, Higgins, and Payson, still live in the 
houses then built by them. A wood-cut, printed in 
an illustrated paper of the date May 23, 1857, shows 
twenty-six buildings standing on the slope of Fair- 
mount; another, in 1859, represents forty-two. This 
not rapid growth was effected only by untiring per- 
severance under many difficulties and discouragements. 
The association was made up of poor men, and great 
economy was necessary. ‘The land was not fully paid 
for, the balance of the purchase price being secured 
by a ground mortgage. At one time the project was 
on the point of being abandoned by reason of the 
many obstacles encountered, but the firmness of the 
late D. B. Rich prevented this. The pioneers had a 
hard time of it. The nearest point at which railroad 
accommodations could be obtained was on the Boston 
and Providence, at Kenny’s Bridge, and there but 
two trains each way per day stopped; there was no 
depot, and to reach Fairmount from there it was 


_ necessary to cross the river in small boats, or on the 


| 
| 


stringers of the Midland Railroad bridge. 

The lumber and other material needed in the con- 
struction of their buildings was brought from Neponset 
by teams through Milton, and with much labor and 
difficulty transported up and over the crest of the 
hill. 
material could be brought was a work of no little 
amount on that rough hillside, then far more steep 
The nearest store was at 


The mere preparation of roads over which the 


and uneven than now. 
Mattapan; the nearest post-offices at Milton and 
East Dedham. To accommodate the mechanics en- 
gaged upon the first houses, D. B. Rich opened a 
“ hoarding-house”’ in an old building, where the seats 


and thus forfeited ‘heir chances of future glory and | were boxes and kegs, and the other accommodations 





HYDE 








PARK. 899 





But the settlers 
were resolute and full of resources. They endured 
what they could not remedy, and made use of every 
means attainable to better their condition. 


of like ostentatious magnificence. 


long, by joint contributions and efforts, they con- 
structed a foot-bridge across the river. Finding the 
Midland Railroad there at hand, they resolved to 
utilize it, and did so, again combining their means 
and buying a car with an engine in one end, in which 
they journeyed in and out of Boston with great re- 
joicing, though they had for some time to dispense 
with a depot. 
vored at this time,—no lawyer, doctor, or clergyman 
had invaded this Arcadia, and thus the denizens were 


Before | 


In one respect they were greatly fa-— 


left free to concentrate their efforts to the common 


good without unnecessary mental or bodily affliction. 

It is true that in 1859 one disciple of Esculapius 
came like a serpent into this Eden; but the place 
was too much for him, too healthy, and after trying 


for some time to eke out a precarious existence by | 


teaching in Boston during the day and searching for 
a chance to practice his profession at night, he was 
obliged to abandon the unequal contest and avoid 
starvation by retreat. Although the town has long 
since passed from a condition in which it could boast 
even an average immunity from the professions above 
specified, its sanitary reputation at least is still of a 
high order, and to this day it has no burial-place 
within its borders,—not, however, for the Western 
reason that no one dies here unless shot for the ex- 
press purpose of starting a graveyard, but chiefly be- 
cause the excellent cemeteries in the adjacent city and 
towns have rendered the necessity for one here less 
imperative. 

Among the names of prominent and enterprising 


citizens of this earlier time, in addition to those al-_ 


ready mentioned, appear those of C. F. Gerry, Wil- 
liam Rogers, S. A. Bradbury, W. T. Thacher, D. W. 
Phipps, G. B. Parrott, J. N. Brown, and S. S. 
Mooney. 

In 1859 the Real Estate and Building Company 


was formed, and in 1861 incorporated. This com- 


pany, of which A. P. Blake was for many years the | 


agent and principal manager, contributed very mate- 


rially to the subsequent settlement and growth of the | 


town. It operated at first in Fairmount, but soon ac- 
quired large portions of land between the two rail- 
roads, and mainly north of River Street. Under its 
management these tracts were surveyed, traversed by 


streets and avenues in sufficient numbers to make the 


land readily available to the individual builder, and 


lots of convenient dimensions were laid out and of-— 
fered to purchasers on sufficiently liberal terms. ° 


Many of these lots were sold by the company for an 
average price of two cents per foot, and the pur- 
chaser allowed several years in which to complete 
payment forthem. It also advanced to buyers funds 
to assist them in building,—such loans, of course, being 
secured by mortgage. The fact that its stock never 
paid any large dividend to the holders seems to prove 
that the company was not conducted in any grasping 
Under its efforts and the enter- 
prise of many individuals the growth of the place was 
fairly progressing, when the civil war came, upsetting 
the plans of so many, and, by the doubt and uncer- 
tainty it engendered, paralyzed to a great extent all 
enterprises. The most strenuous efforts were made 
by the Real Estate and Building Company and others 
interested to overcome this incubus. 


or avaricious spirit. 


Then, as now, — 
printer’s ink was deemed by the dwellers here a most 
potent instrumentality, and placards and circulars, 
urging investments in building lots, full of confident 
assertions calculated to inspire the most timid, were 
freely issued. For 
instance, ‘‘ The war appears to have very little effect 


Some of these are exhilarating. 


upon the rapid progress of the great enterprise at 
Hyde Park and Fairmount ;” and again, “ Nothing 
short of the complete overthrow of the government 
can stay the rapid growth of the beautiful villages of 
Hyde Park and Fairmount.” There seems to be in 
these extracts a calm candor, an air of casually men- 
tioning an admitted fact, which ought to have con- 
With such 
spiring words, and many other well-devised efforts, 
did our predecessors strive to allay the panic of those 
dark days. 


vinced the most skeptical mind. in- 


That these efforts were only moderately 
successful is apparent in the admission made by the 
building company, in its prospectus of 1864, that 
during the mighty struggle of the nation for its ex- 
istence special expenses for the purpose of carrying 
on its enterprises had been mainly suspended by the 
company. Yet the growth of the town was not 
wholly arrested during this time, for we learn from 
a contemporary paper that in 1862 there were one 
hundred and fifty dwellings in the district between 
the Brush Hill road and the Boston and Providence 
Railroad station at Hyde Park, which number had 
increased to two hundred in 1865. 

The end of the war, however, was the beginning of 
an era of truly wonderful activity and progress in this 
place, and for the next seven years it advanced at a 
marvelous pace. 
of the country, caused by the prodigious expenditures 


The vast increase of the currency 


of the government, made money plentiful and encour- 
aged speculation. New lands in large quantities were 
acquired by the building companies and by individu- 


900 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





als, platted, sold, built upon, and occupied with almost 
incredible rapidity. 


say nothing of buildings for business and other pur- 
poses. 
value in a few weeks; sometimes in a few months 
increased twentyfold. 


great numbers, and the speculator who had not han- | 


dled ten or a dozen lots a day felt that he was rather 
A good 
deal of money was made in real estate at this time; 
a good deal was likewise sunk out of sight in the same 
commodity, for the prices asked and given at last 


falling into habits of luxurious idleness. 


became excessive beyond ail reason, and when the | 
| end-was called at Music Hall on October 14th in that 


crash did come it found many in just the condition 
to be ruined. But while the “good times” lasted 
they brought the population of Hyde Park up to six 
thousand seven hundred and fifty, its dwelling-houses 


to the number of eleven hundred and twenty-one, and 


its assessed valuation to upwards of seven million five | 


hundred thousand dollars. This, however, is a little 
anticipatory. 

The growth of the place from 1865 was largely 
due to its natural attractiveness, which was now made 
to appear through the exertions of its public-spirited 
citizens, of whom the names of the following are most 


frequently mentioned in the current publications: W. | 
J. Stuart, R. Bleakie, G. H. Nott, C. A. White, T. | 


D. Weld, M. L. Whicher, A. H. Brainard, A. Web- 
ster, T. W. H. Moseley, W. U. Fairbairn, I. L. Benton, 
and L. B. Hanaford. Through their efforts, aided 


; fe 2 | 
by many others, the establishment of manufacturing 

and other business interests of great importance was | 
effected, social and moral needs were well provided | 


for, and the unrivaled railroad possibilities developed. 
Local trains were multiplied on both railways, and 


additional stopping-places secured. When the rail- 


road managers doubted the expediency of establishing | 


a new station and erecting a depot at any required 


point, enough citizens were forthcoming to furnish 


means to build a station-house at the place desired 


and lease or give it to the railroad, on the condition 


of adequate train-accommodation. So great was the 
demand for mechanics at this time that the most 


indifferent workmen commanded exorbitant wages. 


This and the other inducements held out attracted to | 


the town a not inconsiderable number of equivocal 
characters, and, as the credit system was largely in 


practice, many a confiding trader was sadly victimized. 


It appears from contemporaneous evidence that many 
hearts might have echoed the wail of one dismayed 
grocer, contained in the subjoined excerpt from a flyer 


In the year 1867 not less than | 
one hundred and six dwelling-houses were erected, to | 


The price of lots trebled and quadrupled in | 





They were bought and sold in | 








about three years, mainly on the cash principle, but, 
notwithstanding this limited deviation from a strictly 
cash system, I have lost more than all the net profits 
on my sales, and am now poorer than when I com- 
menced.” 

But such experiences are common to all new and 
rapidly-growing places, and under this froth of irre- 
sponsible adventurers was an able body of earnest, 
energetic, industrious, laborious, wide-awake men, 
whose faith in Hyde Park was as firm as adamant, 
and who plied every instrumentality without cessation 
tending to promote its prosperity. So well did they 
succeed that in 1867 they were in a condition to ask 
for incorporation. The first meeting looking to that 
year, at which EH. P. Davis was chosen to preside, 
and 8. A. Bradbury and Charles A. Jordan as see- 
A committee was appointed to consider the 
advisability of forming a new town, and the meeting 
adjourned to the 22d of the same month, at which 
the committee reported in favor of the proposed ac- 


retaries. 


tion, describing the district desirable to include. 


Almost all the residents conspicuous for their in- 
terest in the place were warm advocates of the 
measure, among whom may be mentioned Messrs. C. 
F. Gerry, A. P. Blake, R. Bleakie, H. S. Adams, 
B. F. Leach, B. Conner, B. F. Radford, D. L. Davis, 
T. C. Evans, M. L. Whitcher, A. Webster, B. C. Vose, 
and R. W. Turner. A formal petition to the Gen- 
eral Court for incorporation of the district suggested 
in the committee’s report was duly filed. As illus- 
trative of the transitory nature of the residents of new 
places, it is interesting to note that of the fourteen 
men whose names are appended to this original petition 
but five are now among our inhabitants. The request 
for incorporation was variously viewed by the towns 
Dorchester made no 
epposition ; Dedham refused to yield so much as was 


whose territory was affected. 


asked for, and succeeded in keeping a portion of it; 
Milton also objected strenuously, the contest here 
finally narrowing down to the question whether the 
petitioners should have the southeasterly line of their 
proposed town established as petitioned for, so as to 
include a portion of the Brush Hill road and some 
twenty-seven families resident thereon, or whether 
the line should run along the crest of Fairmount 
Heights, several hundred feet northwesterly from said 
road, and leaving the above-mentioned families to 
remain within Milton’s limits. 

Over this the fight waxed hot and furious. In the 
legislative committee-room frequent hearings were 


_had during a period of five or six weeks, which re- 
distributed by him: “I have kept a grocery-store | 


sulted at last in a report to the Legislature recom- 








HYDE 


PARK. 901 





mending a compromise line, giving the petitioners 
less than they asked, but more than the Brush Hill 
residents were willing to concede. 
Hyde Park have been always and still are much 
addicted to a free use of printer’s ink, and now its 
Printed addresses 
“To the Honorable Senate and House of Representa- 


aid was invoked by both sides. 


The people of | 





tives,” ‘‘ Five Reasons why Brush Hill should not be 
Set Off from Milton to the Proposed Town of Hyde 


Park,” ‘Five Reasons why Brush Hill should be Set 
Off,” etc., were among the more ponderous missiles 
employed in this paper warfare, while the columns 
of the Boston dailies teemed with communications 


from champions of either side, pitching into their | 


opponents with argument, ridicule, assertion, and 
denial, in a manner decidedly lively and, at this lapse 
of time, quite entertaining. 

The outcome of all this heated controversy was 
that the act of incorporation of the town of Hyde 


| 


| 


Park, passed and approved April 22, 18€8, took about _ 


thirteen hundred acres from Dorchester, eight hun- 


propitious omen, significant of the future lustre of the 


town. 

At this time there were in the town four school- 
houses, only one of which, however, was of any con- 
siderable size or value; six religious societies, three 
of which worshiped in churches of their own, and 
the remainder in hired halls; and of manufacturing 
industries, besides the cotton-mill and the paper-mill, 
a woolen-mill, a vise-factory, iron-works, car-shops, 
and a needle-factory. The population was about 
three thousand five hundred, the number of polls 
seven hundred and seventy-four, and the valuation, 
as fixed on the 1st of May following, two million 
nine hundred thousand dollars. 

One of the leading motives which had caused the 
mass of the residents of Hyde Park to espouse so 
warmly the project of incorporation, had been the 
feeling that their needs had not received sufficient 
attention from the parent-towns of which it was pre- 


viously a part. The school accommodations were very 


| inadequate, the buildings insufficient in dimensions, 
dred from Dedham, and seven hundred from Milton, | 
and left the old residents along the Brush Hill road | 
still within the boundaries of Milton, and presumably | 


happy. The new town promptly organized on the | 


30th day of the same month, Maj. William Rogers, 


. | 
formerly of Governor Andrew’s staff, being chosen | 


The board of 
selectmen chosen consisted of Messrs. Henry Grew, 


moderator of the first town-meeting. 


Zenas Allen, M. L. Whitcher, W. J. Stuart, and B. | 
F. Radford; C. W. Turner was elected town clerk; | 


Henry 8. Adams, treasurer; and Henry A. Rich, 
collector. 


The schooi committee chosen consisted of | 


five clergymen and one layman, to wit: William A. | 
Bullard and Revs. N. T. Whittaker, P. B. Davis, W. | 
H. 8. Ventres, W. H. Collins, and Amos Webster,— | 


a fact going to show that there was now no dearth of 
spiritual ministration, whatever may have been the 
case in earlier days. The recipients of municipal 
honors were not elected without vigorous opposi- 
tion. 


Hyde Park esteems the places in its gift too highly | 


to bestow them easily. ‘There were no less than five 
tickets in the field; the regular caucus nominations 
being the successful ones. The custom thus inaugu- 
rated of lively competition for town offices has ever 
since been honored with implicit observance. 

A section of Capt. Baxter’s Light Battery was 
present, and hailed the birth of the new town with a 
The citizens made a 
holiday of the occasion, and celebrated the event with 
rejoicings, and plentiful displays of fireworks in the 
evening. 


salute of one hundred guns. 


Most of the streets had 
been made by the adjacent owners, and, as few of them 


and inconvenient in location. 


had been accepted by the towns, they were of different 
widths, ungraded, and in many instances full of ob- 
structions. Few of them were furnished with lights, 
and most of these were at private charge. There was 
no fire department or any reliable means of subduing 
a conflagration. To remedy all these deficiencies and 
numberless others, the citizens had asked for and had 
obtained self-government. Many thoughtlessly ex- 
pected that it would prove an immediate panacea for all 
So it will be well believed that for 
the first few years the town officers had no easy time 
of it. 


years of quiet effort in towns of slow growth, were 


their disabilities. 
All those things, usually the result of many 


here crowded, as it were, in a moment upon the atten- 
tion of the people and their official agents. The latter 
addressed themselves to meeting the demands thus 
made upon them with creditable ability and success. 
Miles of streets were accepted, graded, widened, or 
relocated, and bridges built or extensively repaired, 
a good fire department organized and well equipped, 
and asuitable building constructed for its occupation, 
and many other things done to put the town on a 
proper footing. The number of school children in- 
creased so fast that within the first five years of its 


_ corporate existence the town was obliged to erect four 


A fine rainbow at sunset was accepted as a | 


large buildings at a cost of about one hundred and 
twenty thousand dollars. All these improvements 
called for large expenditures, most of which was met 
by direct taxation, but a considerable amount by bor- 


rowing, which last expedient soon raised a debt of 


902 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





very respectable proportions. The burdens thus in- 


curred soon began to be felt very sensibly by the — 


owners of land, which constituted seven-eighths of the 
taxable property of the town, and soon all propositions 
looking to further outlays became fruitful sources of 
contest, protest, and more or less successful log-rolling. 
The town-meeting was the natural arena for the final 


fight on these matters, and Hyde Park town-meetings _ 


have always been considered particularly interesting, 
though it is said that of late they have lost somewhat 
of their pristine brilliancy, and there are dark fears 
expressed that ere long they will become as unexciting 
and commonplace as those of less favored communities. 
But it is not to be understood that a niggardly policy 
has ever controlled this town; on the contrary, if it 
has erred at all, it has been in the opposite direction. 
During the sixteen years of its existence it has raised 
by taxation upwards of $1,130,000, or an average of 
$70,500 per year. Of this about $154,000, or a 


yearly average of $9600, has been expended upon | 
streets and bridges; and not less than $487,000, an | 


average of over $30,000 per year,—over forty per 
cent. of the whole amount raised,—has been devoted 


to the establishment and maintenance of public schools. | 
For several years the town business was transacted | 


in rooms and halls hired for the purpose. 
felt to be inconvenient, and a town building was de- 
sired by many. A controversy, probably the most 


intense of any which has ever agitated the town, and | 
which certainly stands out most prominently in the | 
recollection of the participators, arose in 1870, over a | 
proposition to purchase for the above-named purpose | 


an edifice recently erected on the corner of Gordon 
Avenue and River Street, and known as Gordon Hall. 
Meeting after meeting was called to decide the vexed 
question, ‘Should or not the building be bought by 


97) 


the town ? 


After much contention the property was finally | 
purchased, but it was accidentally destroyed by fire 


March 8, 1883. 
The year 1870 was quite prolific in notable events 
here. Then it was that another public demonstra- 


tion was made in the dauntless attempt of some of its 


female citizens to storm the ballot-box and exercise | 


the full powers of untrammeled suffrage, which carried 
the name and fame of Hyde Park into distant States 
and even beyond seas, and a failure to note which 
would render a sketch of the town’s history undesery- 
ing the toleration of the fairer and mightier part of its 
population. 

For some time previous to the March meeting, 
1870, there had been signs and portents of approach- 


This was | 
Among them were not a few who believed in the 


a placard appeared, addressed to the women of Hyde 
Park, inviting them to attend a caucus, to be held 
March 4th, to select candidates for the various town 
offices, the same to be supported by the women at the 
The caucus was duly held, and well attended, 
sirring addresses were made inciting the auditors to 
stand by the position they had taken in the front rank 
of the woman-suffrage movement, to make up their 


polls. 


ticket, and back it at the polls; the speakers arguing 


that, though votes thus tendered might be rejected 





| it. 


at the ballot-box, or, if received, not counted, the 
movement would not on that account be barren of even 
immediate result, inasmuch as it would set the ball of 
universal suffrage in motion, mark them in the eyes 
of posterity as its foremost champions, and make this 
town historic. These appeals were not fruitless; a 
ticket was made up, the candidates thereon being 
men and legal voters, and the caucus adjourned. 
Election day fell that year upon March 8th, and 
proved to be a stormy one, snowy and blustering ; yet 
some fifty ladies assembled in the Everett House 
parlors, whence they proposed to make their descent 
At the latter place, 
meantime, was congregated a large number of men, 


in a body upon the voting place. 


who, aware of the impending conflict, awaited with 
mingled anxiety and impatience the dénouement. 


wisdom of the women’s action, and ardently desired 
the early coming of the day when, as legalized and 
qualified voters, mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters 
might participate in shaping the policy of the com- 


But 


most of the men there present being, as is the nature 


munity of which they are so essential a part. 


_ of rude man, somewhat despotic and overbearing, re- 
garded with great disfavor the proposed attempt of 


the ladies, and some threatened forcible prevention of 
At length men who had been out as scouts, 
watching for a movement of the enemy, announced 
their advance in force. The excitement within the 
hall grew greater, and cries of “don’t let them in” 
were raised and repeated, and perhaps this unmanly 
But when the 
occasion arises the man for the occasion is generally 
on hand. The 
moderator’s chair was occupied by Sylvanus Cobb, 


measure might have been adopted. 
He was here, and in the right place. 


Jr., the well-known novelist, whose pen and voice were 
and are always ready to speed on reform, progress, 
and development, whose soul cannot tolerate injustice 
or oppression. rom his place he spoke to the angry 
throng before him, urging them to behave with 
courtesy and decorum towards their approaching 


townswomen. His words allayed the tumult, and 


ing trouble, which took visible form and shape when | through the door came the women, each bearing in 





a 


HYDE 


PARK. 903 





her hand a bouquet of flowers, the line headed by the 
sisters, Mrs. Angelina Weld and Sarah Grimke, who, 


nevolence, and unhesitating self-sacrifice. Surely 


there was naught in the presence of these ladies, or | 


those who closely followed them, to call for the storm 
of groans and hisses which immediately arose, drown- 
ing the comparatively few cheers of the men of an- 
other way of thinking. The line of ladies could 
with difficulty move through the throng about them. 
Again the moderator proved a host in himself. 
stated that the votes thrown by the women would 


not be counted with the others, or influence the elee- | 
tion in the slightest degree ; rebuked the intolerance | 
which would interfere with this harmless discharge | 
of what they deemed a duty, and at last threatened | 


with arrest and removal the most uproarious of the 
opponents. His attitude, aided much undoubtedly 


by that high esteem and love for him which has al-— 
ways characterized his fellow-citizens, produced a calm — 


on the floor, and the ladies, without further molesta- 
tion, advanced and deposited their ballots in a separate 
box, and at once left the room. 
The women had voted! And it is worthy of notice 
that a number of the ballots deposited by them were 
scratched, thus demonstrating their possession of one 


The deed was done! 


of the most essential qualifications for voting, particu- 
larly in Hyde Park. The women’s ticket was voted 
by quite a number of men, and it was afterwards 
claimed in some of the Boston papers, as a proof of 


the moral effect of this action, that their candidates | 
were elected ; but this was erroneous, none being suc- | 


cessful whose names were not on the other tickets. 


The prediction of the ladies that this act of theirs | 


would give notoriety to themselves and their town 
was prophetic. The affair was voluminously discussed 
and commented upon by most of the press within 


the commonwealth, received much attention from | 


several well-known journals of other States, and even 


penetrated to the Sandwich Islands, and formed the | 


subject of a flattering editorial in their newspaper, 
express¢d in the mellifluous language of the beloved 
Kalakaua. 


grave to gay, from lively to severe ;” but perhaps the 


following from the New York Herald is as good a | 


sample as any of the more jocose style of treatment: 


“The women succeeded in voting yesterday at the town elec- | 
_ tee confined their action to personal applications for 
They came in a | 
body to the polling-place with bouquets and cotton umbrellas in | 


; 6S he Ss fund; arranging for a course of weekly entertain- 
their hands and modest determination in their countenances; | 


tion in Hyde Park, Mass. They put a separate ticket in the 
field and about sixty of them voted for it. 


some of them old and gray-headed, and many of them young 
and pretty. Their presence, which should have cast a benign 


He | 


The comments were of all sorts, “from | 


influence over the unhallowed precincts which heretofore had 


. been accessible only to men and the vile odors of rum and to- 


c 2 ‘ | baceo, was the occasion of hisses on the part of some of the 
by the deeds of their previous lives, had made them- | ; ; 


selves exemplars of Christian charity, unselfish be-_ 


But the women had a stanch 
defender in Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., who stood up for them with 
the gallantry and daring of the old Spanish knights or Musco- 
vian gunmakers that he writes about in the Ledger. 


disorderly men in the crowd. 


He cast 


upon the disturbers one look of his eagle eye. ‘ Base ruffians,’ 


| he cried, in thunder tones, ‘think ye to bar the way of these 


fair dames to yonder bollot-box? By my halidom, these women 


shall vote or perish in the attempt.’ These brave words had 


their effect, and the gallant women voted ; and, more than that, 
although their votes were counted out, their ticket was elected.” 


This, the first, was also the last attempt to vote in 
this manner, but the spirit which prompted and ani- 
mated the movement still survives, and woman suf- 
frage has many warm adherents here of both sexes. 
Nor has the impress of woman’s influence upon the 
A power every- 
where in Massachusetts in all charitable, philan- 


morals of the town stopped here. 


thropic, moral, and intellectual movements, women 
here have earned a recognition of their worth greater 
In 


referring to the very efficient assistance given by 


even than that enjoyed by most of their sisters. 


_them in the establishment of the public library, to 


| 








their great help of the temperance reform movement, 
to their auxiliary organization in aid of destitute suf- 
ferers from the late war, to their literary societies, 
and to the constant and effective work of the Woman’s 
Christian Temperance Union, mention is made of but 
a few of the many specific ways by which they have 
abundantly contributed to give to their town whatever 
of virtue and excellence it may justly claim. 

Always ready and liberal in everything tending to 
forward the education of the masses, the town in 1871 
appointed the following gentlemen a committee to 
raise a fund for the establishment of a free public 
library: Perley B. Davis, Isaac H. Gilbert, Francis 
C. Williams, Horace R. Cheney, Edward M. Laneas- 
ter, Hobart M. Cable, E. P. Davis, EK. E. Pratt, and 
Theodore D. Weld. Their first meeting was held at 
the house of Alanson D. Hawley, who had been cus- 
todian of the State archives for fifteen years and one 
of the foremost in urging on the founding of a library 
here, but whose rapidly-failing health, resulting in his 
death soon after, disabled him from active work in 
While 
the committee were in his study he pointed out to 


the cause which he had so much at heart. 


them over one hundred new and valuable books as 
his donation to the prospective library. The commit- 


subscriptions, payable in six months, to the library 


ments, extending over a period of six months, for 
the benefit of the fund; solicitation of donations of 


904 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





books; and instituting measures for a general town 
In 


pursuance of the last above action, a meeting of 


fair, to be organized and conducted by the ladies. 


ladies was called and held in the Baptist vestry early 
in June, when they organized with a president, Mrs. 
L. B. Hunt, and the following vice-presidents, one 
from each religious society, to wit: Mrs. G. B. Par- 
rott, Mrs. E. D. Swallow, Mrs. A. R. Whittier, Mrs. 
Horatio Raynes, Mrs. F. C. Williams, Mrs. Arthur 
O'Neil. 
committee of six ladies. Under this organization a 
most admirable fair was held which netted upwards 
H. 8. Adams 


gave free use of Neponset Hall and the necessary ad- 


of two thousand five hundred dollars. 
joining rooms. A paper, issued daily during the 
continuance of the fair, under the editorial manage- 
ment of S. Thurber and W. Hamilton, added to its 
interest and profit. 
mittee, made April 11, 1872, gave as the net result 
in hand for the library fund four thousand four hun- 
dred and sixty-six dollars and seventy cents, and up- 
wards of one thousand books donated. 
Weld was especially prominent in accomplishing this 
eratifying exhibit. Subsequent payment of subscrip- 
tions increased considerably the amount of money. 
The library was opened to the public in March, 
1874, in Everett Block, with William E. Foster as 
librarian, and three thousand seven hundred volumes 


ready for circulation. The first board of trustees 


consisted of Theodore D. Weld, Rev. P. B. Davis, | 


Rev. I. H. Gilbert, elected for three years; Rev. E. A. 
Manning, H. M. Cable, EK. M. Lancaster, for two 
years; Rev. W. J. Corcoran, HE. 8. Hathaway, C. W. 


W. Wellington, for one year. Mr. Foster remained 


as librarian till his resignation in March, 1876, when 


he was succeeded by Mr. Reeves, who, in October of 
the same year, was followed by Mrs. H. A. B. Thomp- 
son, in charge at the present time, with Miss Mary 
Hawley as assistant. 

During the last few years the library has greatly 
increased in size and circulation. It contains over 
seven thousand three hundred books, and seven thou- 
sand three hundred and forty-five persons have regis- 
tered their names for ecards. 
Block until February, 1884, when, having entirely 
outgrown its limits, it removed to rooms specially 
fitted up for it in Masonic Block, and affording much 
more ample accommodations. ‘The present trustees 
A. H. Brainard, chairman; G. Fred. Gridley, 
secretary and treasurer; Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., C. C. 
Hayes, M.D., H. B. Miner, EK. C. Aldrich, E. M. 
Lancaster, H. M. Cable, Edmund Davis. 


are 


Each of these was made the head of a sub- | 


The report of the general com- | 


Theodore D. | 





Chicago fire met with a liberal response from Hyde 
Park. Frequent meetings were held, and upwards 
of five thousand dollars, in addition to large supplies 
of clothing, bedding, and necessaries, was contributed. 
In this noble work the ladies were as usual untiring, 
Mrs. Dr. Edwards, Mrs. A. H. Brainard, and Miss 
Nettie Richardson being especially prominent. 

The financial panic which swept over the country 
in the latter part of 1875 fell with excessive weight 
upon Hyde Park and almost menaced its future ex- 
istence. The reasons for this result are readily ap- 
The very methods which had been adopted 
to cause the town to fill up and build up so fast, the 
selling of land for a small sum down and a large sum 


parent. 


secured by mortgage, rendered it peculiarly open to 
such a catastrophe as then came upon it. The 
greater number of its citizens were men of limited 
means, attracted here by the ease with which property 
could be acquired, largely upon credit, and by specula- 
tive hopes. 
inflated. Parcels subject to inundation at time of 
high water often sold for ten cents per square foot, 
and more desirable lots had proportional values. The 
greater part of the real estate was under mortgage, 


The price of land had become greatly 


not a little of it to an amount nearly up to even its 
inflated valuation. The assessors had yielded to the 
craze, partly from sharing in it, partly, perhaps, to 
keep down the percentage of taxation by a high 
valuation. Then the depression in business and the 


destruction by fire of several mills caused the aban- 


'donment of a number of productive industries, the 


consequent removal of many operatives and families 
to other places, and a great falling off in the demand 
for residences and for the general commodities of life. 
All this operated to cause the bottom to fall out of 
real estate, and a reduction in the apparent value of 
all property in the town of nearly fifty per cent. 
This is seen by comparing the assessed valuation of 
May 1, 1873, to wit: real estate, $6,608,179; per- 
sonal, $901,636; with the valuation May 1, 1880, 
namely, real estate, $3,701,250; personal, $421,640. 
This fearful shrinkage discouraged many who had 


| been holding on to their estates by the eyelids as it 


It remained in Everett | 


The call for aid to the sufferers from the great | 


In 


1874 the list of estates advertised for sale for non- 


were. 'axes were suffered to remain unpaid. 
payment of taxes comprised two hundred and nine- 
teen estates, and filled ten and a half columns in the 
local paper. The interest due on mortgages remain- 
ing unpaid, they were foreclosed in great numbers, and 
many thus lost all which they had. But this experi- 
ence, which brought loss and ruin to very many, was 


The 


process of shaking things down to a substantial foun- 


not in its final result a calamity to the town. 








HYDE 


PARK. 905 





dation was decidedly unpleasant, but the outcome has 
been beneficial. The estates lost by their unlucky 
former possessors have become the property of others 


the town has thus gained in its outward appearance 


and the number of its well-to-do citizens. A greater 


conservatism is manifested in public and private en- | 


terprises, and the present status of the town is one 
of healthy and well-based prosperity. 


$96,000, and by means of the sinking-fund, as now 
managed, will be entirely liquidated in a few years, 


and this debt is placed on terms as favorable as those | 


enjoyed by any town or city in the State. 


Notwithstanding the pressure of the “hard times,” | 


the citizens of Hyde Park were fully awake on Cen- 
tennial year. They were well represented at the Ex- 
position both by products and by visitors, and they 
celebrated the glorious Fourth in the most enthusi- 


astic manner. The day began with a procession, fol- 


lowed by a meeting of citizens in the grove, corner of | 
Austin and West Streets, which was presided over by | 


K. R. Walker, chairman of the Board of Selectmen. 
Here there was singing by chorus, prayer by Rev. P. 
B. Davis, reading of the Declaration of Independence 


Its net debt, | 
which in 1873 was $178,766, is now reduced to about 





by G. Fred. Gridley, singing of the Star Spangled | 


Banner by Miss M. C. Pollard, oration by Hamilton 
A. Hill, and singing of ‘“‘ America” by the audience. 
At 4 o'clock P.M. union religious services were held in 


the Congregationalist Church, opened with prayer by | 


Rev. M. T. Alderman, followed by remarks by Theo- 


dore D. Weld, Rev. P. B. Davis, and Rev. I. H. Gil- | 


bert, and closing with prayer by Rev. Mr. Gilbert. At 
7 o'clock P.M. an immense meeting was held in Everett 
Square, and the new pump, presented to the town by 


Park, was dedicated. Mr. Walker presided, and an 


followed by a fire original poem by Charles F. Gerry. | 
A flag, the gift of N. H. Tucker, was then presented | 
by Miss Nettie B. Richardson, accepted by Mr. Hum- | 
phrey in a brief speech, and run up to the top of the | 





flagstaff amid the cheers of the assembled multitude. | 


A regatta and an exhibition of athletic sports were — 


among the other attractions, and at night a grand dis-_ 


play of fireworks closed the stirring observance of the 
day. The committee charged with the preparation 


and conduct of the programme embraced upwards of 


one hundred of the most prominent residents. 
Another event in commemoration of that year was 
a great tree-planting, which took place October 28th, 





| here. 
address was delivered by E. 1. Humphrey, which was | 


instruction. 


This was brought about mainly through the efforts 
of Charles F. Holt, and has been the cause of many 


| more being planted since, and has added greatly to 
better able to hold, improve, and beautify them, and | 


the beauty and comfort of the thoroughfares. 

This same year, 1876, is also memorable in the 
history of the town on account of the great temper- 
ance reform movement which began here in the 
spring. 
during that year and the following held weekly 


The Temperance Reform Club, then formed, 


public meetings, at which one of the largest: halls was 
frequently filled to overflowing, and sometimes hun- 
dreds were unable to gain admittance. The good re- 
By it 


many were redeemed from lives of gross indulgence ; 


sults of this organization are inestimable. 


many more were stopped in a downward career toward 
such lives; the subject of temperance and morality 
was brought home to every thinking mind; and the 
sentiment thus awakened has placed and kept this town 
among the foremost in opposition to the encroachments 
of alcohol, and in support of all restrictive measures. 
In this connection it will not be amiss to state that 
the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, which 
has been a power for good in this community, was be- 
gun here by an organization formed by a few women, 
April 26, 1876. 
State organization of the Women’s Christian Temper- 
ance Union, and worked under the direction of the na- 
Mrs. William Sturtevant was its 
first president, and until her death, some four years sub- 


It became at once auxiliary to the 


tional organization. 


sequent, was one of its most earnest and efficient mem- 
bers. 
siding officers since have been Mrs, L. P. Alderman, 
Mrs. J. B. Richardson, Mrs. J. L. Doty, and Mrs. 
The work 


Mrs. K. T. Lewis was first secretary. The pre- 


Jesse Wager, at present in the chair. 


| done by this body of devoted women in the promo- 
the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, of Hyde | 


tion of Christianity and temperance cannot be detailed 
Mention can oniy be made of some incidents. 
When the law entitling women to vote for members 
of the school committee was passed in this State, the 
union addressed itself to urging women to avail them 
selves of the privilege, not only that they might have 
a voice in the educational interests of their children, 
but that a large vote might operate towards obtaining 
woman suffrage on the liquor question. The result 
of these efforts was that over eighty women qualified 
and voted. To their efforts also is it owing that Hyde 
Park was the first town in the State to place temper- 
ance text-books in the schools for reference and oral 
The Union, believing that the most im- 
portant as well as hopeful branch of its work was 
among the young, has labored unceasingly in this 


when more than eight hundred and fifty shade trees | direction, and a juvenile organization of about three 


were set along the streets and avenues of the town. | hundred children is now under its charge. Toward 


906 





the establishment and success of the Temperance Re- 
form Association it rendered the most efficient aid, 
It has a standing committee for the dissemination of 
temperance literature, another to visit and carry aid 
and consolation to homes resting under the bane of 


alcoholic indulgence, another to provide for weekly | 


Sunday meetings for the awakening and strengthening 
of temperance sentiment. ‘The Union has also con- 
tributed greatly to the large majority here against the 
licensing of the liquor traffic, by communicating di- 
rectly with every voter before election, and by the 
personal solicitations of its members at the polls. 

Two other associations for the promotion of tem- 
perance have an assured existence here. 

Energetic Lodge, No. 125, I. O. G. T., was insti- 
tuted by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts March 


13, 1882, with fifteen charter members, and has | 


steadily increased, till at the present time it has a 
membership of over one hundred and twenty-five of 
both sexes, representatives of many of the best fami- 
lies in the town, and, as their lodge-name suggests, 
energetic in every good word and work. The place 
of meeting, which has been the Odd-Fellows’ Hall, 


is on the point of being changed to Grand Army of | 


the Republic Hall. 
The first Worthy Chief Templar of this lodge, 


Daniel F. Wood, is the oldest member of the order | 


in the State, and it was introduced into Massachu- 
setts through his efforts. George Manley, by whose 
energy Energetic Lodge was started, was its first 
Worthy Secretary. 


composed of boys and girls from eight to eighteen 
years of age. Its principal object is to demonstrate 
the pernicious effects, physiologically, upon the system 


of indulgence in alcoholic stimulants and narcotics. | 
Meetings are held every Thursday evening in Congre- | 


R. C. Habberley is Worthy Patron. | 


gational Chapel. 
The religious societies of the town claim more ex- 
tended mention. 
First Baptist Church.—This was the first church 


town incorporation. In the year 1856, when “the 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTs. 


: 
| 
| 





In the year 1858 it was thought that the time had 
fully come when a Baptist Church should be organ- 
ized and assume the responsibility of sustaining pub- 
lic worship. Accordingly, on the 9th day of Sep- 
tember, in the house of L. B. Hanaford, Esq., on 
Fairmount Avenue, ten members of Baptist Churches 
elsewhere met and formally organized what is now 
the First Baptist Church in Hyde Park. One of the 
members having built Fairmount Hall midway Fair- 
mount Hill, the church hired and dedicated to the 
worship of God the second floor hall. 

In 1861 the church commenced the erection of a 
chapel on the avenue between Pierce and Davison 
Streets, and finished it in 1862, at a cost of about 
two thousand five hundred dollars. In 1868 in- 
creased church accommodations became necessary. A 
building committee was appointed, and limited to the 
expenditure of twenty thousand dollars for a new 
house, which was completed in November, 1870. It 
is cruciform in style, brick walls to the top of the 
vestries, which are ample in size for all church pur- 
poses, and supplied with modern conveniences. The 
auditorium has a seating capacity of seven hundred 
persons. 

Rev. G. R. Darrow was the first pastor, settled in 
1865, but resigned in 1864. Since then the pastor- 
ate has been successively filled by Revs. C. A. Skin- 
ner, W. H.S. Ventres, I. H. Gilbert, D. C. Eddy, 
D.D., and Gorham Easterbrook. The membership 
of the church, originally only ¢en, is now three hun- 


| dred and seventy-four. 
Star of Hope Section, Cadets of Temperance, is | 


Episcopal Church.—The first service of the Prot- 
estant Kpiscopal Church was conducted by Rev. 
Samuel B. Babcock, rector of St. Paul’s Church, 


| Dedham, in Union Hall, near the New York Central 


Railroad depot, Oct. 10, 1858, at one of the “ union 
meetings,’ at that time supported by adherents of all 


denominations. After a while the Kpiscopalians 


transferred their place of meeting to Lyman Hall, 
_near the Boston and Providence Railroad, where ser- 


_ vices were held every Sunday morning, the various 
organized in town, and antedates by several years the | 


twenty Associates” commenced the erection of the 


first houses here which constituted the nucleus of 
Hyde Park settlement, Rev. Mr. Patterson, pastor of 
the East Dedham Baptist Church, came over and 
preached occasionally at five e’clock on Sunday in the 
boarding-house on the corner of Fairmount Avenue 


and Brush Hill road. 


ton came out and preached in the grove then crown- 


Sometimes pastors from Bos- 


ing a hill between the present Baptist meeting-house 


and the New York and New England Railroad. 


clergymen officiating being furnished and paid by the 
Southern District Association. When there was no 
clergyman forthcoming, 


A Sunday-school, which soon grew 


services were read generally 
by Mr. Lyman. 
to a membership of sixty-five, was established, mainly 
through the exertions of Rev. John W. Nott, who 
was at that time passing a vacation here. For some 
time the family of A. H. Brainard constituted the 
entire number of communicants, the congregation 


beine made up of those who only had a preference 
‘ 5 


for that form of worship. 


Mr. Brainard also fur- 


‘nished a portion of the choir and all the instru- 





a ee 











deon, which its owner ‘“ shouldered” to and from the 
place of meeting every Sunday. This instrument 


HYDE PARK. 


mental music, which latter consisted of a small melo-— 


also assisted in the services of several other religious | 


societies, which borrowed it in turn until able to ac- 
quire something more pretentious. If still in exist- 
ence, as it was a few years ago, it will undoubtedly be 
freely at the service of any other infant congregation 
to help out the music if necessary. 

The present parish was organized Nov. 8, 1860, 
under the name of Christ Church, with the following 


officers: Wardens, A. H. Brainard and G. H. Nott; | 


Vestrymen, L. Bickford, J. Pratt, S. Fennell, and 


W. H. Hoogs; Treasurer, 8S. A. Bradbury; Clerk, J. | 


M. BR. Story. Rev. A. H. Washburn took charge of 
the parish in March, 1861, was elected its rector in 


January, 1862, and so continued till early in 1866, | 


when he became rector of Grace Church, in Cleve- 
land, Ohio. During the early part of his ministration 


on the corner of River and Maple Streets. This is 
of Gothic style of architecture, with a seating ca- 
pacity of about 300. 
construction worship was held in Bragg’s Hall, on 
Fairmount Avenue. The building was consecrated 
Dec. 1, 1863, by Right Rev. Manton Eastburn, 


-achurch edifice was erected largely through the efforts | 
of Gordon H. Nott, the same now used by the society, | 


While it was in process of 


bishop of the diocese, assisted by several other di- | 


vines. Mr. Washburn’s connection with the parish 
was of great benefit to it, and his resignation deeply 
deplored. He was succeeded, April, 1867, by Rev. 
Wm. H. Collins, who officiated as rector till his resig- 
nation, July 21, 1869. His successor, Nov. 16, 
1869, was Rey. John W. Birchmore, who remained 
till May 15, 1872. In October, 1872, Rev. Robert 
Scott was unanimously elected rector. 

In the summer of 1874 the Rev. R. B. Van Kleeck, 
D.D., was chosen rector. 
and highly esteemed by clergy and laity in all parts 
of the country, and the five years of his rectorship 
form a memorable period in the history of the 
parish. 

During the year 1879-80 the Rev. F. H. Horsfield 


was minister in charge of the congregation. He was 


succeeded in the autumn of 1880 by the Rev. Edward | 


A. Rand, who with unremitting devotion to duty con- 
tinued as minister in charge until Whitsunday, 1882. 

He was succeeded by the Rev. John T. Magrath, 
who officiated for the first time on Trinity Sunday, 
1882, and immediately entered upon the duties of the 
rectorship. Since Jan. 20, 1884, the sittings have 
been free. 


Congregational Church.—Congregational services | 


907 








were first held in Hyde Park in December, 1860, in 
Bragg’s Hall. 

The place of meeting was soon changed to Lyman 
Hall, where, for a few months, the services were con- 
ducted by Rev. L. R. Eastman, afterwards, with only 
occasional clerical aid, by the brethren, until Dec. 1, 
1862, when Rev. Hiram Carlton commenced minis- 
terial labors, which was continued till October, 1864. 

On May 7, 1863, an ecclesiastical council organized 
here a church of ten members, of which Sylvester 
Phelps and Thomas Hammond were elected deacons. 
Rey. R. Manning Chipman was the officiating clergy- 
man from Dee. 1, 1864, to Nov. 30, 1866, the ser- 
vices being held during this time in Bragg’s Hall. 

In January, 1867, the church and society extended 
a call to Rev. Perley B. Davis, who was then settled 
over the church at Sharon, Mass., who accepted, and 
was installed April 10th following, and who has con- 
tinued as pastor of the society to this day. 

Measures were now taken for the erection of a 
parsonage and church edifice. A lot of land at the 
junction of Fairmount Avenue and Everett Square, 
extending through to Oak Street, was presented to 
the society by the Real Estate and Building Com- 
pany, and a parsonage fronting on Oak Street, and 
costing about five thousand dollars, was built, and 
occupied by the pastor the following September. 

On Jan. 31, 1868, the corner-stone of the church 
edifice was laid with appropriate exercises, and on Oc- 
tober 15th following the church was publicly dedicated 
to the worship of God, the pastor preaching the ser- 
mon. The building is a Gothic structure, costing 
seventeen thousand dollars, and had a seating capacity 
of four hundred and sixty-two. By the untiring 
efforts of the ladies of the congregation it was fur- 


-nished with an organ, bell, carpet, and cushions at 


He was a man well known 


For the 
better accommodation of the Sunday-school and social 
meetings, in the autumn of 1874 a chapel was erected 
adjoining the church, capable of seating three hnn- 
dred people. This was built by voluntary subscrip- 
tion, presented to the society, and dedicated Jan. 1, 
1875. 

On Sunday, Sept. 7, 1879, by the efforts of Mr. 
Edward Kimball, the church-debt raiser, the debt of 
twelve thousand five hundred dollars, which had 
rested very heavily upon the society, was raised by 
pledges from the congregation, and in December, 
1880, the debt was fully paid. April 16, 1880, 
seven members were dismissed from the church to 
form a nucleus for the church at Clarendon Hill. 
Owing to the increase in numbers of the congrega- 
tion and the Sunday-school during the two years en- 


an expense of nearly five thousand dollars. 


908 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





| 


suing, it was decided to enlarge both church and | 


chapel, at a cost of ten thousand dollars, and, the 
requisite amount having been pledged, work was 
begun in October, 1883. 
modeled as to furnish seven hundred and sixty-nine 
sittings, including the choir-seats. The chapel was 
made thirty-five feet longer, a portion being fitted for 
class-rooms and library. 
windows for the church were donated by J. P. Hig- 
gins, and a large double front window, representing 
St. Paul and the Good Shepherd, was a gift from the 
Young Ladies’ Aid Society. The enlarged church was 
rededicated Feb. 26, 1884, and the chapel the next 
evening. 

The condition of the church is very prosperous, it 
having a membership of four hundred and eighty, of 


The church was so re- | 


Thirteen cathedral glass | 


. . | 
whom seventy-two were received during the first year. 


The Sunday-school membership is five hundred and 
fifty, with an average attendance of three hundred and 
seventy-five for the year. 


bers, when it was again reduced to thirty-two on the 
formation of the Orthodox and Universalist societies, 
but during the following year it rose to the number 
of sixty-eight. In the winter of 1863-64 preaching 
services were held one evening each week in Benton’s 
Hall, at which the pulpit was filled by different cler- 
gymen, and from April 17, 1864, till the following 
spring Rev. C. 8. Sewell supplied this meeting and 
one at Jamaica Plain, one-half of each Sunday in 
either place, after which the desk was for a time 
again left vacant. During the most of this period 
and until June 2, 1867, the Sabbath-school held its 
sessions at the house of its superintendent, Mr. War- 
ren, whose interest in it had from its start been con- 


| stant and unwavering, and to whose unremitting 


efforts a great part of its growth was due. Among 
the means employed by him to promote its vitality 


were a series of social entertainments, called ‘“ super- 


_intendent’s parties,” at one of which the proposition — 


The Clarendon Congregational Church was or- | 


ganized April 19, 1880, with fifteen members. Rev. 
S. D. Hosmer was then its acting pastor, and con- 
tinued ministerial labors there till May, 1882. He 
was followed by Rev. A. H. Johnson, the present 
pastor. The membership is now twenty-seven. 
Methodist Episcopal Church.—June 28, 1857, 
the residents of Fairmount, then numbering twenty- 
seven families, met at the house of A. P. Blake, and 


Warren as its superintendent. 
summer preaching services were held every Sunday 
afternoon at Mr. Blake’s house, and in the fall the 
Hyde Park and Fairmount Religious Society was 


its meetings in the hall of the Hartford & Erie depot 
building. The Sabbath-school was held there also, 
and a prayer-meeting, which became very interesting 
and effective. During the spring and summer of 1858 
the society met in a new building in Fairmount 
owned by Messrs. Pierce and Higgins; but in the 
fall of that year, the Baptist element forming a sepa- 
rate organization and remaining there, the remainder 
of the society returned to the depot hall. 
1859, the Hyde Park and Fairmount Religious So- 


ciety dissolved, but the Methodist members continued 


During the following | 


was made and adopted which resulted in the organ- 


ization of the Methodist society, Feb. 10, 1867, with 


a membership of twenty-eight, and the appointment 





| of Rev. N. T. Whittaker as its pastor. 


On the 2d 
of June, 1867, the Sabbath-school, then called the 
Warren Fairmount Sabbath-School, was presented to 
the Methodist Church, though not by its beloved 
superintendent, who had looked forward to participa- 
tion in the event with intense interest, but who had 


| passed to his heavenly reward on the 26th of the pre- 
organized the Fairmount Sabbath-school, with Daniel | 


vious May. The school brought with itself to the 
society six hundred and eighty books and a small sum 
of money. 

From this time to the present the history of the 


| society has been one of uninterrupted growth in every 
formed, which was a strictly union society, and held | 


July 6, | 


| Wiley. 


holding meetings till September 4th, when these also | 


were discontinued, the Sabbath-school alone contin- 
uing, and meeting at the house of Mr. Warren. This 
school was then only sixteen in number, having been 
greatly depleted by the departure of many to join the 
Baptist and Episcopal schools. It gradually increased, 


however, till, in 1861, it numbered fifty-nine mem- | 


respect. As its increase in numbers necessitated, it 
from time to time changed its place of meetings in 
quest of more commodious quarters, removing to 
Union Hall in 1869, and to Neponset Hall in 1871, 
where it remained till the completion of its church 
building. Ground 
was formally broken for laying the foundation of the 
church edifice, June 2, 1873, by Mrs. Mary 8. 
Warren, the pioneer Methodist of Hyde Park; the 


corner-stone was laid Oet. 28, 1873, with exercises 


In 1871 it erected a parsonage. 


conducted by former pastors, and an address by Bishop 
The auditorium was completed and dedicated 
Nov. 19, 1874, with appropriate exercises, and a 
sermon by Rev. H. W. Warren, D.D., the vestries 
having been dedicated December 31st preceding, the 
sermon being preached by Dr. B. K. Pierce, editor 
of Zion's Herald. 
was a great religious interest manifested in the society, 


During the following winter there 


and a large addition made to the membership. 





HYDE PARK. 


909 





The following have been the pastors: 1867-68, 
Rev. N. T. Whitaker; 1869, Rev. George Prentice ; 


Rev. J. S. Whedon; 1877-78, Rev. H. J. Fox; 
1879-81, Rev. W. N. Richardson; 1882-83, Rev. 
Jesse Wagner, the present incumbent. The present 
condition of the society is exceedingly flourishing ; 
its membership is two hundred and ninety, that of its 
Sunday-school three hundred and fifty. 

Its house of worship, situated on the corner of 
Central Avenue and Winthrop Street, is of wood, with 


hundred and sixty-five feet in height. The first floor 
contains an ample vestry, class-rooms, dressing-rooms, 
and kitchen. The auditorium, on the second floor, is 
sixty feet long by seventy-five feet in breadth, finished 


windows, with sittings for seven hundred and twenty 
people, exclusive of one hundred more in the gallery 
at one end. This room has been the scene of many 
union meetings, and on occasions has accommodated 
one thousand persons. 
This edifice cost 
$45,000, and entailed a heavy debt upon the society. 


Previous to 1881 special efforts had reduced this to 


and the frescoing very chaste. 


raising society, the whole remaining amount was 


the burdensome and harassing obligations which had 
Of this 
amount, $15,U00 was pledged at one meeting con- 
ducted by Bishop Randolph 8. Foster. The Ladies’ 
Circle and the Sunday-school aided nobly in this 
work, the former raising $2800, the latter $575. By 
authority of the Northeast Conference the collections 
of the year from the churches of the Boston District, 
amounting to $850, were also contributed, and subscrip- 


so long hampered and limited its usefulness. 





tions were made by friends in those churches agegre- | 


gating thousands of dollars. 

The original furnishings of the church, including 
settees, cushions, and carpets, to the cost of $1500, 
were provided by the Ladies’ Circle. 


June, 1867, as the consequence of action taken at a 
preliminary meeting, June Ist, held in the Fairmount 
school-house, at which John P. Jewett was chairman, 
and Benjamin C. Vose, secretary. During the fol- 
lowing summer regular services were held every Sun- 
day afternoon at the old Music Hall, prominent Uni- 
tarian clergymen of Boston and vicinity occupying the 
pulpit. In November of the same year the society 


1870-71, Rev. E. S. Best; 1872, Rev. E. A. Man- | 
ning; 1873-75, Rev. George W. Mansfield; 1876-77, | 


in ash and black walnut, lighted by large stained-glass | 


Its walls are delicately tinted | 


$29,000, and during that year, by the work of a debt- | 


pledged and paid, and the church thus relieved from | 


} 
| 
! 





| 


| 


freestone base and steps, and a single lofty spire one | 


_moved to Deacon Hammond’s Hail, and engaged as 


pastor Rev. T. B. Forbush, who remained until the 
following March. In June, 1868, a permanent organ- 
ization was formed under the name of the Christian 
Fraternity. The next year this name was changed 
to that of the Second Congregational Society of Hyde 
Park, which in turn was, in May, 1880, superseded 
by the present title. 

In June, 1868. Rev. William Hamilton was in- 
vited to become the regular preacher of the society, 
and he continued as such about a year, services during 
that time being held in Hamblin Hall. In No- 
vember, 1868, Rev. Francis C. Williams was selected 
to take charge of the society, and was installed as 
pastor the following February. During his pastorate, 
which continued until June, 1879, the society had a 
varied experience, particularly in its places of worship. 
Meeting in the town hall for about a year, they thence 
went to Neponset Hall, where they remained till its 
destruction by fire, in the early part of 1874. Their 
church building was then in process of construction, 
and until its completion, in the latter part of the 
same year, they were kindly accommodated by the 
Methodist Society, which tendered the use of its 
vestry. The Unitarian Church was dedicated Feb. 
18, 1875, and in it their services have since been held. 
It occupies a sightly and pleasant position on the 
corner of Oak and Pine Streets, on Mount Neponset, 
and presents to the eye a neat, attractive, and agree- 


able aspect. It is of the Romanesque style of archi- 


| tecture, and is constructed in a very substantial man- 








ner, and of excellent material. The audience-room, 
exclusive of vestibule, is sixty-seven by thirty-seven 
feet, with a seating capacity of a little more than 
three hundred. ‘The finish of the pulpit and its sur- 
roundings is of black walnut; of the pews, black 
walnut and ash. It is well lighted, with stained- 
glass windows of shades affording very agreeable 
effects. In the vestry is a ladies’ reception-room, 
dining-room, kitchen, etc. The cost of the building 


was fifteen thousand dollars. During his long stay, 


| Mr. Williams’ influence on the church and town was 
_ marked and beneficial. 

First Unitarian Society.—The first meeting of | 
this society as a separate denomination was held in | 


His successor was Rey. A. 
Judson Rich, who was invited in November, 1879, 
installed the next January, and who remained four 
years. At the present time the society is without a 
settled pastor. 

Roman Catholic Church.—The parish was organ- 
ized Oct. 1, 1870. Previous to that time services 
were regularly held by Rev. Father McNulty, of 
Milton, and under his administration the number of 
worshipers increased so rapidly that Rt. Rev. John 
J. Williams ordered a separate parish to be formed on 


910 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





the above date, and Rev. William J. Corcoran was 
appointed pastor. During the first few years of his 
stay the Catholics worshiped in the old Music Hall, 
on Everett Square. Finally, by Father Corcoran’s 
efforts and the co-operation of the faithful, a frame 
church was built on land on Hyde Park Avenue, 
which had been previously secured by Father Mc- 
Nulty. 
1875, and the parish attended services in the town 


This church was destroyed by fire Jan. 2, 


hall until Music Hall was removed to their lot on 
Hyde Park Avenue and fitted for temporary use, 


when they went there. In the mean time a large lot 


| 
\ 


dition, and is still under charge of Rev. Father Barry, 
ably assisted by his brother, Rev. Henry A. Barry. 
A number of religious societies are connected with the 
church. ; 

There is also a society of Second Adventists, who 
meet in Lyric Hall, and a weekly Union Meeting 


held in Readville. 


The manufacturing industries of Hyde Park, al- 
ready great, are yearly becoming more extensive. 


| Particular reference to some of them will be of in- 


of land, most delightfully located on Maple and Oak | 


Streets, in Mount Neponset, had been bought. 


lot, became the residence of the pastor and his suc- 
cessors. 

Father Corcoran was followed as pastor, in Feb- 
ruary, 1877, by Rev. M. Conlan, who, Feb. 1, 1880, 


was succeeded by Rev. Richard J. Barry. Under | 
the administration of Father Barry the society has | 


grown very largely in numbers and influence. 


mediately upon his taking charge he zealously set to | 


work to cause the erection of a church upon the lot 


. . i} 
on Mount Neponset, and the result is a spacious and | 
elegant edifice, a lasting memorial of what can be ac- | 


> 


complished by energy and perseverance. It is of 


brick and stone, with interior woodwork of cherry, | 


and a seating capacity of one thousand and eighty. 


The frescoing, stucco, and windows are works of real | 


art. Taken as a whole it is a gem, and will compare 


favorably with any church in the State in architec- 


tural merit and beauty of finish. Situated ona slight | 
. . . . | 
eminence, it presents a conspicuous and pleasing ob- 


ject of view from several miles around. 
signed by Charles J. Butemore. 
construction were raised principally by collections 
from house to house. Among the donors most gen- 
erous in amount should be mentioned Messrs. Robert 
Bleakie, John 8. Bleakie, and Daniel Sheedy. 

The corner-stone was laid July 4, 1880, by Most 
Rev. John J. Williams, in the presence of some six 
thousand people, the trowel used on the occasion 
being now in the ownership of Mrs. John 8. Bleakie. 
Noy. 18, 1883, a chime of bells, weighing eleven 
thousand pounds, was blessed by Bishop De Goes- 


briand, of Burlington, and sounded forth November | 


25th following. This was the generous donation of 


pastor. 


Im- | 


It was de- | 
The funds for its | 


An | 


ample dwelling-house, situated on a portion of this | 


| 


{ 
| 





terest. 

Industries.—R. Bleakie & Co.'s woolen-mills. 
The gift of several acres by a number of interested 
land-owners to Francis Skinner and others, in 1862, 
led to the formation and incorporation of the Hyde 
Park Woolen Company in 1863, which at once began 


| the erection of a twelve-set mill for the production 


of army goods, blankets, and flannels. The first 
blanket was woven by John Bleakie, father of the 
Robert Bleakie 
became superintendent Aug. 1, 1864, and under his 
able direction it became so successful that, in 1865, 
the capacity of the mill was increased to twenty-one 


present owner, on July 51, 1863. 


sets of cards, employing about four hundred opera- 
Karly in the morning of June 9, 1873, the 
mills took fire, and all but the bare walls of the main 


tives. 


building, and the chimney, was destroyed, involving 
a loss of some four hundred thousand dollars, and 
scattering the employés to other places until the 
work of rebuilding should be completed. This work 
was commenced at once, and pushed with all possible 
energy until Fall, when the disastrous financial panic 
which then swept over the country made it seem 
most prudent to discontinue new enterprises till it 
should be past. So the windows and doors of the 
mills were put in, and the property left in the care of 
faithful watchmen. Then followed a long season of 
depression in the woolen business, so serious that 
there was no encouragement to resume operations ; 
and finally, in the fall of 1878, the whole plant was 
sold to Robert Bleakie, since which time it has been 
operated to its full capacity, fourteen sets of cards, in 
the manufacture of suitings and overcoatings, by the 


firm of which Mr. Bleakie is the senior partner, and 
gives employment to nearly three hundred workers. 


The large amount of taxable property, and the 
money monthly paid to the operatives, is a consider- 


able item in the prosperity of the town, and its citi- 
the late Martin O’Brien, of this town, and of the | 


The numbers of persons at the present time | 
Pp 


attached to the church is two thousand one hundred, | 


with three hundred and forty attendants at the Sun- 


day-school. The society is in a most flourishing con- 


zens regard with much pride the neat appearance of 
the buildings and the well-kept grounds around them. 


Tileston & Hollingsworth’s Paper-Mill. In 1836, 


_ Edmund Tileston, of Dorchester, and Amos Hollings- 


worth, of Milton, purchased the old Sumner Mills, a 








— 


HYDE PARK. 


aint 





detailed account of which, since its erection by George | 
Clark, was published in 1859 in the “History of | 
Dorchester.’’ Then (1836) the property consisted — 
of a paper-mill and’a cotton-mill. In 1837 the cot-_ 
ton-mill burned down, and the firm built a paper- 
mill in its place. This mill, on which many addi- , 
tions and alterations had in course of time been 
made, was burned March 12, 1881, and the same 
year Franklin L. Tileston and Amos L. Hollings- 
worth, sons of the former partners and successors of | 
the old firm, built the present mill. This, with the © 
other mill standing on the same privilege, now makes 


five tons of fine plate- and book-paper per day. 
The cotton-mill at Readville is the oldest manufac- | 
tory in the town, and one of the oldest in the State. | 
A portion of the present wooden building was erected 
in 1814. It was capable of running sixty-six looms 
and producing two thousand yards of cloth per day. 
It was built and operated by a copartnership, which 
was changed from time to time, but always retained | 
the name of the Dedham Manufacturing Company. | 
It was first under the superintendence of F. A. Taft ; 
later under that of Ezra W. Taft, still living in Ded- | 
ham. In 1852 the late James Downing, of Hyde 
Park, became its superintendent and agent, and so 
continued till 1864. 
seer in 1816, and consequently was identified with it | 
Ex-Governor Gardner, of Mas- 
sachusetts, was one of the early partners; also Mr. 


He began in the mill as over- | 
for forty-eight years. 


Lemist, who was lost at the burning of the steamer 
“Lexington”; also Mr. Read, in honor of whom 
Readville took its name. At the breaking out of the 
civil war a quantity of cotton in transitu for the mill | 
was seized by rebels at Baltimore, and not recovered. 
When the supply on hand was exhausted the mill 
closed, and did not reopen under its old management. 
In 1864 it was sold to Mr. Boynton, of Boston, and 
Manton Bros., of Providence, by whom the large 
brick mill was built. In 1867 it passed into the 
hands of the Smithfield Manufacturing Company of 
Providence, by whom the wooden mill was enlarged 
to about double its former capacity. The whole 
property is now owned by B. B. & R. Knight, of | 
Providence. It runs about four hundred and fifty 
looms, and furnishes employment to over three hun- 
dred and fifty operatives. The power is supplied 
partly by water, but chiefly by steam. The following | 
incident attending the acquisition of this privilege is | 
handed down by oral tradition. At the time when | 
the old mill was built, by the law or usage a privilege» 
could be acquired by the party first improving it by a 
dam and wheel in operation. Three parties competed 





the present site. The middle party proved most en- 
terprising. It got its dam well along, ferreted out 
somewhere an old water-wheel, placed it in position in 
the night, and got it actually in motion, and thus 
claimed and held its location. 

The American Tool and Machine Company, manu- 
facturing castings, is among the most valuable and 
important of the industries of the town. It occupies 
extensive buildings, has a great amount of taxable 
property, employs a large force of skilled and intelli- 
gent workmen, and has a monthly pay-roll of some 
thirteen thousand dollars. 

The Brainard Miiling Machine Company, whose 
specialty of manufacture is indicated by its name, is a 
concern of large extent and great activity. 

Among the others may be enumerated the Boston 
Blower Company, machines; Glover & Wilcomb’s 
curled-hair factory; J. T. Robinson & Co., manufac- 
turers of paper-box machinery; John Scott, wool 
scouring ; Kenyon & Crabtree, chemicals; Alden & 
Co., Waste Rubber Chemical Company; Alden & 
Gammett, tack manufacturers; Moody & Co., horse- 
nail manufacturers ; Readville Rubber Company; R. 
H. Gray & Co., shoddy; S. Z. Leslie & Co., Novelty 
Wood-Work ; H. N. Bates, door-spring manufacturer ; 
John Johnston, carriage manufacturer; McDonald & 
Co., morocco curriers; J. M. Bullard, grist-mill ; 
People’s Ice Company and C. E. Davenport & Co., 


ice cutters and dealers; C. L. Farnsworth’s bakery ; 


and many others of less proportions. 

As has been previously mentioned, about two hun- 
dred acres, or one-fourteenth of the area of the town, 
is embraced in streets; of these, some twenty-five 
miles of highways have been accepted and are under 
the care and supervision of the surveyors; the re- 
mainder are private ways. No street less than forty 
feet in width is accepted. Thanks to the Centennial 
tree-planting, these avenues are beginning to be well 
shaded by thrifty forest-trees. They are for the most 
part thickly studded with residences, which, being of 
so recent construction, are all of modern style, are 
kept in remarkably good repair, and present a very 


attractive appearance. They are the homes of hun- 


_ dreds whose daily avocations are pursued in the adja- 


cent city of Boston. The two lines of railway, furnish- 


_ ing in the aggregate forty-five trains each way to and 


from the city, provide every facility for this manner 
of living, and being through lines, the convenience of 
The 
amateur culture of pears and grapes is almost uni- 
The schools of Hyde 
The high 


access to any desired point is unsurpassed. 


versal, and quite successful. 
Park are contained in six buildings. 


for this privilege,—one at, one above, and one below | school, with about one hundred pupils’ and four 


912 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





teachers, is located on the corner of Hyde Park Avenue 
and Everett Street, near the middle of the town. 
small building in the same yard is occupied by a 
primary school. The Grew School, on Gordon Avenue, 
Sunnyside, F. H. Dean, principal ; the Damon School, 
on Readville Street, E. W. Cross, principal ; the Fair- 


Greenwood School, D. G. Thompson, principal, in the 
Hazlewood district, are each large edifices, with eight 
class-rooms and a hall, and in them, at the present 
writing, one thousand four hundred and fifty scholars 
are taught by twenty-nine teachers. The annual re- 
ports of the State Board of Education give Hyde Park 
a very honorable standing among the towns of the 
commonwealth. The only other public structure 
belonging to the town is the fire-engine house on 
Central Park Avenue. 
ganized, and has been effective in subduing fires. W. 
W. Hilton is chief engineer, C. L. Farnsworth and 


F. 


consists of two steamers, one chemical engine, and 


This department is well or- 


A. Sweet, assistants. ‘he principal apparatus 


the requisite hose and hook-and-ladder carriages. | 


The principal other buildings of a quasi-public char- 
acter are the Bank Building, 
way, and Neponset Block, owned by I. J. Brown, both 
on Everett Square, and Masonic Hall Block, owned 
by J. S. Conant, and Everett Block, owned by the 
East Boston Savings-Bank, both on River Street, the 
latter now containing the town offices. 

The following is a brief sketch of the only banking 
institution which Hyde Park can boast. During the 
winter of 1870-71 the necessary preliminary steps 
were taken, which resulted in the passage by the Leg- 
islature of ‘‘ An Act to incorporate the Hyde Park 
Savings-Bank,” approved March 11, 1871, in which 
Henry Grew, Martin L. Whitcher, and James Down- 


ing were named as corporators. These gentlemen, 


with the associates whom they selected,—forty in all, | 


—met in the hall then used for a high-school room, 
corner of River Street and Hyde Park Avenue, April 


20, 1871, and voted to accept the charter. <A full 


organization was effected at that time by the choice | 


of Charles F. Gerry as president, with the requisite 
number of vice-presidents and trustees. 
At a subsequent meeting of the trustees, at the 


house of Mr. Whitcher, April 27, 1871,° Henry S. 


‘AG 


owned by A. H. Hol- | 





leased from and after Jan. 1, 1876. 
mount School, H. F. Howard, principal; and the | 


the bank was transacted until that building was de- 
stroyed by fire, May 5, 1874. ‘Temporary quarters 
were then provided in the town offices, Everett 
Block. The Bank Building was erected in 1875, and 
the rooms in the same, which are now used; were 
The bank has 
had four presidents, Charles F. Gerry serving five 
years ; Henry Grew, one year; Isaac J. Brown, three 
years; and Robert Bleakie, four years. 

The bank shared in the embarrassments to which 


the majority of Massachusetts savings-banks were sub- 
_ jected as the result of protracted business stagnation 


and depression. For two years, in common with 
many others, it was placed by the State Commis- 
sioners under the restrictions of the ‘Stay Law.” 
By this means one of our most useful local institu- 
tions was preserved, although at the date of resump- 
tion, June 15, 1880, the amount of deposits had 
dwindled to about thirty thousand dollars. Since 
that time, under wise and conservative management, 
the Hyde Park Savings-Bank has prospered, and has 
received a full measure of the confidence and patron- 
It has now about 
eight hundred depositors, the amount of the deposits 
being one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. 

The present officers are, viz.: President, Robert 
Bleakie ; Vice-Presidents, Amos H. Brainard, Ben- 
jamin C. Vose, J. Ellery Piper, Sidney C. Putnam ; 
Trustees, Robert Bleakie, William J. Stuart, Benja- 
min F. Radford, David Perkins, Waldo F. Ward, 
Orin T. Gray, Rinaldo Williams, Frederick N. Tir- 


age of the citizens of the town. 


—rell, John 8. Bleakie, Hobart M. Cable, Augustus H. 





| Hyde Park. 


Bunton was elected treasurer, and has held the posi- 


tion continuously since. The bank was opened for 
the reception of deposits in the selectmen’s room, 
town hall, June 17, 1871, the first depositor being 
John M. Twitchell. 

On the Ist of September following rooms were 


occupied in Neponset Block, where the business of 


Page, James D. McAvoy, Francis W. Tewksbury, 
Wilbert J. Case, George Sanford; Treasurer, Henry 
8. Bunton. 

The town rejoices in two weekly papers. The 
Norfolk County Gazette, Samuel R. Moseley, editor, 
is the lineal descendant of the Dedham Gazette, which 
was established in Dedham in 1813, and of the Hyde 


| Park Journal, started in Hyde Park in 1868, by 


Barrows & Getchell. Feb. 26, 1870, the Gazette, 
then edited by Henry O. Hildreth, now postmaster at 
Dedham, and the Jowrnal were united, under the 
name of the Norfolk County Gazette, Hildreth & 
Getchell, editors, and the place of publication fixed at 
A few years later Mr. Hildreth retired, 
and Getchell & Moseley carried on the paper until 
Jan. 15, 1877, when Mr. Getchell was succeeded by 
It 


is by far the oldest paper in the county, and has num- 


Mr. Moseley, the present editor and proprietor. 


_bered among its contributors many of the most emi- 


nent men in this section of the State. 
The Hyde Park Times issued its first number June 


HYDE 





PARK. 913 





9, 1883, with E. S. Hathaway as its editor; it soon 
passed into the hands of Hunt & Chamberlin, and | 


again into those of Herbert E. Hunt, its present 
editor and proprietor. A mere infant yet, its career 
and reputation lie before it. 

Oct. 29, 1868, the Everett House, a pretty and 
comfortable building, standing on the corner of the 
square, was opened to the public as a hotel. 
the twelve years it was kept open it served as the 
temporary home of many families now domiciled in 
homes of their own in the town, and their recollec- 
tions of their sojourn there are doubtless fraught with 
The Willard House, on Gordon 
Avenue, was first opened Jan. 22, 1873. 
called the Lincoln House, and is the only hotel in the 
place. 


pleasant memories 


Hyde Park abounds in secret orders, prominent 
among which stand the Masons and Odd-Fellows, a 
detailed account of which organizations follows. 

Masonic Organizations.— Before the incorpora- 
tion of the town of Hyde Park, the establishment of 
dent within its present territorial limits. A dispen- 
shipful Grand Master in response to a petition 
bearing twenty-one signatures. 
ings had been held at various places in Dediam and 
Hyde Park, and the first regular communication of 





During > 


It is now | 


uninterrupted prosperity. By the fire the fraternity 
were suddenly ejected from the pleasant rooms which 
had so long been their home, and suffered a total loss 
of all their furniture and paraphernalia. By special 
authority from the Grand Master the meetings of 
Hyde Park Lodge were held for three months in the 
hall of Constellation Lodge, of Dedham, and more 
recently in Neponset Hall, until the completion of 
| spacious and convenient apartments in the new Ma- 
sonic building on River Street. The new halls were 
| occupied by the lodge on the 15th of February, 1884, 
_and are admirably arranged for Masonic purposes. 
The furniture includes a fine organ, built by Messrs. 
Hook & Hastings, of Boston. 

The lodge has now about one hundred and forty 
members, and includes many of the leading business 
men and officers of the town. 


Among the names 
which have appeared on its roll of membership are 
those of two venerable Masons, James Downing and 
Timothy Phelps, each of whom had served the old 





_ Constellation Lodge, of Dedham, as Worshipful Mas- 
a lodge was considered desirable by the Masons resi- | 


ter. Mr. Downing was made a Mason in 1819, and 


| Mr. Phelps in 1821. 
sation was, therefore, procured from the Most Wor- | 


Preliminary meet- | 


Hyde Park Lodge was called Feb. 15, 1866, at a_ 


small hall on Fairmount Avenue, since occupied by | 


the Advent society. Here the lodge held its meet- 


leased and fitted up in the Music Hall building, cor- 
ner of River Street and Hyde Park Avenue. The 
same was dedicated, and Hyde Park Lodge was con- 


Its first chaplain was Rev. Alvan H. Washburn, 
D.D., who at the time was rector of Christ Church. 
He was a man of prominence in the church, and his 
untimely death, Dec. 29, 1876, in a railroad disaster 
at Ashtabula, Ohio, sent a thrill of sorrow through 
the hearts of many who had known and loved him. 
Hyde Park Lodge has a charity fund of good pro- 


_ portions, and its philanthropic work has been con- 
ings until the following winter, when a hall was | 


stituted by Grand Master Charles C. Dame and the 


officers of the Grand Lodge, Dec. 21, 1866. The 
P. Davis, Charles F. Gerry, Charles A. Jordan, 
Samuel A. Bradbury, William W. Colburn, William 
U. Fairbairn, Nathaniel Hebard, James L. Vialle, 


stant and effective. One of its pleasant social features 
has been an annual entertainment on Washington’s 
birthday for the benefit of the wives and families of 
its members. | 


The following-named persons have successively held 


_ the office of Worshipful Master since the organization 
charter members were fifteen in number, viz.: Enoch | 


David 8. Hill, Timothy Phelps, William A. Bullard, | 


Robert Campbell, Francis H. Coffin, Waldo F. Ward, 
and Ambrose B. Galucia. In September, 1869, the 
fraternity again folded their tents, and occupied apart- 
ments in the third story of the Gordon Hall building, 
corner of River Street and Gordon Avenue. The 


of the lodge, each for a term of service of two years: 
1866-67, Enoch P. Davis; 1868-69, Charles F. 
Gerry; 1870-71, William H. Jordan; 1872-73, 
Henry S. Bunton; 1874-75, Fergus A. Easton; 
1876-77, William H. Ingersoll; 1878-79, Charles 
H. Colby; 1880-81, John F. Ross; 1882-83, Ste- 
phen B. Balkam. 

The following is the present list of officers: Henry 


| N. Bates, W. M.; James F. Mooar, S. W.; Henry 


building was purchased by the town the following | 


year, and used and known as the Town Hall until 
its destruction by fire, March 7, 1883. 

During this period of nearly fourteen years a Chap- 
ter, Council, and Commandery were organized, and 


F. Howard, J. W.; Henry S. Bunton, Treas. ; 
Thomas D. Tooker, Sec. ; Charles Sturtevant, Chap- 
| lain ; Melville P. Morrell, Marshal ; Edwin W. Sawyer, 

S. D.; Albert E. Bradley, J. D.; Robert Scott, Jr., 
§.S.; George L. Lang, J. S.; Thomas F. Sumner, 
| I. S.; Zorester B. Coes, Organist; David A. Me- 


the history of each of the several bodies was one of | Donald, Tyler. 


58 


914 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Norfolk Royal Arch Chapter commenced its ex- 
istence May 18, 1870, under a dispensation from the 
Grand High Priest, Henry Chickering. The chap- 
ter was duly consecrated and constituted May 24, 
1871, with twenty-eight charter members. Its sev- 
eral High Priests have been, viz.: 1871-72, Gama- 
liel Hodges; 1873, Sylvanus Cobb, Jr.; 1874-76, 


Henry 8. Bunton; 1877, Charles C. Nichols; 1878, | 


William H. Ingersoll ; 1879, Henry C. Chamberlain ; 
1880-81, Charles L. Farnsworth; 1882-83, Moses 
N. Gage. 


Its present officers are Moses N. Gage, M. E. H.P.; | 
| E. C.; Moses N. Gage, G.; 


David L. Hodges, E. K.; Eugene E. Cadue, E. 8. ; 
Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., Treas. ; Henry S. Bunton, See. ; 
Henry N. Bates, CO. of H.; Charles Sturtevant, P.S. ; 
Melville P. Morrell, R. A. C.; Philander Harlow, 


M. 3d V.; Henry M. Phipps, M. 2d V.; Edwin C. | 
Aldrich, M. Ist V.; Andrew Cochran, Chaplain ; | 


Charles L. Farnsworth, 8. 8.; Henry S. Holtham, 
J. 8.; Edward Roberts, Organist; David A. Mc- 
Donald, Tyler. 

The present membership of Norfolk Chapter is 
about eighty. 


members of the Grand Chapter of Massachusetts, | 


Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., who was elected Grand Scribe in 


Two of its members are permanent | 





St. John of Jerusalem after their expulsion from the 
Holy Land. Cyprus Commandery was constituted 
and dedicated Oct. 12, 1874, by the Grand Com- 
mandery of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, on 
which occasion Rev. George 8. Noyes delivered an 
historical address. The number of charter members 
was twenty seven. 

Its Eminent Commanders have been, viz.: 1873- 
75, Gamaliel Hodges ; 1876-77, Henry C. Chamber- 
lain; 1878, Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. ; 1879-80, Henry S. 
Bunton ; 1881-82, George F. Lincoln. 

The present officers are, viz.: Stephen B. Balkam, 
Melville P. Morrell, 
C. G.; Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., Prel.; Henry N. Bates, 
S. W.; Charles Sturtevant, J. W.; Daniel J. Goss, 
Treas. ; Francis L. Gerald, Rec. ; Edwin C. Aldrich, 
S’d B.; Philander Harlow, Sw’d B.; Samuel E. 
Ward, W.; Benjamin F. Tyler, Henry S. Holtham, 
Joel F. Godwin, C. of G.; David A. McDonald, 
A. and 8. 

Its present membership is about sixty. 

Independent Order of Odd-Fellows.—In re- 
sponse to a petition bearing ten signatures, the Grand 
Lodge granted a charter, and Feb. 20, 1869, Forest 


| Lodge, No. 148, I. O. O. F., was instituted by Grand 


1880, and Henry S. Bunton, who was elected Deputy — 


Grand High Priest in 1883. 


Hyde Park Council of Royal and Select Masters | 


was organized under a dispensation from Charles H. 
Morris, Most [lustrious Grand Master, dated Oct. 1, 
1872, and was chartered and constituted Oct. 6, 1873, 
with thirty-five charter members. 

The following-named persons have held the office 
1873-74, Gamaliel 


of Thrice Illustrious Master: 


Master Levi C. Warren and suite of Grand Officers. 
The charter members were nine in number, viz.: 
David Perkins, Rufus B. Plummer, George W. Hal- 
liday, Sidney Winter, John R. Thompson, Fergus A. 
Easton, William H. Nightingale, George G. Bolton, 
and Nathaniel Shepard. The lodge held its first 


meeting in what was then known as Masonic Hall, in 


Hodges; 1875, Fergus A. Easton; 1876-77, Henry | 
S. Bunton ; 1878, John F. Ross ; 1879-80, Sylvanus | 


Cobb, Jr. ; 1881, Charles M. Tilly ; 1882, Henry N. 
Bates. 

The present officers are, viz.: David L. Hodges, 
T. I. M.; Eugene E. Caduc, D. M.; Sylvanus Cobb, 
Jr., P. C. W.; Francis L. Gerald, Treas. ; Henry S. 


Bunton, Rec.; Moses N. Gage, C. of G.; Charles | 


Sturtevant, C. of C.; Ellis H. Williams, Chaplain ; 

John F. Ross, Marshal; Charles L. 

Steward ; David A. McDonald, Sent. 
The present membership of Hyde Park Council is 


Farnsworth. 


about sixty. 
Cyprus Commandery of Knights Templar and 
the Appendant Orders was organized under dispensa- 


tion from Nicholas Van Slyck, Grand Commander, 
_men of influence and standing in the community, and 


Oct. 31, 1873. 


The name was given in allusion to the island of 


the building now occupied by Putnam & Worden, 
corner of Hyde Park Avenue and River Street. 
From this it removed, Oct. 8, 1869, to Brage’s Hall, 
on Fairmount Avenue, where it remained till January, 
1870, when it again changed to the New Masonic 
Hall, in the late town building, corner of Gordon 
Avenue and River Street. In 1873 it took up its 
quarters in Pythias Hall, where it has since remained, 
the name being changed to Odd-Fellows’ Hall. The 
whole experience of the lodge has been gratifying in 
respect to its growth in numbers, in social influence, 
and financially. It was particularly prosperous under 
the guidance and energetic assistance of Deputy Grand 
Master Samuel Cochran, a citizen of Hyde Park, a 


_ present Grand Master of the Grand Lodge, I. O. O. F., 


of Massachusetts. 
Its present active membership is one hundred and 
seventy-seven, embracing among its members many 


from whose ranks numerous recipients of municipa 


Cyprus, which was the first asylum of the Knights of | honors have been drawn. 


HYDE 


PARK. 915 





The lodge has some $4000 standing to its credit in 
safe investments, and lodge furniture, regalia, and 
paraphernalia to the value of $1500 to $1800 
more. 

The following persons have held successively the 


position of Noble Grand since 1880, the time of the» 


adoption of the present constitution and by-laws: 
Henry P. Bussey, from July, 1880, to January, 1881 ; 


George L. Eldridge, from January, 1881, to July, | 


1881; Frederick E. Rollins, from July, 1881, to 





July, 1882; William W. Fowler, from July, 1882, | 


to January, 1883; Frank H. Foge 


ge, from January, 


1883, to July, 1883; Charles S. Butters, from July, | 


1883, to January, 1884. 


The present elective officers are: N. G., William | 
H. Kelley; V. G., James H. Bell; R.S., Henry F. | 


Arnold; Treas., Francis L. Gerald; P. 8., Richard 
F. Boynton; Trustees, William Price, George L. 


’ Eldridge, Frederick KE. Rollins. 


The appointed officers are: W., Edward J. Price; 
C., Edwin L. Slocomb; O. G., Jacob C. Hanscom ; 





Rollins; L.S. N. G., Robert P. Holmes; R.S. V.G., | 
James O. Buzzell; L. S. V. G., Douglas Strachan; _ 


R.8.8., Edwin L. Tuckerman; L. 8. S., Henry L. 


Boss ; Chaplain, George L. Eldridge ; Organist, Frank | 


A. Shuman. 


| evenings. 


each month. Its present membership is one hundred 
and thirty-one. 

Neponset Council, No. 136, Royal Arcanum, was 
organized Aug. 6, 1878. It meets in Neponset Hall, 
alternate Monday evenings. Its present membership 
is one hundred. 

Golden Rule Commandery, No. 53, United Order 
of the Golden Cross, was organized April 2, 1879. 
It meets at Neponset Hall on first and third Thurs- 
day evenings. Its present membership is thirty-four. 

Fairmount Council, No. 149, American Legion of 
Honor, was organized April 7, 1881. It meets in 
Odd-Fellows’ Hall, second and fourth Thursday 
Its present membership is sixty-five. 

Riverside Lodge, No. 33, Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, was organized Oct. 31, 1881; meets in 


_ Neponset Hall, first and third Tuesdays, and has a 


membership of sixty-two. 
St. John’s Court, No. 23, Massachusetts Catholic 
Order of Foresters, was organized Dec. 14, 1881; 


_ meets in Odd-Fellows’ Hall on second Mondays of 
I. G., William Holtham; R. 8S. N. G., Frederick E. | 


each month, and has a membership of fifty. 
Hyde Park Council, No. 66, Order of United 
Friends, was organized March 28, 1883; meets in 


Grand Army of the Republic Hall, first and third 


Progressive Degree Lodge, No. 34, Daughters of | 


Rebecca, I. O. O. F., was instituted in Odd-Fellows’ 
Hall, March 8, 1882, by Grand Master Henry W. 
Clark and suite, of the Grand Lodge of Massachu- 
setts. It began with thirty-three charter and forty- 
nine other members, and now has ninety-eight. 

Its first Noble Grand was William Price; Mrs. 


Carrie F. Arnold at present holds that office. It 


evenings in each month. 

Ambassadress Lodge, No. 5, Union Order of In- 
dependent Odd-Ladies, was instituted in Odd-Fellows’ 
Hall, Feb. 9, 1880, by the late Mrs. Eliza A. Hamlin, 
then Right Worthy Lady Governess of the Govern- 
ment Lodge. 
bers, and now numbers forty-seven. 


It started with fourteen charter mem- 
One member 


one hundred and thirty-five. 


Thursdays of each month, and has a membership of 
sixty-three. 

The subjoined includes the remaining orders and 
associations : 

Timothy Ingraham Post, No. 121, Department 
of Massachusetts, Grand Army of the Republic, 
was organized March 24, 1870, with the name of 
H. A. Darling Post. Its present membership is 
It meets in Grand 


_ Army of the Republic Hall, on first Mondays of 
meets at Odd-Fellows’ Hall, first and third Wednesday _ 


| 


only, Mrs. Emma 8S. Christopher, has been removed | 


by death. The first presiding officer of the lodge was 
Mrs. 8. J. Boynton; the present one is Mrs. S. J. 
Fowler. It meets alternate Tuesday afternoons at 
Odd-Fellows’ Hall. 

The following secret orders of mutual life insurance 
societies are established in the town: 

Hyde Park Lodge, No. 437, Knights of Honor, 


was organized Jan. 31,1877. It meets in Neponset 


Hall on the seeond, fourth, and fifth Wednesdays of | 


each month from April to October, and on first 
and third Mondays from October to April. 
G. Bailey, Jr., commander. 

Timothy Ingraham Woman's Relief Corps, No. 
35, Dept. Mass., organized Feb. 18, 1884, with forty- 
four charter members. Mrs. Helen Bryant, presi- 
dent. Meets at Grand Army of the Republic Hall. 

Young Men's Lyceum, organized April 8, 1883, 
meets in Lyric Hall, on alternate Thursdays; mem- 
bership, forty-four. 

There has just been incorporated a water company, 
composed of citizens of the town, who propose to soon 
furnish an ample supply of pure water for domestic 
and other uses, and thus provide for a want which 
has been greatly felt. 

The writer has purposely avoided the ungrateful 
task of selecting from among his contemporaries 
names of citizens for special mention or honor. 


George 


916 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Where particular reference has been made to indi- 
viduals, it has been in consequence of their connection 
with events which fell within the scope of this me- 
moir. Hyde Park contains at least its fair propor- 
tion of men and women whose abilities and achieve- 
ments will leave an indelible mark after them, but it 
will devolve upon some future historian to commemo- 
rate them. Our successors are our only just biogra- 
phers. 

It only remains now to refer to the town’s repre- 
sentatives and local government. 

Hyde Park did not become entitled to a representa- 
tive in the General Court until 1877. Charles F. 
Gerry served in that capacity during that year, it 
being the last year of his residence here. His suc- 
cessor was William J. Stuart, who served during 
1878 and 1879. Hobart M. Cable followed him, and 
held the position during 1880-83. Henry C. Stark 
is the present representative. 

The principal town offices are now held by the fol- 
lowing gentlemen : 

Selectmen, H. C. Stark, D. W. C. Rogers, Samuel 
Cochran ; Assessors, J. F. Goodwin, George Sanford, 
Charles Haley ; Treasurer, Henry 8S. Bunton; Col- 
lector, George Sanford ; Town Clerk, Henry B. Terry , 
School Committee, Andrew Washburn, OC. G. Chick, 
H.S. Bunton, R. M. Johnson, G. M. Fellows, H. M. 
Cable. 

The present valuation of the town is $4,855,402. 

Hyde Park has now passed through the somewhat 
boisterous, turbulent, and doubtful period of adoles- 
cence, and stands upon the threshold of a long life of 
promise and vigor. Favored in its location, strong in 
its resources, proud of its institutions and its people, 
it looks to the future with hope and confidence. 

The writer must express his acknowledgment of the 
ready assistance afforded him by several, and particu- 
larly by Mr. Henry A. Rich, who placed in his hands 
a mass of valuable papers gathered during the last 
twenty-eight years with a view to their use in the 
preparation of an extended history of Hyde Park, 
which Mr. Rich proposes to have prepared at an 
early date. Without these the foregoing sketch would 
have been, necessarily, much more incomplete. 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, 


ROBERT BLEAKIE. 
Robert Bleakie was born Aug. 1, 1833, at Ruther- 
glen, near Glasgow, Scotland, and is the eldest of the 
four children of John and Mary Maxwell Bleakie. 





In 1836 the elder Bleakie moved to Hawick, Scot- 
land, where he followed his profession, that of an over- 
seer of woolen weavers, for the prominent firm of 
Dixon & Laing. Robert received the first of his 
school education in an institution under the manage- 
ment of the Presbyterian Church, and at the age of 
eleven years entered the employ of the above firm as 
a bobbin-boy, and in a year’s time became a weaver 
under his father. 

In 1847 his father engaged to go to America, in 
the employ of the famous Salisbury Mills, of Salisbury 
and Amesbury, Mass., for the purpose of starting the 
Jirst fancy woolen looms in the country. Less than 
one year later the family followed, under the care of 
Robert, who was employed in the mills as a weaver 
until 1850, when the family moved to Kast Green- 
wich, R. I., where he followed his trade until 1852, 
when he, in his turn, was called to take charge of the 
weaving department of the very successful Klm Street 
Woolen-Mills, in Providence, R. I., and while living 
in that city he completed his school education at night 
schools. Here he continued until 1859, when he was 
engaged as superintendent of the Harrison Mills, at 
Franklin, N. J. Two years later he accepted a simi- 
lar position in a large woolen-mill in Rhode Island, 
where he remained until he went into business for 
himself, starting a one-set woolen-mill, in 1861, at 
Tolland, Conn. 

While considering, in 1864, a proposition to go 
into business with Messrs. Chapin & Downes, of 
Providence, R. I., he received what seemed an ad- 
vantageous offer, to take the superintendence of the 
woolen company’s ‘mills at Hyde Park, which he ac- 
cepted, and in this place he has since made his home, 
except for a short interval, during which he resided 
in Amesbury, Mass. After the destruction of the 
mills at Hyde Park by fire, in June, 1873, Mr. 
Bleakie assisted in the management of several other 
mills controlled by the same owners. 

Karly in 1876 he invited his brother, John S., 
and his friend, Charles Fred. Allen, to become his 
partners in the woolen business, and they commenced 
eperations under the firm-name of Robert Bleakie & 
Co., in a six-set mill at Sabattus, in the town of 
Webster, Me., on the 1st day of February. Before 
the end of the year they hired an eight-set mill at 
Amesbury, Mass., and afterwards bought both, and 
operated them in connection with the woolen-mill in 
Hyde Park, which was purchased by the firm in 
1878, and supplied with fourteen sets of machinery. 
The business at Sabattus, Me., had increased to eleven 
sets in 1882, making the whole number thirty-three 
under one private management, with headquarters at 


























HYDE PARK. 


917 





Hyde Park, and doing an annual business of more 


than a million dollars. 

Mr. Bleakie was twice married. Of five children 
three survive,—two daughters and a son. 

As a citizen, he has always taken an active interest 
in national, State, and local affairs, although he has 
never been persuaded to accept public office. 
always commanded the confidence of his fellow-citi- 
He is a member of the Masonic order, and 
for several years has been the president of the Hyde 
Park Savings-Bank. 


zens. 





WILLIAM J. STUART. 
William J. Stuart, son of Arthur and Agnes 
(Mason) Stuart, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., March 


15, 1828. He comes from the noted Stuarts of Scot- 


land, through a Scotch-Irish branch. His father was 
prominently connected with railroading in the United 
States from its earliest days, being employed on the 
Pottsville Railroad, in Pennsylvania, one of the first 
adventures of this now greatly multiplied means of 
travel. About 1835 he came to Boston, and became 
what is now called assistant superintendent or general 
manager of the Boston and Worcester Railroad, and 
thus William received the educational advantages of 
the justly-celebrated public schools of Boston, sup- 
plemented by two years’ attendance at Marshall S. 
Rice’s private school at Newton. When he was four- 





ceased, Mr. Stuart for some years was engaged on 
sugar machinery and brewery fittings, but now makes 
a specialty of radiators for house-warming. He has 
been content with a profitable business of moderate 
extent, has never tried to do a rushing business, and 


_has had no desire to change from the even tenor of 


He has | 


his regular avocation. Although burned out three 
times, he has, on each occasion, at once rebuilt, and, 
as before mentioned, carries on his business to-day 


where he first started. Mr. Stuart married, May 23, 


| 1853, Sarah M., daughter of the distinguished Dr. 


ordinary attractions and character. 
| 
26, 1871. 


Leroy Sunderland. She was a woman of more than 
She died July 
On Oct. 4, 1874, he was married to Mrs. 
Elizabeth G. Daniels, daughter of Edward and Ruth 
(Snow) Barber. 

Mr. Stuart became a resident of Fairmount in the 
spring of 1858, and the next year became a land- 
owner here, and erected his present residence. He 
was one of the incorporators of the town of Hyde 


| Park, was elected one of its first board of selectmen, 


teen years old he was indentured to learn the trade of | 
coppersmith with Hinckley & Drury (predecessors of | 


Boston Locomotive-Works). Serving until he was 
of age, he became master of all the details of the 


business, but, wishing a short change of avocation, he | 


went to Pennsylvania, and passed one season with a 


company of civil engineers on a railroad in the Le- | 
5 | 


high Valley. Returning to Boston, the next year he 


engaged in business for himself as a coppersmith in _ 
South Boston, on the site ever since occupied by him | 
Since the establishment of his | 


for the same purpose. 
business, which was then largely devoted to locomo- 





tive work, there have been three radical changes in | 


the character of his products. From locomotive work 


he changed to sugar-works for Cuban plantations. 
About 1860 this trade was superseded by steamboat 
work for Loring, the ship-builder, and during the 
Rebellion was entirely employed on government ves- 
sels. He made the copper-work of the first two gun- 
boats (small ones) ordered by the government, and 
also for, among numerous others, the ‘“‘ Nahant’ and 
‘‘Canonicus,’ and put all of the copper-work into 
Commodore Farragut’s celebrated flag-ship ‘ Hart- 


ford.” When the war closed and government work 


was its second representative to the Legislature, serv- 
ing two years (1878-79), and is now one of the three 
commissioners of the sinking fund of the town. He 
has ever been active in public affairs, is a thoroughly 
genial and pleasant social companion, and has many 
friends. He is an advanced thinker, and holds the 
most liberal and progressive views in politics, religion, 
and other questions of the day. Originally Free-Soil, 
he has been a Radical Republican since 1856. Pos- 
sessed of a fine amount of property, the reward of his 
diligence and attention to business, he is one of the 
best representatives of the town of his adoption, and 
to whose welfare he has given so much of his service, 
and holds a high place in the regards of his townsmen. 


MAJ. ANDREW WASHBURN. 

Andrew Washburn, son of Joshua and Sylvia 
(Mosman) Washburn, was born at Newton, Mass., Ano. 
23, 1830. 
Washburn family, which has held so many prominent 


He is a scion of the highly distinguished 


positions in civil, military, and professional affairs. 
Governor Emory Washburn once informed Andrew 
that his great-grandfather aud Andrew’s grandfather 
was the same person. 

Joshua Washburn was born in Natick about 1800. 
He removed to Newton about 1820, where he mar- 
ried Sylvia Mosman, a native of Weston, Mass., but 
of Scotch ancestry. He purchased a large farm, on 
which he has resided for over sixty years, combining 
the avocation of merchant with that of agriculturist. 
His present homestead lies in the centre of Auburn- 


918 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





dale (Ward 4, Newton), which occupies the greater | 


part of his former estate. He is now hale and vig- | 


| 
A man of | 


orous at the age of nearly eighty-five. 
decided principles, he was one of the very earliest to | 
espouse the cause of freedom for the slave side by | 
side with Jackson, Phillips, Weld, and Garrison, 
when even a suspicion of abolitionism meant almost 
social ostracism, and placed its supporters at the mercy | 
of lawless mobs. Often when he was attending anti-_ 
slavery meetings Mrs. Washburn would pass the | 
hours at home in terror, fearing never to see him | 
alive. He was never an office-seeker, and shrunk | 
from all such positions, excepting those connected | 
with town affairs, which he discharged, as became a | 
good citizen, with the same sound practical sense that | 
characterized him in his private affairs. He has been 
for years a member of the Orthodox Congregational 
Church, and was at one time parish clerk of the | 
Second Church of Newton. Mrs. Joshua Washburn 
died in 1865, aged sixty-five. Of their six children, 
of whom Andrew is third child and second son, four 
now survive. 

Andrew was fitted for college at Newton by Rev. | 
Dr. Gilbert, and at Grantville (Wellesley Hills) by | 
Rev. Mr. Adams. He entered the class of 1848 at 
Middlebury College, Vermont, and after two years 
passed from the sophomore class of that college into 
the junior class at Harvard, a fact which speaks well 
for his proficiency at that time. He was graduated 
from Harvard University in 1852, and at once engaged 
in teaching, which profession he followed in high 
schools and academies for about eight years. In 1861, 
Maj. Washburn was resident superintendent of the 
State School for Feeble-Minded at | 

This position he resigned to take a | 
commission of first lieutenant in the Fourteenth Regi- 
ment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (afterwards 
First Heavy Artillery), and was quartermaster and 
commissary of the regiment. From Fort Warren, | 
where the regiment was organized, it was ordered to 


Massachusetts 
South Boston. 





Washington, and there was kept for some months as 
part of the defensive forces of that city. It was sent 
to the front, however, and Mr. Washburn with it | 
participated in the second battle of Bull Run, after | 
which engagement they again were placed on the | 
defensive force of Washington. Mr. Washburn was 
commissioned major Jan. 16, 1862, and served as | 


regimental and brigade quartermaster, regimental and 
brigade chief of ordnance, and also served on the staff 
of Maj..Gen. A. W. Whipple as chief of ordnance 
and artillery. His period of service in the Army of | 
the Potomac was about two years, mostly in Wash- 


ington and vicinity. He then returned to Massachu- | 


| Richmond. 
_and drafted the bill organizing the schools under the 


| Virginia State Council of the same order. 


setts, and was employed as construction clerk, assist- 
ant master pyrotechnist and master of pyrotechnics, 
and to take charge of the laboratories at the arsenal 
at Watertown. 
the war. 


Here he remained until the close of 
Resigning these offices, he then went to 


| Richmond, Va., for the Freedmen’s Aid Society of 


Boston, as superintendent of its schools, and was 
appointed to the same position for white schools by 
the American Union Commission of New York. Soon 
after arriving at Richmond he received the appoint- 


| ment of inspector of schools for the State of Virginia 


under the Freedmen’s Bureau, with headquarters at 
He was a member of the City Council, 


new order, and was made the first city superintend- 


ent. Afterwards, in connection with Dr. Sears, 


| agent of the Peabody Fund, he established the Rich- 


mond Normal School, and was its principal five years. 
For two years during the same period Maj. Washburn 
was clerk of the Hustings Court, with seven deputies 


| and clerks, and had all the responsibility of the crim- 


inal business of the city, and of all courts of record, 
probate, ete. He was also appointed United States 
pension agent, and twice commissioned as such, and 
was offered a third commission, which was declined. 
As an evidence of the high valuation placed upon 
Maj. Washburn’s services, we give the following letter 
from Hon. Columbus Delano, Secretary of the In- 
terior: 


“DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 
““WasuHiIneTon, D.C., Jan. 25, 1874. 
“ Dear Sir,—I am advised by your letter of the 7th that you 
decline a reappointment as Pension Agent at Richmond, Va. 


“T take pleasure in expressing my satisfaction with your 
administration, because it has always been marked with fidelity 
to the public interests, and I[ trust that the conduct of your suc- 
cessor will be equally satisfactory to the Pension Office and to 
this Department. 

“With a sincere desire for your future prosperity and suc- 
cess, I am, 

“Very truly yours, 
(Signed) 
“Hon. ANDREW WASHBURN, 


“C, DELANO. 


“Pension Agent, 
“ Richmond, Va.” 


He was one of the exccutive committee of the 
National Council of the Union League, an organiza- 
tion numbering at that time many thousand members 
in the Southern States, and was president of the 
He was 
president of the Richmond Colored Normal School . 


_ Association for seven or eight years. 


The public schools of Richmond have stood to the 
present as established, and have never taken one 


retrograding step. This city is the only place in the 





CANTON. ‘ 


919 





Southern States of which this can be said, and this | 
result is largely due to the care, foresight, and wisdom | 
of Major Washburn. Probably no other man could 
have been found who was better fitted for his work, | 
or who would have discharged his numerous and re-_ 
sponsible duties with more ability, or who would, | 
from the ruined and chaotic state of society in the 

anarchy immediately subsequent to a great war, have | 
evolved such beneficial and satisfactory results as were | 
brought about by him; and he has the satisfaction of | 
knowing that his services have been appreciated, and | 
that where his labors were carried on he still has the | 
warmest friendship of the best people. While a resi- | 
dent of Richmond his private business was extensive, | 
and we mention a few of the enterprises in which he 
was engaged in order to show his active, energetic, 
New England character. He had the contract for 
cutting the granite for the new building of the De- | 
partment of State at Washington, employing from 
fifteen hundred to two thousand men. He was presi- | 
dent of the Buckingham Slate Company, with a large 
number of employés, and, with one other, purchased 
a large tract of timber land, on which they erected | 
saw-mills, and employed many wood-choppers and | 
timber-cutters, producing timber, lumber, shingles, 
hoop-poles, ete. After his return to Massachusetts, | 
in 1875, he resided two years at Walpole, where he 
engaged in manufacturing “curled hair’ for about 
He served as chairman of school commit- 
tee in Walpole. From Walpole he removed to Hyde 
Park, where he has since been resident. He is now 
vice-president and director of the New York Refining 
Company, organized under the laws of New York for | 





one year. 


manufacturing and handling petroleum products, of | 
which organization he was one of the incorporators. | 
He married, May 24, 1854, Eliza, daughter of James | 
and Marcy (Stone) Billings Gardner. Her father is | 
of the Dorchester branch of the Gardner family, which | 
goes back as a family of good repute to the infancy | 
of New England colonization. Their children now 
living are Gardner and Mary. 

Major Washburn is Republican in politics. He 
has been member of the school committee of Hyde 
Park for seven years, four of which he has been chair- 
man, which office he now holds. He is a member of 
Forest Lodge (Hyde Park) of I. O. O. F.; of Co- 
lumbian Lodge (Boston), St. Andrew Chapter, of 
Boston ; Hyde Park Council ; and Hyde Park Com- 
mandery of F. and A. M. 

In social life Mr. Washburn is characterized by 





pleasing, unassuming manners and warmth of friend- 
ship, and enjoys a wide range of cultured and intel- | 


lectual acquaintance. 


CTLALP TER “LX XT. 


CANTON. 


BY SAMUEL B. NOYES. 


Indian Name of the Town, Punkapaog--John Eliot—Organ- 
ization of Precinet, 1715——List of Precinct Officers—Incor- 
poration of Stoughton, 1726—Roger Sherman—War of the 
Revolution—Various Votes—The Suffolk Resolves—The First 
Troops from Stoughton—Capt. James Endicott’s Company— 
Other Companies—Committee of Correspondence and Inspec- 
tion—Documentary History—Incorporation of Town—Names 
of Petitioners—First Town Officers—War of 1812—Extracts 
from Town Records—The First School-House. 


Tue Indian name of the town of Canton was 
‘“‘ Pakemit, or Punkapaog.” ‘“ The signification of the 
name,” writes Gookin, in his “ Historical Collections 
of the Indians of New England,” “is taken from a 
This town is 


? 


spring that ariseth out of red earth. 
situated south from Boston about fourteen miles.” 
Pakemit, or Punkapaog, was a part of that terri- 
tory which was granted to the town of Dorchester 
by the General Court in 1637, and which comprised 
the present territory of the towns of Canton, Stough- 
ton, Sharon, portions of Foxborough, and Wrentham. 
In the year 1636, according to Blake’s “ Annals of 


| Dorchester,’ “This Year ye Gen. Court made a 


Grant to Dorchester of ye old part of ye Township, 
as far as ye great Blew-hill: and ye town took a 
Deed of Kitchamakin Sachem of ye Massachusetts 
for ye same.” That became incorporated as the town 


of Milton, 1662. 


The apostle John Eliot had begun to preach to 
the Indians at Neponset Mill, Dorchester, as early, 
probably, as the year 1633. The Neponset Mill, 
built this year, was the first mill built in this colony, 


_ and in the year 1657, “ the town at the request of ye 


Revd. Mr. John Eliot, Granted Punkapaog Planta- 
tion for ye Indians and appointed men to lay it out, 
not exceeding 6000 acres.” Here the apostle prob- 
ably came to preach, and the first magistrate who was 


_ appointed to have charge of the Indians in the colony, 


Maj.-Gen. Daniel Gookin, came with him. “ Eliot’s 
son John (H. U. 1656) began his ministerial labors 
among the Indians about the time he left college,” 
says Sibley ; and Gookin says, “ For sundry years he 


1 In the preparation and compilation of this history, free use 
has.been made of the material furnished by the valuable and 
timely address made by Hon. Charles Endicott, July 4, 1876, 
and the published historical contributions made by Hon. Ellis 
Ames, with their kind assent and co-operation. “8. BON: 


920 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





preached the Gospel unto the Indians once a fort- 
night constantly at Pakemitt, until his decease in 
1688, at the age of 32.” 

The village was about two miles southwest of Blue 
Hill, and about three miles southeast of the town of 
Dedham. 


families in it, and so about sixty souls.” 


Here they 


worshiped God and kept the Sabbath in the same | 


manner as was done at Natick. They had a ruler,a 
Their ruler’s name 
was Ahawton; their teacher, William Ahawton, his 


son. 


constable, and a schoolmaster. 


“Tn this village,” says Gookin, “ besides their 
planting and keeping cattle and swine, and fishing in 
good ponds and upon Neponsitt River which lieth 
near them; they were also advantaged by a large 
cedar swamp, wherein such as are laborious and dili- 
gent do get many a pound by cutting and preparing 
cedar shingles and clapboards, which sell well at 
Boston and other English towns adjacent.” 


In 1637, “ye Gen. Court made a Second Grant to— 


ye Town house to Plymouth Line called ye New 
Grant.” 


In 1707, “ Punkapoag Plantation with some other | 


of ye Inhabitants of ye New Grant were set off a 
Precinct by themselves as far as Machopaog Pond and 


Moose Hill, and ye meeting-house ordered to be sett | 


where it now stands upon Packeen Plain.” 

In 1717 a church was gathered, and on the 30th 
of October, Rev. Joseph Morse (Harvard University, 
1795) was ordained pastor thereof. 

The territory, including what is now Canton, Sharon, 
Stoughton, and a part of Foxborough, together with 
some other parcels of land now in Wrentham and 
Dedham, was created a precinct, with the necessary 


powers and privileges exercised in precincts for the | 


In 1674 there were “not above twelve 
| March 5, 1722. Samuel Bullard, moderator; Joseph Tucker, 








maintenance of the gospel ministry, on the 19th day | 
that part, now Stoughton, after the incorporation of 


of December, 1715. That territory was then a part 
of Dorchester, and the precinct was called Dorchester 
South Precinct, until it was all incorporated into a 
town by the name of Stoughton, in December, 1726. 
The precinct was organized and held its first meet- 
ing March 28, 1716, when Joseph Hewins was 
chosen moderator and precinct clerk, and Henry 
Crane, John Fenno, and Joseph Hewins, assessors. 
The following is a list of officers for the precinct 
annually, until its incorporation into a town in De- 





March 4, 1719. Joseph Hewins, moderator; Joseph Hewins, 
clerk; Assessors, Joseph Hewins, John Puffer, Joseph 
Tucker. 

March 21,1720. Joseph Hewins, moderator; Peter Lyon, clerk ; 
Assessors, Peter Lyon, Joseph Tucker, and William Crane. 

March 3, 1721. —— , moderator; Joseph Tucker, clerk ; 
Assessors, Joseph Tucker, 











, John Fenno. 


clerk; Assessors, Joseph Tucker, Samuel Bullard, and 
William Crane. 

March 4, 1723. Samuel Bullard, moderator; Joseph Tucker, 
clerk; Assessors, Joseph Tucker, Samuel Bullard, and 
William Crane. 

Mareh —, 1724. Joseph Hewins, moderator; Joseph Tucker, 
clerk; Assessors, Joseph Tucker, Samuel Bullard, William 
Crane. 

March 1, 1725. Elder Joseph Hewins, moderator; Joseph 
Tucker, clerk; Assessors, Joseph Tucker, Samuel Bullard, 
William Crane. 

March 1, 1726. Nathaniel Hubbard, moderator; Joseph Tucker, 
clerk; Assessors, Joseph Tucker, John Fenno, Peter Lyon. 


In 1724 a portion of the new grant was set off to 
Wrentham, and on the 22d of December, 1726, the 
town of Stoughton was incorporated, and the present 


_ towns of Stoughton, Canton, Sharon, and a part of 


Dor- 


chester interposed no objection to the act of incorpo- 


Foxborough were included within its limits. 


ration, for when the question came before that town 
to see whether they would agree to its being set off, 
the vote was thirty-four in favor and twenty-nine 
against it. 

On June 20, 1765, Stoughtonham was incorporated 
as a district, and continued as such until by a general 


act, passed Aug. 23,1775, that and all other districts 


of like character were invested with all the powers 
By special act Feb. 25, 
1783, Stoughtonham took the name of Sharon. 
This part of the old town of Stoughton (now Can- 
ton) constituted the First Precinct or Parish, and 


and privileges of towns. 


Stoughtonham as a district, constituted the Second 
Precinct. 

We may assume that the inhabitants of the differ- 
ent precincts lived harmoniously together under one 
town government, increasing in population and wealth, 
maintaining their churches and schools, and educating 
themselves and their children in these as well as in 
the town-meeting, the militia, and the General Court, 


“not only for the ordinary duties of life, but also for 


cember, 1726, together with the date of the annual > 


meeting : 

March 25, 1717. Samuel Andrews, moderator; Peter Lyon, 
clerk; Assessors, Peter Lyon, Joseph Hewins, Henry 
Crane. 


March 17, 1718. Peter Lyon, moderator; Peter Lyon, clerk ; 
Assessors, Peter Lyon, John Vose, John Fenno. 


| 
| 


those of local government and the more stern realities 
of the Revolutionary crisis. 

Here, within a mile of this spot, Roger Sherman, 
whose name is appended to the Declaration of Inde- 


pendence, and who was one of the committee that re- 


ported it to the Congress, passed the days of his boy- 
hood and youth, even if not born here upon our own 


CANTON. 


921 





territory, which is a matter of some doubt and uncer- 
tainty. 

The Revolutionary War.—For a series of years 
preceding the Declaration of Independence the action 
of the British ministry and Parliament on the subjects 
of taxation, trade, and labor had been such as to ex- 
asperate the colonies, and doubtless led many thinking 


minds to reflect upon the value to the colonies of | 


their connection with the mother-country and the 
absurdity of remaining in subjection under the many 
grievances imposed upon them. 

That a people like this, numbering two and a half 
millions, with an extensive territory and ample room 
for expansion, could long remain subject to a foreign 
government that oppressed and held them down is 
utterly inconceivable. 


tea-duty were the causes of the American Revolution. 
“Colonies,” says he, “become nations as certainly as 
boys become men, and by a similar law.” 
claration of the fifty-six at Philadelphia was but the 
contract signed by the forty-one sad and stricken ones 
in the waters of Provincetown, with the growth of 
one hundred and fifty-six years.” ‘“ At most, taxation 
and the kindred questions did but wccelerate the dis- 


memberment of the British Empire, just as a man 








Monday y® 1st day of March, A.p. 1773. 


Sabine scouts the idea that the stamp-duty and the | Motlerator. 


legislation, the end and purpose of which was to keep 
the colonies as mere tributaries and market-places for 
the trade and manufactures of the mother-country, 
and to prevent our merchants from carrying on trade 
with any nation other than Great Britain. 

The colonies hesitated long before proceeding to 
active resistance, but having once entered upon it, the 
path of duty became plain, and they persevered until 


| success crowned their efforts. 


In the early spring of 1773 the Boston Committee 
of Correspondence, at the head of which was Samuel 
Adams, addressed a letter to the town, and a meeting 
was called to consider it. The record proceeds as 
follows : 


“Ar a Town Meeting, legally assembled in Stoughton on 
Mr. Joseph Billings, 


“ Voted to hear the Letter sent from the Town of Boston: 


| and after some debates, the following Letter was read: 


“The De- | 


“To the Boston Committee of Correspondence : 
“HONORED GENTLEMEN: 

“Having had opportunity to hear and consider your Let- 
ter to us: for which we are obliged and Thankful to you; We, 
according to our best understanding, think that our rights as 
Men, as Christians and British subjects are rightly stated by 
you and in the many instances produced have been greatly in- 
fringed upon and Violated by Arbitrary Will and Power. We 


| esteem them heavy grievances, and apprehensive that in future 


whose lungs are half consumed hastens the crisis by | 


| do Humbly Remonstrate against them and concur with you 


suicide.” 


For years prior to 1776, Samuel Adams, the great | 
y Pp ) g 


leader of Revolutionary sentiment, had labored with 
all his powers to instill into the minds of the people 
republican ideas. He was unreservedly for separation 
and independence, which he had avowed as early as 
1769, and which he wished to have declared imme- 
diately after the battle of Lexington. 
that sooner or later it must come, and to his view, 
apparently, the sooner the better. 

“Taxation” and “Taxation without Representa- 
tion’”’ were the watch-words to some considerable ex- 
tent. But it was not simply the paltry taxes that 
were levied upon the colonies that led to independ- 
ence. These words were but the terms used to signify 


time they may prove fatal to us and our Posterity, as to all that 
is dear to us, Reducing us not only to Poverty but Slavery, We 


and our Brethren in several Towns of the Province, tho’? we 
cannot Joyn with all the Towns, nor with you in every circum- 
stance and Particular of your Proceeding, Yet we must concur 
with you and them in Bearing our Testimony against them 
and in uniting in all Constitutional methods for regaining these 
Rights and Privileges that have been ravished from us and for 
retaining those that yet Remain to us and accordingly we 


| advise and Instruct our Representative to exert himself for 


He foresaw 


these ends. And as that this Province ever had, and (ought) 


| to have a right to Petition to the King for the Redress of such 


grievances as they feel and for Preventing such as they have 
just Reason to apprehend and fear, that he move that an Hum- 
ble Petition for these Purposes be Presented to His Majesty, 
Hoping for a Divine Blessing upon all our Constitutional En- 
deavours for the Preservation and Enjoyment of all ournatu- 


ral and Constitutional Rights and Privileges, and Professing 


| our Loyalty to the King and Praying that he may Long sit 


a certain class of legislative acts that were especially — 


aimed at the industrial and maritime interests of the 


colonies. Sabine tells us, ‘“‘ there were no less than 


twenty-nine laws which restricted and bound down | 
Colonial industry,” “hardly one of which, until the | 
passage of the Stamp Act, imposed a direct tax.” 
‘They forbade the use of water-falls, the erecting | 


of machinery, of looms and spindles, and the working — 


of wood and iron; they set the king’s arrows upon 
trees that rotted in the forests.” It was not so much 


“¢ direct taxation’”’ as it was this restrictive policy and 
policy 


npon the throne and Rule in Righteousness, and that he may 
bea nursing father to us his Loyal Subjects and all his officers 
may be peace and his exactions Righteousness, We subscribe 
ourselves your distressed Brethren and oppressed fellow sub- 
jects.” 

“ Voted to accept of this Letter and that it be Recorded upon 
the Town Book, and a copy be sent by the Town Clerk to the 
Committee of Correspondence in Boston.” 


It will be seen that at this time the town was ex- 
tremely cautious about committing itself to the views 


and purposes of the Boston committee. They agreed 


fully in the statement of grievances, but preferred to 


continue their petitions to the king. This caution is 


922 





still further exhibited by the action of the town-meet- 
ing held on July 11, 1774, when it was 
** Voted to dismiss the 2¢ Article, viz:—To see if the Town 


will vote to pay £2. 17. 9. to the Hon®!* Thomas Cushing, Esq* 
of Boston, by y® 15" day of August next, to pay y° Committee 


of this Province chosen by our General Court to meet y° Com- | 


mittee of other governments.” 


It is evident, however, that there were active friends 
of resistance in Stoughton, and that they were not 
idle, nor were they long delayed in bringing the town 
to their way of thinking. 


A little more than a month from the date of the | 


preceding meeting, to wit, on the 16th of August, as 


Norfolk), met at a tavern in the village of Stoughton. 
This tavern, Mr. D. T. V. Huntoon says, was the 
“ Doty Tavern,” a building now standing a little to 
the south of the base of Blue Hill. 
Joseph Warren was present. 


At this meeting 


Dunbar, the rigid Calvinist Minister,” of the First 
Parish, continues Bancroft, “ breathed forth among 
them his prayer for liberty, the venerable man seemed 
siasm.’ ‘We must stand undisguised upon one side 
or the other, said Ebenezer Thayer, of Braintree.” 
We do not find that the Stoughton men, who may 


have attended this meeting at Doty’s tavern, were | 


chosen thereto by any action of the town; so far as 
our own citizens were concerned, it was an individual 
matter. It is said, however, by Bancroft, “that the 


members were unanimous and firm, but that ‘they | 


: ae Stee ; | 8 *, Esq., and Mr. Richard Woodward of Dedh b 
postponed their decision till it could be promulgated | Orne? ne ee ee eee ee 


with greater formality, ’’ and, so far as this town was 


concerned, it may be added, with greater authority. | 


To this end, and in contempt of Gage and the act of 
Parliament, they directed special meetings in every 
town and precinct in the county to elect delegates, 


with full powers to appear at he st | . ; 
P ee Abe coe ay peduarecn: the rsh, esty’s Province of Massachusetts Bay,” and presented 


Monday in September. 


On the 29th day of August another town-meeting | 


was held. The meeting at Doty’s Tavern had had its | ; . . 
emccting at tony s\Tavern had had its | day ; after which the committee met together and 


effect; the appearance there of the aged minister Dun- 
bar probably had created enthusiasm among the people, 
given courage to the timid, and hope to all. William 
Royal was chosen moderator, and it was 


“ Voted that a Committee be chosen to represent y® Town in 
a County Convention of y® Towns and Districts of this County 
to be holden at the house of Richard Woodward at Dedham on 
Tuesday y* 6th day of September next, with full power of ad- 
journing, acting and doing all such matters and things in said 
Convention, or in a general Convention of the Countys of this 
Province as to them may appear of Public Utility in this day 
of Public and General Distress.” ‘ Voted that five persons be 
chosen for this Purpose, and also that John Withington, The- 


“As the aged Samuel | 





ophilus Curtis, John Kenney, Jedediah Southworth and Josiah 


| Pratt be this Committee.” 


“That this Committee be directed to endeavor to obtain a 


, County Indemnification for all such persons as may be fined 


or otherwise suffered by a non-compliance with a Late Act of 
y° British Parliament, intitled ‘An Act for the better regula- 
tion of the Government of the Massachusetts Bay in North 


| America,’ 








“That this Committee be also a Committee of Correspondence 
to advise and correspond with the other Towns in this Province 
about all such matters and things as may appear to them likely 
in any way to affect the Public.” 


On the 6th of September, 1774, the county con- 
vention assembled at the house of Mr. Woodward, in 


aes] - _ Dedham; every town and district in the county was 
Bancroft informs us, ‘a county congress,” of the | s ; 

ai a : ; represented. ‘Their business was referred to a com- 
towns of Suffolk (which then embraced what is now | 


mittee, of which Joseph Warren was chairman. 
The convention was adjourned to meet on Friday, 
the 9th of September, at the house of Daniel Vose, in 


| Milton, when Warren presented the resolutions, with 


an elaborate report introductory thereto, from which 
we extract two lines, in these words: ‘“ On the forti- 
tude, on the wisdom, and on the exertions of this 
important day, is suspended the fate of this new 


ipspi i ivi . | wor d of unborn millions.” 
inspired with ‘the most divine and prophetical enthu- world an 


The address and resolutions, since known as the 
“ Suffolk Resolves,” were unanimously adopted. 


And it was ‘‘Voted, That Joseph Warren, Esq. and Doct. 
Benjamin Church of Boston, Deacon Joseph Palmer and Col. 
Ebenezer Thayer of Braintree, Capt. Lemuel Robinson, Wil- 


| liam Holden, Esq. and Capt. John Homans of Dorchester, Capt. 
| William Heath of Roxbury, Col. William Taylor and Doct. Sam- 


uel Gardner of Milton, Isaac Gardner, Esq., Capt. Benjamin 
White, and Capt. Thomas Aspinwall of Brookline, Nathaniel 


Committee to wait on his Excellency Gov't Gage and inform him 
that this County is alarmed at the fortifications making on 
3oston Neck, and to remonstrate against the same.” 


The committee on the next day prepared an ad- 
dress “ To His Excellency, Thomas Gage, Esq., Cap- 
tain-General and Commander-in-Chief of His Maj- 


the same to Gage on Monday, the 12th. 
To this address the Governor replied on the same 


adopted an answer to the Governor, of which a copy 


_was delivered to Secretary Flucker by Joseph War- 


ren, with a desire that he would present it to the 
Governor, and request His Excellency to appoint a 
time for receiving it in form, which, as the committee 


_ were informed, the Governor declined. 


These resolves attracted great attention. They 
were sent by special messengers to our delegates in 
the Continental Congress, delighting Samuel Adams 
and John Adams, and creating great excitement in 


the Continental Congress, where they were read. Jo- 





CANTON. 


923 





seph Galloway, a loyalist, at one time a member of 
the Continental Congress, in his ‘ Historical and 
Political Reflections of the Rise and Progress of the 


American Revolution, London, 1780,” said these | 


“ Suffolk Resolves” “contained a complete declaration 
of war against Great Britain.” 


| 


| 


tive after what had already taken place it is a little 
difficult to conceive; however that may have been, 
at an adjourned meeting held a week later the vote 
was reconsidered, and it was “ voted to send all our 


| province money to Henry Gardner, Esq., of Stow, as 


On the 26th day of September, at a town-meeting | 


held in the First Precinct (in the meeting-house 


which stood within twenty rods of this spot), the > 


town, together with the District of Stoughtonham, 
made choice of Mr. Thomas Crane for their represen- 
tative, and voted him the following instructions : 


“Sir.—As we have now chosen you to Represent us in the | 
Great and General Court to be holden at Salem on Wednesday | 


y® 5th day of October next ensuing, We do hereby Instruct you 
that in all your doings as a member of the House of Represen- 
tatives you adhere firmly to the charter of this Province, 


granted by their Majesties King William and Queen Mary, and | 


_ ton, Theophilus Curtis, Josiah Pratt, Eleazer Robins, 


that you-do no act that can possibly be construed into an ac- 
knowledgment of the validity of y® act of y® British Parliament 
for altering y® Government of Massachusetts-Bay. 


More espe- | 


cially that you acknowledge y® Honourable Board of Counsel- | 


lors elected by y® General Court at their session in May last as 
y® only rightful and Constitutional Counsel of this Province; 
and as we have reason to believe that a Conscientious Discharge 
of your duty will Produce your Disolution as an House of Rep- 
resentatives, We do hereby Impower and Instruct you to join 
with y® members who may be sent from this and y® other Towns 
in y® Province, and to meet with them ata time to be agreed 
upon in a General Provincia] Congress to act upon such mat- 
ters as may come before you, in such a manner as may appear 


to you most conducive to y® true Interest of this Town and | 


Province and most likely to Preserve the Liberties of all North 
America.” 

On the same day the town made choice of Mr. 
John Withington to meet the committee from the 
several towns in this province, at Concord, the second 
Tuesday in October next, in a General Provincial 
Congress, ‘‘ to act upon such matters as may come be- 
fore you in such a manner as may appear to you most 
conducive to the true interest of this town and prov- 
ince and most likely to preserve the liberties of all 
North America.” 

Jan. 9,1775, the town made choice of Mr. Thomas 
Crane to represent them in a Provincial Congress to 
be held at Cambridge the 1st day of February next. 

At the same meeting it was put to vote whether 


is recommended by ye Provincial Congress.” It 
was further ‘‘ Voted to indemnify the constables for 
not carrying the Province money to Harrison Gray, 
Esq.,’’ who was the treasurer of the crown. 

On the same day the Continental Congress and 
their resolves were fully approved and a Committee of 
Inspection chosen, consisting of nineteen persons, 
Viz. : 

John Withington, John Kenney, Adam Black- 
man, James Endicott, Jeremiah Ingraham, Abner 
Crane, Peter Talbot, Jonathan Capen, Robert Capen, 
Jedediah Southworth, Samuel Shepard, David Vin- 


Samuel Tucker, Benjamin Gill, Robert Swan, and 
Peter Gay. 

This committee was instructed to use its interest 
that the resolves and the association of the Conti- 
nental Congress be closely adhered to. 

Matters now looked warlike, for on March 6, 1775, 
the town ‘‘ Voted to raise one quarter of the Militia 


as Minute men agreeable to the advice of y® Pro- 


vincial Congress,” ‘and to give them one shilling for 
half a day’s training, for two half days every week.” 
The field-officers with the selectmen were directed to 


raise the men. 


March 20th, the town ‘‘ Voted that Mr. Thomas 
Crane attend the County Congress at Mr. Daniel 
Vose’s in Milton, y° 26th day of April next.” 

It will be remembered that it was at the house of 
Mr. Vose that the Suffolk Resolves were adopted on 
Sept. 9, 1774. 

Whether the meeting at Mr. Vose’s was held on 
the 26th we are not informed, very likely not, for be- 
fore that time important events were to happen. The 
19th of April was fast approaching. Gage had de- 
termined to cripple the country towns by destroying 


| the colony stores at Concord, and secretly prepared an 


the town would send their province money to Henry | 


Gardner, Esq., and it passed in the negative. 


the foot of the Common to East Cambridge. 


Gardner had been elected province treasurer by the 
purpose of Gage, and arrangements were made by 
_which Concord and the Middlesex towns should be 


Provincial Congress. 
This money consisted of tax money collected by 


the constables for the province, and the proposition — 


really was to divert it from the use of his majesty’s 
officers and treasury and use it for the purpose of 
resisting the encroachments of the crown. 

How this vote could have been carried in the nega- 


| 


expedition for that purpose. A force of eight hun- 
dred grenadiers and infantry crossed in boats from 


The 
activity of Warren and Paul Revere discovered the 


notified. Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride on the 
18th of April aroused the people of Medford, Lex- 
ington, and Concord, and it almost seems as if the 
hoofs was heard here in 


clatter of his horse’s 


Stoughton, for, on the 19th, nine companies of 


924 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





militia marched from Stoughton and the district of 


Stoughtonham to the assistance of their brethren, 


W1Z. ; 
Capt. James Endicott’s company........+.see+ 83 men. 
«William Briggs’ WT, Barccondacaste’ 41 § 
«*  Asahel Smith’s SOS assconttesassese ‘fy 
<< Peter Talbot’s Ec eocnetaeecsessaniCOl mee 
«Josiah Pratt’s COR al stgestlevesecess 33. CSS 
«¢ ~ Tsrael Smith’s “f noeenonececsnca 2, 
«« Samuel Payson’s ae Secaccooot seca a 4 
«« Edward Bridge Savels’ company....... 64“ 
«Ebenezer Tisdale’s THs - saaao5e Bile ue 


Making in all four hundred and seventy men who 
marched from Stoughton and Stoughtonham on that 
eventful day. 

On the 27th of April, Capt. William Bent’s com- 
pany, fifty-nine men, marched to Roxbury for three 
months and twelve days’ service. 

In June, Capt. Frederick Pope enlisted a company 
of fifty-eight men for one month and nine days’ 
service. 

Capt. Endicott, on the 4th of March, 1776, 
marched with his company of forty-one men “to the 
assistance of the Continental troops, when they for- 
A little later 
in the same year, with eighty-two men, he marched 
to Ticonderoga, and on the 28th of March, 1778, to 


tified on the heights of Dorchester.” 


Roxbury, ‘‘ agreeable to an Order of Council,” with 


seventy-eight men. 

On the 22d of March, 1776, Capt. Theophilus 
Lyon’s company, forty-seven men, marched to Brain- 
tree, and on March 1, 1778, Capt. Lyon, with forty- 
nine men, marched to Castle Island. 

Capt. Robert Swan, with sixty-two men, marched 
to Bristol, R. I., and with thirty men, to the Castle, 
on Dee. 19, 1777. 

Capt. Abner Crane, with fifty-eight men, in 1779, 
marched with his company “in a campaign to Clav- 
erack on the Hudson River.” 

The promptness with which the militia met every 
call was most creditable. Nor was the town less 
prompt in furnishing its quota to the Continental 


army. For this the town furnished nearly or quite 


two hundred men, for terms of service varying from | 


six months to three years, or during the war, some 
of our men having served for the full period of four 
years. 

May 25th, Thomas Crane was chosen to represent 
the town in the Provincial Congress for the six 
months following, and Peter Talbot, Christopher 
Wadsworth, and Benjamin Gill were appointed a 
Committee of Correspondence. 

On July 10th Stoughton and Stoughtonham, in 
town-meeting assembled, elected Thomas Crane to 





held in Watertown, on Wednesday, the 19th day of 
July, 1775. 

Very little action of importance in town-meeting 
was transacted during the remainder of the year 
1775. 

We come now to the year 1776. On March 18th, 
Messrs. Elijah Dunbar, Peter Talbot, Josiah Pratt, 
Theophilus Curtis, John Kenney, Christopher Wads- 
worth, and David Lyon were chosen a Committee of 
Correspondence and Inspection. 

All of these men, except the chairman, had 
marched to the lines, to the music of fife and drum, 
on the 19th of April, two of them, Talbot and Pratt, 
as captains, each in command of a company. 

On May 22d another town-meeting was held, at 
which, we may well suppose, the men who had mus- 
tered and marched so promptly on the 19th of April 
were present.’ An article in the warrant had informed 
them that the question of independence was to be 
acted on by the meeting. The first business was the 
choice of representatives, and Benjamin Gill and 
Thomas Crane were chosen. 

The date of this meeting was May 22d, six weeks 
prior to the adoption of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence by the Continental Congress, and while the 
question there was trembling in the balance our 
fathers passed this resolve : 

“ Voted, That if the Honourable Continental Congress should, 
for the safety of this Colony, Declare us Independent of the 
Kingdom of Great Britain, We, the Inhabitants, will Solemnly 


engage with our lives and fortunes to support them in the 
Measure.” 

All honor to these men of seventeen hundred and 
seventy-six | 

On the 4th of July, 1776, the Declaration of In- 
dependence was adopted. The following is the action 
of the Massachusetts Council, showing what measures 
were taken to give publicity to the document : 

“In Council, July 17th, 1776. 

“OrpERED, That the Declaration of Independence be printed, 
and a copy sent to the Minister of each Parish, of every Denom- 
ination within this State, and that they severally be required 
to read the same to their respective Congregations as soon as 
divine service is ended, in the afternoon, on the first Lord’s 


| Day after they shall have received it: And after such Publica- 


tion thereof to deliver the said Declaration to the Clerks of their 


| several Towns or Districts, who are hereby required to record 


| 


| 


the same in their respective Town or District Books, there to 
remain as a perpetual Memorial thereof. 
“Tn the Name and by Order of y® Council. 
“R. Derby, Jr., President. 
“A true Copy, Attest, Joan Avery, Dep. Sec’y.” 
And our town clerk adds, ‘‘‘faithfully recorded.’ Attest, 


George Crossman, 7'own Clerk.” 


On July 18th the town voted to raise, by taxation, 


represent them in a great and General Court, to be | a sum of money to give to each man to the number 





CANTON. 


925 





of thirty-eight men, that shall enlist into the service 
for the Northern Department, against Quebec, the 
sum of £6 6s. 8d. as an addition to their bounty. 
May 21, 1777. John Kenney was chosen as 
“agent of the town, to procure evidence against the 
‘toreys, and a committee, consisting of John Kenney, 


Christopher Wadsworth, David Vinton, Peter Talbot, 


Capt. Pratt, Capt. Endicott, and Benjamin Tucker, 
was chosen to see to the enforcement of the ‘ Reg- 
ulating Act.’” 

May 28th, a committee chosen to examine the 
accounts of the town’s Committee of Correspondence, 
etc., made report, which was accepted. 

Some of the items of these accounts are given, as 
showing the character of the work performed by the 
committee. 

The account of Elijah Dunbar, Esq., contained, 
among others, these items: 


PA NCA 
March 18th. To 4 day writing circular letters... £0 4. 5. 
«20th. To 4 day at Johnson’s about getting 
WOOO MOL‘ THE ALIN <cccccsccleccescree 2. 0. 
May 13th. To4day taking cognizance of those 


y* have been unfriendly to y® 


COMNULYp-ccccsccleccessseeeccescrecoccmces ilo Wes 
June 23rd, To 3 day at Capt. Smith’s to take 

some order with those who re- 

fused to sign the Test Act.......... 22,0 
July 22 and 26,To 24 days at Johnson’s about 

procuring hard money, ete......... Zh {th 

1777. 

Feb. 12 and 13, To 2 days on y® business of Regu- 

laf GO TACERtasccershescuseciaeonsesecinee sh WG 


The full amount allowed Mr. Dunbar was £2 17s. 
6d. 


“ Capt. Peter Talbot attended all the above said service, ex~ 


cept the writing of notifications about regulating prices,-and | 
over and above y® aforesaid account he attend® y® County Con- | 


vention at Dedham and singley he went about 4 day to get the 
Test Act signed.” 


Capt. Talbot’s allowance was £2 4s. 4d. 


Capt. Christopher Wadsworth attended substan-— 


| of government, and make report to the town.” 


tially the same service that Capt. Talbot did, and was 
allowed £21 4s. 4d. 


“Capt. Theophilus Curtis was allowed............06+ £1. 3. 103. 
Capt. David Lyon ............ SO RDCOCAEES eG0aaccoo BOTELENG ge, fi (DE 
Cats OSIANPETAUs corse econcesossssesoors Seen seeetees 28i1G ale Mes 
And John Kenney’s is allowed...........sesssseeseeeee £3. 3. 8. 


the same as Capt. P. Talbot, and over and above, for one jour- 
ney to Gen! Washington, sent by the Selectmen.” 


On May 26th the selectmen exhibited to the town- 
meeting a list of those persons that, in their opinion, 


“have endeavored since y® 19th of April, 1775, to | 


counteract y® United Struggles of this and the United 
States, for the preservation of their Liberties and 


Privileges, as follows: William Curtis, Noah Kings- | 


bury, Samuel Capen, Edward Taylor, Henry Crane, 
Edward Shail.” 
The report is signed by Benjamin Gill, Adam 


Blackman, Jonathan Capen, and James Endicott, 
selectmen. 

Some, if not all, of these men must have joined 
the Loyalist party but a short time prior to the pre- 
sentation of this report, for both Edward Taylor and 
Edward Shail marched with Endicott’s company on 
the 19th of April, and on two later occasions, in 
1776, Shail’s name appears upon the muster-rolls. 

March 16, 1778, the town voted to accept the re- 
port of the committee chosen to make an average or 
equal balance of duty, by fixing the pay for the 
different kinds of service, as follows: 


The eight months at the Lines in 1775............. Lo. Ole 005 
The two months service at y® Lines in 1775...... es 
The twelve months service in 1776, excepting the | 20. 0 
men that went with Capt. Pope............scessssscceee Nae wie v 
The 12 months service with Capt. Pope in 1776... 15. 0. 0. 
The 4 months service at Ticonderoga, in 1776, 8. 0 
each man giving credit for bounty received........ i eects 
The 4 mos. service at the Lines in 1776......... Pome oe We) UE 
The2 Bi NOL aT iif Oesnccsceesesicsees i WWE (WE 
The3 ‘“ a Oe SN i Oral iiliececeoes ‘Comms Os 
The3 “ s OSC MaINCN AM Liiiitecccoseocions an zee Oe Os 
The 12 days service at Castle Island in 1777...... OC d== (0: 
The 3 weeks service at Bristol, R. I. in 1777...... 2. 0. 0. 
The 2months “ “ North Kingston, R. I. in . 
Dapper er esa Senne 
2 “ “ cc : 
The 3 Stillwater and other } 10. 0. 0. 


places, in 1777..... J 


The 4 ss sc “Rhode lslandian 17770 1650 LOE 
The 1 fe « &y° Secret Expedition ) 
‘ sae : 3. 02 10 
IN. oT Tiseesccswescccs i 
The 5 cs “ toGen. Burgoynein1777) _ 
& 1778 (ed 
ce  EATTB veers tetees 
Tow ** at Dorchester & Boston) 4, 10. 0 
in 177§ Oscccceces seccce ) ra rc 
3 33 OC C in Rhode Island in 1778 65 0: 
8} oe «at Noddle’s Island & Hull I} 0 


In this year the town began to be excited about a 
new form of government for the State of Massachu- 
setts, proposed by the General Court. 


March 28d it was “ Voted That Messrs. Elijah Dunbar, Peter 
Talbot, Wm. Wheeler, Jed? Southworth, John Kenny, Adam 
Blackman, Hezekiah Gay, Nath’ Fisher, Samuel Shepard, Geo. 
Crossman, Isaiah Johnson, James Hawkes Lewis, and Samuel 
Talbot, be a committee to take under consideration the new form 


April 7th, ‘ Voted That Elijah Dunbar, Esq. and Capt. Jede- 
diah Southworth, be a committee to meet in a county convention 
at Dedham, on the 28th day of this inst, to take into considera- 
tion y® new form of government.” 

And on May 18th the committee of thirteen, ap- 
pointed 23d March, made an elaborate report against 
the proposed new form of government. And it was 


_ voted unanimously to disapprove the same, two hun- 





dred and thirty-five votes being given. 

May 28th, Thomas Crane, Esq., was elected repre- 
sentative, and the town voted him the following in- 
structions : 

“To THomAs CRANE, Esa. 
‘‘Str.—The town of Stoughton having made choice of you 


to Represent them in a Great and General Court, ye ensuing 
year, it must be agreeable to you, (if you consider yourself the 


926 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





servant of y® town and accountable to them as you really are,) 
to know y® minds of your constituents, respecting y® important 
Duties of your Station, who have chosen you to act for their 
safety & happiness, as connected with y® whole & not for your 
own private emolument or separate interest, & therefore, y° Town 


think fit to give you the following instructions: You are by no | 


means to yote for any person belonging to y® following orders of | 


men to have a seat in y® legislative Council, but use your In- 
fluence that they may be excluded, (viz,) the members of the Con- 
tinental Congress and officers holding Commissions under them, 


—Judges of y® Superior Courts of Common Pleas, Judges of the | 


maritime Courts,—Judges of Probate, Registers of Probate, 


Sheriffs\—Members of the Board of War, & all Executive Of- | 


ficers who have a fixed annual stipend. As soon as y® Two 


Branches of the Legislature are settled and properly organized, | 


your primary object must be the Prosecution of the War with 
spirit and vigour, with a view to bring it toa speedy & honour- 
able issue. 

“For this purpose you are directed to exert yourself to have 
y® Continental Army completed in the most expeditious man- 
ner, & see that negligent Towns and Delinquent officers are 
punished according to law in that case made and provided. 
And also, you are to vote for such large and speedy supplies as 
may appear to you necessary to enable y° Commander-in-Chief 
of our armies to answer the expectations of his Country, that 
y° war, if Possible, may be ended the ensuing campaign with 
Immortal Honour to himself & Permanent Glory and Security 
to y® United States of America.”’ 


Lengthy additions were made to these instructions 
by the town, which may be found duly recorded in the 
records. They were also published in the ‘“ Conti- 
nental Journal” of June 18, 1778: 


| 


| 
if 





June 1, 1779. “ Voted, To give our Representative y®° same In- | 


structions our Representative had y® last year, Together with 
y® following Instructions, (viz:) 

“To Elijah Dunbar, Esq.—Sir: Whereas y® Town of Stough- 
ton thought proper to instruct their Representative y® last year 
in matters that concerned the public weal,—and you being the 


Present Legislative Servant of this Town, & as such you have | : 
: : | Bowdoin had two votes. 


solicited instruction from your constituents for the guidance of 
your General conduct in that Capacity y® ensuing year, There- 
fore, y° Town think fit to Direct & Instruct you strictly to 
adhere, and in the most caucious manner observe & obey”... 


. “excepting these two Paragraphs in said Instructions 
which relate to the form of Government that was proposed to 
the consideration of the inhabitants of this State for approba- 
tion or Disapprobation, which paragraphs are now redundant, 
as we find by a resolve of the General Court, pass? Feby 29th, 
1779, that s¢ form hath been Disapproved by a majority of y® 


Inhabitants of said State,—And also, you are further directed | 


and impowered by your constituents to vote for y® calling a 
State Convention for the sole purpose of forming a New Con- 
stitution or Form of Government, provided it shall appear, on 
Examination, that a majority of y® people present & voting at 
their respective Town meetings choose, at this time, to have a 
New Constitution or Form of Government made, and if such a 
Convention should be voted to be called, you are hereby in- 
structed to exert your utmost endeavors that some mode may 
be adopted, whereby the inhabitants of the State, (as nearly as 
possible,) may be equally Represented in said Convention; and 
furthermore, you are enjoined ever to be watchful of the Rights 


& Liberties of the (people,) and whenever any Infringement | 


| per Quart, English Hay, 36s. per Hundred. 


safety or Interest are in Danger, You are, like a faithful Senti- 
nel, to give the alarm to your Constituents.” 

August 9. ‘The Town made choice of y® Rev4, Mr. Jedediah 
Adams for our Delegate to sit in State Convention for y® sole 


| purpose of forming a New Constitution.” 


Paper money had now become so much reduced in 
value that the town adopted a report of a committee 
regulating the prices of certain articles. We give a 
sample of these prices as established Aug. 9, 1779: 


“ Cyder £6 per bbl. and for making, 18s. per bbl. Pertators 
and Turnips 18s. per bushel, & other sauce in proportion. For 
a common dinner 15s. other meals in proportion. For lodging 
3s. per night. West India Tody at 12s. per Bowl. New Eng- 
land do. 9s. per bowl. Horse keeping one Night on grass 18s. 
on Hay 15s. Beef 5s. per lb., Mutton, Veal & Lamb, 4s. per lb., 
Butter, 11s per lb., New Milk Cheese 6s. per lb., New Milk 2s. 
For Shoeing a 
Horse £4.—a yoke of Oxen £8.” 

A committee of twenty-one persons was selected to 
inform the Committee of Correspondence of any 
breaches of the resolution respecting these prices. 

On May 24, 1780, Thomas Crane, Esq., was chosen 
representative, and on September 4th the first election 
for Governor took place, agreeably to a resolve of the 
State Convention passed on the 16th day of June, 
and John Hancock had fifty-three votes, the whole 
number thrown. 

October 10th, Elijah Dunbar, Esq., and Thomas 
Thomas Crane 
was excused from serving, and Capt. James Endicott 


Crane were chosen representatives. 


was elected. Capt. Endicott was excused from serv- 


ing, and Mr. 


On April 2, 1781, the vote for Governor was as 
follows: John Hancock had forty-seven votes; James 


Christopher Wadsworth was chosen. 


May 16, 1783, John Kenney was chosen repre- 
sentative, and sundry instructions were voted him, 


: ; _ showing a violent state of public feeling in regard to 
“ye instructions given to their Representative y°® last year,” | 


the Tories, and showing also the first recorded evi- 


| dence that the war was ended: 


“(2d. Whereas we have reason to believe that this year every 
effort will be made for the return to their possessions of that 
abandoned set of men, very justly described by the Laws of this 
Commonwealth, Conspirators and absentees, who voluntarily at 
the beginning of the war, not only deserted their country’s cause, 
but have aided and assisted the Enemy with their counsels and 
money, and many of them with their personal services, most 
inhumanly murdering innocent women and children, therefore, 
we instruct you to attend the General Court constantly, and use 
your utmost exertions that they, and every one of them, be for- 
ever excluded and Barred from having Lot or portion amongst 
us. And that the Estates they formerly possessed and have 
justly forfeited, may be immediately sold, and the money arising 
therefrom be applied to the Discharge of our public debt; and 
that such of them as have unwariedly crept in among us, may 
be immediately and forever removed out of this Commonwealth.” 

“4th, And, whereas the war is at an End, we earnestly rec- 


shall be attempted on them: or you are apprehensive that their | ommend it to you to use your interest in the General Court that 


CANTON. 927 








our army, both officers and privates, may be paid off as soon as 
possible, either in money or securities, according to the public 
engagements made to them when they entered the service. But 
on no account are you ever to give your voice or vote for the 
establishing of half-pay officers amongst us, or any thing that 
may be called an equivalent, but to use your utmost exertions 
against it.” 

On the 30th of November, 1782, the preliminary 
treaty of peace was signed by the commissioners of 
the two countries, by which the independence of the 
United States was acknowledged. 

When the news was promulgated here we may well 
believe there was great rejoicing. In 1785 a meeting 
was held in the old meeting-house, at which the ven- 
erable Dunbar was present. His prayers at the Doty 
Tavern had been answered, and he was doubtless 
ready himself to depart hence, to be here no more 
forever. At that great meeting of gladness and joy, 
it is humiliating to reflect that religious intolerance 
should have prevented the attendance of the veteran 
Gridley, whose services in the French war had been 
so valuable to his king, and in the early days of the 
Revolution so important to the republic. 

May 7, 1787, Elijah Dunbar and Col. Frederick 
Pope were elected representatives. 

The bitter feeling which existed in 1783, as shown 





which the town heartily favored. Success finally 
crowned this enterprise, and Norfolk County was 
incorporated March 20, 1793. 

The obstructions to the passage of fish up the 
Neponset, by the dams at Milton, were fruitful 
sources of contention and litigation, so that, at one 
time, serious trouble was imminent. A party from 
Stoughton went to Milton to remove obstructions, 
when they were set upon by the employés of the 
mill-owrers and driven away. <A special town-meet- 


ing was called to take action thereon. A committee, 


_ of fourteen members, was chosen to join with the fish 


committee in getting the way through Leeds’ Dam, 
and another committee, of twenty members, as the 
vote expresses it, was chosen “to stir up the People 
to go down and assist in opening Leeds’ dam, for the 
fish to go up ;” but cooler counsels prevailed, and the 
parties contested their rights in the courts. 

In 1794 a novel experiment was tried for supply- 


_ ing the town treasury, by voting that the person who 


by the instructions to representative Kenney, before | 


quoted, appears to have subsided. The following are 


extracts from the vote of instructions to Messrs. 


Dunbar and Pope: 


“These discriminating and disqualifying acts, which serve to 
irritate the minds of the people, instead of promoting the desira- 


ble b’essing of peace, your constituents wish to have repealed, | 


together with all other laws that appear repugnant to the com- 
mon good.” 


“You will inquire whether the liberty of the Press, so essen- | 


tial to the security of freedom in a State, has been in any man- 
ner violated or restrained in this Commonwealth, and if so, you 
will endeavour to have the violators impeached and future 
restraints prevented.” 

“That if the Tender Act should be continued, which, on 
account of the present scarcity of Cash, may be for the best, for 
a limited time, you will endeavor to have amended, so that 
property may be appraised at the same rate for the payment of 
a Creditor, as it would have been at the time when the partic- 
ular Debt was contracted.” 

“Tn order that all the Inhabitants in the Commonwealth may 
have full employ, be beneficial to themselves and the Public: 
You will endeavor by every feasible and rational method, to 
encourage & promote Ship Building, Whale and Cod Fishery, 
Agriculture, and every necessary & useful manufacture that 
may be profitably carried on in the States:—& that large Du- 
ties be laid on all imported articles that might be thus manu- 
factured in them; and also upon all articles of Luxury & 
Extravagance, and that moderate Duties be laid upon many 
articles of convenience, but none upon the real necessaries of 
life,” 


From 1783, for several years, the attention of the 
town was given to the division of Suffolk County, 





should be chosen representative should serve for 
6s. Td. per day, and if the General Court should fix 
the pay at a higher rate, ‘‘ y° overplus is to be returned 
to the town.” Col. Frederick Pope was chosen, and 
accepted the condition prescribed. It is probable that 
the experiment proved not to be remunerative, for at 
the next election the subject was dismissed. 

Incorporation of Town.—In 1795 the inhab- 
itants of the First Parish met in legal meeting, held 
at the meeting-house, on the 9th day of March, and 
voted on the thirteenth article (which was to see if 
the parish will petition the General Court to be set 
off as a separate town), that Elijah Dunbar, Esq., 
Col. Nathan Crane, Mr. Joseph Bemis, Col. Benjamin 
Gill, and Capt. Elijah Crane be a committee to pre- 
pare a petition for the inhabitants to sign for a di- 
vision of the town. And further voted that Col. Guill, 
Capt. Elijah Crane, and Uol. Nathan Crane be a com- 
mittee to present the petition to the General Ceurt. 

A petition was accordingly prepared, signed by one 
hundred and forty-three inhabitants of the parish, and 
is here given: 

SPR TETLON: 
“To the Honourable Senate and House of Representatives of 
the Com’th of Masstts, in General Court assembled : 


“The Petition of the Subscribers, Inhabitants of the first 
Parish in the Town of Stoughton, in the County of Norfolk in 
s? Comt), humbly showeth that the local situation of said Town 
of Stoughton is very singular, being near Eleven Miles in 
length & about four Miles in breadth, as may appear by a Plan 
thereof, and also that there is a large body of land laying upon 
and contiguous to the line between the North and South Par- 
ishes, which is and always will be incapable of any valuable 
improvement, which throws the bulk of the Inhabitants of said 
Parishes at a great distance from each other, which peculiar 


928 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








circumstance makes it always inconvenient & sometimes im- 
practicable for the Inhabitants of either of said Parishes to 
attend Town Meeting as they have been usually held for some 
years past, by reason of the great distance of way & sometimes 
impassable roads.— 

“Therefore, your Petitioners humbly pray that the lands 
within the said first Parish & the Inhabitants thereof, (except 
those persons and their property that wish to remain with the 
Town of Stoughton,) may be incorporated into a Distinct and 
separate Town. And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, shall 
ever pray. 

“Stoughton, Apr! 17%, 1795. 

Elijah Dunbar. Rodolpis Kinsley. 
Win. Crane. 
James Reed. 
Lemuel Davenport. 
Fisher Kingsbury. 
Ebenezer Holmes. 


Benj’n Gill. 

Nathan Crane. 
Elijah Crane. 
Joseph Bemis. 
Sam’l Capen (2d). 
William McKendry. 
Ezekiel Fisher. 
David Hartwell. 
Jno. Kenney, Jr. 


Edward Downs. 
Samuel Canterbury. 
Thomas Allen. 
Jarath’] Crane. 
Silas Crane. 

Elijah Crane (2d). 
James Endicott. 
George Jordan. 
Luther May. 
Henry Bailey. 
George Crossman, 
Joseph Chandler. 
Richard Wild. 
Benjamin Lyon. 
Sam’l Morse. 

John Capen (2d). 
Benj’n Wentworth. 
Enoch Dickerman. 
Oli’r Wentworth. 
Josiah Tilden. 
Nath’! Wentworth. 
Jonathan Farrington. 
John Billing. 
Nath’l Whiting. 
Daniel Tucker. 
Adam Blackman, Jr. 
Samuel Blackman. 


Charles Fenno. 
Sam’! Wales. 

Nath’) Hill. 

Moses Baker. 
{edmon Spurr. 
Thomas French. 
Michael Shaller. 
Sam’l Strobridge. 
Tsaae Billing. 

Seth Strobridge. 
Archibill McKendry. 
Samuel Gooch. 

Lem. Tant. 

John Wentworth. 
Ezekiel Johnson. 
John Puffer. 

Abel Puffer. 
Ephraim Hunt. 
David Talbot. 
Nathaniel Pitt. 
William Bent. 
Nath’l Fisher. 

John Kenney. 
James H. Lewis. Nathaniel Kenney. 
Laban Lewis. Jno. Blackman. 
Benj’n Bussey. 
Elijah Puffer. 
Lem’! Whiting. 
Sam’] Tucker. 


Benj’n Lewis. 
George Blackman. 
John Withington. 
Sam. Morse, Jun’r. 
Simeon Tucker. Henry Morse. 
Elijah Gill. 
Lem’! Fisher. 
Abel Wentworth. 
Abel Fisher. 
Comfort Hoyton. 
Paul Wentworth. 


Samuel Tucker, Jr. 
Benjamin Tucker. 
Benjamin Sylvester. 
John Madden. 
James Tucker. 
Elisha Haws. 
Elijah Wentworth. 
Joseph Henry. 


Elijah Fenno. 
Jacob Billings. 
Stephen Blake. Stephen Billings. 
Nath’) Billing. 
Nathan Billing. 


James Smith. 
John Morse. 
Ephraim Smith. Peter Billing. 
Amos Upham. 


Judah Henry. 


John Dunlop. Oliver Shepard, 








Jobn Gill. 
Arunah Wentworth. 
Joses Hill. 

Henry Crane. 
Nath’] Shepard. 
Henry Morse, Jr. 
John Tant. 

John Tant, Jr. 
William Wheeler. 
Samuel Wheeler. 
Sam’! Billing. 
Joseph Billings. 
John Tucker. 
Nath’! Tilden. 
Ephraim Jones. 
Seth Wentworth. 
Philip Whiting. 
Adam Blackman. 


Israel Bailey. 
Jona. Billing. 
Dudley Bailey. 
George Stone. 
Daniel Billing. 
Enoch Leonard. 
Wm. Shepard. 
Elijah Endicott. 
Lemuel Smith (2d). 
Joseph Stearns. 
Thomas Shepard. 
Richard Gridley. 
Uriah Leonard. 
Calvin Crane. 
Peter Thayer, Jun. 
Silas Kinsley. 
Oliver Downs.” 


At the date of this petition there were but one 
hundred and forty voters in the parish, so that there 
were on this paper three names in excess of the entire 
number of legal voters. 

The petition was presented to the General Court 
June 11th, and an order of notice thereon issued, 
returnable at a later day. Stoughton, in the mean 
time, chose a committee, consisting of Samuel Talbot, 
Samuel Shepard, Joseph Richards, and James Pope, 
to oppose the petition. 

Jan. 20, 1796, a remonstrance, signed by Lemuel 
Drake and one hundred and sixty-nine others, was 
presented in the House, being an excess of fifteen 
names over and above the whole number of legal 
voters in the Second Parish,—in fact, a few names 
from the First Parish 
strance. 

On June 10, 1776, the committees of the parish, 
and of the town, agreed that the matter should be 
referred to the Hon. Seth Bullard, of the Senate, and 


were upon this remon- 


| Judge Bullock, of Rehoboth, and Mr. Joseph Hewins, 


This committee was in- 
structed to visit the town, hear the parties, and report 
thereon. They spent four days in this service, and 
on Sept. 3, 1796, made their report in favor of an 
act of incorporation, and on the 23d of February, 
in the year 1797, the town of Canton was duly in- 
corporated. 

On February 24th, Thomas Crane, Esq., issued his 
warrant to Laban Lewis, requiring him to warn the 
qualified voters to meet at the meeting-house in Can- 
ton on the 6th of March following, at one of the 


for) 


of Sharon, of the House. 


clock p.m., then and there to choose all such officers 
as towns are required by law to elect. 

First Town Officers——At a meeting held in 
pursuance of this warrant, Elijah Dunbar, Esq., was 
chosen moderator, and Elijah Crane, town clerk; 
Elijah Crane, Deacon Benjamin Tucker, and Col. 





CANTON. 





929 





Nathan Crane, selectmen and assessors, and Joseph | 
Bemis, town treasurer. 

On April 3d the first meeting of the new town | 
was held for the election of Governor, and Increase 
Sumner had thirty-nine votes, James Sullivan twenty, | 
Edward H. Robbins ten, Moses Gill seven, and Wil- | 
liam Heath one. 

May lst. Elijah Crane, the first representative, 
was elected by a unanimous vote. 

On the same day there was voted,— 


lor hishiwaysescestorceaccccocceseossaccnecanee $983.17 | 
For salary of Rev. Zachariah Howard, 
PRO L(G codons.ccccoc caccoacconcodancnccn Rosasebar 300.00 


And at an adjourned meeting,— 


Hori towmnicharg cS:..s+sessre--el=e-s4]-neesciecesas $800.00 
LAREN O Te TRY perccccecganon a50ne anconcerenEoosco 500.00 


In 1798 the town voted for highways $1000, town 
charges $600, schooling $500, Mr. Howard’s salary | 
$300, and also voted to clapboard the back end of the 
meeting-house, and board and clapboard the back 
side of the belfry, also to paint the house. 

These votes, and some that follow, will sound 
strangely to us at this day, when the town has noth- 
ing to do with the building or repair of meeting- 
houses or the support of the ministry, and every in- | 
dividual selects for his favor and support such church | 
as best suits him, and is under no obligation to sup- 
port any other. On the same page of the record 
above is a registry of a certificate of a committee of 
the denomination of Quakers, chosen at their monthly 
meeting, held at Lynn, “that Jonathan Leonard of 
Canton, doth belong to said Society.”’ Such certifi- | 
cates were then necessary in order to relieve the 
person from liability to taxation for parish purposes. | 





Many present will remember Mr. Leonard, who was | 
engaged with Adam Kinsley in the manufacture of | 
iron and steel, and was usually called ‘“‘ Quaker Leon- 
ard.” The house in which he lived now forms a part | 
of the Massapoag House. 

In 1799, at a meeting held in December, an ar- 
ticle was inserted in the warrant, ‘to see if the town | 
will procure and set up a stove in the meeting house, © 
for the convenience and comfort of those who attend 
Public Worship in the winter season,” and the | 
article was dismissed. 





In 1800 we find the town instructing their repre- | 
sentative to petition the General Court, and use his 
influence, to get the fine remitted that was imposed 
upon the town for not sending a representative to the 
General Court in 1799. 

In 1802 this entry appears upon the records : 


“Voted that the selectmen procure Lombard de Poplar trees 
at the expense of the town, and that they notify the inhabitants 
to assist in setting them out without expense to the town.” 


59 





| ” 
begun. 


| called to defend their country. 





In this manner, doubtless, the poplar-trees, so 


| common many years ago, were introduced. 


1803. I select these passages: April 4th, ‘‘ Voted that the 
selectmen post notification in the Belfry, calling on Youth and 
others not to make a tarry in Belfry after Public Worship is 


Again, May 2d, “ Voted that Joseph Bemis, William Wheeler, 


| Henry Bailey, Capt. Abner Crane, Benj. Lewis, and Adam 


Kinsley, be a committee to deliberate on the subject of En- 
larging the Singers’ Pew, as also, the subject of singing in 
general, to the end that that part of publick worship may be 


| performed with conveniency, decency and in good order.” 


In 1805, this vote, “That Henry Bailey, Joseph Bemis and 
Jona. Leonard, be a committee to hear the aggrieved parties as 
respects their time and expense in search for Jack Battus, (the 
murderer of the young girl Talbot,) and report at April meet- 
ing.” 

At April meeting sixteen persons were allowed, in 
all, $46.50 for this service. 


March 7, 1808. ‘‘ Voted to pay a bounty of one dollar per 
head or tail, for every Rattlesnake absolutely taken & killed 
within the town in the months of April, May & October the 
present year.” 

Practically this was very much like offering a 
bounty of two dollars for each snake killed, and very 
likely it was found to be so, for the next year the 
town voted the same sum for rattlesnakes’ ¢az/s, and 
cautioned the treasurer “to guard against deception 
when he is applied to for such bounties.” 

May 2d. At the election for the choice of a repre- 
sentative, Mr. Bemis, who had been the representa- 
tive for eight successive years, and was a candidate 
for re-election, was also the town clerk. His record 
reads thus: ‘The votes being given in, sorted and 


| counted, it appeared that Dea. Ben. Tucker had 32 


votes, Joseph Bemis had 29 votes, and Andrew Capen 


| 1 vote, and of course,”’ says the record, ‘‘ Dea. Benj. 


Tucker was elected.” 

War of 1812.—The war of 1812 now begins to 
be recognized in the records of the town. May 4th, 
voted to make up the pay for persons volunteering to 
fill up the quota of one hundred thousand men to 
fourteen dollars per month, if they go into actual 
service. 

August 15th. It was voted that such addition be 


_made to the pay of those persons who were drafted 
from this town under the last requisition of the Presi- 
| dent of the United States as shall make their monthly 


pay eighteen dollars. 

September 12th. The town voted to furnish each 
non-commissioned officer and soldier with sixty rounds 
of ball-cartridges, and directed the selectmen imme- 
diately to purchase six hundred pounds of pork, two 


_ hundred pounds of beef, and eight hundred pounds 


of bread, for supplying the militia of the town, when 
And also to procure 


930 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





covered baggage-wagons, to be in readiness to accom- 
pany the militia when called to the service of their 
country. 

We have no means of giving a statement of the 
number of men furnished for the defense of the 
country in this war. The rolls are all in the custody 
of the United States, at Washington. 

It is, however, apparent that the town was in favor 
of a vigorous prosecution of the war, and could brook 
no opposition. It appears that in 1813 the Rev. 
Edward Richmond, of Stoughton, preached a sermon 
in Mr. Richey’s (Ritchie’s) pulpit, on fast-day, in 
which it is supposed he denounced the war. The 
town took the matter in hand. On the 5th of April 
a committee of fifteen made this report : 


“Gentlemen of the town,—Your committee, appointed to 
take into consideration the subject of the Rev. Edward Rich- 
mond’s fast day sermon have attended the duty assigned them, 
and do recommend that the town pass a vote expressive of their 
disapprobation that the Rev. Edward Richmond should here- 
after be introduced into the Desk of Canton Meeting House on 
Lord’s Days, Fast Days, Thanksgiving Days, and Lecture Days, 
as a teacher of Religious Morality, &c., and that the Town 
Clerk be directed to serve the Rey. William Richey with a copy 
thereof without delay. ExvisAn Dunzar, per order.” 

The clerk certifies that the above vote was taken 
by yeas and nays, and it passed in the affirmative. 

April 1, 1816. A committee reported that they had 
purchased for the town Mr. Andrew Capen’s farm 
for two thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars. 
This is the present town farm, which was afterwards 
sold and again purchased of Mr. Elisha White, about 
the year 1837. Mr. Andrew Capen was the father 
of Nahum Capen, Esq., the able author of the “ His- 
tory of Democracy,” and formerly postmaster of Bos- 
ton. 

May 6, Art. II., “To see if the town will give a 
bounty on crows’ heads the present year.” 

Voted, on motion of Gen. Elijah Crane, ‘that 
every man kill his own crows.” 

Nov. 27, 1819. In the warrant for town-meeting 
this article was inserted on petition : 

“To see if the town will express their opinion, as there are 
three Religious Societies within the town, whether they are 
willing to raise, in any case, any sum of money as a town, for 
ministerial purposes.” 

Dec. 6. On that article it was “ Voted that the town of Can- 


ton do not raise any money in future, as a town, for ministerial | 


’ 


purposes.’ 


no further connection with parish affairs, thus antici- 
pating legislation fourteen years, for the statute dis- 
severing the parishes from the towns did not pass till 
April 1, 1834. 

First School-house in Canton.—The first school- 





_ be continued til ye next town meeting.’ 


house built in this town stood somewhere near the 
spot where the present school-house in District No. 1 
We give below the only record we can 
find of its building, with one or two other incidental 
votes : 


now stands. 


March 28, 1754. “It was put to vote whether ye town would 
build a School house and it past in ye affirmative, also voted 
to grant a tax of twenty Pounds to be laid out in building said 
house and that said School house should be set on ye Town’s 
land near ye Meeting House.” 

May 20,1754. “The same day it was put to vote whether 
the town would petition ye General Court that some of ye prov- 
ince Land might be granted to this town to enable it to sup- 
port and maintain ye School herein and it past in ye aflirma- 
tive.” 

At the same meeting, William Royal, Esq., was chosen “to 
prefer the foregoing petition.” 

June 7, 1734. ‘“ Voted that there be a Com’tee chosen to 
build a School house in this town, and the Com’tee chosen were 
Ens’gn Charles Wentworth, Ley’t William Billings and Mr. 
Preserved Lyon.” 

“The same day voted that there be four men appointed to 
take care of ye boys in our Meeting house in time of Publick 
Worship on Sabbath Days in order to restrain them from play 
and that they take care of them one quarter of year each and 
ye men appointed to s’d service are William Wheeler, Philip 
Liscom, Jun’r, Joseph Hewins, Jun’r, and Richard Hixson. 

Sept. 22, 1735. “The same day an accompt of forty shillings 
was laid before ye Town by ye Com’tee Chosen to build ye 
School House and then put to vote whether ye town would 
allow said forty shillings and it past in ye affirmative.” 

Sept. 29, 1740. “ Voted that Sixty Pounds be allowed out of 
the hundred Pounds granted for Town charges be improved for 
keeping of School in the several places where it hath been here- 
tofore kept, us also at a place in Town called York s’'d Money 
to be drawn out of ye Treasury by the persons living in said 
places as the Select men shall order,” 

March 19, 1754-44. ‘Voted that the money that shall be 
appropriated for the use of ye School in this town ye ensuing 


year shall be received by each Precinct in such proportion as 


each precinct pay to ye Province Tax for s’d year.” 
May 21, 1744. “ Voted that the sixth article in ye Warrant, 


| relating to the Building Two School houses, viz. one in ye See- 


ond and one in the third Precinct in this town, in such places 
as each precinct shall appoint, be continued til the next Town 
Meeting.” 

Sept. 26, 1744. “To see if ye Town will pass a vote to build 
Two School Houses, one in ye second and one in ye third pre- 
cinetin this town (in such places as each precinct shall appoint) 


’ 


The school money was divided as by the vote of 
March 19, 1745-44, for several years succeeding. 


March 21, 1747-48. “It being put to vote whether the town 
would alow ye Second and third precinct in this town to draw 


| out of ye Treasury each precinct’s proportionable part of ye 
From the date of that vote we think the town had | 


Fifty Pounds which was paid by ye Town in general for build- 
ing a School house in ye first Precinct and it passed in ye Neg- 


ative.” 


In the early days the inhabitants were, to a very 
great extent, located in the central and northerly parts 
of the town; this continued even to a comparatively 





CANTON. 


931 








recent period. Here stood the old meeting-houses ; 
the post-office, the taverns, and the stores were here. 
A person of sixty or sixty-five years of age may well 
remember when there were but twenty dwellings, or 
thereabouts, on the old Taunton road, between the 
house of Mr. Samuel Downes and the Sharon line, 
and but half a dozen at the Stone-Factory Village. 
Now the southerly portion of the town contains, by 
far, the larger part of the population, four of the 
five churches, the banks, nearly all the stores, and 
most of the manufactories. In this town, as every- 
where else, the century now closed has witnessed the 
feeble commencement, as also the full development of 
our manufacturing industries. As already shown, it 
was the policy of Great Britain to discourage manu- 
factures in the colonies. Independence gave our 
people their opportunity, and well have they improved 
it. One hundred years ago this was, perforce, an 
agricultural town. Now the people are devoted to 


manufacturing pursuits. 


CHAPTER LUXXItI. 


CANTON—( Continued). 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 


First Congregational Church—Organization—The Covenant of 
1717—The First Pastor, Rev. Joseph Morse—Tne First Cele- 
bration of the Lord’s Supper—The First Deacons—Extracts 
from the Early Records—List of those who joined the Church 
during Mr. Morse’s Ministry—Death of Mr. Morse—Inven- 
tory of his Estate—Rev. Samuel Dunbar—Rey. Z. Howard 
—Rey. William Richey—Reyv. Benjamin Huntoon—Succeed- 
ing Pastors—Church Buildings—Evangelical Congregational 
Church—Baptist Church—Universalist Church—Roman Ca- 
tholic Church. 


First Congregational Church.—As the history 
of the First Congregational Church was for more 
than one hundred years practically the history of the 
town, it is here given in detail, the facts being taken 
from the official records. 

This society was organized Oct. 13, 1717, and 
At his or- 
dination five churches were represented, namely, Mil- 
ton, Dorchester, Dedham, and the two churches in 
Braintree. Rev. John Danforth, of Dorchester, 
preached the ordination sermon from Hebrews xiii. 


le 


Rev. Joseph Morse was ordained pastor. 


Twenty persons owned the covenant, ten of whom — 


were members of neighboring churches. 

The church covenant ‘that was agreed upon by 
the Rev* Elders and Messengers with the Brethren 
that were to be in the foundation of said church” 








| 
| 
| 





was stated under eight heads, and was signed by Jo- 
seph Morse, Richard Smith, Peter Lyon, Samuel 
Andrews, Joseph Esti, Isaac Stearns, Benjamin Black- 
man, Joseph Hewins, George Talbot, John Withing- 
ton (who were members of neighboring churches be- 
fore the ordination), and Benjamin Esti, Thomas 
Spurr, Joseph Topliff, Robert Pelton, John Went- 
worth, David Stone, Benjamin Gill, William Wheeler, 
Edward Bailey, Samuel Hartwell (who were non- 
communicants, but yet examined and approbated by 
the reverend elders some time before the ordination, 
—viz., June 26th—27th,—for to be of the foundation 
of the church when gathered). ‘“ Also, our aged 
Brother Samuel Pitcher of Milton Church was looked 
upon as one of the foundation of our church. But 
he was not able to be present at the Ordination and 
died about a Month after. Those Brethren that did 
belong to Milton Church before the ordination, 
namely, Sam!’ Pitcher, Richard Smith, Peter Lyon 
and George Talbot not having obtained their dismis- 
sion from Milton Church before the Ordination were 
not actually and personally in signing the Covenant 


} and in being of the foundation on that day, but 


sometime after, when they had obtained their dismis- 


_ sion they signed the Covenant and came up in full 


with the rest of their Brethren, all except Samuel 
Pitcher whom the Lord removed by Death Noy. 23%, 
1717, the next day after our first church meeting. 
Also, John Withington being ill at the ordination 
and not present that day signed the Covenant after- 
wards.” 

The following is an abbreviation of the church 
covenant agreed upon to be that form of covenant 
that those persons should engage in and lay hold of 
who are received into full communion in this church: 


“You DO HERE, in the presence of Almighty God and his 
People solemnly take and chuse the Lord Jehovah to be your 
God, promising and covenanting with his help to fear him and 
cleave to him in love and to serve him in truth with all your 
heart giving up yourself and your seed after you in covenant 
with God and this Church to be the Lord’s entirely and to be 
at his disposal and direction in all things, that you may have 
and hold communion with him and this church as a member of 
Christ’s mystical body, according to his revealed will to your 
lives’ end. 

“You do also take the holy scriptures to be your rule of life 
to walk by wherein you may discern the mind of Christ, and 
endeavoring to live in the faithful improvement of all oppor- 
tunities to worship God, according to all his Gospen Insritru- 
TIONS, taking the great Immanuel the Son of God to be your 
Savior and Redeemer in all his offices, promising to afford your 
attendance upon the public dispensation of God’s Word, the 
Administration of the Ordinances of Jesus Christ, especially 
that of the Lord’s Supper, as God in his holy providence shall 
give you opportunity. 

“You also engage, with the Lord’s help by virtue of the 
death of Christ, to mortify all sin and disorderly or vile and 


932 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





sinful affections and to abstain from all sin, nies from | ieee! thirty Fine square, are was finished in 1708, 


scandalous sins, as the Lord shall keep you, that you may not 
depart from the living God, and that you may live a life of 
holiness and obedience to the will of God.—You 
promise you will peaceably submit yourself to the Holy Disci- 
pline appointed by Jesus Christ in his Church and you do now 


revealed 


offer yourself up to the Care, Government, and Watch of this | 


church, obeying them that have the rule over you in the Lord. 
Of the integrity of your Heart herein you call God the searcher 
of all hearts to witness, beseeching him to enable you to keep 
this Covenant inviolably to God’s 
good and edification and where you shall failin observing and 
keeping it you beg the Lord’s forgiveness and pardon and heal- 
ing for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 


How the salary of Rev. Mr. Morse was raised, and 
how much it was, will appear from the following vote, 
from the ‘ Book of Records” : 


“Ata ies meeting legally warned in Dorchester April 
the 20th 1716, 
was voted that the Inhabitants of said precinct would give to 


Mr. Joseph Morse forty pounds annually so long as he shall | 


uphold and perform the work of the ministry among them.” 


The same day it was voted that there should be 
fifteen pounds raised by rate upon the inhabitants and 
ratable estates within this precinct, and laid out upon 
the meeting-house as far as that would go towards 
the finishing of it. 


glory and your own spiritual | 


Samuel Andrews Moderator—the same day it | 


| 


eight years after the birth of the first white person, 
Thankful Redman, who was born in a house which 


stood on the spot where the house of Hon. Henry L. 





Pierce now stands. 

At the church meeting held May 15, 1718, “It 
was agreed upon to set apart a Day for fasting and 
prayer by the Church, and to hold it in the Meeting 
House, for to seek the Lord’s favor and the smiles of 
His Countenance to rest on this Church and Congre- 
gation, and that Religion and Godliness might be 


| advanced, and the peace and prosperity of both Church 


and Congregation might be continued and enlarged 


| by God Almighty.” 


Accordingly, the 4th day of 


_ June, 1718, was so kept. 





Five pounds more rate were voted to defray the | 


necessary charges of said precinct. A committee, 


consisting of John Fenno and Richard Hixson, were | 


arising within said precinct, and to hire workmen to 
doe the work about the meeting-house and to pay 
them for their work. 
warned, July 11, 1716, Joseph Hewins, moderator, 


At a precinct meeting legally 


it was voted that there should be four shillings levied | 


upon the poll in the minister’s rate this present year. 
The same day it was voted in the affirmative that the 
assessors receive and pay Mr. Morse his salevey, and 


that the constable should make up his accounts with | 
| for this Church to chuse, in convenient season, an Elder or E]- 


him. 
The constable’s receipt was as follows : 


Dec. 5, 1718. A church meeting after a great 
sickness, to spend some time in prayer, and to dis- 
course about things appertaining to the Church, 
‘“‘ Note. In the month of September, 1718, was a 
great sickness in this place; several died, the Min- 
ister being near Death, but mercifully spared, being 
absent from the Lord’s House 13 Sabbaths; 10 of 
them were supplied by Mr. Mekinstry :—the congre- 
gation being without preaching 3 Sabbaths.” 

“ May 15, 1719. A Church Meeting—then 
voted— 

“That the Church set apart a day solemnly to seek God by 


chosen to receive the money that was granted for | fasting and prayer and to invite the congregation to join with 


the meeting-house and for other necessary charges | us in this great work: that the Lord’s\ti0o eae 


sought after by us for the pardon of oursins and the sanctifying 
mercies and afflictions, and for the obtaining all needful bless- 
ings. 

“That the Church having considered of the Ordination of the 
persons chosen into the office of Deacons, voted, that they pro- 
ceed regularly and in convenient time, to the peaceable and full 
consummation thereof, as God shall enable and direct them.” 


Dee. 17, 1719. “A Church Meeting,” after the 


consideration of two articles, voted: 


“Tt was proposed to consideration, whether it was necessary 


_ ders and another Deacon or Deacons, to assist and strengthen 
| the Church in maintaining the Kingdom and encouraging the 


ye 21 of Then Constable Sam’ll Bullard Broft a recept in | 
March fll from under ye hand of ye Reverend Mr. Morse 

1712) unto ye assessor of this precinct of ye Ministerial | 
20 Rate comitted unto Sion Bullard to collect in ye 


yeare 1716 


On Dee 
whole congregation for furnishing the Lord’s table of 
£3 3s.1d. The first celebration of the Lord’s Supper 
was on Feb. 9, 1718. 
place Oct. 20, 1713, four years before the church 


. 8, 1717, there was a contribution in the 


The first public baptism took 


gathering, when ten children and one adult were bap- 


tized by Rev. Mr. Danforth. The 


town of Dorchester 


| erable full meeting. 


had granted thirty pounds towards building a meeting- | 


Interest of Christ among this people. 
“ Voted to take the abovesaid proposal into our most serious 


consideration.” 


Feb. 26, 1720. 


advisable 


A church meeting voted: 


“Thought to choose more subordinate officers in 
the church. 

“Whether or no the church will proceed to choose an Elder 
or Elders, and it was voted that they would choose one. 

“The church proceeded to vote for an Elder, and the vote 
fell on Deacon Joserpn Hewins—a very clear vote. 

“Voted to choose one Deacon. 

““The church proceeded to vote for a Deacon, and the vote 
fell on Brother IsAAc Stearns. All this was done at a consid- 


” 


“ March 18, 1720. A Church Fast of Male and Female in a 


CANTON. 


933 





private House. A collection for a Church Stock for the use and 
benefit of the church. This was the first collection in the church | 
for the purpose aforesaid, and there was contributed and prom- 
ised £1, 6d. 0s.—That day Alexander Gordon and his wife, 
(strangers from Ireland,) were received to communion with us 
during their abode in this place, and they promised to remain 
under the Watch and Discipline of the church accordingly. 

* March 21, 1720. That day the Deacons paid to Mrs. Amity 
Morse 15s. in full, for taking care of the Vessels of the Lord’s 
Table till that time from the first improvement of them.” 


The office of deacon was not lightly esteemed in 
those days. Those selected by their brethren gener- 
ally took the matter into serious deliberation before 
accepting. Thus we find that Deacon Joseph Hew- 
ins considered the matter for a full month, and that 
he hesitated a long time before he accepted the office 
of elder. The singing was, as we judge, in the con- 
gregational style. 

June 16, 1721, a church meeting voted,— 


“That Peter Lyon proceed in setting the Psalmn in the con- 
gregation on Sabbath Days, when present.” 

“That Deacon Stearns be ordained or confirmed in the office 
of a Deacon, with our Brothers Blackman and Hewins when 
they are ordained.” ' 


Jan. 10, 1723, a church meeting voted,— 


“That the church make a fresh application of their request 
to Joseph Hewins to accept the Office of a Ruling Elder in the 
church, accordingly such request was directed to him by the 
Pastor.” 

“That the Deacons discourse with all communicants in this 
place to seek after and obtain Letters of Recommendation from 
the churches they belong unto, to bring to our church in this 
place.” 

Of course, it will be understood that we are not 
giving the church records in full. We make such 
selections as will show the gradual growth of the 
church, the officers chosen, and other important events 
as they transpired. We shall also give the names of 
all those who were members of the church during 
the ministry of Mr. Morse. 

We again refer to the Precinct Records, page 6: 

“At a meeting of ye Freeholders and other Inhabitants qual- 
ified to Law legally warned and assembled on November ye 
15,” (17177) “Joseph Hewins Moderator. 
was Voted on ye affirmative that ye precinct (—) Ten Pounds 
for to be raysed by a reat for to pay (—) precinct is now 
indebted and to defray ye charge (—) nesaseryly arise in ye 
precinct this presant year to be layed (—) upon ye meeting 
house.” 

“The same day it was voted in ye affirmative, that they would | 


The same day it | 


choose a Committee of five men for to seate ye meeting house, 
and ye Committee chosen were Henry Crane, Samuel Bullard, 
John Fisher, Joseph Hewins and John Puffer.” 

“The same day it was voted in ye affirmative that they would 
chuse a Comitee for to gather in ye Reverend Mr. Morse’s old | 


arears, and ye Comittee chosen was Henry Crane, Thomas Spur, 
Benjamin Esti, John Puffer and John Wentworth.” 

1718. ‘Ata meeting of the Freeholders and other Inhab- 
itants qualified according to Law in Dorchester South Precinct 





| Legally warned and a sembled August ye 18th, 1708. 


| of June 1720. 


Joseph 
Hewins Moderator.” 

“The same day it was voted in ye affirmative that ye precinct 
congregation would give to the Reverend Mr. Morse 35 Pound 
more than his former salary, for this present year.” 

‘“At a meeting of ye Freeholders and other Inhabitants qual- 
ified acording to law Legally warned and asemb/ed in this pre- 
cinct on November ye 26, 1718. Mr. Nathanael Hubard Mod- 
erator.” . 

“The same day it was voted in ye afermative that ye first 
Monday and ye last Monday in February annually should be 
ye set days for ye Inhabitants for to make up their accoumpts 
with Mr. Morse of the Ministerall Rate. 

“At a meeting of ye Inhabitants of this precinct Legally 
warned and assembled February ye 16th, 1718-19, Joseph 
Hewins Moderator,—Joseph Hewins was chosen Precinct Clerk 
and first assessor and John Puffer ye second assessor and Joseph 
Tucker ye third assessor.” 

“The same day it was voted in ye affirmative that ye precinct 
would give to the Reverend Mr. Morse Fifteen Pounds more to 
be aded to his former salary for this present yeare.”’ 

“The same day it was voted in ye afermative that they would 
grant a rate to be made of Twentie Pounds and collected of and 
from ye Inhabitants and estates of said Precinct (-—) Be lay’d 
out upon ye Meeting House and to defray any necessary charges 
that may arise in ye precinct this year.” 

“The same day it was voted in ye afirmative that the a(sses- 
sors) should reserve ye saide Twentie Pounds of ye Constables 
hire workmen and pay them, and pay any other charges.” 


It appears from the records that the officers chosen 
in March this year did not accept, and a meeting was 
held in September following (day torn off the record), 
and Peter Lyon was chosen precinct clerk. Mr. Lyon 
was again chosen clerk “on ye 21st day of March, 
1719=20;” 


“The same day it was voted in ye afermative that the pre- 
cinect inhabitants would give ye Reverend Mr. Morse Sixtie 
Pounds for his labor in ye work of ye ministry for this presant 
yeare.”’ 

‘“The same day ye assessors was chosen a Comitee to call and 


apoint precinct meetings. The same day it was voted in ye 


| afermative that their should be six shillings Levied upon ye 


poule for this preasant yeare to ye Ministeriall rate.’ 

“At a precinct meeting legally warned and assembled ye 29 
The same day John Fenno, Joseph Tucker and 
Peter Lyon gave an account how they had layd out ye Ten 
Pound and ye Twentie Pound Rate which were comitted to Con- 
stable Haws and Constable Liscom to colect. The same day it 
was voted on ye afermative that they would choose a Commit- 
tee of three men for to save ye Meeting house and ye Comittee 


| then chosen was John Fenno, Benjamin Blackman, and Joseph 


Hewins.” 

“‘The same day there was Ten Pound granted to be raysed 
by way of Rate upon ye pouls and estates in s’d Precinct for to 
repair the Roof of the Meeting house and to Bank the outside 
of ye sill of s’d house and to Repaire Mr. Morse’s Pew Desently 


| and to defray other nessessary charges arising in s’d precinct.” 


“The same day the assessors were chosen a Commitie to Re- 
ceive ye s’d Ten Pounde Rate of ye Constable and hire work- 
men and pay them for said work and pay other charges arising 
acording to ye vote.” 

“Then John Fenno, Joseph Tucker, and Peter Lyon Receved 
of Constable Liscom 20 Pound which was in full of a Rate which 
was comitted to him to collect in ye yeare 1719. 


934 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





“The same day Paide to Left. John Vose for work don in ye 
Meeting house Seventeen Pounde and nineteen shillings.” 


The record for 1720-21 is much defaced and de- 
stroyed. Sixty pounds were voted to Mr. Morse for 
his labor, ete., that year. 


“The same day it was voted that ye assessors should be a 
Comittee for to inquier into ye precincts title to ye Land whare 
ye Meeting house stands and to get a stronger confermation of 
the same if nede be.” 

March 5, 1721-2, the precinct inhabitants voted that they 
“would give ye Reverend Mr. Morse Sixty Pounds for his labor 
in the work of the ministry for this present yeare.” 

“The same day there was chosen a Comittee for to open the 
Boun” (dary of the meeting) “ House Land and the Neighbors 
Lands adjoyning and to mesuer how” (far it was from) ‘ the 
rhode and likewise each way and for the Committee” (to report 
the) “same to the clark of this precinct; that he may inter” 
(thesame.) ‘The Committee then chosen was John Fenno and.” 


The other names are torn off; the above in paren- 
thesis we have ventured to supply. The committee 
thus chosen reported March 15, 1722; but their 
record is so mutilated as to be entirely unintelligible. 

The following are the names of the persons who | 
owned the covenant, who were baptized and joined 
to the church in the time of Mr. Morse’s ministry, 
and of such as were before his ordination : 


Owned the Covenant before Mr. Morse’s Ordination : 

October 20, 1713. By Rev. Mr. Danford: Oliver Jordan, 
Jane Pitcher. 

June 26, 1717. By Rev. Mr. Thatcher: John Wentworth, 
Shubal Wentworth, Edward Baily, Edward Wentworth, Eliza- 
beth Jordan, Abigail Wentworth, 

After the Ordination : 

January 26, 1717, Abigail Jordan. 

February 2. Obadiah Hawes, Jr., Rebecca and Sarah Hawes. 

March 2, 1718. Joseph Smith. 

March 9. Thomas and Joseph Jordan. 

March 16. Margaret Hixon, John Walter, Hannah, Rebecca, 
Margaret, and Elizabeth Hixon. 
March 30. Richard Hixon. 

May 11. Sarah Morey. 

June 22, 1791. Jane Jordan, Bethia Wentworth, Rebecca 
Fenno. 

September 27, 1720. Samuel Waters. 

November 27, 1721. Edward Esti. 

April 16. Mary Meclellan. 

July 6. Samuel Billings. 

November 5. Isaac Comings. 

December 17, 1722. 


January 10. William Weeks, Charles Wentworth, Zecharia 


Thankful and Prudence Redman. 


Lyon, Joseph Fenno, Isaac Fenno, John Fenno, Ruth Fenno, 
Elizabeth Fenno. 

October 21. Freelove Monk. 

December 2, 1723. Benjamin Smith. 

March 31. Beriah Billings, Elizabeth Stowbridge. 
September 22, 1724. Increase Hawes. 

April 12. John Hawes. 

November 1. Elhanan Billing. 

December 6. Robert Redman and his wife Mary, Jonathan 
Kenney, John Kenney. 

January 17, 1724-25. Sarah White. 

March 15. Jerusha Collick. 





Communicants. 


February 9, 1717. Sarah Stone. 

February 23. Rebecca Hawse. 

April 20, 1718. Hannah Hartwell. 

June 22. Eleazor Billing, John Dickerman, Amity Morse, 
Jane Pitcher. 

June 29. Joseph Tucker and Judith his wife, Margaret 
Hixon. 

December 17. Elizabeth Speer. 

December 28. Jerusha Billing. 

March 15, 1719. Mary Tolman. 

May 24, 1720. Mary Jordan, Elizabeth Ames. 

April 24. Nathaniel Etheridge. 

February 11, 1721-22. Thankful Smith. 

February 25. William Crane and his wife. 

March 25. Elhanan Lyon and Meredith his wife, David 
Eames. 

April 8. Hannah Baily. 

July 1. Nathaniel 

August 3. Thomas Tolman. 

August 12. Mary Baley. 

September 9. Jane Jordan. 

March 10, 1728. Abigail Jordan. 

August 2, 1724. Susannah Blackman, 

June 27, 1725. Abigail Kingsbury. 

July 4, 1725, Margaret Hawse. 





Baptisms. 


Before the Ordination : 

October 20, 1713. By Mr. Danford: Sion, of Mr. Joseph 
Morse; Thomas, Oliver, Ester, of Thomas Jordan; Sarah, of 
Benjamin Esti; Samuel, of Joseph Topliff; Christian, of Robert 
Pelton; Eliakin, Abijah, Jane, of Edward Pitcher; Mary 
Stone. 

June 26, 1717. By Mr. Thatcher: Martha, of John Went- 
worth; Abijail, of Thomas Speer; Zeriah, of Joseph Tucker ; 
William, of Thomas Jordan; William, John, of John Went- 
worth; Amariah, of Joseph Topliff; Edward, of Edward Pit- 
cher; Matthias, of Kleazer Puffer; Thankful, of Daniel Stone. 

After the Ordination : 

June 19, 1717. David, of Shubal Wentworth. 

June 26. Abijail, of Samuel Hartwell; Abiel, of Essh. Allen. 

February 2. Obidah Hawse, Jr.; Rebecca and Sarah Hawse. 

February 16. Joseph, of Joseph Jordan. 

March 2, 1718. Eleazer, of Obediah Hawse, Mercy, of Joseph 
Smith. 

March 9. Thomas and Joseph Jordan, Robert, of Elea. Speer. 

March 16. Margaret Hixon and her children, John, Walter, 
Hannah; Oliver, Margaret, and Elizabeth, Abigail, of Philiss 
Goodwin. 

April 20. Zebadiah, of Edward Wentworth. 

April 27. Sarah, of David Stone: Samuel, of Samuel Bil- 
lings. 

May 16. Sarah Morey. 

June 1. Benjamin, of Benjamin Jordan. 

June 8. Thomas, of John Dickerman. 

June 22. Jonathan, John, Jane, of James Jordan; Bethia 
Wentworth, Rebecca Fenno. 

July 20. Elizabeth, of William Wheeler. 

February 15, 1718-19. Joannah, of Daniel Stone. 

April 12. Mary, of Edward Baily. 

April 19. Thomas, of Thomas Tolman. 

May 24. Francis, of Joseph Esti, Jr. 

May 31. Jeremiah, of Thomas Jordan. 

July 26. D 


August 23. 


, of Samuel Bird. 





Uriah, of Joseph Tucker. 





7 


CANTON. 


935 





September 27. Samuel Waters. 

November 8. Hannah, of Shubal Wentworth. 

November 22. Ebenezer, of John Dickerman. 

December 6. Sarah, of Benjamin Gill. 

December 20. Hannah, of Samuel Heartwell. 

April 3, 1720. Edward, of Edward Pitcher. 

April 10. Moses, Aaron, of John Wentworth, twins. 

April 24. Peltiah, of Samuel Esti. 

May 1. Jedediah, of Jonathan Jordan. 

May 29. Joseph, of Joseph Smith. 

June 5. Abigail, of Thomas Speer. 

June 12. Manning, 

September 25. Samuel, of Joseph Jordan. 

October 2. Mary, of David Eames. 

October 23. Abigail, of William Wheeler. 

October 23. Paul, of Edward Wentworth. 

October 23. Elizabeth, of John Jamisson. 

November 6. Benjamin, of Philip Liscom. 

November 27. Isaac, of Edward Esti. 

February 19, 1720-21. Henry, of Daniel Stone. 

March 12. Jobn, of John Hixon. 

April 9. Nathaniel, of David Stone. 

April 16. Mercy, Mecletton. 

May 24. Amity, of Mr. Joseph Morse. 

July 16. Elijah, of Samuel Billing ; Lydia, of Jabez Frost. 

July 30. Abigail, Miriam, of Elea. Puffer, twins. 

August 13. Isiach, of Thomas Jordan. 

November 5. Hannah, of Isac Comings. 

December 10. Mary, of Joseph Holland. 

December 17. Thankful and Prudence Redman. 

February 11, 1721-22. Samuel, of John Dickerman. 

May 6. 
Jonah, of Samuel Heartwell. 

June 3. Ruth, of Joseph Esti, Jr.; William Weeks, Charles 
Wentworth, Zacharih Lyon, Joseph Fenno, Isaac Fenno, John 
Fenno, Ruth Fenno, Elizabeth Fenno, 

July 1. Nathaniel Otis. 


of Joseph Sawin. 





, of Benjamin Gill; James, of James Smith ; 


July 8. Abijah, of Timothy Jones; Hannah, of Samuel Bird. | 


July 22. Abigail, of Eben. Clap. 

September 30. Abigail, of Edw. Wentworth. 

November 21. Freelove Monk. 

November 28. John William Wheeler. 

December 4. John, of William Crane; Ephram, of Benjamin 
Smith. 

December 9. Elizabeth, of Edw. Esti. 

March 3, 1723. James, of Elias Puffer. 

March 31. Mary, of Bettiah Billing. 

April 21. Michael, of —— Speer. 

June, 1723. Ezekiel, of Shub. Wentworth. 

June 29. Amity, of Daniel Stone; Experience, of John Phil- 
ips, of North Purchas, Taunton. 

June 16. Samuel, of John Throbridge. 

June 30. Ephram, of David Eames. 

July 7. Abigaiel, of David Stone. 

July 21. Elizabeth, of William Sherman. 

September 1. Keziah, Mary, of Ezra Morse, of Dedham, 





twins. 

September 22. Jesse, of Desire Hawse. 

December 8. Ebenezer, of George Talbot. 

February 2, 1723-24. Mercy, of John Dickerman. 

February 23. Isaac, of Isaac Comins. 

March 22. Mary, of Thomas Tolman, Jr. 

April 5, 1724, At Dedham, New Congregation at Guilds; 
Rachel, of Samuel Thorp; Sarah, of Ebenezer Dean; Sarah, 
of Nathaniel Guile; Hannah, of William Bullard, Jr.; Martha, 
of —— White, of Dorchester, South Precinct. 





April 12. John Hawse, Mary, of Ebenezer Clap; Benjamin, 
of Benjamin Smith. 

May 17. Sarah, of Mary Mecllen; Mary Redman. 

May 31. Nathan, of Samuel Heartwell,. 

July 19. Sarah, of Samuel Esti. 

July 26. —-— ——, of William Weeks. 

September 13. Joseph, of Joseph Esti, Jr. 

October 25. Benjamin, of Benjamin Gill. 

November 1. Ebenezer, of Elkanah Billing; Ananiah, Wil- 
liam, Rachel, Bethiah, of Charles Wentworth. 

December 6. Robert Redman, and his wife Mary, Jonathan 
Kenny, John Kenney, Sarah, of Robert Redman. 

January 10, 1724-25, Sarah, of Cornelius Thing. 

January 17. Sarah White. 

January 24. Guild, of Jonathan Kenney. 

February 7. Samuel, of Samuel Bird. 

February 28. Stephen, of Stephen Billing. 

March 4. Hannah, of William Wheeler. 

March 28. Cornelius, of Cornelius Collick. 

April 4. Sion Wentworth, Mary, of Joseph Smith. 

August 1. Sarah, of Benjamin Savel. 

September 5. Mehitable, of Jobn Hixon. 

March 13, 1726. Nathaniel, of William Sherman; Jonathan, 
of Jonathan Kenny. 

March 20. Eliphalet, of Elias Monk. 

. March 27. Mulford, of Corne’s Thompson ; Sarah, of Samuel 
Heartwell. 

July 10. Silas, of Joseph Sarvin. 

August 7. Jonathan, of Beriah Billing. 

1726-27. Ann, of Daniel Stone, by Rev. Mr. Dexter. 

March 5. By Rev. Mr. Thatcher: David, of Thomas Jordan; 
Zebulon, of William Crane; Experience, of George Talbot; 
Silas, of Edward Wentworth; Benjamin, of Benjamin Gill; 
Stephen, of David Tilden; Manapah, of John Dickerman; 
William Witherbee. 

May 24. James, of Shubael Wentworth; William, of Joseph 
Smith. 





During his ministry of ten years thirty-one per- 
sons were added to the church, and one hundred and 
sixty-seven were baptized. He had preached the 
Word of God ten years and nine months before his 


ordination. In 1726-27 his connection with the 
parish was dissolved by mutual consent. He con- 
tinued to reside in the parish until his death. He 


| was buried in the old Canton Cemetery. The in- 
| scription on the gravestone is as follows: 


“ Here lyes buried the. 
Body of the Rev?. 
Mr. JosepuH Mors, dec? 
Nov. 29, 1732. in y® 61° year of his age. 

Within this silent grave here now doth ly 
Him that is gone unto Eternity. 
Who, when he lived was by good men respected, 
Although by others was perhaps rejected, 
Yet that don’t hinder his Triumphant Joy 
With Saints above where nought can him annoy.” 


He was a man of considerable property, as appears 
by the following, which is copied from the Registry 
of Probate for the county of Suffolk, vol. 31, pp. 184, 
and which may be interesting as showing what com- 


posed the property of that day : 


936 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





“An Inventory of Mr. Joseph Morse his estate who departed | 


this life November 29th, 1732. 





Books one Bible Pools Annotations...........0000 + £35. 
To wearing apparel 2 Rings & Cane.............04+ 16. 16 
To housing Land with orchard & meadow......... 1450. 
ROKOXETINCMSUCOU Mn escnetencsecine tects s. esess cleric srisep oss 2%. 95 
'o cows Heifers Bulls, Horse Hiered & Sheep... 67. 15 
To Five Beds Bed Cloaths & Bed-Steads........... 50. 
To Silver Tankard one cup & seven spoons........ 37. 10 
To Pewter Platters, Plates, Basins, Tankard..... 
Flaggon spoons & Earth® Ware..........sseesece sees Sige 
To three Brass Kettles warming pan & skillet... 10. 
To chest of Draws and two Tables......... 5 dosonds 8 2 
To 2 Weavers Looms & their tackling.............. tee 2 eG 
To 2 Saddles Mail Pillion & Portmanteau......... 6. 64 
To Iron Potts Potthooks & Kettle...............000 2 
To Iron Tramells Cart Hoops Streaks & Nails... 7 4 
To 16 chairs 3 Trunks 2 chests & 2 Boxes......... 4 15 
To chest w'® one Draw Cupboard Joynt chest & f 

MAD Oteacccocciscccsccscicccseves scccseesctwes cues Seetucats 2. 4 
To axes fetters old iron chain Plow & horse 

UAGHIIN Der tcste'saeie cctsveescste cc attedeseas se cee ctodes sles Zen 
To five swine, Barrells Tubbs Trays old stilliards 

WU MING catcns Saldsedsacciscs ceussuic tse scsce,ecccestsaitecoscis 9. 
To Lanthorn, Candlesticks, Candlebox fire Irons 

Leather for Shoes one Hive of Bees Look’g 

Glass Smal] Chest Box & Lumber................. 2) 

£1763: 5: 6 | 


“The above Inventory was ‘laken & the Goods apprised ac- 
cording to the best of our understanding of what was brought 
to our View by us at Stoughton. 


“ Joun WENTWORTH. 
“THOMAS Spur. 
“ SAMUEL HARTWELL. 


“ Boston, April 24, 1733.” 

We have thus gathered from various sources such 
things pertaining to Mr. Morse and his ministry as 
seem to be of interest. Mr. Noyes has his auto- 
graph in his possession, and an account kept between 
himself and his mother, Priscilla, dated 1693. The 
gold-headed cane mentioned in his inventory is now 
in the possession of one of his descendants at Man- 
chester, N. H. His father died Feb. 3, 1731. 
paternal grandfather was John Morse, who was the 
oldest son of Samuel Morse, of Dedham, who was 





His | 


born in England, 1585 ; emigrated to New England, | 


1635 ; settled at Dedham, 1637; and died at Med- 
field, April 5, 1654. 

Joseph Morse was born in Medfield about 1671, 
and was graduated at Harvard College in 1695. After 
leaving college he sometime resided in Providence, 
R. L., where he married Amity Harris. He then re- 
sided and preached at Watertown until he came to 
the place of his ordination, at about the age of forty- 
seven. 

tev. Joseph Morse’s children were Joseph, born at 
Watertown, 1706, who married Bethia Waters for 
his first wife; John, born at Watertown, 1708; 
Amity, born at Watertown, 1710; Sion, born 1713, 
Canton) ; 
Many of their descendants now reside in Canton. 

Rev. Samuel Dunbar succeeded Mr. Morse, and 
was ordained in 1727. 


at Stoughton (now 


Henry and Mary. 


The following extracts from the records in relation 
to singing are of interest : 

“April 6. There being like to be a difference ab’t Singing, 
some of ye Brethren proposed New Tunes to be added to the old 


I proposed to ye Chh. May 18, that we 
would settle ye matter by yer vote & to yeend bring in yer votes 


ones and some against. 


| in meeting next Lds Day evening and further vote who should 


set ye tune.” 
“May 25. Put off ye voting till next Lord’s Day Evening at 


ye desire of several.” 


“June 1. Voted that Some New Tunes be added to ye Old 


| ones yt are ordinarily sung in ye Congregation and ye Mr. 


Dunzar set yin.” 


The Mr. Dunbar above mentioned must have been 
the Rev. Pastor himself. There was no other man 
He was a 
famous singer, and his only son, Elijah, who was 
born this year, and baptized Aug. 24, 1740, was 


of his name in the church or parish. 


_ afterwards renowned in the churches for his singing. 


The subject of church music caused no little agita- 
tion in those days. 
ing” had been introduced, and, as we are told by Mr. 
Drake in his ‘‘ History of Boston,” ‘“ the practice was 
opposed by the churches generally.” 


What was called “ regular sing- 


The Puritans were averse to regular singing. They 


| say, in “The Confession,’ 1571, ‘‘We allow the 
_ people to join in one voice in a psalm-tune, but not 


in tossing the psalm from one side to the other, with 
intermingling of organs.” 

The excitement began somewhere about the year 
1720, and raged over all the New England colonies. 
But it purified and brightened the churches. ‘In 


_ some,” says Hood, “it was the glorious harbinger of 


a great and powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” 
Mr. Dunbar’s church was at this time (1739-40) in 
a very flourishing state. Eleven were added to the 
church during the year, and we do not find any 
further reference made to the matter of singing. 

Mr. Dunbar probably “set” the tunes, as “old 
Mr. Peter Lyon” had done in Mr. Morse’s time, and 
they sang as they were moved by the Spirit, making 
melody in their hearts. We fancy we hear them now, 
standing around that sacred table, lifting up their 
voices in Barnard’s version of Psalm exxxiv. : 

“Lo: all ye Servants of the Lord 
Who nightly stand and wait, 


Attending in his sacred House, 
Jehovah celebrate. 
“Bless ye the Lord, lift up your Hands 
Within his Holy Place 
The Lord, who Heaven and Earth hath made 
Thee out of Sion bless.” 
Mr. Dunbar preached many sermons, which were 
The following is a reproduction of the title- 
page of one: 


printed. 





CANTON. 


937 





MAN, “ike Grass, weak and withering. 





A 
SE Ry M © N 
Preach'd in the first PARISH of Stoughton 


UPON 


The Melancholy Occasion 
OF THE 
Premature Deaths of several 
Young PERSONS there; 


FEBRUARY sth, 1748-9. 


By Samuel Dunbar, M. A. 


Pastor of the CHURCH there. 





JAMES, iv. 13, 14. 
row, we will go into such a City and continue there a year, 


Go to now, ye that say to-Day, or To-mor- 


and buy and sell, and get Gain. 
Shall be on the Morrow: For whatis your Life? It is even 
a Vapour, that appeareth for a little Time, and then vanish- 
eth away. 


AONS, ta ONG 


Printed by J. GREEN for D, COOKIN, in Mari- 
borough Street. 1749. 


This discourse was suggested, as he says in a note, 
by the deaths, which followed each other in rapid suc- 
cession, of a child of Mr. James Andros and a child 
of Mr. Samuel May: of Elisha Tailor, Abigail Lis- 
cum, Mary Houghton, Mary Clap, young persons, and 
“The Aged Widows, Mrs. Morse and Mrs. Stearns, 


Whereas ye know not what | 





Joshua vii. 1-7." In 1740, Mr. Dunbar thus chron- 
icles the gathering of a new church: 


“May Ith. This evening the Chh. voted ye following Breth- 
eren and Sistérs of ye Chh. a Dismission and Recommendation 
in order to be gathered into a Distinct & Particular Chh. in ye 
2d Precinct of this Town: Viz Joseph Hewins, Benjamin Esti, 
Peletiah Whittemore, Eleazer Puffer, Jeremiah Fuller, Joseph 
Hewins, Junior, John Noyes, Ebenezer Hewins, John Smith, 
Eleazer Hawse, Benja. Savel, Daniel Richard’s, Benj. Esti, Ju- 
nior, Ebenr. Esti, Samuel Cowmings, Clifford Belcher, Eliza- 
beth Whittemore, Mary Savel, Rebeckeh Esti, Elizabeth Puffer, 
Harriet Fuller, Hannah Hewins, Judith Hewins, Mary Hawse, 


| Martha Esti.” 


good old Deacon Blackman, Mr. Moses Gill, and Mr. | 


Benjamin Gill; Mr. Humphrey Atherton, Mrs. Mary | 


Fisher, Mrs. Paul, Ann Shadd.” 
Paul Revere, at the age of twenty-one, accompanied 


Col. Richard Gridley to Crown Point in 1755-56, | 


and assisted in the struggle then going forward be- 
tween France and England for the possession of this 
And, remarkably illustrating the intimate 
association between the New England clergy and the 


continent. 


laity in their work of reclaiming the land to civiliza-_ 


tion both by the arts of peace and war, the Rev. 
Samuel Dunbar, minister of this church and town, 
accompanied them on their distant and _ perilous 
journey. 

Mr. Dunbar returned to his parochial duties on the 
6th of December, 1755. The general thanksgiving 
had been observed in his absence, Dec. 4, 1755, but 
whether there had been preaching or not is not re- 
corded. During that year a public fast was observed 


There had been preaching for some time, doubtless, 
in the Second Precinct, now Sharon, before the founda- 
tion of the church. We find the following record, 
1737-38 : 

“July 23. This Lord’s Day about 30 Families drew off from 


the Public Worship in this place to ye New Meeting House on 


ye Plain at Masspoag. Young Mr. Burnal preached among ym 


Ye Lord give grace & Truth in this town & precinct.” 


In those days it was the practice to double date 
between January 1st and March 25th, thus 1737-38, 
until the introduction of New Style in 1752. Prior 
to 1752 the civil year began in March, which was 
called the first month. To render Old Style into New 
Style the first month must be reckoned as the third, 
and eleven days be added to all dates between 1700 
and 1752. 

In 1741-42. “Jan. 13, 1741-2, The Pastor & Deacons ye 
Delegates of ye Chh. assisted in ye Ordaining Council, & Or- 
dained ye Rev. Wm. Philip Curtis, Pastor of ye Chh. in ye 2d 
Precinct began with Prayer, Mr. Nath. Walter, of Roxbury, 
preached from Acts xx. 28. I gave ye charge, and Mr. Pay- 
son, of Walpole, gave ye Right hand of Fellowship.” 

Mr. Dunbar and his parish took a lively interest in 
this new church, as appears from various memoranda 
made by him. Vide the following, 1742: 

“June 4th Stayed ye Chh. 


Sister Chh. in order to furnish ye Table of ye Lord am ym 
Tankards 1 Large Cup and ye Little Cups.” 


Voted to give to our Younger 


One Flaggon, 2 
In 1748, the twenty-second year of Mr. Dunbar’s 
ministry, a new meeting-house was finished. 


“Oct. 23, 1748. This Lords Day I preached the last Fare- 


| well Sermon in the Old Meeting House, Hebrews x. 32. first 


| House. 


March 20th, July 5d, and August 28th, the latter, | 
“A General Fast upon ye account of ye Defeat of 
General Braddock’s Army at ye Ohio. I preached from ' 


clause, a large and crowded assembly. 

“Oct. This day was ye Dedication of ye New Meeting 
I preached from Isai. 60 7. last clause. 

“ Oct. 30. This Lords Day and a Sacrament Day. We as- 
sembled in the New Meeting House. I preached from Psa. 
OriSae 


Mr. Dunbar remained as pastor until his death, 
June 15, 1783. 

The following is the inscription on the stone which 
points out the spot in the cemetery where Mr. Dun- 


bar was buried. It was written by his son, Elijah 


938 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Dunbar, Esq., and the Latin is slightly altered from 


the inscription on the gravestone of President 


Chauncey, in the Cambridge graveyard: 
y; seg J 


*CONDITUM 
Hie Corpus Est. 

Rev’p1 SAmurtis DunBaARrt, 
Eeclesix Stoughtoniensis prime, 
Per LV. Annorum Spacium, 
Pastoris Vigilantissimi, 
Concionatoris Eximinii, 
Pietate. 

Paritus ac Liberali Eruditione, 
Ornatissimi. 

Qui Obiit in Domino June XV. 
MDCCLXXXITI. 

Et Atatis Sue LX XIX.” 


In these days, when the ministerial relation is so 


often severed, it is difficult to conceive of the state of | 


the parish which had been blessed with the same 
faithful pastor for fifty-five years, It will be remem- 
bered that there was no other religious society in all 
the First Parish of Stoughton, being that territory 
now included in and forming the town of Canton. 
Blessed days! when the whole people of the precinct 
worshiped together around one common consecrated 
altar ! 

They took immediate steps to obtain a preacher, as 
appears by the following vote (p. 103, Precinct Rec- 
ords 1783, July 14th): 


“At a Prec’t meeting legally assembled and held on Monday 
the fourteenth day of July A. D. 1783, in the first Prec’t in 
Stoughton. 

“Col. Benjamin Gill, Moderator. 
debate. 

““Ist. Voted that the Parish will meet together every Lord’s 
day at the meeting house for public social worship, and in order 
to raise a fund for supplying the precinct Treasury for that 
purpose. 

“2d. Voted that there be a free contribution every Sabbath 


After consideration and 


after service, and that every one that contributes shall have an 
order upon the Treasurer for the money he has so contributed, 
and marked once every two months, if he desires it, and the 


Parish Committee and Parish Treasurer are hereby directed to 
grant orders accordingly, and ye s’d orders and allow them. 





“3d. Voted that the Parish Committee be a Committee to re- 
ceive the 2d contributions, make a particular account of it and 


deliver the money thus obtained to ye precinct Treasurer, taking 
receipts for the same. 

“4th. Voted Messrs. Elijah Dunbar, Benjamin Gill, and | 
Adam Blackman, be a Committee, who are hereby authorized 
and empowered, (provided there shall be a fund sufficient) to 
supply the Pulpit, for the term of three months, beginning ye | 


17th August next, and ending ye 9th of November following, | 
unless ye Parish otherwise order. | 
“Sth. Voted that ye Precinct Treasurer pay weekly for | 


preaching, agreeable to ye contract made with ye preacher, by 





the above Committee. | 
‘“And as it may happen through various causes that regular 
preaching cannot be obtained, therefore in that case. 


“6th. Voted that Messrs. Joseph Billings, Elijah Dunbar, | 


John Kinney, and Benjamin Gill, be desired to lead and con- 
duct ye public social worship in the following manner, viz:— 
Ist. To read a portion of ye Holy Scriptures. 2d. To read a 
psalm to be sung. 3d. To read some pious practical discourse. 
4th. Then to read a psalm to be sung, and 5th. To dismiss 
the assembly by reading an Apostolical Benediction.” 

1786. “At a meeting of ye Freeholders and other Inhabit- 
ants of ye first Precinct in ye Town of Stoughton, qualified to 
vote as ye Law directs, legally assembled and held at ye Meet- 
ing House in yes’d first Precinct this twenty-ninth day of May 
An. Dom: 1786.— 

“ Chose Col. Benjamin Gill Moderator. 

“Voted to concur with ye Vote of the Church in giving Mr. 
Zechariah Howard a call to take ye Pastoral care of ye Church 
in this Place. Nem. Con. 

“Voted and granted to Mr. Zechariah Howard ye Sum of 
Ninety Pounds lawful money as a Salary to be paid him annu- 
ally while he continues in ye Pastoral Relation to this Church 
and Congregation. 

“Voted and granted Mr. Zechariah Howard a Settlement or 
gratuity of two hundred pounds lawful money in order to lay a 
foundation for his comfortable and honorable support, one hun- 
dred pounds to be paid him ye first year after settlement and ye 
other hundred pounds ye second year after his settlement. 

“Voted and granted Mr. Zechariah Howard ten cords of good 
merchantable Firewood to be delivered annually at ye Place of 
his abode in s’d Precinct, during ye Time he shall continue 
without a family, or keeping House by himself; and upon 
having a family or keeping House by himself, voted him 
twenty Cords of good Merchantable Firewood to be delivered 
annually at ye Place of his abode in s’d Precinct during his 
Pastoral Relation to this Church and Congregation. 

“Voted that James Endicott, Esq., George Crossman, Esq., 
and Messrs. Samuel Tucker, Henry Bailey, James H. Lewis 
and Adam Blackman be a Committee to present Mr. Zechariah 
Howard with copies of ye Votes of this Precinct Relative to his 
call and Settlement. 

“The Same Day ye Precinct voted to board and shingle one 
side of ye Roof of ye Meeting House and ye other side of ye 
Roof together with ye sides and ends of ye Meeting House to 
be repaired. 

“Attest, WuitiiaAm WHEELER, 
 Pree’t Clerk.” 


“Ata Meeting held ‘at ye Meeting House in s’d first Pre- 
cinct this twenty-fifth Day of September. 1786, 

“ Chose Col. Benj’n Gill Moderator. 

“Mr. Zechariah Howard gave an answer to ye Call given 
him by ye Ch’h and Congregation in this Place who ordered 
ye same to be recorded—which is as follows, viz. 


“<To the Church and Congregation in ye North Parish in 


Stoughton. 


| “* Brethren and Friends, 


“«Having taken under mature and serious consideration ye 
call which you have given me to settle with you in ye Work of 
ye Gospel Ministry, thinking it my Duty, I heartily accept 
thereof tho’ it is not without Fear and Trembling that I think 
of taking upon me ye Weighty, ye Solemn and Important 
Charge. 
Momentous undertaking was obliged to ery out who is equal 


If ye greatest of ye Apostles, while he thought of ye 


to these things, you must be sensible that an unexperienced 
youth will not only stand in Need of ye greatest Candor and 
Friendship from ye People of his Charge but more especially 
of an Interest in their Prayers at ye Throne of Grace for Di- 


| vine aid and assistance let me therefore intreat of you to make 


it your Prayer to Almighty God with whom is ye Residue of 








CANTON. 


939 





ye Spirit of all Grace that I may in every Respect fulfil ye of- 
fice of a faithful Minister of ye New Testament, that during 
my Labors among you I might approve myself unto God and 
ye Conscience of Men to be in Reality a Servant of Jesus Christ 
and that I might at all times take such heed to my Life and 
Doctrines as to save myself and them that hear me. The per- 
fect union and happy agreement that has been and still sub- 
sists among you has been a great inducement to my accepting 
of your Invitation. 
Friendship that I have already received from Individuals and 
ye Society at large flatter me that you will cheerfully con- 
tribute every thing necessary on your part to my comfortable 
and honorable support among you. You must not, indeed you 
cannot rationally expect to find in me, at present if ever a full 
and complete Reparation of ye great Loss which you sustained 
in ye Death of your late worthy Pastor. As successor to such 
a Man I am fully sensible that I must appear to disadvantage, 
his illustrious example will be a stimulus to Duty and I hope, 
in many respects Beneficial, but bad Nature been impartial in 
ye Distribution of her Favors it would require time and much 
experience to equal his attainments. But as ye great Shep- 
herd of Israel ye kind Parent of ye Universe requires of each 
and all his servants in exact proportion to what he hath given 
unto them, I trust that having an Interest in your Prayers, I 
shall not neglect ye Gift that isin me but be enabled to im- 
prove it to ye Honor of God and Benefit of ye Church, finally 
Brethren pray for me, pray for yourselves; let it not only be 
ye Study of your lives but your daily prayers that we may 
each and all of us know what is ye good and acceptable and 
perfect Will of our God, but ever have an heart and Disposi- 
tion to perform it. That this Sacred and Solemn connection 
which we are about to form may be a mutual Blessing, that we 
might not only live comfortably together here in this world 
but have a joyful meeting at ye Bar of Almighty God, where I 
must shortly appear to give an account of my ministry and you 
of ye improvement you make of it. 

“*Wishing you Grace, Mercy and Peace in our Lord Jesus 
Christ I subscribe myself your devoted 

“« Friend and humble Servant in ye Lord. 
“¢ ZACHARIAH Howarp. 
“¢Given at Stoughton, Sept. 17th, 1786.’ 


“The Same Day ye Precinct Voted that ye twenty-fifth Day 
of Oct’r next should be ye Day for ye Ordination of Mr. 
Howard.” 


Mr. Howard was duly ordained, and remained 
until his death, Sept. 15, 1806. 


Mr. Howard was succeeded by Rev. William Richey, | 


in 1805. The following votes concerning the settle- 
ment of Mr. Richey will serve to give “an idea,” 
says Hon. Charles Endicott in his historical address, 
“of the way and manner in which they made a con- 
tract for a parish minister seventy years ago. 

“ April 6. ‘ Voted unanimously, that the town con- 


eur with the church in giving Mr. William Richey a | 


call to the pastoral charge of said Church and Society 
of this town.’ Thereupon a committee of twenty-five 
persons was chosen to confer with Mr. Richey, as to 
salary, etc., and report at an adjourned meeting. 

“ One might suppose that poor Mr. Richey would 


The kindness and repeated marks of | 








| payment. 


seems to have met the ordeal bravely, for on the 15th 
the committee reported that the town should grant 
Mr. Richey one thousand dollars as a settlement, upon 
certain stated conditions as to length of service, ete., 
and pay him a salary of five hundred and seventy-five 
dollars per annum, ‘ to be computed upon the follow- 
ing staple articles of life, on the Ist week of May, an- 
nually, by such committee as the town shall appoint, 
joined with Mr. Richey, by the Boston prices, viz. : 
corn, rye, flour, salt-beef and salt-pork, butter, cheese, 
wool, flax, sole leather, and coffee,’ and then they pro- 
vided that if the salary was not paid in three months 
after it became due, ‘then Mr. Richey to have interest 
after it becomes due till paid.’ ‘ Also, that the town 
grant him eight cords of good, merchantable fire-wood 


| annually, during the time he shall remain without a 


family, and sixteen cords annually, when he shall have 
a family.’ 

“Tt is clear that an impression soon got abroad that 
the parson had been too sharp for the committee of 
twenty-five ; that question of interest to be computed 
So, at the 
next meeting, so much of the foregoing vote as related 


on overdue salary was uncomfortable. 


to interest was erased or expunged. But Mr. Richey, 
on being informed of the repeal, quietly said, in a note 
to the committee, that he thought he ought to receive 
his salary when due, and that he should expect inter- 
est to be allowed, should there be a delinquency of 
And the town, on hearing the letter read, 
again voted the interest clause, in a somewhat modi- 
fied form. 

‘“‘ Another difficulty! How much should be paid 
in cash under the contract based upon the market price 
of corn, salt-pork, and the other articles named in the 
contract ? Messrs. Dunbar, Tucker, and Bemis labored 
with this problem for I know not how long, but they 
solved it at last, and reported the result, and also 


| the process by which they arrived at the result, as 


they said it might be useful thereafter as a precedent. 
The result was that the cash pay for the salary of the 
minister for the second year of his service was re- 
duced from five hundred and seventy-five dollars to 
four hundred and eighty dollars and forty-nine cents. 
The minister appended a certificate to the report, 
slightly suggestive of a sort of quiet humor, that he 
had reviewed the calculations made by the committee 


_and found the result of them to correspond with the 


| letter of the contract. 


This contract, however, did not 
always operate to the minister’s disadvantage, for in one 
year, during the war of 1812, his salary amounted to 


| nearly nine hundred dollars.” 


have stood no chance whatever with a committee of | 


twenty-five full-grown, sharp, sagacious men. But he 


Mr. Richey was’succeeded in the pastorate by Rev. 
Benjamin Huntoon, who was born in Salisbury, N. H., 


940 
Nov. 28, 1792. His early life was passed on his 
father’s farm. He commenced his academical studies, 
preparatory to entering college, at the academy in 
Salisbury, and was graduated at Dartmouth College 
in 1817. 


by teaching school. 


During all this time he supported himself 
He had the ninth appointment 
in the graduating exercises, which was a dialogue with 


| 


| 


Mr. Benjamin Woodbury, who was his college chum, | 


on the question, ‘‘ Which of the learned professions 
is more favorable to literary eminence, Divinity or 
Law ?” 


After leaving college he taught the academy at his 


Mr. Huntoon taking the side of divinity. 


native town until 1819, when he entered upon the | 


study of divinity at Andover Theological Seminary. 
In the spring of 1820, his health failing, he came to 
Boston, and took charge of an academy in Salem 
Street. 
to the ministry of the First Congregational Church 
in Canton, and was ordained Jan. 30, 1822. 


Rev. Henry Ware giving the right hand of fellowship. 
He soon became widely and favorably known as a most 
earnest worker and eloquent preacher, and probably 
delivered more occasional discourses than almost any 
other minister in the neighborhood. In the latter 


part of the year 1829 he was invited to preach the | 


sermon at the dedication of a new Unitarian Church 
in Bangor, Me., and the society there prevailed on 
him to resign his pastorate here, and he was installed 
at Bangor in June, 1830. In the fall of 1833, his 
health failing under his numerous and onerous labors, 
he asked and received a dismission from that church, 
and spent the winter at Savannah, Ga., preaching to 
the Unitarian Society there. In 1834 he returned to 
the North with re-invigorated health, and was in- 
stalled over the First Congregational Church in 
Milton (Rev. Dr. Morison’s), Oct. 15, 1834. 

Again, on account of failing health, he was obliged 
to resign his charge, and passed the winter in the then 
far West, preaching at Peoria, Ill., and at Chicago. 
In the spring of 1837 he was invited to settle at 
Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained one year. 
June, 1838, he went to Peoria, where he remained 
preaching to the First Unitarian Church there until 
August, 1840, when he was invited by the church in 


While carrying on this school he was invited 


Rev. | 


John Pierce, of Brookline, preaching the sermon, 


In | 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





1859, he was installed over the society at West- 
borough, but his health continuing to fail, he was 
forced to relinquish his charge in February, 1860. 

In the fall of that year, having a desire to return 
to the place where he had been first ordained to the 
ministry, and where he had passed so many happy 
years, he returned to Canton, and refitted and repaired 
his old house. Here he spent the declining years of 
his life, blessed with the love and fellowship of those 
who had known and revered him in his earlier days, 


_a constant worshiper, and an occasional preacher, in 








Canton, where he had been first ordained, to return, | 


and he was accordingly reinstalled at Canton, March 


13, 1841. In 1849 he resigned the pastorate and 


went to Marblehead, and became the pastor of the 


In 


Second Congregational society at that place. 


1855, his health failing, he left that place, and in | 
May, 1856, took charge of the parish at Winchendon, | 


where he remained until Nov. 8, 1857. 


In April, 


the church which was erected through his exertions 
in the first years of his ministry. His presence and 
his daily walk were a benediction and a psalm. His 
name was a household word in every family. The 
traditions of his early labors were familiar to all. 
They whom he met at the sacrament of the Lord’s 
Supper,—they whom he had blessed at the marriage 
altar,—they whom he baptized in infancy, and whom 
he had watched over in the schools, and counseled in 
their riper years,—alike revered and loved him, and 
They who 
had been his early parishioners (Deacon Dunbar, 
Deacon Thomas French, George Downes, Deacon 
Leonard Everett, Silas Kinsley, Elijah Tucker, James 
Bent, and others) had long been gathered to their 
final rest, and he seemed almost alone of the men of 
And when he died, 


“He fell like autumn fruit that mellowed long, 
Or, like a clock worn out by eating time, 
The wheels of weary life at last stood still.” 


came to his funeral weeping mourners. 


that day to remain. 


It does not become us to attempt an analysis of 
his character. Such a task belongs more properly to 
those who have known him longer, and who are better 
qualified otherwise to speak of him. Rev. Dr. Thomp- 
son, of Jamacia Plain, at the funeral, spoke of him 
as having been one peculiarly fitted to be a pioneer 
in the advance of liberal Christianity. His services 
were sought for by the infant churches in every part 
of the country. There was an earnestness of personal 
vital piety, an animated hopefulness, and an enthu- 
siasm of manner which gave great power and effect 
to all his pulpit labors. 

He was an active and zealous laborer in the cause 
of human brotherhood, and recognized and steadfastly 
maintained the rights of all men of whatever color, 
or creed, or condition. He was the uncompromising 
He took a 


manly stand on all the live questions of the hour. 


opponent of every form of oppression. 


His voice, his pen, his purse, his house, were always 
at the service of those who strove to promote the 
public good. 

In the performance of his daily pastoral duties he 








CANTON. 


941 





was pre-eminently happy. Wherever he went he 
was welcome. How kind he was! What a large 
heart he had! How he overflowed with affectionate | 
tenderness towards all whom he met! 
nature manifested itself in his obliging deeds ! 
well he taught how neighbors, husbands, friends, 
should live! How successfully he personified the 
Christian graces! What perfect faith he had in the 
promises of the gospel! And he died in the hope of | 
a glorious resurrection. He died April 19, 1864. 


The following is a list of the pastors from Mr. | 


Huntoon’s first ministry to the present time: 

Rey. Henry F. Edes, of Providence, R. I., was | 
ordained Oct. 26, 1831. 

Rev. Orestes A. Brownson, of Walpole, was in- 


How his noble | 
How | 





stalled May 14, 1834. 

Between 1836 and 1841 there was no settled 
pastor. 

Rev. Benjamin Huntoon began his second minis- 
try March 1, 1841. 

First Wednesday of January, 1850, ordination of | 
Rev. Robert P. Rogers, of Cambridge. 

Sept. 18, 1854, installation of Rev. Seth Salt- | 
marsh. 

April 19, 1857, ordination of Rev. Nathan H. 
Chamberlain. 

Sept. 11, 1861, installation of Rev. Edward C. | 
Guild, of Brookline. 

April 2, 1867, Rev. George I’. Piper was engaged 
to preach with view to settlement, March 15, 1868. 

Young People’s Union formed. Mr. Piper closed 
his ministry, October, 1872. Parsonage built and | 
occupied. 

May 4, 1873, Rev. William H. Savary, of Ells- 
worth, Me., began to preach, and was installed pastor 


June 8, 1873, and is the present pastor. 
The present meeting-house stands on a fine eleva- 
tion of land in the territorial centre of the town, 


and is the second built by the parish, since its or- 
ganization as the First Parish in Stoughton, on the | 
5th day of April, 1736. Then there was a small | 
building in which the church of Dorchester, South — 
Precinct, had been gathered, Oct. 30, 1717. When 

the precinct became the First Precinct in the town of | 
In 1745, October 
14th, at a legal meeting of the parish, “it was put to 

vote whether the precinct would build a new meet- | 


Stoughton it was organized anew. 


ing-house, and it passed in the affirmative, and “the 
same day y° Precinct choose Preserved Lyon, James 
Indecut and Silas Crane, a committee to provide ma- 
terials to build the meeting-house.” In it there were | 
“convenient seats for the Indian Inhabitants of | 
Stoughton to sit in on y® Sabbath days.” The first | 


_ east towards Ponkapoag. 


meeting-house was taken down, and it is now a barn, 
I believe, in the Sixteenth Ward of Boston, late Dor- 
chester. The church built in 1745-47 stood until 
1824, the First Parish ‘in Stoughton” having, on the 
16th day of January, 1797, became the town of 
Canton. 

The present church was dedicated Jan. 26, 1825, 


_when the Rev. Dr. Harris, of Dorchester, Rev. John 


White, of West Dedham, Rev. Ralph Sanger, of 
Dover, and others, assisted the pastor, Rev. Benja- 
min Huntoon, in the services. 

It is interesting to look over the records and 
to note who were the active men at the time of 
Mr. Huntoon’s first ordination in 1822, not one of 
whom is alive to-day. Gen. Elijah Crane, Thomas 


French, Leonard Everett, Simeon Tucker, Thomas 


| “17° 5 
Tolman, William Tucker, Laban Lewis, Thomas 
Crane, Frederick W. Lincoln, were committee of ar- 


rangements. The meeting-house then stood farther 
Mr. Huntoon soon began 


to agitate the building of a new meeting-house, and 


on Nov. 10, 1823, a committee, composed of Gen. 


Elijah Crane, Deacon Gill, Thomas French, Thomas 
Kollock, Thomas Dunbar, Thomas Billings, Thomas 
Tolman, Thomas Crane, Simeon Tucker, Leonard 
Everett, Isaac Fenno, Samuel Hawes, Amasa Jordan, 
Jerathmael Crane, Laban Lewis, Ezra Dickerman, 


_ Frederick Lincoln, Capt. Charles Tucker, Maj. Tucker, 


Samuel Capen, Israel Bailey, Jesse Fenno, Elijah 
Endicott, Isaac Copeland, George Downes, was ap- 
pointed to take the matter into consideration, and on 
Dec. 3, 1823, Thomas French, Thomas Tolman, 


| George Downes, William Tucker, and Frederick W. 


Lincoln were appointed a committee to select a suit- 
able place for the building. Jan. 5, 1824, Thomas 
Crane, Leonard Everett, Capt. Charles Tucker, were 
chosen a committee to prepare a draft of a meeting- 


_ house, which was to be forty-six feet by fifty-four 


feet, and to be a house wholly in the Gothic order. 
The money was raised by subscriptions, by proceeds 
of the Wheeler donation, and otherwise, and by sale 
of the old meeting-house, as appears from the follow- 
ing report of the building committee : 

“ We, the subscribers, having been directed by the building 
committee to report to the parish the expense of building the 
new meeting-house, submit the following statement : 


“First. They have examined accounts which they have 
been able to obtain from persons who have furnished material 


| or have performed labor in erecting the new meeting-house in 


Canton, and find that their several bills amount to the sum of 
$4927.96. 

“Second. They also state that Gen. Elijah Crane has a de- 
mand against the parish for timber, joist, etc., the amount of 
which your committee have not been able to ascertain; that 
there are others also in the same situation, viz., Mr. Shaller’s 





bill, Mr. Samuel’s bill, and perhaps others; it is also expected 
that there will be some extra charges by Messrs. Clark and 
McKendry, for work done by them not specified in their re- 


spective contracts. 


“Third. They further state that the proceeds of sales from | 


the old meeting-house amounts to about $200, which in the 
opinion of the subseribers will cover all demands against the 
parish for building the new house, not presented to us, and 
that the cost of said house will not vary essentially from our 
first calculation of 34927.96. 


“ Canton, 4th January, 1825. “THomAS FRENCH, 


“ CHARLES TUCKER, 
“LEONARD EVERETT, 


“A true copy. “James Bent, Clerk.” 


Baptist Church.—The first Baptist sermon in 
this town was preached by Elder Joel Briggs, of Ran- 
dolph, and April 14, 1812, occurred the first baptisms, 
those of Ezra Tilden and wife Bethial, his brother 
Abner Tilden, and Enos Upham. The old Baptist 
society was organized April 27, 1812, with the fol- 
lowing persons: Samuel Blackman, Nathan Tucker, 
S. Tucker, Jr., Ezra Tilden, Nathan Kinney, Ben- 
jamin Gill, Jr., Enos Upham, Abner Tilden, Ben- 
jamin Lewis, Jabez Cobb, Samuel Canterbury, Elijah 
Jordan, Elijah Hawes, Spencer Wentworth, Na- 
thaniel Billings, Jr., Jacob Wentworth, Jabez Bil- 
lings, Thaddeus Churchill, Seth Wentworth, Oliver 
Wentworth, Isaac Mann. 

The present church was organized June 22, 1814, 
with thirty-five members, as follows: Nathan Tucker, 
Friend Crane, Jason Houghton, Lemuel Fuller, Jr., 
Andrew Fadden, Abner Tilden, N. T. Davis, Ezra 
Tilden, Jr., Oliver Houghton, Benjamin Gill (2), 
Elijah Hawes, Wales Withington, Enos Upham, 
Samuel Tucker, Jr., James Wentworth, Hannah 
Tucker, Caty Tucker, Abigail Hill, Abigail Bird, 


Ruth McKendry, Ruth 





Houghton, Lucy Allen, | 


Milla Tucker, Eliphal Wheeder, Ruth Buss, Abigail | 


Gill, Bathsheba Fuller, Bathiab Tilden, Mary Morse, 
Rebecca Crane, Caty Houghton, Lucinda Gill, Mary 
Houghton, Olive Tucker, Eliza Tucker. 

The pastors from that time to the present have 
been as follows:' Revs. Henry Kendall, George Evans, 
Elisha 8. Williams, Edmund Billoon, Thomas Bar- 


rett, Henry Stanwood (licentiate), Ferris Moore, 


Samuel Adams, Moses Curtis, Hiram Gear, Asaph | 
Marriam, Charles O. Kimball, Henry Clark, Lewis | 


Holmes, T. C. Tinglay, David B. Ford, P. R. Rus- 
sell, G. W. Hervey, Theron Brown, J. H. Hartman 
(in whose time the meeting-house was enlarged), 
Clifton Fletcher, N. B. Jones, Jr., E. S. Uftord. 
Rey. G. L. Lewis was installed in 1883, and is the 
present pastor. 


The first church building was completed in 1820, 


1 Many of these were supplies. 








HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


and dedicated Jan. 14, 1821. The second building 
was commenced late in 1835, and dedicated June 13, 
1837. This building was remodeled in 1862. 

The First Universalist Church was originally 
known as ‘ The Norfolk Universalist Society” in the 
town of Canton, and was organized Jan. 26, 1819, at 
the house of Mr. George Downs, with eighty-eight 
members from Canton, and also a number from 
Stoughton and Sharon, and one from Milton and one 
from Dedham. 

During the succeeding years meetings were held 
and preaching enjoyed in Leavitt’s Hall, and in the 
old town house in Canton, until, in 1847-48, an eligible 
spot of land containing a quarter of an acre was ob- 
tained in the heart of the South Canton Village on 
the easterly side of the old Bay road, on which they 
built a meeting-house. The society was growing with 
the growth of the town, and it was found expedient, 
if not necessary, to make a change in the name of the 
society, and on Jan. 20, 1849, a petition was presented 


_ to Ellis Ames, Esq., one of the justices of the peace 


within and for the county of Norfolk, by fourteen 
members of the society ‘commonly known as the 
First Universalist Society in Canton,’ for him to 
issue his warrant requiring the qualified voters of said 
society to meet to organize themselves as a corporation 
and select a corporate name, ete. 
signed by Daniel Tisdale, Jona. Messinger, John 
Cram, Samuel Chandler, Uriah Billings, Samuel 
Leonard, William Mansfield, C. S. Fowler, F. W. 
Deane, J. S. Shepard, Lawton Smith, V. J. Messinger, 


This petition was 


| John Fanning, V. A. Messinger. 


Pursuant to Mr. Ames’ warrant, directed to Law- 
ton Smith, one of the applicants for a warrant, a 
meeting was duly and legally called, and held in the 
meeting-house of the First Universalist Society in 
Canton, on Saturday the 3d day of February, 1849, 
at six o'clock in the afternoon. 

The following qualified voters of said society ap- 
peared: Uriah Billings, John Cram, John Hall, 


| Lawton Smith, Charles 8. Fowler, Charles Leland, 


William Mansfield, Samuel Chandler, Charles Mel- 
len, Daniel Tisdale, James 8. Shepard, Vernon A. 
Messinger, Lorenzo R. Smith, Jonathan Messinger, 
Joel Holmes, Francis W. Deane, William Morse, 
Stephen F. Tillson, C. H. Harlow, Virgil J. Messinger. 

Ellis Ames, Esq., having read the warrant and the 
return thereon, called for the voters to elect a clerk, 


_and Mr. Vireil J. Messinger® was unanimously chosen, 





2 Mr. Virgil J. Messinger, who was the first clerk chosen by 
the First Universalist Parish of Canton, has been annually re- 
elected its clerk for thirty-five consecutive years, and is the 
present clerk, 





CANTON. 943 





by Ellis Ames, Esq., he took the chair and called upon 
the meeting to elect a moderator, and Samuel Chandler | 
was unanimously chosen. | 

Upon motion of Uriah Billings it was then voted 
that this society do organize themselves as a corpora- 


: we rn | 
and the oath of office having been administered to him | 
| 


tion or parish, with all the powers given to corpora- 
tions by the forty-fourth chapter of the “ Revised | 
Statutes,” and with all. the other powers, etc., ex- 
pressed in the twentieth chapter of the “ Revised 
Statutes,” under the name of the First Universalist 
Parish in Canton. 

Jonathan Messinger, William Mansfield, William 
Morse were chosen assessors ; Francis W. Deane, treas- | 
urer; James S. Shepard, collector; Uriah Billings, 
Charles S. Fowler, Lawton Smith, standing com- 
mittee. 


The meeting-house was built in shares, of which 
there were sixty-five; all the shareholders subse- | 
quently conveyed their rights and interest in the | 
house as distinct from the pews to the parish, which | 
assumed and has retained control of the house as a 
religious corporation. A committee of three was 
chosen to appraise the pews and to appoint a day for 
leasing the same, and William Mansfield, Uriah Bil- 
lings, James S. Shepard were chosen, who appointed | 
Saturday, April 14, 1850, at four o’clock P.M., as | 
the time, and in accordance therewith all the pews | 
belonging to the parish. thirty-one in all, were put up 
at auction to be leased to the highest bidder above the 
appraisal, of which twenty-one, appraised collectively | 
at one hundred and eighty-eight dollars, were leased 
for the sum of $243.50. ‘Samuel Bradley Noyes, 
Esq., by request officiated as auctioneer.” 

Several gentlemen of Canton who were members of | 
or interested in the First Congregational Parish and _ 
in other societies, had furnished money for the build- 
ing of the meeting-house, one of whom is thus men- | 
tioned in the records of a meeting on March 9, 1852: 
“Tt was moved and unanimously voted that the thanks 
of this parish be and are hereby tendered to F. W. 
Lincoln, Esq., for his very liberal and generous dona- | 
tion to this parish of his two pews, and all interest 
in the house and land owned by said society.” 

The pulpit was supplied by various ministers until 
Dec. 27, 1854. Rev. Joseph Crehore was installed | 
as pastor of the First Universalist Parish in Canton. | 
Rev. Hosea Ballou read the Scriptures; Rev. 
Lovejoy made introductory prayer; Rev. KE. G. Brooks, | 
of Lynn, preached the sermon; Rev. W. H. Ryder, 
of Roxbury, gave installation prayer; Rev. E. Fisher, 
of South Dedham, charge to pastor; Rev. J. W. 
Dennis, of Stoughton, right hand of fellowship; Rev. 








| 1879. 





W. H. Ryder, address to the people. On the 4th day 
of August, 1857, Rev. Joseph Crehore resigned the 
pastorate. 

The parish met on the 17th of the same month, 
and resolved that they “ desire that he will reconsider 
the reasons which have induced him to tender his 
resignation,’ and if he would “continue his labors 
as our pastor we unreservedly pledge him our most 
cordial co-operation, sympathy, and support.” This 
vote was communicated to him by the standing com- 
Mr. Crehore replied that he “ felt constrained 
to adhere to the decision” heretofore communicated 
to the parish. The parish then by vote accepted his 
letter, and his pastorate closed Oct. 51, 1857. 

Rev. Henry Jewell succeeded Mr. Crehore as pastor 
in September, 1858. 
five months, when he resigned, and accepted a call in a 
Western State. He was universally respected and be- 
loved by the parish and through the town. 
torate closed February, 1866. 

March 26, 1866, at a meeting of the parish, ‘‘ Hon. 
Charles Endicott made some remarks in regard to the 
expediency of uniting the Universalist and Unitarian 
Parishes in this town, whereupon it was voted that a 


mittee. 


He remained seven years and 


His pas- 


committee of three be chosen for that purpose, to 
confer with a committee of that parish, and Charles 
Endicott, F. W. Deane, James 8. Shepard were chosen 
as that committee, which committee at a meeting of 
the parish held Nov. 12, 1866, reported verbally that 
it was inexpedient. 

Rev. George W. Perry was ordained pastor of the 


| First Universalist Parish of Canton by the Massachu- 


setts Universalist State Convention, Feb. 24, 1868, 
and on July 9, 1868, by ordination services at the 
meeting-house in Canton. Mr. Perry resigned Nov. 
12, 1869, and his resignation was accepted to take 
effect Dee. 31, 1869. 


gaged as pastor and commenced his labors December, 


Rev. Edmund Davis was en- 


| 1870, and resigned Feb. 1, 1873; was re-engaged 


July 1, 1873; resigned April 9, 1879; left July 1, 
Dec. 19, 1881, Rev. E. A. Read was invited 
to preach ; resigned Nov. 18, 1883. 

The Evangelical Congregational Church was 


organized July 3, 1828, at the house of Mrs. Katie 


Hartwell. There were present as council Dr. Cod- 
man, of Dorchester, Dr. Coggswell, of South Dedham 
(now Norwood), Jonathan Curtis, of Sharon, Samuel 
Gile, of Milton, Dr. Hitchcock, of Randolph, Dr. 
Burgess, of Dedham. Dr. Park, of Stoughton, was 
moderator. There were only ten in number who 
sought the, organization of a church, and these be- 
came the first members,—Deacon Ebenezer Crane, 


Stephen Thayer, Tilly Flint, Hannah Crane, Betsy 


944 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Crane, Frances Crane, Judith Albee, Abigail Kollock, 
Mary Kollock, Jane H. Kollock. 


For a year and a half there was neither a house of | 


worship nor settled pastor; but the old record says 
that in the mean time “‘ meetings were regularly held 


at Mrs. Hartwell’s, who freely opened the doors of her | 


house to their preaching, although from the first she 
had kept the door of her heart shut against their 
doctrine.” 

In 1830 a church edifice was dedicated, and Rey. 
William Harlow was ordained pastor. 
Fairchild preached the ordination sermon from John 
xviii. 38, “ What is truth?” Rev. Mr. Harlow re- 
mained two years. Rev. John Turner succeeded him 
as stated supply; he was followed by Rev. Erastus 
Dickinson, who was ordained in 1835, and gave two 
years of an ardent youth to the service of the church. 
Succeeding his ministry were seven years of preach- 
ing by supply; Rev. H. G. Park and Rev. John 8. 
Kidder supplying most of the time. 

On the 5th of June, 1844, Rev. William B. Ham- 
mond was ordained and installed pastor. 


seven years. Succeeding him, Rev. Solomon Clark 


was installed Nov. 12,1851; he also had a pastorate | 


of seven years, and the church moved on steadily pro- 
eressing. 

The old record says, ‘‘ Upon his dismissal it be- 
came apparent to the church and society that a more 
attractive house of worship would promote their pros- 
perity.” The result of their deliberations and labors 
and sacrifices was a new and commodious church ded- 
icated, and the last bills upon it paid Aug. 22, 1860. 

Rey. Rufus W. Clark, D.D., preached the sermon. 
Rev. I. P. Langworthy made the consecrating prayer, 


Rev. Joy H. | 


He remained | 








and at the same time Rey. Ezra Haskell was ordained | 


tev. R. G. Vermilye preached the sermon. 


Mr. 


pastor. 
Rev. H. B. Hooker made the ordaining prayer. 
Haskell was dismissed April 27, 1865. 


Rey. Rowland H. Allen was ordained Nov. 1, 1865. | 


Professsor EK. A. Park preached the sermon. Rev. 
Jonathan Edwards made the ordaining prayer. 

Up to that date the pastors have been Rev. William 
Harlow, ordained 1831, dismissed 1832; Rev. John 
Tucker, engaged 1833, dismissed 1834; Rev. Erastus 
Dickinson, ordained 1835, dismissed 1837; Rev. 
Harrison G. Park, engaged 1839, dismissed 1841 ; 
tev. John 8. Kidder, engaged 1841, dismissed 1842 ; 
tev. William B. Hammond, ordained June 5, 1844, 
dismissed Jan. 2, 1851; Rev. Solomon Clark, installed 
Nov. 12, 1851, dismissed Jan. 19, 1858; Rev. Ezra 


Haskell, ordained Aug. 22, 1860, dismissed April 27, | 
1865; Rey. Roland P. Allen, ordained Nov. 1, 1865. | 


His pastorate ended with this church in March, 1867. 


' was dedicated by Archbishop Williams. 


Rey. William KE. Dickinson was called, and sent his 
letter of acceptance to become pastor Nov. 27, 1867. 
He remained as pastor until April, 1870. 

Feb. 27, 1867, Rev. J. F. Jennison was called to 
supply the pulpit, and stayed until Aug. 1, 1874. 

Rev. J. W. Savage was hired to supply the pulpit 
from the third Sabbath in October, 1874, and con- 
tinued to do so until Nov. 14, 1880; and later than 
that date, with the exception of one year’s supply by 
Rev. Mark Taylor, the church has sat under the 
preaching of various clergymen of the faith. 

The present officers of the church are: deacons, 
Edward R. Eager and Elijah A. Morse; John How- 
ard, treasurer. 

St. John’s Roman Catholic Church.—About the 
year 1854 Rev. Father Strain, of Chelsea, came to 
Canton and began to preach in the ‘Stone Factory 
Chapel,” in West Canton; with him came Rev. 
Terence Fitzsimmons, of St. Peter and St. Paul 


| Church, Broadway, South Boston; the building of a 


church was begun on “‘ Chapel Hill,” so called, a short 
distance north of the railroad station in South Canton. 
Rev. P. F. Lin- 
don succeeded Fitzsimmons, attended by his assistants, 
Mr. Callaher and Mr. Hatley, till 1861, when the lat- 


It was opened for service in 1855. 


_ ter, Rev. John Hatley, came to reside in Canton, and 


under his auspices, by the Lord’s help, the present 
church was built, and was dedicated in 1868. It will 
seat, including the choir, seven hundred and seventy- 
five persons. There are two services on each Sunday, 
the average attendance on each of which is eight hun- 
dred. The number of communicants is over fifteen 
hundred. It cost about sixteen thousand dollars, and 
Connected 
with the church is a parsonage, and a capacious hall 
and vestry. It is in contemplation to enlarge the 
present church or to build another. 


CHAPTER  LXXTirr 


CANTON—-( Continued). 
THE PRESS, MANUFACTURES, BANKS, ETC. 


The Canton Journal—Early Manufactures—The First Cotton- 
Factory—Present Manufactures—Memorial Hall—Military 
tecord—Number of Men Furnished—Amount of Money 
Raised—Various Votes in Relation to Bounties, ete.—Roll of 
Honor—Revere Encampment, Grand Army of the Republic 
—The Neponset National Bank—Canton Institution for 
Savings—Representatives from 1776 to Present Time. 


The Canton Journal.—For about twenty years 
there had been no local newspaper in Canton, no one 


' seeming to have any desire to embark in such an en- 


CANTON. 


945 





terprise until December, 1876, when N. T. Merritt, 
of Dorchester, a gentleman of considerable newspaper 


experience, established the Cunton Journal. This 
paper was started as an eight-column folio. The 


progress of the paper under Mr. Merritt’s manage- 
ment was not such as to guarantee success, and at the 
end of four months he was obliged to step down and 
out. D.S. Hasty, of Haston, proprietor of the Haston 
Journal and Stoughton Sentinel, thereupon took the 
paper in charge, appointing E. B. Thorndike, its 
present publisher and proprietor, local representative. 


mination to place the paper upon a sound basis. 
From this point it became apparent that his labors 
would be crowned with prosperity, and that a perma- 
nent local paper for Canton was an established fact. In 
the path to success in journalism, as in the other walks 
of life, there are obstacles to overcome, and unexpected 
events often present themselves, which seem for the 
time to retard progress, and to this the Canton Jour- 
nal was to experience its share. A few weeks after 
assuming control of the paper the proprietor, Mr. 
Hasty, was removed by the hand of death, and thus 
necessitated another change. At the settlement of 
Mr. Hasty’s estate, A. P. Smith, of Stoughton, pur- 
chased the printing-office located at Stoughton, and 
known as the Sentined office, the several papers there 
printed, and the good-will of the entire business. Mr. 
Thorndike continued with Mr. Smith until November, 
1880, at which time he purchased the good-will and 
title of the Canton Journal, and removed the com- 
posing-room to Canton, opening in the upper story of 
Meserve’s building, on the corner of Washington and 
Rockland Streets. Type, presses, and material were 
added from time to time, until the business had 
grown to such an extent that a larger printing-room 
was inevitable. 

On the 19th of November, 1881, just one year 
after the purchase of the Journal by Mr. Thorndike, 
he secured the services of J. T. Geissler, of Sharon, 
as editor, who still holds that position. he first of 
May, 1882, found the establishment in the more com- 
modious quarters on Church Street, known as the “ old 
school-house,” where it still remains. Upon entering 
these new apartments large additions to type, materials, 
etc., were again made. New presses, including a Camp- 
bell cylinder, a power paper-cutter, a steam-engine, and 
boiler, were put in, and the town of Canton for the 
first time could boast of a steam printing-office within 
its borders. On the 27th of October of the same 
year the size of the Journal was increased to nine 


columns folio, thus giving more space for local matter, 
60 


_ which had become crowded by advertisers. 


It is now 
in its eighth volume, steadily increasing its army of 
readers, and still aiming to a higher point in the 
journalistic world. 

Manufacturing Interests.—Perhaps it may not 
be generally known that the first cotton-factory by 
machinery in Massachusetts was located at Canton in 
1803. 

From papers of the late James Beaumont we ex- 
tract a portion of the agreement entered into by the 


é company : 
Mr. Thorndike opened an office in the post-office © 


building, and at once went to work with the deter- | to enter into Partnership to begin and carry on the Cotton- 


“James Beaumont, Abel Fisher, and Lemuel Bailey agreed 


spinning Business, and, on the 14th day March, 1803, they 
agreed in a manner which the following copy of the writings 
will best explane. 

“Be it Known that we James Beaumont, Abel Fisher and 
Lemuel Bailey having provided a Building and Machinery for 
Spinning Cotton Yarn upon the eastern branch of Neponset 
River in the town of Canton, in the county of Norfolk, Do enter 
into the following articles of agreement. 

“Ist.—We shall be known and transact Business under name 
of James Beaumont & Co. 

“ 2Ind.—That the Stock shall amount to twenty four Hundred 
Dollars and be advanced by each one in the following propor- 
tion, Viz.— 

“Said James Beaumont shall advance sixteen hundred dol- 
lars. 

“Said Abel Fisher shall advance four hundred dollars. 

“Said Lemuel Bailey shall advance four hundred dollars. 

“Making the whole stock to amount to Twenty-four Hun- 
dred dollars as afores’d. 

“ 3rd.—It is agreed that the whole Cost of erecting s’d Build- 
ing, and procuring the Machinery shall be considered as part 
of money advanced towards Stock, and each one shall be cred- 
ited as he has advanced and that the privilege of water, and 
also of land on which s’d Building is erected, or any additional 
Improvement that may be made and other convenient necessary 
Room for carrying on s’d Business or manufactory shall con- 
tinue five Years from the date hereof.” 


The partnership was to continue five years, and 
James Beaumont was to have the sole direction of the 
business. 


It was also “agreed that the work people may be boarded by 
the partners in proportion to their respective rights in Stock 
provided nevertheless, that the place of board be conveniently 
near the factory, and the food and Drink be of such a Quality 


| as is fit and necessary to comfort and invigorate people employ’d 
in s’d Business and that the rate of Board allowed each partner 
| shall be similar in similar Circumstances, 





“Tn Testimony of our mutual Consent and confirmation of 


every clause and article of the foregoing, 


we the parties afore- 
said have herounto set our hands and Seals this fourteenth 
Day of March in the year of our Lord Highteen hundred and 


| three. 


“Signed Sealed and delivered each partner in presence of 
Erwan DunBpar, THomAs DUNBAR. 


“JAMES BEAUMONT, 
“ABEL FISHER, 
“ LEMUEL BaILey.” 


946 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Reminiscences of James Beaumont.—The follow- 
ing reminiscences of manufacturing in Canton from 
1803 to 1813 were written by the late James Beau- 
mont, when in his eightieth year : 

“T was engaged in a nominal partnership with two men, 
Abel Fisher, and Lem! Bailey, they owned. the Millprivelage 


called the old Everton place, it had been occupied in earley 
times as a forge and grist-mill, but when I first saw it the water 


was running, down in its natural bed. my partners ingaged to | 


build the dam. & Factory building, and due time I got the Ma- 
chinery to work (with some assistance) which consisted of 3 
Cards, a drawing and roveing, frame and a Mule of 144 spin- 
dles, I had made with my own hands, the drawing and roving 
Cans, and other tin work, in a coppersmiths shop in Boston. we 
first began to make, Wick yarn for the Candle makers the first. 
lot was made from sea Island Cotton, and was very smooth and 


beautiful; I took a sample of it. to a well known, Firm in Ros- | 


bury. Aaron Davis & Co. 

“Mr. Ezra Sampson was a partner and active manager in 
the soap, and candle, department, he pronounsed the wicking 
firstrate, and they gave me a large order and agreed to give me 
75 cents @ tb for it. the stained sea Island Cotton had cost me. 
about 23 or 24 cents P Ib but Mr. Sampson surmised that the 


white Georgia Cotton would be whiter. and more suitable if not | 


so smooth, so I used it the price of upland Cotton at that time. 
was from 16 to 18 Cents ~ tb. 

““A year or two after this, the Mess's Davis & Co.s Candles, 
got into such request. especially the moulders, that I worked up 
for them eleven (11) Bales of Cotton into wicking in one year 


they then furnished the cotton and they gave 25 Cents @ tb for 
working it—I likewice, made wicking for other candle makers. 


in less degree. 

““when the machinery had got well gated—we began to make 
warp & filling yarn for domestick cloth; the first Piece was for 
sheeting this was made from seaisland Cotton was warped on 
common warping barr it was sized in the chain. I wrung it 
out of the size tub myself hand over hand. ‘Tattershall, an 
Thus, in 1802 was the 
first piece of Cotton cloth ever. made in America from Mule 


English weaver, made good cloths of it. 


yarn. either all or in part I sold such cloth at 50 cents P yard 
and shirting from 35 to 42 Cents @ yard. 

“T put a sample of my first. sheeting in the Museum at 
Lowell 7 or 8 years ago, Mr. Kimball, of that establishment 
who had been a manufactor said he had no doubt of the au- 
thentisity of the relek, after examining it. 

“My partners in business, Fisher & Bailey, I found out was 
not desirous to continue with me their only object from the 
first was to dispose of the Everton place, and they had not 
Money to carry on with, so they gave me a bond fora Deed I 


not as yet being naturalized so I had it all to myself my little | 


concern was so successful that I had several offers from Gentle- 
men of cappital to become partners; amongst the rest was I. 
Smith Boyce of Dorchester he proposed that I should sell out at 
Canton, and he would furnish me with funds and have a Fac- 
tory built at Dorchester on a large scale. we had had several 


conflabs about it. [ had had so much toil and care in getting 


my little concern at Canton underway that I had no desire to | 
_ another viteron Lady spinner would shout out what on harth 


move 

‘‘However Mr Boyce being an extreamly industrious active 
man, he did get a Factory agoing say about the year 1807 or 8. 
this was without doubt the most prosperous and Proflitable con- 
cern of the kind ever established in the Vnion 

“There were made Bedticks, Ginghams, shirtings & sheet- 
ings in large quantities in the time of the Embargo and 1812 
War; and long after. 





“Tn the embargo Cotton got down to 8 or 9 Cents but when 
war was declared it rose to the enormous price to 40 Cents and 
once to 48 the seacoast was blockaded, but it was found that 
Cotton could be brougt by teams, all the way by land so that it 
could be afforded at the first mentioned price or less 

‘“Tt a was fine sight to behold these Teams & their drivers 
IT once saw a string those teams pass through Dedham 6 or 8 in 
number fine well cared for brown and black horses, 4 or 6 in 


| a team, but the drivers were even more black shiney & fat than 


the horses; cuff was in his glory then flourshing his long wip 
and grinning at the Dedhamites in merry glee saying dare you 
you cannot displays sich a fine team of osses as dis in your poor 
plantations (nor could they) 

“A Bale of Goods, seemingly India Cotton, much used then 
had fallen from one of the Wagons, and the drivers balled out 
in corous to the conductor (the only white man amongst them) 
who speedily replaced it by as many black paws as could get 
hold of it 

“In my remarks on the other page, I meant to notice respect- 
ing the great success of the Dorchester Factory that the owners 
before the war was commenced had purchased a very large 
quantity of Cotton at the lowest figure, when as before stated 
it rose to 4 or 5 times its originall cost 

“About the year 1802-3 John Blackbourn came over from 
England and soon after commeced building the Tyler Mill at 
Pawtucket R. I. Mr. Blackbourn was perhaps the most effeceent 
and skillful Machinest then in the Union he was likewice well 
versed in the construction of that kind of Machines call Thros- 
tle frames, a great improvement (on Arkwrights first inventions) 
both for cheapness and dispack of work Mr B. did not like 
Slater lock, bolt, and guard is establishment but the doars were 
freely opened to the bublick—this consern was highly prosper- 
ous, a few years after Mr Blackbourn went to Mendon in this 
state, and with assistance Built the largest Factory then in the 
country, this was also prosperous Cc 

“In the time of the Embargo and War following, Mills and 


| Machiner began to inerece abundantl oung America had got 
f=) I tn} 


hold of the machinest and manufacorers aret, and he drove it 
with steam speed—tbe Rhode Islanders, with Slater & Black- 
bourn at their head, hunted up the millsites, and waterfalls, in 
that part of Massachusetts now called Webster and Slaterville, 
were a vast business is done at this time 

“To return to my own matters when establesed first at Canton 
T ingeneral let people have a free look, into my Mill espeshaly 
the females the farmers wives and daughters would come to buy 
yarn and would of course want to see the Factory 

“T would open the outer door leading into the entry; and 
after shutting the same; they especially the young ones would 
be sore afraid when.they heard the thundering clattering noise 
within I would open the inner door and they would peep in, 
then advance a little way and look round with great aston- 


| ishment, one old Lady was looking at the large slivers of cotton 
| drawings, advanceing out of the big drawing cans up through 
| the rolers—as if by majick, would exclaim now do tell. 


lud 
amassy! is that spinning. then another having advanced 
further having espeyed the Mule would scream do marm, come 
here and look at this great big high wheel, that has everso many 
spindles drawing out at once and nobody to them, and then 


are you going to do with all this yarn, you never will be able 
to sell it in this varst world 

“Canton in 1801.—When I first saw the Everton place which 
I afterward improved the Water course, was shooting through 
its natural bed, there was a Grist Mill standing on the north 
side and there had been a Forge for Iron worked there, but, it 


was all in ruins, the larg gearing and Waterweel shaft had 








CANTON. 


been sawed nearly through, and mended with bars of Iron here 
was dessollation mannifest ; the place had a bad name, and was 
said to be haunted. indeed if weather the misschief had been 
done by evil spirits or evil bodys in the flesh, they had made 
finishing work of it 

“Tt was a delightful place for a Dam here the rocky banks 


approached near to gather, and a small rocky Island reared its _ 


brushy & Flower decorated, head right in the middle of the 
River (called the eastern branch of the neponsett) the old Grist 


Mill was a relict of antiquity, it had been used, for a building | 


to manufactor Gunpowder in; before or at the time of the rey- 
it had been moved probably on the Ice from 
the millprivilege above now known as the Revere copper, Co’s 


olutionary war. 





works this old building was again removed about 50 years ago | 


10 or 12 roods, and has been used since as a stable for the storage 
of hay, and the lodging of Cattle and there it yet stands— 
with the Iasabella grape vine climing up to its southern gable 
an emblem of youth and old age closely 
intwined in love together. 
viaduet close by, at this day—There was not any dwelling house 
on the premises but one, and that containing two rooms below 
and a low chamber above at that time in this old shell, with 
some additions made to it I lived very happily several years 


up to its ver ridge pole. 
as may be now seen from the great 


with a large family 


947 





(Yorkshire in England) She, then what do they do with theier 
milk in warm weather. Oh! they set it in a cool place in there 
stone built houses the buttery or Celler and skim it after stand- 
ing 3 meals the sweet skimed milk is used in the family or sold 
to the neighbours at half price, the cream after being collected 
and soured a little in the vessel it is churned into the best 
Butter in the world the Butter milk is preserved and ate as a 
dainty to bread or thick hasty pudding, made of Oat meal— 
“her, Dont they use Coffee and T’ea common as whe do. No, 
Coffee they scarcely use att all, and Tea only used sparing by 


- the elderly women, heads of familys. In my two apprentiships, 


the first of near 2 years I never tasted either in my Masters 
house (so to say) in the second of 3 years I never drank any 
but once; the good old man for a good man he was, and the 
name of Jonathan Wood shall be ever remembered with grati- 
tude. He had been out with me to a Benevolent quaker to see 
if he would not advance some money to pay legacys on real 
Estate I was soon to come heir to? We had succeded and I 
was in high spirits; when whe got home, his good old Dame 
as he called her, were just sitting down with her sister to an 
Afternoons Tea drinking. now Jimy says he sit thee down 
with mee and our Women folks to a dish of Tea. I did sit 


| down but I can never remember having being so ashamed be- 


“The roads were very poor at that time large boulders and | 
rocks imbelishing it on each side, and some times in the middle | 


thereof But, the latter was sometime convenient for teams 
turning out you could drive on each side, and in other places 
the ruts would be so deep that it would be difficult to pass 


“Tn regard to buildings they were low and cheaply built, and | 


in winter have been very uncomfortable had it not been for the 
rousing fires they constantly keept, in cold weather, the cracks 
in the boards & holes under the doors, with the broaken glass 
in the windows gave them a quantum suflicet of pure air for 
all purposes 


“Their Barns was not large, they had a good deal of land | 


but not much fodder, and but few cattle to eat it. 
farmers however, would have a yoke of Oxen and a horse to do 
their work, the Orchard was the best attended to of all their 
lands; and gardens if any the least as for flowers they did not 
need any the romping Johns wort and the great Ox daisey, 
white weed, embelished their fields with yellow White and 


The best | 


golden Flowers delightful to see, then they had the Flax plant | 


carefuly nurtered, with its exquitly beautiful blue flowers, and 
-what did they need more of the kind 


“they generaly contrived to raise Corn and Rye for bread; _ 
to fat the hogs and a little for the working cattle, they did not | 


raise much English Hay, but carefully applyed all their man- 
nure for the dressing of the Corn & Flax, most of their fodder 
was obtained from the low-bog meaddows, this they had abund- 
antly, and when well got did very well for the young stock and 
cows that did not give milk 

“Most of the best farmers had a small flock of Sheep, those 
with the Flax they depended on for their clothing; the Ladys, 
—I mean the women, the farmers Wife and daughters were 


fore or since in all my life. 

“ But how did you live in, the morning the breakfast table 
was set out with Trenchers (wooden plates) by the side of each 
a small pint earthen mug with a spoon was placed the viands 
were a large Panfull of sweet milk, then a plate of Pattee’s of 
Butter home made, these were about the size of half a dollar a 
good deal thicker but did not weigh so much in number they 
were just equal to the nomber of the guests at table, which 
guests consisted of Mr. Wood a Journyman or two and four 
apprentices. A large earthen panful of Oatmeal haisty Pud- 
ding was placed on the centre of the table and a few sheets of 
hard, thin oat cakes placed on the clean but naked table. All 
being ready at it we went with a hungry will dipping out with 
our spoons filling them partly in the pudding then dipping 
them in the milk pots, after this first eource of pudding we had 
recource to the milk pan with bread and butter to finish. I 
forget weather we spread the Butter with knives or our thumb; 
this I know it always tasted best to me done by the latter 
method, indeed it is difficult to do it with a knife that if you 
press the Butter hard the bread is so light and honeycomb like 
that it will fly in many pieces. 

“Our dinner consisted of boild hang beef and dried flitch 
bacon and broth was made of the liquor the meat was boild in 
by adding a little oat meal, the broth was invariable ate first 
then we had either dumplins or a pudding boiled in a bag, then 
we finished off with the Animal food & vegitables. 

“Our evening meal was baked (flour) pudding, milk and 


| bread adlibitum, we had always for lunction at 11 o’clow a 


the principle Manufacorers, they did not want many shoes in | 


summer nor were Stockings very abundant. A fashionable 
Mantumaker of the modern time would have been in danger of 
starving before thos Women would have helped her 

“Go with me to a farm-house ‘ summer’ the old Grandfather 
a deacon of the congregational church just come in from the hay 
field, the mistris of the house ready to receive me saying after 
introductory complements ‘ she’ will you go and sit down in the 
other room (best), my husband will be in soon, no I had rather 
sit here and see you make cheese did you never see cheese 
making, they do not make any chees whear I was brought up 


small mess pot about a pint of good home brued Ale of Malt 
and hops, strong and delitious, at dinner we had small bear 
made of the same meterials the women folks never sot down 
with us men at meals. 

“Sunday was strictly observed in these families on that 
glorious day of rest and recriation this mother in Irail and her 
husbands Mother would deck out in their best and march across 
the fields and lanes, bare leg and bare foot to meeting 2 miles 
with their stockings and shoes in their pockets or under their 
arms and when near the holy place under some sheltering tree 
would don them, and when the holy serviss was over would doff 
them again near by, there was nothing mean or stingy about 
this woman on the contrary she had a most liberal Soule, but 
shoes was an extra luxary and fine knit cotton stocking was a 
still greater one, when the father came in he invited me to take 


948 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








some old orchard with him or a glass of toddy both I declined 
as I never loved cider and new rum I detested both smell & 
taste of but begged a drink of her new come whey from her 
chees tub, she slyly regreted her husband had such a desire for 
either Rum or old orchard, oh you know whe cannot do our hot 
ummer work espeshaly in hay time without it replied he. 
“But to return to my Everton place. I was looking over the 
ecoppys of old Deeds lately and I found one dated Jan, 25 ply 
werein I found it recorded that Edmund Quince of Brantrey, 
in Suffolk County, Esqr. John White of Boston in the county 


aforesaid Gent" Standfast Foster, Thomas Tilestone, Sam! 
Paule, Ebenezer Mawdesley, Ebenezer Jones, and Robert 


Royal, all of Dorehesster, had at the above time entered into 
partnership to buy & make a Dam at this place and containing 
two acres of land which they hereby bought of one Timothy 
Jones of said Dorchester for the sum of six Pounds, for the 
purpose setting up Iron works, and in due time a forge was put 
in Opperation the oar was collected in the visintity but most 
particularly from the pond called Massapogue. 

“For two years after commeced business the Herring came 
up the River in great numbers in the spring wending their way 
through many dificutys to massapogue pond men were appointed 
by the adjoining Towns to see the fish had free right of way 
several of these worthys visited me and demanded me to hoyst 
my flood gates and lay the bottom of the mill dam bare except- 
ing the channel but says I the Fish have not began to run yet. 
is the season of their running. Oh says I GentImen it is a hard 
cace for me to stop my Factorey; but says I, walk into the 
house and we will talk the matter over. when seated I brought 
out my old Cogniac, a bowl of loaf shugar and water, to which 


! 


| care of the spoils. 





near by cheered us with their songs, duetts, and soloes, in this 
balmy and moonlight evening whilst we in the ditch with our 
hurrahs and shouts joined in the chorus, but game began to 
grow scarce & and we thought we had enough, as the canoe was 
well ny full the word was given let us out and liquor and take 
I went into the house and got the fixings 
and a basket to carry the fish home. tho young men were or 
had been employees of mine and I think the young women 
too so they carried mine & Slimpsys share home about 2 Barrels 
leaving about as many more for those that came at the eleventh 
hour. 

‘At that time there wear in Canton several Manufacturing 
establishments, Enoch Leonard’s Forge, Gen! Elijah Crane’s 
Grist-Mill, Leonard & Kinsley’s mill-saw, edge-tool, and Forge 
works, the renowned Copper works of Col!. Paul Revere, the first 
established in this country of the kind, besides several grist-mills 
at the different works; these with my establishment of the manu- 


| factoring of Cotton yarn and cloth were a great benifit to the 


publick and employing many hands, this made the mill-owners 
wish for the stopping of the Herrings, rather then the stopping 
of the above valuable manufactoring concerns. The owners, 
herefore, a few years after in conjunction with other mill- 
owners below, in Dorchester and Millton, petitioned the General 
Court to stop the herring from runing in the Neponcett river, 
which was granted, and publick opinion fully agreed with the 
law. 

“Canton from that time to the present or to 1820, at least, 
might be termed with truth, the first in time and the first in 


| quantity and quality of any in the State of its manufactored 


they helped themselves bountifully after wadeing in the river | 
_ made and manufactored in Canton within the first 15 years of 


not inspeting the fish for they were not there, but the water. 
They went off in great good humor and said I must send them 
word when the fish began to run about a week after they did 
begin to run, but I did not see them, though others did, I did 
not look very minutely well down they came upon us (the in- 
spectors I mean) dip net in hand, and there they went to work 
floundering in the river and took several dozens of the herring 


articles. 
“T will here innumerate the different kinds of goods & articles 


the present century. 
“Forge work, Enoch Leonard’s crow-bars and shapes for 
blacksmith’s work, Leonard & Kinsley’s made mill-saws, crow- 


_ bars, and various kinds of axes and other heavy edge-tool work, 


which after taking a chearer or two of my Brandy they carried | 


home to their friends. 

“About a week after this the fish came up abundantly. My 
self and work people were idle and wanted a fishing frollick so 
I said to one of my men Slimsey we will have some herring to- 


night. his laughing eye, took the hint, to shut down the flood 


gates, yes. It was a beautiful night in May (the fish came late up | 


this river and did not do, much good to any one excepting idle 
familys that would rather fish than work they came so late, but I 
will tell my story about fishing over leaf. About 10 o’clock Slim 
& I wended to the dam head & down with the flood gates. this 
shut the water back into the dam. 
way a gently inclined plane up which the fish used to rush with 


there was a planked apron 


some 20 or 30 feet wide were the fish used to linger before as- 
sending the rappid in this hole were bushels of fish the retiring 
water having left them without means of escape, there was a 
small Indian canoe lying on the beach near by we rushed into 
the hole, and went at it with a will throwing them out with our 
hands three or four at once, and when tired of this way we 
would kick them out with our feet while exersizing in this de- 
lightful sport there came two young man along over the wooden 
Bridge near by with their Galls. sometimes Lovers walk out 
togather in the stilly night they were friends, the young men 
jumped down into the river and after a few more jumps came 
cothrsh, right into the fishery hole, were they began to labour 
with all their might and being fresh hands at the tiller the fish 


came out thicker and faster whilst the feemales on a mossy bank 





anchor, flukes, &c., blister steel, and various kinds of iron east- 
ings in demand at that time. 

“At the Revere works were made copper sheathing, bolts, and 
spikes, and afterwards a furnice was erected for casting brass 
and refining copper. Here at (the Revere works) were cast 
large brass guns and bells for churches, and those bells were, 
perhaps, the first founded in the Union. 

“The Cotton mill of which I had the control, produced 
yarns, bedticks, sheeting, shirting, checks, plads, and ginghams. 
I likewise made cotton pelisse wadding, for which I had large 
orders from New York, Boston, &c. This article was not made 
by any other person in this country at that time. About 
1802-8 it was made by running the carded batts through rolers 


wet with size. I afterwards got a patent for my invention. I 


_ have not made any wading for more than 30 years, but the ad- 
great difficulty, at the bottom of this apron was a pond hole | 


vertizements in the milliner’s shop windows still say or did 3 or 
4 years ago: ‘Beaumont’s poliss wadding sold here.’ 

““Miss Ann Bent, who kept a lady's fancy goods store in what 
is now called Washington Street, in Boston, was my best cus- 
tomer. This lady was the first I showed it to; she highly 
praised it, and recommended it to her customers as the best for 
the purpose of any other. Before this the wadding had been 
imported, the cotton kind from England, and the silk kind from 
France. 

“About this time (1807-8) I desolved partnership with Rich- 
ard Wheatley, with whome I had been connected in bussiness 
several years, whe devided the real estate, and I built a small 
factory on the north side of the river on my own account, set 


up wool carding and spinning machines. When the Merino 


_ sheep began to be imported in great numbers (thanks to the 





CANTON. 


949 





great and good Napolian Bonapart, who scattered both the lazy 
Spaniards and there flocks, many of the latter found their way 
into this country. 

“T then began to make all wool cloth yorkshire plains carcys- 
and Sattinetts. for the last article I got great credit making my 
own cotton warps of sea Island Cotton and employing English 


workmen who beat them up well in the hand loom so that when | 


afterwards finished you could not scarcely tell the back side 
from the face. I sold the finest of them for $3.50 P yard both 
before and during the 1812 war. I charged 25 Cents P pound 
for carding (full blood merino and 17 Cents half blood) into roles 

“T will here mention some of my customers for whom I Man- 


ufactored the fine wool wholy or in part. Governer Robbins of 


Milton into cloth Cap’ Nat! Tucker, of Milton into cloth. Ben- | 


jamin Bussey of Boston, Esq partialy into Cloth. Amary Esq’ | 


of Roxbury into yarn and slubbing all these Gentlemen owned 
small flocks of the merinoes. Esq’ Amarey I think of Milton I 
made some cloth for I likewise continued the manufactory of 
my wick yarn and Wadding . 

“ Towards the begining of the 1812 war, and during the same 
there were large quantys of Muskets and Rifles were made sev- 
eral thousand stand for the United states and with high credit 
to the makers by Mess's Leonard & Kinsley, honorable Thomas 
French, and others 

“Mr Enoch Leonard & his sons in partnership with William 
Dunbar Esq™ made some very good horsmans Sords, & Sailors 
Cutlashes for Sam. There were two brothers. Bazins in Canton 
at the above time very ingenious and Inventive, who made 
stocking weaving Machines, likewise Machien for twisting the 
strands and laying cords & ropes—they likewise were the in- 
venters of them sweet Musickal Instruments, the Aeolian reeds 
either the small tubelike ones, held the hand and blown into 
with the mouth as well as the larger Instruments were the bel- 
lows is applied 

“After I desolved partnership with Mr. Wheatly he ingaged 


_ shoe calks, plowshares, ete. 


a man to conduct his istablishment named David Wild he un- | 


derstood his business well a year or two later. 
sisted in building a Cotton Factory, & Machinery in partner- 
ship with Gen! Elijah Crane who owned a millprivilage in 
Canton this was the third of the kind in the town 

“There was a young man, a house carpenter a very ingenious 
and industrious man, at the time Mr Wheatly & I began to 
build machinery whe hired him in his line of business as well 
to make the wood part of the Machines) Azel Ames by name he 
worked for us when in company, and afterwards for myself 
about in all 4 or 5 years. he had saved conciderable money, he 
had a younger brother work as an apprentice with him, we 
always boarded them and as they lost no time of conciquence 
he had a handsome sum to carry with him to Bridgewater his 
native town—soon after he went to marshfield, with his brother 
and built and established a Cotton Factory and they made it 
go well, this was the greatest effort. I ever knew, for a Mechan- 
ick in wood work only to bravely build turning Layths for 
wood & Iron Tools for fluting and fitting Iron & brass—also 
makeing Pattrens for Castings of Iron these mettles—and after- 
wards turning fileing & fitting them togather 


Mr. Wild as- | 


“This Factory of Mr. Ames’s was in full opperation years | 


before the Waltham concern was thought of 

‘*Even the stone mason, who worked for Mr. Wheatly and 
us contrived to set agoing a Cotton Factory in Sharon the ad- 
joining Town to Canton, that is with much assistance this was 
the third or fourth swarm so to say that had left our hive in 
Canton 

“Thus I have given you in a straightforward way my ex- 
periences and knowledge of Cotton Manufactoring previous to 
the time of the Waltham Factory in 1813.” 


| in 1859. 


The Kinsley Iron and Machine Company.— 
These works were established by Leonard & Kinsley 
in 1787, and have been in constant operation since 
that time; the manufacture of steel by the German 
process was then commenced and continued until 1830 
From 1790 to 1797 from one hundred and 
fifty to two hundred tons of mill-saws were made an- 


or later. 


nually. In those early days the works were very small. 
Early in the present century the manufacture of fire- 
arms was introduced, and a considerable quantity of 
muskets was furnished the government for the war of 
1812. 
years after was used for making sleigh-shoes, horse- 
About 1821 the firm of 
Leonard & Kinsley dissolved, and the business was 
continued by Mr. Adam Kinsley. In 1833-35 a 
foundry building was constructed for the manufacture 
of castings. A few years later (on the death of Mr. 
Kinsley in 1857) the business passed into the hands 
of two of his sons, Lyman and Alfred. 


The steel produced at this time and for many 


Soon after, 
Lyman bought out Alfred Kinsley’s interest in the 
About 
1838 the forge was burned, and a new one built. 


business and conducted it himself until 1855. 


Under Mr. Kinsley’s management the manufacture 
of car-axles and car-wheels was added to the now 
growing industry ; in 1845 the work was prosecuted 
day and night, and forty car-wheels were made daily ; 
in 1846 eighteen hundred car-wheels were furnished 
to one Western road alone. The manufacture of 
wagon-axles—one of the branches of the business 
from its commencement—was largely increased. A 
rolling-mill was erected, in 1852-53, for the purpose 
of rolling car-axles and a beam-engine of one hundred 
and ninety-horse power, and an eighteen-inch train of 
In 1853 the idea of rolling car-axles 
was abandoned, and the manufacture of iron com- 
In 1854 the Kinsley Iron and Machine 
Company was chartered and in 1855 was organized ; 


rolls put in. 
menced. 


the capital stock is two hundred thousand doliars. 
Mr. Lyman Kinsley was elected president and teid 
that position until about 1859, when he retired from 
Hon. Oliver Ames, of North Easton, 
was chosen as his successor, and held the position 


the business. 


until his death, when he was succeeded by his son, 
Edward 


L. Eager, Esq., was chosen treasurer upon the organ- 


Frederick L. Ames, the present president. 


ization of the company, and has remained in that 
capacity to the present time. The present agent is 
Mr. Frank M. Ames. 

Since the organization of the company the works 
have been in constant operation. In 1854 the axle- 
shop was destroyed by fire ; anew building was erected 


In 1861 the present foundry building was 


950 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





built and the old foundry torn down. On the 14th of 
January, 1875, the rolling-mill and forge were burned ; 
preparations for a new mill were commenced, however, 
before the fire of the old mill had died out, and on the 
24th of May following operations were resumed in a 


new mill much larger and more convenient than the 
old, but on the same site. 

The company employ about two hundred and twenty- 
five men. The buildings cover about one and a half 
acres of ground, the mill alone covering nearly one 
and one-quarter acres. 

They manufacture merchant bar-iron, car and loco- 
motive forgings, castings, machinery, finished wagon- 
axles, bridge-bolts, and heavy hardware. 


The Revere Copper Company.—Paul Revere & 


Son commenced the copper-works in Canton, Jan. 3, | 
ig ? ’ 


1801. 
bell and cannon foundry on Hull Street, in Boston, 


Previous to that time they had carried on a 


which was removed later to Canton, where they con- 


tinued to cast bells and brass cannon of all sizes and | 


all kinds of composition work; manufactured sheets, 


bolts, spikes, nails, etc., from malleable copper and | 


cold-rolled. Paul Revere died in 1818, and the busi- 
ness was carried on by his surviving son, Joseph 
Warren Revere, until 1828, when the Revere Copper 
Company was incorporated by Joseph W. Revere, 
James Davis, Fred. W. Lincoln, and James Davis, 
Jr. Since the death of the original founder the busi- 
John Revere, president, S. T. Snow, treasurer, with 
increasing facilities, and their manufacture includes 
all grades from the raw material to the finest-graded 
articles of rolled copper. 

Neponset Cotton Manufacturing Company.—In 
1824 the present stone mill, generally known as the 
Neponset Factory, was begun, and finished in 1825, 
and was put in operation as a woolen-factory by Hol- 
brook, Dexter & Hill. They manufactured satinets and 
kerseymere cloths. In 1828 the company failed, and 
the mill property and machinery was silent for nearly 
It had cost four hundred thousand dol- 
lars, and was sold to a new company for one hundred 
and forty thousand dollars, the Neponset Manufac- 


two years. 


turing Company, which carried on the manufacture 
till 1838, when they abandoned the business, and the 
property, fixtures, and machinery was purchased by 
Mr. J. W. Revere for fifty thousand dollars. In 1844, 
Robeson, of New Bedford, leased the property 





for ten years, and at the expiration of the term re- 
newed the lease for ten years, and again for ten years, 
abandoning the business in 1879. 

In 1883 the property was purchased for thirty-five 
thousand dollars by James L. Little, and the build- 


| facturing Company. 


ings are undergoing thorough repairs preparatory to 
occupation as a cotton-factory. 

Eureka Silk Manufacturing Company.—The 
silk business in Canton was started in 1839, by V. J. 
Messinger; but some months later he removed to 
Needham, where he remained five years, making sew- 
In 1844, Mr. Messinger 
returned to Canton, and in partnership with his 
brother, V. A. Messinger, established the business 
They continued the 
manufacture of sewings and machine twist success- 
fully and uninterruptedly till 1863, when it was 
transferred to Charjes Foster and J. W. C. Seavey, 
the latter of whom had been with Messinger & 
Brother since 1853. ‘The firm-name was J. W. C. 
Seavey & Co. In 1869 the firm became Seavey, 
Foster & Bowman, who continued the business till 
1881, when the proprietors formed a joint-stock com- 
pany for the manufacture of all kinds of twisted silk, 
under the name and firm of the Eureka Silk Manu- 
They have increased their busi- 


ings, gimps, and fringes. 


there as Messinger & Brother. 


ness from year to year, until they have become one of 
the most successful and extensive manufacturers in 
Their favorite brands, the “ Lion” and 
The firm have. 


contributed largely to the movement of putting up 


this country. 
‘“ Kureka,” have a high reputation. 


strictly pure dye goods, and have also manufactured 


and introduced measuring and strength-testing ma- 
ness has been continued under the management of | 


actual quality of the goods they are buying. 


chines, to enable buyers to inform themselves of the 
To the 
enterprise of this firm consumers are indebted for 
many improvements in the style and quality of twist 
silks. 

G. H. Mansfield & Co.—The privileges now occu- 
pied by this establishment were first utilized in 1821 
by Simeon Presbrey, in the manufacture of cotton 
thread. He subsequently enlarged the original mill, 
and added the manufacture of twines. He carried 
on the business until 1845, when he sold it to Thomas 
B. Vose, who continued it until 1849, when it passed 
into the hands of William Mansfield. Mr. Mansfield 
carried on the manufacture as sole proprietor until 
July 1, 1858, when it was purchased by his two 
sons, George H. and Preston R., who have continued 
In 1865, W. B. White and 
G. H. Mansfield formed a copartnership, under the 
name of White & Mansfield, and commenced the 
manufacture of shoe-lace, and, in the spring of 1866, 


it to the present time. 


inaugurated the manufacture of braided fishing-lines. 
The firm of White & Mansfield was dissolved in 
1866 by the retirement of Mr. White, and the busi- 
ness has since been continued by G. H. Mansfield & 
Co. 


They manufacture braided silk and linen Jines, 








oo. | 
; : Kl A = 
iy 








cis asi 





























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































AIH AMAIA 
3] 
I= 
A} 5 
fit —a 
lh Mh =< = 
| 
Mi =z = 
iil =" 
i —=N 
| —— 
| 5 
= 
| = 
< 
\\h4 
HM 
| 
COT = 
MIN 
TT = 
Ther 
ITT, 
il efit 
] Hi Ein 
fy LW My Efi 
al] / j 5 
Hi 
A \ / 
if f/m 
“44 | Hil} 
Hi ] TUL 
Hf) i] 
hi j 
AA) ii} il 
Af Hf); Hi mt 
LMT i 
eT 






















































































































































MEMORIAL HALL, GANTON, MASS. 





and it is a notable fact that this firm was the pioneer 
in the manufacture of braided lines in the United 
States. 

The Narragansett Suspender and Web Com- 
pany.—The building on the west side of the Canton 
Junction Station of the Boston and Providence Rail- 
road, occupied by the Narragansett Suspender and 
Web Company, J. R. Wattles, proprietor, and by L. 
W. Wattles & Co., manufacturers of spinning and 
twister rings, with the entire contents, was totally 
destroyed by fire May 10, 1884. 
was the sole proprietor of both concerns, and of the 
buildings and land. 
in 1865, and had been from time to time enlarged and 
improved and added to. 

The busitiess of making spinning rings for cotton- 


CANTON. 


951 


a new town hall, and directed the committee to make 
their report on the 17th day of June, 1878. After 


considerable discussion as to the merits of the several 


Mr. J. W. Wattles | 


The factory building was erected | 


mills was established in 1843 by Mr. Luther R. Wat- | 


tles, and had been carried on in Canton for the past 
twenty-five years by Mr. J. W. Wattles under the 
name of L. R. Wattles & Co. 


Company manufactured suspenders and all kinds of | 


elastic web goods, and had a wide reputation. 
J. Wattles, son of J. W. Wattles, was superintend- 


| 
| 


The Narragansett 


| 


Arthur | 


ent of both companies, and another son, Joseph W. | 


Wattles, Jr., was book-keeper and cashier of both 
concerns. 


Paper-Box Manufactory.—In 1837, Nathaniel 


Dunbar commenced the manufacture of piano-forte | 


keys, on the site now occupied by the box-factory, 
and continued it until 1857. In the fall of that 
year, in company with Charles F. Hard, he com- 
menced the manufacture of paper boxes. 
partnership continued until the fall of 1868, when 
the establishment was purchased by Mr. Dunbar, and 
continued by him as sole proprietor until his death, 


which occurred July 11, 1883. The business is | 


still carried on under the name of Nathaniel Dunbar, 
by his oldest son, Francis D. Dunbar. 

Thomas Lonergan commenced the manufacture 
of spinning- and twister-rings in 1878. 


That co- | 


| 





locations proposed, it was voted to build at the corner 
of Washington and Depot Streets. 

A committee, consisting of Frank M. Ames, James 
S. Shepard, Elisha Horton, Joseph W. Wattles, and 
Edward R. Eager, was selected, and instructed to take 
a deed of the land donated by Elijah A. Morse, and 
erect a building thereon, to be called ‘ Memorial 
Hall,” from some one of the plans before the 
meeting. 

The design for the building was prepared by 
Stephen C. Earle, of Boston. 

The architecture is what may perhaps be called 
Modern Gothic. The underpinning and steps are of 
Concord granite. The walls are of brick, decorated 
with Longmeadow freestone and black brick. The 
brick are laid in black mortar. The inside finish 
throughout the building is of ash. The floors are of 
The main building is one hundred 
The 
main front has a projection of seven feet, thirty-one 
feet in width, which rises five feet above the walls of 
On each side, at the front, are 


Southern pine. 
and one by sixty-two feet on the foundation. 


the main building. 
projections of eighteen inches. 

The building covers about six thousand five hundred 
square feet ; its extreme height is eighty feet above the 
grade line. The basement is eleven feet six inches 
high, first story twelve feet, and second story twenty- 
six feet in the clear. The building is entered by a 
flight of six steps of fine hammered Concord granite, 
twenty feet long, ten and one-half feet wide, which are 


_ partly covered by a porch. 


The marble-tiled vestibule is entered by two sets 
of double-folding black walnut doors, opposite which 
On the 


are similar doors of ash with glass panels. 


'right is the ticket-office; on the left, a door to the 


In 1881 his | 


factory was destroyed by fire, and immediately rebuilt. | 
He has continued the manufacture to the present | 
| (which is fourteen feet nine inches by sixteen feet), 


time. 


For history of establishments of Messrs. Shepard, | 


French, Draper, and Morse, see their respective biog- 
raphies in the following pages. 

Memorial Hall.—At the annual meeting in 
April, 1878, the town appointed a committee, con- 
sisting of William Horton from School District No. 1, 
Elisha Horton of No. 2, Frank M. Ames of No. 3, 
Ellis Tucker of No. 4, George E. Downes of No. 5, 


Thomas Lonergan of No. 6, and James S. Shepard of | 


No. 7, to procure plans and select proper locations for 
, to p Pp prop 


basement stairs. The stairway hall is twenty-two by 
twenty-eight feet. On either side are flights of stairs 
six feet wide. On the right is a lobby, doors from 


which enter the room of town clerk and treasurer 


and also that of the selectmen (which is eighteen feet 
six inches by twenty-four feet). Connected with these 
rooms are a fire-proof vault, for town records, and two 
large closets. 

On the left is the librarian’s room, which is twenty 
feet nine inches by sixteen feet. In the centre and oppo- 
site the principal entrances is a wide, double-folding 
door to the corridor. On either side of this door are 
placed the beautiful memorial tablets, a gift of Elijah 
A. Morse. The corridor is eight by forty-four feet. 


952 





On the right or south side are doors to the selectmen’s 
room, also to the school committee room, which is six- 
teen feet three inches by twenty-four feet, and a side 
corridor sixteen feet long leading to the side entrance. 
On the left or north side is the library, twenty-four 
by forty-four feet. At the east end is the small, or 
caucus hall, which is thirty feet six inches by forty- 
eight feet six inches, and will seat about two hundred 
persons. The side entrance is eight by sixteen feet, 
and is entered from steps twelve feet in length, and 
similar to those on the front of the building. 


Doors | 


from the side entrance enter the school committee- | 


room, corridor, small hall, and the private stairway 
hall which leads to the hall and stage above. From 
this stairway are doors to the basement stairs and 
town officers’ toilet. 

The landing at the front stairs is thirteen feet six 
inches by twenty-eight feet; opposite the stairs are 
two double-folding doors to the audience-hall and 
ladies’ private room. On the left are stairs to the 
gallery and a door to the lobby, which is fourteen feet 
nine inches by sixteen feet. The audience-hall is 
fifty-eight by sixty-seven feet, and twenty-six feet 
high. 


inches deep, with opening thirty-two feet wide. 


At the east end is a stage eighteen feet six 
On 


either side are anterooms about fourteen feet square. 


The doors between the stage and anterooms are ar- | 


ranged to slide up, and give a stage nearly the width 
of the building. At the opposite end is a gallery 
nineteen by sixty feet. 

The gallery is provided with seats for two hundred 
and twenty-four persons. The floor is furnished with 
one hundred and fourteen settees, each seating five 
persons, The ordinary seating capacity of the hall 
is nine hundred and forty-four persons, although 
one thousand and fifty people can be comfortably 
seated. 


Toe MemoriaL Tasiets.—The left-hand tablet | 
bears the names of those who were killed in battle, | 


with the date and place where they were killed, 
Viz. : 

Walter S. Glover, at Gaines’ Mill, June 27th, 1862. 

John McGinley, at Bull Run, August 29th, 1862. 

Edward H. R. Revere, George W. Kehr, at Antietam, Sep- 
tember 17th, 1862. 

James Donahoe, Andrew L. Hill, at Fredericksburg, Dec’r 
11-13th, 1862. 

Charles E. Bootman, Stephen H. Smith, at Port Hudson, June 
14th, 1863. 

Robert Blackburn, Jr., John Denningham, John O’Brien, 
in the Wilderness, May 5th—6th, 1864. 





HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





George C. Corbett, at Craney Island. 

Charles F. Adams, at Frederick City. 

Walter Davenport, at Fredericksburg. 

John M. Pooler, at White Oak Church. 

Charles O. Fuller, William B. Foster, John Geddis, Jerome 
B. Snow, Asahel White, at New Orleans. 

William E. Brewster, John W. Ayer, Owen Shonsey, at 
Brashear City. 

Thomas Curran, at Canton. 

Charles C. Knaggs, Long B. Crowther, Joseph Jenkins, at 
Baton Rouge. 

Charles D. Slattery, at City Point. 


Over the door to the corridor is the inscription : 
‘““Hrected to commemorate the patriotism of the 
soldiers of Canton, who fell in defence of the Union 
in the War of the Rebellion.” A transom running 
the whole width of the group has the dates 1861— 
65 repeated over each tablet bearing the soldiers’ 
names, and the central part has the motto, “ /¢ ds 
sweet and honorable to die for one’s country.” 

The materials used in the construction are, for the 
plinths at the bottom, dark Tennessee marble. For 
the body of the work, a cream-colored marble deli- 
cately mottled, from the Hchaillon quarries at Gren- 
oble, France, finished with a slight polish, except 
where it is carved. he shafts of the four columns 
supporting canopies over the side tablets are of red 
Lisbon marble highly polished. The tablets, bearing 
the names, are of light-veined Italian marble. 

The carving consists of the arms of the Union, in 
a medallion on the canopy over the left tablet, flanked 
by branches of the oak and palm. The medallion 
over the other tablet bears the arms of the State 
between branches of the laurel and olive. The same 
foliage is also used on the capitals of the four col- 
umns. The bases of the columns are enriched with 
appropriate foliage, and the panels below on each side 
have three large rosettes. The initials of the names 
and some words of the general inscription are painted 
John 
Evans, of Boston, executed the work from designs 
furnished by Mr. Earle, the architect of the building. 

The gift to the town of a strip of land some twelve 


red and the other letters a dark chocolate. 


feet in width from the Hon. Charles Endicott, also 
| the exchange of land with James Ryan, caused the 


shape of the town lot to be very much improved. 
The appropriation for grading the lot, erecting and 
furnishing the building, amounted to thirty-one thou- 
sand dollars. The total cost, including dedicatory 
expenses, was thirty thousand nine hundred and 


_ sixty-one dollars and twelve cents, leaving an unex- 


The tablets at the right have the names of those | 


who died in the service from disease or wounds, viz. : 


George W. Bailey, at Gaines’ Mill. 


William Spillane, at Harrison’s Landing. 


pended balance of thirty-eight dollars and eighty- 
eight cents. 

The hall was dedicated on the evening of Oct. 30, 
1879, amid a large concourse of people, among whom 





CANTON. 


953 





areas i 
were his Excellency Governor Thomas Talbot ; Hon. 


Henry B. Peirce, Secretary of State; Hon. Charles 
Adams, formerly treasurer; Hon. Seth Turner, of 
Randolph; Rufus ©. Wood, sheriff of Norfolk 
County ; the selectmen of Canton, viz.: William W. 
Brooks, William Horton, and William O. Chapman, | 
Esqs.; Hon. Charles H. French, Edwin Wentworth, | 
William Mansfield, Ezra S. Brewster, and Ellis Tucker, 
who have served as selectmen; Francis W. Deane, the 


venerable town treasurer; J. Mason Everett, chair- 
man, Arthur C. Kollock, Jesse Fenno, John Everett, | 
and Thomas Lonergan, of the school committee; Rev. 
Father John Flatley and Rev. Willam H. Savary ; 
Ellis Ames, Esq., and other gentlemen of Canton and 
of the neighboring towns. 

From its earliest history down to the year 1837 
the town had no house of its own. 


For a long series 
of years its public meetings were held in the meeting- 
house belonging to the First Parish ; afterwards in the 
Upon the > 
erection of a new house by that denomination at South 


Baptist meeting-house at Canton Centre. 





Canton, the old house at the Centre was purchased 
by the town for the modest sum of six hundred and 
fifty dollars, and in that small building for half'a cen- 
tury the business of the town has been transacted. | 

All important public events that relate to the local | 
affairs of a town, of course, form a part of its civil 
history ; so that when one of these events is brought | 
vividly before the mind, other events appear also, one | 
after another, as they are bound together by the 
natural laws of association. 

Canton was incorporated as a town Feb. 23, 1797, | 
and the act was approved by Samuel Adams, the | 
great leader of the Revolution, as Governor of the | 
commonwealth. At that date its population must 
have been about 1000; in 1800 it was 1110; in> 
1810, 1353; in 1820, 1268; in 1830, 1515; in 
1840, 1995; in 1850, 2598; in 1860, 3242; in | 
1870, 3879; and in 1875, 4192; a gratifying in- 


crease in each of its decennial periods with a single 


exception. In 1795, the whole number of legal voters 
in the first precinct was 140; in 1875, the number | 
had increased to 733. 
even more rapidly than the population, amounting | 
in 1884 to $3,242,254, by the assessors’ valuation, | 
which is exclusive of corporate stocks taxed by the 
State. 


The town from its incorporation has been generally 


The valuation has increased 


most fortunate in the ability, character, and fidelity | 


of its officers. 
At the first meeting of this town under the act of | 
incorporation, Elijah Dunbar, a man who appears to | 


have served the town in almost every capacity for 


many years, was chosen moderator; Elijah Crane, 
town clerk, Joseph Bemis, treasurer; and Elijah 
Crane, deacon; Benjamin Tucker and Col. Nathan 
Crane, selectmen and assessors. 

The dedicatory address was delivered by Hon. 
Charles Endicott, and remarks were also made by 
William W. Brooks, Hon. 8. B. Noyes, Governor Tal- 
bot, Elijah A. Morse, Hon. Henry B. Peirce, Sec- 
retary of State, Hon. Charles Adams, ex-treasurer 
of the commonwealth, Hon. Winslow Battles, of 
Randolph, Rev. Dr. Angier, of Holbrook, Sanford 
W. Billings, of Sharon, Rev. Edwin Thompson, of 
East Walpole, Horace E. Ware, of Milton, Rev. 
Father Flatley, Rev. William Savary, Rev. Nelson 


|B. Jones, Jr., Rev. Mr. Davis, Ellis Ames, Esq., 


Thomas K. Grover, Esq., and Timothy Kaley, Esq., 
of Milford, N. H. 

The Canton Institution for Savings was chartered 
March 4, 1835, with the following officers: Thomas 
French, president ; Friend Crane and Jonathan Stone, 
vice-presidents; Trustees, Adam Kinsley, Elijah 
Spare, Joseph Downes, Samuel Davis, Simeon Pres- 
brey, P. M. Crane, Thomas Dunbar, William Me- 


_Kendry, Jedediah Tucker; James Dunbar, secretary 


and treasurer; Jonathan Messinger, F. W. Lincoln, 
Leonard Everett, Elisha White, committee of invest- 


ment. Thomas French, president upon organization ; 


Thomas Dunbar, president, April 4, 1843; Frederic 
W. Lincoln, president, April 7, 1846; Charles H. 
French, April 7, 1852, present president. James 


_ Dunbar, secretary and treasurer upon organization ; 


Francis W. Deane, secretary and treasurer, April 7, 
1852; Nathaniel W. Dunbar, secretary and treasurer, 
March 26, 1883, present incumbent. The present 
trustees are Charles H. French, Charles Endicott, 
James S. Shepard, Ellis Ames, Virgil J. Messinger, 
George E. Downes, J. Mason Everett, Edward R. 
Eager, William O. Chapman, Frank G. Webster, 
Francis D. Dunbar, George H. Mansfield, Samuel H. 
Capen, Henry F. Baswell. Present committee of 
investment: Charles Endicott, James 8. Shepard, 
George E. Downes, William O. Chapman, Nathaniel 
W. Dunbar, treasurer. The first deposit was made 
May 2, 1835. Amount of deposits, present time, 
$449,964.40. 

The Neponset Bank was chartered March 31, 
1836, with the following directors: F. W. Lincoln, 
Leonard Hodges, Leonard Everett, George H. Mann, 
George Downes, Jonathan Messinger, Simeon Pres- 
brey, Jonathan Robinson, Lyman Kinsley, Zachariah 
Tucker, Thomas Tolman; President, Frederic W. 
Lincoln; Cashier, James Dunbar. Oct. 6, 1845, 


James Dunbar, president ; Francis W. Deane, cashier. 


954 


W. Deane, cashier, until the organization under the 
National Banking Law. 


Oct. 5, 1851, Charles H. French, president; Francis | 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 


| 


The Neponset National Bank was organized | 


March 1, 1865, with Charles H. French, president, 
who has continued to the present time. Francis W. 
Deane was the first cashier. May 24, 1880, Nathan- 
iel W. Dunbar was chosen cashier, and is the present 


incumbent. The present directors are Charles H. 


French, Horace A. Lothrop, George E. Downes, | 


Charles Endicott, James S. Shepard, William O. 
Chapman, William L. Hodges. Capital, $250,000, 
Surplus and undivided profits, $83,350.78. 

Military Record.—Canton furnished three hun- 
dred and fifty men for the war, which was a surplus 
of twenty-three over and above all demands. 
were commissioned officers. 


money appropriated and expended by the town for | 


war purposes, exclusive of State aid, was thirty thou- 
sand four hundred and fifteen dollars and seventy-one 
In addition to this, fifteen thousand dollars 
were raised by private subscription for the payment 


cents. 


of bounties. 

The amount of money raised and expended during 
the war for State aid to soldiers’ families, and repaid 
by the commonwealth, was as follows: in 1861, 
$564.59; in 1862, $2585.00; in 1863, $4671.16; 
in 1864, $3000.00; in 1865, $2200.00 ; total amount, 
$13,020.75. 


Nine | 


The whole amount of | 





The amount of money and clothing furnished by | 


the ladies of the town for the Christian and Sanitary 
Commissions was quite large. 

The population in 1860, 3242; in 1865, 3318. 
The valuation in 1860 was $2,015,398; in 1865, 
$2,211,313. 

The selectmen in 1861 and 1862 were James T. 
Sumner, Ellis Tucker, and John Hall; in 1863, Wil- 
liam Horton, Ellis Tucker, and Ezra S. Brewster ; 
1864 and 1865, William Horton, Charles Endicott, 
and Ezra 8. Brewster. 





required to fillits quota. It was voted to pay a bounty 
of one hundred dollars ‘to each volunteer duly mus- 
tered.” August 18th, voted, ‘‘ that the town assume 
and pay an additional bounty of one hundred dollars to 
such volunteers as have enlisted since August 5th, to fill 
the quota of forty men, as voted at a public meeting of 
citizens and been subscribed and paid by the citizens 
upon the faith that the town would reimburse the 
August 27th, voted, “ to pay a bounty of one 
hundred and fifty dollars to each volunteer enlisting 
to fill the quota of the town for men in the nine 
months’ service,” and a committee of citizens was 


” 
same, 


chosen ‘‘ to co-operate with the town treasurer in de- 
vising ways and means to obtain the necessary amount 
of money.”’ 

1865. No meeting appears to have been held during 
the year in relation to the war. Recruiting, however, 
went on as usual, and the State aid continued to be 
paid to the families of the volunteers. 

1864. April 5th, voted, ‘to pay a bounty of one 
hundred and twenty-five dollars to each volunteer en- 
listing to the credit of the town, under the recent call 
July 5th, voted, “to 
pay the same amount of bounty to each volunteer 


of the President for more men.” 


_under any call of the President, prior to March 1, 


1863.” 
Roll of Honor.—The following is a list of names 
of deceased soldiers enlisted from Canton : 


| Charles F, Adams, 20th Regt.; buried in Canton; died at 


Frederick City. 
John W. Ayer, Co. A, 4th Regt.: buried in Brashear City ; 
died June 5, 1863. 


| Robert Blackburn, Jr., 20th Regt.; killed in Wilderness 1864. 


and 1864 was Andrew Lopez; in 1865, Charles En- | 


dicott. The town treasurer during all these years 
was Francis W. Deane. 


William E. Brewster, Co. A, 4th Regt.; buried in Canton; died 
June 3, 1863. 

Ch. E. Bootman, Co. A, 4th Regt.; buried at Port Hudson ; 
killed June 14, 1863. 

Thomas Curran, 42d Regt.; buried in Canton; died Aug. 19, 
1863. 

LL. B. Crowther, Co. A, 4th Regt., buried at Baton Rouge; died 
Aug. 28, 1862. 

George Cobbett, Co. G, 29th Regt.; buried in Stoughton 1862, 


| Walter Davenport, unknown. 


The town clerk during the years 1861, 1862, 1863, | 


James Donahue, 20th Regt.; killed in battle. 
William Foster, Co. A, 4th Regt.; buried at Brashear City ; died 
April 21, 1863. 


| Charles O. Fuller, Co. A, 4th Regt.; buried at Foxborough ; 


1861. The first meeting to consider matters relat- | 
ing to the war was held April 29th, at which it was | 
| John Geddis, Co. A, 4th Regt.; died in service April 12, 1863. 


voted to provide “all suitable and necessary aid to 
families of volunteers living in the town,” and the sum 
of five thousand dollars was appropriated for that pur- 
pose, “to be expended by a committee joined with 
selectmen.” 


1862. A town-meeting was held July 21st to see 


what measures the town would adopt to raise forty men | 


died at New Orleans Jan. 28, 1863. 
Andrew L. Hill, Co. F, 18th Regt.; died in service February, 
1868. 


Walter S. Glover, Co. K, 22d Regt.; died in service July 1, 
1862. 

Joseph Jenkins, Co. A, 4th Regt.; died at Baton Rouge Aug. 
29, 1863. 
Charles C. Knaggs, Co. A, 4th Regt.; buried at Canton; died 

at Brashear City Aug. 22, 1863. 
George W. Kehr, Co. K, 20th Regt.; killed at battle of An- 
tietam. 





CANTON. 


955 





Henry U. Morse, Co. A, 4th Regt.; died at Canton and buried 
here. 

John McGinley, Co. G, 16th Regt.; killed at second battle Bull 
Run. 

Timothy O’Flaherty, Co. A, 4th Regt.; died at Canton, out of 
service. 

John O’Brien, Co. F, 58th Regt.; killed at Wilderness May 5, 
1864. 


Anthony Pollard, 4th Cay.; died in service Sept. 12,1864; New | 


York man. 


Franklin L. Ramsell, Co. G, 29th Regt.; died in hospital, Bal- | 


timore, Md. 

Edw. H. R. Revere, buried at Mt. Auburn. 

David F. Sherman, Co. A, 4th Regt.; died out of service. 

Owen Shaughnessy, Co. A, 4th Regt.; buried in Canton; died 
June 6, 1863. 

Jerome B. Snow, Co. A, 4th Regt.; buried at New Orleans; 
died July 10, 1863. 

Charles D. Slattery, 14th Battery; died Jan. 13, 1865. 


Stephen H. Smith, Co. A, 4th Regt.; killed at Port Hudson | 


June 14, 1863. 
William Spillane, 15th N. Y. Regt.; died at Harrison’s Land- 
ing July 14, 1862, 


William D. Tennant, 4th Cav.; died in service; New York 


man. 

Asahel White, Co. A, 4th Regt.; died at New Orleans July 26, 
1863. 

F. B. Howard, Co. A, 4th Regt.; died 1868; buried here. 


John M. Pooler, Thomas M. Mullins, and Edward Fox, buried | 


here. 


Revere Encampment of the Grand Army of 
the Republic.—That name reaches back to the pre- 
revolutionary years of the republic, and for three 
generations has been associated with patriotism and 
military glory. Revere Encampment, Post 94, 
Grand Army of the Republic, was organized in 1869. 
Much interest was at once manifested in the work ; it 
grew from year to year, and at the present time is in 
a very prosperous condition. The Commander in 
1883 was Alexander R. Holmes, M.D. 

The present officers are as follows: C., Jonathan 
Linfield; 8. V. C., John T. Pitman ; J. V. C., George 
B. Hunt; Adj., Horace D. Seavey; Q. M., L. E. 
Wentworth; Surg., A. R. Holmes; Chap., A. A. 
Harrington; O. D., R. L. Weston; O. G., James H. 
Crane; S. M., J. F. Bisbee; Q. M. O., F. Z. Leonard. 
The following are the present members of the En- 
campment : 


Bailey, Robert, 13th Pa. Cav. 

Barlow, L. E., 26th Me. Inf. 

Bisbee, Jos. F., 4th Mass. Inf. 

Billings, John D., 10th Mass. 
Battery. 

Bolles, Benj. S., 41st Ill. Inf. 

Bowditch, Asa W., 44th Mass. 
Infantry. 

Bryant, C. F., 33d Mass. Inf. 

Buckley, Timothy, 20th Mass. 
Infantry. 

Burleigh, E. P., 5th N. H. Inf. 

Byam, R.8., 16th Mass. Inf. 


Capen, H.S8., 33d Mass. Inf. 
Carr, Patrick, 10th Mass. Inf. 
Carroll, D. W., 4th Mass. Inf. 
Christopher, J. K., 20th Me. 
Battery. 
Cram, Jas. H., 29th Mass. 
Davenport, S., 14th Mass. Batt. 
| Davis, Jas. N., 33d Mass. Inf. 
Didot, Armand F., Navy. 
Emery, Wm., Ist Mass. Light 
Artillery. 
Eddy, 8. D., 3d Mass. Inf. 
' Estey, E. H., 29th Mass. Inf. 





Farrell, Wm., 15th Mass. Inf. 
Flood, Owen, 4th Mass. Inf. 
Freeman, H. A., 4th Mass. Inf. 
Godfrey, J. W., 33d Mass. Inf. 
Hall, J., capt. 4th Mass. Inf. 
Harwood, Elbridge G., 42d 
Mass. Infantry. 
Harwood, Harrison E., 
Mass. Infantry. 
Harrington, Andrew A., 11th 
Mass. Infantry. 
Hewins, B. L., 2d Mass. Inf. 
Hodson, H., 30th N. Y. Inf. 
Holmes, Alex. R., surgeon 3d 
Mass. Infantry and Navy. 
Holbrook, F. L., 33d Mass. Inf. 
Hixon, Edward R., sergt. Co. 
B, 33d Mass. Infantry. 
Hunt, Geo. B., 35th Mass Inf. 
Kinsley, Adam, Ist lieut. 10th 
Mo. Infantry. 


42d 


Lawrence, John, lst N. J. Cav. | 


Leonard, F. Z., 4th Mass. Inf. 

Linfield, Jona., 3d Mass. Inf. 

Lewis, George, 12th Mass. Inf. 

Lynch, John, 20th Mass. Inf. 

McCorkee, William, 57th Mass. 
Infantry. 


McPherson, David, drummer 
24th Mass. Infantry. 
Morse, Elijah A., corp. 4th 
Mass. Infantry. 
Morse, 8. H., 4th Mass. Inf. 
| Morse, Albert, 33d Mass. Inf. 
Parks, John, 4th Mass. Inf. 
| Partridge, C., 24th Mass. Inf. 
| Peach, Henry, 23d Mass. Inf. 
Perry, J. W., 33d Mass. Inf. 
| Pettee, Albert, 19th Mass. Inf. 
| Pitman, J. T., Ist Mass. Cav. 
Seavey, H. D., 4th Mass. Inf. 
| Seavey, F. H., 9th Me. Inf. 
Shepard, H.S., 31st Mass. Inf. 
| Silloway, Jacob, Jr., Ist lieut. 
6th N. Y. Infantry. 
| Smith, 8. L., 5th Mass. Inf. 
Tolman, Otis S., 4th Mass. Inf. 
| Webster, F.G., 44th Mass. Inf. 
| Wentworth, Larra E., 4th 
Mass. Infantry. 
| Weston, Richmond L., gun- 
boat “f Pequot.” 
| White, N. S., 24th Mass. Inf. 
| Witt, Hardin, 56th Mass. Inf. 
| Wyeth, J. J., 44th Mass. Inf. 


The following are names of soldiers whose graves 
were decorated May 30, 1883: 


C. F. Adams, 20th Mass. Inf. 

F. 0. Bullock, 15th Wis. Inf. 

G. W. Bailey, 18th Mass. Inf. 

C. E. Bootman,! 4th Mass. Inf. 

W. 24. Brewster, 4th Mass. Inf. 

R. Blackburn, Jr., 20th Mass. 
Infantry. 

J. A. Bullard,! 2d Eng., U.S. 
Navy. 

Jeremiah C. Breslyn, gunboat 
“ Osceola.” 


| John OBrien, 58th Mass: Inf. 


Martin Cary, 7th Me. Inf. 


Stephen Clary, 3d R. I. H. Art. | 


D. W. Croude, 5th Mass. Cav. 
Thos. Curran, 42d Mass. Inf. 
W. Davenport,! 35th Mass. Inf. 


| T. O'Flaherty, 4th Mass. Inf. 
| Patrick Flood, 23d Mass. Inf. 


Edward Fox, 19th Mass. Inf. 
John Geddis,! 4th Mass. Inf. 
W.S. Glover,! 22d Mass. Inf. 
Wm. Heath, 22d Mass. Inf. 
A. L. Hill,! 18th Mass. Inf. 
F. B. Howard, 4th Mass. Inf. 
Dennis Hanlon, U. 8. Navy. 


| John Howe, 4th Mass. and 11th 
inf | 


U.S. Infantry. 
E. Horton, Jr.,! 4th Mass. Inf. 


| Maj.C. D. Jordan, U.S. Army. 
Geo. W. Kehr, 20th Mass. Inf. 


| 


| C. C. Knaggs, 4th Mass. Inf. 
| John McCready, U.S. Navy. 
| J. MeGinley,! 16th Mass. Inf. 
| W. McKendry, 22d Mass. Inf. 
| William McKendry, U.S. Rev. 
Marine. zs 
Geo. W. McGinty, 29th Maine 
Vet. Vols. 
| Lieut. Henry U. Morse, 4th 
Mass. Inf. 
| T. M. Mullen, 29th Mass. Inf, 
|S. W. Meserve, 4th Mass. Inf. 
| J. M. Pooler,! Ist Mass. Batt. 
| J. H. Proctor, Ist Mass. Band 
| . Leader. 
| J. Reardon, Ist Mass. H. Art. 
| Edward Robbins, U.S. Navy. 
Owen Shaughnessey, 4th Mass. 


Infantry. 
D. EF. Sherman, 4th Mass. Inf. 
S. H. Smith,! 4th Mass. Inf. 
| Zebah Thayer, 18th Mass. and 
20 HAT ts 
J. K. Webster, Sth Mass. Inf. 
W.G. White, 48th Mass. Inf. 
Asahel White, U. 8. Navy. 


Blue Hill Lodge, F. and A. M., is located here. 


Samuel H. Capen is present Master. 


1 Buried elsewhere. 


956 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





REPRESENTATIVES FROM 1776 TO 1884. 


Thomas Tolman, 1828, 736. 


Elijah Spare, 1830. 


Benjamin Gill, 1776. 
Thomas Crane, 1776, ’77, *78, 


81. James Endicott, 1832, 733. 
Elijah Dunbar, 1780, ’82,’87, James Blackman, 1834, 735. 
a3. Michael Shaller, 1834, 785. 


Christopher Wadsworth, 1780. 

John Kenney, 1783. 

Capt. James Endicott, 1784, 
85, 786, 790. 

Capt. Frederick Pope, 178 
88, 89, 91, 792, 796. 


Elijah Crane, 1795, ’97. 


Nathaniel French, 1837. 
Abel Wentworth, 1836, ’37, 738. 
Isaac Horton, 1838, 739. 

| John Gay, 1840, *41, 742. 

7, | John Endicott, 1843, ’44. 


Lyman Kinsley, 1849. 


Charles H. French, 1853, ’54. 


03, 04, 05, 706, ’07,’11, 712, | George Capen, 1855. 


ARE Samuel Davenport, 1856. 
Benjamin Tucker, 1808, ’09, John S. Eldridge, 1859, ’60. 
"10. Oliver 8. Chapman, 1863, 64. 


Lemuel Whiting, 1811, °12,’13. 
* Abel Wentworth, Sr., 1812. 
Friend Crane, 1814. 

John Bailey, 1815, 716, 717. 
Samuel Capen, 1819, ’20, ’29. 
Jonathan Leonard, 1823. 
Thomas French, 1824, 726, ’27. 


Joseph Leavitt, 1868. 

Frank M. Ames, 1869. 
James S. Shepard, 1871, ’72. 
Elijah A. Morse, 1876. 
Thomas Lonergan, 1877. 
Edward R. Eager, 1881. 
Frank M. Ames, 1882. 


Conclusion.—The religious history, the parochial 


history, the civil history, the military history, the | 
business history, and the manufacturing history of | 


the town of Canton have thus far been graphically, 
but, nevertheless, imperfectly sketched. 





They derive themselves, at least the old families of 
the town, mainly from English stock, and had, like so 
many of their neighbors, the energy, industry, and 


_ intelligence which belong to that blood. They were 


originally, too, of the Puritan religion, and heirs of 


_ the social life and manners, mixed good and evil, with 


_the good predominant, as most of us are used to 


Charles Endicott, 1851, ’57,’58. | 


think, and this fourfold formative force of stock and 
faith shows unmistakably to this present time. 

Other more modern influences have, of course, 
modified influences, but the roots remain. 
The first settlers were mainly farmers, whose habits 
were determined by their occupation, and till a 


these 


_ comparatively recent date Canton has been primarily 


an agricultural town; and as soil in such cases de- 
termines property, even to the size of houses, since 


only rich land gives the farmer crops adequate to 





From the. 


time when the territory between Blue Hill, on the — 


northeast, and Moose Hill, on the southwest, was a 
wilderness to the time when the forests leveled, the 
water-courses dammed and changed, the hills tun- 
neled and the rivers crossed by railroads, the ponds 
“preserved,” the one church of rude architecture, 
which stood on Packeen Plain “solitary and alone,” 


or sparsely surrounded near and far by the wigwams — 


of the Indians, whom the great apostle, John Eliot, 


generous houses, and as property is the material 
basis of advance in civilization, it may not be amiss 
to note that Canton soil, albeit in spots rugged and 
thin, has always been as good as that of its neighbors, 
and in some cases surpassing it, the historical Canton 
farmer has always had rather better than an average 
chance to improve his condition. 

Neither should it be forgotten that this primitive 
moral character has been modified and, to a degree, 
shaped by the factory-life which has for a long time 
existed here. Leaving out of the question all inquiry 
as to the economic value of a factory population in 
furnishing a home-market to the farmer, and it can- 


| not be denied that the mechanic’s keenness and rapidity 


of mental measurement stimulates the general town 


gathered from time to time within its narrow walls, | 


or on the grassy mounds, for religious instruction, 


with its surroundings, have all passed away, and its | 


place occupied by stately edifices of wood and brick 


and of stone, for religious worship, prayer, and praise, 


for education of youth, for civil government and legis- 
lation, and the barren fields are changed into fertile 
farms, and the silence of the wild and unpeopled 
valleys is broken by the sound of whirring wheels 
and ponderous hammers and rattling machinery, the 
hum of busy industrial life and labor, and all the 


sights and sounds of advanced civilization, the life of 


the swarming descendants of those who two centuries 
and a quarter since begun the settlement of the 
present township of Canton. 

In attempting any analysis of Canton folk it is 
necessary first of all to note three things about them, 


to wit : their origin, their history, and their locality. 


social life wherein he is found, Canton has been for- 
tunate in the character and ability of its leading me- 
chanics and manufacturers, so that it is safe to say that 
its mechanical industries have gone to the formation of 
certain mental activity which is favorable to progress 
and thrift, as the present economic condition of its 


| citizens shows. 


When we add to these considerations the fact that 
Canton folk have always lived in easy communication 
with a large city, in fact, more or less a suburb of 
Boston, and that some of the most respectable of city 
society have made their summer homes here, it is evi- 
dent that one cannot speak of Canton merely as a 
country town, or as one would speak of a rural popu- 


lation among the hills of New Hampshire or Maine. 


Canton folk have all the qualities of a people who, 
living in the country, have the city for a near neigh- 


_bor, and the rural character belonging always to a 


people so located everywhere shows itself. Canton 


_ folk, like some of their neighbors, have put on cos- 


Underneath 


mopolitan characteristics and manners. 


oe ee 





y 


= 








CANTON. 


957 





is the old stock and Puritan qualities, but the color- 


ing of their social life is of this century, and the 
ideas which prevail in the great world. 

They have the ancestral energy, thrift, and self-re- 
liance, also a bias to daily economy, until it blossoms 


about the Canton man of to-day is that he is an 
American citizen, full of American ideas, and, like 
so many of his fellow-citizens, intent on making his 
mark and stamping his will upon the social and eco- 
nomic life about him. In a word, he is no other 
man than an American, and a pretty good represen- 
tative of a people who seldom rest from attempting 


something which pleases himself and instructs the 


Concord, N. H. He also became early interested in 
the various systems of theology and the history of 
religious sects. In 1828 he began to investigate 
the nature and condition of man, devoting himself 


to the study of biography and the investigation of 
out into some startling display of gathered money | 
lavishly spent on house or factory ; but the main fact 


world of which he forms an energetic and usually an | 


useful part. 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
NAHUM CAPEN. 

Nahum Capen was born in Canton, Norfolk Co., 
Mass., April 1, 1804. His family were among the 
earliest settlers in Dorchester. Bernard Capen and 
his wife Jane were supposedto be the ancestors of 


America. Bernard died in 1638. The stone which 
marked his grave, and which is said to be the oldest 


_ notoriety.’ 


the great problems of government. He favored 
Andrew Jackson as a candidate for the Presidency, 
and was secretary of the Democratic party of Boston. 
He also became interested in metaphysics, and, de- 
voting himself to the subject with great industry, he 
soon mastered all the ancient as well as modern 
systems. 

In 1827 and subsequently he published several 


works anonymously. Among these was “The Men- 


tal Guide,’ which was complimented and approved 


by the celebrated William Wirt, Attorney-General of 
the United States, and by Rev. Henry Ware, D.D., 
of Harvard College, and others, to whom its author- 
ship was never made known. He had an aversion to 


In 1827 he was made the honored re- 


_cipient from the Masonic institutions of Boston of 


_all the degrees both of the lodge, the chapter, and the 


encampment, the Grand Master and the principal 


officers of the Grand Lodge and other institutions 


presiding on the occasion. It was an extraordinary 
event, and one singularly calculated to illustrate Mr. 


Capen’s sense of honor and great firmness of pur- 


_ pose.” 
all of the name of Capen in New England, if not in | 


in America, is deposited in the Dorchester Historical | 


and Antiquarian Society. Robert Capen, “ gentle- 


man,’ as he is styled in the commission as an officer 


of the militia in Massachusetts, which he received | 


from George ILI. in 1763, and again in 1768, was 
the grandfather of our subject. 
Capen, a man of independent thought and a true gen- 
tleman, was born in Stoughton, Norfolk Co., Nov. 
22,1757, and died June 1, 1846. His mother was 
Hannah Richards, of Sharon, Mass., a lady of char- 
acter and energy, who died Nov. 23, 1843, aged 
seventy-three years. 

At an early age Mr. Capen showed a marked tend- 
ency towards literary pursuits. 
always at the head of his class, and at nineteen he 
rewrote “ Plutarch’s Lives” as an exercise. He in- 


His father, Andrew | 


| effects of value. 


In 1830, Mr. Capen was united in marriage with 
Eliza Ann Moore, a lady of great worth and accom- 
plishments.* 

In 1832 he first became acquainted with Spurz- 
heim, with whom he contracted the closest intimacy, 
though at that time he was but twenty-eight years of 
age, while Spurzheim was fifty-six. When Spurz- 
heim died in Boston, after a brilliant career in that 
city, Mr. Capen bad in his hands several thousand dol- 
lars belonging to him, besides his papers and personal 
He immediately requested the ap- 
pointment of a committee to take charge of the prop- 
A biography of Spurzheim 
was prepared by Mr. Capen, and published as a part 


erty, which was done. 


of Spurzheim’s “ Phrenology in Connection with the 


At school he was | 


tended, in early youth, to become a physician, and | 


began the study of the profession; but delicate 
health prevented his completing this plan. At 
twenty-one he became a publisher and bookseller, 
and established a leading house in Boston, under the 
firm-name of Marsh, Capen & Lyon, witha branch in 


Study of Physiognomy,” royal 8vo. He also wrote 

1 It was dedicated to Levi Hodge, LL.D., Professor of Logic 
and Metaphysics, Harvard University. 

2 See history of Columbian Lodge, by Grand Master Heard. 
Mr. Capen delivered a Masonic oration in Dedham, June 
24, 1829, a public address before the Grand Lodge of Massa- 
chusetts, in 1837. He was corresponding secretary of the 
Grand Lodge of Massachusetts from 1833 to 1840. He wrote 
much during the anti-Masonic controversy, but anonymously. 

3 This year he published. anonymously a pamphlet entitled 
“ An Inquiry into the Nature and Design of Music.” 


958 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








a life of Spurzheim’s friend and coadjutor, Dr. Gall, 
and edited his works translated from the French, in 
six volumes. He aided in revising Spurzheim’s 
works. He was his chosen critic. 
Dr. Combe’s works on Insanity, and the “ Annals of 
Phrenology,” in two volumes.’ 
visited Europe for the purpose of making contracts 


with leading authors for advanced copies of their 


| duty. 


works for republication. He succeeded with the most 
eminent, but the equitable rights of his firm were not 


respected by American publishers. 


prepared an extended essay on the subject of educa- | 


tion, and designed plans for a model school, to be 
called the ‘“‘ New England Academy,” to be succeeded 
by a university; his object being to elevate the 
standard of education. 
tions received the approbation of some of the most 
distinguished men and educators in this country, 
among whom were John Quincy Adams, Daniel Web- 
ster, Edward Everett, Horace Mann, and George 
Combe, of Edinburgh. “If executed according to 
the plan,” Mr. Combe said, “it would be the most 


His plans and sugges- 


perfect school in the world.” 


He also edited | 


In 1835, Mr. Capen | 





On his return he | 


It was never carried | 


out because Mr. Capen could not spare the time to | 


collect the necessary funds. Having furnished the 
plan, he thought the moneyed men of the community 


On his 


return from Europe, Mr. Capen brought documents 


should procure the means of executing it. 


from England on the subject of life insurance, and 
was the first to propose a mutual company in Boston, 


but the proposition was looked upon as impracticable | 


by leading men, and nothing was done. The interest 





he manifested in education led the Board of Educa- | 


tion of Massachusetts to select the firm of which he | 


was a member to publish the school library. 
project of the board required a great outlay of capital, 


This | 


and resulted in great pecuniary loss to the publishers | 


and to Mr. Capen personally. 
Mr. Capen, however, did not lose interest in the 
From 1838 to 1846 of 


great cause. no citizen 


Massachusetts spent more time and labor without | 


compensation in aiding the movements which resulted | 


in the establishment of the Board of Education and 
the system of normal schools, which have given to 
that State the position of pioneer in the noble cause. 


1 In a letter of George Combe to a gentleman in the United 
States, dated Edinburgh, Noy. 26, 1833, he says of Mr. Capen, 
“He is securing for himself an honorable place in the annals 


of his country’s philosophy by his own exertions. I am con- 


vineed that he is at this moment doing more substantial and | > 
ig _ | lead an anti-slavery party at the South, that the 
c c a 4 J ) 


permanent good to America than any individual engaged out 


may be.” 


In 1831, Mr. Capen was consulted by a committee of 
Congress in respect to a revision of the copyright 
law, and in 1837, in letters to Daniel Webster and 
Henry Clay, he urged the passage of an international 
copyright law. He acted up to his convictions con- 
sistently, being the first publisher in the United States 
who proposed to pay a premium to foreign living 
authors, and his firm was the first to perform that 
The memorial he addressed to Congress on 
the subject, in 1844, was eloquent and exhaustive. 
Horace Mann said of it, that it contained all that was 
worth knowing on the subject. It was approved by 
Dickens, who, in a letter to Mr. Capen, predicted that 
both would be in their graves before government acted 
upon the subject. 

In 1846 he projected a United States statistical 
journal, to be published every two months. This 
project was earnestly favored by President Polk, the 
members of his cabinet, most of the United States 
senators, and other distinguished men of the nation ; 
but it was laid aside to enable him to devote himself 
exclusively to the great work of his life, ‘‘ The History 
of Democracy.” 

He edited the Massachusetts State Record from 
1847 to 1852, inclusive, a work which was highly 
appreciated, and was then published under the sanc- 
tion of the State Legislature. In 1850, Mr. Capen. 
made up the “ Record’ of Inventive Genius” of the 
country, from the statistics of the Patent Office from 
1790 to 1849. This was printed by the government 
and extensively circulated. It was a remark of Rev. 
Dr. EK. M. P. Wells, that Mr. Capen “had the 
capacity to make statistics speak.” 

In 1848 he wrote and published the “ Republic of 
the United States,” which he dedicated to the Hon. 
James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania. In 1850 he 
prepared the papers of Judge Levi Woodbury for 
publication in three volumes. Mr. Woodbury refused 
to have his papers placed in the hands of any other 
person, and gave him full authority to alter or omit 
any inaccurate expression or doubtful opinion. 

Mr. Capen has been through his whole life a most 
consistent follower, both in word and deed, of the 
principles of Democracy. In regard to slavery, he 
agreed with the expressed views of Washington, Jef- 


| ferson, and Franklin. He was in favor of its abolition 


whenever it could be accomplished without violating 
the Constitution or endangering the Union. At an 
early period (1842) he advised Mr. Calhoun and 


_ other prominent men in his section to inaugurate and 


of the pale of phrenology, however brilliant his reputation | country might be spared the calamities of war. 
| 


In 


1861 he wrote an extended letter to Peter Cooper, in 


CANTON. 


959 





reply to one asking opinions respecting the Union. | 


This was published in pamphlet form, and was ex- 
tensively circulated. It was highly complimented by 
leading men and journals of all parties as one of the 
ablest produced on the subject. The learned Bishop 
Stevens, of Pennsylvania, said concerning it, “ Rarely, 


if ever, have I read a paper which exhibits such pro- | 
found analysis, such extensive learning, such true | 


philosophy, such comprehensive views.” He declared 
that the destruction of the American Union was “a 
moral impossibility.” 


In 1849, at the request of a member of the Na- | 


tional Committee, he wrote a pamphlet entitled “ One 
Hundred Reasons” in favor of electing Gen. Lewis 
Cass to the Presidency,—a remarkably spirited docu- 
ment which was circulated by hundreds of thousands. 
In 1849, as the result of a letter which led to the 
establishment of the Census Board, he was tendered 


the office of the superintendent of the census, which | 


he declined. 

During his whole mature life Mr. Capen has been 
a frequent contributor to the public press of the 
country on all subjects, scientific, literary, and politi- 


cal. Among the many and varied subjects to which 


he has devoted years of study and reflection, and in | 


which he is an acknowledged authority, may be men- 
tioned the subject of the importance of the usury 
laws. As early as 1849 he wrote a series of articles 
on the subject of the currency and the usury laws, 
demonstrating the necessity of such laws, and setting 
forth clearly and conclusively the evils that are sure 
to befall the community which neglects to protect 
itself by their rigid enforcement. 


of letters and documents from him, the State of Vir- | 


By the influence | 





ginia was enabled to preserve her usury laws unaltered, | 


and Governor Wise declared that for this Virginia 
owed Mr. Capen a greater debt than to any other liv- 
ing man. In 1855 the leading members of the Legis- 
ture of Massachusetts addressed him a letter of 
thanks for the information he had communicated on 
the subject. 


| 


Among his active and increasing labors | 


Mr. Capen has ever been a true, consistent, and un- | 

. . . - . | 
wavering Democrat. His lucid and well-trained mind | 
Illustrated from the Earliest to the Latest Period.” 


has enabled him to comprehend clearly the great prin- 
ciples of the Democratic faith, which he has adhered 
to with constant fidelity, and defended by speech and 
pen on all proper occasions. 


| 
| 


In 1857 he was made | 


by Mr. Buchanan postmaster of the city of Boston. | 


He did not seek the office, nor did he wish to accept 


it, as it interfered with his life-work, “The History | 


of Democracy,” but he did so at the urgent advice of | 
The appointment was unanimously ap- | 


his friends. 
proved by the Senate and by the press of all parties. 


His improvements in the postal service were varied 
and extensive. There is scarcely a household in the 
large towns and cities in the land who are not daily 
gladdened by the arrival of the postman free of charge 
at their door, or does not find a daily convenience in 
the letter-boxes at the corners of the streets, and yet 
few of them know that it is to Mr. Capen that they 
owe these blessings. It was through his exertions 
that the system was first introduced into America. 
It was necessary both for the convenience of the pub- 
lic and the health of the officials to change the loca- 
tion of the office. 
or willing at that time to erect a new post-office in 
Boston, the Postmaster-General proposed that if Mr. 
Capen or his friends would erect a building the De- 
partment would rent it. With this understanding a 
new building was erected with accommodations ample 


The government not being ready 


for twenty years. When it was completed, Mr. Capen 
advised the government to pay the cost of the build- 
ing and take it; and if his advice had been followed, 
a large sum would have been saved to the public 
treasury. The removal was violently opposed by the 
real-estate owners and money institutions near the old 
site. Memorials for and against the change were 
posted for signatures, from which it appeared that 
four hundred and eighty-seven firms and names of 
firms favored the old location, and nearly eight thou- 
sand, headed by Governor Everett and Rufus Choate, 
the new. At the expiration of Mr. Capen’s term of 
office it was carried back to State Street, but Mr. 
Capen’s foresight and judgment were speedily vindi- 
cated, by the fact that within eighteen months they 
endeavored to get back the building which he had 
erected. Of his management of the post-oflice there 
was but one opinion. Rufus Choate pronounced it 
“beautiful.” The Department at Washington at- 
tached great weight to his opinions. The oldest 
official declared that he made more improvements in 
four years than had been made in the present 
century.’ 

In 1850, Mr. Capen began what may be considered 
the most important work of his life, “The History 
of Democracy, or the Political Progress Historically 


This work was undertaken at the request of some of 
the most distinguished Democrats of the day. The 
first volume was published in 1875, and he has nearly 
ready for the press the second, third, and fourth 
volumes, which will be ready for the electrotyper in 


1884. 


1Jqn 1874 ‘The Washington and Lee University,” of Vir- 
ginia, conferred upon Mr. Capen the degree of Doctor of Laws. 


960 





In a biographical sketch of Mr. Capen by Ed- 


| 


| 


mund Burke, published in New York, 1858, he says, | 


“A full and complete biography of a man like Mr. 
Capen would fill a book, and must be reserved for an- 
other pen, and on an occasion more appropriate than 
this.” 


HON. CHARLES H. FRENCH. 


The family of French—those bearing that name in 
Canton—are descended from John French, who re- 
sided originally in Dorchester, and was admitted a 
freeman 1639. He subsequently removed to 
Braintree with his wife Grace, where he was a resi- 


in 


dent in 1655, and where many of his children were 
born. From him are descended most of the Norfolk 
County families who bear the name of French. 
Thomas, one of his descendants, was born in 
Milton, Oct. 2, 1742, and died in Canton, April 22, 
1819. 
and Abigail (Pitcher) Babcock. 
26, 1749, and died March 3, 1802. 


She was born Nov. 
Mr. 


came to Canton before the breaking out of the Revo- | 


lutionary war. 
was one of the soldiers who guarded the captured 
army at Cambridge in 1778. He cultivated a farm 
at the extreme northerly part of the town, which now 
forms a part of the celebrated Blue Hill farm of Col. 
C. W. Walcott. 


house stood can still be discerned. 


The site of the cellar on which his 
In this retired 
place, far from meeting or school-house or the marts 


He married Salome, daughter of Nathaniel | 
French | 


After the surrender of Burgoyne, he | 





of trade, he brought up a family of nine sons and | 


two daughters, some of whom, in spite of the meagre 
advantages which they were possessed of in child- 
hood, in after-years were to bear honorable testimony 
to the diligence with which they had employed even 
the slight resources at their command. 

Ansel, the youngest, graduated at Brown University 
in the class of 1814 with the highest honors. Thomas 
was during his long life not only influential in school, 
parish, church, and municipal affairs in his own town, 
but was prominent in the politics of the county and 
State. 
was a member of the Council during the administra- 


tion of Governor George N. Briggs. Nathaniel, 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





ington) Howe. She died July 25, 1816. Mr. 
French occupied the house on Green Lodge Street 
lately owned by Capt. William Shaller, and here, on 
the twenty-first of September, 1814, his son, Charles 
Howe French, was born. 

The early life of Mr. French did not differ from 
the ordinary life of a farmer’s boy in those days. 
He worked upon the farm in the summer, and in the 
winter attended the Blue Hill School. The loss of 
his mother and father at a tender age deprived him 
of that counsel, advice, and love which he so much 
The hap- 
piest hours of these days were passed in the home- 


needed at this critical period of his life. 


stead of General Nathan Crane, who had married his 
He 
was for a year or two placed with a gardener and 
farmer at Watertown, and daily drove a load of veg- 
etables to Boston market. 


grandmother, who then resided near his home. 


Soon after he was placed 
with his uncle, Calvin Howe, at that time preceptor 
of the Milton Academy, where he hoped to remain 
and obtain a good education. But this hope was 
dissipated by the death of his uncle, who died after 
young French had been with him about a year. 

At the age of sixteen years he was apprenticed, as 
was the custom in those days, to Mr. Jabez Comey, 
a millwright, at Dedham. With him he gained a 
thorough mastery of the science and practice of me- 
chanics, a knowledge which afterwards was the chief 
After fulfill- 
ing his indentures, Mr. French was asked to assist 
Mr. William §. Otis in the building of one of the 
marvels of that day, a machine afterwards known as 
“The Otis Patent Steam Excavator.” Mr. French 
accordingly came to Canton, and in a building which 
stood near what is now known as the Upper Silk 


source of his success in business life. 


Factory, the massive machine was begun and com- 
As Mr. French thoroughly understood its 
mechanism, he was the man selected to superintend 
He ac- 
cordingly went with it to Worcester, and entered the 
employ of Carmichael, Fairbanks & Otis, who had a 


pleted. 


its transfer and to put it in working order. 


_ contract to build a portion of the road now known as 


He was chosen representative, senator, and | 


though strongly opposed to his brother in political | 


matters, was so decided in his opinions, so excel- 


lent in judgment, so much interested in the public | 


affairs, that he was one of its most honored citizens 
and represented this town in the Legislature. 
Alexander, another brother, who died May 12, 
1813, 
Hannah, daughter of Thomas and Hannah (With- 


1826, at the age of forty, married Dee. 5, 


| Dillon. 


the Boston and Albany. Mr. Otis, at the early age 
of twenty-six years, while engaged upon this work, 
died Nov. 13, 1839. Mr. French’s knowledge and 
experience rendered him the only man competent to 
fill the place left vacant by the deceased inventor. 
He was at once invited to join the firm, and the style 
was changed to Carmichael, Fairbanks, French & 
Mr. Dillon in after-years became president 
of the Union Pacific Railroad. Mr. Fairbanks went 
to Russia with the celebrated engineer, Whistler, and 
assisted in building railroads for the emperor. Mr. 











CANTON. 


961 





Oliver 8. Chapman, many years an honored resident 
of Canton, and well known to all railroad men, was 
also engaged on this work at this time. 

This work having been completed, a copartnership 
was formed between Mr. Carmichael and Mr. French. 
The first-named gentleman had been the head of the 
former firm, and had large experience as a contractor. 
They received overtures from the Canadian govern- 
ment to undertake the widening of the Welland 
Canal. At the end of a year Mr. Carmichael took a 
contract at Brooklyn, N. Y., and the whole responsi- 
bility of the canal contract devolved upon Mr. French. 
In this arduous undertaking he was engaged five 
years, but so well had he performed his duty, and so 


honest had he been in his dealings with the engineers | 
having in charge the work, that the Canadian author- | 


ities invited him to visit Montreal, and he was in- 


duced to spend another five years of his life in the | 


same enterprise. At the end of this time his reputa- 


tion as a skillful, accurate, and honest engineer, with | 
a practical business knowledge, was fully established, | 


and he returned to his native town. 

His townspeople would not, however, allow him to 
remain idle. They offered him the presidency of the 
Neponset Bank, which office he accepted, and the 


duties of which he has performed from 1851 to the 


present time, with honor to himself, with the approval 
and hearty commendation of the stockholders and the 
townspeople. Throughout his management, and 
owing mainly to the confidence reposed in his judg- 
ment, the stock of the bank has continually increased 
in value, and no investment has been more eagerly 
sought for than the stock of this corporation. 

In 1852 he was chosen president of the Savings- 
Bank, and has continued in that office until the time 
of this writing. 

In politics Mr. French was a Whig as long as that 
party had an existence. He was a member of the 
General Court in 1853, and appointed on the Com- 
mittee on Railroads, the same year a member of the 


Constitutional Convention, and in 1854 he was again | 


elected to the Legislature, and was placed upon the 
Committee on Banks and Banking. 
sions he was supported by his political opponents, 


showing that the man was of far more importance | 
It is needless to write that Mr. 


than the party. 
French appreciated this compliment, and it must 
have been a proud and happy moment for him when 
the result of these elections was announced, and 
he found that his friends had broken their allegiance 
to party to vote for one whom they loved and hon- 
ored. 


In 1873 and 1874 he was elected to the Senate, 
61 


On both occa- | 


| 

where he was placed upon the Committee on Banks 
_and Banking, also on Street Railroads. 
Mr. French has had some experience in the wilitia: 
| he was chosen. colonel of the Fourth Massachusetts 
Regiment, and continued as its commander about five 
| years. 
_ Atthe breaking out of the war Mr. French was 
active in every good work to assist in suppressing the 
Rebellion ; his heart and purse were always ready at 
the call of his country. He was one of the famous 
committee of ‘One Hundred” who were summoned by 
Governor Andrew to take measures to insure supplies 
tothe Massachusetts troops who went to the front at 
the breaking out of the Rebellion. 

Since residing in Canton Mr. French has been con- 
nected with the ancient parish; he has been its main 
support, its chief pillar. For many years he has been 
its treasurer, and whether the coffers were full or 
_empty the parson always received his pay promptly. 
Without him the organization would long since have 
been abandoned; by his words of encouragement, by 
his counsel, and by his generosity the house of God 
_has been kept open and the gospel preached. He 
was the largest contributor towards the erection of the 
_ parsonage and ‘‘ The Parish Hall.” 

In 1858, Mr. French purchased one of the ancient 
mill privileges in Stoughton, and took into partner- 
ship Mr. Henry Ward, who had a practical knowledge 
of knitting machinery and the manufacture of fancy 
knit goods. Beginning in a small way, the business has 








gradually increased, and is now one of the largest in- 
dustries in Stoughton, employing nearly three hundred 
persons. 

On Oct. 10, 1880, a fire was discovered in the base- 
_ ment of the main building, which, extending to those 
adjoining, soon destroyed the entire property, includ- 
ing a new mill, eighty by thirty feet, three stories in 
height;. all the machinery was destroyed. The total 
loss was one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, 
on which there was insurance amounting to fifty-five 
thousand dollars. 





Thus in a night was swept away 
the accumulation of years. Mr. French was now 
sixty-six years of age, and it was a gigantic under- 


taking to again begin from the foundations, but with 


that courage and pluck which never fails him he 
made up his mind to go on, and immediately com- 
menced to rebuild. To-day “the end crowns the 
work,” a new building, better adapted to the purposes 
of the business, has taken the place of the conglomera- 
tion of former days, the busy hum of wheels and the 
whir of machinery is again heard, and hundreds of 
busy men and women look to Mr. French for their 
daily bread, and thank God that he had the courage 


962 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





and public spirit to place the business on its old | born in Walpole, Mass., Jan. 9, 1790, and died 
March 9, 1838. Their eldest son, Oliver S., was 


basis. 

Soon after Mr. French returned to Canton he pur- 
chased about forty-five acres of land, being a portion 
of the original grant to the Indians from Dorchester. 
In a delightful situation, a short distance from the 
old road which formerly ran between Massachusetts 


and Narragansett Bays, he erected in 1854 a substan- | 


tial stone house, where he now resides. He married, 
July 27, 1837, Almira, daughter of Deacon Leonard 
and Almira (Kimball) Everett, a Canton lady, whose 
father was a prominent and highly-respectable citizen 
of this town. 

Mr. French has not hoarded his honestly-acquired 
gains, his hand has been ever open to the calls of 
charity, and many are the families that have been 
either entirely or in part supported by his bounty. 
A cause that is just, a case of suffering, always receives 


assistance from him. Whenever a subscription paper 


is started for a worthy or charitable purpose, he is 


always asked to head the list. 

He has been active as a citizen, taken any part that 
was assigned him. In school matters, on the board 
of selectmen, as moderator of the town-meetings, he 
has done all he could for the interest and advance- 


ment of the town. 


OLIVER SMITH CHAPMAN. 

Oliver Smith Chapman was without doubt de- 
scended from Ralph Chapman, born in England in 
1615, and who, at the age of twenty years, being 
then a resident of the parish of St. Saviors, South- 
wark, County Surrey, emigrated to America, as will 
appear upon consulting the list of passengers who 


passed from the port of London for the year ending» 


at Christmas, 1635. Upon his arrival in this country 


he probably settled at Duxbury, although no mention | 


is made of him until 1640. Ten years afterwards he 
became a resident of Marshfield, and lived there until 


the time of his death, which occurred in 1671. He 





| 





had a daughter Mary, who married, in 1666, William | 


Troop. This name, though variously spelled, occurs in | 


His 


the family of Oliver 8. Chapman many times. 


great-grandfather Throop, when he was a boy, he | 
was employed in excavating a most difficult passage 
i e . ® 

through a solid rock, the sides of which, when com- 


well remembered seeing. ‘This ancestor, at the age 
of ninety-one, rode on horseback from Reedsborough, 
Vt., to Belchertown, in this State, to visit his rela- 
tives. Throop Chapman had a number of children, 
among others William, who, in turn, had, among 
others, Daniel, the father of Oliver, who was born 
Dec. 23, 1782, and died at Canton, April 12, 1867. 


He married, May 25, 1809, Nancy Smith, who was 





born at Belchertown, in the county of Hampshire, 
Aug. 18, 1811. 

His early life was passed in his native town, where 
he learned from his father the trade of a wheelwright, 
and soon became a skillful mechanic, obtaining that 
practical information which enabled him in after- 
years to become so successful a man. Before he ar- 
rived at his majority he had erected with his own 
earnings a saw-mill. 

While the Boston and Providence Railroad was in 


| process of construction Mr. Chapman paid his first 


visit to Canton, where he was engaged upon a piece 
of work near the viaduct, and occupied with his em- 
ployés the very house of which he died possessed. 
It was about this time that his friend and cousin, 
William Smith Otis, married (June 22, 1835) Eliza- 
beth, the daughter of Deacon Leonard Everett, of 
this town. Mr. Chapman was present at’ the cere- 
mony. The happiness of their wedded life was of 
short duration, for on the 13th of November, 1839, 
at the early age of twenty-six years, Mr. Otis died at 


| Westfield, having invented and perfected in these 


short years one of the marvelous mechanical inyen- 
tions of the age,—“ The Otis Steam Excavator.” 
Mr. Otis and Mr. Daniel Carmichael both had con- 
tracted to do work on the Providence road. The 
latter gentleman induced Mr. Chapman to go with 
him to Worcester, and near that city he was for a time 
engaged in constructing what is now a portion of the 
Boston and Albany Railroad. Again a short time in 
Canton, and then Mr. Chapman went to a place near 
Greenwich, in Rhode Island, where he took a contract 
to construct portions of the Providence and Stonington 
Railroad. In 1836 he went to Philadelphia, where a 


| ship canal was in process of construction; upon this 


he labored. Subsequently he was at New Worcester for 
a short time. During the year 1837 he took contracts 
on the Kastern Railroad at Chelsea, Lynn, and Salem. 
It was on the 18th of September this year that he was 
married to Miss Olivia, the daughter of Reuben and 
Chloe Cook. His next employment was upon the 
Boston and Albany Railroad, in 1839. Here, in 


connection with Carmichael, Fairbanks & Otis, he 


| 3 ; 
plete, were sixty feet on the one hand and eighty on 


the other. This work, now known as the Summit 
Cut, was completed in 1841. But his health at this 
time failed him, and he returned with his wife to his 
native town, and there remained for two or three 
It was during these years (Jan. 3, 1844) 


years. 


ae 





























CANTON. 


that his wife died. On the 23d of March, 1845, he 


was married, fer the second time, to the widow of Mr. | 
The following year he placed asteam — 


William S. Otis. 


excavator on the Vermont Central, at Windsor, and 


was at work at Claremont, N. H., and Burlington, | 


Vt. 
lumber business in Saginaw County, Mich. 


About this time he kad an interest in the 
The 


renewal of the patent op the excavator furnished | 


Mr. Chapman for some time with occupation in 
building the machines and selling the right to use 
the same. 


In 1845 he came to Canton, and in 1858 pur- | 


chased the Marcus Clark estate, on what is now Chap- 
man Street, making it his residence. Since that time 


he was more or less connected with railroads and with | 


railroad men. In 1850, in company with his brother 


Wellington and Sidney Dillon, he was engaged in a | 


contract on the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad. 
He had contracts at Jacksonville, on the New Jersey 


Central, at Girard (1858), on the Lake Shore, and at | 


Council Bluffs, on the Union Pacific. Of the latter 
corporation he was for some time a director, as also of 


the Canada Southern Railroad. He was at one time 


interested in a contract for filling the lands of the > 


commonwealth on the “ Back Bay,” in the city of 
Boston, and possessed large tracts of land in the 
States of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. In 1863-— 
64 he was sent as representative to the State Legis- 
lature from the Eleventh Norfolk District. 
Mr. Chapman was chosen one of the directors of the 
Neponset National Bank of Canton. 

On Thursday morning, Feb. 8, 1877, Mr. Chap- 
man, apparently in his usual health, took the morning 
train for Boston. Soon after reaching the city he 
went to the store of J. V. Kettell, for the purpose of 


having his watch, which had stopped the evening be- | 


fore, attended to. He removed it from the guard, 
and Mr. Kettell turned to the window to examine it. 


Mr. Chapman called his attention to some difficulty — 


with the case, and immediately afterwards sank upon 
a chair and fell to the floor. 
twinkling of an eye, life was extinct. 


Dr. O. G. Cilley, said that it was apoplexy, caused 
by the extraordinary exertion of ascending the stairs. 

The funeral services took place at the Unitarian 
Church, in Canton, on Sunday, the 11th. | 

The lesson of such a life as his should be deeply 
written on our hearts. 
in the consciousness that there is goodness and hon- 
esty in the world,—goodness without ostentation, and 
honesty without cant. These were the distinguish- 


Tn 1856, 


The physician | 
who was first summoned pronounced the cause of | 
death to be ossification of the heart, but the coroner, | 


Let us be thankful and proud 


963 





ing characteristics of Mr. Chapman’s life. Possessed 
of ample means, he made no display. He never 
sought official position, but when public honors were 
bestowed upon him, he bore them meekly, ever re- 
membering that it was a trust he received from his 
_ constituents, and not an occasion to display himself. 
During the thirty years of his residence in Canton he 
was ever active in all measures pertaining to the im- 
provement and embellishment of the town. 





He was 
' more than a good citizen; he was an active and ener- 
getic public man, always ready to give more than his 
share of time and money to benefit his townspeople. 


He was ready to serve on any committee where the 
If a school-house 
were to be built, there was no one so well qualified to 


| public welfare was concerned. 

superintend its erection as Mr. Chapman. Day by 
day he was at his post, directing, guiding, and taking 
a part himself if the work flagged. During the dark 
days of the war he sustained the government, and by 
his influence induced others to do so who were dis- 
He was to be seen at all 
public meetings, and though it was seldom that he 
_ spoke, he was ever ready to contribute his time and 


posed to be lukewarm. 


his money to encourage those who were less sanguine 
than himself. No one watched the course of events 
during those gloomy years with more interest than 
he, and no one was more pleased and gratified at the 
final result. 





‘“‘ His life was private ; safely led, aloof 
From the loud world, which yet he understood, 
Largely and wisely, as no worldling could 
For he by privilege of his nature proof 
Against false glitter, from beneath the roof 
Of privacy, as from a cave, surveyed 
| With steadfast eye its flickering light and shade, 
And gently judged for evil and for good. 
But while he mixed not for his own behoof 
In public strife, his spirit glowed with zeal, 


| Not shorn of action, for the public weal, 
For truth and justice as its warp and woof, 
For freedom as its signature and seal.” 


In a moment, in the | 


WILLIAM MANSFIELD. 

William Mansfield, son of John and Sarah ( Pritch- 
ard) Mansfield, was born in Boston, Mass., Feb. 
/ 20,1803. His father, John Mansfield, was born in 
Hingham, Oct. 24,1765. When a young man he 
_ went to Boston, where he resided until May, 1803, 
when he came to Canton. He was a builder and 
carpenter by trade. He married Sarah, daughter of 
Lieut. Samuel and Martha (Blowers) Pritchard. 
Lieut. Pritchard was an officer in the navy during 


the Revolutionary war, and was killed on the frigate 


John Mansfield died 


| « Alliance” in an engagement. 


964 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Sept. 


Nov. 27, 1776, died 1855. 


29,1835. Sarah, his wife, was born in Boston, — 


| 


They had twelve children,—Sally (deceased), mar- | 


ried Judah Hawes, of Stoughton; Mary (deceased), 
married Abner Tilden, of Canton; Nancy (deceased) ; 
John (deceased) ; Sampson (deceased); William ; 
Louisa (deceased), married Capt. Thomas W. Baker, 
of Dennis; George (deceased); Emeline, married 


Alexander Beaumont, of Canton, now of Stoughton ; | 
Caleb (deceased) ; John (deceased) ; and Edward, a | 


resident of Dorchester. 
William Mansfield acquired the rudiments of his 


education at common schools, supplemented by a short | 


attendance at a private school. 
most of the boys of his age at that period of our his- 
At the age of 
sixteen he commenced his apprenticeship at the car- 


tory, was passed on his father’s farm. 


penter’s trade with his father, remaining with him 


Oct. 8, 


until he was about twenty-two years of age. 


His early life, like | 


1826, he married Phebe, daughter of Jonathan and— 


Priscilla (Faunce) Tillson. She was born in Carver, 


Mass., Jan. 11,1808. Their children were Winslow | 


B. (deceased), Horace H., George H., Sarah J., 
Preston R., M. Adelaide (married Wisner Park), 
Frederic W., and Herbert T. (deceased). In 1826, 





above. The ‘“ Ruggles Press” found its way into every 
section of the country. This copartnership existed 
until 1849, when Mr. Mansfield purchased the prop- 
erty known as the Presbrey thread-mill, and engaged 
in the manufacture of thread and twine until 1858, 
when he relinquished it, and was succeeded by his 
sons, George H. and Preston R. Since then Mr. 
Mansfield has devoted himself to his insurance busi- 
ness, which has grown largely on his hands. This he 
began in 1831, as agent for the Norfolk and Dedham 
About 1850 he was elected 
director in both companies, and has served as such to 


Companies of Dedham. 
the present time. He was trustee and one of the 
committee of investment in Canton Savings Institu- 
tion for twenty years, resigning that trust in 1881. 
He was United States assistant assessor of internal 
revenue for Second District about six years. He 
took the United States census of Canton in 1870. 
Since the formation of the Republican party Mr. 
Mansfield has been unfaltering in his allegiance to the 
principles it advocates. He has served his town as 
assessor and selectman for seven years, and has held 
a commission as justice of the peace for nearly thirty 


years. Broad and liberal in his religious belief, he 


early identified himself with Universalism, and was 


Mr. Mansfield went into the Bolivar Manufacturing | 


Company’s machine-shop as general repairer, and con- 
tinued with them until Jan. 1, 1829. 


His enterprise | 


and mechanical skill, combined with great accuracy, | 


He 


established himself as a builder of machinery and 


enabled him to mount the ladder of success. 


printing-presses, building for the Perkins Institution 
for the Blind, of Boston, many articles requiring fine 
workmanship. 
and friendship of S. P. Ruggles, the inventor, who 
Mr. Mansfield’s fond- 
He 


made the large globe, four feet in diameter, now in 


was then its superintendent. 
ness for mechanism here found an active field. 


use in that institution, also the first embossing-press 
used in this country, and did other work for the 
institution for several years. In connection there- 
with he manufactured cotton and woolen machinery. 
His machine-shop stood where the lower silk-mill of 
Seavey, Folsom & Bowman is now located. In May, 
1845, he removed to Hingham and engaged in the 
baking business, returned to Canton, November, 1846, 
where he formed a copartnership with Jedediah 
Morse, and built a shop on Walnut Street, surveying 


This brought him the acquaintance 


and laying out a water-privilege just above that of | 


the silk-mill, heretofore mentioned, and engaged in | 


the manufacture of printing-presses, under the firm- 
name of Morse & Mansfield. 
were the invention of the Mr. Ruggles spoken of 


These printing-presses 


one of the first to move in the formation of the Uni- 


_versalist Society in Canton, of which body he was one 


of the incorporators. 

In private life Mr. Mansfield is especially charac- 
terized by modest, unassuming manners, strong social 
feeling, and warm friendship. Methodical and accu- 
rate in business matters, he can always be depended 
upon ; upright and conscientious, his word is as good 
as his bond. Faithful in all relations, ‘above fear 
and beyond reproach,” Mr. Mansfield has gained and 
holds a firm place among the best citizens of Canton. 


JAMES STRATTON SHEPARD. 

James Stratton Shepard, son of Joseph and Mary 
(Stratton) Shepard, was born in Foxborough, March 
31, 1815. His father being in humble circumstances, 
he was obliged to commence labor early in life, and 
at ten years of age went into a cotton-mill, where he 
worked until he was fifteen. 
farm in Foxborough for two years, then going to 
Sharon, he commenced to learn the machinist’s trade 
in 1832, but in about six to eight months he was 
put in charge of the carding-room in the mill of 
George H. Mann. There his diligence, energy, and 
general intelligence won for him the confidence of his 
employer, and he was promoted rapidly, until he had 
In February of 1839 


He was employed on a 


the entire charge of the mill. 

















CANTON. 


965 








he went into partnership with his brother Joseph in 
the manufacture of straw goods in Foxborough. Not 
liking the business, and Mr. Mann being desirous of 
again securing his services, and receiving a sufficiently 
remunerative offer, he again assumed the saperinten- 
dence of the mill. Sept. 12,1839, he married Mary, 
daughter of Clifford and Mary (McKendry) Belcher, 
of Canton. She was born Feb. 1, 1819. Their chil- 
dren are four,—Sarah E. [married Ivers W. Adams, of 
Boston ; they have five children]; Ellen A. ; Georgie 
[married Freeland D. Leslie, of Canton]; and Willie 
S., now in the office of the American Net and Twine 
Company at Boston as salesman. Mr. and Mrs. 
Shepard commenced housekeeping in Sharon. In 
the full of 1839, Mr. Mann’s mill was burned, and 


Mr. Shepard began the manufacture of palm-leaf 


hats. After one year of this business, he took charge 
of a cotton-mill in Ashburnham for George Black- 
burn & Co., of Boston, making satinet warps, and in 
January, 1841, he removed thither as superintendent 
Here he remained until the fall of 1844. 
Then coming to Canton, he purchased the cotton-mill 


and agent. 


of Vernon A. Messinger, where he manufactured 


wicking for a few years, and in 1851 purchased the | 


thread-mill of Southworth & White, and fitted this 
up, making seine-twine. The first year ten thousand 
pounds were made, and in 1883, five hundred and 


fifty thousand pounds. 


the manufacturing of knitting-cotton and harness- 
twine for three years, when he sold his interest to 
Martin Wales. The American Net and Twine Com- 
pany were the largest buyers of the seine-twine for 
some fifteen to eighteen years. 
he became a partner of that company, leasing his real 
estate to them, and engaged in the manufacture of fish- 
nets and seines. In this particular branch of indus- 
try and manufacture they were the first to engage in 
New England, and the business has increased largely, 
their products being in use from Labrador to Alaska, 
and in Kurope as well. 
formed a corporation, having previously built a large 
will at Cambridge. 
W. Fairbanks, Cambridge, and James S. Shepard, of 
Canton, were among the principal stockholders. Mr. 


In addition to this, in connec- | 
tion with Timothy Kaley, about 1853, he carried on 


| 





After the war (1864) | 


In November, 1879, they | 


William Stowe, Arlington, John | 


Shepard is the largest stockholder, and, with his | 


family, holds the controlling interest in the company. 
He is still personally in charge of their interests in 


Canton. Salesrooms: Boston, No. 43 Commercial 
Street; New York, No. 199 Fulton Street. Mr. 
Shepard is a practical and thorough-going man. He | 


has always given his personal attention to all the 


details of his business, and this has proved the prime | 


element of his success. He is essentially a self-made 
man, and his life has been one of steady and active 
devotion to his varied and numerous business inter- 
ests. He is a stockholder in various corporations and 
director in Neponset National Bank. Politically he 
has been a Republican from the organization of that 
party, and in 1871-72 represented Canton in the 
State Legislature. In private life he is especially 
characterized by strong social feeling and warm friend- 
ship for a large circle of friends. Of pleasing address, 
he is a genial companion, enlivening his conversation 
with shrewd practical remarks and quaint humor. 
He takes an interest in everything tending towards 
the building up of his town. Among the represen- 
tative citizens of Canton who enjoy the confidence 


of the community we can safely place Mr. Shepard. 


ELIJAH A. 
Elijah A. Morse, son of Rev. Abner Morse (a gentle- 


MORSE. 


_ man of learning and culture, well known as an author, 


and notably so of “ Genealogy of Morse Family’), 
was born May 25, 1841. He traces his ancestry 
back through an ancient and honorable New England 
family, the first of whom having connection with 
American history being Samuel Morse, who settled at 
Dedham in 1634. The descendants of this sturdy 
pioneer have in every generation filled important posi- 
tions, being distinguished in literature, art, science, 
and business, and marked for their independence, 
originality, and energy. Mr. Morse acquired his 
education at common and private schools, among 
others the Boylston school of Boston, then under 
the charge of that celebrated instructor, Hon. Charles 
Kimball, of Lowell. His father, although able and 
learned, like many professional men, bad little of this 
world’s goods. lijah’s business life began in his 
school-days. When about fifteen years old, during 
his vacation, he began to make and sell from house to 
house a stove polish, prepared from a formula given 
him by the eminent chemist, Dr. Charles Jackson, of 
Boston, who was a strong and intimate friend of his 
father. 


and at this day it is strange to contemplate the first 


His little stock was carried in a carpet-bag, 


humble commencement of the now gigantic business. 

Elijah had no thought then of pursuing the manu- 
facture as a permanent employment, although from 
the merits of the polish, and the excellent qualities 
he developed as a salesman and his success, he might 
well have done so. But after his school-days were 
over, in 1860, while a resident of Sharon, he did adopt 


its manufacture as a business. But on the breaking 


966 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





out of the great civil war he enlisted in Company A, 
Fourth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, as a three 


months’ soldier under Lincoln’s call for seventy-five | 


thousand men. This term of service was passed in 


Virginia. He afterwards enlisted in the same com- 


pany for nine months, and served with his regiment 


in Louisiana, where it was engaged in several battles, | 
notably ‘“‘Camp Bisland,” and the siege and capture | 


of Port Hudson. His term of service ended, in 1864 
he made his home in Canton, and hired “a small 
upper room,” and engaged in the business which has 
now assumed such colossal proportions. This was 


soon too small, and the present location was secured. 


From 1864 until 1868 his brother, Albert F., was in | 


company with him, but since then Mr. Morse has 
been sole proprietor, retaining, however, the firm-name 
“ Morse Brothers.” From 1868 to the present there 
has been a rapid and enormous increase in the pro- 
duction and sale of his polish. Energy, perseverance, 
and an unusual amount of originality on the part of 
Mr. Morse has wrought the change. To properly 
place his goods on sale he traveled personally through 
twenty-two of the United States, acting as his own 
commercial traveler. To secure his proper legal 
rights he adopted the trade-mark “ Rising Sun Stove 
Polish,” and now every quarter of the globe knows 
and uses his polish, and it is as standard an article 
of household use as flour. The following from the 
Canton Journal gives the sales of a single day in 


1881: 


“Owing to the prospect of an immediate advance in Western 
freights, Morse Brothers have just received orders for an un- 
usually large amount of their celebrated ‘Rising Sun Stove 
Polish.’ The sale of this day loaded four cars, and weighed 
57,900 pounds, nearly 29 tons. 
was contained in 2270 cases. 
ages, and, as they are four inches long, would reach (being 
placed in a line touching one another) nearly ten and one-half 
miles.” 


The daily production now (September, 1883) is 


five tons. This is unequal to the demand, and Mr. 


now in process of building a brick factory two hun- | 


dred and twenty-five feet long and four stories high. 
This is the largest building for the purpose in the 
world. ‘ His place, in almost every part, shows the 
character of his business,—the making of stove 
polish, and ‘ Rising Sun Stove Polish’ is seen freely 
painted on numbers of his 


buildings. Even the great 


American flag, which is raised when the proprie- | 


tor is at home, bears the same ora similar legend. 


His grounds are laid out with care and a view to | 


In 


business, but they are not wanting in beauty. 


It consisted of 1150 gross, and | 
There were 165,000 single pack- | 





front of his residence are two gilded statues and of 
life size, emblematic of Spring and Autumn,—Spring 
with flowers, and Autumn with a sickle and sheaf of 
wheat. Upon the point of the roof of his main build- 
ing is a life-size figure of Justice holding the scales 
evenly poised. Every part of the place shows the 
spirit of the man who rules it. We have been told that 
at one time, when the depression made everything in 


| business stagnant, he paid his help half wages, al- _ 


though they had nothing to do in the shops, and this 
for several weeks.” This speaks well for his benevo- 
“He was one of the number who 
learned the location of the grave of Col. Gridley (the 
patriot who engineered the fortifications at Bunker 
Hill, and afterwards took part in the memorable 


lence and justice. 


battle), and induced the town to remove the remains 
| to the cemetery, and had a handsome monument 


erected over them.” As characteristic of the man, 
and speaking more than pages of description, we 
give the following from the Canton Journal: “ All 
the manufacturers in Canton received a circular a few 
days since from a New York tobacco-house offering 
to donate to the men in their employ a sample of their 
goods. Mr. Morse’s reply was as follows: ‘ Your cir- 
cular received. We don’t use tobacco. Consider it a 
Ti will kill lice, 
fleas, and every creature on God’s footstool but a to- 
bacco-worm, and will poison, injure, and shorten the 
life of any man who uses it. It is the twin-sister and 


vile, dangerous, poisonous narcotic. 


handmaid of strong drink, as it creates an unnatural 
In connection with 
rum, it is the cause of the awful disease known as 
Can you wonder that we don’t 
We 


advise you to quit the business, and engage in some 


thirst that water will not satisfy. 


delirium tremens. 
want to present it to the men in our employ ? 


other that will tend to ennoble and elevate man, in- 
stead of degrading and debasing him. 


Elijah A. Morse.’”’ 


Respectfully, 
He is a member and deacon of 


_ the Congregationalist Church, and his career has ever 


been guided by religious principle, and his assistance 


heartily accorded to enterprises of the church. Polit- 
Morse, in addition to his already extensive works, has | 


He 


has been an active prohibitionist, and is now an en- 


ically, Mr. Morse has taken advanced grounds. 
thusiastic temperance Republican. He represented 
his town in the State Legislature of 1876. During 
the’ last five years Mr. Morse has lectured very exten- 


sively in the New England States on temperance, in 


_ addition to conducting his business. 


In conclusion, Mr. Morse is a self-made man of the 
highest order. arly in life he learned that the way 
to suecess was by no royal road, but open and clear to 
stout hearts and willing hands. He has gained nothing 


by mere luck, but everything by perseverance and well- 


ee ss 











CANTON. 


967 





digested plans, and the intelligent application of his 
energies to the end in view. 





JAMES DRAPER. 


Among those who were foremost in introducing and 
establishing the woolen industry in Canton, the name 
of James Draper stands prominent. He was a man 
of great energy, untiring industry, and superior busi- 
ness capacity. 





With a thorough knowledge of his | 


trade, great practical sagacity, and an indomitable | 


perseverance, he did much to promote the growth | 


and prosperity of the town during the past thirty | 


years. 
He waz born in Melbourne, Derbyshire, England, 
Sept. 17, 1813. 
Being early thrown upon his own resources, his 
mechanical turn of mind led him to adopt the knitting 


trade as an occupation, and his ingenuity and skill | 


were developed in the general lace manufacturing in- 
terest, but especially in lace gloves, for which Mel- 
bourne was famous. 

He came to Canton with his family in April, 1851. 
The sailing-vessel in which he arrived dropped anchor 
in Boston harbor on the morning following the mem- 
orable storm which destroyed the ill-fated Minot’s 
Ledge light-house. An elder brother, named 
Thomas, had preceded him to the States, who had 
purchased in Canton the old Dr. Stone estate, at the 
corner of Washington and Pleasant Streets, and at 


the time of the arrival of James was engaged in fit- | 


ting up a shop to receive knitting machinery. Here 
for several years he assisted Thomas in organizing and 
developing the woolen business. 
introduction of the knitting industry into Canton. 
In the spring of 1856, after the death of his 
brother Thomas, we find James in business for him- 


This was the pioneer 


self, in the building at the Centre known as the | 


Everett house. 
goods were produced, and the business rapidly in- 
creased. 

In 1861 a partnership was formed with Mr. George 
Frederic Sumner, and the business continued under 
the name of Draper & Sumner. 


In February, 1865, the firm purchased the Morse | 


Here a great. variety of fancy knitted | 


| 





transacted until June, 1870, when the buildings and 
contents were destroyed by fire. 

In April, 1869, the firm had bought the prop- 
erty of the Canton Woolen-Mills, and at the time of 
the fire were running three factories,—the Everett 
Mill and the Canton Woolen-Mills at the Centre, 
and the Morse Mill at South Canton. 

It was deemed inexpedient to rebuild at South 
Canton, and the foundations were immediately started 
for a spinning-mill at the Centre, making a valuable 
addition to the Canton Woolen- Mills. 

The new mill was completed before winter, and 
was equipped with seven sets of woolen-cards, with a 
basement occupied by shuttle-looms and knitting-ma- 
chinery. At the time of Mr. Draper’s death, three 
years later, the firm was doing a large and prosperous 
business. 

Mr. Draper died May 23, 1873. His death was a 
public loss, and the sorrow manifested by the em- 
ployés at his decease was the truest evidence of the 
warm place he held in their hearts. 

Any sketch of James Draper would be imperfect 
that gave no hint of the sturdy individuality of his 
nature, and the generous impulses, which knew no 
limit but his means. His heart was pure gold. It 
was alive with tenderness to the wants of the young, 
the aged, the poor, and the unfortunate. To lift 
another’s burden seemed to lighten his own. His 
cardinal doctrine was, ‘“ Flee pleasure, and it will 
pursue you. Strive for the happiness of others, and 
your own will abound.” The light of his life was to 
serve, cheer, encourage, and minister to the comfort 


of those who came within his sphere. The only 
value he put on money was its blessing power. His 
happiest moments were when he was giving. He 


was liberal to all appeals, but he most loved to dis- 
pense benefactions with his own hand, and be his own 


_ judge of deserving merit. 





machine-shops and water-privilege at South Canton. | 


They made the necessary alterations to adapt the | 


property to the requirements of their business ; built 
a dye-house, put in three sets of woolen-cards, with 
their complement of spinning machinery, and a full 


line of knitting-frames. Here a thriving business was 


4 


Whatever he achieved in life was due to his own 
efforts ; he was self-made in the full meaning of the 
word. In the England of his boyhood, educatiun 
was not the fostered child it is to-day. But in almost 
every town could be found a morning and evening 
school, where, for a small sum, a determined spirit 
The 
only education he had was obtained at these schools, 
by a brief hour snatched from the forelock of the day’s 
labor, or added at its close, to satisfy the craving for 


could acquire the rudiments of knowledge. 


intellectual advancement. 

In his business, and in everything he did, thor- 
“ Whatever was worth 
The maxims of 


oughness was his motto. 
doing at all was worth doing well.” 
industry, economy, and sound common sense, which 


968 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





all human experience indorses and commends, he in- 
culeated wherever he found idleness, extravagance, or 
folly. 

Mr. Draper was plain in manners, determined in 
opinions, and inflexible in principle. He was a 
genuine hater of shams and pretense, and would 
rebuke with almost merciless severity a would-be 


spirit or a mean act. The love of justice was the 





dominant principle of his nature, and at his grave | 


an appreciative friend remarked that the most fitting 
inscription that could be placed upon his tombstone 
would be,— 


“He was too noble to do a wrong act.” 


THE WENTWORTH FAMILY. 


The Wentworth families of America are of illus- | 


trious descent, and can trace their ancestry twenty- 
one generations in England, to the time of the Nor- 
The pedigree commences with 
Reginald Wentworth, or, as written in “ Domesday 
Book,” Rynold De Winterwade. He was the pos- 
sessor of the lordship of Wentworth, in the Wapen- 
take of Strafford, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 
in 1066. 
Lord of Wentworth sufficiently proves him to have 
been a prominent man, even at this early date. The 
Wentworths held high offices in church and state, and 
were knighted for their bravery. From Reginald the 


man Conquest 


The fact of his being mentioned as the 


first descended, in regular line of descent, William | 


Wentworth, the emigrant, and the veritable “ Elder” 
of New England history. The first evidence of his 


presence in this country is his signature, with that of | 


others, to a ‘ combination” for a government at Hx- 
eter, N. H., on the 4th day of October, 1639. This 
combination continued for three years; we then find 
him, in 1642, as juror from Wells, Me., and in 1648 
he was constable. He must have removed from 
Maine about 1649, as in 1650 he was taxed at Dover, 
N. H., and was also one of the selectmen in 1651, 
1657, 1664, 1665, and 1670. “On the fifth day of 
Oct. 1652, William Wentworth and others in behalf 
of themselves and the town of Dover, contract with 
tichard Waldern to build a meeting house,” ete. 

It was over this church, known now as the First 
Church in Dover, that William Wentworth became 
an elder. In 1689 he was instrumental in saving 
Heard’s garrison. He officiated several years as a 
preacher at Exeter and other places, and died at a 
very advanced age at Dover in 1697. From him the 
several Governors Wentworth have descended. John?, 
son of Elder William Wentworth, was born prior to 





16149, and hence was one of the oldest of Elder 
Wentworth’s children. He resided in Dover, N. H., 
until about 1672; afterwards he was in York, Me., 
until that town was destroyed by the Indians in 1692. 
He then probably came to Massachusetts, as in 1704 
his name is mentioned in a lease dated in November 
of that year at Punkapaug (now Canton), Mass. He 
married Martha Their children were John, 
Edward, Charles*, Shubael, Elizabeth, and Abigail. 
Charles*, son of John*® and Martha Wentworth, was 
born about 1684. He lived in Canton, Mass., then 
a part of Stoughton. The house in which he lived 
He was one of the selectmen of 
Stoughton in 1730 and for several years afterwards. 
When sixty years of age he was appointed by Gover- 
nor Shirley, June 18, 1744, lieutenant of the Third 
Company of the Fourth Regiment of militia, and 
afterwards became captain. He married, Dec. 15, 
1713, Bethiah, daughter of John Fenno, of Stough- 
ton. Their children were Amariah, Rachel, William, 
Samuel‘, Bethiah, Seth, Jerusha, Sarah. Charles 
Wentworth died at Canton, Mass., July 8, 1780, 
aged ninety-six. Samuel‘, son of Charles* and Bethiah 
(Fenno) Wentworth, was born April 24, 1728, and 
lived in Stoughton on land given him by his father 
May 22, 1753. He was called “‘ Capt. Samuel.” He 
married, first, Oct. 19, 1748, Hannah Endicott ; sec- 
ond, Feb. 1, 1754, Sarah, daughter of John and Abi- 
gail (Vose) Puffer. _He died Dec. 23,1783. His 
children were Mary, Mehitable, Samuel, Abel, Na- 
thaniel®, Abel, Rachel, Sarah, Abigail, John, Bethiah. 
Nathaniel®, son of Samuel* and Sarah (Puffer) Went- 
worth, was born Nov. 11, 1761, married, April 3, 
1792, Olive, daughter of Samuel Capen. She died 
May 12, 1859. 

Nathaniel was a hard-working boy, and used to 
draw wood six miles to sell to Governor Hutchinson, 
who resided on Milton Hill. He left his home early 
on the morning of the 19th of April, 1775, with a 





is still standing. 


load of wood, and hearing the news of the fighting 
at Lexington and Concord, he alarmed his friends by 
his prolonged absence. He served six months in the 
Revolutionary army as guard on the British prison- 
ers captured in Burgoyne’s surrender, who were kept 
in barracks on Bunker Hill from 1777 to the spring 
of 1778. He drew a pension up to the time of his 
death, which occurred July 9, 1849, on the spot 
where his grandfather, Charles, lived and died, and 
his widow continued to draw it until her death, Some 
twelve years thereafter. Mr. Edwin Wentworth states 
that when he went to draw the pension for her he 
was much impressed by the cordiality and friendliness 
existing among the pensioners assembled from various 











SSS 


ST 








es 
ite 








Lp 


LY 
THz: 


i 
yi Ly 





nk CES LD 
WLZZ= ey ee a 


ES, 





CANTON. 


969 





parts of the State. 
having been of so patriotic blood as to merit this re- 
ward. His children were Nathaniel*®, Sophia, Larra 
Edwin, and Francis. + 

NATHANIEL WENTWORTH, sixth in descent from 
Elder William Wentworth, the first American of the 
name, and oldest son of Nathaniel and Olive (Capen) 
Wentworth, was born June 2, 1795, and was a life- 
long resident of Canton. 
mostly at the common schools, supplemented, how- 
ever, by a short time at a private school, but being 
by nature energetic and a hard worker, he engaged in 
the business for which he was naturally fitted,—that 
of cattle dealer,—and did an immense butchering 
business, which is now carried on by his son. He was 
especially noted for his knowledge of live-stock. His 
business was a success, and he became wealthy for the 
times in which he lived. He married, first, May 12, 
1827, Rebecca G. Presbrey. She died Dec. 25, 1847. 
Second, Sarah J. Bachelder, March 4, 1850. She 


All seemed to have a pride in | 


His education was acquired | 





died April 28, 1853. His children were James N. 


(born June 29, 1828, died April 23, 1863 ; he married 
Rachel Smith, Sept. 24, 1856; they had two chil- 


dren,— Alfred J., born Dec. 27, 1858, and Mary O., | 
born Nov. 24, 1862), Charles P. (born Jan. 14, 1831; | 


he married Abbie E. Colby, July 29, 1852. 


Their | 


surviving children are Addie R., born May 30,1857, | 


and William G., born Dec. 14, 1865), Alfred (died 
Jan. 3, 1839, aged six years), Larra Edwin (born 
April 25, 1844; married, first, Ellen Mash, March 
2, 1866. They had one child, Rebecca E., who died 
March 25, 1881, aged fourteen years. 
second, Evaleen Tucker, Oct. 5, 1880. 
Olive, was born Dec. 30, 1882). 


He married, 
Their child, 


June 14th. He is a charter member of Revere Post, 
Grand Army of the Republic, which was organized 
in 1869, and takes great interest and pride in this 
organization, and illustrates in his private life that a 
brave soldier is always a good citizen. 

Epwin WENtTWorTH, son of Nathaniel® and 
Olive (Capen) Wentworth, was born on the old 
Wentworth homestead, in Canton, Mass., April 1, 
1805. He received his education both at common 
and at a private school under the charge of that 
eminent mathematician, Colburn. He served as clerk 
at various times for his brother-in-law, Nathaniel 
French, who was a merchant, and there acquired such 
a taste for business that he preferred engaging in 
trade to a college life at Harvard University, and 
June 3, 1822, 
gaged in business for himself, and paying one dollar 


when but little over seventeen, he en- 


and fifty cents per week for his board, he cleared nine 
hundred dollars the first year, thus proving his apti- 
tude for his chosen calling, that of merchant, in 
which he continued for about twenty-one years, four 
years of that time in Stoughton. He also carried 
on a bakery and confectionery business, speculated 
largely in real estate, his ventures being usually 
Mr. Wentworth’s sagacity 
and judgment were of eminent advantage to him in 


crowned with success. 


his dealings in real estate, as he bought largely at 
He 
has always been conservative and independent in his 


auction, knowing when and how to purchase. 
operations. Well known as a man whose word is as 
good as his bond, naturally he has been called to fill 
many places of trust and financial responsibility, and 
in the discharge of his duties has deemed it impera- 


tive to know personally how affairs stood, and never 


Nathaniel Wentworth was a man of strong char- | 


acter and consistent in his principles. In _ politics 
he was a Republican. He was selectman for one year, 
and only lacked one vote of election for representative, 
although he remained at home and kept his men at 
work. He was a man of quaint originality, social, 
and his company was much enjoyed by his associates 


in business for his peculiar witticisms and conversa- 


tional powers. Although active and energetic he con- | 


ducted his affairs with conservatism and prudence, 
and accumulated wealth. His death occurred Noy. 
24, 1876. 


Larra Edwin, son of Nathaniel and Rebecca (Pres-— 


brey) Wentworth, enlisted as private in Company A, 
Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, Sept. 17, 1862, and 
served faithfully in the department of the Gulf under 
Gen. Banks, participating in the warm engagement 
at Bisland, La., and in the memorable siege of Vort 
Hudson, where he was wounded in the assault of 


trusted to another for information which he should 
himself possess. Mr. Wentworth was director of Ne- 
ponset Bank for ten years, trustee of Canton Savings- 
Bank several years. As an instance of his popularity 
we would mention that once, while a candidate for 
the Legislature from Canton, he received the largest 
vote ever cast for a candidate in his town,—four huu- 
dred and fourteen out of about six hundred votes 
polled. Mr. Wentworth has ever been a Democrat, be- 
lieving that the Jeffersonian principles, as expressed 
in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, 
were the true guides to liberty and freedom for the 
republic. Fearless, outspoken, and bold, Mr. Went- 
worth has never been double-faced, and in all points 
at issue no one has ever had any difficulty in finding 
where he stood, either in politics, business, or town 
affairs. He built the fine residence where he now 
resides in 1853, and has done much to build up the 
interests of Canton by erecting convenient tenements. 


970 








HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





He has holdings of real estate in Kast Boston, Cam- 
bridge, Charlestown, Boston, South Braintree, and 
Stoughton, four houses at Nantasket, one of them the 
Wentworth House, and about twenty-five tenements 
which he rents in Canton, and is considered the largest 
To Mr. Wentworth and his 
brother Nathaniel the growth of the Universalist 


real estate owner there. 


Society was largely due, although not a member him- 
self. He prefers standing alone on his personal merits, 


| 
| 


letting all secret societies, organizations, and combi- | 
Oo ’ Cc 7) | 


nations alone. He has assisted many deserving causes 


and people, and holds a high place in the regards of | 


the solid people of a wide range of acquaintance, en- 
joys a handsome property, largely the result of his 


own efforts, and, hale and vigorous, at the age of 


seventy-nine, is passing on to the twilight of life with 
a cheerful philosophy, and is still at his labors, prefer- 
For seven 
years he held commissions of ensign and lieutenant in 


ring rather to wear out than to rust out. 


one of the “ crack” independent military companies | 
{ 
Mr. Wentworth 


married, Feb. 19, 1827, Julia Crane, daughter of | 


of the day,—‘‘ The Crane Guards.” 


Friend and Rebecca (Upham) Crane, of Canton. 
They had two children,—Mary (born April 28, 1836 ; 
she died May 1, 1867 ; married Horace H. Mansfield, 
of Canton, had three children,—Mary Wentworth, 


born Oct. 16, 1863, died Aug. 10, 1864; Helen M., | 


born Feb. 19, 1865 ; Edwin W., born April 13, 1867 ; 
died March 18, 1872), Edwin (born July 19, 1849; 
died Sept. 23, 1849). 


CORODON SPAULDING. 


Corodon Spaulding is a descendant of Hdward | 


Spaulding, the first of the family we*have any knowl- 
edge of, who came to America in the earliest years 
of the Massachusetts Colony,—probably between 
1630 and 1633. 

He first appears in Braintree, Mass., and his de- 
scendants were as follows: Edward (2d), Ebenezer 
(3d), Stephen (4th), Eben (5th), Warren (6th), 
Corodon (7th), who was born Jan. 1, 1812, in East 


Washington, N. H. His grandparents on_ his 








mother’s side were among the first settlers of East | 


Washington. 
and died on the farm where he first settled. 


Deacon William Graves, who lived | 


His | 


father’s grandfather was Samuel Roundy, one of the | 


first settlers of Lempster, N. H., who went from 
Mr. Spauld- 
ing’s grandmother was then fourteen years old, and 
rode 


Windham, Conn., in the year 1773. 


horseback the whole distance and carried a 


younger sister in her arms. 


He well recollects seeing his great-grandfather at 
his father’s house in (what was then) Fishersfield, 
now Newbury, N. H. He was quite an old man, but 
came on horseback. . 

His grandparents on his father’s side lived on a 
farm in Kast Washington, N. H., now a small village. 
His grandmother lived to be one hundred years and 
three months old. Her one hundredth birthday was 
celebrated by appropriate services on the 30th of 
March, 1859. Rev. Willard Spaulding, her grand- 
son, preached an eloquent sermon on the occasion. 

During the time le lived at home his father’s 


| property did not exceed one thousand dollars in 


value. He had, therefore, a very limited education, 


being allowed only a few weeks’ schooling in the 


| winter, and was early thrown upon his own resources. 


It may not be out of place here to remark that he 
has always been of strictly temperate principles, and 
since leaving home a strong advocate of temperance ; 
and one incident that happened while at school so dis- 
gusted him that it can never be forgotten. When about 
sixteen years of age the snow was piled in drifts around 
the school-house, the boys got to snow-balling, and 
in the excitement carried the game into the school- 
house and had it out there, and upon the arrival of 
the master, he (the master) proposed to and did send 
to the village and bought a gallon of rum and passed 
it around to the scholars to any and all who would 
drink. 
been informed of what was going on, and went him- 
self to the school-house, when, upon his appearance 


Meantime, however, one of the neighbors had 


_at the door, the master took the jug and passed it 


to him, who refused it, however, and immediately 
took measures to have the master removed. This is 
given to show the youth the difference of influence 
between the present day and then. 

When eighteen years of age, in the year 1830, he 
engaged as a stone-cutter, and worked on the sea-wall 
on Deer Island in Boston harbor. The following 
October he went to Newcastle, in the State of Dela- 
ware, and did some work on the Frenchtown and 
Neweastle Railroad, and in December of the same 
The 
road was then completed to Ellicott’s Mills, and here, 


year went to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. 


in 1831, he superintended a granite-quarry, and got 
out stone for the track in Pratt Street, in Baltimore. 
This was the year the first locomotive was built in the 
United States, by Peter Cooper. He sometimes came 
to Hllicott’s Mills, bringing long trains of cars (as 
they were called then). 

For the information of those younger than him- 
self we will state a little incident that occurred. As 
the cars were passing the quarry about his dinner- 


ee 


in 


oe Se eee 





le ee es ES 


ee i 















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































i 






























































































































































































































































ss 


one adh lg ede See 


CANTON. 


971 





i] 


hour, he would avail himself of the opportunity to 
ride part of the way to his boarding-place, and the 
last car being void of passengers, he jumped on the | 
rear end, and his weight caused the forward wheels | 
to rise from the rail, and when it came down again | 
did not strike the rail, but they were able to put the 
car on the track again without stopping the train. 
He regrets that he has never been able to see that 
good old man, Peter Cooper, again. 

The following December he went to Pennsylvania | 
and engaged on the Philadelphia and Columbia Rail- 
road (now Pennsylvania Central), and the next De- | 
cember left for his father’s home in Bradford, N. H.., 
and remained there until the next March, when he 
engaged work in Boston on Union wharf. 


The next February, in 1834, engaged on the Bos- 
ton and Providence Railroad as track-layer at differ- | 
ent points on the road. 

In August, 1835, engaged with the same company 
as road-master, where he remained nineteen and one- | 
half years, and in the course of this time invented 
the machine for curving and straightening railroad- 
bars, so extensively used on all roads at the present 
time. Also, a derrick now used by all stone-masons. 

In 1836, the 20th of April, was married to Abigail 
Tolman, daughter of Joseph Tolman, of Sharon, 
Mass., and moved to Canton in 1839; bought a 
Their 
children were as follows: Corodon, born Aug. 10, 
1838, in Sharon, Mass., died Nov. 30, 1841, in Can- | 
ton, Mass.; Sarah Abigail, born Aug. 2, 1844, in 
Canton, where she died Feb. 16, 1845; Sarah Abi- 
gail, born June 16, 1846, in Canton, Mass., and was 
married to William K. Hawes, Jan. 1, 1871. They | 
reside in Canton. William K. Hawes is son of In- | 
crease Hawes, of Norwood, Mass. 


small farm in 1841, on which he now lives. 


FRANCIS W. DEANE. 

Francis W. Deane, son of William and Chloe Deane, | 
was born in Mansfield, Mass., Oct. 9, 1807. The | 
Deane family is an old and honored one in New Eng- 
(See biography of Theodore Dean, in 
our “ History of Bristol County, Massachusetts.”’) | 
His parents were in bumble circumstances on a small | 
farm, and his father’s death, when Frank was but | 
five years old, brought a great responsibility upon the | 


land annals. 


widowed mother, who was left, by her own exertions, 


to bring up her three small boys. With courage and 
determination she set about the task, and well did she 
By her constant teaching and 
example, she instilled into their young minds those | 


perform her part. 





principles of industry and integrity which have been | 


| Mr. Dunbar gave up business. 


| so clearly shown in Mr. Deane’s long and useful life 


in Canton. In 1822, when he was fifteen, she brought 
Frank to Canton to take a clerkship in the country 
store of Leonard Everett. From that time to the 


present (over sixty years) he has been connected with 


the business interests of Canton, and never has malice 


or envy dared to impugn his honesty or to impeach 
his motives. His life has been an open book, whose 
pages have ever told the one story of unassuming 
He remained with Mr. Everett nearly six 


On attaining his majority he engaged with 


worth. 
years. 
James Dunbar and Elisha Crane as clerk at the 
‘‘stone-factory,” near the Boston and Providence Via- 
duct, with whom he remained about two years, until 
He then began trad- 
ing on his own account ; but, after a short time, his 
services were sought as clerk in the Neponset Bank, 


| then (June, 1836) just organized. We give as better 


indices than any language of ours of Mr. Deane’s 
character, the esteem of which his associates hold 
him, and the length and character of his services in 
the banks of Canton, the following. On May 31, 
1880, the directors of the Neponset National Bank, 
among other resolutions, passed this: ‘ Whereas, 
Francis W. Deane, Esq., who has held the office of 
cashier of this bank since its organization as a na- 
tional institution, and, also, for many years previously, 
when the bank existed under a State charter, cover- 
ing, in all, a period of forty-four years of service in 
various capacities, has, on account of increasing 
physical infirmities, tendered his resignation of said 
office, to take effect on the first day of June next; 
and, whereas, at his urgent solicitation, said resigna- 
tion has been accepted by the Directors; therefore, 
Resolved, That in sundering the relations which have 
so long and so happily connected him with this insti- 
tution, while they are pained at his retirement, they 
are proud to bear witness to the ability and fidelity 
which have ever characterized him in the perform- 
ance of his various duties. Courteous, affable, and 
obliging to all, faithful, honest, and true to every trust, 
he has not only won our confidence and esteem, but 
also that of the entire community in which he lives:” 

The trustees of the Canton Institution for Savings 
passed, at a meeting held April 4, 1883, resolutions on 
his resignation, from which we extract : ‘“‘ Whereas, 
Francis W. Deane, in consequence of enfeebled health, 


has felt compelled to resign the office of treasurer of 


the Canton Institution for Savings, which office he 
has held for the past thirty-one years; he also having 
been connected with the institution since its incor- 
poration in 1835 ; therefore, Reso/ved, That the trus- 
tees hereby express their appreciation of his long and 


972 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





faithful services. His integrity was never questioned, 
and his faithfulness and devotion to his duty have ever 
commanded our approval and admiration.” 


Mr. Deane was elected town treasurer in 1857, and 


has held that office uninterruptedly until the present. 
He was also treasurer of the Stoughton Branch Rail- 


road. In political affiliations he is a Republican. He | 


is a deacon of the First Universalist Church in Can- 


until March 8, 1837, except in the years which he 
spent at college. He was prepared for college at the — 
Bridgewater Academy, 1822-27, and entered the 
sophomore class of Brown University at the commence- 
ment of the last-named year. Graduating in 1830, in 
the same class with Professor Chace and Hon. B. F. 
Thomas, he studied law with Hon. William Baylies, 


of West Bridgewater (B. U., 1795), and was admit- 


ton, of which he has been a member for many years. | 


He married, Oct. 16,1827, Mary, daughter of Jo- 
seph and Merriam Adams. Their children were Mary 


(deceased), Walter P., Ellen M. (deceased), Mary EK. | 
(deceased), Merriam E. (married William W. Toner, | 
years 1833, 1834, 1835, and 1836. He removed his 
_domicil to Canton, March 8, 1837, asa better field for 


and died in her twenty-ninth year, leaving one sur- 
viving child, Emma E.), Emily F. (married William 
F. Horrobin, and died in her twenty-second year, 
leaving one child, Francis W.), and Francis W. (de- 
ceased ). 
Mr. Deane married, Jan. 5, 1851, Emily Adams, sister 
of his first wife. 


Mrs. Mary Deane died July 26, 1847, and | 


5 : 
Quiet and unostentatious, Mr. Deane | 


has done the work allotted him well, and is beloved | 


by a large circle of friends. 





ELLIS AMES. 

Ellis Ames was born at Stoughton, Norfolk Co., 
Oct. 17, 1809, in that epoch following the Revolution 
when our new republic was slowly passing out of the 
exhaustion attendant on that protracted struggle, and 


ted to the bar at the December term of the court 
of Common Pleas (1833) for Plymouth County. 
He engaged at once in the practice of law in his pa- 
ternal town and parts adjacent, and represented West 
Bridgewater in the General Court for the political 


the practice of the law, and in that profession he has 
been laboring until this present. 

These are the modest and, as they look, rather meagre 
details of a life full of legal industry and ability. Mr. 
Ames himself is one of the most modest and unpre- 
tending of men, and perplexes his biographers by in- 


_ dustriously hiding from them the very valuable services 


he has rendered in illustrating and settling some of 


_the law’s most recondite and perplexing problems. 


yet was about to engage in new strife with its old enemy, 


in what was for us the very brilliant war of 1812. 


His birth-time, therefore, touches both the sunset of | 


our Revolutionary statesmen and warriors, and also the 


frontiers of our new national prosperity. His father 


was Jonathan Ames, Jr., of Stoughton, and his mother | 


was Sally Capen, daughter of Edward Capen (2d), 


of Stoughton, and of his wife Eunice Monk, daugh- | 


ter of George Monk, of Stoughton, and his wife Sarah 
Hixon, of Sharon. 
from William Ames, who, with his brother John, came 
from Bruton, Somersetshire, England, to America in 
1634 and settled at Braintree. 
of Richard Ames. 


They were the sons 
Mr. Ames, therefore, is of that 
Puritan and yeoman stock which so sturdily civilized 
Massachusetts wilds, and has given so much bone and 
brain power to make this nation what it is. William 


had 


descended; Nathaniel, from whom descended Hon. 


Ames three sons,—John, from whom 


Fisher Ames; and Thomas, from whom descended 
the Hon. Oakes Ames. 

In the fall of 1814, at the close of the war, his 
father removed his family to his native town of West 


His father’s family derives itself | 


Ellis | 


He confesses to drafting the bill in equity of Massa- 
chusetts, plaintiff against the State of Rhode Island, 
in the matter of the boundary between these States, 
which was entered in the Supreme Court at Washing- 
ton at the December term of 1852. This question, 
involving much antiquarian lore and keen insight into 
colonial history, was happily decided in the interest of 
his client, and the fact has always been held a tribute 
But the truth is that in equity 
pleadings, one of the most intricate and difficult de- 


to his legal abilities. 


partments of a lawyer's practice, Mr. Ames was for 
many years regarded as authority, and difficult cases 
of great magnitude passed through his hands before 
they were finally argued by some of the most famous 
lawyers of the Massachusetts bar. He has been one 
of those, not too common lawyers, who have followed 
their profession for the love as well as the profit of it. 
He is rightly to be called learned in the law, and his 
researches have been among the roots of legal prin- 
ciples, especially as they find illustration in English 
history. A member for many years of the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society, and his information about 
the colonial affairs of the Bay and Plymouth Colony 
is very minute and rich. It is doubtful if any man 


now living combines so much legal and colonial lore 


_as he; and it is to be regretted that most of it is likely 


Bridgewater, Plymouth Co., where Ellis Ames lived | 


to die with him. 
Personally, Mr. Ames has always had the simple 
habits of a scholar, and the bluff, hearty manner of 





NORFOLK. 


973 





an honest and friendly man. He has kept a keen 
watch of public affairs and men, is full of anecdote 


and reminiscence of the great lawyers who have been | 
in his day at the bar, and the brilliant fame of the | 


popular has waxed and waned before his eyes, yet he 
has never been tempted to turn from his own quiet 
ways to grasp at the bubbles of public applause, and 
like a true philosopher measures all such matters with 
Mr. Ames 


a very long line of shrewd common sense. 


has always been an intensely individual man,—a | 
thorough Puritan, minus his gloom and his theology. | 


He resembles, in a certain leonine cast of face, the 
late Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw, who was his friend. 
He is a good type of that better class of country law- 
yers out of which such men as John Adams and 
Fisher Ames came. He has always been rich in 
brains and law-books, and a certain racy humor and 


good-fellowship, which has made him many friends. 





His private law library is probably the most extensive | 
and complete of any in the State, outside of Boston. | 


Among its other riches it has a complete set of the 
English Chancery Reports, from the earliest ages of 
English law till now. 
bane at the law term of 1836, and to the present time 
(1884) has argued his own cases there at every term. 


He began to argue cases in | 


In his library he has the declaration, bill, pleadings, 


and principal documents of all these cases bound up 
in twenty folio volumes. 
place among Massachusetts lawyers will be hard to fill 
when it becomes vacant. 

Mr. Ames married, in 1840, Harriet, daughter of 


His special and peculiar | 


Samuel and Caty (McKendry) Tucker, of Canton, | 


and has two sons and three daughters still living. 


CHART WR: WX XT V. 
NORFOLK. 


North Parish of Wrentham—Early Settlements—Residents in 


1795—North Society—First Meeting-House—Incorporation | 


of Town—Act of Incorporation—First Town-Meeting—Of- 
ficers Elected—List of Selectmen—Town Clerks—Represen- 
tatives—Town House—Present Valuation—Industrial Pur- 
suits—Churehes—Schools. 


THE greater portion of the present town of Norfolk 


Rockwood, Jason Thompson, Darius Blake, Nathan 
Ware, George Blin, Jacob Pond, Daniel Ware, Elisha 
Ware, James Perrigs, Asa Blake, George Fairbank, 
David Holbrook, Robert Day, Isaiah Turner, Jared 
Wilson, David Pond, E. Tucker, Jeremiah Tucker, 
Samuel Ware, Pallu Pond, Samuel Holbrook, Daniel 
Holbrook, Jr., Henry Holbrook, Paul Holbrook, 
Oliver Ware, Joel Ware, Moses Vince, Amariah Ware, 
Consider Studly, Jason Richardson, Seth Fisher, and 
Ebenezer Blake. 

On the 29th of September, 1795, a meeting of the 
inhabitants of the North Parish was held “for the 
purpose of knowing the minds of said inhabitants for 
building a meeting-house for public and social worship 
at said north end.” 

It was finally agreed to build a meeting-house, and 
a subscription-paper was started bearing the following 


| heading: 


“As the Happiness of Society and good order and preserva- 
tion of ourselves, as well as a rising Generation, greatly depend 
on a close adherance to morality, piety, and Religion, and these 
Cannot be Diffused in our Local situation but by the Institution 
of Public Worship of God, and the Institution of morality, piety, 
and Religion, therefore to promote the happiness of ourselves as 
well as the rising Generation, we, the subscribers, do jointly 
agree to the subsequent articles.” 


Here follows a number of articles, and the paper 
was subsequently signed by thirty-eight of the in- 
habitants, pledging twelve hundred and forty-four 
dollars. 

Incorporation of Town.—The North Parish re- 
mained a portion of Wrentham until Feb. 23, 1870, 
when it was incorporated as a separate town, bearing 
the name of Norfolk. Portions of Franklin, Medway, 


_and Walpole were also embraced in the new town. 


The following is the act of incorporation : 


“Aw Act to incorporate the Town of Norfolk. 


| “ Be it enacted, dc., as follows : 


“Sect. 1. All the territory now within the towns of Wren- 
tham, Franklin, Medway, and Walpole, in the county of Nor- 
folk, comprised within the following limits, that is to_say: 


| beginning at a point on Charles River, in the north-west angle 


was originally the North Parish of Wrentham, and | 


the early history of the town, Revolutionary, etc., will | 


be found in that of the mother-town, of which it | 


formed a part until 1870. 

Settlements were made here at an early day, and 
among the prominent namés here in 1795 were David 
Holbrook, Josiah Ware, Moses Mann, Samuel 
Richardson, James Holbrook, Asa Ware, Elisha 


of Wrentham, and following in an easterly course the present 
line of division between Wrentham and Medfield to Stop River; 
thence running southerly along said river, and separated by the 
thread of its stream from Walpole, to a point forty rods north 
of the mouth of the first brook running into said river, below 
Campbell’s Mills, on the easterly side; thence from said point, 
by a straight line, ranning to the junction of Back and Bird 
streets, in Walpole; thence to the easterly side of said Bird 
street to its junction with West street; thence westerly by the 
northerly side of West street, twenty-five rods; thence southerly, 
and near to and westerly from the barn belonging to the home 
estate of Charles Bird, until said line strikes Stop River, one 
hundred and twenty rods southerly from West street; thence 
along said river as far as Wrentham and Walpole are separated 
by the thread of its stream; thence by a straight line, running 


974 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





westerly of the Walpole almshouse and easterly of the farm | 
buildings of Patrick Reardon, and easterly of the Dupee Blake | 
place, so called, to a point on the line between Walpole and Fox- | 
borough, one bundred and twenty-five rods north-easterly from | 
Dedham Rock; thence from said point, following the present 


line of division, between Wrentham and Foxborough, to Ded- 


ham Rock; thence southerly from said rock along the present | 
line of Wrentham and Foxborough to a point on said line on | 
the southerly side of Pine street; thence by a straight line to a | 
point on the westerly side of Everett street, northerly of the | 
house of Edmund T. Everett, and southerly of the Pondville 
Cemetery, to a point on the westerly side of North street, five 
rods southerly of the farm buildings of Samuel J. Benn; thence 
through the Stony Brook reservoir, near to the house of H. 8. 
Nash, to a point on the line between Franklin and Wrentham, | 
ninety rods southerly of the house late of Eliphalet Lawrence; 
thence running northerly, by a straight line, near to and west 
of the farm buildings of the home estate of J. E. Pollard, near 
the Elliot Felting Mills, near to and thirty-five rods west of the 
present residence of Saul B. Scott, to the southern extremity of 
Populatic Pond; thence along the western shore of said pond, at | 
low-water mark, to Charles River; thence in an easterly course 





upon Charles River, and separated by the thread of its stream 
from Medway to the centre of the iron bridge over said river; 
thence upon the thread of said river to the bridge of the Med- | 
way branch railroad; thence along the southerly side of said 


railroad, twenty-eight rods, to a point; thence from said point, 
by a straight line running in a north-easterly course, passing | 


south-easterly of and near to the village of Deanville, near to 
and south of the old barn belonging to John Barber, to a point | 
on Baltimore street, two rods from said barn; thence by a straight 
line to the easterly side of the great bend in Charles River and 
near the old fording place; thence upon said river, and sepa- 
rated by the thread of its stream, from Medway to the point of 
beginning ;—is hereby incorporated into a town by the name of 
Norfolk ; and said town of Norfolk is hereby invested with all 
the powers, privileges, rights, and immunities, and is subject to 
all the duties and requisitions to which other towns are entitled | 
and subjected by the constitution and Jaws of this Common- 
wealth. 

“Spor. 2. The inhabitants of said town of Norfolk shall be | 
holden to pay all arrears of taxes, which have been legally 





assessed upon them by the towns of Wrentham, Franklin, | 
Medway, and Walpole, respectively; and all taxes heretofore | 


assessed and not collected shall be collected and paid to the 


treasurers of the towns of Wrentham, Franklin, Medway, and | 
Walpole, respectively, in the same manner as if this act had not 


been passed; and until the next general valuation of estates in 
this Commonwealth, the town of Norfolk shall annually pay 
over to the said towns of Wrentham, Franklin, Medway, and 
Walpole, respectively, the proportion of any State or county 
tax which the said towns of Wrentham, Franklin, Medway, and | 





Walpole, respectively, may be required to pay, upon the inhab- | 
itants or estates hereby set off; said proportion to be ascertained 
and determined by the respective valuations of the said towns | 
of Wrentham, Franklin, Medway, and Walpole, next preceding | 
the passage of this act. 
“Sect. 3. Said of 


Walpole, and Norfolk shall be respectively liable for the sup- | 


towns Wrentham, Franklin, Medway, 


port of all persons who now do, or shall hereafter stand in need 
of relief as paupers, whose settlement was gained by or derived | 


from a settlement gained or derived within their respective 
limits. | 

“Sror. 4. The towns of Wrentham, Franklin, Medway, Wal- | 
pole, and Norfolk shall retain the school-houses within their 
\ 


respective limits, and the town of Norfolk shall assume and 


State valuation next preceding such call. 


pay its just and equitable proportions, according to its present 
assessed valuation, of any debt due or owing from the towns of 
Wrentham and Franklin, respectively, at the time of the pas- 
sage of this act, and shall be entitled to receive from said 
towns, respectively, its just and equitable proportion, accord- 


| ing to said assessed valuation, of all the corporate property 


then owned by said towns of Wrentham and Franklin, respect- 
ively, including therein the school-houses retained by said 
Wrentham, Franklin, and Norfolk, respectively; and said 
town of Norfolk shall be held to refund to said towns of Wren- 
tham and Franklin, respectively, its just proportion of the 
surplus revenue, whenever the same shall be called for accord- 
ing to law; such proportion to be determined by the decennial 
And in ease the 
proportions aforesaid cannot be agreed upon by said towns of 
Norfolk, Wrentham, and Franklin, respectively, the same shall 
be determined by three commissioners, to be appointed by the 
Superior Court for said county of Norfolk, upon a petition of 
either of said towns. 

“Secr. 5. The territory of the town of Norfolk, heretofore 
part of the towns of Franklin and Walpole, for the purpose of 
electing representatives to the General Court until the next 
decennial census, or until another apportionment be made, shall 
remain a part of said towns of Franklin and Walpole, respect- 
ively, and vote therefor at such places, respectively, as the said 
towns shall vote; and the selectmen of Norfolk shall make a 
true list of all persons within their town, qualified to vote at 
every such election, and shall post up the same in said town of 
Norfolk, and shall correct the same as required by law, and 
shall deliver a true list of all such voters as are entitled to vote 
in said towns of Franklin and Walpole, respectively, to the 
selectmen thereof, seven days at least before such election, to be 
used thereat. 

“And the territory of the town of Norfolk, heretofore part 
of the towns of Wrentham and Medway, until another appor- 
tionment be made, shall, for the purpose of electing representa- 
tives to the General Court, remain a part of the Twelfth Nor- 
folk Representative District, and vote for the same in the town 
of Norfolk; and the clerk of the town of Norfolk shall make 
returns and meet with the clerks of the towns of Foxborough, 
Medway, and Wrentham for the purpose of ascertaining the 


| result of the election and making certificates of the same at the 


time and place now provided for said meeting by law; and the 
territory of said town of Norfolk, until legally changed, shall, 
for the purpose of electing a representative in Congress, continue 
to be part of the Congressional District numbered eight; and 
for the purpose of electing a councilor, part of the Second 
Councilor District; and for the purpose of electing a senator, a 
part of the Third Norfolk District. 

“Sror. 6. Any justice of the peace within and for the county 


| of Norfolk may issue his warrant, directed to any principal in- 


habitant of the town of Norfolk, requiring him to notify and 
warn the inhabitants thereof, qualified to vote in town affairs, 
to meet at the time and place appointed for the purpose of choos- 
ing all such town officers as towns are by law authorized and 


annual meetings; and said warrant 


required to choose at their 
shall be served by posting up copies thereof, attested by the 
person to whom the same is directed, in three public places in 
said town, seven days at least before such meeting. Such jus- 
tice, or, in his absence, such principal inhabitant, shall preside 
The selectmen 
of the towns of Wrentham, Franklin, Medway, and Walpole 


shall, before said meeting, prepare a list of voters from their 


until the choice of moderator in said meeting. 


respective towns within said Norfolk, qualified to vote at said 
meeting, and shall deliver the same to the person presiding at 
said meeting before the choice of a moderator thereof. 


ee 





NORFOLK. 


975 





“Srcr. 7. This act shall take effect upon its passage. 
proved Feb. 23, 1870.” 


[Ap- 


The First Town-Meeting.—The first town-meet- 
ing was held March 7, 1870, with Albert G. Hills as 
moderator. The meeting was called to order by Saul 


B. Scott, Esq., and Rev. Daniel Round checked the | 


list during the voting for moderator. 


The following officers were elected: Selectmen, is also a paper-mill, George Campbell proprietor, 


Lewis Adams twenty-seven, and Wendell Phillips 
Six. 

Industrial Pursuits.—There is some manufac- 
turing in the town, but the chief occupation is agri- 
culture. 


The City Mills are owned by the Rays, of Franklin. 


| Rays’ shoddy-mill is located on Stony Brook. There 


Saul B. Scott, Levi Mann, and Erastus Dupee ; Town | 


Clerk, Silas E. Fales; Assessors, Elisha Rockwood, 


George E. Holbrook, and James H. Haines; Treasu- 


rer, William E. Codding; Constables, George P. | 


Cody and Albert E. Dupee; School Committee, J. 


_ Mann. 


K. Bragg, Daniel J. Holbrook, and Lothrop C. Keith; | 


Fence-viewers, Charles Jordan and Darius Ware; 
Surveyors of Lumber, Levi Mann and Oren C. Ware. 

The first town-meeting was closed by tendering a 
vote of thanks to the moderator, and also to Silas HK. 
Fales and William A. Jepson for the gift of a ballot- 
box. 


The following is a list of selectmen from the organ- 


ization of the town to the present time: 


Saul B. Scott, 1870, ’71, ’72, °73, °74. 

Levi Mann, 1870, ’71, ’72, ’75, ’76, ’81. 

Erastus Dupee, 1870, ’71. 

Henry Trowbridge, 1872, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76. 
Henry K. W. Pond, 1873, ’74, 775, ’76, ’77, ’78, ’ 
James E. Pollard, 1877, 778, ’79, ’80, 82. - 

N. D. Kingsbury, 1877, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, 83, ’84. 
E. W. Giles, 1882, 783, 784. 

Henry Perkins, 1883, ’84. 


79, 80, ’81. 


Town Clerk.—The first town clerk was Mr. Silas 


located at Island Lake. There is also a small paper- 
mill in the west part of the town, in the building for- 
merly owned by the Eliott Felting Company. There 
is a grist-mill at Norfolk Centre, owned by E. W. 
Island Lake is a pleasure-ground belonging 
to the New York and New England Railroad. It is a 
beautiful spot, and is much frequented during the 
summer season. 

There are two churches located in the town, both 
at Norfolk Centre,—Orthodox Congregational (Rev. 
Francis F. Williams pastor) and the Baptist Church 
(Rev. Daniel Round pastor). 

The schools of the town are in good condition. 


|The following abstract is taken from the report of 


| the school committee for the fiscal year ending Jan. 


K. Fales, who has been annually re-elected to the | 


present time. 

Representative.—The Ninth Norfolk Representa- 
tive District embraces Medfield, Dover, Needham, 
Norfolk, and Wellesley, and Norfolk has had since its 
incorporation one representative, Levi Mann, in 1882. 


Town House.—The present town house was for- | 
merly the church building belonging to the North | 


Parish, and was erected in 1796. 


It was entirely re- | 


modeled in 1879, and is now a convenient, neat, and | 


attractive building, surmounted by a tower, in which 
is a clock the gift of Mr. Josiah Ware. The build- 


ing is beautifully located, and the tower affords an ex- | 


tensive view of the surrounding country. 


The present valuation of Norfolk is $397,856, and | 


the number of voters one hundred and thirty. 
At the first gubernatorial election held in the town 
William Claflin received eighty-eight votes, John 


31, 1884: 


ABSTRACT FROM SCHOOL REGISTERS. 











$id | 3 zp 
| hace = | * 
3/8 |: isa \Se| _ 
|oe| 2 |S |e | 8 | | o 
2e| 2 iaSl|no|n?e| 
ae EE a | 2 = ls 3 bs 2 | Teachers’ Names. | 5 
re) 9, |e wo | eS | pa 
jom| Pie |Se\53) Z 
| aay go 
= q|/% |4 | |e 
Spring Term. ! | | 
@entres-...s.c 44 | 35 | 79 | 0 | 0 | Olive A. Thompson|$36 
North......... 30} 29 96/1 | 0 | Lizzie Turkington.| 36 
Felting Mills 30 | 27 90. 0 1 | Malvina V. Scott. | 32 
River End....| 17.) 15 | 88 | 0 1 | Nettie L. Poole. 32 
Pondville...... 11 | 10 | 91°} 0 0 | Lucey A. Warren. | 28 
Stony Brook... 13 | 10 | 78 | 0 0 | Mabel E. Caffin. | 30 
"all Term. | 
Centresccse.-ss a 92 0 0 | Jessie G. Prescott. | 36 
Noni bese esessse 31 | 29 93! 0 | 0 | Lizzie Turkington.) 36 
Felting Mills) 32 | 27 | 84 0 1 | Malvina V. Scott. | 32 
River End..... 11 10 | 90 | 0 0 | Ida M. Guild. 1392 
F ( Lucy A. Warren 
= C J 5) 
Pondville......| 11 | 10 ! 91 0 | i iielia EO attire 0 
Stony Brook... 15 |! 12 801! 1 0 | Josie M. Gove. 28 
Winter Term. | 
Gentretea.cc.se ANS 3 OMe ionled 0 | Jessie G. Prescott. 36 
INorthits..c<cse mon ees PS Term unfinished. 
Felting Mills 27 | 15 | 55 | 0 | O | Malvina V. Scott. | 32 
| River End....| 14] 14 100] 0 | 0 | Ida M. Guild. 32 
Pondville...... 8 | 7 | 92] 0 | 0 | Lucy M. King. 28 
Stony Brook.. 12} 8 67] 0 | 0 | Josie M. Gove. 30 
| 





976 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 


JOSIAH WARE. 

Josiah Ware is descended in a direct line from 
Robert Ware, husbandman, who, we are informed by 
a record prepared by W. B. Trask, of Dorchester, 
settled in that part of Dedham, Mass., afterwards 
ealled Wrentham. 
prietors of lands granted June 12, 1642; was made 


He was one of the original pro- 


freeman May 26, 1647; wasa member of the artillery | 


company in 1644, and died April 19, 1699. He is 
referred to on the town records as ‘‘ Robert Ware the 
aged,” and his name stands second, in point of wealth, 
on the tax list of that period. He was one of six 
who were “impressed, by virture of a warrant from y° 
major” in Dedham, to serve in the King Philip war. 
His estate was appraised by his administrators at 
£250 2s. 10d. This Robert Ware (1) married Mar- 
garet Hunting; their children were John, Nathaniel, 
Robert, Esther, Samuel, Ephraim, Ebenezer. Of 
these, Nathaniel (2), whose wife was named Mary, 
was born Oct. 7, 1649; died July 1, 1724. Their 
children were five sons and three daughters. One of 
the sons, Josiah (3), was born in Wrentham, March 
21, 1707. 
hood he went to Needham, purchased a tract of un- 
cultivated land, which he improved and cultivated, 
and on which he resided till his death, 1798. He 
married Lydia Macintire, Jan. 7, 1741. Their chil- 
dren were Josiah, Elijah, Lydia, Elijah (2). His 
second wife was Dorothy Dewen, by whom he had 
Asa, Dorothy, Joseph, and Daniel. His third wife 
was Mehitable Whitney, by whom he had Mehitable 
and William. His fourth wife was Sibel Robinson. 
By this marriage there was no issue. Of these ten 
children some of them attained positions of promi- 


Soon after arriving at the age of man- 


nence and were men of noteintheir day. Asa fought 
under Gen. Lee, and lost a hand at the battle of Mon- 
mouth. 
at Wrentham nearly forty years. 
and at the commencement of the war of the Revolu- 


He was deacon of the Congregational Church | 
Joseph was a farmer, | 











Josiah (4), the eldest son, and ancestor of the 
Josiah whose portrait accompanies this sketch, was 
born in Needham, Sept. 15,1742. He removed when 
young to Wrentham, married Lois, daughter of Elisha 
and Phebe Ware, June 8, 1770. He was a very 
worthy man, and an industrious, enterprising farmer, 
and was one of the building committee for erecting 
the first church in North Wrentham. His children 
were Rhoda (died young), Eunice, (married Daniel 
Cook), Josiah, Elisha, Lucy (married Benjamin Rock- 
wood), Darius, and Lois (married Josiah Codding). 
He died Oct. 23, 1836. 

Josiah (5) was brought up on the farm, but also 
learned shoemaking. He married Mehitable Richard- 
son, daughter of Eli Richardson, of Franklin (now 
Norfolk), and removed to Oxford, Mass. There their 


_ only child, Josiah (6), was born, Dec. 12, 1812; and 


when he was but six years of age, Mrs. Ware died. 
Mr. Ware then went west to New York State, where 
he married again, and a few years later died. Young 
Josiah was adopted into the family of his uncle, Daniel 
Cook, of Wrentham, where he received a common- 
school education, and was brought up to work on the 
The abundance of out-door exercise in his 
youth assisted in laying the foundation for a very 


farm. 


vigorous constitution, and to-day, at upwards of seventy 
years, he looks as though he had cheated old Father 
He is one of the 
best-preserved men of his years in Norfolk County, or 


Time out of at least twenty years. 
perhaps in the State. Upon attaining his majority 
he left Mr. Cook and hired out to work on a neigh- 
boring farm one year, at the expiration of which 
time he returned to Mr. Cook. In his twenty-fourth 


| year he married Patty M., daughter of Enoch and 


| Betsey Blake, of Wrentham. 





tion he entered the army and served through the 


war, was at the battles of Concord and Ticonderoga, 
and acted as orderly-sergeant and recruiting officer. 


Col. Benedict Arnold, in the disastrous expedition 


against Quebec. During this expedition he suffered 


He then purchased a small farm in Wrentham and 
engaged in agriculture, in addition to which he also 
did a great deal of lumbering and teaming of various 
kinds, and gradually but surely built up his little 
In December, 1860, Mrs. Ware died, leav- 
Mr. Ware married as his second wife, 


fortune. 
ing no issue. 


January, 1862, Ann Blake, sister of his first consort. 


When the Norfolk County Railroad (now New 


York and New England Railroad) was built, Mr. 
| Ware was appointed its first agent at Norfolk Station, 
He was one of the soldiers who engaged in 1775, under | 


almost incredible hardships, as is shown by a journal | 


which he kept, and which has since been published. 
Daniel, another son, passed two short terms of service 
in the army as orderly sergeant, and afterwards filled 
various public offices in Needham. 


_ dwelling-house and out-buildings. 


a position which he has held to the present time 
through all changes of administration and manage- 
ment. In order to be convenient to his business he 
purchased land adjacent to the depot, and erected a 


At this place he 


_ has continued to reside to the present time. 


In addition to his duties as railroad agent he has 
carried on farming, teaming, and lumbering somewhat 


es li 








NORFOLK. 


977 








extensively, and at one time did a very considerable 
livery business. He is at present doing a large | 
lumber business in copartnership with C. J. Murphy, 
a young man whom Mr. Ware brought up from the 
age of thirteen. 

In political matters Mr. Ware has always taken a_ 
liberal and broad stand, voting for the man rather 
than the party. He has devoted himself to his busi- | 
ness, and avoided all office-seeking, although he has | 
consented to fill a number of minor positions. 

He has been a remarkably energetic and industrious 
man, public-spirited and enterprising in all matters 
pertaining to the public weal and welfare of his town. 
And when any matter of public improvement has 
been undertaken, he has always stood ready to do his © 
part, and more. 

An instance will serve to illustrate the character of | 
the man. When it was proposed to erect a town 
house, an old church was tendered by the parish as a | 


62 





building suitable for the purpose when properly re- 
paired. It was the old house where from his boy- 
hood Mr. Ware had attended church, and his rever- 
ence for the ancient and venerable structure was such, 


-and his desire for its preservation, that he took a very 


active part, and gave of his means substantial aid 
toward having it repaired and remodeled. He was 
chairman of the building committee, and when com- 
pleted he placed therein, at his own expense, an ele- 
gant and valuable tower clock, which will tell the 
hour to the passer-by for many a year, and stand as a 
striking example of Mr. Ware’s generous nature. 


| This is but one of many liberal deeds, but it is illus- 


trative. 

Mr. Ware enjoys to an eminent degree the confi- 
dence of his fellow-townsmen, and is one of the few 
representatives of the ancient and honorable pioneer 
families of this section who converted the wilderness 
into the blooming garden and fruitful field. 


DAs ded kts IN I ae 


THE NORFOLK CLUB. | 


| 


| 
BY A. E. SPROUL. | 
THE Norfolk Club was organized on March 15, 
1884, at Young’s Hotel, in Boston, by gentlemen 
representing the Republican party of Norfolk County. 
It was the result of a movement which had been 
begun only a few weeks before, but which, from the 
very start, had met with almost unexampled favor 
among the class of gentlemen whom it was designed 
to interest in its welfare. At one or two previous 
gatherings of the projectors of the club a preliminary 
organization had been effected, and a committee was 
appointed to issue a “call” for a dinner and report a 
plan for permanent organization. Upwards of one 
hundred and twenty-five gentlemen having assem- | 
bled in one of the hotel parlors, therefore, previous 
to the dinner, the president pro tempore, Maj. J. H. 
Gould, of Medfield, called them to order, and intro- 
duced Mr. George Fred Williams, of Dedham, chair- | 
man of the committee before mentioned. Mr. Wil- 
liams briefly summarized the previous doings of the | 





| 
| 
gentlemen who originated the organization, and then, | 
| 


on behalf of the committee, presented a series of by- | 
laws and a list of permanent officers for the action 
of the gentlemen present. The by-laws, which were 
adopted after a brief discussion, were as follows: 


“ ArtTIcLE I, This Club shall be called the Norfolk Club, its object 
being for political and social purposes only. 
“ ARTICLE II, The officers shall consist of a president, ten vice-presi- 


dents, a secretary, a treasurer, and an executive committee of five mem- 
bers, who shall be elected at the first meeting held in each year. 
“ArticLE LIT, All recommendations or applications for membership 
shall be made to the executive committee in writing, and, if approved 
by them, shall be reported to the next regular meeting. Five votes in 
the negative shall exclude a candidate from admission. 
““ArtTICLE LY. Au admissiou-fee of two dollars shall be paid by each 


new member, and the annual dues shall be one dollar each; and no 
person shall be entitled to membership until after payment of the 
same. 

“ARTICLE V, Meetings of the Club shall be held at such times and 
places as the executive committee shall deem advisable, and notice to 
all members shall be sent by the secretary. 

“ARTICLE VI, The executive committee shall have the general man- 
agement of the affairs of the Club, including invitations to guests; but 
this shall not exclude members from inviting friends.” 


The list of officers presented was also unanimously 
ratified, as follows: President, Asa French, of Brain- | 
tree; Vice-Presidents, Moses Williams, of Brookline, 
J.H. Gould, of Medfield, David W. Tucker, of Milton, 
John W. Candler, of Brookline, J. White Belcher, of 
Randolph, Frank M. Ames, of Canton, Warren E. 

978 





Locke, of Norwood, Joseph G. Ray, of Franklin, Dr. 
W. E. C. Swan, of Stoughton, Albert Jennings, of 
Wellesley; Secretary, George Fred Williams, of 
Dedham; Treasurer, Enos H. Tucker, of Needham; 


"Executive Committee, J. Walter Bradlee, of Milton, 


Charles H. Smith, of Dover, Warren W. Adams, of 
Quincy, H. A. Thomas, of Weymouth, Fred H. Wil- 


_liams, of Foxborough. 


At the conclusion of the business meeting the gen- 
tlemen adjourned to the dining-room. When cigars 
had been reached, in due course, Maj. Gould briefly 
introduced Mr. George Fred Williams, of Dedham, 
as the presiding officer of the occasion. The latter 
gentleman announced that members of the Middlesex 
and Massachusetts Clubs, who had been dining in the 
same hotel, had been invited to come in and join the 
Norfolk. A few moments later the gentlemen of the 
two clubs marched in, the Norfolk members rising 
and applauding loudly. The post-prandial exercises 
were participated in by well-known gentlemen of 
each of the three clubs, and were of a most interesting 
and jovial nature. 

Hon. Asa French, the president of the new club, is 
a resident of South Braintree, where his home has 
been for many years. Never active in politics, he 
has given his best energies to the practice of his pro- 
fession,—the Jaw. For a number of years he was 


_ district attorney for the southeastern district (com- 


prising Norfolk and Plymouth Counties), where he 
achieved a high professional distinction. Declining 
a seat upon the bench of the Superior Court, tendered 
him by Governor Long, he resigned his attorneyship 
in the fall of 1882 to accept an appointment as one of 
the judges of the Court of Alabama Claims in Wash- 
ington. Some years ago Mr. French represented the 
town of Braintree in the Massachusetts House of 
Representatives. His fitness for the presidency of 
the new club was immediately recognized. 

The following gentlemen had signed the by-laws, 
and constituted themselves members of the club, up 
to the close of the club’s second dinner, on April 12, 
1884, on which occasion several State officials and 
other distinguished men were present as guests : 


Name. Post-office Address. 
Je MW DITE|BelChent....esceveneccrcranceuscssecess «Randolph. 








J. Walter Bradlee.. ..-Miltou. 
Charles H. Smith..... .-..Dover. 
Warren W. Adams...... ees QUINCY: 
George Fred Williams.. .... Dedham. 

EIS NI PW ed erhentes-scccesccasscteascereesss --+- Quincy. 
Wire Olrcsssasccessescess «... Quincy. 
Fred H. Williams ............. .... Foxborough. 
Hrastus Worthington. ..........sssccecscccones Dedham. 








a "Se 2 We 





S. S. Gifford...... 


Name. 


APPENDIX. 979 





Post-office Address. 


Je ELA OUIM hacsnaesastcesccc-suscextcoussuccesconasnLedneld. 


S.C. Putnam..... 


M. F. Johnson..... 
Henry H. Faxon..... 


Jonathan Wales... 
George B. Nichols 
Alfred E. Newhal 


Jobn Q. A. Field.... 




















en 


Randolph. 
... Weymouth. 
--- Quincy. 


Charles H. Mayo..... ... Wellesley. 

Tm Se NLOUSOsenaeteneneass sa --- Dedham. 

John M. Whitcomb... . ‘South Weymouth. 
Richard L. Gay......... -.- Hyde Park, 
Napoleon B. Furnald.. ... Quincy. 

Samuel L. White....... --- Holbrook. 

Isaac Fenno............ ...Canton. 


= 


James T. Stevens. 
Thomas E£. Grover... 


George D. Willis.. 
N. W. Dunbar..... 


Sanford Waters Billings.. 


Henry 8. Bunton 













«south Braintree. 
.--Canton. 

..South Braintree. 
...Canton, 
...Sharon. 

... Hyde Park. 

.. Stoughton. 

... Medfield. 


see 


Milton M. Fisher......... ... Medway. 


Albert Jennings.. 


R. G. F. Candage........ 2 
James W. Edgerly.. . 












.--- Wellesley. 
.--- Brookline. 
.- Brookline. 


J.T. Southworth..... 2 --- Holbrook. 
Lyman K. Putney... ... Wellesley. 
J. W. C. Seavey ...... ...Canton. 


J. Anson Guild......... 
William A. Wyckoff... 


William F. Ray... 


Elijah A. Morse......... 


Samuel M. Colcor 
Eben Higgins... 
IBS Re Baker sc-ces 
Waldo F. Ward. 

















... Brookline, 
... Franklin. 
..Franktin. 
...Canton. 
Dover. 
Dover. 

... Brookline. 
.-- Hyde Park. 


d. 


Orin  'T. Gray........ sotsa ..-Hyde Park. 
John 8. Bleakie.... dosnacsaterenges Hyde Park. 
HerbertiMoseleyi.2.<.2:..-2-.<<.00---.02--- --- Needham, 


George W. Tisdale.. 


William Gorse... 
ED: ACH iY cee 
J.D. Hwnt..:. 
James M. Ellis.. 
F. H. Maddocks. 
















.-- Needham. 

... ighlandville. 
... Hyde Park. 

... Foxborough. 
... Dedham. 

..-- Foxborough. 


Louis A. Cook........ -.-South Weymouth. 
Ephraim A. Wood........ .-. Wellesley. 
Robert W. Carpenter...........40. --- Foxborough. 
Williamivlts W062 --c-<.ccecccus -+ seeeeeeee Plainville, 

Willisr Wis Wullenccsssct--c.ccases see sees Plainville. 


Benjamin H. Sanborn.. 









Peco atcsnanccescaaccsnsceecescsee Plainville. 
....Canton. 
.--. Wellesley. 


HARMS DEN Er ts Aeccesct soc cdtescecesee<esdavecacecss Needham. 


C. W. Fearing...... 
P. 8. Young, Jr. 
F. E. Holmes...... 
Charles J. McKen 





George W. Wiggin ......... 


E. B. Thorndike... 
A. T. Starkey.... 
Emery Grover... 
Cyrus W. Jones. 
0. C. Livermore... 


W.R Chester........ 


Everett J. Eaton. 


George R. R. Rivers.. 


Sumner C. Chandl 





Mass. Ins. Technology, Boston. 
aenencsctcesspeusecccrsuscesercer Dedham, 
....Canton. 
....Franklin. 
...- Franklin. 
Saesoace «Canton. 
.... Foxborough. 
.... Needham. 
.... Needham, 
Bodvcssere .... Wellesley Hills, 
fe ..- Brookline. 
.... Needham. 
..-. Milton. 























7ie.... 





er. ..-. Brookline. 
Joseph G. Ray..... «Franklin. 
John C. Lane...... .... Norwood. 
J. P.S. Churchill. ....Milton. 
John B. Bass.........- .-.- Quincy. 


John T. Stetson... 


Arthur Williams.. 


Fravk M. Ames... 


Oakes Ames.............. 
Augustus L. Ware.... 











.... Franklin. 
eee .... Brookline. 
Serko ....Canton. 
moose Canton. 
.-.. Hast Medway. 


Charles F. Jenney..... ....Hyde Park. 


Frederick D. Ely. 
Henry N. Clark... 


Edward Rosenfeld... 
George E Downes.. 


Samuel H. Capen. 
F. L. Babcock...... 
E. H. Tucker... 
A. R. Holmes... 
James R. Wild.. 


Aaron Twigg...... 
William W. Thom 
W. F. Humphrey 


John Humphrey....... 
Cornelius L. White... 


Joseph McKean Churchill... 


J. Winsor Pratt... 























.... Dedham. 
.... Holbrook. 
..-South Weymouth. 
.--.Canton,. 
.Canton. 

peed -Dedham. 

seas .Needham. 
cnate -Canton. 

aensieces ..-- Quincey. 
penis ..-. East Stoughton. 

Susaeeancautaencctierasssmnricasees Needham. 
as sees vooee- QUINCY. 
A .-.- Brookline. 
.... Dorchester. 
.--. Brookville. 
Bees .... East Weymouth. 
-.-- South Weymouth. 
-East Medway. 
.. Milton. 
codededendocachacnacacoaocoarndcn Randolph. 











Name. Post-office Address, 
HGS -DUM DUS seencaraceciestunsionssseeasaccneresere- INC. 
George M. Towle. .. Brookline. 


Asa P. French ..South Braintree. 
IAS EL PO WEY ccesesene ss .. Cohasset. 




















H. H. MeQuillen.... Dedham 
George B. French.. Holbrook, 
Charles H. Porter.......... + Quincy. 
Edward Isaiah Thomas.. ..-. Brookline. 
ATONZOMS.) WON CWOFT Mc. csccssccsecstcuccenosess Dedham. 
E. D. Houston............. .... Franklin. 
Walter R. Swan.... seeeees. Stoughton. 
William Curtis...... seeeeeeee StOUCHtOD. 


L. W. Morrison... ..... Braintree. 


MOVs AGG sacs. sconctecccccvocsccassddcesctiecverieete Needham. 
POSITANO CCU erecacstepcccaseascccaencesvarscsstadoess South Weymouth. 
Bradfordsh@wis:s.c:-csseccesssssscesechsss0seen ee: Walpole. 

BW. Rockwood) Halle. sc -.-<c,.ccc0seesessecssssccas: Brookline. 
Charles J. McPherson.... .. Walpole 

COUGH ath away ccccccasecosccss-eceaecseene-craees Randolph. 
Frank B. Rich.... .. Hyde Park 

J. Q. A. Lothrop. Cohasset 

Wer; MIshOr)scccssesc ..Medwa 

SHAR Merrillysccperet cere .. Wollaston Heights. 
Theophilus King, Jr.. -- Quincy. 
Rufus C. Wood........... .. Dedham. 

C. A. Thayer...... .. Randolph. 

He Wiy Prattzns.sce- ...Randolph. 
Charles Endicott.. ... Canton. 

W. E. C. Swan...... ... Stoughton. 
DL Whi tOnnecseceses -- Quincy Point. 
Samuel R. Moseley.. cae ... Hyde Park. 
Walton Hallimer..cs:.- one ---Quincy Point. 
Os Wa Alkemiisitsicciceeccscccsescscte cose ... Hyde Park. 
Robert Bleakie.......... oss ... Hyde Park 
George A. Fletcher... Milton. 
Frederic J. Stinson.... ...Dedham, 

AS RHITON Chiteccnccesceentscarcacseeees Sceescovescsses Braintree, 





QUINCY. 


The Quincy Patriot, which is the oldest paper in 
Norfolk County, was established in Quincy, Mass., 
Jan. 1, 1837, by Messrs. Green & Osborne. It was 
conducted only three months under this firm when 
Mr. Osborne retired, and Mr. John A. Green, the 
senior member, assumed the control, and it continued 
under his management the succeeding fourteen years. 

In July, 1851, Mr. Green sold the Patriot to Messrs. 
Gideon F. Thayer and George White. These gentle- 
men being unacquainted with the printing business, 
found, notwithstanding the talent and ability they 
brought into their new field of labor, that the editing 
of a country paper was not a remunerative business, 
and after nine months of editorial honors Mr. Thayer 
sold his interest to Mr. White, who for the year fol- 
lowing labored hard, only to find, like his retiring 
partner, that his editorial labors were not a financial 
success. 

Mr. Green again became its possessor, and-eontin- 
ued its publication until his death, in 1861. At this 
time his widow assumed charge, and continued its 
publication until 1869, when Mr. George W. Pres- 
cott, who had been her business manager, entered 
into a partnership, and the Patriot has been con- 
ducted very successfully under their editorial labors, 
and has now a circulation unsurpassed by any other 
paper in the county. 

When the Patriot was first published in 1837 it was 
a very diminutive sheet, being only twenty by thirty 
inches in size. When Messrs. Thayer & White became 
owners they increased the size to twenty-two by thirty- 
two inches. It remained this size until 1866, when 
it was enlarged to twenty-four by thirty-six inches. 


980 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





In 1872 it was again enlarged to twenty-six and a half | Hardwick & Co.; Samuel Martin, Thomas Hollis, 


by forty-one inches. The publishers in 1880 again 
felt the necessity of enlarging the Patriot to meet the 
wants of their numerous patrons. 
made to the size twenty-nine by forty-four inches ; 
and a beautiful engraving representing the granite 
business, the principal business of the town, was 
placed at the top of the first page. 

The Patriot has now almost reached a half-century, 
and can feel proud of its record, for during all this 
time it has never missed one publication, and has 
always been set in type and printed in the building 
that the first number was issued from. The present 
publishers have made it an independent sheet, free 
from all sectarian and political bias, and have thereby 
secured a very large advertising patronage, and at the 
same time secured a very large circulation at a sub- 
scription price of two dollars and fifty cents per year. 

The Quincy Aurora was started by Charles Clapp, 
Jan. 1, 1848, and was discontinued in about three 
years. 

The Quincy Free Press was established Sept. 7, 
1878, by N. T. Merritt, but is now obsolete. 

Quincy Quarry Interest.—The following is a list 


of the firms that have been engaged in the quarry | 


business since 1813. The date preceding the name 
indicates the date of beginning business. 18138, New- 
comb & Richards, composed of Bryant Newcomb and 
Joseph Richards; 1817, William Packard; 1825, 
Granite Railway Company, Gridley Bryant, agent, 
succeeded by S. R. Robinson, George Penniman, J. 
B. Whicher, and O. E. Shelden; 1827, Richards & 
Newcomb (Joseph Richards, Jonathan Newcomb) ; 
1827, Bunker Hill Association, Solomon Williard, 
agent; 1827, Samuel Martin; 1828, Thomas Hollis; 
1829, Newcomb Brothers (Jona A. and Samuel New- 
comb); 1829, Richards & Munn (Joseph Richards, 
Luther Munn); 1834, Thomas Hollis, Jr.; 1884-42, 
Wright & Barker (Henry Barker and Abel Wright) ; 
1842-64, Barker, Wright & Co.; 1866, Henry Barker 
& Sons; 1835, O. T. Rogers & Co. (O. T. Rogers, 
Jacob Bunton, Samuel Babcock, and Noah Cum- 
mings); 1836, Moore, Day & Co.; 1836, A. J. Moshier 
& Co.; 1886, Beal & Frederick (Horace Beal and 
Eleazer Frederick); 1837, Frederick &. Field (E. 


This time it was | 


Thomas Hollis & Flanders, Rattlesnake Quarry, now 
worked by O. T. Rogers & Co.; Bass Quarry, now 
worked by Frederick & Field; William M. Kidder 
also worked the Bass Quarry, John L. Dutton also 
worked the Gass Quarry, and Ezra Badger worked 
near Mount Ararat, now operated by Churchill & Co.; 
Frederick J. Fuller, James Garrety, Lewis Dell & Co., 
Carris & Co., William Shay & Son, McKenzie & 
Patterson, Mitchel Granite-Works, Badger Brothers, 
P. F. Lacy, Harris Farnum, Adam Vogle & Son, 
J. S. Vogle, Miller & Luce, McDonald Brothers, 
Merrymount Granite Co., McGrath Brothers, and 
numerous others, embracing probably nearly one hun- 
dred firms engaged in the various branches of the 
business. 


REPRESENTATIVES TO GENERAL COURT FROM 1792 TO 1884 
1792. Peter Boylston Adams, Esq. | 1840. Henry Wood. 

1793. Voted not to send, | 1841. William B. Duggan, 

1794. Peter Boylston Adams, Esq. | 1842. John Gregory. 


1795. Benjamin Beale, Esq. | 1843. No choice. 
1796. Voted not to send, 1844. Voted not to send. 
1797. Moses Black, Esq. | 1845. No choice. 
1798. Benjamin Beale, Esq. | 1846. No choice. 
| 1799-1802. Moses Black. | 1847. No choice. 
1803. Voted not to send. 1848. George Marsh. 


1849, 
1850. 


Voted not to send. 
Joseph W. Robertson. 
George Marsh. 

No choice. 

Noah Cummings. 
Frederick A. Trask. 
No choice. 

Wyman Abercrombie. 
Thomas C. Webb. 
Wyman Abercrombie. 
William W. Baxter. 
George L. Gill. 
Francis M, Johnson. 
Franklin Curtis. 
William S. Morton, 
Jonathan Jameson. 
Charles Marsh. 

Noah Cummings. 


1804. Moses Black. 

1805. Thomas B. Adams. 

1806. Benjamin Beale. 

1807. Voted not to send. 

1808-11. Thomas Greenleaf. 

1812-20. Thomas Greenleaf. 
Benjamin Beale. 

1821. Edward Miller. 
Noah Curtis. 

1822. Voted not to send. 

1823-24. Edward Miller. 

1825. Peter Whitney. 

1826. Voted not to send. 

1827. John Whitney. 

1828-30. Jolin Souther. 

1831. John Souther. 

Edward Glover. 
2. Thomas Taylor. 


1851. 
1852. 


| 1853. 
1854. 


1855. 





1856. 


1857. 
1858. 
1859. 
| 1860. 
1861. 





Frederick and William Field); 1838, New York Ex- | 


change Company, Solomon Williard, agent; 1840, | 
Richards, Munn & Co. (Joseph Richards, Luther | 


Munn, Lysander Richards, and John S. Lyons) ; 
1844, J. B. Whicher & Co. (J. B. Whicher, O. E. 
Shelden, J. Jameson, and Samuel Ely). 

The following are also engaged in the quarrying 
Josiah Bemis, Joel Bemis, George Fol- 
lett, Thomas Drake; Greenleaf Quarry: James New- 
comb worked in the South and North Commons; B. 
Newcomb, J. 


business: 


South Common; Ezra Beals worked the Gass Quarry, 
now worked by Field & Wild; William Pacher 


worked the Pacher Quarry, now worked by C. H. | 


Newcomb, and 8. Newcomb, in the | 


Edward Glover. 1862. John Chamberlin. 


1833. Thomas Taylor. 1863. Henry Barker. 
Edward Glover. 1864. Henry H. Faxon. 
John Souther. 1865. John Quincy Adams. 


| 1866. 
1867. 


George L. Gill. 
John Quincy Adams, 


1834-35. Thomas Taylor. 
Edward Glover. 


Harvey Field. 1868. Henry Barker. 
1836. Harvey Field. | 1869. Edmund B. Taylor. 
1837. John Whitney. 1870. John Quincy Adams. 


1871. 
1872. 
1873. 
1874. 
1875. 


Henry H. Faxon. 
James A. Stetson. 
John Quincy Adams. 
William A. Hodges. 
John D. Whicher. 


1838. William B. Duggan. 

| Lemuel Spear. 
James Newcomb, 

1839. Nathaniel White. 

; George Baxter. 
Ebenezer Bent. 


In 1876 a change was made in the representative 
districts. Quincey and Weymouth were united and 
allowed three representatives. Since then the fol- 
lowing have been elected, viz. : 


1876.—Henry F. Barker, of Quincy; Benjamin S. Lovell, George F. 


Hayden, of Weymouth. 

| 1877.—Edwin W. Marsh, of Quincy; Benjamin S. Lovell, George F. 
Hayden, of Weymouth. 

| 1878.—Edwin W. Marsh, Edwin B. Pratt, of Quincy ; Freeman Hollis, 


of Weymouth. 





. e 


APPENDIX. 


981 








1879.—Edwin B. Pratt, of Quincy; Nathan D. Canterbury, Louis A. | 
Cook, of Weymouth. ; 

1880.—Charles H. Porter, James Edwards, of Quincy; Nathan D. Can- | 
terbury, of Weymouth. 

1881.—Charles H. Porter, of Quincy; Francis A. Bicknell, Nathan D. 
Canterbury, of Weymouth. 

1882.— William G. A. Pattee, Willian N. Eaton, and George A. Barker, 
all of Quincy. 

1883.—William G. A. Pattee, William N. Eaton, of Quincy; George A. 
Cushing, of Weymouth. 


QUINCY’S QUOTA, 1861-1866. 
Compiled from the Adjutant-General’s Records. 
Three Months’ Service, 1861. 
FOURTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. M. 


Mustered in the United States service, April 22, 1861, for three months, 
and discharged July 22, 1861. 
Abner B. Packard, col. ; Henry M. Saville, surg.; William L. Faxon, 
assist. surg.; Henry Walker, adjt. 


Company H. 
Robert Monk, sergt. 
William H. H. Lapham, corp. 
Thomas Smith, corp. 

William S. Wilbur, corp. 
Morton Packard, corp. 


Franklin Curtis, capt. 

Edward A. Spear, 1st lieut. 
Benjamin F. Meservey, 2d lieut. 
Charles F. Pray, Ist sergt. 
Matthew M. C. Chubbuck, sergt. 
John Williams, sergt. 


Privates. 


Brockett, Caleb. 
Chubbuck, David T. 
Colburn, Lemuel A. 
Dowd, James J. 
Feltis, William H. 
French, Deniel F. 
Gibson, George W. 
Hayden, George L. 
Jameson, Charles H. 
Josselyn, Robert. 
Kimball, Howard M1 
Lamson, John H. 
Lapham, Frederick A. 
Lapham, Joseph A. 
Larkin, John. 
Marden, Frank M. 


The following were recruited to fillupthe company, were mustered in 


May 22, 1861, and served two months: 


George W. Pope, drum-major. 


Bent, Luther S. 
Bent, F. Edward. 
Barker, Henry F. 
Bass, Benjamin F. 
Baxter, William H. 
Brown, Edwin. 
Burrill, David J. 
Chubbuck, Percy, Jr. 
Cleverly, George F. 


Cunningham, James H. 


Cummings, Noah lL. 
Damon, Edward, Jr. 
Enderle, Joseph 8S. 
Ewell, Lendell H. 
Fisher, Richard H. 


Nightingale, Alonzo A. 
Nightingale, Samuel A. 
Nutting, Charles A. 
Nutting, Edward W. H. 
Perkins, Edward L. 
Pope, Alexander P. 
Pope, William O. 
Reynolds, William W. 
Riley, Charles D, 
Rideout, Luke A. 
Shaw, Horatio E. 
Spear, Warren Q. 
Totman, Freeman M. 
Turner, Henry C.1 
Turner, John Bl 
Wildman, Henry G. 


Albert Keating, musician. 


Privates. 


Furnald, Alonzo. 
Glover, Nathaniel E. 
Hunt, Charles N. 
Josephs, Freeman. 
Joyce, Edwin L. 
Margue, Peter P. 
Newcomb, Peter. 
Nightingale, Wyman B. 
Parker, John, Jr. 
Pierce, Charles E. 
Prior, Hiram B. 
Sheen, William G. 
Spear, Christopher A. 
Souther, Francis L.? 
Souther, Horace O. 


FIFTH REGIMENT INFANTRY YM. V. M., Company G. 
Southern, George G. 


SIXTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. VY. M., Company E, 


Whitney, John. 





1 Non-resident. 


2 Died from wounds received at battle of Big Bethel. 











Three Years’ Service. 
FIRST REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


| Sampson, Charles M., Co. D, must. May 24,1861; disch. November, 1865; 


pro. capt.and A.Q.M., U.S. V. 


| Bent, Luther M., Co. I, must. May 24, 1861; died Oct. 1, 1862. 


Kidder, George R., Co. I, must. May 24, 1861; disch. May 25, 1864. 


SECOND REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Nutting, Abel, Band, must. May 25, 1861: disch. Sept. 8, 1862. 
Watson, Benjamin, Band, must. May 25, 1861; disch. Sept. 8, 1862. 
Starbuck, George, Co. E, must. May 25, 1861; died Feb. 24, 1863. 
Billings, James D., Co. G, must. May 25, 1861; disch. Feb. 4, 1863. 
Cronin, John, Co. G, must. May 25, 1861; disch. Oct. 17, 1863. 
Moriarty, Dennis, Co. G, must. May 25, 1861; died April 1, 1862. 
O’Connell, Andrew, Co. G, must. May 25, 1861; disch. July 26, 1863. 
O’Connell, Maurice, Co. G, must. May 25, 1861; disch. July 26, 1863. 
Scannell, James, Co. G, must. May 25, 1861; disch. April 22, 1863. 
Toal, John, Co. G, must. May 25, 1861; disch. May 28, 1864. 
Hathaway, George B., Co. G, must. Aug. 29, 1864; disch. July 14, 1865. 
Alston, Michael, Johnson, William, Lomas, William, unassigned recruits, 
must. June 15, 1864, but never joined the regiment. 


SEVENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Hetherston, Martin C, sergt. Co. E, must. June 15, 1861; disch. Dec. 26, 
1863, to re-enlist.; re-enl. Dec. 27, 1863; trans. to 37th Inf. June 14, 
1864. 

Keegan, Stephen J., Co. E, must. June 15, 1861; disch. June 27, 1864. 


NINTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Dasey, Daniel, Co. A, must. Feb. 4, 1862; deserted April 29, 1863. 

Kirvan, Thomas, Co. A, June 11, 1861; deserted Aug. 21, 1863. 

Buchan, William, Co. B, must. Feb. 18, 1862; trans. to 32d Inf. June 9, 
1864. 

McIntire, William, Co. B, must. June 11, 1861; deserted June 29, 1863. 


| Burke, William, Co. C, must. Feb. 11, 1862; trans. to 32d Inf. June 10, 


1864. 
O’Mahony, Daniel, Co. C, must. Feb. 26, 1862 ; trans. to 32d Inf. June 
10, 1864. 
O’Neal, Patrick, Co. C, must. June 11, 1861; deserted Aug. 28, 1862. 
Messer, Charles E., Co. D, must. June 11, 1861; disch. March 20, 1863. 
Daveron, Michael, Co. E, must. June 11, 1861; disch. June 21, 1864. 


| Enright, Michael, Co. E, must. June 11, 1861; died Jan. 11, 1863. 


Fenton, Michael, Co. E, must. June 11, 1861; trans. to 17th Inf. 

Nole, James P., Co. E, must. Aug. 2), 1863; killed May 12, 1864. 
McGann, John, Co. G, must. Feb. 5, 1862; disch. March 6, 1863. 
Doran, Andrew, corp., Co. I, must. June 11, 1861; disch. Feb. 12, 1863. 
Cullen, John, Co. I, must. June 11, 1861; disch. Nov. 19, 1862. 
Mundy, Bernard, Co. I, must. June 11, 1861; disch. Sept. 21, 1861. 
Flynn, Joseph, Co. K, must. June 11, 1861; killed May 5, 1864. 
Naphut, Mathias, Co. K, must. Aug. 21, 1863; trans. to 32d Inf. 


ELEVENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Ricker, John W., Co. A, must. June 13, 1861; disch. Dec. 28, 1863, to 
re-enlist; re-enl. Dec. 29, 1863; disch. July 14, 1865. 

Connell, John, Co. C, must. June 13, 1861; disch. June 24, 1864. 

Fallon, Thomas, Co. D, must. June 13, 1861; disch. Sept. 21, 1863. 

Scott, John, Co. E, must. June 13,1861; disch. June 24, 1864. 

Howe, Belcher S., corp., Co. F, must. Dec. 26, 1863; disch, Juty 14,1865 ; 
trans. from 16th Inf. 

Quincy, Charles 0., Co. F, must. June 13, 1861; disch. June 17, 1864; 
trans. to V. R. C. July 16, 1863. 

Wood, Henry A., Co. F, must. June 13, 1861; missing Aug. 29, 1862. 

Bent, George A., Co. H, must. June 13, 1861; disch. June 24, 1864; 
trans. to V. R. C. Sept. 12, 1863. 

Bent, John Q., Co. H, must. June 13, 1861; disch. June 24, 1864. 

Ryan, Peter, Co. H, must. June 13, 1861; disch. August, 1865; trans. to 
U.S. A. Nov. 1, 1862. 

White, Henry C., Co. I, must. June 13, 1861; disch. June 14, 1864; 
trans. to V. R. C. Aug. 24, 1863. 

Maloney, Thomas, Co. K, must. Aug. 14, 1863; died March 13, 1864, 


TWELFTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Manning, Michael, sergt., Co. C, must. June 21, 1861; disch. April 1, 
1864. 


| Thayer, William F., Co. C, must. June 21, 1861; disch, Dec. 4, 1863. 
| Pratt, J. Wesley, Co. D, must. July 10, 1863; disch. Jan. 4, 1864. 


982 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








Phillips, George L., Co. E, must. June 26, 1861; disch. July 8, 1864. 
Wright, George W., sergt., Co. K, must. June 26, 1861; disch. July 8, 
1864. 


THIRTEENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Holden, Henry A., Co. A, must. July 16, 1861; killed Aug. 30, 1862. 
Bigelow, Loring, corp., Co. B, must. July 16, 1861; died Oct. 18, 1862. 
Field, William A., Co. B, must. July 16, 1861; disch. June 25, 1862. 
Stetson, Warren B., Co. B, must. July 16, 1861; disch. Dec. 30, 1862. 
Brown, Frank, Co. G, must. July 28, 1863; trans. to navy April 23, 1864, 


FIFTEENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 
Moore, Henry, Co. G, must. Aug. 1, 1863; deserted April 18, 1864. 


SIXTEENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. VY. 


Hart, Bernard, corp., Co. A, must. July 2, 1861; disch. Oct. 12,1863. 
Gallagher, Edward, Co. C, must. Aug. 17, 1863 ; deserted Feb. 27, 1864. 
Bowditch, Joseph E., Co. F, must. Dec. 23, 1861; disch. Aug. 26, 1863. 
Howe, Belcher S.. corp., Co. I, must. Dec. 23, 1861; disch. Dec. 26, 1863, 
to re-enlist; re-enl. Dec. 27, 1863; traus. to 11th Inf. July 11, 1864. 


SEVENTEENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M.V. 


Maley, Melville, sergt., Co. D, must. Sept. 20, 1864; disch. June 30, 
1865. 

Briggs, William H., Co. D, must. Sept. 13, 1864; disch. June 30, 1865 ; 
trans. from 2d Heavy Artillery. 

Fenton, Michael, Co. D, must. March 10, 1862; disch. May 9, 1863. 

Fallon, Patrick, Co. E, must. Jan. 26,1862; disch. March 14, 1864, to re- 
enlist. 

Usher, James, Co. E, must. Jan. 20, 1862; disch. April 3, 1863. 

Murphy, James B., corp., Co. G, must. Sept. 2, 1864; disch. June 30, 
1865; trans. from 2d Heavy Artillery. 


EIGHTEENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Meservey, Benjamin F., Ist lieut., must. Aug. 20, 1861; disch. Sept. 2, 
1864; pro. capt. Oct, 24, 1862; brey. maj. 

Hunt, James W., Co. A, must. Sept. 23, 1861 ; disch. Jan. 25, 1862. 

Hunt, Harrison S8., Co. C, must. Jan. 14, 1862; disch. Aug. 20, 1862. 

Dowd, James J., Co. E, must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Sept. 2, 1864. 

Snell, Aaron H., Co. E, must. Feb. 16, 1864; killed June 3, 1864. 

Gummings, Charles, Co. F, must. Ang. 24, 1861; disch. Jan. 24, 1863. 

Schmidt, William, Co. F, must. Aug. 24, 1863; deserted Sept. 16, 1863. 


Company K. 

Pray, Charles F., Ist sergt., must. Aug. 24, 1861; pro. sergt.-maj., 2d 
lieut., Ist lieut., capt.; killed June 3, 1864. 

Bent, Luther S., sergt., must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Oct. 4, 1864; pro. 2d 
lieut., 1st lieut., capt., maj. 

Pratt, John A., sergt., must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Feb. 15, 1864, to re- 
enlist; re-enl. Feb. 16, 1864; disch. Sept. 2, 1864; pro. Ist lieut. 

Smith, Thomas, corp., must Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Jan. 26, 1863. 

Carver, Charles W., corp., must. Aug. 24, 1861 ; died Nov. 26, 1862. 


Chubbuck, James, corp., must. Aug. 24,1861; disch. Feb. 15, 1864, to | 


re-enlist; re-enl. Feb. 16, 1864; killed June 3, 1864. 

Packard, Morton, corp., must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Feb. 15, 1864, to re- 
enlist; re-enl. Feb, 16, 1864; trans. to 32d Inf.; died Oct. 20, 1864. 

Spear, Warren ()., corp, must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Jan. 6, 1863. 

Jameson, Charles H., corp., must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Sept. 2, 1864; 
pro. Ist sergt. 

Marden, Frank M., corp., must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Sept. 2, 1864. 

Harrington, Leonard B., must. Aug. 24, 1861; died May 22, 1862. 

Nourse, Hiram P., must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Sept. 2, 1864. 

Nutting, Charles A., must. Aug. 24,1861; disch. Feb. 8, 1864, to re-enlist ; 
re-enl. Feb. 9, 1864; trans. to 32d Inf. Oct. 26, 1864. 

White, John, must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Feb. 15, 1864, to re-enlist; re- 
enl. Feb. 16, 1864; trans. to 32d Inf. Oct. 26, 1864. 

Cain, Edward, must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Sept. 2, 1864. 

Chubbuck, Frank G., must. Aug. 24, 1861; died Oct. 7, 1863. 

Dow, Lorenzo, must. Aug. 24,1861; disch. Feb. 15, 1864, to re-enlist; 
re-enl. Feb. 16, 1864; trans. to 32d Inf. Oct. 26, 1864. 

Flanigan, Michael, must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Sept. 2, 1864. 

Foster, Greenleaf, must. Aug. 24, 1861; died March 3, 1864. 

French, Daniel F., must. Aug, 24, 1861; disch. Nov. 8, 1862. 

Gibson, Edward J., must. Aug. 24, 1861; died Oct. 24, 1862. 

Golding, James, must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. April 19, 1864. 

Howard, Alonzo, must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. March 3, 1863. 

Jones, Joshua, must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Sept. 2, 1864. 

Lapham, Joseph A., must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Feb. 28, 1863. 





Marque, Peter, must. Aug. 24, 1861; killed Aug. 80, 1862. 
McKay, Duncan, must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Sept. 2, 1864. 
Packard, Henry F., must. Aug. 24, 1861; died Jan. 3, 1863. 
Perkins, Edward L., must. Aug. 24,1861; disch. Sept. 2, 1864. 
O’Connell, Thomas, must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Feb. 29, 1864. 
Pierce, Samuel, must. Aug. 24, 1861; killed Aug. 30, 1862. 
Pope, Alexander P., must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Feb. 15, 1864, to re-enlist; _ 

re-enl, Feb. 16, 1864; trans. to 32d Inf., Oct. 26, 1864. 
Pope, William O., must. Aug. 24, 1861; drowned Jan, 23, 1864. 
Rideout, Luke A., must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Nov. 15, 1862. 
Swan, Charles S., must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Dec. 10, 1862. 
Tracy, Edward L., must. Aug. 24, 1861; deserted May 5, 1862. 
Walsh, Peter, must. Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Jan. 1, 1863. 


NINETEENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Chubbuck, David T., Co. K, must. Aug. 28, 1861; disch. Dec. 30, 1864; 
pro. 2d lieut., Ist lieut. 
Toomey, Michael, Co. I, must. May 19, 1864; disch. June 30, 1865. 


TWENTIETH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Leland, Morace F., Co. A, must. July 19, 1862; deserted August, 1863. 

Hanifan, John, Co B, must. July 22, 1861; disch. July 27, 1865 ; trans. 
to V. R. C. Feb. 15, 1864. 

Wildman, Henry G., Co. B, must. Aug. 6, 1861; dishonorably discharged 
by court-martial, Jan. 20, 1863. 

Derry, Horace A., sergt., Co. D; must. July 18, 1861; disch. Jan. 6, 1863; 
pro. 2d lieut., declined commission. 

Dag, John, Co. D, must. March 30, 1864; killed June 8, 1864. 

Luzarder, Joseph, must. July 18, 1861; disch. Dec. 22, 1861. 

Holbrook, Alden H., Co. D, must. July 18, 1861; disch. Dec. 20, 1863, to 
re-enlist; re-enl. Dec. 21, 1863; disch. July 16, 1865. 

Cummings, Noah L., Co. E, must. Feb. 26, 1862; disch. March 12, 1864, 
to re-enlist; re-enl. March 13, 1864; killed May 6, 1864. 

McGowan, John, Co. E, must. July 22, 1861; killed June 30, 1862. 

O'Neil, Cornelius, Co. E, must. Aug. 24, 1861; deserted March, 1862. 

Williams, Evan, Co. F, must. Aug. 27, 1862; disch. March 18, 1863. 

Hetherston, Martin C., Co. K, must. Dec. 27, 1863; disch. July 16, 1865 ; 
trans. from 37th Inf. 

McGuire, John, must. Aug. 7, 1863; no record. 


TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Gibson, George W., corp., Co. C, must. Aug. 23, 1861; pro. 2d lieut. July 
29, 1862; Ist lieut. Sept. 2, 1862; dismissed the service June 5, 
1863. 

Colburn, Lemuel A, Co, ©, must. Aug. 23, 1861 ; died Noy. 11, 1862. 


TWENTY-SECOND REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Kennedy, James, Co. C, must. June 18, 1864; trans. to 32d Inf. Oct. 26, « 
1864. 

Badger, Leone C., Co. F, must, July 17, 1863; trans. to 32d Inf. Oct. 26, 
1864. 

Fletcher, Frederick F, Co. F, must. Aug. 10, 1861; died Aug. 24, 1864. 

Trainer, Thomas, Co. K, must. Oct. 1, 1861; disch. October, 1864; trans. 
to V. R. C. Sept. 1, 1863. 


TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT INFANTRY M. VY. 


| Barker, Charles A., Co. C, must. Oct. 9, 1861; disch. Oct. 13, 1864. 


Jones, Alonzo, Co. H, must. Sept. 28, 1861; disch. Sept. 15, 1862. 
Jones, William, Co. H, must. Dec. 6, 1861; died April 9, 1862. 
Ryan, James, Co. H, must. Dec. 6, 1861; killed March 14, 1862. 


TWENTY-FOURTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Guptil, John A., Co. A, must. Dec. 21, 1863; disch. Jan. 20, 1866. 

Egan, William, Co. A, must. Sept. 17, 1861: disch. Sept. 17, 1864. 

Howley, John W., Co. A, must. Nov. 14, 1861; disch. Dec. 20, 1863, to 
re-enlist ; re-enl. Dec. 21, 1863; disch. Jan. 10, 1865. 


| McNulty, Michael, Co. A, must. Noy. 14, 1861; disch. Dec. 20, 1863, to 


re-enlist. 

Brent, William H., Co. B, must. Oct. 1, 1861; disch. Dec. 18, 1863, to 
re-enlist ; re-evl. Dec. 19, 1863; disch. January, 1866; trans. to V. 
R. C. April 17, 1865. 

White, George, Co. B, must. Dec. 19, 1863; disch. Jan. 20, 1866. 

Furnald, Alonzo, Co. C, must. Oct. 8, 1861; disch. Jan. 3, 1864, to re- 
enlist. 

Chubbuck, Perez, Co. C, must. Oct. 21, 1861; disch. Jan. 3, 1864, to re- 
enlist. 

Conly, John, Co. C, must. Jan. 4, 1864; disch. Jan. 20, 1866. 

Gray, Samuel B., Co. C, must. Jan. 4, 1864; killed Aug. 16, 1864, 


' 





APPENDIX. 


983 





Souther, George G., Co. C, must. Sept. 10, 1861; disch. July 8, 1863. 

Martin, John W., Co. D, must. Nov. 29, 1861; disch. Jan. 1, 1864, to re- 
enlist. 

Luzarder, John, Co. F, must. Noy. 2, 1861; disch. July 15, 1862. 

Newcomb, Thomas J., Co. F, must. Oct. 19, 1861; disch. Jan. 16, 1864. 

Nightingale, Alonzo A., Co. G, must. Sept. 10, 1861; disch. Jan. 3, 1864, 
to re-enlist; re-enl. Jan. 4, 1864; disch. June 16, 1865. 

Lawless, Richard, corp., Co.G, must. Sept. 11, 1861; killed Dec. 16, 
1862. 

Trask, Henry, corp., Co. G, must. Sept. 24, 1861; died June 3, 1862. 

Hurley, David, Co. G, must. Sept. 19, 1861; disch. Sept. 19, 1864. 

Lingham, George H., Co. G, must. Dec. 3, 1861; disch. July 15, 1862. 

McDermot, Martin, Co. G, must. Oct. 7, 1861; disch. Jan. 3, 1864, to re- 
enlist; re-enl. Jan. 4, 1864; disch. Jan. 20, 1866. 

McIntire, Lewis G., Co. G, must. Sept. 24, 1861; disch. Jan. 3, 1864, to 
re-enlist; re-enl. Jan. 4, 1864; disch. July 20, 1865. 

Wilbur, William S., Co. G, must. Sept. 10, 1861; disch. Jan. 3, 1864, to re- 
enlist; re-enl. Jan. 4, 1864; disch. Jan. 20, 1866. 


TWENTY-SIXTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Russell, Edward, assist. surg.; must. July 29, 1862; disch. April 30, 
1863. 
Kehoe, John, Co. I, must. Sept. 21, 1861; died Aug. 17, 1862. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


McGann, Thomas W., Co. A, must. Dec. 13, 1861; died Dec. 24, 1864. 

Riley, William T., Co. A, must. Dec. 30, 1861; disch. Dec. 19, 1864. 

Martin, John, Co. B, must. Aug. 11, 1863; disch. Dec. 13, 1864. 

Daniels, Patrick, Co. C, must. Sept. 27,1864; disch. June 30, 1865. 

Bennett, Osmand, Co. D, must. Jan. 30, 1862; killed June 3, 1864. 

Smith, John, Co. E, must. Aug. 11, 1863; disch. June 19, 1865. 

Barnacle, Peter, Co. G, must. Jan. 3, 1862; disch. Jan. 1, 1864, to re- 
enlist. 

Ballou, Lawrence, Co. I, must. Dec. 13, 1861; disch. Dec, 13, 1864 ; trans. 
to U. 8S. A. Noy. 1, 1862. 

Dorney, Patrick, Co. I, must. Dec. 13, 1861; deserted Aug. 25, 1862. 

Galvin, Michael, Co. I, must. Dec. 26, 1861 ; disch. Jan. 22, 1863. 

Howley, Patrick, Co. I, must. Dec. 13, 1861; disch. Feb. 12, 1863. 

McLaughlin, Lawrence, Co. I, must. Jan. 1, 1862; disch. Jan. 1, 1864, 
to re-enlist ; re-enl. Jan. 2, 1864; killed June 22, 1864. 


TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Golden, James, Co. A, must. May 21,1861; disch. July 11, 1861. 

Hodgkinson, Stephen, Co. F, must. Nov. 17, 1861; disch. Noy. 14, 1862. 

Nightingale, Charles L, Co. H, must. Jan. 1, 1862; disch. Jan. 1, 1864, 
to re-enlist. 


THIRTIETH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Conner, Michael, Co. A, must. Oct. 9, 1861; disch. Feb. 12, 1864, to re- 
enlist. 

Donahue, Michael, Co. A, must. Oct. 9, 1861; disch. Feb. 12, 1864, to re- 
enlist. 

Donahue, Michael, sergt., Co. A, must. Feb. 13, 1864; deserted March 
14, 1866. 

Deady, Edward, Co. A, must. Jan. 1, 1862; disch. April 4, 1862. 

Marrah, Michael, Co. A, must. Nov. 23, 1861 ;, disch. Jan. 1, 1864, to re- 
enlist ; re-enl. Jan. 2, 1864; deserted April 18, 1864. 

Smith, Martin, Co. G, must. Dec. 30, 1861; disch. June 11, 1863. 

Smith, Martin, Jr., Co. G, must. Nov. 30, 1861; disch. Jan. 1, 1864, to 
re-eulist ; sergt., re-enl. Jan. 2, 1864; disch. July 1, 1864. 

Parker, Lorenzo D., Co. H, must. Dec. 16, 1861; disch. Dec. 8, 1892. 

Brown, John P., Co. I, must. Jan. 2, 1864; killed Oct. 19, 1864. 


THIRTY-SECOND REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Faxon, William L., asst. surg., must. June 2, 1862; disch. May 31, 1865; 
pro. surgeon Aug. 5, 1863. 

Marrah, Jeremiah, corp., Co. A, must. Nov. 7, 1861; disch. Jan. 4, 1864 
to re-enlist; serg., re-enl. Jan. 5, 1864; re-enl. disch. June 29, 1865. 

Pope, Charles E., Co. A, must. Noy. 6, 1861; disch. Dec. 10, 1864; trans. 
to V. R. C., September, 1863. 

Clark, Benjamin H., Co. A, must. Jan. 5, 1864; disch. Dec. 8, 1865. 

Clark, Franklin A., Co. A, must. Nov. 3, 1861; disch. Jan. 4, 1864, to re- 
enlist; re-enl. Jan. 5, 1864; disch. June 29, 1865. 

Glover, Erastus M., Co. A, must. Nov. 3, 1861 ; disch. July 29, 1862. 

Lapham, George F., Co. A, must. Nov. 6, 1861; died July 28, 1862. 

Whitney, Henry, Co. A, must. Nov. 3, 1861; disch. Nov. 24, 1864. 

Burke, William, Co. C, must. Feb. 11, 1862; disch. Feb. 10, 1865. 

0’ Mahoney, Daniel, Co. C, must. Feb. 26, 1862; disch. May 1, 1865. 











Buchan, William, Co. D, must. Feb. 18, 1862; disch. Feb. 16, 1865; 
trans. from 9th Inf. 

Dow, Lorenzo, Co. D, must. Feb. 16, 1864; disch. June 29, 1865; trans. 
from 18th Inf. 

Newcomb, Bryant, Co. E, must. Sept. 14, 1863; died Oct. 21, 1864. 

Giles, Albert L., sergt., Co. G, must. Jan. 5, 1864; disch. June 29, 1865. 

Packard, Morton, Co. H, must. Feb. 15, 1864; trans. from 18th Inf. ; 
died Oct. 20, 1864. 

Pope, Alexander P., Co. H, must. Feb. 15, 1864; disch. June 29, 1865; 
trans. from 18th Inf. 

Richard, John, Co. I, must. Aug. 19, 1862 ; deserted Aug. 16, 1862. 

Naphut, Mathias, Co. K, must. Aug. 21, 1863 ; disch. June 29, 1865. 

Badger, Leone C., Co. L, must. July 17, 1863; disch. June 29, 1865; 
trans. from 22d Inf. 

Kennedy, James, Co. L, must. June 18, 1864; disch. May 30, 1865; 
trans. from 22d Inf. 

Writting, Charles A., must. Feb. 8, 1864; disch. October, 1864; trans. 
from 18th Inf. 

White, John, must. Feb. 15, 1864 ; disch. October, 1864; trans. from 18th 
Inf. 

THIRTY-THIRD REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Snowden, James, Co. D, must. June 23, 1864; never joined regiment. 
Hathaway, George P., Co. G, must. Aug. 29, 1864; disch. July 14, 1865; 
trans. to 2d Inf. June 1, 1865. 


THIRTY-FIFTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Sheen, William G., 2d lieut., must. July 31, 1862; disch. Aug. 14, 1862; 
; pro. to Ist lieut. 39th Inf. 

Andrews, Elbridge H., Co. A, must. Aug. 9, 1862; disch. Dec. 6, 1862. 
Bradford, Lewis E., Co. A, must. Aug. 9, 1862; disch. June 9, 1865, 


THIRTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 


Hetherston, Martin C., Co. I, must. Dec. 26, 1863; disch. June 21, 1865 ; 
trans. from 7th Inf. to 20th Inf. 


THIRTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 
Parker, William, 3d sergt., Co. I, must. Aug. 21, 1862; disch. June 30, 
1865; pro. to 2d lieut. October, 1864. 
Simpson, John E., 3d sergt., Co. I, must. Aug. 21, 1862; disch. June 30, 
1865; pro. to 2d lieut. October, 1864. 
Pearce, Thomas L., corp., Co. I, must. Aug. 21, 1862; disch. May 2, 1865. 
Pearce, George W., Co. I, must. Aug. 21, 1862; disch. June 30, 1865. 
Graham, Charles H., Co. I, must. Aug. 21, 1862; disch. July 5, 1865; 
trans. to V. R. C. May, 1864. 


THIRTY-NINTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V., Company D. 
Mustered into United States service Aug. 24, 1862. 

Spear, Edward A., capt., disch. April 29, 1864; did not reach him until 
Sept. 12, 1864. 

Sheen, William G., Ist lieut., disch. June 2, 1865; pro. to capt.; brev. 
major. 

Porter, Charles H., 2d lient., disch. June 2, 1865; pro. to Ist lieut., to 
capt. 


| Ahearn, Thomas, discb. June 2, 1865. 


Alden, Albert M., disch. Sept. 12, 1863. 
Alden, Henry A., disch. June 2, 1865. 


| Armstrong, John L., disch. July 18, 1865; trans. to V. R. C. 


Badger, Ezra, died Oct. 14, 1862. 

Barker, George A., sergt., disch. June 2, 1865; pro. to 2d tieut., to Ist 
lieut. 

Barry, Benjamin, disch. Noy. 15, 1862. 

Baxter, Thompson, Jr., disch. April 27, 1865. 

Brackett, Walter P., disch. July 24, 1865; trans. to navy April 22, 1864. 

Brown, Samuel, sergt., disch. June 2, 1865. 

Brophy, John, disch. June 2, 1865; trans. to V. R. C. Sept. 50, 1863. 

Burke, Walter, died Dec. 22, 1863. 

Burns, William H., died Nov. 27, 1864. 

Churchill, Thaddeus, sergt., disch. Dec. 6, 1864; pro. 2d lieut. U.S. Vols. 
Oct. 5, 1863. 


Cleverly, George F., disch. Oct. 2, 1863. 


Christian, James B., disch. Jan. 30, 1863. 
Colburn, William E., died Feb. 18, 1865, 
Coffin, Paul G., disch. June 2, 1865. 
Collier, George W., disch. Jan. 27, 1863. 
Collins, Michael, disch. June 2, 1865. 


| Crane, Seth, died Dec. 22, 1863. 


Curtis, Henry, sergt., disch. June 2, 1865. 


984 HISTORY OF NORFOLK 


COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Dailey, Garrett, died April 5, 1863. 

Dailey, Daniel, disch. Sept. 12, 1863. 

Damon, Edward, Jr., died Jan. 3, 1865. 

Derry, Barden B., disch. June 2, 1865 ; pro. 1st sergt. 

De Forrest, Samuel D., disch. July 14, 1865. . | 

Doner, John, disch. Feb, 27, 1863. | 

Donley, James, killed Feb. 6, 1865. 

Dickerman, Charles C., corp., died Jan. 25, 1865. 

Dunn, Arthur, died Jan. 28, 1864. 

Durgin, Jonathan C., died Jan. 5, 1865. 

Ela, Elisha I. C., killed May 8, 1864. 

Enderle, Joseph L., corp., disch. June 2, 1865. 

Fineran, Patrick, disch. June 2, 1865. 

Forbes, James E., disch. June 2, 1865. 

Fowles, Theodore W., disch. May 30, 1865. 

French, Joseph T., disch. April 10, 1865. 

Garvin, Patrick, disch. June 2, 1865. 

Gavin, Patrick H., corp., disch. June 28, 1865; pro. sergt.; trans. to V. 
R. C. Feb. 3, 1865, 

Groves, George D., deserted Sept. 14, 1862. 

Hayden, Joseph W., disch. June 2, 1863. 

Hayden, Josiah, Jr., disch. June 2, 1863. 

Hayden, Joseph P., corp., disch. June 2, 1865. 

Hersey, George W., disch. June 5, 1865; trans. to navy April 22, 1864. 

Hill, John, Jr., disch. June 2, 1865. 

Hobbs, John J., disch. April 3, 1863. 

Horgan, Cornelius, deserted May 2, 1863. 

Howley, Thomas, disch. June 2, 1863. 

Howley, Thomas, Jr., disch. June 2, 1865. 

Hughes, James, died May 13, 1864. 

Huntress, Elisha W., disch. May 8, 1865. 

Huntress, Truman H., disch. June 2, 1865. 

Kelly, James, disch. May 20, 1865. 

Kelly, John, died July 25, 1864. 

Keniley, Daniel, disch. June 2, 1865, 

Kittredge, Josiah N., died April 23, 1864. 

Leavitt, Chase F., disch. June 2, 1865; pro. sergt. 

Luzarder, Joseph M., killed Aug. 18, 1864. 

Luzarder, Moses §., disch. Jan. 29, 1863. 

Lunt, Theodore H., died Oct. 23, 1864. 

Mahoney, James, disch. June 30, 1865; trans. to V. R. C, March 13, 
1865. 

McCarthy, John, disch. June 2, 1865. 

McGlone, Michael, died May 12, 1864. 

Miller, George L., disch. Jan. 29, 1563. 

Miller, Charles H.,disch. March 12, 1864. 

Moran, Patrick, disch. June 7, 1865. 

Moriarty, John, disch. June 3, 1865. 

Morrison, Sylvander, disch. June 2, 1865. 

Newcomb, Henry A., corp., died Dec. 23, 1864. 

Newcomb, Harrison G. O., disch, Feb. 11, 1863. 

Newcomb, Isaac T., disch. Jan. 29, 1863. 

Nightingale, Frederick M., disch. Dec. 16, 1862. 

Nightingale, Samuel A., corp., disch. Aug. 19, 1864. 

O’Brien, Timothy, disch. June 15, 1865, 

Parrott, Albert, disch. June 2, 1865. 

Parrott, Luther H., disch. June, 1865; trans. to navy April 22, 1864. 

Percival, George P., disch. June 2, 1865. 

Perkins, Charles N., disch. June 2, 1865; pro. 2d lieut., Ist lieut. 

Perry, Samuel N., died March 31, 1864, 

Pierce, Eli, died April 3, 1865. 

Roach, Maurice, disch. May 31, 1865. 

Rodgers, Horace C., disch. June 9, 1865. 

Russ, George W., disch. June 2, 1865. 

Russell, George A., disch. November, 1865; trans. to V. R. C. Sept. 16, 
1863. 

Savil, George W., died Dec. 5, 1864. 

Shavlin, Hugh, disch. June 30, 1865, 

Sheehan, Jeremiah, disch. June 2, 1865. 

Simonds, William, corp., disch. June 2, 1865. 

Taylor, Marcus, disch. June 2, 1865; pro. sergt. 

Thayer, Thomas J. H., disch. March 2, 1865. 

Thomas, Erasmus, died March 14, 1865. | 

Trask, George W., disch. June 8, 1865. | 

Willett, George A., disch. Jan. 31, 1863. 

Williams, John, sergt., disch. Nov. 19, 1862. | 


| 





Wood, Thomas, killed June 19, 1864. 
Young, William J., disch, June 2, 1865, 


FIFTY-SIXTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 

Kerrigan, Joseph, Co. C, must. March 1, 1864; deserted. 
Luzarder, John, Co. D, must. Dec, 29, 1863; disch. July 12, 1865. 
French, Daniel F., sergt., Co. E., must. Jan. 12, 1864; disch. June 28, 

1865; pro. sergt.-maj., 2d lieut., Ist lieut. 
Bartlett, Edward A., Co. E, must. Jan. 12, 1864; disch. July 12, 1865. 
Turner, Samuel B., Co. E, must. Jan. 12, 1864; disch. July 12, 1865. 
Usher, James (2d), Co. E, must. Jan, 12, 1864; disch. July 12, 1865. 
Keenan, Matthew, Co. H, must. March 19, 1864; died July 30, 1864. 


FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 
Loud, Francis P., Co. E, must. March 1, 1864; disch. July 14, 1865. 


VETERAN RESERVE CORPS. 


Dewoody, Mortimer L., must. Sept. 3, 1864; no record of discharge. 
Donnovan, Timothy, must. Aug. 31, 1864; no record of discharge. 
Flaherty, William, must. Aug. 31, 1864; no record of discharge. 
Lowney, Dennis, must. Aug. 31, 1864; disch. Nov. 30, 1865. 


SECOND BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY M. VY. 
Mustered in July 31, 1861; discharged Aug. 16, 1864. 
Wadsworth, George W., corp., disch. September, 1861. 
O’Grady, Joseph, bugler. 
Bolton, Joseph F., disch. April 16, 1862. 
French, Loring A. ry 
Munroe, Thomas, disch. Feb. 7, 1862. 
Taylor, John, disch. May 20, 1863. 
Tiernay, Michael. 


THIRD BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY M. V. 
Follett, William H., sergt., must. Sept. 5, 1861; pro. 2d lieut.; disch. 
March 12, 1865. 
Follett, Charles A., corp., must. Sept. 5, 1861; trans. to 5th Light Bat- 
tery Sept. 1, 1864. 
FOURTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY M. V. 
Mustered June 9, 1864 ; discharged October, 1865. 


Hastings, William, q.-m. sergt. 
McGrath, John, corp. 


FIFTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY M. VY. 
Spear, Joseph E., sergt., must. Sept. 18, 1861; disch. Oct. 3, 1864; pro. 
Ist lieut. 
Baxter, William H., corp., must. Sept. 18, 1861; disch. Oct. 3, 1864. 


| Follett, Charles A.,! corp., must. Dec. 24, 1863; disch. June 12, 1865. 


Shackley, Jonas, corp., must. Aug. 15, 1862; disch. June 17, 1865; pro. 
1st lieut. Heavy Art. 

Brown, Edward A.,! must. Dec. 15, 1861; disch. June 12, 1865. 

Lapham, Frederick A., must. Sept. 25, 1861; disch. Oct. 6, 1862. 


| Lapham, William H. H., must. Feb. 28, 1862; killed June 3, 1864, 


Shaw, Horatio E., must. Sept. 16,1861; disch. Oct. 3, 1864. 
Whicher, Joseph R., must. Sept. 27, 1861; disch. Sept. 27, 1864. 
SIXTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY M., V. 


Chubbuck, Matthew M. C., sergt., must. Dec, 24, 1861; disch. Jan. 5, 
1864, to re-enlist; re-enl. Jan. 5, 1864; disch. Feb. 5, 1865. 


| Riley, Charles D., sergt., must. Dec. 27, 1861 ; died Oct. 19, 1863. 


Smith, James, must. Dec. 1,1861; disch, Jan. 5, 1864, to re-enlist ; re-enl. 
as corp. Jan. 6, 1864; deserted May 20, 1864. 

Farrell, Peter, must. Dec. 11, 1861; disch. Jan. 5, 1864, to re-enlist; re- 
enl. Jan. 6, 1864; deserted May 20, 1864. 

NINTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY M. V. 
Glover, Samuel C., must. Aug. 10, 1862; disch. June 6, 1865, 
Merritt, Quincy A., must. Aug. 10, 1862; disch. June 6, 1865. 
FOURTEENTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY M. V. 
Rich, Isaiah, Jr., must. Feb. 17, 1864; disch. July 13, 1865, 


FIRST REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY M. Y. 


| O'Riordan, John D., Co. H, must. Aug. 15, 1864; disch. June 18, 1865. 


Company L. 
Algoa, Adam, must. March 10, 1862; disch. March 15, 1864, to re-enlist; 
re-enl. March 16, 1864; disch. March 18, 1865. 





1 Re-enlisted after two years’ service. 








APPENDIX. 


985 





| 


Basley, George W., must. March 11, 1864; died Aug. 5, 1864. . 

Bradford, Lewis E., must. March 31, 1862; disch. March 31, 1864, to re- 
enlist. 

Conlin, Timothy, must. March 19, 1862; disch. March 20, 1864, to re- 
enlist. 

Hayden, Richard B., must. March 18, 1862; died April 10, 1862. 

Hodgkinson, William, must. March 6, 1862; disch. March 9, 1864, to re- 
enlist ; re-enl. March 10,1864; disch. May 5, 1865. 

Kelly, James, must. March 13, 1862; disch. March 13, 1864, to re-enlist. 

Sheahan, Timothy, must. March 18, 1862 ; disch. March 21, 1864, to re- 
enlist. 

Ward, Cornelius, must. April 4, 1862 ; disch. Jan. 6, 1863. 

Wayland, Thomas H., must. March 17, 1862; disch. March 16, 1864, to 
re-enlist. 

Wildman, Wilson, must. March 18, 1862; disch. March 18, 1865. 


Company M. 


Burrell, William L., must. March 3, 1862; disch. March 16, 1864, to re- 
enlist. 

Hayden, Joseph W., must. March 18, 1862; disch. March 21, 1864, to 
re-enlist; re-enl. March 21, 1864; disch. June 30, 1865. 

Joyce, Edwin L., must. March 3, 1862; disch. March 23, 1864, to re- 
enlist. 

Magee, Thomas, must. March 15, 1862; disch. March 23, 1864, to re- 
enlist; re-enl. sergt. March 24, 1864; disch. Aug. 16, 1865. | 

Moore, John W., must. March 19, 1862; disch. March 27, 1864, to re- 
enlist; re-enl. March 28, 1864; disch. Aug. 16, 1865. 

Nightingale, James M., must. March 18, 1862; disch. March 8, 1865. 

Packard, Henry, must. March 31, 1862; died Nov. 18, 1864. 

Parker, Alvin F., must. March 10, 1862; disch. Nov. 6, 1863. 

Talbot, Peter, must. March 15, 1862; disch. March 20, 1864, to re-enlist; 
re-enl. March 21, 1864; deserted August, 1864. 

Totman, Freeman M., must. March 18, 1862; disch. March 20, 1864; re- 
enl. March 21, 1864; died Oct. 9, 1864. 

Turner, George W., must. March 18, 1862; killed June 18, 1864. 

Whicher, Thomas M., must. March 18, 1862; disch. March 30, 1864, to 
re-enlist. 


SECOND REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY M. V. 


Murphy, James, Co. C, must. Sept. 2, 1864; disch. June 30, 1865; trans. 
to 17th Inf. Jan. 17, 1865. 

Briggs, William H., Co. F, must. Sept. 13, 1864; disch. June 30, 1865; 
trans. to 17th Inf. Jan. 17, 1865. 

White, Joseph H., Co. F, must. Aug. 24, 1864; disch. June 26, 1865. 

Linnehan, William, Co. H, must. Aug. 9, 1864; disch. June 26, 1865. 

Mitchell, William, Co. H, must. Aug. 9, 1864; disch. June 26, 1865. 

Faircloth, John, Co. I, must. Jan. 2, 1864; disch. Aug. 11, 1865. 

Soule, Lewis M., must. Aug. 24, 1864; disch. Sept. 7, 1864. 


THIRD REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY M. V. 
Barrett, William H., must. Aug. 26, 1864; disch. June 17, 1865. 


FIRST BATTALION HEAVY ARTILLERY M. V. 


Christian, James A., Co. A, must. March 1, 1862; disch. March 5, 1864, 
to re-enlist. 

Christian, James A., Co. A, must. March 5, 1864; disch. Oct. 20, 1865. 

Newcomb, Peter, Co. A, must. Feb. 28, 1862; disch. Feb. 29, 1864, to re- 
enlist; re-enl. March 1, 1864; disch. Oct. 20, 1865. 


TFIRS REGIMENT CAVALRY M. V. 


Adams, Charles F., Jr., Ist lieut., must. Dec. 19, 1861; pro. capt. Oct. 
30, 1862; lieut.-col. 5th Cav. July 15, 1864. 

Brennan, John A., Co. B, must. Aug. 5, 1864; disch. June 26, 1865. 

Dooley, Joseph, Co. B, must. Sept. 14, 1861. 

Smith, James H., Co. B, must. Sept. 14, 1861; disch. Dec. 20, 1861. 

Whiting, Charles H., Co. D, must. Sept. 19, 1861; disch. Oct. 3, 1864. 

Feltis, William H, Co. K, must. Sept. 28, 1861; trans. to Co. K, 4th 
Regt. of Cavalry. 

Lamson, John H., Co. K, must. Sept. 14, 1861; trans. to Co. K, 4th 
Regt. of Cavalry. 

Parker, John, Jr., Co. K, must. Sept. 23, 1861; trans. to Co. K, 4th 
Regt. of Cavalry. 

Wood, James H., Co. K, must. Oct. 5, 1861; trans. to Co. K, 4th Regt. of 
Cavalry. 


SECOND UNATTACHED COMPANY OF CAVALRY M. VY. 


Morton, Joseph W., must. Dec. 11, 1861; pro. 2d lieut. 3d Cav. Feb. 20, 
1862. 





SECOND REGIMENT CAVALRY M. VY. 


Lapham, Frederick A., sergt., Co. B, must. Sept. 3, 1863; disch. July 29, 
1865. 


| Fox, Thomas, Co. I, must. Feb. 10, 1863; disch. July 20, 1865. 


Panigh, Alfred, Co. I, must. June 23, 1864; disch. July 20, 1865. 


THIRD REGIMENT CAVALRY M. V. 


Morton, Joseph W., 2d lieut., must. Feb. 20, 1862; disch. March 26, 
1863; pro. Ist lieut. 

Malloy, George, Co. A, must. June 21, 1864; disch. Sept. 28, 1865. 

Wildman, William, sergt., Co. H, must. Oct. 27, 1862; disch. May 20, 
1865. 

King, Andrew G., Co. I, must. Aug. 5, 1862; disch. May 20, 1865. 

Pratt, John W., Co. I, must. Aug. 5, 1862; no record. 

Howley, Michael J., Co. K, must. Aug. 6, 1862 ; disch. Jan. 17, 1863. 

Newcomb, Paul W., Co. K, must. Aug. 5, 1862; disch. Jan. 30, 1863. 

Brogan, Charles, Co. L, must. Dec. 29, 1864; disch. Sept. 28, 1865. 

Dinegan, Martin, Co. L, must. Dec. 29, 1864; disch. Sept. 28, 1865. 

Garrity, Bernard, Co. L, must. Dec. 31, 1864; disch. Sept. 28, 1865. 

Goldie, Henry F., Co. L, must. Dec. 30, 1864 ; disch. Sept. 28, 1865. 

Kirvin, James C., Co. L, must. Dec. 31, 1864; disch. Sept. 28, 1865. 

Nutting, Charles A., Co. L, must. Dec. 30, 1864; disch. Sept. 28, 1865. - 

Thomas, Peter, Co. L, must. Jan. 2. 1865; disch. Sept. 28, 1865. 

Kerrigan, Joseph, Co. L, must. Dec. 30, 1864; disch. July 19, 1865. 

Lincoln, Charles K., q.-m. sergt., Co. M, must. Dec. 31, 1864; disch. Oct. 
6, 1865; pro. 2d lieut. 

Wright, George W., sergt., Co. M, must. Dec. 31, 1864; disch. Sept. 28) 
1865. 

Harris, John, Co. M, must. Dec. 31, 1864; disch. Sept. 1, 1865; deserted. 

Kittrell, Albert S., Co. M, must. Jan. 2, 1865; disch. July 26, 1865 ; de- 
serted. 


FOURTH REGIMENT CAVALRY M. VY. 


Morton, Joseph W., 2d lieut., must. Aug. 24, 1863; disch. May 15, 1865 ; 
pro. captain. 

Russell, Edward, asst. surg., must. Feb. 3, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Caterson, Thomas, Co. A, must. Dec. 31, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Farrell, John S., Co. A, must. Dec. 31, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Caldwell, Samuel P., Co. B, must. Dec. 21, 1863; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Chase, Ebenezer W., Co. B, must. Dec. 21, 1863; disch. May 28, 1864, 

Hargan, John, Co. B, must. Dec. 21, 1863; died Aug. 18, 1864. ° 

Howley, Michael J., Co. B, must. Dec. 21, 1863; died Sept. 22, 1864. 

Mullen, Andrew, Co. B, must. Dec. 31, 1864; disch. Noy. 14, 1865. 

Dailey, Timothy, Co. C, must. Jan. 6, 1864; disch. Noy. 14, 1865. 

Dinegan, John H., Co. C, must. Jan. 6, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Forrester, Isaac N., Co. C, must. Jan. 6, 1864; trans. to navy June 1, 
1864. 

Maguire, Patrick F., Co. C, must. Dec. 31, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Sheahan, William, Co. C, must. Jan. 6, 1864; died March 26, 1864. 

Brown, John, corp., Co. D, must. Jan. 9, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Bowditch, Joseph E., Co. D, must. Jan. 4, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Fenton, Michael, Co. D, must. Jan. 9, 1864; died Aug. 31, 1864. 

Pierce, Benjamin R., Co. D, must. Dec. 31, 1864; died July 14, 1865. 

Price, William, Co. D, must. Jan. 9, 1864; died Oct. 14, 1864. 

Pratt, William H., Co. D, must. Jan. 9, 1864; disch. Noy. 14, 1865, 

Maguire, Hugh, Co. E, must. Jan, 27, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Nightingale, Edward F., Co. E, must. Feb. 18, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865, 

Otis, Stephen, Co. F, must. Jan. 27, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Gibson, George W., Co. F, must. Jan. 27, 1864; deserted July 27, 1865. 

Scannell, James, Co. F, must. Jan. 27, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Smith, Thomas, Co. F, must. Jan. 27, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Pettingill, William, Co. G, must. Jan. 27, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Abbott, Henry S., Co. G, must. Jan. 27, 1864; disch. June 30, 1865. 

Bates, David W., Co. I, must. Feb. 18, 1864; died Sept. 9, 1864. 

Feltis, William H., Co. K, must. Sept. 23, 1861; disch. April 20, 1864, to 
re-enlist; re-enl. April 21, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Lamson, John H:, Co. K, must. Sept 14, 1861; disch. Jan. 24, 1865. 

O’ Keefe, John, Co. K, must. March 1, 1864; disch. Nov. 14, 1865. 

Parker, John, Jr., Co. K, must. Sept. 22,1861; disch. April 20, 1864, to 
re-enlist ; re-enl. April 21, 1864; disch. Aug. 15, 1865; pro. lieut. 
U.S. Col. Troops. 

Wood, James H., Co. K, must. Oct. 5, 1861; disch. Oct. 8, 1864. 

Osborne, George H., Co. L, must. Feb. 18, 1864; disch. June 17, 1865. 


FIFTH REGIMENT CAVALRY M. V. 


| Adams, Charles F., Jr., lieut.-col., must. Feb. 15, 1864; pro. col. Feb. 


15, 1865 ; resigned Aug. 1, 1865 ; brev. brig.-gen. 


986 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSET''. 





FIRST BATTALION FRONTIER CAVALRY M. V. 


Kibbe, Charles L., Co. D, must. Jan. 2, 1865; disch. June 30, 1865. 
Lapham, Joseph A., Co. D, must. Jan. 2, 1865; disch. June 30, 1865. 
Marden, Frank M., Co. D, must. Jan. 2, 1865; disch. June 30, 1865. 


Nine Months’ Service, 1862. 
FOURTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. M. 
Henry Walker, col., must. Dec. 16, 1862; disch. Aug. 28, 1863. 


FORTY-SECOND REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. M. 
ComPpANy A. 
Josephs, Uriel, corp., must. Sept. 13, 1862; died July 7, 1863. 


CoMPANY G. 
This company was mustered Sept. 16, 1862; discharged Aug. 20, 1863. 
Thaddeus H. Newcomb, 2d lieutenant. 
Allen, Obed. F.1 Logan, William. 
Bird, William M. Luzarder, John. 
Blaisdell, Gilbert F. Nott, Francis L.2 
Derry, George R. Parrott, John F, 
Dinnegan, Daniel. Pierce, Benjamin R. 
Ellis, Richard. Stiles, William. 
Harmon, John. Studley, Henry 0. 
Hayden, Albert A. Vance, James. 
Holt, Albert A. Vincent, Levi. 
Horne, Henry T. Vinal, James W. 
Company H. 
Carroll, William, must. Sept. 24, 1862 ; disch. Aug. 20, 1863. 
Talbot, William T. H., must. Sept. 24, 1862 ; disch. Aug. 20, 1863. 


FORTY-FOURTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. Y. M. 
Mustered in Sept. 12, 1862; discharged June 18, 1863. 
White, Samuel H., Co. B. Newcomb, Franklin H., Co. G. 
Beale, George W., Co. D. Curtis, Charles B., Co. H. 
Adams, Warren W., Co. G. Hersey, John W., Co. H. 
Hersey, Andrew J., Co. G. Packard, Elisha, Co. H. 
Hersey, Jacob H., Co. G. 


FORTY-FIFTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. M. 

Mustered in Sept. 26, 1862; discharged July 7, 1863. 
Sargent, Oscar W., Co. A. Bent, William P., Co. G. 
Early, Michael, Co. B. Cain, Jonathan D., Co. G. 
Gage, David K., Co. B. Jones, Abbott L., Co. G. 
Johnson, John, Co. B. Pratt, Nathan C., Co. G. 
Pope, Lemuel C., Co. B. Soule, Lewis M., Co. G. 
Reed, John N., Jr., Co. B. White, Joseph H., Co. G. 


FORTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. VY. M. 


Mustered in Oct. 1, 1862; discharged Sept. 3, 1863. 
Company G, 
Rudderhan, William E., sergt., pro. 1st lieut. 
Boyd, William, sergt., pro. 2d lieut. 
Talbot, Henry, sergt. 
Boyd, Patrick, musician. 
Flemming, Garrett, killed June 30, 1863. 
Flynn, William, died May 3, 1863. 
O'Neil, John T. 
Company I. 
Robertson, James G. 
Company K. 


Byrne, William. O’Connor, James. 


ELEVENTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY M. V. 
Mustered in Aug. 25, 1862; discharged May 25, 1863. 
Baxter, Charles W. 
Baxter, William Q. 
Blanchard, Oliver J. 
Jones, Thomas B. 
Merritt, Charles. 


Shannon, James G, 
Small, Zebina. 
Taplin, William H, 
Thomas, Theodore B. 


One Year’s Service. 
SIXTY-FIRST REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 
Eccles, John, Co. G, must. Sept. 14, 1864; disch. June 4, 1865. 
Blaisdell, Samuel T., Co. E, must. Sept. 23, 1864; disch. June 4, 1865. 
Frost, Charles, Co. E, must. Sept. 23, 1864; no record of discharge. 


1 Died March 21, 1863. 2 Killed Jan. 1, 1863. 





1 SIXTY-SECOND REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. 

Bent, F. Edward, 2d lieut., must. Feb. 28, 1865; disch. May 5, 1865; pro. 
1st lieut. 

Nightingale, James M., must. April 11, 1863; disch. May 5, 1865, 


FOURTH REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY M. VY. 


Saville, John F., ass’t surg., must. Dec. 5, 1864; disch. June 17, 1865. 

Pierce, Charles E., Ist lieut., must. Sept. 2, 1864; disch. June 17, 1865. 

Shackley, Jonas, 2d lieut., must. Sept. 2, 1864; disch. June 17, 1865; pro. 
Ist lieut. 

Baxter, W. Quincy, 2d lieut., must. Sept. 2, 1864; disch. June 17, 1865. 


| Spear, Warren, 2d, Co. I, must. Aug. 17, 1864; disch. June 17, 1865. 


TWENTY-NINTH (UNATTACHED) COMPANY HEAVY ARTIL- 
LERY M. V. 


Moloney, David, must. Aug. 30, 1864 ; disch. June 16, 1865. 
Murphy, Michael, must. Aug. 30, 1864 ; disch. June 16, 1865. 
Noyes, John, must. Aug. 26, 1864; disch. June 16, 1865. 
Trask, Joseph E., must. Sept. 17, 1864 ; disch. June 16, 1865. 
One Hundred Days’ Service, 1864. 
FIFTH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. M., Company C. 
Rudderham, Charles, 116 days. 


FORTY-SECOND REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. M., Company I. 
Williams, John, sergt., 116 days. 


SIXTIETH REGIMENT INFANTRY M. V. M., Company B. 


Mustered into United States service July 16, 1864, and discharged Nov. 
30, 1864, 137 days. 


Albert Keating, 2d lieut. 
Wm. W. Penniman, drum-maj. 


F. Edward Bent, capt. 
Warren W. Adams, Ist lieut. 


Sergeants. 


George W. Beal. 
Harrison Crane. 


Henry T. Horne. 
John W. Hersey. 
William 0. Howland. 
Corporals. 


Thomas G. Emerson. 
John D. Wells. 
Albert A. Hayden. 
Heury Chubbuck. 


Elisha Packard. 
William M. Bird. 
William Sanders. 
Edward P. Nightingale. 


Musician. 
William Boden. 


Wagoner 
Frank Furnald. 


Privates. 
Hayden, Charles M. 
Hayden, Joseph W. 
Hobart, Marcus M. 
Holmes, Elisha B. 
Hoimes, Frank W. 
Kimball, Francis. 
Luzarder, Horace A. 
Luzarder, Moses. 
Mears, George A. 
Merrill, Charles M. 
Newcomb, Charles A. 
Newcomb, Lewis A. 
Packard, George F. 
Page, Charles C. 
Perkins, Henry. 
Pierce, Benjamin R. 
Prior, Hiram B. 
Randall, George. 
Rogers, Thomas M. 
Snow, William A. 
Spear, Edward A. 
Thomas, Peter. 
Thomas, Richard. 
Underwood, Ebenezer W. 
Whicher, Charles Q. 
Whitney, Adams. 
Willett, George A. 
Willett, William H. H. 


Alden, Albert M. 
Arnold, James H. 
Baker, William C. 
Barnes, Franklin. 
Beal, Samuel. 

Berry, William. 
Brackett, Charles D. 
Brown, Charles H. 
Cain, Abel A. 

Cain, John. 

Crane, Benjamin F. 
Davis, Edmund K. 
Duggan, William E. 
Eaton, George W. 
Ellis, Francis C., Jr. 
Elwell, Ezra. 

Errell, Eusebe. 
Faxon, George I. 
Fitzgerald, Michael. 
Glover, Erastus M. 
Glover, John, Jr. 
Glover, Joseph M. 
Golden, James. 
Golden, John. 

Gray, Henry F. 
Hardwick, George W. 
Hardwick, George W. (2d). 
Hardwick, William H. 





APPENDIX. 


4 


987 





Navy. : 
The following persons served in the United States Navy, and were 
credited on the quota of Quincy. The date indicates the time of enter- 
ing the service: 
George W. Taylor, ) were in service 
Abraham Dunn, ) April, 1861. 
John Griffin, May 28, 1861. 
William A. Pierce, May 29, 1861. 
Ephraim T. Pierce, May 30, 1861. 
James Q. Smith, June 15, 1861. 
Patrick Gorgan, Aug. 2, 1861. 
Daniel Sullivan, Aug. 9, 1861. 
Lorenzo R. Clapp, Aug. 26, 1861. 
Charles H. Pray, Aug. 28, 1861. 
James E. Elwell, Sept. 17, 1861. 
Ezra Elwell, Sept. 17, 1861. 
George W. Morton,! Sept. 25, 1861. 
Jacob H. Caw, Oct. 7, 1861. 
Michael Sugrue, Oct. 14, 1861. 
James Crogan, October, 1861. 
Cornelius Kane, Oct. 14, 1861. 
James Ryan, Nov. 22, 1861. 
Philip Harrington, November, 
1861. 
Albert P. French, Jan. 7, 1862. 
Thomas H. Dolan, Jan. 27, 1862. 
Christopher A. Spear, February, 
1862. 
Thomas T. Spear, March 4, 1862. 
Alonzo Elwell, March 5, 1862. 
James H. Smith, June 12, 1862. 
Asa A. Pope, Sept. 1, 1862. 
Ambrose B. Leloise, Sept. 6, 1862. 
James R. Taylor, September, 1862. 
George W. Taylor, September, 
1862. 


Michael Donahue, Sept. 6, 1862. 
James White, Oct. 6, 1862. 
James Luzarder, Jan. 15, 1863. 
Edward F. Nightingale, Jan. 26, 
1863. 
Seth T. Pray, Jan. 28, 1863. 
Albert F. Rich, February, 1863. 
Joseph Madden, April 19, 1863. 
Daniel Murpby, June 19, 1863. 
Samuel Thomas, Jr.,! Aug. 4, 1863. 
Henry A. Thomas, Aug. 17, 1863. 
R. Warren Elwell, Aug. 24, 1863. 
James J. Mahoney, Jan. 9, 1864. 
William H. Elwell, Jan. 9, 1864. 
F. Harvey Penniman, Jan. 13, 1864. 
Charles H. Duggan, Jan. 13, 1864. 
John A. Pope, April 14, 1864. 
William Willis, April 12, 1864. 
Patrick Gallagher, April 23, 1864. 
Michael Donnavan, May 27, 1864. 
John Driscoll, July 5, 1864. 
Thomas Kelly, Aug. 9, 1864. 
John Hennessy, Aug. 29, 1864. 
John Tool, Aug. 30, 1864. 
Henry Lunt,! Aug. 31, 1864. 
William Mullen, Sept. 2, 1864. 
Alexander Sproule, Sept. 3, 1864. 
John Boy, Dec. 12, 1864. 
John Cluse, Dec. 12, 1864. 
George G. Souther, Jan. 2, 1865. 


NEEDHAM. 


Votes of the town of Needham relative to the pay- 
ment of bounties and aid to volunteers during the war 
of the Rebellion were as follows: 

April 29, 1861. At atown-meeting held this Monday afternoon, Mar- 
shall Newell, moderator, it was 


Voted, That the sum of fifteen dollars per month shall be paid from 
the treasury of this town to each and every man, a citizen of the town, 


tection of our country at the present crisis, who shall discharge the 
duties required of him under the general orders of the State or general 


government; the same to be paid monthly for the term of six months, | 


or for such part of that term as he shall continue in the service in 
health or otherwise; the payment to commence (after his acceptance by 
the State officers) as soon as he shall engage in preparing for the duties 
required of him, and to which his whole time is necessarily devoted, 
such payment to be in addition to any compensation that will be re- 
ceived from the government. 

Voted, That a committee to be styled “ the Military Committee,” to 
consist of four, be chosen, whose duty it shall be to take the general 
supervision in all matters of detail in relation to the formation of a 
company in this town, to render such assistance to those having charge 
of procuring volunteers as may be desired, and in providing such com- 
fortable undergarments and other suitable articles of clothing for the 
men in such cases as may be deemed necessary ; investigate, to some ex- 
tent, the condition of those who have families, with a view to the pres- 
ent or future comfort and requirements of such families; render such 
assistance in getting the men ready in such cases as would facilitate the 
objects to be attained ; provide suitable rooms for the examination neces- 
sary by the State officers, for drill, for general headquarters during the 
raising and formation of the company, and place of deposit of arms and 
equipments, if necessary ; to interest themselves generally in all mat- 
ters pertaining to the welfare and comfort of the men and their fami- 
lies before and during their absence, if desired, and when necessary. 
Said committee are hereby authorized to expend for such purposes a 





1 Acting assistant paymaster. 





sum not to exceed two thousand dollars, to be paid from the treasury of 
this town by orders to be drawn by the selectmen on presentation of 
bills contracted on account of such expenditures, which shall be ap- 
proved by a majority of said committee, said committee to render an 
account current of their expenditures and receipts and a report of their 
transactions at the next annual meeting of the town. 

E. K. Whitaker, C. B. Patten, Benjamin G. Kimball,and Calvin Perry 
were chosen the Military Committee. 

Voted, That the selectmen be, and are hereby, authorized and in- 
structed to draw their orders upon the treasurer, payable to each of the 


| soldiers who are entitled by the foregoing vote to receive the same, or to 


their families or other persons authorized by such soldiers to receive the 
same for them, for the sum of fifteen dollars per month, as provided in 
the foregoing vote, the same to be paid monthly upon receiving the evi- 
dence of the right of the several claimants to receive the same; also, 
for the expenditures authorized by the Military Committee under 


| authority of the vote of the town. 


Voted, That the sum of eight thousand dollars be, and is hereby, ap- 


propriated from any moneys that are now or may be in the treasury of 


this town, and placed subject to the order of the selectmen, to meet the 
several payments authorized by the foregoing votes in aid of the de- 
fense of the country, this day passed; this to be deemed the war appro- 
priation. 

At a town-meeting held July 24, 1862, George K. Daniell, Esq., mod- 
erator, it was 

Voted, That the selectmen be authorized to offer a bounty of one 
hundred dollars to each individual who shall, within thirty days from 
date, enlist in this town, as a part of the town’s quota, for the war; the 
same to be made payable when the volunteers are accepted and mustered 
into the service of the United States. 

Voted, That the town treasurer be, and hereby is, authorized, under 
the direction of the selectmen, to borrow the sum of three thousand and 
three hundred dollars, for one or more years, for the purpose indicated 
in the foregoing vote. 

At a town-meeting held Aug. 21, 1862, Marshall Newell, moderator, it 


| was 


Voted, That the town of Needham will give a bounty of two hundred 


dollars to volunteers under the last call of the President, provided that 


the whole quota shall be raised previous to the expiration of the time 
given to raise the men. 

Voted, To authorize the treasurer, under the direction of the select- 
men, to effect such a loan as may be necessary to defray the expenses 
incurred in raising said volunteers. 

At a town-meeting held Sept. 16, 1862, Marshall Newell, moderator, 
it was 

Voted, To reconsider so much of the article passed at the last town- 
meeting as required that the whole quota should be raised before the 


: a x AES | volunteers should be entitled to the bounty. 
who shall enlist or join a military organization for the defense or pro- | 


Voted, That the selectmen be authorized to take such action as they 
may deem necessary to procure the requisite number of volunteers to 
fill up the quota of the town. 

Voted, To pay the State aid to the families of volunteers, according to 
the law of the commonwealth. 

At the annual town-meeting held March 16, 1863, by adjournment 
from March 2d, George K. Daniell, moderator, it was 

Voted, That the town pay a bounty of one hundred dollars to those 
volunteers who shall have served in the United States army three years, 
provided they have already received no such bounty; and those who 
shall have been discharged from the service for disability shattreeeive 
in proportion to the time they may be so disabled (the amount not to ex- 
ceed one hundred dollars). The same amount shall be allowed to the 
families of such as have died, with an additional one hundred dollars 
when the deceased leaves a wife, or any children under twelve years of 
age. 

At a town-meeting held April 6, 1863, George Jennings, moderator, it 
was 

Voted, To authorize their treasurer to borrow, with the approbation of 
the selectmen, a requisite sum of money to pay town aid or bounty that 
was grauted at the annual meeting of 1863 to the soldiers that enlisted 
without bounty. 

At a town-meeting held April 14, 1864, George K. Daniell, moderator, 
it was 

Voted, That the town raise the sum of two thousand eight hundred 
and seventy-five dollars, for the purpose of refunding the amounts ad- 
vanced by individuals, and paying expenses incurred in raising recruits, 


under the call of the President, dated Oct. 17, 1863. 


988 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Voted, That the town raise the sum of two thousand two hundred and 
fifty dollars, to be applied, under the direction of the selectmen, for the 
purpose of procuring this town’s proportion of the quota of volunteers 
in the military service, called for from this commonwealth by the Presi- 
dent, under the order of March 14, 1864, provided the amount of money 
so raised and applied shall not exceed the sum of one hundred and 
twenty-five dollars, including expenses fur each volunteer enlisted in 
said service as a part of the quota of this town under said order. 

Ata town-meeting held Aug. 4, 1864, George K. Daniell, Esq., mod- 
erator, it was 

Voted, To appropriate the sum of one hundred and twenty-five dollars 
for each recruit enlisted on any quota called for by the President, at any 
time between the Ist day of March, 1864. and March 1, 1865. Agree. 
able to the act, in addition to an act authorizing towns and cities to raise 
money for recruiting purposes, approved March 28, 1864. 

Voted, To authorize the treasurer to borrow such sums as may be neces- 
sary to carry out the provisions of the foregoing vote. 

At a town-meeting held May 22, 1865, Marshall Newell, moderator, it 
was 

Voted, To raise such sums of money as may be necessary to refund to 
individuals money contributed in aid of and for the purpose of filling 
the quotas of the town, or furnishing men for the present war, under any 
requisition, order, or call of the President or of the War Department of 
the United States, during the year 1864, as authorized by the act of the 
Legislature of 1865, approved April 25th. 

Voted, To authorize the treasurer to borrow sufficient sums of money 
to pay all reimbursements voted under the second article. 

At a town-meeting held March 5, 1866, it was 

Voted, To authorize the selectmen to furnish town aid to families of 
deceased soldiers who are in need of aid in this town. 


The following are the names of officers and enlisted 
men from or credited to the town of Needham who 
served in the army or navy of the United States 
during the war of the Rebellion, 1861-65: 


Infantry. 
SECOND REGIMENT (Three Years). 
Murray, Henry, Co. I, Jan. 24, 1865 ;1 must. out July 14, 1865. 
Woodman, John, Co. E, Aug. 22, 1864; must. out July 14, 1865. 


FIFTH REGIMENT (One Hundred Days). 
O'Leary, Arthur W., Co. B, July 25, 1864; must. out Nov. 16, 1864. 


ELEVENTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 
Cameron, James, Co. G, June 13,1861; killed at Bull Run, Va., Aug. 29, 
1862. | 
THIRTEENTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 
Wood, Ephraim A., Co. C, July 16, 1861; disch. Nov. 18, 1862, for disa- 
bility; July 20, 1863, must. as Ist lieut. in 55th Regt.; res. Nov. 20, 
1863. 


EIGHTEENTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 

Fox, Franklin M., Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. Dec. 31, 1861, for disa- 
bility. 

Fuller, William, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; died at Washington, D. C., Sept. 
25, 1862, of wounds at second battle of Bull Run, Va., Aug. 30, 1862. 

Martel, John, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; trans. to V. R. C. 

Richards, Samuel F., Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. July 28, 1862, disa- 
bility. 

Richardson, George, Co. F, Oct. 24,1861 ; disch. Oct. 13, 1862, disability. 

Smith, Cornelius D., Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; must. out Sept. 2, 1864, corp. 


NINETEENTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 
Berry, Asa B., Co. I, Aug. 28, 1861; must. out Aug. 28, 1864. 





McKinney, George, Co. F, Aug. 28, 1861; re-enl. Dec, 21, 1863 ; must. 
out June 30, 1865, in Co. I. 
O'Connor, Robert, Jan. 16, 1865; must. out May 6, 1865. 


TWENTIETH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Coulter, John §., Co. F, Aug. 19, 1862 ; disch. Dec. 18, 1862. 
Healey, Michael F., Co. K, Dec. 14, 1864; must. out July 16, 1865. 


TWENTY-SECOND REGIMENT (Three Years). 

Avery, George, Co. B, Sept. 2, 1861; disch. June 28, 1862, for disability. | 
Bullard, Moses H., Co. G, Sept. 9, 1861; killed at Gaines’ Mills, Var: 

June 27, 1862. 





1 Date of muster in. | 


Smith, William W., Co. B, Sept. 17, 1861; must. out Oct. 17, 1864. 
Thompson, William, Co. B, Oct. 5, 1861; disch. Feb. 18, 1863, disability. 
TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Ambler, Artemas C., Co. C, Sept. 28, 1861; must. out Oct. 13, 1864. 
Cobbett, James A., Co. K, Aug. 1, 1862; must. out June 25, 1865, to 
re-enlist. 


TWENTY-FOURTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 
Eayrs, Joseph H., Co. E, Nov. 18, 1861; must. out Nov. 17, 1864, 
THIRTIETH REGIMENT (Three Years). 
Coulter, James C., Co. I, Dec. 18, 1861; disch. Jan. 1, 1864, to re-enlist. 
THIRTY-FIRST REGIMENT (Three Years.) 


Hardie, Robert, Co. K, Jan. 20, 1862; died Sept. 13, 1864, in hospital at 
Baton Rouge, La. 


THIRTY-SECOND REGIMENT (Three Years). 
Gehling, Joseph, Co. K, Jan.5, 1864; must. out June 29, 1865. 


THIRTY-THIRD REGIMENT (Three Years). 


' Murray, Henry, Co. K, Jan. 24, 1865; trans. June 1, 1865, to 2d Inf. 


Small, Edwin, Co. C, Aug. 6, 1862; disch. Jan. 19, 1865, disability. 
THIRTY-FIFTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Hall, David K., Co. I, Aug. 16,1862 ; died of disease at Newport News, 
Va., Feb. 25, 1863; sergt. 

Collier, Isaac, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; trans. to Veteran Reserve Corps. 

Knapp, George L., Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 

Manning, John §., Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. Aug. 18, 1863, disability. 

Monnaghan, John, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 

Sargent, George, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. Nov. 18, 186%, disability ; 
wagoner. 

Wallace, William J., Co. 1, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 13, 1865. 

Walsh, Patrick, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; killed at Antietam, Md., Sept. 17, 
1862. 

Wheeler, Samuel §., Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862 ; must. out June 9, 1865. 

Willcutt, William, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. Jan. 26, 1863, disability. 

Wright, Samuel G., Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; died on board steamer “ Des 
Moines,” Aug. 15, 1863. 


THIRTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Beless, George, Co. I, Aug. 21, 1862; disch. Nov. 14, 1862, disability. 
Flanagan, Patrick, Co. I, Aug. 21, 1862; must. out June 30, 1865. 
Rimmele, William J., Co. I, Aug. 21, 1862; must. out June 30, 1865. 
Snow, Joseph, Co. I, Aug. 21, 1862; disch. July 3, 1863, disability. 
Taylor, Edwin A., Co. I, Aug. 24, 1862 ; must. out June 30, 1865. 


THIRTY-NINTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Batcheller, Holland N., Co. B, Aug. 20, 1862; disch. May 5, 1863; Order 
War Dept. 

Hunting, Willard, Co. A, Aug. 18, 1862; died Dec. 7, 1864, in rebel 
prison at Salisbury, N.C. 

Knapp, Charles P., Co. A, Aug. 18, 1862; trans. Feb. 5, 1864, to V. R. C. 

Morse, Daniel F., Co. A, Aug. 18,1862; must. out June 2, 1865. 

Stevens, Elbridge, Co. A, Aug. 18, 1862; died in rebel prison, Richmond, 
Va. 

Whitaker, Channing, Co. B, Sept. 2, 1862; must. out June 19, 1865. 


FORTIETH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Adams, Stephen W., Co. F, Sept. 3, 1862; trans. Dec. 3, 1863, to V.R. C. ; 
wagoner. 

Kennedy, Cernelius, Co. F, Sept. 3, 1862; missing in action May 16, 
1864. . 

Richardson, James, Co. F, Sept. 3, 1862; must. out June 16, 1865. 


| Richardson, Samuel C., Co. F, Sept. 3, 1862; disch. June 30, 1865; Order 


War Department. 


FORTY-SECOND REGIMENT (One Hundred Days). 
Bemis, George, Co. K, July 18, 1864; must. out Noy. 11, 1864. 


Henderson, William H., Co. D, July 20, 1864; must. out Nov. 11, 1864. 


Hastings, John §., Co. K, July 18, 1864; must. out Nov. 11, 1864. 
Kibler, Frederick, Co. E, July 22, 1864; must. out Nov. 11, 1864. 
FORTY-THIRD REGIMENT (Nine Months). 


Fiske, Joseph E., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862; must. out May 29, 1863; Ist sergt, 


| Dewing, Joseph H., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863 ; sergt. 


Bent, Thomas D., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862; must. out June 1, 1863, to en- 
list in 2d Regt. H. Art. 





APPENDIX. 





989 





Belcher, Charles H., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862 ; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Boynton, Richard F., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Bullard, William P., Co. C, Oct. 1, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Cooper, Hugh, Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Guyot, Joseph, Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862 ; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Kingsbury, William H., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862; died at Beaufort, N. C., 
March 1, 1863. 

Knapp, Cyrus W., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Koff, Frederick, Co. K, Sept. 16, 1862 ; deserted Oct. 2, 1862, Readville, 
Mass. | 

McLoud, Robert M., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863; 
musician. 

Marshall, John P., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

McLane, William H., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862 ; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Oakes, Joseph, Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Russell, William L., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862 ; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Seagraves, Gilbert R., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Severance, Charles R., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Sumner, Lewis N., Co. K, Sept. 16, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Wisner, George P., Co. C, Sept. 24, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 


FORTY-FOURTH REGIMENT (Nine Months). 


Bailey, Walter, Co. K, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out June 18, 1863. 

Brennan, John, Co. B, Sept. 12, 1862; disch. Jan. 30, 1863, for disability. 

Dadmun, Newell H., Co. K, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out June 18, 1863. 

Fuller, Albert, Co. A, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out June 18, 1863. 

Fuller, Ezra N., Co. A, Sept. 12, 1862; died Feb. 21, 1862, at Newberne, 
ING? 

Greenwood, John W., Co. A, Sept. 12, 1862; disch. April 1, 1863, for 
wound received in engagement at Whitehall, N. C., Dec. 16, 1862. 

Hunting, Israel, Jr., Co. A, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out June 18, 1863. 

Johnson, Albert 8., Co. A, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out June 18, 1863. 

Lyon, Henry, Co. A, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out June 18, 1863. 

Lyon, Edward, Co. A, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out June 18, 1863. 

Moseley, William, Co. A, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out June 18, 1863. 

Newell, Charles, Co. B, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out June 18, 1863. 

May, Albert S., Co. A, Sept. 12, 1862; disch. Feb. 28, 1863, for wound re- 
ceived in engagement at Whitehall, N. C., Dec. 16, 1862. 

Whitmarsh, John G., Co. A, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out June 18, 1863. 


FORTY-FIFTH REGIMENT (Nine Months). 


Barnes, Daniel, Co. B, Oct. 11, 1862 ; must. out July 7, 1863. 
Carter, Rufus B., Co. B, Sept. 26, 1862; must. out July 7, 1863. 
Coulter, George, Co. B, Sept. 26, 1862; must. out July 7, 1863. 
Crowley, Dennis, Co. B, Sept. 26, 1862; disch. for disability Nov. 4, 1862. 
Estabrook, George W., Co. A, Sept. 26, 1862; must. out July 7, 1863. 
Hammill, Hugh, Co. B, Sept. 26, 1862; must. out July 7, 1863. 
Hatch, Ambrose P., Co. B, Sept. 26, 1862 ; must. out July 7, 1863. 
Hotchkiss, Willard H., Co. B, Sept. 26, 1862; must. out July 7, 1863. 
Jones, Alvah T., Co. B, Sept. 26, 1862; must. out July 7, 1863. | 
Jones, Pliny M., Co. B, Sept. 26, 1862; must. out July 7, 1863. } 
Morton, William H., Co. B, Sept. 26, 1862; must. out July 7, 1863. 
Palmer, George F., Co. E, Sept. 26, 1862; disch. Oct. 18, 1862, for disa- 
bility. 
Ragan, Timothy O., Co. B, Sept. 26, 1862; must. out July 7, 1863. 
Richards, Samuel F., Co. B, Sept. 26, 1862; killed at Kinston, N. C., Dec. | 
14, 1862. 


ELEVENTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (Nine Months). 


Wisner, Charles F., Aug. 25, 1862; must. out May 25, 1863; re-enl. in 
11th Light Battery Jan. 2, 1864; must. out June 16, 1865, corporal. 





FIFTY-FIFTH REGIMENT (Three Years). | 
Holmes, Charles, Co. B, Aug. 22, 1864; must. out Aug. 29, 1865. 


FIFTY-SIXTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Avignon, Peter, Co. I, Feb. 4, 1864; died Aug. 1, 1864, at Anderson- | 
ville, Ga. 
Baldoe, Louis, Co. I, Feb. 4, 1864; died Ang. 9, 1864, at Anderson- | 
ville, Ga. | 
Farly, Edward, Co. D, Dec. 29, 1863; disch. April 3, 1865, for disability. | 
Flattery, Patrick, Co. 1, Feb. 4, 1864; disch. June 20, 1865, for disability, | 
Jufis, Pedro, Co. I, Feb. 4, 1864: must. out July 12, 1865. 
Marshall, John P., Co. A, March 1, 1864; must. out July 12, 1865. 
McCarty, James, Co. I, Feb. 4, 1864; must. out July 12, 1865. 
Severance, Charles R., Co. A, March 1, 1864; killed May 31, 1864. 
Tumbridge, John 8., Co. I, Feb. 4, 1864; disch. Sept. 9, 1864, for disa- 
bility. | 


SIXTY-FIRST REGIMENT (One Year). 
Casey, Daniel, Co. I, Jan. 16, 1865; must. out July 16, 1865. 
Conroy, John, Co. I, Jan, 17, 1865; must. out July 16, 1865. 
Donley, Philip, Co. I, Jan. 16, 1865; must. out July 16, 1865. 
Martin, Frank 8., Co. I, Jan. 24, 1865; must. out July 16, 1865. 
SIXTY-SECOND REGIMENT (One Year). 
Marshall, John E., Co. C, March 24, 1865 ; must. out May 5, 1865. 


Artillery. 


SECOND BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (Three Years). 
Brigham, Francis O., July 31, 1861; must. out Aug. 16, 1864. 


SEVENTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (Three Years). 
Nichols, Stephen, Jan. 21, 1864 ; must. out Nov. 10, 1865. 
TENTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (Three Years). 
Herring, William, Sept. 9, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 


FIRST REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY (Three Years). 


Farnsworth, Abram C., Co. L, Dec. 9, 1861; must. out Dec. 17, 1864. 

Murray, George M., Co. M, March 4,1862; must. out March 30, 1864, to 
re-enlist. 

Simpson, Frederick J., Co. G, Dec.3, 1863; died Nov. 4, 1864, at Florence 
Prison, 8. C. 
SECOND REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY (Three Years). 

Fiske, Joseph E., Oct. 9, 1863; 2d lieut. June 4, 1863; Ist lieut. July 30, 
1863; capt. Oct. 9, 1863; must. out May 15, 1865. 

Fuller, Albert, Co. D, Aug. 22, 1563; q.m.-sergt. 

Freeman, Joseph, Co. D, Aug. 22,1863; died July 2, 1864, at Newberne, 
NaC: 

Marshall, Frederick F., Co. B, Aug. 29, 1863; must. out Sept. 3, 1865; 
corp. 
THIRD REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY (Three Years), 

Dill, John, Co. L, May 30, 1864; deserted July 10, 1864. 

Withington, Charles P., Co. L, Aug. 31, 1864; must. out June 17, 1865. 

FOURTH REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY (One Year). 


Fuller, George, Co. B, Aug. 20, 1864; deserted May 15, 1865. 
Bachman, Frederick H., Co. B, Aug. 23, 1864; must. out June 17, 1865. 


Cavalry. 
FIRST REGIMENT CAVALRY (Three Years). 
Hurd, Edwin, Co. D, Jan. 1, 1864; must. out June 29, 1865. 


SECOND REGIMENT CAVALRY (Three Years). 
Carter, Warren, Co. D, Jan. 18, 1864; must. out July 20, 1865. 


| Forrest, Henry, May 25, 1864; unassigned recruit. 


Hollinbeck, William, May 25, 1864; unassigned recruit. 


| Harmon, John, May 26, 1864; unassigned recruit. 


Lewis, John, Co. K, May 25,1864; deserted June 25, 1864. 
Morris, Edward, May 26, 1864; unassigned recruit. 
Morris, Samuel, May 26, 1864; unassigned recruit. 
Moore, John, Aug. 23, 1864; unassigned recruit. 
Reynolds, John, May 26, 1864; unassigned recruit. 
Stevens, John, May 26, 1864; must. out June 24, 1865. 
Travers, William H., May 25, 1864; unassigned recruit. 


THIRD REGIMENT CAVALRY (Three Years). 
Woods, Albert A., Co. K, Aug. 6, 1862; died March 21, 1863, at New Or- 
leans, La. 


FOURTH REGIMENT CAVALRY (Three Years). 


| Clark, Joseph J., Co. M, March 1, 1864; must. out Nov. 14, 1865, 


McGregor, John H., asst.-surg., March 1, 1864; disch. April 28, 1864, for 
disability. 
Moran, Michael, Co. C, Jan. 6, 1864; must. out Nov. 14, 1865. 


| Purple, Charles, corp., Co. D, Jan. 3, 1865 ; must. out Noy. 14, 1865. 


Vernon, John E., Co. B, Dec. 22, 1864; deserted Sept. 18, 1865. 


FIFTH REGIMENT CAVALRY (Three Years). 


Boling, George, bugler, Co. L, April 22, 1864; must. out June 21, 1865. 

Wilkie, Joshua H., capt., 24th unattached company infantry, one year, 
Feb. 7, 1865 ; must. out May 12, 1865. 

Keith, Walter D., capt., 26th unattached company infantry, one year, 
Dec. 15, 1864; must. out May 12, 1865. 


990 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 








Veteran Reserve Corps. 
Anthis, Philip, Aug. 22, 1864. 
Ceolins, Clarkson, Dec. 20, 1864. 
Dance, Charles W., Dec. 20, 1864. 
Greany, George, Aug. 20, 1864. 
Harley, William A., Aug. 15, 1864. 
Huth, John, Aug. 17, 1864. 
Johnson, William, Dec. 20, 1864. 
McLaughlin, Patrick, Aug. 19, 1864. 
Millenken, Robert, Aug. 17, 1864. 
Moore, George, Dec. 20, 1864; deserted Feb, 20, 1865. 


United States Colored Troops. 
Lambert, Joseph, July 4, 1864, 28th Inf. 
Lansing, Robert, July 4, 1864, 28th Inf. 
Lasley, Frank, July 4, 1864, 28th Inf. 


Navy. 


Allen, Andrew, one year; shipped Feb. 15, 1863. 


Anderson, Andrew, three years; shipped Aug. 22, 1864. 


Andrews, Henry, one yeaf; shipped Feb. 20, 1863. 
Barry, James, one year; shipped Aug. 12, 1862. 
Bigelow, Albert, one year; shipped Feb. 11, 1863, 
Brown, Daniel H., one year; shipped March 11, 1863. 
Foster, William, three years ; shipped May 17, 1864. 
Grant, George D., three years; shipped Dec. 22, 1864. 
Hanson, Carl, one year; shipped April 18, 1863. 
Hazard, Frank W., one year; shipped April 18, 1863. 
Pheeney, William, one year; shipped March 17, 1863. 
Reynolds, Bernard, one year; shipped March 16, 1863. 
Shaw, William, one year; shipped Jan. 20, 1863. 
Shepherd, John, three years; shipped Dec. 14, 1861. 
Smith, John (3d), three years; shipped Dec. 16, 1861. 
Smith, Noah, three years; shipped Dec. 17, 1861. 
Smith, William E., three years; shipped Dec. 18, 1861. 
Snider, Stephen, three years; shipped Dec. 26, 1861. 
Sullivan, Dennis, one year; shipped Nov. 7, 1862. 
Symonds, Daniel, three years ; shipped Dec. 23, 1861. 
Todd, Robert, three years; shipped Dec. 14, 1861. 
Tibbetts, Edward H., two years; shipped Jan. 1, 1862, 
Trudo, Francis M., two years; shipped Jan. 6, 1862. 
Trefry, James, three years; shipped Jan. 14, 1862. 
Wallace, Charles, one year; shipped Aug. 26, 1862. 
Welch, Michael, one year; shipped April 24, 1863. 
White, William, one year; shipped April 14, 1863. 
Williams, Michael, one year; shipped March 23, 1863. 
Wentworth, George, one year; shipped Aug. 22, 1862. 
Willard, Henry, one year, shipped Aug. 26, 1862. 
Ward, John H., one year; shipped Aug. 26, 1862. 
Withan, Francis, one year: shipped Aug. 26, 1862. 
Wheeler, Henry, one year; shipped Aug. 25, 1862. 
Ward, Abner, one year; shipped Aug. 25, 1862. 
Williams, George J., one year; shipped Ang. 26, 1862. 
Wakefield, Josiah J , one year; shipped Aug. 29, 1862. 
Wood, Charles H., one year; shipped Aug, 25, 1862, 
Wise, Pliney, one year; shipped Aug. 27, 1862. 


Withington, Charles P., three years; shipped Feb. 13, 1862; disch. Aug. 


4, 1863, for disability. 





RANDOLPH. 


The following is a complete record of the names of | 
all the soldiers and officers in the military service 
of the United States, and of all the seamen and 
officers in the naval service, from the town of Ran- 
dolph, during the Rebellion begun in 1861: 


Alden, Hiram C. 
Alden, Lucas W. 
Arnold, Horatio B. 
Adams, Richard. 


Alden, William Hart. 
Abenzeller, Anthony. 
Angier, Edson J. 
Austin, Ebenezer V. 
Alden, Frederick H. Alden, Silas. 
Alexander, Thomas. 
Alden, Henry A. 





Buck, Nathan E. 
Burrell, George Augustus. 





| 








Beal, Ira, Jr. 
Blencowe, W. William. 
Buck, Samuel Henry. 
Brundage, Levi A. 
Brady, John F. 
Byrne, John J. 
Bossell, Joseph. 
Bryant, Ira A. 
Bryant, Ira. 
Buckley, John. 
Buckley, Jerry ©. 
Buckley, J. C. 

Bates, Warren. 
Belcher, Leonard. 
Barry, Robert C. 
Bigelow, John, Jr. 
Bowman, Oliver H. 
Boyle, Joseph. 

Boyle, Francis. 
Blackman, E. 

Brady, Peter. 
Burrell, David L., Jr. 
Burrell, Joseph. 
Bowen, Michael. 
Bracken, James. 
Belcher, Charles H. 
Burbank, Angelo A. 
Belcher, Francis A. 
Barry, James. 
Brosnihan, Daniel. 
Blencowe, Richmond. 
Bean, Seth C, 

Bates, William F. 
Bartlett, Amasa M, 
Blanchard, William F. 
Brown, Walter H. 
Baker, Samuel S. 
Birdley, John A. 
Balcom, Charles H. 
Bell, William. 

Brix, James. 

Boice, Charles H. 
Blackburn, Joshua. 
Bickford, Charles F. 
Banman, Christian, 
Blethen, James L. 
Bender, William. 
Brink, Oliver J. 
Burt, Charles T. 
Burt, Dunham G, 
Brunson, Perry. 
Bracken, Andrew. 
Baker, John. 
Bigelow, Frederick N. 
Barry, Garret C. 
Blood, Nathan B. 
Blood, Herbert C. 
Crooker, Otis. 

Curtis, John W. 
Curtis, Martin William. 
Cousins, Daniel. 
Compass, Theodore. 
Cottle, Edmund, 
Crooker, Allen J. 
Cox, Henry M. 
Cartwright, John T. 
Clark, Samuel Melvin. 
Clark, Cornelius. 
Cox, Richard H. 
Cahill, John. 

Capen, Charles M, 


Croak, William Andrew. 


Curtis, James L. 
Curran, Timothy. 
Curran, John, Jr. 
Cary, Patrick. 


Curtis, John. 

Crosby, Patrick. 
Cotter, Edward A. 
Connor, John F. 
Condon, Maurice. 
Cole, Ephraim T. 
Colbert, John. 
Carroix, John. 

Cary, Francis. 

Cain, Friend. 

Clary, Daniel. 
Chandler, Frederick. 
Clark, Isaac. 

Croak, George H. 
Cook, George W. 
Chandler, Constant S. 
Churchill, Millard F, 
Currie, George H. 
Crosby, John. 

Clark, George. 
Clark, Matthew, Jr. 
Cushing, Albert W. 
Campbell, Thomas W. 
Crawford, William H, 
Corrigan, Frank 8. 
Cork, Richard. 
Clark, John. 
Cornell, Samuel J. 
Cohn, Joseph. 

Cane, Benjamin. 
Chilson, Elisha M. 
Cross, John. 
Cunningham, Thomas. 
Dargen, Joseph W. 
Davis, Charles C. 
Dawes, James E. 
Downey, John. 
Dawes, Charles F. 
Donahoe, John J. 
Donahoe, Philip. 
Driscoll, Timothy. 
Doody, John. 
Dunton, John. 
Dyer, Frederick W. 
Driscoll, John A, 
Deane, Ward ©. 
Davis, William H. 
Davis, Joseph P. 
Dernan, Hugh. 
Doyle, Edward. 
Dooley, William. 
Downey, John. 
Douglass, William 8. 
Dyer, Abram B. 
Delano, Emery. 
Dumfee, Michael. 
Donalhy, Michael, Jr. 
Dench, George B. 
Dennehy, Daniel D. 
Driscoll, James C. 
Delano, Lorenzo L. 
Dolland, Robert. 
Desmond, Cornelius. 
Dargen, James F. 
Donaby, Michael. 
Doherty, Patrick. 
Dorr, Joseph. 

Drew, D. L. 

Desney, Joseph. 
Diggs, Lloyd. 

Davis, Henry. 
Davis, David. 
Doyle, James. 
Dougherty, Thomas. 
Dyer, Joseph W. 
Desmond, John. 


APPENDIX. 


991 








Eckenstein, Libert. 
Eddy, Charles. 
Eddy, Lorenzo D. 
Eaton, William T. 
Early, James (No. 1). 
Eddy, George. 
Early, James (No. 2). 
Faunce, Hannibal A. 
Fletcher, Eustace Jerome. 
Fletcher, Samuel. 
Foster, Samuel A. 
Fowkes, George W. 
Faunce, Leonard A. 
French, George F. 
Farrell, Edward. 
Farmer, Charles H. 
French, Charles L. 
Flynn, John D. 
Faunce, Addison. 
Faunce, Charles A. 
Faunce, Hiram 8. 
Finerty, Edward. 
Flynn, Edward. 
Foley, John (2d). 
Ford, Edwin. 
Foley, John (1st). 
Fox, James D. 
Faunce, Alvin. 
Finerty, Bartho. 
Flynn, James. 
Flanagan, Patrick. 
Fraxwell, John. 
Foley, John (3d). 
Forrest, Augustus. 
Faxon, Daniel, Jr. 
Gill, John H. 
Godwin, George H. 
Goodwin, Charles H. 
Geer, E. F. 

Gerald, George. 
Gerald, William H. 
Gill, John, Jr. 

Gill, William F. 
Gurney, F. M. 

Gear, Michael A. 
Green, Patrick. 
Good, John. 
Gennels, Frederick. 
Gurnett, Peter. 
Hollis, Myron W. 
Harris, Seth M. 
Hayden, Zenas M. 
Howard, Edward E. 
Howard, Edgar. 
Howard, Martin V. B. 
Heath, John W. 
Hodge, Samuel R. 
Huzzy, Willard A. 
Howland, Charles. 
Henry, George. 
Holbrook, Henry D. 
Holbrook, Ebenezer, Jr. 
Hobart, Edward K. 
Hamilton, George A. 
Howard, Ira. 
Hogan, James H. 
Hodge, Charles D. 
Hodge, Oliver H. P. 
Hobart, Samuel B. 
Hand, Patrick. 
Howard, Volney. 
Hill, William F. 
Harris, Job D. 
Hollis, Nathan S. 
Hunt, George W. 
Hutchinson, Benjamin R. 





Hobart, David W. 
Hobart, W. M. 
Hobart, F. M. 
Hobart, James E. 
Howard, Moses B. 
Halpin, Michael. 
Holbrook, Marcus M. 
Hollis, George F. 
Hickey, Hugh. 
Hunt, James W. 
Hunt, Lewis A. 
Howard, Albert. 
Harris, John D. 
Hollis, Lemuel. 
Hogan, Richard. 
Hodge, Jerome R. 
Halloran, Matthew O. 
Hand, Peter B. 
Harris, James F, 
Harris, John. 
Holbrook, Hiram. 
Holbrook, Seth. 
Howard, Henry B. 
Howard, Henry M. 
Howard, Simeon. 
Healy, Jeremiah, 
Hopkins, Jonathan. 
Hollis, Galen. 
Hunt, George T. 
Hunt, Charles E. 
Harris, Rufus F. 
Holbrook, James M. 
Howard, George W. 
Holbrook, Joel J. 
Hollis, George W. 
Howard, Edwin W. 
Hammond, Laban 8. 
Hall, James. 

Heger, Peter. 
Hannavan, John. 
Hodges, James. 
Hoeg, Joel. 

Herin, William O. 
Hedericks, John. 
Hatcher, Henry. 
Howard, George. 
Howard, Cornelius. 
Hand, Thomas F. 
Howard, James T. 
Hunt, Caleb F. 
Hanna, George B. 
Ingell, Benjamin. 
Ingell, John T. 
Ingell, J. Wilson. 
Ives, Edward L. 
Ingell, Charles A. 
Joy, Henry. 

Jones, Leonard. 
Jones, James M. 
Jones, Rufus J. 
Jones, James. 
Jones, Walter A. 
Jones, George W. 
Jaquith, Franklin. 
Jordan, James. 
Jones, Adam W. 
Jones, Obediah (2d). 
Johnson, George M. 
Joines, Joseph. 
Knight, George E. 
Knight, Nelson E. 
Kiley, Henry. 
Kneeland, Thomas. 
King, Seth T. 
King, Royal T. 
Kennedy, John A. 





King, Joel. 

Kiley, Patrick. 
Kelleher, Cornelius. 
Kiley, Dennis. 
Kiley, John. 
Keirnan, Felix. 
Keegan, Patrick. 
Keegan, William. 
Kiley, Henry. 
Kennedy, James. 
Kiley, Michael. 
Kelliher, John C. 
Keirnan, Edward. 
Kelliher, Michael. 
Kerrigan, Frank. 
Kinsley, William. 
Kingman, John W. 
Knapp, ©. J. F. 
Kissick, James H. 
Kinsley, Wilson. 
Kenney, Joseph, 
Knight, Austin G. 
Kerrigan, James. 
Keefe, John. 
Lovering, Isaac J. 
Lovering, George M. 
Loud, William. 
Lyons, William. 
Leavitt, Aaron. 
Law, John A. 
Lyons, John W. 
Leonard, John W. 
Leach, Charles. 
Lynch, Michael. 
Lally, Daniel. 
Law, Thomas. 
Linns, Alfred. 
Lake, Peter. 


Leavenworth, Charles R. 


Libbey, Roscoe. 
Leonard, Edward W. 
Leonard, Frank. 
Littlefield, John 8S. 
Littlefield, Roger S. 
Morton, Asa H, 
Morton, Isaac. 
Mann, John Andrew. 
Morse,*Lysander C, 
Moran, Matthew. 
McCarty, John. 
McCarty, Michael. 
Maney, James. 
Macomber, Daniel R. 
McMahon, Edward. 
McCue, John. 

Mann, George W. 
MecMair, William. 
Madan, Washington. 
Madan, William. 
Murray, Jolin. 
Miller, Charles. 
Miller, Henry. 
Mann, Sidney A. 
Murphy, Michael. 
Mullins, John. 
McCabe, Joseph. 
Mann, Jolin. 
Masterson, Michael. 
McAuliff, Richard. 
McKennia, John. 
McGinnis, John. 
Mullins, Jeremiah. 
McVey, John. 
Mahoney, John. 
McLaughlin, Edward. 
McGrath, Thomas. 


McMahon, Peter. 
Morgan, Edward. 
May, Albert M. 
Mann, Nelson. 

May, Calvin. 

May, John. 

Miller, Benjamin L. 
Mann, Moses. 
Madan, William. 
Mann, George W. 
Maxim, John. 
Mooney, Daniel. 
Murray, James. 
McCalb, Joseph. 
Murphy, John. 
Middleton, Robert L. 
Moerisey, William. 
McSweeny, Daniel, 
Miller, Alexander. 
Mickle, Charles. 
Myers, Henry. 
Morrisey, William. 
McNair, Richard. 
Madigan, John. 
Madan, Elihu. 
Niles, Horace. 
Niles, Jonatban §S. 
Nightengale, Frederick. 
Noonan, Thomas W. 
Nast, John. 
Nightengale, Alvan H. 
Newcomb, Francis. 
Nye, Oliver C. 

Otis, William W. 
O’Brien, John, Jr. 
O’Holloran, James. 
O’Neil, Jeremiah. 
O’Neil, John. 

O’ Neil, Daniel. 
O’Riley, Frank. 
O’Towle, Patrick. 
O’Brien, Michael. 
O’Brien, Richard, 
O’ Holloran, Thomas. 
O'Neil, Timothy. 
Palmer, William. 
Perry, William. 
Poppy, Martin S. 
Packard, Horace M. 
Poole, Charles. 
Poole, J. Franklin. 
Payne, Samuel H. 
Pratt, Charles E. 
Pratt, E. Francis. 
Poole, Marcus M. 
Pierce, Leonard. 
Payne, Ezra A. 
Payne, Adoniram A. 
Phillips, Zebulon S. 
Pope, David. 

Pratt, Abraham W. 
Packard, Horatio. 
Parker, Albert. 
Pratt, Richmond T, 
Paul, Leonard B. 
Payson, Charles W. 
Powers, John. 
Pennypacker, Frank. 
Paine, Jonathan 8S. 
Penell, Arthur. 
Perkins, Enoch. 
Pratt, Henry. 
Pyne, John. 
Prescott, Charles. 
Quimbley, John B. 
Remick, Prescott. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK 


COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Rienstlow, John. 


Raymond, Harvey E. 


Reed, Edwin. 
Richards, Joseph. 
Riley, James. 
Riley, John F. 
Rouke, John. 
Riley, Alexander. 
Reardon, Daniel. 
Rooney, Peter. 
Regan, Dennis. 
Raynolds, O. A. 
Rooney, John. 

’ Rogers, Martin. 
Ryan, William. 
Reardon, Patrick. 
Riley, John. 
Rowell, James A. 
Richards, Joseph. 
Rowe, Luther. 
Riley, Francis. 
Randall, William. 
Robbins, J. E. 
Regan Charles. 
Rudolph, Jacob. 
Riley, Charles F. 
Smith, William A. 
Snow, Hiram. 
Sloan, Peter S. 
Sloan, George 8. 
Sloan, Isaac H. 
Sloan, Joseph V. 
Smith, George L. 
Sessler, Jacob. 
Stetson, Charles T. 
Spear, James. 
Stetson, Albert W. 
Stetson, L. Alonzo. 


Stetson, Abel Columbus. 


Sprague, Quincy. 
Snow, William F. 
Snell, George A. 


Stimpson, William H. 


Sullivan, Cornelius. 
Smith, Henry F. 
Sylvester, John A. 


Sylvester, John Q. A. 


Sweeney, Patrick. 
Spear, George C. 
Shed, William H. 
Smith, George. 
Spear, William B. 
Shaw, Martin V. B. 


Simpson, Elbridge G. 


Snow, Henry. 
Sprague, Alvin H, 
Stetson, Francis E. 
Sullivan, Patrick E, 
Smith, Francis. 
Stetson, George A. 
Stetson, William B. 
Smith, Lewis T. 
Smith, George N. 
Stauffer, Schoff. 
Slaughter, Edward. 
Smith, Asa. 

Strong, Asa 8. 
Slack, Henry. 
Stephens, Abednego. 
Salkfield, Thomas. 
Smith, Henson. 
Thayer, Royal W. 
Thayer, Leonard. 
Thayer, Levi Frank. 
Thayer, Isaac, Jr. 
Thayer, Henry W. 


Thayer, Henry Martin. 
Thayer, Henry Carter. 
Thayer, Philander W. 
Thayer, Nelson L. 
Thayer, James Riley. 
Thayer, Minot. 

Thayer, Orrin T. 
Thayer, James M. 
Thayer, Charles Payson. 
Thayer, Ephraim H. 
Thayer, Samuel. 
Thayer, George W. 
Thayer, N. A. 

Thayer, Joseph W. 
Thayer, Charles Lincoln. 
Thayer, Charles Luther. 
Thayer, Charles H. 
Thayer, Thomas HH. B. 
Thayer, Warren, Jr. 
Thayer, Alson W. 
Thayer, Thomas B. 
Thayer, Charles Packard. 
Tileston, George Henry. 
Turner, John P. 
Tillson, William. 
Townsend, Newton. 
Tower, Morton F. 
Turner, Warren C. 
Tower, Minot. 

Twohig, Maurice. 
Turner, Frederick. 
Taylor, Marcus. 

Tower, Charles W. 
Taunt, Loring. 

Tynan, John. 
Thompson, James. 
Taylor, Ira A. E. 
Tower, Christopher. 
Tarbox, Elbridge G. 
Townsend, Adoniram J. 
Tully, Bartlett. 
Turner, Benjamin F, 
Upham, Lyman. 
Uniack, Richard. 
Uniack, Robert. 
Veazie, Walter C. 
Viele, Sidney B. 
Valentine, George. 
Wilbur, Otis F. 

Wales, Hiram F. 
Winnett, Wendell W. 
White, William Leander. 
Wales, Elisha Linfield. 
White, George Bailey. 
Wortman, Frank M. 
Wild, Charles H. 
White, Lawrence. 
Willis, Thomas E. 
Whitten, William. 
Woods, William H. 
Whalen, Thomas. 
Ward, Christopher. 
Whitmarsh, Thomas F, 
Ward, Eugene F. 
Ward, Thomas P. 
Ward, Jobn. 
Wilkinson, Richard. 
Whieldon, Joseph. 
Williams, John. 
Woodman, William Horace 
Weathee, Charles. 
Warren, John E. 
Wood, James. 

White, Cornelius L. 
White, Philemon. 
Wren, Bernard. 





Woodbury, Frank V. 
Whiting, Otis S. 
Whiting, Sidney S. 
Whiting, Otis. 
Wetherbee, Horace N. 
Wetherbee, Martin P. 
White, Samuel. 
White, James W. 
Winnett, George H. 
Willard, Augustus. 
Wild, Theodore 8. 
White, Robert S. 
Ward, Charles W. 
Wetherbee, Joseph W. 
Wetherbee, Orrin. 


Wetherbee, Erville. 
Wetherbee, David. 
Whelom, Thomas. 
Wilbur, Joseph W. 
Weeks, Charles H. 
West, Lorenzo. 
Williams, Thomas. 
Wing, Francis H. 
Ward, Thomas F. 
White, Samuel A. 
Whitcomb, Ephraim F. 
Washburn, George. 
Young, Isaac E. 
Yeaton, Stephen C. 


List of Randolph Selectmen.—The list of gentle- 
men who have in years past served the town of Ran- 
dolph as selectinen, as printed in the body of the 


| history, was furnished to the writer of the Randolph 


article from what was believed to be an authoritative 
source. While the sheets were passing through the 
press, however, certain errors were discovered in it. 
The list below given has been carefully revised, and 
is thought to be entirely accurate: 


1793.—Joseph White, Jr., Dr. Ebenezer Alden, Micah White, Jr. 
1794.—Joseph White, Jr., Dr. Ebenezer Alden, Micah White, Jr. 
1795.—Joseph White, Jr., Samuel Bass, Micah White, Jr. 
1796.—Joseph White, Jr., Samuel Bass, Micah White, Jr. 
1797.— Joseph White, Jr., Samuel Bass, Micah White, Jr. 
1798.—Joseph White, Jr., Samuel Bass, Micah White, Jr. 
1799.—Joseph White, Jr., Thomas French, Micah White, Jr. 
1800.—Joseph White, Jr., Samuel Bass, Micah White, Jr. 
1801.—Joseph White, Jr., Zacheus Thayer, Micah White, Jr. 
1802.—Joseph White, Jr., Samuel Bass, Micah White, Jr. 
1803.—Joseph White, Jr., Samuel Bass, Micah White, Jr. 
1804.—Joseph White, Jr., Samuel Bass, Jonathan Belcher. 
1805.—Thomas French, Samuel Linfield, Micah White, Jr. 
1806.—Thomas French, Samuel Linfield, Micah White, Jr. 
1807.—Thomas French, Joseph Porter, Micah White, Jr. 
1808.—Thomas French, Nathaniel Spear, Micah White, Jr. 
1809.—Thomas French, Samuel Linfield, Micah White, Jr. 
1810.—Thomas French, Samuel Linfield, Micah White, Jr. 
1811.—Thomas French, Samuel Linfield, Micah White, Jr. 
1812.—Jonathan Wales, Jr., Samuel Linfield, Micah White, Jr. 
1813.—Jonathan Wales, Jr., Jacob Whitcomb, Jr., Micah White, Jr. 
1814.—Jonathan Wales, Jr., Joseph Linfield, Micah White, Jr. 
1815.—Jonathan Wales, Jr., Joseph Linfield, Micah White, Jr. 
1816 —Jonathan Wales, Jr., Joseph Linfield, Micah White, Jr. 
1817.—Jonathan Wales, Jr., Joseph Linfield, Micah White, Jr. 
1818.—Royal Turner, Seth Mann, Zenas French. 
1819.—Luther Thayer, Seth Mann, Zenas French. 
1820.—Luther Thayer, Seth Mann, Zenas French. 
1821.—Zenas French, Seth Mann, Royal Turner. 

1822.—Joseph Linfield, Seth Mann, Royal Turner. 
1823.—Joseph Linfield, Seth Mann, Royal Turner. 
1824.—Joseph Linfield, Seth Mann, Royal Turner. 
1825.—Joseph Linfield, Horatio B. Alden, Thomas Howard. 
1826.—Lewis Whitcomb, Horatio B. Alden, Thomas Howard. 
1827.—Lewis Whitcomb, Horatio B. Alden, Thomas Howard. 
1828.—Seth Mann, Royal Turner, Lewis Whitcomb. 
1829.—Seth Mann, John Porter, Henry B. Alden. 

1830.—Seth Mann, John Porter, Henry B. Alden. 
1831.—Joshua Spear, Jr., David Blanchard, Henry B. Alden. 
1832.—Joshua Spear, Jr., David Blanchard, Henry B. Alden. 
1833.—Jonathan White, Zeba Spear, Henry B. Alden. 
1834.—David Blanchard, Zeba Spear, Henry B. Alden. 
1835.—Joshua Spear, Jr., Zenas French, Jr., Samuel Thayer. 
1836.—Joshua Spear, Jr., Zenas French, Jr., Samuel Thayer. 
1837.—Joshua Spear, Jr., Zenas French, Jr., Samuel Thayer. 
1838.—Joshua Spear, Jr., Zenas French, Jr., Samuel Thayer. 
1839.—Benjamin Richards, Zenas French, Jr., Isaac Tower. 
1840.—Benjamin Richards, Zenas French, Jr., Isaac Tower. 





APPENDIX. 993 





1841.—Benjamin Richards, Zenas French, Jr., Isaac Tower. _ 1864. Handel Pond. | 1871. George Sheldon. 
1842.—Benjamin Richards, Zenas French, Jr., Isaac Tower. | 1865. Philander P. Cook. | 1873. Abraham W. Harris. 
1843.— Benjamin Richards, Zenas French, Jr., Isaac Tower. 1867. James T. Ford. | 1874. George M. Warren. 
1844.—Benjamin Richards, Zenas French, Jr., Isaac Tower. 1870. Lowell R. Blake. | 1876. William R. Tompkins. 


1845.—Aaron Prescott, Zenas French, Jr., Isaac Tower. DELEGATES TO CONSTITUTIONAL aS. 
1846.—Jonathan Wales, Zenas French, Jr., Isaac Tower. ri a i CONN eo 
1779. Thomas Man. | 1820. Allen Tillinghast. 


1847.— Jonathan Wales, Zenas French, Jr., Isaac Tower. 
1848.—Jonathan Wales, Zenas French, Jr., Isaac Tower. | Lemuel Kollock. Samuel Bugbee. 
1849.—Jonathan Wales, Zenas French, Jr., Isaac Tower. 1820. Samuel Day. | 1853. Samuel Warner. 
1850.—Jonathan Wales, Zenas French, Jr., Isaac Tower. 
1851.—Bradford L. Wales, Zenas French, Jr., Isaac Tower. 
1852.—Davil Blanchard, Bradford L. Wales, Archibald Woodman. 
1853.—John T. Jordan, Bradford L. Wales, J. White Belcher. 
1854.—Seth Mann (2d), Thomas White, Jr., J. White Belcher. 
1855.—Seth Mann (2d), Thomas White, Jr., J. White Belcher. 
1856.—Seth Mann (2d), Jacob Whitcomb, Ephraim Mann. 
1857.—Seth Mann (2d), Jacob Whitcomb, Ephraim Mann. 
1858.—Lemuel 8. Whitcomb, Jacob Whitcomb, Horatio B. Alden, Jr. 
1859.—Seth Mann (2d), Jacob Whitcomb, Horatio B. Alden, Jr. 
1860.—Seth Mann (2d), Jacob Whitcomb, Horatio B. Alden, Jr. 
1861.—J. White Belcher, Lemuel 8. Whitcomb, Horatio B. Alden, Jr. | 
1862.—J. White Belcher, Seth Mann (2d), Lemuel S. Whitcomb. 
1863.—J. White Belcher, Seth Mann (2d), Lemuel 8. Whitcomb. 
1864.—J. White Belcher, Seth Mann (2d), John Adams. 
1865.—J. White Belcher, Nathauiel Howard, John Adams. 
1866.—J. White Belcher, Nathaniel Howard, John Adams. 
1867.—J. White Belcher, Jacob Whitcomb, Nathaniel Howard. 
1868.—J. White Belcher, Jacob Whitcomb, Horatio B. Alden, Jr. 
1869.—J. White Belcher, John Underhay, Horatio B. Alden. 
1870.—J. White Belcher, John Underhay, Horatio B. Alden. 
1871.—J. White Belcher, John Underhay, Horatio B. Alden. | 
1872.—J. White Belcher, Seth Mann (2d), Horatio B. Alden. | 
1873.—J. White Belcher, John T. Flood, Seth Mann (2d). 
1874.—J. White Belcher, John T. Flood, James A. Tower. 
1875.—J. White Belcher, John T. Flood, James A. Tower. 
1876.—John T. Flood, Seth Mann (2d), Sidney French. | 
1877.—John T. Flood, James A. Tower, Daniel Howard. Ballou, Darius A. 
} 1878.—John T. Flood, James A. Tower, Daniel Howard. Ballou, William C. 
1879.—John T. Flood, James A. Tower, Daniel Howard. | Barnes, George F. 
" 1880.—John T. Flvuod, Sidney French, Royal T. Mann. | Barnes, Henry W. 
: 1881.—John T. Flood, John Berry Thayer, Royal T. Mann. | Barnicoat, John W. 
1882.—John T. Flood, John Berry Thayer, Royal T. Mann. Baron, Patrick. 
| 1883.—Rufus Albert Thayer, John Berry Thayer, Royal T. Mann. Baron, William D. 
Barton, Albert. 
Bathe, Anthony. 


STATE SENATORS. 


Lucus Pond. 
Melatiah Everett. 
Oliver Felt. 

Samuel Warner, Jr. 
Calvin Fisher, Jr. 


Samuel Day. 
Josiah J. Fiske. 
Allen Tillinghast. 
Ebenezer Blake. 
George Hawes. 


MEMBERS OF REVOLUTIONARY CONVENTIONS. 
1768. Jabex Fisher. | 1774. Lemuel Kollock. 


1774. Jabez Fisher. | Samuel Lethbridge. 


Ebenezer Daggett. 


Military Record, 1861-65.—The subjoined list 
contains the names of persons who were mustered 
into the military service of the United States in the 
_ civil war of 1861, for Wrentham. It includes the 
names both of citizens and of others who enlisted as 
la part of the town’s quota: 


Allen, Joseph H. 
Ally, John. 
Alvine, William. 
Anderson, George. 
Andrews, Charles. 
Auty, George. 
Babbitt, James B. 


Cody, George. 

Cole, Joseph E. 
Conley, Cornelius. 
Connors, Daniel. 
Cook, Herbert E. 
Crosby, Edmund B. 
Crossley, Benjamin. 
Crotty, Edward. 
Crotty, Daniel. 
Crotty, James P. 
Cunningham, Arthur. 
Cunningham, Charles T, 
Daggett, Marcus L. 
Daly, Michael. 
Darling, Wilson. 
Dart, Allen E. 











WRENTHAM. Bauman, Antoine. Dart, Gustavus F. 
Benn, Henry. Dermont, Joseph. 
ul TRS 
REPRESENTATIVES TO THE GENERAL COURT. Bennett, Aaron A. Dimond, Richard H. 
1691. Samuel Fisher. 1809. James Ware. Bennett, Alonzo F. Dow, Charles 8. 





Cornelius Fisher. Jacob Mann. Bennett, David S. Downs, Matthew. 
1697. John Ware. 1812. Jairus Mann. | Blackinton, Jacob A. Drake, George R. 
1707. John Guild. Samuel Druce. Blackinton, James E. Draper, Ebenezer. 
1710. John Whiting. 1813. William Blackinton. Blackinton, Lyman D. Dunbar, John A. 
1717. Ebenezer Fisher. 1821. Josiah J. Fiske. Blake, Adin P. Dupee, George S. 
1719. Thomas Bacon. 1824. David Shepard. Blake, Alfred. Elliott, Sumner. 
1721. Robert Ware. 1826. Ebenezer Blake. Blake, Ezra N. Emerson, James. 
1723. Edward Gay. 1828. George Hawes. Blake, Jeremiah D. Engly, George. 
1726. Jonathan Ware. 1829. Allen Tillinghast. Blake, William L. Fales, David. 


1727. 
1728. 
1733. 
1737. 
1740. 
1746. 
1756. 
1766. 
1775. 
1776. 


1782. 
1784. 
1787. 
1789. 


Robert Pond. 
Robert Blake. 
William Man. 
Timothy Metcalf. 
James Blake. 
John Goldsbury. 
Elephalet Whiting. 
Jabez Fisher. 
Lemuel Kollock. 
Joseph Hawes. 
Ebenezer Daggett. 
Benjamin Guild. 
Joseph Fairbanks. 
Oliver Pond. 

John Whiting. 
Nathan Comstock. 


| 1839. 


| 1842. 
1843. 
1846. 


1831. 


1834. 


1837. 


1849 
1854 
1855 
1856 
1858 


Oliver Felt. 
Lucus Pond. 
John Fuller. 
Shem Armsby. 
Preston Pond. 
Silas Metcalf. 
John A. Craig. 
Otis G. Cheever. 
Samuel Warner. 
Preston Day. 
Reuben G. Metcalf. 
Elisha Fisk. 
Benjamin Hawes, 


. Charles W. Farrington. 


Preston Pond. 
Edward C. Craig. 


Block, Abel R. 
Bonney, Frank K. 
Bontelle, James H. 
Brine, John. 
Britton, James H. 
Britton, Richard. 
Brown, Charles. 
Brown, George L. 
Brown, Orlando. 


Burroughs, Edward. 


Burton, Albert W. 
Bugbee, Samuel H. 
Cain, John. 
Caldwell, Robert. 
Carroll, Timothy. 
Cheever, Horace C. 


Fales, Henry A. 
Fales, Silas E. 

Farnsworth, James P. 
Farnum, Albert N. 


Farrington, Watson H. 


Farry, Michael. 
Farry, Samuel. 
Firm, Bernard. 
Fisher, Daniel W. 
Fisher, Harrison. 
Fisher, Lewis B. 
Fisher, Oliver A. 
Fisher, William H. 
Fletcher, Nath. F. 
Fletcher, Stephen R. 
Forrest, Frederic D. 


1804. Cornelius Kollock. 1859. Chauncy G. Fuller. Clifford, Charles. Foster, John. 
1805. Samuel Day. 1861. Harvey B. Coleman. Cobb, Alfred O. Foster, Peter. 
1807. Benjamin Sheppard. 1862. Caleb W. Sayles. Cobb, Henry G. Freeman, Dexter B. 


63 


994 


French, John. 
Fubhrinan, Michael. 
Gage, Samuel C. 
Gage, William L. 
Galvin, Maurice J. 
Ganay, Robert. 
Giles, William H. 
Gordak, William N. 
Gragg. Michael. 
Green, Nelson 8S. 
Green, Ebenezer. 
Greer, Frederic E. 
Grover, Jeremiah O. 
Harney, Michael. 
Harris, William A. 
Harris, Warren. 
Hawes, Albert E. 
Hawes, Edward. 
Hawes, Elijah F. 
Hawes, William H. 
Hawkins, Albert. 
Hay, Henry E. 


Hemmenway, Frank W. 
Hemmenway, William W. 


Henry, John. 

Henry, Thomas. 
Herrick, Joseph T. 
Hogan, David. 
Hogan, Patrick. 
Hollis, Alonzo, 
Hunt, Bernard. 

Ide, Nathaniel. 
Inman, William L. 
Jordan, Hartley D. 
Jordan, Henry A. 
Jordan, Horatio A. 
Jordan, Lowell A. 
Keenan, James. 
Kendall, Charles P. 
Keyes, George R. 
Kingsbury, Forrest B. 
Kingsley, Samuel C. 
Lake, Edgar B. 
Lake, Peter. 

Lewis, Robert. 
Little, Henry. 

Lord, Frost. 
Maintien, George H. 
Mann, Thomas H. 
Marcoe, John. 
Mason, Edwin A. 
Mathews, John. 
Maynard, Stephen. 
Mayshaw, Henry. 
McCarty, John. 
McCarty, Daniel. 
McCausland, William. 
McCormick, : 
McGaw, Alexander. 
McNulty, Bernard. 
Messinger, Charles W. 
Metcalf, Edgar H. 
Metcalf, Silas H. 
Miles, Bradley 8. 
Morrison, Charles E, 





Morrison, John. 

Munroe, Charles D. 
Munroe, Charles E. 
Murphy, Martin V. 
Murphy, Matthew. 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Newman, John, 
Nickerson, Albert A. 
Nickerson, Silas E. 
O’Connor, Patrick. 
Odey, Henry. 

Odey, William B. 
Olmore, Winslow. 
Parnett, Pias. 
Partridge, Edmund F. 
Pettee, William H. 
Pond, Elijah, 

Pond, Elbridge 8. 
Pryor, Thomas. 
Rand, George S. 

Ray, George A. 
Raymond, John. 
Regan, Michael. 
Rice, Henry T. 
Richardson, Alfred A. 
Richardson, James O. 
Richardson, Warren A. 
Roberts, James H. 


Rockwood, Benjamin H. 


Ruggles, George E. 
Salisbury, Norton. 
Sanborn, George G. 
Sears, Albert A. 
Sears, Theophilus M. 
Shaw, Lewis. 
Shiney, Alexander. 
Short, Dennis. 
Simons, George W. 
Skinner, Zenas, 
Smith, Francis. 
Smith, Marcus M. 
Smith, Richard. 
Smith, William L. 
Smith, William T. 
Stewart, David C. 
Stone, George T. 
Sturdy, Albert W. 
Sullivan, James. 
Sullivan, Jeremiah. 
Swett, C. W. 

Swzor, Jolin. 

Tarr, Albert. 

Thain, Gilbert M. 
Thayer, Emery D. 
Thayer, Lyman L. 
Thomas, William H. 
Thompson, Jason 8. 
Vaughn, Daniel 8. 
Vose, Cyrus W. 
Ware, Henry A. 
Whitcomb, George W. 
White, Rufus. 
Whiting, John H. 
Whiting, Lewis R. 
Wiggins, James F. 
Willard, Ashbel. 
Willard, Daniel C. 
Willard, Eber. 
Willard, Le Baron B. 
Williams, Edward B. 
Williams, Rounsville. 
Witherell, Naaman W. 
Wood, Josiah A. G. 
Wood, William E. 
Young, Austin. 
Young, Francis. 


It is hardly to be expected that the foregoing list 
will be found strictly accurate, notwithstanding much 
time and labor have been expended in trying to make 
itso. Some of our townsmen served in the military 








| 1725-26. Lieut. Joshua Fisher. 


organizations of other States, and that service is not 


| recorded in Massachusetts. 


NAMES OF THOSE WHO SERVED IN THE OTHER STATES. 


Austin, John E. 
Barnes, Norman K, 
Barnes, Edwin H. 


Butman, Warren. 
Ray, Frank P. 


NAMES OF THOSE WHO SERVED IN THE NAVY. 
Hawes, John F. 
Hawes, George A. 
Hazelton, John A. 
Messinger, William A. 


Baxter, John. 
Chapin, Thomas E, 
Churchill, Gardner A. 
Hawes, James FE. 


DEDHAM. 


The Dedham Transcript was established April 1, 
1870, by John Cox, Jr., Samuel H. Cox, and Hugh 
H. McQuillen, proprietors. At the end of a year 
Messrs. John Cox and H. H. MeQuillen retired from 
the proprietorship, and Mr. Samuel H. Cox was the 
editor and proprietor from that time until Feb. 26, 
1881, when it was purchased by Mr. Hugh H. Me- 
Quillen, who has continued it to the present time. 
It is an excellent local paper and merits its present 
prosperity. 

The Dedham Standard was first published in Sep- 
tember, 1882, by Walter L. Wardle & Co., who have 
continued to publish it up to the present time (1884). 
It is a good local journal and is entitled to its success. 

Dedham Representatives to the General Court. 
—A list of representatives from 1696 to 1846, for con- 
secutive years, was published in Mann’s “‘ Annals 
of Dedham” in 1847, which is incorporated into the 
following list. Before that time the sources of 
making a complete list are not easily accessible. 

The first representative, or deputy, was Edward 
Alleyne, who served four years. In 1640 he was suc- 
ceeded by Maj. Eleazer Lusher, who served many 
years. Capt. Daniel Fisher, the first of that name, 
served from 1658 to 1682, excepting two years. He 
was Speaker of the House in 1680, His successor 
was Capt. Timothy Dwight, who also served many 
years. Richard Ellis and Thomas Metcalf were rep- 
resentatives afterwards, and before 1696, when the 
following list begins: 


1735-40. John Metcalf. 

1741. Joseph Ellis. 

1742. Joseph Richards. 

1743. Richard Ellis. 

1744-50. Col. Joseph Richards, 

1751. Deacon Joseph Ellis. 

1752-54. Joseph Richards, Esq. 

1755. Voted not to send. 

1756-57. Dea. Nathaniel Sumner, 

1758-59. Dea. Joseph Ellis. 

1760. Capt. Jonathan Metcalf. 
| 1761. Eliphalet Pond, Esq. 

1762, Nathaniel Sumner, Esq. 

1763. Eliphalet Pond, Esq. 
1727-28. Joseph Ellis, Sr. 1764-68. Samuel Dexter, Esq. 
1729. Eleazar Ellis. 1769-70. Nathaniel Sumner, Esq. 
1730-34. Joseph Ellis. 1771-73. Abner Ellis. 


1696. John Fuller. 

1697. Thomas Metcalf. 

1698. Asahel Smith. 

1699, Josiah Fisher. 

1700-4. Capt. Daniel Fisher. 
1705-11. John Fuller. 
1712-13. Capt. Daniel Fisher. 
1714. Eleazar Kingsbury. 
1715-17. John Fuller. 

1718. Dea. Jonathan Metcalf, 
1719. Capt. Samuel Guild. 
1720-22. Joseph Ellis, Jr. 
1723-24. Thomas Fuller. 





APPENDIX. 


995 





1824. Pliny Bingham. 

Josiah 8. Fisher. 
1825-26. Richard Ellis. 
1827-29. Richard Ellis. 

Horace Mann. 

1830. Richard Ellis. 

1777. Abner Ellis. Horace Mann. 

1778-79. Jonathan Metcalf. John Endicott. 

1780. Abner Ellis. 1831. Theron Metcalf (in May). 
1781. Abner Ellis. Richard Ellis (in November). 

Ebenezer Battle. Horace Mann (in November). 
1782-83. Capt. Joseph Guild. 1832. Theron Metcalf. 

1784. Nathaniel Kingsbury. John W. Ames. 
1785. Nathaniel Kingsbury. 1833. Theron Metcalf. 

Samuel Dexter. Richard Ellis. 
1786-87. Nathaniel Kingsbury. John Morse. 
1788. Fisher Ames. 1834. John Endicott. 

Nathaniel Kingsbury. John Morse. 

1789-90. Joseph Guild. Daniel Covell. 
1791. Nathaniel Ames. 1835, William Ellis. 
1792-93. Nathaniel Ames. Daniel Marsh. 

Nathaniel Kingsbury. John Dean (3d). 

1794. Nathaniel Kingsbury. 1836. Joshua Fales. 

Tsaac Bullard. John Morse. 
1795-1800. Isaac Bullard. Daniel Covell. 
1801. Isaac Bullard. 1837. Joshua Fales. 

Ebenezer Fisher. John Morse, 
1802-4. Ebenezer Fisher. | Dauiei Covell. 
1805, Ebenezer Fisher. 1838-40. Joshua Fales. 

John Endicott. 1841-43. Merrill D. Ellis. 
1806. Ebenezer Fisher. 1844-45. Joseph Day. 

John Endicott. 1846-47. Edward L. Keyes. 

Isaac Bullard. 1848. Ezra Wilkinson. 

1807. John Endicott. 1849-50. No representative chosen. 

Isaac Bullard. 1851. Ezra Wilkinson. 

Samuel H. Deane. 1852. No representative chosen. 
1808-13. John Endicott. 1853-54. Waldo Colburn. 

Samuel H. Deane. 1855. Curtis G. Morse. 

Jonathan Richards. 1856. Ezra Wilkinson. 

1814. John Endicott. 1857-59. Ezra W. Taft. 

Erastus Worthington. 1860-62. Eliphalet Stone. 

Col. Abner Ellis. 1863. William Bullard. 

1815. Erastus Worthington. 1864. Ezra W. Taft. 
Samuel H. Deane. 1865-66. Thomas L. Wakefield. 
Col. Abner Ellis. 1867. Addison Boyden. 

1816. John Endicott. 1868. John R. Bullard. 

Abner Ellis. 1869. Eliphalet Stone. 

William Ellis. 1870-71. John R. Bullard. 
1817. Abner Ellis. 1872. Angustus B. Endicott. 

William Ellis. 1873. Frederick D. Ely. 

Timothy Gay, Jr. 1874. Augustus B. Endicott. 
1818-20. William Ellis. 1875. Lewis Day. 

1821. Edward Dowse. 1876-77. John Doggett Cobb. 
1822. John W. Ames. 1578. Henry C. Bonney. 
1823. William Ellis. 1879. Tyler Thayer. 

Col. Abner Ellis. 1880. William J. Wallace. 

Pliny Bingham. 1881-83. Thomas J. Baker. 
1824. William Ellis. 1884. Alonzo B. Wentworth. 


1774. Samuel Dexter. 
Abner Ellis. 

1775. Samuel Dexter. 
Abner Ellis. 

1776. Abner Ellis. 
Jonathan Metcalf. 





and men from or credited to the town of Dedham, 


during the war of the Rebellion, 1861-65... The 
names of those men are included who are known to 





Confinement in rebel prisons, and wounds when the 
cause of death or discharge, are mentioned so far as 
known. Names of those who died in the service are 
distinguished by an asterisk. ; 


Infantry. 


FIRST REGIMENT (Three Years). 
Benjamin Blanchard, Co. H, May 31, 1861; must. out May 25, 1864. 


SECOND REGIMENT (Three Years). 


| James Pinney, Co. F, May 26, 1861; must. out May 25, 1864. 


Lafayette Perkins (New Hampshire), Co. K, May 26,1861; vet. vol. ; 
must. out June 17, 1865. 
*Michael Hennilhan, Co. H, May 26, 1861; killed at Chancellorsville, 
Va., May 3, 1863. 
THIRD REGIMENT (Three Months). 
Erastus W. Everson, sergt., Co. A, April 23, 1861; must. out July 22, 
1861. (See 18th Regt., Co. H.) 
FOURTH REGIMENT (Three Months). 
Albert A. Nichols, sergt., Co. A, April 22, 1861; must. out July 22, 1861. 


FIFTH REGIMENT (Three Months). 
James H. Griggs, Co. B, May 1, 1861; prisoner July 21,1861 (Bull Run) ; 
exchanged June 1, 1862. (See 33d Regt.) 
Charles W. Strout, sergt., Co. C, May 1, 1861; must. out July 31, 1861. 
Edwin H. Robertson, Co. E, May 1, 1861; must. out July 31, 1861. 


FIFTH REGIMENT (One Hundred Days). 


Charles E. Grant, Co. F, July 16, 1864; must. out Nov. 16, 1864. 

Nathan 0. Weeks, Co. F, July 16, 1864; must. out Nov. 16, 1864. 

Henry Weeks, Co. F, July 16, 1864; must. out Nov. 16, 1864. (See 43d 
Regiment.) 


SIXTH REGIMENT (One Hundred Days). 
Edward F. Clark, Co. H, July 16, 1864; must. out Oct. 27, 1864. 


SEVENTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Albinah H. Burgess (Dorchester), Co. E, June 15, 1861; must. out March 
23, 1863, for disability. 

James Sheehan, Co. G, June 15, 1861; must. out June 27, 1864. 

Charles E. Park, Co. G, June 15, 1861; must. out June 27, 1864. 

Thomas Smeedy, Co. G, June 15, 1861; must. out June 27, 1864. 


ELEVENTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Mark Morse, musician, Co. I, June 13, 1861; must. out June 24, 1864. 
Andrew Thompson, drummer, Co. F, June 13, 1861; Dec. 1, 1863, trans, 
to Vet. Res. Corps. 


TWELFTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 
*Charles L. Carter, Co. B, June 25, 1863; re-enl. 39th Regt., Co. E. 
THIRTEENTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Sigourney Wales, sergt., Co. C, July 16, 1861; pro. 2d lieut. Feb. 3, 1863; 
trans. to 55th Regt. May 23, 1863. 

James L. McCoy, Co. C, July 16, 1861; pro. Ist sergt.; must. out Aug. 
1, 1864. 


| William S. Damrell, Co. D, July 16, 1861; pro. 2d lieut. March-6,1863 ; 
Military Record.—The following isa roll of officers | 


Ist lieut. Jan. 8, 1864; pro. capt. April 22, 1864; prisoner of war, 
1864; must. out Aug. 1, 1864. 


. = | John Callahan, Co. G, July 16, 1861; disch. Feb. 19, 1863, for disability. 
who served in the army or navy of the United States | : ; : i te 


| 


have had a connection with Dedham by birth, resi- | 


dence, or enlistment upon the quotas of men furnished 
by the town during the war. Names are arranged 
according to the number of the regiments. 





1 This roll was prepared for and printed with the exercises and ad- 


dress at the dedication of Memorial Hall, Sept. 29, 1868, by Erastus | 


Worthington, Esq., the writer of the history of Dedham for this work. 


Where | 
no rank is named, that of private is to be understood. 


The date first named is the date of the muster in. | 
iis | Alfred A. Bestwick, musician, Aug. 24, 1861; must. out Aug. 11, 1862, 





FIFTEENTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 
Fred. Page, musician, Aug. 5, 1861; must. out Aug. 8, 1862, under gen- 
eral order. 
SIXTEENTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 
Charles W. Blenus, musician, Aug. 10, 1861; must. ont Aug. 9, 1862, 
under general order. 
EIGHTEENTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Edward M. Onion, sergt.-maj., Aug. 24, 1861; 2d lieut. Oct. 29, 1861 ; 1st 
lieut. Sept. 1, 1862; capt. May 2, 1863; must. out Sept. 2, 1864. 


under general order. 
Isaac W. Weathers, musician, Aug. 24, 1861; must. out Aug. 11, 1862, 
under general order. 


996 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





Isaac Wallace White, musician, Aug. 24, 1861; must. out Aug. 11, 1862, 
under general order. 

Henry Onion, capt., Co. F, July 26, 1861; must. out Oct. 28, 1861. 

*Charles W. Carroll, Ist lieut., Co. F, July 26, 1861; capt. Oct. 29, 1861; 
died Sept. 2, 1862, of wounds received at 2d battle of Bull Run, Va., 
Aug, 30, 1862. 

Fisher A. Baker, 2d lieut., Co. F, July 26, 1861; 1st lieut. Oct. 29, 1861; 
adjt. April, 1862; lieut.-col. Ang. 25, 1864, but declined commission ; 
must. out Sept. 2, 1864. 

Warren B. Galucia, Ist sergt., Co. Fj Aug. 24, 1861; disch. November, 
1862, for sickness. (See 56th Regt.) 

James M. Pond, sergt., Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; Ist sergt.; promoted 1st 
lieut. Jan. 15, 1864 ; October, 1864, re-enlisted, and trans. to 23d Regt. 

John K. Thompson, sergt., Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1863 for sick- 
ness. 

Joseph W. Pratt, sergt., Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1861 for sickness. 

John D. Andrews, sergt., Co. F, Aug. 24,1861; must. out Sept. 2, 1864. 

William C. Coburn, corp., Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; sergt. 1861; Ist lieut. 
Jan. 15, 1864; must. out Sept. 30, 1864. 

Edward Shattuck, corp., Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; sergt. 1862; must. out 
Sept. 2, 1864. 

William Simpson, corp., Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1862 for wounds 
received at 2d Bull Run, Aug. 30, 1862. 

Henry G. Gerritzen, corp., Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1863, for sick- 
ness, 

Amasa Guild, corp., Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; 1st lieut. Jan. 15, 1864; must. 
out Sept. 30, 1864. 

Edward F. Richards, corp., Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; q.m.-sergt. 1862 ; must 
out Sept. 2, 1864. 


Charles Hawkins, drummer, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; must. out Sept. 2, | 


1864. 

Elias W. Adams, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1862 for wounds re- 
ceived at 2d Bull Run. (See 56th Regt., Co. H.) 

George W. Brigham, Co, F, Aug. 24,1861; corp. 1861; sergt. 1862; pris- 
oner at expiration of service. 

Charles J. Bryant, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; must. out Sept. 2, 1864. 

James Clements, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1863 for wounds re- 
ceived at Fredericksburg. 

Timothy Collins, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; corp. 1863 ; must. out Sept. 2, 
1864. 

*Edward G. Cox, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1862 for wounds re- 
ceived at 2d Bull Run; re-enl. Ist sergt. 37th U.S. C. Troops, Jan. 
18, 1864; died Oct. 22, 1864. 

*Robert R. Covey, Co. F, Aug. 24,1861; killed at Bull Run Aug. 30, 1862. 


Sumner A. Ellis, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1862 for wounds re- | 


ceived at 2d Bull Run. (See 56th Regt., Co. H.) 

Henry C. Everett, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; re-enl. Jan. 1, 1864; trans. to 
32d Regt. 

Franklin Fisher, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1863 for sickness. 

William P. Fairbanks, Co. F, Aug. 1861; re-enl. Jan. 1864; trans. to 32d 
Regt. 

Daniel C, Felton, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; must. out Sept. 2, 1864. 

Otis S. Guild, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; must. out Sept. 2, 1864. 


*Edward Holmes, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; corp. 1861; killed at 2d Bull | 


Run Aug. 30, 1862. 
Lewis J. Houghton, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861: must. out Sept. 2, 1864. 
Harvey L. Hayford, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; re-enl. Jau. 1864; trans. to 
32d Regt. 
Jeremiah Hartney, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1863 for sickness. 
William W. Jones, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1861 for sickness. 
*John Keith, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; died May 29, 1864. 
*Jonathan H. Keyes, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; killed at Fredericksburg, 
Va., Dec. 13, 1862. 

John H. Keyes, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; 
lieut. U.S. C. Troops in 1863. 
*George O. Kingsbury, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; killed at Bull Run, Va., 

Aug. 30, 1862. 


disch. in 1863 for promotion; 2d 





*Leonard Minot, Co. I, Aug. 24, 1861; died in hospital, April 23, 1862, 

Daniel F. Nichols, Co. F, Aug. 24,1861; taken prisoner Novy. 27, 1863 
exchanged; trans. to U.S. C. H. Artillery; pro. capt. Nov. 1863; 
disch. May, 1866. 

Charles D. O’Reilley, Co. F, Aug. 24, 186!; disch. in 1863 for accidental 
wound. 

William L. Pierce, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1861 for sickness. 

George E. Pond, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1861 for sickness. (See 
43d Regt.) 

William Parker, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1864 for sickness, 

Austin E. Pratt, Co. F, Aug. 24,1861; disch. in 1863 for wounds received 
at Gettysburg. 

Isaac N. Parker, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1862 for wounds received 
at 2d Bull Run. 

Gideon A. Ryder, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; corp. 1863 ; must. out Sept. 2, 1864. 


Charles H. Rogers, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; corp. 1863; must. out Sept. 2, 


1864. 

John W. Snell, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861 ; must. out Sept. 2, 1864. 

*Henry D. Smith, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; killed at 2d Bull Run, Aug. 30, 
1862. 

*N. Roland Stevens, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; died in hospital March 1, 1862. 

Cornelius D. Sullivan, Co, F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1862 for sickness. 
(See 4th Cavalry.) 

*Edmund L, Thomas, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861 ; died Sept. 16, 1862, of wounds 
received at 2d Bull Run. 

*George N. Worthen, Co. F, Aug. 24,1861; died Sept. 4, 1862, of wounds 
received at 2d Bull Run. 

Erastus W. Everson, Ist sergt., Co. H, Aug. 24,1861; 2d lieut., Co. B, 
1862; Ist lieut., Co. B, Feb. 5, 1863; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps Dec. 
10, 1863. 

*Horace S. Damrell, sergt., Co. H, Aug. 24, 1861; died in hospital March 
7, 1862. 

#*Oscar S. Guild, Co. H, Aug. 24,1861; died in hospital Feb. 22, 1862. 

*Joseph M. Jordan, Co. H, Aug. 24,1861; killed at Gaines’ Mills, Va., 
June 27, 1762. 

Thomas Madden, Co. H, Aug. 24, 1861; Dec. 25, 1862, trans. to 6th U. 8. 
Inf.; must. out Aug. 29, 1864. 


| John D. Martin, Co. H, Aug. 24, 1861; re-enl. January, 1864; trans. to 


32d Regt. 

Herman Seffarth, Co. H, Aug. 24, 1861; Aug. 10, 1862, trans. to U.S. 
Res. Art. 

*Cyrus D. Tewksbury, Co. H, Aug. 24, 1861; re-enl. January, 1864; 
killed at Petersburg, Va., July 5, 1864. 

*Joseph M. Jordan, Co. H, Aug. 24, 1861; killed June 27, 1862, at 
Gaines’ Mills, Va. 

John N. Tewksbury, Co. H, Aug. 24, 1861; re-enl. Dec. 1, 1863; trans. to 
32d Regt. 

Michael Burns, Co. K, Aug, 24, 1861; must. out Sept. 2, 1864. 

Patrick H. Flynn, Co. K, Aug. 24, 1861; disch.in 1862 for sickness. 

Charles P. Smith, Co. K, Aug, 24, 1861; trans. to U. S. Vet. Res. Corps. 


NINETEENTH REGIMFNT (Three Years). 
Joseph McCaffrey, Co. I, Jan. 30, 1865; must. out June 30, 1865. 


TWENTIETH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Julius Boehme, Co. B, July 26, 1861; re-enl. Feb. 23, 1864; wounded 
May, 1864. 
Charles J. Haas, Co, B, July 26, 1861; must. out Aug. 1, 1864. 


| Julius Kajewsky, Co. B, Aug. 22, 1861; disch. for disability Feb. 21, 


1863. 
Emery Wiley, Co. D, Sept. 4, 1861; disch, for disability May 31, 1862. 
Lewis F. Davis, Co. F, Aug. 2, 1861; disch. Aug. 26, 1861. 


| John Power, corp., Co. G, July 18, 1861; taken prisoner at Ball’s Bluff; 


exchanged and rejoined regiment; must. out Aug. 1, 1864. 


| Andrew O’Connor, Co. I, Aug. 29, 1861; disch. for disability Dec. 1, 1862. 


*Daniel Leahy, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; mortally wounded at Fredericks- | 


burg, Va., Dec. 13, 1862. 

Charles E. Lewis, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1863 for sickness. 

Chester R. Lawton, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; corp. 1862; re-enl. Jan. 1864; 
discharged under general order, 1864. 

Patrick Mears, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1863 for wounds received 
at 2d Bull Run. 

Patrick Mack, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; must. out Sept. 2, 1864. 

William J. Marsh, Co. F, Aug. 24, 1861; disch. in 1861 for sickness. 


*Albert C. Bean, Co. I, Sept. 4, 1861; died June 8, 1864, of wounds re- 
ceived at Cold Harbor, Va., June 3. 


TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT (Three Years). 

William H. Smith, Co. E, Aug. 23, 1861; trans. todd U.S. Art., Aug, 23, 
1862. 

TWENTY-SECOND REGIMENT (Three Years). 

Thomas Sherwin, Jr., adjt, Oct. 1, 1861; maj. June 28, 1862; lieut.-col. 
Oct. 17, 1862; brevet col. Sept. 30, 1864; must. out Oct. 17, 1864; 
brevet col. U.S. Vols. April 20, 1865 ; brevet brig.-gen. March 13, 1865. 

William N. Taylor, Co. A, Sept. 2, 1861; dropped from rolls July 29, 1863. 





° 





APPENDIX. 


997 





*John Finn, Jr., Co. B, Sept. 11, 1861; corp.; sergt.; died June 13, 1864, 
of wounds received at North Anna River, May 23, 1864. 

George E. Smallwood, Co, E, Sept. 13, 1861; disch. for pro. Feb. 28, 1863. 

*William Heath, Co. I, Sept. 6, 1861 ; accidentally shot at Hall’s Hill, 
Va., Dec. 7, 1861. 

Michael Lucy, Co. I, Sept. 6, 1861; disch. for disability Feb. 17, 1863. 


TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT (Three Years). 


*David Fletcher (Boston), Co. I, July 29, 1862; killed at Whitehall, N.C., 
Dec. 16, 1863. 


TWENTY-FOURTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 

Walter Ingalls, Co. A, Oct. 11, 1861; disch. Sept. 2, 1862, for disability. 

* Charles W. Phipps, Co. A, Sept. 18, 1861; killed at Deep Bottom, Va., 
Aug. 16, 1864. 

James B. Smith, Co. A, Sept. 19, 1861; trans, to Vet. Res. Corps, March, 
10, 1864. 

Thomas H. Snell, Co. A, Sept. 
must. out Jan. 20, 1865. 

Henry C. Bonney, Co. E, Dec. 2, 1861; must. out Dec. 4, 1864. 

William Howe, Co. F, Sept. 16,1861; must. out Sept. 16, 1864. 

George B. Snell, Co. F, Sept. 14, 1861; must. out Sept. 18, L864. 

Robert S. Bateman, corp., Co. G, Sept. 12, 1861; disch. for disability Aug. 
30, 1862. 


25, 1861; re-enl. Dec. 21, 1863; corporal ; 


THIRTY-FIFTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


John Lathrop, Ist lieut., Co. I, Aug. 13, 1862; capt. Aug. 27, 1862; re- 
signed Noy. 14, 1863, on account of disability. 

* William Hill, 2d lieut., Co. I, Aug. 8, 1862; 1st lieut. Aug. 27, 1862; 
killed at Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13, 1862. 

John D. Cobb, sergt., Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; 1st sergt.; Ist lieut. Nov. 
15, 1863 ; capt. Nov. 29, 1864; not must.; must. out June 9, 1865. 

Henry W. Tisdale, sergt., Co. I, Aug. 16,1862; taken prisoner at North 
Anns River May 24, 1864; exch. 1865; must. out June 9, 1865. 

Charles D. Pond, sergt., Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 

* Edward E. Hatton, corp., Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; killed at Antietam, Md., 
Sept. 17, 1862. 

Ferdinand Steiner, corp., Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 

Charles D. Force, corp, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 

* John G. Dymond, corp., Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; died at Hampton, Va., 
March 29, 1863. 

* John W. Fiske, corp., Co. I, Ang. 16, 1862; sergt. ; 
and pro. 2d lieut58th Regt. (See 58th Regt.) 


color sergt. ; trans. 


Edmund Davis, corp., Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; color corp.; disch. for 


Henry 8. Waite, corp., Co. G, Oct. 9, 1861; disch. May 25, 1862, for sick- | 


ness. 

Patrick Coyne, Co. G, Sept. 20, 1861; re-enl. Jan. 4,1864: must. out Jan, 
20, 1866. 

William Keating, corp., Co. G, Dec. 5, 1861; re-enl. Jan. 4, 1864; must. 
out Jan. 20, 1866. 

John H. Towne, Co. G, Sept. 16, 1861; disch. Aug. 13, 1862, for sickness. 

William Hale, Co. G, Jan. 1, 1863; re-enl. Jan. 4, 1864. 

Benjamin F. Phipps, Co. G, Jan. 19, 1863; must. out Sept. 5, 1864. 

Frederick L. Stevens, Co. G, Noy. 7, 1861; disch, June 9, 1862, for sick- 
ness. 

Henry C. Hollis, Co. G, Sept. 23, 1861; disch. Dec. 31, 1861. 

Albert Woods, Co. G, Oct. 7, 1851; re-enl. Jan. 4, 1864; must. out Jan. 
20, 1866. 

* Julius M. Lathrop, corp., Co. I, 1861; trans. and pro. Ist lieut. 38th 
Regt. 

William H. Clements, musician, Co. I, Sept. 11, 1861 ; must. out Aug, 
22, 1862. 

Edward R. Pond, Co. I, Oct. 8, 1861 ; disch. April 7, 1863, for disability. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Calvin N. Crosby, Co. B, Aug. 10, 1863; must. out June 3°, 1865. 

* Edward Sheehan, Co. B, Dec. 13, 1861; died of disease Nov. 17, 1863, 
in Washington. 

Terence Mitchiell, sergt., Co. G, Jan. 5, 1862; must. out Dec. 19, 1864. 


wounds received at Antietam, Md., Sept. 17, 1862. 

Sabin R, Baker, drummer, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. in 1863 for sick- 
ness. 

Ephraim A. Roberts, fifer and bugler, Co. 1, Aug. 16, 1862; trans. to Vet. 
Res. Corps, 1864. 

Clinton Bagley, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; corporal ; sergeant; first sergeant; 
sergeant-major; 2d lieut. Sept. 8, 1864; declined commission ; must. 
out June 9, 1865. 

Henry Baur, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; corporal; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps, 
1863. 

*John H. Birch, Co.I, Aug. 16,1862; died of fever Aug. 15, 1863, at 
Overton Hospital, Memphis, Tenn. 

Elijah W. Bonnemort, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; corporal ; disch. in 1865 for 
wounds received at North Anna River May 24, 1864. 

*George C. Bunker, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; killed at Fredericksburg Dec. 
13, 1865. 

J. Bradford Calder, Co. I, Aug. 16,1862; corporal; color corporal; ser- 
geant; first sergeant; 2d lieut. Sept. 8, 1864; Ist lieut. Nov. 29, 
1864; must. out June 9, 1865. 


{ . 
| Alvan B. Chase, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 


Seth W. Colbett, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; corporal; must. out June 9, 1865- 


| *Michael Colbert, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; killed at Petersburg Mine July 


50, 1864. 


| Peter Curran, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 


George V. Dean, Co. J, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. in 1862 for sickness. 


| Francis Donley, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 
| Moses W. Downes, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disabled by wounds received at 


Patrick Quinlan (Boston), Co. E, March 24, 1864; must. out June 30, | 


1865. 

Patrick Newman (Sharon), Co. A, April 2, 1864; must. out June 30, 
1865. 

Jeremiah O’Brien (Boston), Co. E, April 11, 1864; must. out June 30, 
1860. 


THIRTY-FIRST REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Robert F. Everett, sergt., Co. K, Jan. 17, 1862; must. out December, 


1864. 
Alonzo Swett, Co. K, Jan. 20, 1862; re-enl. Feb. 14, 1864; must. out 
Sept. 9, 1865. 


THIRTY-SECOND REGIMENT (Three Years). 
David Kilpatrick, Co. G, May 31, 1862. 
James M. Pond, Ist lieut., must. out June 29,1865. (See 18th Regt.) 
* Henry C. Everett, musician, died Jan. 19, 1865. (See 18th Regt.) 
William P. Fairbanks, musician, must. out June 29, 1865. (See 18th 
Regt.) 
Harvey L. Hayford, must. out June 29, 1865. (See 18th Regt.) 
John D. Martin, must. out June 29,1865, (See 18th Regt.) 
Jobn N. Tewksbury, must. out June 29, 1865. (See 18th Regt.) 


THIRTY-THIRD REGIMENT (Three Years). 


James H. Griggs, Co. D, Jan. 18, 1864, trans. and pro. com.-sergt. 37th 
U.S.C. Troops. (See 5th Regt., 3 months.) 

John A. Sullivan, corp., Co. C, June 3, 1862; must. out June 11, 1865. 

Joseph Neas, Co. I, Jan. 5, 1865; trans. to 2d Infantry. 

Ferdinand Lund, Co. K, Aug. 8, 1862; must. out June 11, 1865. 


North Anna River May, 1864; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps, 1864. 
Jerome B. Dunlap, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. in 1862 for sickness. 
Theodore F. Dunlap, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. 
Albert Ellis, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; corporal; must. out June 9, 1865. 
Alfred Ellis, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; corporal; sergeant ; must. out June 

9, 1865. 

Warren Ellis, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 

*Charles H. Ellis, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862: corporal; taken prisoner near 
Knoxville, Tenn., in November, 1863; died in Richmond Feb. 27, 
1864. 

Henry Fisher, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; taken prisoner at Poplar Grove 
Church Sept. 30, 1864: exchanged 1865; must. out June 9, 1865. 

Benjamin Hague, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; corporal; must. out June 2, 18 

Charles Hammond, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; deserted September, 1862. 

Alfred T. Hartshorn, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. in 1863 for sickness. 

John Hayes, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865, 

John Hogan, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862 ; taken prisoner at Poplar Grove Church 
Sept. 30, 1864; exchanged; must. out in 1865. 

Patrick Holland, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. in 1862 for wounds received 
at Antietam. 

John Hyde, Jr., Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 

Nathaniel M. Isley, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865, 

Dedrick Jordan, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps in 1 863. 

Conrad Krill, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 

Henry Krill, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 

Florian Matz, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. in 1865 for wounds received 
at North Anna River in 1864. 

Frederick Neas, Co. I, Aug 16, 1862; disch. in 1862 for sickness. 

John Nauman, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. in 1863 for sickness. 

Albert G, Ober, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. out June 9, 1865. 


55. 


998 


HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





William E. O’Connell, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. ont June 9, 1865. 

*David Phalen, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862*; died at Milldale, Miss., July 30, 1863. 

Winslow Radcliffe, Co. 1, Aug. 16, 1862; disch, in 1863 for sickness. 

Michael Rafferty, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; corporal; color corporal ; must. 
out June 9, 1865. 

Conrad Rausch, Co. J, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. in 1862 for wounds received 
at Antietam. 

Conrad Schneider, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. in 1863 for sickness. 

Hiram Shufeldt, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; corporal; sergeant; disch. for 
wounds received at Petersburg Mine in 1864. 


John L. Smith, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; corporal ; color corporal; sergeant; 
first sergeant; 2d lieut. Jan. 9, 1865; not mustered; must. out June 
9, 1865. 

Joseph R. Smith, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; must. ont June 9, 1865. 

*Charles I. Sulkoski, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; ‘killed at Antietam Sept. 17, 
1862. 

David Sullivan, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disabled by wounds received at 
Fredericksburg in 1862; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps in 1863. 

William M. Titcomb, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; trans. and pro. Ist lieut. 36th 
U.S. C. Troops. 

*Nathan C. Treadwell, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; died Oct. 26, 1862, at Fred- 
erick, Md., of wounds received at Antietam Sept. 17, 1862. 

William J. Wallace, Co. I, Aug. 16,1862; taken prisoner at Poplar Grove 
Church Sept. 30, 1864; exchanged in 1865; must. out June 9, 1865. 

*Joseph P. White, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; killed at Antietam Sept. 17, 
1862. 

Robert White, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. in 1865. 

*George F. Whiting, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; died Oct. 5, 1862, of wounds 
received at South Mountain, Md., Sept. 14, 1862. 

Henry W. Woods, Co. I, Aug. 16, 1862; disch. in 1864 for sickness. 

Weston F. Hutchins, Co. I, Dec. 31, 1863; corp.; trans. to 29th Regt. ; 
must. out July 29, 1865. 


THIRTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 

*Julius M. Lathrop, Ist lieut., Aug. 20, 1862; capt. Feb. 27, 1863; died 
April 26, 1864, of wounds received at Cane River, La., April 23, 
1864. 

Edward Hogan, Co. F, Aug. 13, 1862; must. out June 30, 1865. 

THIRTY-NINTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 
Charles L. Carter, Co. BE, Jan. 25, 1863 ; died while prisoner of war, Feb. 
9, 1865. (See 12th Regt.) 


FORTIETH REGIMENT (Three Years). : 


*Henry M. Park (Attleboro’), corp., Co. H, August, 1862; wounded at | 


Bermuda Hundred, Va., May 20, 1864; died June 20, 1864. 


FORTY-SECOND REGIMENT (Nine Months). 


Henry S. Richardson (Medway), Co. B, Sept. 13, 1862; must. out Aug. | 


20, 1863. 


FORTY-SECOND REGIMENT (One Hundred Days). 


Edwin H. Alger, Co. D, July 20, 1864; must. out Nov. 11, 1864. 
William R. Guild, Co. D, July 20,1864; must. out Nov. 11, 1864. 
Edwin P. Talbot, Co. E, July 22, 1864; must. out Nov. 11, 1864. 
William A. Cobb, Co. K, July 18, 1864; must. out Nov. 11, 1864. 
Nathan W. Fisher, Co. K, July 18, 1864; must. out Nov. 11, 1864. 
Melvin A. Galucia, Co. K, July 18, 1864; must. out Nov. 11, 1864. 
Joseph Guild, Co. K, July 18, 1864; must. out Noy. 11, 1864. 
Edward H. Marshall, Co. K, July 18, 1864; must. out Nov. 11, 1864. 


FORTY-THIRD REGIMENT (Nine Months). 
Cornelius O’Brien, Co. B, Oct. 11, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
Antoine Schenkle, Co. B, Oct. 11, 1862: must. out July 30, 1863. 
Henry Burns, Co. B, Oct. 24, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
Edward A. Sumner, Ist lieut., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 


1863. 

James Schouler, 2d lieut., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 

Cornelius A. Taft, Ist sergt., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 


John E, Webster, sergt., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862 ; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Alvin Fuller, sergt., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Joseph H. Lathrop, sergt., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. (See 4th Regt. Cav.) 

Francis W. Haynes, sergt., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 


1863. 


| Josiah E Morse, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; 
! 
| Sanford 0. Morse, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 





Charles B. Fessenden, sergt., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; sergt.-maj. May 29, 
1863; must. out July 30, 1863. 

John McDonald, corp., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Emelius A. Everett, corp., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 

William Chickering, Jr., corp., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. (See 4th Regt. Cav.) 

KE. Phineas Guild, corp., Co, D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Isaac A. Cox, corp., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Samuel D. Cobb, corp., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Charles D Marcy, corp, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; re-en]. U.S. Signal Corps 
March 31, 1864; must. ont Ang. 17, 1865. 

Eldridge P. Boyden, corp., Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. 

Melvin A. Galucia, musician, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 
1863. (See 42d Regt., 100 days.) 

Frank D, Hayward, musician, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; re-enl. U.S. Signal 
Corps March, 1864; must. out Aug. 17, 1865. 

William H. Alexander, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Willard Babbitt, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Addison G. Baker, Co, D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Charles R. Baker, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

James E. Ball, Co. D, Oct. 11,1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Nathaniel W. Broad, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

William F. Carroll, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Frank Carter, Co; D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Rufus F. Cheney, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

William H. Clements, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; disch. June 3, 1863; re-enl. 
in 2d Regt. Heavy Art. 

John D. Clifton, Co. D. Sept. 12,1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

James Collins, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862 ; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Patrick Cox, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Samuel H. Cox, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Albert M. Coy, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Patrick Eagan, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

George W.S. Edmands, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. ont July 30, 1863. 

Lewis Ellis, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Jarvis G. Fairbanks, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1868. 

Edwin E. Fisher, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862 ; must. out July 30, 1863. 

William H. Gay, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30 1863. 

Michael Golden, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Clarence M. Guild, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Joseph Guild, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30,1863. (See 42d 
Regt., 100 days.) 

Charles J. Guild, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Edward W. Guild, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Jobn A. Hahn, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 18638. 

Charles E. Hartshorn, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; disch. April 25, 1863, for 
sickness. 

R. Ellis Hathaway, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 


| *James J. Hawkins, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; died at Readville, Nov. 4, 


1862. 
George E. Hooker, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
James B. Hooker, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863, 
Joseph Houghton, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
Martin Howard, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
Francis P. Ide, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
Willard L. Johnson, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
John Kiernan, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30,1863. (See 14t 

Lt. Batt.) 
Herbert R. Lincoln, Co, D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
William Marsh, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863, 
Patrick McGlone, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
Patrick Meagher, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862 ; must. out July 30, 1863. 
A. Mason Morse, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
Charles H. Morse, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
must. out July 30, 1863. 


John H. Nichols, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862 ; 
31, 1864; must. out Aug. 17, 1865. 
Charles M. Perkins, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
George E. Pond, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
Edwin Pratt, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
William H. Randall, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
George A. Rhoades, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
George L. Rhoades, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 


re-enl, U.S. Signal Corps March 








APPENDIX. 


999 





Joseph H. Richardson, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1868. 

Bennett O. Rickards, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Charles H. Shackley, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. ont July 30, 1863. 

James F. Shapleigh, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. ont July 30, 1863. 

Nathan E. Shapleigh, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. ont July 30, 1863. 

Henry H. Shaw, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

William H. Sheridan, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30,1863. 

George H. Smith, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. ont July 30, 1863. 

Francis E. Soule, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

George M. Stone, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1865. 

Nathaniel H. Talbot, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Thomas Temperley, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; disch. for sickness May 9, 
1863. 

Joseph N. Tibbetts, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

William R. Tibbetts, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Horace E. Towle, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Andrew Tracy, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

James H. Tucker, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862 ; must. out July 30, 1863. 

James Urry, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Edwin A. Walley, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Frederick J. Walley, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; deserted Sept. 15, 1862, at 
Readville. 

Albert G. Webb, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Henry Weeks, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 
Regt., 100 days.) 

John K. Wight, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

James M. Wood, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30, 1863. 

Jobn S. Woods, Co. D, Sept. 12, 1862; must. out July 30,1863. (See 16th 
Batt. L. A.) 


(See 5th 


FORTY-FOURTH REGIMENT (Nine Months). 
Ithamar W. Copeland, Co. K, Sept. 12, 1862; disch. Jan. 14, 1863, for 
sickness. 
FORTY-FIFTH REGIMENT (Nine Months). 
Samuel C. Hunt, Co. C, Sept. 26, 1862; must. out July 7, 1863. 


FORTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT (Nine Months). 
William J. Hartnett, 2d iieut., Co. I, Dec. 26, 1862; res. March 1, 1863. 


FIFTIETH REGIMENT (Nine Months). 


Nathaniel F. Robinson (Salem), corp., Co. A, Sept. 15, 1862; must. out 
Aug. 23, 1863. 





FIFTY-FOURTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


*John H. Bancroft, Co. A, March 4, 1863; wounded at Fort Wagner | 
July 18, 1863; died of wounds at Beaufort, S. C., July 30, 1863. 
Wilson Webster (Lancaster, Pa.), Co. D, March 19, 1863 ; must. out Aug. 

20, 1865. 


FIFTY-FIFTH REGIMENT 


Sigourney Wales, capt., May 23, 1863; maj. Nov. 3, 1863; must. out Nov. 
18, 1864. (See 13th Regt.) 


(Three Years). 


FIFTY-SIXTH REGIMENT 


Warren B. Galucia, 2d lieut., Sept. 5, 1863; 
June 24, 1864; must. out July 12, 1865. 

John Leonard, Co. B, Jan. 21, 1864. 

*Anson F. Barton, Co. G, Jau. 19, 1864; died Oct. 7, 1864. 

Elias W. Adams, Co. H, Jan. 27, 1864; must. out July 12, 1865. | 

Sumner A. Ellis, Co. F, Jan. 12, 1864; disch. for disability June 17, | 
1865. 

John Neas, Co. K, Feb. 25, 1864: must. out July 12, 1865. 


(Three Years). 


Ist lieut. Jan. 4, 1864; capt. 
(See 18th Regt.) 





FIFTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 
*Charles F, Everett, Co. D; killed in the Wilderness, Va., May 6, 1864. 


FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


*John W. Fiske, 2d lieut., Jan. 26,1864; Ist lieut. Ang. 8, 1864; killed | 
at Poplar Grove Church Sept. 30, 1864, (See 35th Regt.) | 
Edward S. Stewart, Jan. 1, 1864. 


FIFTY-NINTIT REGIMENT (Three Years). 


*Mark Kehoe (Roxbury), Co. G, March 4, 1864; diedin service Aug. 15, 
1864. 
*John A. Hodge (Lowell), Co. G, Feb. 20, 1864; killed July 30, 1864, at | 
Petersburg, Va. 


SIXTY-FIRST REGIMENT (One Year). 


John Collins (Boston), Co. C, Sept. 19, 1864; must. out June 4, 1865. 

Paul Unglaube, Co. C, Sept. 19, 1864; must. out June 4, 1865. 

James M. Moore (Somerset), Co. C, Sept. 17, 1864; must. out June 4, 
1865. 


James T. Holmes, Co. C, Sept. 17, 1864; must. out June 4, 1865. 
William Connor (Roxbury), Co. H, Dec. 27, 1864; must. out July 16, 
1865. 


Dennis Hornan, Co. H, Sept. 20, 1864; must. out July 16, 1865. 
THIRD BATTALION RIFLES (Three Months). 
Walter R. Briggs, Co. D, May 19, 1861; must. out Aug. 3, 1861. 


FIRST COMPANY SHARPSHOOTERS (Three Years). 


Frederick L. Bestwick, Oct. 10, 1862; trans. to 19th Regt.; must. out 
June 30, 1865. 


*Edward Hutchins, sergt., Oct. 13, 1862; killed at Gettysburg July 3, 
1863. 
SECOND COMPANY SHARPSHOOTERS (Three Years). 
*Edward J. Herring (Lynn), Oct. 1, 1861; disch. for disability March 
11, 1863; died June 14, 1863. 
SIXTEENTH UNATTACHED COMPANY (One Hundred Days). 
Benjamin Teeling, Aug. 6, 1864; must. out Nov. 14, 1864. 


FIFTY-FIRST NEW YORK VOLUNTEER INFANTRY (Three 
Years). 
Richard B. Boynton, Co. E ; disch. for sickness. 
ONE HUNDRED AND SECOND NEW YORK VOLUNTEER 
INFANTRY (Three Years). 
*Virgil Upham, adjutant; killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
UNITED STATES REGULAR INFANTRY. 
George M. Nead, Co. B, 24th Regt., April 15, 1864. 
THIRTEENTH UNITED STATES VETERAN RESERVE CORPS 
(Three Years). 
Humphrey Lord (Boston), Co. K, Sept. 16, 1864; must. out Nov. 30,1865. 
William Beard (Chelsea), Co. H, Sept. 16, 1864. 
NINETEENTH UNITED STATES VETERAN 


John Lang (Bolivar, N. Y ), Co. F, Aug. 15, 1864. 
George W. Tarbox (Georgetown, Mass), Co. F, Aug. 13, 1864; must. 
out Noy. 15, 1865. 


RESERVE CORPS. 


TWENTY-SECOND UNITED STATES VETERAN RESERVE 
CORPS, 
Robert C. Dowds, Co. D, April 24, 1864. 


TWENTY-FOURTH UNITED STATES VETERAN RESERVE 
CORPS. 
Thomas R. Allen (Philadelphia), Co. H, April 15, 1864: must. out July 


10, 1865, 
William Dill, Co. H, April 15, 1864. 


| William H Fahs (Bethlehem, Pa.), Co. H, April 15, 1864. 
| Charles A. McQuestion (Washington, N. IH.), April 15, 1864. 


William G. Thomas (Feltonville, Mich.), April 14, 1864. 


FIRST BATTALION UNITED STATES VETERAN RESERVE 
CORPS. 
John E. Merrow (Great Falls, N. H.), Aug. 13, 1864. 
Artillery. 
FIRST BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (Three Years). 

*John M. Pooler (Canton), artificer, Aug. 28, 1861; died March 14, 

1863, at White Oak Church, Va. 

SECOND BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (Three Years). 
*Michael Owens, Feb. 19, 1864; died on transport “ Mississippi,’ Au- 

gust, 1864. 

FOURTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (Three Years). 


William R. Garvey, Feb. 22, 1864; must. out Oct. 14, 1865. 

Thomas Hayes, Sept. 19, 1864; trans. to 13th Battery January, 1865. 
Franklin Upham, Sept. 19, 1864; trans. to 15th Battery January, 1865. 
Daniel McLaughlin, Feb. 22, 1864; must. out Oct. 14, 1865. 

Patrick O’Hara, Feb. 22, 1864; must. out Oct. 14, 1865. 


1000 HISTORY OF NORFOLK 


COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 





NINTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (Three Years). 
Samuel B. Gear, March 4, 1864; disch. Oct. 20, 1864, for disability. 
ELEVENTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (Three Years). 
Charles E. Stanton, Sept. 17, 1864; must. out June 16, 1865. 


TWELFTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (Three Years). 
Charles A. Foye, Sept. 9, 1864; must. out June 10, 1865. 


THIRTEENTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (Three Years). 


Thomas Hayes, Jan. 17, 1865; must. out June 16, 1865. 
Franklin Upham, Jan. 17, 1865; must. out June 16, 1865. 


FOURTEENTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (Three Years). 

John Kiernan, Feb. 27, 1864 ; must. out June 15, 1865. (See 43d Regt., 
Co. D.) 

Amos J. F. Richards, Feb. 27, 1864; must. out June 15, 1865. 


navy.) 


(See 


SIXTEENTH BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY (Three Years). 
John S. Woods, sergt., March 11, 1864 ; must. out June 27, 1865. 
Henry M. Fales, March 11, 1864; must. out June 27, 1865. 

Albert M. Kingsbury, Oct. 3, 1864; must. out June 27, 1865. 
John H. Lyman, Oct. 3, 1864; must. out June 27, 1865, 


SHERMAN’S UNITED STATES BATTERY. 


Lewis P. Baker. 


FIRST BATTALION HEAVY ARTILLERY (Three Years). 

J. Spencer Drayton (Boston), Co. A, q.-m. sergt , Feb. 20, 1862; disch. 
for pro. May 5, 1863. 

William H. Hutchins, sergt., Co. B, Oct. 29, 1862; disch. Sept. 27, 1864, 
for disability. : 

Louis F. Poyen, sergt., Co. D, June 6, 1863 ; 
must. out Sept. 12, 1865. 


2d lieut. Nov. 26, 1864 ; 


SECOND REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY (Three Years). 


Peter Grady, Co. A, July 28, 1863; must. out Sept. 3, 1865. 

Joseph Neas (Boston), Co. A, July 28, 1863; must. out Sept. 3, 1865. 

Frank D. Grover, Co. B, July 29, 1863; must. out July 12, 1865. 

William H. Clements, corp., Co. C, Aug. 4, 1863; must. out Sept. 3, 
1865. 

Bruno Tieslo, Co. C, Aug. 4, 1863; must. out Aug. 2, 1865. 

Charles O. Taft, Co. D, Aug. 24, 1863; must. out Sept. 3, 1865. 

Timothy Burns, Co. E, Oct. 5, 1863 ; must. out Sept. 3, 1865. 

Josiah B, Whitney (Boston), corp., Co. F, Oct. 8, 1865; must. out July 
31, 1865. 

George W. Hewins, Co. F, Oct. 8, 1863 ; must. out July 21, 1865. 

John C. Morse (Boston), Co. G, Sept. 19, 1864; trans. to Co. F, 17th 
Regt., and disch. June 30, 1865. 

Joseph H. Morse (Boston), Co. G, Sept. 19, 1864; trans. to Co. F, 17th 
Regt., and disch. June 30, 1865. 

Walter S. Kitchin, sergt., Co. G, Sept. 13, 1864; trans. to Co. F, 17th 
Regt. 

Thomas McEntee, Co. I, Sept. 16, 1864; trans. to 17th Infantry. 


Antoine Schenkle, Aug. 22, 1863 (see 43d, Co. B); deserted Sept. 1, 1865. | 


Warren Brackett (Salem), Co. K, Dec. 22, 1863; disch. for disability 
Feb, 25, 1865. 


TWENTY-NINTH UNATTACHED COMPANY HEAVY ARTIL- 
LERY (One Year). 


Robert Frazer, Sept. 16,1864; must. out June 16, 1865. 


Cavalry. 
FIRST REGIMENT (Three Years). 

Arnold A. Rand (Boston), 2d lieut., Dec. 19, 1861; capt. Feb. 4, 1862 ; 
A. A-G. U.S. Vols. June 10,1863. (See 4th Regt. Cav.) 

Randolph M. Clark, Ist lieut., Dec. 26, 1861; capt. Jan. 6, 1863; must. 
out Aug. 8, 1863, as Ist lieut. 

William C. Paterson, chaplain, Dec. 30, 1861; resigned in 1862. 

William A. King, Co A, Dec. 24, 1861; deserted Jan. 29, 1862, at Annap- 
olis, Md. 

John A. Goodwin (Boston), sergt., Co. B, Sept. 12, 1861; sergt.-maj ; 
2d lieut. Dec. 14, 1862; Ist lieut. May 13, 1863; must. out May 15, 
1865. 

*Frank Miles, com.-sergt., Sept. 23, 1861; died at Hilton Head, 8. C., 
Oct. 10, 1862. 


| 


George B. Mussey (Boston), q.m.-sergt., Dec. 2, 1861 ; must. out Nov. 16, 
1862. 


| Henry Smith, Co. B, Sept. 12, 1861; disch. Dec. 25, 1862, for disability. 








*William I. Tillinghast, Co. E, Dec. 11, 1861; killed at Deep Bottom, 
Va., Aug. 14, 1864. 

Wm. A. Barton, Co. F, Oct.17, 1861; deserted Dec. 15, 1861, at Readville. 

George W. Filley, Co. F, Oct. 10, 1861; Oct. 11, 1864, must. out in Co. H. 

William C. Hillery, Co. F, Oct. 19, 1861; disch. Jan. 13, 1863, for disa- 
bility. 

Morris Kuhn, Co. F, Sept. 19, 1861 ; deserted Nov. 24, 1861, at Readville. 

Henry Thackwell, Co. G, Jan. 2, 1862; disch. Oct. 21, 1863, for disability. 

Thomas McGrath, Co. H, Nov. 19, 1864; must. out June 26, 1865. 

Edwin A. Parker, Co. H, Aug. 5, 1862; must. out Nov. 11, 1864. 

James C. Ross, Co. H, Sept. 25, 1861; disch. Dec. 20, 1862, for disability. 

Hubbard C. Jordan, corp., Co. I, Nov. 26, 1861; trans. to 4th Cav. 

Augustine A. Coiburn, corp., Co. I, Sept. 24, 1861; trans. to 4th Cav. 

Samuel Patterson (Stoughton), Co. I, Sept. 14, 1861; trans. to 4th Cav. 

*Joseph T. Stevens, corp., Co. I, Oct. 19, 1861; died at Hilton Head, S. C., 
March 31, 1862. 

James H. Wood (Quincy), Co. K, Oct. 5, 1861; trans. to 4th Cav. 

Charles Reynolds, Co. K, Dec. 29, 1863; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. 

Gerald Brannan, Co. K, Sept. 17, 1861; disch. July 30, 1862, for disability. 

Joseph Dam, Co. K, Sept. 14, 1861; trans. to 4th Cav. 

Cornelius D. Sullivan, sergt., Co. K, Dec. 29, 1863; disch. Dec. 28, 1864, 
for disability; Co. A. 

Joseph A. Noble, Co. K, Dec. 22, 1861: deserted June 12, 1862. 

John Good, Co. K, Dec. 22, 1861; must. out in Co. A Jan. 26, 1865. 

Thomas Golden, Co. K, Dec. 29, 1863; must. ont in Co. A June 26, 1865. 

Charles Dow, Co. L, Dec. 26, 1861; disch. Jan. 16, 1863, for disability. 

Benjamin Gilchrist, Co. L, Oct. 29, 1861; trans. to Co. L, 4th Cav. 

Henry J. Hanks, Co. L, Oct. 7, 1861; trans. to Co. L, 4th Cay. 

Edward Moran, Co. L, Sept. 17, 1861; trans. to Co. L, 4th Cav. 

James T. Walsh, bugler, Co. L, Jan. 6, 1864; must. out June 26, 1865. 

Frank Kerrigan, Co. L, Jan. 6, 1864; must. out June 26, 1865. 


SECOND REGIMENT (Three Years). 


| Urias Urry, farrier, Co. B, Jan. 13, 1863; must. out July 20, 1865, 


Daniel Fallon, Co. C, Nov. 17, 1864; must. out July 20, 1865. 

Frank Emile, Co. G, April 9, 1864; deserted May 20, 1864. 

*John Purdy, Co. 1, Feb. 25, 1864; died May, 1865, at Danville, Va. 

*Albert O. Hammond, Co. M, Jan. 4, 1864; died Sept. 12, 1864, prisoner 
at Savannah, Ga. 

William Kilpatrick, Aug. 4, 1863; unassigned recruit. 

Daniel O’Keefe, March 23, 1864; unassigned recruit. 

Charles Wood, Aug. 18, 1863; unassigned recruit. 


THIRD REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Christopher McNamara, Co. A, Jan, 4, 1864; deserted Aug, 23, 1865, at 
Fort Kearney, N.T. 

Marcus Doe, Co. L, Feb. 29, 1864; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps. 

Benjamin Gowell, Co. M (1 year), Dec. 30, 1864; must. out Sept. 28, 1865. 
Frank B. Gowell, Co. M (1 year), Dec. 30, 1864; must. out Sept. 28, 1865. 
David F. Grant, Co. M (1 year), Dec. 31, 1864; must. out Sept. 28, 1865. 
George W. Grant, Co. M (1 year), Dec. 31, 1864; must. out Sept. 28, 1865. 
James McMahon, Co. M (1 year), Dec. 31, 1864; must. out Sept. 28, 1865. 


FOURTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 


Arnold A. Rand (Boston), lieut.-col., Dec. 3, 1863; col. Jan, 22, 1864; re- 
signed Feb. 3, 1865. (See Ist Regt. Cav.) 

William Chickering, Jr., 2d lieut., Feb. 1, 1864; Ist lieut. Dec. 10, 1864; 
resigned July 12, 1865. 

Joseph H. Lathrop, 2d lieut., Jan. 25,1864; Ist lieut. Jan.5, 1865; must. 
out Nov. 14, 1865. 

John Sheridan, Co. A, Dec. 26, 1863; disch. March 13, 1865, for disability. 

George W. Kingsbury, Co. B, Dec. 21, 1863; disch. May 22, 1864, for dis- 
ability. 

* John E. Richardson, Co. B, Feb. 21, 1863 ; died in rebel prison Aug. 17, 
1864. 

Joseph H. Richardson, Co. B, Feb. 21, 1863; must. out Nov. 3, 1865. 

Augustine A. Colburn, sergt., Co. I, Sept. 14, 1861; must. out Sept. 24, 
1864. 

Hubbard E. Jordan, corp., Co. I, Jan. 1, 1864; must. out Nov. 14, 1865. 

Benjamin Gilchrist, Co. L. (See Ist Regt. Cav.) 

Edward Moran, Co. L, Sept. 17, 1861 ; deserted June 6, 1864. 

Henry J. Hanks, Co. L, Oct. 7, 1861; must. out Oct. 12, 1864. 

Henry Flood, Co. M, March 1, 1864; must. out Aug. 16, 1865, 


ay 





APPENDIX. 


1001 





FIFTH REGIMENT (Three Years). 
James Leath, Co. C, Sept. 19, 1864; must. out Aug. 31, 1865. 


James Minch, Co. H, March 12, 1864; disch. Dec. 15, 1864, for disability. 


David Fresbie, Co. H, March 12, 1864; must. out Oct. 31, 1865. 
*Daniel Carter, Co. I, March 26, 1864; killed at Petersburg, Va., June 
15, 1864. 


FIRST BATTALION FRONTIER CAVALRY (One Year). 


Charles H. Grant, Co. D, Jan. 2, 1865; must. out June 30, 1865. 
Frank Kalliher, Co. D, Jan. 2, 1865; must. out June 30, 1865. 
James A. Manning, Co. D, Jan. 2, 1865; must. out June 30, 1865. 


FIRST MICHIGAN CAVALRY, 
*Willard F. Rhoads, killed near Centreville, Va., Nov. 3, 1863. 


REGULAR CAVALRY. 
Tsaac N. Grant. 


United States Navy. 


*Gershom J. Van Brunt, captain at opening of war; commanded U.S. 
steam frigate “ Minnesota” from April, 1861, to August, 1862; com- 
modore, July, 1862; supervised equipment of Banks’ expedition to 
New Orleans, 1862; inspector transports, New England District, 1863 ; 
died in Dedham Dec. 17, 1863. 

Henry Van Brunt, lieutenant, Nov. 10, 1861; resigned Feb, 15, 1864; on 
duty with North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. 

Edward Sherwin, clerk to Cairo Inspection, Nov. 26, 1862; acting assist- 
ant paymaster volunteer navy, March 31, 1863; passed assistant pay- 
master U.S. N., July 23, 1866; resigned Dec. 20, 1866; at Cairo and 
Yazoo River in 1862-63; South Atlantic Blockading Squadron from 
May 18, 1863, to Jan. 26, 1865; afterwards at various stations. 


Henry G. B. Fisher, captain’s clerk, April, 1861, to August, 1862, on 
“ Minnesota.” 

Henry Sherwin, captain’s clerk on “Santee,” June 5, 1861, to August, 
1862, in Gulf of Mexico; chief clerk to Fleet Captain Pennock, in 
Mississippi Squadron, from November, 1862, to June, 1865. 

Elisha L. Turner, paymaster’s clerk “ Congress,” 1861; acting assistant 
paymaster ‘‘ Chocura,” 1862. 

Frederick W. Willis, surgeon’s steward, April 9, 1863, to April, 1865, on 
“ Marmora.” 

Samuel H. Swett, seaman, April 16, 1862; served three years on “ Min- 
nesota,” “ Florida,” “ Pequod,” etc. 

Charles G. Swett, seaman, December, 1861; served three years on “ Quaker 
City,” “St. Lawrence,” etc. 

Robert S. Edson, seaman, November, 1861; served three years on “ Sci- 
ota,” ete. 

Adin B. Crosby, seaman, Sept. 25, 1864; served on “Sabine” and “ Hart- 
ford,” in Western Gulf Squadron. 

James H. O’Brien, seaman, October, 1862, “* Onward.” 

Thomas Smith, June, 1864, 

Charles E. Barrows, August, 1863; served five years. 

Henry G. Tillinghast, fireman, July 20, 1864, “ Connecticut.” 

Patrick Murphy, Aug. 19, 1864; served one year. 

John McAllister, Jr., fireman “ Minnesota,” April 18, 1861; served three 
years. 

Robert McAllister, fireman ‘“ Minnesota,” April 18, 1861; served three 
years. 

Willlam F. McAllister, coal-heaver “Sebago,” March 17, 1862; served 
three years. 

Amos J. F. Richards, seaman, August, 1862, one year; disch. September, 
1863 ; served on gunboat “ Rescue,” Hampton Roads and siege of 
Charleston. 











ERRATA. 


Page 45, first column, for ‘‘ Wamisit” read ** Wamesit.” 

Page 50, second column, 16th line, read “a clergyman of the Church 
of England.” 

Page 61, second column, in 2d line of second paragraph, omit “ the.” 

Page 68, second column, in 7th line of second paragraph, read “the” 
for “this.” Substitute pronoun ‘‘ He” for ‘ Mr. White” in the 15th and 
18th lines. 


Page 79, first’column, 2d paragraph, for “ Blue Rock Bridge” read | 


“Vine Rock Bridge.” Second column, 2d line, read “ Alfred Hewins.” 
Page 190, first column, 38th line from top, for ‘‘ Phillipps” read ‘* Phil- 
lips.” 


read “seventy.” 
Page 207, bottom of second column. 
selectmen, see Appendix. 
Page 268, 3d line, chapter xx., for “‘ were” read “ was.” 
Page 278, line 18th from top, for “ thereo”’ read “‘ thereof.” 


For corrected list of Randolph’s 


Page 194, first column, 7th line from bottom, for “seventy-five” | 


Page 284, second column, line 15th, for “ is” read “ are.”’ 
Page 288, line 10th, for “ way” read “sway.” 
Page 303, line 36th, for “‘ Deborah” read ‘* Dorothy.” 
| Page 315, line 11th, for “and two” read * many.” 

12th, for “11th” read “ 1758.” 

Page 318, line 28th, for “‘ houses” read ‘ house.” 

| Page 327, line 25th, for “ Monatiquot” read “ Monatoquit.” 

Page 341, 13th line from bottom, for “$300” read ‘* £300.” 

Page 343, 10th line from top, for “ 650” read “* 450.” 

Page 534, 9th line from bottom, for ‘‘ Denning” read “* Deming,” 

Page 534, second column, 13th line from bottom, read 1816, ’18, ’19, 
etc. 

Page 534, second column, 12th ilne from bottom, read 1817, 719, ’20, 
etc. 

Page 534, second column, bottom line, read “‘ Amraphel’’ for “ Am- 
eaphel.” 

Page 544, line 10th, for ‘“‘ Medford” read ** Hartford.” 


Same page, line 


£3LOo 








































































pang 
Ce 
Barty TE Hen 28 
bf 9 Tun fi wef’ 
ee ae ri : On tere Fuss 
DPF derhe eh EPMA UL bo aed { 
; ae FAS Gop a A St hed 
at Frey UES Se ere, 
‘ 
re 
: 
fh af ! 
rare 
yet i 
i 
A 
i 
k 
ity 
Wy 
i 
4 
‘ 
nies 
ne 
: 
ey ea ' 
SAS Suge aa 
apatite an 
haan oui fa 
; i 
ti 
¥\ 
i 
Ye Satine Peasy en 
Delete tate he thoes Pa Pod 
) 
ths 0” 
EM at if 
Lig OL GRAN A A RN edhe 
eM Naa haat) Lek : 
thas ‘eh ‘ Ca 
re in eater cat i 
Uf Suc Uni gaisd : ‘ 
tha tepdaptei ha MN 
ee Sieh 
Leer hehe geo is WMecal 
dlp ions ths PRU Ae EUS, 
eet Rie Lash nese em ths ; 
SS ATR re Ae Hey mete: EU Nre re 
sitet beter! Shy A Ser ar 
a) by eea ts sat Vo ‘ D 
nSraletralasg C Hy 
m “eh 
= Sa ait 
Stet Seat fy } ‘ ‘te aaa 
; CAL ie ee Lon nN Abb 4, & 
SPP ty fy di hed ‘ \ . 
«s WA BT olan atu eO dnt ed tusk eich 
¥ f PATON A AT bel ‘ A 
M8 Pash rt 
Mad ‘ bead ini 
Deen thin ie ‘ A { 
ely ‘ ara en 
N, ‘ 
. . . ‘y ‘ 
4 Cec er Seba eee iar SAL RESCE te cove Free Wa RR ba ‘ 
b My LAL Wd gic we 
Coon mar hee \ wt 
WYSE Et Go CMY 
pet ea \ ‘ 
ASAP ( RI Fie he , ieive } ro 
aA an 7 a) < put Hd od { f 
PCa ert erin : ty j uy hi Hy 4 
uh Aah NCE 1b Oheeeat yh erie by aa th 
EY we 3 ; ' 
Ay a ¥ ' 
tes ae Ct fee Oe eae | ' ‘ ' ie 
: ‘ HAMA AL Ba Ee HA i KS é t pas t 
‘Ua cA iby abs fy aN TV WEED SAAB oge nie si ‘ ; Ny Aches : nN 
RAEE NAY ey Ses EHS POSSI WOM GA Grdadeh ack tomy N NN aN MUNN bst ; 
eet ost itete i . " aa ; : e Pee Cre i t } \ fore Aa url Ci OAD bh yd ‘ 
uly a s a } ray j . y Pht he de ao & Veejeda, iv As i 4 Py fj 
Ae. 4 ey vo : : 3 ok y UAGHTB Ae BoA ORCC Tir tiearae hs hana a GH bei Cea 4) AT uNgh A i, 
: uN s H ¢ Wyo Ape He Ree ted 4 tuida beh INA Min) LLIB x CT TOFU Thy Man 
s Were H , 1 ‘ “i rere oa tt AOS ete ON Uc ter a Tey a AM 
. ut ; ihe * y IE Ag teal Pay Oy We te te (ex f 
; i LK ‘ MURS eee pou ba 
NAM Wi PAU ue ra 
ii 5 ‘ VA Oa ve wes | { 
UN i eLPsee ee PU bya CORE any whe 
is em raw) ‘ 


o 

MMO h AO Ne OMG UA AC Vehag teat 
ha Hid SN OV OG. 

' 


a w= 16 
Sore re 


eee 


oe : me 
28 ws 


hy 


hart 





Lan 
oe 





REM 
Ve Oo ek 
ih 





W 
na 
i 
WMA 
COG Geers (| 
WO 


Wife 





i Hae 
Cee ee eee 


arene) 
G4 Ob et 


hea 








